Our People

Port Nelson aims to attract and retain a diverse, and motivated workforce supported by a highly capable and trained leadership team. Port Nelson invests significantly in training, health and safety and wellbeing. Our people are critical to running a successful business and our objectives are to retain talent and cultivate a progressive workplace.

Over 300 people are employed in the Port team. As Port Nelson is a 24/7 business, the working pattern is primarily driven by the tidal nature of the Port and the intermittent movements of international vessels. This means that a number of our workers are casual workers, making the full-time equivalent (FTE) count approximately 230.

Port Nelson has a strong emphasis on health, safety and wellbeing and continues to invest significant resources in this area. With large machines, work over water, stacked cargo, multiple traffic flows, and work in confined spaces, the risks in the work environment are real. The Port is proud of the focus and commitment of the entire team to safety however, there is an ongoing drive for improvements.

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Goal

Build and keep safe an engaged high-performing team.

2030 Plan

Strategy 1

“I see you”

Build on our strong culture and systems to create an environment where each team member is and feels recognised, appreciated and respected.

  • Our people are the foundation of our success, and we value each employee as a unique individual. We strive to create a work environment where our employees feel recognised, engaged, motivated, and appreciated, and where they have equal opportunities for personal and professional growth. By adopting the “I See You” strategy and fostering a culture of respect, inclusivity, and fairness, we can build strong leaders, create high-performing teams, retain top talent, and uphold our Company values.

    Furthermore, we will embrace the future of work with dynamic solutions that empower adaptability, foster innovation, and cater to the evolving needs of our diverse workforce.

    Through work redesign, we aim to enhance our ‘Employer Value Proposition”, embrace changing demographics, leverage new technologies, and tackle societal challenges.

    Our goal: attract top talent, retain excellence, and thrive in an ever-changing business landscape.

    • Create a tactical plan for attracting and hiring the best talent that aligns with our culture, values, and goals. 

    • Focus on employee engagement and constantly think of ways to improve our workplace culture so that our people feel recognised, valued and supported.

    • Develop a Remuneration strategy for providing competitive, transparent and fair compensation and benefits.

    • Incorporate Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in everything we do through a clear strategy, policy, monitoring and measuring to create an inclusive, equitable and sustainable culture.

    • Create a values-based capability framework of learning, which incorporates developing operational, technical and personal skills through training, mentoring and coaching. This will create high teams through powerful leadership capability with leaders who actively drive the “I see you’ strategy. 

    • Continue to build on the principles of a high performance, high engagement  culture, where interest based problem-solving and bargaining is a key feature in fostering positive relationships and engagement with unions and our people to meet the key interests of all stakeholders. 

    • Create a well-being policy and programme to support well-being, including physical health, mental health, and social connections.

    • Adopt a digital People & Safety transformation approach and upgrade our technology and systems to create a more intuitive, efficient, and innovative workplace.

    • Find innovative solutions to adapt roles, work patterns and our processes as the nature of work evolves so that our people feel settled and recognise Port Nelson as a great place to work and develop.

    • Improved turnover statistics; Increased EVP.

    • Employee Engagement survey baseline set with annual improvement. 

    • Remuneration structure created. Parity / Equity addressed.

    • Improvement in Diversity reporting and clearly understood policy in place.

    • Mature succession planning framework in place with personal development plans. 

    • CEA’s settled within mandate and open communication with regular meetings with unions maintained.

    • Well-being programme with clear focus and performance measurement metrics established.

    • Digital platform with user-friendly self-service capability. HRIS implemented and our Service Delivery Model’s automation and self-service component well established by 2026. 

    • Roster system established in Stevedoring by 2025. Flexible work solutions in place; Cadetships established; Retirement/Sunset options in place.

Strategy 2

One team for health, safety and wellbeing

Continue to build an environment and culture where every member of the Port team, and others who work in our spaces, are fully engaged and united in the continuous pursuit of improved health, safety and wellbeing.

  • We will establish a Health, Safety & Wellbeing team of 320+, where each person in that team is empowered to take ownership of safety in the area around them and for continuous safety improvements.

    This team includes all who work at Port sites. The team will be supported by tools, systems and training that are developed in response to the needs of the team. Extending QuayConnect’s scope of services to both existing customers and new customers and industries within the Te Tauihu region. Utilising a niche high-service model, smart technology and access to data as a unique selling proposition.

    • Strengthen the capability of our leaders through training and support, creating a culture of care, trust, and transparency that empowers teams to take ownership of their own safety and the safety of others. 

    • Equip our teams with the technology and systems they need to enable them to make informed decisions, take proactive measures, and maintain a safe working environment. 

    • Create an environment that inspires our people to actively engage in health, safety, and well-being initiatives, where their opinions are valued, their voices are heard, and they feel respected and supported. 

    • Remain curious and keep focusing on how risk management is carried out to ensure that risks are adequately identified; assessed; controlled, and that controls are effective. 

    • Establish a continuous learning and improvement culture by developing and investing in training programmes prioritising the acquisition of essential employee skills and knowledge, leading to a competent workforce and a safe workplace. 

    • Keep improving our safety culture by enabling and empowering our teams to actively participate in shaping it. We want every person coming onto our Port to feel that their health, safety and well-being is a top priority and that we strive to achieve the highest safety standards in the industry. (Culture)

    • Improved turnover statistics; Increased Employer Value Proposition

    • Employee Engagement survey baseline set with annual improvement. 

    • Remuneration structure created. Parity / Equity addressed.

    • Improvement in Diversity reporting and clearly understood policy in place.

    • Mature succession planning framework in place with personal development plans. 

    • CEA’s settled within mandate and open communication with regular meetings with unions maintained.

    • Well-being programme with clear focus and performance measurement metrics established.

    • Digital platform with user-friendly self-service capability. HRIS implemented and our Service Delivery Model’s automation and self-service component well established by 2026. 

    • Roster system established in Stevedoring by 2025. Flexible work solutions in place; Cadetships established; Retirement/Sunset options in place.

Challenges

1. Future of Work

  • Requirement to provide flexible working options

  • Regional aged population growth

  • Workforce demographics, expectations, attraction to the region

  • Changing skills requirement – ability to attract and retain skills

  • Impact of automation/new technologies

  • Leadership skills developed beyond operational delivery to capacity for change

2. Culture

  • Employee expectations - salary was important but no longer the top priority, replaced instead by the ability to work flexibly.

  • Physically dispersed business provides challenges

3. Safety

  • Evolving our safety strategy culture with the direction of safety

  • Geo-Political

  • New Zealand legislation and policies

2024 Plan

2024 Strategic Initiatives

People

Aligned with the 2030 plan. The Port will pursue 3 strategic initiatives under ‘People’ in 2024FY.

  • Strengthen culture around: clarity, compliance and consistency. Strengthen systems; digital user interfaces; and worker engagement.​

  • Establish increased clarity, compliance and consistency around: port users, contractors and visitors.​

  • Conclude update of procedures, clarify consequences of events and commence scenario testing (particularly of large seismic events).​

2024 Challenges

Resetting perceptions and risk tolerance: We seek to reset and refresh procedures and attitudes related to our safety. This is never easy, particularly where our team is proud of how they currently work.

Focusing on priorities: There are many initiatives for improvement with limited capacity both within the Safety / People team and also within the business to absorb changes. Ensuring optimum priorities and communicating this is important.

System Platform: The current digital platform for both People and Safety needs to be strengthened.