Paewai Mullins: Creating Productive Workplace Cultures

Maintaining Growth through Workplace Culture

The company

Paewai Mullins Shearing Ltd is a fourth-generation shearing contracting business based in the small rural town of Dannevirke. The company services more than 150 wool-grower clients, handling in excess of two million sheep per annum. Their clients are spread from the Hawkes Bay to Wellington and over to Taihape and Wanganui. They employ close to 40 staff with this number expanding up to 120 for a four-month period from December to the end of March. Directors Koro and Mavis Mullins purchased the business in the mid-1980s from Mavis's father.

When I went to Massey and did my MBA, I suddenly realised that our whanau approach had a name and it was corporate culture! Mavis Mullins, Director

Productivity challenge

The goal over the last 50+ years has been to grow the business for future generations, driven by the family's strong Maori values for working and living - providing work for whanau and trying to assist other family members onto the land and into business.

The Directors have faced several challenges in growing the business. Sheep numbers and wool prices have decreased over the last five years. Many young employees have come into the business with few skills which requires considerable investment. A tight international labour market has lured some of their skilled employees overseas in search of higher wages. They have also faced mounting health and safety concerns as the average age of shearers has increased over the years.

Meeting the productivity challenge

The business has grown hugely over the last 15 years. Key to this has been the development of a strong workplace culture underpinned by four values: Whanaungatanga (family), Matauranga (life-long learning), Manaakitanga (unity), and Tino Rangatiratanga (self-empowerment and leadership).

The decreased price of wool over the last five years has led the company to examine the way work is organised. There is greater recognition of people as a labour unit and understanding of job size, which has enabled the team at Paewai Mullins to mix labour units to get the best results. As the bulk of the revenue for the business and the remuneration of shearers are calculated on piece rates, there has always been a natural focus on productivity. Today this is also balanced with greater concern for health and safety.

The value of Whanaungatanga (family) means that all employees are viewed as whanau who have a responsibility for each other. Paewai Mullins operates under a fl at structure where everyone works together so it is not unusual for employees to be working next to one of the directors. "Being a productive worker is about being a good team member, as performing as a team is smart working," says General Manager Aria Mullins.

At Paewai Mullins they start with the premise that everybody has ability and potential. Improving skill levels has lifted productivity levels and addressed issues such as retention. "We like to do things that'll grow our people," says Koro Mullins. A Pre-Training Programme was developed five years ago to introduce people to the industry and work. Up to 30 people progress through the three-day programme each year. Completion of the programme enables new workers to go into a shed with some base level skills thereby not slowing down processes. Once up and running, new staff can elect to be put through further training to achieve qualifications.

The belief in Matauranga - life-long learning - is evident through the holistic approach taken to investing in people and skills. Staff have learning opportunities beyond training for specific job tasks. To empower staff to take responsibility for their health, sessions were run to give them knowledge on issues such as second cuts and grease boils. A local Maori health provider educated staff on sexual health and gambling issues. The food has changed to include more variety and a full-time cook provides balanced meals.

Managers at Paewai Mullins are also committed to helping younger staff develop careers and gain wider life skills. This approach has returned to the company greater loyalty and staff retention. "We've seen people develop from having not a lot of life options and go onto great things, simply because they get a better understanding of themselves, work ethic and work capability," says Mavis.

Manaakitanga - togetherness and unity - underpins their team structure and whanau orientation for getting the job done as efficiently as possible while keeping each other safe. Staff have a Health and Safety Forum to analyse any accidents and their causes. "Staff are critical players in keeping the workplace safe and they are very self-policing of health and safety policy," says Koro.

Tino Rangatiratanga - self-empowerment and leadership - at Paewai Mullins means personal responsibility is stressed, and staff have the knowledge and skills to take responsibility for their lives and actions. Their employment agreements outline expectations of behaviour and communication. For most employees actions are more important than talk, so systems have been established that fit their environment. To cater to a variety of staff needs, induction processes are conducted one-to-one or in small groups.

Paewai Mullins also supports and encourages staff who want to get involved in the competition arena. Competitions have enabled top performers to measure their skills against others in the industry and competing is vital for shearers wanting to build national and international reputations. "Achieving titles and beating personal bests lifts team morale and energy incredibly," explains Koro. Participating has built their reputation as an employer in the sector both nationally and internationally, which has helped them attract new employees.

Key Learnings

• Identifying the skill levels and learning needs of a workforce gives training maximum impact.
• Engaging with staff on health and safety gains their commitment to culture and emphasises personal and collective responsibility for safe working practices.
• Strong leadership means 'walking the talk'.
• Investing in staff and creating workplace culture builds the organisation's reputation as an employer.
• Skills training requires a holistic approach given the philosophy of the business.
• Aligning work practices with personal cultural values build a strong workplace culture.
  

Becoming more productive

Lifting productivity involves exploring all the ways that your workplace could do things better and smarter. No matter what your business does, or how big or small it is, there are a range of ways you can improve its productivity:

1. Building Leadership and Management Capability
2. Creating Productive Workplace Cultures (Organisation's drivers)
3. Encouraging Innovation and the Use of Technology
4. Investing in People and Skills (Organisation's drivers)
5. Organising Work (Organisation's drivers)
6. Networking and Collaboration
7. Measuring What Matters

The Paewai Mullins: Creating Productive Workplace Cultures case study is also available as a pdf [PDF, 2 Pages, 622kB]