Cultural awareness - Corporate Responsibility

Cultural awareness

2009 results

2008 results

Our approach

Building understanding of Indigenous issues

A major component of ANZ's Reconciliation Action Plan is building greater understanding within the organisation of issues facing Indigenous Australians. This includes targeted events, programs and mentoring for ANZ employees at all levels. By listening to our Indigenous communities, we hope to better understand and respond to their needs.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Diversity Network

ANZ has launched the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Diversity Network open to all ANZ staff interested in finding ways to better support our Indigenous employees and customers. The Network aims to:

foster inclusiveness and diversity
raise the awareness of issues for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff and customers
support the mentoring development and training of Indigenous employees
enable ANZ to be an employer of choice
improve the Indigenous cultural capability of ANZ employees.

Diversity Speakers Series

ANZ hosts regular events for ANZ employees featuring a series of prominent Australian Indigenous speakers discussing Indigenous affairs in Australian society, in order to help ANZ employees better understand our Indigenous customers, employees, and the communities we work and live in.

The topics covered include human rights, economic inclusion, home ownership, government policy and discussions on Indigenous cultures.

Mutual Mentoring Program

ANZ's Mutual Mentoring Program matches an ANZ leader with an external Indigenous leader for at least six months. The aim for Indigenous leaders is to further develop business and enterprise skills and develop a relationship with a major Australian company. For ANZ leaders, it is to develop a better understanding of Indigenous people and their culture.

What makes this different from a typical mentoring program is the matching up of two people as equals. They are both teacher and learner.

Case study: Mutual mentoring - distance is no barrier
Deborah Walsh and Adam Moss might seem an odd partnership for a mutual mentoring program. Deborah, the Executive Director of Indigenous Leadership Network Victoria (www.ilnv.com.au), is based in Melbourne, while Adam, ANZ's Regional Manager for North and West SA, works out of Kadina on the Yorke Peninsula. But Deborah and Adam found that what they had in common was more important than the distance separating them. Both were involved in nurturing leaders - Adam through overseeing 19 branches throughout a huge area of rural South Australia, Deborah through an organisation created to recognise, support and encourage the leadership potential of Victoria's Indigenous people - and both were doing external studies in the same field. The Mutual Mentoring program is part of ANZ's work to build greater awareness of Indigenous culture and experience among staff. It also provides Indigenous leaders an opportunity to make a deeper connection with the corporate world and explore how this can help them with their work. In Deborah and Adam's case, that means frequent contact by email, as well as phone calls during Adam's frequent long drives to remote branches. Maintaining the relationship since it commenced in June 2008 has taken commitment, but both Adam and Deborah have experienced the benefits. Adam says Deborah has helped him to engage with Indigenous communities in a culturally appropriate way. One example was a celebration of the one year anniversary for the Port Augusta branch. "I wanted to have a function that would be meaningful for the whole Port Augusta community including the Indigenous community," says Adam. "We had an elder giving a Welcome to Country and a traditional dance performed by a group from a remote region. Deborah was very supportive. It was because of her that we were able to do all this. Culturally, we did the right things and it was all handled very well." As a leader in a young organisation, Deborah has also appreciated the chance to draw on Adam's experience and connections. "The match between us was really good - we had a connection in the paths we'd taken. We'd lived in the same places, but at different times! The project started while I was preparing to launch the Network. Adam helped me with a resource need, and I will be drawing on his help again in the future." Deborah says that she would encourage other Indigenous leaders to participate in a program like this. "The whole approach has been very well thought out - although from here it has to turn into other actions, from both parties. It's a step forward in a long journey."

Case study: Mutual mentoring - distance is no barrier

Deborah Walsh and Adam Moss might seem an odd partnership for a mutual mentoring program. Deborah, the Executive Director of Indigenous Leadership Network Victoria (www.ilnv.com.au), is based in Melbourne, while Adam, ANZ's Regional Manager for North and West SA, works out of Kadina on the Yorke Peninsula.

But Deborah and Adam found that what they had in common was more important than the distance separating them. Both were involved in nurturing leaders - Adam through overseeing 19 branches throughout a huge area of rural South Australia, Deborah through an organisation created to recognise, support and encourage the leadership potential of Victoria's Indigenous people - and both were doing external studies in the same field.

The Mutual Mentoring program is part of ANZ's work to build greater awareness of Indigenous culture and experience among staff. It also provides Indigenous leaders an opportunity to make a deeper connection with the corporate world and explore how this can help them with their work. In Deborah and Adam's case, that means frequent contact by email, as well as phone calls during Adam's frequent long drives to remote branches.

Maintaining the relationship since it commenced in June 2008 has taken commitment, but both Adam and Deborah have experienced the benefits. Adam says Deborah has helped him to engage with Indigenous communities in a culturally appropriate way. One example was a celebration of the one year anniversary for the Port Augusta branch.

"I wanted to have a function that would be meaningful for the whole Port Augusta community including the Indigenous community," says Adam. "We had an elder giving a Welcome to Country and a traditional dance performed by a group from a remote region. Deborah was very supportive. It was because of her that we were able to do all this. Culturally, we did the right things and it was all handled very well."

As a leader in a young organisation, Deborah has also appreciated the chance to draw on Adam's experience and connections. "The match between us was really good - we had a connection in the paths we'd taken. We'd lived in the same places, but at different times! The project started while I was preparing to launch the Network. Adam helped me with a resource need, and I will be drawing on his help again in the future."

Deborah says that she would encourage other Indigenous leaders to participate in a program like this. "The whole approach has been very well thought out - although from here it has to turn into other actions, from both parties. It's a step forward in a long journey."

2009 results

ANZ's Mutual Mentoring program continued throughout 2009 and work was undertaken to expand the program to 25 new ANZ staff and Indigenous mentors in November 2009.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Diversity Network now has more than 100 members and their work includes helping to arrange local celebrations of NAIDOC and Reconciliation Week for ANZ staff and customers.

The future

ANZ will continue to explore ways to build our understanding of Indigenous issues. In particular we will continue the Diversity Speakers Series, Mutual Mentoring programs and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Diversity Network.

Selected branches will also participate in Indigenous cultural awareness training in support of local Reconciliation Action Plans and Indigenous Traineeships.

2008 results

In ANZ's Interim Corporate Responsibility report, released in March, we acknowledged that more focus was required in this area of our Reconciliation Action Plan commitments. Progress since then has been encouraging, with the establishment of a pilot Mutual Mentoring Program as well as the Indigenous Network and Indigenous Speakers Series.

The future

ANZ will continue to explore ways to build our understanding of Indigenous issues. In particular, we will evaluate the success of the Mutual Mentoring Program with a view to extending it after the pilot program finishes.