ESSEX County Council is seen to be one of the best places to work in public sector according to a Sunday Times survey. Published in the Sunday Times on March 14, 2010, Essex County Council was placed at number 47 in the top 75 list of best places

ESSEX County Council is seen to be one of the best places to work in public sector according to a Sunday Times survey.

Published in the Sunday Times on March 14, 2010, Essex County Council was placed at number 47 in the top 75 list of best places to work in the public sector.

The results are reached by surveying a random sample of employees on a range of employment issues. This included the council's core employees only, and did not include school employees.

The survey was sent to a variety of public sector and local government organisations, ranging from the very small to the very large.

Council leader Peter Martin said: "This is great news, and shows that Essex County Council is a good place to work.

"We provide many important services to the residents of Essex and it could not happen without the hard work and dedication of our employees."

Chief executive Joanna Killian added: "I would like to thank the staff that took the time to answer the questions and help us achieve this great result.

"We will be looking at the results of the survey and the messages from it will help us support our employee engagement strategy and the overall organisational performance."

The survey found that 72 per cent of employees believe they can make a valuable contribution to the success of the organisation and that 75 per cent of employees go out of their way to help each other.

Also 66 per cent of employees think the experience they gain is valuable for their future while 68 per cent believe managers regularly express their appreciation of a job well done.

These results mean that Best Companies has awarded Essex County Council with 'one to watch' status, indicating that the council has the potential to be a first class employer in the future.