OREANDA-NEWS. Glassdoor, the world's most transparent jobs and recruiting marketplace, has announced the winners of its eighth annual Employees' Choice Awards, honouring the Best Places to Work in 2016 across parts of Europe and North America. Unlike any other workplace awards, the Glassdoor Employees' Choice Awards are based solely on the input of employees who voluntarily provide anonymous feedback, by completing a company review, about their job, work environment and employer over the past year.

This year, Glassdoor has expanded its Employees' Choice Awards program to include six categories, highlighting the Best Places to Work across the UK, France, Germany, U.S. and Canada. This is the second time Glassdoor has identified the Best Places to Work in the UK and the first time in both France and Germany. Winners are ranked based on their overall rating achieved during the past year. (Ratings based on a 5-point scale: 1.0=very dissatisfied, 3.0=OK, 5.0=very satisfied):

The top five UK Best Places to Work in 2016 are:

1. Expedia (#1, 4.4 rating)
2. Hays Plc (#2, 4.4 rating)
3. AKQA (#3, 4.2 rating)
4. GE (#4, 4.2 rating)
5. Schuh (#5, 4.1 rating)

"The Glassdoor Employees' Choice Awards are the only workplace awards that recognise employers where people love to work solely based on the authentic voice of those who really know a company best -- the employees. For anyone hoping to find a job and company they love, these companies stand tallest for providing outstanding work environments and company cultures," said Robert Hohman, Glassdoor CEO and co-founder. "I am proud to expand these awards across North America and parts of Europe this year and to celebrate the 2016 Glassdoor Employees' Choice Awards winners in earning this tremendous achievement."

Glassdoor's 25 UK Best Places to Work in 2016 list features winning employers across diverse industries, spanning technology, banking, retail, FMCG and engineering. Interestingly, of the UK-headquartered employers on this list, only half are based in London, with Oxford, Cambridge, Reading, Luton and Livingston-based companies all making an appearance.

AKQA is among 15 employers debuting as Best Places to Work this year, along with GE (#4, 4.2 rating), Schuh (#5, 4.1 rating), Oxfam (#6, 4.1 rating) and ARM Holdings (#7, 4.1 rating), among others. Google, last year's #1 employer with a 4.4 rating, ranks #8 this year (with a 4.1 rating) and is among only ten employers that have made it on to this list for two years in a row.

When an employee submits a company review on Glassdoor, he or she is asked to give their opinion on some of the best reasons to work for their employer (pros), any downsides (cons), and is encouraged to provide advice to management. Employees are also asked to rate how satisfied they are with their employer overall, rate their CEO, as well as rate five key workplace attributes, including career opportunities, compensation & benefits, culture & values, senior management and work-life balance. In addition, employees are asked whether they would recommend their employer to a friend and what their opinion is of the employer's business outlook in the next six months.

Employees' Choice Award winners for the 2016 UK Best Places to Work are determined using Glassdoor's proprietary algorithm, taking into account the quantity, quality and consistency of Glassdoor-approved company reviews shared by UK-based employees between 3rd November, 2014 and 1st November, 2015. At a minimum, employers considered for the UK list must have received at least 25 company reviews during the eligibility period. For reporting simplicity, ratings are displayed to the nearest tenth, though calculations extend beyond the thousandth to determine final rank. Complete report methodology is available on request.