HLM Architects, one of the largest architectural practices in Scotland, has been awarded two stars in this year’s Best Companies Accreditation List, one of only 41 organisations in Scotland to achieve accreditation.

It has been deemed an "outstanding" company to work for.

Best Companies established the accreditation award scheme to acknowledge excellence in the workplace. Based on staff feedback, it looks at employee engagement as an integral part of a company’s success and growth, and sets a benchmark for other employers.

The accreditation scheme follows a Michelin star style system with companies awarded one star for first class, two stars for outstanding and three stars for extraordinary performance. In the 2010 list, 773of 1,086 private and public sector organisations received Star Status accreditation.

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Jonathan Austin, Founder and CEO of Best Companies said: "An engaged workforce is essential as organisations move out of the recession and into a more stable economic situation. No doubt many organisations have tackled redundancies and rapid change this year. But organisations like HLM that have kept on engaging their staff and made sure they are involved in the business will be in a good position for the future and should be congratulated for their efforts."

Lorraine Robertson, Regional Director at HLM said: "Despite a difficult year for our industry, we are delighted to be recognised again for our efforts to keep our staff happy and engaged. We are open and honest with our staff and, together, we have pulled together to make sure the business is in a strong position, despite the economic climate."

Companies are judged on a number of criteria including how well they manage staff, the level of engagement employees have for their job and the organisation, how happy employees are with their pay and benefits and how well employees work as a team.

HLM Architects has been recognised by the accreditation scheme since 2006. It was also a Building magazine Top 50 Employer in 2009.

(GK)