‘At the NRMA we know that our uniqueness and diversity is key to what we do and how we do it, and it also makes this a great place to be. Being recognised as a family friendly workplace highlights our ongoing commitment to creating an environment where everyone from all walks have an equal opportunity to build a career and to achieve a balance between work and personal responsibilities. With work and life now more integrated than ever I am really excited to see our work in this area continue and know that it is critical to our success.’
At the NRMA we understand that we are all unique and we are all different, and it’s these differences that make us stronger as a Group. That’s why we want everyone across the NRMA to be supported, engaged and empowered as an active member of our organisation.
From our very foundation, we have existed to make the lives of everyone in our communities better. This has always been fundamental to who we are, and it carries through strongly into the workplace. We provide flexibility, support and resources to help our people meet the challenges of juggling work and personal commitments. As an organisation, we are committed to creating an environment where everyone from all walks has an equal opportunity to build a career and to achieve a balance between work and personal responsibilities.
The introduction of a hybrid working model to our organisation has enabled our people to work flexibly to meet family and life commitments. Our focus has been on supporting our people to prioritise their family commitments and enhance their wellbeing through doing so. The NRMA has always been committed to making a difference within the communities that we work and live, and so we want our employees to feel that they are able to live whole lives with strong family and community engagement.
Flexible work enables our people to be productive in a way that helps them flourish professionally and personally and we see this reflected in greater engagement, productivity, diversity of thought and a sense of belonging to the organisation.
Over the last two years our employees have taken 713 ‘Me Days’ which is an additional day of leave provided to support our people to prioritise their family and wellbeing commitments. The ‘Me Day’ forms part of our flexible framework and the uptake in use of this day highlights the focus we place on our people being free to manage their life and work commitments in a manner that truly works for them. We have also seen this reflected in our engagement surveys with comments such as:
‘Flexibility! I feel like I have a great balance of autonomy and stretch’.
I have…’the flexibility and trust to do what I need to do, to deliver the best outcome for the NRMA’.
‘I love working from home, it has given me a better work life balance and my results speak for themselves’.
‘Working from home has helped tremendously… It has helped me to be more active and present with family and loved ones’.
In our 2021 engagement survey when employees were asked to respond to the statement, ‘I have the flexibility I need to manage work and other commitments’, 84% of employees stated that they do. We are incredibly proud of this achievement as an organisation and are committed to a flexible and inclusive workplace that enables our people to meet work and family life needs.
At the NRMA we know that our difference is our people. We are passionate about attracting and retaining a talented, productive and diverse workforce, and we know that central to that is being a family inclusive workplace. Our culture, our business, our people and the communities we work within all benefit from supporting our people to thrive at work and at home.
We are committed to reducing the barriers which inhibit workforce participation and engagement for our people and actively work to foster a culture that respects and celebrates diversity in all its forms, to create an environment where all people can feel they truly belong.
Juliane Krueger
Juliane Krueger was employed at our Cradle Mountain property in Tasmania. She had started as a Restaurant Manager before moving into the Front Office Manager role, during which time she became pregnant with her daughter. Juliane knew that returning to her role after having her daughter would be challenging as the Cradle Mountain property is in a remote area far away from childcare and other services, however, after a few months on parental leave she was keen to return to work in a part-time capacity.
Juliane spoke with her Manager who was supportive of finding a flexible working arrangement to facilitate Juliane’s return to work. Together they created a new role for Juliane responding to guest reviews which could be done while working remotely, initially only requiring 5 hours per week before increasing to 25 hours per week.
When Juliane’s daughter started attending childcare the two hour round trip to drop off and pick up her daughter became a challenge to her working arrangement so, again in consultation with her Manager, a solution was found. When needed, Juliane could work at a local branch of the business in Devonport close to her daughter’s childcare. On the days her daughter did not attend childcare, she could continue working from home.
Juliane was also provided opportunities to travel to other properties to conduct training which fit in with her caring responsibilities. More recently Juliane and her family relocated to Adelaide from Tasmania. Juliane is a highly valued employee and so to ensure she could remain with our organisation she was offered a new full-time role as a Materials Control Officer working with the Finance and Procurement departments. Juliane has been an employee of NRMA Expeditions for 7 years and we are incredibly proud of being able to support Juliane through her personal and career journeys.
Justin Pedavoli
Justin Pedavoli is a Channel Colleague Success Manager and has been with the NRMA for 4 years. Justin has shared his personal experience of family friendly flexibility at the NRMA.
‘I am so very grateful to the NRMA and my incredible leader. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be able to do all school pickups, drop offs (while my children where in my care), attend assembles, and even get to witness my eldest daughters first school award! I forgot to hold the applause till the end because I was so excited and it was totally unexpected. Flexibility means exactly that. I can work more on days when I don’t have my children and less on days when I do.
I don’t have to choose between being a dedicated employee and my children. I honestly feel this has made me a more productive employee to the organization and more importantly a better Dad. I am able to take a day of leave without feeling guilty or like I am letting someone down to spend time with my children, sometimes even at short notice when a day is lighter on commitments. This has only strengthened my relationship with my kids.
My leader always asks me, what do you need from me to support you? And this makes me feel extremely safe to be honest and thrive.’
‘At the NRMA we know that our uniqueness and diversity is key to what we do and how we do it, and it also makes this a great place to be. Being recognised as a family friendly workplace highlights our ongoing commitment to creating an environment where everyone from all walks have an equal opportunity to build a career and to achieve a balance between work and personal responsibilities. With work and life now more integrated than ever I am really excited to see our work in this area continue and know that it is critical to our success.’
Parents At Work acknowledge and pay respect to the past, present and future Traditional Custodians and Elders of this nation and the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
