Officeworks Staff engagement on First Nations strategy
Conceptualise, film and deliver a video series to acknowledge and celebrate the three pillars of Officeworks’ Reconciliation Action Plan to inspire staff to actively play their part in creating inclusive and safe workplaces.
As an employer of more than 8500 people across Australia, Officeworks (via Mifsud Consulting) approached Bastion Reputation for support in building internal engagement with its First Nations strategy. As a key plank of this strategy, the Officeworks Leadership Team wanted a series of videos to acknowledge and celebrate three pillars of its Reconciliation Action Plan – Aboriginal Culture; Aboriginal Achievements; and Aboriginal History.
The brief to Bastion Reputation and Bastion Make was to conceptualise, film and deliver a Foundation Video Series. The aim of the videos was not only to educate new and existing employees, but to inspire them to actively play their part in creating inclusive and safe workplaces.
What we did
Bastion Reputation adopted the principles of Aboriginal self-determination at every stage of the video production process. As such, the overall approach to making the videos and the ideas for their content and format were developed through consultation with Officeworks’ Aboriginal Advisory Group (comprised of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal employees and managers).
Each video drew heavily on traditional storytelling techniques and showcased the lived experience of Officeworks’ Aboriginal employees in a number of locations. The videos revolved around their voices, faces and stories.
Results
The Foundation Video Series was launched internally during NAIDOC Week. Ongoing, the series will be an important part of the induction process for new employees and over time will be viewed by all existing employees. The feedback from the client – and from those employees who appeared in the videos - was extremely positive. The videos have given non-Aboriginal employees a better understanding of their Aboriginal teammates. For Aboriginal employees, the videos are a platform to celebrate the culture, achievements and history of their communities and clans.
Knowing that diversity and inclusion strategies can be complex and challenging to embed in larger organisational settings, Bastion Reputation purposefully recommended a simple yet powerful solution - using authentic storytelling to foster empathy, curiosity and understanding.