Monash named Australia’s best university employer
Vice-Chancellor Professor Ed Byrne accepts the UniJobs Best University to Work For Award
Monash University has taken out the Best University to Work For award, based on a national survey of staff from all Australian universities.
From mid-November last year until Christmas eve 2010, staff from every university in Australia were given an opportunity to anonymously rate their university against a set of criteria on the Best Universities To Work For Award website.
The initiative, created by UniJobs.com.au, was designed as a way for university staff to critique the management style and working conditions of their employer, and highlight problems they felt needed to be addressed by all Australian universities.
Monash University scored the highest of all Australian universities, and averaged high scores across topics such as employee benefits, flexible working hours, disability access and overall staff satisfaction.
Monash Vice-Chancellor Professor Ed Byrne accepted the award presented by UniJobs Director Jarrod Kanizay who applauded the efforts of Monash University management and spoke highly of the Vice-Chancellor's enthusiasm for the initiative.
The award received over 31,600 nominations from all Australian universities, making it one of the most thorough and far-reaching university staff attitude surveys to date.
Scores were determined by averaging the total number of points received in each category, ensuring that universities were judged fairly across the board.
Mr Kanizay believes that the initiative is an important tool for universities.
“The key to the award’s success is the anonymity of each nomination, as well as the personal feedback form we provide,” he said.
“What we are finding is that university staff are taking it upon themselves to proactively assess their employer, not only with things they want changed, but also with positive comments about their happiness and well being.
“It has become an incredibly useful resource tool for universities that want to gauge the reactions of their staff in real time”.
Following Monash in second spot was fellow Group of Eight Member University of Queensland, with the University of Southern Queensland third.