Celebrating leadership in workplace wellbeing
When you’re with the right people it shows and that’s something great business leaders understand. That’s why we’ve created the Southern Cross Wayfinder Awards.
A first-of-its-kind annual award programme that celebrates the visionary businesses, business leaders, and employees who value their workforce and grow the health and wellbeing of their people.
2023 Winners
We’d like to acknowledge the 69 entries we received from across New Zealand and whakamahi/congratulate our winners and runners up, which were announced in a ceremony at Auckland Museum on Tuesday 21 November. All of you are creating pathways that will lead to a meaningful culture of wellbeing within, not only your organisation, but also Aotearoa.
When comparing the winning entries, there were a couple of key themes that emerged for the judging panel. The first being a clear demonstration of organisations understanding their culture and how it’s impacted by health and wellbeing initiatives. It was evident across the entries how wellbeing enhances the connectivity and engagement within a business and how this leads to success, with great leadership being central to this transformation. Lastly, empowering employees to develop meaningful connection to the work they do is crucial to wellbeing.
STAR WAYFARER AWARD
GOLD: Nadene Winchester | Dynamic Controls
Nadene Winchester has redefined wellbeing in the workplace for the global team at Dynamic Controls. With a knack for identifying creative solutions and a genuine desire to support her colleagues, Nadene has made a monumental impact on team culture.
SILVER: Matthew Walker | Te Rūnanga O Ngāi Tahu
BRONZE: Jen Southan | OrixTRUE NORTH AWARD
GOLD: Rob Holmes | PaperKite
Rob Holmes’ impact at PaperKite is perhaps best exemplified by the mantra he lives by – “what’s best for our people is best for our business”. The positive impact of this approach was so apparent that PaperKite ultimately adopted it as part of the core brand strategy.
SILVER: Richard Schorfield | Spectrum Consulting
BRONZE: Joseph Zermatten | CS Roofing Canterbury
SMALL BUSINESS AWARD
GOLD: Thankyou Payroll
Thankyou Payroll has a wellbeing philosophy that runs deep. By placing employees at the heart of their business model, they’ve achieved financial success, a stable and positive working culture, and higher than ever customer satisfaction. Their holistic approach encompasses four key areas of physical, mental, environmental and financial wellbeing, and existing policies have also been reviewed and adjusted to reflect this commitment.
SILVER: Maynard Marks
BRONZE: Find Recruitment
MEDIUM BUSINESS AWARD
GOLD: Marlborough Lines
Marlborough Lines are on a mission to keep employee voices front and centre, evolving a strategy through consultation and input from the people who matter most. Recognising the need for change, Marlborough Lines created a unique programme tailored to the needs of their predominantly male workforce.
SILVER: Christchurch Casino
BRONZE: DHL Express
LARGE BUSINESS AWARD
GOLD: Kiwibank
NEW HORIZON AWARD
GOLD: Spark
At the close of 2021, Spark launched an innovative new wellbeing strategy for their people – Mahi Tahi. Meaning ‘partnership’ in te reo Māori, Mahi Tahi recognises the need for business working in partnership with people to support them to achieve their goals in work and life. This ground-breaking programme addressed the pressing needs of staff post-Covid, but also created a long-term structure of holistic support.
SILVER: Find Recruitment
BRONZE: Profile Group
2023 JUDGING PANEL
We had a stellar panel of health industry and business leaders who judged the inaugural Southern Cross Health Insurance Wayfinder Awards.
- Dr Denise Quinlan, MAPP, PhD – Director of the New Zealand Institute of Wellbeing & Resilience
- Professor Grant Schofield, PhD – Professor of Public Health; Director, Human Potential Centre at Auckland University of Technology; and Chief Science Officer, PreKure
- Shaun Robinson - Chief Executive, Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand
- Carolyn Luey – Chief Digital & Publishing Officer, NZME
- Victoria Young – Investigations Editor, BusinessDesk, NZME
- Nick Astwick – Chief Executive, Southern Cross Health Society (Judging Convenor)
A big congratulations to all our 2023 winners.
The next Southern Cross Health Insurance Wayfinder Awards will be held in March 2025, with call for nominations opening in mid-2024. Watch this space for further details.