What it does: Civil construction and infrastructure maintenance
Staff stats: Over 2500 Australian employees and 6000 overall
The good bits: A fast track for strong performers
The not so good bits: Long hours
The Fulton Hogan story
Fulton Hogan was founded in New Zealand in 1933 by assistant surveyor Julius Fulton and mechanic Robert Hogan. The South Island-based company started out building highways for the growing number of vehicles appearing on New Zealand’s roads. Building roads is still at the heart of Fulton Hogan’s operations. But today it provides civil construction and infrastructure maintenance services in a range of sectors including transport, water, energy, mining and land development. In 2002, the company made a big push into Australia, purchasing Standard Roads and Astec, two large and respected Australian Contracting companies. The Australian arm has increased its footprint through commercial acquisitions, new ventures, marketing, business development and technology transfer. Fulton Hogan is a public, non-listed company headquartered in Christchurch. The Fulton and Hogan families still hold major stakes in it. It now operates in Australia, New Zealand and much of the Pacific.
Fulton Hogan’s annual revenue exceeds $3 billion. The Australian arm generates about half of that. Australia’s infrastructure-hungry regional towns have been earmarked as a promising growth opportunity for the company going forward.
The culture
Fulton Hogan is an equal opportunity employer and member of the Diversity Council of Australia. Women comprise just over 10 percent of its workforce. That’s around the average for the construction industry but the company is keen to recruit and promote more female staff.
Under its Code of Conduct Policy, the company affirms its commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion in its work environment. The company also provides cultural heritage training to staff to ensure cultural concerns are respected when working on or near sensitive sites.
Social contribution
Fulton Hogan’s roads, ports, airports, infrastructure and property projects have self-evident lifestyle and commercial benefits for people in Australia, New Zealand and throughout the Pacific.
The company is a participant in International Women’s Day and an inaugural Founding Friend of NRL Cowboys House. It offers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youths (who live at NRL Cowboys House) the opportunity to participate in work experience, holiday work placements, mentoring, cadetships and apprenticeships.
After both the Christchurch earthquakes and Queensland floods (of 2011 and 2013), Fulton Hogan was quickly on the scene. It worked with civil and emergency authorities and made its staff and technological resources available.
Many Australian staff participate in Run Melbourne to raise money for the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation.
The recruitment process
Fulton Hogan recruits finance and engineering graduates for its Australian Graduate Leadership Program. Applicants are expected to demonstrate a good attitude, strong leadership qualities and the resilience required to thrive in a high-pressure job. They also need to be prepared to work in remote locations.
The first stage of the graduate recruitment process involves submitting your application online. If you make the shortlist, you’ll do a phone interview with someone from HR. Then comes a face-to-face interview, also with a HR staffer. The final stage involves being invited to a Fulton Hogan office to attend an information session and do an interview with a HR staffer and senior manager. The interview will go for 45 minutes and revolve around behavioural-based questions.
If you receive a job offer, you’ll begin your program by participating in a structured induction process and meeting your new colleagues. The program is 18 months long. It comprises rotations that will develop your key competencies. In Australia, the two engineering streams offered are ‘construction’ and ‘industries’. In the construction stream, you’ll be involved in roads and bridges, rail, water and wastewater, airports and telecommunications projects across the country. In the industries stream, you’ll participate in a variety of road-maintenance solutions including asphalt production and supply, asphalt laying and airport design and construction.
If you’re a finance graduate, you’ll be out in the field working on real projects. You’ll be exposed to commercial, corporate and management accounting. You’ll also be supported as you complete a Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand program.
Both finance and engineering grads are allocated a professional mentor, who will provide advice about training and professional development opportunities.
Remuneration
Fulton Hogan offers attractive remuneration packages. It also prides itself on its commitment to safety and on offering some of the best and most flexible working conditions of any construction industry employer. The company offers a generous maternity leave program and support with temporary and permanent visas (for non-citizens). Employees can enjoy a small stake in the company through Fulton Hogan’s staff share scheme.
Career prospects
Fulton Hogan promotes from within wherever possible. It hires people with the view that they are leaders in waiting. It offers good career development and promotion opportunities, mentorship and tailored professional training geared towards enabling employees to fulfil their career goals.
The vibe of the place
Fulton Hogan’s emphasis on being a family company means the vibe is down-to-earth and senior staff are approachable. You can find yourself in a suit in a CBD office one day and wandering around a remote construction site in a hard hat the next. If you like the thought of helping build stuff while being part a billion-dollar family business, Fulton Hogan might be for you.
Fulton Hogan is one of Australasia’s fastest growing civil contracting companies – a testament to the quality of our services and the people who deliver them.
Over our 80-year history, we have learnt that our company can only truly grow if we attract and retain the best people. We invest heavily to create a workplace culture that encourages ownership and empowerment, while never forgetting the importance of balancing life’s priorities.
At Fulton Hogan we are passionate about our values and these define how we approach our work. Our ‘word is our bond’ and our people are committed to the extra effort needed to deliver on our promises.
Our people work in ‘teams of teams’, all with a high level of camaraderie, friendship and a sense of pride when they deliver the best outcomes. In return, the company rewards them through:
If you are the best, or want to become the best, Fulton Hogan is the company for you."