New team members and internal promotions
We’ve been busy recruiting in recent months, and warmly welcome the following new employees to the HPA team:
- Jeremy Nightingale – Customer Service Manager
- Andrew McCormack – WHS Advisor TAS
- Selina Daley – Farm Administration Assistant TAS
- Matthew Wong – Agronomy Specialist TAS
- Quinn McKee – Pellet Plant Supervisor TAS
- Les Terrett – WHS Advisor VIC
- Jess Monshing – Office Manager VIC
- Ben Malcolm – Agronomy Specialist VIC
- Lisa Bonnice – Farm Hand VIC
- Nathan Harvey – Farm Hand VIC
- Richard Evans – Farm Hand VIC
- Jordan Treffers – Mechanic VIC
We’ve also been busy producing a recruitment video and securing 360+ casuals for the upcoming harvest across all farms. The influx of overseas backpackers looking for seasonal work again has been a great relief. We’re not quite back to pre-COVID numbers, but it’s very promising to see the quantity and quality of applications we’re receiving, including applications with harvest or farming-related experience.
Employee Engagement Survey
A huge thanks to everyone who participated in HPA’s inaugural Employee Engagement Survey, which was conducted in November 2022. The information we gathered will be very important in helping the business better understand and improve overall employee engagement. We plan to run this survey annually every November. The response rate was 64%, and the overall employee engagement score was 71%. The primary engagement areas scored well which indicates we have strong foundations across the business. However, we have some work to do in keeping people informed about what’s happening, developing skills, and improving our systems and processes. These key areas are already among the goals in our strategic plan.
Health and wellbeing
In November, the RAW (Rural Alive and Well) TAS team delivered a session to the team at Bushy Park Estates on mental health and how to proactively look after and support others who may need it. In January, the Myrtleford Football Netball Club (MFNC) Wellbeing Team delivered sessions to the Victorian farm teams on destigmatising and normalising discussions about mental wellbeing. Stories were shared highlighting times when it’s important to open up and ask for support, and how starting a conversation helps to remove the barriers to talking about mental health. We encourage everyone to prioritise their own mental and physical health, particularly around managing fatigue during the harvest period. We encourage everyone to speak up if you need support or notice others who may need it.
