Businesses are looking to improve their overall performance, strengthening community relationships by embracing te ao Māori – the Māori world – especially around sustainability and production, say ASB specialists Anthony Ririnui and Krissi Holtz.
Ririnui, ASB General Manager of Māori Business (Kaihautu Te Waka Whaihua), says businesses are increasingly adopting the Māori world view of kaitiakitanga - taking care of the land.
"The real convergence is among larger organisations which have the resources, but smaller businesses are also looking at ways of adopting Māori practices. It's around a social licence of becoming more inclusive and connected with the community and we are seeing it play out right across the business sector," he says.
"There are opportunities to export indigenously-aligned products with the story behind them – who produced them, how they were produced and the uniqueness of the area they came from. The whole narrative is important to get higher value for Aotearoa products," Ririnui says.
Holtz, ASB executive manager Kaupapa Māori, says whanaungatanga (reciprocal relationships) underpins Māori culture, and businesses are thinking about not only being present in their communities but building deep relationships and sharing knowledge with them.
She says consumers are thinking about how brands are becoming more ethical and purpose-driven. "There are a lot of values underpinning the Māori world view that can help businesses consider the inter-generational positive impact of making more of those ethical decisions.
"The impacts can be really positive but they need to be done in an authentic way. When you look at the Māori world, we place community, culture and environment at the heart of every decision we make and we are thinking about things beyond just financial success," she says.
Ririnui says taking a holistic approach is important to Māori: "It's not just about profit. We first have to make sure that the planet, whenua (land) and people are looked after and then the profit will follow."
Holtz says businesses are looking at how they can create employment opportunities for Māori, whether it's within their communities or the local iwi they might be dealing with.
"The demographic breakdown of Māori is a growing young population – so we have a changing workforce and a changing customer base. Lots of businesses are realising they actually need to get ahead of the curve.
"That's one of the examples of where businesses are actually looking beyond language and culture to think about how the makeup of their staff can be better – to reflect Aotearoa now and in the future," says Holtz.
Ririnui: "Māori is a sweet spot with our youthful population. Businesses would do well to develop a talent and marketing strategy that authentically embraces te ao Māori, creating a more diverse work force."
A natural first step to embrace Māori culture is to seek advice and knowledge from tangata whenua and use te reo Māori – and many are doing this.
At ASB, they are focusing on staff, with recently designed cultural capability uplift programmes and the set-up of a specialist Māori business banking unit - Te Waka Whaihua.
Whittakers produced a milk chocolate version called Miraka Kirīmi, a move Holtz says got huge traction for a very well-known brand.
"Countdown is doing some really impressive work in this space and they have continued to build on embracing Māori language," she says. "I walk into some supermarkets and their aisles are very much bilingual, translated into te reo."
Ririnui says the Māori world view is being led in the financial sector by the Reserve Bank, now called Te Pūtea Matua: "They see themselves as the 'Tāne Mahuta' of our financial system and they want to tell the story of how we fit together and show respect to past, present and future New Zealanders."
The bank's website opens up with nau mai, haere mai (welcome) and users can scroll to ngā turanga mahi (careers). "They are leading the use of te reo and adoption of sustainable practices across the financial sector," says Ririnui.
Engaging with tangata whenua and embracing Māori culture and practices can only improve the performances of businesses and enable them to take an inter-generational view, he says. This "investment" can lead to improvements in their environmental, social, work force and exporting outcomes - all of which will have benefits for later generations.
Holtz says it all starts with business owners building their own cultural capabilities by understanding and raising their awareness of Māori culture and language - and the history of Aotearoa.
"There are a lot of consultants out there that can help on that journey and there are so many great resources accessible on the internet that business owners can start looking at," she says. "Incorporating the Māori way of thinking is important to contributing positively to society beyond what your business is already doing."
For business insights, tips and tools visit the ASB Business Hub: asb.co.nz/businesshub
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