Valuing our people

Employee engagement

Employee engagement

Our employees create our products and deliver our services. How they act, think and feel about the organisation is vital to our success. Our aim is to foster a diverse work environment where employees are engaged and their contributions are recognised.

Our annual employee opinion survey, 'Our Voice', measures employee engagement. Our 2009 employee engagement score was 82 per cent, which is above the Global High Performing Companies Norm as measured by Towers Perrin-ISR. While falling by 1 per cent from our 2008 score of 83 per cent, engagement remains high, despite the uncertainty of the economic climate at the time of the survey and structural changes in some parts of the business.

The Global High Performance Norm (GHPN) is Towers Perrin-ISR's highest benchmark. In the 2009 Our Voice survey, we either met or exceeded the GHPN in 18 of the 20 result categories where a GHPN benchmark score is available.

The area in which we scored most favourably in comparison with the Global High Performing Companies Norm was training and learning, with 81 per cent of people saying that there are sufficient opportunities for them to receive training to improve skills. We will continue to develop our employees as this is a key reason why people stay at Stockland. In previous years, pay was highlighted as an area that needed to be examined. This year's results show a marked improvement (8 per cent) in employees' perceptions on pay.

While the survey highlights areas in which we are performing well, it also identifies areas in which we can improve. The areas in which we scored least favorably in comparison with the GHPN included:

• Values: While most people believe our values are clear (92 per cent) and our current values remain relevant to the business (88 per cent), there has been an 8 per cent reduction in the belief that leadership decisions are consistent with our core values. Overall, there has been a significant reduction in our values category score, from 85 in FY08 to 81 in FY09, which is two points below the GHPN score. This reduction occurred primarily in the parts of the business most affected by organisational restructuring implemented prior to the survey period. In FY10, we will be seeking to address this by supporting a more constructive leadership style aligned with our culture and values, focusing on the business areas where the biggest reduction in scores occurred.
• Customer Focus: There has been a 5 per cent reduction in the belief that we do not make promises to customers that we cannot deliver on. This is a particular concern in some of our customer-focusing areas and one that we are seeking to address through initiatives such as the launch of our Customer Relationship Management system in our Residential business.

While our perceptions of work/life balance have improved since 2008 and three-quarters of employees find their work schedule allows sufficient flexibility to meet personal needs, 43 per cent said that they feel their workload is excessive. Action plans to address this will be developed in the coming year.

The 2009 'Our Voice' survey was conducted in March and April 2009 and employee participation was high at 92 per cent. 

Ethnicity

FY09

FY08

Diversity in the workplace

Diversity forms an integral part of our People strategy, with progress against the diversity target reported to the Board twice a year. In the 2009 'Our Voice' employee survey, 89 per cent of people felt that we support equal employment opportunity for all employees. This represents a 9 per cent increase from our score in 2008 and is 17 per cent above the Towers Perrin-ISR Global High Performing Companies' Norm.

We value diversity and aim to create a vibrant and inclusive workforce, reflective of the communities in which we operate. Our focus is on gender equity, disability and Indigenous Australians. During the past year, a Diversity Steering Committee has been established to oversee the implementation of our diversity strategy. A senior manager has been appointed in the human resources team to identify best practice diversity initiatives.

We accommodate the Diversity Council of Australia (DCA) in our head office, providing workstations and IT facilities free of charge. DCA is an independent, not-for-profit diversity adviser to businesses in Australia. This arrangement provides us with the opportunity to collaborate with the DCA on how we can enhance diversity within our workplace. Although opportunities to expand the diversity of our workforce have been limited by the global financial crisis and a lower level of recruitment activity, several new diversity programs have been implemented.

Disability programs

In conjunction with the Australian Employers' Network on Disability, we participate in the 'Stepping into Finance' program and the 'Willing & Able Mentoring' program. The program supports tertiary students with a disability by providing them with either paid work experience during their summer vacation or with the opportunity to develop a mentoring relationship with an industry professional.

Providing employment opportunities for Indigenous Australians

Our commitment to providing employment opportunities for Indigenous Australians has been strengthened through the graduation of our first Indigenous cadet into ongoing full-time employment.

Gender profile

Gender and age profile

Overall women in management

Gender equity

Our aim is to increase the percentage of women in management roles, and progress has been achieved over the past year. The percentage of women in management roles increased from 30.4 per cent at the start of the year to 33.4 per cent by the end of the year. Although this improvement falls slightly below our target of 35 per cent, opportunities to expand the diversity of our workforce have been limited by our lower level of recruitment activity in response to the economic climate.

We remain committed to professional development initiatives to help increase the number of suitably-qualified female candidates for senior roles. The launch of the 'My Mentor' program, in addition to expanding our women's networking forums, provides further support for women to develop their careers.

Human rights

Our human rights commitments are included in the following policies and procedures:

• Code of Conduct and Ethical Behaviours,
• Dispute Resolution Policy,
• Whistleblowing Policy,
• Health and Safety Policy.

We look to work with organisations that demonstrate a commitment to human rights, through our Sustainable Supply Chain Management policy. See the engaging with our suppliers page.

Employee benefits

We support our employees by offering a range of benefits such as:

• Eligibility to participate in an employee share plan and short term incentive program,
• Employee discounts for purchases in Stockland developments,
• Two days paid personal volunteering leave,
• Twelve weeks paid parental leave for primary care givers,
• Two weeks paid parental leave for non-primary care givers,
• Dependent care information and referral service,
• Employee Assistance Program that offers confidential counselling for employees and family members,
• Learning and development programs,
• On-site childcare centre at head office. Since opening in June 2008, the Treehouse Childcare Centre now has an average enrolment of 45 children, representing an 80 per cent occupancy rate.

Where feasible, employees are also able to arrange flexible work options with their managers. These include part-time roles, job sharing and the flexibility to work from home.