The adventure travel company Wilderness Scotland has been recognized as a Best UK Workplace in the 2018 Great Place to Work awards scheme. Not only is the Highlands-based company the only travel and tourism organization in the UK to be honored in this year’s awards, but Wilderness Scotland is also the first tour operator to have scooped an accolade in the history of the awards. The results and rankings will be released on 25 April.
Over 10,000 organizations participated in the scheme this year, making it the largest workplace survey in the world. The methodology used is unique with no other workplace survey assessing the opinions of employees, and combining the results with company HR and leadership practices.
Wilderness Scotland was one of 127 winners overall, and one of just 24 in the Small Business category. Based in the Highlands, the tour operator scored very highly among its employees in the Trust index. Particular emphasis was placed on the transparency of management and team camaraderie, and 100% of employees considered Wilderness Scotland a great place to work.
Commenting Paul Easto, co-founder and Managing Director, Wilderness Scotland said, “Back in the early days of Wilderness Scotland, it’s fair to say that we didn’t give a great deal of thought to company culture. In fact, the concept of actually employing anyone seemed a distant pipe dream. Therefore to see Wilderness Scotland recognized as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces some 15 years later is incredible and a testament to all the amazing work that the team has put in over the years.
“Everyone at Wilderness Scotland has been responsible for creating a truly special workplace culture. It’s a place where people genuinely care about each other, where your colleagues are your friends, where everyone’s views count and where work is fun and has a purpose.”
Currently based in the Cairngorms National Park, the Wilderness Scotland team has grown three-fold to 46 people since moving from Edinburgh in 2011. Later this year the adventure company is to relocate again to new custom-built offices and an operations base within the town of Aviemore.
Wilderness Scotland offers over 40 small group, expert-led adventures covering a raft of activities, including wilderness walking, sea kayaking, cycling, mountain biking, wildlife watching, open canoeing, sailing and photography breaks, as well as tailor-made and self-guided itineraries.