Global recruitment marketing organisation is a great place to work

Where are all the great places to work in Australia? Right here! Employment Office has made BRW’s Great Places to Work Top 50 list, debuting at #27.

The fast-growing company currently employees more than 35 staff in its Australian offices and opened its doors to a rigorous audit in recent months to take its place on the list amongst some of the world’s largest companies.

Two categories Employment Office particularly excelled in are staff appreciation and recognition, sharing and celebrating.

Employment Office Support Leader Andrea Tjoeng said a great form of staff motivation at the company is the Annual Global Gathering.

“Each year staff work towards being selected to attend the gathering which could be held anywhere in the world,” Ms Tjoeng said.

“Previous gatherings have taken place in Dublin, Hawaii and Las Vegas and in 2011 staff are working towards an opportunity to travel to Paris for a non-stop party weekend.

“We also celebrate our staff’s successes each and every month at ‘Buzz Nights’ which take place off site and create an informal opportunity for staff and management to bond.

“There is always an awards and recognition portion to every Buzz Night and perhaps even more importantly it gives employees a glimpse of the pathway to the Global Gathering - who is in front and who is on track to make the trip.”

Ms Tjoeng said the company promoted an informal approach to communication that took the term ‘open door policy’ a step further than most.

“When you walk into Employment Office you will find the Directors sitting in the same area as all staff with no doors to close – it really is the ultimate open door policy.

“We also use corporate social media tools to aid communication in the workplace.

“One of the informal ways our staff communicate is through an internal enterprise social networking program called JAWshare, similar to Facebook which gives them regular daily contact with other staff worldwide and management.

“It is much more effective and interactive than email or blogs as staff can informally talk about their achievements, information they need or even just have some fun banter and all ‘followers’ are able to see and respond to the thread of the conversation.

“To be included on the BRW list of great places to work alongside some of the world’s largest companies is a wonderful achievement for Employment Office.

“While we offer many programs and benefits to our staff which have helped put us on this list, it is really our great staff that make this a fantastic place to work.

“We have a dedicated and friendly team who turn every day into one where staff can’t wait to get to work and that really is priceless in any workplace.”

Employment Office Founders Tudor Marsden-Huggins and Susanne Mather have enjoyed the kind of success most start-up businesses dream about since its inception in 1999.

Employment Office was the brain child of Tudor Marsden-Huggins, who at the time was a business owner frustrated with the difficulties inherent in advertising for his own staff, versus the expense and lack of choice and control involved in using recruitment agencies.

He and Susanne Mather formed a partnership to commercialise the concept and bring it to market and the company was incorporated as The Employment Office in March 2003 and the partners haven’t looked back since.

Twelve years later, Employment Office is now 50 percent owned by Flight Centre with offices in Brisbane, Melbourne, Vancouver and Toronto.