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Kiwi employees are thriving, ranking highest in the world for happiness at 60%, nearly double the global average of 34%, according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2024 study. Their enthusiasm carries over to the job market, with 79% of employees believing now is the best moment to find a new position.
Despite the challenging economic circumstances and talent shortages in the past few years, these statistics highlight the rewarding workplace culture fostered by NZ Adviser’s Top Mortgage Employers of 2024.
This year’s winning workplaces have excelled by:
offering opportunities for professional growth and upskilling
fostering a safe, supportive culture
providing perks to help with the rising cost of living
encouraging work-life balance through flexible working options
Neil Munro, associate director of executive recruitment firm Sheffield, notes that many companies are adapting to the current job market by focusing on talent retention and development through initiatives such as formal training and maintaining flexible work arrangements.
The Finance and Mortgage Advisers Association of New Zealand’s (FAMNZ) country manager, Leigh Hodgetts, echoes that view, saying, “Employers need to create a culture that supports employees at every level of their career and a great way to do this is through training, and mentoring programs. People are most likely to thrive in a business when they feel valued and when they are given the opportunities to grow.”
Retention is critical in such an optimistic job market, and with 43% of Kiwis actively seeking a new opportunity or keeping an eye out for one, the best mortgage employers to work for offer attractive employee propositions that include investment in their growth, flexibility and commitment to overall wellbeing.
However, challenges remain, with only 25% of Kiwis reporting being engaged at work. While this is ahead of the global average of 23%, it underscores the sterling efforts of this year’s Top Mortgage Employers to foster inclusive workplaces where employees feel valued and heard, especially among those who prioritise working for organisations committed to diversity and inclusion.
Munro has observed rising tension between employers and employees around return-to-office policies in certain sectors, signalling potential disengagement.
“Flexible working and working from home are topical, as many employees are used to working from home two days a week; they would struggle to change that now that they’ve built their lives around that arrangement,” he says.
“Also, with living costs rising in New Zealand, it’s cheaper for that household if they do spend some time working from home and they don’t have the cost of public transport,” he adds.
Munro notes that one initiative illustrating top employers’ point of difference is helping employees with cost-of-living expenses, such as contributing to public transport costs as part of a total rewards package. He mentions that Auckland Transport’s product, Fareshare, where employers can subsidise their staff’s public transport costs, is proving increasingly popular.
FAMNZ’s Hodgetts remarks that Kiwis have embraced employee wellbeing and mental health, with perks such as flexible working undoubtedly having a positive impact.
“More than this, I’ve seen a real focus on feedback,” she says. “Businesses here are asking their employees what more can be done to improve culture and outcomes. With such high levels of employee satisfaction compared to global levels, the benefits are clearly being reaped.”
Identifying New Zealand’s Top Mortgage Employers involved a two-phase process: first, inviting organisations to apply with detailed information about their practices and offerings; second, conducting an anonymous employee survey to rate satisfaction across key indicators such as compensation, development opportunities, culture and work environment.
Companies that reached the minimum employee response threshold based on size and achieved a satisfaction rating of 75% or higher earned recognition as Top Mortgage Employers.
NZA’s data highlights the need for employers to remain attentive to the needs of their workers, as 38% confirmed they would be willing to change jobs if it offered working options that better suit their preferences.
In such a highly competitive market with a much smaller talent pool than many other countries, Top Mortgage Employers need to have honest conversations about salary and what matters most to employees, notes Hodgetts.
“It’s important to be visible to potential employees, showcasing company values and culture,” she says. “Reputation and brand are everything, and a check on this is vital for attracting top talent. Be the business that people want to work with.”
Another trend that was displayed was that 52% of respondents would choose to be hybrid workers, but only 44% currently have that status.
However, the desire is in the opposite direction for those who are 100% remote (16%) and 100% office-based (19%), as the survey data recorded those that wished to be in these categories as 13% and 9%, respectively. There is also a greater desire for employees to determine their own working arrangements, with 25% favouring that, compared to the 21% who currently enjoy that autonomy.
While all the best mortgage companies to work for stand out for their commitment to exceeding employee expectations, the following two Top Mortgage Employers of 2024 shed light on how top employers have created a supportive, high-performing workforce.
Overall satisfaction: 84%
Top satisfaction factor: Diversity and inclusion
The leading lender attributes its top employer status to its diverse, high-performing team who work collaboratively and support customers and each other. The organisation fosters an inclusive culture with a relatively flat structure and accessible leadership that empowers employee contribution.
“We believe in personal agency and accountability within a clear operating and compliance framework,” CEO Aaron Skilton says. “We have a strong commitment to growth and development, embracing continuous learning that incorporates lessons that are both time-tested and contemporary.”
What employees said:
“Enjoy the progressive and inclusive environment that strongly supports and encourages self-development.”
“Flexible work arrangements and recognition of staff efforts.”
Overall satisfaction: 75%
Top satisfaction factor: Support of charitable/community organisations
For the award-winning aggregator, sustaining its status as a top employer comes from nurturing its family-like culture. Link Financial focuses on forming meaningful relationships with its staff and advisers, not on growing at all costs.
An illustration of its collaborative approach can be found in CEO Josh Bronkhorst inviting the organisation’s advisory operations manager, Dalene Pistorius, and Jason Palmer, compliance and professional development manager, to provide their input on being an employer of choice.
“I feel that this is a team effort, and this recognition is not something that I do on my own,” Bronkhorst says. “I think we have achieved a real family culture, and it’s easy to lose that if you don’t work on it.”
What employees said:
“I don’t feel stressed as I get a lot of support from my manager and staff.”
“Our small team looks after a lot of adviser businesses and product providers; the team is excellent in building and maintaining these relationships and supporting our adviser network.”
Despite the past year’s environmental headwinds and market challenges, Liberty reached new heights of success. The top employer’s committed team remains strong, driven by its values and purpose “to help more people get financial.”
“We recently celebrated our biggest month in residential lending to date,” says Skilton. “We updated our core offering to better meet the needs of consumers and continue to expand our team to support advisers, welcoming new team members in recent months.”
A transaction with New Zealand Home Loans, in which it took a majority stake in Link Financial to leverage Link’s technology and advisory services, brought significant changes and put strain on everyone down the chain.
Pistorius notes that persistent market challenges, including the high interest rate and cost-of-living environment, enabled the organisation to stand out in its support of advisers by relying on its family culture.
“It’s a really special thing to be able to help an adviser with opportunities,” she says. “Sometimes it’s making a connection – introducing an insurance adviser to a mortgage adviser so they can grow their businesses together. Sometimes, it’s about helping someone through the pains of obtaining their Level 5s. I think open communication and trust are key parts of what helps us to come back and achieve it again.”
The New Zealand Mortgage Awards 2024 recognised the lender as an excellence awardee in the Non-Bank Lender of the Year category.
“Advisers are at the heart of this industry and have been central to our success at Liberty since day one,” says Skilton. “As always, we are committed to continuing our unwavering support of advisers and helping them assist more customers to satisfy their mortgage needs.”
One achievement that Bronkhorst is particularly proud of is launching the firm’s offshore conference. Despite some opinions that they wouldn’t get the uptake in a challenging economic environment, it had the largest turnout of all time at the QT Gold Coast in Surfers Paradise.
“Competitors were surprised, asking how we managed to do a conference on the Gold Coast,” he says. “We put it out there, people supported it, they loved it, and we’re most likely to return next year.”
Pistorius adds that Link Financial celebrated 30 years in business at the conference, allowing the team to reflect on their success and legacy over that period.
Compliance manager Palmer highlights the significant achievement of its year-on-year success with external audits. He notes that the April 2024 audit returned the best results so far.
Many factors contribute to retention at Liberty, the heart of which is ensuring employees feel respected, valued and rewarded. The organisation also regularly seeks team members’ opinions on its benefits and programs through anonymous surveys.
It also continuously engages its leaders, business partners and customers to ensure it understands any gaps between expectations and performance. Taking this approach has enhanced employee benefits, which include:
health and wellbeing: free flu shots, subsidised gym memberships and insurance and mental health support
growth and recognition: bonus payments, diversity workshops and LinkedIn Learning access
inclusive policies: paid parental leave, fertility treatment inclusive of LGBTQI+ and Women in Leadership workshops
workplace environment: flexible work options, social activities, family events, free meals and snacks
Openness, transparency and ongoing discussions with employees enable the organisation to measure the effectiveness and impact of its benefits and programs. It aims to work with staff, ensuring they understand the opportunities to learn and grow professionally.
An open-door policy encourages employees to talk to their manager at any time. Leaders are committed to listening to and working with employees to develop career pathways while rewarding them for their efforts.
Employee benefits include:
health and wellbeing: free flu shots, mental health support, and birthday leave
growth and recognition: annual performance review and 90-day check-ins and financial support for learning programs
inclusive policies: paid parental leave, dedicated kids’ room or staff’s children, and promoter of women in leadership workshops
workplace environment: flexible work hours, coffee daily and fresh fruits weekly, and free parking
“We know firsthand that a diverse and inclusive group leads to a happier, more productive team,” Skilton says. “By creating an environment of trust, respect and inclusion, we positively impact staff attraction, engagement and retention.”
Liberty also supports diversity within the finance industry, which is crucial to ensuring it remains a trusted channel for customers. Each year, it seeks new ways to advocate for gender equality and champion women in financ e, including establishing new internal policies around early childhood support and continuing to develop its women in leadership and women in sales training programs.
“We have advisers all over the country, and they all know that if they get involved at a local level with some charitable work, then we’re always open to co-sponsor,” Bronkhorst says.
Link Financial supports various charitable programs and initiatives annually that add value to the community, including the YMCA Challenger Series, Special Needs Christmas function, Sports Chaplaincy and the Auckland City Mission.
Pistorius adds that the organisation believes employees need the right toolset to perform their tasks, and Link doesn’t hesitate to bring in new programs, hardware or software upgrades. She adds that if it’s a justifiable item, no questions are asked.
The process of finding and recognising the best employers in the New Zealand mortgage industry took place over two phases. First, NZ Adviser invited organisations to submit their details in a survey, in which they were able to describe their offerings and business practices. Second, employees from the nominated companies were asked to fill out an anonymous survey to rate their satisfaction with a number of key factors, such as compensation, employee development, culture and work environment. Each company was required to meet a minimum number of employee responses based on overall size. Any company that achieved a satisfaction rating of 75% or greater was named a Top Mortgage Employer.
