How Fonterra keeps millennials engaged

The dairy giant’s GM of performance and reward opens up to HRD

BY Nicola Middlemiss 05 Mar 2018

Fonterra is one of New Zealand’s most prominent organisations, employing around 12,000 staff across the country and a further 10,000 internationally – as a result, it has a huge challenge on its hands when it comes to keeping its young workers engaged and on board.

Here, HRD caught up with Mark Van Zon – general manager of performance and reward – to find out what measures the dairy giant makes to remain appealing to millennials.

“In New Zealand, we provide plenty of technical and leadership opportunities for millennials who want the chance to grow quickly and develop their skill set and build a long-lasting career,” says Van Zon. “We can also offer those who wish to develop their careers abroad an opportunity to do so.”

According to Van Zon, the company’s Fonterra Ventures team is particularly attractive to millennials as it creates new end-to-end business models and partners with start-ups to drive innovation.

“They run Disrupt – an annual program that gives all of our employees the opportunity to experience the journey of an entrepreneur,” he tells HRD. “Participants can submit ideas, develop them in a 12-week accelerator, pitch for Fonterra investment and potentially land a new day job bringing their concept to life.”

The firm also has a year-round incubator known as VelocityNXT, where people are given access to emerging technology, resources, experts, coaches and agile ways of working to solve complex problems and test their ideas.

“Our Disrupt and VelocityNXT teams and agile work groups are staffed primarily with millennials,” reveals Van Zon. “Our focus on disruptive technologies and ways of working provide great development opportunities right here in New Zealand.

“Additionally, a number of our millennials are focusing on the social elements of our work in sustainability, supporting our farmers, providing affordable nutrition and our advances in medical nutrition. This allows us to provide opportunities for our people, and prepare our organisation for the future.”