SPECIAL REPORT
Employers OF CHOICE 2021
HRD celebrates Australia’s standout industry leaders that are providing a truly great employee experience
CONTENTS
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Feature article .............................................. 2 Methodology ................................................ 3 2021 winners ................................................ 5
SPECIAL REPORT BUSINESS STRATEGY
EMPLOYERS OF CHOICE 2021
PUTTING EMPLOYEES FRONT AND CENTRE AS AUSTRALIA settles into the recovery period following the turmoil of the last 12 months, one thing is clear – human capital has never been more important. Against a challenging climate, employees have stepped up to the plate, which is why the 2021 Employer of Choice awards mark an important point in our country’s journey with COVID-19. The initial shock of the global pandemic has dissipated, and now businesses are rebuilding to be stronger than before. HR leaders are questioning what the future of their organisations looks like and putting employees front and centre as they forge a new way of working. The breadth and quality of this year’s submissions reflect a stark change in employee expectations. Here, HRD explores some of the key trends that emerged from this year’s Employer of Choice winners.
Flex is here to stay Many companies were beginning to embrace flexible working pre-pandemic, but the
scale at which Australia’s employers sent their people home after the outbreak of COVID-19 was historic. In the space of days, some businesses did what they had never thought possible. Around the world, companies began automating manual processes at unprecedented rates, inspired by the dramatic change in supply and demand. As staff put in longer hours under greater pressure, it soon became apparent that burnout and overwork were going to be the concern – not productivity. However, among this year’s submissions, we’ve seen employers showing an appetite for true flexibility. Pauly Grant, chief talent officer at Publicis Groupe ANZ, said the desire for flexibility was nothing new, but now employees and jobseekers were feeling confident about communicating it. “People wanted flexibility, but they may have been scared to approach it because people weren’t talking about it on the same
NUMBER OF WINNERS BY COMPANY SIZE Company size by number of employees
Number of Employer of Choice winners
12
100–499
14
500+
1–99
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“People wanted flexibility, but they may have been scared to approach it because people weren’t talking about it on the same kind of level as they are now” Pauly Grant, chief talent officer, Publicis Groupe ANZ kind of level as they are now,” she said. As a hybrid way of working emerges as the frontrunner, employees and employers hope to strike a balance and have the best of both worlds. And while that undoubtedly creates challenges for people leaders, the benefits of flexible working are overwhelming. In the media and advertising sector the fight for talent is fierce, Grant said, but COVID-19 and the closed international borders was making it even more competitive. That’s why embracing new realms in terms of where, when and how employees could work was going to be key for talentshort industries. As well as offering an improved employee value proposition, flexibility makes the workplace accessible to a more diverse
range of jobseekers and allows people to dedicate more time to other areas of their lives, fostering a more balanced, energised way of life. Research has shown that an engaged workforce is a more productive one, and in future, flexibility will be essential to remain competitive. But it’s also important to remember that flexible working is not a onesize-fits-all – and that is now the challenge HR leaders are facing.
Leading from the top In a hybrid world in which teams are dispersed across offices and homes, culture has emerged as the central thread uniting employees wherever they’re logging on. A strong workplace culture helps keep employees engaged, maintains high levels of compliance, and brings the business’s values to life. Without it, employee experience crumbles. But over the last year, the pandemic has served as a timely reminder that great culture starts from the top. All eyes have been on leaders to communicate, inspire and lead with the values they expect to see at
up, so if something’s on their mind, this is a culture where we want to hear it,” he said. “Part of that is creating a level of trust and mutual respect, but also a mechanism for receiving feedback.” As team leaders learn how to manage dispersed teams and create equity across the workforce, company culture will continue to play a key role. Ellis believes fostering a strong culture is about joining the dots, from a company’s overarching values to the day-to-day work of its employees. “It’s very important that we create an environment where every individual has that clear line of sight as to how what they do connects with the longer-term vision,” Ellis said. For many other companies now experimenting with hybrid working, the challenge will be scaling up without losing their cultural connection.
Doubling down on diversity The disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women is a cause of concern for many employers. With its potential to roll back the gains made over the past
“It’s very important that we create an environment where every individual has that clear line of sight as to how what they do each day connects with our longer-term vision” Chris Ellis, CEO, Finder every level of the business. Finder CEO Chris Ellis said an ethos of open and transparent communication had served his team well, both before and during the pandemic. As well as leading to better decision-making, open channels of communication helped provide context when difficult calls had to be made. “We really encouraged everyone to speak
METHODOLOGY In January 2021, the call went out for submissions for HRD’s Employer of Choice awards. Organisations of all sizes and industries across Australia were encouraged to enter. By 19 February, HRD was inundated with entries and the judging process began. Entries were scored on the companies’ achievements and initiatives across a range of areas, including leadership, learning and development, wellbeing, flexibility, diversity and inclusion, work-life balance and recruitment. These areas represent the core facets of HR, as well as the new challenges facing employers as a result of the global pandemic. The judging panel took into consideration both qualitative and quantitative data, such as engagement survey results, average employee tenure and turnover rate. This year, 37 companies have been commended for their achievements and selected as 2021 Employers of Choice.
7th annual Employer of Choice report
5.7 years Winners’ average staff tenure
decade, employers will play a vital role in stemming the tide. Adobe’s senior HR business partner, Cathy Mattiussi, said employers had reached a critical point in the fight to make workplaces more diverse and inclusive. “It’s important for employers to take stock of where we’re at and make sure the gains aren’t eroded,” Mattiussi said.
5.38% Winners’ average employee turnover in the past 12 months
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SPECIAL REPORT BUSINESS STRATEGY
EMPLOYERS OF CHOICE 2021
RISING RATE OF EMPLOYEE BURNOUT Workers in Australia and New Zealand are experiencing a higher rate of burnout than the global average, according to Asana. 77% of ANZ workers suffered burnout in 2020, compared to 71% globally
Workers are losing 58% of their time to ‘work about work’ (eg meetings and status checks)
89% of employees are working late – up 8% on 2019 Just 29% of time is left for skilled work (eg coding or market analysis) and 13% for strategy (eg forward-looking planning)
Employees lose more than 5 hours (240 hours each year) to duplicated work/work that is no longer relevant
Source: Asana’s Anatomy of Work Index 2021: ANZ Findings
“The stresses that come with the hybrid model can be equally as destructive from a burnout perspective as working from home full-time” Lauren Trethowan, head of organisational development, MYOB
“The context that we work in is always going to change, so whatever is thrown at us next, we need to ensure it doesn’t impact on diversity.” Adobe, like several of this year’s other winners, has achieved gender pay parity across the business and is now focusing on ensuring career opportunities are equal for both men and women. Mattiussi said improving diversity was a constant journey to address inequalities between other under-represented groups and level the playing field for all. As we continue to experience the fallout of the economic downturn, driving better diversity and inclusion will continue to be a priority for all HRDs.
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A holistic view of wellbeing The move towards whole-person wellbeing is another area in which the global pandemic has pressed fast-forward. The crisis normalised the practice of talking about mental health, opening a dialogue in workplaces across the country. Gartner research has found that nearly half the global workforce participated in employer wellbeing schemes last year. But still there is more work to be done. Workers in Australia are experiencing a higher rate of burnout compared to the global average, according to data from Asana. Longer hours, an obsession with productivity metrics, and the overwhelming number of communication platforms are all contrib-
uting to this alarming workplace trend. To combat this, employers are rethinking how they support wellbeing in a more holistic sense. Offering everything from ergonomic home set-up assessments to upscaled EAP services, mental health ambassadors and financial wellbeing allowances, they are making employees’ wholehealth a priority. MYOB’s head of organisational development and learning, Lauren Trethowan, said the need to support employee wellbeing was as important during the return to the office – albeit in a hybrid way – as it was during the pandemic. “The stresses that come with the hybrid model can be equally as destructive from a burnout perspective as working from home full-time,” she said. “People may only be in one day a week, so feelings of isolation can remain on those other four days.” The need to provide robust, reliable support is particularly key for a young workforce, with Gen Z feeling the brunt of the burnout epidemic more acutely than other groups. Less-than-ideal work set-ups coupled with a tendency to work longer hours all equate to a tough time for young workers. To combat this trend, MYOB, like many other Employer of Choice winners, doubled down on the services available to staff through EAP. Utilising these expert-led services will continue to be vital for HR leaders in the future. Burnout and fatigue aren’t going anywhere, but with robust measures in place, early intervention and a healthy culture led from the top down, employers can look after their staff for the long-term.
Looking ahead To all of this year’s Employer of Choice award winners, HRD extends its congratulations. Our winners embody HR best practice, paving the way for greater employee experiences and putting people first. We can’t wait to see what the next year brings!
EmployersOF CHOICE 2021
Aurion
Merz Aesthetics
Telephone: 1300 278 466 Email: careers@aurion.com
Telephone: 02 8076 8139 Email: merzaustralia@merz.com
A S Harrison & Co Pty Ltd
Hollard Insurance
Adobe
Howden Australia
Affinity Education Group
Investa
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited Australian Catholic Super BITZER Australia Brisbane Motorway Services Coleman Greig Lawyers
Lexmark International Liberty Financial Maddocks Madison Group Enterprises McDonald’s Australia
Cooper Grace Ward Lawyers MYOB Corporate Technology Services Data#3 Limited Deloitte Employsure EY Finder
Nous Group ORIX Australia Corporation Limited Publicis Groupe QBE Insurance Australia QTC
ghd hair
Sentrian
Gold Coast Health
Singleton Council
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
The Salvation Army
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SPECIAL REPORT BUSINESS STRATEGY
EMPLOYERS OF CHOICE 2021
AURION
MERZ AESTHETICS
www.aurion.com
www.merzaustralia.com.au
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urion has been trusted with Australia’s payroll for 30 years and promotes a culture and suite of initiatives to “make life work better” for its team. The software company has invested in the Culture Amp platform and its leadership and personal development program to support its people to thrive and progress in their roles. The team can upskill via Aurion’s learning management system, regular “Lunch n Learn” sessions, and the Ignite Emerging Leaders Program. Aurion boasts an impressive tenure of its employees, with several having worked at the company for 20-plus years. Its performance evaluation cycle and quarterly career development course help team members carve out their careers, and they can nominate each other for rewards through its long-running recognition program. Diverse and inclusive, Aurion wants its people to know how much their unique abilities and personal contribution are valued, and to enjoy a friendly, respectful “One Team Aurion” culture. The team is provided with modern, cloud-based software platforms for communication and collaboration, including Atlassian apps Jira and Confluence, Microsoft Teams, Chandler Macleod Group intranet, and Yammer. During the lockdown, Aurion successfully made the shift to remote work and a flexible work policy, providing its staff with access to the technologies they needed to safely and efficiently perform their roles from home. And because staff health and wellbeing are a reality at Aurion, a healthy work-life balance is modelled from the leadership team down, and a number of health benefits are offered, including access to a confidential counselling and support service and corporate health plans.
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ith a 112-year history of innovation and commitment, Merz Aesthetics provides its employees with the opportunity to grow their careers, and at the same time enables them to positively enrich the lives of others. The global aesthetics company has created a highly collaborative, supportive and flexible work environment in which employees of diverse nationalities and backgrounds can build informal mentor/coaching relationships with more senior staff, do ongoing training across a myriad of areas, and gain senior management experience by taking on regional responsibilities while still based in Australia. Merz staff are supported in their career progression through the company’s formal annual employee assessment. Headed by genuine, experienced and transparent leaders, the Merz team are also provided with the technology they need to operate, plus full IT support as well as a suite of bespoke reports for tracking sales, growth and customer performance in a userfriendly and easy-to-access application. Employees’ health and wellbeing are a priority for Merz, especially during the COVID-19 crisis. Since March, its staff have mainly been working from home and receive regular updates from the company. Merz also adopted a very safe approach to protecting all employees during the pandemic, including having a defibrillator on site and training employees on how to use it, and professionally cleaning the office every night. Merz offers its staff competitive compensation and best-in-class benefits, including a flexible health benefit allowance, an annual financial bonus to all employees based on the company’s annual performance, and an annual employee reward trip.
Employers OF CHOICE 2021
Key Media Regional head office, Level 10, 1–9 Chandos St, St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia tel: +61 2 8437 4700 • fax: +61 2 9439 4599 www.keymedia.com Offices in Sydney, Auckland, Denver, London, Singapore, Toronto, Manila For further information contact: toby.brown@keymedia.com +61 2 8437 4795 Copyright is reserved throughout. No part of this publication can be reproduced in whole or part without the express permission of the editor. Contributions are invited, but copies of work should be kept, as the magazine can accept no responsibility for loss.
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