This year’s ‘Sunday Times 100 best companies to work for’ list, which celebrates the businesses and organisations that strive for the highest workplace engagement to make employees happier, has seen marketing, PR and communications companies ranked within the top 50, an improvement from last year.

Ranking first in the mid-size category is first-time participant, global marketing company MVF, while creative communications agency DRPG ranked 16th, a stark improvement of 13 points since 2019.

“For us the best companies list is a fantastic way to hold ourselves accountable for maintaining and improving our engagement levels. We do this not only by taking on board the feedback given by the organisation, but also by continuing to keep investment in training and development of our people extremely high on the agenda,” says Dale Parmenter, CEO of DRPG.

Other communications companies ranked in the top 50 include creative agency Karmarama (22nd) and Bartle Bogle Hegarty (37th).

Though on smaller scale, PR agencies were praised in the ‘best small companies’ ranking, with companies such as Citypress in 29th place (double the points it had in 2019), WPR in 38th and Hotwire in 40th.

Tara O’Donnell, managing director UK at Hotwire says, “At Hotwire, we aim to be the best agency our clients and our people will ever work with. We are never complacent and are committed to creating a culture that gives the team all of the support they need to be their best selves at work and outside of work.”

The list involves an employee survey and a written entry that documents onboarding employer branding, engagement and giving something back. Workplace engagement specialists then assess the companies on aspects including job security, faith in team leadership and belief that the business provides a great service to clients.