We take care hiring. We do all that we can to be sure new recruits fit the team and we fit them. We ensure they understand our mission and purpose (our why), our values and how we operate (our how), and there is strong alignment on these things. We do this, knowing that once they’re on the team, we are going to work hard to look after them and invest in their professional development.

It might sound obvious, but actually it’s shockingly common for employers to only consider the qualifications and professional ability of a person on their team. They choose to ignore that team members have family, responsibilities, hobbies and interests outside of work that will - over the course of their employment - have a fluctuating impact on their work. It's to the employer's detriment.

Simply put - to expect an employee to come in day in day out, untouched by their life outside of the job is unrealistic and frankly, naïve.

If life is going really well for someone - their team won on the weekend, their child has just started sleeping through the night, they have reached their fitness goals - it will have a positive effect on their working life. In contrast, if they have just suffered a bereavement, they were injured on the footy pitch or their child is sick, they are going to find ‘work-as-normal’ more of a challenge.

That’s why, through our ‘Wellness in the Workplace’ policy we have created a toolbox of benefits and resources to support our staff, so they are equipped to give their best when they’re at work. Particularly when life is tough. For our industry, encouraging people to look after their mental health is vital. That’s why we offer a range of options including free counselling, weekly blue-sky hours and paid wellness days. You can find out more about some of the ways we help our people to look after their mental health here.

We want our people to thrive in every way: physically, mentally, financially, emotionally and spiritually. Being intentional about this, we commit to providing what we can as an employer:

- Subsidising gym membership, offering nutritional classes and providing free immunisations

- Flexible working conditions, turning emails off after hours, harnessing a team culture

- Paying a living wage minimum, offering a profit-share pool and supporting home ownership

- Opportunities to serve local communities, partnering with charities and not-for-profit initiatives

That’s a principle that was birthed by a simple act of kindness from co-founder, Jessica Cooper. When our company was going through a tough time and morale was low, Jessica baked cookies for particular teams, even delivering some on site or at people’s homes. A small thing, but it communicated that the owner of the company recognised them and took time to make a homemade gift. Whilst this isn’t the only thing we do to raise morale, the popular “cookie days” have remained a significant part of our team building strategy.

As we lead the Home team into the next 10 years, we recognise that people are our most valuable asset. They are our success, our customer care, our skills, our capacity and our future. They are in fact our why. Their wellbeing is part of the reason we exist as an organisation.

What would you do with the most valuable part of your company? You’d look after it, of course.