A BUSINESS is only as strong as its staff.

Today we look at the four companies shortlisted in the Employer of the Year category of the Echo-backed South Coast Business Awards.

This category is new for 2017 and is sponsored by Southampton City Council, a long time supporter of the awards

The judges are looking for companies demonstrate comprehensive and quality staff development processes and successful retention initiatives (not solely remuneration-based). The four in the running for the award are:

SB Joinery (UK) Ltd

SB Joinery (UK) Ltd is a fast growing, bespoke joinery manufacturer in Stockbridge.

This has been achieved through a focus on investing in people and technology, as well as providing their clients with beautiful joinery products.

The story began in 1989, when current director Stephen Brown started the business from nothing other than a bag of tools and a shed.

From humble beginnings, to now employing over 90 staff and sales turnover of over £8.5m in multiple locations.

In the past year, SB Joinery’s growth has been exceptional showing their strategy is clearly providing the marketplace real value.

Highfield Professional Solutions

Highfield Professional Solutions, technical recruitment experts, was forged on the core values of absolute Professionalism, Integrity and Expertise. We take pride in our dedicated approach to recruitment and all our customers.

Highfield thrives on a dynamic and professional environment with a strong team ethos promoting hard work and loyalty. We truly believe that adhering to our values has been the key to us establishing ourselves at the forefront of the Technical Engineering and Construction recruitment market, supplying temporary and permanent recruitment services across the UK and the Globe.

Clearvision

Clearvision is an innovative software services company with offices in Southampton and London, as well as Philadelphia, Dublin and Bangalore.

Since 2005 we have applied our expertise to support hundreds of leading organisations manage transformation in their IT and apply agile methodology across their teams.

As an enterprise-certified Atlassian Platinum Solution Partner we are well placed to provide large enterprises and the public sector with consultancy, technical implementation, hosting, training, and support packages for JIRA, Confluence, and the rest of the Atlassian stack.

From collaborative discovery sessions to ongoing support, Clearvision empowers teams to reach their full potential.

Liberty Leasing Plc

Liberty Leasing Plc is a privately owned FCA registered finance house based in Warsash. Their independence has allowed them to be in charge of their own direction and secure a strong position within the marketplace.

They have been recognised on the FT1000 fastest-growing companies in Europe and for three consecutive years named in the London Stock Exchange Top 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain.

They offer a personal and flexible approach to asset and vehicle finance to a full spectrum of UK based businesses, from new start companies to well-established organisations and High Net Worth Individuals.

l This year’s winners will be announced at the Hilton at the Ageas Bowl on July 6.

Details of buying tickets for the awards night plus all the entry information is available at dailyecho.co.uk/scba.