Performance management framework and guidelines

The legislative and policy framework relating to performance management

The State Service Amendment (Performance) Act 2011 (proclaimed on 17 August 2011) and Employment Direction No 26 (ED 26) signed by the Premier on 4 February 2013) brought into effect the legal framework for effective performance management within the State Service and a culture of accountability for performance and continuous improvement. The State Service Act 2000 now incorporates a number of new elements identified in the State Service Amendment (Performance) Act 2011 within the following sections:

• Section 3(1) Interpretation
• Section 7(1) State Service Principles
• Section 34(1) Functions and Powers of Heads of Agency
• Section 36 Annual Reports by Heads of Agency
• Section 44(3)( c) Termination of Employment of Officers/Employees
• Part, 7A Managing for Performance.

Employment Direction No 26 - Managing Performance in the State Service

The State Service Amendment (Performance) Act 2011 provided for an Employment Direction (ED) to be developed. Together, the Act and ED 26 clearly articulate the roles, responsibilities, expectation and accountability of performance for all those involved in an agency’s performance management system, be they the Head of the Agency, employee or manager.

ED 26 sets out the minimum requirements and underlying principles to be met by agencies in development, implementation and evaluation of a performance management system, which are:

1. Alignment of employee performance to government policies, programs and priorities to agency strategic and operational planning and the State Service Principles, Code of Conduct and agency values;
2. Effective performance is required of all employees regardless of role, responsibility or level;
3. All employees share responsibility for continually improving performance, productivity and the quality of service delivery;
4. Promoting a workplace culture of responsiveness, initiative, innovation and flexibility aimed at achieving results;
5. Procedural fairness is integral to all processes, including open, regular and constructive feedback in a supportive workplace environment;
6. Appropriate recognition where performance exceeds or meets performance outcomes and specific requirements;
7. Underperformance is not acceptable and is addressed by defining clear expectations and consequences and providing support and feedback in a procedurally fair manner; and
8. Disadvantage or discrimination does not occur to employees within the meaning of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1998.

ED 26 is not intended to propose a ‘one size fits all’ model of performance management or prescribe how individual agencies achieve results in managing performance, but it does prescribe a process associated with managing underperformance.

A number of agencies focus their performance management systems on structured assessment against values-based and behaviours criteria. This allows flexibility so that agencies can adopt the most suitable means of integrating performance management systems into their particular organisational cultures.

Guidelines to support ED 26

Managing Performance Guidelines for the Tasmanian State Service provides a point of reference for agencies reviewing their current performance management system to ensure they meet requirements of the Act and ED 26. The guidelines also provide employees, including managers, with an overview of the principles of the ED, including their obligations, the process for developing and monitoring performance management plans and processes for managing under performance.

Useful links

• Current Employment Directions
• Employment Direction No 26
• Managing Performance Guidelines for the Tasmanian State Service
• State Service Amendment (Performance) Act 2011
• Report of the Auditor-General No. 7 2018-19 'Performance management in the Tasmanian State Service: A focus on quality conversations'

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