How Thinktank turned 20 years of growth into an 81% employee engagement score and a third Top Employer win
Key insights
- Thinktank recorded 81% overall employee engagement and 96% engagement among new starters in its latest survey
- The lender’s diversity, equity and inclusion survey found 94% of employees believe the organisation values diversity
- Thinktank donates $75 to team-nominated charities for every loan settled, totalling more than $445,000 in the past financial year
- 99% of employees say they believe Thinktank’s commitment to social responsibility is genuine, according to its engagement survey
As Thinktank marks 20 years in business, being named as one of MPA’s Top Mortgage Employers for the third year running is a particularly meaningful milestone. It reflects not only how much the company has grown but also the culture and sense of connection it has worked hard to retain along the way.
Since its establishment in 2006, it has evolved from a specialist commercial property lender into one of Australia’s leading non-bank property lenders, with 210 people across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
The scale and capability of the business may have changed considerably, but CEO Jonathan Street (pictured, right) says the qualities that have shaped Thinktank from the beginning remain just as important today.
“Growth is important, but how you grow matters,” he says. “As Thinktank has expanded, we’ve worked hard to hold onto what we have always prioritised here – strong relationships, sharing our knowledge, working as one and supporting great people who genuinely care about the outcomes we deliver.”
For Street, Thinktank’s culture has been built by generations of people who have contributed their knowledge, experience and ideas. As the business grows, that culture continues to evolve as new people add their own perspectives and shape what comes next.
“We’ve had some exceptional people help build Thinktank over the past 20 years, and the business today stands on the foundations they established,” he says. “What keeps that culture strong is seeing their knowledge and experience shared with the people coming through while giving new people the opportunity to contribute their ideas and make their mark.”
That sense of connection is reflected strongly in Thinktank’s latest employee engagement results. Overall engagement is 81%, well above the 20% global engagement average reported in Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace research. Social connection is 94% and 89% of employees say they are proud to work at Thinktank. Among new starters, engagement rises to 96%, an important result for a business that continues to grow.
General manager of people and culture Michelle Anderson (pictured, left) says the new starter result is particularly encouraging because maintaining a strong employee experience as an organisation grows requires deliberate attention.
“We want people joining Thinktank to feel that they are part of something, not simply starting a new job,” Anderson says. “That means helping people build connections, understand the business and see how they can contribute. There is a great deal of knowledge and experience across Thinktank, and we want people to share this generously. Just as importantly, every new person brings different experience, ideas and perspectives that add to our culture and help us continue to evolve.”
Thinktank’s three values, including Do What’s Right, Work as One and People First, give people a clear and practical guide for how they work together, collaborate and make decisions. “Culture isn’t static, particularly in a growing business,” Anderson says. “We need to keep listening to our people, be honest about what is working well and what could be better and create an environment where people feel supported, respected and able to do their best work.”
Inclusion remains an important part of that environment. Thinktank’s latest diversity, equity and inclusion survey found that 94% of employees believe the organisation values diversity, 91% believe it builds diverse teams and 90% feel respected at work. Its employee engagement survey also recorded an inclusion score of 84%, five points above the benchmark.
Supporting the communities in which its people live and work has long been an important part of Thinktank’s culture and something its team has embraced strongly. For every new loan settled, the company donates $75 to charities nominated by its team members, with more than $445,000 donated during the most recent financial year. Workplace Giving Australia’s research on employer-linked charitable donations identifies this model as an increasingly effective way to build participation beyond typical payroll-giving rates. In its latest engagement survey, 99% of employees said they believe Thinktank’s commitment to social responsibility is genuine.
Street says that result speaks to a broader principle that has shaped the organisation throughout its growth. “People want to be part of a business that performs well, but they also want to know what it stands for and that its values are reflected in what it actually does,” he says. “Our people have been fundamental to everything Thinktank has achieved over the past 20 years. As we enter our third decade, our job is to keep evolving while making sure we continue to share our experience, invest in our people and maintain the strong relationships and sense of connection that have brought us this far.”
For Thinktank, being named MPA’s Top Mortgage Employer for the third consecutive year is not about preserving its culture unchanged – it is recognition that a strong culture can continue to grow alongside the business. After 20 years, perhaps the strongest measure of that culture is not that it has stayed the same, but that a new generation of Thinktank people is continuing to shape what comes next.
