People

We recognise our people are fundamental to our ongoing success. We are committed to building a workforce that is diverse, engaged and supported to develop and grow.

To read about our performance in this area see our Sustainability Report.

Strategy

Our people strategy identifies people priorities for Sydney Airport. It covers employee experience, culture, diversity and inclusion, career development, talent management and people systems and processes.

Our values drive organisational culture and underpin how we interact with each other and our stakeholders. They also help us to deliver on our purpose and provide a framework for how we make decisions.

Sydney Airport's Human Resources framework comprises:

Appropriate Workplace Behaviour Policy
Diversity Policy
Flex@SYD Policy
Health and Wellbeing Policy
Talent Referral Policy
Leave Policies, including but not limited to annual leave policy, community service leave policy, family and domestic violence leave policy, parental leave policy, personal and carers leave policy and volunteering leave policy
Employee Assistance Program Policy (EAP)
Drug and Alcohol Policy
Employee Recognition Policy
Fatigue Management Policy
Resolution of Complaints Policy
Performance Improvement Policy

Organisational responsibility

The People and Culture Committee of the Board assists and advises the Board on a number of people related matters. These include the remuneration framework, policies and practices for Sydney Airport employees as well as the establishment and monitoring of strategies to promote workplace diversity.

The General Manager, People and Performance is responsible for the implementation of the people strategy, supported by human resources business partners.

Diversity and inclusion

Sydney Airport is committed to building an inclusive workplace that celebrates the diversity of our workforce.

Our approach to Diversity and Inclusion is governed by our Diversity Policy. The People and Culture Committee of the board assists and advises the board in establishing and monitoring strategies to promote workplace diversity at SYD.

The board is responsible for approving and monitoring the effectiveness of the Diversity and Inclusion Policy. It is also responsible for setting measurable objectives for achieving diversity in the composition of the board, senior executives and the workforce generally and monitoring the progress towards achieving those objectives.

Sydney Airport’s Diversity Policy sets out our commitment to strengthening the airport community through diversity and including, respect and valuing difference. We believe by increasing diversity, we increase our organisational strength. Our diversity and inclusion strategy guides our activities.

SYD is committed to supporting employees affected by domestic and family violence through practical actions that can have a beneficial impact on their health, wellbeing and safety. These actions are set out in our Domestic and Family Violence Policy.

We are signatories to the UN Women’s Economic Empowerment Principles.

Sydney Airport’s Diversity and Inclusion Council is responsible for creating a safe, diverse and inclusive culture, and connects and empowers our people and community. The Diversity and Inclusion Council is comprised of a diverse team of employee members that work in and across the breadth of Sydney Airport’s organisation functions and is sponsored by Sydney Airport’s Chief Commercial Officer and Chief Financial Officer under the direction of the CEO, with reports and achievement tabled through to the CEO and leadership team.

Collectively, our Diversity and Inclusion Council and Working Groups' drive the delivery of the diversity and inclusion strategy. The Diversity and Inclusion Council is supported by working groups to further drive initiatives in key areas. The working groups are:

Indigenous@SYD: Creates a culturally safe workplace where current and future Indigenous employees feel supported
Women@SYD: Connects, supports and empowers women to bring about positive change through active engagement and collaboration
Multicultural@SYD: Promotes awareness and inclusiveness of employees from diverse cultures, religious beliefs and abilities
Pride@SYD: Focuses on celebrating and raising awareness about LGBTQI+ inclusion
Men@SYD: Creates awareness about men's mental health and supports them to be able to make positive lifestyle, health and career choices
Carers@SYD: Supports employees caring responsibilities and creates awareness

Our Reconciliation Action Plan outlines our commitment to facilitate and drive positive and tangible connections and exchanges with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and communities.

We report annually to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, in accordance with the requirements of the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (Act). See below for our WGEA reports.

Talent attraction and retention

We are focused on ensuring we attract and retain the best talent. Sydney Airport’s Talent Referral Policy leverages the professional and personal networks of our existing workforce by encouraging the referral of suitably qualified people who will fit the Sydney Airport culture.

When such referrals are successful, employees who assist Sydney Airport’s recruitment activities will receive a referral payment.

Sydney Airport endeavours to provide flexible work arrangements to employees in order to assist our people to balance their work and personal needs depending on their individual circumstances. Our Flex@SYD Policy complements our Parental Leave Policy, Personal/Carer’s Leave Policy and Annual Leave Policy in providing employees with access to flexible work arrangements.

We encourage our people to apply for internal job opportunities as a way to further develop their skills and experience and continue their career at Sydney Airport. Vacant roles are advertised internally and experienced and qualified internal candidates are encouraged to apply.

We recognise an engaged workforce has a higher retention rate and is more productive. We conduct an annual employee engagement survey and periodic pulse checks, with the findings informing focus areas for updates to the people strategy.

Performance and development

Our people participate in twice yearly performance reviews to agree annual objectives and review performance.

Investing in employee development allows us to attract and retain talent with the skills and experience to support our business objectives. The learning and development offer at Sydney Airport delivers a comprehensive range of opportunities for employees including online programs, skills-based training, on the job learning, and leadership and management modules.

We encourage employees to own their career and development with the support of their leader and the HR team. Our talent and development strategy is aimed at identifying talent and equipping our people with the skills, capabilities and behaviours needed to support the delivery of our business strategy. Our individual development planning process supports employees to reach short- and long-term career goals and increase skills and knowledge in their current role.

We also provide employees with access to internal and external training programs including LinkedIn Learning and the Australian Institute of Management (AIM). We have a number of mandatory and elective training sessions for our operational teams covering diverse topics such as wildlife management for our airfield teams as well as conflict management for our aviation and service teams and operational safety training for our baggage handling and facilities management employees.

We manage learning and development for our people via our learning management system, Learn@SYD.

When leaving SYD ether via termination, retirement or redundancy, outplacement services can be offered available to people. This supports people leaving our business with the transition to a new job or retirement which can include resume writing, job search, and job coaching.

The Board will undertake periodic assessments of its performance and the performance of its standing committees against the requirements of the Board charter and relevant committee charters and other agreed goals and objectives.

Employee Assistance Program

Our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available to all staff and their families and offers confidential counselling and support for any personal or work-related issues.

Sydney Airport also conducts programs and training sessions to support mental health and wellbeing across our airport community. Click here for more information.