Best employers in New Zealand ranked: Hilton, realestate.co.nz top list

Great Place to Work says companies where employees feel safe to speak up, feel trusted by leaders and are supported in their wellbeing keep their workers engaged and performing their best. Photo / 123rf

New Zealand’s best workplaces have been revealed in a new awards ranking.

Property website realestate.co.nz topped the list in the small business category, and Hilton took the top prize among medium and large businesses.

“This is both a proud moment for us and a reflection of the heart and hustle our team brings every day,” realestate.co.nz’s people and culture manager Kim Hamilton said.

The list is compiled by Great Place to Work, which calls itself the “global authority on workplace culture”, and was determined through confidential employee surveys and independent culture audits.

In the medium and large business category, retailer and optometrist Specsavers was ranked second, followed by Salesforce, a customer relationship management software company, shipping company DHL and insurance brokers Rothbury Group.

The small business list puts Cisco, a digital communications technology company, second, followed by recruitment agency Robert Half, healthcare technology company Medtronic Australasia and recruitment agency Franklin Smith.

The small business list also includes Moddex, Jani-King, Talent Aotearoa, Mantel, Roche, Suntory Global Spirits, Carus Group, MSS Mechanical Support System, Builderscrack and SC Johnson & Son.

“These 20 organisations are leading the way in showing that a positive workplace culture drives both productivity and sustainable success, as well as innovation,“ Great Place to Work general manager Rebecca Moulynox said.

“When employees trust their leaders, feel proud of what they do and enjoy genuine camaraderie with colleagues, then performance follows.

Organisations where employees felt safe to speak up, felt trusted by their leaders, and felt supported to balance their wellbeing were better at keeping employees engaged and performing at their best, Great Place to Work’s research showed.

“These same cultural factors also make businesses more adaptable to generational shifts in the workforce, and able to embrace new tools like AI, where openness to change and trying new things can make the difference between success and failure on a wider level,” the surveyor said.

Recruitment and human resource firm Randstad released its own ranking of top 20 employers in June. That list put Air New Zealand first, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment second, followed by ANZ, IBM, Hato Hone St John, the Defence Force, ASB, BNZ, the Department of Internal Affairs and the University of Auckland.

For Randstad’s ranking, nearly 4000 employees ranked employers based on work-life balance, salaries and benefits, training and development, work atmosphere and job security.

“When an organisation does offer these things, it stands out,” Randstad said.

Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers business, breaking news and local stories from Tāmaki Makaurau. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.

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