Every opinion counts at Australia's best workplace

This award-winning employer says listening to staff is the key to its success

Every opinion counts at Australia's best workplace
Quality, responsibility, mutuality, efficiency and freedom.

These five principles are the cornerstone of what Mars Petcare Australia stands for and really set the framework for everything that gets done in the business, said Barry O’Sullivan, general manager, Mars Petcare Australia.

Mars Petcare Australia was recently named best workplace of businesses with 1000 or more employees in Great Place to Work Australia's announcement of Australia's best workplaces.

O’Sullivan said that fundamental to Mars being a great place to work is the fact that it is a family business.

“So even though we are a large multinational business Mars is fundamentally a family business and we have always maintained that small business feel where everyone’s opinion counts,” O’Sullivan told HRD.

“Everybody knows what is expected of them and has the opportunity to do what they do best every day and I think that is really at the core of why Mars is a great place to work.”

O’Sullivan added that everybody at Mars wants to see how the role that they play and the effort that they put in connects with the purpose of the business and why they are there.

“At Petcare, our purpose is to create a better world for pets because we believe they create a better world for us,” he said.

“Our flat structure allows us to have that direct connection for every associate in our business -whether they are working in a factory, sales or marketing - to be able to make that direct connection between the effort that they are putting in and how that is contributing to really bring the purpose of our business to life.”

“We are all about walking the talk in respect of our principals and our flat structure allows all of our associates to be active participants in that and ensure that their opinions count and that they have the opportunity to do what they do best.”

O’Sullivan said that a big part of Mars Petcare Australia’s agenda right now and moving forward is how they are continuing to evolve their culture to make sure that they are diverse and inclusive.

“We know that there is a lot of studies that diversity brings great benefits and leadership teams of businesses that have greater diversity will outperform their peer group by quite a margin,” he said.


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