BY HEJIRA CONVERY, KINDICARE

NOVEMBER 16, 2023 

Story House Early Learning (SHEL) is renowned for its excellent workplace culture, and instead of just offering the same old employee benefits, they’re always looking for ways to better support and further reward their people. 

SHEL’s suite of benefits is huge and holistic, and this month, it got bigger and brighter with the addition of Sonder access! 

Sonder is a health and wellbeing app that provides around-the-clock information and professional support.  

Lots of leading employers, like Woolworths and the Queensland government, already use Sonder, but it’s a new thing for the early learning sector, and this suits SHEL perfectly!  

Innovation is actually one of SHEL’s key values, and their Chief Operating Officer, Craig Alchin and Head of People and Culture, Kate Ludwig, actively sought out Sonder as an employee benefit, because they wanted to make a real difference in each Story House-er’s life.  

Sonder appealed to Craig and Kate, because it empowers people with the tools to be holistically well – not just at work, but in their private lives too. 

Sonder recognises that employees have a personal life, which can’t just be left at the door when the work day begins, and this is something SHEL is also keenly aware of.  

Kate says, “We’ve known for quite some time that it just isn’t reasonable or feasible to think that Story House-ers can switch off their personal experiences or challenges during business hours.  

“How well someone slept, their current mental load, and their emotional state all impacts how they come to work, and ultimately, how they interact and engage with the children in their care.” 

With so many factors impacting Story House-ers and their direct family members, Craig and Kate recognised that continuing to only offer a traditional Employee Assistance Program simply wasn’t sufficient. 

They needed a new kind of support and information hub that employees could draw on whenever needed (including when life gets really tough), and Sonder is definitely the solution they were seeking.  

Sonder access has now been rolled out to all SHEL employees, and this means they can check in with the Sonder app at any hour of the day or night. 

This ground-breaking app supports employees to be healthy, happy and engaged; and Kate explains that, “Sonder helps each person to take control of their wellbeing with helpful articles, safety alerts about things like Covid outbreaks, medical advice if they have specific symptoms or issues, and an in-app chat that can quickly connect them with health professionals if needed.” 

Kate says, “Having a conversation with someone (even virtually) can be invaluable to a person, especially during challenging times.  

“When a Story House-er reaches out to Sonder via the app, a real and compassionate person is on the other end, ready to listen and help. The Sonder team then use a holistic and empathy-based approach to carefully consider all aspects of the person's life.  

“This full-spectrum, human-centric model lets them identify any hidden, underlying or compounding issues, so that the right and personalised mix of treatment, resources and follow-up care can be provided to the person at the right time – before issues get out of hand.”  

When virtual support isn’t enough, it’s also good to know that Sonder's team of on-the-ground responders are less than 60 minutes away and ready to assist in difficult or time-sensitive situations. 

Kate says, “These times of critical need could involve workplace aggression and injuries, suicide ideations, hospital escorts, welfare checks or something else, and whatever happens, Sonder is there to provide professional support.” 

Sonder is still a very new addition to the suite of SHEL benefits, but Story House-ers are already on board with this offering.  

SHEL has seen a high level of engagement with the app, and lots of positive feedback about the extensive support Sonder offers.  

Story House-ers have been particularly impressed by the huge number of languages available in the app. 

There are 200+ languages to choose from, including several Indigenous languages, with more languages available via a phone/translator support service, and this inclusivity gives Sonder a real ‘wow’ factor in the SHEL workplace.  

Kate explains, “Our workforce is multicultural, and for the Sonder app to be meaningful to our Story House-ers and their direct family members it needed to cater to a diverse range of people, which it definitely does.” 

All in all, Sonder is a perfect example of SHEL’s proactive, people-focused approach. 

Kate and Craig were looking for a special kind of health and wellbeing support for their Story House-ers, and Sonder makes a great addition to SHEL’s suite of employee benefits.  

You can learn more about Sonder here, and if you’re looking for lots of reasons to apply for a role with SHEL, then here are some of the other key benefits available to Story House-ers: 

• A massive 75% childcare discount for Child Care Subsidy-eligible care. 
• SHEL-EBRATE – SHEL’s tenure recognition program, which celebrates employees’ birthdays and anniversaries, and gives out yearly awards. 
• SmartSpending – an app that gives Story House-ers discounts at 420+ retailers, including Woolworths, Coles, Hello Fresh, THE ICONIC and Amart Furniture. 
• The SHEL-ENDAR – a SHEL calendar of professional learning opportunities for all Story House-ers to access. 
• An online learning platform with dedicated early childhood courses, some of which may be counted towards New South Wales Education Standards Authority (NESA)/Queensland College of Teachers (QCT) or Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) registration hours.
• A partnership with Kool Kids Training College (KKTC) where SHEL employees receive free Certificate III and Diploma qualifications.
• Humanforce Thrive – a financial wellbeing and safety tool that, among other things, gives Story House-ers immediate access to up to 50% of their earned wage in advance of Payroll. 
• An ‘On the Move’ program, where SHEL supports employees to relocate to another SHEL service.
• Paid industry-leading child safety and protection training.
• Free flu vaccinations.
• A $295 ‘Refer a Friend’ bonus.
• Occupancy bonuses for Service Managers, 2ICs and Educational Leaders.
• A free Level 2 Food Safety qualification for Cooks.
• A ‘Meal on Us’ birthday voucher for all our Cooks.
• Free Mental Health First Aid certification for Service Managers and 2ICs.
• Free First Aid and CPR for permanent employees.
• 3% above award wages for all Early Childhood Teachers.
• A $300 learning and development budget for all Early Childhood Teachers.
• Partnerships with early childhood specialists and mentors to support provisionally registered teachers. 

These perks are definitely appealing, and if you’d like to see which roles are open now at Story House Early Learning, KindiCare Jobs is a great place to start!  

Available on the KindiCare app and website, this jobs platform makes it super easy to set up a job profile, search for early learning roles, and take the next step in your career – with plenty of benefits attached!