Kāinga Ora tells staff to stay 'positive' as axe hangs over jobs

More jobs are on the line at Kāinga Ora and a staffer has told RNZ they are stressed, exhausted, and disheartened by leaders telling them to stay positive.

Last year the state housing agency shed 540 roles in a bid to meet government savings targets, and earlier this month the government released a Kāinga Ora "turnaround plan" to ensure its financial sustainability.

RNZ has obtained copies of information given to staff via the intranet last week announcing a "redesign" of the organisation, called the "Reset, Resize, Renew" programme, as the turnaround plan is implemented.

"We expect it may result in changes to some reporting lines, some roles, as well as a reduction in the number of roles," it said.

The new structure would be in place by the end of June, and staff would be given more information in the coming weeks, it said.

Staff were encouraged to adopt a positive mindset.

"Make a choice! Things happen but it is your response that determines if the outcome is ultimately positive or negative."

A section detailing "above the line" thinking and behaviour included "hope", "see possibilities" and "find better ways".

"Below the line" thinking and behaviour included "victim", "find fault" and "stay stuck".

That did not go down well with staff who were stressed and scared about losing their jobs, said one employee, who RNZ has agreed not to name.

"We're out there trying to help people in our homes, trying to get the support they need, trying to do our best for New Zealanders that need housing but we're already working overtime, we're already under-resourced, we're really struggling, and of course ... we're all trying to pay our own rents and our own bills," they said.

"The organisation got restructured last year and now here we are again, it's pretty unsettling for quite a period of time, it's really stressful."

Staff were expecting change following the turnaround plan but the severity - an entire redesign of the organisation - was a shock given hundreds of jobs were slashed last year, they said.

Colleagues had questioned why Kāinga Ora restructured some departments last year before government guidance on its future, they said.

"So we're pretty surprised about how severe it already was before the government issued that plan ... because they've already just laid off a whole bunch of our colleagues.

"We didn't expect it to be this soon, or this extreme."

Staff were exhausted, and it was tough to have to go through such big changes again, they said.

Kāinga Ora confirmed it was resizing the organisation.

"The changes are not yet defined; however, we are committed to ensuring our people are the first to learn of any changes proposed over the coming months and we will be consulting with our people soon," it said.

"We are mindful of the impact this may have on people so we will be making every effort to support them over this period."

rnz.co.nz