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Built by our people, for our people: Hauora me Haumaru is a finalist
We are proud to share that Hauora me Haumaru, our health, safety and wellbeing framework, is one of six finalists in our region for the Health, Safety and Wellbeing award. We would love your vote to help us shine at awards night on 20 November.
Why we built it ourselves
Aged care and social services are rewarding work, and they are also demanding. Across New Zealand, the sector faces some of the highest injury rates, and the people who care for others often carry a lot in return.
We wanted a way of keeping our people safe and well that reflected who we are. Not a generic approach, but one that every team member, and every person we care for, could see themselves in. We also knew that health and safety works best when it belongs to everyone, not just one team.
So we built our own framework, and then we gave it to our people to run.
What Hauora me Haumaru is
Hauora me Haumaru is a single framework that holds hauora (wellbeing) and haumaru (safety) together. It is built on Te Whare Tapa Whā and Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and it recognises psychological and cultural safety as integral to health and safety, alongside physical safety.
It is governed by the Hauora me Haumaru Advisory Group, a standing group of team members drawn from across our organisation, not from management alone. The people doing the work help shape how we keep each other safe.
The framework rests on three pou:
- Whakapapa, our story: our values, strategic direction, business plans, frameworks, policies, procedures and registers.
- Kaitiakitanga, guardianship: how we recruit, orientate, train and develop our people, and how we carry out quality activities.
- Mauri, doing the right thing: our philosophy, structure, assessment practices, best practice, team wellness, rostering and professional supervision.
Each pou carries the same three groups of people: whānau and friends; elders, clients and customers; and employees, volunteers and contractors. Everyone is included, and everyone has a part to play.
The impact
Workplace safety is no longer the responsibility of one department. It is part of how we work every day.
Hauora me Haumaru now guides how we recruit, orientate, train, roster, supervise and monitor. It reaches more than 1000 employees, 350 volunteers and our contractors, in every care home, village, office and home visit across all six regions we serve. For residents, clients and whānau, that means being cared for by people who are themselves supported, well trained and safe. For our team members, it means a workplace where their wellbeing, culture and voice count.
What this recognition means
This finalist place belongs to every person who helped build, question, shape and live the framework. It shows what is possible when an organisation trusts its own people to lead.
Help us shine on 20 November
If you believe in what we have built, whether you work with us, volunteer with us, receive our care or are part of a whānau we support, please vote for us. Your vote celebrates the people who made this happen and helps share a Te Tiriti-based approach to safety and wellbeing with the wider sector.
Vote for Hauora me Haumaru here!
Ngā mihi nui to everyone who has been part of this journey. See you at awards night!
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