DOES YOUR BOSS SEE THE BIGGER PICTURE? Ruth Badger urges employees to nominate their bosses before July 15

Working Families and BT are looking for the unsung heroes of the British workplace – great bosses who help their winning teams achieve a healthy work-life balance.

The winner of last year’s Britain’s Best Boss competition*, NatWest North Regional MD, Chris Brindley explains: “I think a great boss cares about his or her people and their immediate families – you can’t have a successful business unless you have good people. Looking after your people, listening to them, showing flexibility and helping them to be better at their job will lead to a better service for your customers and stakeholders. “I don’t believe it’s more difficult to be a good boss in a recession – to look after your people and say ‘thank you’ doesn’t cost anything.” You can check if your boss makes the grade with the “Rate Your Boss” quiz at www.britainsbestboss.com and nominate him or her there. You can also catch videos of what past winners and employees think makes a great boss. And – new on the site - Ruth Badger of The Apprentice tells us what she thinks about working mums, exceptional bosses and, of course, Sir Alan Sugar. So far - with a month to go before nominations close - people from large and small organisations all over the UK, in the private and public sectors, have nominated their bosses. Sarah Jackson, Chief Executive, of work-life balance charity Working Families, who organise the competition said: “We want to hear about all the unsung heroes out there – the great bosses who make a real difference to people’s working lives and who prove month after month that a happy team is more likely to be effective and improve the bottom line.” Suzi Williams, Director, Group Marketing & Brand at competition sponsors BT said: "We're delighted to be supporting Britain's Best Boss competition 2009. At BT, we believe in the power of communication. The best bosses are usually great communicators who build engaged and effective teams by bringing people with them. We are committed to celebrating the exceptional bosses who really make a difference to the lives and the success of their employees.” There is no charge for entering the competition. The closing date for nominations is Wednesday, 15 July, 2009. ends Notes to Editors *Britain’s Best Boss competition is run by the work-life balance charity Working Families and supported by BT. For further information or photos contact: Maggy Meade-King or Elizabeth Whitehead at Working Families on 020 7253 7243 or email bestboss@workingfamilies.org.uk. Out of hours press mobile: 07870 177096 (for urgent enquiries up to 8pm). Note to radio stations: we have a short radio package about the competition which we can email to you, if required. About the competition Working Families and BT are looking for individuals who run successful teams by taking practical steps to help their staff balance their work and home lives. They are creative about flexible working, understand about family emergencies and make sure no one is working long hours on a regular basis. Britain’s Best Boss competition was first launched in 2000 to celebrate the unsung local heroes who show other managers how a happy team with balanced lives makes for a ‘win-win’ situation for everyone. Judging panel 2009: Chris Ainslie, Managing Director, Global Partners, BT Howard Davies, Director, LSE Sarah Jackson, CE, Working Families Allison Pearson, journalist and author of I Don’t Know How She Does It Cilla Snowball, Chair and CE of Abbott Mead Vickers Caroline Waters, Director, People and Policy, BT Previous winners: 2007/8: Chris Brindley, Regional MD, NatWest North 2006: Bruce Draper, MD, Geotechnical Instruments 2005: Iwan Owen, Sergeant, North Wales Police 2004: Ros Micklem, Principal, Cardonald College, Glasgow 2003: Emma Brandon, Senior Charge Nurse, Hellesdon Hospital, Norwich 2002: Ian Barnard, Head of Benefits, Cogent Investment Operations Ltd 2001: Kevin Coleman, Managing Director, Swift Construction GB 2000: Lin Dickens, Managing Director, Aricot Vert Design About Working Families Working Families is the UK’s leading work-life balance organisation. It supports and gives a voice to working parents and carers, whilst also helping employers create workplaces which encourage work-life balance for everyone. In addition to Britain’s Best Boss competition, it runs the Top Employers for working families list, which recognises organisations, rather than individuals, and for which employers nominate themselves. The Working Families Free Legal Helpline (0800 013 0313) gives parents and carers legal and in-work benefits advice, as well as helping them to negotiate the flexible hours they want. About BT BT is one of the world’s leading providers of communications solutions and services, operating in 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to our customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband and internet products and services and converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, Openreach, BT Retail and BT Wholesale. In the year ended 31 March 2008, BT Group’s revenue was £20,704 million with profit before taxation and specific items of £2,506 million. British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York. For more information, visit www.bt.com/aboutbt

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