The level of staff engagement in any organisation depends on a number of interrelated factors. Our people policies and strategies recognise the fact that staff engagement is a key factor in our success.

Staff turnover

Staff turnover is one measure of staff engagement. Our voluntary staff turnover rate for the 2006/2007 year was 7.9%. This is a very good indicator in a very tight New Zealand labour market where employees have many choices, and in the context of significant organisational change within the Company.

Staff satisfaction

We conduct annual staff satisfaction surveys which all staff are invited to take part in (with a smaller follow up sample in between). Staff are asked to rate their level of satisfaction with a range of different aspects, and to provide feedback, comments and suggestions on areas where the Company can improve.

For each of the three years we have conducted the survey, the results have indicated a very high level of satisfaction among staff that exceed our targets. In this year's survey, 95% of staff recorded positive measures of satisfaction. These are extremely good results by any standards. The survey is a great opportunity for feedback and that in turn gives us a chance to address issues and improve areas of our employment experience.

The Company is growing, and with growth comes an even greater need to manage our people professionally in all aspects of our business.

KiwiSaver

The introduction of KiwiSaver has implications for employers, who are required to contribute to their employees' KiwiSaver account on a graduating scale. Under the legislation employers are obliged to contribute 1% from 1 April 2008, increasing to 4% over four years.

Meridian has decided to make the maximum 4% employer contribution level contribution to staff who elect to join KiwiSaver, from the scheme's start date on 1 July 2007. We believe this will benefit the Company in terms of assisting with staff retention, but we also believe it is the right thing to do for our staff. We encourage staff to consider their future, including their future financial security, and this allows us to provide a level of support for their future planning.