Page 4284 - Week 13 - Thursday, 19 November 2015
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with senior management about improving internal processes and engagement with the public. I have emphasised that l will always back our public sector in trying to find a new way to make something work for this city. That will strengthen a culture of ideas, support and positive interactions both within and across agencies. I want to thank the Head of Service, Kathy Leigh, for her leading efforts to create a one service approach, sharing the values and priorities for the benefit of this city.
This MPI has clearly been proposed following recent reports about the findings of staff culture surveys, but it is this very reporting and the action government is taking in response that shows the seriousness we bring to strengthening our workplaces and to transparency and activity. In an organisation the size of the ACT public service, which has approximately 21,000 people, with a unique governance structure and a diverse range of roles, it is essential to encourage consistently positive workplace cultures right across the service.
Strong messaging and initiatives to embed a positive staff culture have been very successful within the service in recent years, particularly since the formation of the one service approach in 2010. A comprehensive set of workforce strategies and practical tools is being created to help leaders across government lead by example and prevent inappropriate workplace behaviour. A series of regular workshops for executives that support skill development in the creation of productive teams and a positive workplace culture began earlier this year.
Innovative working practices among the leadership cohort are also being undertaken. Increasing mobility through rotations and secondments allows executives to grow their skills and knowledge through experiencing different perspectives. The ACT public service’s flagship diversity strategy, the respect, equity and diversity framework, together with the ACT public service code of conduct and our values and behaviours document have been embedded into workplace language and culture across the service and have become synonymous within the organisation with fair and respectful working practices.
An in-depth review of the RED framework was completed in late 2014—and tabled in the Assembly earlier this year—outlining that the RED framework has set the foundation to help prevent, identify and act upon unacceptable workplace behaviour. The review made six recommendations to assist the ACT public service to further improve positive workplace culture. Work already completed to address these recommendations includes new resources to assist managers and supervisors to proactively manage everyday workplace performance or behaviour issues. The ACT public service manager’s toolkit provides practical resources and assistance in operational workplace contexts and is fully accessible to all ACT public service managers online. Talking to staff about expectations of their work behaviour is critical. Following on from the RED review recommendations, bullying and harassment guidelines are being streamlined. The outcome will be focused on giving managers the skills to address bullying claims and issues at the earliest possible point.
Guidelines are also being developed to support staff at the local level to respond to and manage situations where they feel bullied or harassed. This work will be finalised by the end of this year. The release of the ACT public service performance framework
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