Cultural ethnicity

Employment is central to any strategy to improve the wellbeing of Indigenous Australians. Our Indigenous Action Plan (PDF 212kB) commits us to expand our current involvement in traineeships and the direct recruitment of Indigenous employees.

The traineeship program provides trainees with practical banking and workplace experience, nurturing capabilities and confidence that can allow them to broaden their future employment or academic opportunities. This can result in full-time employment with ANZ or another organisation, or tertiary study.

We will continue to make jobs available for graduates of the Indigenous trainee program as well as entry level branch roles in addition to the traineeships.

Measures to retain and assist the development of Indigenous employees are just as important as recruitment, and as a result we have strengthened our emphasis on retention.

Find out more about our approach to providing employment to Indigenous Australians.

Given the Chance participants are provided a 16-week work placement at ANZ supported by pre-employment training, and a mentor and buddy who can help ease the transition into the Australian work environment.

Assistance is provided to adapt to corporate rituals and culture and to understand and translate the language of work used every day.

Participants value the opportunity to improve their communication, networking, and customer service skills, and those that go on to full-time employment are among our most engaged staff.

The New Zealand Graduate Program is committed to building diversity and recruiting Maori students as part of our strategy aimed at supporting Maori economic development. The program is being increasingly promoted through Maori channels, particularly to those with Te Reo (language) capability and with strong affiliation to their Iwi (tribe). Students are educated on the benefits of working for a large global corporation and are supported in their applications, CV and interview preparation.

Our Indigenous traineeships provide practical banking and workplace experience while developing participants' capabilities and confidence to broaden their future employment or academic aspirations and opportunities.

Of those who complete a traineeship, around half subsequently go on to permanent employment with us, including Sinoma Gilbert and Josh Riley.

Sinoma’s career with ANZ started as a 16-year-old Indigenous trainee at our branch in Mudgee and has since gone on to become the first of our Indigenous trainees to be appointed to a managerial role, firstly as a branch manager in Sydney and then taking on an expanded managerial role as a service quality manager for Sydney.

Similiarly, Josh began his career with ANZ as an Indigenous trainee in our Tamworth branch. Josh is now working in our new Indigenous Resourcing Team, which was established this year to help us attract at least 180 Indigenous Australians into permanent roles with us by December 2012.

Bol Buoi from South Sudan has had a lifetime ambition to be a banker. Thanks to Given the Chance, after spending seven years trying to find work in Australia without success, Bol is a Branch Customer Consultant at Northcote, Victoria. Bol says:

“My experience in looking for work was very frustrating, so stressful. I was disheartened. Although I had studied hard to acquire skills needed for the job, I still couldn’t find the job I wanted on my own.

“Working for ANZ is very rewarding; it has given me freedom and lifelong learning. Given the Chance prepared me with interviewing techniques by identifying my strengths and weakness. It has restored my hope and dream for a banking career. I am looking forward to learning more.”

2012 results

Our business strategy means ANZ’s workforce will increasingly be required to understand and support customers within and across the Asia Pacific region. In building our workforce of the future, we have focused on recruiting and developing inspiring, values-based leaders and a diverse and inclusive team.

Our CEO heads AsiaLink’s Asia Capable Workplace strategy and our employees participate in AsiaLink’s Asia Literacy for Schools program in Australia. We are a lead sponsor of the Diversity Council of Australia and the Australian Government’s inaugural research into cultural diversity and capability of Australian Boards and businesses.

Our workforce represents in excess of 120 cultural backgrounds, speaks more than 90 languages and follows over 80 different religions. Additionally:

• 62% of 2012 participants on our Generalist Bankers program came from an Asian or Pacific cultural background
• 46% of Graduates from 2012 come from an Asian or Pacific cultural background
• 16% of leaders in business critical roles come from non-Caucasian backgrounds
• 79% of employees believe that ANZ is creating an organisation that is open and accepting of individual differences according to our 2012 Employee Engagement Survey
• Around 73% of our top 181 executives have significant international experience comprising a minimum of three to five years working outside their home country.

Networks, mentoring schemes and a ‘sister branch’ program connect employees in Australia and New Zealand with peers across Asia Pacific. We also offer short-term secondments and promote culturally-focused festivals to help our people develop relationships, build customer insights and increase cross-border/divisional customer referrals.

Indigenous traineeships results

We have provided traineeships and employment to more than 650 Indigenous Australians. This year, we employed an additional 79 Indigenous trainees in our retail network; 23 Indigenous candidates were successfully recruited to full-time positions and 56 recruited via our Indigenous trainee program.

Case Study: Indigenous Employment program

Denysha Marshall is a Personal Banker in Mandurah, Western Australia, and one of our Indigenous Employment program participants. She initially joined ANZ as an Indigenous School Based Trainee. While many young Indigenous people can get a job, ANZ’s Traineeship gave me a start for a career – whether it’s in a branch or as a Business Specialist or a Financial Planner. The traineeship helped me set life goals and encouraged me to start thinking about my future in a more mature manner – so for example, instead of spending all my money, it taught me the importance of saving. "The highlight of my career so far has been completing my two-year traineeship with a Certificate II in Business – and winning Trainee of the Year at the end of the program. It made me feel like I had achieved a huge accomplishment in my life," says Denysha.

Given the Chance refugee employment program

ANZ participates in The Brotherhood of St Laurence’s Given the Chance refugee employment programs, providing refugees in Australia with skills and experience to enter the workforce. So far, 56 refugees have taken part in areas including Retail Products, Operations, Australian Branch Network, and the Australian Call Centre with a retention rate of 73%.

In 2012, three additional participants were recruited to The Brotherhood of St Laurence’s Given the Chance refugee employment programs, providing refugees in Australia with skills and experience to enter the workforce.

Case Study: Given the Chance refugee employment program

Eskias Mengistie, Customer Service Consultant in our South Melbourne Call Centre joined ANZ through the Given The Chance program, in 2009.   Originally from Ethiopia, Eskias came to Australia as a refugee in 2008 and had been looking for meaningful work in his new country for nearly a year.  He heard about the Given The Chance program through word of mouth in his local community, and after a one month introductory course was one of four people who joined the Bank through the program that year. Eskias feels the biggest challenges have been adapting to the Australian culture of being encouraged to ask questions, and looking into a person’s eye when communicating; both of which are opposite to the Ethiopian Culture.  Eskias says “If you see your elder’s eye when you speak to them it is regarded as disrespect. “I had a mentor when I joined ANZ, which has been very helpful, particularly in helping me understand the culture of ANZ and Australia and to gain confidence. Now our relationship has become more of a friendship - or the best way to explain it would be he is a part of my family in my new country.  I’ve had good support from my team leaders; they believed in me and got the most out of me. I now ask questions often!” When thinking about the Given The Chance Program as a whole, Eskias concluded “We need to teach people about Given The Chance and promote it more in ANZ.  It has given me – and my sister, who is also employed by ANZ – the chance to work, live and contribute to our new country”.

Other initiatives

Employees are engaged in a wide range of cultural festivals and support culturally focused affinity networks and mentoring programs. For example, over 15,000 employees across 10 countries participated in the ‘A Taste of Harmony’ cultural celebration this year.

2011 results

This year, we continued our work to improve the information that we capture about our employees’ cultures and backgrounds. To date, around 10% of employees in our Australia, New Zealand and Bangalore businesses have registered their cultural identity via our people management systems. Additionally, our research has shown that:

• 45% of our management board have significant Asian experience
• 51% of our 2011 graduates have Asian language skills
• 55% of participants in our Generalist Banker accelerated development program have Asian language skills
• 71% of our top 120 executives have significant international experience (3-5 years experience working in countries other than Australia or New Zealand)
• 13% of leaders in business critical roles come from non-Caucasian backgrounds
• 79% of employees believe that ANZ is creating an organisation that is open and accepting of individual differences according to our 2011 Employee Engagement Survey.

Indigenous traineeships results

A further 111 Indigenous young people have been offered career building traineeships with us, bringing the total number of traineeships offered since the launch of the program in 2003 to 588.

Given the Chance refugee employment program

Sixteen refugees have been recruited for the Given the Chance Refugee Employment program in 2011, including three placements in our branch network and our first participant joining in a non-entry level role. All participants are currently on track to complete the program. Of the 51 people who have participated in Given the Chance since its inception in 2007, 70% remain employed at ANZ.

Maori graduate internships results

Maori graduates were specifically targeted by facilitating an induction day and liaising with MITE (Maori Into Tertiary Education). This activity achieved a 1% increase on the 2011 intake, below the target of a 2% increase. To make further improvements for future graduate intakes, we will review our recruitment and assessment processes to ensure no unconscious cultural bias exists.

Other initiatives

We also celebrated ‘Taste of Harmony’ week, coinciding with National Harmony Day on 21 March 2011. During the week, staff were encouraged to share foods and experiences from different cultural backgrounds to learn more about the diversity within our workforce.

The future

We have a goal to achieve gender balance and greater cultural diversity in our key recruitment, talent development and learning programs, particularly at the most senior levels of our organisation. In the coming years, we will put in place programs and initiatives to support the achievement of this goal.

2010 results

Indigenous traineeships

We recruited 215 new trainees in 2010, and over 500 Indigenous young people have taken up our school-based traineeship since the program’s inception in 2003.

Enhancements to our recruitment process have helped to improve retention rates and provided a better focus on managing expectations, selecting the right candidates and supporting trainees throughout the program.

Interview and screening processes have been improved to include a voluntary week of work experience before the traineeship commences, helping prospective trainees to decide if the program is right for them.

These enhancements are paying off with retention rates for those in our 2009 and 2010 trainee intake at 75%, a figure well in excess of the non-trade-sector average of one in three, and  average one in two completion rates for non-Indigenous workers.

Given the Chance

From 2007 to 2010, 36 refugees from diverse cultures and backgrounds have participated in the program and 25 of these are still working for us.

Maori graduate internships

In 2010, we exceeded expectations by providing 8% of roles to Maori graduates against a target of 7%. In 2011, we aim to increase this figure by a further 2%.

The future

We will continue to improve the information that we capture about our employees’ cultures and backgrounds. Around 15% of ANZ employees have voluntarily shared their details with us, and we hope to increase this to 20% in 2011.

2009 results

We recruited 102 indigenous trainees in 2009 as part of our indigenous employment strategy, one of the practical steps we are taking to improve the social and economic inclusion of Indigenous Australians.

Under the Given the Chance program, 26 refugees have received valuable experience to help them transition to a new working life in Australia, with 20 of these people being offered full time employment with the bank.

The future

Our 2010 Corporate Responsibility goals include a target to recruit a further 180 Indigenous trainees in our branch network. We continue to also work towards our broader indigenous employment targets as part of our Indigenous Action Plan.

2008 results

We recruited 106 indigenous trainees in 2008 as part of our indigenous employment strategy, one of the practical steps we are taking to improve the social and economic inclusion of Indigenous Australians.

Thirteen refugees participated in the Given the Chance traineeship program, with eleven offered full-time employment with the bank.

The future

Our 2009 Corporate Responsibility goals include a target to recruit a further 100 Indigenous trainees in our branch network. We continue to also work towards our broader indigenous employment targets as part of our Indigenous Action Plan, which was revised in late 2008.