NZ Steels GM of people on 'collating a framework we can use for the greater good'

“Collating a framework that we can use for the greater good,” GM of people at New Zealand Steel (NZS), Simon Harvey said, describing a project that the country’s biggest steel producer is spearheading in the Franklin community it calls home.

Before working with NZS, Harvey had worked primarily in corporate offices in downtown Auckland, so was humbled by the strong sense of community in Franklin. “One of the things that surprised me greatly was the tightness of the community and what role NZS plays in the community,” Harvey told HRD.

With over 1400 employees, NZS is one of the country’s biggest single site employers. “Let’s Be Frank” is an initiative that sees NZS collaborating with other businesses in the region, to create a non-competitive network of local employers, who work with high schools to develop a talent pool of local school leavers. “All of us working together for the betterment of kids in the local community,” championed Harvey.

Social development initiatives aren’t a new thing for Harvey; he’s previously worked with central government on a project that set up career pathways for members of the community like migrants and mothers returning to careers, who find it challenging to enter the workforce.

NZS is also actively involved in the Te Whangai Trust (TWT), a social and environmental enterprise that works with at risk youth and the long-term unemployed to get them back into the workforce.

The Let’s Be Frank project is still in the development phase, but Harvey said they have had overwhelming support from everyone they have spoken to. Schools like Waiuku College are very keen to be involved in the program and Harvey encourages any Franklin business that wants to get involved to reach out to him.

Harvey thinks more businesses need to reach out to the schools in their community. “Guidance counsellors do a fantastic job with what they’re given but it’s probably more important for businesses to reach out to the community as opposed to schools trying to reach up.

“We’re actively wanting to do as much as we can to strengthen our communities for the greater good of it, and if there’s talent on your doorstep, you’re crazy to not look at it,” said Harvey.

“School leavers are wide-eyed, and bushy tailed but some of them are not quite sure what they want to do,” said Harvey explaining that the non-competitive environment means that if they were to recognise that someone’s strengths might be better utilised in another business in the region then they would point them in the direction of one of the other partners. 

“It’s about working together to try and get kids to have more insight into opportunities to live and work within their local region,” said Harvey explaining that there’s no money involved in being a part of the program and offered the framework and research to businesses in other regions wanting to install the same idea in their community.

Harvey champions collaborating with as many partners as possible. “If you work together as a group, the volume of good outcomes is much more widely spread, and you’ll open more doors with the more partners that you have.