Chobani, a leading Greek Yogurt brand, announced that it is now certified as a Great Place to Work®, an independent recognition awarded by a third party organization. Building on this commitment to strengthen communities and support employees, Chobani also announced a new paid parental leave policy.
"As a founder and a new father, my son opened my eyes to the fact that the vast majority of workers in this country don't have access to paid family leave when they have a new child," said Hamdi Ulukaya, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Chobani. "That's especially true when it comes to manufacturing and that needs to change in this country and Chobani needed to be part of that change."
According to a press release, the new policy includes 6 weeks of 100% paid parental leave for mothers and fathers, including hourly and salaried employees. Chobani is always striving to do more for its families and communities and recognizes the importance of time spent with a new child. The program extends to both mothers and fathers for the birth, adoption, or placement of a foster child into the home.
Grace Zuncic, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy and a key advisor on the new policy added, "In designing employee benefits like parental leave, we've always tried to take a holistic view that includes everyone in the company. What I value most as a new mom—and a newly expecting mom—is that paid parental leave isn't just about helping new parents, it's about our children. Our ability to spend time with them in their earliest days is essential. We hope the majority of U.S. companies that currently don't have plans in place to support new parents will get on-board with that thinking."
Chobani's paid parental leave policy reflects Chobani's guiding principle that benefits be extended to the entire workforce of a company, regardless of job title or function. The policy is an extension of the company's current employee offerings, including full healthcare for all full-time employees; wages that far exceed state and federal standards and minimums; retirement planning; and the recently announced Chobani Shares, which gives each employee the opportunity to share in the growth of the company over time.
Chobani joins an esteemed list of companies as a Great Place to Work, measured on qualities including trust, pride and culture. Employees contributed to an independently conducted survey to help inform the Great Place to Work certification, and 85% of employees said Chobani is a great place to work. Some of the areas that stood out in the survey were positive feelings around the company's contribution to the community, a sense of pride in Chobani and the ability to be oneself at work. Highlights from the survey results can be found here.
