PD SPOTLIGHT CHRIS STEWART
Transforming HRM in Aotearoa: The tauira perspective Last year, Chris Stewart attended the inaugural Transforming HRM in Aotearoa workshop; the HRNZ workshop aimed at developing culturally responsive and equitable HRM practices. What she learned and the impact she’s had on her workplaces have the potential to last a lifetime. Here she explains more.
He aha te mea nui o te Ao? He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata What is the most important thing in the world? it is people, it is people, it is people.
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s a health and HR professional, I have long been passionate about achieving equitable outcomes for Māori, recognising that to achieve equity you cannot deliver a onesize-fits-all approach. I believe HR practitioners are well positioned through personal behaviour, leadership, policy and practices to lead and influence a move away from ‘traditional’ HR practices, many of which can marginalise 46
HUMAN RESOURCES
WINTER 2022
Māori. In the words of Tā Mason Durie, “Diverse realities require diverse solutions”. As an HR manager in a public sector organisation (Pharmac), I had a personal and professional commitment to do all that I could to ensure HR practices enabled the organisational commitment to upholding Te Tiriti o Waitangi. To deliver on a wider organisational strategy focused on delivering improved health outcomes for Māori, as is the purpose of Pharmac’s Te Whaioranga – Māori Responsive Strategy, I recognised it is important to start within the workplace and how we support our Māori (and nonMāori) employees to bring a fullness to work.
The experience
My lasting memory of this wānanga was how it made me feel. Not only was I taught the content, but I learned through the experience of all of those things, due to the way Karli Te Aotonga and Bentham Ohia facilitated the course. This was mātauranga Māori ‘by design’. We were also joined by Karli’s koro Timi; as a kaumatua, his presence allowed us to experience what is normal intergenerational contribution, and what a deep and enriching experience that was.
“We learnt about the mātauranga Māori values of: • mahi tahi – work together as a collective, share and tell stories, greater than one • whanaungatanga – everyone feeling valued and belonging • manaakitanga – raise the mana of others • kaitiakitanga – care and protection, sheltering, responsibility • tuakana teina – encourage relationships through mentoring • hūmārie – humility through experiencing them during the three days.” By creating the safe space, through whakawhanaungatanga, waiata and karakia, the participants and facilitators built connections and shared experiences and learnings. We were able to be vulnerable and ask questions that, in other situations, we might not have been able to do. The participants were a mix of Māori and non-Māori, and, as a non-Māori, I felt safe to ask how I could best be an ally to Māori in the workplace. We had healthy and respectful debate, and the content,
