MEDIA RELEASE                                                                                                                             

November 4, 2010

Finalists announced in search for New Zealand’s best workplace

What do a car wholesaler, a district council, a stationery shop and a hospice all have in common?

They’re all among some of the best places to work in the country and have just been announced as finalists in the JRA Best Workplaces Survey 2010.

The survey is New Zealand’s largest annual workplace climate-employee engagement survey and uses confidential feedback from organisations’ employees to rate their employers.

This year 35 finalists from all over the country are contenders for the coveted title of Best Workplace. Winners will also be named in each size category - small, small-medium, medium-large and large.

Almost 31,000 employees from 245 organisations across the country took part in the survey this year, up from last year’s 216.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony and dinner at the Langham Hotel in Auckland on Thursday, November 11 where the Minister of Labour, Hon. Kate Wilkinson, will be guest speaker.

The 2010 finalists come in a range of shapes and sizes from the small team of just 22 employees at Gopher business directory, to the 866-strong team at Warehouse Stationery.

Finalists come from all over the country including small software firm ADInstruments in Dunedin, CORE Education from Christchurch and the South Taranaki District Council.

The region with most finalists, outside of Auckland and Wellington, is the Bay of Plenty with three locally based organisations; Footsteps Education, Brookfield New World and Sport Bay of Plenty, each represented in three of the four size categories.

For some organisations collecting feedback from employees was a national exercise, with larger firms such as, the Retail Institute, Smith&Smith, AMI Insurance and Overland all having branches nationwide.

Confectionary giant Mars New Zealand are one of the veterans of the competition and return for their fourth time as a finalist this year after winning the medium-large category in 2008.

The list of finalists also includes three not-for-profit organisations, Mercy Hospice, Presbyterian Support Northern and Southern Cross Health Society, showing you don’t need to spend lots of money to have the happiest staff.

Now in its 11th year, the Best Workplaces Survey has become the benchmark for best employer claims.

This year’s finalists’ employees responded to 60 questions, grouped into categories such as culture and values, learning and development, reward and recognition, communication and co-operation.

JRA managing director John Robertson says it is encouraging to see a large number of organisations still entering the survey, and the high level of staff satisfaction, despite difficult economic conditions for some.

“The JRA Best Workplaces Survey gives employees the chance to have their say, and provides employers with some fantastic feedback on what is working and how happy and satisfied their people are.

“Finalists and winners rightly use their result to attract and retain the best staff and improve market perceptions of their organisation,” he says.

Finalists in the Small Workplace category are:

ADInstruments, Auckland Radiation Oncology, DE Group, Gopher, Inspire Group, Maven International, Porter Novelli, Redvespa Consultants, Sport Bay of Plenty and Yahoo!Xtra.

Finalists in the Small-Medium Workplace category are:

CORE Education, Crockers, Footsteps Education, Hyundai Motors, Mercy Hospice, Microsoft New Zealand, Obex Medical, Outward Bound Trust of New Zealand, Retail Institute and Roche Products (New Zealand).

Finalists in the Medium-Large Workplace category are:

AA Insurance, Brookfield New World, FMG, Mars New Zealand, Overland Footwear, PSIS, Recreational Services, Smith&Smith®, South Taranaki District Council and Trade Me.

Finalists in the Large Workplace category are:

AMI Insurance, The Fletcher Construction Company’s Engineering Division, Presbyterian Support Northern, Southern Cross Health Society and Warehouse Stationery.

For more information on the JRA best Workplaces Survey visit www. bestworkplaces.co.nz

For further information:

Melanie McKay                                                                                                          Jocelyn Rein

Star Public Relations                                                                                                   Star Public Relations

09 912 7827                                                                                                                09 912 7827

021 0200 8550                                                                                                             021 960 933

melanie@starpublicrelations.co.nz                                                                  jocelyn@starpublicrelations.co.nz

Note to Editors:

The overall winner and category winners are not announced until the awards ceremony on November 11, although finalists have been notified. An embargoed press release with the winners’ details will be sent to media the morning of the awards to help meet deadlines. The embargo is in place until 10.30pm on Thursday, November 11 and no winners can be contacted until after that time.