The Warehouse offers Pride Parade perk for staff members

Lee Tere from The Warehouse Hillcrest Hamilton store at the Pride Parade in Auckland last weekendwhere she was a roving reporter for the company after winning a staff competition. Photo / Supplied

An all-expenses paid trip to Auckland to attend the Pride Parade isn't your usual workplace perk, but for Hamilton woman Lee Tere it was a reality, thanks to a staff competition run by The Warehouse, where she works as a customer service team member.

Lee has worked at the Hillcrest Hamilton store since 2013 and was 'very excited' to be chosen.

"In recent years I've missed the Parade. Winning the chance to attend this year with The Warehouse was really exciting and I think it shows how they think about all their staff, even in the smaller cities like Hamilton."

Lee says The Warehouse Group provides a supportive culture for its staff.

"We're a tight-knit, diverse workplace so it would be easy for people's needs to feel irrelevant. The company really focuses on making sure everyone from different walks of life feel included, and I completely feel like I can be who I am at work."

The Warehouse Group chief marketing officer Jonathan Waecker says that with 12,000 team members across New Zealand, they recognised that some people might want to attend the Auckland Pride Festival, but might not be able to attend due to cost or for whatever reason.

"We wanted to give all our team members the opportunity to be part of our entry in the Pride Parade."

The group held an internal competition to give four team members the opportunity to experience the Pride Parade with flights and accommodation provided. Lee and her winning colleagues were enlisted as roving reporters during the parade last weekend and shared their experiences of Pride 2018 with all Warehouse Group employees.

"I'm very proud to work for a company that represents diversity and I'm excited to share the experience with my Warehouse family," Lee says.

As part of its activities for Auckland Pride 2018, The Warehouse Group is also supporting OUTLine, a counselling service for the LGBTIQ+ community. For every person that uses the #KiwiPride Facebook filter on their profile, the group will donate $1 to OUTLine.

The Warehouse Group introduced their Transgender Support Policy in 2017 to ensure staff transitioning gender felt supported and included. It expects to be awarded the Rainbow Tick this year.