26 women IN BUSINESS
Women ‘Bringing Home the Bacon’ (literally!)
When people hear about the Premier Beehive business in Carterton producing bacon, ham and smallgoods for the New Zealand market, they might picture big burly men. But contrary to perceptions that image is not quite accurate. Women make up the majority of workers - nearly 57% of the workforce. These fantastic women take on a mix of responsibilities including finance, production, merchandising, quality control, supply chain, warehousing, sales, and lots of other specialist roles. And women are well represented at all levels too – from executive and senior management level through to female school students working their first holiday or weekend job. Vicki McLachlan is the Human Resources Manager at Premier Beehive. Her role is a reasonably new one, created in June 2021. Her remit is working with everyone in the business on “all things people related” with a particular focus on culture, communication and leadership development. She is passionate about helping people achieve their full potential. She believes that the key to being an employer of choice in the Wairarapa market is ensuring Premier Beehive provides a workplace that is welcoming, respectful and that offers opportunities for people to grow and develop. “Everyone has their own motivation for being here. It might be to put food on the table for their family, to build their experience as a stepping stone to their next career move, or to work with a good group of people. Whatever the reason, if we want to get the best out of our people, we need to ensure we treat them well.” “Women have always played a critical role in our success. We’ve got some great success stories and we want to create even more. Our Premier Beehive women drive forklifts, lead production teams, pack products, and more.” With the right can-do attitude and commitment to hard work, Premier Beehive can provide people with a long-term rewarding career. There are many examples of staff who have been promoted internally. In fact, some of the most senior team members started out in entry level factory hand roles and worked their way up. All jobs are advertised internally, with staff actively encouraged to express their interest in vacant positions. Many people who join Premier Beehive choose to stay long term too. Over 130 staff members have been working with the business for over five years and of those, 55 staff have celebrated a ten-year anniversary and another 20 people have clocked up an impressive 20 plus years! Premier Beehive has some great benefits, many of which help attract women to the workforce. There are flexible working arrangements supporting team members with family or caring responsibilities, multiple shift times, and roles to suit school and day care hours. Some women work full-time and others work a few days a week. Advancement opportunities and remuneration is of course equal between men and women. Add to this free onsite doctor and physio, weekly meat packs (bringing home the bacon!), an employee assistance program, and full on-the-job training – and you’ve got a great place to work at one of the largest employers in the region! If you would like to find out more about working with a great team at Premier Beehive, you can email Vicki on vickim@premierbeehive.co.nz
PREMIER BEEHIVE NZ | Moreton Road, Carterton | Phone 06 3796701 | premierbeehive.co.nz
