CareerOne excellence awards finds best employers
By Fran Metcalf
An on-site gym and GP plus flexible working arrangements are just some of the reasons Lite n’ Easy won top corporate human resource team of the year at the 2010 CareerOne Queensland Excellence Awards.
The awards, presented on Tuesday night at GoMA, South Bank, by CareerOne and The Courier-Mail, recognise innovative and effective recruitment advertising and excellence in employment and training.
There were 11 award categories, including excellence in multimedia advertising and 2010 recruiter of the year, with winners sharing a prize pool of $114,500.
“All of the entries received displayed a high calibre of innovation geared around ensuring an end result for advertisers,” says Queensland Newspapers director of advertising Sue-Ann Fresneda.
Fresneda says Lite n’ Easy’s clear focus on staff was one of the reasons it won the top corporate award, which earned the Banyo-based food firm $1000 towards an employee prize as well as $15,000 for co-branded advertising support within CareerOne and careerone.com.au.
Offering careers rather than just jobs and the simple act of saying “thank you” to staff were part of the reason Lite n’ Easy pipped fellow finalists, including international engineering firm AMEC Minproc.
Founded by Graham Mitchell nearly 25 years ago, Lite n’ Easy provides prepared calorie-restricted meals for time-poor people.
“When you sign up to work at Lite n’ Easy, you are given a job for life and welcomed to the family,” says the company’s human resource manager, Jennifer Tiffin.
“We recognise that to work for life you need to be fit for life, feel recognised and enjoy coming to work. We provide education to maintain health including an annual 12-week health and nutrition program.”
On-site personal trainers and psychologists as well as annual skin checks, QUIT smoking support and vaccinations are all part of the company’s health offerings to staff.
“We offer the ability to transfer or reduce your working hours as your personal needs change,” Tiffin says.
“If you have worked for us for 10 years, Graham Mitchell meets you to say thank you personally and to share his vision for the future.
“We also provide a weekend experience for the employee and a loved one that is unforgettable. Our most recent recipient spent an all-expenses-paid weekend at Palazzo Versace and you can’t wipe the grin of her face.”
Because Lite n’ Easy is about helping people change their lives, Tiffin says the company rebranded itself through advertising to help attract candidates who genuinely believe in the firm’s mission.
Meanwhile, for the second year in a row, the Australian Child Care Career Options training institute won the excellence in training and education award while recruitment firm Hudson Queensland won two categories: recruitment consultant of the year (Kristy Coulter) and recruitment agency of the year (13+ consultants).
Hudson’s Queensland executive general manager, Dean Davidson, told guests it was rewarding to receive the accolades after the past 12 months of economic hardship.
Recruitment agency of the year (12 or fewer consultants) went to u&u Executive Recruitment Partners.
Queensland Newspapers managing director Jerry Harris said recruitment advertising had been hit hard in southeast Queensland in the past year but there were signs of recovery.
“We are pleased to see that having endured significant falls in print and online that the market is now beginning to recover, as unemployment falls,” he told guests.
“The fundamentals that sustain Queensland have not changed: minerals, construction, tourism and agriculture. As these sectors return to growth and the employment market tightens, creativity in recruitment advertising, both in print and online, will be key to attracting the right sort of candidates to maximise the opportunity.”
The awards were judged by a panel of Fresneda, CareerOne.com.au chief executive Michael Harvey, Recruitment and Consulting Services Association chief executive Steve Granland, Australian Council for Private Education and Training executive in residence Donna McDonald and Australian Human Resources Institute member Peter McLean.
CareerOne Queensland Excellence Awards 2010
Excellence in Online – CareerOne.com.au
WINNER: Cromar Consulting
FINALISTS:
1. Skye Recruitment
2. Cromar Consulting
3. Lite n’ Easy by ReAgent Employer Marketing
4. Windsor Recruitment
Excellence in Print – The Courier-Mail
WINNER: u&u Executive Recruitment Partners by The Face Australia
FINALISTS:
1. O’Loughlin Executive Search
2. u&u Executive Recruitment Partners by The Face Australia
3. Bay Audio by The Face Australia
Excellence in Regional Advertising
FINALISTS:
1. Precruitment Pty Ltd
2. Twelve Days of Christmas by The Forde Group
3. Quicksilver Connections Limited
Excellence in Community Advertising
WINNER: Sarina Russo Job Access
FINALISTS:
1. Aviation Australia
2. Sarina Russo Job Access
Excellence in Multimedia Advertising
WINNER: Sarina Russo Job Access
FINALISTS:
1. Sarina Russo Job Access
2. TAFE Queensland
3. Focus Legal Recruitment by The Face Australia
Corporate HR Team of the Year
WINNER: Lite n’ Easy
FINALISTS:
1. AMEC Minproc
2. Lite n’ Easy
Training and Education Excellence
WINNER: Australian Child Care Career Options
FINALISTS:
1. Gold Coast Institute of TAFE
2. The Designworks College of Design
3. Careers Australia Group Limited
4. Australian Child Care Career Options
Recruitment Consultant of the Year
WINNER: Kristy Coulter – Hudson
FINALISTS:
1. Andrea McDonald – Talent2 International
2. Ineke Read – Davidson Recruitment
3. Kristy Coulter – Hudson
4. Margie Ireland – Sharman Carroll Consulting
Recruitment Agency of the Year (12 or fewer consultants)
WINNER: u&u Executive Recruitment Partners
FINALISTS:
1. u&u Executive Recruitment Partners
2. Carroll Consulting
3. Skye Recruitment
Recruitment Agency of the Year 13+ consultants
WINNER: Hudson Queensland
FINALISTS:
1. Davidson Recruitment
2. Talent2 International
3. Hudson Queensland
Article from The Courier Mail, July, 2010.
