Moose Toys boasts a global team of more than 700 across Australia, China, Hong Kong, USA, UK, and Vietnam, who all strive to make kids around the world “Superhappy” through innovative, award-winning toys.
“Moose Toys has been built on family values and we recognise that our people are the heart and soul of our business. Our team around the world not only create award-winning toys but they passionately spread the Superhappy far and wide,” explains CEO Paul Solomon.
While Moose continues to grow globally, it has been able to firmly hold on to the values of being ‘a family who is outrageously playful with wild imagination’. Committed to ‘a one company, one culture’ approach, means that no matter which regional office you walk into, they all feel uniquely Moose.
Giving back is also fundamental to the Moose way. Through its Happy Kids Foundation, Moose Toys has given almost $19M AUD to charities and community partners around the world and made 4.2 million kids smile.
In this feature, Great Place To Work® examines what the culture of innovation and joy at Moose Toys looks like.
Senior leaders at Moose Toys believe that culture is critical to achieving its strategic objectives. They invest time and energy into building it, to attract and retain the right talent for their growing global business.
“Before we implemented Great Place To Work, we didn’t have a really strong platform to get widespread feedback. We would run focus groups, or ask a handful of people for their thoughts, but it didn’t include everybody and lacked depth. Great Place To Work provides us with an avenue to hear from all Moosies, and by asking everyone the same questions, we can really understand how we’re doing,” shares Kate Zahra, Chief People Officer.
Being CertifiedTM and listed by Great Place To Work would confirm to the talent market that Moose Toys is ‘the place to be’ for toy innovation. Since earning certification across six of its global offices, more candidates have been seeking them out and asking about their culture during recruitment. The Trust IndexTM Survey allows customised statements to be incorporated, which lets Moose Toys measure key business outcomes, such as leadership, inclusivity and creative capabilities.
Great Place To Work’s global presence enabled Moose Toys to incorporate offices in other countries over time. “Great Place To Work is reputable and respected, and we liked their philosophy and framework. We continue to work with them because we’re able to measure the changes that we implement post-survey and track our progress year-on-year through the system,” Kate explains.
Moose Toys made the Best WorkplacesTM List in UK, China, and Vietnam, and its US office was listed on Fortune Best Workplaces in Manufacturing and ProductionTM. It was also recognised to be a Best Workplace for WomenTM in the UK in 2023. And, for the first time in 2024, Moose Toys has been listed on the Australian Best Workplaces List. Not resting on its laurels, Moose Toys has a Big Hairy Audacious Goal to be listed in the Great Place To Work top ten across all countries they operate in!
Kate acknowledges that these accolades are only part of the equation. “When people are engaged, they become more productive. However, our ultimate goal is to ensure they are ‘super-happy’, love where they work, and are passionate about what they do.”
88% of Moose employees – affectionately known as Moosies – say that it is a great place to work, an incredible achievement given their growth over the years. We highlight some practices and policies that make it a great workplace.
Overwhelmingly, Moosies say that other Moosies make it great. Most verbatim comments in the Trust Index survey reflected this, and camaraderie was consistently the highest scoring area across their global offices. ‘Living the Family Values’ is weaved into the annual key performance indicators of every Moosie – emphasising their belief that how they treat each other is just as important as getting the job done.
In 2024, an impressive 100% of Moosies with self-reported disabilities say that they want to work for Moose Toys for a long time. Moose has five Diversity and Inclusion resource groups, led by employee champions. They support the broader D&I strategy by delivering initiatives that support diverse employees and communities. For example, the Accessibility Group provided earphones to those who need a quieter environment to focus and developed a toolkit to help Moosies with disability work more effectively with their screens.
Across all global offices, 91% of employees say that people care about each other and they’re able to be themselves at work. 93% believe that Moose Toys is taking effective steps towards building a more diverse and inclusive culture. “I consider some of my co-workers to be my closest friends. Everyone genuinely cares about each other. Management is friendly and approachable. They treat us with respect and create a fun environment every day,” writes a Moosie in Australia.
Moose Toys is remarkably intentional about listening and acting on the feedback they receive – they specifically measure if leaders at different levels are ‘aware of the brutal facts’, and whether they are ‘taking adequate action to address them’. This was endorsed by 81% of Moosies across all regions.
Its structured communication plan certainly helps: Once survey results are shared globally, the People and Culture teams in each region meet with their respective department heads to unpack the details. They create an action plan for each team that includes items the respective teams chose to focus on.
Kate says, “When we receive feedback from the survey, we take it very seriously and act on it to implement changes and improvements for our employees. While we can’t address everything, we ensure that all feasible actions within our resources are taken. Prioritization is key, and we maintain open communication so everyone knows the progress we’re making.”
Moose Toys also recognises that the best ideas come from Moosies and encourages their voices to be heard across multiple platforms.
"By measuring progress across our customized focus areas, we can identify what is working well and what needs more attention. This allows the People and Culture team to concentrate on critical aspects of our strategic roadmap. Additionally, it’s beneficial for the team to see how their efforts contribute to these results, reinforcing the importance and value of their roles."
– Kate Zahra, Chief People Officer
Having offices across six countries mean that cultural differences naturally present themselves – and Moose Toys takes it in its stride.
“We recognized that a one-size-fits-all approach wasn’t effective for all our offices and needed to customize our offerings based on regional needs,” says Kate. This led to the “Benefits That Matter” program, which allows each region to tailor employee benefits to what is most important for their teams.
Perks in Moose Toys include:
Kate is optimistic about what’s next for Moose Toys. “As we grow, maintaining our fantastic culture will likely become more challenging. But, if we continue living our Wow values, engaging with our employees, listening to their valuable feedback and focusing on the areas that matter most to them, we will be able to ensure a workplace where everyone can truly thrive, and deliver on our purpose – to be the most innovative toy company in the world!”
Discover what employees value about working at your company, and how you can boost retention rates and increase productivity and performance with Great Place To Work CertificationTM.
