Demographics

The employee engagement survey was completed by 708 employees from the participating organisations in June 2009. 57% were female and 43% male and 65% were aged under 40. 73% were classed as full-time permanent staff and the majority (79%) have been with the organisation 5 years or less. We also surveyed how employees on the Northern Beaches get to work and how long it takes them. 80% use their own transport and for the majority (67%) the commute takes less than half-an-hour.

 Overall engagement profile

69% of employees in the Northern Beaches are planning to remain with their current employers, with the top 3 factors influencing their decision to stay being:

1. The nature of the work itself

2. Relationships with colleagues

3. Confidence in the organisation

The fact that 9% of employees are already intending to leave and a further 22% are at risk of leaving their current employer should also be a warning that employers cannot afford to be complacent despite the current economic conditions which has generally reduced the level of staff turnover. The 3 factors most likely to influence an employee’s decision to leave are:

1. The pay and benefits package

2. Potential for progression through the organisation

3. Training and development opportunities

Organisational Performance

• 87% of employees are clear on the future direction of their organisation
• 80% are confident in the leadership and direction of the organisation
• 80% feel they are given the necessary support to carry out their role within the organisation
• 78% are satisfied with their colleagues
• 75 % are satisfied with the job
• 71 % are satisfied with their work environment

However only 51% of the employees surveyed are satisfied with the salary and rewards and career progression component of their jobs.

If you are interested in purchasing the full 13 page report with more detailed analysis (see sample report) at a cost of $495.00 incl GST please do not hesitate to contact us.

The winners for the Northern Beaches 2009 Local Employer Awards were: 

Best Local Employer > 50 employees : Pandora
Best Local Employer < 50 employees: Ant-Eater Pest Control
Personal Growth and Development: Allan Hall Business Partners
Job Satisfaction: Make a Difference Daycare
Working Conditions: WDA
Ethical Standards: Isaacs and Cole

Best Local Employers

The Best Local Employer Award for an organisation with more than 50 employees went to Pandora. Pandora has its head office in Warriewood and is one of the most recognised jewellery brands in Australia. CEO Karin Adcock was delighted to receive the award on behalf of Pandora . Ant-Eater Pest Control  who won this category for organisations with less than 50 employees have been operating in this area for over 40 years. The award was picked up by Managing Director, Graham Williamson.

Other finalists in the Best Local Employer category included : Allan Hall Business Services, International College of Management Sydney (ICMS) , Ingenico, Insight, Isaacs and Cole, McGrath, Surf Life Saving NSW, Verifact and WDA.

Specialist Categories

The Award for Personal Growth and Development went to Allan Hall Business Advisors, who have provided the Northern Beaches community with accounting and financial services for more than 50 years. The Award was collected by Scott Somerville, Partner and was presented by Paul Boxall from the Printing Company, a Northern Beaches printing company who sponsored the Awards.

The Award for Job Satisfaction went to Make a Difference Day Care which provides child care on the Northern Beaches. This Award was presented by Scott Somerville from Alan Hall Business Advisors who not only participated but were also a major sponsor of the Awards. The Working Conditions Award went to WDA, a real estate advertising and design company based in the Lifestyle Working building in Brookvale. The Award was fittingly presented by Ed Horton, a Director at Lifestyle Working, a new sustainable concept in the commercial built environment that houses many Peninsula based organisations.

The final Award for Ethical Standards was presented to Isaacs and Cole, a rapidly expanding accountancy firm in the local area and was presented by Westpac who have a long tradition of working in partnership with local businesses and also sponsored the 2009 Northern Beaches Local Employer Awards. The Award was collected by Catherine White.

Thank you to our sponsors

The Local Employer Awards would like to thank our Northern Beaches sponsors Allan Hall Business Advisors, The Manly Sea Eagles, Westpac, Lifestyle Working and the Printing Company for their sponsorship.

Photos of the evening :

Jaqueline Maley: AFR 30^th July 2009

Employers should not grow smug or complacent in the face of the deteriorating job market, according to recruitment experts. They say employees are still restless despite the downturn and many expect to leave their current job as soon as the economy picks up.

Companies who manage their brand through a downturn will come out sparkling in the minds of recruiters and employees as being great places to work; but those who have managed any contraction will find the opposite applies. Organisations perceived as being attractive workplaces – through a combination of good pay, good experience and prestige – were generally able to pay their workers about 10% less than other organisations, according to  a global research paper released by Manpower recruitment. But satisfied workers would not always stay put. Seventy-five of the Australian workers surveyed said they were satisfied with their current job, but of that group, a third were nonetheless planning to leave. “The way to drive retention is through employee engagement,” said Lincoln Crawley the managing director of Manpower Australia.

Employees are engaged when they have confidence in senior management and its strategy, and when they thought performance was being rewarded consistently throughout the organisation, he said. The way a company handled itself through contracting economic conditions as well as during a boom was increasingly important to employees when choosing a place to work. As the economy picks up, the pendulum will swing back towards the supply side of the job market.

The following 10 organisations who participated in the scheme received the highest score in the Best Employer category. They are in alphabetical order:

Allan Hall, Ant Eater Pest Control, ICMS, Ingenico, Insight, Isaacs and Cole, McGrath, Surf Life Saving NSW, Verifact, WDA.

The Winners will be announced at the Awards Evening to be held on Thursday August 6th from 6pm till 8.30 pm in the Restaurant at the Lifestyle Working Building, 117 Old Pittwater Road Brookvale. The winners in the other categories, Personal Growth and Development, Job Satisfaction, Working Conditions and Ethical Standards will also be announced on the night.

Tickets to the Awards Evening are available at a cost of $44 per person inc GST and include canapes and drinks served throughout the evening and can be ordered by calling the Local Employer Awards on 02 9905 9735.

• Chatswood Chamber Business After Hours: Monday June 29th 5.30-7pm at Advanced Personnel Management, Suite 303, Level 3 North Tower, 1-5 Railway Street, Chatswood. See website for details www.chatswoodchamber.com.au
• Ryde Business Forum Business After Hours: Monday July 6th 5.30-7pm at Johnson and Johnson, 1-5 Khartoum Road, North Ryde. See website for more details www.rydebusiness.com.au
• Hornsby and District COC After Hours : Tuesday July 7th from 6pm at Asquiths League Club in Waitara. See website for more details www.hornsbychamber.com.au
• North Sydney COC After Hours: Wednesday July 8th 5.30-7pm at Winevault Spare Room Self Storage, 7-11 Lanceley Place, Artarmon. See website for more details www.northsydneychamber.com.au

• 8 seats in the Paltinum Club for Sea Eagles vs Canberra Raiders, Sunday 21st June 2009
• 10 Family Tickets for Sea Eagles vs Canberra Raiders, Sunday 21st June 2009
• 2 Adult Tickets to Sea Eagles vs Bulldogs, Monday 6th July 2009

 Winners of these prizes were the following organisations:

• Allan Hall
• ICMS
• Ingenico
• Pandora
• Surf Life Saving NSW
• Syndeticom
• The Steyne Hotel
• WDA

Nominate your employer to be sure they participate!

The current climate of staff cutbacks and cost trimming might not seem an aideal environment in which to launch an employer awards program, but Brookvale engagement and retention company TalentDrain doesn’t agree. Managing Director John Asquith, who introduced the new program to the peninsula business community last week, said in tough times it was even more important to keep staff motivated and productive.

For full article see http://digitaledition.manlydaily.com.au/?iid=25196 on p. 22

LEA Northern Beaches Launch

The Northern Beaches launch evening was held on May 7 2009, sponsored by Lifestyle Working (www.lifestyleworking.com.au) in Brookvale. Around 80 business and community leaders attended, and almost 90% of the organisations that were represented registered to take part in the Northern Beaches Awards program. Julia Palmer (www.bconsulted.com.au) was the MC, and Northern Beaches celebrity Layne Beachley spoke about her experiences of living and setting up her business in the Northern Beaches.