High interest in Te Ihu Region Portfolio working groups
With the release of our latest Eke Taumata progress report, we are sharing some examples of how Fire and Emergency is shifting the dial to achieve our culture goal.
When Te Ihu Region Manager Brad Mosby sent an email calling for expressions of interest for Te Ihu personnel to join the new portfolio working groups earlier this year, the response was overwhelming.
Te Ihu’s portfolio structure helps guide decision-making in the Region, and 142 people from a variety of roles and locations in Te Ihu submitted their expressions of interest to be involved in the working groups. “This structure is a fresh approach in Te Ihu, and assists in achieving Fire and Emergency’s key focus areas. The working groups include a diverse group of representatives that are passionate about contributing to shape our Region,” says Brad. “This just goes to show how many people in our region are keen to get involved in making Te Ihu the best it can be.”
The five Portfolios are co-led by members of the Region Leadership Team, and each Portfolio has a governance group and a number of working groups that meet regularly to discuss and progress initiatives. The Portfolios are as follows:
- Safety, Health and Wellbeing
- Response Capability
- Eke Taumata, He Tangata
- Volunteerism
- Community Risk Management and External Engagement
One of the working groups is Developing Our People, part of the Community Risk Management and External Engagement Portfolio. Warren Maslin, Senior Firefighter with Ashburton Volunteer Fire Brigade, is a member of this working group, and he says their focus is to understand what our people at Fire and Emergency know about Community Risk Management (CRM). “When we first got together, we talked about what we know about CRM and had a few ideas on what its perception is internally,” Warren says. “We wanted to find out if what we thought was true.”
The group first met in May and surveyed 159 people across the Region. Warren believes that this information is a valuable starting point that will inform what the next steps will be in building understanding of CRM among our people.
“I’ve found the experience really good,” says Warren. “Even though it’s a big time commitment, we believe what we’re doing is something of substance that is making a difference. We’re proud of what we’ve achieved in such a short amount of time, and this information is going to help Fire and Emergency better connect to our internal and external communities.”
To learn more about Te Ihu’s Portfolios, visit the Portal page here.
This story is an example of how Fire and Emergency is shifting the dial to achieve our culture goal: to be a place where people feel they belong, and supported and empowered to thrive, so we can better serve our communities and each other. It supports the culture outcome “building trust and increasing opportunities for engagement and influence” (Pou 1).
Read more in the latest Eke Taumata Six-Monthly Progress Report.
If you have an example to share from your team, district, or watch, share it with us via Story Line here.