workforce management plan

WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT PLAN

CONTENTSWhat is the Workforce Management Plan? 3

Our organisation structure 4

Who we are 5

What motivates our employees? 6

Meeting the needs of the future 7

Workforce Strategy 8

Monitoring our performance 15

DUBBO REGION WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT PLAN2

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WHAT IS THE WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT PLAN?This Workforce Management Plan ensures that the goals and aspirations of the community as included in the Community Strategic Plan can be met by Council in the delivery of actions and services to the community to implement Council’s three-year Delivery Program.

This Plan aims to ensure that Council can best deliver the needs of the community, whilst ensuring a workforce is in place that has the skills, background and experience taking into account the challenges of the future.

An effective Workforce Management Plan will enable Council to focus on the medium and long term requirements of our community, whilst providing an effective framework to change over time to meet new challenges.

Our employees have the energy and passion to make a significant difference to the lifestyle of our community. Our workforce culture and capacity is reflected in everything we do and in all that we achieve for this generation and the next.

The actions and initiatives set out in this Plan will contribute to an engaged and productive workforce. This will ensure we can help to achieve sustainable service provision for our community, whilst meeting the expectations of our community as included in the Delivery Program.


OUR ORGANISATION STRUCTUREDubbo Regional Council was proclaimed by the NSW Government on 12 May 2016 following the amalgamation of the former Dubbo City and Wellington councils. Council consists of five Divisions and an Executive Services Office of the General Manager, which undertake service delivery to our community, as follows:

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

& BUSINESS

• AirportOperations• RegionalLivestockMarkets• TourismBusiness• Showground• EconomicDevelopment

• Communications&StakeholderEngagement

• BusinessServices

INFRASTRUCTURE & OPERATIONS

• InfrastructureDelivery• InfrastructureStrategy• WaterSupply&Sewerage• FleetServices

• Transport&Emergency• SolidWaste• BusinessServices

PLANNING &

ENVIRONMENT

• EnvironmentalControl• Building&Development

Services

• StrategicPlanningServices• BusinessServices

COMMUNITY & RECREATION

• Operations• Recreation&OpenSpace• SocialServices• WesternPlainsCultural

Centre

• DubboRegionalTheatre&ConventionCentre

• MacquarieRegionalLibrary• RegionalLivestockMarkets• BusinessServices

CORPORATE SERVICES

• FinancialOperations• InformationServices

• CustomerServiceCentres• PropertyAssets

EXECUTIVE SERVICES

• Governance&Risk• InternalAudit• InternalOmbudsman

• ContinuousImprovement• People,Culture&Safety

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WHO WE ARE

140 CASUAL458 PERMANENT

13 TEMPORARY74 PERMANENT

PART TIME384 FULL TIME

TOTAL WORKFORCE

611

FULL TIME

AVERAGE EMPLOYEE

AGE43 48

WORKPLACE GENDER

AVERAGELENGTH OF EMPLOYMENT

11 YEARS (BASED ON PERMANENT

EMPLOYEES)

NEW EMPLOYEES (PAST 2 YEARS)

6.2%

STAFF TURNOVER

9.4%

MANAGER POSITION & ABOVE HELD BY

FEMALES

31%

PART TIME

44 55

FULL TIME

103 281

PART TIME

64 10


WHAT MOTIVATES OUR EMPLOYEES?Dubbo Regional Council conducted a staff survey in December 2016 to seek the opinions and perspectives of staff on working at Council and to seek any solutions to the challenges staff may see.

Employees listed our greatest strengths as an organisation as being:• Our people

• Our focus on customer service

• Our working environment

• Our financial management

Our employees view priority improvement areas for Council as:• Ensuring we have a robust organisational

structure to meet the future needs of our community

• Communication across the organisation

• Leadership

• Salary and benefit systems to reward and attract experienced staff

66.66%WERE SATISFIED AS AN EMPLOYEE OF COUNCIL

205 EMPLOYEES PARTICIPATED IN THE SURVEY

66.7% STRONGLY AGREEDTRUST IS DISPLAYED AMONGST THEIR WORK TEAM

73.44% STRONGLY AGREEDTHEIR SUPERVISOR OR MANAGER PROVIDES

APPROPRIATE HELP AND SUPPORT WHEN REQUIRED

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MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE FUTURE(a) Average age of the permanent workforceAn ageing workforce continues to be an important consideration for Council as it is for the Local Government industry as a whole, with an average age of 46 for our employees.

An ageing workforce brings with it a number of concerns including increase in injury, increase in workers’ compensation costs, loss of corporate knowledge and challenges with technological changes, just to name a few.

(b) Technological changeIn an ever-increasing technological world, Council needs to be looking towards the future and equipping our workforce with the skills and abilities to embrace and utilise all technological change.

Council will continue to drive innovation and efficiencies by considering new technologies and providing the training to our staff to use these technologies. Technological change has already, and will continue, to impact the way we work, especially in relation to information technology. The roll-out of new technology in relation to phones, VDI and remote meetings, has already improved the efficiency of Council’s operation.

(c) Skill retention and attractionCouncil continues to operate in a competitive environment in relation to skill retention and particularly the attraction of qualified employees despite the down-turn in mining etc. Local government still is unable to compete with state and federal government in terms of pay and flexibility.

This general trend in combination with the uncertainty and significant change brought about by the changes to Local Government in relation to amalgamations has resulted in Council experiencing difficulties in skill retention and attraction. In particular the areas of finance, strategic planning, HR professionals, building and development and communications.

(d) A cohesive organisationTwo years on from the amalgamation, Council has made significant in-roads in building a new cohesive organisation. Council’s value of one team is an important first step to re-building Council’s organisation.

There is still a need to focus on creating a new culture from what was two very different cultures. Logistics of distance – remote offices and locations. Focus on maintaining numbers in Wellington – re-design of the Wellington Civic Administration Building. Focus on improving technologies to increase interaction and efficiencies – overcome the reality of the distance.

(e) Gender equityThe gender balance in Council remains unbalanced with more male employees than female employees. This imbalance is magnified in the older workforce with only 10% of baby boomers being female. Whilst there has been an improvement in the representation of females in senior roles, especially in director and manager roles, there is still a significant gap to overcome in other supervisor / team leader roles.

(f) Loss of corporate knowledgeWith an ageing workforce, the need to address the potential loss of corporate knowledge is ever present. Council has already and will continue over the next four years to loose a number of long term employees. The combined corporate knowledge of these employees is significant and needs to be adequately captured.

(g) A skilled, agile and diverse workforceThis period of change has highlighted the need for Council to be more agile in the face of change. Council as well as local government generally has been a very stable environment up until the amalgamation. Including a new Chief Executive Officer and a new Council, this has highlighted the need for our staff to be equipped with the skills and abilities to be agile.

WORKFORCE STRATEGYTo ensure the organisation can meet the needs of the future in the sustainable delivery of the ideas and initiatives provided by our community, whilst maintaining excellent customer service, we need a comprehensive strategy to continue to build our workforce capabilities.

This comprehensive strategy is built on five major principles of workforce engagement, to grow our capabilities, to prosper and have a safe and healthy workforce, to perform and have in place a structure that maintains and rewards our staff, and to rebuild and capture corporate knowledge for the future.

In preparing a comprehensive workforce strategy, it was important to ensure our future challenges as defined in Part 6 are appropriately considered and planned for.

Within each strategy, actions have been included which will be undertaken by Council during the four-year life of this Plan.


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1. ENGAGE

ACTION YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEAR 4

Culture 1.1 Define and implement strategies to support the future workplace culture of Dubbo Regional Council

•Corporate values 1.2 Embed values throughout all workplace strategy

and documents •On-boarding program 1.3 Develop a new on-boarding program to help new

employees quickly settle into the organisation •Employer branding 1.4 Develop a new employment brand and remarket

DRC as a great place to work •Attraction and retention strategy

1.5 Develop strategies that complement Employee Value Proposition (EVP) and employer brand •

Employee survey 1.6 Determine best product for employee surveys and conduct on a biannual basis •

Employee Value Proposition (EVP)

1.7 Develop an Employee Value Proposition to increase engagement at all levels •

Flexible workplace 1.8 Review flexible workplace practices ensuring we meet the needs of our people and the services we provide

•Recruitment 1.9 Review recruitment processes to ensure the

best possible candidates are being sourced and processes support the employment brand and new attraction strategies

•

Talent retention 1.10 Explore solutions to manage employee engagement and feedback •

Employee conditions 1.11 Review and promote employee conditions and benefits •

To ensure a culture of engagement is fostered throughout the organisation where the issues and perspectives of our staff are integral drivers of our success

What challenges are we meeting?Average age of the workforce | Skill retention and attraction | A cohesive organisation | Gender equity | Skilled, agile and diverse workforce


2. GROW


Organisational Development and Learning Development Strategy (ODLD)

2.1 Develop a new ODLD Strategy to support the direction of Dubbo Regional Council as a new organisation •

Learning and development framework

2.2 Establish a new learning and development framework to grow our people and support our organisational strategic direction

•Corporate training calendar

2.3 Develop an annual corporate training calendar for our people and civil representatives •

Professional development

2.4 Develop a further education program that focuses on the professional development of our people •

Induction programs 2.5 Implement new induction programs with a management, corporate and safety focus •

Leadership development programs

2.6 Leadership programs are established to build capability across the organisation in leading our people

•Learning Management System (LMS)

2.7 An LMS system is incorporated into the Performance Development Program (i.e. Pulse) that will support the achievement of the ‘GROW’ initiatives

•

Local Government Capability Framework

2.8 Local Government NSW recently launched a new industry capability framework similar to the public sector. Review and implement the framework as determined to build capabilities across the organisation

•

Position Descriptions 2.9 Review Position Descriptions and amend accordingly based on the new capability framework

•Succession planning/career-pathing

2.10 A succession plan and program is developed and clear career pathways are identified for our people •

Other programs - Graduate/Trainee/Apprenticeships

2.11 Review opportunities for graduate, apprenticeship and trainee programs •

Other programs - Emerging Leaders

2.12 Explore options to identify and grow emerging leaders •

We strive to provide a supportive and productive environment that ensures our workforce can grow in knowledge and capability to meet the needs of our community

What challenges are we meeting?Average age of the workforce | Technological change | Skill retention and attraction | A cohesive organisation | Gender equity | Loss of corporate knowledge | Skilled, agile and diverse workforce

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3. PROSPER


Safety and well-being 3.1 Develop a Safety and Well-Being Strategy •Safety management 3.2 Implement a new safety management system •Well-being initiatives 3.3 Develop a Health and Well-being Program with a

strong focus on our people •Safe work culture 3.4 Develop a strategy that supports a safety cultural

change and leadership program for Dubbo Regional Council as a new organisation

•Operator verification of competency

3.5 Define a verification process for determining operator competencies •

Contractor management 3.6 Establish a process to review contractor management across the organisation and develop a contractor safety compliance strategy

•Volunteer management 3.7 Review and standardise volunteer management

practices •Injury management initiatives

3.8 Implement injury management initiatives to assist in managing workers’ compensation premiums

•

We foster a culture of safety and well-being for our workforce

What challenges are we meeting?Average age of the permanent workforce


4. PERFORM


Skills progression 4.1 Develop a skills progression framework that will support our people in developing the skills required to do their jobs

•

Salary system 4.2 Build a salary system that is fair, transparent and robust and that offers our people a competitive salary

•

Managers’ salary system

4.3 Build a salary system that is fair, transparent and robust and that offers our leadership teams a competitive salary

•

Organisational structure

4.4 Develop a framework to constantly review the needs of our organisation and the structure that supports it

•

Job design and evaluation

4.5 Establish a framework that assists with the design of positions that ensure Council’s services are provided and a robust job evaluation process is implemented to attract and retain good quality people

•

Reward and recognition program

4.6 Develop a recognition program to reward our people who continue to deliver on the organisation’s objectives

•

Performance management framework

4.7 Continue to build a culture of performance by enhancing our performance development frameworks and Pulse systems

•

Our workforce benefits from a culture of continuous growth and learning which is facilitated by appropriate remuneration, conditions and reward

What challenges are we meeting?Skill retention and attraction | A cohesive organisation | Skilled, agile and diverse workforce

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5. BUILD


Policies, procedures and processes

5.1 Streamline our systems to increase efficiencies (ongoing) •

Centralised payroll and online leave system

5.2 Create efficiencies in the payroll area by centralising the function and introducing a new online leave function

•

Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO)

5.3 Develop a new EEO management plan incorporating a focus on cultural diversity and increased female representation across the organisation

•

Overtime and leave liability

5.4 Review overtime and leave liability in order to reduce levels •

Ageing workforce 5.5 Build multi-generational teams and bridge the knowledge gap •

Continuous improvement

5.6 Develop and implement solutions to support new ways of working •

Technology 5.7 Review how technology impacts our organisation into the future •

Dubbo Regional Council as an organisation is an employer of choice and an industry leader representing all members of our community

What challenges are we meeting?Average age of the workforce | Technological change | A cohesive organisation | Gender equity | Loss of corporate knowledge | Skilled, agile and diverse workforce

DUBBO REGION WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT PLAN14 DUBBO REGION WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT PLAN14

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MONITORING OUR PERFORMANCEWe will monitor our performance through the following performance indicators:

The “engage” indicator represents how satisfied employees are with things like compensation, benefits and their overall work environment. Organisational culture will be measured through the use of values and behaviours.

ENGAGE

The “grow” indicator represents how our employees grow and how satisfied they are with the training and development opportunities provided. Learning and development will be measured to ensure the quality of training provided. This will assist Council to invest in a structured and planned learning and development program aimed at improved employees’ capability and agility.

GROW

The “perform” indicator represents how well employees are performing in their jobs.PERFORM

The “employee turnover” indicator measures the number of employees leaving the organisation as a percentage. A healthy workplace has a reasonable level of workplace turnover to ensure retention of knowledge but also a level of new employees to bring fresh ideas and experiences. - 10%

EMPLOYEE TURNOVER

The number of sick leave days per employee per year which affects organisation and team productivity – 8.5 days per employee

ABSENTEEISM RATE

The “prosper” indicator represents how safe and healthy employees are.PROSPER

The “build” indicator represents how well we are building the new organisation.BUILD

Cnr Church and Darling streets, Dubbo Cnr Nanima Crescent and Warne Street, Wellington

Ph: (02) 6801 4000dubbo.nsw.gov.au

workforce management plan

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