Life at NPS

So what’s it like to work at NPS? In our latest staff engagement survey people said they liked working here because it feels like a small community and staff are friendly and supportive of each other. There are many things we do to make sure everyone works hard to deliver our vision and have fun along the way. 

• Our values & culture
• Our offices
• Staff days 
• EPIC awards
• Employee assistance program
• Social committee 

Our values & culture

We’re proud of our innovative and dynamic culture, which is strongly aligned with our organisational values.

We believe it's important to be excellent at what we do and to recognise the skills and experience we all bring. Together we create an energy that values these different skill sets. Our work enables people to make the best decisions about medicines and medical tests, creating better health and economic outcomes.

If you value excellence, passion and commitment, integrity and collaboration you’ll fit right in to our culture. These are our EPIC values, and they influence how we work together and how we reward our people:

Our offices

We have 4 offices across Australia. Our largest office in Surry Hills is set among some of Sydney’s best cafes and restaurants, and with great public transport access. 

Our Melbourne office overlooks the MCG and is an easy walk to the city and Bridge Road.

In Brisbane, our new office is tucked behind Boundary St in West End and a short walk to South Brisbane railway station. 

Our Canberra office is conveniently located in Deakin.

In 2011 our offices underwent a complete redesign. Our modern, open-plan spaces now reflect our brand and our values. Our meeting space designs are influenced by inspiring figures — from James Dyson to Rosalind Franklin — and promote innovation, creativity and collaboration.

Advanced technology in our state-of-the-art meeting spaces allow us to collaborate across our offices. We use our intranet and regular all-staff meetings to connect and share our knowledge and ideas.

Doing our part for the planet

Protecting the environment is important to us and our staff. We use recycled, Australian-made paper for printing and have recycling programs for toner cartridges and batteries.

We have environmentally friendly lighting installed in all our offices and are continually looking for new ways to reduce our carbon footprint.

Taking a break

Staff rooms are well stocked with a range of fair trade coffee and teas, biscuits and an espresso machine. We also provide a fresh fruit basket twice a week for staff to enjoy. Our offices have shower facilities and bike storage.

Each Friday we relax our dress code. We also encourage meeting-free Fridays to give our people the time they need to get their work done.

Staff days

Every year our entire staff gathers in Sydney to plan the year ahead and get input and feedback on organisational direction and strategy. We always invite a guest speaker to inspire and challenge us. Our last speaker was Dan Gregory from the Gruen Transfer. 

‘I particularly enjoyed having the chance to meet staff that I hadn't met before, and who I wouldn't normally talk to in my work.’ 
– response from 2011 Staff Day attendee.

EPIC awards

These awards are given to employees who display our values of excellence, passion, integrity, and collaboration. They are distributed by our CEO twice a year. Anyone can nominate, and be nominated for, an EPIC award.

‘Not only is it encouraging and motivating to be recognised by fellow colleagues, but it helps bring people together and reinforces the importance of our values and the people who exhibit them.’ – Jessica, Intranet Developer

Employee assistance program

The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides professional, confidential and free counselling and wellbeing support for our staff and their immediate families. It can help to identify, explore and manage issues that are impacting your life.

Social committee

Our social committee members volunteer their time to create opportunities for social networking among staff and fundraising for community initiatives. This includes our annual Xmas party, an event that brings together staff from all our offices, their partners and families to celebrate our achievements for the year.

Fundraising activities

Contributing to our community is part of the work that we do and we enjoy having fun together. So being involved in fundraising initiatives and worthwhile causes is a great way for us to show our support. 

Every year for Stress Down Day we host a series of relaxing and fun events in our offices to help raise funds for Lifeline Australia and remind ourselves how to reduce workplace stress. 

We work year-round with our corporate charity Hands Across the Water, in supporting children in Thailand who were orphaned by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. 

In January 2011, our staff raised over $8000 for the Queensland flood relief. We also supported the New Zealand earthquake and Japan tsunami relief funds. Locally, we support the Surry Hills community garden, Missionbeat and our local women’s refuge.

Giving back and getting involved

Giving back to the community is important to us and our staff. The desire to do more, get involved and be socially conscious has contributed to the development of multiple activities led by our people:

• Donations to our corporate charity Hands Across the Water can be made through our payroll system as part of our salary sacrifice agreement.
• We offer one day of volunteer leave per annum which many staff members use to take part in charity events such as the Oxfam Trailwalker, the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge, the Canberra Half Ironman and the Sun-Herald City2Surf. 
• For the past 5 years we’ve sponsored a child through World Vision. His name is Des, he’s 12 years old and lives in Ethiopia. When Des grows up he’d like to be a teacher.
• We’re a member of Club Red, the Australian Red Cross Blood Service’s group donation program.