QBE became a Jawun partner in 2011, the same
year it launched its
corporate responsibility
platform, the QBE Foundation. It strives to make a
difference in key areas that align with QBE’s vision
and values, drive employee engagement and create
impact through philanthropic resources. Tim Plant,
CEO QBE Insurance, said:
The QBE Foundation is committed to supporting
the communities in which we operate and Jawun
gives us a terrific opportunity to share our
expertise, skills and knowledge to build resilience
in Indigenous communities. I was lucky enough
to take part in a Jawun Executive Visit and it
was fantastic to personally witness the positive
impact the locals and Jawun volunteers are
having in Cape York. Our partnership with Jawun
continues to provide our people with a unique
experience and opportunity to develop life-
changing skills that they can bring back to not
only the workplace, but their personal lives.
At Westpac, one of Jawun’s longest-standing
partners, Jawun is embedded within its
sustainability
strategy and underpins its
commitment to supporting Indigenous Australians.
Brian Hartzer reflected: ‘At Westpac, we have long
believed we have a responsibility to use our skills
and our connections in partnership with Indigenous
people to help bridge the disparities between
Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.’
Other organisations report that they are beginning
to understand broader opportunities for the
partnership to help
drive culture, inclusion
and
brand
and to support strategy in areas such
as attraction and
recruitment, procurement
(access to Indigenous supply chains) and
government relations
.
Value is unlocked internally
Jawun isn’t one-way traffic. It doesn’t just
benefit Indigenous Australia—it benefits
corporate Australia too.
BRIAN HARTZER,
CEO, WESTPAC
Jawun’s corporate and government partners
attest that the Jawun model creates value for their
organisations on many levels: as well as providing
an opportunity for organisations to successfully
engage with Indigenous Australia, it often results
in increased intercultural capability, people and
leadership development, a deeper connection to
organisational culture and enhanced corporate
social responsibility. However, it is clear that the
Jawun model is at its most effective when partners
recognise and maximise this value within their own
organisations. One organisation that recognises
a return on investment across the board is the
Department of Defence (see feature, pages 31–33).
Improved intercultural capability
drives inclusion
Global applications
Inclusive behaviours
Safe and diverse workplace
When an organisation is well populated by
individuals who are interculturally competent, it is
able to demonstrate ‘
intercultural capability
’ as an
attribute. This term refers to a ‘set of congruent
behaviours, attitudes and policies [which enables
organisations] to work effectively in cross-cultural
situations’.
23
The Jawun secondment program
has been shown to accelerate intercultural
development in individuals.
24
These individuals
return to their workplaces with altered attitudes
and behaviours, which helps an organisation to
operate more effectively.
In today’s global economy, intercultural capability
is a hallmark of an inclusive workplace and can
differentiate a company from its competitors.
The Australian Human Rights Commission
describes an inclusive workplace as:
An environment where everyone is treated
with dignity and respect, where the talents and
skills of different groups are valued, and where
productivity and customer service improves
because the workforce is happier, more motivated
and more aware of the many performance
benefits that inclusion can bring.
25
Building
inclusion
is identified as a priority by
CEOs who recognise the commercial return of a
high-performing workforce. To ensure a sustainable
and successful partnership with Jawun, Suncorp
identified two program outcomes that align with
their Diversity and Inclusion strategy: increasing
the diversity of the workforce and building an
inclusive culture throughout the business. ‘It’s with
great pride that we are witnessing our secondees
returning to the workplace better equipped to
build inclusive teams,’ said Leena Lim, Diversity
and Inclusion Manager at Suncorp. ‘They’re
demonstrating stronger cultural competency
and bringing new ideas and perspectives to
Suncorp’s community.’
34 JAWUN
2015 LEARNINGS AND INSIGHTS