Aon Hewitt, part of Aon plc the leading global provider of risk management and human resource consulting and outsourcing, yesterday announced DHL Express (Australia) Pty Ltd, Lion and Z Energy as the 2014 Aon Hewitt Top Companies For Leaders (Top Companies) in Australia and New Zealand, in recognition of their excellence in creating environments where leaders grow.
The Aon Hewitt Top Companies for Leaders study evaluates and recognises what it takes to execute best-in-class leadership and talent management across the globe. This year’s Australian and New Zealand Top Companies were selected and ranked by a panel of independent judges using a number of criteria, including assessing strategies and success in the attraction, identification, retention and development of leadership talent.
“A new normal now exists. Leadership practices that used to differentiate are now commonplace within Australia and New Zealand. However, a new benchmark has now been set by Aon Hewitt’s 2014 Top Companies – DHL, Lion and Z Energy. These Top Companies all exhibit highly effective practices that, combined with clear outcomes and measurement, ensure strong leaders are continuously coming up through the ranks,” said James Rutherford, Principal and Head of Leadership at Aon Hewitt.
Z Energy was recognised as a Top Company because it embeds a positive leadership culture, provide leadership development opportunities and integrate leadership expectations into on-boarding and induction processes. Lion develops authentic leaders, drives culture and engagement through leaders, identifies future leaders and helps them flourish. WhileDHL was praised for promoting diversity and inclusion through leadership, providing strong leadership development frameworks and creating and embedding engaging leaders within the business.
The 2014 Australian and New Zealand insights showed that Top Companies are moving the dial and taking their practices beyond the ‘new normal’. Aon Hewitt’s 2014 Top Companies for Leaders study identified six areas where Top Companies within Australia and New Zealand are setting a new standard:
Top Companies are moving from:
- Processes to outcomes: It is no longer about processes, policies or simply completing an activity or program. Top Companies consistently measure the effectiveness of such practices and hold their leaders accountable for the outcomes.
o Key data point: 90% of Top Companies hold leaders accountable for the promotion rate of high potentials Vs 30% of other organisations.
- Engagement measurement to developing engaging leaders: Almost all organisations now measure engagement, Top Companies however have an increased focus on the selection, attraction and development of leaders who through their personality, sense of purpose, experience and behaviours create engagement in their organisations.
o Key data point: 65% of Top Companies hold leaders accountable for the engagement levels of Managers and Managers’ direct reports Vs 30% of other organisations.
- Diversity to inclusion: Top Companies focus much more on the gathering of diverse perspectives and insights from both within their organisation and externally.
o Key data point: 70% of Top Companies track gender diversity for successors to the CEO Vs 43% of other organisations.
- Accumulating followers to developing leaders: Top Companies believe that the primary role of leaders is to identify and nurture upcoming leaders.
o Key data point: 95% of Top Companies use 360 degree feedback to assess how leaders are developing their talent Vs 55% of other organisations.
- Assessing skill to aligning for fit: Top Companies assess both the skills required for the future success of the organisation and the fit to the organisation’s aspired culture and strategy.
o Key data point: 75% of Top Companies use personality assessments to measure the potential of front line managers Vs 49% of other organisations.
- Higher performance to higher purpose: It’s not just about performance, Top Companies create a sense of higher purpose and look at how they contribute to the environment and how their strategy affects the communities in which they work.
o Key data point: Top Companies are twice as likely as other organisations to offer employees special assignments directly related to their CSR strategy.