Wellbeing, Health and Safety Governance:

Kia ora koutou katoa,

As you will all be aware, Phil Parkes, Chief Executive of WorkSafe New Zealand, has announced his resignation and the WorkSafe board has announced the appointment of Steve Haszard to the role. I would like to start this newsletter with recognition of all the work Phil has done to support wellbeing, health and safety in Aotearoa New Zealand.

“Governance” is not a single activity; it encompasses the systems used to guide and control organisations. The composition, functioning and capabilities of these systems all play a role in how effective governance is. Since most public sector agencies lack a traditional ‘Board,’ public sector Chief Executives must be intentional in how we organise and execute the governance activities within our organisations as we act as both manager and governor. It is an important area for us all to focus on, as the outcome of good governance of wellbeing, health and safety is ‘work going well’.

The Better Governance project group articulated their vision of good governance as:

“Capable leaders integrating health and safety into inquisitive and bold governance discussions and decisions, enriched by context and underpinned by genuine care for workers.”

Back in 2018, the Government Health and Safety Lead (GHSL) teamed up with some of New Zealand’s best health and safety thought leaders, including CosmanParkes, the Institute of Directors and the Business Leaders Health and Safety Forum (BLHSF), to create A Good Practice Guide for Public Service Chief Executives and Officers. This guide acknowledges the unique role of public sector leaders wearing multiple hats as organisational leaders, managers and governance figures. 

The guide asked eight questions for Chief Executives and Officers to think about, to help them set a solid foundation for good governance. These questions cover:

• equipping yourself to be an Officer,
• formalising governance arrangements,
• identifying and focusing on Critical Risks,
• seeking assurance of controls,
• how you are engaging with workers,
• planning for improvement,
• engaging with all appropriate stakeholders,
• publicly accounting for wellbeing, health and safety.  

While the Better Governance project team praised the GHSL’s guide as one of the better guidance documents they had reviewed, I recognise that it is now five years old. I have asked the GHSL to undertake a review of the Guide to ensure it remains up to date and of value. We know, that when Chief Executives, Officers and agencies actively work on improving governance within their organisations, wellbeing, health and safety evolve from being solely compliance-driven, fulfilling our legal obligations, to becoming drivers of continuous improvement and positive outcomes.

The GHSL Officer Development Programme was also developed as a tool to support Officers to understand the nuances of governance and embark on an ongoing journey to expand their knowledge of the wellbeing, health and safety landscape. If you have not completed this programme, or have new leaders coming in, I’d highly recommend it. 

Most of you will be aware of the Mentally Healthy Work Programme. The phase 1 pilot delves into both the governance and management of psychosocial health and safety at work. This pilot will be completed in the coming months, at which point it will be evaluated and, if it is agreed it is of value, will be refined and a second phase of work developed.

Phase 2 of the Positive Workplace Cultures Programme is being implemented and over the next few months the GHSL will be running workshops with the people and teams from our agencies who lead work relating to workplace cultures. The workshops will cover Leading Positive Work and Teams, Safe Systems of Work and Learning, Monitoring and Continuous Improvement. Following these workshops, and supported by supplementary tools and guidance, the participants from your agency will provide you with a briefing. We will then be holding a Public Service Leader Retreat, sometime in the New Year, where we will have the opportunity to discuss strengths in our workplace cultures, as well as any opportunities identified for further development.

Deloitte conducted an independent review of the GHSL earlier this year and I was delighted to see that the GHSL was considered as playing an important role in strengthening Health and Safety direction, leadership and capability in the public sector and that there was support for the GHSL to continue with its work. I know how busy you all are, and I’d like to thank all of you who participated in the review. Here is a link to a summary of their recommendations made through the review and the GHSL response.

Finally, we are collaborating with agencies to assemble their success stories for annual publication. The “Health, Safety, and Wellbeing by Design 2023” publication will showcase and celebrate the positive contributions of our sector and I look forward to hearing more about the initiatives your agencies have undertaken.

Ngā mihi

Ray

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