New CEO appointment
Last year, we announced that Owen Johnston, our current Head of Sales & Marketing, will take over as CEO when Tim retires at the end of April. Owen and Tim are collaborating closely during this transition period to ensure a smooth handover. In the last week of April, Tim, Owen, the leadership team, and Board, will be in Victoria to officially open Hop Central. As we approach Tim’s retirement date, we will share more information about opportunities to bid him a well-deserved farewell and send him off in style.
New team members and harvest recruitment
We’ve been busy recruiting in recent months, and warmly welcome and congratulate the following HPA employees:
- Michael Monshing has been promoted to Processing Facility Manager
- Chris Whelan has been appointed as Farm Office Assistant (VIC)
- Jens Zimmerman has been appointed as WHS Advisor (VIC)
- Cameron McColl has been appointed as Network and Systems Administrator
We will soon announce the appointment of our new Irrigation Controller in VIC.
We are well underway with appointing our 360+ casual workforce for the upcoming harvest across all farms. There has been a very positive response, and the quality of applications has included many with past harvest and farming-related experience. We are looking forward to welcoming our new harvest crew members to our farms, starting with induction training in the 1st week of March.
HPA Reward & Recognition Program
HPA’s Reward & Recognition Program has been officially launched with two components:
- HPA Values Awards – recognition for individuals who champion our core values of Safety, Teamwork, Pride, Innovation, Respect and Integrity
- Services Awards – recognition for employees who reach 5, 10,15, 20, 25, 30+ years of service
Check out posters with information on noticeboards and details about the nomination process for the HPA Values Awards.
Harvest training & safety
Preparations for harvest are well advanced. This has included training opportunities to upskill key roles, reviewing documentation in our quality and safety management system, and locking in our harvest training and induction schedules.
Some excellent safety initiatives have been implemented across all sites over the past few months:
- More employees involved in risk assessments and training
- Elevated Work Platform and Working at Heights training
- Monthly farm general safety inspections
- Harvest induction material & documentation preparation.
- Harvest equipment serviced and maintenance checks.
- Harvest supervisor training planned.
- Delivery of extra facilities, including lunchrooms and toilets.
- Inductions include theory and practical elements, as well as training in the field.
- Review of our onboarding practices of our harvest casual staff.
