CoAct named an ‘Employer of Choice’ winner, cementing their strength

Leading employment services not-for-profit CoAct has been recognised as an Employer of Choice (EOC) in The Australian Business Awards 2019. The EOC accolade recognises organisations which have developed workplaces that maximise the full potential of their workforce through practices that demonstrate effective employee recruitment, engagement and retention.

CoAct CEO, Matt Little, says the prestigious award provides recognition of the organisation’s deliberate investment in staff through innovative engagement practices, which enables them to help drive impact in the lives of Australians.

“We know that without the right people, it is difficult to drive impact. Investing in the right staff and engaging them in the right way enables CoAct to spend more time and effort working on solving important issues, like developing better ways to help Australia’s most disadvantaged find and keep work.”

In 2018, CoAct and their network of locally-embedded Service Partners helped 56,134 Australians find jobs through the delivery of government-funded employment services as well as their own innovative programs.

“By championing our staff, we can focus on placing the hardest people to place into meaningful, sustained employment,” Mr Little said.

Australian Business Awards Program Director, Ms Tara Johnston said The Australian Business Awards exist to “recognise organisations within Australia that are committed to their employees and their customers”.

“The awards resonate with our mission of highlighting organisations within Australia that foster a culture of innovation, promoting teamwork and problem-solving. Fostering a culture of innovation is essential for every organisation. Organisations that are innovation-focused experience improved business efficiency, staff performance and retention.” Ms Johnston added.

Of the 52 companies awarded in the EOC category, CoAct was amongst just five not-for-profit winners. Mr Little said that as a not-for-profit, CoAct has had to be innovative on finding affordable ways to engage staff.

“Becoming an Employer of Choice certainly hasn’t happened overnight. It’s taken time to get the mix right, shift our culture and listen to our staff. We’ve learnt that lots of little things add up and nothing motivates employees more than feeling genuinely valued and rewarded for their efforts.”

Employee engagement initiatives that CoAct has implemented include flexible work arrangements, monthly rostered days off, professional development and career goal setting, a health and wellbeing allowance, purchased leave options and a quarterly reward and recognition program, to name a few.

It’s these initiatives and more that contribute to CoAct’s strong performance in the employment services space and enable innovative thinking to thrive.

Mr Little said innovation and collaboration was in CoAct’s DNA. “Our highly-engaged and highly-effective workforce is what enables us to collaborate with community partners to help solve problems and ensure our programs match the needs and priorities of those we help. It enables us to offer intensive support to help highly-disadvantaged and long-term unemployed job seekers move into employment and collaborate with leading community organisations such as Bridge Housing and the icare Foundation to provide innovative employment support.”

The Employer of Choice Award recipients will participate in the international chapter of the program at the World Business Awards whereby participants are provided with the unique opportunity to benchmark themselves against the top performers globally.

The Employer of Choice Framework (EOC Framework) is utilised as a structured model of assessment that enables the participating organisations to be benchmarked against world class performance standards through a global recognition and knowledge building initiative that is underpinned by the program’s established framework.

The key attributes of the EOC Framework define the characteristics of well-managed, high-performing, industry-leading organisations that provide a stimulating and supportive workplace.

Entrant organisations are required to demonstrate their achievements across the key areas of Organisational Culture; Leadership & Strategy; Employee Education, Training & Development; Employee Health, Safety & Satisfaction; Performance Management; Recognition & Remuneration.

About The Australian Business Awards

Now in their fourteenth year, The Australian Business Awards are an annual all-encompassing awards program which recognises organisations that demonstrate the core values of business innovation, product innovation, technological achievement and employee engagement via a set of comprehensive award categories. The program provides a notable opportunity for leading employers to be acknowledged and recognised for their achievements both nationally and internationally.

/Public Release.