Recipe for success

What makes Malcolm McHale a PRIDE winner?

Passion for the job, the respect of colleagues, knowledge of Maori language and culture, and effective offender management are just some of the things that make Malcolm McHale a successful Community Work Supervisor. They have also earned him a PRIDE Award – the Department’s highest honour, recognising outstanding contributions by staff.

After more than 20 years with the Department, Malcolm, aka Whero, has his own recipe for getting the best out of the community work offenders he works with. ”It’s about people skills, understanding pressures in their lives, understanding their culture, having basic trade skills,” says Malcolm. “I have always treated offenders with the same respect that I treat my son.” It’s a philosophy he lives by to this day.

Malcolm recalls his first day, supervising patched gang members. “I was nervous and the offenders could tell I was new so when we got to our destination they told me that supervisors work alongside them. With no way to confirm the truth of this, I spent 10 hours with a machete alongside the offenders cutting bushes. My hands were covered in blisters. It wasn’t until I went back to the office for a debrief that the warden told me I wasn’t meant to labour with the offenders.”

The valuable lesson he learnt that day about a hands-on approach is something he’s carried on, not only mucking in with the offenders but also finding and nurturing their skills and encouraging them to learn their language and culture. “Malcolm doesn’t have Maori ancestry but his thirst for knowledge of the culture is infectious. He’s an inspiration not only to the offenders he works with but also to his colleagues,” says Roseanne Bray, Service Manager Rotorua.

“Malcolm uses te reo on a daily basis, when speaking to fellow colleagues in the office, with offenders and his radio checks from the work site, keeping true to the Department’s philosophy of what works with Maori works for the Department.”

Although Malcolm loves what he does, the role has its challenges. “You realise early on that you don’t just deal with first-time offenders, there’ll be some hardened criminals in the mix. You learn to be a counsellor as well as a supervisor, and come sunshine or rain your work is mainly outdoors.”

It is a testament to Malcolm’s approach to his work that most of the offenders he works with comply with their sentences. In February Chief Executive Barry Matthews awarded Malcolm a PRIDE award – the Department’s highest honour. Those present at the award ceremony had the pleasure of listening to Malcolm respond in M?ori on behalf of the recipients at the powhiri.

“I was blown away by Malcolm,” says Maureen Larking, Learning and Development Coordinator and fellow PRIDE recipient. “The way he spoke for us at the ceremony was impressive and awe inspiring! It made us all proud to be working at Corrections.”

Congratulations to this year’s other PRIDE Award winners:
Programme Facilitators Nazea Silbery and Andrew Baynes, Programme Delivery Christchurch
Catering Instructor Vivienne Wairepo, CIE, Internal Services, Waikeria Prison
Acting Unit Manager Nigel Petrie, Hawkes Bay Regional Prison
Learning & Development Coordinator Maureen Larking, Staff College.