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Forget the media myths of a bunch of dole-claiming child abusers, most Maori are important and innovative contributors to everything that makes New Zealand work, says Dr Manuka Henare of the University of Auckland Business School. Henare, the associate dean of the Maori & Pacific development/director Mira Szászy Research Centre at the School, says a lot of wealth is being generated within the Maori community yet the focus seems to be on the things most people abhor such as violence, drugs and child abuse.
He is working to change the perceptions and through workshops, one-to-one coaching and courses he is showing businesses, public and private, the benefits of not only attracting Maori but in encouraging diversity in general.
"Over the years, I have become more passionate about diversity than biculturalism. I have realised the latter is a step in the process," he says.
He points out seven out of 10 Maori people of working age are productive, working members of society who bring innovation and a customer base into the workplace.
At present, 1.4 per cent of the country's GDP - or $1.1 billion - is generated by Maori. They have a land base of 1.5 million hectares used for pastoral farming, horticulture and forestry and, in 2001, Maori owned about 7 per cent of the housing stock, which gives a value of around $9 billion, says the EEO (Equal Employment Opportunities) Trust.
Studies have shown innovation takes place in companies with a diverse staff. The problem with a company with little diversity is all members of staff have similar responses. "It's like to like," Dr Henare says.
"If you have a staff from different backgrounds, they will look at problems from different perspectives, that way the company gets a better range of ideas coming in. It sparks innovation."
Quite simply, encouraging diversity is good business and economics, he says. It's about understanding the value of social capital.
"Look at the Chinese community; each Chinese employee has access to networks that go as far as China. This can help businesses invest in China.
"Often people from the Samoan community have contacts in Australia, LA, San Francisco - these are business lines."
Maori people will often get their whanau to be customers of the business they work for, particularly if they are treated well. It's about customer networks.
Dr Henare says this idea is nothing new. In New Zealand of the 1950s, Catholics as a group would identify pro-Catholic businesses and give them patronage. He says looking at the advantages of diversity, and attracting Maori, is more significant than taking a Treaty-based approach.
"Companies didn't sign the Treaty and they see it as something between Maori and the Crown.
"The question is how do companies become good citizens? It's about looking at these issues and understanding them."
Dr Henare says the Treaty has context, but it's not the same for the private sector as it is for the Crown. "It's about becoming a good corporate citizen - that's good business. It's for the social good."
Dr Henare points out New Zealand is experiencing great prosperity now and Maori are big players in sectors such as fisheries, dairy, tourism, social service delivery (such as health providers) and more.
"There is plenty of wealth creation happening in the community."
Management consultant Andrea Needham says diversity in the workplace is a key to understanding customers.
"There's nothing worse than a room of middle-class white men trying to make marketing decisions for women, Maori and other populations. You need to have people from different cultures in the management ranks.
"How do you understand your customer if you're not having a debate with the people who could be your customer?"
Needham says in her experience she has found that other cultures can bring creativity, innovation and views for discussion.
In New Zealand, Maori and Pakeha culture make for a "powerful blend. They can challenge each other. Difference brings about changes of thinking."
The trust has released a publication entitled Making A Difference - Why and how to Employ and Work Effectively with Maori.
In it, the authors Chellie Spiller, of the University of Auckland Business School, Dr Rodger Spiller, a certified financial planner, chartered accountant and managing director of Money Matters and Rodger Spiller and Associates, and Dr Henare say: "New Zealand's continued growth depends on fostering the enormous energy and economic potential of the Maori people.
"Like most developed countries, our population is ageing and we will be increasingly depend on our young people to generate the country's wealth.
"Nineteen per cent of that younger workforce will be Maori by 2021.
"Organisations which recognise and develop the skills of Maori people will be meeting the challenge of the future and creating their own competitive advantage in a tight labour market."
So, how do you attract Maori to work for your company? Dr Henare suggests it starts when you advertise for the position.
"Placing the advert in the Maori language as well as in English shows a genuine interest. Even if the Maori person reading the advert doesn't speak Maori, it shows that the workplace will be culturally safe.
"This is the same for attracting Samoan or Chinese workers by using their languages."
Good health policies are important. "Happy people are healthier and work better," he says.
Dr Henare says business does not have to be self-conscious about attracting and keeping Maori staff, but that behaviours and values do need to be looked at.
"It's about creating an environment where diversity can blossom. It's not just about employing people; it's about encouraging staff to be learners.
"Everybody is a learner and should be looking for new opportunities.
"Entrepreneurship can be groups feeding off ideas of each other, not just one person taking business risks.
"Developing this kind of culture means you're gaining from the potential of all staff."
Companies hoping to attract Maori need to look at their implicit cultural norms and take a conscious look at their learning policies and management systems.
"They should be wanting diversity and innovation at all levels."
Dr Henare says to get a company to shift takes planning.
"More companies need to be global in outlook. It's important then to bring globalisation into staffing.
"Bring it into the company. Get it to work for you. It's no more a case of us and them; it's us and us.
"The emergent Asian Pacific nations are our customers. In New Zealand, we are Asian and Pacific and that's where our growth is."
Succeeding in making Maori, Pacific Islanders, Chinese or people from other cultures comfortable in the workplace can be as simple as decor.
"You don't have to go overboard," says Dr Henare, as he points out the bits of Pacific art in the interview room. "This is the Pacific room - there's no label on the door saying it's the Pacific room, but we know what it is because of the artwork and we call it that."
He says taking a nod at things such as feng shui or cultural artwork helps make people feel comfortable.
He is in favour of affirmative programmes but the companies that have them must have a commitment to achieving outcomes. If a company wanted a diverse staff, it would be ludicrous not to have a policy of employing Maori.
He is optimistic about the future. "More New Zealanders are identifying with the landscape of New Zealand. It can be seen in poetry and painting - a sense that 'this is my land'.
"The time will come when other New Zealanders are as passionate about a particular mountain or stream in the same way as Maori.
"In the long term, there will be more identification with the landscape, the Treaty and there will be a different discourse: it will be our Treaty."
* Dr Manuka Henare runs the course: Spiritual Capital and Making A Difference - How To Work Effectively With Maori through the University of Auckland Business School
