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Gowrie NSW celebrates dual awards in Xref Engage accolades
Freya Lucas
Feb 27, 2025
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Children’s Services and Professional Learning provider Gowrie NSW is celebrating dual success in the prestigious awards series promoted by Xref Engage (formerly Voice Project).
Xref is a global HR and recruitment technology company that empowers organisations with people-focused feedback to make great decisions. The company aims to offer a new perspective on the talent journey by guiding organisational change with data-driven feedback.The awards recognise organisations who give their people a voice, achieve exceptional employee engagement and use feedback to make positive organisational change, using a careful selection process to measure how eligible organisations have accomplished significant improvements or attained outstanding levels of employee engagement and satisfaction.
“We don’t see this level of engagement in most workplaces,” Xref Engage’s Dr Louise Parkes said.
“At Gowrie NSW, more than 90 per cent of staff said they are proud to tell others that they work there and would recommend it as a great place to work. These levels are significantly above others in the sector.”
The results also showed that 94 per cent of the team had cultural alignment.
Securing both the 'Best Workplace' Award and the 'Change Champion' Award for 2025, CEO Nicole Jones said, is “a remarkable achievement,” one which is testament to the dedication, passion, and collaborative spirit of the entire Gowrie community.
“Our people are the true cornerstone of the work we do, and have been for over 85 years, and it has been wonderful to see people truly connect to our purpose and know they play a significant role in contributing to our future.”
At the heart of Gowrie NSW is the desire to grow a culture of true democracy, one which sees teachers and educators viewed as experts of their craft, who make a broader contribution to the wider ECEC community.
For Sam Cordoba, Gowrie NSW Head of People and Culture, the dual awards highlight not only a great place to work but also a supportive environment where educators and teachers can grow their careers and make meaningful contributions to the early childhood education and care community.
“Our engagement survey results are a positive affirmation that is the case,” he said.
“It really is telling us that the people who choose to join us are deeply caring, act with integrity, and are purposeful in their intentions and actions. They bring their authentic selves to work and foster an inclusive environment for children, families, and colleagues.”
Best Workplace - a Supportive and Enriching Environment
The 'Best Workplace' Award acknowledges Gowrie NSW’s commitment to creating a supportive and enriching environment for all its teachers, educators and teams. Aspects such as professional growth and ensuring a healthy work-life balance were contributing factors to the award, along with a positive team culture.
“As an organisation, we have worked very hard to instil our values and demonstrate these through everyday behaviours and actions," Ms Jones said.
For Mr Cordoba, the values which drive the organisation are not just words on a page.
“These values are truly embedded in our culture, shaping the way we support and collaborate. The awards are a wonderful achievement, but the true success lies in fostering a culture where our values are lived every day.”
Champions for change
The ‘Change Champions’ accolade highlights the proactive approach Gowrie NSW takes to innovation and adaptability - something which is especially challenging in the dynamic and evolving ECEC sector.
“We embrace change as an opportunity to improve and enhance our services. Our leaders, and all teams are encouraged to think creatively, use innovation and implement new ideas… and lead initiatives that drive positive transformation within our community,” Ms Jones said.
“It is so important to us that our leaders are positive role models, who live out our values” Ms Jones said.
“We have supported our leaders to build their capacity over the last 12 months through a bespoke leadership program which focuses on them, their style approach and has armed them with skills to be effective in their leadership roles and I think this has made a significant difference in the impact on the ground” she continued.
Empowered professionals central to strategic plan
A key pillar of the Gowrie NSW strategic plan is centred around its people and empowering their expertise in achieving the overall vision which focuses on children being active participants in their community and making a positive contribution in the world.
“We can only do this when people feel they are actively engaged, feel valued and feel that they belong. The EYLF is underpinned by 8 key principles that perfectly relate to how we support not only our little people but also our big people. Values of reciprocal respect, inclusion, diversity, & collaborative leadership” Ms Jones said.
“We have worked very hard over the last few years, in the face of significant workforce challenges to identify meaningful ways to ensure our people have the opportunity to contribute their thoughts, perspectives and how we collectively contribute to our future”.
Gowrie NSW has a long history of providing thought leadership, honouring the expertise within the organisation and deep pedagogical knowledge.
“We recognise that a joyful workplace fosters collaboration, creativity, and a shared sense of purpose. Every member of Gowrie NSW plays a vital role in nurturing an environment where everyone feels heard, valued, and respected,” Ms Jones said.
“We have worked very hard to understand what type of employee offerings will make a difference, what will make our people feel valued and that they belong. A big part of that is remuneration, but there is so much more that people want in their workplaces. This is why we enhanced our resources for staff, professional learning and benefits, opportunities for participation external to the organisation such as research and conferences.”
At the end of the day, she added, the true value of awards such as these is the way in which they translate into better outcomes for children.
“For children to thrive, they need to be surrounded by happy, healthy , valued people, who care where they are and are proud of the work they do.”
The awards are by no means a ‘full stop’ in a journey of continuous improvement.
Ms Jones also wants everyone across Gowrie NSW to feel they are valued and that they belong. They know there is more work to do, however they recognise this is a wonderful reflection of the people living out the Gowrie NSW values everyday.”
“I am very committed to make sure we can continue to build on this, take the constructive feedback from our people on board and continue to have a positive impact on the lives of the very youngest of citizens,” Ms Jones said. To learn more about Gowrie NSW please see here. More information about the XRef Exchange Awards is available here.
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