Our organisation is full of dedicated and incredible people who deal with major incidents every day. Now it’s the person in the mirror, and the people next to us, we need to focus on.
We wanted to shine the light on creating a positive work culture from day one of our new organisation. We started searching, listening and taking action, and we’ve made good progress in the creation of a truly positive workplace culture – but there’s much more to be done. One of the biggest things was to front up to our problem with bullying and harassment. There are issues, and we wanted to fully understand and solve them, so we commissioned an independent Positive Workplace Culture Review. This is our next step on that journey – an Action Plan and Timeline that map out the busy road ahead.
We expect all of our people to sign up for this, and stay committed for the long haul, because when we help, include and respect each other, we’re in a better place to protect our country, our iwi, our communities, our whanau and each other. We will provide our people with support to do this, but we want each and every one of our personnel to commit, change and expect more of themselves and each other.
So this is our line in the sand. Bullying and harassment have no place, not in our place. We’ll educate and support, but we will also hold people to account. This is our moment to create a place where everyone is genuinely included, welcome and safe. We must be the trusted organisation our communities deserve. Our people are key to this and we are committed to ensure that we engage with them every step of the way. It’s time to get started.
Are you one of Fire and Emergency’s 14,000 people? Give us your feedback…
We’ve already started our journey to creating a positive work culture. Here’s some of the work that is already under way, or now in place.
What's under way…
Organisational Strategy
We have been working to develop a new long term strategic framework, which will include our new vision, outcomes, strategic priorities, values and operating principles.
Safety, health and wellbeing
We’ve introduced several safety, health and wellbeing initiatives:
Values
We’re developing strong and meaningful values.
Respect and inclusion
Our strategy received Board approval in June 2018 and creates a vision for how we continue to build a respectful, inclusive and diverse Fire and Emergency.
Women’s development
An operational women’s network has been established to support and grow the talent of our operational women.
Afi Pasefika
We are extending the Afi Pasefika network across Fire and Emergency for safer Pacific communities in New Zealand.
Leadership development
We’ve been building our suite of leadership development opportunities, with more to follow.
Kaupapa Māori
We are drafting a strategic implementation plan so we can deliver on our commitment to working with tangata whenua for safer communities.
We now have a Volunteerism Strategy to sustain, support and grow our volunteer base across the country.
Volunteerism Strategy
The People Strategy is being developed with help from people across our organisation.
People Strategy
Fire and Emergency is investing in learning tools to support people’s growth, development and innovation.
Learning tools
Our Action Plan priorities
Setting the standards and staying accountable
We’re setting up a dedicated behaviours and conduct office (to be named) to develop and promote ethical behaviour and benchmarks. This will be a clear measurement of the standards we hold each other to, and the way we stay accountable. The office will have an education focus and take a supportive approach, so we can bring these standards to life with energy and conviction.
How we behave and what we believe in
Values bind us together. They’re the clearest signpost of what we believe in and how we work together. As a new organisation, we’re developing strong, meaningful values that acknowledge the demanding work we tackle, and the absolute need for us to all be on the same page, delivering on what our communities deserve.
Clear expectations of ourselves and each other
A single Code of Behaviour means everyone in our organisation will be clear about what great behaviour looks like, and what unwanted behaviour looks like. It’s about having one explicit, binding code so we all understand the behaviour standards that will help make this an inclusive, respectful, safe place to work.
People first, to be our best
We ask a lot of our people to work in challenging conditions, so it’s essential we genuinely support each other to remain safe, resilient and well. We’re doing a stocktake of all our support channels, to ensure we’re delivering effective support from the right people at every level, because we’re stronger together. He waka eke noa (everybody in one canoe with no exception).
Strong leaders making it happen
We all understand the value of effective leadership, but we need to make sure our leaders are supported and trained to build a truly respectful and inclusive workplace. We all have a role to play, but leaders especially must live and champion a culture where bullying and harassment is not tolerated – so we’re reviewing our leadership frameworks and tools to make them more relevant and effective.
Tackling issues early, fairly and consistently
This is a priority we’re determined to get right. We need a transparent process that is easy to access, fair, trusted – and moves quickly but meticulously. We’re creating a project team and engaging with unions, associations and our staff to design our complaints process. In the meantime, we’ll look at what short-term improvements can be made to create a central complaints point.
The right guidelines for the right job
All relevant policies and procedures are coming under the microscope to ensure they address bullying and harassment appropriately. If they don’t measure up, they’ll be revised or discarded, with new policies and procedures created where needed. Again, we will do this with full engagement with our people, and their input is vital. Once these are finalised we will provide our people with support and training so they understand what’s expected of them.
Planning to bring everyone on board
All 33 recommendations from the Positive Workplace Culture Review were accepted and we’re now deep in the process of analysing the recommendations and building a programme to make things happen. We’re mapping what’s already in play, and where we need to build new programmes. A key part of all this is keeping our people and our communities informed and involved, every step of the way.
Complete Action Plan
You’ll find full details and timings of the Action Plan here – what we’re doing, and why it’s important. It’s important to remember this is a starting point. We’ve identified eight priority areas here, and they will be followed soon by consultation and full programme details.
Stories of our people
Kerry Gregory recently took up his position as Deputy Chief Executive – Service Delivery, a role that takes him to every corner of New Zealand, working with our dedicated people keeping New Zealanders safe. He sees first-hand the vital importance of a positive workplace culture.
What you walk past, you condone
Keeping it close in Waimangaroa
There’s a tight family connection at the Waimangaroa Brigade on the West Coast, and it started when an eleven-year-old volunteered as a cadet. When Carmen Greenland turned 11, her mum ‘gently’ suggested she needed an after-school job or hobby.
Sharing our safety message in a new language
When Roy Breeze, Area Commander – Waikato, saw the multi-cultural growth in his local Hamilton communities, he decided something had to be done to ensure important safety messages were being understood and acted on. The Chinese population in particular had grown at a great rate.
Action Plan questions
If you have any questions, queries or concerns about the Action Plan, please contact the Positive Workplace Culture team by emailing PositiveWorkplace@fireandemergency.nz
If you are media and have questions, please contact our media team by emailing Media@fireandemergency.nz
You've joined the conversation
“We signed up to protect our communities – it’s time to sign up for each other. That’s what I’ll do.”
“This held true in most cultures and societies or in most cultures and societies throughout history. The preservation of human life is the ultimate value.”
“This held true in most cultures and societies or in most cultures and societies in history.”
“We signed up to protect our communities – it’s time to sign up for each other. That’s what I’ll do.”
Immediate support right now
While we’re setting up the interim complaints process, please seek the following support immediately, if you feel you’re being bullied or harassed.
The images we have used on this page are from our Fire and Emergency photo library, if you have any concerns about the use of these images, please contact identity@fireandemergency.nz
© 2019 Fire and Emergency New Zealand
The right guidelines for the right job
Why it’s important
What we’ll do next
We need your input
Kaupapa Māori
By committing to work with tangata whenua, we contribute to a safer environment not only for Māori but for all New Zealand communities.
A strategy is being developed to help us achieve this. Fire and Emergency’s Māori Liaison team continues to lead our engagement with Māori communities at national, regional and local events. We also support our people to learn te reo, understand tikanga with Marae visits, pōwhiri and working at Te Matitini and Waitangi each year.
Afi Pasefika
The Afi Pasefika firefighter’s network started in 2003, after recognising the importance of reaching our Pasefika community within New Zealand. There are now over 80 Afi Pasefika members in Fire and Emergency across New Zealand including Communication Centres, NHQ and regional support staff. We have established three main groups in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, with a smaller number of Pasefika firefighters throughout provincial New Zealand.
Volunteerism Strategy
Fire and Emergency’s Volunteerism Strategy will help us better sustain and support our volunteers.
The strategy acknowledges the role of our volunteers and upholds our commitment to volunteers and volunteerism. It explains why a strong volunteering culture and an effective model for volunteerism are critical for effective services and stronger, more resilient communities.
We are committed to the following principles, which will guide the decisions and actions of everyone, and against which we will hold each other accountable.
To enable and sustain volunteerism, we will:
To respect and involve volunteers, we will:
To serve and strengthen communities, we will:
What you walk past, you condone.
Kerry Gregory recently took up his position as Deputy Chief Executive – Service Delivery, a role that takes him to every corner of New Zealand, working with our dedicated people keeping Kiwis safe. He sees first-hand the vital importance of a positive workplace culture.
“Every day our people are exposed to massive challenges and stresses. Fire and Emergency is full of passionate people doing extraordinary things, but we need to put that same passion into respecting and keeping each other safe as well. Nobody in our organisation should carry additional stresses due to a lack of respect and inclusion,” says Kerry.
Kerry knows leaders have a critical role to play in the long-term cultural change and attitudinal shift we’re all embarking on – and he’s starting with being clear about his own expectations of himself.
“I think respect for others is at the heart of it, and I will hold myself to account every day to ensure I am genuinely living this. Certainly we need to be accountable for our performance – but we need to be equally accountable for our behaviour. I will be conscious of ensuring the way I work is in line with our values, and I’ll be expecting the same thing from everyone in our organisation.”
He believes everyone has a basic right to come into an environment and feel safe, respected and included, and their contribution valued. Even in the high pressure environment many of our people work in, he is pushing for people to release tension in the right way.
“We all have different ways of releasing pressure – black humour is one of them, but we need to understand it can often be seen as hurtful and negative. One of the first things to remember is that it’s okay not to be okay. If you’re feeling stressed, please reach out and talk about it. Know you are not isolated.”
He acknowledges not everyone has the courage, for a number of reasons, to speak up for themselves. He urges others to have a voice for those who feel they have to be silent.
“Don’t be a bystander. Call out bad behaviour in a respectful way. There’s an old saying in Fire and Emergency that’s as true today as it ever was – “What you walk past, you condone.” Stand up for what’s right, even if it’s not directly affecting you. Your support will give others courage to speak out, change behaviours and make us all stronger.
“Fire and Emergency needs to be the leading light in New Zealand on respect, inclusion and diversity. Our communities look to us for support and safety, and we give it unquestioningly every day. Let’s all genuinely commit to having that same unconditional support for each other.”
Sharing our safety message in a new language
When Roy Breeze, Area Commander – Waikato, saw the multi-cultural growth in his local Hamilton communities, he decided something had to be done to ensure important safety messages were being understood and acted on. The Chinese population in particular had grown at a great rate.
“In Hamilton, some suburbs have up to 13% of the public who speak Mandarin as their first language, and there are a lot of businesses and developers in the Waikato that are run by Chinese people,” said Roy.
So Roy decided to step up and learn Mandarin, to better engage with the Chinese community in their own language, and ensure fire and emergency safety messages were clearly understood. “I also wanted to see if I could learn something new, and test myself in my old age,” laughed Roy.
Roy found a local tutor, Ying Sun, and nine months later was able to have basic conversations, including speaking some Mandarin at a Chinese restaurant. “Mandarin, like English, can be difficult in that some words can have 10 or more meanings. I’ve had a few minor embarrassing incidents, but hey, you have to be brave and just keep trying. Plus, most people respect the attempt.”
By learning the language, Roy also developed a greater appreciation of the culture.
“One of the key things that I’ve learnt is that pleasantries aren’t culturally universal. For example, in English we say please and thanks a lot, but that’s not needed as much in Chinese. It doesn’t mean Chinese people are being impolite, it’s just that they show respect through the way they say certain things and through non-verbal cues. For me, it’s important to know this when dealing and communicating with members of the Chinese community, and to be able to understand things from their perspective.”
Roy has been working with Ying to develop text and audio instructions for Chinese communities, via her multimedia networks, to help them dial the emergency services. They will also be looking at how to translate fire-safety education packages such as the home-safety information.
“Mandarin is one of the most common languages in the world and Fire and Emergency needs to support a growing community in New Zealand, the same as we support other ethnic and at-risk groups.
“The more we learn about other cultures and ethnic groups, the better we can protect and build resilience with all members of our communities,” says Roy.
On a personal level, Roy would like to get to a point where he can have a basic conversation in Mandarin with members in his community. “In the longer term, I would like to be able to converse with Chinese businesses and community groups about building compliance and general home-safety education.”
Leadership development
We’re implementing our new organisation’s ‘Leadership Framework’ and have been delivering leadership programmes for different levels of leaders across our organisation.
In 2018, we launched our Strategic Leadership Programme and piloted the new Incident and Leadership Development Programme, which focuses on building incident management and leadership skills.
We’ve run Volunteer Leadership Development modules in a number of our regions, and are extending this to the rest of the country this year.
2019 will also see the launch of our new Role Transition programme for those moving into a Station Officer role, which is an operational management role.
All of our leadership programmes are supported by our Leadership, Management and Personal Effectiveness online resource Mind Tools.
In addition to these programmes, we partner with external leadership development organisations and management courses for our operational officers and leaders. We also support the United Fire Brigades’ Association on programmes that they deliver.
Planning to bring everyone on board
Why it’s important
What we’ll do next
We need your input
People first, to be our best
Why it’s important
What we’ll do next
We need your input
Tackling issues early, fairly and consistently
Why it’s important
What we’ll do next
We need your input
Access to Beacon involves a one-off validation process to confirm you are part of Fire and Emergency.
If you have any issues logging in or using Beacon, please contact the team by emailing Beacon@fireandemergency.nz
Give feedback
Respect and inclusion
Building a respectful, inclusive and highly skilled workforce representative of the communities we serve and work alongside, will ensure that we have the right people and organisational capability to operate in a strategic and agile way to enhance wellbeing and community resilience.
Implementation of programme activities is underway and will encompass evaluation and reporting, communications, policy and process review, championing and growing networks, promoting health and wellbeing, building capability and cultural intelligence and supporting our disabled workforce and communities.
The Positive Workplace Culture Review supports the following priority areas:
Setting the standards and staying accountable
Why it’s important
What we’ll do next
We need your input
Women’s development
The Women in Fire and Emergency New Zealand (WFENZ) network was formally established in 2016 to identify, support and grow the talent of our operational women. Through WFENZ, we connected with over 460 women in operational roles (approximately a quarter), including both volunteers and career staff. This gave us an insight into the perspectives and experiences of our frontline women – the challenges and issues they face, and the things that work well.
As a result of this engagement, we developed a Regional Women’s Advisory Network (RWAN) in each of the five regions. These RWANs are closely connected to our women on the ground, their regional leaders and our National Women’s Development team. Their insights are influencing our priorities in creating an inclusive workplace culture and, more specifically, helping to establish priorities for improving the recruitment, retention and development of women across the organisation.
How we behave and what we believe in
Why it’s important
What we’ll do next
We need your input
People Strategy
People are at the heart of everything we do and deliver. To best support and develop our people, work has commenced on the creation of our People Strategy, gathering the voices and perspectives of our people and stakeholders across 20 workshops, and with insight from our People Survey.
Focusing our efforts around a clear set of strategic priorities, our strategy will help people understand how their unique talents and strengths connect to broader organisational and strategic priorities, as well as our organisational values and vision. Our People Strategy will also shape how we deliver people practices and experiences in the future, including recruitment, learning and development, and reward and recognition, as part of making Fire and Emergency a great place to work and volunteer.
Learning tools
Two tools Fire and Emergency has invested in are Beacon, our crowdsourcing ideas platform and Mind Tools, an extensive repository of online learning resources focused on leadership, management and personal effectiveness.
At a 2017 Volunteer Workshop, attending volunteers highlighted the need to have a place to submit ideas online and support our 14,000 people. Out of this idea came Beacon, our crowdsourcing platform and a way to harness the collective knowledge and ideas of our people. People can share their ideas on a current problem or post a ‘challenge’ the organisation is looking to solve. People can also suggest a topic that will become a future challenge, or they can suggest an idea for improving the way we do things at Fire and Emergency.
Check out Beacon (Fire and Emergency personnel only)
Mind Tools provides access to reputable, digestable and on demand information to support and develop the capability of our people. Mind Tools can support the growth of all individuals and encourage them to continually develop themselves. Users can access information on improving decision making and remaining agile. This also strongly aligns with the Fire and Emergency’s leadership development work.
Check out Mind Tools (Fire and Emergency personnel only)
Safety, health and wellbeing
We co-signed an agreement of shared commitment to safety, health and wellbeing with our unions and associations in July 2017. This was a signal that everyone in Fire and Emergency deserves the highest level of health, safety and wellbeing.
Since then, we have been working together to build a workplace where everyone goes home safe and well, every time. Together we’ve introduced:
We’ve also begun work on:
Strong leaders making it happen
Why it’s important
What we’ll do next
We need your input
Organisational Strategy
Over the past months, the Board and ELT have been working to develop a new long term strategy and strategic framework for Fire and Emergency. This includes an organisational vision, refreshed outcomes, strategic priorities, values and operating principles. Where possible, elements of this work has been developed in conjunction with our people, taking a co-design approach.
Our long-term Strategy will set out our higher level direction for the coming decades. Five Strategic Priorities will underpin our strategy. These will reflect what we believe are most important to focus on now, so we are well placed to respond to the challenges of the future. We will be working with some of our people to seek feedback and input into the strategy, over the coming months. We will look to launch our new strategy in the second half of this year, and we will give full effect to our new Strategy as we refresh our 2017-2021 Statement of Intent in 2020.
Clear expectations of ourselves and each other
Why it’s important
What we’ll do next
We need your input
Keeping it close in Waimangaroa
There’s a tight family connection at the Waimangaroa Brigade on the West Coast, and it started when an eleven-year-old volunteered as a cadet.
When Carmen Greenland turned 11, her mum ‘gently’ suggested she needed an after-school job or hobby. Straight away she joined the Waimangaroa Brigade as a Fire Cadet, where her aunt, Lynn Brooks, was already a volunteer. Today Carmen’s a Senior Fire Fighter, Lynn is Chief Fire Officer, Carmen’s mum Jeni is a Qualified Fire Fighter – and Lynn’s husband is now also on the team.
“I love what I do,” says Carmen. “On my 16th birthday I joined up as a recruit with parental consent, and I spent my 19th birthday on a Senior Fire Fighters Course – I’m hooked!”
In a small community, volunteering is critical and lending a helping hand runs deep in this family.
“We’re a small community and when I joined, it looked like the brigade could close. We’ve lost our school and our pub, so this brigade has become a hub for the community,” says Lynn.
“Lending a hand in a small community is vital, and like a lot of local families, ours has always helped out wherever we can – it’s just what you do!”
While it may be a little unusual to have a mother, daughter and aunt team in a small brigade, all three are quick to point out that the whole brigade operates like a family.
“We’re a really tight crew and we know each other well – our strengths and our weaknesses – so we jell together to make one really effective unit. You partner up with a strong person – and for me that’s often my daughter!” says Jeni.
All agree that trust and dedication are critical in emergency situations, working together for a successful outcome.
“Everyone’s equal in the brigade,” says Carmen, “no matter what your size, your strength, gender or background. When we train and work as a real team, we’ll always achieve what we need to.”
As Chief Fire Officer, Lynn is in total agreement with her niece.
“I think brigades need to reflect the communities they serve and that means a mix of age, gender and beliefs. We’re all here for the same reason, to serve our communities and keep them safe – that’s an amazing way to bind people together.”
And when it comes to offering advice to anyone considering volunteering, all three women speak the same language. “Just do it!”.
Values
Our organisation-wide values will be launched in mid April 2019.
Our initial engagement sessions developed a shortlist of values which were then internally consulted on in August/September 2018. Since then we have been reviewing the feedback, and look forward to launching our values in the next few weeks.