Diversity is a priority for international law firm Allens and it has been recognised as an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality for 13 years running. It set a target of 35% of its partners being female by 2022 – this may not sound like a lot, but in the average large law firm (50 partners or more) 71% are male, according to Solicitors Regulation Authority. Allens has also been recognised as a bronze employer for LGBTI inclusion in the Australian Workplace Equality Index and was the first law firm to participate in Pride in Diversity, which seeks to diversify workplaces across Australia.
Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG) is the biggest general insurance group across Australasia and its motto of ‘Closer, Braver, Faster’ is the basis for its approach to business, customers, and employees. A highlight of the employee benefits is the on-site holiday daycare centre, Kids-@-IAG. It saves parents around AU$5,000 (US$3,360/£2,590) a year in childcare costs, according to IAG. There is a recommended donation of AU$5 (US$3.35/£2.60) a day, which then goes to one of IAG's Workplace Giving charity partners.
Herbert Smith Freehills has offices all over the world, and diversity in the workplace and a good work-life balance have been listed as its best qualities by its employees, according to Glassdoor. Big thinkers can also make the most of the Innovation 10 Initiative, which allows staff up to 10 days of paid leave a year to work on innovation projects. The idea is to develop technology to help the firm and its clients, such as developing a legal app or working with artificial intelligence.
AGL Energy has provided energy to Australia for over 180 years and it has the country's largest private electricity portfolio. It has won awards for diversifying its workforce, including Gold Employer Status for LGBTI+ inclusion in 2018. The production of greener energy is also important to the company, and AGL runs one of Australia’s largest solar plant and wind farms. Future Forests is a carbon offset programme that was launched by the company, and it encourages customers contribute AU$1 a week to balance out the emissions associated with their energy usage.
MinterEllison provides legal and consulting services to clients and a rich extra-curricular programme for employees. The firm sponsors a huge array of staff teams, including netball, basketball, skiing and cycling, as well as a band and comedy group for those who prefer to be centre stage. It was also an official supporter of the Invictus Games in Sydney 2018, the competition for wounded, injured and ill servicemen and women founded by Prince Harry. The firm has also recently launched its new graduate programme Revolution, which is the first legal operations graduate programme in Australia.
Aurecon is an engineering, design and advisory company and as such, its workspaces are some of the best around. In 2018, the Brisbane team relocated to a new, freshly constructed headquarters in Australia’s tallest and largest engineered-timber building. The project has won more than 10 awards for its design. The team also achieved a WELL Verified Interiors rating for the office, meaning that it actively improves the health and wellbeing of employees in categories such as nourishment and fitness. Aurecon's most recognisable project is probably the Doha Expressway in Qatar (pictured).
Qantas is the third oldest airline in the world and the biggest in Australia. It employs 30,000 people and is at the forefront of aviation technology, having recently broken the world record for longest direct flight. It lasted 19 hours and 16 minutes and took passengers from New York to Sydney. The airline has pledged to reduce the waste it sends to landfill by 75% by the end of 2021. Qantas also has a target of using 100 million fewer single-use plastic products by 2021, and its first 'landfill-free' flight was trialled in 2019.
JLL is a professional services company that specialising in real estate. The company's diversity and environmental efforts have been recognised repeatedly, and it has achieved a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index for five years in a row. JLL has also has an excellent gender equality record, with its latest report highlighting that 40% of its board of directors are women. The company has impressive environmental credentials and achieved a record number of sustainable building certifications in 2019.
Colliers International is a real estate services and investment management company that sells property from around the world, from Erigmore Estate in Scotland (pictured) to Mount Falcon cattle station in north western Australia. Colliers prides itself on its development opportunities, which include training conferences and global camps with employees from around the world. The company also has designed stylish workspaces for employees, with features such as sky cafes and touch technology seeking to enhance the day-to-day life of staff.
BHP takes pride in being at the centre of the mining industry in Australia, but less well known is the way in which it looks after its employees. One of BHP’s strengths is its approach to flexible working, and 45% of the company’s employees have a flexible working agreement. BHP also has its own charitable foundation, which supports different causes across Australia like helping Indigenous organisations and funding STEM education for disadvantaged children.
Wesfarmers started out as a cooperative of farmers in Western Australia, but has since grown into one of the largest private sector employers in Australia. The conglomerate has a diverse portfolio of household name stores, including Kmart and Target, as well as businesses in chemicals, safety products, and coal. It is one of only two companies in the retail industry to have made it into the top 25 companies in Australia, and training and development initiatives, as well as career progression opportunities, were highlighted by Wesfarmers employees as big plus points, according to Glassdoor.
CBRE is the largest commercial real estate services and investment company in the world, and it was listed as one of Fortune’s ‘Most Admired Companies’ for eight consecutive years. Each year, the best employees are recognised as ‘Circle of Excellence’ winners and they are rewarded with a week-long adventure activity. Employees also take part in the annual Walk For A Wish event, which involves concurrent 10 kilometre walks through major cities to raise money for charity. The estate Larundel (pictured) was one of CBRE's recent acquisitions, and it is worth AU$20 million (US$13.5m/£10.4m).
Coming in last place out of 'the big four' in accounting on our list, Ernst & Young employs people from across different industries, including accounting, AI, tax and data analytics. A recent project was the launch of advanced cycling data-tracking in partnership with data provider Velon (pictured). As the firm looks to attract talented thinkers, it has adapted its workplace timelines to be as flexible as possible. Australian employees can take between six and 12 weeks of ‘life leave’ every year, and there is the option to have school holidays off; working part-time for a short period is also possible.
KPMG just beat Ernst & Young EY to be the third best of the four big accounting companies on our list, and it considers employee benefits to be an important part of career development. The company offers financial and leave assistance for anyone wishing to pursue postgraduate studies, as well as comprehensive in-house training and development opportunities. KPMG also offers lifestyle benefits, which range from savings on its services to entertainment deals, cars, and even white goods.
The company behind some of Australia’s best-known brands, Woolworths Group, includes the supermarket of the same name, Dan Murphy’s, and Countdown, and has 205,000 employees across Australia. Eligible Woolworths team members receive a 5% discount card for shopping in store and have the option to acquire shares in the company. Long-term staff members can also join the 25 year club and members have annual events and enjoy additional discount perks across Woolworths Group brands.
Starting out as an online bookstore in Jeff Bezos’ garage, Amazon is now the world’s biggest e-commerce company. There are Amazon offices in more than 30 different countries, and some of the perks offered to staff are as niche as the website itself. Every day is bring your dog to work day at Amazon and in one US office, there have been 7,000 dogs on campus at one time. Conditions in Amazon’s ‘fulfilment centres’ (where products are stored and shipped) have come under fire for their working conditions recently, however standards are said to have improved and the company has recently opened its third Australian centre in Perth.
Salesforce is a cloud-based company providing customer-relationship management services. The company’s CEO has tried to instil the notion of ‘Ohana’ (Hawaiian for 'extended family') into the Salesforce culture to promote a happy working environment. Each employee receives AU$150 (US$101/£77) every month for their own health and wellbeing, and giving up time for charity is also celebrated, with the top 100 volunteers at the company receiving up to AU$10,000 (US$6740/£5196) to donate to a non-profit of their choosing.
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Taking second place out of the 'big four' accountancy firms, Deloitte provides audit, economics, financial advisory, and tax services. In a bid to improve the general wellbeing of staff, the company challenged staff to get a better night’s sleep. Employees were given tools to help them hit their sleep targets, improve their habits and improve their overall health and productivity in an initiative to make sure everybody was well-rested. Sleep isn’t the only aspect of employee health that Deloitte keeps an eye on, with holistic wellbeing programmes, skin checks, and flu vaccinations to make sure that everybody is kept in tip-top condition.
CIMIC Group is a global leader in engineering-led construction and mining services and its employees have access to a whole realm of benefits. The company has been involved in an extensive number of impressive projects, ranging from the construction of Canberra’s light rail to the City of Dreams in Macau (pictured). CIMIC employee perks range from wellness programmes and discounted insurance to offers on Apple products and even deals on Vasse Felix wines. The company has also made large payouts to female employees to eradicate the gender pay gap that had cropped up in a recent report.
PwC is the highest ranking of the 'big four' accountancy firms in LinkedIn’s ranking of the best big companies to work for in Australia. The company is aiming to be the most technology-enabled professional firm, with meetings on treadmills and remote working using Google Hangouts being embraced across the company. In a bid to shake off the stuffy and overworked stereotype often associated with accounting, PwC lets its employees dress how they like, as well as giving them birthdays off and up to 12 weeks additional holiday.
Lendlease is an Australian property and infrastructure group that operates across the world. Challenging the norms of the construction industry, Lendlease puts its employees’ work-life balance first and sets weekly working hour limits. It is also one of the first construction companies giving workers their weekends back. Sustainability is at the core of its projects, and a recent development, International House Sydney in Barangaroo South (pictured), featured engineered timber as its primary material, winning it the Development Excellence Award for Sustainable Development and six stars on the Green Star rating.
Amazing company headquarters that have to be seen to be believed
One of the top three banks in Australia to work for, Commonwealth Bank, or Commbank, has great equality stats. The bank’s board has a 50/50 gender balance amongst its employees, and 44.5% of management roles are held by women. Commbank offers flexible working and additional leave for employees wanting to spend the school holidays with their kids, as well as university scholarships to help those children get into higher education. The bank also offers further learning to employees themselves, with financial assistance available to help workers complete courses to prepare them for future roles at Commbank.
ANZ Banking is actually the top bank in New Zealand but has a presence in Australia, with job opportunities in financial services, technology, design, data, and customer services. Diversity is at the forefront of ANZ’s workplace culture and employee networks nurture its inclusive workplace, including the Australia Reconciliation Network for indigenous people, and the New Zealand Asian Employee Network. Offices at ANZ Banking are often transformed into hives of social activity for big events, with tennis matches popping up in the foyer during the Australian Open and smoke ceremonies taking place during National Reconciliation Week.
‘Do the right thing’ is one of the five core values that underpins the culture at National Australia Bank. Employees are given two paid volunteering leave days a year so that they can give their time to local non-profit organisations, and employees can take time off to suit their lifestyle, including religious leave and sporting activities leave. Financial services with the bank also come at a discounted rate for employees.
Founded in 1817, Westpac Group is the oldest bank and company in Australia. How the group looks after its employees exceeds most other big companies in the financial sector and office spaces have been adapted to promote ‘agile working’, so there are no fixed desks and technology plays a big role.There is a lot of flexibility in the leave options available, with career breaks and sports and volunteering leave available to those who want it. Westpac Group also offers domestic violence support leave for employees, as well as generous parental and grandparental leave.