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The MLA team in Korea with some of our merchandisers at a recent trade show in Seoul.
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Every aspect of our work is geared to providing economic benefits for Australia’s red meat and livestock industry, often with direct and indirect consumer, community and environmental benefits.
OUR STAFF
The quality and competency of our people is paramount to MLA continuing to deliver on its mission of world-class services and solutions for the Australian red meat industry. Our business planning hinges on the ability of our people to explore and develop solutions to meet current and future industry challenges.
OUR WORKFORCE
At 30 June 2008 MLA employed 238 staff: 204 in Australia and 34 overseas, a slight two per cent drop compared to 2006–07.
Sixty-five per cent of employees are from a rural background, either through family affiliation, previous experience in the industry or tertiary qualifications.
Voluntary employee turnover was 21 per cent this year (one per cent higher than the previous year) attributed to a highly competitive job market and employees seeking further career opportunities.
| PROFILE AT 30 JUNE 2008 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number of employees | % of workforce | |
| Total staff | 238 | 100 |
| Men | 129 | 54 |
| Women | 109 | 46 |
| Full-time staff | 226 | 95 |
| Part-time staff | 12 | 5 |
| Tertiary qualified | 228 | 96 |
| Australian based staff | 204 | 86 |
| Overseas based staff | 34 | 14 |
WORKFORCE SUSTAINABILITY
At an executive level, succession planning and talent management continued to be a key priority. We link this to our business planning by developing cross-functional project teams to facilitate growth and promotion within the company.
We also successfully negotiated a three-year Collective Agreement with staff, achieved through strong involvement and consultation at all levels. The agreement contains competitive terms and conditions to attract and retain employees and we are working to ensure we remain competitive in the job market with remuneration benchmarking continuing to be a high priority.
HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELLBEING
The health and wellbeing of our staff is important. Last year we engaged an independent auditor to review our occupational health and safety management systems particularly for saleyards and abattoirs. The review confirmed that we conform to legislation and the Australian Standard. Due to the introduction of new systems, we addressed an identified occupational overuse hazard with a suite of preventative measures to reduce further related incidents. During the year, there were four injuries resulting in time loss. There were no reports of sex-based harassment or discrimination.
ENGAGING OUR PEOPLE
Employee feedback from exit interviews confirms results from previous employee surveys that we offer a good company culture, a rewarding place to work and good learning and development opportunities. Regular face-to-face communication and involvement is imperative to engage our people in understanding our business direction and industry challenges. We hold regular staff briefings to facilitate interaction and ownership of industry and company initiatives.
