Baking Breakthroughs: Cripps Bakery's Inclusive Employment Approach

For the locals, by the locals.

Local businesses are integral in supporting local communities and the wider local economy. Living by the philosophy of ‘for the locals and by the locals,’ William Cripps opened Tasmania’s first commercial bakery back in 1878. Fast forward to today, and that philosophy is still going strong.

Today, that little bakery has expanded into other locations within Tasmania and grown to employ over 200 people – all proudly continuing the Cripps tradition of baking by Tasmanians, for Tasmanians. Their sterling contributions and unwavering spirit to continually support the local Tasmanian community was honoured and awarded with the Diversity and Inclusion Impact Award at the recently held Asuria Employer Awards.

Asuria engaged with the Cripps Bakery team after meeting at a Jobs Fair and together they tackled the challenge of finding and keeping good employees in a tough job market. Being open to consider a makeover of their old recruitment process to better meet their business needs, Cripps Bakery joined forces with Asuria’s Employer Services team to revamp their approach – by doing recruitment differently.

Cripps Bakery’s team demonstrated exceptional commitment in partnering with Asuria for the overhaul of their recruitment and selection process. With simplicity and inclusivity in mind, Asuria proposed some key changes in their recruitment process and helped to design Cripps Bakery’s new recruitment journey exclusively for Asuria participants. 

Under the new process, instead of sifting through resumes, candidates were invited for a site walk to learn about the roles firsthand. This was followed by industry sessions that provided a deeper dive into the job requirements. Asuria’s Employer Services team took care of administrative tasks like arranging food safety and manual handling courses, as well as medical exams for their candidates. By streamlining the process, Cripps Bakery was able to focus on what really mattered: finding passionate and committed employees for their business.

This partnership between Cripps Bakery and Asuria was not just about filling job openings. It was about creating opportunities, by trialling the new recruitment process, for the job seekers who, because of personal barriers or lack of experience, would previously have been discouraged from applying or fallen short in the former Cripps Bakery recruitment process.

Tristan Baker, Manufacturing Operations Manager at Cripps Bakery mentioned during his acceptance speech at Asuria's Employer Awards, “our partnership with Asuria has been instrumental in driving positive change within our organisation. By increasing female participation and leading the industry with a 34% representation rate (Industry average is 27.5%), we have set a new standard for diversity and inclusivity."

Esther Garforth, Asuria's Team Leader in Hobart also remarked on the success of this partnership, “Asuria and Cripps exemplify seamless collaboration, achieving remarkable results together. Our synergy enhances productivity and effectiveness. Our partnership thrives on mutual understanding, shared goals, and reliance on each other's strengths.” 

Cripps Bakery has now employed over 20 Asuria participants. What is even more impressive is that 81% of these new hires have stayed on with the company—a retention rate well above the national average. This shows that inclusive hiring practices not only benefit individuals but also the businesses that embrace them. By opening their doors to a more diverse pool of candidates, Cripps Bakery has strengthened its workforce and its connection to the local community.

The success of partnerships with employers like Cripps Bakery cannot be measured solely by numbers but by the impact created through the transformative power of employment in providing opportunities of growth in the local communities. Asuria continues to support such partnerships that prioritise diversity and inclusivity for doing recruitment differently.