What dot-com bust? HR at Dimension Data

If ever there was an industry that's shown resilience and the ability to bounce back after massive setbacks, one need look no further than the IT sector. Following the devastation of the dot-com bubble burst of the early 2000s, few would have selected the IT sector as one that would be harbouring multiple candidates for Employer of the Year.

Yet a technology trio - Microsoft Australia, Dimension Data Australia and Express Data - were announced earlier this year as being the 'Best of the Best' in Hewitt's Australia/New Zealand awards.

The Hewitt Best Employer Study involves a diverse range of businesses - small, large Australian, global - and the one thing they all have in common is an absolute commitment to becoming a best employer. Overall 110 organisations and 37,000 employees were involved in the process.

Empirical data from this year's award showed an improvement to the bottom line, customer service, and reduced time and cost to hire for those on the list.

Crucial elements included:

• Communication and leadership: The feedback from employees was that senior management is not walking the talk as much as they should be. Messages from the top were often lost through the layers of management. The key message was that business leaders can never over communicate, and that leaders should do so with employees not just formally but also informally.
• Performance management: All companies are looking to have a high performance culture by making people accountable, setting high targets and motivating their staff.
• The inextricable link between engagement and the success of a company: Best employers all aim for high engagement by focusing on the individual and their potential regardless of title, salary, position. Those individuals in turn build strong teams and successful companies. In addition, value statements are real for these employers - they don't sit on boardroom walls; they are lived and breathed.

While clearly such awards are recognition of company-wide efforts, often it's HR driving them, and it can be the shining gold star on the resume of the HR professional(s) involved. At Dimension Data, that person is Kellie Reeves, director of people & culture.

"We're very proud to have been recognised as a 'Best of the Best' Hewitt Best Employer 2009. We were accredited as a Hewitt Best Employer in late 2009 and in March this year were recognised as the 'Best of the Best' along with two other organisations, one being a member of the Dimension Data group, Express Data, and the other - Microsoft - one of our major business partners. 

"We have a history of being recognised as a best employer and I believe this is due to our unique culture, our people focus and the commitment of our managers to making Dimension Data a great place to work. I've never worked for a business like it - Dimension Data is a really inspiring place to be."

HR at Dimension Data
Reeves represents a textbook example of how and why so many people gravitate towards the HR field:

"I had started a business degree straight out of school and was quickly attracted to studies in both HR and IR," she says. "In high school my strengths had always been in the humanities and I was known for having a mature outlook, calm manner and an ability to get along with a range of people, and these characteristics seemed a good match for a career in HR.  After my first year of uni I was fortunate to get my first HR role with retailer David Jones and continued studying part-time."

In her current role, Reeves is responsible for ensuring the company's people strategies and programs it to attract, engage, develop and retain talent. Her role was extended around 12 months ago from pure HR to also encompass corporate social responsibility. Alongside her "fantastic" team of 11 HR professionals who are committed to making Dimension Data a great place to work, Reeves has responsibilities across over 1,000 people in six Australian offices.

Reeves believes the key to great people and culture initiatives is no great mystery; in fact, it sits right in front of all HR people: the people in the company. "Our main mechanism for [assessing] this is our annual Employee Survey. One very clear trend in the feedback we've received has been to improve our L&D offerings. Through focus and commitment, we've seen internal staff training and development improve significantly over the past two years, which has in turn improved our employee satisfaction levels. Now we have a comprehensive learning and development curriculum that spans technical, leadership and professional development and is achieved through a blend of e-learning, classroom-based training, and coaching and mentoring," she says.

Indeed, it's no surprise to learn that Dimension is looking towards new technology to help with the HR function. Reeves is working closely with local and global marketing and HR colleagues to utilise the best that technology has to offer, including ways to engage staff through social media.

Looking ahead
Reeves is also aware of the challenges that lie ahead. She notes that the war for talent in the IT industry has been a reality in Australia for at least the past five years and she expects it to continue for many more. "Although the pressure may ease through an economic downturn, it's always important to be finding new ways to attract the best talent and continue to offer a compelling employee value proposition. I believe that the tech bust is a distant memory, and that IT has shown that it is an exciting, fast-paced and sustainable industry that provides highly rewarding careers," she says.

Dimension Data will be using its Hewitt citation as a means to attract and retain talented people. "Benchmarking ourselves against other employers is an important undertaking and I think it is phenomenal to be able to say that I work for a 'Best of the Best' employer in Australia. Our experience has been that the recognition does attract people to our organisation and reinforces that Dimension Data is a great place to work. Being able to share this with both prospective and existing employees is a real differentiator for us," she says.

On a broader scale, Reeves notes that the role of HR, too, is always evolving. She feels it's also becoming more interesting as each year passes. In terms of the future, she sees a need for HR to grow and adapt faster to ensure it is keeping up with the businesses it is there to guide and support. "I believe HR's role will continue to become more critical as organisations strive for better and better performance, which in many industries means having the best people; people who are committed to being the very best they can be," she concludes.