Conversation with Rachel

Each month, we invite you to join us for a roundtable discussion led by one of our team. This month, join our Principal Strategic Designer as she leads a roundtable on:

How do we create the conditions to introduce, support and value a lived experience workforce? 

When consumers are engaged in the design process we create better mental health and wellbeing services, products and policies. The more central consumers are to design and delivery, the better.

So, how do we create space in organisations for consumers to be a fundamental part of the workforce that designs and delivers services, products and policies? What practical actions set lived experience roles up for success and avoid tokenism?

→ Register here for this online lunch-time session

Generations of change

Food insecurity continues to be a major issue within our society and while, in an ideal world, food banks would not need to exist, they have and continue to be a core mechanism for distributing food on a charitable basis.

Users of traditional food banks have long shared problems with their experiences. There can be ‘means testing’ to determine peoples’ worthiness of them; users are constrained in their food choices (if provided any); and banks are often publicly exposed spaces which, coupled with social stigma, can discourage use.

Organisations and community groups around the world have focused on innovating this to deliver a more dignified experience for their customers. One example can be found in the Social Supermarket, an initiative from the Wellington City Mission out of Aotearoa New Zealand.

The Social Supermarket looks much like a commercial supermarket - with over 3,000 products on offer and helpful staff manning the aisles - but there is no money exchanged. Instead, customers spend ‘points’ on an array of food, sanitary products, and household items according to their cultural, religious, household and personal preferences. City Mission has successfully trialled the initiative and is in the process of replacing its traditional food parcel service.

If this change has happened in the past 40 years, what change might we see another 40 years from now?

Takes on creating 
a culture of inclusivity in the workplace

1.
Better Allies' fortnightly newsletter offers supportive actions to help make your workplace more inclusive to help people feel welcomed, valued and encouraged to bring their whole, unique selves to work.

2.
The Australian Council of Trade Workers summarised 10 recent changes improving the lives of women at work in Australia while recognising there’s still more to do to close the gender pay gap and achieve full gender equality at work.

3.
Ernst & Young is championing support for neurodivergence in the workplace through its Neuro-Diverse Centers of Excellence which aims to help clients build a more accessible and inclusive talent environment.

→ Here is an article we wrote on what a ‘healthy’ workplace looks like in 2023

Things I’ve learnt while equipping staff in supporting disaster-impacted communities

1.
Feedback fatigue is real. By acknowledging it, we designed our approach to actively demonstrate to participants they were being heard which became key in combating the fatigue.

2.
Being agile, not just in our approach but in our attitude, allowed our designs to adapt when it mattered as contexts at large organisations can rapidly switch.

3.
To assist in our research, we needed to build excitement about the end goal of the project. An engaged participant will be more open to providing feedback and championing the work.

4.
An intranet is the heart of an organisation, so it was important for our team to recognise we were also redesigning employee workflows and how they interact with one another.

● A POEM FROM OUR TEAM

● A MOMENT FOR REFLECTION