A Taste of Harmony at Harding Martin

We spoke with Director of Harding Martin Chartered Accountants, Vicki Yorston about how their workplace celebrates A Taste of Harmony. Having been an ATOH participant for four years now, it’s a day the Harding Martin staff always looks forward to.

Why did your organisation choose to take part in A Taste of Harmony? How did it come about?

Our staff come from all over the world and from many different cultural and religious backgrounds so when we received an email from ATOH we thought this would be a great fit for Harding Martin. We read the information on the website and agreed it would be a fabulous way to celebrate our diversity.

Describe what your A Taste of Harmony event typically looks like.

We like eating! Each year we pick a theme and each staff member is asked to bring food to share. We started with food from your country of origin which was heaps of fun where we enjoyed Singapore Rice Noodles, Danish Meatballs, Spanish Tortilla, Vegemite Sangas and Caramel & Macadamia Gateau to name a few of the wonderful dishes on offer. Our subsequent themes have included where would you like to travel to most and favourite takeaway.

What impact has A Taste of Harmony had on your organisation?

We are a workplace of around 25 people so we know each other well however this has been a great way to open discussions and allowed us to get to know each other better. We have had some very interesting conversations around the lunchroom table.

In what ways do you celebrate cultural diversity in your workplace (aside from A Taste of Harmony)?

Our staff are always travelling overseas so we love hearing all their stories. Most of our celebrations revolve around food so we usually have a lunch out at a local café to chat about where they’ve been and what they have done & seen.

What tips do you have for other organisations interested in hosting a successful A Taste of Harmony event?

Start with an event based around food, as culture and food go hand in hand. Use the time to chat to colleagues about their background. You learn so much from just chatting to your workmates in a relaxed environment. We have had amazing people work at Harding Martin and this has given us a chance to get to know each of them while enjoying lots of homemade delights.

A Taste of Harmony is a simple way for your workplace to celebrate cultural diversity. To find out more about how you can organise an event for your workplace and be kept up to date, join our mailing list.