5y
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We always value the opportunity to hear from our employees, past and present, on how we can improve their experience. I’d like to address your comment on hiring and promoting first. In our hiring process, we look for hard working individuals who are hungry to learn and grow in our industry and and reward those who put in the time and effort to do so. When we are looking to fill a managerial role, we always promote from within. Those employees who have worked hard over the years, while demonstrating our company values and commitment to our customers, are the ones we look to first. While I am unsure of what you are referring to in regard to nepotism, we do have a policy in place that prohibits us from hiring the spouse, partner, child or parent of any active employee to avoid any hiring situation that may be construed as questionable.
In regard to your advice to VIP - From the very start of the pandemic, VIP has strongly encouraged all employees to telework whenever possible. For many this was an easy transition, however, we found that not everyone’s home life supports a telework situation. When the state advised that it was safe to do so, we reopened our on-site daycare and allowed a limited number of employees to return to the office on their own accord. We are simply aiming to provide a safe work environment for those whose home is not conducive to work and in no way do we favor one working arrangement over another.
While we always strive to create a fun and socially interactive work environment for everyone, it would not have been possible to invite the entire company to our annual Pig Roast as we have in the past, given the governor's order on social gatherings. Instead, we decided to throw a small, safe & socially distanced gathering for those employees who were working from the office at the time. The way we see it - if keeping up some of our beloved company traditions is still possible, (albeit on a smaller scale for 2020), we are excited to be able to do so and hope it helped spread a little joy during these difficult times.
At VIP we emphasize the importance of our total compensation package, which includes numerous health & wellness benefits, and a very generous retirement plan. This is one way that we take great care of our employee owners for the long haul.
Lastly, I’d like to point out that you don’t become an industry leader without innovation. We have been at the forefront of our industry for the past 49 years and have worked tirelessly to create our software products to fit the evolving needs of our customers every step of the way. We are enormously proud of our innovation in the beverage industry and of all of our talented employees who helped make it possible.