Inside ASI-AP

MEDIA RELEASE: You don't have to be Google to be great

Embargoed until 30 April 2009

It’s not every day that a company with around 30 employees gets to be mentioned in the same breath as corporate heavyweights like Google, Coca-Cola, Yahoo!7 and Deloitte.

But that’s what Advanced Solutions International (Asia-Pacific), a software provider to the non-profit community, has achieved after today being named one of Australia’s 50 best companies to work for – despite having one of the smallest workforces on the list.

The list is compiled by the Great Place to Work (GPTW) Institute Australia, part of a US-based research and management consultancy that works with organisations in more than 40 countries and has been releasing the list in the United States for 10 years.

Selection in the list – in its second year in Australia – is based on a survey of all staff, a “workplace culture audit” and a comprehensive company submission. Companies are measured against benchmarks of credibility, fairness, camaraderie, pride and respect.

Among the ASI activities highlighted by the GPTW Institute were:

• SMART STEP, a staff training program that encourages employees to achieve a minimum of 60 hours of training per year.
• The “Weight No More” program that gave staff members healthy eating and exercise education as well as the chance to win a prize.
• The Values Awards peer recognition program that allows employees to nominate colleagues who exemplify one of ASI’s corporate values of courage, respect, and excellence.
• Birthday cards being mailed to each employee’s home each year with a $30 gift card

ASI (Asia-Pacific) Managing Director Paul Ramsbottom is both surprised and ecstatic that the company and its staff have been recognised in their first time in the survey.

“We all take pride that ASI is based on solid values – excellence, courage and respect – and we’re delighted that these have been recognised in the Great Place To Work survey,” Paul said.

“We certainly strive to take care of our staff and we do it because we think it’s the right thing to do. We didn’t do anything special to win an award but this acknowledgement shows we’re on the right track and doing the right thing.

“We do work hard and that has a lot to do with wanting to do well for the customers we are working with in the non-profit sector. There’s a real passion and belief in the sector.

“Our selection alongside the likes of household names like Google and Coca-Cola is fantastic news. We may only be a small company but we like to think we punch well above our weight.”

The win continues ASI’s push to meet industry benchmarks in as many areas as possible. Great Place To Work allowed the company a chance to see how it stacked up in terms of human resources.

It also reinforces ASI (Asia-Pacific) as a leader, not only in the non-profit sector but within the company as a whole. A number of initiatives originated in Australia and have been adopted by ASI worldwide.

Paul said an effort was also made to spread the recognition beyond the workplace. Each employee receives a birthday card and gift at home and all nominees in the Values Awards get a card at home honouring their achievement so it could be shared with their family.

“It’s not easy explaining to families what mum or dad does at work. It’s not like we can drive past a house and say ‘I helped build that’; you can’t do that with software,” Paul said.

“When we look at the position this company is in – the market leadership we have – our staff know that everybody in the business has contributed to that.”

The full Best Places to Work list will be published in the April 30 edition of BRW.

ASI (Asia-Pacific) has more than 250 clients from the not-for-profit, charity and association sectors including Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Cancer Council Victoria and Australian Medical Association. They use ASI’s flagship software solution iMIS to manage membership communications, fundraising, events, payments and website content.

Media: Paul Ramsbottom is available to talk about the Great Place to Work list, associations, charities and not-for-profits and their use of technology, association management, Australia’s IT industry and more. Contact ASI media advisor, Brett de Hoedt of Hootville Communications, on +61 3 9017 1062/brett@hootville.com