Publican Awards winner's story - Fuller's - Best Large Employer

The company - which has more than 390 sites and employs more than 3,700 people - was crowned Best Pub Employer (51+ sites) at the Publican Awards 2016.

• Are you the best in the trade? Enter the 2017 Publican Awards at www.publicanawards.co.uk​​​

"In a marketplace where standards of pubs, food and beer are continuously improving, it is our people at Fuller's that makes us stand out," insists Jonathon Swaine, managing director, Fuller's Inns. "The award has enabled us to celebrate our teams and our people. It is a big achievement and I'm very proud of the team."

In particular, the company impressed judges with its emphasis on recruitment, development of staff and huge investment in training - something the business continues to focus on.

"Our mission is still to become an 'employer of choice'," Swaine points out.

Fuller's publicised the win internally in its quarterly magazine The Griffin​. Additionally, all brewery staff and pubs were notified of the achievement and a "significant increase" was applied to the internal employee discount card.

"We put every effort into making each individual team member feel they are an integral part of our company and a large team as well as their individual pub teams," Swaine explains.

"We achieve this with regular internal communications, a thorough training programme and opportunities to progress within the company. What we do is actually not that much different than what our competitors do. However, how we do it is what gives us our edge, and how we do it is what gives us our edge, and how we do it is all down to our people.

• Think you could be our 2017 winner? Enter at www.publicanawards.co.uk​​​