IT Partners only Hamilton finalist in Humankind Employee Experience Workplace Awards

The team at IT Partners, the only Hamilton company in the finals of a national competition to find the best place to work. Photo / Supplied

Hamilton company, IT Partners has been ranked one of the best places to work in the national 2019 Humankind Employee Experience Workplace Awards.

Sitting alongside Xero, Sharesies and Overland Footwear, the company is the only finalist from the Hamilton area and is open to sharing their initiatives in order to support local businesses who are seeking ways to develop their workplace experience programmes.

"We are both proud and humbled to be acknowledged as a finalist," said IT Partners' head of people and culture and spokesperson, Kristy Cook.

"If our experience can help others, then all the better."

Cook said creating a great experience for employees comes down to being selective about who joins the team and adopting a mindset for continuous improvements.

"We're a values-focused company and look for employees who demonstrate these values and would be a great fit for the wider team and clients," she said.

The company also offers a range of employee benefits that reflect values that are important to them – such as – no training budget and unlimited professional development books, an office gym and personal trainer, and allowances towards school holiday programmes and medical / wellbeing-related costs.

"We understand that our team are people at the end of the day. They are mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, thrill seekers, breadwinners, travellers, and working at IT Partners is part of their life but not all of it," said Cook.

"We want to give our team the freedom and tools to challenge themselves, enabling them to grow and succeed in their roles," she said.

IT Partners holds a strong focus towards wellbeing, and supporting their team in feeling their best (both at and outside of work).

Managers regularly check-in with their team's wellbeing, and the company holds an 8.4 happiness rating recorded from its 40 employees.

"Just like technology, you need to stay up with the latest trends and continue to adapt your working environment to support the needs of your clients and people," she said.

The Workplace Awards, which are the only employee experience awards in New Zealand, were decided against four criteria; purpose, relationship, enabling and performance experiences.

All employees of participating organisations were invited to respond to a 30-question survey across the four criteria in addition to hour-long interviews which were conducted with a random selection of employees.

The combined ratings from the surveys and interviews resulted in an overall score for each business.

Humankind spokesperson Leighton Abbott said themes of purpose, wellbeing, technology and doing more with less featured heavily in the award programme's second year.

"The commitment in these organisations for managers to really know how people are doing and what makes them tick leads to people feeling better supported at work, and able to achieve their goals," said Abbott.

Previous winners include The Warehouse Group, Redvespa, Sudima Hotels, Auror and Lightspeed Graphics and Overland Footwear.

Workplace Award winners will be announced alongside recipients of the Inspiration Award, which champions individuals who drive organisational employee experience, on November 14 in Wellington at the Humankind Employee Experience Awards Gala.