Human resources strategies to improve community relations

When recruiting staff to work with community, voluntary, iwi and Māori organisations, advertise widely and think laterally. Consider using a community group newsletter or sending an email through community networks. If you have not already done so, you might appoint a relationship specialist to advise staff and manage the agency's community relationships.

As appropriate, include selection criteria in your advertising, such as:

• experience with community, voluntary, iwi and Māori organisations
• communication skills such as facilitation, mediation and conflict resolution
• experience in developing and facilitating active relationships with communities.

Ensure that job descriptions include specific reference to working with communities. For example, they could refer to responsibilities for maintaining active relationships.

Your induction programmes for policy analysts and service-delivery staff need to convey the importance of public participation in decision-making. For example, you might include:

• an introduction to the Statement of Government Intentions for an Improved Community-Government Relationship
• your agency's approach to developing active relationships
• a meeting with key people from community, voluntary, iwi and Māori organisations.

You may need to build the relationship-management or facilitation skills of staff who work with community, voluntary, iwi and Māori organisations.

Help is available from:

• your HR team
• the People and Organisation Development network on the Public Sector Intranet
• the Public Sector Training Organisation
• training brokers such as The Training Network or The Training Line
• the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs

The performance-appraisal process for staff working with community groups should include a focus on their public-participation skills. This process may involve:

• asking policy and service-delivery staff to provide evidence of their competence in participatory processes
• taking into account skills that staff have acquired through work in the community or through specialist courses (eg, in facilitation or conflict resolution) in performance assessments
• seeking feedback from community representatives about the quality of relationships built with staff.

Individual strengths will vary, but teams who are involving community groups in their work will collectively need the following competencies.

Policy development skills

Staff need to be able to:

• identify key community, voluntary, iwi and Māori organisations relevant to their work area
• develop an ongoing relationship with key people in these groups to facilitate communication and co-operation
• identify mechanisms for successful collaboration with Māori, women, Pacific people, ethnic groups, children and young people, people with disabilities, and local authorities
• plan how to involve community, voluntary, iwi and Māori organisations in policy development and review, starting early in the process
• articulate and persuade others of the benefits of effective participation, and negotiate an agreed approach
• establish formal consultation processes
• identify and respond to opportunities to develop partnerships with community, voluntary, iwi and Māori organisations

Communication skills

Staff need to be able to:

• facilitate meetings with community, voluntary, iwi and Māori organisations, making sure the purpose of the meeting is clear, the agenda is agreeable to all parties, all  views are aired, and clear conclusions are reached
• engage respectfully and constructively in dialogue so that community, voluntary, iwi and Māori organisations consider they have been heard and understood
• present information orally and in written form in a straightforward and clear manner
• take accurate notes at meetings and provide feedback to those who attend
• use conflict-resolution skills.

Service delivery skills

Staff need to be able to:

• establish and foster a client focus
• identify and communicate to government what clients need from their services
• recognise and optimise opportunities to engage with the public
• assist community-driven services where these services support public sector goals and objectives
• identify and negotiate resources needed for consultation, partnerships, and community-driven development to achieve effective service delivery
• identify situations that would benefit from the help of an external facilitator.

Relationships with Māori

Staff need to:

• demonstrate an understanding of tikanga and kaupapa Māori  
• build active relationships with iwi and Māori organisations
• develop consultation processes appropriate for iwi and Māori organisations
• respond appropriately to opportunities to develop partnerships with iwi and Māori organisations.

Specific skills for management

In addition to the above skills, managers should:

• show leadership in developing relationships between the agency and key community representatives
• ensure sufficient resources are available to enable appropriate participatory processes
• support staff in establishing and developing participatory processes.