VF Corporation

Agnes Tan

A focus on total well-being

Having been in business for over 120 years, VF is committed to being more than just an apparel and footwear company. We aspire to cultivate a purpose-led and performance-driven culture. It’s what our people expect of us, and what we expect of ourselves. It is a commitment shared by our 40,000 associates globally, including 5,000 in Asia across more than 13 brands.

Every day, we are guided by our purpose to power the movements of sustainable and active lifestyles for the betterment of people and our planet. This purpose statement is aligned to my personal belief that looking into the well-being of team members, as well as their performance and career trajectories is key to enhancing our core organizational culture. My leadership team and I are excited for our people to live their most fulfilling lives, where they can achieve success in their careers and personal lives- part of what it means to be in the VF family. No associate should be put in a dilemma to choose between caring for a loved one and aspiring to be the next big leader.

A purpose statement is nothing but a statement on the wall unless we put our words into actions and make it visible to our people. I also firmly believe that whilst the values purported by each family, household, nation are key contributors to a person’s wellbeing and mental wellness, employers play a very vital role too.

Workplace flexibility

With that in mind, one of the early changes we made was to enhance workplace flexibility in consideration of the diverse nature of our workforce. To promote inclusiveness, we introduced flexible work hours, hybrid office-home work models, and provided the option for associates to set personal working hours, or to work on a compressed work week.

"One of the early changes we made was to enhance workplace flexibility in consideration of the diverse nature of our workforce"

This flexibility, introduced prior to the pandemic, meant that we were able to act with agility and with minimal disruption when the pandemic hit, and this has put us in a good stead to adjust to the ‘new normal’ during a time when some businesses are still trying to adjust to this new digital workplace reality. Our culture survey scores informed us that our associates feel VF provides the flexibility they need to balance their personal and work lives. Throughout the pandemic, we also encourage our associates to creatively put forward solutions to get the work done despite challenging circumstances.

From statutory annual leave to well-being leave

To ensure that our people are well taken care of, we introduced additional days off in addition to paid statutory leave entitlements which our associates enjoy. Conventionally, associates’ leave entitlements differ based on their job level, years of service and country they are in. However, at VF, we recognise that every associate’s well-being is equally important, regardless of the nature of their jobs, expertise level, background or personal situations.

With that in mind, we elevated every associate’s total leave days to 25 days and they are entitled to 30 leave days when they reach the five-year mark with VF.

We also took the opportunity to rename our “annual leave/vacation” entitlements to “well-being leave”. When we communicated this to our associates, we highlighted that this is based on the understanding that “well-being” is defined differently for everyone. For some, that may mean taking time off to care for their children, while for others, it may mean spending more time with the elderly. There are also those who want to do community work as part of their personal purpose, contributing to their well-being and of course, for many of us, we can also opt for “me time” once every so often. With this, our hope is that this provision of well-being leave days helps our associates develop both healthy minds and bodies.

“How Okay are You?”

Speaking of healthy minds, we also introduced a mental health initiative “How Okay Are You?” We knew the stress of the pandemic was taking its toll and we wanted to ensure associates feel comfortable talking about mental health. We created a dedicated webpage with resources, hosted training sessions for all associates and even launched new Zoom virtual backgrounds to easily make it part of the conversation.

We’ve also introduced a global Employee Assistance Program (EAP), that provides mental health, financial and family support resources for associates and their families to get the care they need, when they need it. Based on statistics, associates have benefited from support and guidance on challenges related to bereavement, health, career, relationships, and other stress issues.

Well-being is the secret sauce

Central to the introduction of these programmes and initiatives is the feedback we receive from our associates, and the action we take based on their feedback. Prudent businesses will realize the need to prioritize actions that truly shift the needle for associates when it relates to discussions about well-being.

We rely on our associates to tell us what is important through townhalls, focus groups, surveys, and one-on-one conversations. Through these channels, we know that they want to work for a purpose-led organization that provides a holistic employment experience, be assured of career growth opportunities, and have access to programmes that support their well-being. Recently we launched our new VF Employee Value Proposition (EVP) with the motto “Limit Less”. Introducing these bold ideas to enhance the well-being of our associates help bring out the meaning of “Limit Less”. I would like all of our people leaders and team members not to limit ourselves to what is possible to help achieve the total well-being of our people.

The pandemic that has swept the globe over the last two years has cast a spotlight on employer-employee dynamics, underscoring the need for employers to listen to their associates’ growing desire for people-centric policies. When we genuinely take care of our people, they will take care of our consumers.