MANAGEMENT

Management of human resources

The principal focus of the Personnel Services section has been to align its activities more closely with the department's Corporate Plan. Particular effort has gone into linking activities to the higher level goals of the Corporate Plan and into developing a framework which reinforces and promotes the department's values of professionalism, partnerships with clients, continuous improvement and personal respect.

A significant step in this process was the adoption of the vision statement for personnel services: 'to enable the department to achieve its goals through the provision of expert and professional HR advice and services'. This is the yardstick against which activities are assessed.

The DPRS Values are now central to the framework for managing people in the department. The Values now form the basis of generic selection and appraisal criteria. The Values are also discussed at all induction courses. In these ways the Values established in the Corporate Plan are given life in the day-to-day management of employees.

In a further effort to strengthen the alignment of Personnel Services' activities with the Corporate Plan, all policy and guideline materials were reviewed to ensure that they fit a hierarchy of documents with the Corporate Plan at its apex. These documents were then posted on the redeveloped Personnel Services portal on the department's intraNet.

Staffing overview

Staff turnover

27 ongoing staff separated from the department:

12 resignations

6 promotions

3 retirements

3 transfers

2 voluntary redundancies

1 end of transfer to the department

Staff development and training

Performance communication was a focus of early activity in staff development and training. The department met one of its four Certified Agreement milestones for the year by having all staff undergo a formal round of performance communication by 15 September 2000. The emphasis then moved to providing small group training to staff and supervisors on the performance communication arrangements in the new Certified Agreement. These included the identification of training and development needs and opportunities for all staff.

Significant effort was put into the enhancement of the department's induction package and processes. Orientation workshops were held for a total of 39 new starters. Responses from them indicate that this effort has been well rewarded.

In partnership with the program areas, work continued on the identification of competencies for certain streams in the department.

While the department's Certified Agreement requires regular formal performance communication, the department is building on that basic requirement to develop an environment where informal constant feedback is the norm. The department's aim is to use these opportunities to develop the capabilities of staff to meet the existing and emerging needs of the department. In particular personalised Individual Development Plans provide a forum to promote a commitment to quality and to the department's values. Equally importantly, these plans allow for structured succession planning for key roles in the department and for increased staff confidence in a changing work environment.

External development activities

The department continued its program of studies assistance to staff who participate in formal courses provided by external educational institutions. The assistance includes some time off work and payment of course fees for successful candidates.

The department also funded participation in seminars and other development including the Driving Change program of the ACT Small Agency HR Forum.

The department sponsored one employee on the Senior Women in Management Program, which ended in December 2000.

Workplace relations

The department's Certified Agreement 2000-2003, having been endorsed by a majority of voting staff in a ballot conducted by the Australian Electoral Commission, was certified by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission on 9 October 2000. Key features of the agreement were set out in last year's Annual Report.

Implementation of the Agreement became a major focus of activity. Work included the revision of all Certified Agreement guidelines, information sessions with departmental staff and processing of salary increases. The changeover to the new agreement went very smoothly.

Following achievement of the four milestones identified in the Certified Agreement for the year 2000, the effectiveness bonus was paid to all staff in December 2000. The Consultative Committee discussed the milestones for the year 2001 at its December 2000 meeting.

Staff voted on 25 May 2001 to vary the department's Certified Agreement to align the pay rates of Technical Officers Levels 2, 3 and 4 with those of Information Technology Officers Class 1 and 2. This adjustment recognised that, following the full implementation of the new departmental structure, these groups work side by side doing similar work. The Australian Industrial Relations Commission endorsed this change on 27 June with effect from 5 July 2001.

Productivity gains

Work continued on the roll out of the PeopleSoft Human Resource Management system. This included the introduction of electronic pay slips and preparations for employee self-service whereby staff will be able to interrogate their personnel records electronically.

Performance based pay

The department does not use performance based pay, but the departmental wide pay increases provided in the department's Certified Agreement are 'at risk' for SES employees and Directors - that is, the pay increase is dependent upon specified performance targets set out in individual AWAs being met.

Australian Workplace Agreements

The department has 28 staff covered by Australian Workplace Agreements - four SES, thirteen Directors and eleven other staff.

Non-salary benefits

All staff are eligible for reimbursement of membership of the Parliament House Health and Recreation Centre or another such centre up to the same cost. In addition, the following range of non-salary benefits is available to certain staff - cars through the Executive Vehicle Scheme of DASFLEET, membership of airline lounges, access to the Internet from home computers and mobile phone costs.

Other

There was considerable preparatory work for the transfer of certain corporate services processing tasks from the Department of the Parliamentary Library to DPRS, which occurred on 1 July 2001.