Rabobank Australia has taken out the inaugural MAX Solutions 'Medium Employer of the Year' award in recognition of the agribusiness banking specialist's work in promoting workplace diversity.
The annual Employer of the Year Awards, run by employment services provider MAX Solutions, highlight employers who encourage inclusivity and diversity in their recruitment programs. This was the first year Medium and Small Employer of the Year categories were added to the awards.
Rabobank won the Medium Employer of the Year Award – which is open to businesses with between 100 and 2000 employees – for supporting workers with disability into employment with the bank in 2020.
MAX Solutions managing director Deborah Homewood congratulated Rabobank for being "a disability-confident employer that works with MAX to provide intensive pre and post-placement support to our customers, including health and in-support work."
Foodservice company Compass Group won the Large Employer Award, while the Small Employer of the Year went to precision engineering business Hilton Manufacturing.
Ms Homewood said this year's awards had been "incredibly competitive" and thanked all the finalists for "giving so many of our customers life-changing opportunities during one of the most turbulent period in modern economic history".
"Compass, Rabobank and Hilton Manufacturing stood out for their commitment to attracting and supporting talented Australians from all backgrounds," she said. "In the process each has had a profoundly positive impact on individual lives and local communities."
Rabobank Australia & New Zealand group executive, chief HR officer Belinda Webber said it was a great honour for Rabobank to win the award.
"We are very pleased to have been involved in developing a high-performing team of people of great ability with disability, who are now in roles where they are doing highly-valued work for the bank," she said.
Ms Webber said Rabobank had "employed 12 people with disability in 2020, with nine recruited through MAX".
"We are currently in the process of hiring another five people through MAX Solutions and look forward to further developing this great partnership with MAX and continuing to make a true difference in the workplace."
Rabobank Australia & New Zealand is a part of the global Rabobank Group, the world's leading specialist in food and agribusiness banking. Rabobank has more than 120 years' experience providing customised banking and finance solutions to businesses involved in all aspects of food and agribusiness. Rabobank is structured as a cooperative and operates in 38 countries, servicing the needs of approximately 8.4 million clients worldwide through a network of more than 1000 offices and branches. Rabobank Australia & New Zealand Group is one of Australasia's leading agricultural lenders and a significant provider of business and corporate banking and financial services to the region's food and agribusiness sector. The bank has 93 branches throughout Australia and New Zealand.
