great place to work australia best places to work 2016 1 · 2 #gptwau 50bptw16 great place to work...

G RE AT P L ACE TO W O RK A U S T R A L I A | BE S T P L ACE S TO W O RK 2016 1

# G P T WA U | # 5 0 B P T W16 G RE AT P L ACE TO W O RK A U S T R A L I A | BE S T P L ACE S TO W O RK 20162 3

Welcome to the 2016 Best Places to Work Study. This year marks the ninth study of Australia’s best workplaces we have had the privilege of curating. It is an honour, and truly an inspiration to work with the hundreds of companies that vie for a spot in the study each year.

Each participating company inspires us every day here at Great Place to Work Australia, with their unique organisational culture and the dedication they show in creating great workplaces. The much anticipated publication of our annual Best Places to Work study attests to the commitment demonstrated by so many companies working to cultivate environments where employees trust the people they work for, have pride in what they do, and enjoy the people they work with.

Congratulations to the companies on this year’s 50 Best Places to Work list. We commend the leaders, managers, and employees at these companies for the extraordinary efforts they take to sustain great workplace cultures.

Becoming a great workplace is a sound business strategy. Having a culture of trust benefits the organisation at every level; employees are more innovative, creative, loyal, demonstrate respect, and genuinely care about each other and the company.

Leaders at these companies know that what is good for the workplace is also good for business, and that being a great workplace and having great employees leads to better client retention, customer satisfaction, and in turn a healthier bottom line. Great workplaces secure employee retention and provide ample opportunities for ongoing training and leadership development. They keep employees inspired and save resources on recruitment and new hire training, while helping employees develop the knowledge and skills needed to grow the business.

Zrinka Lovrencic James Thomson

The results are staggering, the average revenue growth for Best Places to Work over the last 12 months was 39.6%.We hope that this study is an invitation to introspection – a useful tool for thinking about your company’s strengths and opportunities, and what your organisation could look like if 92% of your employees responded “Taking everything into account, I would say this is a great place to work”.

Not every company can make the list, but every company can be a great workplace. Visit our website to learn more about how we can help you build a strong organisational culture and experience these business benefits yourself.

ZRINKA LOVRENCICManaging Director, Great Place to Work AustraliaWWW.GREATPLACETOWORK.COM.AU

Welcome2016 Best Places to Work

Uncover the 2016 Best Places to Work and gain insight from Australia’s best.

Learn how you too can engage your employees and build trust.

Register now for the 2016 Best Places to Work Conferencegreatplacetowork.com.au

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The Best Places to work are selected and ranked by Great Place to Work Australia, a global workplace research and consulting firm. Each company participating in the study for this list earns a score based on two factors.

Two-thirds of the total score comes from the employee responses to a 58-statement survey created by Great Place to Work Inc. The survey is distributed on a census basis and minimum completion rates are calculated using a 95% confidence interval. The remaining one third comes from our evaluation of the company’s policies and procedures in nine specific practice areas.

The 2016 study was conducted between October 2015 and July 2016. The results represent 51,937 employees from 135 companies.

Disclaimer

Great Place to Work®, Trust Index® Employee Engagement Survey, and Culture Audit® Analysis are registered trademarks of Great Place to Work® Institute Inc. None of the trademarks, service marks, or logos, including the marks and logos used in this magazine, can be used in any manner without the prior written permission from Great Place to Work® Institute Inc.

This supplement includes material that is comprised of intellectual property of Great Place to Work® Institute Inc, including copyrightable subject matter that has been registered with the United States Copyright Office. Any reproduction, distribution, transmission, adaptation, public display or public performance of the intellectual property (other than for pre-approved internal purposes) requires prior written approval from Great Place to Work® Institute Inc.

Great Place to Work can be reached by email at [email protected]

A great workplace is one where you trust the people you work for, have pride in what you do and enjoy the people you work with.

The Methodology What makes a great place to work?

A great workplace is where you trust the people you work with, have pride in what you do, and enjoy the people you work with.

Any workplace can be measured through five dimensions: credibility, respect and fairness (which are attributes of trust), as well as pride and camaraderie.

About the StudyHow the Best Places to Work are selected

BEST WORKPLACES KEY

INDUSTRY

SECTOR NUMBER OF PEOPLE

HEAD OFFICE LOCATION CURRENTLY HIRING

SHOW US WHY YOUR COMPANY IS A GREAT PLACE TO WORK.Create a video that showcases why you love your workplace.

Winning video will receive $5,000 for your company’s favourite charity, and will be featured at the 2016 Great Place to Work Conference.

For more details, terms and conditions, as well as videos to help you get your creative juices going, visit greatplacetowork.com.au


They are the kinds of places at which we all want to work. Where talent and teamwork are highly esteemed; where everyone is encouraged to reach their potential and given an opportunity to succeed; where employers respect and care about their employees, and employees in turn care about the company and its customers.

In essence, the employees at the best workplaces are highly engaged. They view their jobs as more than just run of the mill employment. They say their work is connected to a larger purpose and is infused with a sense of special meaning. Thus, how they perform goes beyond what is typically expected.

Just how do these best workplaces inspire high levels of employee engagement?

The answer can be found in how the 2016 Best Places to Work inspire and align their organisations.These companies generally steer clear of the bygone command and control structure associated with many leadership styles. From numerous committees to open strategic planning processes, these companies empower employees to shape the organisation’s direction.

Creating a great workplace is not about generous pay and benefits, work environments in state-of-the-art offices with perks and freebies. Yes, many of the great workplaces have these, but what they also have is a strong sense of purpose, mission, culture and values. These determine what the organisation is about, where it is going, how it is going to get there, and the kind of culture it needs to help them achieve the organisational goals.

You do not need a study to tell you a sense of purpose at work is important. Given the increasing amount of time we spend at work, we should be feeling a connection to purpose, feel like we are making an impact, big or small, pride in accomplishments is imperative.

THE BEST ADDED $1.07B TO THE AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY WITH AN AVERAGE REVENUE GROWTH OF

The Power of Alignment

How the 2016 Best Places to Work inspire a sense of purpose, belonging and accountability.

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Employee engagement at the Best Places

to Work compared to 24% of workforce (Gallup Poll).

Jobs & Growth Despite the global and Australian economic turmoil shaking many businesses, these companies, representative of a diverse mix of industries, are financially going strong. Some sell products ranging from hip implants to chocolate. Others offer services form wine delivery to financial planning. Each workforce is distinct in its makeup and needs. Across them all, these great employers have shown tremendous ability to develop innovative practices that are specific to the company’s culture, history, mission, and values.

Generally, these companies are driven by a fundamental philosophy that creating a great workplace is the right thing to do, both for employees and business. It should be stressed, however, that there are definite business benefits; lower employee turnover, better applicant pool, greater product innovation, stronger client relationships, and better long term growth. When it comes to the financial results, great workplaces deliver; maximising their opportunities to attract and retain talent, and boost productivity while minimising turnover.

Despite the economic turmoil shaking many businesses, these companies are financially going strong.

Job Growth

Productivity

Applicants

Salary

56% of organisations offer employees a stock ownership/purchase plan.

58% have conducted an Equal Pay Audit in the past 12 months.

What do great workplaces look like? These leaders at the 50 Best Places to Work actively seek ways to help their employees succeed. Their leaders have figured out that when employees succeed, so does the company. Whether it is training or benefits, leadership development, or a culture imbued with the notion that work should be fulfilling, these 50 companies have a lot to share in their approach to human capital management.

Great employers have an understanding that the workplace presents opportunities for genuine fulfilment and that everyone wants to be their best. Development at great workplaces goes well beyond skills development, it allows people to find where in the organisation they can contribute the most.

Learning at the best workplaces often goes beyond the formal training. Coaching and mentoring are a great source of knowledge sharing within the organisation.

Lack of opportunity for development and progression is one of the main contributing factors of employee turnover.

UNPAID CAREER LEAVESUBSIDIES TO ENCOURAGE CONTINUING EDUCATION

64%90%

AVERAGE HOURS FOR ON THE JOB TRAINING

PROVIDE WORK RELATED COURSE SUBSIDY

12444%

EXCHANGE PROGRAM WITH INTERNATIONAL AFFILIATES

INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS

96% 58%

What do the best offer their employees?

90% of companies offer

subsidies to encourage

employees to participate

in continuing education

with a maximum amount

per year of $5,700.

Jobs growth: 2,140 new positionsFull time employees: 14% increase 66% of new jobsPart time: 20% increase 11% of new jobsCasual: 27% increase 23% of new jobs

Revenue per employee: Increased from $388,473 to $402,047 or increase of 3.38%

Average number of applicants per advertised role: 4827% of new hires are referred by employees90% of companies pay a bonus for a successful referralMaximum average bonus paid for a single referral $3,335

Average Salary for Non-Management: $90,503.00Average Salary for Team Leader/Supervisor: $113,140.00 Average Salary for Manager: $140,497.00Average Salary for Executive/Senior Manager: $212,968.0

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Flexible work arrangements go a long way in solving the growing work-life balance issue in our society.

There is a growing work-life balance issue in our society, and providing flexible work arrangements goes a long way to address this issue. Great employers recognise their employees' lives outside of work sometimes need to take priority.

The best work flexibility solutions are the ones where employers and employees work collaboratively on arrangements that will benefit both the individual and business needs.

74% of companies offer their people paid time off (not including holiday leave) for the purpose of volunteering in a community project or charitable organisation, with a maximum of 20 hours per year.

The best workplaces are not only leaders in stretching past the status quo for their employees, but also in being leaders in their communities. These organisations have worked diligently to help employees take time off to volunteer for causes close to their hearts, and support efforts to raise funds for charities.

Their efforts add meaning to the employees work and build a belief that they are serving a greater good in the world.

Creating Balance ansarada

ansarada is very accommodating when it comes to work-life balance. Without the need for formal policies, they trust their people to use sound judgement and manage their workloads in a way that meets the needs of the business and their colleagues, while also allowing them flexibility to manage their personal lives.

On average only 4.6% of employees take advantage of job sharing opportunities compared to an average 55% who utilise flexible scheduling.

20% choose to take advantage of a compressed work week (e.g. work four 10-hour days and take Fridays off)

22% of organisations offer compressed work weeks during Summer.

44% of employees take advantage of working from home or telecommuting.

The 2016 Best Places to Work continue to redefine and evolve the employee-employer relationship. These companies have created cultures where employees can trust who they work for, enjoy who they work with, and have pride in what they do – the true marks of great workplaces. You too can build a great place to work, and each organisation will find it's own unique journey to get there.

To learn more, take a look at the following stories and read about how the 2016 Best Places to Work practices and strategies serve their employees, customers and shareholder interests in unison.

There are plenty of valuable lessons to learn from all of them.

FLEXIBLE SCHEDULINGJOB SHARING

96%54%

COMPRESSED WORK WEEKDURING SUMMER

COMPRESSED WORK WEEK

20%30%

WORKING FROM HOME OR TELECOMMUTING

FLEXIBLE PHASED RETIREMENT

54% 96%

What do the best offer their employees?


29%35-44

17%45-54

35%26-34

5%> 55

14%< 25

Everything was up at Salesforce last year – revenue, client engagement, hiring – and so too was employee love; the CRM giant climbed two places since 2014 to claim the top spot on the Best Places to Work over 100 Employees list.

Operating within the IT software industry is not an easy task. The industry is dynamic – it is fast-paced and innovation happens every day, leading to a vigorous war for talent. “It's a competitive hiring market and we want to ensure we have the world's best talent working at Salesforce. We find this goes beyond offering 'perks' but rather offering potential and current employees a work environment that focuses on customer success, innovation, equality, giving back, and teamwork. We want our employees to wake up every day excited to come to work, and we work hard to make that a reality.” says Edweena Stratton, Vice President Employee Success, Salesforce APAC.

Salesforce builds its culture around the spirit of Ohana, which means 'family' in Hawaiian. Ohana represents the idea that families – related or chosen – are bound together, and that members feel a sense of responsibility for one another. The Salesforce Ohana is their close-knit ecosystem of employees, customers, partners and communities. As members of the Ohana, it is the employees’ personal responsibility to live the Salesforce values – Trust, Customer Success, Innovation, Giving Back, Equality, Wellness, Transparency and Fun – and uphold the Salesforce culture.

Saleforce do not just talk the talk; they walk the walk every day to improve the community in which they live and work. With the Salforce 1-1-1 Corporate Philanthropy Model, they leverage 1% of Salesforce’s technology, people, and resources to support non-profits in the community.

#1 SALESFORCE

IT / SOFTWARE

PRIVATE 684

USA YES

“The Employee Success team at Salesforce plays a big role in driving our Ohana culture. We are focused on creating an environment where people can do the best work of their career.” adds Stratton. “We also believe that employees are the conduit to our customers, they are the people on the front line of our business and if they feel valued, if they are engaged in the success of the company and if they feel they are contributing to their community, then the business will be successful.”

Looking after Australia’s future employees, Salesforce has formed partnerships with educator and organisations working in STEM to develop innovative, scalable solutions to address the declining number of females enrolling in STEM courses post high school. They run 'Hour of Code' sessions in their Sydney and Melbourne offices, which give students a taste of what it looks like to work in technology, how important it is for the future, and a quick introduction into coding.

Salesforce builds its culture around the Hawaiian spirit of Ohana, meaning family.

Over 100 Employees

Scale & OpportunityThere are many advantages large organisations enjoy when building great workplaces. Large employers offer a greater number of employee benefits. There is also a larger network for career development through secondments, promotions and international transfers.

Employees with high risk aversion feel safer in large companies due to specialisation of roles, set competency frameworks and career paths. Additionally set policies and procedures increase a sense of job security.

Pride in belonging is easier to attain when companies are viewed as a prestigious and well-known brand.

LARGE COMPANY SNAPSHOT

AVERAGE COMPANY AGE 22

AVERAGE REVENUE GROWTH

CEO

AVERAGE CEO AGE 47

HOW ARE THEY RECRUITED?

CEO GENDERSECTOR AVERAGE EMPLOYEE AGE

11%

58%

31%

Promoted

Founder

External Hire

89% MEN

11%WOMEN

PEOPLE

AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT GROWTH 28.11%

RATIO OF EMPLOYMENT

Casual 8%

Full Time 84%

Part Time 8%

72% PRIVATE

24% PUBLIC

4%NON PROFIT


Over 100 Employees

At Stryker, the nature of work is inspiring. Employees live by the mission statement and this inspires them every day to give their best to help caregivers, patients, the communities, and each other to go above and beyond in all that they do.

Stryker's 'Buddy up' Patients Insight Program helps non-sales employees attend theatre and see Stryker products and services in the hands of customers.

Patients and customers (surgeons) are invited to share their stories of working together with Stryker and Stryker’s products which really solidify for employees just how vital their roles are in making healthcare better. All Stryker employees have an individual story that helps to connect them with the organisation.

As MECCA continue to grow at a rapid rate, maintaining their unique and special culture at every level of the company is not only their biggest challenge, but it is essential to their ongoing success. As a result, MECCA have a strong focus on growing and promoting talent from within wherever possible.

When recruiting, the focus is on finding and selecting candidates who connect with the MECCA values, have the aptitude to progress beyond the position available, and are as passionate and dedicated to customer service. Regardless of a candidate’s skill-set or the expertise they could bring to MECCA Brands, if a candidate is not a value add for the culture and brand, they are not the right fit for the role.

As Atlassian seeks employees who both possess the qualities aligning to their core values and who exhibit technical excellence, the company’s hiring procedures are extremely selective. Atlassian employees are their best advocates, and those who refer a successful new hire receive a generous internal bonus. In Atlassian's ‘Holiday before you start’ program, all new hires are given a travel voucher to use before they commence, to start their new job refreshed.

Every new hire introduces themselves through a ‘Welcome Blog’ that they post on the company’s wiki. This blog allows them to describe their new job, interests, and motivations, and gives them an opportunity to connect with different people in the company worldwide through the commenting system.

A variety of programs reward peak performance at Adobe. One example of this is the ‘Founders’ Award Program’, an annual, peer-nominated program that honours employees who best exemplify Adobe’s values and have made a significant contribution to the company. Employees who reach milestone anniversary dates are profiled with comments regarding their time at Adobe. Spot bonuses can be given out by managers at any time to recognise employees who have made a special accomplishment or significant effort above and beyond their normal responsibilities.

Australian employees are part of The 'You Rock' Award which recognises outstanding contributions to Adobe Asia Pacific from any part of the business, from individuals or teams.

#2 STRYKER

HEALTH CARE / MEDICAL SALES & DISTRIBUTION

PUBLIC 422

AUSTRALIA YES

#4 MECCA BRANDS

RETAIL

PRIVATE 1523

AUSTRALIA YES

#3 ATLASSIAN

IT / SOFTWARE

PUBLIC 881

UK YES

#5 ADOBE SYSTEMS

IT / SOFTWARE

PUBLIC 245

USA YES

Over 100 Employees

Optiver is committed to ensuring that employees feel that the company is grateful for all of their effort. An initiative called Gamify is proving to be a great way for team members to publicly thank their colleagues. Through this program, employees can reward points to other employees who make their lives easier.

The points are displayed on the wiki page and provide a way of highlighting those quiet achievers who are doing a great job and whose work might otherwise go unnoticed. In addition to the company wide recognition, many people feel that showing appreciation is, for the most part, very personal. As a result, team leaders have complete autonomy over how and when they recognise their people.

The storage and data management solutions provider lives by the ethos that there is always a better way. One of the ways NetApp lives this is through cultivating a culture of ‘giving back’ to the community. The formation of the ‘NetApp Gives’ Philanthropic Committee, which is made up of managers and individual contributors of all levels, come together to make decisions regarding charity partnerships and the allocation of funds for philanthropic initiatives.

NetApp love to take a hands-on approach through initiatives such as volunteer work, business/school partnerships, and in-kind giving of much needed resources. Additionally, a volunteer program enables all employees to take up to five business days, with pay, per calendar year to participate in community volunteer activities of their choice.

At MEC, all-agency culture days are designed to inspire, motivate and bond all MECers. Taking place offsite to minimise distraction, the days typically begin with inspiring talks from agency leaders defining the company vision, direction and shared goals, detailing how every member has a role to play within that.

The offsite also includes team presentations to the wider group showcasing their achievements – how they have thrived, how they have truly lived the MEC values of collaboration, innovation and agility. In the past these have included videos, game shows and songs! Everybody gets involved and demonstrates the pride they have in their work and their role within the agency.

A key way this family owned residential builder communicate and inspire their team, is through their interactive rewards and recognition program, called My Summit.

My Summit is the real-time success story shared online to all employees. It is a forum to celebrate individual and corporate success and also share the values, news and company updates.

All employees’ computers automatically log onto the My Summit program each morning when they turn on their computers so they are reminded daily of their role in delivering the values, schedule goals, productivity goals and ultimately deliver the best possible journey for the clients. My Summit also includes provision for recognising a colleague.

#6 OPTIVER

FINANCIAL SERVICES

PRIVATE 308

NETHERLANDS YES

#8 NETAPP AUSTRALIA

IT / DATA MANAGEMENT

PUBLIC 202

AUSTRALIA YES

#7 MEC

MEDIA SERVICES

PRIVATE 135

UK YES

#9 SUMMIT HOMES GROUP

CONSTRUCTION & REAL ESTATE

PRIVATE 371

AUSTRALIA NO


Over 100 Employees

Fun and camaraderie are vital ingredients in maintaining and boosting employee morale at this marketing and media communications agency. The Culture Club meets each fortnight to plan and run a calendar of events such as the Spring Break Party, International Suit Up Day, Tough Mudder, or the Colour Run. OMD House Teams is a ‘school house’ system which encourages connections between people, team spirit, and healthy competition. When a new starter joins OMD they also join one of the four house teams which immediately brings them into the fold with fun house team events like Trivia, Lawn Bowls, and Summer Olympics, all earning team prizes and points toward the coveted OMD House Cup.

Feedback to senior management is imperative at TCP. All TPCers are encouraged to speak up if they have something on their mind. Once a suggestion or concern is raised, there is a commitment to address it within 48 hours and the team member is both thanked for their contribution and given clear feedback as to what will be done. An initiative called ‘TPC Values: are they alive?’ is also used by the CEO on a weekly basis. The CEO receives regular feedback on their commitment to the values and, if need be, will be able to modify systems and/or approach to ensure that the TPC values are alive and kicking.

Everyone at Nova Group is involved in innovation. The company is committed to solving problems, and they live that promise internally. It is the responsibility of all employees to identify external opportunities and internal ways to improve service. The company Think Tank is responsible for reviewing ideas, providing advice to all on business cases/requirements, and making recommendations to the Special Project Advisory Group.

Nova has a series of 'discussion boards' on its intranet for specific topics such as restructures, policy changes, and remuneration reviews. The use of innovation is how Nova differentiates itself, grows the business, and provides a sustainable competitive advantage.

‘Mature directness’ is an extension of Autodesk’s corporate value of honesty. Simply put, it means ‘saying what you mean, meaning what you say, and saying it in real time’. The philosophy fosters an open, collaborative environment for communication and creativity. Executive communication ranges from formal and structured mechanisms to informal, such as podcast series in which the CEO shares the latest insights on the direction of the company. All Employee Webcasts sessions, and more recently a new webcasting platform called ‘Autodesk On Air’ which enables leaders to create robust internal webcasts for employees worldwide with content that can be accessed from a range of devices including mobiles.

#10 OMD AUSTRALIA

ADVERTISING & MARKETING

PRIVATE 491

USA YES

#12 THE PHYSIO CO

HEALTH CARE SERVICES

PRIVATE 110

AUSTRALIA YES

#11 NOVA GROUP

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

PRIVATE 344

AUSTRALIA YES

#13 AUTODESK AUSTRALIA

IT / SOFTWARE

PUBLIC 139

USA YES

Over 100 Employees

Delivering innovative pharmaceutical products, AbbVie has placed considerable effort to bring gender equality into the workplace. Currently AbbVie has more women in senior management positions than men. They are also proud of their equal remuneration status for male and female employees.

Promoting workforce participation thought initiatives such as flexible work arrangements, workplace ergonomic assessments for both home and office work environments, 18 weeks full pay and benefits maternity or paternity as well as adoption leave, and child care and elder care kits.

All these initiatives and more enable diversity to flourish in the workplace.

To help build trust quickly from the outset, ansarada has developed some tools that help facilitate great open conversations between managers and their people. One of these is the Values Card exercise that involves managers and employees sharing their top 5 personal values from a deck of 52 Values cards.

By sharing stories of why these values are important they can better understand what is important to individuals and how ansarada can best align their work and relationships to those values. The ansarada Culture Book brings the values to life and serves to inspire each other through the many different interpretations and stories people have shared. The Culture Book is updated with each new hire joining the virtual data room provider.

Inspiration at SAS is cultivated through engaging employees in the benefits the business provides to the community and their customers that go beyond providing technology solutions. SAS supports its employees both within the workplace and outside, with a range of on-site services and health and wellbeing programs.

This includes SAS’ Healthy Lifestyle program, with initiatives such as SAS Biggest Loser Challenges, Cycling events, stress management, and nutrition seminars. On-site and off-site services help employees get the most out of their working hours but also assist with those ‘outside of hours’ services that employees would not conveniently have access to during business hours. SAS also has a number of flexible leave options, such as additional service leave and 40 weeks maternity leave.

Whilst bringing their customers ideas and project to life through their digital marketplaces that sell creative assets for web, all employees at Envato have a ‘Fair Go’, fair opportunity to make suggestions, and be part of decisions. This includes the important decisions like defining the company values and developing Envato’s vision and mission.

For these major decisions, the CEO met with all employees throughout a series of workshops and also sought input from the community to work together on the formulation. The creation of the most recent company value ‘Diverse & Inclusive’ was done as an outcome of team suggestions. Since its creation, a group called Out@Envato was formed to promote inclusiveness for individuals identifying as part of the LGBTI community.

#14 ABBVIE AUSTRALIA

BIOTECHNOLOGY & PHARMACEUTICALS

PUBLIC 285

USA YES

#16 ANSARADA

IT / SOFTWARE

PRIVATE 103

AUSTRALIA YES

#15 SAS AUSTRALIA

IT / SOFTWARE

PUBLIC 275

USA YES

#17 ENVATO

MEDIA / ONLINE INTERNET SERVICES

PRIVATE 196

AUSTRALIA YES


Over 100 Employees Over 100 Employees

A healthy workplace is promoted at Mars. The global food manufacturer is committed to offering their Associates programs that promote work/life balance and support health and well-being for them and their loved ones.

Mars offers a Signature Wellbeing Program underpinned by the ‘Essential Elements of Wellbeing’ (social, physical, career, community, and financial wellbeing).

The HealthTracks system provides a comprehensive set of tools and resources to help Associates improve their health habits, including eating better, exercising more, stopping tobacco use, and managing stress.

At this world's first platform for electronic property settlement and lodgement, Hack Day (companywide innovation day) is the perfect setting to capture a pulse check on how employees rate PEXA’s company values. People from across the company got together to adapt the expression of the values to the changing business goals.

New ways were found to inspire employees with simple yet effective PEXA value definitions. Like the values, the mission statement was developed on Hack Day, after consideration by the people at every level. Because every action has a purpose, all employees were asked to ask themselves: “Which value does my action align with?” and “How does this support PEXA’s mission or vision?”

Part of being a Kronite is living Kronos’ Core Competencies and Core Values which influence every aspect of the company Work Inspired culture. Communication from senior leadership is a big part of bringing these to every day work life.

Kronos CEO communicates openly and frequently with Kronites through his own video blog aron@work. He shares whatever is on his mind: company performance, fiscal year objectives, congratulations about a product launch, his perspective about the transformation into a cloud company, an expression of thanks to Kronites for momentum in a particular area of the business, excitement about the global employee engagement scores, and alike.

The family cosmetics global empire is committed to working together with uncompromised ethics and integrity. To help their employees live the company values every day, posters are strategically placed throughout the offices to highlight the company Mission, Vision, Values and commitments.

Values are embedded in everything that is done at ELC. As the co-creators of the iconic Pink Ribbon, the worldwide symbol for breast health, ELC's extensive campaign fosters a sense of pride in employees and inspires them to feel that the work they do every day has more meaning than just being a job.

Communication is open and transparent at this provider of intelligent search and workflow automation. All employees are encouraged to ask questions on anything related to their role or the business in general, whether they are directed towards their manager or the Executive team at any given time.

Company Update meetings are held regularly - employees can get involved and have the opportunity to ask questions on where the company is going in the future and what this means for each employee. This allows everyone to have buy-in to the overall vision.

The IT industry tends to be male dominated, and Odecee have found a way to engage and support their female employees. Girls@Odecee meet every six months to do something special together and/or to talk about women at work and women in IT issues, concerns, achievements, and alike.

A large component of this is recognition and encouragement as being a woman in the male dominated IT engineering disciplines can have its challenges. The recent company events have included hosting world renowned author, speaker and IT entrepreneur Deborah Perry Piscone for an afternoon tea of discussion and mentoring.

Changing the way Australian businesses achieve workplace fairness and safety, performance is deeply imbedded in the DNA of the company. Performance is not just about a person’s ability to complete the tasks and elements of their job, but more so how they apply the company values in their work on a daily basis.

Employsure have developed their own performance equation, which forms the foundation of everything they do. They recruit, train, measure, recognise, develop, reward and promote based on this principle. This helps Employsure build an incredible sense of pride amongst their employees.

At Swisse Wellness all employees demonstrate unwavering commitment to the company 4Ps values (People, Principles and Passion before Profit). They are evident in how the products are sourced and manufactured, in how people connect with their retailers and communicate with their customers. All of the decision-making is governed by the 4Ps. The Business Plan aligns the whole team to work collaboratively.

Every team member’s KPIs cascade directly from this plan and each quarter progress is tracked and team planning workshops are organised to recalibrate and reset. The Culture Plan articulates the many initiatives in place to develop, support, engage and reward the company's most precious asset, their employees.

#18 MARS AUSTRALIA

MANUFACTURING & PRODUCTION

PRIVATE 12254

USA YES

#22 PEXA

IT

PRIVATE 201

AUSTRALIA YES

#20 KRONOS AUSTRALIA

IT

PRIVATE 108

USA YES

#24 ESTÉE LAUDER COMPANIES

RETAIL

PRIVATE 1107

USA YES

#19 INFOTRACK

IT

PRIVATE 159

AUSTRALIA YES

#23 ODECEE — A COGNIZANT COMPANY

IT / CONSULTING

PUBLIC 222

AUSTRALIA YES

#21 EMPLOYSURE


PRIVATE 303

AUSTRALIA YES

#25 SWISSE WELLNESS


PRIVATE 279

AUSTRALIA YES


36

Small workplaces enjoy some distinct advantages in building great workplaces.

Their fast pace and lean structure makes decision making much quicker, allowing flexibility and adaptability.

23%

46%

31%

Promoted

Founder

External Hire Casual 5

Full Time 83%

Part Time 12%

12%PUBLIC

88% PRIVATE

92% MEN

8%WOMEN

14%< 25

28%35-44

47%26-34

2%> 559%45-54

Employees are generally much closer to the business and to the customer, increasing innovation and customer satisfaction.

Employees can make a difference in the success of the company as they are

sometimes challenged to thinking outside the box due to limited resources.

There is also greater camaraderie among peers, a family feeling in the workplace, and easier access to company leadership.

In October 2015, Rackspace implemented a strategic business change. In addition to their own cloud and managed services, they launched support for the world's leading cloud platforms. The change meant that they went from competitors to partners in their industry. This required additional layers of specialisation within the business to ensure that Rackspace were meeting the increasingly complex demands of their customers for support of various tools and applications.

Such an expansion in business focus would in most organisations, at the very least, result in a decrease of employee engagement due to the unknown factors that come with strategic change. On the contrary the Rackspace employees embraced the new opportunities and challenges resulting from this strategic change, rejuvenating their commitment to the organisation’s mission to provide ‘Fanatical Support’. This commitment from the employees propelled the company from #12 in the 2015 Best Places to Work study to #1 in 2016.

Talent development at Rackspace is a large part of their success. To ensure employees embraced the new offering, Rackspace ramped up their already extensive learning and development offering. Further, Rackspace launched the Curiosity Project to encourage Rackers to be empowered to think outside the box, be creative, innovate, and be inspired to disrupt the business and the industry they work in. High curiosity not only lead to increase in revenue, it also contributed to the increase in job satisfaction ensuring Rackers feel valued and inspired with what they are able to achieve.

“HR is integral to ensuring we can deliver exceptional customer service outcomes. This begins with their strategic partnership with our local leadership team in working to support changes in our strategic direction and enabling outcomes to ensure overall

business success” said Angus Dorney, Senior Director & General Manager, Rackspace Australia. “This begins with our global talent management strategy – attracting retaining and growing the right individuals. HR are also the executive sponsors of our amazing Racker Culture which includes how we attract, retain and nurture talent over time including how our Rackers work as a community to drive our own internal culture” Dorney adds.

“Recognition as the best workplace in Australia is testament to Rackers living and breathing our core values. To be able to truly provide ‘Fanatical Support’ to customers, means fostering and nurturing our talented Rackers.” Dorney says. “We are able to do that by embracing individual talents and providing a platform to explore them in an encouraging but safe way. Also, our amazing community of customers let us into their businesses every day to help solve their IT and business challenges, without which there is no workplace and therefore no amazing ‘first place’ accolade”.

Rackspace General Manager, Angus Dorney believes strategic partnership with HR is integral.

#1 RACKSPACE

IT/ STORAGE & DATA MANAGEMENT

PUBLIC 94

SWITZERLAND YES

CEO GENDERSECTOR AVERAGE EMPLOYEE AGE

SMALL COMPANY SNAPSHOT

AVERAGE COMPANY AGE 12

AVERAGE REVENUE GROWTH

CEO

AVERAGE CEO AGE 43

HOW ARE THEY RECRUITED?

PEOPLE

AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT GROWTH 16.8%

RATIO OF EMPLOYMENT

Under 100 Employees

Agile & Lean

G RE AT P L ACE TO W O RK A U S T R A L I A | BE S T P L ACE S TO W O RK 2016 23# G P T WA U | # 5 0 B P T W16 22

One of the ways the medical recruitment company lives their value of 'Going above and beyond' and fosters a sense of pride with their employees is though their 'Send a Wave' program.

The program allows employees to 'Send a Wave' to a fellow Wavie and represents an outstanding contribution made by an individual.

The program recognises individuals who demonstrate the Wavelength values and enables all individuals to nominate employees when they have done something they can be proud of. Each employee is given 400 points each quarter to use to send to their fellow Wavies, and points are allocated to individual Wavelength Visa Reward cards.

Eight-year old professional services firm specialising in Information Management, employ the 'Service Profit Chain' framework, which advocates the model that Happy Engaged Employees = Happy Long Term Customers = Profits. To represent this, Altis manages a corporate scorecard with metrics relating directly to the framework.

The results are presented back every six months at a team wide meeting. The second framework underpinning the organisation is the internal ethos statement, 'Connecting with Courage, Heart, and Insight' (CCHI). The philosophy is that Altis’ technical offering will change over time, but the commitment to 'Connecting with Courage, Heart and Insight' with their clients, fellow team members and partners will not change.

At 4mation Technologies, a full service custom web and software development firm, values are at the heart of everything they do. They practice their value of Transparency by making the business plans, 90 day plans, processes, and policies available to the entire team via the online knowledge base.

All employees are encouraged to contribute, and every quarter each team prepares a plan on how they can contribute to the overall business plan. Every member of every team is involved in this process, and encouraged to suggest ideas to help the team achieve its objectives. Open communication is promoted through open discussion, weekly one-on-ones, quarterly feedback forums, team lunches with the CEO, and more. 4mation Technologies value their employees’ feedback as it helps address concerns quickly and create new opportunities for improvement.

Innovation and curiosity is encouraged at this privately owned and independent Brand Promotion firm. ‘Spark’ is Zinc’s online idea generation platform that enables employees to post, share, and comment on ideas relating to the business and clients.

A dedicated team is responsible for evaluating responses, voting on the best ideas, and helping to promote them for further development, iteration and implementation.

Another initiative that promotes innovation at Zinc are the ‘We’re here for you’ sessions. 3 nights a week the leadership team can be found in a meeting room, and team members are encouraged to come in and take the opportunity to speak about any issues and ideas.

Under 100 Employees

#2 WAVELENGTH INTERNATIONAL


PRIVATE 76

AUSTRALIA YES

#4 ALTIS CONSULTING

IT

PRIVATE 75

AUSTRALIA YES

#5 ZINC


PRIVATE 58

AUSTRALIA YES

#3 4MATION TECHNOLOGIES

IT

PRIVATE 63

AUSTRALIA YES

The only non-profit organisation on this year’s list, Re-Engage works with some of the most at risk and disadvantaged young people in South Australia, supporting them to overcome their disadvantage and be productive, healthy, participating members of the community.

Whilst the day to day work they do is inspiring in and of itself – they do not take this for granted and so are proactive in continually facilitating employees to reflect on the incredibly meaningful and inspiring work that they do. Storytelling is a vital part of sharing and reinforcing the positive impact they make. Re-Engage often receive written feedback that is read out at company wide meetings.

Having the right team is essential to having a great workplace. Ensuring new team members fit their teams is imperative to that. Insentra asks candidates to select a random person from the office floor to interview. They want them to hear first-hand what the employees have to say.

Existing team members are encouraged to be brutally honest with candidates about their experience at Insentra and to speak openly about their journey, sharing not only good things but also those needing to improve. This ensures not only a great cultural fit for employees, it is also a unique way Insentra practice their value HIT (Honesty, Interity, Trust).

Employees are encouraged to have a voice and to provide feedback in a number of ways. The performance reviews include a section that allows the employee to list the top 3 things they would do if they were the owner of the firm as well as general feedback and ideas for innovation. The company also holds a monthly Gradiators meeting where all the Graduates and junior team members meet to discuss their work, the workplace environment and ideas for innovation.

The Chief Operating Officer and Performance & Culture Manager also sit in these meetings and push the information upwards so action can be taken based on this feedback, seeing this team have a real impact on the decisions and direction of the firm.

To encourage employees to share positive feedback about their colleagues, or testimonials received from clients external to the company praising a particular employee's exceptional service, KINNECT established the ‘Positive' program. When employees observe a colleague demonstrating or embodying KINNECT's core values, they are encouraged to verbally acknowledge and thank the employee for such behaviours and to share this positive feedback with the organisation by emailing a dedicated address.

Positive employee feedback from customers and parties is also collected through this inbox. All positive comments are compiled on a weekly basis and reported to employees through weekly meetings and email, providing vital reinforcement, encouragement and acknowledgement of their team and the worthwhile purpose of their contribution.

#6 RE-ENGAGE YOUTH SERVICES

SOCIAL SERVICES & GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

NOT FOR PROFIT 70

AUSTRALIA YES

#8 INSENTRA

IT CONSULTING

PRIVATE 42

AUSTRALIA YES

#7 THE BLUEROCK


PRIVATE 78

AUSTRALIA YES

#9 KINNECT

HEALTH CARE

PRIVATE 81

AUSTRALIA YES

Under 100 Employees


#16 COBILD

CONSTRUCTION & REAL ESTATE

PRIVATE 35

AUSTRALIA YES

IT consultancy that helps large organisations integrate data and business processes, Mexia encourages a learning culture where new things are constantly shared. This ensures they live up to their value of being ‘technically excellent’. Brown bag lunch sharing sessions or half day Hackathons are commonplace. Employees are encouraged to take time away from customers to absorb new technologies.

Based on the training plans, practice leads try their best to align work with what people want to learn, and offer the support needed to keep people in a state of flow. The quarterly events have time allocated for people to run a 10-15 min session on any topic dear to them, not necessarily related to work.

The provider of simple and elegant email marketing software for business has an open and generous training policy: every team member is encouraged to attend any kind of training they are interested in, whether it is a meet up around the corner or a big conference on the other side of the planet.

As part of it is internal development program, Campaign Monitor University, team members are able to work with mentors throughout the organization to help achieve their career goals. This program is a huge benefit for the company, as it helps retain all the talent and product/company knowledge, while at the same time offering every member of the team a chance to continue to grow professionally in areas that may be completely different to what they were originally hired for.

Internal and external brand alignment is important to Meltwater. The SaaS provider of media intelligence solutions helps companies make better, more informed decisions based on insights from the outside. They also use this principle to make decisions internally by seeking employee feedback.

Open communication and listening to employees’ feedback helps to improve best practices. There are a number of instances where new processes have been introduced as a result of the feedback from employees. The Town Hall meetings and the mLife blog were both established as a result from a global employee survey. The Town Hall allows for employees to ask the CEO any questions, and employees are encouraged to contribute to mLife with their own entries, comments and questions.

The commercial fitout company has a strong focus on wellbeing and positive culture. Amicus has developed a wellbeing program which features external speakers on a variety of topics from diet, exercise, sleep, personal styling as well as more sensitive subjects such as bereavement.

Flexibility in working arrangements is borne through trust and belief in your team. The Activity Based Working workplace environment at the Amicus offices means that not only does the company provide a variety of settings in the office environment to work from, but they also ensure the best technology to allow everyone to work from wherever they want. Home, a café, another office or even the beach if they so desire!

Founded in 2009, this successful Australian start-up now has offices in Sydney, San Francisco and Austin. The success of their product has enabled BigCommerce to rapidly grow from a 2-person startup to a global team of hundreds.

People love celebrating each and every person who joins BigCommerce. On a new hire’s first day, the team fills a big bucket full of chocolate and lollies and places it on the new BC-ee’s desk.

This encourages other BC-ees to come say hello over the course of the day as they help themselves to a sugary snack. This is important as it helps identify who the newest member of BigCommerce is, and also enables the new BC-ee to meet everyone else in the office in a friendly and casual manner.

Those joining this global media agency are invited to be part of a journey. All new employees are provided with a 'Travel Itinerary' outlining what and when aspects of their induction should happen.

Day one also introduces the new employee to their ‘Personal Travel Guide’, a member of the team who is on hand to provide advice on all things at Maxus. They will be a source of information outside the new employee’s direct team to act as a buddy and help with social integration. In week two the new employee is provided with a 'Travel Plan', spanning their first 90 days at Maxus. This provides a series of goals and outcomes to be achieved, giving focus and direction and outlining the priorities and expectations.

A family business with over 25 years in the property and construction industry, Cobild has an incredible culture with a focus on collaboration, whereby each team member makes up a piece of the company puzzle.

Every team member has a clear understanding of how they have a direct impact on the business’s success or failures.

Cobild also believe that there are three aspects to a person's life - work life, family life, and personal life. At the beginning of every year the team is encouraged to plan out the year aligned with what they would like to achieve for the three areas of their life. The management at Cobild then create an action plan and work together to hit those targets.

Under 100 Employees

#14 BIGCOMMERCE

IT / SOFTWARE

PRIVATE 51

USA YES

#15 MAXUS COMMUNICATIONS


PRIVATE 56

UK YES

#10 MEXIA

IT

PRIVATE 40

AUSTRALIA YES

#12 CAMPAIGN MONITOR

IT / SOFTWARE

PRIVATE 86

UK YES

#11 MELTWATER NEWS AUSTRALIA

IT / SOFTWARE

PRIVATE 62

USA YES

#13 AMICUS

CONSTRUCTION / REAL ESTATE

PRIVATE 66

AUSTRALIA YES

Across the globe, videos, experiences and case studies are shared at Actelion as they ensure strong alignment and that all the team members feel connected to the principal purpose of this global biopharmaceutical company. Actelion's purpose is to help patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

The People of Possibility (POP) guidelines really reinforce the importance of each role in the organisation. The monthly POP Lunch enables sharing of different initiatives across the organisation. These are a great opportunity to bring in researchers and clinicians who specialise in fields in which the company operates. Stories are shared on email where feedback has been received on patient experiences from Doctors.

#17 ACTELION PHARMACEUTICALS AUSTRALIA


PUBLIC 46

SWITZERLAND NO

Under 100 Employees


Under 100 Employees

People at this mid-tier fully integrated and privately-owned financial services company love sharing the wins with their team. One of the ways they do this is by having a 'Success Wall'.

Every week, employees have a companywide meeting where every client-facing employee shares a 'good news' story with their peers and writes it down in a 'bubble', which is then stuck on the success story wall. The wall is visible to all employees at all times and is a daily reminder of the great work they all play a role in and do for the clients.

There is also an internal gift program where each employee is able to purchase thank you gifts for any team members who they feel have gone above and beyond to help them or another staff member out.

#21 ANNOUNCER GROUP

FINANCIAL SERVICES & INSURANCE

PRIVATE 36

AUSTRALIA YES

More than just a wine store, this unique online retailer employs a unique recognition method of celebrating fellow Mofos who are doing good things. Team leaders understand that not everyone appreciates public recognition for their achievements and so they conducted a survey to identify everyone’s ‘language of appreciation’.

For each of their employees they have created a custom tab on their individual details page which lists what their preferred language of appreciation is. This means that a team leader can look this up before providing feedback in order to do so in a way that is going to be most meaningful. This unique, case-by-case approach works because of the time invested in making it relevant and specific for the individual.

When you offer true specialisation to your customers, you also need to offer true specialisation to your employees. Management at this recruitment company has a flexible approach and attitude to employees balancing their health and fitness with their work lives. Health and wellbeing form a large part of employee happiness. Employees are encouraged to take exercise during the day and have flexible hours in place to start later or finish earlier; avoiding gym lunch time busy periods for example.

Uniquely, the Brisbane office has a roof top garden with 3 beehives making honey and candles to distribute to employees and clients; this of course has the added benefit of creating a genuinely fun working environment different from most!

Ivy College has one clear mission in mind: ‘to provide a personalised learning experience to enable choice and opportunity.’ The whole business has been built around meeting the unique needs of adult learners.

This mission is aligned with every Ivy-er as it’s embedded into the hiring process, culture, employee recognition initiatives and performance reviews through four customer-centric Core Behaviours that embody the characteristics each Ivy-er lives and breathes each day.

Ivy champions specific ‘behaviours’ over a pre-determined ‘values’ model to ensure every current or new Ivy-er can interpret the behaviours in a way that’s applicable to their unique role and individual personality.

Corporate alignment is imperative to creating a culture of autonomy as well as pride, and this cloud based service provider knows how to make that happen. Every year as the company sets corporate objectives they are filtered down across the business and down to each department and to each individual. As part of this annual process, employees set their own objectives to be achieved within the next year and their managers and the company then work on a strategy and a plan to assist in meeting these objectives and supporting development.

Management are transparent with their employees about the development of future opportunities and develop career and personal growth in such a way that they support employee growth and success.

#22VINOMOFO

RETAIL

PRIVATE 95

AUSTRALIA YES

#24 GEN5 GROUP

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES / RECRUITMENT

PRIVATE 43

AUSTRALIA YES

#23 IVY COLLEGE

EDUCATION & TRAINING

PRIVATE 94

SYDNEY YES

#25 CONCUR TECHNOLOGIES

IT

PUBLIC 94

AUSTRALIA YES

At this digital agency, Core Values form a big part of their job descriptions and expectations of employees. Sitback Solutions pride themselves on their fabulous networks and their employee referral rate is exceptionally high, that in the past 18 months 11 out of 14 new employees have come through networks and referrals. Referrals from current team members ensure a good culture fit.

Each new member is welcomed during the Friday companywide meeting with a big cheer and lots of welcome notes wishing them good luck in the Love Box. The weekly Love Box is one of the most popular parts of the company meeting.

#18 SITBACK SOLUTIONS

IT

PRIVATE 41

AUSTRALIA YES

Inspiration is crucial at this architecture firm that specialises in commercial, urban planning, retail and interior design. It is the key theme in the vision statement. The team drove and developed the Points of Culture several years ago resulting in seven specific themes.

The team went on to design hand-painted Munny Dolls to reflect each point. These reflect the Company’s essence and the agreed code of conduct at work. Leaders actively write and publish articles and updates relevant to the company culture on the website so they can foster with the team and wider client base a sense of pride and inspiration.

#19 i2C DESIGN & MANAGEMENT


PRIVATE 57

AUSTRALIA YES

The digital marketing technology company provides a number of ways in which employees can recognise their peers and say thank you. Passion Post is a monthly mail service with a twist. The entire APAC team can post letters of thanks to anyone across the region. With funky thank you cards always on hand, employees write messages and put them in the Passion Post mailbox. Each month, the local mail-man or mail-lady delivers the mail to the recipients. It is a great feel good program that is one of the favourites amongst the team! Similar to the Passion Post initiative, employees can send a Thank You Gram to their co-workers, and they can also take them out for a coffee or lunch to say thanks!

#20 AMOBEE


PRIVATE 60

USA YES

Under 100 Employees

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