ALH Group
Ranked #2 in Randstad’s 2023 Top 20 Employers (Rank #4 in 2022).
creating a more sociable future, together.
Australian Leisure and Hospitality (ALH) Group - part of the Endeavour Group - is a market leader in hospitality, employing over 15,000 people and owning and operating a portfolio of over 350 licensed venues across Australia. From the suburbs and regions to the cities, be it the corner local or a precinct destination, ALH recognises and heroes the unique story of each pub so they can thrive in their local community.
Natasha Cavanagh, General Manager of People at ALH shared her insights with Randstad about what is helping them stand out as a leading employer.
we prioritise our people promise. we listen and respond.
Everyone at ALH is proud to have achieved the number two spot in the Randstad Top 20 Employers for 2023, and to be the only brand in the Top 10 from the private sector. We also ranked first for having a pleasant work atmosphere and achieved high scores for financial stability and career progression.
In 2022, we landed fourth place, jumping up two spots this year to second place. This is a huge result and is testament to our hard working and dedicated team of over 15,000 people who are individually and collectively committed to creating an environment that people want to be a part of and see a future within.
We think we performed well in the employer brand research because of the size and stability of our business and our clear strategy for growth. We are Australia’s largest hospitality company, and we can offer career opportunities that aren’t available in other organisations, to people who want to grow their career in hospitality.
What we think is helping us stand out in the market is: our continued investment and focus on our people e.g. maternity leave policy, recognition share program, assistant venue manager pathways program; our purpose - ‘creating a more sociable future together’ - which we are all connected to, and our values and ways of working that we live. Our ‘Leading in Responsibility’ program ensures we all share the same understanding, care, and approach to responsible service in our venues.
Our Employer Brand strategy at ALH Hotels is defined by our People Promise, celebrating what our people tell us they love about working with us, and not by looking at what others are doing and trying to match that. We think this helps as we are being true to what we can deliver and do well. Therefore, when people start working with us, it matches and/or exceeds their expectations, which was reinforced in our Voice of Team survey this year.
We also use feedback from our annual Voice of Team survey to understand what our people are looking for and respond to this e.g. training available to build product knowledge, building role specific training, introducing pathways programs and a career framework to help our team develop themselves and their career.
Hospitality is such a diverse and inclusive industry, and our Voice of Team results show that our team do feel that we provide an inclusive workplace at ALH Hotels. We continue to include diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in our business strategy, focusing on how we provide equity, have diverse talent pipelines, and demonstrate our commitment to events that we know are meaningful to our teams such as RU OK Day and Wear it Purple. Our DEI initiatives get better every year as a result of learning what is having the most impact, and using metrics such as VOT, diversity in talent pipelines or turnover data to measure success and track progress.
As an organisation we are committed to consistently providing an inclusive and supportive environment for everyone - staff and customers - across the country, in all our venues.
“We ensure our people goals are taken as seriously as our other strategic goals and spoken about regularly with our senior leadership team”
our people goals are fundamental to our business goals.
Our Team and Purpose is a central strategic pillar in our strategy, focused on ensuring that we have empowered teams who live our purpose in a safe and inclusive culture. As such, our People strategy is built to support our business goals, which includes our ambition to become and remain an employer of choice. This ensures that our people goals are taken as seriously as our other strategic goals and spoken about regularly with our senior leadership team.
know what people love about your business.
We know that unemployment levels have remained at an all-time low, and that means people have the opportunity to move freely amongst different employers and industries. As employers it is extremely competitive to attract and retain talent.
Through research, including Randstad’s employer brand survey and our own internal Voice of Team survey at ALH, we know that people want to work in businesses that can offer them career development as well as stability, flexibility and have a good workplace culture. To have a competitive edge, businesses and industry groups should consider how they demonstrate this to their people, as well as communicate this to potential employees.
Our two biggest channels of communication to potential employees are through our team sharing their work experience with us. This is why our “People Promise” is so important in our employer branding strategy because it is based on what our people are telling us they love about working in our business. This includes Come As You Are, and our ALH LinkedIn page.
unite behind your purpose.
As the largest operator of pubs nationally, from bustling cities to remote regional towns, ALH provides a range of career opportunities and career pathways for team members. And as part of the Endeavour Group (EDG), Australia's leading retail drinks and hospitality business, our portfolio of complementary businesses allows us to curate brand propositions to meet customer needs, delivered through shared capabilities. We are proudly pioneering and entrepreneurial, embracing technology and innovation to create memorable customer experiences.
United behind a common purpose of 'creating a more sociable future together', ALH and EDG work as one team to contribute to the communities we serve and collaborate with our partners to help build a better industry and leave a lasting positive imprint. Whatever the occasion, being social is in our nature, it’s part of who we are. We care about helping people get together, enabling great experiences and positive, memorable moments. Creating more sociable communities responsibly matters to everyone at ALH.
“Our Employer Brand strategy is defined by our People Promise, celebrating what our people tell us they love about working with us, and not by looking at what others are doing and trying to match that”
ALH Group Top 5 Tips
The top 5 tips for a strong employer brand are:
- Listen to what is important to your people - both to know what your true employer brand is, as well as what you need to focus more on.
- Demonstrate that you have listened to your people both in the actions that you have taken and in connecting that back to the feedback they gave you.
- Communicate what your employer brand is. This should be what your people are telling you they love about working with you. Let them be your biggest advocates.
- Keep trying things and take learnings from them on what makes the best impact with your people.
- Prioritise and be focused on the key initiatives that you want to do to make an impact, rather than trying to do too much at once.
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