“At HESTA, we invest in and for people who make a difference. If you believe this, then you belong here at HESTA.”

These words are from HESTA’s Cultural Framework called I Belong at HESTA. Creating an environment where employees belong and feel that they can bring the HESTA purpose to life through the work that they do each day is how we build and nurture our dynamic, diverse and high-performing teams.

As an Australian industry superannuation fund for those working in health and community services, HESTA operates in a heavily regulated environment, where the volume of regulatory change can feel heavy, especially over the past 12 months. Despite this, the leadership team are united in the belief that innovation and culture should never be compromised, and continue to inspire employees to be gutsy advocates for members, standing up for what is right. Serving HESTA members by specifically focussing on the needs of the Health and Community Services industry and the challenges that the industry faces is how the organisation—and our employees—connects closely to purpose.

A values-led organisation, HESTA believes that culture is built into every interaction: it’s in what you say and how you say it, and what you do and how you do it. With leaders who role-model this, and employees who benefit from this, we are able to attract and retain top-talent, even in a contracted talent market. At HESTA, our culture continues to be a competitive advantage: employees at all levels, know how they are making a difference, and are proud of their contribution. The results of our Employee Engagement Survey and our impressive retention rate confirm that employees are proud to work at HESTA.

Belonging at HESTA is as much about realising your full potential as it is about bringing purpose to life: with a generous professional development budget, above-market leave allowances and scholarships to support employees to grow, HESTA encourages people to evolve, learn and transform by consistently building the skills they and the organisation need now and in the future. Recognising an employee’s contribution doesn’t happen only when they achieve the extraordinary (although leaders have several tools to recognise employees who go ‘above and beyond’); HESTA’s LOV (Living our Values) and Change Maker awards recognise the everyday things that employees do to make a difference to others, our culture or the Fund.

The employee experience at HESTA is closely monitored, and adjustments are made in response to employees’ changing needs, emerging trends and external factors. Over the past 12 months, we have continued to develop, implement and evolve how we nurture our employees’ health, safety and satisfaction, particularly with the changing nature of COVID. Most notably, we’ve actively supported remote working (and a safe return to the office) and achievement of a balance of work, personal life, health and happiness. Our high levels of employee engagement and alignment are maintained and strengthened through various channels employees use to provide feedback, and we implement genuine and meaningful change to create a safe, diverse and family-friendly environment and experience that employees value.

For more information about HESTA, go to www.hesta.com.au/members.html