UM ranks #4 in BRW’s Best Place to Work league; Maxus ranks #4 in under 100 employees category
After surveying 137 Australian workplaces nationally, and more than 28,000 staff, BRW and Great Place To Work Australia have ranked media agency UM Australia at #4 in BRW’s Best Place to Work league table in the over 100 employees category. The league, published today in The Australian Financial Review’s Boss magazine, ranked media agency Maxus in at #4 in the under 100 employees category.
Also ranking in the over 100 employees category is MediaCom at #15, Mindshare Media at #17 and OMD at #21. In the under 100 employees category advertising technology company Amobee ranked #7, Zinc #9, E-Web Marketing #10, Match Media #20 and 12WBT at #21.
UM had a great 2013, topping the Gunn Report as the most-awarded media agency in the world. The agency’s success continues with a rise in the Best Places to Work ranking of seven places since last year. The company’s collegiate atmosphere and willingness to listen to staff are among the many positives cited by employees.
Says Mat Baxter (pictured), CEO of UM Australia: “I’m obviously thrilled to improve on last year’s rank and to be acknowledged as one of the top 5 workplaces in Australia. But the real heroes are my management team and the employees of UM that have built a simply amazing company culture.”
Says Henry Tajer, IPG Mediabrands Australia executive chairman: “For UM to rise seven places to Number 4 in these prestigious rankings speaks volumes for the dedication Mat Baxter and his management team have for the people at UM and their clients. It is one of the finest accolades a business of our type could have.”
Says Zrinka Lovrencic of Great Place to Work: “The culture is open, transparent and collaborative. UM employees love what they do.”
MediaCom encourages staff to embrace its “4 Behaviours” (be brave, be wondrous, be Ninja, better together) through a program of activities as well as including them in the creation of its annual business plan. There is also an annual ‘If I Ran the Company’ global competition for teams to develop one big idea they would implement if they ran the company.
Says Lovrencic: “In a stressful industry MediaCom has created a feeling of togetherness, a professional but fun attitude to business and a relaxing environment.”
After its third month at media agency Mindshare, employees have a “stay interview” where they are asked if the company has met their expectations. The company believes staff should be thanked on a daily basis and to facilitate company-wide gratitude there is an app called Share the Love. Each staff member is allocated 100 points a month to award to any staff member they think is doing a great job and should be recognised.
Says Lovrencic: “This company is full of incredible people. It’s fun and creative, and staff can be themselves here.”
Global advertising agency OMD has moved up from 39 on 2013’s list. The company has also added nearly 50 staff in that time, too. The new starters are put in one of four teams that take part in regular morale-building events. To encourage thought leadership and debate, staff can submit an original and thought-provoking piece on topical themes to the “Renegade Writer of the Month” competition.
Leading advertising technology company Amobee, ranked #7, in the 2014 BRW Best Places to Work list in Australia (under 100 employees).
Following Amobee’s (ranked #7, Under 100 employees) purchase of cross-channel digital advertising platform Adconion in June this year, Amobee Australia’s ranking marks the third time the company has been named as a Great Place to Work in Australia.
Amobee Australia’s managing director Matthew Hunt said the recognition acknowledged Amobee’s ongoing investment and efforts to create an engaging and enjoyable workplace for its Australian operations.
Says Hunt: “We’re really proud of this achievement and particularly of our talented team who are the cornerstone to our success. We integrate overall employee well-being into the framework of our business, and believe our employees’ happiness and engagement cultivates a vibrant culture that drives passion, success, and innovation.
“Amobee has developed unique employee initiatives to retain and attract the industry’s top talent. Our dedicated TalentHub team has driven a variety of engagement programs and awards – including our ‘Giving Back Program’, Global Excellence Awards and PRO Awards.
“We live by unique cultural behaviours that are demonstrated across the business daily, and employees are rewarded for their hard work and dedication. There is also an active focus placed on Learning and Development through National and International Summits, as well as specialised training programs.”
Says Lovrencic: “People should take note of the companies that comprise this study. These will be the companies that attract and retain the most skilled, loyal, and innovative employees in the coming years.”
The BRW Best Places to Work study is widely acclaimed in Australia. Based on one of the world’s most comprehensive studies of workplace culture by Great Place to Work Australia, the quality of this year’s BRW Top 50 Best Places to Work was higher than ever. The success of the Best Workplaces is a testament to their willpower and innovation to retain happy, engaged, loyal, high performing workforces during challenging times.
Best Places to Work is published by global workplace assessment and research company Great Place to Work, which began its Australian publishing partnership with BRW in 2009. This year 137 companies and 28,000 employees took part in the survey. The rankings are determined by combining results from an employee survey, which measures behaviours known to lead to a trusting workplace, with a “culture audit” that gives human resources personnel the chance to express their company’s unique culture.
Scores are weighted two-thirds towards the employee survey. The poll is taken anonymously and is a representative sample of each company’s employee base. The remaining third is based on Great Place to Work’s analysis of the company’s programs and practices compared with other applicants.
Employees are asked for input on key measures such as trust in the people they work for, pride in what they do and how much they enjoy the people they work with.