Tech firms dominate Best Places to Work, again

IT companies have once again dominated the list of the country's best employers.

Some 20 of the 50 firms listed on this year's Best Places to Work list are in the tech sector, with the darling of the Aussie IT scene, Atlassian, topping the category for large employers, and a number of channel players rounding out the list.

Amid the list of companies with under under 100 employees, positions went to Perth-based IT provider Ignia (8th) Melbourne-based Kiandra IT (13th) and Sydney-based business intelligence provider Altis Consulting (17th).

Tech vendors filled out many spots among the larger companies of more than 100 employees. Joining top placer Atlassian were Salesforce.com (3rd), McAfee (6th), NetApp (8th), Autodesk (13th), Adobe (14th) and Xero (16th). See the full list.

IT companies have been a mainstay of the 'Best Places to Work Study' – produced by Great Place to Work and published by BRW – over its seven-year history.

This marks the third year in a row that 20 of the 50 firms were in the tech sector. In fact, tech companies have taken out the top spot in five of the seven years.

BRW deputy editor Caitlin Fitzsimmons said: "IT companies are in a battle for scarce talent and smart bosses know that being a good employer gives them an edge, not only in recruitment but also in retention.

"Australian IT companies have started to emulate Silicon Valley companies with some of the perks they offer staff – the free beer on tap at Atlassian for example. However, perks only go so far. What the best workplaces have in common is a sense of shared purpose, transparency from management and valuing the ideas and effort of staff," she added.

Ignia director Joshua Boys said: "There's no greater satisfaction than having Ignia ranked so highly by our employees. I consider myself lucky to be part of such an amazing team and it shows in the success of our customers and the rapid growth we’ve enjoyed as a company."

Ignia was recently named as the 2014 Microsoft Enterprise Partner of the Year. See the photos here.

John Hoffman, CEO of Altis Consulting, said: "We are a people business, not a product business. As a result, we look for people with the right teamwork skills and personality traits around problem solving and who can work together to achieve great consultancy service."

Altis Consulting’s headcount has increased 30 percent from FY10/11 to FY13/14 with 85 staff across four offices as well as an office in the UK.