EstimateOne ‘almost the best place to work’ according to AFR
27 April 2022
Press release: EstimateOne announced by AFR as not THE best place to work, but ‘pretty damn good’ at #3.
EstimateOne is proud to announce that we were recognised today as a pretty good place to work. We didn’t come first (congratulations to category winner InDebted), but we are super happy (think the Australian Basketball team winning bronze in Tokyo type vibes), and celebrated our near win with drinks, egg & bacon rolls, pastries and fruit skewers in the office today.
We knew it was all over as soon as the awards started. As each category was announced, the winner’s ‘video acceptance’ was played. We looked at each other and questioned – , “were we asked to create a video?” Turns out – no, we weren’t. But we stayed for the long haul, pondering as we went – maybe 3rd or 5th is better than 2nd? At least then we didn’t just miss out?
Our wish was then granted #3 in the Technology sector (ahead of CultureAmp and Seek, thank-you very much). Woo-Hoo!
We like to celebrate the wins and the losses – Failure is only failure in the eye of the beholder, because it’s what you learn along the way that counts. There were no flipping tables, just a lot of screaming at the screen hearing about workplaces that enable their employees to work flexibly, where leaders have a focus on culture and values – ‘but we do that too!!’.
It leads you to wonder, what really makes companies exceptionally great, and what are the ingredients for a distinctive employee experience? Is it a self-help portal for employee benefits? Values like ‘innovative’, ‘customer-led’ and ‘integrity’? A four-day week? Perhaps ‘Thank-you’ leave or COVID Sleep-in vouchers?
As a leader at EstimateOne, I know that creating a truly great place to work is so much more than that. I don’t doubt the process of The AFR to find the winners (well, maybe just a little bit), but it must be so hard to evaluate a winner based on a written application when culture and the experience of a workplace is lived. Like the difference between being told what a roller-coaster’s like versus actually experiencing the ride yourself.
We recognise that we are biased – our own sense of being a great place to work is no doubt highly inflated, but… we also felt the need to acknowledge that number 3 is pretty damn good. We are really proud of our team, who ultimately are the most influential part of our workplace culture. Even though we didn’t get to make a winning acceptance video (this year), there’s some things we’d like you to know about what it’s like to work at the #3 Best place to work in the Tech sector.
Cue the music, it goes like this:
‘“We are so excited and pleased to accept the award for third best workplace in the Tech industry. EstimateOne is not a start-up, we are a scale-up, but over our 14 year journey we have worked hard to retain our start-up principles and values that have persist over time so that they are truly embedded in the business (*there is not a sign or poster that mentions a value anywhere, yet you will hear them referenced everyday). Through the hiring process we talk about the culture, our values and the benefits of working here, but the culture is deeper than words and benefits. There is a legitimate care for our customers and team that creates a unique sense of belonging and purpose for people working here.
We aim to enable people so that they can make an impact – that’s ultimately what makes a career-defining place to work, your ability to make and create impact. For your customers, the industry, your team, and the individual.
We are on a high-growth trajectory, and as such, we are looking for great people to join the business. Why EstimateOne? Well, we were awarded as the #3 best place to work in the Tech Sector….. Need I say more? Yes, in this talent environment, yes.
Join EstimateOne to work with good, smart people. There’s is a no d**k-head policy that makes coming to work each day a pleasant and fulfilling experience. We are market leaders in our category, our founders are awesome, and we recently raised $30m in our first ever capital raise. Our team has grown, and is growing from 75-150, to enable us to scale locally and internationally. We give our team members flexibility, but we also understand that personal growth and development might not look the same for everyone, so we give people a $5,000 annual development budget, and 5 days ‘entrepreneurial leave’ to pursue interests that give you the chance to spend time learning or doing what you choose to spend your time on! In addition to that, we offer flexibility, we are reasonable, and human, so we have empathy and are adaptable to consider life outside of work (in a way that actually can’t be written in a policy).
We would like to thank the AFR, for acknowledging the workplace we have created, but most of all, to the team at EstimateOne – thank you and congratulations”.
(Video ends, rounds of applause).
Oh, and one of our values is ‘forthright and frank’ – we like to say it as it is. You can probably tell.
