1. 1
Is the future of work
bigger companies
employing less people?
The Australian perspective

2. About the research
I love thinking about the future of work. And recently there’s been a lot of
discussion that the future of work means bigger companies employing less people.
It’s hard to draw any other conclusion when you look at deals like the Facebook
acquisition of WhatsApp, a US$19 billion dollar acquisition with just 55 employees.
I’ll save you pulling out the calculator –Facebook are paying an incredible $350m or
so per employee!
I wanted to understand the Australian perspective on whether we’re seeing the
start of a major disconnect between number of employees and firm value. To do
this we’ve spent some time running the numbers on the ASX 100. And the results
might surprise you!
If you’ve got questions about this data, or want to learn more about how
Cognology helps over 250 Australian companies get the most out of their
employees, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Kind regards,
Jon Windust
CEO – Cognology
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3. The100 largest companies in
Australia (the ASX 100)
employ1.4m people
At an aggregate level, these 100
companies are worth just over 1.4
trillion dollars (yes, with a T!)
So at an individual level, the
market values each Australian
employee at just over $1m
($1,002,617 to be exact)
Source: Google Finance (FactSet) – September 2014
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4. Are you worth
$1,002,617?
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5. The big earners
in the US work in the cloud
Source: Google Finance (FactSet) – September 2014
Here in Australia the big money is
still in the ground
12.2
4.2
2.2
1.0
0.7
0.5
Property
and
Infrastructure
Financials,
IT
and
Engineering
Mining,
Heavy
Manufacture
and
Transport
Healthcare
and
Science
Consumer
Product
Manufacture
and
DistribuBon
Customer
Service
and
Retail
Average market capitalisation (A$M per employee)
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6. Australia’s most
valuable employees
work at Transurban
Each employee is worth nearly
A$32m in market capitalisation!
6

7. 31.8
28.8
Australia’s most valuable employees work at
28.6
28.0
21.0
17.5
15.6
13.2
10.9
10.1
9.5
Market capitalisation (A$m per employee)
Transurban
Source: Google Finance (Factset) – September 2014
7

8. 31.8
28.8
28.6
28.0
21.0
17.5
15.6
13.2
10.9
10.1
9.5
Market capitalisation (A$m per employee)
The majority of the top 10 is
infrastructure, property and
oil&gas
Source: Google Finance (FactSet) – September 2014
8

9. 31.8
28.8
28.6
28.0
21.0
17.5
15.6
13.2
10.9
10.1
9.5
Market capitalisation (A$m per employee)
SEEK
is the only technology company
to make the top 10
Source: Google Finance (FactSet) – September 2014
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10. What about
Australia’s least
valuable employees? ?
10

11. 0.22
0.21
0.18
0.18
0.12
0.12
0.11
0.10
0.09
0.09
0.09
Market capitalisation (A$m per employee)
The bottom 10 is dominated by
retail, engineering and
logistics
Source: Google Finance (FactSet) – September 2014
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12. On a market capitalisation basis, Toll, Qantas, Myer and
0.22
0.21
0.18
0.18
0.12
0.12
0.11
0.10
0.09
0.09
0.09
Market capitalisation (A$m per employee)
Downer are all worth
less than $100k per employee
Source: Google Finance (FactSet) – September 2014
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13. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE VALUE OF A
TRANSURBAN AND DOWNER EMPLOYEE IS AN
ASTONISHING 367 TIMES
367x
$0.09m
$31.8m
Source: Google Finance (FactSet) – September 2014
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14. Cognology is an Australian company making Talent Management software for
the future of work. Over 250 businesses use Cognology to empower cutting
edge talent strategy.
We build technology to help our clients with performance, engagement,
retention and learning for their entire employment lifecycle. Our research and
development efforts are continually looking for ways to make it easier for our
customers to execute business strategy, develop their people and do great
things together.
Learn more about Cognology at http://www.cognology.com.au/
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