What do Best Workplaces do differently to build and sustain an engaging, high performing culture? Read ACON’s Approach

Building and sustaining an engaging, high performing culture

At Voice Project, we are committed to building relationships with and supporting our clients in the long term. We have been partnering with ACON, Australia’s largest health promotion organisation specialising in HIV and LGBTI health, on their employee engagement journey since 2012. They have achieved significant improvements in staff satisfaction and engagement over this time and have been recognised as a Voice Project Best Workplace in 2019 and 2020.

ACON demonstrated many signs of a best workplace such as strong staff engagement and participation, a systematic approach to continuous improvement, and genuine care for staff in different roles and backgrounds. What else have they done differently to build and sustain an engaging, high performing culture? We had the pleasure of speaking with their CEO Nicolas Parkhill to learn more about their secret to success.

In this interview, Nicolas shared with us how they celebrated this achievement in the middle of a pandemic, factors that enabled ACON to become a Best Workplace, strengths of the organisation, their approach to creating and sustaining a positive culture and more.

Going Beyond "Always Listening"

When asked how ACON became a Best Workplace, Nic emphasised the importance of continuous listening. The staff survey they conduct every 12 months gives them a good understanding of what is happening across the organisation as well as at the work unit level.

“Voice Project and the survey tool gives us the ability to hear in a more nuanced way. We are not stopping there. We establish working groups after the survey. They help us unpack, give us more nuance (what that data actually means), pinpoint messaging and initiatives.”

The senior management team have been using the data in a proactive way to identify improvement areas where they can further invest and strength areas that can be maintained. He commented:

“(It’s) very rare the senior management team would come together and collectively not reference the data we get through the survey. It gives us headline data that informs all of our decision making”

They have a very open and transparent process to feedback and seek to close the loop by acting on the feedback. Nic admitted that the feedback sometimes leads to challenging conversations but they are necessary to be had.

Value alignment is a key enabler of staff participation at ACON. They focus on hiring individuals who are committed to the organisation’s mission and connected to the community they serve. Management are in constant discussions with staff to help them understand how they can contribute to the strategy or greater whole. They seek to involve staff in a meaningful way in all processes and planning.

Although they have seen positive shifts in employee engagement and culture over the nine years we have partnered together, Nic believes it is important to keep listening and improving and not “take your foot off the pedal”. Celebrating wins and admitting and addressing issues when they arise allows them to adjust their path and keep the momentum. To reiterate the importance of communication and listening, Nic commented:

“People come to work, they are happy at work, they are engaged at work, and they are excited to be here. In order to do that, we have a responsibility to be able to create that place and we can’t do that without talking to staff about what that means for them”

Congratulations again to our long term client ACON. We are very proud of their achievements. And thank you again Nic for sharing your insights with us.

Nicolas Parkhill’s biography

Nicolas Parkhill has over 22 years of experience in the public and community health sectors. Since 2009 he has been the CEO of ACON, Australia’s largest health promotion organisation specialising in HIV and LGBTI health. Prior to this role Nicolas worked in a variety of senior management and policy roles for NSW Health and the NSW Cabinet Office, many with a specific focus on alcohol and other drugs. He also has a background in social marketing campaign management and public relations. Nicolas is a former board member of both ACON and the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO), and currently serves on the board of the APCOM, the peak body in the Asia Pacific region for men in relation to HIV, sexual health and human rights.