Sunderland Shopping centre named Employer of The Year

A North East shopping centre is celebrating, after being named Employer of the Year at one of the region’s leading award ceremonies.

The Bridges, Sunderland scooped the accolade at the Sunderland Echo Portfolio Awards 2017, held annually to recognise the achievements of large and small businesses across the city and regularly attracting hundreds of entries.

The shopping centre is one of Sunderland’s leading employers, but boasts a very low turnover of staff, thanks to its culture of keeping the workers at the heart of operations.

Judges were impressed at its commitment to staff training and its tailored internal success plan, to ensure staff members are promoted internally where possible, along with its many incentives to encourage and empower its workforce.

“We are absolutely delighted to have won this award, which comes after what is gearing up to be another very successful year for the Bridges,” said Andy Bradley, Centre Director.

“As one of Sunderland’s larger employers, we face the same issues as any other business, but one thing we are very passionate about is keeping our staff happy and motivated.

“If you look at our staff turnover rate, it’s a lot lower than many other employers in the city, and we believe this reflects how happy and satisfied staff are here at the Bridges.

“To be presented with a Sunderland Echo Portfolio Award is one of the most prestigious accolades available to businesses in Sunderland, and to receive it in recognition of the good work we do to support our workforce is something we can all be very proud of.”

The Bridges received its award at a presentation ceremony at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light on Thursday 26 October.