Client Profile
New Zealand based public services agency with around 1,800 staff based in 51 countries across the globe.
The Challenge
Diversity is integral to the success of this iconic public service agency. Their aim was to reflect the diversity of New Zealand and the countries in which they operate and actively grow the diversity of their workforce, while continuing to build an inclusive culture. They recognised the need to have an overarching DEIB strategy that set out a long-term plan, with a range of goals and targeted measures designed to deliver a more diverse workforce and inclusive workplace.
They also wanted their DEIB strategy to drive behaviours that supported their organisational values and one that would resonate with their employees in every location across the world.
Our Approach
We knew we had to enrol employees across every location in the discovery process, in order to ensure we understood their sentiment and achieved buy-in from the get-go. This meant raising awareness of the DEIB Review and inviting participation in different areas from a wide cross-section of employees. To build relationships and foster trust, we made use of extensive network of offshore consultants, which enabled us to run face to face employee workshops and conduct interviews in different locations. We also deployed a company-wide DEIB survey across the 58 different international locations. The survey was a mix of digital and hard copy versions, so that those employees who have no wi-fi access were able to participate as well. By translating our survey into 21 different languages, we were able to capture the voices of the wider employee base, who otherwise may not have been considered.
What We Delivered
From the discovery process, we analysed all the workforce and employee feedback data, which enabled us to benchmark our client against similar agencies and other public service benchmarks. We also conducted a desktop review, where we reviewed policies, DEIB messages and people practices to understand current practice.
Finally, we collated the data and developed an Executive Report for tabling with the Board and Executive team. This included recommendations for improvement and provided the insights required for the development of the 10-year DEIB strategic plan.
The report was tabled with the Executive and Board, after which a workshop was run to expand on the findings and recommendations. The sign off of this piece of work led to the development of the 10-year DEIB strategy plan, which was subsequently signed off by the Executive team and board.
What Our Client Had To Say
We commissioned an external organisation, Diversitas, to conduct a review of the current state of Diversity and Inclusiveness at the Ministry with a view to assisting in the development of a more comprehensive and strategic approach to the issue. This enabled us to build a cohesive 10-year strategy which takes into account regional differences, while ensuring that we work together to achieve our strategic goals.
The result is an agency wide plan, with objectives and measures which we are committed to achieving. As part of that commitment, we set out to check in regularly on progress against our goals. We did this by getting Diversitas back to conduct a mini-Review two years later to measure progress. The findings helped us to understand where we have made progress, where we need to recommit and what is standing in our way.
