National Reconciliation Week 27 May – 3 June is an important week for all Australians. And given that around six in ten Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people live outside major cities, it’s a timely reminder, particularly for regional employers, that workplaces can play a meaningful role in reconciliation through the way we lead, hire, support people and build respectful cultures.
In regional areas, it’s fair to say employers are operating in a different reality to city-based organisations. Labour markets are thinner, and you don’t always have a lot of next options when someone disengages or leaves. In that environment, culture isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s a retention strategy. It’s also a productivity advantage - because when people feel respected, included and proud of where they work, they’re far more likely to bring discretionary effort, initiative, and stay engaged through innovation and change.
National Reconciliation Week is a good time to talk about that through a practical lens. Because reconciliation, done properly, isn’t a message. It’s a leadership choice that strengthens relationships with local communities, gives people something to be proud of at work, and builds the kind of workplace culture where respect and belonging are lived - not just stated.
The scalable part: clear principles and non-negotiables
There’s no doubt employers need simplicity and repeatability. I understand that - I come from a highly commercial background where the focus was on what’s repeatable and profitable. In recent decades my focus is impact and outcomes, but I still respect the discipline that scale demands.
For regional employers, the scalable part of reconciliation is clarity:
- what you stand for
- what respectful behaviour looks like in your workplace
- what you will not tolerate
- and what you’re prepared to invest in over time
If those foundations are vague, or applied differently from town to town, trust in leadership erodes quickly.
Why reconciliation belongs in company culture
It’s fair to say 'company culture' can sound like a soft concept. But in regional businesses, culture is one of the hardest operational realities we deal with - because if people don’t feel respected, safe and valued, they leave. And in a thin labour market, retention isn’t an HR metric. It’s business continuity.
Culture is simply the behaviour your organisation accepts and reinforces. It’s how leaders act under pressure. It’s how people are treated day to day. It’s whether inclusion shows up in everyday decisions and behaviour.
That’s why reconciliation belongs in culture. In Australia - and particularly in regional communities - respecting and including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and culture isn’t an 'initiative'. It’s part of who we are, and part of how we build workplaces that people can be proud of.
And the truth is many employees want to acknowledge the history, learn from it, and build stronger relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but they don’t always know how to contribute in practical ways. A Reconciliation Action Plan helps translate that into practical commitments leaders can back and teams can act on.
The hard part: living it locally
You can standardise what you stand for, but you have to build the work locally.
In NSW alone, Aboriginal community isn’t one homogenous 'group'. NSW is made up of around 70 different nations, and the state is home to approximately 35 Aboriginal languages. There are also 121 Local Aboriginal Land Councils representing communities across NSW.
That’s why reconciliation can’t be treated as a neat rollout. You can standardise your principles, but you operationalise it locally, through relationships. Local people matter. How you show up matters. And what respectful practice looks like is shaped by the community you’re working with.
And this is where measurement matters because it’s how you keep the work honest, consistent and improving across multiple sites.
At VERTO, that’s a real operational reality for us - we work across NSW, the ACT and QLD, with 130+ locations and a team of 350+ people.
The workforce link: outcomes, not optics
If reconciliation is going to be more than symbolism, it has to show up in outcomes you can see in your workforce:
- genuine entry points into work
- training that leads somewhere
- retention and progression, not just recruitment
- and leadership pathways over time
In regional labour markets, this matters even more - because every retained and engaged employee has a ripple effect across your business and your community.
Measurement is what keeps it honest
It might not sound inspiring, but it’s worth considering: measurement is one of the most practical tools we have to turn values into action.
If you say reconciliation matters in your business, be prepared to measure what’s changing. Not for show - for discipline.
A few practical measures regional employers can start with:
- Representation: First Nations applicants / interviews / hires (quarterly)
- Retention: 3-month and 12-month retention (compare cohorts)
- Progression: acting roles, promotions, leadership development participation
- Capability: training completions that translate into new responsibilities
- Workplace experience: short, anonymous pulse checks on respect and safety
- Partnerships: number of active local partnerships and what they’re producing (entry points, mentoring, work exposure)
If it matters, it goes on the dashboard. If it’s on the dashboard, it gets managed. If it gets managed, it improves.
Finding the solution: practical actions regional employers can take
There’s no doubt there’s no single fix. But there are a few practical steps that make a real difference:
- Create entry points that reduce risk: Work experience tasters, traineeships, learn-and-earn pathways - options that build confidence and capability before you expect perfection.
- Partner early with the right local people: Don’t wait until you need a program. Build relationships early, not only when you have a vacancy.
- Make retention someone’s job: Not a hope. A role. Who is responsible for staying close to new hires, checking what’s working, and fixing what isn’t?
National Reconciliation Week is a reminder of what matters - but it’s what happens after the week ends that counts.
If regional employers can keep principles clear, partnerships local, and outcomes measurable, reconciliation becomes more than a message. It becomes culture - and culture becomes capability.
And if we can keep building practical opportunity that people can see and feel, then we all benefit from the results.
Ron Maxwell, CEO of VERTO
