The founders of Mantel Group recognised the importance of trust and how it creates a sense of ownership, belonging, and purpose – all vital to the success of the business.
A technology consultancy specialising in digital, cloud, data, and cyber security, Mantel Group has grown rapidly since it was founded in 2017, both organically and through acquisitions; their headcount almost doubled from 2022 to 2024. Through its expansion, its key priority remains unchanged: to ‘develop the strongest culture and employee experience in Australian and New Zealand consulting and professional services’.
Con Mouzouris, Chief Executive Officer, underscores the importance of culture in driving the Mantel Group’s business, saying, “It drives our strategy and our business outcomes including financial results, not the other way around. We put our strategy on a single page to ensure that everyone can understand and explain it and actively decide how it relates to their own contribution and their role in it.”
Caroline Henshaw, Chief People Officer, says, “The questions in the Trust IndexTM survey are incredibly important to the way we wanted to set up the business – aspects around collaboration, trust, ethical leadership – and the way those questions are asked.”
The Great Place To Work Trust Index survey was developed with the intention of providing “a recipe for creating a great workplace that could be followed by any leader in any organisation”. Statements assess employees’ experiences around credibility, respect, fairness, pride, and camaraderie.
Furthermore, culture coaching sessions by a dedicated Great Place To Work consultant provide additional feedback and support for Mantel Group, with insights provided around year-on-year changes.
These allow Mantel Group to do a deep dive into its employee experience that directly influences its exceptional people strategy that has landed Mantel Group on the Best WorkplacesTM List in Australia among medium companies for five years in a row since 2021 (making it a Best Workplaces Legend), with between 89% to 98% of Mantel Group’s employees – also known as Mantelorians – saying that it is a great workplace each year.
A great example of how the results of Mantel Group’s Trust Index survey gave insights that brought about a significant change in its strategy was when results showed how differently each team scored for benefits. Even though they have the same options to choose from, Caroline said they realized that certain leaders are amazing at communicating things compared to others. This led the company to coach leaders, including the top management, to do strong communication campaigns—and the engagement results became much stronger the next year.
“We wanted to build a company that was different from what you’d typically expect a company to look like in the technology services space. We wanted to put people at the heart of everything we do and build a company around that.”
–Con Mouzouris, Chief Executive Officer, Mantel Group
Mantel Group is remarkably intentional about listening to and acting on the voices of Mantelorians. Employees can exercise their voices through multiple channels:
Since feedback is a cornerstone of Mantel Group’s culture, this democratic approach was applied in their organisational restructuring.
In late 2023, Mantel Group started ‘The Great Debate’ to help them move away from their house of brands to one brand. It actively sought input from all Mantelorians and even clients. Mantelorians were given the chance to challenge it with different approaches and to a vote on options.
More than 90% of Mantelorians voted for the new model, and Mantel Group moved to execute the decision – all within eight weeks. The result? A 40% increase in average project value and a 20% increase in project length under the new Mantel Group model, with multiple process improvements and transactional efficiencies.
Mantel Group has a circular organisational design, with no traditional hierarchies and managers. Its structure is inspired by several concepts – Frederic Laloux’s Reinventing Organisations, General Stanley McChrystal’s Team of Teams, and Robin Dunbar’s Rule of 150.
Reinventing Organisations explains what it means to be a ‘teal organisation’ that prioritises self-management and wholeness1. Team of Teams is the organic formation of groups with decentralised decision-making and cross-functional collaboration. It nurtures the emergence of leaders without formal selection processes or favouritism. Dunbar’s number is the size of effective social and working relationships.
Mantel Group has over 20 active Team of Teams, enabling Mantelorians to contribute to things they’re passionate about. The self-organised Sustainability Team of Teams has led Mantel Group to become Carbon Neutral since and even helped it to become Climate Active certified.
Instead of managers, Mantel Group has 340 People Guides. These are experienced individuals who act like enhanced buddies or coaches that encourage and guide team members. They help new Mantelorians navigate onboarding and facilitate growth, communication, and problem-solving. The system is built on trust and empowerment, and employees work on peer-to-peer accountability.
Studies show that self-management benefits business outcomes. An analysis of 6541 organisations by Professor of Management and Organisation Andreas Bausch2 found that hierarchical cultures that emphasize control are less likely to be innovative, productive, or efficient. Studies from Canada3 to West Africa4 show that employees given autonomy perform better and go the extra mile to support the organisation. Teams given autonomy strengthen their beliefs in their decision-making capabilities, reducing absenteeism especially when tasks are less routine.
Mantel Group has no policies. it trusts every single Mantelorian to make decisions that align with the company’s values and principles, which are: Make Good Choices, In It Together, Communicate Directly, Love What You Do & Be Awesome At It, and Make Things Better.
Instead of an expense policy, for example, Mantel Group simply tells its employees to ‘stay as close as practical to the venue while remaining within reasonable costs’ – empowering them to exercise making good choices.
These five principles are in employment contracts, requiring everyone to understand and agree to them. They form the basis for career development and recognition. They’re on company merchandise, and office rooms are named after them. Mantel Group also designs and delivers a leadership programme based on these principles.
Every Mantelorian has a personalised “My Deal” arrangement to craft their own career development and benefits according to their changing needs every year. My Deal is a self-driven career reflection and review discussed in a meeting with the People and Culture leaders on employees’ work anniversaries.
For example, Talent Acquisition Partner Emily Millard suggested that she would like more opportunities to present to a large audience. She then got the chance to host the company’s fortnightly Q&As, where key business updates are provided and employees are encouraged to engage.
Mantelorians can also choose their benefits every year, including extra paid annual and parental leave, relocation, learning and development opportunities, fees for adult swimming lessons, wellbeing retreats, and the opportunity to work on passion projects unrelated to work.
Mantel Group prioritises hiring people who resonate with its culture first with a focus on behaviours, creating an environment that Mantelorians enjoy working in, with minimal conflicts. The organisation harnesses the strengths of individuals with transferable skills, leveraging their diverse backgrounds from previous industries.
The Trainee Programme, for instance, aims to narrow the gender gap in the technology industry. Over the past four years, Mantel Group has supported 83 women in advancing their technology careers.
In showing radical trust for Mantelorians, Mantel Group has saved well over $7.5million in hiring costs from its 54% referral rate for incoming employees, even without referral incentives. In the words of a Mantelorian, ‘I just think more people need to know about Mantel’ – truly, a great place to work.
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.
