Meridian Annual Report - Meridian Energy

16
Our Year in Review cont
Our People
The key to Meridian being a sustainable business is tapping the
potential of our people, building on their high levels of expertise and
providing them with the leadership to motivate them to contribute
to Meridian’s journey.
We recognise there have been challenges during the year meeting
the demands of growth, and working to meet the targets we have
set to transform the customer experience.
The past year has seen a focus on refining our new organisational
structure, improving leadership and facilitating the development of
our people. An important aspect of this is our induction procedure
for new staff.
We have focused our efforts on the support provided to managers,
with an emphasis on ongoing development and capability building.
The move to the new Queens Wharf building in October 2007 was
a significant and positive event for Wellington based staff. The new
people focused and energy-efficient premises has already improved
staff morale and appear to have improved perceptions of Meridian
as a positive and employee friendly place to work.
Meridian has brought staff recruitment in-house as it believes
this process is the logical start for inducting and training staff. It
better exposes potential staff to the Meridian Way, the philosophy
underpinning how we work, and Meridian can also more closely
align potential new staff with the company’s business objectives.
Health, safety and wellness remain a top priority for Meridian. A
strengthened Health and Safety Team has helped Meridian improve
hazard reporting, as well as reduce lost-time incidents compared to
the previous year.
Te Ao Māori
Meridian continues to invest in its Te Ao Māori programme – a two
day marae based experience that aims to increase understanding
of Māori customs and beliefs among its staff.
The programme covers marae protocols, Māori concepts, language,
history, the Treaty of Waitangi, Māori consultation processes and
protocols, as well as Meridian’s commitment to engaging with iwi in
an inclusive and positive way.
Meridian already works closely with iwi, particularly on the management
of consents to operate South Island hydro power schemes, as
well as on new proposals throughout New Zealand. The Te Ao Māori
programme is helping to build Meridian’s internal capacity to work
with Māori in a meaningful and mutually beneficial way.
Our Health and Safety Statistics
Category
Quantity
Fatal 0
Serious Harm 1
Lost Time Incident 4
Medical Treatment 30
First Aid Treatment 24
Near Miss Incident 273
Positive Observation 100