We have 2,343 employees in Australia and New Zealand. The total workforce by region, employment type and function (excluding contractors and board members) are shown below. All Corporate Express Australia Pty Limited permanent and casual employees are included. These figures do not include employees from our subsidiaries. We choose to calculate our workforce data on rolling 12 month data.

We do not formally capture information on minority group composition in our workforce but we are looking at various methods of capturing this information in 2011.

Work force by region and employment type.

Workforce by function

Workforce Turnover – By Gender and Age

Workforce Turnover by Region

Region	2010 number of employees	2010 turnover rate (%)	2009 number of employees	2009 turnover rate (%)
ACT	8	1	45	6
NSW	181	28	180	23
NT	21	3	39	5
QLD	98	15	129	17
SA	26	4	40	5
TAS	19	3	20	3
VIC	115	18	123	16
WA	83	13	96	12
NZ	93	14	97	13
Total	644		769

The turnover rate[2] for 2010 was 18.51 per cent for Australia and 26.12 per cent for New Zealand. We reduced turnover and this was a result of a number of initiatives we have introduced into our business including:

• A structured leadership development program focusing on creating great leaders in our business
• A formal in-house recruitment team who continue to provide great opportunities for associates to further their career at the company
• We relaunched our company values to increase teamwork, collaboration and engagement at every level of the organisation.

The reduction between 2009 and 2010 was also due to the fact that in the previous year we had a major reorganisation which meant that turnover rates for 2009 were higher than normal for our business.

[2] This excludes casuals but includes permanent and fixed term contractors and has been calculated using a different system to the one used to calculate the other turnover data. We will report all these figures through SAP in future.

Having the very best people in our business is key to optimising our performance and delivering excellent financial results. A diverse workforce will help us to achieve these goals. We will have a broad mix of talent and experience working together and focusing on delivering the best outcomes for our business.

We are proud of the efforts we have made to develop and retain female talent in the business. In 2008 we established the Women in Leadership Council to focus on improving gender diversity in the business. In November 2010, the group was renamed the Associate Diversity Council to align with Staples global CSR program, Staples Soul. One of the central pillars in Staples Soul is diversity and we aim to offer a diverse and inclusive environment for our associates as demonstrated in our culture, retention and recruitment.

We have set targets for the percentage of females in our senior management team which are measured and reported to the CEO every quarter. The table below shows how we are performing against the targets. We now have two females in our Executive Leadership Team and continue to focus on gender diversity to ensure we are retaining and developing top performing women.

Leadership Level [3]	Female	%	Male	%	Grand Total	Targets
Executive Leadership Team	2	28.57%	5	71.43%	7	25% female by 2015
Senior Leadership Group	20	32.79%	41	67.21%	61	30% female by 2015
Direct Reports to Senior Leadership Team	46	39.66%	70	60.34%	116	45% female by 2015
Grand Total	68		116		184

[3] These figures do not include the Chief Executive Officer, Paul Hitchcock.

Gender Diversity Policy

We implemented a Gender Diversity Policy in Australia and New Zealand in 2010. The policy applies to all staff and contractors. A diversity scorecard was also created and we are using the data to measure:

• Associates per employment type by gender and age group
• Associates per state by gender and age group
• Associates per business segment by gender and employment group
• Female executives reporting to the CEO
• Female employees in the Senior Leadership Group and management generally
• Resignation of employees by gender, by age and by employment mode and by business unit
• Female employees on maternity leave and when they return to work.

Recognition for our Workplace Diversity Initiatives

Our efforts to become an employer of choice for women and to implement workplace diversity initiatives were recognised through the following awards:

Associate Diversity Council

We have identified that many women feel they need assistance in developing their self-confidence and in their negotiation and presentation skills. Therefore, as part of our diversity program, we launched our Business Woman of the Year awards program in March 2010. The program aims to develop these skills and raise awareness of women’s achievements throughout the company.

This is an important initiative for us as while females represent 47 per cent of our workforce, the percentage of females in leadership roles is smaller. As well as focusing on leadership development for all our associates, we are conducting initiatives such as this to help address the current under-representation of females in management.

Associates were invited to nominate a woman in the business they thought deserved to be recognised. The program was a great success and we received 218 nominations for 119 unique women. From the 119 women, 18 went through to the finalist program where they were provided with three days of training on presentation, self-belief and negotiation skills. Melissa Rogers, who is National Inventory Project and Planning Manager in Adelaide, was announced the 2010 Business Woman of the Year Award. Melissa received a tailored training program, was assigned a mentor from the Executive Leadership team and leads the Business Woman of the Year finalist alumni group. The program will run again in 2011.

Flexible Work Guidelines

In response to associate requests for changes to our flexible work arrangements, in July 2010 we launched our new Flexible Work Guidelines to help eligible employees balance the challenging demands of work and personal life while contributing to improved productivity and job satisfaction. The new guidelines incorporate an extensive range of flexible work, working time and leave options available to our associates.

International Women’s Day

We celebrated International Women’s Day on 8th March 2010 by holding a series of events at various office locations. The events, which highlighted the economic, political and social achievements of women, included motivational guest speakers and fundraising activities for local charities.

Labour Relations Practices

In an effort to ensure that our Labour Relations practices remain contemporary and progressive, we developed a formal policy and procedure forum within our Human Resources function. The HR Policy and Process Forum meets monthly with the mission to “to maintain best practice HR Policies and easy HR Processes for the business.” In 2010 we updated all of our HR policies and procedures.

We have also launched a new Employee Relations policy which sets the context for building and maintaining positive relationships with our associates. This will help improve associate engagement, company culture, workplace safety, and minimise loss of productivity due to unnecessary workplace conflict.

We had one Enterprise Agreement expire during the period and undertook open and cooperative negotiations with associates and the union.

The responsibility for HR policy sits with a lead HR Manager who reports to the Executive General Manager of HR. HR is also represented on the companies’ Business Process Forum which ratifies key business process decisions while taking into consideration the perspective/impact on other areas of the business. The forum reviews the business processes and approves/rejects changes to maintain integrity across our business.

Maternity Leave

In 2010 the Australian Government announced changes to paid parental leave arrangements to be effective in January 2011. As a result, we decided to extend our paid maternity scheme in Australia. Previously, female associates received 12 weeks leave at full pay, or 24 weeks leave at half pay. Now they still receive this, but also receive an additional 18 weeks paid leave at $569.90 per week. This means that female associates will now be able to access 30 weeks of paid parental leave, or up to 42 weeks if they take some at half pay.

This far exceeds the government scheme, which legislates for 18 weeks of paid leave at $569.90 per week. The decision ensures that we remain a market leader in our commitment to diversity and builds on our Associate Diversity Council and Diversity at Work initiatives.

Male associates are entitled to one week paid parental leave at full pay.

Special Disaster Leave

We strive to be a compassionate and progressive employer of choice and to be flexible to the needs of both staff and the operational requirements of the company.

In the recent floods that devastated large parts of Australia, our operations were impacted, some of our offices were closed and many of our staff were stranded and suffered damage to their homes.

Natural disasters like the Queensland floods disrupt lives physically and psychologically, creating intense emotional distress for individuals, families and whole communities. Organisations play a vital and valuable role in assisting and supporting their employees in the immediate aftermath and in the days, weeks and months following a disaster.

We responded quickly to the events in late 2010/early 2011 by making changes to our leave policy to incorporate Special Disaster Leave, enabling associates to concentrate on getting through the disaster. The changes aimed to give staff comfort that they would be on full pay during this period until they were able to return. We also provided associates and their families with free access to our external professional counselling services.

Community Service Leave

We support associates who are members of registered emergency management/volunteer organisations by providing up to three days paid leave for associates to participate in volunteer duties dealing with an emergency caused by a natural disaster. We also provide unpaid leave for associates to participate in volunteer duties in accordance with the Fair Work Act.

We want to better understand and support the communities we work in, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

To help address the social and economic disadvantage faced by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples we launched our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in November 2010, with the help of not-for-profit organisation Reconciliation Australia. The RAP cements a commitment to creating an organisation that is aware of and integrates knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples and cultures into our business practices.

The benefits of a RAP include:

• A better understanding of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and customers
• Developing a workforce that is more representative of the community in which we operate
• A larger labour market resulting from increasing numbers of educated and skilled Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians being “job ready”
• New industries, products and ways of doing business emerging from joint ventures with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations.

Some of the targets included in our RAP for 2011 are shown below. To see the full RAP please click here.

Target	Measurable Target
Establish Reconciliation Action Plan Steering Committee to champion RAP activities in all states.	Reconciliation Action Plan Steering Committee established. Quarterly conference calls to discuss progress against RAP.
Launch preliminary cultural awareness training for employees.	Reconciliation Australia’s “Share Our Pride” training link appears on the intranet. Cultural awareness training in the form of factsheets on RAP and other relevant topics included in employee induction program for all new staff.
Develop and implement an Indigenous Employment Strategy to encourage the recruitment and retention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees.	Strategy developed and formalised. Recruitment and retention trends reported on to inform next stage of strategy. Targets developed for increased recruitment and retention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
Continue our supplier diversity program to support Indigenous Business Enterprises (IBEs) with the launch of an office products range in the 2011 Business Solutions catalogue.	Continued participation in AIMSC. Supplier diversity policy statement created for Corporate Express. Opportunities to support IBEs through AIMSC database investigated and formalised.
Conduct a diversity survey.	Diversity survey of current staff conducted.
Celebrate key events in the Indigenous calendar.	Internal communications and activities to mark National Reconciliation Week and NAIDOC week.
Include Acknowledgement of Country and/or Welcome to Country at relevant occasions by developing and publishing a company protocol.	Acknowledgment of Country protocol on intranet. Welcome to Country resources on “how to organise” available on intranet.
Report on Reconciliation Action Plan and communicate internally and externally.	RAP available on intranet, Reconciliation Australia website, corporate websites and posters.

One of the unique elements of our RAP is our commitment to supplier diversity – supporting Indigenous-owned businesses – which include being a Founding Member of the Australian Indigenous Minority Supplier Council (AIMSC) and both using and reselling AIMSC Certified products and services. Please see the section below for more information on our Supplier Diversity Program.

The Long Journey — Designed by Gilimbaa

Our RAP was designed by AIMSC Certified design agency, Gilimbaa who produced “The Long Journey” artwork. Gilimbaa worked closely with us to develop the artwork which illustrates our reconciliation journey.

The story of The Long Journey begins with a single step in the right direction leading to change and learning from each other to create a place of understanding and inspiration.

The circle in the centre of the artwork symbolises Corporate Express and the circles surrounding it represent our connections – our employees, their families and friends, our customers, our suppliers, the community – everyone we work with, talk to and affect. Riki Salam, the Aboriginal artist from Gilimbaa who designed the artwork said “The Corporate Express Artwork is essentially about building relationships. Relationships between individuals to gain personal knowledge of one another. Relationships between organisations or Tribes to allow us to be more productive in what we do and how we do it. And most importantly the relationship between people and their environment or land and how people belong to that place.”

Celebrating Indigenous Culture

We celebrated National Reconciliation Week in locations around Australia in 2010 by hosting Reconciliation Teas and bringing in cultural speakers. Each year National Reconciliation Week celebrates the rich culture and history of the First Australians.

In July 2010 we celebrated NAIDOC Week (NAIDOC originally stood for “National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee” but the acronym has since become the name of the week itself), to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

During National Reconciliation Week we launched our Employee Reconciliation Charter which enables associates to sign up to take an action towards reconciliation.

As part of our Indigenous Support Program, we are committed to supplier diversity, and we are a founding member of the Australian Government's Australian Indigenous Minority Supplier Council (AIMSC). AIMSC is a not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to provide opportunities for small to medium-sized Indigenous-owned businesses to enter into commercial relationships with large corporate and government entities over the course of a three-year pilot program.

Indigenous businesses certified with AIMSC are able to showcase their goods and services to corporate members and may then enter directly into commercial contracts and tender for public contracts offering by supplier council members.

Supporting AIMSC Certified Suppliers

We procure products and services directly from AIMSC Certified suppliers for our own use. In July 2010 we signed our first major contract with an AIMSC Certified Indigenous supplier when we appointed Message Stick Communications as our national telecommunications service provider.

We have also signed contracts with AIMSC Certified suppliers including graphic design company, Gilimbaa (who designed our Reconciliation Action Plan artwork), Print Junction for our printing needs and Kalico Catering.

Helping Indigenous Suppliers Distribute their Products

Supplier diversity for us is not just about supporting AIMSC Certified suppliers for our own operations. One of the biggest impacts we can make on supplier diversity is by offering our customers products from AIMSC Certified suppliers. This can help reduce customers' concerns over volumes and continuity of supply. It can also help our customers to fulfil their own diversity purchasing goals.

We have an AIMSC Certified Indigenous-owned printer as part of our print management offering and access to a range of corporate gifts and canteen products from other AIMSC Certified suppliers. In January 2011, we launched a range of AIMSC Certified office products from Nallawilli Office Wares (NOW) including copy paper, notebooks, envelopes and manilla folders. Link to Nallawilli Office Wares sell sheet.