Patagonia Australia and New Zealand.

Shane Gray

Last month, some major news was communicated through our company. More accurately, the biggest news in our 50-year history was shared to our team across the world. Patagonia grew from a blacksmith selling climbing hardware out of his car, into an outdoor apparel company that is recognised internationally for its product quality, environmental activism, and workplace culture. Now, the self-taught craftsman, Yvon Chouinard, with his family, has created a novel structure that ensures the company’s values are protected and the value it creates is forever committed to fighting the environmental crisis.

This announcement was met withadmiration from our team. Yet the news wasn’t considered a shock, as much as it wasforsome outside the business. Why? Though it was a completely new, unconventional step to take, itfollows  a long history of ‘business unusual’ at Patagonia. A philosophy that I’ve witnessed to be deeply evident in our company’s approach to people and culture.

In my current role, I have the privilege of looking after all aspects of Patagonia’s people and culture across Australia and New Zealand. Back in the early 1970s, Patagonia’s hiring involved friends and ‘dirt bag’ connections who were pursuing the same silent sports and, as a result, had much in common when it came to sharing stoke and protecting wild places. While the scale has increased – there are more than 3,500 employees globally –essentially,not that much has changed.

“If you care about having a company where employees treat work as play and regard themselves as the ultimate customers for the products they produce, then you have to be careful whom you hire, treat them right, and train them to treat other people right,” tellsour founder Yvon Chouinard. “Otherwise you may come to work one day and find it isn't a place you want to be anymore.”

Having been family-owned these past 50 years – and with Yvon, Malinda, and their adult children Claire and Fletcher guiding the two bodies that today own Patagonia: the Patagonia Purpose Trust and Holdfast Collective not-for-profit –the company focuses heavily on supporting our families wherever we can. We provide company-paid health care (in countries absent universal health care schemes) and sick leave for all employees, extensive paid parental leave for both birthing and non-birthing parents, plus access to on-site childcare at our headquarters in California and at our major distribution centre in Nevada. In Australia, we relieve the pressure of childcare during school holidays by providing an outdoor program on Victoria’s Surf Coast.We also bring our ‘workplace family’ together regularly by providing wholesome and nutritious weekly lunches in our office. 

Our reason for being is that “we’re in business to save our home planet”. If we’re all outside experiencing and connecting with wild places, this directly fuels our desire to protect them, and thus an incredibly strong connection to our company’s work is nurtured. For this reason, providing flexibility for outdoor pursuits is engrained in our culture – If the surf’s up or the sun is beaming, you will often see our crew heading out for a wave, or hitting the trails for a run or mountain biking. This is also why we implement progressive rostering, such as a nine-day working fortnight, which has been enjoyed since 2019.

Patagonia is a certified B-Corporation, and a founding member of 1% For The Planet, through which we donate 1% of all global revenues (not only profits) to grassroots environmental initiatives. This process is employee-led through our rotating, localised Grants Councils that review all applications, allocate funding, and follow progress.

We allow our employees to connect with our mission and values not only through the way we operate and make decisions, but through several initiatives that invite them to participate even further. We provide paid leave of up to four weeks to volunteer through our Environmental Internship Program, where they can spend time working for a non-profit organisationdedicatedto environmental causes. We allow staff to take ‘Activism Hours’, remunerating them for time spent participating in (or facilitating in the lead-up) to non-violent direct action on local environmental and social issues. Where possible, we close our stores and offices so all who are interested can attend demonstrations.

In contrast, we do not actively seek out fad inclusions nor ‘quick fixes’ to give off the perception ofa happyworkplace. Our approach is more organic than dusty ping pong tables and beanbags! But what you do experience here is conscious leadership and a true sense of pride and connection to the way we go about business.These factors, as I’ve experienced in my tenure,lead to the very low levels of staff turn-over that we encounter.

Other businesses will sometimes come to us saying they’re inspired by our work, and that when they get to a certain size, they’re going to do what Patagonia does. However, even as a HR professional, I alwaysencourage businesses to start defining and working toward their brand purpose immediately, as our founder Yvon Chouinard has said, “You have to start right from the beginning”. Having a clearly defined‘north star’ will have a significant effect on your employees.But that said, it can’tjust be implemented from the top-down. Instead, it must be supported at all levels and be imbeddedin everything that the company does, both inside and out.

It’s also important to communicate that we aren’t perfect nor are we immune to many of the same challenges that other businesses and organisations face. However, we’ve found that self-reflection, growth, and a willingness to change and adapt are important.

How are your employees treated? What are theircollective values and how could they be further supported? Do they have visibility into the challenges as well as agency to join in solving them? Is your team empowered to contribute to your mission and are you being transparentabout the progress? Only once strong foundations are laid inside the business, can you thrive together in purposeful work.