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Trish Clancy explained:
The secondment program is a huge part of our
ability to attract the right people to our firm—
particularly the generation coming through now.
People don’t want to think of their career as
some kind of linear path. They want to mix their
career and work in other things—including things
that have social impact. The richness and variety
we can offer as a firm because of Jawun is really
great. Because we’ve worked with Jawun for so
long, we can point to specific things that we’ve
had a role in—it’s given BCG a genuine, rich story.
Catherine Hunter deals with many new recruits at
KPMG. She reflected: ‘Something we hear again
and again, particularly with the graduate program,
is people telling us they’ve had offers from each
of the Big Four [professional services firms], but
the reason they choose KPMG is because of our
commitment to community. And quite often they
will call out Jawun.’
We can’t underestimate it—do not
underestimate the value the Jawun
program has to employee engagement
and therefore corporate value.
MELANIE EVANS,
GENERAL MANAGER SERVICE
REVOLUTION & TRANSFORMATION, WESTPAC
Employee engagement
(the emotional
commitment of an employee to an organisation
and its goals) can also have significant implications
for employer brand. In an age of social media and
increased transparency, ‘people are far more likely
to trust a company based on what its employees
have to say than on its recruitment advertising’.
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Engaged employees care about their work and
their organisations—they share their organisation’s
values and goals. The Jawun secondment program
contributes to employee engagement by not
only providing an opportunity for staff to grow
and contribute, but to ‘live out’ their
organisation’s values.
Tina Bain noticed the impact secondee Steph
Stokes had in her NAB business unit after six weeks
in the West Kimberley. Tina said Steph ignited
the interest of others by engaging with staff
across the business and sharing her passion for
Indigenous affairs: ‘Steph has been able to share
her experiences and understanding of Indigenous
Affairs with employees across NAB via multiple
channels of communication. Since returning she
has increased cultural awareness and engagement
across our organisation through promotion of our
Indigenous e-learning program and her work in our
traineeship program.’
Not only does the Jawun program help attract
people to a firm, but those who participate in
secondments contribute to a healthy and engaged
workforce. Jaimes Adlington, Executive Manager
Group Assurance at Westpac, explained:
It creates a domino effect internally—the more
people who go on one of these secondments, the
more it creates a mini groundswell of ‘generous
of spirit’ people in the bank. And the more staff
members you have like that, the more positive the
work environment is going to be, because people
who are generous of spirit tend to be more
engaged and productive employees.
Four years into its Jawun partnership, QBE
recognises the link between the work it does
in community and employee engagement.
Jason Hammond, General Manager Workers
Compensation, said: ‘Being able to spend time with
inspirational leaders who are driven by their beliefs
and passion made our secondees realise just how
lucky they were in their own lives and, interestingly,
made them feel far more engaged with QBE, who
was prepared to invest in their secondment.’
Adrian Fisk, Partner at KPMG, explained the impact
of the Jawun program on employees: ‘Working
on Jawun secondments gives our people more
meaning and purpose in their role. They can see
that the skills they have—accounting, finance,
strategy skills—can be used to really make a
difference.’ One of Adrian’s team members,
Tien Do, participated in a secondment to The Glen.
‘It made me realise that my work supports
something really meaningful,’ Tien said. ‘And
that they’re not only focused on the profit
side of things, but on sustainable growth and
development, the need to develop the community
around you.’
Employee loyalty
is a strong indicator of employee
engagement. According to workplace studies,
‘loyal employees are significantly more likely to
make their organisation successful and execute
the company’s strategy’.
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The Jawun program
contributes to employee loyalty by engendering
a sense of gratitude and pride within secondees
towards their organisation.
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42 JAWUN
2015 LEARNINGS AND INSIGHTS