Hakim Group named in Best Places to Work list

The Hakim Group has been named in the Sunday Times Best Places to Work list for 2024.

Featured in the Best Places to Work medium organisations listing, which includes employers of between 50–249 employees, Hakim Group is named alongside businesses including Nockolds Solicitors, which oversees the Optical Consumer Complaints Service, and eyewear brand Mondottica.

The independent optical group, which has more than 165 employees at its Darwen-based head offices, also received recognition in the newspaper’s Spotlight Awards for Best Places to Work for ethnic minorities.

Receiving highly commended recognition in the Spotlight Award category, the listing recognised the group’s “sharp focus on inclusion.”

The listing for the group stated that “the pursuit of happiness is to the fore at the group,” which scored 90% engagement among 43 ethnic minority survey respondents.

The listing also highlighted: “Colleagues are encouraged to express themselves authentically and recognise one another’s contributions.”

The Sunday Times Best Places to Work list is published annually. It sees employees of companies surveyed through an employee engagement survey comprising 26 questions that are developed by behavioural scientists, data analysts, psychologists, business leaders and academics. The survey is designed to measure the engagement, wellbeing and effort to minimise discrimination in the workplace.

Commenting on the accolades, chief people officer at Hakim Group, Sally Litchfield, said she was “deeply honoured” to see the group featured on the list.

“This accolade validates our unwavering commitment to fostering a supportive, inclusive, and dynamic workplace,” Litchfield said, adding: “At Hakim Group, we are not merely a collective of team members; we are a work-family united by a shared vision of advancing eye care and hearing care, whilst making a tangible difference in the lives of individuals and communities. Our guiding values of being honest, ambitious, kind, industrious and meticulous are the foundation of our culture and drive our continuous pursuit of happiness, guiding all our interactions with customers, partners, and team members.”

CEO at Hakim Group, Imran Hakim, who founded the company in 2006, said: “We are immensely proud of this achievement, which highlights our dedication to our team members and our overarching mission - cultivating happiness whilst making a difference in every interaction. Collaboration is at the heart of everything we do, leveraging the diverse talents and expertise of our team members to achieve our collective goals.”