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Peter Hanlon, now Chairman of BankSA, was in
a senior marketing role at Westpac when he was
seconded to Cape York in far north Queensland.
He recognised that BankSA could ‘use the Jawun
program as a very specific part of its people
development processes’ because of the impact
of his secondment on his own leadership style:
I have no doubt whatsoever that the Jawun
experience strengthened my perspective on
being a real person, being a much more genuine
leader, but also being a leader who’s connected
not only to the broader society but to the
people who worked for me.
James Sheffield, GM Proprietary Lending Support
at Commonwealth Bank Australia, is a senior leader
who advocates the program within CBA. He had
a taste of the secondment experience through
attending a Jawun Executive Visit to the Goulburn
Murray region in Victoria. James said learning to
deal with ambiguity is critical to becoming an
effective leader at CBA. ‘People often don’t realise
earlier in their career that a huge part of being a
leader is dealing with ambiguity, we do it every day
in our roles. You must be confident and capable in
leading through ambiguity to be an effective leader,
and the secondment experience is absolutely a
learning ground to test and build those skills.’
One aspect of secondments that is often
overlooked is capturing learnings through the
transition back to work
, following a six- or 12-week
period in community. Partner organisation IAG
has actively managed this process with effective
results (see case study, page 40).
Bolsters organisational culture and
employer brand
In plain terms, organisational culture is the way
work gets done. It is often defined as a set of
assumptions about how to think, feel and act.
28
High performance cultures are known to drive real
value, and senior leaders have the greatest relative
impact on creating culture in an organisation.
29
Many of Jawun’s longer-standing partners attested
that Jawun has become a positive and essential
component of their
organisational culture
.
‘It’s become part of our DNA,’ said Vit Koci,
Westpac’s Program Manager Cape York
Indigenous Community. Melanie Evans, General
Manager Service Revolution & Transformation
at Westpac, agreed: ‘When it comes to diversity
and community, the Westpac–Jawun relationship
is so core to what we’re proud of that you can’t
disconnect it from our culture. The Jawun program
has been subject to multiple CEOs, a lot of change,
the GFC, when all programs were reviewed—
and now our people see it as a critical part of who
we are. A person will always be a better leader
if they have a more diverse experience, broader
perspective, better understanding, more patience,
if they’re more likely to accept non-traditional
approaches and truly operate as part of a team.
You can’t send someone to a university course
to teach them that.’
Beth Patterson, Chief Legal & Technology Services
Officer at Allens, said the firm is committed
to building a positive culture: ‘Through Jawun,
we as a firm can offer employees a way to make
their own valuable contribution beyond their
regular role. It’s a way to help build our culture.
Allens’ commitment to this type of cross cultural
exchange is beneficial both outside of and within
our organisation.’
Partners at BCG are required to mentor secondees,
which helps maximise their development. It also
brings the experience to life for senior leaders and
builds a learning culture within the organisation.
Trish Clancy, Principal at BCG, now mentors BCG
consultant Maria English, currently on secondment
to Wunan. ‘Maria’s accountable for making the
decisions, but I’m a sounding board for her,’ said
Trish. Maria said:
Having Trish as a mentor has given me the
opportunity to benefit from both her knowledge
of the East Kimberley, and her expertise at
guiding projects to achieve impact. She has
consistently encouraged me, and helped propel
me over project hurdles with a combination
of creativity and pragmatism.
The term ‘employer brand’ refers to an
organisation’s reputation as an employer. Since the
GFC, building a strong employer brand has become
a major focus for many companies in response
to growing
competition for talent
. An employee
value proposition (the benefits offered by the
company as an employer) is often a key facet of
employer brand. The Jawun program enhances
an organisation’s employee value proposition
by presenting a unique and highly attractive
opportunity to new recruits. This is especially
valuable for attracting Gen Y or ‘millennial’
talent; studies have shown this generation has
a strong social conscience and desires
‘work–life integration’.
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CREATING VALUE FOR CORPORATE AND GOVERNMENT PARTNERS 41