The Usual and Unusual Benefits of Working at IT Partners

Dannielle Cook
9/1/2024

At IT Partners we’re continuously looking for ways to improve benefits in alignment with our core values – hence the evolving range of usual and unusual benefits of working at IT Partners. So, here’s the list, available as of August 2022.

Rewarding our team

We have a high-performing team, and are deliberate towards ensuring they feel recognised and appreciated for the work they do.

Top quartile salaries: We look at industry stats and recruitment data, and ensure we are consistently paying in the upper quartile. We are prepared to adjust any time to ensure we are meeting the market for high performance.

Company vehicle: For those positions that need a company vehicle, a VW Golf or Tesla will be assigned - along with reasonable personal use. On-site car parking near to the office is also made available to all staff, whether or not they have a company vehicle.

Service anniversaries: A gesture to recognise the contribution from our employees, and indirectly the families of our employees. We acknowledge annual service anniversaries with a restaurant voucher for our team to take their number one supporter’s out for dinner on us. We also make a bigger deal out of 5, 10 and 15 year anniversaries (yes, we have already had one 15-year anniversary, and it wasn’t Andrew!).

First homeowner contribution: We recognise that taking that first big step and committing to buying a home is a big deal, we help with a one-off contribution (up to $7,500) towards the deposit.

Pleasant surprises: From internal competitions, team initiatives and lunches, to random gifts of kindness (e.g.: winter wellness packs), we find regular moments to share delightful surprises with our team.

Best office in town: We’re proud of the office environment we’ve created, built off feedback from our team. Standing desks are just the start of a great place to work, alongside multiple monitor setups, tech-leading meeting spaces, great in-house coffee, a library, gym, fruit, an air-fryer, you name it. While we have recently shifted to hot desks to maximise the space we have, we take an individualised approach to ensure our team have a space suited to their working style (fixed desk, different working zones, project rooms, etc.).

Work & life fit

The work-life juggle can be a challenge, so we encourage ways of working that support our people, their different lifestyles, and family commitments. Fostering arrangements that support different Work & Life Fits has been easy for us, built on our operating principles to use good judgement in the interests of both IT Partners and the team - and of course the trust we have in our people.

Hybrid working arrangements: Hybrid working means something different to each of us. It might be where we work that enables us to feel most creative or productive or how we structure our day to support personal preference or juggle family commitments. For us hybrid working means where and how work can be done. Working from the office, working from home, working from somewhere that enables personal convenience – late-2021 even saw one of our team, Kaitlin, relocate to Australia, where she now works remotely! We live and breathe technology, and leverage this to make work possible from anywhere.

Home office: As mentioned above, the work-life juggle can be a challenge, so we ensure that our employees are equipped to work at home from day one. We provide a full home office setup that replicates the set up in head office, this enables our team to work just as efficiently at home.

Best internet around town: To support effective remote working, an unlimited home internet connection is available to our team from the best provider in town (plug Lightwire).

Extended leave: Sometimes you just want to be able to explore the world (or good old NZ) – so if a Team member has been with us for more than 2 years, we offer a period of extended leave.

Development

We foster an environment where our people can grow with IT Partners, uncovering pathways that align with their interests and strengths. We know how important the role of a great leader is, so actively invest in their development too, to enable the success of our people. Between the mentorship, leaders who genuinely care, and professional development investment, what you wish to make of your career is in your hands.

Training budget: While we have an unlimited training budget to support the development of our people and keeping up with the advancements in technology, we provide some guidance for our team that enables them to proactively explore personal and professional development; the guidance for employees is $3,000 per annum.

Not just technical training: We recognise that it’s not just about providing technical skills training, mentoring opportunities and soft skills like listening and resiliency are equally important, and as a company we invest in both.

Unlimited books benefit: We know how many amazing professional development books are out there, and if we don't already have what you’re looking for in our office library, employees are encouraged to purchase books (hard copy, kindle, audiobooks) on their company credit cards.

Wellbeing

A great employee experience enables and inspires our team to perform at their best. Fostering a culture of wellbeing and being renowned as a company that genuinely cares about our people is instrumental to us. We take a holistic approach to our team’s wellbeing and an outcome of this is a highly engaged team who care about the work they do and support us in delivering the best experience to our clients and team.

Extensive wellbeing programme, including an in-house gym, wellness Session, and our very own Personal Trainer & Wellbeing Coordinator: Some time ago now we made a big commitment to the wellbeing of our team by building an in-house gym and recruiting a Personal Trainer & Wellbeing Coordinator. We offer a 45-minute weekly Wellness Session to encourage activities and coaching that will support the health and wellbeing of our team (this applies to both physical and mental health). The role of the Wellbeing Coordinator is also to liaise other health initiatives for the team, for example flu jabs, blood donations, discounted dental care rates etc.

Supporting Team Connectedness: We jump at any opportunity we can to foster strong working relationships among our team and do this through organising regular team events, family events, and fitness groups (e.g., bootcamps, corporate rowing, round the bridges). We also have plenty of awesome spaces in office for our team to be able to connect, and regularly utilise Microsoft Teams for those who adopt a hybrid working style.

Wellness allowance: Prioritising health and wellbeing and creating life-long wellbeing habits has immense value for all aspects of life. So, to encourage our team in taking ownership of their physical & mental health and wellbeing, we offer a $1,000 Wellness Allowance to assist with any medical or wellbeing related purchases.

KiwiSaver 4%: Financial health is important to us so we match up to 4% of your KiwiSaver contributions.

Financial literacy: Planning for your financial future is essential.  To help our team with this, we offer a range of financial literacy services – from workshops and presentations to one-on-one advice.

Autonomy to make good choices

We operate on a high trust model, and trust that our employees can make informed decisions on their own accord. We provide everything needed for our people to be able to perform their roles to the best of their ability.

No-Red-Tape credit card: Until recently we hadn’t thought this was a benefit, but we like to make things easy and provide all of the team with a credit card, so no one has to wait to be re-imbursed for business expenses.

The best tools for the job: All the software, hardware, and systems needed to do the job at work and at home, including a high-performance laptop and flagship mobile phone (Apple or Android device as preferred). We provide an unlimited mobile and data plan for business and personal use along with the phone.

Clothing allowance: Dressing professionally costs money, we provide an annual clothing allowance of $500 to help with these costs.

We recognise that our most important asset is our people – to ensure they are treated like the high-performers they are, we are continuously looking for ways to improve our benefits and employee value proposition.