People Strategy - redland.qld.gov.au · Business Transformation ... Leadership Development –...

REDLAND CITY COUNCIL

People Strategy 2017 - 2020

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Table of Contents

Introduction …………………………………………………………………. 3

Who we are ………………………………………………………………….. 4

Our challenges in Local Government …………………………….. 4

Reflecting on our past success………………………………………. 5

Creating a high performing and innovative culture ………. 6

Goal 1: Attract the best people ………………………..… 8

Goal 2: Keep the best people ……………………………… 10

Goal 3: Develop the best leaders ……………………….. 12

Goal 4: Enable our people to achieve …………………. 14

Measures of success by 2020 ……………………………… 16

Acknowledgements

Thank you to the many people who contributed to the development of this People Strategy, including those who took part in

the MySay employee surveys, HR futures workshops, change management consults, strategic workforce planning

workshops, Plan on a Page consults, leadership development and talent management discussions and provided business

partner feedback and feedback on the draft versions of the People Strategy. A special thank you to our people who kindly

shared their stories for publication and to Angela Saxby for her work on the development of this strategy.

Amanda Daly, Head of Human Resources



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Introduction

The purpose of this People Strategy is to drive significantly better outcomes for our community through supporting and

investing in our people.

Redland City Council is people focused, as we understand that it is through our people that we produce great results, and

our ability to attract, retain and grow our people’s capability to achieve what our Corporate Plan 2015-2020 sets out to do.

This Strategy supports Council specifically in the achievement of the Corporate Plan and is enabled by Outcome 8: Inclusive

and Ethical Governance.

There continue to be increasing community expectations on Council to deliver value-for-money community services,

programs and products and provide excellent customer service. Our employees need the skills, systems and processes to

meet these increasing expectations. The quality, health and wellbeing of our people are critical to how effectively we deliver

on these expectations.

Our vision is to be forward thinking, engaged and focused on enriching the Redland community lifestyle. Our mission calls on

our people to ‘make a difference, make it count’. Our people are the key to serving our community and partners well and

we can, and do, make a difference every day through the varied work that we do.

We want our community, and those who visit, invest and partner with us, to see and feel this commitment through our core

values of customer service, accountability, organisational and personal growth, communication and working as one united

team. As a values-led organisation our values create a shared meaning and purpose, are a guide for all our decision-making

and describe ‘how we do things around here’.

This Strategy will be supported by action plans to be integrated in the annual planning framework (i.e. Plan on a Page).

MySay and other feedback sources will measure our progress to ensure our attention is continually focused on our people.



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Who we are

At Redland City Council we are passionate about what we do. We provide a wide range of services and products to our

community and partners and deliver these directly ensuring they are responsive and relevant to the Redland context. We

want to move forward, embrace the bigger picture, serve our community well and work in an innovative, safe and customer

friendly environment.

We are a workforce of approximately 1000 people, of all ages and backgrounds, with very diverse roles ranging from

planning our City, to operating community halls, to supporting Councillors, and many more, all with interesting stories to tell

as you’ll read here.

Our challenges in local government

The People Strategy helps us meet future challenges and move towards a more sustainable workforce that improves the

quality of life of the Redland community and beyond our borders. Current challenges include:

maintaining a skilled workforce so we have the right people in the right roles at the right time delivering the right services

recognising the multi-generational and ageing workforce implications, including an increase in ‘digital natives’

increasing agility in the workforce – engaging and managing a more fluid workforce in achieving our priorities

managing job disruption, a changing talent and skills landscape, shifting technology and automation

encouraging a reasonable level of risk-taking by our people to try new ways of thinking and working

identifying productivity improvements to deliver more with our resources in a slow growth economy with increasing

demand for our services

further prioritising of our work and making more effective choices about our efforts, energies and time, and

building resilience and improving personal effectiveness, health and wellbeing.



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Reflecting on our past success, a brief review of 2012-2015

As Redland City Council embarks on the next People Strategy, it is important to reflect on the success of the past four years

that has seen solid foundations built in preparation for long term, sustainable cultural change.

New Vision, Mission and Values –validated who we are and where we are going as an organisation

Reward and Recognition Program – introduced a Council-wide program recognising excellence and values-led behaviour

Employee Relations – strengthened business partnering relationships by providing more timely and consistent advice and assistance and

proactive management of issues

New technology – introduced eLearning, the Vault safety portal and eRecruitment to improve processes that reduce time and costs

Business Transformation – supported the development and implementation of an organisational wide business transformation program to

improve our performance culture using the principles of Lean Thinking

Trainees and Apprentices – continued investment in entry level talent to meet long term workforce planning needs

MySay – rolled out a new type of employee survey that measured the drivers of change and their impact on business performance, followed by

action plans

Remuneration – reviewed Common Law contracts and introduced performance agreements for senior management and negotiated a Certified

Agreement with annual salary increases for employees and officers

MyGoals – centred performance conversations on goals, behaviours and career pathways and brought the system online

Leadership Development – launched development programs to build capability at each level in the organisation and measured the impact of

individual style and behaviour on others with actions for self-improvement

Corporate Development – delivered learning and development solutions supporting a learning culture focused on developing employees to

their full potential and aligned with our vision, mission and values

Succession planning and talent management – created a framework for talent identification and getting the best from our talent

Workforce agility – established the Casual Pool and Areas of Interest Register to provide flexibility, development growth and reduce costs in

filling short-term vacancies

Change Management – focused on improving change capability during organisational restructures, redeployments and new ways of working

Hazards of Work – assessed these and focused on mitigation strategies



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Creating a high performance and innovative culture

As a well established Council with a long history, we continue to evolve as the landscape around us does. What has not

changed is the importance we place on our people – because our people make a significant difference to others through our

work. We want to be known as an organisation that cares for our people, develops our people and treats our people well.

A solid foundation of people management practices has been laid in the last four years. This has been done so we are ready

for the next big focus – to create a high performance and innovative culture that enables us to achieving our Vision.

Our ideal culture will see all employees questioning conventional thinking using a structured improvement framework,

holding ourselves accountable, managing through reward, providing clear priorities, involving others in meaningful work and

developing a culture that supports and encourages professional development and ensures this knowledge is shared between

teams and individuals. Achieving this ideal workplace culture would result in better service delivery outcomes, more

innovation, better employee morale and help us to attract and retain the right people.

It is our people who will drive this ideal culture through effective leadership at all levels. Innovative and creative leaders have

the ability to encourage our people’s passion for their work and connect the heads, hearts and hands of this organisation to

work towards the Vision.

For this reason, the four people goals set out in this People Strategy are enabled by effective leadership at all levels,

including self-leadership, to drive success.



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Our people goals

Through great leadership…

ATTRACT

THE BEST PEOPLE

KEEP

THE BEST PEOPLE

DEVELOP

THE BEST LEADERS

ENABLE OUR PEOPLE TO

ACHIEVE



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Goal 1: ATTRACT the best people

To support the recruitment and selection of a workforce that is flexible, accountable, improvement focused, team-minded and committed to

providing an excellent customer experience for our peers, stakeholders, clients and customers.

Priorities

1.1 Continue to embed our Vision, Mission and Values in all people activities

1.2 Identify, recognise and reward employee ambassadors who actively promote Council, as our branding, identity and

reputation is shaped and reinforced publicly every day by our people

1.3 Review what Council will provide for employees (Employee Value Proposition) to attract and keep talent from diverse

backgrounds with diverse needs

1.4 Design jobs that are more diverse, flexible and interesting so we are creating a workplace culture that encourages

personal and professional growth

1.5 Review the induction process (end-to-end) so we inspire our new recruits and help them quickly get up to speed. Re-

induct long tenured employees to inform and up-skill

1.6 Analyse on-boarding and exit survey feedback to identify what best attracts people to Council and why people leave

and develop strategies that support attraction

1.7 Continually review our recruitment and selection guidelines to select the best talent, and use analytics to help inform

candidate, job and organisational fit

1.8 Negotiate certified agreements and develop remuneration strategies that support the varied needs of our people and

provide competitive industry advantage

1.9 Promote and encourage innovation within the remuneration and benefits framework.



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After finishing school I was unsure of what career path I wanted to take, then I came across the administration traineeship with Redland City Council and decided to apply for this, as I loved business administration at school. I was successful in getting into this traineeship and learned so much over the 12 month program.

After my traineeship I was able to obtain further experience as a Business Support Officer with Home Assist Secure and then the Local Laws Team. Not long after, I achieved my first goal and obtained a permanent appointment as a Business Support Officer in the Health and Environment Unit.

I have now been working for Council for over 7 years. I am really enjoying my current role as the Licencing Officer as there is a variety in my day-to-day work and I am continually learning and developing my skills. My favourite part is licencing the Food Businesses in the Redland City and the interactions with my team members and other areas of Council.

It is a great place to work and I am so grateful for the strong relationships I have built across Council. I absolutely love the environment, work-life balance and the opportunities that are available within Council.

I am forever thankful that I made the decision to apply for the traineeship all those years ago.

Andrea

Licencing Officer

Environment and Regulation Group

I started with Council in the Records Department, where I delivered and processed mail. Here I was able to learn a lot about the different departments and gain knowledge of Council processes. My career progression took me to Information Management (IM), working in the Service Desk team. In this role, I have a great sense of achievement and pride when we implement a new technology to the business that improves the way in which we do things or adds a new dimension to our current capabilities. I support and speak with all types of businesses units within Council from the Councillors office, to the sewerage treatment plant. No two days are the same, so I am able to embrace a variety of tasks throughout my day.

I received on-the-job training and have completed relevant IM courses supported by Council. I already had many years of experience in customer relations, so I was able to bring that knowledge and skillset to my role in IM.

It makes all the difference that my colleagues are such lovely, easy-going, comical people, which really makes working here enjoyable.

Every day I am driven to not only serve the customers internally but those externally for the best outcome for Council and our City.

Ben

Desktop Support Officer

Information Management Group



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Goal 2: KEEP the best people

To keep and develop our talented workforce to improve personal, organisational and community performance.

Priorities

2.1 Build high performing teams that have clear goals and roles, trust and good interpersonal communication

2.2 Deliver timely learning and development solutions focused on building our people skills and services, including

engaging with industry and suppliers who together enhance our capability

2.3 Map competencies and career pathways for our all types of jobs (e.g. professional and technical experts, business

administration, field crews) and develop strategies that support development of our people

2.4 Support career aspirations by promoting and strengthening our career management service (i.e. coaching, mentoring,

career counselling, transition to retirement, peer support)

2.5 Promote flexible work arrangements and make sure decision-making around their use is fair (parity) and transparent

2.6 Create an inclusive and culturally diverse workforce that represents the community we serve

2.7 Enhance the Reward and Recognition program so that it’s meaningful for employees who perform at a high level and

consistently with our Values, including identifying intangible benefits that provide fulfilment both professionally and

personally

2.8 Facilitate role and position changes for our employees with high potential to broaden experience across different

portfolios (horizontal and vertical moves)

2.9 Use workforce data for evidence-based strategic planning

2.10 Simplify, review and create processes to reduce employee frustration through the re-engineering of business-centric

HR processes, to be better strategic business partners and redefine HR’s value and contribution.



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I came to Council in 2006 from a Sports Field Construction background. The goal set for me here was quite simple “Fix the Sports fields” so the

first few years I was fully focused on rebuilding or renovating the 66 hectares of sporting fields across the Redlands.

As the fields came up to standard, my focus broadened to the operations of the mowing teams on both the Mainland and Southern Moreton

Bay Islands, a team of 30 extremely hard working employees with a huge task – keeping the Redlands beautiful. Working with these teams, we

set about providing the right equipment for the task and improving the way we did the task. Fantastic mowing equipment, coupled with the

right transportation equipment and expert operators, resulted in quality outcomes.

A few years later, my focus broadened to learning and understanding the world of contract and contractor management. This has been a

fantastic learning curve, and we have recently reviewed and refined the way Parks are mown throughout the city, which has created a cost

saving for Council.

Of course, none of this would have been possible without the vast support network that Council provides. Since 2006 I have formalised my Green Keeping qualification and

completed further study to achieve a Diploma in Sports Turf Management. In addition to this I have had the opportunity to undertake contract management, project

management, employee leadership, workplace Health and Safety, personal development and a raft of other employment related training. Most recently I have completed a

Diploma of Local Government.

This year I have been given the opportunity to work in our Business Improvement Unit, working on some improvement projects. This has now opened my eyes to just how

diverse our organisation is, and the multitude of opportunities that are on offer, should you wish to pursue them. Personal and professional development programs and

opportunities are also available for all employees.

Working with Council provides me with every opportunity I could ask for. Together with a great working environment, fantastic people to work with and having your work

recognised and acknowledged through an employee rewards program, make this an excellent place to work. I have really enjoyed my first 10 years with Council and look

forward to where the next 10 years may take me.

Laurence

Senior Turf Services Officer

City Spaces Group



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Goal 3: DEVELOP the best leaders

To build resilient, diverse and inclusive leadership that drives a constructive high performance and innovative culture.

Priorities

3.1 Continue rollout of the leadership development program to deliver the capabilities to meet Council’s needs today,

while also boosting organisational performance in the future

3.2 Develop leaders who encourage ‘One Team’ results, where everyone thinks and acts in the best interests of the whole

organisation. They facilitate, not direct, team performance and help their peers (e.g. peer coaching)

3.3 Continue to review the Leadership Capability Framework to align to future needs

3.4 Ensure all leaders plan, manage and develop the performance of their people including rewarding excellent

performance, managing poor or underperformance and holding meaningful career conversations

3.5 Continue to support our people in building resilience in themselves and their teams

3.6 Build internal workforce planning capability to be able to anticipate and prepare for future skills requirements, so

Council has the right people, at the right time, in the right place with the right capabilities

3.7 Identify the succession needs of our key positions and design transition strategies

3.8 Develop our future leaders by focusing as much on how leaders learn as on what they learn (e.g. on-the-job experiences

that stretch) and develop action plans that embed practice, reflection and feedback

3.9 Ensure readiness to make the leap from ‘mate to manager’ before recruiting people new to supervisory positions

3.10 Provide tools / resources to help our leaders understand their team members’ individual needs and career aspirations

3.11 Expand our career management service (coaching, peer coaching and mentoring program) in development

conversations to better connect our people’s strengths with their personal, team and organisational performance

3.12 Implement business improvement principles to create a culture of service-driven leadership

3.13 Deliver best practice principles in safety culture and safety leadership.



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In my 8 years with Council I’ve been fortunate to experience a variety of roles. I joined as a Town Planner, moving quickly into a Senior

Planner role. I have embraced opportunities as a Project Officer for the SEQ Council of Mayors Housing Affordability Project, Town

Planner for appeals and improvement projects, Principal Advisor for Business Planning and Improvement relating to development

assessment, and acted in the City Planning and Assessment Group Manager role. I am enjoying my current challenges, the learning

experiences and the genuine passion and knowledge of the team.

These opportunities have given me the platform to develop and implement key planning assessment tools and to review and create

development assessment policy and guideline documents. This work has been well received and set high standards of service, with a

number of local government areas picking up these products. I have been truly humbled by this achievement as well as through

recognition at our Mayor and CEO Employee Excellence Awards, selection as a participant in the first Lean Leaners program and as a

2016 LGMA Challenge team member.

I have been able to tap into resources offered by Council to continue to learn and grow as a professional and as a leader. I actively

participate in our Inspired Leaders Program, completing my first Life Style Inventory action plan, commencing my Leadership Resilience

journey and seeking out involvement in Council’s new professional coaching program.

The commitment that Council is showing towards developing its people and leaders is something I truly value and feel very fortunate to be part of. The organisation, and in

particular my manager, have been instrumental in supporting my career advancement as well as encouraging my belief in myself. I have always felt valued, supported and

encouraged in my professional journey with Council and I am excited about continuing my professional development here.

Kim

A/g Service Manager, Planning Assessment

City and Planning Assessment Group



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Goal 4: Enable our people to ACHIEVE

To support and recognise the ongoing growth and accomplishments of our people and focus on emotional connection to our work, as job

satisfaction contributes to a fulfilling life.

Priorities

4.1 Adapt MyGoals to improve future-focused, developmental coaching conversations; include individual and collaboration targets for personal

and organisational success, linked to Departmental and Group Plans on a Page

4.2 Make sure the right people are in the right roles doing the right jobs through active and regular training needs analysis and skills audits

4.3 Identify and recognise talent across the organisation to find ways to better invest in the growth of our people

4.4 Continue to prioritise the safety of our people in the workplace through our Safety Management System and Plans

4.5 Enhance our wellbeing program, reflecting both how people live their lives and how they perform at work

4.6 Support a psychosocially safe work environment through frameworks, programs and capabilities (e.g. Peer Support Program, Employee

Assistance Program)

4.7 Develop our knowledge and build skills and ability around change management and create strong support for embedding change

management, e.g. change champions and practical change management development

4.8 Improve cross-Council communication and alignment by increasing collaboration, including creating virtual teams to solve critical problems

using a structured improvement framework

4.9 Ensure our people have the tools to provide modern, sustainable and cutting-edge solutions that address the challenges faced by Council

and community (e.g. office environment, training facilities)

4.10 Harness the benefits of the Human Resource Information System and review of HR processes to provide a platform for accurate, relevant

and easily trackable employee information for better people management decision making

4.11 Continue to build a performance driven culture and promote an action learning culture that tests and experiments with new ideas to solve

organisational and community problems, and reward people’s ability to transform our business and community and produce innovation.



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I came to Redlands with a wide variety of work

experience in managing sport and recreation

facilities. What my current and previous roles all

have in common is the opportunity to work with

local community groups. This job gives me the

opportunity to help solve problems and to get the

best out of the community facilities that Council

manages.

With the task of overseeing 16 community halls

spread over the Mainland, Stradbroke Island and

the Southern Moreton Bay Islands, the one thing

that I can be sure of is that every day is different with a new set of challenges.

Overcoming these challenges allows me the opportunity to work with a variety of

departments and teams across Council with a common goal of responding to the

Redland community with a positive outcome.

I value that Council embraces health and safety, leadership and management

capability development, performance management, workplace diversity and a

flexible work-life balance. I actively recommend others to work for Council.

Jordan

Community Venues Coordinator

City Spaces Group

I was fortunate to grow up on beautiful North

Stradbroke Island. Even though I left to live in

Brisbane for a while, I was drawn back to the

Redlands and have lived here for over 23 years.

As Executive Support Officer to the Councillors I

must say one day is never the same as the

next. Currently I support the Deputy Mayor,

undertaking all aspects of administrative support

to assist the Councillor to carry out her civic

duties. The role is busy, varied, challenging and

extremely rewarding. I work with a great team of

people who work hard to assist the Mayor and

Councillors in their roles to serve the Redlands community.

Our work gives us the opportunity to interact with a broad range of residents and

customers. We also have the benefit of collaborating with all areas of Council to

work towards desired outcomes for our community.

Council has a great working environment with great people who are passionate

about what they do. I am proud to be a part of the Council team. In our own

individual ways and as a wider group we do make a difference and make it count.

Heather

Executive Support Officer

Office of Mayor and Elected Members



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Redland City Council is going to be an even better place to work by 2020

How will we know this? How will it be measured?

Measure Measurement Tool

Our employment terms and conditions are fair and sustainable

Our performance, engagement and retention of our employees improve

We take ownership of our responsibilities and follow through

We contribute to the success of our teams and the organisation by being collaborative and supportive

Our physical and mental health improves

Our leadership capability is built across the business

Our leaders have the ability to inspire and work with others to address complex challenges

Our ideal and actual culture are more closely aligned

Our culture drives innovation and growth

Our culture changes are sustainable and live beyond our current Executive Leadership Team

Development opportunities are available for everyone through a range of learning and development solutions

An increased proportion of our people are participating in professional learning and capability development

activities, e.g. mentoring, shadowing, exchanges, Corporate Development courses

We are doing less transactional work and people drive the systems and processes

We deliver on our commitments and provide excellent internal and external customer service

Our workforce is inclusive and diverse, i.e. reflective of our community

Certified Agreement

MyGoals & MySay

MyGoals

MyGoals & MySay

Safety Management Plan

Leadership Assessments

MySay

MySay

MySay

MySay

BI reporting

Various

Lean (MADMIC)

Customer service surveys

BI reporting



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Opportunities to expand my skills and challenge myself are never far away at Council. As a Senior Planner I was recently responsible for the

assessment and co-ordination of the Shoreline development application. This application was one of the largest, if not the largest, and most

complex development applications ever lodged with Council. While it was the most challenging work in my professional career, the scale and

breadth of that project also gave me invaluable knowledge and experience.

More recently while acting as a Service Manager, I developed team leadership skills and vital experience that will stand me in good stead for

future opportunities that may arise.

Working as a planner within the Planning Assessment team can be stressful at times and tight timeframes make for a fast paced work

environment. The support and reassurance provided by the wider team and Council management is incredible. The whole team is friendly and

caring and always ready and willing to pitch in and lend a hand.

I have worked for various employers prior to Council and what stands out the most as an employee is Council’s commitment to a healthy work life balance and to genuine

recognition and gratitude for hard work and a job well done. I can honestly say that I have never felt more valued and cared for as a member of staff than I do now.

Emma

Senior Planner

City Planning and Assessment Group



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