Social Workplace

Westfield Group’s Global Workplace

Westfield directly employs more than 4,600 employees globally across its shopping centres, construction sites and offices. 

Across the Group and within each market there is a relatively even split between the number of men and women directly employed. Total number of men directly employed (2,349) and total number of females directly employed (2,321) both represent 50% of total direct employees.

The majority of employees (74%) are in permanent full-time positions with the two largest workforces based in Australia (51%) and the US (29%).

Westfield also engages a large number of independent contractors in the construction division as required and in the ongoing provision of cleaning and security services at shopping centres. 

In 2011, the number of independent contracting personnel was 6,869 which exceeded the total number of direct employees. The contractor workforce was greatest in Australia (47%) and UK (44%) reflecting the ongoing investment in Westfield’s development projects in these two markets namely, the completion of Westfield Stratford City in London, and works at Westfield Carindale and Westfield Fountain Gate in Brisbane and Melbourne respectively. The completion of Westfield Sydney’s retail component in the middle of 2011 also contributed to contractor numbers.

The total number of employees remained relatively stable in 2011 with the overall number of new hires (1,065) balancing out the number of employees leaving employment (1,090).

The stability and experience of Westfield Group’s management team has been a major reason for the success of the Group throughout its history. A core team of senior executives has served the Group over the past two decades, complemented by the introduction of new executives to meet the challenges of expansions to new markets and changes in the retail environment. 

The Group’s top 50 executives have an average age of 50 and length of service with the organisation of 12 years. Of this team, 20 have worked for Westfield in more than one country which has proven to be just one of many important factors in building Westfield’s global knowledge base.

The turnover of staff was highest in Australia - 12% new hires and 13% employees leaving employment. This is not surprising due to the size of the Australian workforce and the inclusion of casual employees in the data reported. 

The Group has a number of initiatives to minimise turnover including short and longer-term succession planning, which are also integrated into the key performance indicators of management to try and ensure the retention of high potential talent. Other initiatives to maximise retention include focus on training and development, recruitment practices and induction processes. 

Employment type & contract (4670 Westfield employees)

Employee and Contractors by region at 31 December 2011

*including casuals in Australia only                                  *gender split of contractors not available

Employment headcount by Region

The Group places great emphasis on attracting, developing and retaining high quality staff at all levels and continues to develop and promote from within. 

A full range of training, leadership development and succession planning programs have been in place for many years and underscore our commitment to staff.

There are more than 50 programs in the Group’s curriculum, ranging from entry level induction programs to management and leadership development and professional skills development. 

In 2011, approximately 30% of employees across Westfield globally undertook some type of training. 

Staff in New Zealand has been able to participate in a number of the Australian programs in addition to those running in their own country, while the United States and United Kingdom have run their own programs – including Induction, People Manager Induction, Management Development and Westfield Foundational Leadership – independently. A new program will also be introduced in Australia – Westfield Thought Leadership – targeting middle and senior level managers. 

The Group intends to increase training hours in 2013, specifically targeting induction, leadership, and management development globally in recognition that these programs have been strong drivers of business performance. Increasingly, the training curriculums across markets will be aligned, providing greater ability for the Group to offer consistent professional skills development to its global work force. 

Westfield’s broad approach is to develop capability over time, giving both employees and managers the opportunity to assess the impact of the training and how it can contribute to medium and long-term business objectives and a continual basis. 

Materials and course curriculums are developed in partnership with a number of key providers who have a thorough working knowledge of Westfield policies and practices and review the programs regularly.

Composition of governance bodies and breakdown of employees by category and gender

Westfield believes that diversity contributes to its business success and aspires to a workforce that reflects of the communities in which the Group operates. Westfield operates in a number of countries, and, historically, diversity initiatives have been focused at the local level, having regard to the legislative requirements of those countries and other local factors.

Whilst there is a broad 50:50 split between males and females directly employed, the proportion of women at management and senior management levels is still outweighed by men with women holding 13% of the positions on governance bodies, being the Board of Directors and the Group Executive Committee.

During 2011 there was a significant focus on diversity:

  • An internal diversity working group was convened to review the effectiveness and impact of the Group’s policies and strategies relating to diversity,
  • In conjunction with the review, the Board adopted a Diversity Policy to guide the Board and senior management in developing diversity objectives for the Group on a global basis,
  • Charter of the Nomination Committee was amended to expressly include diversity as a factor for consideration in the appointment of Directors.

Westfield acknowledges that Diversity includes but is not limited to gender, age, disability, ethnicity, religion and cultural background and, in the United States, the Group’s policies on diversity extend to veterans. However, in terms of global measurable objectives, the initial emphasis by the Group will be on gender diversity with a primary goal being to strengthen the representation of women executives in senior management positions. 

Throughout 2012 the Group has aimed to embed and build its commitment to diversity by establishing a global education program at senior management level to increase awareness of the need for diversity and to integrate diversity principles into each country’s induction and training programs for employees.

The Managing Director of each country in which the Group operates is responsible, on an annual basis, for developing a 3-year plan to identify and implement diversity initiatives and measures for personnel in the country for which they are Managing Director.