Management of human resources
The Human Resources Division delivers strategic human resource management advice and services to enable the Treasury to recruit, develop and manage its staff to deliver high performance and provide a supportive work environment.
Key 2009-10 workforce initiatives were to:
- negotiate and implement a competitive and flexible workplace agreement;
- review and implement new time-off in-lieu arrangements;
- progress initiatives flowing out of the Staff Survey and the Organisational Review;
- implement the Managers’ Portal;
- ensure workforce planning and professional development strategies meet organisational needs;
- ensure workforce and wellbeing strategies facilitate working arrangements to address work/life balance issues;
- streamline the Performance Management System;
- maintain a low workers compensation premium average relative to the APS;
- transition payroll services from an external service provider to the Treasury; and
- progress the childcare centre proposal.
People management systems
The Treasury Management Model incorporates the Treasury’s people management systems, principles and values, and seeks to ensure that the right people are in the right jobs, doing the right work and getting the right pay. All recruitment, promotion, mobility, and resource planning and development processes within the Treasury are aligned with the Treasury Management Model, including the Performance Management and Career Development Systems.
Performance Management System
The Treasury’s Performance Management System underpins the department’s capacity to achieve its mission by strengthening individual capabilities and aligning individual values and behaviors with shared corporate values and behaviors.
Performance is measured through a defined capability framework called the Work Value Matrix, which outlines the general set of behavioural standards expected across specified criteria at each classification level. Performance for non-SES staff is assessed against seven criteria outlined in the Work Value Matrix. Performance for SES officers is assessed against the five criteria outlined in the Senior Executive Leadership Capability Framework. These frameworks provide the basis for appraisals, and also underpin recruitment processes, the Professional Development Framework and the Career Development System.
Ratings against each capability contribute to an overall performance appraisal rating, which determines the base rate of pay for staff employed under the Treasury Workplace Agreement. These ratings also inform the remuneration committees, which advise the Secretary on access to additional salary points which are available to APS6, EL1 and EL2 staff.
A number of processes support the underlying principles of fairness, transparency and consistency in the Performance Management System.
- In setting the context for appraisals, initially SES staff meet before each appraisal round to discuss issues relevant to the upcoming round, then group and divisional context setting meetings follow.
- Workshops and information sessions for staff and managers are delivered before each appraisal round to provide information on the appraisal process and criteria, and assist staff to develop skills in giving and receiving feedback. Case study sessions are also offered to assist in ensuring ratings consistency across the department.
- Review panels held at the divisional level examine the outcomes of appraisals to ensure consistency across the division. Cross-group representatives on review panels provide an additional layer of consistency.
- Upward feedback is an integral part of the appraisal process and provides input to the appraisals of managers.
- Aggregated data on remuneration committee outcomes is provided on the Treasury intranet.
In 2009-10, streamlined reporting requirements were implemented to reduce the administration associated with recording and signing off on performance appraisal outcomes.
Career Development System
The Career Development System is a key element of the Treasury’s people management system and seeks to foster a shared individual and organisational role in career development. It applies to all staff, including temporary employees and secondees with at least six months continuous service, and provides staff with the opportunity to receive career development guidance from their manager-one-removed.
Information is provided on the Career Development System to both staff and managers-one-removed. In 2009-10, 30 staff attended workshops on ‘Preparing for your next position’ and 37 staff attended career planning workshops targeted at graduates and APS6 to EL1 staff.
Treasury Workplace Agreement
The Treasury Workplace Agreement 2009-11 came into operation on 11 November 2009 and nominally expires on 30 June 2011.
It provides for increased pay rates, inclusion of additional pay points previously provided through individual arrangements, variations to conditions of service, including increased paid leave to assist employees during maternity, 16 weeks adoption leave, five days foster care leave and increased provision to cash out annual leave.
Workplace relations
The format and content of the Treasury’s workplace and individual arrangements reflect government policy at the time of implementation.
The Treasury consults extensively with staff on workplace matters, and the current Workplace Agreement reinforces staff involvement in decision making. Consultation primarily occurs through the Workplace Relations Committee, elected by Treasury staff and comprising eight members. The committee meets regularly with Human Resources Division staff to discuss employment terms and conditions, and regular meetings with the Secretary encourage dialogue on issues of importance to staff. Terms of Reference for the Workplace Relations Committee reflect a principles-based approach to workplace relations.
The Treasury Workplace Agreement 2009-11 and individual arrangements provide access to procedures to resolve disputes and directly consult with staff as appropriate.
Recruitment and succession planning
The Treasury’s recruitment activity in 2009-10 included two major bulk recruitment campaigns; one specialist campaign seeking modelling expertise; a graduate campaign; an internship program; an indigenous cadetship program; and 53 individual recruitment processes. A total of 243 employment opportunities were filled from advertised vacancies. The graduate intake was 73 in 2009-10.
Graduate recruitment forms a major part of the Treasury’s recruitment and succession planning strategy. In 2009-10, Treasury staff attended university career fairs and presented workshops on public policy to commerce and economic students. Brochures entitled ‘Do you want to make a difference?’ were distributed to university careers centres and faculties. In addition, advertisements were placed in university career guides, in on-line graduate publications and on university career web pages.
In 2009, the Treasury hosted 18 interns under the recently introduced internship program. This scheme targets economics, commerce, law, finance, accounting and political science students and involves a 4 to 12-week paid work placement which exposes students to public policy.
Job seekers can lodge applications via the Treasury’s internet careers portal. The portal also allows candidates to register for general and non-ongoing employment, and former staff to register as alumni to provide short-term employment assistance.
The Treasury developed an intranet solution for advertising and managing internal vacancies. The new jobs portal was deployed in June 2010.
A panel for recruitment service providers was finalised in Ju ne 2010.
In 2009-10, the Treasury worked with the APS Career Transition Support Centre by providing details of employment opportunities to help redeploy potentially surplus APS employees. The program ceased operating on 30 June 2010. The APSC is working towards offering a career advisory service and looking at new ways to foster cooperation and collaboration between agencies in recruiting and redeploying change-affected APS employees.
Administrative arrangements and employment conditions applying to secondees in the Treasury/ATO secondment program were reviewed due to workplace agreement changes. Secondments included staff for policy initiatives, such as the AFTS Review and the Resource Super Profits Tax.
Learning and development
The Treasury’s Professional Development Framework provides the basis for establishing learning and development strategies to develop staff in their current and future roles, and incorporates a broad range of factors including the APS values, whole-of-government initiatives, the labour market and skill shortages, departmental functions and priorities, and the Treasury Management Model.
The Treasury’s total investment in off-the-job professional development totalled over $4.4 million in 2009-10, representing an average of five days of development per staff member. This figure represents 3 per cent of departmental operating costs and includes participant salary and ongoing costs, registration fees for internal and external training courses and external providers’ development and delivery costs.
Learning and development strategies
The Treasury provided an extensive array of learning and development opportunities. These ranged from in-house one or two-day workshops, development programs, postgraduate qualifications, and mentoring and coaching programs to external opportunities such as postgraduate study awards, short-term research projects and participation in broader public sector development initiatives.
A range of professional development workshops were offered through the Treasury’s learning and development program, including APS and Treasury accountabilities, writing skills, managing workloads, presentation skills, negotiation skills and policy advising skills. In 2009-10 several new workshops were introduced, including problem solving skills, representational skills and a cultural awareness workshop. All workshops were tailored to the Treasury’s environment with evaluations conducted to ensure the programs were effective in delivering anticipated objectives.
The Treasury also offered several in-house postgraduate courses. In February 2009, 23 participants, including six participants from other departments, commenced a two-year Graduate Diploma in Economic Studies. The course, delivered by Monash University in the Treasury building, is tailored to public sector agencies, with a focus on public policy. The course is targeted at staff qualified in disciplines other than economics and facilitates an understanding of economic frameworks and public policy issues. A Postgraduate Diploma in Economics and Commerce is also being developed and is scheduled to commence in 2011.
Semester-long Introduction to Law and Introduction to Economics courses continued to be delivered in-house by the Australian National University, to provide staff without existing tertiary qualifications in these fields with an understanding of the fundamental principles of law and economics. Evaluations for both courses reflected high levels of satisfaction with the quality of teaching and impact of the courses on staff knowledge and understanding.
A key element of the professional development framework is leadership and management development. The Executive Leadership Program, targeted at experienced EL2 staff, aims to enhance the leadership and strategic thinking skills of executive level staff to equip them to fulfil their leadership roles under the Treasury Management Model. In 2009, 19 staff participated in the program, and 93 per cent of evaluations indicated participants found the program highly useful and worthwhile.
A Management Development Program was introduced in 2009 to enhance the capability of new and emerging managers at the executive level and equip them to effectively transition from analyst to manager. Twenty-two staff participated in the seven-day program. All respondents felt that the course had a positive impact on their skills development, and 80 per cent of evaluations indicated that the program was above or exceeded their expectations.
A tender process was conducted in 2009-10 to establish an SES Executive Coaching Panel to provide SES staff with the opportunity to access confidential, targeted and expert guidance on specific issues or assist in longer-term skills development.
The 12month Graduate Development Program continued to combine on-the-job training with formal in-house courses, such as advanced writing, APS and Treasury Accountabilities, presentation and negotiation skills, and economics for graduates without economics qualifications. The program also included external courses, such as Introduction to the Senate and participation in key events, such as the budget lockup where budget material is provided under embargo to registered media officers. The program is refined through feedback from graduates and graduate managers.
Two induction seminars were offered in October 2009 and March 2010, with 123 new staff attending. The seminars incorporated a welcome from the Secretary, an overview of each of the departmental groups, and sessions on Occupational Health and Safety, the Social Committee, the Workplace Relations Committee and the Employee Assistance Program. Additional support for new staff was also provided through the new starters Mentoring Program and the Human Resources Division briefing sessions, which provided information on services offered by the division.
The Treasury Seminar Series continued with 16 prominent guest speakers presenting perspectives on current economic issues and research. The Treasury’s four policy groups also continued to offer seminars on specific policy issues.
In addition to these seminars, several groups offered technical training, with Revenue Group continuing to deliver a Tax Policy Framework course to new starters and Macroeconomic Group coordinating the delivery of two intensive courses in economywide modelling.
IT initiatives and training
In 2009-10, internal IT training attracted 1,741 participants. It covered the Microsoft Office suite of programs, as well as in-house systems, recordkeeping, security, electronic filing using TRIM, publication projects, the financial management information system SAP, and the budgeting and reporting tool TM1. Training was also provided in the use of Blackberry and remote access tokens.
Customised training in Excel, VBA and Project catered to special needs and projects.
External learning and development opportunities
In addition to providing internal learning and development opportunities, the Treasury encourages staff to participate in a range of external learning and development activities. These include postgraduate qualifications and research projects, as well as attendance at Career Development Assessment Centres, Australian and New Zealand School of Government programs, and various conferences, seminars and workshops of relevance to the Treasury.
Studies Assistance provided financial assistance and study leave for staff undertaking approved study relevant to the Treasury. An average of 102 staff accessed Studies Assistance each semester in 2009-10, with the most study undertaken in postgraduate economics, law and public policy. Two staff were awarded Postgraduate Study Awards in 2009-10 to support fulltime study in economics. These awards provide a financial award paid as an allowance, as well as tuition fees.
Two staff completed Short-Term Economic Research Projects at the Australian National University as part of a n ongoing Memorandum of Understanding between the Treasury and the University.
During 2009-10, Treasury staff attended 395 external training courses, conferences or seminars of relevance to the department. Participants attending external training programs, conferences and seminars were asked to complete online evaluation forms which then informed attendance at future courses.
Wellbeing
The Treasury continues to measure and monitor staff wellbeing indicators through staff opinion surveys, exit survey reports and human resource data. Performance is assessed against the Staff Wellbeing Framework to monitor agency health and identify potential risks to organisational capability, and benchmarked against the broader APS. The Human Resources Division provides regular reports to the Executive Board, the Workplace Relations Committee, Health and Safety Committee and staff on the results and strategies developed to improve performance.
State of the Service results
This year, for the first time, the APSC developed an agency-specific report that examined key drivers of employee engagement and benchmarked these results against the wider APS. The agency-specific employee survey results for the Treasury were strong, with satisfaction levels more favourable than the APS average in a number of key areas, including employee job satisfaction, immediate manager effectiveness, quality of senior leadership, effective communication with senior leaders, culture of working environment, respect within work groups and low levels of harassment and bullying.
The Treasury’s overall score for employee engagement was 97 per cent. This is higher than the APS average of 87 per cent and higher than the engagement level recorded by the Treasury in the previous year (88 per cent). Treasury staff enjoy their work, are motivated to do the best possible work and are more likely to receive a sense of personal accomplishment through their job.
Worklife balance
An area for improvement is satisfaction with work-life balance. While the Treasury results (74 per cent) are similar to those recorded for the APS as a whole (72 per cent), this issue continues to be of ongoing concern and remains an important focus for the Executive Board. Key strategies to address this issue include providing additional resources to priority work areas, and increasing mobility and flexibility to meet peak demands through departmental transfer rounds. These measures are complemented by human resources support, such as the resilience program, for areas experiencing peak work pressures.
Resilience program
To respond to worklife balance concerns, the Human Resources Division seeks to identify anticipated peak work periods and offers divisions the opportunity to take part in a resilience program.
The Treasury piloted this program for six months and had positive outcomes. A post-program survey found that resilience, perceptions of management support and general engagement at work had improved.
The program aims to increase resilience by enhancing people’s ability to cope with changing and complex work situations. The program also provides useful strategies for managing sustained pressure and deadlines, communication, resilience and team building.
Employee assistance program
The Treasury’s employee assistance program also collects generic data that provides guidance for departmental wellbeing strategies. The external provider assists employees who may be experiencing personal or work-related problems by providing a free, confidential counselling service to Treasury employees and their families. To complement this service, the eapdirect™ website offers easy access to information on stress, depression, anxiety, work-life balance, career development and management techniques. The employee assistance provider also offers managerAssist®, an advisory service that helps managers deal with work issues and personal difficulties.
Health and wellbeing program
In previous years, the Treasury has provided access to wellbeing information and strategies through Health Month. In 2009-10, the program was enhanced to run throughout the year in recognition of the need to address wellbeing on an ongoing basis and provide greater scope to include a broader range of activities and seminars.
A total of 23 activities were facilitated with approximately 1,000 staff attending these sessions overall. Participation rates for activities were high, with 355 staff participating in individual health assessments, 120 staff participating in hearing checks, 82 staff participating in the financial planning seminar and 80 staff participating in the Treasury’s fun run.
Lifestyle payment and corporate gym memberships
To assist employees in undertaking initiatives towards maintaining a healthy lifestyle, an annual lifestyle payment of $450 was available for activities such as gym memberships, sporting apparel and relaxation programs. The Treasury has corporate gym memberships with eight participating gyms, whereby Treasury employees receive a reduced membership fee. In 2009-10, 843 lifestyle payments were made.
Staffing information
Ongoing and non-ongoing employee numbers in the Treasury increased from 1,026 in 2008-09 to 1,063 in 2009-10 (refer to Table 2 below). Of this increase, 27 were men and 10 were women. The number of EL1 and EL2 employees increased by 16 and 8 respectively during the year, while APS5 numbers increased by 11. Between 2008-09 and 2009-10 the number of APS6 employees decreased by 10 and the number of part-time female staff increased from 88 to 94.
| Ongoing | Non-ongoing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time | Part-time | Full-time | Part-time | ||||||||||
| Classification | Male | Female | Male | Female | Male | Female | Male | Female | Total | ||||
| Cadet | - | 1 | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | 3 | ||||
| APS1 | - | 2 | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | 3 | ||||
| APS2 | 2 | - | - | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | 5 | ||||
| APS3 | 54 | 44 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | - | - | 108 | ||||
| APS4 | 17 | 37 | 1 | 15 | - | - | - | - | 70 | ||||
| APS5 | 81 | 61 | 1 | 11 | 1 | - | - | - | 155 | ||||
| APS6 | 88 | 86 | 3 | 13 | 3 | 7 | - | 3 | 200 | ||||
| EL1 | 114 | 79 | 7 | 18 | 3 | - | - | 1 | 224 | ||||
| EL2 | 118 | 48 | 8 | 25 | 7 | - | 1 | - | 208 | ||||
| SES Band 1 | 44 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | 2 | - | 65 | ||||
| SES Band 2 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 14 | ||||
| SES Band 3 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7 | ||||
| Secretary | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | ||||
| Total | 535 | 375 | 23 | 90 | 24 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 1063 | ||||
Note: Staff paid by other agencies are not included.
| Overseas post | SES Band 2 | SES Band 1 | EL2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beijing | – | 1 | – | 1 |
| Jakarta | – | 1 | – | 1 |
| London | – | 1 | – | 1 |
| Paris | – | 1 | – | 1 |
| Tokyo | – | 2 | – | 2 |
| Washington | – | 1 | – | 1 |
| Total | – | 7 | – | 7 |
Note: Locally engaged staff are not included.
Senior Executive Service remuneration
Remuneration and conditions for the Treasury’s Senior Executive Service (SES) are determined under AWAs and section 24(1) determinations, supported by a remuneration model that determines pay levels within each SES level, based on performance (Table 5). The Treasury does not offer performance pay.
| September 2008 | September 2009 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classification | Minimum $ |
Maximum $ |
Minimum $ |
Maximum $ |
|
| SES Band 1 | 163,698 | 190,252 | 168,609 | 195,960 | |
| SES Band 2 | 200,633 | 259,099 | 206,652 | 241,878 | |
| SES Band 3 | 260,008 | 304,510 | 267,808 | 313,645 | |
Senior Executive Service staff are appraised using the APSC Senior Executive Leadership Capability Framework to assess performance and rank each employee relative to their peers. An increase in relative ranking can lead to an increase in base salary.
Remuneration — non-SES employees
The Treasury Workplace Agreement 2009-11 determines salary rates for all non-SES staff (refer to Table 5 below). The Treasury does not offer performance bonuses.
| September 2008 | November 2009 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classification | Minimum $ |
Maximum $ |
Minimum $ |
Maximum $ |
|
| APS1 | 37,660 | 40,897 | 38,790 | 42,124 | |
| APS2 | 43,410 | 46,283 | 44,712 | 47,671 | |
| APS3 | 49,157 | 52,029 | 50,632 | 53,590 | |
| APS4 | 54,903 | 57,776 | 56,550 | 59,509 | |
| APS5 | 61,729 | 65,681 | 63,581 | 67,651 | |
| APS6 | 69,632 | 73,583 | 71,721 | 86,892 | |
| EL1 | 81,954 | 90,827 | 93,552 | 107,316 | |
| EL2 | 100,883 | 110,943 | 114,271 | 131,145 | |
Under the Treasury Workplace Agreement 2009-11, access to some pay points for APS6, EL1 and EL2 staff can only be determined by the remuneration committee process and are based on sustained performance under the Treasury’s Performance Management System (refer to Table 6 below).
| Staff receiving pay point 2009-10 | Minimum pay point 2009-10 | SEMaximum pay point 2009-10 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classification | $ | $ | |
| APS6 | 106 | 81,712 | 86,892 |
| EL1 | 150 | 100,893 | 107,316 |
| El2 | 156 | 119,896 | 131,145 |
| Total | 412 |
Salary levels for these pay points are determined by the Executive Board Remuneration Committee, based on group remuneration committee recommendations aligned with performance appraisal assessments and assessment of long-term sustainable performance, as well as relevant skills and responsibilities.
Senior management changes
Several senior management movements occurred in 2009-10 (refer to Table 7 below)
| Reason | SES Band 3 | SES Band 2 | SES Band 1 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engagement | - | - | 3 | 3 |
| External promotion | - | - | - | - |
| Internal promotion | - | - | - | - |
| Resignation | - | - | 2 | 2 |
| Retirement | - | - | - | - |
| Transfer to another department | - | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Promoted to another department | - | 2 | - | 2 |
| Total | - | 3 | 6 | 9 |