IMPACT STORIES: CAREER PATH FOR SKILLED PREDATOR FREE WORKERS

Credit: Crystal RichardsonQualitative evaluation – Most Significant Change

To better understand the impact of the Te Motu Kairangi, Miramar Peninsula project at a deeper level, Predator Free Wellington is capturing stories from residents, volunteers, staff and key stakeholders about changes that may have resulted from involvement in our predator free project on the Miramar Peninsula. We are using a technique called Most Significant Change, which is a participatory form of monitoring and evaluation that measures intangible qualitative indicators.

The story below was selected as most significant as it gave us unique insight into our people and their growth. It offered us a perspective we hadn’t previously fully appreciated. It shows the importance of long-term funding, and it is clear that the only way we can achieve our national predator free 2050 goal is if we value people and their career progression.

Impact theme: Changes in the quality of people’s lives

First person story from a Predator Free Wellington Field Operator, August 2023.

I started with Predator Free Wellington in July 2019 as a field operator. This was at the beginning of the Miramar Peninsula eradication. The project had a network of permissions in place and my job was to help install thousands of traps and bait stations across the peninsula.

I was originally employed under a short-term contract which ended in December 2019 due to funding constraints. In 2021, I was rehired again in the same role. I’ve noticed many changes since 2019, but the most significant change to me is that we now have a career path for skilled predator free workers. It’s changed from a short-term contract job to a career.

When I started in 2019, I knew it was just for a short time and signed a short-term contract. Back then, we were hired just to do a contract, and it was set in stone exactly what we were doing – saying we were robots is probably not a fair comparison – more pawns, we went out, we were given the task details saying exactly what we needed to do, eg. servicing bait stations and traps, and that was the expectation. It was a good job, but you were only looking a few weeks ahead rather than thinking about where it could lead in the future. That contractor thing just cultivated a different attitude to what we have now. The expectations were that you just serviced devices as quickly as you can. No specialist skills were required going into the role, we were hired for being personable, they needed someone who could knock on resident’s doors and have friendly interactions with the public.

When I came back in 2021, I was contracted for two years rather than five months. When you know you’re doing something for longer than six months, you think differently and want to enjoy it – which kind of means also learning from it – you want to develop, grow, and learn to keep the job interesting. And that’s the prevailing attitude here. This comes from the assurance that the funding is there. And the people backing the project are serious about the project and committed to achieving our goal.

In 2021, there was a shift in our approach, it was more important to do good work, to put devices where they should be, rather than where they were put in 2019. We were also encouraged to bring ideas to the table, share ideas on how we can improve best practice. Everybody in the team was wanting to be someone who contributed, rather than doing just what was required from the role.

People are proud of the individual changes they make to add to best practice across the organisation. Our habitat knowledge has also changed significantly. Now there’s funding for multiple years, which has created the opportunity for upward mobility in the organisation. The team now see predator free work as a career path, this comes from the fact that the organisation grows, you can look forward, you can see other roles and organisations that need our skillset. The knowledge we have gained from this project is unique, we have a rare skillset.

Going forward, it’s never going to be hiring contractors, putting in bait stations and thinking that’s enough. Now we know how to achieve predator free 2050. It has to be a constantly evolving and improving machine. It’s not enough to robotically do what you’re told. It’s a place where we all need to contribute and we need to continually improve, share knowledge and not make any assumptions that what we’re doing now is the best strategy.

This is significant to me because I’ve been interested in so many things and never really knew what I was going to do, but I’ve always been environmentally minded and working here has enabled me to make a career out of that desire to improve ecology – it’s a key part of who I am. I never would have guessed what I would end up doing. It’s combined my skillset and passion.

Hopefully for New Zealand, it means the people here are specialists and they go out and share that knowledge. That could be the best thing ever. I really want our knowledge to be shared to have the best crack at the 2050 goal we can.

About the Most Significant Change technique

The Most Significant Change (MSC) technique is a participatory form of monitoring and evaluation that measures intangible qualitative indicators.

The process involves the collection of impact stories from the field level, and the analysis of these stories by a panel to better understand the impact our Phase 1 Te Motu Kairangi, Miramar Peninsula project is having for residents and the community. It also clarifies the values held by different stakeholders.

Initially MSC will be used to evaluate the impact of the Miramar Peninsula elimination. The ability for promotion/storytelling also plays a part, however that is not the overall objective.

We collected our first stories from four of our ‘original’ employees in July and we had our first Selection Process in August. This story is part of the feedback process.

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