Tasmania’s Minister for Workplace Relations, Lisa Singh, recently declared Launceston City Council one of the State’s four new Employers of Choice.
Council was selected along with three private sector organisations, following significant work to support its workforce through a difficult economic period.
The Tasmanian Government established the Employer of Choice Awards to encourage businesses to adopt practices to help them attract and retain skilled workers.
“This scheme has been in place for the last three years and we are one of only nine businesses to receive this recognition,” said Launceston’s Acting General Manager Rod Sweetnam.
“Council has progressively worked with its employees to improve conditions over the past three years. We place high value on supporting individual needs and we recognise that all employees need to have work/life balance.”
Some examples of the flexible arrangements council has in place to support its employees include generous parental and adoption leave provisions; breastfeeding, milk storage and expressing facilities; a flexible approach to part time work; salary sacrificing arrangements; generous financial assistance for further study; paid leave for emergency services volunteers; recognition of effort and creativity through its employee recognition policy; and leadership development. Council also provides sponsorship for staff participation in external sporting and charity events.
“The Employer of Choice honour and the reasons we were awarded it will greatly assist us in our recruitment efforts,” Rob Sweetnam said. “It is particularly important to provide support to staff due to the competitive environment for employees, especially within some Local Government professions, such as planning and engineering.
“In exchange for these levels of support, we can achieve a committed and loyal workforce, delivering better service to our community.”
A 2009 employee survey showed that a clear majority of Launceston’s staff responded favourably to ‘liking the type of work’ they do and indicated a decrease in staff turnover – one of the goals of being an Employer of Choice.
In addition, of the 20 women who have taken maternity leave in recent years,
90 per cent have subsequently returned to work with Council.
