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Annual Report 06–07
Output 3: CRS Australia—Management and accountability
People
Staffing statistics
At 30 June 2007, CRS Australia employed 2,088 people under the Public Service Act 1999. On average, 2,084 staff were employed over the year, 83 more than in 2005–06. Of these, 86 per cent were ongoing employees and 62 per cent were full-time employees.
Detailed information on staffing is provided in Appendix 1.
Human resource management
Attracting and retaining staff
In 2006–07, CRS Australia built workforce capabilities through targeted recruitment, learning and development activities and coaching. Managers were assisted by a range of information resources, including regular workforce reports on relevant demographic information, staff absences and turnover.
An expression of interest database and portal for prospective and current employees was implemented to increase the pool of candidates for positions. Sessions on attraction and commitment drivers of the different generations of potential and existing employees were delivered at the CRS Australia National Managers’ Conference.
To assist CRS Australia in responding to the growth in the number of funded vocational rehabilitation places, a major recruitment campaign was undertaken and a suite of advertising templates for branded recruitment was implemented. The lessons learnt from bulk recruitment exercises were discussed at the biennial National Conference of Services for Australian Rural and Remote Allied Health (SARRAH).
As part of its management of workforce capability, CRS Australia also participated in the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) Absence Management Working Party, the DHS Absence Management Committee, the Workers’ Compensation Premium Reduction Working Group and a DHS reference group examining superannuation choice of funds.
CRS Australia successfully implemented a range of strategies to reduce unplanned leave to levels below the APS median of 8.90 unplanned leave days per employee. As a result absences were reduced from 10.40 days per full-time equivalent in 2006–07 to 8.40 in 2006–07, a reduction of 19 per cent.
A range of commitments made in relation to the Certified Agreement 2005–08 were advanced in 2006–07. Extensive resources were applied to the review of workforce policies to ensure consistency and better practice. Work progressed on both a mature-aged worker policy and an overall workforce plan. These initiatives focus on attracting and retaining essential workforce elements to enable services to be provided to meet customer requirements. The increasingly tight market for allied health workers has required more active attraction and retention strategies; CRS Australia will continue to do work in these areas in 2007–08.
Promoting a safe and supportive workplace
As part of the broader DHS initiative, CRS Australia joined with the Core Department and Child Support Agency in a commitment to implement strategies to meet the national OH&S and rehabilitation performance improvement targets. Those strategies include:
- senior management commitment to improved practice;
- pre-management information for all managers;
- induction training encompassing OH&S;
- manager training on early intervention in response to signs of stress; and
- integration of OH&S with organisational risk and business management.
Through those strategies, and under the guidance of its new National OH&S Committee, CRS Australia reinvigorated its approach to OH&S during the year.
Appendix 7 provides more details of OH&S performance in 2006–07.
Remuneration
Certified agreement
At 30 June 2007, 1,977 staff were employed under CRS Australia’s Certified Agreement 2005–08.
Salary ranges for employees under the certified agreement are set out in Appendix 1.
The certified agreement provides for continued productivity gains and affordability, achieved through a shared commitment to improving the organisation’s performance, productivity and work environment. This involves reviewing and improving practices and procedures, and gaining efficiencies through innovation and simplification. An element of salary increase is directly related to both productivity and performance.
Australian Workplace Agreements
CRS Australia offered Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) to both existing and new staff in 2006–07. As at 30 June 2007, there were 111 employees employed under AWAs.
The salary ranges of CRS Australia staff covered by AWAs are set out in Appendix 1.
Performance pay
The Performance Achievement System is designed to align each individual employee’s results, behaviour and development with the organisational and team objectives critical to the achievement of CRS Australia’s goals. A three-point rating scale is used, and only those staff who achieve the top rating are eligible for performance pay.
The performance bonuses paid in 2006–07 for performance during the 2005–06 financial year are set out in Table 12.
| Level | Staff eligible | Staff paid | Amount paid ($) | Average ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SES | 4 | 3 | 28,079 | 9,360 |
| EL 2 | 15 | 7 | 33,247 | 4,750 |
| EL 1 | 120 | 39 | 126,013 | 3,231 |
| APS levels 1–6 | 1,826 | 553 | 936,782 | 1,694 |
| Total | 1,965 | 602 | 1,124,121 | 1,867 |
APS = Australian Public Service; EL = Executive Level; SES = Senior Executive Service
Learning and development
In 2006–07, learning and development activities focused on strengthening CRS Australia’s effectiveness and on training staff to meet the DEWR MOU requirements.
New practice resources were developed, based on internal and international best practice, focusing on the nature of welfare reform and the increasing complexity of job seekers’ needs. Staff completed extensive learning and development activities in the areas of expert assessments, employment strategies and ensuring compliance with purchaser requirements. Other priorities included developing facilitation and coaching skills for rehabilitation consultants and building Administrative Service Officer capability.
Human resource capabilities were also built through participation in projects and committees with other Human Services agencies, professional conferences and seminars, training with the Australian Human Resource Institute and the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC), and participation in other human resources professional development programmes.
In total, 879 staff (34 per cent) benefited from internal learning and development activities and computer-based training for staff learning to use the new DEWR vocational rehabilitation modules.
Evaluations of the effectiveness of training, including post-course feedback from participants, feedback from managers and surveys, inform the ongoing development and improvement of courses.
Workplace diversity
In 2006–07, CRS Australia developed its Workplace Diversity Plan 2007–10. The plan was developed with input from staff and stakeholders. CRS Australia recognises that having a talented and diverse workforce is a key competitive advantage and critical to meeting the needs of the community in which the organisation operates. The objectives of the plan are to provide a culture where diversity is valued and to encourage people from diverse backgrounds to work in CRS Australia.
CRS Australia continued to participate in the DHS Indigenous Employment Taskforce, which oversaw the development of both the CRS Australia Indigenous Employment Strategy and the CRS Australia Reconciliation Plan. These plans can be accessed online at www.crsaustralia.gov.au. CRS Australia’s strategies aimed at increasing its proportion of Indigenous employees included participation in the APSC Indigenous graduate, cadet and traineeship programmes, and support mechanisms to improve retention of the Indigenous Australians already employed. CRS Australia recruited four Indigenous cadets who are studying to be allied health professionals.
Under the auspices of the taskforce, Indigenous employees attended conferences, and cross-cultural awareness training was delivered to many staff. CRS Australia participated in special Indigenous employment events and took part in advertisements promoting the Human Services Portfolio as an employer of choice for Indigenous Australians.