COASTGUARD RE-GEARS

COASTGUARD VOLUNTEERS AND MEMBERS NATIONWIDE HAVE VOTED TO MERGE THE ORGANISATION’S FOUR REGIONAL ENTITIES AND NATIONAL BODY – A STEP DESIGNED TO BOOST EFFICIENCIES AND ADDRESS FALLING VOLUNTEER NUMBERS. THE VOTE TOOK PLACE AT A SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING IN MARCH.

“The need for change is clear,” says Coastguard Chief Executive Callum Gillespie. “Bringing the national body and the four regional entities together will enable us to be more efficient and effective in the development and delivery of strategies to meet challenges we face today and in the future.”

The most pressing of those is addressing Coastguard’s falling volunteer numbers. Like many volunteer-powered organisations, Coastguard’s being impacted by changing trends in volunteering worldwide.

“We are an emergency responder which relies on volunteers,” says Gillespie. “Without them, there would be no Coastguard.

“Last year we undertook a comprehensive survey of our volunteers, and it is evident that we need to take action if we are going to retain our incredible volunteers and attract new people. Integrating the organisation into a strong entity will provide the platform we need to ensure we can continue to serve New Zealand communities and save lives at sea.”

Coastguard created its four regions in 2004 to improving support to its units on the frontline. The decision to merge them, Gillespie believes, will lift the support to units even further.

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“We will continue to operate regional teams who will report directly to Coastguard New Zealand rather than through regional boards. We will also be able to create a strong shared services model for HR, finance, technology, operations, marketing and fundraising – enabling us to better support our people, reduce overheads and realise efficiencies of scale previously unavailable.”

Last year Coastguard’s 1,900 search and rescue volunteers gave more than 300,000 hours of their time across operations, training, admin, education and fundraising and brought 6,774 New Zealanders home safely.

“Having the right structure in place to support our volunteers will enable them to focus on doing what they joined Coastguard to do, helping other people and saving lives at sea,” says Gillespie.