REA Group Ltd Annual Report 2021

Year in review Directors’ Report Financial Statements Remuneration Report Sustainability Our Leaders 13 Annual Report 2021 | REA Group Ltd Future of work at REA REA has operated with flexible and agile work practices for many years, and in December 2020 the Group officially adopted a hybrid workplace model. Our team undertook an extensive research and design process to determine what REA’s future workplace would look like. Through this we gained a rapid understanding of employee sentiment, the competitor landscape and business needs. The resultant model was designed by our people for our people. In practice, hybrid working at REA looks slightly different for everyone. Central to the model is ensuring we balance business impact, flexibility and the unique REA culture. As we would with any REA experience, product or feature, we continue to test, learn, and adapt our hybrid workplace model. Results from a company-wide hybrid working progress survey in May 2021 showed 91% of our people enjoy hybrid work and 90% feel REA has created an effective hybrid way of working. In addition, 90% of our leaders feel their team’s performance and engagement is as good as, or better than, ever in the hybrid environment. Investment in our leaders Throughout FY21 the Group spent a significant amount of time investing in its leaders. Mental health training specifically for leaders was adopted to help them best support their teams. The Group revised its personal leave policy so that employees could use it for a variety of reasons including home schooling, care, mental health breaks and accessing essential services during the height of COVID lockdowns. People leaders were provided guidance on how to have quality mental health focused conversations and how to best connect employees with support resources such as REA’s employee assistance program (EAP). We also upskilled a portion of our People and Culture function with mental health first aid accreditation. We have taken a dedicated approach to supporting leaders in how to lead their teams in a hybrid workplace. REA partnered with our EAP provider to run leadership sessions on how people manage change. People leaders were also equipped with a practical toolkit to assist with the co-creation of a Ways of Working agreement with their team to help ensure balance between the team’s and the individuals’ needs in the hybrid environment. People Leader Town Halls throughout the year offered leaders the opportunity to share challenges leading a team in a hybrid environment, and many also shared learnings and approaches on how to lead successfully. These sessions have been met with overwhelmingly positive feedback, with our people learning from their peers in the broader leadership community. Focus on career development REA believes great careers are built from passion and personal commitment. Throughout FY21 we have continued to work to understand our people’s motivations and ambitions, to help identify tangible opportunities. This work not only provides an environment in which our people thrive, but it also optimises our people’s capability, helping to meet the needs of our current and future business. A strong focus was placed on engaging in rich career conversations, which aid our understanding of what brings people joy at work, along with identifying development focus areas for each employee. In addition to career conversations, talent and succession conversations were a key focus in FY21 and were designed as a key development tool. These conversations provided leaders with the opportunity to share insights with each other about growth, learning, mindset, and impact. It would have been easy to roll out a hybrid working approach that simply told our people when they needed to come into the office. Instead, we empowered our people and teams to make decisions that are right for them, while always considering the needs of the business. Our aim is to get the best of both virtual and office worlds, and our recent survey results pleasingly tell us that we are well on our way to achieving that. Georgia Fraser Senior Human Resources Manager – Strategic Projects It is amazing to work for a company that invests in the growth of its people. The leadership program I took part in this year gave me confidence and a safe space to explore and put into practice different leadership frameworks, and to make them my own. A few months later, I was delighted to be promoted and I now lead a team of product managers. Katerina Martianova Senior Product Manager