Woolworths Group

Last Friday our 25 Year Club in NSW gathered to celebrate and recognise some of our longest serving team members with guests including our former CEO, Paul Simons. As part of our 100th year, it was truly special to welcome our team members, all of whom have made a positive impact on our business, our customers, and their local communities. To all our 25 Year Club members, we congratulate you! Thank you for your unwavering commitment and dedication over the years to making us Better Together. Amanda Bardwell, Stephen Ward, Aaron Shurley, Caryn Katsikogianis, Erica Robotham, Shelley Wheeler https://lnkd.in/gv4U-wB9

For Sarah Corey, Woolworths Group is not just a workplace – it’s a 32-year journey filled with passion, growth and heart. Joining the company as a fresh-faced high-school graduate in 1992, Sarah has spent over three decades growing alongside Woolworths, contributing to some of the company’s most important initiatives. Today, as general manager of Enterprise Operations and Mini Woolies, Sarah’s impact is felt not only within the walls of Woolworths, but across schools and communities as well. “I know it's cliché, it's the people,” Sarah shares on what’s kept her at Woolworths Group. “It’s also the purpose of the organisation. We feed the nation, and it's that sense of belonging and pride to work for a brand and an organisation that people believe, trust and respect.” From working as a data entry clerk to becoming head of IT for Enterprise Operations, Sarah embraced a variety of roles before assuming her current position in 2022, including helping the company prepare for Y2K, and ensuring a smooth transition to remote working for an entire workforce. However, it’s the Mini Woolies program that holds a special place in Sarah’s heart. Launched as a collaboration between Woolworths Group, schools and post-school centres, the program builds miniature supermarkets within schools and centres that cater to children and young adults with disabilities. It’s a fully immersive experience – complete with functional registers, fresh produce baskets, shelves, uniforms and all the tools that make the experience authentic. “Mini Woolies is one of those pinch yourself moments. It's hard to believe that I can be in an organisation where I can develop, build and deliver a program that makes such a difference in our community,” Sarah shares. With Mini Woolies continuing to grow and inspire young lives, Sarah’s legacy within the Woolworths Group is one built on passion, purpose and giving back. For more of Sarah’s story, click here https://lnkd.in/eSNNUhMx

For team member Robert Carratt, working for Woolworths Group is a true family affair!  Robert, our head of manufacturing at Woolworths Group’s end-to-end fresh meat supply chain business, Greenstock, has followed in the footsteps of his grandma, mother and siblings. He also paved the way for his twin daughters. “My nan worked for Woolies for 44 years and my mum worked for Woolies for 28 years,” says Robert, who recently celebrated 40 years with Woolworths Group after starting in 1984 packing groceries before beginning his butchery apprenticeship with Woolworths Supermarkets. “I love what I do, it's an exciting job. Every day is different!" Robert’s mum Dorothy, or Dot as she’s known to many, shares the same sentiment – as did her late mum, Bessie. “She just loved working for Woolworths,” says Dot. “After she retired the first time, Woolworths asked her to come back. And she did, happily!” Dot fondly recalls her own 28-year tenure at Woolworths, starting in 1964 as a checkout operator at the Blacktown store on Main Street, NSW, and working her way up to service supervisor and area trainer for the front end. “I just loved the people,” says Dot. “It was just like working with your family. I did a lot of organising of social events and Christmas parties for the team and everyone knew each other. It really was a good place to work.” All five of Dot’s kids followed her lead, starting at Woolworths when they turned 15. And her grandchildren did too, including her twin granddaughters, Robert’s daughters, who had seven years of service each. "They learnt so much during that time,” says Robert. “They learnt how to deal with people, work ethic, efficiency … Woolworths really gives you good foundations for life which school can’t teach.” And fortunately, Robert has no plans to leave anytime soon. “I’ll be here for as long as they’ll have me,” he says. “We take care of each other at Woolworths Group. We really do try to do what’s right and everyone in my space is always trying to do the right thing. “Above all, we always take care of each other.” Read more about Robert's story here https://lnkd.in/g87XjfKX

After an incredible month of STEPtember, we’re so proud of our 590 team members who raised over $40,000 for the Cerebral Palsy Alliance. Every dollar will support life-changing research, treatment, services and technologies to help babies, children and adults with cerebral palsy. In total, our team members took a whopping 91,527,891 steps! Special shout out to our top fundraiser @Nathan Solly who raised over $3,100 for the cause and our top stepper Bass Hassan who took 1,008,704 steps. A huge thank you to all our team who stepped, donated and cheered along the way. Bass Hassan, Poli K. , Katie Neill, Sasha Mau'u, Jessica Rix, Brendan Woolley

The 25 Year Club has been paying tribute to our long-serving Woolworths team members since its launch in 1970 with 460 foundation members. Since then, inaugural functions have been held in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Wellington, Christchurch and London, with remarks on the occasion as having “a lot of handshaking, laughter, ‘remember when’ moments, and good fellowship”. Fast forward 54 years, and we now have 19,328 active and alumni 25 Year Club members both across Australia and New Zealand. Last month, the first events this year for the 25 Year Club kicked off. In Brisbane, 1200 current and former team members came together from across Queensland, then 418 team members from Western Australia met in Perth the following week to celebrate their passion and contributions to Woolworths Group. We’re looking forward to celebrating our dedicated team in the coming weeks. Look out, New South Wales is next up! Caryn Katsikogianis, Jeanette Fenske, Danny Baldwin, Karl Weber, Shelley Wheeler, @Erica Rowbotham, Katie Mason, Gavin Wheeler, Keri Foti 

BIG W is honoured to have been gifted an incredible artwork by Melody Finlay, Availability Leader at our Mount Hutton store. Mel, a proud Wiradjuri woman who lives and works on Awabakal land, created “This Is Us” to recognise the journey of our First Nations team members and the support of allies across the business. The artwork is proudly displayed in our Support Office in Norwest, accompanied by a plaque that shares the story behind this beautiful piece.  #diversity #inclusion #FirstNations #BIGW

To mark Indigenous Business Month this October, we are so proud to showcase partner with KULBARDI, Australia’s largest Indigenous-owned holistic workplace supplier, to make its products available to purchase through our Woolworths at Work website, our B2B platform. “Kulbardi is proud to partner with Australia’s iconic retail brands in Woolworths,” says KIM COLLARD, founder and executive chairman of Kulbardi. “The impact that this partnership will have will be life changing for the many projects that the Bibbulmun Fund supports around, leadership, entrepreneurship and education.” This partnership is part of our commitment to building our First Nations supplier base for a better tomorrow. Since we have partnered with Kulbardi, we have launched more than 60 Kulbardi products on our Woolworths at Work site, which allows our business customers to purchase from an indigenous business as well as contribute towards their own Reconciliation Action Plan commitments. To learn more about Woolworths at Work, visit https://lnkd.in/gnVctCfg  To learn more about our RAP, visit https://lnkd.in/gvtWvUrv Adam Bray, Laura Patton, Jane Danziger, Rob McCartney, KULBARDI, KIM COLLARD

This week, we gathered to recognise an incredible milestone for our Menai store’s 30th anniversary. We were honored to have Jenny Ware MP and BIG W's Director for Stores and eCom, Kate Langford join the team for a heartwarming luncheon filled with shared memories, laughter, and gratitude for the opportunity to serve the Menai community with care for the past three decades. Long-serving team members, including Susanne Davis who helped open the store 30 years ago, reminisced over the changes to the store over the years including the introduction of computers to the business and the evolution of products sold. Thank you to every single team member, past and present, for your hard work, passion, and dedication to making BIG W Menai a beloved part of the community. #bigwaustralia #ourpeople

The Woolworths x Nungala Creative Art bags program has been recognised with a prestigious Australian Good Design Award in the ‘Communication Design Packaging’ category. This accolade highlights the exceptional design and positive impact of the program, which showcases up and coming Australian artists while providing customers with a functional reusable bag option. The Art Bags are designed in collaboration with Re (M&C Saatchi Consulting) & Warumungu, Wombaya woman Jessica Johnson, founder of First Nations owned and run creative agency Nungala Creative. The bags have been designed to give back to Australian communities with 20c from every Art Bag sale going to the Yothu Yindi Foundation to support the education of Yolngu students in Arnhem land in the Northern Territory. A big congratulations to the entire team who made this impactful program possible. Rhonda M., James Hepworth, Christiane Seeger, Natalya Mandelberg, Clint Johnson, Adam Bray, Jane Saleh, Sarah De La Mare, Simon Tracey, Cassie Wheeler, Emily Spicer, Julie Caulfield, Peter O'Sullivan, Andrew Hicks, Sionen Adijans, Cameron Benoist, Paul Harker, Nungala Creative, Jessica Johnson, yothu yindi foundation garma festival

A vibrant and dynamic leader, Caroline Fitzgerald is the apprenticeship program manager for Woolworths 360 at Woolworths Group. Affectionately known as the ‘Apprentice Mum’, Caroline couldn’t be prouder of her first cohort of refrigeration apprentices, who will graduate from the world-class program later this year. “I feel extremely proud of the individuals we've hired into our program,” says Caroline. “We have apprentices ranging in age, and 32 per cent of our apprentices are women. We have a lot of cultural diversity within that program as well. “As an apprentice at Woolworths, no one is restricted by whatever background or gender they are. The commonality is about having a great attitude and a real true motivation to become a great tradesperson.” A champion for diversity and inclusion, Caroline was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 20 years ago but refuses to let it define her or limit her professional success. “One of the really important things I've learnt at Woolworths Group is that no one thing is going to define exactly what your future will hold for you,” she says. “I also strongly believe you can't be what you can't see. So it could be representation around disability or around gender. I think what's really incredible to see in Woolworths Group is how much we encourage everybody to have a try, and also to bring their whole selves to work.”