Very Well employees

People are the heart and soul of an organisation. Volkswagen Group South Africa is one company that realises this and is taking it very seriously. As such, it has opened its R30-million PeoplePavilion sports and recreational facility for its employees at the company’s Uitenhage manufacturing plant.

“The PeoplePavilion is not just a building, but also a platform where all our people can engage with each other in a different manner beyond the hierarchical structures. This world-class facility, in terms of structure and quality, represents what Volkswagen stands for as a people-oriented organisation,” says managing director of Volkswagen Group South Africa, David Powels.

“It became apparent when we were reviewing our new company strategy that people form an important pillar of our plan of being a great organisation. This provided us with an opportunity to invest in a facility that would help to improve the quality of life of our people while also allowing us to engage with them,” he adds.

The facility has a gym, which is managed by a qualified biokineticist. It is equipped with custom-built gym equipment and is open to all Volkswagen employees to use at a nominal membership fee. The gym will also be used for the rehabilitation of injured Volkswagen employees. There is also a clubhouse, with a licensed bar and terrace, that overlooks the multi-purpose main field, which will be used for soccer, rugby and cricket.

An indoor sports hall is available to employees and the local community to hire for family functions. It can be converted into a 450-seater conference centre and is also fully equipped for indoor sporting activities such as indoor cricket, indoor soccer, volleyball and martial arts.