the last word
What does it take to be a
Best Workplace for Women?
VEGA, WINNER OF BEST WORKPLACE FOR WOMEN, SHARES WHAT WORKS
As part of the Great Place to Work Awards, Vega, a leader
in clean, plant-based nutrition, proudly accepted
the overall winner as the Best Workplace to Work for
Women in Canada.
CREATING A BEST WORKPLACE
With a company vision to empower the world to thrive, Vega
looks to support all employees (“Vegatopians”) to thrive with
strong HR practices. To support Vegatopians, Vega offers all 157
staff members – not limited to the 115 female employees – its
comprehensive iThrive benefits package: a personal goal-setting
program around education, fitness, healthy eating and giving back
to community.
Career development is also a major focus with Vega’s predominantly
millennial staff. After passing their three-month probation,
employees and their managers outline career paths of where they
would like to be in one, five and 10 years. This allows managers to
provide the coaching and support necessary to bring them towards
where they want to be. With the strong emphasis on development,
67 per cent of Vega’s directors are women and 84 per cent of the
company’s managers/supervisors are women.
BEST HR PRACTICES FOR WOMEN
With a strong belief in family and caring for children, Vega provides
a parental leave benefit to “top up” earnings up to 80 per cent
of an employee’s salary prior to her maternity leave. These benefits
become available once an employee has been working full-time
with the company for two years. For employees who are parents
or caregivers, Vega is a flexible work environment. Employees are
welcome to work outside of the standard office hours by coming
in earlier or working later.
“Coming to Vega as a new mom, I wouldn’t have made it this
long without the support of my Vega family – from friendships
with other moms who’ve been there, to the genuine care and concern
I’ve had from managers, and the flexibility to work from
home on occasion,” said Lee Ann Pughe, a digital marketing specialist
with Vega.
INVESTING IN EMPLOYEES
Vega’s HR director, Shiah Bazeley, believes the level to which Vega
invests in employees surpasses many other companies.
“It makes my job much more enjoyable when a company really
does care about its people,” she said. “One of the most amazing
things about a company is when they do what they say they are going
to do, and really stand behind their values and mission. From
taking care of employee health and well-being through daily plantbased
lunches and fitness challenges, to educational opportunities
that bring employees closer to their vision of their life and not just
their career, Vegatopians are supported to harness their interests
and passions and create the life they dream about.”
Vega will continue to grow and evolve its HR best practices in
hopes of continuing to be the best workplace not just for women,
but for all Vegatopians. n
Cheryl Brotonel is HR coordinator at Vega.
By Cheryl Brotonel
bikeriderlondon/Shutterstock.com
48 ❚ SEPTEMBER 2015 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL
