Reconciliation Action Plans are about taking good intent and turning it into action.
The Black Lives Matter protests that have erupted across the globe have caused numerous Australians to rethink the problems affecting Indigenous communities.
The health, wealth and employment gaps between Indigenous Australians and the rest of the inhabitants are well known, but the protests created new urgency to do something about them.
In July, the Australian authorities unveiled new Close the Gap targets including reducing Indigenous incarceration rates.
For organisations that feel the urgency act there is one obvious solution – a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).
In 2006, Reconciliation Australia launched RAPs as a way for organisations to include strategic reconciliation initiatives as part of their enterprise plans. The intention of a RAP is to create meaningful opportunities in your organisation to actively assist and recognise Indigenous Australians. Like many initiatives, reconciliation is a process that can evolve as you and your organisation start to take action.
RAPs are broken down into 4 maturity ranges that reflect where organisations are in their reconciliation journey. They are: Mirror, Innovate, Stretch and Elevate. Every has a corresponding RAP type organisations can pursue. For example, the Innovate level is for organisations that already understand where they can improve on Indigenous points and have begun taking motion to actively address them.
The first step for all organisations is to determine its maturity level. “Contact the RAP team at Reconciliation Australia and find out which level you’ll start at,” says Anthony. “The RAP group will send you a template that will outline what you might want to do. There are some basic obligatory actions required by Reconciliation Australia similar to celebrating nationwide Reconciliation Day and growing knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. After that, it’s in regards to the modifications you’ll be able to make.”
Because quite a lot of organisations will start at the Mirror stage, this guide will outline the pillars it’s essential to set up to start your reconciliation journey.
Research
This is where it all begins.
It might probably help to look into why RAPs are so essential as well as the current issues facing Indigenous people. Reports reminiscent of Close the Hole can provide context to your RAP and might show you how to with the subsequent step.
Secure help
A part of a successful RAP is establishing help for reconciliation initiatives throughout all the organisation. In most cases this needs to start at the top.
“Most frequently I discover that if persons are introduced with the details, they pretty quickly get on board with eager to be part of the reconciliation movement,”
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are three per cent of the population. They will’t do the heavy lifting when it comes to change and infrastructure change, societal change, or altering attitudes.
“RAPs are a way of stepping in and making meaningful change.”
Over 1,000 organisations have formalised RAPs, and their implementation has had a real impact on improving employee understanding of Indigenous points, the Reconciliation Australia 2018 RAP Impact report found. This can have a circulation-on effect. It makes workers more engaged with their community and so they often choose to donate to, or volunteer with, Indigenous organisations as a result.
A RAP also solidifies your organisation’s commitment to making a culturally safe work environment, which expands your recruiting pool by making your workplace a more attractive employer to Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander employees.
Establish a working group
The next step is to type a working group that will oversee the entire RAP process. This group will must be made up of various representatives from all sectors of your organisation.
The group is in charge of planning and implementing the RAP, so it might want to encompass members who have some precise power to make changes in the organisation, and members who understand it from a coverage and culture perspective.
Lastly, for the RAP to be really profitable, you’ll want involvement from members who work with prospects or shoppers, so that folks outside your organisation understand you are trying to make a difference.
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