The health company's GM of people and capability says closing the office-floor divide is the real secret to retention
When Rose Powell joined Vitaco Health Group as general manager, people and capability in late 2016, the trans-Tasman health and wellness company was in the middle of a significant ownership transition and had ambitions to grow.
Nearly a decade on, the business has expanded from around 500 to close to 650–700 employees, and Powell credits much of that momentum to a deliberate, daily commitment to making every worker – whether in the office or on the factory floor – feel genuinely part of the business.
"Everybody is very much responsible for our success," Powell said. "We have a real simple vision, which is to empower healthier lives. And I think what's really made the culture strong is, we say, that's got to start with us."
That philosophy is not rhetorical. It is structural.
A mini business unit on every shift
At Vitaco's Auckland manufacturing and distribution facility in East Tāmaki, every shift begins with what the company calls a Mini Business Unit meeting. Teams gather to work through six operational pillars, discuss wins, flag challenges, explore innovation, and talk about the wellbeing of the people around them.
"It's a daily thing," Powell explained. "And then we have coaching reviews so that everybody across the business is able to receive coaching and able to develop."
The framework is designed to give frontline workers the kind of strategic visibility that is too often reserved for those with a desk and a laptop. It is also part of a broader effort to future-proof the workforce. As Vitaco pivots toward more extensive use of AI across its operations, Powell says the manufacturing and distribution teams are being brought into that transition – not left behind by it.
"We're bringing our manufacturing team and our distribution team with us, and we don't have to," she said. "We're doing it so that they've got relevant skills."
It is the kind of investment that New Zealand's HR community has long discussed in theory. At Vitaco, it is operational practice. For HR leaders tracking workforce engagement and culture trends in New Zealand, this model offers a practical case study worth examining.
Breaking down the upstairs-downstairs divide
Powell is candid about the persistence of a two-tiered culture in many manufacturing environments. She has seen it, and she actively works against it. Vitaco's site in East Tāmaki runs a shared cafeteria across day and afternoon shifts, and Powell's HR team intentionally rotates onto back shifts – at minimum once every two months – to stay connected with workers who might otherwise go weeks without seeing a manager.
"You just make sure that from time to time, you're visible," she said. "And we make sure, like, we get involved in what's happening too, if it's birthdays or anything."
Shift leaders stagger their start times so that back shift workers see a familiar face before heading home. MBU meetings are structured so attendees from the outgoing shift participate in the incoming shift's session – a small but deliberate mechanism for continuity and connection.
Powell also runs a Waiata group at the site – a small choir that celebrates the company's bicultural identity in Aotearoa. Most of its members, she noted, are not from the office.
The approach reflects broader findings from global research. A 2025 report by the Top Employers Institute found that over a quarter of blue-collar employees globally feel their workplace safety concerns go unheard – a symptom of workplaces where the office-floor divide remains entrenched. Vitaco's model directly addresses this risk.
Union trust as a cultural barometer
One of the clearest indicators of how deeply the culture runs is Powell's relationship with Vitaco's union delegates. She personally owns the collective bargaining process, and she describes the feedback she receives from delegates as a genuine measure of employee sentiment.
"They know I actually give a damn," she said. "I am from a very working-class family myself. My son's in the navy, my dad was in the navy, my dad was a butcher. I'm used to graft."
The COO, she says, knows floor workers by name. Powell and her team conduct regular Gemba walks – a lean manufacturing practice of going to the place where work actually happens. The approach has translated into trust that shows up in survey results, in the longevity of employees who stay 20, 25, even 30 years, and in the physical warmth of greetings on the shop floor.
"They tell me by giving me a hug when they see me," said Powell.
For HR leaders considering how to build authentic connection across a complex workforce, the principle is straightforward: presence, consistency, and genuine accountability to the people doing the work. As Powell puts it, "The secret to the success of the organisation is everybody has a true north and feels like we're in it together."
Vitaco's story is a reminder that building a culture that retains and develops people does not require a complex framework. It requires showing up – literally.
For HR professionals navigating the challenge of engaging a distributed or mixed-model workforce, Vitaco's approach offers a blueprint grounded in daily habit and human respect.
