Regional Roundup: Otago Branch

The Otago Branch committee is a fun, dedicated and diverse group of professionals. Our committee members span recruitment firms, tertiary education, finance, emergency services and self-employed HR folk. This year we were recognised as a Finalist in the HRNZ Branch of the Year award. I certainly can’t take much credit for that, having been on the branch for only about a year, and taking over as Branch President this year. Other industries represented within the branch membership of just over 100 include mining, health, energy supply, law, construction and farming. Dunedin and the broader Otago region doesn’t have a huge population of people in dedicated HR roles. Many members of the committee have been serving on it for quite some time – we even have members who have served their four-year stint but remain on the committee in an ‘unofficial’ capacity because they want to continue contributing to the HR profession.

We are never short of ideas for interesting branch events. We have two world-renowned tertiary education providers in Dunedin (the University of Otago and Otago Polytechnic), so can hear about the latest research and innovations in teaching and learning. The rebuild of Dunedin Hospital is also imminent, which has already provided an opportunity to hear from those involved about the opportunities and challenges the project will present from a workforce point of view.

Our plans for 2020 have been disrupted a little, given the COVID-19 pandemic, but we continue to try to meet the needs of our members, even if in a virtual way. In April we held a virtual Friday drink and debrief session, where anyone who worked in or around the HR field could get together online and share their experiences of supporting their organisations (and themselves) through the move to lockdown. We recognised that, in many organisations, it’s the HR team (or the person with the HR workload in smaller organisations), that leads the organisation through responding to a crisis. Often HR professionals put everyone else first, responding to everyone else’s needs, before their own. In the Otago Branch, we wanted to ensure all of our HR colleagues across the region felt supported and could share time with colleagues who understood. The event was a real success, and it proved a great way to meet people from outside of the immediate Dunedin area, as well as people new to the profession in Dunedin.

Looking forward, our plans for branch events include hosting Otago Polytechnic staff to discuss cultural competency for the HR profession, and how the EduBits microcredentialing service works. This links in nicely with changes that have been flagged to the HRNZ competency framework. We are also planning events focused on leadership and what local senior leaders need from HR, change management, and, somewhat ironically, exploring an event involving Civil Defence. We try to balance our events between those targeted at HR professionals and those that of interest to people from a range of industries and professions across the region.

We are busy supporting those members who are working towards their chartered membership status, and our members contribute to the HR community through guest speaking roles at the university and polytechnic, as well as on several boards and committees outside of HRNZ. One of our goals for this year is to work more closely with the Otago Chamber of Commerce and explore opportunities to collaborate on events. In April, we launched an Otago Branch LinkedIn group, to better connect with the broader HR community in the region, including non-members.

If you’re ever in the sunny south and want to connect with fellow HR professionals, or if you’d like to suggest an event, please get in contact. We’d be happy to take you to one of the region’s best cafés, breweries or if you’re in Central Otago, wineries!