AVL Wines has implemented its new global employee benefits package with a view to supporting all employees, regardless of what stage they are at in their career and life.
Following its annual employee engagement survey from 2020, the company made the decision to increase its investment in the overall health, wellbeing, futures of its workforce.
Natasha Cahill, People and Culture Director at AVL Wines said, "In the 2020 employee engagement survey our employees told us that we could do a better job at supporting them and their families in our benefits offerings. When we went into more detail with our employees this meant much more than just a pay cheque.
"In terms of the wellbeing side of things this is a step we have taken to be proactive. As a business we are focussing on sustainability, and this includes ensuring our employees have all the tools they need to look after their own health and wellbeing."
The business developed a new holistic program across parental and sabbatical leave, flexible working and employee mental health and wellbeing, which will has officially launched.
Craig Garvin, Chief Executive at AVL Wines, said, “Companies, more than ever need to invest in their greatest asset, people! Discretionary effort makes the strategic difference in a very competitive world.
“I am proud we have taken the time to listen to our employees and recognised the opportunity to improve their benefits package to support them and their families. It’s a small investment when compared to the benefit of a highly engaged workforce who are proud of their company. We do this because it’s the right thing to do.”
The new package, which will be rolled out globally, has been benchmarked against the Drinks Association's Diversity and Inclusion Scorecard created by the Embrace Difference Council in an effort to make AVL Wines leaders in the industry. Currently ranked in the top 5 against the WGEA reporting score, the company is committed to ensuring that it is ranked in the top 3 in 2021.
“At AVL, we recognise the value of our people and want to align employee benefits and work life-balance. We are passionate about creating an inclusive culture where our employees feel they can bring their whole self to work and are valued.
"Once you succeed in creating an inclusive culture you will naturally drive diversity and attract and retain the best talent. To do this we needed to ensure that we are constantly reviewing and adapting so we can offer our people ‘best in class’ benefits. We have listened to our employees’ valuable feedback and reviewed global best practice when delivering these benefits to support and engage them,” said Natasha Cahill, People and Culture Director at AVL Wines.
In addition to the new benefits. AVL Wines will also be inviting employees to participate in a Good for the Solar fitness challenge with charity partner[1], SolarBuddy during the month of October. Running over six weeks, employees will be encouraged to create a micro habit, completing 15 minutes of movement each day as a part of individual participation as well as contribution to the collective fundraising to support energy poverty in Australia and internationally.
Current and future employees of AVL Wines can expect the following benefits that were announced by the company:
Paid parental leave: AVL Wines has increased its primary carer parental leave to now offer 26 weeks paid leave. It has also increased secondary carers paid leave to 4 weeks.
Super/pension payments on parental leave: AVL Wines will be paying super/pension payments while employees are on unpaid parental leave.
Flexible working: AVL Wines believe that by allowing employees flexibility in return they will give their best. So it is introducing a hybrid flexible working model for roles where employees aren’t operationally site-based.
Mental health and wellbeing: AVL Wines are investing in supporting its managers and employees with mental health first aid training[2] over the next 12 months. The company has also expanded its Employee Assistance Program[3] (EAP) offering.
Purchased annual leave: Employees now have the option to buy an additional five days of leave. In addition to this, employees can always take annual leave at half pay.
Sabbaticals and career breaks: There’s a big, exciting world out there to discover and AVL Wines wants to give employees the opportunity to change their environment and find a different perspective. So, its new career break policy allows employees to apply to take 3-12 months of unpaid leave and AVL Wines will leave an employees role open for them.