Reflecting on Our Journey: Leading the Way in Workplace Culture

By Faith Rees, Founder of SixPivot and CEO of Cloud Ctrl

When I founded SixPivot in 2015, my intention was simple: to build a company where we enjoy our work, continually learn, and make a positive impact through well-crafted software solutions.

Attending the AFR Workplace Summit in Sydney this week reinforced something I've always believed: genuine transparency builds the trust that allows people to do their best work. As we prepare to hand over our mantle as the Australian Financial Review's Best Place to Work Overall, Best Place to Work in Tech, and Best Place to Work Small Organisation this week, I find myself reflecting on what this remarkable recognition has meant for our SixPivot team.

The Handbook: Transparency in an Age of Uncertainty

What resonated most with the judges and ultimately led to us winning the top accolades this past year was our "handbook" initiative, which is really about the radical transparency it represents (channeling our best Kim Scott).

By opening our internal policies and practices to public scrutiny, we've done something relatively rare in the corporate world. This transparency builds trust both internally and externally, holding us accountable to our own stated values and practices.

We've witnessed firsthand how transparency transforms workplace dynamics—not as a trendy buzzword but as a daily practice that empowers our team to feel genuinely invested in our collective journey.

Measuring the Impact of Transparency

Our journey with transparency reached a new milestone when we made our employee handbook publicly available in May 2023, and what began as an internal resource has now been viewed over 27,000 times, creating ripple effects throughout our organisation:

• Job applications increased by more than 120% for each position

• Our hiring timeline shortened dramatically—from 3-6 months to just 3-4 weeks

• Requests for professional development rose by 30%

Beyond the numbers, we've built what Sammy Herbert, our Head of Developer Experience, describes as "accountability and an element of trust between both parties." We now have a pipeline of exceptional talent waiting to join us. The impact extends far beyond SixPivot itself, with companies of all sizes sharing that they have drawn inspiration from our handbook.

Pioneering Flexibility Before It Was Mainstream

One of my key realisations from the Summit was understanding just how progressive SixPivot's approach to flexibility has been. As Australia and the world continue debating work-from-home policies, often conflating them with true flexibility, we recognised early on that these are fundamentally different concepts (having won the AFR's Most Outstanding Practice for Employee Flexibility in 2022).

As we enter an era where five generations will work side by side for the first time in history—from Baby Boomers to Generation Z and soon Gen Alpha—we've discovered that regardless of age or background, people fundamentally want the same things. Whether someone is 25 or 65, they seek trust, purpose, transparency, tools to do their job effectively and flexibility that acknowledges their full humanity.

Our approach to flexibility has always been holistic, recognising that what matters isn’t generational preferences but universal human need:

• Work from anywhere that suits your life circumstances

• Flexible work hours that accommodate individual rhythms and responsibilities

• Extended leave options supporting various life stages and priorities

• "Switcharoos" to move public holidays to days that work better for you

• "Me time" offering extended unpaid leave with job security

These policies, along with many of our others, weren't created to win awards—they were designed to recognise that our workforce encompasses diverse life stages, family structures, and personal priorities. Flexibility is one of the core structures that supports wellbeing, which in turn fosters cohesive and productive teams.

Passing the AFR Best Place to Work Torch, Continuing the SixPivot Journey

While the Best Workplace Awards weren't the ultimate destination, they were milestones on our ongoing journey to create a workplace that consistently evolves. Although the trophies will soon find new homes, our commitment to leading workplace innovation remains unwavering. We're excited to see who will carry the torch next while we continue to be a leading workplace of the future—learning, adapting, and reimagining what's possible when people truly come first.

The future of work isn't about rigid frameworks or one-size-fits-all solutions—it's about creating environments where people can thrive on their own terms while building something extraordinary together. It's about transparency in an age where trust has become a scarce resource.

--

This open letter was first published on LinkedIn and is reproduced here with permission.