About the Index

The British Opportunity Index is a groundbreaking corporate scorecard developed by the Burning Glass Institute, a leading nonprofit data laboratory at the forefront of work and learning innovation. This index evaluates how effectively 150 of the largest employers in the United Kingdom foster workforce mobility and opportunity, using four key dimensions: Hiring, Pay, Mobility, and Culture.

The British Opportunity Index is a project of the Burning Glass Institute, in partnership with Professor Joseph Fuller of Harvard Business School. It draws on an approach first developed for the American Opportunity Index, a joint project of the Burning Glass Institute, the Schultz Family Foundation, and the Harvard Business School Project on Managing the Future of Work.

White boarding session in office with sticky notes.

Unbiased perspective

What Sets the British Opportunity Index Apart?

Unlike traditional workplace rankings, the British Opportunity Index provides an unbiased, outside-in perspective. Companies cannot influence their participation, and no surveys are involved. Instead, the Index leverages real-world career data from millions of worker profiles sourced from LinkedIn, Indeed, and other platforms, supplemented with insights from Glassdoor. The Index makes occupationally relevant comparisons, such as evaluating Customer Service Workers at Tesco against their counterparts at Meta—not against unrelated roles like Software Developers.

Find out more about the methodology

News & Press

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The best companies for getting ahead in Britain

The best companies for getting ahead in Britain

The Economist
November 26, 2024

The Burning Glass Institute and the Economist have partnered to develop the British Opportunity Index. Read on to learn more about how the Index was constructed, what it measures, and which firms lead the way.

About Our Partners

The Burning Glass Institute

The Burning Glass Institute began operations as a fully independent research centre in 2022 and has quickly developed a reputation for ground breaking research and experimentation on the future of work.  Founded by Matt Sigelman, who pioneered the field of real-time labour market data as CEO of Lightcast, and Gad Levanon, former Chief US Economist of the Conference Board, the Burning Glass Institute team includes over 40 researchers, experts, programme managers, and data scientists on four continents. The Institute’s American Opportunity Index—a ranking of the Fortune 500 based on the mobility experienced by workers—was the subject of a three-page Wall Street Journal feature and continues to be widely discussed in corporate board rooms. The Institute is focused on advancing equity, mobility, and opportunity through skills.

The Economist

From its beginnings in 1843, when The Economist newspaper was founded by a Scottish hat manufacturer to further the cause of free trade, The Economist Group has evolved into a staunchly independent global media and information-services company with intelligent brands for an international audience. Over time, the newspaper has helped readers grasp the great drivers of change, from technology to geopolitics, finance and economics. It added a dedicated section on the United States in 1942 and a China section in 2012. It expanded successfully into North America, which became its largest market. To serve decision-makers in businesses and beyond, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) became a leader in country analysis and forecasting. Live events around the world brought global thought-leaders together to discuss critical topics at roundtables and summits.