MOST employees feel grateful for a free cup of tea or money-off vouchers.

    But staff at this comparison website enjoy a dazzling array of perks, from free beer and monthly socials to a 45 percent bonus and an annual all-expenses paid holiday. They are also given £5,000 (US$6,111) to donate to a charity of their choice.

    This is all the work of Chris Morling, founder and managing director of money.co.uk, who has made it his mission to create “the best place to work.” He said, “Looking after [my] team is paramount... [they] are my most valuable asset.”

    The latest stage of this employee satisfaction plan is a £3 million renovation of the company headquarters — a Grade II-listed castle in Cirencester, Gloucestershire — that was carried out in consultation with all 50 members of staff and in collaboration with celebrity interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen.

    Now Morling’s employees can hold meetings in the “chalet,” “library” or the “ice cave” and have use of a Star Trek cinema, arcade room and Rolling Stones-themed toilets. At the heart of the 929-square-meter “office” is playfulness, creativity — and plenty of orange paint.

    As Llewelyn-Bowen put it, “It is like being hit round the face with a dirty, great big tube of Berocca.”

    Morling said the idea behind the project was to “make a great place for people to work.”

    “It is about making this a wonderful place, a productive place to work,” he said. “What we have done is modeled all the design around the needs of the team.

    “Some people want to stand while they work, some people to work alone. Ultimately it boils down to creating a space where you feel comfortable.”

    In seven years money.co.uk has gone from having a workforce of seven to 50 — although Morling continues to interview every candidate and remains invested in each individual.

    At the start of the 14-month project the entrepreneur asked each employee what was missing from their current office. He also commissioned design firm Interaction and TV designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen.

    Morling explained he brought the famously flamboyant designer on board — the men were introduced through their personal trainer — because he needed someone who could “think outside the box.” Llewelyn-Bowen saw the project as a chance to re-imagine the “ugly, unfriendly and uncreative” interiors of the modern workplace.

    From there it was a case of ticking off the employee wishlist — from coffee machines to standing desks.

    Morling said, “Looking after your team is paramount and it’s really important I give them the best of everything. Ultimately my team are my most valuable asset.”(SD-Agencies)