AFFINITY and Half Dome recognised in the 2022 AFR BOSS Best Place to Work list

AFFINITY was also recognised with a new award this year for Most Outstanding Practice – Employee Wellbeing, which it has won in competition across all the Best Places to Work industry categories.

Central to AFFINITY’s submission was its ‘Thinking Thursday’ initiative, a designated meeting-free day that was developed to create the type of uninterrupted time and space needed to solve client problems, improve internal processes, and develop new tools or approaches.

Luke Brown, AFFINITY CEO, said: “We’ve always invested heavily in our staff training and development, but this was really a response to the crush of meetings and sense of non-stop work the pandemic had engendered. Thanks to COVID, some of our team hadn’t had a real break for over two years.

“Work has ambushed our homes and taken over our lives by stealth. As a business that’s rewarded for the quality of our critical thinking, we consciously built a clear space for the whole team to do what we do best – think. And it’s paid off big time in terms of outcomes for our clients and the happiness of our people.”

Meanwhile, Half Dome announced was also named on the list, ranking at number four the Media and Marketing category for its innovative workplace practices related to happiness, flexibility, learning, and wellbeing.

Half Dome, also an independent agency, has taken a proactive approach to employee wellbeing and training since its inception, establishing a strong workplace culture, based on positivity, co-creation, and personal development.

The agency’s commitment to creating a happy, healthy workplace has proved successful with employees, who rated their workplace happiness at an average of 8.4 out of 10 for the duration of 2021, naming initiatives like individual wellness budgets, extra leave for recharging, flexible hours, and mental health first aid training as first-rate.

Half Dome has also been recognised for its focus on developing agile, invested leaders, offering unique learning opportunities, as well as day-to-day feedback and growth within the team.

Lisa Lie, Half Dome head of people and culture, said: “Being placed on AFR BOSS Best Places to Work list is recognition we’re on the right track. We have an unwavering curiosity and willingness to keep pushing, experimenting, and finding new ways to create a happy, healthy, and high-performing culture. I love that Half Dome is always willing to learn, take feedback in the team and actively involve them in co-creating the culture we all want.”

Tom Frazer, Half Dome managing partner and general manager, said: “We prioritise co-creation and experimentation as it relates to our culture, we know what motivates our people, and we focus on doing the best we possibly can to cultivate an environment that prioritises their motivation, happiness, and confidence, particularly around autonomy, learning and connection.

Half Dome team