Queensland Airports Limited (QAL) has officially been recognised as a great place to work – with outstanding results confirming the organisation’s positive culture and progressive leadership approach.

QAL – which owns and operates Gold Coast, Townsville, Mount Isa and Longreach airports – has achieved accreditation from the aptly named Great Place to Work Australia (GPTW), a global research consultancy. The accreditation, gained in February 2019, followed an extensive organisational audit and employee survey.

QAL Chief Financial Officer Amelia Evans said she was thrilled the company had achieved the result in the first year of GPTW participation.

“In gaining this accreditation, we have become the only company in Queensland certified this year and the first airport operator in Australia to achieve this goal, which is validation of our focus and determination to remain an employer of choice,” she said.

“We reached out to GPTW in an effort to continue to identify areas where we can improve our overall company culture. There was also a genuine focus on the needs of our teams, our inclusive leadership approach, and new systems and processes.

“By building on our strengths and addressing areas in need of improvement, we are confident that we will continue to further enhance our culture in the future – constantly creating a better workplace for our teams at QAL.”

Workplace initiatives at QAL, valued by employees and recognised through the GPTW audit, include:

o QAL Family Day, which gives employees an extra day off work to spend with their family

o FLARE Benefits, which provides financial benefits and opportunities, including discounts with up to 1000 affiliated companies

o High Flyer Awards, a monthly employee of the month award as nominated by a fellow employee

o Higher learning and development support and internship program, based on partnerships with local schools and universities.

Ms Evans encouraged more businesses across Queensland and Australia to participate in the annual and nationally recognised initiative – which could identify ways to improve areas like employee retention and attraction rates.

QAL will continue to undertake this culture audit annually.