The owners of Wairarapa financial services company RIVAL Wealth, winners of last year's Work Life Balance Award, are encouraging other small and medium-size organisations to enter the 2019 Diversity Awards NZ™.
Tim and Carissa Fairbrother say entering the awards gave them an opportunity, from a business planning perspective, to look at their strengths and weaknesses and think about how they could grow. Winning the award was a great endorsement, Tim says.
"We were able to say we've had that peer recognition and we are doing a great job."
The important role small businesses play in creating a truly inclusive workplace culture in New Zealand will be recognised at the 2019 Diversity Awards NZ™, with the introduction this year of Small Organisation Excellence Awards.
The judges will have the discretion to confer these new awards in any of the nine award categories to organisations with fewer than 50 employees, says Diversity Works New Zealand Chief Executive Rachel Hopkins.
“Statistics New Zealand figures show that last year there were 952,700 people working for enterprises that employed fewer than 50 people – that’s more than 40 per cent of our workforce,” she says. “This means that all initiatives to encourage diversity and belonging in small organisations have a big impact on building a more inclusive Aotearoa New Zealand.”
Judging convener Neil Porteous says the new awards are an exciting opportunity to acknowledge the efforts that businesses all around New Zealand are making to maximise the benefits of a diverse workplace and honour the unique backgrounds, skills and needs of their people.
Find out more about entering the awards.
