The verdicts are in, and law firm Carey Olsen Bermuda Ltd has swept the honours at the RG Business Top Ten Employer Awards, presented by PwC.Carey Olsen won the “Best Employer in Bermuda” prize as well as the “Diversity and Inclusion Award”, which was presented this year for the first time in the event’s 11-year history.The awards are based on the views of employees, with the data processed by quantitative research firm Global Research.Mary Ward, a partner at Carey Olsen Bermuda, accepted the awards on behalf of the firm. The organisation’s managing partner, Michael Hanson, was at a meeting of the firm’s international partners in London.The local firm, the Bermuda outpost of an international outfit with offices in eight other jurisdictions, will celebrate two years in business next month.Ms Ward said: “We were delighted as a firm to be included in the top ten. That was enough for us, so we are thrilled to place first. From the outset, it was very important to us to create a great firm, so it is very rewarding to have our staff nominate us for this award.”She added: “We strongly believe in transparency at all levels. It fosters a culture of inclusion and employee empowerment. Our staff are critical in our success and it is very important to us that they see their role in that success.“People feel engaged, and that makes a huge difference. They are vested in our success.”Carey Olsen’s victory marked the second successive year that a first-time entrant topped the rankings after professional services firm Frontier Financial Services Ltd achieved the feat in 2018. Frontier scored well again this year, finishing third.FedEx Express continued its run as the most successful employer in the history of the Top Ten, placing second for the second year running. The company has recorded four first-place finishes.Management and staff of all the nominated companies, plus one bear mascot, attended the slick ceremony. A video counted down the nominees from ten through one. Company representatives spoke after their final placing was revealed.There was one notable first for 2019; 358-year-old Warwick Academy became the first educational institution to make the Top Ten.The school was one of four newcomers to the Top Ten this year, along with re/insurance companies Lancashire Insurance Ltd and Athene Holdings, and winners Carey Olsen.Former winner Bacardi, and Fireminds, cemented their status as great employers by making the grade once again, while Frontier, ABS Ltd and Horseshoe Group built on their debut success of 2018 with a second successive Top Ten ranking.Reflecting the sentiments of the award winners, LaMel Burch, finance and operations director with Horseshoe Group, said: “There are so many great companies here this morning. I want to acknowledge you all for a job well done and getting to this day.“Our office has been built on the pillars of teamwork and trust and mutual respect, and that is what has allowed us to be here today. We honour diversity and inclusion, and we salute the culture of teamwork and collaboration, empathy and support for each other, our clients and our community.”Jonathan Howes, chief executive officer of Bermuda Press (Holdings) Ltd, parent company of The Royal Gazette, said: “The RG Business Top Ten Employers Awards continues to grow each year.“Participating in the awards provides companies with valuable feedback from employees and a chance to be to recognised in the Top Ten. It is fascinating to see companies move up or down in the rankings each year.“This year we introduced a new award in partnership with Bermuda Human Resource Association — the Diversity and Inclusion award.“The awards have an element of suspense as the participants do not know the results until their name is called at the event. “This year was particularly exciting as Carey Olsen won both awards, quite an achievement.“We are grateful to our sponsors, PwC and to Global Research who help us make the Top Ten a huge success.”PwC Bermuda leader Arthur Wightman, whose professional-services firm sponsored the awards for an eighth consecutive year, told the nominees that the annual awards are “very uplifting because they represent a huge celebration of your people and your organisation’s business strategies that ensure that your people can thrive”.He encouraged all the nominated organisations to “continue to make the investment to nurture Bermudian talent”.Mr Wightman added: “PwC congratulates this year’s winners for setting a high standard for what Bermuda’s employers can achieve. We commend each of the Top Ten Employers for leading the way in creating a workplace culture where their people can perform at their best.“At PwC we believe in empowering our people to find a sustainable balance between work, wellbeing and personal growth. Each of our winners should feel proud of their success in this area and of their outstanding employee benefits, career growth opportunities and corporate responsibility initiatives.“We are pleased to continue our support and sponsorship of these prestigious annual awards, and we are delighted that this year saw a record number of entries representing a wide range of industries and services.”Relaying the comments of Dr Leslie Steede, the director of Global Research who was travelling, Mr Howes said that employees wanted to feel they are working with a sense of purpose, they value workplace flexibility, and they want their employers to place an emphasis on their staff members’ health and wellbeing. Most importantly, Dr Steede said, employees want to see clear and consistent communication beginning at an organisation’s CEO level. The BHRA is a first-time partner of the Top Ten Awards. The organisation’s president Krystle DaPonte, presented the Diversity and Inclusion Award to Ms Ward of Carey Olsen.“One of our goals in 2019 was to strengthen our strategic partnerships within the community,” Ms DaPonte told the audience. “Upon meeting the RG Business, we were completely on-board with this, because we felt it was the greatest initiative that we could put our name behind.”Later, she said: “Good employers are very much about awareness, and about being open to ideas, to feedback, to having conversations. It’s about having emotional intelligence and awareness.”Ms DaPonte added: “The world doesn’t stay the same, so employers always have to be changing. “Having a diverse staff pool, with a diverse mindset and diverse experiences, helps organisations think broadly about challenges and opportunities, and taking the next steps. It’s not about doing what has been done in the past.”Accepting the award, Ms Ward said: “This award is very special to us — we believe that diversity is an integral and important aspect of our business success. We believe it gives us a competitive edge.”