Introduction
On this page
At the heart of Medibank is our people. We work hard to create a safe and inclusive environment for our employees and to provide them with opportunities that help them grow and succeed in their roles. Medibank’s values – Customers First, Own It Do It, Show Heart and One Team – are part of everything we do, from the decisions we make to the way we serve our customers and community.
Participation
All employees by gender
*where gender specified| Female | 70% | |
| Male | 30% |
All employees by age
| <25 | 4% | |
| 25-34 | 31% | |
| 35-44 | 32% | |
| 45-54 | 21% | |
| 55-64 | 11% | |
| 65+ | 1% |
Employee engagement
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|
| 78% | 81% | 85% |
We undertook our annual employee engagement survey in February 2018, which showed Medibank’s overall employee engagement score increased to 85%, an improvement of four points on the previous year. The response rate of more than 80% was our highest ever. Medibank also undertakes an Employee Net Promoter Score (ENPS) survey three times a year to measure employee advocacy. The latest results from July 2018 show that our employees’ likelihood to recommend Medibank as a great place to work (+33) has increased by 36 points since we started measuring employee advocacy in November 2016.
Leadership commitment to 95 conversations in five months
Medibank’s leadership team committed to visiting every single Medibank office and store by May 2018. The 95 in 5 program focused on talking to our people about Medibank’s purpose, values and future, and listening to feedback about how we can continue to improve things for our customers and each other.
Diversity & inclusion
Medibank is committed to building an inclusive culture that acknowledges and embraces difference in all of its forms. These differences can include gender, age, ethnicity, religious or cultural background, disability, marital or family status, sexual orientation and gender identity.
Flexibility
Medibank’s approach to flexible working, FlexBetter, provides our employees with more choice in how, when and where they conduct their work to better meet the needs of our customers and our people. We believe that for every type of role, we can offer different types of flexibility. Medibank was a 2018 Flexible Working Day Champion finalist.
76% of our employees worked flexibly in 2018, an increase from 70% in the previous year
Supporting shared parenting through FamilyFLEX
Medibank is leading the way nationally in its support for shared parenting responsibilities. We introduced a new flexible parental leave policy in March 2018 to give eligible prospective parents, regardless of whether they’re the primary or secondary carer, 14 weeks of paid leave within the first 24 months of a child’s life or adoption. This includes taking leave at the same time as their partner. We also introduced a new program to improve the experience of parents while on leave and support them when they return. Our partnership with Circle In will offer this ‘stay in touch' program to all employees taking parental leave.
Gender
Medibank was awarded an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality 2018 citation from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) which recognises employer commitment and best practice in promoting gender equality in Australian workplaces. Medibank CEO Craig Drummond also continued to be a WGEA Pay Equity Ambassador. Medibank was a Dame Quentin Bryce Gender Equity in the Workplace Award finalist at the 2017 Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI) awards.
CEO Craig Drummond continued to support gender equality as a WGEA Pay Equity Ambassador, and as a member of Male Champions of Change
| Measure | Female representation |
|---|---|
| Employees identified as high-potential talent | 66% |
| Graduate program intake | 50% |
| Senior leaders | 45% |
During the year Medibank had a gender pay gap of 0.6%, with men paid slightly more than females when compared to market rates of pay. Last year females were paid slightly more than males. We track our pay gap to ensure there is never more than a 1% difference between genders.
LGBTI
Our LGBTI employee network, known as Passion + Pride, continued to guide Medibank policies and practices in creating a safe and inclusive environment. Medibank also continued to be a member of Pride in Health + Wellbeing, a national group that aims to improve the healthcare experiences of LGBTI Australians.
During the year we were recognised as a Silver Tier (top 20%) employer for LGBTI inclusion by Pride in Diversity through the 2018 Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI). Medibank was also a Michael Kirby LGBTIQ Inclusion Award finalist at the 2017 Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI) awards.
More than 80 Medibank employees and customers took part in the 2018 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
Parade
Indigenous
We launched our fourth Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in February 2018. This RAP sets targets for the first time around Indigenous employment (1% of our workforce by December 2020) and cultural awareness training (60% by 2020).
Our Indigenous Employment Strategy and partnerships with Yalari and CareerTrackers guided Medibank’s student summer internship program during the year, with four Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander university students taking up paid summer internships.
Fifteen senior leaders visited Wadeye in the Northern Territory as part of a senior leadership program with partner Red Dust in August 2017. Medibank’s relationship with the Wadeye community commenced in 2012. This program is an opportunity to learn about adaptive leadership and the complexity of health issues through the lens of an Indigenous community.
Third year interns Jazleen De Busch and Nakita Kirby lead a Q&A at the launch of Medibank’s fourth RAP
Disability
Medibank placed 6th on the Australian Network on Disability’s Accessibility & Inclusion Index (up from 12th in 2017), which measures inclusion of customers and employees with disability. We also worked with the network to develop Medibank’s Accessibility and Inclusion Plan to build our capability to better support our customers and employees.
Health, safety & wellbeing
Key safety facts 2018
| Measure | Target | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Lost time injury frequency rate* | <2.0 | 2.71 |
| Health & safety procedures reviewed and updated | 68 | 68 |
* 12-month rolling average per million hours worked
Medibank’s lost time injury frequency rate (LTIFR) of 2.71 disappointingly did not meet our target of <2.0, with the number of lost time incidents remaining the same as 2017 at 15. These incidents ranged from mild to moderate severity, with all employees successfully returning to work. The safety of our people remains a priority and we will continue to focus on meeting target through early intervention and support, health education and effective management of hazards.
Mental health
We increased our focus on mental health, introducing targeted psychological health initiatives and training for customer-facing teams, as well as a range of activities to coincide with Mental Health Week. This was in addition to our ongoing employee assistance program.
Supporting our people through the Wellbeing@Work Index
The Wellbeing@Work Index, which Medibank designed in partnership with Deloitte, helps Australian companies to better understand, measure and improve the wellbeing of their people and workplaces. During the year Medibank employees undertook the survey while we also shared our health expertise with other Australian businesses participating in the index.
Medibank’s Wellbeing@Work results helped us to identify opportunities to support the wellbeing of our people. These included encouraging them to take care of their mental wellbeing, and providing targeted support across segments of our employee base to help them make healthy choices and stay active during the working day.
Support for employees experiencing domestic and family violence
In November 2017 Medibank became one of two organisations in Australia – and the only private health insurer – to offer uncapped paid leave to employees experiencing domestic and family violence. Our new policy recognises that people experiencing domestic and family violence should not have to access annual leave or sick leave to meet their legal, medical, relocation and other administrative commitments, as well as counselling.
Around one in four women and one in thirteen men have experienced violence by an intimate partner
ABS 2016 personal safety survey
Performance & capability
Leadership
Medibank provided 14 leadership programs for employees, senior leaders, managers and people leaders during the year. These included:
| Program | Participants | About |
|---|---|---|
| Launch | 133 new people leaders | Interactive program to help new people leaders lead teams, with participants eligible for credentials towards a Cert IV in leadership and management from June 2018. |
| Elevate | 14 senior leaders | Community immersion to help leaders develop adaptive leadership, through exposure to Indigenous culture. |
| Accessibility Immersion | 40 senior leaders | A half-day immersion delivered in partnership with Paralympic athletes allowing senior leaders to directly experience what it is like to have a disability. |
| Women In Health Leadership | 200 employees | Female Medibank directors discuss their experiences, career paths and how they came to become leaders in the health sector. |
Medibank’s annual Shine Awards recognised employees living our values with categories for Customers First, Own It Do It, Show Heart and One Team, as well as awards for leadership, innovation and championing of health and wellbeing. There were a record 600 nominations across the business.
Capability
Medibank provided a range of formal capability programs for employees. These included:
| Program | Participants | About |
|---|---|---|
| I Start Better | 197 employees across retail and contact centre | Formal and on-the-job learning for new customer-facing employees, with some eligible to receive a Certificate III in Customer Engagement from Swinburne University. |
| Clinical Induction | 151 nurse triage and mental health employees | Induction training for those who work from home on a permanent basis – which allows us to expand our talent pool to more rural and remote areas. |
| Be Better | All Customer Connect employees | Customised team training to strengthen our customer focus, drive first call resolution and reduce complaints. |
Graduate program
Medibank continued to attract potential future leaders to the business through our graduate program. Eleven graduates completed the program in August 2017 and were placed in permanent roles across the organisation. There were 16 graduates on rotation as at 30 June 2018.
Two of Medibank’s graduates
Workplace giving & volunteering
We continued to support the community by giving Medibank employees access to eight hours of community leave each year. A total of 408 employees registered 1,399 hours of volunteer leave during the year. Medibank also continued to partner with Good2Give to match employee community donations of up to $1,000 annually. We donated $70,251 through this initiative during the year, up 36% on 2017.