It was great to have Cis Narkle and Kim Narkle to Chamber House this week as part of our Lunch n Learn series. This month’s topic was on Attracting and Retaining Aboriginal Employees. The 16 employers from across our business community listened to two different stories which set the scene in improving the steps in retention and supporting cultural awareness and wellbeing in the workplace.
Some key takeaways included:
- Feeling comfortable at work – create a supportive workplace for Aboriginal people so they feel culturally safe
- Induction – A good introduction is important – first impressions are critical, explanations of the way you run your organisation are very important
- Managing Leave – Establish a flexible and family friendly environment, talking through expectations and include ‘cultural’ or ‘ceremonial’ leave
- Culturally awareness training to be ongoing – keep the conversations alive
- Empowerment – establish opportunities for development and training when needed, providing clear instructions. Never assume literacy is the same for everyone.
- Barriers – consider and discuss how you as an organisation might assist and remember there are services to assist.
- Mentoring – to settle in it is advisable to have someone as a mentor for the first 6-12 months
- Employment Strategy – develop an Aboriginal recruitment strategy to ensure it is culturally appropriate eg. CV’s may not answer all the criteria, you may need to talk further into skills when interviewing
- RAP – only do if it is going to be a living document not just ticking a box!
Cis and Kim are available for businesses to reach out if they need assistance. Kim’s email is kim.narkle@srtafe.wa.edu.au and Cis’s email is Cis.Narkle@srtafe.wa.edu.au
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