Current Victim Support staff have criticised CEO James McCulloch's response to workplace culture complaints, saying he dismissed their concerns after RNZ approached the organisation for comment.
McCulloch sent an email to staff following the media inquiry, describing a "rather surprising media request suggesting that the culture, practice, values, leadership and wellbeing here had not actually changed or improved in recent years, and that all the challenges back in 2021/22 were still very much an issue".
In the email, McCulloch said "I personally feel that any suggestion that this is not the case is disrespectful and offensive to all our incredible team and the victims that we support".
One current staff member told RNZ they felt bewildered by the response, saying McCulloch had completely dismissed their concerns. The staff member's message to the CEO was "please believe us".
Another employee said they were horrified by McCulloch's email and disagreed that raising concerns was disrespectful.
Staff members described specific problems including one employee who said their direct line manager and district manager had bullied and picked on them, and that reporting through internal channels made the situation worse. Another worker said they had observed a colleague break down in tears on numerous occasions prior to departing the organisation, and was aware of multiple other support workers facing difficulties.
McCulloch later issued a statement saying it was upsetting to hear anyone felt unheard or disbelieved. He said he welcomed the opportunity to speak directly with staff members willing to do so.
The organisation hired an independent investigator in 2021 to examine allegations of bullying, poor training and delivery failures. The investigation found that while bullying was not widespread, some regions had very high reports of bullying and unreasonable behaviour by managers.
McCulloch pointed to changes since then, including that 86% of employees agreed the agency supports and prioritises employee wellbeing in the most recent independent staff survey. Staff turnover was 41% in 2023 and is currently 17%.