Watford MP Richard Harrington visited Medtronic, the medical device company, at its UK & Ireland Headquarters in Croxley Business Park on Friday to congratulate them on their fifth consecutive appearance in The Sunday Times Best Companies To Work For initiative.

This year Medtronic finished 74th, an improvement of ten places on the 2011 survey.

Mr Harrington said: "It is encouraging to see a local employer that is committed to continually improving the experience of work for their employees.

"Medtronic sets a good example to other companies that taking the feedback of employees seriously and striving to be better is not only good for staff but is also good for business."

During his visit Mr Harrington heard first-hand from staff about the initiatives that have helped to contribute to Medtronic’s position in the Best Companies survey.

In particular, employees told him, they felt strongly that "the company made a positive difference to the world we live in".

Members of the Medtronic Community Action Team (MCAT) showed what they have been doing to help the local community.

Already this year employees have contributed 40 bags of clothes to Watford New Hope Trust.

In March there will be a team of volunteers working in the Watford New Hope Trust Market Garden, continuing their work from a team sent in last September transforming an area of the garden and extending a woodland trail.

Jackie Fielding, Vice President and Head of Medtronic UK, said: "The value of the Best Companies survey is in the honest feedback of our employees.

"We dug into the results of the 2011 survey and made a concerted effort to focus on three areas over the last 12 months."

In addition, Mr Harrington received a practical demonstration of how electronic methods of processing orders and invoices are helping UK hospitals to become more efficient and reduce paperwork.

Today, 35 per cent of orders from UK hospitals are processed electronically.

Medtronic has been based in Watford for more than 35 years and in Croxley Business Park since 1987. The company employs 120 people in the Croxley office in customer services, finance, HR and business support roles supporting hospitals and patients across the UK and Ireland.

Richard Harrington MP is pictured with Jackie Fielding, Medtronic Vice President for the UK & Ireland.