Today, Rehab Management Holdings (Rehab Management, AimBig Employment and LiveBig) is honoured to be recognised as one of Australia and New Zealand’s Most Innovative Companies. AimBig Employment’s BusyBeans program ranked 8^th on the innovative health companies list, from over 800 nominated organisations across Australia and New Zealand.

For a business and program that’ve only recently been launched, we’re humbled to be in the company of so many powerful, multinational health organisations. What began with a simple idea – helping people with disability find employment in the hospitality industry – has turned into a life-changing program for Australians.

Experience showed us that people with disability experience discrimination and difficulty finding work. In fact, there are 2.2 million Australians of working age living with disability, and only 1.16 million (52.8%) of those are members of the Australian workforce.

Through months of planning, a pilot program in November 2018 and countless hours of coffee tasting, the BusyBeans program was created to fill this need. Being nimble to market is one thing that sets us apart. The BusyBeans program reflects our group’s commitment to being customer centric, agile and committed to change.

Previous overall winners include Xero, Planet Innovation, M&C Saatchi and GroundProbe.

“I’m ecstatic to have our program recognised alongside other huge innovative, global companies. Innovation is one of our core company values, and I’m proud to see the innovative mindset of our staff and their hard work reflected in this award.”

Marcella Romero, Group Founder and CEO, Rehab Management Holdings

“What started as a plan to help one person living with autism spectrum disorder discover his dream of working as a barista, has turned into a program giving people living with disability the skills and confidence to find meaningful employment in the hospitality industry. All credit goes to the team of dedicated staff behind the scenes who make the program run on a daily basis, their connections with our participants and their families. This is just the beginning of a new way of seeing the connections between employment, community and wellbeing.”

Terry Wilson, General Manager, AimBig Employment

About BusyBeans

BusyBeans is so much more than a quality, in-house barista service. We see coffee as a way to alter perceptions about disability, improve workplace relationships and be the social hub of any office. Placing BusyBeans baristas in offices across Australia.

For the participants this provides:

• No-cost barista training and flexible working hours for participants living with disability
• Meaningful, sustainable work as baristas for job seekers

For businesses:

• Free, accessible coffee for staff
• Increased staff diversity for workplaces

About AimBig Employment

AimBig Employment, launched in July 2018, is a disability employment services (DES) provider who’s bigger than employment. This means we support both people with disability to secure, maintain and thrive in meaningful work, and businesses of all sizes to recruit a valuable and diverse workforce.

BusyBeans is only one of our innovative programs. To find out more about what BusyBeans has to offer, book a pop up cafe or inquire about barista training visit https://www.aimbigemployment.com.au/busybeans/

About the AFR BOSS award

The prestigious annual list, published by The Australian Financial Review and Boss Magazine, is based on a rigorous assessment process managed by Australia’s leading innovation consultancy, Inventium, in conjunction with a panel of industry expert judges.

The assessment measures a top innovation implemented in the past twelve months. Specifically, the judges look at how valuable the problem is that the innovation is solving, the quality and uniqueness of the solution, and the level of impact that the innovation has had. Inventium also assesses internal elements such as innovation culture, strategy, resources and process, which demonstrate a sustainable and repeatable approach to innovation. For the first time in 2019, organisations were ranked directly against their peers across ten industry lists. All winners on the health category can be viewed here.

About the AFR BOSS Most Innovative Companies List

The AFR BOSS Most Innovative Companies list (previously the BRW Most Innovative Companies list) is now in its eighth year. The list ranks the most innovative organisations in Australia and New Zealand and is the only national list of its kind. For the first time in 2019, the list was broken down into 10 industry categories, effectively ranking organisations against their peers. The list is judged and compiled by Inventium – Australia’s leading innovation consultancy. Inventium uses a unique, scientifically proven approach to help organisations grow through innovation. In 2019, the list comprised of ten industry lists of ten, compiled from over 800 nominations, and 400 shortlisted organisations.

www.mostinnovative.com.au

About the Australian Financial Review

For more than 50 years The Australian Financial Review has been the authority on business, finance and investment news in Australia. It has a reputation for independent, award-winning journalism and is essential reading for Australia’s business and investor community. The Australian Financial Review is owned by Fairfax Media Limited [ASX:FXJ], a leading multi-platform media company in Australasia.

www.afr.com