Waikato Business News May/June 2021

More documents

Recommendations

Info

6 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS May/June 2021 Call to council: Spend local From page 4 indicated similar concerns. Print House sales manager Steve O’Toole says they have had frustrating dealings in the past with multiple council staff often leading nowhere, made more difficult by regular turnover of their staff. “The staff we do get to deal with are always very good and appreciate the working relationship that we have with them, but in overall terms it seems the council does not have a preference towards using local print suppliers.” Magud, who has been in the job two years, acknowledges that for people looking in from the outside, the council’s procurement rules can appear complex. However, the council is open to feedback and improvement. “We genuinely like to have access, open and transparent and available to the public, make sure that they've got good access, make sure they know the processes of how to bid and what [are] the items we’re looking for,” he says. “Historically, there’s probably been room for improvement in that respect.” As well as the potential open day workshop sessions for potential suppliers, Magud floats the idea of putting an information pack out, while he is also looking at posting an enhanced programme of projects on the council website, including where to go to bid. In the meantime, registering for free on the council’s Tenderlink portal provides a way for potential suppliers to both tender for work and keep an eye on what’s coming up. He says Tenderlink provides a transparent chronology for the council receiving tenders, while it also sends out notifications to registered potential suppliers of tender activity. Phillips says council staff he and O’Toole have dealt with have always advised them to use the Unimarket portal for quotes, notifications, receiving orders and billing purposes. "We have used the Unimarket portal for at least 12 years and pay a transaction fee based on a percentage value of any job processed for the council,” he says. To his knowledge they had not been informed about the Tenderlink portal, and he suggested it should have been presented to potential suppliers when it was initiated. “It seems rather strange for the council to have two systems operating for similar procurement purposes.” Hamilton architect Antanas Procuta says one potential barrier for firms such as his is a system of panels of preferred suppliers. He says the initiative was started by MBIE and is filtering down through public funders generally including councils and, locally, Waikato Local Authority Shared Service (WLASS). On the face of it, the principle is simple, and intended to aid efficiency of procurement. “The intent is that, for every project you do, you don't have to go to tender to lots of businesses and to an open market, you've got a limited market.” I’d really like to focus around how we can advantage Hamiltonians, especially as it’s the ratepayers’ funds that we’re spending. In practice, Procuta says, the matrix applied in order to select panel members seems to favour larger providers with a range of capabilities, more often nationals or even multinationals. His firm spent 16 years undertaking projects for Waikato University, where he says the people doing the procuring had their ear to the ground and would try out different firms for different jobs. That saw Paua doing some award-winning work for the university and yet, when the new procurement system was brought in three or four years ago, Procuta’s firm failed to get on the panel despite its prior record. “The local is definitely disadvantaged, and that's really unfortunate. And the other thing it prevents is the young, new firms getting a step in with those larger clients. “So that's really problematic, because younger people that have come through the universities have new ideas, new learnings, they're excited, they can do things differently.” He cites architect Jørn Utzon, who was just 38 when he won the competition to design the Sydney Opera House. It can become self-perpetuating, with firms excluded from the opportunities unable to build the capability to then make it on to the panels. “My concern is that it almost seems anti-competitive and almost anti-democratic. I don't know if that's the right phrasing to use, but basically, it's using ratepayers’ money, taxpayers’ money, to support fewer larger firms and the smaller local firms miss out.” Procuta returned from leading Wellington firm Athfield Architects to set up a practice in his hometown Cambridge, because he wanted to contribute to his local area, which has seen him involved in supporting a number of projects including Embassy Park and the refurbishment of the Meteor in Hamilton. “That would be the same for consultants all over New Zealand. If they're local, they'd like to be doing work in their local area for their community.” By comparison, he says, in parts of Europe and in Victoria, Architect Antanas Procuta says procurement panels can present a barrier to local firms, which want to contribute to their community. He was involved in the refurbishment of the Meteor. Australia, there is a requirement for architectural commissions above a certain value to go to a competition. “The beauty of an architectural competition is that suddenly it's a level playing field. We've actually won our large projects through design competitions, and we've been up against some large, large firms.” Procuta says it was to the credit of Waipā District Council that when Covid arrived, it adopted a policy of trying to procure more locally. Waipā mayor Jim Mylchreest says his council has done what it can to support local in the Covid era but makes an intriguing point around the limits of such procurement - essentially that the risk for Waipā firms, for instance, is that they get locked out of other markets. Hamilton City Council chief executive Richard Briggs, who views localness as meaning Waikato-wide, says there is a challenge around having a big enough local pool and the question of the council’s role in fostering a “rich market”. “Do we encourage collaboration, because it may be that what we want is a multidisciplinary outcome but only international firms have a multidisciplinary outcome, or [do] we create and foster and make it easy for a cluster of individual disciplines?” More radically, with recruitment difficult at the moment, he ponders whether procuring, rather than recruiting, could in some cases provide an answer. “Could we encourage the market to respond, could we create a market for someone to make some money out of it?” High Quality Homes for all Kiwis We are passionate about providing a hands-on personal experience to all of our clients while delivering quality homes to suit a range of budgets Sign up to build with Nixon Homes, and you could be in to win a full solar package worth over 10K for your home! Contact Cameron at Nixon Homes Today! 027 721 2212 info@nixonhomes.co.nz www.nixonhomes.co.nz
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS May/June 2021 7 “ On our course, we look at the many aho or strands that are woven together to make up the fabric of te ao Māori t r. Māori tikanga increasingly important for business Learning about tikanga, the protocols and practices of the Māori world, is increasingly important for businesses, according to Te Wānanga o Aotearoa kaiako (tutor) Tiriana Anderson. He teaches TWoA’s Te Whāinga o Te Ao Tikanga Level 3 Certificate programme, at the Apakura campus in Te Awamutu. “Understanding te ao Māori, our world, and knowing how to act within it are skills modern Kiwi business people need to know to operate most effectively,” says Tiriana. “Māori rituals and tikanga are an increasingly common ‘shared space’ between all New Zealand cultures and learning about tikanga helps businesses inhabit that space authentically.” The 25-year-old has strong whakapapa (genealogical) links to Waikato iwi, affiliating with Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Rārua and Waikato on his mother’s side, and to Ngāti Rereahu, Ngāti Hikairo and Ngāti Maniapoto again on his father’s. He has a passion for teaching and inspiring pūrākau (stories), kōrero tuku iho (ancestral knowledge), whakapapa and te ao Māori generally. “On our course, we look at the many aho or strands that are woven together to make up the fabric of te ao Māori. “People come to know and understand some of the Māori cultural practices, and can navigate them with confidence.” These include but are not limited to formal pōwhiri (welcome rituals), tangihanga (funerals), whakatau (general welcomes) and karakia (prayers). Tiriana says tikanga also helps businesses establish a model or basis for relationships in the workplace, and with clients and stakeholders, particulary Māori. “Tikanga allows people to define and describe for themselves what their purpose is. It’s like a road map of what teamwork looks like and how effective relationships can work in any context, and to develop relationships through a principled approach. “In the business scene relationships are some of the most important things and tikanga provides the tools to work out where these relationships fit in. It’s a bit like a SWOT analysis. We encourage businesses to consider sending members to our tikanga courses to help them develop effective relationships skills, in their own worlds and particularly if they engage with te ao Māori.” On the rituals of te ao Māori – such as pōwhiri and karakia – becoming an increasingly shared common space for Kiwis, Tiriana feels this space is boosting mutual understanding around reciprocity (mutual obligations to each other). “For example, in class we teach about the aspect of aroha (love) involved in recognising that we sometimes need to change and adjust the way we do things to end the distress of others or to help them be their best.” For Māori, the course offers a chance to connect in detail with te ao Māori and the history of tangata whenua, while for non-Māori it provides a foundational understanding of that world and helps people to confidently engage with it. “For non-Māori, I have a saying, that in order for you to understand te ao Māori you need to see yourself in it. This course will help you find your place there.” The mana of people, the land, te reo Māori and the natural world are all key “pou” or pillars supporting what’s taught on the course. “These are the four key pou of tikanga. They encompass the complexity and entirety of tikanga Māori,” says Tiriana. He sees clear benefits for everyone of having more people – Māori, Pākehā and other ethnicities – understanding and incorporating authentic tikanga Māori into their lives. “It helps them understand their place individually and shows them the Māori world is not only just for Māori. This is everyone’s world. “It’s also about feeling more at home in Aotearoa, feeling more at home within yourself. Tikanga takes people on a journey of reflection, and development. You can find a spiritual awareness and confidence you never knew you had, enhanced by an understanding you never thought existed.” Learn about Māori culture Tikanga is about purpose, practices and protocols, and you’ll find it in every aspect of te ao Māori (the Māori world). This introductory programme gives you the foundations of understanding what tikanga is, why it exists, and how it manifests itself in practice. Te Whāinga o te Ao Tikanga Level 3 No fees - apply now 0800 448 962 twoa.ac.nz/whainga Visit our webpage for detailed information about our programmes. All programmes are subject to approval and class numbers. Te Wānanga o Aotearoa © 2021 | 194
Page 1 and 2: MAY/JUNE VOLUME 29: ISSUE 5 2021 WW
Page 3 and 4: From the editor Kia ora koutou. Thi
Page 5: Digital start-ups boom Kiwi digital
Page 9 and 10: WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS May/June 2021
Page 23 and 24: HR AND RECRUITMENT 23 WAIKATO BUSIN
Page 25 and 26: Front-foot it or cross fingers? Doe
Page 27 and 28: Vetro marks eight months Wine, chee

Waikato Business News May/June 2021

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?