01 December 2023

Diverse

A more diverse workforce and leadership that reflects, values, and understands New Zealand society.

Papa Pounamu: Inclusive leadership, Fostering diverse leadership.

Kia Toipoto: Leadership and representation.

Increase diverse representation and foster diverse leadership

  • Continue to improve ethnically diverse representation across the Commission’s workforce to reflect the New Zealand (projected) population more closely by 2027, placing emphasis on Māori and Asian representation, while maintaining or increasing representation of Pacific and Middle Eastern, Latin American and African ethnicities (see targets in Appendix C).
  • Continue to focus recruitment towards:
    • a more targeted joined-up approach (cross-Commission) for attracting and selecting diverse employees at all levels, including leadership positions and the use of Development Boards.
    • early-in-career advisory roles, including continuing to participate in intern and graduate programmes (e.g., Tupu Toa, Tupu Tai, ethnic communities, graduate programmes, Māori Emerging Leaders) with a focus on ethnicity and gender-balanced composition.
  • Progress Te Angitū plans by incorporating tikanga Māori into recruitment and induction and ensuring organisational support for Māori employees.
  • Set leadership expectations for attracting, selecting, developing, and retaining a diverse workforce, supported by improved reporting, capability, and consistency.
  • Participate in the Māori emerging leaders and Pacific mentoring programmes.
  • Support diverse leadership representation through targeted development, secondments, and mentoring of Māori, Pacific, and ethnic employees.

Improved data, reporting, and transparency

  • Improve diversity insights and analysis, by refining what we report on in quarterly and annual reporting at the organisational and business group level.

Equitable

A fairer workplace with equitable pay and people practices.

Papa Pounamu: Addressing bias, Employee-led Networks.

Kia Toipoto: Transparency, Equitable pay, Eliminating bias and discrimination, Effective career and leadership development, Flexible work by default.

Improve equitable pay outcomes

  • Continue to monitor starting salaries, and salaries for the same or similar roles, to ensure gender and ethnic pay gaps do not reopen.

Eliminate bias & discrimination in people policies and practices

  • Continue to improve accessibility for people who are disabled through evolving work on the Accessibility Charter and Lead Toolkit.
  • Continue to provide addressing bias training to all new employees.
  • Continue to review people policies in alignment with the People and DEI plans and Kia Toipoto guidance. Also ensure active engagement with employees, ELNS and PSA delegates through the policy review process.

Effective career and leadership development

  • Continue to develop the framework to foster transparent career pathways and equitable progression opportunities for all employees.

Mature flexible working practice

  • Continue to mature flexible work and hybrid work practices through ongoing education and alignment to Kia Toipoto guidance.

Inclusive

A workplace culture where everyone feels included, valued and comfortable being themselves at work.

Papa Pounamu: Employee-led Networks, Cultural Competence, Inclusive leadership, Building relationships.

Kia Toipoto: Eliminating all forms of bias and discrimination.

Strengthen and support Employee Networks 

  • Continue to support ELN-led initiatives and events that promote awareness, understanding and recognition e.g., events calendar, in conjunction with ELNs, to provide visibility and establish a rhythm for regular and ad-hoc initiatives (e.g., language weeks and educational talks).
  • Continue the active support of ELN networks through active leadership sponsorship and funding.
  • Continue to promote cross public service employee networks.

Build cultural competence

  • Continue cultural competency training.
  • Continue to provide Mana Āki intercultural competency training for all new employees.
  • Ongoing Māori-Crown relations capability training for all employees.
  • Continue to promote LDC programmes which include MCR.

Inclusive leadership

  • Continue to encourage all new leaders to participate in the Leadership development Centre (LDC) common-core development, which includes inclusive leadership content.

Positive and inclusive relationships

  • Continue to develop resources for leaders and team members to enable ongoing discussion on our culture, kawa and value proposition.
  • Strengthen leadership connections and unity through a weekly/monthly meeting rhythm, attending and completing development together.

On hold

  • Revisit the Positive Workplace Cultures aims, review progress on commitments, and set new goals.
  • Refresh induction process to support building our culture, and visibility of ELNs.