DEPARTMENTAL HEALTH AND CAPABILITY

Creating a supportive and focused workplace is central to the department's ability to maintain high performance.

Key capability requirements in DPMC are fairly constant. They are based on our ability to attract and retain high-performing staff. DPMC seeks to create a workplace where staff are treated – and treat each other – fairly and with respect, where staff are well managed, and where unhelpful barriers to work and personal development are removed as much as possible.

Our people

Over one-third of our staff have been with us for five years or more, and just over half of our staff have been with DPMC three years or more. DPMC continues to balance the retention of existing staff – and their good organisational knowledge – with the recruitment of new talent and skills.

Planned turnover (defined as retirement and secondment) and unplanned turnover has remained stable for the last five years, at close to 19 per cent. DPMC’s solid practice of secondment of staff continues to be reflected in this figure: staff are attracted to the department because they wish to broaden their policy coordination experience in a whole-of-government environment or to work on specialist projects or taskforces with the intention of using this experience upon their return to a line agency.

Our health

Creating a healthy and safe work environment is an ongoing departmental priority. Our staff are encouraged to participate in a wide variety of health and wellbeing activities.

Absence due to illness remains low. Average sick-leave usage is 5.1 days per annum (2009/10 comparison: 5.4); average accrued sick leave is 43.8 days (37.5). We continue to monitor sick leave and actively encourage staff to stay home when they are sick. The department remains vigilant in its response to potential influenza outbreaks by supplying all employees with a personal pack of hand antiseptic, providing travel packs for those travelling for work purposes, arranging extra cleaning services of commonly used services, and advising staff and managers to stay home if they have any flu symptoms.

DPMC also provides a comprehensive occupational health service to all staff. This includes:

• immunisation for influenza (free vaccination)
• eye tests
• a health and exercise subsidy
• ergonomic assessment for all new staff as part of induction, and further assessment on request.

The Health and Safety Committee met four times during 2010/11 and facilitated occupational health and safety discussions between management and staff. In addition, a self-audit was undertaken by DPMC and validated by an external resource: this audit highlighted good practices and low risk to staff, and showed the department’s responsiveness to workplace health concerns.

Our learning and development framework

The department has again reviewed staff feedback through the performance management process. This will be used to develop a matrix of identified development needs that will form the foundation for our learning and development programme over the next 12 months.

We place high value on the development of leadership and management capabilities and continue to utilise Leadership Development Centre (LDC) and Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) offerings. Third parties are used to provide development opportunities for staff who do not meet LDC and ANZSOG criteria.

Our administrative staff continue to work through the national qualifications in business administration that were started last year. We expect to have DPMC’s first graduate towards the end of the year.

Risk-assurance processes

DPMC continues to update its strategic risk profile. The review of each of our high-level risks and associated mitigation strategies has been established as a formal agenda item for the department’s Senior Management Group (SMG). This review process is expected to continue into the 2011/12 financial year.

The Audit and Risk Committee (ARC) has continued to meet regularly to review and assess a range of DPMC capabilities and areas of potential risk, and to report on these to the Chief Executive. The current committee consists of two external members (Souella Cumming, who is also the Chair; and Shenagh Gleisner) and one DPMC representative (Michael Webster). A joint ARC/SMG risk-review session is programmed for early next year.

Information management

Infrastructure and systems expansion within the central agencies has built a foundation for integrating and delivering a highly resilient and modern network where sharing of resources and information can continue to be delivered. Upgrades to the eDRMS as well as to MS Office Suite, email, internet and intranets have been completed this year and these will continue to improve our collaboration with the shared services. The Government House network has been redeveloped: it provides for wireless and other applications, including security and building management systems, and will operate alongside the existing internal networks. New network infrastructure to support our intelligence community business has also been completed. Challenges around the ongoing and increasing presence of cyber threats, viruses and spam continue to have an impact on DPMC’s small information-management team.