Impact gains a top, three star Michelin-style rating as a great place to work.

The pioneering training company Impact is celebrating after being given a three star accreditation in the Best Companies to Work For awards.

The latest accolade for the company follows hot on the heels of a string of awards last year. These included the National Business Award for Corporate Social Responsibility in the North West and the company was also named as one of the Financial Times' UK Top 50 Best Workplaces.

Impact's new three star status endorses the company's pioneering work in people development programmes that help create and lead sustainable enterprises.

Andy Dickson, head of Impact UK was jubilant: "We are committed to making Impact the best choice for our people, as well as our customers," he said. "We are dedicated to making Impact a model of a sustainable enterprise by
ensuring that we have the best people all pulling together. This is precisely the approach that we feel other organisations should be taking because it has genuine business benefits."

The three star Best Companies accreditation recognises Impact's 'extraordinary' workplace engagement practices, including exceptional motivation, inspiration and staff retention levels.

"Impact is a prime example of its own sustainable business model that centres on its People, Planet, Profit ethos," said Mr Dickson. "This company philosophy enables enhanced business performance while accelerating positive social change, improved workplace engagement and protecting and preserving environmental integrity."

Other companies involved in training that received two stars were Cragrats, Grass Roots and Penna.

CragRats managing Director Rob Machon said: "We are committed to offering our employees a fantastic working environment and are extremely please to have been recognised by Best Companies as a two star organisation. As a company specialising in culture change and employee engagement we believe that we really do practice what we preach and this is evidence of that."

Laura Pegg, CragRats head of marketing, added: "We wholeheartedly believe that CragRats is one of the best companies to work for. CragRats helps other organisations improve and become the best: this allows us to understand company cultures and continually improve ours."