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Top 100 Companies Leading In Wellbeing 2023|Business & Finance in partnership with Ibec — Part 2

By Business & Finance
27 April 2023

Business & Finance, in partnership with Ibec, launches Top 100 Companies Leading In Wellbeing Index.

Business & Finance media group in partnership with Ibec, the group that represents Irish business, has launched the Top 100 Companies Leading In Wellbeing Index.

In recent years, employee wellbeing has continued to rise further up the agenda for employers. Public awareness of the importance of good workplace mental health and wellbeing is also growing. To move beyond good intention and to realise a true culture of wellbeing, employers must make positive health and wellbeing a core business priority.

“We are honoured to be working with our partners Ibec to recognise the companies that place employee wellbeing at the top of their priority list. It is imperative for businesses that the wellness of the entire team plays a core part of their business strategy to cultivate a healthy and rewarding working environment which is crucial for business and employee development,” said Ian Hyland, Publisher, Business & Finance.

This index, the first of its kind in Ireland, is timely and significant as it recognises the top businesses of all sizes who are leading the way and have improved their performance in supporting employee mental health and wellbeing. We hope this will encourage others to follow.

Danny McCoy, CEO, Ibec commented on the importance of the Index: 

“It’s important to recognise the efforts being made by businesses in supporting the wellbeing of their people. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria is now driving how investors evaluate companies. Mental health and overall wellbeing of employees is increasingly forming part of the measurable foundation of the ‘S’ within ESG.”

“A positive, proactive approach to the promotion of mental and physical wellbeing can lead to benefits for individuals and organisations, including improvements in productivity, employee engagement and reduced levels of absenteeism. We know that improved wellbeing has a far-reaching impact, not only for your employees, but for their families and communities too.”

The index is comprised exclusively of companies in Ibec’s KeepWell community. The list focuses primarily on those companies who hold an active KeepWell Mark accreditation with exception being made to include a limited few companies, who upon entering the programme had already demonstrated a high standard of wellbeing performance and have put the appropriate measures in place to meet the standards of the KeepWell Mark and are scheduled for formal assessment.

By making the index an annual occurrence, Ibec expects to drive even greater public awareness of the importance of wellbeing in every workplace across the country.

Part 1Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

The full list is available to download here


Cork County Council

Cork County Council, the largest local authority in the country in geographical area and with a population of 332,255, is the second largest Local Authority nationally, and the largest outside Dublin. The Council has a revenue budget for 2022 of €403m and current staff numbers of approximately 2,650.

The Council delivers a broad and diverse range of services, including Roads, Motor Taxation, Housing, Planning, Environmental Services, Economic Development, Tourism, Community Development, Arts & Heritage, Fire Services, Civil Defence, Coastal Management, Flood Protection and Library Services.

Cork County Council received a Higher Distinction award and a Consistent High Achiever award at the 2022 National Irish Safety Organisation Awards. The Council’s Safety Management System earned OHSAS (Occupational Health and Safety Management Assessment Series) 18001 certification in 2017 becoming the first Local Authority to do so. The accreditation lasted 3 years, during which  time OHSAS 18001 was replaced with ISO 45001. Following its transition to the new Occupational Health and Safety requirements of the ISO standard, Cork County Council became a first-time achiever in its field once again, achieving ISO 45001 accreditation, while the organisation supported the County Cork community in its response to Covid 19.

Achieving yet another first for a local authority, Cork County Council was also accredited with the Ibec KeepWell Mark in November of 2020 and re-accredited in 2022 due to the dedicated efforts to promote health and wellbeing as part of the Safety Management System. The Ibec = KeepWell Mark standard reflects success in the eight pillars of leadership, health and safety, absence management, physical activity, mental health, smoke free, intoxicants and healthy eating.


Crowleys DFK

Crowleys DFK is one of Ireland’s leading firms of Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors. With offices in Dublin and Cork, we have been providing client-focused audit, accountancy, financial advisory, taxation, corporate finance and consulting services for 47 years.

We are proud of the reputation and long-term relationships we have built with our clients over the years. They represent a diverse range of today’s most innovative and high-performing industries in the indigenous SME and Foreign Direct Investment sectors. We are also widely regarded as one of the leading advisors to the Public Sector.

We never lose focus on clients’ objectives. We guarantee each client receives the same quality expert advice and value-added service to make their organisation more efficient, effective and compliant. Innovation is key to all services we provide at Crowleys DFK. It is a core value of the firm. A key example of this is our commitment to cloud accounting – the next generation of accounting. We are one of Ireland’s leading cloud accounting service providers and are a Xero Platinum accredited partner. Corporate Social Responsibility is an essential part of our business. Showing a level of care for our employees, our community and the environment are key factors in how we measure our success. We have long recognised the importance of making the wellbeing of our employees a strategic priority and strive to provide the highest standard of workplace health, wellbeing, and safety.

Our national presence in Ireland is supported by our international reach through DFK International. DFK International is one of the world’s leading associations of independent accounting, legal, tax and business advisory firms. DFK are passionate about ideas, innovation and new technologies. As of 2021, DFK International has 229 member firms, with 441 offices across 93 countries and a turnover of $1.486 billion.


DeCare

DeCare is Ireland’s only specialist dental, vision and wellness benefits provider. For over twenty-two years, DeCare has provided dental insurance products, services and wellbeing programmes to our global customer base in Ireland and the United States.

Our specialist products and services are delivered by our talented team and have enabled over 400 companies in Ireland to help their staff to look after their oral and general health by lessening costs and increasing health awareness. Globally, DeCare Dental is a trusted brand, administering dental benefits for over 40 years and supporting over 10 million dental members worldwide.

DeCare is a subsidiary of Anthem, the largest health benefits provider in the U.S and a brand that is recognised for innovation and service. In Ireland, this global strength and experience backs our local team, products, service and oral health expertise. DeCare offers a range of dental and vision insurance plans to suit every company budget with options for fully corporate paid, flex and employee-self-pay schemes.

Our comprehensive dental insurance products encourage regular dental visits and provide financial protection for minor and major treatment. An eye exam does more than alert you to whether you need glasses. It’s essential for detecting eye health problems early such as glaucoma and high blood pressure.

Most importantly, employees who see well, perform better and make fewer errors. Wellness from DeCare offers a range of general health clinics including dental wellness programs. We offer expert advice on wellness services to suit your company and deliver them in a cost effective and timely manner. 


Dublin Bus (Bus Átha Cliath)

Bus Átha Cliath is the largest public transport provider in Ireland. Over the last five years we have delivered over 540 million customer journeys across Dublin’s bus network. We have a fleet of over 1,000 buses which follow 121 routes, including ten 24-hour routes and thirteen Nitelinks.

We employed an average 3,771 people in 2022, 2,793 of which were bus drivers. Our employees represent 78 different countries. As Ireland’s largest public transport provider, our purpose is to deliver high quality public transport services which meet the needs of customers, support the economic growth of our city, and also meet our social and environmental aspirations which are representative of a progressive European capital city.

We embrace and respect diversity among our employees and are committed to providing a fulfilling employment experience. We cherish our ability to connect communities and help people to fully participate in society. Our employees and customers are embedded in the community and our values reflect this.


Dublin Simon Community

Dublin Simon Community provides services to more than 6,000 people in Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow and Meath, Louth, Cavan, Monaghan, who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Services range from outreach support for people who are rough sleeping, emergency accommodation, treatment, counselling & recovery services for people experiencing addiction issues, long-term supported accommodation, independent housing units, tenancy support & homelessness prevention services, resettlement services for people moving out of homelessness and into a home of their own and education & employability services.

With almost 500 full-time employees, volunteer programmes, student placements, and Community Employment projects the organisation strongly believes that their staff are their greatest strength and asset.

The organisation has the strategic aim of “ensuring the workplace supports staff wellbeing so that they can feel and perform at their best while doing life-changing work that brings the organisational mission, values, and strategic plan to life”.


Elavon

People come first at Elavon. Our payments experts deliver tailored and reliable solutions to power the payments of our customers, inspiring them to reach their goals and potential. Together we are stronger, overcoming challenges and connecting your business with a world of customers.

We’re a top five acquirer in both Europe and the USA, employing 4,000 people across United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Spain and Norway, with over 1.3 million customers worldwide. Our single international processing platform makes it easier for you to do business across the globe and it’s proven to be one of the industry’s most reliable, with typically 99.999% of continuous ‘up-time’.

At Elavon, we’re committed to supporting our employees and communities year-round through volunteering, mentoring, and being an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion. We focus on what matters most – our people – and dedicate ourselves to creating meaningful change while achieving our full potential as an organisation.

We’ve also been recognised as a Top 100 Company for wellbeing for instilling a best practice approach to wellbeing and creating a lasting impact on our employees and on the business community.


Electricity Supply Board (ESB)

Electricity Supply Board (ESB) was established in 1927 as a statutory corporation in the Republic of Ireland under the Electricity (Supply) Act 1927. With a holding of 95%, ESB is majority owned by the Irish Government with the remaining 5% held by the trustees of an Employee Share Ownership Plan.

As a strong, diversified, vertically integrated utility, ESB operates right across the electricity market: from generation, through transmission and distribution to supply. In addition, ESB extracts further value at certain points along this chain: supplying gas, using our networks to carry fibre for telecommunications, developing electric vehicle public charging infrastructure and more. ESB is a leading Irish utility focused on providing excellent customer service and maintaining our financial strength.

We have a regulated asset base of approximately €9 billion with 43% of electricity generation capacity in the all-island market. We currently supply electricity to approximately 1.4 million customers throughout the island of Ireland. ESB Group employs approximately 8,000 people. Our mission is to bring sustainable and competitive energy solutions to all customers and our vision is to be Ireland’s foremost energy company competing successfully in the all-island market.


Element Six (e6)

Element Six (e6) is a global leader in the design, development and production of synthetic diamond and tungsten carbide advanced material solutions. Part of the De Beers Group, E6’s primary manufacturing sites are located in the UK, Ireland, Germany, South Africa, and the US.

Since 1959, Element Six’s focus has been on engineering the diamond synthesis process to leverage the material’s extreme and diverse properties, including hardness, high tensile strength, chemical inertness, broad optical transmission and very high thermal conductivity.

Element Six advanced material solutions are used in applications such as cutting, grinding, drilling, shearing and polishing, while the extreme properties of synthetic diamond beyond hardness are opening up new applications in a wide array of industries such as optics, power transmission, water treatment, semiconductors and sensors.


Expleo

Expleo is Ireland’s leading quality partner for end-to-end digital transformation. We help businesses to harness unrelenting technological change to successfully deliver innovations that will help them gain a competitive advantage. From concept to delivery, our personable people combine the agility, creativity, and proactivity you need to transform your business, with the reliability of experience, knowledge, and best practices specific to your industry.


Exyte Northern Europe Limited

Exyte is a global leader in design, engineering and delivery of facilities for high-tech industries. Exyte has operated in Ireland and Northern Ireland since 2000, applying global expertise, technology and engineering excellence to deliver some of the area’s most advanced manufacturing plants, life science and data centre projects. 


FEXCO

Fexco started as a Bureau de Change business in 1981 to meet the needs of customers. Over the years, as regulations, customer needs and technologies changed, Fexco has continued to evolve and has expanded across the globe.

New businesses and, in some cases, new industries have been developed by Fexco using technology to solve problems in currency solutions across cash, card and digital payments. Today, Fexco uses proprietary technology and digital platforms to deliver better and faster solutions for partners and customers, particularly in payments, currency exchange solutions, managed services and sustainability related technology.

Fexco manages over $17bn in transactions annually, employing 2,300 people over 29 countries, with the largest percentage employed in Killorglin, Co. Kerry.


Fidelity International

Fidelity International offers investment solutions and services and retirement expertise to more than 2.5 million customers globally. As a privately held, purpose-driven company with a 50-year heritage, we think generationally and invest for the long term.

Operating in more than 25 countries and with $706.3 billion in total assets, our clients range from central banks, sovereign wealth funds, large corporates, financial institutions, insurers and wealth managers, to private individuals.

Our Workplace & Personal Financial Health business provides individuals, advisers and employers with access to world-class investment choices, third-party solutions, administration services and pension guidance. Together with our Investment Solutions & Services business, we invest $471billion on behalf of our clients.

By combining our asset management expertise with our solutions for workplace and personal investing, we work together to build better financial futures.


Frylite

With 30 years’ industry experience and today’s market leader, we know a thing or two about the oil business. But while we know our products and their quality inside out, that’s not what drives our success. Today more than 7,000 food industry businesses across Ireland, from local independents to multi-national brands, trust us to deliver quality and service, week in, week out.

Building the business around our customers, Frylite went further to develop and deliver a ground-breaking complete supply and waste collection service that is now the first choice for more than 60% of the food industry in the island of Ireland. Frylite: Making Sure Freshness, Quality and Value are all on the Menu.

Before 1988, the vegetable oil supply industry can only be described as poor, products were inferior and customers were indifferent. Eamon McCay, Founder, Frylite saw all of those challenges as opportunities to create a brand new, complete oil management system that was ground-breaking in its simplicity.

Putting the customer at the heart of the business, Frylite set out to challenge accepted practice and improve service with new ideas and innovative technology. Today, that commitment to and investment in innovating for our customers continues and Frylite is well-known as the industry leader across the island of Ireland.


Galway Clinic

Galway Clinic, part of the Blackrock Health Group, is the leading provider of private cancer care in the West of Ireland. It has 150 consultants across 60 specialities. The Galway Clinic is also an affiliated teaching hospital to the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and University of Galway.

Galway Clinic introduced Cancer Care services to the West of Ireland and has provided vital services such as Oncology treatment and Cardiac services since it’s opening. The hospital also provides the widest range of treatment for Prostate Cancer in the West of Ireland. Since 2004, the hospital has expanded its care offering to include Radiotherapy, Open Heart Surgery, PET/CT Imaging, Robotic Assisted Surgery, Private Emergency Department which is open 7 days and Laser Eye Surgery.

Since its inception the Galway Clinic has continuously embraced the latest technology and was the first hospital worldwide to introduce a hybrid operating theatre. The balance of innovative technology along with highly skilled caring staff makes the Galway Clinic the number one choice for all healthcare needs.

Our vision is to be the best place to receive care, to practice medicine and to work. Our vision for staff wellbeing is to create a thriving working atmosphere, to support all employees to make positive choices about their health and wellbeing. Healthy workplaces help people to flourish and prosper and reach their potential.


Galway & Roscommon ETB

Galway and Roscommon ETB provides a wide range of education services across Galway and Roscommon. We cater for a diverse population with different educational, social and cultural needs. We provide educational services to a population of over 324,000 (CSO 2016).

These services include community national schools, post-primary schools, further education and training, and community based education programmes and training. GRETB runs and manages Petersburg Outdoor Education & Training Centre, an Education Unit in Castlerea Prison and an Education Centre for refugees in Ballaghaderreen.

Galway and Roscommon ETB is the lead partner for three Music Generation projects (County Galway, Galway City and Roscommon) which are being rolled out in the region. In accordance with the Education and Training Boards Act 2013, we are also responsible for supporting the provision, coordination, administration and assessment of youth work services in counties Galway and Roscommon.

Galway and Roscommon ETB is the second largest ETB in the country, in terms of geographical area, and includes three islands. County Galway has the single largest and most populous Gaeltacht area in the country. Promoting Gaeilge is an essential element of GRETB’s core service. We have eight Coláistí lán-Ghaeilge and a number of our Further Education and Training centres in Connemara also operate through Irish.


GE Healthcare Ireland

GE Healthcare Ireland Limited manufactures injectable diagnostic imaging agents (contrast media) used in Xray and Computed Tomography (CT) procedures around the world. Every second of every day, 365 days a year, our products are used to enhance visualization of organs, blood vessels and tissues across many disease pathways.

As part of the Pharmaceutical Diagnostics (PDx) business of GE Healthcare, we support the PDx vision of being the best-in-class supply chain delivering the right dose to the right patient at the right time.

Here at our campus at Carrigtwohill, Co. Cork, we employ 765 staff and are a 24/7 operation exporting to 93 markets worldwide. We are a modern, agile, cost competitive team delivering to the highest standards of safety, quality and compliance for patients around the world and are on a transformative journey to double our capacity over the next 5 years.

We improve lives in the moments that matter.


Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company that has pursued and achieved breakthroughs in medicine for more than three decades, with the goal of creating a healthier world for all people. The company is committed to advancing innovative medicines to prevent and treat life-threatening diseases, including HIV, viral hepatitis and cancer.

Gilead operates in more than 35 countries worldwide, with headquarters in Foster City, California.
Since opening its first office in Ireland in 1999, Gilead’s footprint has grown to include four sites employing some 550 people – its biggest presence in the EU.

To date, Gilead’s capital investment in Ireland has amounted to €250 million and at the heart of this presence is the global manufacturing facility in Carrigtwohill, County Cork, which is responsible for 25% of the company’s global solid oral drug production. Most recently, a new Dublin office is home to a Global Development organisation focussed specifically on the management of the company’s paediatric clinical programmes.


Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA)

We are the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) and we regulate medicines and devices for the benefit of people and animals. We are committed to excellence in health product regulation through science, collaboration and innovation.

We use our scientific and clinical expertise to review and monitor health products available in Ireland or exported abroad. Our aim is to make sure that health products we regulate are as safe as possible and do what they are intended to do.

We regulate: Human medicines; Veterinary medicines; Medical devices for human use; Clinical trials; Blood and blood components; Human tissues and cells; Human organs for transplantation; Controlled substances; Cosmetics; The use of animals for scientific purposes

Our primary functions include:

  • Inspecting companies and facilities which test, make or distribute health products to ensure that they comply with relevant standards and legislation
  • Granting licences to companies to make, distribute and market medicines after a review of their safety, quality and effectiveness
  • Continuously monitoring medicines, medical devices and other health products, responding quickly to any safety or quality concerns
    Producing safety and quality information to support the safe use of health products

HEAnet & EduCampus

HEAnet CLG, Ireland’s National Education and Research Network, was incorporated in November 1997 and provides Internet connectivity and associated ICT services to education and research organisations throughout Ireland, including all primary and post-primary schools. HEAnet’s vision is enabling Ireland’s digital ambition and its mission is delivering common, repeatable, shareable solutions for all of education.

EduCampus Services was set up in April 2015 by the Higher Education Authority as a subsidiary company of HEAnet CLG. EduCampus’ vision is to empower higher education through quality IT shared services. It is an education sector shared service that provides business critical ICT application services and Management Information Systems (MIS) systems to the Higher Education and Research sectors in Ireland. Together, HEAnet and EduCampus form the HEAnet Group.


Hilton Foods

Hilton Food Group’s strategy is to support our customers’ brands and their development in local markets, leading to sustainable growth. This clear and straightforward approach has generated great success and built us a strong reputation for transparency, honesty and agile thinking, backed up with modern and well-invested facilities.

What we deliver for our partner is determined by their commercial agenda and their competitive pressures. We dedicate ourselves to fully understanding both. We then design an entire operation and supply chain around their needs and priorities.

Through our service model (the people and the processes we set up), we aim to meet the needs of our partners’ culture, structure and operational requirements. In other words, what we do and what we deliver is designed around them. We focus on their specific consumers and on the trends that impact their needs and preferences.


Horse Racing Ireland (HRI)

Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) is the national authority for thoroughbred racing in Ireland, with responsibility for the governance, development and promotion of the industry under the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act 2001.

At HRI, our vision is to ensure Ireland will be the global leader in Horse Racing and Breeding, sustaining a vibrant and rural industry. Our mission is to develop and promote Ireland’s Horse Racing and Breeding industries to administer and govern the sport of Horse Racing in Ireland, to cultivate and promote the highest standards of integrity and welfare.Success of our Mission, Vision and Purpose is heavily dependent on the success of our people and our teams at HRI.

In May 2021, Horse Racing Ireland launched the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). EAP is a confidential programme available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, that provides all employees and their families with immediate help and support in managing whatever work or personal issues they are facing. It also offers a wellbeing series which delivers high-quality, expert-led health and wellbeing events throughout the year.


Hovione

Hovione was founded in Portugal in 1959 with our site in Ringaskiddy operating since 2009. We are a Contract Manufacturing plant offering both drug substance and particle engineering. The site has extensive facilities for drug substance manufacturing and houses the largest commercial pharmaceutical spray dryer available on the global market. Our motto is ‘In It for Life’ – we do well what is difficult, to give our customers what they cannot find elsewhere.

We employ 250 staff at our plant in Cork which has extensive health, safety and wellbeing programmes. These programs, which are championed at both a local and global level, support us in creating a culture which has work/life balance and a holistic approach to wellbeing at its core.


Ibec

Ibec is Ireland’s largest and most influential business lobby and representative group, with our members employing over 70% of private sector workers.

We believe a strong economy and business climate can help make Ireland a better place to live and work in. Together with our trade associations, we lobby government, policymakers and other key stakeholders with evidenced-based policies designed to positively shape business conditions and drive economic growth.


IE DOMAIN REGISTRY CLG, T/A .IE

.IE operates Ireland’s national registry for all Internet addresses ending in .ie. Our purpose is to engage and empower people, communities and businesses across Ireland to thrive online. Good governance is evidenced in our policy development process for the .ie namespace, which follows a bottom up, consensus-driven approach through a multi-stakeholder Policy Advisory Committee. We work with and support SME organisations to improve their members’ online presence and e-commerce capabilities so they can unlock the power of the Internet to boost sales to local consumers. 

The ccTLD registry is managed by .IE in the interests of the Local Internet Community. There are almost 334,000 registered .ie domains, which are securely managed by the company’s accredited registrars.

We celebrate diversity and are proud to be an equal opportunities workplace. We are committed to fostering a culture with a strong emphasis on life/work balance, with health & wellbeing at the heart of our employee agenda, and at the core of the foundational principles of our business. We encourage teams and leaders to bring their best each day, embracing a growth mind-set, inspiring excellence and innovation. Ours is a people centred culture in a digital age.


Indaver

Indaver leads the field in sustainable waste management in Europe. Our trademark is delivering high quality, cost effective services in the municipal, industrial and specialist hazardous waste markets.

We offer Total Waste Management and Waste-to-Energy solutions. Our Waste-to-energy facility in Meath produces electricity to power more than 22,000 homes annually. A new waste-to-energy (WtE) facility is currently under construction in Aberdeen, while work continues to develop other WtE facilities in Ireland and the UK.

Our Total waste management is a critical service to the BioPharmChem industry in the region, where we work in partnership with the main players in this field. We take a long-term view, which is why sustainability is at the core of our business and most importantly our company culture. This sustainability culture applies to the care taken with our employees in order to provide them with a more sustainable future.


Business & Finance Leading in Wellbeing Index 2023 (alphabetical):

View part one (A–C)

View part two (C–I)

View part three (I–R)

View part four (R–X)