DCA 30th anniversary
Founding Member case study: Coles
Taking the first step
Coles is one of Australia’s largest retailers, providing fresh food, groceries,
general merchandise, financial services, liquor and fuel through our national
store network and online. We operate from more than 2,300 retail outlets
nationally and we’re located from as far south as Blackmans Bay in Tasmania
to Casuarina in the Top End.
We employ more than 99,000 team members and as part of our commitment to
ensuring our workforce is representative of the communities we operate in, we
are committed to trebling the number of Indigenous team members we employ
by 2020, to represent three per cent of our workforce.
In 2009, less than 65 team members at Coles identified as Aboriginal and/or
Torres Strait Islander (ATSI). Today, this figure is closer to 1,800 as a result
of the Coles First Steps Employment Program.
The focus of the
training is on the
specific issues
facing Indigenous
Australians and
breaking down the
barriers that exist.
Brett Morris: First Steps
Program participant and
‘2014 Achiever of the Year’
Coles First Steps Program
Overview
Coles First Steps Program was introduced
in 2011 in partnership with the Australian
Government to drive ATSI employment at
Coles, a key plank of the first Aboriginal &
Torres Strait Islander Plan for Coles.
The program focuses on participants who have been out of
the workforce for some time or not previously employed,
providing them with the opportunity to work in a retail
environment.
The First Steps Program is a three-week
pre-employment and mentoring program
developed to enable Coles to recruit, train
and support ATSI team members.
Speaking about the program to date, Topaz McAuliffe, Coles’
Indigenous Affairs Manager, says “Unlike other programs
operating around Australia, Coles guarantees every participant
who completes the program a permanent, part-time role with
a minimum of 15 hours of work per week.”
This commitment is made possible as a result of the careful
training and post support provided.
Monitoring
Tailored for Coles, participants are provided with extensive retail
training (including in-store) and personal development. This
includes six months of post placement support and mentoring
after participants complete the program and commence their
jobs. This ensures new recruits stay on track and have a smooth
transition into the workforce, providing help where it’s needed,
such as helping new recruits navigate transport to and from work
and ensuring they have support to overcome any barriers when
entering the workplace for the first time, including information and
access to childcare and healthcare services.
Coles also provides cultural awareness training for store and
department managers. The focus of the training is on the specific
issues facing Indigenous Australians and breaking down the
barriers that exist.
Brett Morris of western Sydney had been looking for some time
before he found an opportunity at Coles Ropes Crossing through
Coles First Steps Program.
Brett officially left school at the age of 14 and was unemployed for
16 years before completing a TAFE Course. Finding a role at Coles
gave Brett the confidence and opportunity to turn his life around.
So inspiring is his story that he was named as the 2014 Achiever
of the Year at the National Employment Awards for Excellence for
transforming his life and participating in the workforce.
Brett now has his sights set on becoming a store manager and
recommends the First Steps Program to “pretty much every
Indigenous person” he knows.
PROVIDING
POST PLACEMENT
PROVIDING
SUPPORT AND
POST
PLACEMENT
PROVIDING
MENTORING
SUPPORT
AND
POST PLACEMENT
MENTORING
SUPPORT AND
MENTORING
ENSURING
NEW RECRUITS
ENSURING
STAY ON
NEW RECRUITS
ENSURING
TRACK
PROVIDING
STAY
NEWON
RECRUITS
POST PLACEMENT
TRACK
STAY ON
SUPPORT AND
TRACK
MENTORING
PROVIDING CULTURAL
AWARENESS TRAINING
PROVIDING
CULTURAL
ENSURING
FOR MANAGERS
AWARENESS
TRAINING
NEW
RECRUITS
PROVIDING CULTURAL
FORAWARENESS
MANAGERSSTAY
ON
TRAINING
TRACK
FOR MANAGERS
IN 12PROVIDING
MONTHS, THE
CULTURAL
NUMBER
OF INDIGENOUS
AWARENESS
TRAINING
IN 12
MONTHS,
THEHAVE
TEAM
MEMBERS
FOR
MANAGERS
NUMBER
INDIGENOUS
IN 12 OF
MONTHS,
THE
INCREASED
FROM
TEAM
MEMBERS
HAVE
NUMBER
OF INDIGENOUS
1,000
TO 1,800
INCREASED
FROM HAVE
TEAM MEMBERS
1,000
TO
1,800
INCREASED FROM
1,000 TO 1,800
Outcomes achieved
Today, a mix of both direct recruitment and demand for the First Steps
Program is achieving results. In the past 12 months, Coles has grown its
workforce from 1,000 to 1,800 team members who identify themselves
as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
Coles is also very proud to be retaining 90% of its ATSI workforce
and has seen over 55 team members go into management and manager
training roles.
IN 12 MONTHS, THE
NUMBER OF INDIGENOUS
TEAM MEMBERS HAVE
INCREASED FROM
1,000 TO 1,800
Lessons learnt
Topaz recalls,“Six months into the program, we realised that none of
the retail training out there was applicable to Coles. There was a retail
certificate available but this did not meet our needs, so we had to build our
training requirements from scratch.”
Another issue faced early on was recruitment. “We had to actively market
Coles to ATSI communities and demonstrate that retail can provide long
term career opportunities. Today we have people seeking us out for
employment with the intention of building great careers at Coles.”
This has been recently brought to light at Coles Mt Isa (QLD) where
15% of the population is represented by Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people. In the past, Coles has not had any ATSI team members
working at Mt Isa however with the refurbishing of the store in October
2014, new employment opportunities opened up.
Store Manager, Lynn Lees, and State Indigenous Coordinator, Vanessa
Hounsell, focussed on promoting opportunities through the community
and local high schools. This engagement is the reason that seven ATSI
team members, including juniors, have been hired at Coles Mt Isa.
redevelop
retail training
requirements
reframe and
refocus on
recruitment
promote
opportunities
through the
community
Plans for the future
Coles’ plan is to continue to grow its ATSI team members to 3,000 by 2020 or earlier. “The next phase of our
program is to create career development and mentoring opportunities for those that have joined us,” says Topaz.
“We have many engaging and motivated Indigenous team members who want to play a role in supporting others
to join Coles, and develop new skills and experiences that will help them to further develop their own careers.”
Diversity Council Australia
225 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Phone: (02) 9322 5197 Fax: (02) 9255 8372
Email: [email protected]
www.dca.org.au