Chapter 4 – Developing our People

Whole-of-Government Graduate Recruitment Program

In October 2016, a whole-of-service approach to graduate recruitment and development was launched with the Whole-of-Government Graduate Recruitment Program. Initially, up to 12 graduate vacancies across seven agencies were advertised under the Program, with a mix of fixed-term and permanent opportunities available.

The Program, coordinated by SSMO, focusses on providing graduates with the skills needed for a successful career in the State Service including:

• policy and strategic thinking skills;
• understanding the machinery of Government;
• communication skills;
• collaboration and team work; and
• presentation skills.

Ten Graduates that were already employed in the State Service were supported by their agencies to participate in the formal training component of the Program, bringing participation in the initial Program to a total of 27 graduates.

"The 2017 Graduate Recruitment Program: 122 applications were received; 37 applicants were interviewed; 17 appointments were made."

Graduate Officer (Human Resources/Industrial Relations) Fixed-Term Employment Register

In 2016-17, SSMO continued to work with agencies on initiatives focussed on attracting and building the capability of human resources and industrial relations employees.

The Whole-of-Government Graduate Officer (Human Resources/Industrial Relations) Fixed-Term Employment Register exists to support agencies in filling short, fixed-term graduate vacancies in human resources and industrial relations teams. The Register also provides valuable work experience for individuals interested in beginning a career in human resources or industrial relations.

Performance Management

Performance Management Systems provide a framework of regular, constructive discussions that create a link between the performance and development of individual employees, and the agency’s business requirements.  In 2016-17, agencies reported a total of 13,025 employees participated in a performance management process, an increase from 11,282 the previous year.

Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) are put in place to provide additional support to employees to meet performance measures. A PIP helps employees by providing a structured plan that can include:

• training and/or coaching;
• setting measurable standards;
• additional supervision;
• buddying and job shadowing; and
• skill review/role clarification.

This year there was a decrease in the number of PIPs in place across the service, with 12 reported across six agencies in 2016-17 (from 16 in 2015-16).

Talent Management and Development

Talent management and development continues to be of importance to agencies and across the service, with many activities included in individual performance development plans. A broad range of opportunities for development were reported including job rotation, reward and recognition, access to secondments, and ongoing internal graduate/cadet development programs.

Secondments

Development opportunities continued to be available to employees through access to secondments in 2016-17. A total of 38 secondment arrangements were supported during the period, which saw TSS employees working with the University of Tasmania, Unions, not-for-profit organisations, the Office of the Governor, and the Australian Government.

Four secondment arrangements were supported that brought skilled people into the TSS from educational organisations and the energy industry.

To create further interaction between the public and private sectors and develop human resource capabilities, SSMO also collaborated with the Employer of Choice organisation to offer a State Service human resource practitioner the opportunity to be part of the judging panel for this year’s Employer of Choice Awards.

Study Assistance

Access to study assistance was supported by 16 agencies in 2016-17, an increase from 11 agencies last year. The total number of employees who accessed study assistance decreased overall, with agencies reporting 92 male employees and 327 female employees accessing assistance that included altered work patterns, study leave and financial assistance.

There was a wide variety of course discipline areas studied in 2016-17, which included accounting, law, media, allied health, corporate governance, management, and project management.

The Training Consortium

The Training Consortium (TTC) facilitates and promotes cost-effective, quality learning opportunities for its member organisations^[1] and the broader public.

In 2016-17, TTC Executive commissioned a review to assess the continued relevance of TTC in view of the significant changes in the learning and development environment over the last 20 years. The review was completed by RDME Consulting, with the outcome confirming the important and highly-valued role TTC plays in supporting professional development for the public sector in Tasmania.

The report identified a range of strategies for ensuring the ongoing financial sustainability of TTC that will be evaluated and implemented over the coming year.

Training Activities

TTC and SSMO worked together in 2016-17 to deliver the first whole-of-service Graduate Program and together are coordinating the roll-out of the Manager Essentials Program.

In 2016-17, TTC delivered 100 events across the State, with registrations up three per cent. A number of new specialised courses were introduced over this period, including:

• Getting to and through Cabinet;
• Towards best practice in policy evaluation;
• Preparing documents for decision makers;
• Improve your decision making;
• Prince2;
• Masterclass: Agile Project Management; and
• The Art of Collaboration.

TTC also worked with a number of public sector organisations to deliver whole-of-government training and highly successful initiatives including:

• supporting the Solicitor General’s Office to deliver a new Understanding the Law series, which has attracted over 450 registrations to seven events;
• working with Department of Justice to offer the Certificate IV in Government (Statutory Compliance), 78 people have been awarded this qualification over the last three years, and another 56 are currently finalising their study;
• in association with the Department of Health and Human Services, brought a specialist trainer to Tasmania to deliver Make it Count: How to Collect and Give Evidence in Court, for family violence practitioners in each region; and
• supporting the development of a Cultural Awareness eLearning module which will be made available to all state service agencies.

Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA) – Tasmanian Division

This year IPAA Tasmania continued to engage TTC to provide secretariat and event management services to support the development of public sector employees. Key highlights achieved for this period included working with third-year University of Tasmania students to develop and implement a new IPAA website, a 33 per cent increase in individual membership, and a record number of entries for the Public Sector Excellence Awards.

Twelve IPAA events were scheduled and delivered in 2016-17, including the;

• IPAA Connections events;
• State of the Service Address;
• annual Executive Forum delivered in partnership with IPAA Victoria which focused on digital transformation; and
• State Budget Briefing.

A highlight of the year was the Future of Work forum where Michael Hill from KPMG was joined by Erma Ranieri, Commissioner for Public Sector Employment, South Australia, and Professor David Adams from the University of Tasmania for a fascinating discussion on the future of work and its impact on the public sector.

"The 2017 TTC Client Survey: 200 responses; 93 per cent would recommend TTC to friends or colleagues; 79 per cent rate the quality of TTC courses/events as very good or excellent; 70 per cent rate the range of TTC courses/events as very good or excellent."

[1] TTC members include State Service agencies, other public sector bodies and private sector bodies.

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