After a long and arduous search, ZDNet Australia readers have finally identified the country's best employers of IT talent.

Although it took weeks of shuffling through surveys, talking with HR managers, and attempting to pin down exactly what techies are after when it comes to a working environment, we finally have a winner. At the same time, some interesting market trends which are having an impact on the IT jobs landscape in Australia were unearthed.

And the winners are:

Companies	Staff	Location	Score
eClinic	10	Carlton North, VIC.	10/10
yambay	40	Sydney, NSW.	9/10
Yahoo	70	Sydney, NSW	9/10
Microsoft	Over 600	North Ryde, NSW	9/10
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu	3165	Sydney, NSW	9/10
Austar	1400	Gold Coast, OLD	8.5
Datacom	430 in Australia	North Ryde, NSW	8.4
HP	1341 in Australia	North Ryde, NSW	8

Although Dimension Data and Coles Myer initially made it on to the list of finalists, the companies decided not to participate in the wake of mass layoffs they experienced during the week the surveys were being conducted.

Riding the pendulum

In an industry known for high salaries and short-term contracts, working environments have traditionally played second fiddle in IT recruitment circles. However, as IT settles down and gradually matures into "just another sector" status within the economy, tech employees are beginning to take a more long-term view of their working environments and requirements.

Employers, on the other hand, are finding themselves gaining the upper hand in negotiating employment terms and conditions. Nonetheless, given the costs associated with empty seats and recruitment procedures, it remains in their interest to retain highly skilled or promising staff.

When ZDNet Australia asked its readers to nominate Australia's best IT employer, we received suggestions from all manner, size and shape of companies. As we worked out way through the list, the trends became clear: IT employees want open, flexible, informal workplaces they want to be paid fairly, and they don't want to get bored.

According to Bal Gill, managing director of IT recruitment specialists SoftWork People, these requirements are increasingly the norm, despite the current downturn in the tech sector.

Gill said the last 12 months have witnessed the almost total demise of the once lucrative contract market--and with it, the astronomical hourly wages paid to contractors. He also described a distinct shift towards university-educated professionals with diverse experience.

"These days the employers want to start with the best, and make sure they stay," Gill said.

Gill believes this renewed emphasis on staff retention has led to an increased awareness of the need to maintain a competitive working environment.

"Employers are now far more aware of the need to create an overall package, and foster the right kind of climate to keep people interested and keep morale high," Gill said.

While some of the changes he attributed to the dot-com boom, he believes others have emerged from across the industry.

"To attract and keep good people these days companies need to foster a culture which is team oriented, they have to excel when it comes to communicating the company's overall direction, and they need to maintain high morale generally," Gill said. "They also finally realised that techies are driven by learning, and making sure they keep up with this need."

Tim Fleming, CIO of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, which tied for second place, says the industry is changing from one which sought ready-made talent, into one which focuses on a more developmental culture.

"There are some positions which call for specialist skills and a person who can essentially hit the ground running," Fleming said. "However, we are more interested in finding people who can work across the company, so we are focussing on recruiting people with good potential and encouraging them to develop a diverse range of skills internally."

Second-runner up in the ZDNet Australia award, Yambay establishes a flat hierarchy in an office without walls, and instigates regular employee reviews to ensure people within the company are able to steer their career in appropriate directions.

Yambay corporate services consultant, Ellen Dodd, believes that as the contract work has gradually been replaced by permanent positions the industry has struggled to provide the right kind of climate for highly skilled and energetic employees.

"We put our employees through a particularly arduous initial recruitment process, but once they become part of the company we make sure they are aware that they are key assets in the company's operations," Dodd said. "Remuneration is important, but at the end of the day it goes way beyond that. You have to provide a workspace that is cutting edge in terms of technology, team work and flexibility."

Dodd also points out that while many employees in the sector are contracted for their initiative, poor communications and a lack of opportunities can lead to the same people becoming disillusioned with their day-to-day working environment.

According to Gill mid-size IT organisations in Australia have been the most adept at creating the right kind of atmosphere.

"The bigger the company the more difficult it is to change, generally techies are looking for opportunities in mid sized companies because they have access to their team leader, and can see how their role relates to the overall successes of the company," Gill said. "They feel they can instigate change."

These ideas have certainly been borne out in the results of the ZDNet Australia survey. The award for Australia's best IT work place was received by a small software developer, eClinic, which attributes its success to a workplace without walls, and regular interactive gaming sessions between staff.

Methodology - How we got there...

When we initially called for nominations--companies of all shapes, sizes and persuasions were suggested. When we asked people why they decided to nominate their company the explanations ranged from extensive lists of perks--like free ice cream and high tech equipment--through to professionalism and development opportunities.

Those companies with the most votes made it on to our shortlist--which turned out to be a motley crew of companies from a range of sectors. The shortlist included: software developers Yambay and eClinic, search engine Yahoo, services giant Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, professional services provider and integrator Datacom, software monolith Microsoft, broadcasting service Austar, soon to be merged vendor HP, integrator Dimension Data and retail giant Coles Myer. The telcos came in not far behind with honourable mentions going to Telstra spin-off Advantra, and Optus' now defunct online content service Excite@Home.

The next step in the process was to survey staff from the short-listed companies to find out what they really felt about the company they worked for. Surveys were sent to a series of IT employees from each company, covering areas like career and development, atmosphere, communication and technical environment.

This is where we began to hit a bit of a snag. Popular nominees Coles Myer and Dimension Data felt the squeeze of a slowing economy and announced staff cuts, while Excite@Home went belly-up a week later. Caught between a human resources dilemma and a deadline ZDNet Australia soldiered on, collecting the surveys from the remaining shortlist.

Rather than just focusing on general work environment, the surveys also attempted to discover how important different elements of the workplace were to staff.

Not surprisingly "appropriate remuneration" was far and away the most important element within job satisfaction, followed by "a challenging working environment", "flexible work conditions", "team spirit", "access to training", "open communication", "a relaxed working environment", "assistance with career direction and performance reviews", "a flat hierarchy" and "technical superiority". Interestingly, "mentoring programs" came in at the bottom of the list, with most of those surveyed placing little importance on peer-based training programs.

When it came to comparing these results with the results of the HR directors' survey, the only real anomaly occurred with respect to the perceived importance of remuneration. While it scored highly on the employee survey, a snap shot of the HR directors' responses showed an overwhelming rejection of remuneration as a key element to attracting and maintaining good staff.

On the other hand, HR management appears to be bang-on the money when it comes to the importance of mentoring programs, with most responding that while informal mentoring was common, most were not interested establishing formalised mentoring relationships.

Australia's best tech employer--1st place: eClinic

Founded in 2000, the eClinic Web site went live in February 2001. Founders and executive directors Saurabh Mishra and Sanjiv Puri created a Web site designed to facilitate the secure transfer of medical results over the Internet. The service is currently only available in Victoria, with rollouts planned for other states.

According to Mishra the key to eClinic's HR policies is a rigorous recruitment process which sees candidates sit through multiple interviews, dealing with a mixture of their technological and personal skills.

"You have to be sure that people are right for the job on a technical level, but they also have to fit in with the team, that is the most crucial part," Mishra said.

When it comes to the selection process Mishra places specific emphasis on flexibility and raw talent, and relies on open communication rather than regular employee reviews.

"We tried having a formal review process, but in an industry like this it is a bit like putting a line in the sand and having it washed away when the industry changes," Mishra said.

According to the staff, eClinic's recipe for success includes access to high bandwidth, a casual work place, flexible hours, stock options and last but not least--a weekly gamming ritual which sees the company's staff square up against each other on the company intranet.

"It's good for morale to give everyone in the company the chance to beat the crap out of the boss at the end of the week," said Mishra. "It really helps to let off some steam."

Australia's best tech employer--2nd place: yambay

There was a four-way tie for second place--yambay, Yahoo, Microsoft and Deloitte Touche Tomatsu.

yambay
Established: 1997
Staff: 40
Based: Sydney, NSW.
Score: 9/10

Formally known as Palm Solutions, yambay's focus is on the development of software for handheld computers and mobile devices such as mobile phones. While the company is based in Sydney, it also has offices in Perth and South Africa.

Like eClinic, yambay puts prospective employees through multiple interviews in order to establish both their skills-base and the compatibility with the yambay atmosphere.

According to Ellen Dodd, the company's corporate services consultant, yambay provides employees with extensive development opportunities and maintains a flat hierarchy.

"There is a running joke with our CEO about his open-door policy," Dodd said. "Because he doesn't even have an office."

Australia's best tech employer--2nd place: Yahoo

Yahoo
Established: 1994, with Australian offices opening in 1997.
Staff: 70
Based: Sydney, NSW
Score: 9/10

Yahoo was one of the first--and is still among the most popular--Internet search engines. It has managed to ride out much of the boom and bust of the IT wave by diversifying its' services and keeping up with popular technology shifts.

Along with Internet searches, the site also provides personalisation tools, e-commerce and shopping facilities, generic content and extras such as instant messaging, and Web based invitations.

With characteristically bright décor, a relaxed atmosphere and casual dress code, it would seem the company's fun-filled branding goes more than just skin-deep.

The company topped the list for initial nominations, and scored highly in the final surveys--especially in terms of staff morale and work atmosphere.

The Yahoo recipe for success, includes weekly bean-bag meetings, in-house yoga, and fruit days, however, it also has a more serious side, as one staff member commented.

"Beanbags, buses and yodels aside, it's a company with great values, and that attracts great people."

Australia's best tech employer--2nd place: Microsoft

Although Microsoft is often a magnet for criticism, there is definitely something to be said for working at the world's biggest software developer.

While the employee surveys commented on everything from career development to high-level technology access, most were focused on high staff morale and team atmosphere.

According to HR manager Lorrin Maughan, Microsoft's recipe for success is a mixture of hiring the best in the field, and keeping an eye out for the most promising. Maughan also indicated that open channels of communication, ongoing employee reviews and an emphasis on internal promotion were all factors in the company's HR success.

If the employee surveys are anything to go by, Microsoft fosters healthy team spirit and provides its techies with a sense of autonomy.

"There are no limits imposed here and everyone is encouraged to go for what they want," commented one employee. "It may sound clichéd, but the team spirit here is awesome, and it's part of the reason I love coming to work every day."

Australia's best tech employer--2nd place: Deloitte Touche Tomatsu

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
Established: 1989
Staff: 3165
Based: Sydney, NSW
Score: 9/10

Formed by the merger of two of the worlds largest accounting and consultancy firms, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu International has branched out into a myriad of business areas across the world, including IT consulting.

Tim Fleming, local CIO for the company, puts its HR success down to a series of factors including flexible work hours, extensive training opportunities and the encouragement of diverse career development through allowing people to branch out in different directions.

"The culture in the firm is fairly open, and as a company we are committed to family-friendly Aussies," Fleming said. "Also in the last 18 month there have been a lot of interesting projects come through here so the work has been really interesting as well."

Australia's best tech employer--3rd place: Austar

Austar
Established: 1995
Staff: approx 1400
Based: Gold Coast, OLD
Score: 8.5

Based on the Gold Coast, Austar began life as a provider of pay television to regional Australia, and has since expanded its' services to include Web hosting, ISP and mobile phone services.

While the location certainly adds to the appeal, Austar's staff were equally enthusiastic about the operations within the IT department and the open communications across the company.

Austar HR Director Nicole Husmann believes the key to happy staff lies in the initial recruitment process.

"When it comes to HR one of the key factors is recruiting the right people with the skills do keep the job," Husmann said. "Keeping the staff happy then comes down to coordinating a number of different projects so they don't feel they are getting stale and bored."

Australia's best tech employer--4th place: Datacom

While Datacom lost a little ground when it came to working with new technologies, it did extremely well in the areas of atmosphere and communication, and even led the pack in terms of career development.

"I started here with very little knowledge about the industry, but in a short period of time I have gained invaluable on-the-job education, and had the opportunity to raise my position," said one respondent.

"I doubt there are many other organisations that would have provided me with so much opportunity."

Australia's best tech employer--5th place: HP

HP's HR director for Australia and New Zealand, Alan Covin, says the company's success comes down to making sure IT staff have ongoing development opportunities and challenging work to keep them interested.

-We make sure we recruit creative, intelligent people and if they don't feel they are being challenged at work they get bored and start to look around," Covin said.

However, like many HR managers, Corvin believes successful HR begins with the recruitment process.

-IT is important to be able to articulate what our culture is. That way people know what they are in for and what is expected of them," Corvin said.

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