Output 1.2 Public Sector Management

Overview

The directorate continued to provide strategic advice and support to the Head of Service as the central agency policy and advisory role for ACTPS employment. Areas of responsibility include activity based work, service-wide employment, industrial relations, human resources, organisational and learning and development, investigations, accountability and governance. The directorate also provided support to the statutory office of the Public Sector Standards Commissioner, the ACT Remuneration Tribunal, the ACTPS Joint Council, the People and Performance Council and the HR Directors’ Group.

Further, the directorate continued to implement the Healthy Weight Initiative (HWI). The HWI is a whole of government approach focused on addressing the rising rates of overweight and obesity by making improvements in active living and food environments across the ACT. A Steering Committee monitors and coordinates policy and program actions across six key themes: schools, workplaces, urban planning, food environment, social inclusion, and information and data.

Highlights

Against this output in 2016-17 the directorate:

implemented and reviewed the effectiveness of the Shared Capability Framework which describes the skills, knowledge and behaviour that can universally be expected of every ACT public servant at different organisational levels and in every workplace across the service;
led, on behalf of public service commissioners around Australia, the development of a capability statement for Chief Human Resource Officers, which can be used by all jurisdictions;
developed and piloted a whole of government ‘ADAPT’ (Align, Design, Analyse, Program and Transform) Strategic Workforce Planning toolkit designed to assist directorates to ‘future proof’ their workforces and take an evidence-based approach to workforce design;
reviewed and restructured organisational development support material on the whole of government Employment Portal to provide managers, staff and HR areas with a cohesive workforce planning, performance and capability development framework;
refreshed the Directors-General ACTPS Performance and Development Framework Planning Discussion Plan templates to clarify performance indicators;
delivered the Leaders Leading Learning Program to Band 1 and Band 2 executives;
initiated and supported a cross directorate group tasked with major cultural transformation and preparation of people management practices for new ways of working;
developed a succession planning and talent management strategy;
revised the ACTPS Induction Manual;
developed the Executive Gateway on the ACTPS Employment Portal which includes the Executive Induction Manual;
revised the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and People with Disability Employment Frameworks;
revised the learning and development program for the ACTPS Graduate Program;
piloted the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Traineeship and the Inclusion Employment Traineeship for People with Disability;
provided individual support and pastoral care to trainees and graduates;
developed the Government submission to the Standing Committee on Health, Ageing and Community Services - Inquiry into the Employment of People with Disabilities in the ACT;
expanded the activity based work (ABW) pilot from one to two floors of the Canberra Nara Centre, increasing the capacity of both floors from 144 to approximately 230 employees;
assisted Access Canberra to transition staff into the ABW fitout at the Cosmopolitan Centre in Woden;
established a cross-directorate Design and Workplace Transformation Working Group to develop and implement a change management strategy to support staff moving into ABW and the new government office blocks in Dickson and Civic 2020;
continued to implement the Healthy Weight Initiative with a progress report being released in June 2017 (see www.act.gov.au/healthyliving);
embedded consistent quality investigative processes across the ACTPS Directorates;
introduced an analytical function within the Professional Standards Unit to collect comprehensive data to inform behavioural trends across the service; and
supported the Remuneration Tribunal in the Major Review of the Part-time Statutory Office Holders.

The directorate met four out of five targets against this output. The target not met was the publication of the State of the Service Report by October 2016. The report was finalised in October 2016 however it was not published until 13 December 2016. The Annual Report Directions require that, in an election year, annual reports will not be tabled until the second sitting day of the new Assembly. In line with this requirement, the ACTPS State of the Service Report was published on 13 December 2016.

Future Direction

In 2017-18 the directorate will:

launch the ADAPT Strategic Workforce Planning toolkit and partner with directorates to broaden its implementation and use;
review the Senior Executive Service Shared Capabilities;
maintain the momentum of supporting the Executive Development Program, focussed on alignment and collaborative practice by launching the Leaders Leading Learning Program which was piloted to Band 2 ACTPS Executives in 2016 and is currently being delivered to Executives;
update the panel of providers under the whole of government training calendar and consider automation where possible;
revise the ACT Public Service Performance Framework consistent with the Shared Capability Framework;
continue to administer the whole of government graduate program;
provide support to the ACT Remuneration Tribunal to undertake their legislative responsibilities;
introduce training relating to the management of workplace issues and training for decision‑makers on misconduct processes;
liaise with the ACT Ombudsman’s office in relation to the introduction of the Reportable Conduct Scheme legislation;
develop restorative/dispute resolution options for managing workplace behaviours;
provide advice and support to ABW initiatives within other directorates;
review the whole of government policy regarding flexible and home based work and develop a suite of other whole of government policies to support ABW;
drive organisational and cultural change through the Design and Workplace Transformation Working group, to improve workforce change readiness ahead of the completion of the Dickson and Civic Office blocks in 2020;
complete the negotiation of common terms and conditions of ACTPS enterprise agreements;
continue to maintain the employment framework consisting of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 and the Public Sector Management Standards 2016; and
implement the governance arrangements for the Reportable Conduct Scheme across the ACTPS.

Further information can be obtained from

Bronwen Overton-Clarke
Deputy Director-General
Workplace Capability and Governance
+61 2 6205 5147
Bronwen.OvertonClarke@act.gov.au