The event, which celebrates excellence in workplace diversity and inclusion, took place at a gala dinner in Auckland. It was attended by more than 600 business representatives from the public and private sector as well as the Hon Iain Lees-Galloway, Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety.
The Te Reo Talk programme, IAG’s new initiative that encourages the use of te reo Māori within the firm, was commended by the judges in the Cultural Celebration category of the award ceremony.
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The programme is the brainchild of IAG’s Māori Employee Network Resource Group (ENRG), which aims to encourage the use of te reo in a fun and interactive way so it could be more accessible.
The staff filmed video clips in the IAG offices and shared them on the firm’s internal social network. Over two years, staff were able to produce more than 26 videos – typically viewed more than 550 times.
Neil Porteous, judging convener at the award ceremony, said that taking an educational approach and pushing to normalise the use of te reo Māori throughout IAG embodied its values.
“The staff is very proud of what they have achieved and have made a significant change to the culture of organisation,” Porteous said.
