Newcrest, Xstrata, ABC ‘best employers’

AVIATION may be  Queensland’s most attractive industry, but the top three employers are in the resources and media industries, according to the latest Randstad Award research.

Newcrest Mining was voted Queensland’s most attractive employer at this year's Randstad Awards, closely beating fellow mining company Xstrata and national broadcaster the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

The Randstad Award winners for Queensland were judged from feedback by more than 1,900 of the state’s workers.

The Randstad survey found the most attractive employer overall, for Australia, was the ABC, then Virgin Australia and in third place was the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.

Recruitment and human resources (HR) specialists Randstad’s CEO , Frank Ribuot said Newcrest Mining should be extremely proud of being voted Queensland’s most attractive employer this year.

“Newcrest has been a standout in the Randstad Awards over the past two years, after winning the national awards in 2012 and being recognised as The Most Attractive Employer in the Mining and Resources Sector over the past two years,” Mr Ribuot said.

“This year, Newcrest Mining ranked as the most attractive company in Australia when it comes to competitive salary and employee benefits. It also ranked extremely favourably across other key criteria including strong management, career progression opportunities and financial health.”

Mr Ribuot said Newcrest Mining’s ability to stand out from other companies in the mining and natural resources sector speaks to the organisation’s continued commitment to its workers, reflected in their commitment to developing people and maintaining a safe environment in which they feel secure to be the best they can be.

Interestingly, the most attractive industry to work for in Queensland is aviation, followed by the mining and natural resources sector, then fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industries. That is a re-order of the Australia-wide results, in which aviation still led, but FMCG was ahead of mining and resources.

“To appeal to and retain the right talent, every organisation needs to consider what makes their business and their industry unique and attractive,” Mr Ribuot said.

Almost two thirds (61%) of Australians identify competitive salary and employee benefits as the most attractive attributes in an employer, followed by long-term job security, (55%), pleasant working atmosphere (50%); good work-life balance (47%) and interesting job content (41%).

Working for a business that is conveniently located is also high on the list according to 37 percent of Australians, and this is partly because commuting time to and from work plays a major part in being satisfied with an employer and achieving a good work-life balance.

According to 55 percent of Brisbanites, it was acceptable to travel between 15-30 minutes to work each day and 39 percent complete their commute in this timeframe. One third (33%) take less than 15 minutes to get to work, but 18 percent said it was acceptable to travel up to 45 minutes and a further 20 percent believed it acceptable to travel up to one hour every morning.

“This is important for organisations to know, particularly those in the outskirts of Brisbane, or in rural and regional areas of Queensland requiring longer commute times,” Mr Ribuot said. “People are prepared to commute longer to work for a great organisation, so it’s important to understand what your unique employer value propositions are and make sure you ‘sell’ them well.

“Ultimately, a happy employee who has flexibility at work, with a good work-life balance and an enjoyable job, surrounded by great people in a pleasant working environment will be more engaged, more loyal and importantly, more productive.

“So when looking to hire new people for your business, it’s critical that what’s being offered in the job advertisement and interview phase, perfectly matches what they experience when they accept the job.

“If candidates have a clear and honest understanding of what to expect from day one, and it consistently marries up with what they experience from the moment they start, then employers will find they have higher retention rates, higher attraction rates and therefore, improved employer brands,” Mr Ribuot said.

The Randstad Awards were launched in Belgium in 2000 and are now hosted in 23 countries.  The winners are decided from general public feedback and organisations cannot nominate themselves. Randstad Awards research is gathered from more than 200,000 people of working age including 9,500 Australians from the biggest 150 employers in the country.

www.randstad.com.au

 

POSTED MAY 12, 2014.