Business leaders from across Suffolk gathered at an event to find out who has been crowned as the county’s “best employers”.

The Suffolk round of the Best Employers Eastern Region campaign, run by recruitment consultant Pure Resourcing Solutions and psychometric testing specialist eras, were presented as part of a business seminar held at the Suffolk Food Hall at Wherstead, near Ipswich.

The award for the county’s best small business employer was presented to financial planning company Beckett Investment Management, based in Bury St Edmunds, while the best large business employer award went to by RehabWorks, a business-to-business provider of injury management and rehabilitation services, which is also based in Bury.

The winning employers were automatically selected as those from the county with the highest overall scores in the Best Employers campaign’s survey which has been completed by around 6,000 participants region-wide.

Employees provide feedback on what their company is really like to work for, with the survey looking at aspects including how employees perceive their company’s culture and values, their development opportunities and their enthusiasm for working at the organisation and willingness to contribute to its success.

Lynn Walters, director at Pure Resourcing Solutions, said: “Both of these businesses are outstanding examples of innovative employers who have created fantastic working environments. They value the importance of attracting, developing and nurturing a talented workforce, and the feedback from their employees proves that they feel more engaged, empowered and motivated as a result.”

Ian White, managing director at Beckett, said: “Our business is built on the expert advice and ethical work practice delivered by our employees. Our company succeeds because of their outstanding dedication to customer service. In turn it is our responsibility to support our employees and to keep them engaged.”

Andy Holdcroft, chief executive at RehabWorks, added: “Our employees are our most valuable asset when it comes to meeting and even exceeding customer expectations.

“We have recognised this within our business values by pledging an ongoing commitment to staff development and to providing challenging and interesting roles. We are also extremely proud of our working culture which is built on trust, openness, teamwork, professionalism and pride.”

The biannual awards and survey are not just designed to find and celebrate the region’s best employers, but also to share best practice. Today’s event also included a seminar discussion with local business leaders on ways to achieve business success through increased employee engagement, with guest speakers including Mr Holdcroft, together with Richard Anscombe, chief executive of FramFarmers.

Margaret Burnside, director of people development from eras, said: “People are at the heart of any business and having the right culture and environment for them to flourish is core to success. Engaged employees result in increased staff morale, productivity and profits.”

The two Suffolk winners will now join county winners from Essex, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire at the region-wide final which takes place in Newmarket later today.

Region-wide winners will be named in three categories – employee engagement, innovation and customer focus – alongside an overall “best of the best” award.