CHL Mortgages has been awarded the top Three-Star Status in the Best Companies Accreditation 2010.

CHL is one of only 50 organisations in the UK who have achieved the top honour, which is only given to firms deemed to have achieved an ‘extraordinary performance’.

In the South East, the Fleet-based specialist lender is one of just 13 organisations to have achieved Three-Star Status and overall one of 169 organisations in the region receiving accreditation.

Best Companies established the accreditation award scheme to acknowledge excellence in the workplace. Based on staff feedback, it looks at employee engagement as an integral part of a company’s success and growth, and sets a benchmark for other employers. The accreditation scheme follows a Michelin star-style system with companies awarded one star for first class, two stars for outstanding and three stars for extraordinary performance.

The survey of over 270,000 employees reveals almost 90% of staff in Three-Star companies say their manager cares about their job satisfaction, and 89% say their manager motivates them to give their best. Among companies that did not achieve accreditation, these scores are just 64% and 56% respectively.

Bob Young , managing director of CHL Mortgages, believes the award it is a sign of the “positive environment and culture”” at CHL.