Building the Ultimate Healthy Workplace: How Arbtech’s Culture Became Its Competitive Edge

In a sector not known for standout workplaces, Arbtech is rewriting the script. Twice named one of The Sunday Times Best Places to Work, it’s doing more than consultancy, it’s creating a blueprint for wellbeing-led business.

Arbtech Logo

Robert Oates doesn’t just lead an ecology consultancy. He leads a 150-strong team built on autonomy, trust, and radical transparency. As CEO of Arbtech, the UK’s leading ecology consultancy, Oates has crafted a work culture that many aspire to, but few achieve.

In its 20th anniversary year, Arbtech has not only supported over 50,000 planning applications, it’s also emerged as a workplace beacon in a typically undervalued industry.

Oates set out with a vision to strip back bureaucracy and inject purpose into every layer of the business.

“We have no timesheets, no meaningless forms, no hierarchical clutter,” he says. “What we have is belief in our people, their judgement, and their value.”

That belief has created a workplace where talent thrives and staff turnover stays low. It’s not just about offering freedom, it’s about designing a system where autonomy is supported by shared purpose and institutional trust.

Arbtech’s flat structure ensures every employee has direct access to leadership. This openness fuels a high-trust, low-barrier culture that allows innovation to flow. With a target of £100m in turnover by 2029, Arbtech’s vision is bold, yet deeply rooted in its people-first ethos.

The Arbtech Wellbeing Blueprint

Arbtech Nature Image

What sets Arbtech apart is its holistic approach to wellbeing, centred around four pillars:

Mental Health

• Paying staff to read inspirational literature

• Removing timesheets and administrative burdens

• A culture of autonomy and direct communication

Social Health

• A mini social budget for employees to connect through informal activities

• Encouragement of team cohesion outside the formal work environment

Professional Health

• Unlimited CPD funding

• Paid annual leave for research and development projects

• An Ecology Internship Programme addressing industry-wide skill gaps

Physical Health

• Gym membership opportunities

• Subscriptions to Audible, Spotify Premium, and Blinkist to support learning and wellbeing on the move

This structured commitment has earned Arbtech national recognition.

It features on WorkL.co’s Happiest Workplaces List and has been named on The Sunday Times Best Places to Work for two consecutive years.

About Robert Oates, Founder and CEO of Arbtech

Robert Oates - Arbtech CEO

Robert founded Arbtech with a clear vision, to disrupt the ecology sector with speed, integrity, and a people-first approach.

Over two decades, he’s grown the firm from a startup into a multi-million-pound market leader. His entrepreneurial energy is matched by a deep commitment to workplace wellbeing and environmental reform. He regularly consults with government leaders to influence policy and remains closely involved in both strategy and culture.

Arbtech demonstrates that when you trust your people, they’ll deliver beyond your expectations. That belief is the cornerstone of the company’s culture and growth.

As the firm enters its third decade, it’s doing so with purpose at the core. By designing a business around people first, Arbtech hasn’t just built a workforce. It’s built a movement.

In an industry crying out for reinvention, Oates is proving that culture isn’t the soft stuff; it’s the strategy.