hipages Group

Smart50 People Power Award winner

It should come as little surprise that the first recipient of the new Smart50 People Power Award is hipages Group, the country’s largest online tradie marketplace which has become a household name since its inception in 2004.

The idea for hipages came about organically, when co-founders David Vitek and Roby Sharon-Zipser were frustrated by the difficulty in sourcing top-quality local help. They decided to address this gap by redefining the directory concept for the information age.

“While technology was a substantial driver to enable this change,” Vitek says, “Roby and I had the insight that you need real service and great people behind that technology to make something great.”

Since those heady days of forging a new service to connect people with expert tradies, hipages has expanded across more than four countries with 295 employees. And while their innovative mindset remains rooted in their ability to weave technology with good old fashioned service, the co-founders believe their continued success lies in their people.

Off the back of an IPO on the ASX and a number of savvy acquisitions, hipages Group has big growth ambitions for the next 12 months as the team seeks to get more work for their tradies, grow as a sustainable business and improve advocacy. To achieve this, Vitek says they are focused on their people to align, inspire and execute their strategy.

“In hearing directly from our people, we empower them in the change process. We understand the importance of employee input in creating sustainable well-being and development opportunities,” he says.

Through innovative and inclusive approaches, hipages Group has an overall engagement score of 88%, and an employee Net Promotor Score of 94, with 89% considering their direct manager to be a great leader. That is what’s driving the hipages brand into the future.

The judges said they loved hipages Groups’ use of employee engagement surveys responses and their drive to continue to put people’s happiness at the centre of what they do.

Sponsored by

Employment Hero is the world’s leading HR, payroll and benefits platform. The award-winning employment software helps launch businesses on the path to success by powering more productivity every day. Employment Hero services over 80,000 businesses, collectively managing over 750,000 employees. Its core platform reduces admin time by up to 48 per cent. Learn more.