International Aboriginal Tourism Conference, Quebec City March 2015 ollerenshaw people performance productivity

Culturally Appropriate Workforce Planning in Creating The Role of Culturally Appropriate Workforce Planning in Creating Sustainable Indigenous Tourism

about people and place positioning consideration for people and place the values, beliefs, relationships, totems, history, significance at the forefront of workforce planning

building capability workforce planning is about building the capability of a business through its people businesses owned and/or operated by indigenous persons, delivering cultural products and services reflective of and respectful of the local culture cannot and should not operate exclusively employing western, capitalist, anglo- american centric business practices and processes. This most specifically applies to human resources practices, education and training.

Workforce planning in itself is not a solution. building capability Workforce planning in itself is not a solution. But without workforce planning business sustainability is just that much more difficult.

doing it right means doing it relevant the indigenous people of Australia and its islands represent many different cultures, made up of over 200 nations and several 100 homelands whilst there are many similarities in cultural beliefs, values and practices there is often the potential for signifiant divergence, not the least being in the areas of language, grieving processes, and gender roles consideration of cultural differences and the rules and systems by which the culture operate must take precedence over all other considerations

cultural context Case Study work undertaken with 90 indigenous owned and/or operated businesses in Australia during the period February 2013 to June 2014 these businesses all operated within the tourism, travel, hospitality and events sector they all participated in a Commonwealth funded industry delivered business advisory program

cultural context where the program provided support services reflective of the general Australian business processes and white culture, positive gains were made in areas such as; business planning, marketing, compliance and general operational processes

cultural context where the program provided support from a culturally relevant approach (i.e. Aboriginal advisor working with Aboriginal business) the previously identified areas showed significant improvement as well as the areas of: recruitment retention targeted skills development customer service product development workplace culture

what did we find? a culture and people centric approach to business planning and development results not only in enhanced business performance against traditional measures but leads to more sustainable business practices when developing a sustainable indigenous tourism business the unique values, beliefs and practices must not only be considered, but placed at the forefront of all the businesses strategic planning and decision making employees experience a stronger connection to culture through a culture first approach

benefits achieved with reference to the 90 businesses who participated in the program the benefits of culturally responsive workforce planning have been quite phenomenal. The following list is just an example of what can be achieved when a business puts people and culture at the centre of its planning.

benefits achieved revenue increase by over 115% in less than 8 months revenue increase by over 50% in 12 months cost savings of over 30% in 6 months costs savings of $30,000+ within 12 months revenue doubled 3 months staff turnover halved over 12 months staff retention increased by over 100% in 12 months contracts with wholesalers to export services to international markets contract with major cruise ship group to deliver cultural experiences to its passengers throughout entire season (68 cruise ships)

benefits achieved new products to market in 6 months customer base increased by more than 100 fold in 8 months business activity doubled in 1 season (i.e inures and bookings) new market accessed number of new jobs created due to business growth 50% 7 new jobs created due to business growth 100% increase in staff numbers due to business expansions time to find new staff reduced from 3 months (average) to 2 weeks (average)

competitive but responsive how do you ensure that a business is sustainable in a highly competitive market whilst remaining responsive to and respectful of its cultural imperatives? Answer: start with culture as the defining factor, stay true to culture at all times and care about your people: who they are? what their needs are? what governs their behaviour and thinking?

tourism as a means of protecting and empowering culture Workforce planning will assist indigenous communities and businesses to manage the transition from one economic model to another without compromising culture. Workforce planning allows businesses to identify what jobs and skills are required going forward along with the necessary workforce reform to create culturally respectful sustainable indigenous tourism businesses which in turn protect and preserve culture and empower communities.

ollerenshaw people performance productivity Stephen Ollerenshaw mobile: +61 424 141 279 email: stephen.ollerenshaw@hotmail.com blog: ollerenshawconsulting.wordpress.com