PwC, KPMG, Westpac and Commonwealth Bank among Australia’s top companies to work for

PricewaterhouseCoopers is Australia’s top company to work for, according to LinkedIn's 2017 list. Open dress codes and floating public holidays are some of the things that made the company stand out.

LinkedIn's top companies list, which was out on Thursday, ranked the most-sought after companies by professionals. PwC’s rival KPMG secured the second spot, followed by Westpac, the Commonwealth Bank and Wesfarmers. Blue-chip companies also made it to the list. These include retailer Cotton On Group and construction group CIMIC Group which was formerly known as Leighton Holdings.

LinkedIn director of talent solutions Jason Laufer said one characteristic that all top companies have in common was that they were "overloaded" with perks and gifts to appeal to professional and keep their employees. "They are also helping their employees transform by providing the opportunity to work on meaningful projects and creating an environment that encourages them to innovate and take intelligent risks,” he added per the Australian Financial Review.

The list was based on 8 million LinkedIn users' activities, which include job seeker searches, engagements, retention periods and surveys of companies to verify the data. Laufer said that professional and financial services tend to dominate the list because of the "war on talent" that is taking place in these sectors.

Why work for PwC?

PwC has launched default flexibility arrangements for employees that allows employees' preferred hours for work as part of a strategic plan to increase "trust" with its workforce. Its "full activity-based working” that sets up various spaces and options for workers also makes it stand out as the top company to work for.

In PwC, there are libraries that prohibit noises for employees who prefer to work in absolute silence. The company also has treadmills with space for laptops, allowing exercising while working.

Another perk of working for PwC is that employees can use "floating public holidays," allowing them to decide if they are going to take public holidays off or choose another day instead. The company's human capital manager Sue Horlin said it is really about creating an environment where people think about what they have to do and set themselves up in a workplace that will best enable them to do that.

A common perk among the top companies included in this year’s list is a space for welcoming dogs at REA Group's Melbourne offices. The space allowed employees to bring pets at the workplace. For other news in Australia, watch the clip below.

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