Stepping up when the employment relationship breaks down
Industry
Fishing
Location
Mount Maunganui
“We need trainers that can deliver to our audience, get their attention and get through to them to help them learn.”
Pelco invests heavily in fisheries biology and management activities to ensure the stocks it fishes are in good health.
Bay of Plenty fishing company Pelco and the EMA have built a strong relationship over the years, collaborating on health and safety, HR advice, leadership training and even governance in the export community. Pelco's People and Relations Manager Rachel Cox explains how the partnership developed.
Overview
A significant Kiwi exporting success story, Māori family-owned fishing business Pelco has operated for more than 25 years in the Bay of Plenty.
It’s one the largest fishing companies in New Zealand, but it tends to fly under the radar. And despite being an environmentally and locally focused business dedicated to maintaining a thriving fishery for current and future generations, that’s just how the unassuming Rolleston family likes it.
Andrew Rolleston founded Pelco in 1996 to target pelagic (midwater) species, such as jack mackerel, blue mackerel, kahawai, skipjack tuna and trevally.
About 85% of Pelco’s catch is blast-frozen and shipped to various overseas markets, primarily for use in canneries.
Vertical integration, including owning their own fishing vessels, factory and cold store, have allowed Pelco to control the quality of the fish it harvests – the company can determine how the fish are caught and refrigerated onboard their vessels, how quickly they’re unloaded from the boat, how they’re processed and packaged in chilled conditions, and how rapidly they’re blast frozen.
The whole system is geared towards catching, processing, and freezing the fish as quickly as possible to maintain the best quality.
Pelco uses a fishing method called purse seine, which is considered a low-impact, precise and selective. Purse seines are used in the open ocean to target dense schools of single-species pelagic fish. It has no contact with the seabed and has low levels of bycatch (accidental catch of unwanted species).
Two years ago, Pelco recruited a scientist and researcher to look at migratory patterns of the fish species it targets. The collected data helped the company considerably with its commitment to sustainable fishing. Pelco invests heavily in fisheries biology and management activities to ensure the stocks it fishes are in good health.
That’s translated into the company having a good reputation in what is a heavily regulated industry. It has a good relationship with the local community, including the amateur fishing brigade who sometimes tap the company and their spotter planes for good leads on marlin locations for fishing competitions.
The busy period for Pelco is September to mid-March, primarily influenced by the migration patterns of target species, which tend to move closer to New Zealand’s coastal waters during these warmer months.
Outside the season, Pelco’s People and Relations Manager Rachel Cox likes to send her team on courses such as health and safety and leadership training. It’s part of the company’s commitment to retaining and upskilling its staff
For this, her long relationship with the EMA comes to the fore.
Governance and guidance
Cox joined Pelco in early 2019 and signed the company up to the EMA’s services.
She moved to New Zealand from the United Kingdom 14 years ago, and early on in her work life met EMA Employment Relations Consultant Chris Longman, who has provided useful guidance throughout her career here.
She says Longman is someone who understands the industry and she relies on him for advice on employment relations issues as well as his ability to deliver coaching and development on quality and compliance.
“I’m currently coaching one of Pelco’s managers, and I regularly advise on employment queries such as leave and the development of employment agreements and policies tailored to Pelco’s industry needs,” says Longman.
“I also provided a lot of support through the COVID-19 period, including on changes to work hours, risk assessments and vaccination processes.”
Cox says Longman is a “straight shooter” who understands what Pelco is trying to achieve and how to communicate effectively with the various divisions.
“Chris is my go-to man and always provide us prompt and sage advice.”
Pelco also has a seat on the BOP ExportNZ Advisory Committee where a range of established Export businesses from the Bay of Plenty Region come together bi-monthly to share successes and pain points in the export space.
Safety First
Commerical fishing and processing carries a number of hazards and requires sound health and safety procedures.
Skippers are highly trained to ensure that their crews are aware of and skilled in health and safety, and back on land there are risks particular to Pelco’s unloading facility, factory and coldstore that need to be addressed.
Cox says Pelco takes its commitment to safety seriously and uses EMA training for its teams.
Team members have attended the EMA’s Health and Safety Representative Stage 1 (Essential Training) and Health and Safety Representative Stage 2 (Advanced Training) run by experienced health and safety facilitator Mike Peterson.
“Mike is perfect for what we need,” says Cox.
“We need trainers that can deliver to our audience, get their attention and get through to them to help them learn.”
She says Pelco always looks to promote within the ranks and the company has used the EMA’s Supervision, An Introduction and Managing Machinery Risk courses to show future leaders how to handle issues themselves and when to escalate.
“It’s about building confidence”
