Lion in top employer ranks

SYDNEY - Transtasman brewer Lion Nathan has been rated one of the top 20 companies to work for in Australia.

Lion Nathan was ranked fourth among enterprises with more than 1000 staff, according to results of the latest Best Employers to Work for in Australia study released yesterday.

Topping the category was Brisbane-based travel company Flight Centre. Information technology provider Cisco Systems was deemed the top employer with a workforce of fewer than 1000.

The study was compiled by Sydney-based consultants Hewitt Associates and the Australian Graduate School of Management.

They contacted 160 companies and 25,000 employees and the judging panel of three reached its decision "blind" - by assessing the data without knowing the identity of the companies.

Hewitt Associates consultant Andrew Bell said the study showed four main factors behind being a good employer.

They were: excellent people leadership; offering a compelling work experience; staff training and promotion; and developing a company culture.

The survey indicated that a recent history of retrenchment was not necessarily a turn-off for staff.

Cisco and other top IT companies like Nokia, Sun Microsystems and Agilent Technologies that made the top 20 have all laid off workers in the past year.

- NZPA