Discover what makes an award-winning inclusive and effective workplace with Volvo Car Australia
In this edition of HRDTV, Esmeralda Ribarovski, People Experience Director at Volvo Car Australia, sat down to discuss becoming a 5-Star Employer of Choice winner and what makes Volvo Car Australia such an exceptional place to work.
Ribarovski expressed that creating a positive work culture has been an on-going three-year process for Volvo Car Australia. Volvo Car Australia began by focusing on the employee experience and aligned it with the company’s global purpose. The company identified the core elements that contributed to their workplace culture and based its policies and practices on a holistic framework to support employees’ physical, mental, and financial well-being.
One of Volvo Car Australia’s successful initiatives is its well-being portal that addresses various aspects of employees’ lives. It offers resources like health checks, podcasts, micro-learning programs, and financial coaching. This approach proved invaluable during challenging times such as the COVID-19 pandemic and has helped immeasurably with employees’ plans to achieve their short-term and long-term financial goals with regular check-ins, reviews, and continuous support.
As a way to foster learning, leadership, and engagement, Volvo Car Australia invested in a wide range of coaching services for both groups and individuals to hone their skills and knowledge. On top of coaching, the company also offer a monthly lunch and learn session called “Pitstop” which serves as a forum for internal and external speakers to share their insights and perspectives.
This encourages participants to openly discuss and debate relevant topics, strengthen communication, and offers an opportunity for participants to share and learn from each others’ experience.
Mental health is something Volvo Car Australia takes very seriously, with 20% of the company being certified mental health responders. The company acknowledges the importance of well-being and strives to provide a supportive environment for its employees as well as an open space to discuss challenging topics like workload, work-life balance, and overall mental health awareness.
Ribarovski expressed the importance of creating a culture where people feel comfortable to discuss and seek mental health support and aims to develop and amplify mental health resources as a whole at Volvo Car Australia.
To learn more about Esmarelda Ribarovski and Volvo Car Australia, click here, to watch the full interview.
