A cosmetics company from Essex and a video communications agency from Cambridgeshire have been named as the East of England’s best employers.

Benefit Cosmetics, which is based in Chelmsford, was the overall winner in the Large Business section of the biannual Best Employer Eastern Region awards – the second time it has claimed the title – with Somersault Productions of Cambridge receiving the Small Business trophy.

Andrea Lansbury, human resources director at Benefit, said: “We are delighted to have won this award for a second time. It shows that we are genuinely achieving our vision of creating a fun and quirky working environment that encourages talent and empowers our people to make a difference.”

Besides the overall winners, regional awards were also made for Customer Focus, Innovation and Employee Engagement, with the results being based on responses to a detailed survey completed by around 6,000 participants across the four counties.

The Large Employer winner of the Customer Focus Award was the Tamdown Group, the Braintree-based civil engineering company, with the Small Business award going to holiday cottage lettings agency Best of Suffolk, based at Badingham, near Framlingham.

Mark Waine, group HR director at Tamdown, said: “We foster an environment which supports, nurtures and guides our people, that’s why we have such a great team spirit and relationship with our customers. We attract and retain our talent by offering not just a job, but a career within a caring company.”

Naomi Tarry, director at Best of Suffolk, added: “We really value our brilliant team; they are the ones who are motivated to deliver fantastic customer service every single day. We are proud of the relaxed and friendly environment we have created in which everyone feels supported to do the very best job they can.”

In the Innovation award, the Large Business winner was Lowestoft-based sports equipment manufacturer Harrod while the Small Business honour went to business recovery, insolvency and turnaround practice Parker Andrews, which has offices in Norwich, Ipswich and Cambridge.

Carl Green, operations manager at Harrod, said: “Even after 60 years in business we still encourage new ideas and approaches from our employees. After all it was innovative ideas which took us from being a small company to a market leader with a multi-million turnover.

“ Our loyal team are our most valuable asset and we support them to work hard, encourage them to play hard and aim to foster a culture of ‘Whatever it Takes’ in which everyone feels inspired to bring their ideas to the table.”

Jo Moore, practice manager at Parker Andrews, added: “We firmly believe that our culture is refreshingly different. As an organisation we promote a healthy, happy working environment and believe that our structure and approach to work allows individuals to flourish and feel encouraged to put forward innovative ideas.”

Huntingdon-based housing provider Luminous Group was the Large Business winner for Employee Engagement, with the Small Business award going to the Arthur Rank Hospice Charity, based in Cambridge.

The overall regional champions, who were named during a ceremony at Paddocks House in Newmarket, were selected from the winners previously announced at a series of county events in Suffolk, Essex, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.

Besides Benefit Cosmetics, the other Large Business winners were injury management and rehabilitation services provider RehabWorks from Bury St Edmunds, wholesale and distribution company Tobar from Norwich and property consultants Bidwells, based in Cambridge.

Alongside Somersault, the other Small Business winners included financial planning company Beckett Investment Management from Bury St Edmunds, LSI Architects from Norwich and Braintree-based utility business Triconnex, which is part of Tamdown.

The Best Employer Eastern Region awards are jointly organised by recruitment consultancy Pure Resourcing Solutions and psychometric testing specialist eras.

Lynn Walters, director at Pure Resourcing Solutions, said: “All our winning employers should be extremely proud. These awards are based completely on the comprehensive feedback we gathered from their own employees.

“Their survey results showed that their employees had pride in their company, felt trusted and supported, and were motivated to help contribute to the organisation’s success.”

Margaret Burnside, director of people development at eras, added: “There is ample evidence that an organisation’s culture has a vast effect on the engagement of those who work for it, and in turn on how well they perform.”