9 minute read
CHANGE IN THINKING TO GET THROUGH
Consider a change in thinking to get you through
by Mike Kensington, Leadership & Strategy Partner, POD/Advice First
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Many of you reading this may have had your world tipped upside down over the last month. In fact, there are very few of us who have not. So, now more than ever, we should be considering what we need to do to support our employees, our businesses and, most importantly, ourselves.
At times like this, it is worth reflecting on the Stockdale Paradox – a concept named after James Stockdale, former USA vice presidential candidate, naval officer and Vietnam prisoner of war. Stockdale was held captive for seven years, repeatedly tortured and often feared for his life. As we know, often in times of extreme adversity, there are learnings and realisations. What Stockdale found was that he could stay alive by balancing two things: the reality of his situation, with a sense of optimism and hope. Put simply, it is about hoping for the best while accepting and preparing for what you have in front of you. This may be a new way of thinking and behaving for many of us, but it is not something that needs to be difficult or complicated. Whilst hope and optimism are fantastic sentiments, we often need practical things to use in our businesses. When we look forward, we think about having a business plan, setting realistic goals and objectives, and identifying key actions that will get us where we want to be. We recruit the type of people who will form our core culture, take responsibility for what needs to be done, and perform at their best. Above all, we look ahead, put plans and strategies in place, and support the people around us to be successful. When we reflect on the reality of the situation around the world right now, it may seem hard to have hope and optimism. That’s where our ability to be resilient kicks in. This is not about ‘pushing through’ or ‘getting tough’. It’s about calling on the resources and support you have around you, to manage yourself and others through adversity. In terms of resources, it may be worth asking yourself; have we reviewed our business plan and adjusted what we can expect to deliver? Have we re-set our goals to ensure we are being realistic? Are we focusing on the things that we can control? Are we focusing on the true priorities in our business? You might also want to consider what flexibility you are offering people so they can get the job done? Are there smarter ways to use technology? Are you open to ideas and innovations from our team to overcome obstacles? Let’s also consider what resources are available to people to support their emotional state – time-out, exercise, meditation, sleep and heathy eating. Supporting each other needs to go beyond just asking if someone needs help. You may need to discuss the re-set of expectations and objectives with them, so they know what to focus on. You may need to learn how to be open to feedback and different opinions from people so that you can understand what’s going on and get the best information coming to you. People may need different skills to get the job done, so how can we coach, develop or mentor them through? Above all, the key to supporting people is communication. Communicate regularly and often, communicate the right information so it is clear and concise, and create lots of opportunities for people to communicate back to you and others around them. So, whilst there might be many things changing around you and it appears as though everything is out of your control, there are ways to re-set, focus your thinking and get through.
WE CARE, WE ACT, WE SUCCEED
Our people “We are quite intentional about fostering a great culture at Vitaco. The culture is committed and strong, which is a reflection of who we are and what we do – our people are very connected to our purpose and vision to ‘empower healthier lives’. This year, one of our key people and culture objectives is what we call ‘Culture by Design’ and we will be looking at how we build on that connection to purpose, by delivering programmes with deliberate alignment to our vision and objectives,” says Rose Powell, General Manager People & Capability at Vitaco. Vitaco Health Ltd is an inclusive, vibrant and enjoyable place to work. It began as a company in 2007 as a merger of two Australasian health & wellness companies: Nutra-Life Health & Fitness and Healtheries of New Zealand – one of New Zealand’s most trusted brands and largest and oldest health food and supplement manufacturers. The company has built a reputation for world-class manufacturing and knowledge based on 45 years of industry experience and knowledge. They provide their employees with a work environment that is happy and harmonious and have developed a culture that helps employees become the best that they can be professionally, so that they can achieve their career goals whilst keeping sound work/life balance. “We don’t use the words, Human Resources or staff; and rarely, employees. We are people not resources; therefore, our department name (People & Culture) reflects that,” says Rose. Her role was created by the Chief People and Culture Officer (based in Australia) in early 2017 to really focus on building capability within the company, especially in New Zealand. Training and on-going developmental programmes are integral to Vitaco operations and excellence is recognised and rewarded regularly through a companywide rewards programme.
Leeza – almost 12 years at Vitaco
The organisation has experienced incredible growth and diversification over the years. “Because we control our own supply chain, it has allowed us to create many different kinds of roles requiring diverse skills and knowledge; it’s very inspiring,” continues Rose. “Empowering Healthier Lives is very important to the team; and our values aren’t just pictures on the walls, rather they underpin our policies, our KPI’s, our job descriptions and the decisions we make every day as a business. “We ask our people where we need to be stronger and we do our best to respond in a purposeful way. We conduct engagement surveys and don’t just share results but rather personalise them by team, workshopping action plans that really make sense to the priorities of that team. That’s part of our Culture by Design strategy; it’s showing our people that they own the culture within their teams; and they influence the culture in the other teams they work with. “A key driver of satisfaction with our people is the very high touch points across the company; for example there is not a single person who couldn’t approach the COO (or any other senior member of the team) and talk openly to them. Communication lines are always open, and our people appreciate that.”
Challenging the status quo Core values at Vitaco are simple but powerful. “We care, we act and we succeed” says Rose. An important part of Vitaco’s recruitment process is looking for evidence of these values in potential new people. Some call it cultural fit but Rose says that Vitaco looks for team members that bring a little something different or extra too – people who will challenge the status quo, inspire and encourage others to “sit up a little bit straighter.”
Giving back The company celebrates success through rewarding performance on a quarterly and annual basis. There are awards for health and safety, quality, sales and marketing, living Vitaco’s values and more. They offer very generous staff, family and friends discounts and provide their people with gift packs of supplements for the flu season. There is also a subsidised cafeteria for all staff which will be refreshed very soon. “Shortly we will be launching a new programme which takes a very holistic view of wellbeing. Obviously, wellbeing is part of Vitaco’s DNA anyway but with this, we expect to see an even bigger impact and connection to our vision. We encourage people to participate in activities that are
meaningful to them; and we support them as much as we can. Whether it’s a shared lunch, pulling together a fundraiser for Pink Ribbon Day; or a sports team for a good cause, our people love to participate, compete and do things together; we are a fun bunch. However, none of these group activities are practical right now during COVID Alert Level 4. As an essential business, many of our team are working from home while others continue at our manufacturing and distribution sites; connection has never been more important for our business which is inspiring a lot of creativity.” says Rose. For many, working at Vitaco is like an extension to their own family and it’s not unusual for a staff member to do something for the business or colleagues in their own time. From lunchtime art classes offered by Lorraine (who has been with the company over 20 years), to evening Yoga sessions by Ranjileen, Vitaco people are happy to offer a wide variety of extracurricular activities for their team mates. The company also has a flexible working policy that applies in some way, to everyone. Where practical, people are able to work from home and this is very much the case for many of Vitaco’s essential workers right now. Recent survey results showed that people at Vitaco feel that they have the flexibility they need to rearrange their working hours to fit around their family obligations and other commitments.
“I wanted to share my yoga and meditation teacher training and experience with like-minded people; people who care about their physical and mental health. The practice of yoga cultivates health and wellbeing (physical, emotional, mental and social) so it was a no brainer that I start out with my Vitaco family who are all about empowering healthier lives.”
Ranjileen – 10 years at Vitaco – teaches free yoga on Friday evenings for all interested staff
Opportunities within Vitaco offers professional development planning and skills development opportunities for their people on an ongoing basis. “We have an in-house leadership development programme; great online opportunities as well as a Skills Matrix Programme for our manufacturing and distribution teams. This programme enables people to increase their skill level which is then linked to remuneration. It’s good for the business and good for our people also,” says Rose. “When I ask our people about what they love here, the first answer is always the people, but this is closely followed by the opportunity for career progression and a very strong sense of job security. We have been around a long time and are a reasonably big employer in the area. The size of our business and being vertically integrated opens up a whole lot of opportunities, and the flexibility we provide means a lot to them. Our turnover is around 11% so it’s pretty low compared to the industry average of 16%,” continues Rose. Attendance figures at Vitaco sit around 95%. People are committed and connected to work in more ways than one. This is evident right now as the Vitaco Team continues to supply grocery stores and pharmacies in the middle of the COVID situation. “We have a pretty happy bunch here,” smiles Rose.
vitaco.co.nz
