Life & Culture

The culture

GHD strives to be an inclusive community where everyone feels they belong. Its culture celebrates and reflects the brilliant diversity of its people, clients and the communities it works in.

With the nature of work changing rapidly, GHD recognises that adopting a hybrid working model, which blends working at the office and from home, helps enable an engaging work environment where its people can thrive. Some GHD teams are located across Australia so often this means collaborating virtually at flexible times. GHD's intention is to enable employees to accomplish the usual requirements of their role, regardless of where the work is undertaken.

GHD has a genuine commitment to diversity and, in particular, creating a more female-friendly workplace, having been accredited as a Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace by the Australian Breastfeeding Association. 

Since 2016, GHD has been a proud member of Pride in Diversity. Over the years, Pride in Diversity has provided significant consulting and inclusion advice to GHD, ensuring every LGBTQ+ team member can bring their whole self to work.

GHD is also committed to advancing its employees into leadership roles through the Cultivate Sponsorship Program. GHD’s active participation helps foster strategic alliances to promote career progression, highlighting the company's commitment to tackle gender inequality.

In 2024, GHD proudly launched its Indigenous Strategy and Indigenous Employment Strategy, deepening its commitment to create meaningful outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, businesses and communities. GHD also partnered with Cultivate Indigenous to pilot their new six-month ‘Warra’ sponsorship program for Indigenous emerging leaders.

The vibe of the place

GHD may seem large but it's really just a community of unique and talented professionals, each committed to making energy, water and communities sustainable for generations to come. As a globally connected network, you can call on anyone to help you with a client challenge, get involved in a project, or learn more about a new opportunity. 

No two projects are the same at GHD. One month you may be working on a community-shaping project like a new rail line, the next you might be working on an international development project. Wherever your skills apply, there's something for you. You may also have the opportunity to travel around New Zealand or internationally for some projects. 

Remuneration

GHD is an employee-owned business. With one in every four of its people being a shareholder, GHD does not have any external ownership - the sustained growth, direction and success of the company is determined by the people who work at GHD. Over time, staff may be offered the opportunity to buy shares in the firm but need to sell them when they leave. 

GHD seeks to provide consistent salaries for people doing similar work and who are performing comparably. GHD is committed to:

• Paying competitively within the local job market in each location.
• Providing managers with reliable internal and external data, so that pay decisions for people are consistent and equitable.
• Regularly reviewing and striving for pay equity (every May and June).

In some of our countries, graduates commence a few months before the July salary review, and are therefore not included in the review. However, they are reviewed separately in December, with the new salaries effective in early January - once they are fully onboarded and GHD has an understanding of performance.

During the graduate program, second year graduates may receive two reviews to reflect their rapidly increasing skills and knowledge. Employees who consistently demonstrate high performance adding value to GHD and its clients will generally move higher in the salary range. When GHD has a need for the next level role, employees may also advance into the next job grade with a consequently higher salary range.

GHD offers compensation, benefits, employee recognition programs, and development options to GHD employees. These offerings are designed to enhance your overall experience at GHD. They are also created with the aim of helping the company build a more inclusive and diverse workforce. These include:

• Compensation – salary, allowances, bonuses, salary sacrifice arrangements, pensions/retirement savings, etc.
• Benefits – staff discounts, flexible working, Purchase Leave program, etc.
• Employee recognition – Tenure Milestones program, Thank You cards, etc.
• Development – professional accreditation and memberships, Business School learning, LinkedIn Learning, etc.