A message from Carolyn Tremain the Property Functional Lead
Kia ora koutou katoa
We have experienced some extraordinary times of late, as a country and as a public service. As Property Functional Lead for government, I have been very proud of how we have adapted our workplaces, supported our people and kept them safe.
The Public Service response to COVID-19 has demonstrated that we can embrace new ways of working. We’ve seen some great examples of agencies across government working rapidly to respond to the challenges a nationwide lockdown presented.
Collaboration between the Government Property Group, the State Services Commission, the Government Health and Safety Lead and Ministry of Health led to the development of guidance for agencies on managing workplaces during COVID-19. This guidance was developed in a rapidly changing environment and agencies have said it provided valuable direction when planning for their people to return to the workplace.
Recent weeks have highlighted the importance of collaborating with other functional leads and that the workplace must focus on the health safety and wellbeing of workers, not just the physical property.
Our challenge now is to reflect on all we’ve learned as we develop flexible and resilient workplaces that serve the needs of New Zealanders. We have an opportunity to improve how the property system reacts to unforeseen events such as COVID-19 to enable a workforce to achieve its goals.
What the future of the workplace looks like is an exciting prospect. Government offices should be a place to bring people together for collaboration, innovation and provide a community feel in a workplace context. The Government Property Group has developed the Government property workplace strategy that will lead us into this future and we look forward to sharing more of this with you in coming weeks.
Ngā mihi matakuikui (Thank you very much).
Kia mau ki a koutou ano me o koutou whanau (Take care of yourselves and your families).
Carolyn Tremain
Chief Executive
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment