Competency + Cultural
Building cultural competency and HSW competency is key to creating safer, more inclusive workplaces across the retail sector and supply chain.
In Aotearoa New Zealand, priority workers, particularly Māori and Pasifika, face higher rates of workplace injuries. Addressing this disparity requires culturally relevant interventions and improved engagement.
In 2023, Worksafe New Zealand stated Māori workers experience a rate of serious injury at work that is on average 31% higher than non-Māori across all industries and sectors nationally.
This highlights the need for culturally relevant interventions and improved engagement with our kaimahi/workers.
Our approach
At ShopCare, we empower businesses to engage with and support their Māori, Pasifika, and other priority workers through a Māori-centric approach to health and safety.
By fostering strong relationships with these communities, we can reduce harm, and create workplaces where everyone feels valued and safe. By integrating cultural competency into health and safety practices, we help you build a safer, more inclusive environment for all.
How ShopCare can help your business
Our training, resources and insight into cultural capability will help you build stronger relationships and engagement with Māori, Pasifika, and other priority workers.We enhance the capability of those responsible for managing health, safety, and well-being (HSW) by equipping them with knowledge and tools to improve HSW outcomes across their organisations.
ShopCare training
Grow cultural understanding in your workplace
We’re pleased to offer a series of free online training modules designed to help you and your team build cultural awareness, strengthen leadership, and support safer, more inclusive workplaces.
The training is delivered in three parts – Tīmatatanga (the beginning), Te Kākano (the seed), and Te Whanake (to rise) – each building on the last to grow confidence and capability over time.
1. Start your journey with cultural awareness
Tīmatatanga (the beginning) is our introductory module – a first step into understanding Māori culture. Designed as a gentle beginning, it sets the foundation for the Te Kākano and Te Whanake modules that follow.
This module offers a simple introduction to Māori history, beliefs and customs; and the practice of a mihi – a traditional way of introducing yourself that can help strengthen team connection.
Tīmatatanga doesn’t teach tikanga or Māori custom practices, but it will give you the tools to start seeing Māori culture through a fresh lens – highlighting both its uniqueness and its shared values with other cultures.
2. Fostering cultural competency
Te Kākano (the seed) offers three training modules, that are part of the Haumaru Hokohoko initiative, the heart of our cultural competency efforts. These modules have been designed to raise cultural awareness, build cultural capability, and enable cultural responsiveness, specifically within the context of improving health and safety.
These modules form a braided stream, integrating Māori principles such as Rau Whariki Tikanga and Kōkiri within the Haumaru Tāngata Framework.
3. Strengthen leadership through cultural capability
Te Whanake (to rise) is the next step in your cultural competency journey – a set of modules designed to help you and your team grow and lead with a Te Ao Māori lens or Māori world view.
Building on the foundations of Te Kākano, these modules weave together cultural awareness and capability – including Māori language, concepts of leadership, and practical ways to apply them in your everyday role.
Te Whanake is designed to help you integrate cultural understanding into your leadership style, both for Māori and other cultures, in ways that are authentic, respectful, and impactful.
Additional resources
Puataunofo – Collaborating with WorkSafe for Pasifika engagement
In collaboration with WorkSafe NZ’s Puataunofo team, ShopCare hosted a series of webinars that shift the focus from workers to employers. These webinars help employers engage more effectively with Pasifika communities, ultimately creating safer and more supportive workplaces. Click below to watch.
For more information, visit the WorkSafe Puataunofo website or watch the Puataunofo ‘Come Home Safely’ programme video series.
“In today’s multi-cultural organisations, cultural intelligence capabilities will be critical to enable health and safety practitioners and professionals to build interpersonal trust with members of the workforce, thus ultimately adding organisational value through their leaderly behaviours and the way they influence, create understanding and enable participation.”
Dearsly, G (2010) Cultural Intelligence: A critical capability for health and safety professionals in building interpersonal trust? View Greg Dearsly’s full thesis below.
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Valuable resources
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The Haumaru Tāngata Framework
Te Rōpū Marutau o Aotearoa (TRMA) have developed a framework called The Haumaru Tāngata Framework, which addresses the overrepresentation of Māori in workplace injury statistics. It provides a Māori-centred guide for businesses about intervention and investment in health and safety for Māori employed in high-risk industries.
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Ko Au Te Ao
To aid organisations to embed the Haumaru Tāngata framework, TRMA have developed Ko Au Te Ao, a self-assessment tool, based on the Rau (Foundation Principles) of Haumaru Tāngata. Its purpose is to assist organisations to identify areas for improvement within their current health and safety policies and practices. The programme is designed to be completed within eight weeks, and TRMA provide trained mentors to assist and support throughout the duration. To register your organisation, or for further information please email admin@trma.co.nz.
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Te Kete Maruiti (basket of knowledge)
WorkSafe’s digital app Te Kete Maruiti app provides resources on engaging with Māori, including pronunciation, values, and proverbs. It is a fabulous resource that can be used by anyone wanting to learn how to better engage with Māori on a day-to-day basis. The app is free to download, search for Te Kete Maruiti in the Apple or Google Play stores.
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Institute of Directors Hautū app
The Institute of Directors (IoD NZ) has an app called Hautū, helping professionals develop cultural intelligence. The app is designed to help you engage with te Ao Māori, the Māori world, in the workplace and in your governance activities. It can be freely downloaded on the Google Play store.
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WorkSafe ‘Be a safe guy’ video
WorkSafe teamed up with comedian D’Angelo Martin to create a ‘be a safe guy’ campaign. This video is focused on the importance of looking out for your work whānau and helping to reduce workplace injuries.