The People and Organisational Strategy Division, within the Corporate Strategy and Services Group, has primary responsibility for the Treasury's people management. The Division assists the department to set and deliver on its strategic direction and to provide a work environment that enables our people to be productive. It provides advice and delivers on organisational strategies, change management, workforce planning, organisational development and wellbeing, performance management, recruitment, people strategies, governance and audit, learning and development and employee services and policies.
In 2013-14 the key outcomes were:
- facilitating behavioural, organisational and cultural change by progressing the implementation of the recommendations from the 2011 Strategic Review, the 2013 Capability Review and the Progressing Women initiative;
- continuing the implementation of the Graduate Development Programme review to enhance workforce capability and to strengthen talent management within the department;
- ongoing development of the workforce planning framework to drive the development of strategies to attract, retain and develop a targeted, skilled and diverse workforce within a context of reducing overall resources;
- undertaking a consultative process with internal business groups to determine a comprehensive risk profile for Work Health and Safety hazards following the implementation of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011;
- refreshing the department's Performance Management System to ensure it continues to support and drive individual and organisational performance including mandatory performance management training for all staff; and
- producing regular workforce reports identifying trends and emerging issues along with improved data capture and workforce metrics analysis to assist with staff resource management across the Treasury.
Workforce planning
All recruitment, promotion, mobility, resource planning and development processes within the Treasury are aligned with the Treasury Management Model, and the Performance Management and Career Development Systems. The Treasury regularly monitors and reviews these systems to ensure they are meeting the desired outcomes.
Performance management system
The Treasury's Performance Management System uses two frameworks to assess staff: the Work Value Matrix to assess non-SES officers and the Senior Executive Leadership Capability Framework to assess SES officers. Two performance appraisal rounds for APS and EL staff were conducted in August 2013 and February 2014. One appraisal round was held for SES officers in September 2013. Each was conducted using a rigorous process, including a benchmarking system and oversight by review panels to ensure consistency and objectivity throughout the Department.
Workplace relations
The Treasury Workplace Agreement 2011-14 came into operation from 1 July 2011 and nominally expires on 30 June 2014.
The Workplace Agreement operates in conjunction with Commonwealth legislation and Treasury policies, manuals and guidelines to define the terms and conditions of employment for staff.
On 14 May 2014 the Secretary announced the Treasury's intention to bargain with employees on a new enterprise agreement.
Recruitment and secondments
The Treasury's recruitment activity in 2013-14 included a graduate recruitment campaign, and participation in the APSC indigenous cadetship and indigenous graduate programmes. The Treasury recruited 29 policy and corporate graduates from these processes. Three general recruitment campaigns were advertised with four staff commencing from these campaigns. One formal departmental transfer round was undertaken and 81 internal expressions of interest were managed centrally.
Treasury has actively encouraged secondment arrangements to establish mobility, networks and develop a broader skill base and perspective of the private sector and other parts of government.
As at 30 June 2014, there was a total of 40 secondments into Treasury. Of these, 27 were from the public sector and 13 from the private sector. In addition, 32 Treasury staff participated in secondments outside the department: 26 to public sector agencies, 6 to private sector organisations.
Treasury has reciprocal secondment arrangements with the New Zealand Treasury, the Australian Taxation Office, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Treasury have staff seconded to BHP Billiton, the Australian Bankers Association and the Business Council of Australia. Treasury are looking to encourage more two way exchanges, and are investigating secondments to the four major banks.
Learning and development
The Treasury has an ongoing commitment to provide career and professional development opportunities to increase the capability of individual staff and the overall capacity of the department.
During 2013-14, Treasury delivered a number of targeted and strategic development opportunities to increase workforce capability. Significant programmes offered during the year included:
- Unrecognised Bias workshops and coaching for SES, EL2 and EL1 staff, as part of the Progressing Women programme;
- The Treasury Executive Leadership Programme for experienced EL2 staff;
- The Management Development Programme for new and emerging managers;
- Talking Performance workshops for staff in both managerial and non-managerial roles;
- Inclusive Workplace Committee Leadership Seminar Series with guest speakers from a wide range of industry and public sector backgrounds; and
- Introduction to Law, for APS and EL staff in Treasury.
The Treasury continues to support staff development through the provision of scholarships and awards for postgraduate study.
- Four Treasury staff undertook PhD research at the Australian National University through the Sir Roland Wilson Foundation PhD Scholarship during 2013-14;
- The Treasury Post Graduate Study Award during 2013-14 assisted staff to undertake study at: the Australian National University, Columbia University, the University of Michigan, and the Harvard Kennedy School.
- Studies assistance was provided for staff undertaking study during semester two 2013 and semester one 2014.
- The most common fields of study in 2013-14 included Economics, Law, Public Policy, and Accounting/Finance.
- The most common institutions for study in 2013-14 were: the Australian National University, the University of Canberra, University of New South Wales, Charles Sturt University, the Canberra Institute of Technology and University of Sydney.
Wellbeing
The Treasury measures and monitors staff wellbeing through the State of the Service results, exit survey reports and human resource data. Performance is also benchmarked against the broader APS and similar private sector organisations. The People and Organisational Strategy Division provides regular reports to the Executive Board.
The Treasury promotes a workplace culture that values, supports and improves the health and wellbeing of employees. Several health and wellbeing activities were arranged during 2013-14 including influenza vaccinations and workstation assessments. Resilience coaching was also made available to staff.
The Treasury's Rehabilitation Management System has been audited and is in the process of being finalised. The audit found that the system was largely compliant.
The Treasury provides staff and their immediate family members with access to an employee assistance program (EAP). The program provides a free professional and confidential counselling service to assist staff experiencing work-related or personal problems. The employee assistance service collects generic data that provides guidance for departmental wellbeing strategies.
- 46 staff reporting new issues accessed the Treasury's EAP in 2013-14;
- Of these, 78 per cent related to personal issues and 22 per cent related to work issues; and
- The majority of the users were aged between 30 and 39.
Staffing information
Fifty-two staff transferred into the Treasury in December 2013 as part of the Machinery of Government changes, while 29 graduates joined the department in February 2014. Seventy seven voluntary redundancies were accepted by employees in 2013-14.
Reflecting these movements, ongoing and non-ongoing employee numbers (excluding unpaid inoperative employees) by headcount in the Treasury as at 30 June 2014 was 951.
Part-time work rates have fallen slightly over the past year, with 12.3 per cent of Treasury's operative workforce working part time at the end of 2013-14, compared with 13.5 per cent at the end of 2012-13.
As at 30 June 2014, 19.8 per cent of female employees and 4.7 per cent of male employees worked part time.
| Ongoing | Non-ongoing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time | Part-time | Full-time | Part-time | ||||||||||
| Classification | Male | Female | Male | Female | Male | Female | Male | Female | Total | ||||
| Cadet | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
| APS1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
| APS2 | |||||||||||||
| APS3 | 19 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 45 | ||||||||
| APS4 | 13 | 21 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 47 | ||||||
| APS5 | 53 | 69 | 4 | 14 | 140 | ||||||||
| APS6 | 113 | 103 | 4 | 14 | 234 | ||||||||
| EL1 | 100 | 79 | 2 | 29 | 3 | 213 | |||||||
| EL2 | 88 | 56 | 9 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 179 | |||||
| SES Band 1 | 38 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 61 | ||||||
| SES Band 2 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 22 | |||||||
| SES Band 3 | 5 | 2 | 7 | ||||||||||
| Secretary | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Total | 442 | 375 | 22 | 93 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 951 | |||||
Note: Inoperative staff (paid and unpaid) and staff paid by other agencies are not included.
| SES % female representation | 33.3% |
| ‘CEO' minus one % female representation | 28.6% |
| ‘CEO' minus two % female representation | 26.2% |
| ‘CEO' minus three % female representation | 41.5% |
The three layers of management below the Secretary are articulated as CEO minus one, CEO minus two and CEO minus three. This level of transparency is consistent with the ASX Corporate Governance Principle regarding gender reporting. Headcount includes staff acting as the SES classifications.
Eight staff were deployed at overseas posts (Table 4).
| Overseas post | SES Band 2 | SES Band 1 | EL2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beijing | – | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| India | – | 1 | - | 1 |
| Jakarta | – | 1 | – | 1 |
| London | – | 1 | – | 1 |
| Paris | – | 1 | – | 1 |
| Tokyo | – | 1 | – | 1 |
| Washington | – | 1 | – | 1 |
| Total | – | 8 | – | 8 |
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 4). The Treasury does not offer performance pay.
| September 2012 | September 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Maximum | Minimum | Maximum | ||
| Classification | $ | $ | $ | $ | |
| SES Band 1 | 185,129 | 215,161 | 189,757 | 220,540 | |
| SES Band 2 | 226,900 | 265,576 | 232,573 | 272,215 | |
| SES Band 3 | 294,048 | 344,375 | 301,399 | 352,984 | |
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 2011-14 determines salary rates for all non-SES staff (Table 6). The Treasury does not offer performance bonuse
s.
| July 2012 | July 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Maximum | Minimum | Maximum | ||
| Classification | $ | $ | $ | $ | |
| APS1 | 42,094 | 45,712 | 43,147 | 46,855 | |
| APS2 | 48,521 | 51,733 | 49,734 | 53,026 | |
| APS3 | 54,945 | 58,155 | 56,318 | 59,608 | |
| APS4 | 61,367 | 64,578 | 62,902 | 66,193 | |
| APS5 | 68,997 | 73,414 | 70,722 | 75,250 | |
| APS6 | 77,831 | 94,294 | 79,777 | 96,651 | |
| EL1 | 101,522 | 116,457 | 104,060 | 119,369 | |
| EL2 | 124,006 | 142,316 | 127,106 | 145,874 | |
Under the Treasury Workplace Agreement 2011-14, 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.
Senior management changes
Several senior management movements occurred in 2013-14 (Table 7).
| Reason | SES Band 3 | SES Band 2 | SES Band 1 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engagement | ||||
| Transfer from another department | 2 | 4 | 6 | |
| External promotion | ||||
| Internal promotion | 1 | 1 | ||
| Resignation | 1 | 1 | ||
| Retirement | 1 | 7 | 8 | |
| Transfer to another department | 2 | 2 | ||
| Promoted to another department | ||||
| Total | 2 | 3 | 13 | 18 |