Matrix > Toolkit: Organisational Culture and Capability > Retention and Wellbeing as Key Indicators
Retention and Wellbeing as Key Indicators
Staff retention and wellbeing are key indicators of success in organisational culture. Māori and Pasifika staff retention and wellbeing should be a measurable KPI for reporting on DEI progress. Click here for Doing Data Right, the Toolkit’s landing page for all data advice.
Contents
Retention as a wellbeing indicator; wellbeing as an organisational health indicator
Improving diversity in recruitment is not meaningful if, once they are ‘through the door’, Māori and Pasifika staff have high turnover rates and do not feel supported in their workplace. Strong retention of minority staff is an indicator of organisational culture that genuinely and concretely supports wellbeing through supporting diversity, including through supportive management, good career development, progression opportunities, and structures and networks for minority staff that have real influence (Brandon & Temple, 2007; Davenport et al., 2022; Gelencsér et al., 2023; McKay et al., 2007; Panoch, 2001; Tapia & Kvasny, 2004).
The most evidence-based ways to improve wellbeing for everyone at work are to remove stressors by improving the structural conditions of work, including equitable pay, conditions and progression; good quality processes and management; and empowering workers to have control or influence over what happens at work. It is important to remember that studies of individual-level workplace ‘wellbeing programmes’ for employees, such as mindfulness, resilience training, and stress management, show they have no long-term impact on wellbeing (Artz et al., 2017; Fleming, 2023; Goh et al., 2016; Song & Baicker, 2019; Spicer, 2024; Teoh et al., 2023).
Employee wellbeing is therefore an indicator or symptom of organisational health. The clearest GEM indicators of the wellbeing impact of good overall organisational culture and equal opportunities are:
Measures of retention or turnover for Māori and Pasifika staff compared with other staff, and tracked over time. This can be calculated in the same way that organisations usually do so but making sure to analyse this by ethnic group over time.
Wellbeing over time for Māori and Pasifika staff as measured in typical staff engagement or satisfaction surveys. Again, organisations do this in a variety of ways but should ensure to analyse results by ethnic group, including trends over time for each group.
Measuring wellbeing for Māori and Pasifika staff in staff engagement surveys
Employers may already include a range of wellbeing-related questions in their staff surveys, including ones related specifically to satisfaction and engagement in the workplace. If employers are using validated wellbeing questions drawn from national surveys, the most important thing is to compare wellbeing results within their own organisation, e.g. Māori and Pasifika compared to Pākehā, and how results trend over time. Employers should be aware that Pasifika report relatively better ‘general’ life satisfaction and family and social wellbeing than other people at the same income level or material conditions, but when asked more specific questions, also report higher levels of stress, distress and depressive symptoms (Ataera-Minser & Trowland, 2018). There are a range of possible cultural, social, and survey methodological factors behind this. This is why looking at how wellbeing responses from Māori and Pasifika staff trend over time is the best indicator.
Consider incorporating wellbeing models developed by and for Māori and Pasifika into policies and data gathering about staff wellbeing
Here are some key models:
The Whare Tapa Wha model of Māori mental health and wellbeing.
The Pacific Identity and Wellbeing Scale – Revised (PIWBS-R).
Question examples for staff surveys
The DiversityWorks DEI Survey (2022) asked employers what they perceived as the biggest wellbeing issues affecting their employees. The top four results were:
Mental health;
Stress;
Work-life balance;
Cultural diversity.
Click here to read some examples of validated survey questions that could be used to assess these wellbeing issues in staff surveys, from the NZ General Social Survey (NZGSS), the Quality of Life Survey (QoL), and other local sources.