Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) Innovate

Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP)Innovate May 2021 - April 2023

Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan 2

A message from our Executive Sponsor PageGroup is proudly continuing our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) journey, commenced in 2018 and cemented with the launch of our first RAP, Reflect, in February 2019. Our journey began with the commitment of our Executive Team and Board, to take action to achieve meaningful change, and to create a diversity and inclusion program we named FirstNations@Page.

Now, through our Innovate RAP, our goal is to build on this foundation of learnings, understanding and reflection through the relationships we have built and the new ones we anticipate will develop, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, communities and businesses.

In August 2019, PageGroup commenced a partnership with Supply Nation as a corporate member. Our membership is critical in our journey to improve supplier diversity, through improving our procurement processes to be more inclusive and accessible for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suppliers.

The framework for our second RAP will continue to support and advance our efforts in using our unique position as an employer and provider of recruitment services, to promote career opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We continue to work with partners to help facilitate this, as we find more ways to increase employment opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

As the Executive Sponsor of this important diversity stream, I am excited to see the level of commitment from our people and their engagement with our RAP and the activities we undertake to support it. This commitment is evident in the internal cultural learning programs we have implemented, including at Board level, and the interest in future programs we have planned for additional cultural workshops. This program also includes events for our customers and candidates, that embrace our commitment of sharing knowledge and learnings across our networks.

We continue fundraising for our partner charity, The Smith Family, and its Girls at the Centre program – aimed at keeping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls engaged with their education and encouraging them to achieve their potential at school and beyond.

We are working with local community groups to create partnerships and provide support. The first initiative involves a local AFL Club in Western Australia, where 90% of the members are Aboriginal and the Leadership Team of the Club is predominantly Aboriginal.

Our leaders, working group and overall organisation have embraced our RAP commitments. Through consistent, practical steps, we are demonstrating our dedication to PageGroup’s policy of equal opportunities in recruitment and employment, through procurement of goods and services and continuing our journey to reconciliation.

As a leading global recruitment firm, PageGroup’s purpose is to “change lives for people through creating opportunity to reach potential”. We will do this by contributing to help make reconciliation a reality.

Greg Allen RAP Executive Sponsor PageGroup Director


About the Art The concept and vision for the piece was to incorporate local industries and link this together with our purpose of “Changing Lives”.

The framed artwork was comissioned by PageGroup and produced by renowned West Australian local Aboriginal artist Kevin Bynder, titled Changing Lives - Whadjuk Nyungar Boodja. The painting is of the Whadjuk Noongar Region in West Australia, also known as Boorloo. The centre shows the combined colours of PageGroup, which consults with local industries including Mining, Infrastructure, Health and Government.

About the artist Kevin Bynder was born in 1975, in Perth, to a Whadjuk-Yuet Nyungar Mother and Badimia-Amangu Yamatji Father. He began painting at the age of 23 and lived in a small town in the north-west of WA before moving to Broome where he had his first art studio.

Kevin spent four years as an education assistant for a Catholic College in Perth where he taught art to Aboriginal students from remote communities. A respected teacher, his students won first prize for their submission in the Catholic Education of WA’s “Songlines upon the Earth” Art Competition.

In 2019, Kevin was announced as the inaugural artist in residence at Yagan Square in Perth CBD. Kevin opened a shop and grew his business including major commissions with major sporting clubs, creating team jerseys and large corporate paintings including the Rottnest Island Authority’s RAP artwork.

A community-minded person, Kevin has donated countless pieces of his artwork for fundraising purposes over the past couple of years.

Kevin is a well-known identity in the Aboriginal community in Perth, often asked to speak at events and take part in panel discussion surrounding First Nations cultures. He is proud that his children are beginning to walk in his footsteps as accomplished artists.


Our vision for reconciliationPageGroup’s purpose is to “change lives for people through creating opportunity to reach potential”. We recognise that many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders experience disparity in lifestyle, health and education from other Australians. Our vision for reconciliation is;

• Our business embraces Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures through education, celebrating events and welcoming them into our business

• We embrace, understand and acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories

• We work to support closing the gap on the disparity of employment by working within our local communities to provide opportunity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to gain sustainable employment

In the context of PageGroup this translates to continue building strong relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, providing procurement opportunities for their businesses and employment for their peoples, as we continue to strive to build a safe and inclusive workplace environment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Our business PageGroup is a global recruitment agency that has over 6,500 employees across 37 countries. Our main aim is to match job seekers with employers that are looking to recruit new employees. We strive to create long term relationships between our business and the wider community. PageGroup operates under a family of brands that includes Michael Page, Page Personnel, Page Executive and Page Outsourcing.

We recruit for large and small businesses across a wide range of disciplines, including Finance, Technology, HR, Legal, Sales, Office Support, Customer Service, Marketing, Digital, Property, Construction, Engineering and Manufacturing, Logistics, Procurement and Supply Chain, Mining & Energy Resources as well as local, state and federal government.

Our Australian business employs over 200 people and serves the major business centres of Australia, with offices in NSW, VIC, QLD, WA and ACT. We have eight offices in Australia (Sydney CBD, Chatswood, Parramatta, Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne CBD, Glen Waverly and Perth). Our culture is one of inclusion and creating opportunity. Welcoming First Peoples into our organisation forms part of our RAP.


Our RAP As a recruitment agency, we have a unique opportunity to promote career opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. As an employer, we are conscious there is more that we could be doing to ensure greater representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in our own workforce, as well as to support Supply Nation businesses.

With offices in most capital cities across the country, we believe it is critical for our objective of being a truly inclusive workplace, to have greater awareness of local Aboriginal cultures, spirituality and histories in the communities that we service. We believe that doing so will benefit our local communities, our business and the value that we can offer our own customers.

Further, building on the success of our RAP journey so far, our Innovate RAP will assist us in strengthening the foundations for the internal cultural shift we are looking to achieve, as well further developing key relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Our RAP has been developed by an internal working group, which includes RAP Champion, Human Resources Director, Rani Nandan, RAP Executive Sponsor, PageGroup Director, Greg Allen, Head of Marketing, John Summerhays and Head of Customer Engagement, Julie Gilchrist. Supporting the group with advice and cultural knowledge is Noongar Elder, Gordon Cole, CEO of the Noongar Chamber of Commerce. Gordon commenced attending RAP Working Group meetings in April 2021 and provides ongoing support and advice as we work on delivering on our KPIs.

Over the past 18 months since our first RAP was launched, our local committees have worked hard to develop strong and meaningful relationships with Elders, First Nations business owners and leaders in the community. We have done this through our local events, leveraging the personal relationships our people have in the community and through Supply Nation. Some examples include procurement events held in many of our offices where we invited representatives of First Nations communities to be members of a panel, with the goal of educating our customers on how to engage with First Nations businesses and align their procurement policies to be inclusive to First Nations businesses. One event held in Western Australia included on the panel, the local representative of Supply Nation, the CEO of the Noongar Chamber of Commerce and the Procurement Manager responsible for the

Indigenous Procurement Strategy for Main Roads WA. The event attracted over 130 attendees and was well regarded by our customers. Other events were mirrored across the country.

We have actively engaged with each of these panel members on many occasions in support of developing meaningful relationships with First Nations businesses. This has proven successful, with three major contracts signed for the delivery of ongoing services.

The flow on effect of these events has meant we have provided our customers with networking opportunities to both further their own RAP journey and to introduce them to community leaders and First Nations business owners to engage with.

Throughout this journey, we have invited community leaders into our offices to present their story and experiences to our people, in support of our ongoing cultural learning journey. We have also engaged with local artists in two states and commissioned artworks that are proudly displayed in our offices.


Example of supporting our customers In early 2020, our business was engaged to recruit a CEO for Link-Up, an Aboriginal community organisation that supports Aboriginal families displaced during the Stolen Generations, to connect with their relatives. David Khadi, Regional Director in NSW took on the sourcing challenge for the role, he used his own networks and those of his colleagues to directly contact suitable candidates. The result was the placement of a CEO, after providing a shortlist of 10 highly skilled candidates. The following is a testimonial that supports the positive work David did in achieving this outcome.

“From the moment we entrusted in PageGroup to find our new CEO, we were extremely impressed and knew we had made the right decision. David Khadi and Greg Allen were so accommodating from our first meeting, they provided professional advice and showed the utmost patience.

Throughout the process, David kept in constant contact sharing exceptional talent from the get-go. His enthusiasm when speaking to me about a possible candidate made me very excited about the talent he was finding. David made this process so simple for us and always responded to us quickly and professionally.

David presented us with 10 extremely strong candidates, which made shortlisting down to 5 candidates for final interviews a difficult task.

I would highly recommend David and PageGroup for companies that are looking for a seamless recruitment process from start to finish. David’s effort and dedication to our company and the role was 10/10 and we thank him tremendously for sourcing for our CEO.”

Link-Up (NSW) Aboriginal Corporation


RelationshipsBuilding and developing respectful and meaningful relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, businesses and communities, resonates well with our purpose of “changing lives for people through creating opportunity to reach potential.” As a business, we are committed to many important diversity and community initiatives. Our philosophy for FirstNations@Page, as with each of our Diversity & Inclusion initiatives, is to get a conversation started. We believe that through conversation and education, comes positive change, respect and understanding. We are a diverse business and respect the differences that the many cultures, religions and lifestyles of our people, customers and suppliers bring to our organisation and strive to have a positive impact in our communities.

With each of our Diversity & Inclusion initiatives, we encourage our people to be open and trustful of their colleagues and to feel confident in sharing their stories and experiences. Internally, we have a Yammer Group for sharing these stories.

Celebrating Events and local Culture For 2020 National Reconciliation Week, we held an internal damper baking competition, staff shared stories about recruitment successes with First Nations suppliers and partnerships we have obtained. 2020’s event was particularly poignant, with the theme of “In this Together”. While our offices were for the most part closed and our teams were working from home, they held events across the country through Microsoft Teams and were encouraged to discuss their learnings from the past year about reconciliation and the positive changes they had seen both personally and as a business, following the launch of our first RAP. The event was so well received it will now become an annual event. Each of the offices held their own local events and brought in guest speakers.

For NAIDOC Week 2020, our employees and their families and friends were invited to submit a piece of art, with the focus of “What Aboriginal Culture means to me!”. This has been a great success, with entries from across Australia and the winners selected by Aboriginal artist, Kevin Bynder.

For each of our events, we create a one pager and send out to our offices, they hold a morning tea and discuss the history of the event, they also invite local Elders and other community leaders to attend and discuss their own history.

We also encouraged our local teams to research their local cultural history and heritage. To the right are examples of these flyers.


# Action Deliverable Timeline Responsibility

1Establish and maintain mutually beneficial relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders and organisations.

Continue to meet with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders and organisations to develop guiding principles for future engagement.

March 2023 RAP Executive Sponsor

Develop an engagement plan to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders and organisations.

August 2021 Head of Marketing

2Build relationships through celebrating National Reconciliation Week (NRW).

Circulate Reconciliation Australia’s NRW resources and reconciliation materials to our staff. May 2021 & 2022 Head of Marketing

RAP Working Group members to participate in an external NRW event. May 2021 & 2022 Head of Marketing

Encourage and support staff and senior leaders to participate in at least one external event to recognise and celebrate NRW.

May 2021 & 2022 HR Director

Organise NRW event each year. May 2021 & 2022 Committee Chair

Register all our NRW events on Reconciliation Australia’s NRW website. May 2021 & 2022 Committee Chair

3 Promote reconciliation through our sphere of influence.

Implement strategies to engage our staff in reconciliation. May 2021 & 2022 HR Director

Communicate our commitment to reconciliation publicly. Ongoing but specifically June & July 2021/2022

RAP Executive Sponsor & Head of Marketing

Explore opportunities to positively influence our external stakeholders to drive reconciliation outcomes.

Ongoing but specifically June & July 2021/2022

Committee Chair

Collaborate with RAP and other like-minded organisations to develop ways to advance reconciliation. This will include our working with our customers who have their own RAP journey.


Continue to support our customers in their own RAP journey through networking and formal introductions to community leaders and businesses. e.g. at our Procurement events.


4Promote positive race relations through anti-discrimination strategies.

Conduct a review of HR policies and procedures to identify existing anti-discrimination provisions, and future needs.

August 2021 HR Director

Develop, implement and communicate an anti-discrimination policy for our organisation. August 2021 HR Director

Engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff and/or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advisors to consult on our anti-discrimination policy.

August 2021 HR Director

Continue to educate senior leaders on the effects of racism. August 2023 HR Director

Relationships Our Partnership with Gordon Cole, CEO of Noongar Chamber of Commerce, has been particularly beneficial. Gordon has provided introductions for our WA committee to many local business and community leaders which have developed into long term and meaningful business relationships. His guidance has provided our people, both in WA and at the national level, with support and advice on our continued journey. We will monitor how we maintain our relationships and continue to network with stakeholders through the development of our community and business relationships.

Focus area: The focus area of Relationships aligns to our core value “We are Passionate”, this value focusses on the way we work, interact with people, work in the community and support our diversity and inclusion programs locally, nationally and globally.


Respect Respect is key to the core values for PageGroup Australia. As a global company we are committed to embracing and respecting the communities in the locations we operate in. We understand our responsibility as an employer, to identify and cultivate a diverse talent pool and we recognise and appreciate that every individual is different and are committed to ensuring our people are confident and feel respected so they can bring their true selves to work.

While we are a global company, we are proudly Australian at our core and that is reflected in our organisational culture. Our rich Australian history is celebrated through many events and we encourage our people to gain knowledge and explore the history and cultures of First Nations Peoples. We actively promote this through the many events we acknowledge and celebrate throughout the year, including National Reconciliation Week and NAIDOC Week. It is also evident in the artwork we have commissioned with First Nations artists, that proudly hang on our office walls.

A partner in our reconciliation journey is John Briggs, an Elder in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community who has presented cultural programs across all of our offices over 2019 - 2020. John also presented a webinar for National Reconciliation Week 2020, open to our employees and our customers, with a focus on the consequences of exclusion to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, People and Communities. Over 100 people attended the event, with extremely positive feedback from participants. By John sharing both the negative and positive aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, many conversations were started and eyes were opened. We are proud of playing our part in providing a forum for sharing information with both our employees and customers and supporting an environment for positive change.

Focus area: One of our core values is “Make a Difference”, this directly relates to “Respect”. Our values form part of the way we do business and interact with each other, our customers and the community every day.



5

Increase understanding, value and recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, histories, knowledge and rights through cultural learning.

Continue to review the cultural learning needs within our organisation. December 2021 & 2022 HR Director

Consult local Traditional Owners and/or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advisors on the development and implementation of a cultural learning strategy.

Quarterly starting September 2021

HR Director

Develop, implement and communicate a cultural protocols document, including protocols for Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Country.

Completed March 2021

HR Director

Continue to create and provide opportunities for the RAP Working Group members, and other key leadership staff to participate in formal and structured cultural learning.

March 2023 HR Director

6Demonstrate respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples by observing cultural protocols.

Develop, implement and communicate a cultural protocols document, including protocols for Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Country.

March 2023 Head of Marketing

Include an Acknowledgement of Country or other appropriate protocols at the commencement of important meetings.

July 2021 Head of Marketing

Increase staff’s understanding of the purpose and significance behind cultural protocols, including Acknowledgement of Country and Welcome to Country protocols.


Continue to consult with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on cultural alignment for events, marketing and initiatives.


Continue to invite local Traditional Owners or Custodians to provide a Welcome to Country or other appropriate cultural protocol at significant events each year.


7Build respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories by celebrating NAIDOC Week.

RAP Working Group to participate in an external NAIDOC Week event.First week in

July 2021 & 2022 Head of Marketing

Review HR policies and procedures to remove barriers to staff participating in NAIDOC Week. June 2021 & 2022 HR Director

Promote and encourage participation in external NAIDOC events to all staff. June 2021 & 2022 Head of Marketing

8Create a culturally safe and welcoming environment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff and stakeholders.

Continue to promote engagement with local artists and consider commissioning further artwork that represents our reconciliation journey.


Continue annually, the art competition for the families of our employees that promotes reconciliation.


Promote First Nations by hanging the native title map in each office. March 2023 Head of Marketing

Provide for each office and reception, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Flags. March 2023 Head of Marketing

Respect

Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan 11 Aboriginal symbol: rain

Opportunities As a leading recruitment consultancy, we believe we have a unique opportunity to promote career opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and ensure there is a greater representation of First Nations Australians in our own workforce. We are proudly a responsible corporate citizen, who strives for positive change and promotes an environment for inclusion and understanding.

As a recruitment business, we are committed to supporting our customers in their own journey to reconciliation and their employment strategies that support it. This is not only socially responsible; it is critical to the success of our business. For many of our customers, there is a focus on creating employment opportunities for First Nations Peoples. We must meet these demands to be competitive in our markets. To do this we must continue to develop strong networks for sourcing candidates, aligning our recruitment practices to provide reasonable adjustments to our processes to ensure we attract the right candidates and can support them throughout the recruitment process. We recognise there are many cultural differences we need to better understand in order to provide these supports. This is an area of development for our business and an important focus of our Innovate RAP.

Focus area: PageGroup aligns to the focus area Opportunities through our purpose of “Changing Lives for people through creating opportunity to reach potential”.



9Support Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples in higher education to enter into employment in their chosen field.

Work with our partner universities and their cultural liaison leads to provide for graduating students: • workshops • CV advice • career advice • introduction to potential employers


Work with other partner organisations such as AFL SportsReady and CareerTrackers, to provide:• workshops • CV advice • career advice • introduction to potential employers


10Improve employment outcomes by increasing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander recruitment, retention and professional development.

Build understanding of current Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staffing to inform future employment and professional development opportunities.

February 2022 HR Director

Engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff to consult on our recruitment, retention and professional development strategy.

February 2022 HR Director

Develop and implement an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander recruitment, retention and professional development strategy.

April 2022 HR Director

Advertise job vacancies to effectively reach Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders. April 2022 HR Director

Review HR and recruitment procedures and policies to remove barriers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation in our workplace.

April 2022 HR Director

Increase the percentage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff employed in our workforce. March 2023 HR Director

11Increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander supplier diversity to support improved economic and social outcomes.

Continue to manage our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander procurement strategy. August 2022 Head of Marketing

Continue our Supply Nation membership. July 2022 RAP Executive Sponsor

Continue to develop and communicate opportunities for procurement of goods and services from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses to staff.


Review and update procurement practices to remove barriers to procuring goods and services from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses.


Continue to develop commercial relationships with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander businesses.

March2023 Head of Marketing

Opportunities

Contact details

Rani NandanHuman Resources Directort 02 8046 0861 e [email protected]


12Establish and maintain an effective RAP Working group (RWG) to drive governance of the RAP.

Maintain and continue to build Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representation on the RWG. March 2022, 2023 HR Director

Establish and apply a Terms of Reference for the RWG. July 2021 HR Director

Meet at least four times per year to drive and monitor RAP implementation. Quarterly from March 2023 Head of Marketing

13Provide appropriate support for effective implementation of RAP commitments.

Continue to refine resource needs for RAP implementation. February 2022 HR Director

Continue to engage our senior leaders and other staff in the delivery of RAP commitments. February 2022 HR Director

Maintain appropriate systems to track, measure and report on RAP commitments. April 2022 HR Director

Maintain an internal RAP Champion from senior management. April 2022 HR Director

14Build accountability and transparency through reporting RAP achievements, challenges and learnings both internally and externally.

Complete and submit the annual RAP Impact Measurement Questionnaire to Reconciliation Australia.

30 September, 2021 & 2022 Head of Marketing

Report RAP progress to all staff and senior leaders quarterly. Quarterly until March 2023 Head of Marketing

Publicly report our RAP achievements, challenges and learnings, annually. March 2022 & 2023 Head of Marketing

Investigate participating in Reconciliation Australia’s biennial Workplace RAP Barometer. May 2022 HR Director

15 Continue our reconciliation journey by developing our next RAP. Register via Reconciliation Australia’s website to begin developing our next RAP. October 2022 Head of Marketing

Governance

Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) Innovate

Documents

Transcript of Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) Innovate