Jan Meyer and Russell Coventry are so keen to keep their staff happy, they even help them get dates. By Keri Welham

When Jan Meyer first hired an autistic man for her Petone factory, some of the other staff grumbled. They said he didn’t fit in. She had a straight reply: “Steve belongs here, and he has a right to work here as much as you have a right to work here.”

Now he’s an adored team member, and Meyer’s husband and business partner Russell Coventry has become a trusted mentor in Steve Wynyard’s life. The owners of gourmet food business Rutherford & Meyer are determined to make their workplace inclusive, supportive and tolerant, and in the process build valuable staff loyalty.

“We believe if you want people to be happy in their workplace, you need to be accommodating. We teach our kids to be tolerant and accommodating of other people and that goes two ways,” says Meyer.

She and Coventry have been known to pick up their employees when a ride to work has fallen over and to give days off for a variety of family occasions. Coventry even tagged along with one shy employee who wanted a mate to go with him to a dating agency.

They recently bid farewell to a deaf employee who wanted to be a baker. Aware of his aspirations, they had hired and mentored him until he got his big break in Auckland. “If they want to work, and they can do the work, we’ll give them a chance,” Meyer says.

In a twist on the usual tale of a cottage industry being sold on and going international, the sale and expansion of Rutherford & Meyer was a family affair. North Canterbury farmer Alison Meyer (Jan’s mother) and her neighbour Gay Rutherford started the venture in 1996 to make use of fruit otherwise left rotting in their home orchards. They resurrected old farm recipes and carved a niche, supplying fruit pâtés to delicatessens. They had modest dreams and modest means – producing the entire range out of Rutherford’s home kitchen.

After five years, they’d taken the venture as far as they wanted to, and there was a willing buyer waiting in the wings. Jan Meyer – the eldest of Alison Meyer’s three daughters – had always wanted to buy a business. She and Coventry recognised the untapped export potential in Rutherford & Meyer’s fruit pâtés, and the opportunity to grow the range to wafers, vinegars, coulis and pastes. They didn’t need to be asked twice.

Since taking over in 2001, they now export to Canada, Asia, Australia, and their biggest market, the US. The business has grown 1,360% under Meyer and Coventry, and exports account for 30% of revenue. A year ago, Meyer and Coventry brought manufacture back inhouse. This necessitated the leap from a one-room home office, staffed solely by Meyer, to a staff of 20 run out of a Petone factory.

Coventry, who has a commerce degree and previous experience running large retail teams and a factory, understands the difficulties low-skilled workers and their families often face, from unreliable transport and childcare woes, to the phone being cut off. The owners hope they’re building pride and a sense of investment among their staff. Along the way, they’re ensuring staff retention in what has been a tight labour market. “Without looking after them, we don’t have a business,” Meyer says.

At the same time, she’s no pushover. Every staff member gets two chances, and then they’re out. An alcoholic they agreed to take on had to be fired recently for failing to meet basic expectations.

A recent audit by a large New Zealand food manufacturer found Meyer and Coventry had created a rare environment of high staff morale. And the proof? Staff members keep signing up their family. The payroll is a cross stitch of brothers, sisters, cousins, nephews, a mother-in-law, a sister-in-law and two couples – including the bosses.