Our People

1. Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander StrategyCultural AwarenessAdelaide 2011Day 2Putting into practice

2. Our People VIDEO

3. Cultural Safety & Competence Cultural Competence A set of similar behaviours, attitudes and policies that come together in a system, or agency, or amongst professionals and enables that system to work effectively in cross cultural situations. * Adapting service or product delivery and policies and procedures

4. Where have we come from? • July 2007 • Indigenous Policy Core Principles • July 2009 • Aboriginal and Torres Strait • Islander Strategy • Aboriginal and Torres Strait • Islander Employment and • Retention Sub-strategy

5. August 2009 • Staff Practice Manual • Currently being updated May 2010 • A5 strategy brochure • general audience • DL brochure for communities • sent with cover letter to 2,500 • community organisations

6. Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Strategy • Key strategy principles • Long-term, respectful partnerships • Active community ownership involvement in planning, delivery and review • We do not compete • Employ local people who know and understand their communities and can help us work best together. • .

7. Message stones 1

8. Message stones 2 • Key message • Preferred if only one being used • Most prominent if multiple being used

9. Background graphic • all available on image library + style guide • landscape photos

10. Employment and Retention Sub Strategy • Introduce new employment policies and practices to increase existing number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff and volunteers across all Australian Red Cross programs. • Build a culture within Red Cross that supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff and volunteers. • Develop effective Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff and volunteer retention systems through mentoring and partnering processes. • Target of 6% Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander employees.

11. ABS data from 30June 2006 (the most recent data) shows that: The estimated resident Indigenous population of Australia was 517,000 people, or 2.5% of the total Australian population. NSW had the largest population of Indigenous Australians (184,200 people) but the Northern Territory has the largest proportion of Indigenous Australians (31.6%) Population

12. Where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Reside

13. 124 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff (up from ~70 in Dec 2009 / ~100 April 2010) almost 6% of Workforce Red Cross Staff

14. Group Activity Lets have 10 minutes to discuss: • how are you going to recruit, retain and develop Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff?

15. Tips For Managers Recruitment Currently being developed as new manual to build on Employment Strategy • Aboriginal people do not, as a general rule, simply respond to newspaper ads for jobs particularly with an organisation that they have no knowledge of or relationship with. • Engage directly and proactively with local organisations • Job ads on their notice boards/networks • Promote on local Aboriginal radio station • Engage Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander employment services, • Advertise in Koori Mail & National Indigenous Times • Aboriginal person on recruitment panel • Someone from a local Aboriginal organisation, respected community member, Red Cross staff

16. Tips for managers Interviews • Have an Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander representative on the interview panel, Red Cross staff or a rep from partner organisation • Create a relaxed environment for interviews. • Start with informal discussion to help establish rapport with the interviewee • For remote/regional candidates, consider a support person to attend the interview support person may speak on behalf of applicant • Some people find it hard to ‘big note’ themselves and may be less likely to discuss openly their qualities and abilities • Watch out for cultural differences such as little eye contact, handshake, language differences • Silence once a question is asked quite often means the interviewee is thinking about the question before answering. Allow time for the interviewee to answer before attempting to rephrase the question

17. Tips For Managers Retention • Understand cultural obligations that may impact on work • Acknowledge cultural competency of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander staff • Celebrate important events: NAIDOC Week, National Sorry Day, Mabo Day, etc. • Internal/external mentoring, buddy system.

18. Levels of Mentoring • Professional • Cultural • Buddy

19. Lunch Break!!30 minutes

20. Group Activity • Break up into 4 groups • 4 case studies / All 4 scenarios each group • Spend 45 minutes discussing and recording strategies • Each group will present 1 scenario back to whole group ( 5 mins max) • Q&A

21. Discussion

22. Case study 1 Red Cross has recently opened a new office in a regional centre and employed a well respected local person who belongs to one of two competing native title claimant groups. Community tension and conflict is particularly high at the moment with a major resource project proposed for development. The Regional Manager is non-Aboriginal and while they’ve worked in the region for about 5 years, does not have strong relationships with the local Aboriginal community.  The RM is getting conflicting information about whether the staff member is an appropriate person for Red Cross to employ. There are rumours and innuendo but nothing that can be substantiated or verified. As a senior member of staff, what advice and guidance would you provide to the RM and how Red Cross should deal with these concerns regarding the staff member?

23. Case Study 2 An Aboriginal staff member has family often coming into the office using office equipment/facilities such as the phone or car, or “humbugging” the staff member for money. This includes a family member who is quite intimidating.    A teenage girl has just been appointed in a temporary role and other staff are concerned about how she will cope with the situation, especially if on her own.  As the office manager how would you deal with this extremely sensitive situation?

24. Case study 3 A non-Aboriginal supervisor/manager has concerns about work related performance issues with an Aboriginal staff member who is extremely well connected in the community. The supervisor/manager is accused of not listening to the advice of the staff member that they cannot undertake further community work at this time. The supervisor is sceptical about the advice and believes that it doesn’t reflect the true situation or views of the community. How might the matter be addressed so that it minimises conflict and potential for other fall out e.g. with other Aboriginal staff within the office, with community ?

25. Case Study 4 • In response to a natural disaster, Red Cross has established an evacuation centre at the local school in a rural town. The town services a substantial farming community and has a significant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population that is very marginalised by the broader community. There is no regional office in this location and the only Red Cross presence is the local branch. Along with a number of Red Cross employees deployed to the evacuation centre, many of the local volunteers who are also active members of the local branch are deployed as well. The evacuation centre team leader has been deployed from another state and has not had any experience working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. None of the Red Cross volunteers or deployed staff are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. •  As a deployed Red Cross staff member, you witness branch members segregating the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the evacuation centre and treating them much differently to the non-Indigenous evacuees. There are also examples of blatant discrimination and inappropriate comments, and it appears the team leader does not notice any problem with this behaviour.

26. Employment Benefits • Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander staff critical to success of our strategy • Local people know and understand their communities, provide guidance and advice on how to work locally, ensure quality services and programs • Becoming an ‘employer of choice’ for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities • Improved reputation and delivery of services • Culturally diverse workplace

27. What we Know Macquarie University research project • Measure awareness of our internal capacity to relate to, understand and  engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities in framing and delivering programs, and supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff • Detailed interviews with 40 participants across Red Cross • Key findings: • Over estimation of cultural competence • Minimisation of difference • Next Steps – Working Group

28. Red Cross DevelopmentApproach • Community leads and drives processes, decides what it wants, how to achieve it and how it will work. • Works with communities to recognise and analyse: • strengths, assets and issues in their community • develop strategies and action plans. • Requires patience, flexibility, creativity and can take a long time • Not for Red Cross to ‘solve’ issues or simply deliver a series of unconnected programs, services or training. • Requires ‘joined up’, coordinated responses that need to be sustained over the long term.

29. Some of Our National Programs • Healthy baby healthy community •             Maternal & child health • SAM (Save a Mate) our Way / beyondblue •             Remote & rural youth social & emotional wellbeing • RespectED •             Family & community safety

30. Challenges for our programs • Flexibility needed for: • community disruption • wet season, extended funeral ceremonies (“sorry business”), community disputes, transient population • building the ‘front end’ • community trust in Red Cross, protocols, identify strengths, build partnerships (eg: 25 stakeholders in Woorabinda) • staff turnover • pressure to deliver outcomes/outputs, limited skill pool, retention, additional training, community development mentoring

31. Some of our SA programs • Davenport Community • Males in Black • Emergency preparedness • GSBC / FOODcents • Infant car restraints

32. Challenges for SA programs • Local Perspectives

33. Break Out Group Activity • 3 groups • 15 minute discussion on: • How will you get out and engage with community to build relationships, partnerships and get real buy in at a community and individual level? • Report back to group 5 minute each

34. Consultation & Negotiation Preparation • Learn as much as possible about the community, key people and organisations • Engagement of local facilitator or broker • Find out what community structures are in place for consultation and engagement processes. • Stakeholders. • Community Advisory Group • Set goals and plan • Identify participants’ needs  • Manage expectations

35. Engagement processes To ensure Red Cross demonstrates good engagement processes consider the following: • Seek permission from appropriate people • Use group discussions • Use varied and appropriate information presentation formats • Allow and encourage mutual influence • Actively foster trust, respect and ownership • Maintain regular contact and feedback

36. Develop community profile/map - essential to have accurate, reliable and current information before starting working in communities • Coordinate with other organisations working in the community  - Government departments, agencies and other organisations • Find out if there is a calendar of community events that staff/members/volunteers might get involved in/support - sports & cultural events, NAIDOC week activities, etc.

37. Community meetings and visits • Be aware of the incredible demands and requests for meetings that communities and organisations are constantly dealing with • Seek opportunities to ‘piggy back’ on other meetings if appropriate   • It is unwise to organise a formal meeting if you are not known by anyone in the community • BBQs, family fun days, etc have worked well… • Hiring casual staff as interpreters, cultural brokers

38. After community visits • Follow up with a thank you phone call or note/email. • Complete notes and visit report for internal purposes. • Update the community profile. • Evaluate the visit – did we achieve what we aimed to achieve? • Are there any advocacy issues that should be followed up? • Maintain contact and follow up what was discussed. • Send back to the community a report and/or photos.

39. Tools for sustainable relationships and partnerships • Get to know your community • Understand the community context & dynamics • Prepare for genuine consultation and negotiations • Follow Red Cross engagement processes Use your Practice Manual

40. Where to from here……Strategic Action Plan

41. Executive Directors final message!

42. ww.corporateculcha.com.au