14 March 2023
R S Grant
[FYI request #21808 email]
Dear R S Grant
Thank you for your request of 12 February 2023 to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea
Matua made under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA), as follows:
How many staff does your HR (or equivalent) team contain now and how many did it contain
five years’ ago? Of these, how many are/were in a “diversity and inclusion” team or
equivalent?
How many staff does your Communications (or equivalent) team contain now and how many
did it contain five years’ ago? Of these, how many are/were in a “internal communications”
team or equivalent?
Please provide your response in terms of Full-Time Equivalent staff, and please include any
vacant positions.
Response
The requested data is set out in the tables below. The data is for full time equivalent (FTE)
positions and, as such, only relates to permanent and fixed term employees.
Table 1: Data for HR-related functions
Department
FTEs
Vacancies
Total
(FTE + vacancies)
31 December 2017
HR Department
4.0
0.0
4.0
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion2
0.0
0.0
0.0
31 December 2022
People and Capability Directorate3
24.5
2.0
26.5
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and
2.9
1.0
3.9
Wellbeing Directorate4
2There was no DEI team or DEI specific roles within HR at this time.
3The People and Capability (P&C) Directorate includes the following functions/teams: Talent & Capability, People
Advisory & Employment Relations, Organisational Development, People Data & Analytics.
4The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Wellbeing (DEIW) Directorate includes the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and
Wellbeing function, as well as Te Ao Māori Capability. DEIW and P&C are separate Directorates in the
Transformation Innovation People and Culture Group, which works on matters across the organisation as a whole,
including (but not solely) in the people space.
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Ref #20193708 v1.6
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Table 2: Data for Communications-related functions
Department
FTEs
Vacancies
Total
(FTE + vacancies)
31 December 2017
Communications Department5 (incl. Internal
8.6
1.0
9.6
Communications team)
Internal Communications team
1.0
0.0
1.0
31 December 2022
Communications and Stakeholder
28.9
1.0
29.9
Engagement Department (incl. Internal
Communications team)
Internal Communications team
5.0
0.0
5.0
5This includes RBNZ Museum Administrator
As you will note above, the RBNZ has undergone a period of growth and transformation since
2017. The RBNZ’s Growth and Transformation Strategy has been well planned to adapt and
keep pace in a changing operating environment and financial services landscape. The RBNZ’s
Funding Proposal 2020-25 (available on the RBNZ website) identified the need for this growth
and has detailed information on what it means for each area of our work.
Our significant transformation is ongoing and multi-year as it encompasses a portfolio of major
change projects spanning our legislation, governance, digital and data capabilities,
intensification of supervision and enforcement, establishment of resolution and resilience
capabilities, business services improvement, increasing presence in Auckland, and broader
cultural and capability developments and more. The need for increased staff numbers and
capabilities to deliver to our transformation strategic priority was anticipated and incorporated
within our five year funding agreement. This has seen us establish new groups and functions
and uplift capabilities to ensure we have sufficient capacity and capability required to operate
as a modern central bank.
Our People and Capability Directorate has grown to support the additional requirements
associated both with being an organisation with a larger headcount as well as to properly
support and enable a modern organisation and changing workforce expectations.
Our standalone Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Wellbeing Directorate has been established to
ensure we meet our genuine intentions with respect to diversity, equity and inclusion as well
as our obligations as a public sector entity that serves all New Zealanders.
Our Te Ao Māori Capability function works to support our guardianship of New Zealand’s
financial system; taking Te Ao Māori into account informs our work through a wider set of
relationships with tangata whenua and broadens our perspectives on the work we do, making
us a more effective and inclusive central bank responsive to all New Zealanders. Our
commitment flows from our public function as well as the constitutional significance of Te Tiriti
in Aotearoa / New Zealand.
Our communications work has grown to ensure we deliver a broad stakeholder engagement
function and includes a wide range of roles from web content to ministerial and OIA servicing
and publishing. The numbers in the tables above reflect the growth in our work as a central
bank and the support needed to communicate and engage with a wider group of stakeholders.
Our communications and external engagement department also incorporates many groups
and activities beyond traditional communications and media activity. It encompasses a broad
stakeholder engagement function and includes a wide range of roles from managing our
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website and content to ministerial and OIA servicing and publishing our wide range of both
statutory and other corporate documents. It also includes technical and specialist roles not
always attributed to communications and engagements functions in other agencies.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review of this response by the Ombudsman, in
accordance with section 28(3) of the OIA. The relevant details can be found on the
Ombudsman’s website at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.
Please note that we intend to publish a copy of this response on the RBNZ’s website at
www.rbnz.govt.nz/research-and-publications/official-information-requests. Responses to
requests are published in order to improve public transparency and provide an additional
resource for anyone seeking information.
Yours sincerely
Government and Industry Relations
Reserve Bank of New Zealand - Te Pūtea Matua
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