Dynamic Business: Community's changing face

Fred Ohlsson says diversity is good for communities, business and our economy.

You don't need to walk far in Auckland to see that the face of the city has changed almost beyond recognition in recent decades. The days when the Queen St crowds were overwhelmingly European are gone. Auckland is now home to a richer cultural mix than London or Sydney, with no fewer than 200 ethnicities at the last official count.

In keeping with New Zealand's growing Asia-Pacific ties, our city is also becoming more Asian. Communities from Asia -- mostly China and India -- have doubled since 2001, with one in four Aucklanders now identifying themselves as Asian. Within 10 years, European Aucklanders will be on the verge of becoming a minority. We are clearly living in a time of change. As people and as businesses, we should see it as a time of opportunity for us all.

There are very good reasons to celebrate and embrace diversity. For a start, accepting and welcoming people from a range of backgrounds is simply the right thing to do -- particularly given the time-honoured Kiwi values of fair play and equality. Many Kiwis already value the role of different ethnic traditions, cuisines and events in building more vibrant communities. But the truth is that embracing diversity is not just good morally, and good for communities -- it's also good for business.

The leaders of major companies are realising that modern New Zealand, and therefore their customers, are increasingly diverse in culture, language and perspectives. It makes good business sense for companies to embrace these people and show that they look and think like them, that they understand them and are committed to meeting their needs.

In fact, this is nothing new; it's something firms have long tried to achieve in their brand positioning, marketing and general dealings with customers -- it's just that the people they are trying to look and think like have changed.

In this context, having a variety of views and perspectives around the table within your business can only mean better and more relevant decisions as a company. That means building a diverse workforce, and celebrating that diversity and developing it as a strength as you seek to build meaningful relationships with your customers.

This is a responsibility we take very seriously at ANZ. As a bank that counts one in two New Zealanders as our customers, with a presence in 33 markets across Asia-Pacific and beyond, we believe we should take a lead. Our business should be a mirror that reflects the many customers and communities we serve.

We now have 600 multi-lingual staff who, between them, can serve customers in 77 languages other than English. We have established 15 migrant banking centres, with a dedicated team expert in 14 of the most in-demand languages -- including Mandarin, Hindi and Korean.

Anyone who works with new migrants knows that connecting them to the right people, advice and services can make it so much easier for them to establish themselves in New Zealand. So we recently brought together ethnic community groups, government departments, consulates and others to provide expert advice, workshops and seminars at our second Asian Migrant Expo in Auckland. We've also developed a tailored migrant banking package and a new bilingual English-Chinese website -- the first of its kind from a New Zealand bank -- to help people through the complex needs of moving country, including setting up a New Zealand bank account before they arrive.

But the business community's responsibility towards fostering a diverse society doesn't stop with their products and services: genuine commitment means walking the talk in the wider community. Companies have an important role to play in helping to celebrate New Zealand's many cultures and support social cohesion in the communities they serve. There are some excellent examples where organisations are making a real difference.

For our part, we're proud to back cultural events including the Chinese New Year Festival Market Day, Japan Day and Korean Day, as well as supporting the New Zealand Chinese Association and New Zealand Indian Central Association.

What we're doing in New Zealand is complemented by initiatives which build on ANZ's connections offshore.

We're supporting the Government's aim to double New Zealand's $2.6 billion export earnings from education by 2025, by introducing new payment solutions and using ANZ's presence in global markets to help institutions attract foreign students.

Working with Immigration New Zealand, we help Chinese, Indian, Sri Lankan and Filipino students to prove they have funds to cover their New Zealand living expenses -- making it simpler for them to get a visa, pay tuition fees, open accounts and transfer money.

With Malaysian bank AmBank, we help students on scholarships from the Malaysian Government to open New Zealand accounts before they arrive, so their scholarship funding can be sent through and ready to use as soon as they get here.

These are just a couple of examples of how a commitment to fostering a diverse, multicultural community can support export-led growth in the economy, by helping to connect this country to opportunities in overseas markets.

There are many other ways businesses can embrace the opportunities presented by an increasingly multicultural New Zealand. ANZ and other companies are doing great work. We encourage more New Zealand businesses to embrace diversity. Not only because it's good -- but good for communities, good for business and good for our economy.

Fred Ohlsson is ANZ New Zealand's Managing Director, Retail and Business Banking.