HomeGrown: Ingham's Enterprises - Upskills Ltd Workplace Learning

The initiative

Ingham’s wanted to equip frontline staff at its Te Aroha site with the tools to improve their wellbeing. This was the key driver for putting together their tailor-made, HomeGrown Programme.

Ingham’s Learning and Development Advisor, Lesley Beaver, says they wanted to provide a programme for rising stars in the business. In part, so they could step through into leadership roles with success, and also to grow and add to a kete of tools for their wellbeing.

Ingham’s sees the two ideas as intrinsically connected through the HomeGrown Programme, which lines up with their philosophy of developing individuals as a whole. Upskills Director, Sarah Balfour agrees,

“When people are equipped with personal tools and understanding to reflect on their wellbeing, they can realise their confidence and lead others. It’s a genuine way to lift others up the ladder of workplace success.”

When Ingham’s approached Upskills to design the programme, we took the time to map what success looked like, so we could design the learning and development initiative around it.

Ingham’s HomeGrown learners

Positive outcomes

For participants

Participant, Jhuan Martinez, says the most important learning she took away from the programme was self-awareness and the Tetramap® tool was a big part of that.

“Getting to know me and how to acknowledge and communicate with others using the Tetramap® elements was important. Also reading body language and listening more to what people are saying was really useful.” says Jhuan.

Tetramap® is a tool for understanding why we communicate the way we do, and why others communicate differently. It values diversity and builds tools for effective communication. As Ingham’s already uses this tool with their people leaders, it made sense to embed the Tetramap® session into HomeGrown as it aligned to a common language and shared understanding at Ingham’s.

The outcomes from the programme rippled into participants’ personal lives, too as demonstrated by these two feedback comments from the programme.

“My kids say to me, ‘Mum you’re heaps nicer now,'” and

“At home, even when my kids act up, I show some empathy and listen to them”

For Jhuan, the biggest takeaway has been communication. Her advice in situations that get tricky:

“Communicate and don’t judge a book by its cover, be you and don’t worry what others think as long as you know what you are trying to achieve.”

For Ingham’s

Lesley says the initial goal of staff progressing to positions of greater responsibility was achieved. In fact, 37% of participants have stepped into positions with increased responsibility, such as team leader, training, and QC roles.

“Ingham’s has been impressed with the outcome of this work, seeing several participants, move into leadership or other influencing roles. This cohort of staff continues to support each other and extend the skills learnt.”

When Kakuere Morrison was invited to join the course, he asked himself ‘why not?’, even though he felt nervous.

“I was so nervous, its the first time I’ve ever done a course like this. But for me, it was probably the thing I’m most proud I’ve ever done. I’m glad I had the courage to say yes to the course.” His biggest takeaway? “An awareness of how we can work together in a diverse world.”

Tetramap Ingham’s group elements

Content

Understanding the 5 Ways to Wellbeing
Te Whare Tapa Whā model
Tetramap for effective communication
Emotional Intelligence
Self-awareness
Social skills
Empathy
Emotional regulation
Motivation
Problem-solving
Basic brain and behaviour concepts

Ingham’s graduate, Renae Hirawani with Cathy, our tutor

Evaluation

81% of participants said they found the HomeGrown programme very or extremely helpful, and every participant said they would recommend the course to others. The success of the programme has been far-reaching and it is being considered for Australian rollout in 2021. The Te Aroha team is excited that its HomeGrown programme is being made available to the wider Ingham’s whānau.

Ingham’s HomeGrown learners

Comments

We received some great feedback from learners on this course,

“I found this course very helpful because it taught me a lot and so it helped me grow as an individual.”

“Discovering myself truly has been awesome.”

“This course has given me the skills and tools which have got me in the position that I am now, which is Team Leader.”

“I used to feel overwhelmed at the number of things I had to do, procrastinating not knowing where to start at all. Now I use goal setting and can break stuff down into manageable chunks. I can see that I am making progress which helps me to motivate.”

“When approached aggressively, I used to mirror their behaviour. Now I change my behaviour to a more positive reaction and hope that they choose to mirror it. “I used to not listen fully to others but now I stop and listen when someone is talking because I want to understand from their point of view.”