GOODTIME FOOD COMPANY

Overview

Goodtime Food, based in the Hawke's Bay, is one of New Zealand's largest manufacturers and distributors of fresh pies. The bakery business was established in 1978 by Phil Pollett and his father, and Phil took sole ownership of Goodtime in 1984. The bakery currently employs more than 40 staff, and of the estimated 60 million fresh pies sold each year, around one in nine are baked by Goodtime.

The productivity challenge

High staff turnover was impacting on Goodtime Food's productivity and profit, with staff turnover running at more than 180 percent at its peak. Recognising that too little effort was being made to select the right type of worker, and give them the right training, Goodtime made changes to improve its human resource practices.

These changes included;

• selecting workers who would best fit the organisation by putting in place formal pre-appointment screening to check literacy and motivation levels
• introduction of a structured training programme, including baking basics and literacy training, with completion of training courses linked to pay increases
• establishment of a staff representative committee to give staff the opportunity to raise issues or problems with management.

The productivity achievement

Staff satisfaction has increased, turnover has significantly dropped and productivity and profit levels have risen:

• staff turnover dropped from 180 percent to 14 percent
• employees enjoy working for an efficient, organised company and have benefited from increased promotion possibilities
• efficiency and productivity have risen substantially
• profit margins are on the rise, from an initial turnover of $30,000 in 1978 to an annual turnover which is now in the millions.

To find out more about the Goodtime Food productivity case study, order a free copy of The Workplace - Productivity Challenge DVD/CD by emailing your name and physical address to info@dol.govt.nz putting Workplace Productivity CD (or DVD) in the subject line.

The Goodtime Food productivity case study is also available as pdf [PDF, 2 pages, 117KB].