WorkSafe New Zealand

“Unisphere is an extension of the WorkSafe team. The team trusts and values the input that James provides.”

WorkSafe New Zealand regulates and monitors workplace health and safety throughout New Zealand. Being accountable to multiple stakeholders: the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety, the WorkSafe Board, industry groups, unions and more, they must ensure that every dollar spent – and project embarked upon – is relevant, worthwhile, and objective.  

As part of its remit, it collects data from a variety of sources – ACC, other government agencies and its own internal data. WorkSafe captures data, for example, when an incident is reported to it.

To remove the subjectivity from decision making WorkSafe needs the digital clout to accurately gauge health and safety trends, and therefore become the most nimble and effective regulator possible.  

James Fletcher, WorkSafe’s chair of the Digital Transformation Committee says: “We are seeking to respond to and address trends based on real data as opposed to looking at historic trends based on perceived behaviours. It removes the subjectivity.”

Digital transformation project

WorkSafe is embarking on a large-scale digital transformation project – to ensure its systems, resources, capabilities, and user experience are fit for purpose. But before getting started, WorkSafe knew it needed an external adviser to sense check and support the management team overseeing the project.

The team and Board were on the lookout for someone practical, technical, and with strategic commercial acumen. A person with the skills and attributes to encourage, guide, and provide input into the broader strategic thinking and execution of the project.

Fletcher told us that WorkSafe’s main concerns included risk mitigation and assurance that its substantial investment of time and resources was worthwhile. WorkSafe wanted to ensure that it was getting an expert outsider’s view. It was about making sure that the Board had confidence the strategy was heading down the right track and was executed properly.

Testing thinking and processes

That’s why WorkSafe engaged James from Unisphere in late 2021. James immediately became an integral part of the risk mitigation assurance programme and helped test WorkSafe’s thinking and processes.

To begin with, WorkSafe needed to better understand its existing infrastructure and architecture before getting to grips with where it was heading next.

• Making and rolling out an effective plan had several strands for WorkSafe and Unisphere to consider:  

• Ensuring they had the right resources in the right place at the right time

• Ensuring they had the right project management approach, for example agile vs. traditional

• Asking if the existing suppliers were fit for purpose

• Evaluating whether the vendor pricing was competitive and commercially sensible

• Establishing and measuring where they are going through key milestones and KPIs

• Developing core planning documents

• Executing the plan

• Testing initiatives along the way to ensure they link to the strategic plan and deliver the required outcomes.

Changing gears: From complex to understandable

Fletcher says, “James [from Unisphere] has an incredible ability to translate complex things into an easily understandable, coherent message. Whether it’s the chair of the Board or somebody on the frontline, James can take all this tech speak and say, ‘This is what it means in plain English’. He encourages, explains, and guides – particularly our management team – to draw the correct connections between where our strategic plan is wanting to go and what they are delivering through the Digital Transformation project.”

Asking the right questions at the right time has allowed WorkSafe to gain greater clarity and trust in the process. This means WorkSafe has been able to move faster than expected in some areas. What’s more, WorkSafe has gained visibility, transparency, and confidence that its Digital Transformation project is heading in the right direction.

When asked which Unisphere value stands out the most, Fletcher says, “[It’s James’] ability to understand the strategy and direction of the organisation and build trust among the delivery teams to work to that strategy.”

The Unisphere Difference

Many advisers or outsourced businesses will try and push a solution without first learning how your organisation operates and whether that solution will satisfy your strategic plan.

We take a different approach. We get to know how your business works – and only then do we find the ICT solution that fits best.