Woolworths: Mentoring programme assists Māori and Pasifika staff to advance careers
In 2022, a dedicated group of Woolworths employees came together to spearhead the Tangata Moana Mentoring Programme, a training & development initiative providing wrap-around care and support for Māori and Pasifika team members.
The programme pilot focused on improving the uptake of training and subsequent progression into senior roles, in line with Woolworths overarching DEI target of 20% of senior and managerial roles being Māori or Pasifika by 2025. Since the inception of the programme, approximately 30% of participants have improved, changed, or been promoted from their previous positions. Additionally, participants have put themselves forward for training and promotion where they may not have before the programme.
The organisers of the pilot programme, Woolworths’ employees in managerial roles, included members of the Tangata Moana Committee, who are committed to uplifting, supporting and giving back to their people. Taking on the challenge of organising and running the pilot on top of their day jobs, each organiser was dedicated to putting aside time and doing their part to ensure the programme was successful.
“A group of us came together who are passionate in this space to deliver this work,” says Daphne Fineaso, a member of the core organising team. “Other team members in the organisation of Māori and Pasifika ethnicity would lean in to support at different stages.”
While the core group of organisers were responsible for facilitating the workshops and taking on a mentor role for a participant, the programme also engaged an external facilitator, Sione Taunga from TupuToa. Sione supported the setup and delivery of the initiative and played a key role in framing up workshops on the ‘circle of control’, ‘circle of influence’, and building confidence.
Running from October through December 2022, the pilot fostered a network for Māori and Pasifika employees that has continued beyond the scope of the programme. Through attendance of monthly four-hour workshops and one-on-one mentoring, participants had the opportunity to build their professional networks and personal confidence and to feel connected both culturally and collectively within the workplace.
A year on, the cohort continues to meet for talanoa every second month. These self-guided meetings provide a space for the group to check in about their mentee-mentor relationship and upcoming business initiatives, and collectively engage with cultural events, such as Samoan Language Week, Cook Island Language Week, and Tongan Language Week. The programme also developed a specific te ao Māori focus, building relationships with tangata whenua based at Mangere Bridge’s Te Puea Marae.
“We’ve got a separate initiative that we are looking to roll out in the te ao Māori space as well,” says Daphne. “We’ve used this group as a bit of a sounding board to get some advice as to what might work in the Māori-Pasifika community.”
The cohort is starting to represent Māori and Pasifika values and perspectives in other areas of the business, providing input into government relationships and issues such as the sale of alcohol in stores. The cohort will also provide support, mentoring and help with pastoral care to fifteen TupuToa interns joining the organisation at the end of the year. The ongoing influence of the programme is felt in cultural shifts within the organisation.
While recruiting for the pilot, organisers were mindful of having a balance of gender, ethnicity, and employment areas amongst the participants. Participants were drawn from Woolworths’ three key employment areas: stores, supply chain, and the support office. However, there is an ongoing challenge in obtaining data on identity as only 50% of employees enter ethnicity details. This is in part due to the limitation of only being able to indicate one or two ethnicities via payroll data. The programme organisers note that the experience garnered through the organisation and delivery of the programme can lead the way for other initiatives for different ethnicities, genders, and focus areas for diversity, equity and inclusion.
The organisers of the Tangata Moana Programme are currently looking into scaling the programme so that it can be effectively delivered on a national level. This presents a key challenge, as at present the facilitation of the initiative is delivered voluntarily by full-time employees. Funding and resourcing the facilitation of nationwide delivery needs further attention. Either the original group from Auckland who ran the pilot would need to travel across the country and facilitate workshops, or Māori and Pasifika staff members in each region would need to be trained to deliver the initiative. Both options will need to carefully consider how to mitigate the high cultural tax placed on Māori and Pasifika staff who volunteer their time and knowledge to the initiative.
The challenges of finding facilitators and organisers on a national scale are a new unknown, as the original setup and delivery of the pilot were quite smooth. This was in part due to facilitation support from TupuToa and the reasonably high numbers of Māori and Pasifika staff in the region. However, the key success of the pilot was due to the voluntary work put in by the organising group. Additionally, from proposal through to delivery, the programme has been well supported by executive staff. Endorsement and sponsorship from the executive team were essential to the programme’s success, and as a pilot programme, this was a key part of the learning experience.
Looking to the future, the programme organisers are seeking more involvement from senior leadership, taking senior leaders on the journey alongside Māori and Pasifika staff.
As a key advocate of Woolworths’ DEI initiatives, the Director of Sustainability and Communication sponsored the pilot through her business unit. However, this individual has since left the organisation. The Managing Director of the participating chapter was also hugely supportive, putting aside an entire day at the end of the four-months to be there with the group and share his story. His level of commitment and endorsement of the programme had a significant impact.
The original organising team are still invested in this first cohort, brainstorming strategies to provide ongoing visibility of the group to the talent team for upcoming opportunities within the organisation.
Case Study Summary
-
Create a mentoring network for Pasifika and Māori employees, to improve uptake of training and hence progression into more senior roles, to support the new target of 20% of senior or manager roles to be Pasifika or Māori by 2025.
-
A committee of 10 staff at managerial level in Auckland drove the work, including as mentors and facilitating workshops in their area of expertise. This included Pasifika and Māori staff from: People team, merchandise managers, supply managers, store managers. A further 10 people took part as mentors, so there were 20 mentors in all, and 20 mentees.
External TupuToa consultant helped set up the mentoring programme.
-
Monthly 4-hour workshops for four months as a pilot initiative.
Regular one-to-one mentoring sessions thereafter ongoing.
Tangata Moana group meets every second month.
-
$10,000 initial funding from Director of Communication and Sustainability as sponsor.
Voluntary time from committee members (managerial tier).
Future budget will sit in inclusion division.
-
Uptake went as planned (20 mentees/20 mentors) with careful balance of gender and ethnicity, as well as an even mix of participants across three key departments: stores, supply chain, and support office. Participating staff were supported to take time off from their workday to be on programme.
Good senior-level support, from proposal to delivery. Director of Sustainability and Communication sponsored the programme, and Managing Director joined for the final workshop.
-
Full cohort completion of programme with 30% change, improvement, or movement into different roles or promotions.
Participants reported improved confidence in soft skills for career advancement.
Cohort to help/support/mentor 15 TupuToa interns.
Cohort representing Māori and Pacific values and perspectives throughout business.
Relationships being built with Te Ao Māori and mana whenua.
-
Key successes came down to the time commitment and dedication from the voluntary organising team, and support from their managers to run the programme.
Key challenges identified:
How Woolworths carries out nation-wide scaling?
How to avoid cultural tax on passionate organisers?
Balancing relationships is also a minor challenge. At the pilot location, relationship building with mana whenua has been prioritised over Pasifika communities, due in part to being on their land.
Ongoing challenge within the organisation as a whole is obtaining accurate ethnic data – only 50% of employees enter ethnicity details.
Challenges remain in ensuring visibility of programme graduates to talent team and having deeper involvement from senior leaders to go on the programme journey with Māori and Pasifika staff.
-
Tangata Moana Mentoring Programme
-
Woolworths New Zealand
-