5-Star Employer of Choice 2023: Volvo Car Australia

Kylie Speer  03:38:19 

Hello, and welcome to HRD TV. I'm Kylie Speer. And today I'm talking with Esmeralda Ribarovski. People experience director ads at Volvo Car Australia, who are the HRD five star Employer of Choice winners for 2023. Welcome to you Esme. Congratulations, and thank you so much for joining us today. 

Esmeralda Ribarovski  03:38:40 

Thank you for inviting me, it's great to have a moment to chat.  

Kylie Speer  03:38:43 

Well, firstly, Esme, not only were you named one of HRD Australia's five star employers of choice for 2023. But over the past 12 months, you've had an impressively low voluntary turnover rate, what have been the keys to creating a workplace culture where people want to remain? 

Esmeralda Ribarovski  03:39:03 

For us, this has really been about a three year journey, we started really looking at our employee experience and, you know, looking at our global purpose, and how do we pull that through, so that people feel that every day when they're working for Volvo Car Australia. And so we had a look at, you know, the policies, the practices, the rituals, the celebrations and, and all the things that go into making that culture locally? And how Volvo does that feel? And how connected is that back to our purpose and, and so we really doubled down on wellbeing, and looked at, you know, a holistic framework, so people can be their best at work, but also looked at our leave policies and flexibility. How do we approach that and, you know, the, what's important to people at the moment, and we then took that externally and looked at the family friendly certification through UNICEF Australia, and they're at work and, and sort of then mapped what we're doing against an external framework and identified gaps. And that then created a two year action plan for us as well to really further invest. And then from then it sort of, we've been actually looking at around how to then we bring more people initiatives into this, and this is around connecting us. You know, we are a small team. And but that means that we have to do you know, we're a busy team, and we're stretched. And so how do we make sure that we have those connections so that everyone is empowered to do their best work. And so we've been bringing our people together. And you know, now the next milestone in our journey is obviously being recognized as the five star employer as well. So, yeah, we're really happy with where we've got to. 

Kylie Speer  03:40:39 

Another initiative you offer is a well being portal, which provides financial related support. Can you tell us how this operates and how important it is, in today's current climate? 

Esmeralda Ribarovski  03:40:50 

Yeah, absolutely. So this came out as the work that we're doing around the well being framework. And the well being framework sort of covered the five areas, you know, thinking your body, your mind, the connection, meaning and having meaning in what you do, but also financial, and moving from sort of a reactive EAP program to being more of a, you know, a proactive and holistic well being. So the portal allows a range of resources from health checks, through to, you know, resources, podcasts, micro learning programs, that, you know, milestones that might be happening in your life, be it you know, family, relationships, work related, also further tools for managers, and then creating a program to be able to share that with our team and to, to encourage them to, to lean into it. And it became really handy, I have to say, during COVID, there were lots of resources, we were able to have a bit of fun to keep connected, and to share some relevant content. But we also then we're looking at the well being frameworks. And will Who are we working with? And what are the things that we need, we need to provide? And are they still relevant and looking at the demographics of our workforce. So we introduced new new providers, we also say goodbye to some other ones, and actual went into some areas where we didn't offer services before. And financial coaching was one of those. And we partnered with a company and we offered this as an opt in, you know, if it suits and the outcome for employees was a plan to help them achieve their short term and long term financial goals. So and then regular check ins and reviews be that super or other you know, savings and things like that. So that sort of the financial piece, which has been, I think, really helpful for many of our many of our team. And the next phase, we're also looking at, well, retirement, and what else could we be doing, you know, for the other other demographics and sort of our people early in their career, and what are the support and coaching that they need as well to set them up for success? 

Kylie Speer  03:42:44 

Your leadership team is partnered with an external coach. What type of skills and issues do they work on? 

Esmeralda Ribarovski  03:42:51 

Uhm we actually have quite a wide range of coaches that we're working with, and it's really about helping them understand them as an individual, and partner them up with the coach that would suit them best based on their individual needs. So all the way from executive coaching, and now we've actually expanded this beyond our leadership team to include sort of our next level of managers and we're doing some group coaching as well for our high potentials and, and people at different points in their journey, as well. We've also got a lens around brand and understanding, you know, the, how you are perceived? And what do you want your actual brand to be internally? And how do we help elevate that? So with they've got a wide range of of support. And I think the the reason why we're finding this really stressful is because it's about people understanding how do I get better at who I am and and be my authentic self? And you know, where do I need to focus on the dial up and dial down and, and having that external sounding board has proven to be really helpful and beneficial for so many. So we're, it's going well, and we're enjoying enjoying seeing the outcomes. 

Kylie Speer  03:43:54 

Your monthly pitstop, a lunch and learn session the day prior to pay day. Sounds like an interesting concept. Does it spark honest and frank debate across the organization? 

Esmeralda Ribarovski  03:44:06 

Yeah, we actually we this came about because we reviewed all of our internal communication platforms as well, as part of, you know, the overhaul in our in our journey. And we have a monthly town hall style meeting, which we call fats and fika. Because obviously, we're Swedish and Fika is a Swedish tradition. And this meeting was blowing out, it was going for too long. And it was hard to keep that engagement. And we found that we went back to what's the purpose and outcome of these meetings, and there was a huge opportunity for to bring people together for that internal learning as a shared experience. And so it's a forum once a month before payday because everybody loves a free lunch before payday, where we can have both internal and external speakers. So it's great because we bring in, you know, external thoughts and different perspectives outside of the auto industry. But also, it's an opportunity for our people to have a forum to get in front and say, This is what's going on in this project. And this is why it's important to you, and have an established forum and you know, an allocated time slot on a topic that's relevant for us at that point of time. So it absolutely allows for that interaction in that chat and that discussion. But it's also able to bring in different perspectives, which I think, you know, it helps to shake up your mind a little bit and see things for a different way and, and encourage that, you know, that thats open sharing. 

Kylie Speer  03:45:24 

And finally, Esme with 20% of your company being certified mental health first responders, do you feel this is a fundamental area to pay close attention to, particularly in a high pressure industry like yours? 

Esmeralda Ribarovski  03:45:38 

Absolutely, I think, you know, I obviously, you've heard me talk a lot about well being, and I really do believe we have to help people and provide the environment for people to be their best selves. And well being covers Malaria and mental health is is so so important. And for, for us, it was initially starting with our leadership team, plus additional people who really wanted to put their hands up because they valued it, and they and they wanted to participate. And it was as much as it was to help others in the organization, it helped us and it was for us from an awareness. And it really raised the profile of those discussions and, and topics around workload and balance and, and spotting the signs. And so much of it actually came from outside of work of our own personal experiences and that shared experience of I'm going to reach out to that friend, and I think it's you know, it helps, it helps us feel being we're contributing of greater value as individuals both at work and outside of work. But also we're trying to, you know, raise the profile, and it's okay to talk about these things. And, and it's actually allowed us now we've had individual one on one interventions when need be, and being able to step in a bit earlier. And just to check in on each other. And I think during lockdown and times like that, that was really important. And trying to create that culture on taking, you know, just checking in on one another. And now, you know, we're armed with more knowledge. And also we had a fantastic facilitator, he's come back and done lunch and learns at pitstops for us. And it's just great to keep that topic going. Because now it's also about personal resilience and putting your hand up when you saying I'm not okay. And knowing that there are people within the organization to you can have that chat with as well. And so the program will continue on, we're going to do another cohort through and I've heard of some great ideas and other organizations where they're creating that as a little community. And so I think there's, you know, there's great opportunity to amplify that even more. 

Kylie Speer  03:47:37 

Well congratulations once again and thank you so much for your time today Esme it was lovely speaking with you. 

Esmeralda Ribarovski  03:47:44 

Thank you lovely to talk with you also. 

Kylie Speer  03:47:46 

And thank you, of course to our viewers for watching the latest episode of HRD TV. We look forward to seeing you again soon.