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Information
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Aurora Energy Tasmania
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Aurora Energy is Tasmania’s electricity distribution and retail company. It is
a major employer with over 900 staff. Aurora sees many benefits in retaining
its experienced staff, with their skills, knowledge and experience, rather than
“letting them go”. The average age of Aurora’s employees is about 40. Given
this age profile within the context of Tasmania’s labour market, Aurora
recognises that it needs both to encourage young people to enter the industry,
and retain and develop its current employees. Aurora has developed a range of
strategies to do this, including:
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A policy of filling new positions internally, where possible promoting from
within.
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A phased retirement process – for example a person in their 50s contemplating
retirement may work part-time at 3 days a week for a year, reducing to 2 days a
week the next year.
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This phased retirement can include mentoring one or more successors, to pass on
skills and knowledge.
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Providing flexible working arrangements, which enable employees to balance
their work/home needs.
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Finding alternative roles for older workers who have had roles that were
physically demanding.
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Ensuring that, as the company responds to structural changes, employees are
found alternative roles within the organisation.
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Recruiting local people for local jobs, irrespective of age.
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Because it has depots all around Tasmania, Aurora finds this is an effective
way of having employees who are committed to staying and working in the local
area. This can be through adult apprenticeships or traineeships.
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Former employees of Aurora continuing to contribute their expertise as
temporary employees, contractors and consultants.
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Looking after the health of employees. Aurora offers them discounted gym
memberships, fitness evaluations and fitness programs.
Staff for Aurora’s call centres are recruited through a traineeship in
communications (call centre operations). Successful trainees are diverse. For
example, mature age women appreciate the flexibility of call centre work for
combining work and family responsibilities.
As a result of its strategies to make the company attractive to both new
recruits and current employees, Aurora has a turnover of less than 5 per cent,
with an average tenure of around 15 years. It has won national recognition for
its people practices from the Australian Human Resources Institute and was a
recent finalist in the Australian Chamber of Commerce national work/family
awards. |
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