The initiative began when director Trudi Ballantyne saw an article about an Australian accounting firm that had reduced its work day to five hours. The change was based on the ideas in The Five-Hour Workday by Stephan Aarstol.
''I bought the book and read it and thought 'that's quite interesting','' she says.
Central to the book's narrative is that when constraints are put in place - such as the limited time available to prepare GST returns over the Christmas period - people work more efficiently to overcome them.
''So we thought about that and wondered if it would work for us,'' says Trudi.
Generally there was a feeling that it could.
''So we said, 'we don't know what it is going to look like, and five hours is probably not enough for us'.
''But we hit on the idea of doing six hours and telling people once they have done that they could go home.''
The new hours were introduced almost two years ago.
''The benefits for the organisation and the team as a whole have been just amazing.
''As a team it means people are able to organise their lives better around work so they can have their appointments for the doctor, dentist or hairdressers during business hours, but outside our work hours.''
Trudi says crucial to success was the need to be more efficient and cut down on unproductive time.
''We started having some innovation awards and we sat down and asked, what are some of the different ways of doing things and has anyone got a good idea of doing things in a different way that would save some time.
''People were sharing ideas which have allowed us to increase our productivity, decrease our unproductive time and it means that, as a team everyone's much happier.''
The innovation has also helped with recruitment as the firm now has a point of difference.
''We were finding, recruiting in Te Puke, if people could go to Tauranga or come to Te Puke they tended to go to Tauranga, so by doing this it allowed us to attract some really good talent.''
Judging for the award included an interview with the directors and meeting staff.
''They interviewed us for a couple of hours and then met the team and the whole team was able to tell the judges what it had meant to them as individuals to have this six hour working day.
Judging convener Kirstin Te Wao says this initiative to give all staff time back for other priorities in their lives is a great way to create social cohesion in the workplace and society.
"[Stem] collaborated with their employees and uniquely, their customers to solve any potential issues or negativity the six-hour day would create. Positive staff recruitment and retention has been a great outcome delivered through this initiative.
''While we didn't win the big one, we were up against some pretty tough opposition from national business and government agencies, but it's pretty cool to be acknowledged,'' says Trudi.
The firm is in the process of changing its name and rebranding from BRG to Stem Rural Accountants.
''BRG was set up about 21 years ago and we are quite a different business now. The analogy of a stem feeding nutrients to fuel growth is exactly how we see ourselves.''
