Employee engagement brings big rewards to employers

Those in the list of The Australian’s Best Places To Work 2025 can hope to be benefitting from improved productivity, lower sick absence, lower staff turnover and better commercial performance.

Creating a great workplace is about culture, leadership, and intentional investment in people, says Lord Mark Price, founder of WorkL

The results are in for The Australian’s Best Places to Work 2025 Awards and they offer more than just a ranking. They present a compelling picture of how leading organisations in Australia are evolving to meet the expectations of a modern workforce; one that values purpose, flexibility and wellbeing.

WorkL is proud to power these prestigious awards, and I’m delighted to extend my personal congratulations to all of the outstanding organisations that have been recognised this year. Your inclusion on this list reflects more than just great HR policies, it’s a testament to the deep, sustained effort being made to build workplaces where people feel valued, engaged and inspired to do their best work.

These leading organisations will be benefiting from improved productivity (or extra discretionary effort as we call it at WorkL), lower sick absence, lower staff turnover and better commercial performance. Now they’ve been recognised as an Australian Best Place to Work, they’ll receive more job applications from higher quality candidates. It pays to prioritise employee happiness.

What’s particularly heartening is the strong presence of small and medium-sized businesses among the winners. It’s a reminder that creating a great workplace isn’t about size, it’s about culture, leadership, and intentional investment in people. From dynamic start-ups to mission-driven mid-sized companies, these organisations are showing that impact can scale from anywhere.

Overall, the winning organisations data highlights that intentional culture-building efforts remain a key differentiator in creating engaged and motivated teams. When comparing the winners data with WorkL’s standard benchmarking database of over 12,500 Australian organisations, the winners massively outperform across WorkL’s “Six Steps to Workplace Happiness”.

Organisations on this year’s Best Places to Work list consistently outperformed both Australian and global peers across all six key drivers of workplace happiness – wellbeing, reward and recognition, information sharing, empowerment, instilling pride, and job satisfaction – and across every demographic. Their average engagement score was 85 per cent, significantly higher than both the wider Australian average (by 14 percentage points) and the global average (by 12 percentage points). The results clearly show that organisations recognised as Best Places to Work are leading the way in fostering workplace happiness.

Let’s take a look at what these great employers are doing right and how others can follow their lead.

Below are said six steps that the winners consistently embed into their culture to improve the experience of employees. These aren’t once-a-year initiatives, they’re everyday habits that signal trust, respect and opportunity.

1 Reward and recognition

Great businesses pay fairly, offer flexibility and consistently recognise good work. That regular praise – paired with honest conversations about pay – helps employees feel valued and builds the trust needed for constructive feedback when things don’t go as well. When people feel seen and appreciated, they’re more motivated, more engaged and more likely to stick around.

● The Australian Best Places to Work outperform the average Australian organisation by 13 per cent for reward and recognition.

2 Information sharing

Great managers keep their teams well informed about what’s happening in their department and across the organisation. They clearly communicate the organisation’s plans, helping employees feel connected and understand the purpose behind their work. They also listen attentively to their team’s ideas and feedback, fostering a sense of inclusion and trust.

●The Australian Best Places to Work outperform the average Australian organisation by 13 per cent for information sharing.

3 Empowerment

Empowering employees means involving them in decision-making, valuing their ideas, and integrating their feedback into the company’s strategies. Everyone brings unique experiences and perspectives to the table, and only by considering all views can a team achieve the best possible outcome.

●The Australian Best Places to Work outperform the average Australian organisation by 12 per cent for empowerment.

4 Wellbeing

Great managers genuinely care about the wellbeing of everyone on their team. They foster a safe, supportive environment where people feel comfortable being themselves. They take an interest in their health, family and overall life, noticing when someone seems anxious or down, and offering support. Employee wellbeing includes physical, emotional and financial health. Addressing all three areas leads to improved engagement and productivity.

●The Australian Best Places to Work outperform the average Australian organisation by 16 per cent for wellbeing.

5 Instilling pride

Employees who take pride in their work and workplace naturally become advocates, sharing their positive experiences with colleagues, potential hires, customers and the community. Their pride will be evident when they talk about where they work and know why their role is important.

●The Australian Best Places to Work outperform the average Australian organisation by 16 per cent for instilling pride.

6 Job satisfaction

A range of factors influence job satisfaction, but two stand out; opportunities for personal growth and quality of the employee-manager relationship. Employees are an organisation’s greatest asset, and high engagement is essential for success. Research shows that respectful treatment and trust between employees and leadership are key to satisfaction. Poor relationships with managers are often the top reason employees leave, regardless of the company’s brand strength.

●The Australian Best Places to Work outperform the average Australian organisation by 15 per cent for job satisfaction.

As employee expectations continue to evolve in 2025, the organisations on this list are not only listening, but they’re also leading. Whether it’s development opportunities, flexible working, inclusivity, or a strong sense of purpose, they’re setting the benchmark for what the future of work should look like.

To all the winners, a big thank you for raising the bar and proving that when we invest in people, everyone thrives.

Lord Mark Price is the founder of WorkL.