Challenger business bank Judo Bank has shot to the top of LinkedIn’s list of the 25 best Australian startups to work for on debut, beating Sydney design unicorn Canva.
It’s just the second time the professional services website has compiled the list, based on data it collects from users.
To qualify, a startup has to be privately owned, have at least 50 employees in Australia and headquartered here, be less than seven years old, and have a minimum of 15% employee growth over the 12 months to June 2019.
LinkedIn looks at user data on interest in the company, employment growth, employee engagement, job interest and the ability to attract talent from workplaces on the site top companies list, which is dominated by the major banks, Lendlease and consulting firms.
Judo Bank, which lends to the small-to-medium (SME) business sector, made headlines earlier this year after setting a new record for series A funding round at A$400 million.
LinkedIn’s 2019 list is dominated by fin-tech and neobanks.
LinkedIn Australia news editor Natalie MacDonald said the list reflects reflects how work is changing, the emerging, fast-growing industries and where people want to work.
“This year’s list has seen 19 new entrants from a variety of industries – highlighting the competitive make-up of Australia’s fast-paced startups scene,” she said
Here are the 2019 LinkedIn Top 25 startups people want to work for in Australia.
- Judo Bank
- Canva
- Volt Bank
- Mantel Group
- Xinja
- Athena Home Loans
- Shippit
- Viridian Advisory
- Assembly Payments
- Sonder
- Flare HR
- Alex Solutions
- Integrity Life
- Moula
- Verdia
- Versent
- GetCapital
- RedEye Apps
- GO1
- Barhead Solutions
- Cover Genius
- Enable Professional Services
- Clinic to Cloud
- HiSmile
- Legal Vision
Among some of the workplace perks that impressed LinkedIn were Go1’s “volunteer leave”, where the company offsets half of any annual leave they use as volunteer leave; Canva’s personal and team coaching via two full-time coaches; Viridian Advisory’s staff and client ownership; RedEye’s Recharge Days a day every six months, exclusive of their annual and sick leave, to support mental health; and Judo Bank’s FINSIA (Financial Services Institute of Australasia) program to teach staff banking fundamentals, which also offers a Master of Finance.
“But what’s understated here is the effort we go to retain staff. We’ve hired like crazy and lost only a few over the past year. What’s more, the people we’ve hired contribute greatly to a culture of innovation that has brought the business to where it is today,” he said.
“Sure, we have a fully stocked bar fridge, a ping-pong table, all of your typical perks. But where we go the extra mile is in creating an environment where our team feel they can bring their whole selves to work and truly enjoy being there,”
“The culture hasn’t happened by accident – we have hired like-minded individuals who enjoy performing at the top of their abilities and who challenge themselves to do things differently with the purpose of putting customers’ needs first.”
GO1, now the world’s largest online training marketplace, also made the list for the second time.
Co-founder Vu Tran said he hoped the recognition will help attract the best talent
“One of our key practices is supporting employees to advance themselves. Pursuing targeted and relevant training is important not just for individuals but also for the success of the organisation,” he said.
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