North Construction & Building has been revealed as one of the best places to work in Australia.

Last week’s Great Place to Work Australia virtual Award presentation announced that this regional 100 per cent employee-owned commercial construction company ranked number 17 on the 2020 Best Places to Work study in the 100-999 employee category.

With 39,156 Australian-based employees from 124 companies participating in the bench marking study, North’s ranking came as quite a welcomed surprise for the team.

North Construction & Building Managing Director, Matthew Cook, said the news was an exciting achievement for the group.

“To be named as one of the best companies to work for in Australia is such an honour,” Matthew said.

“As a business, we have always strived to be an employer of choice, creating a culture of trust that not only nurtures and develops each individual but also embraces excellence, camaraderie and fun.”

Matthew believes employees flourish when they work within a high-trust workplace culture.

“Trust, for us, isn’t limited to our employees,” he said.

“Trust is the foundation of all that we do and all that we are. This Award and recognition is the culmination of our efforts over the past 30 years and a wonderful acknowledgement of our dedication to our people, our subcontractors, our clients and our community.”

This year’s benchmark study publication comes amid the COVID-19 crisis, which has upended daily life and business operations around the world.

The ranking of Australia’s Best Places to Work 2020 is based on data collected prior and during the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Managing Director of Great Place to Work Australia, Zrinka Lovrencic, said the way organisations navigate and deal with crises such as these was an added element to consider with their Awards.

“The organisations in the study are leading the way amid the pandemic, demonstrating care for their employees, customers and communities during this coronavirus,” Zrinka said.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is a challenge time organisations across the globe, and it puts a premium on being a high trust people-first culture.

“We celebrate the companies that earned places on our 2020 Best Places to Work benchmarking study and we hope this will inspire more companies to continue maintaining and building trust with their team members.”

Through the 2020 Best Places to Work study process, Great Place to Work had the opportunity to observe how North inspires, invents, and innovates as they introduced new initiatives whilst navigating through this changing landscape.

North stood out in this regard as the company has been making in-roads in transforming the construction industry by doing business differently.

A genuinely value-based business, combined with a corporate commitment to the personal and professional development of its people, North has created an environment that is respectful, inclusive and flexible.

97 per cent of all North employees completed the Great Place to Work survey.

The company was given high praise across all areas, most notably: employees consider senior management to be competent, honest and ethical; employees feel they are given responsibility, treated fairly and aren’t discriminated against due to sexual orientation, ethnicity, or gender.

North’s facilities create a nice working environment where employees feel physically safe to carry out their work; and employees were happy with the company’s contribution in the community.

In addition, the survey indicated that employees overwhelmingly have a sense of pride working for North and are proud to tell others they work at the company.

North Building and Construction Manager, Ryan Wheele, said that his experience working with North has been positive and a great learning experience.

“North truly is an awesome place to work,” he said.

“There is a great culture of trust, learning, growth, and opportunity for those on- and off-site. I am supported by senior management and my colleagues both professionally and personally. I wouldn’t want to work anywhere else.”

A feature of the 2020 Best Places to Work can be found in the latest Australian Financial Review insert.

IMAGE | North Building & Construction employee group shot.