How to build cultural competency in your business
Establishing cultural competency within their business was the very first goal for the new owners of О̄hope Top 10 Holiday Park.
Before they even took over the business, the owners knew they needed to connect with Ngāti Awa, the local iwi. Not only were they the owners of the land that the holiday park sat on, it was realised that the business and iwi could work together in a number of different ways that could benefit them both.
As the relationship has grown, О̄hope Top 10 Holiday Park has seen great benefits from having a genuine and authentic relationship - from the guest experience to the work environment, and welcoming other cultures into their daily lives.
Operations Manager, Aimee O'Keeffe describes their experience and how it has improved their business and workplace...
Aimee, can you please explain how the relationship with Ngāti Awa began?
Our journey with Ngāti Awa started before we took over the business here. My dad wanted to build a relationship with the local iwi because they are the owners of the land, so he got in contact with Tourism Bay of Plenty to make that first connection. They started talking about how we could work collaboratively and reach outcomes that would be beneficial to both us and the iwi. The areas we decided we should focus on were: social, cultural, environmental and economical - and from those initial meetings we noted actions that we begin to implement.
Were there any barriers you had to overcome?
When you’re building any relationship, there are barriers to begin with. The first hurdle we had to overcome was showing that we were authentic and that we’re not just trying to tick a box. We wanted to show that we really wanted to bring culture into our business.
Also, it’s not instant change. Building a relationship takes time. We needed to prove our commitment – that we were walking the walk, rather than talking the talk.
How has О̄hope Top 10 Holiday Park improved its cultural competency?
- First and foremost, we built the relationship with the local iwi and developed a plan of action with them
- We have an agreement in place that ensures we hire members of Ngāti Awa; this is particularly useful during our peak season - we can rely on the iwi to find people to help us
- When guests arrive we great them in te reo, but we've also built on this to greet guests in their own language too
- We're ensuring we use the correct pronunciation of te reo words
- Our Māori staff feel more valued in the workplace
- We're not only focusing on te reo Māori - staff from around the world are encouraged to share their culture with everyone
- We generally feel comfortable to have conversations about culture in our workplace
- It will be an important feature of our business for years to come
How has improving your cultural competency benefitted your staff?
Our staff have the opportunity to express themselves and share their culture - it makes them feel more valued by us.
We’ve been able to have great conversations with people about where they come from and what’s important to them. It’s made everyone feel more comfortable to speak to one another about their culture.
Moving forwards, I would like to see our staff take ownership of the cultural direction of the business. Owning their stories, sharing their stories and improving the guest experience by doing this.
View their story here:
Top Tips on working with Iwi to build your cultural competency
1. Give it ago! Reach out and start building connections with iwi
2. Approach the process with authenticity
3. Be respectful and have an open mind - listen and build the relationship at a pace everyone is comfortable with
Meet Aimee!
Aimee O'Keeffe is the Operations Manager for О̄hope Top 10 Holiday Park. Her background is in learning and development, facilitating leadership and skills courses and company inductions.