September 2005

  

For those in any doubt about how diversity checks out at the till, Mt Albert Pak n’ Save has rung up a hefty $100,000 per annum in favour of accommodating and celebrating ethnic and religious identities on the job. 

 

The Auckland Pak n’ Save branch has just scooped the Manāki Tangata Award for innovation at the EEO Trust’s Work and Life Awards, for its multicultural approach and staff retention levels. Franchise owner Brian Carran estimates an annual benefit of $100,000 as a result of low staff turnover and savings on recruitment and training. Carran estimates most similar sized supermarkets have 20 to 30 vacancies at any time, while at the time of entry into the EEO Trust awards, Mt Albert Pak n’ Save had only three.

 

The Auckland supermarket employs 320 people, more than half of whom are immigrants, and around 40% are Indian. Among the branch’s innovative initiatives, are policies of encouraging people to wear their original national flag at work, seeking the advice of employees on the types of “ethnic” food to stock and allowing people to accumulate holiday leave so they can make extended visits to their home country. Carran also created a prayer room for Muslim staff which includes a basin for washing feet, towels and air freshener, as well as keypad entry to ensure religious privacy.

 

When Carran bought the business seven years ago, he moved from Taumarunui to the multicultural melting pot of Auckland’s West-Central suburbs. Realising that the onus was on him to adjust to the cultures of people he employed, Carran visited India where he stayed in a small village for a month with the family of one of his staff.

 

EEO Trust CEO Philippa Reed says that work-life balance is not necessarily just about flexibility or childcare provisions. “Work-life balance is different for everyone,” she says. “For new migrants to New Zealand a workplace that recognises their talents and embraces their differences will be a key part of the work-life balance equation.”