In a wide-ranging conversation at day one of AHRI’s Convention, HR leaders from the public sector discussed how to help agencies thrive in the future of work.
We might be slowly emerging from the grips of the pandemic, but some of the changes brought on by COVID-19 – such as hybrid work, digital transformation and employees’ shifting expectations – have been firmly embedded into working life in one form or another.
These changes are all impacting how the future world of work will look, notably in the public sector, and influencing how HR professionals are responding to the evolution of work.
In a panel conversation facilitated by Stephanie Waddon FCPHR, Partner at PwC, at day one of AHRI’s National Convention, Dr Damian West FCPHR, Deputy Director-General, Workforce Capability and Governance and Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations at Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development; Paula Brewer, Chief People Officer of the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA); and Dr Leanne Blackley CPHR, Chief Operating Officer at ComCare, share their thoughts on topics crucial to the future of Australia’s public sector.
Below HRM has shared an abridged version and summary of their conversation.
1. What future of work changes and trends aren’t being talked about but need our attention?
Leanne: We’re not turning our minds fast enough to the next generation of public servants. It’s not just a capability that needs to take place now, it’s also thinking 10, 15, 20 years ahead. We’re grappling with the skills and capabilities now, but if we don’t pivot really quickly to think about the next 20 years, we will probably lose out to the consultancies and the private sector.
Damien: I think what we aren’t talking about is the time it’s going to take to upskill in some areas, particularly in some of the knowledge areas that we haven’t had any jurisdiction focused on for some time. There’s a huge learning aspect and that takes investment and time. We need to be really clear to everyone that we serve, educate and inform that this won’t happen overnight. [It’s looking at] how do we keep getting better and improving? We can’t let perfect get in the way of getting things done.
Paula: We need to look at some of the barriers across jurisdictions. The NIAA is in over 70 locations across the country. For some of our employees [access to] technology is a real issue. I was recently privileged to go and speak to our workforce in the central Australia region. They said, ‘It’s great that you’re recording all of these sessions on the Intranet, but I still can’t get access.’ We have to think about our communication and what that looks like because we take our structures for granted.
2. How has COVID-19 changed the way we work?
Damien: We’ve had the big disruption. Now we’re moving to a different cadence of change and innovation… One of the concerns I have is whether there will be a slow erosion of the things we’ve gained over the last little while without there being research and evidence to back up the way we’ve worked.
“We can’t let perfect get in the way of getting things done.” – Dr Damian West FCPHR
[Our agency] is doing some great research at the moment looking at how the working day has changed, as well as patterns of behaviour. Big meta-data is indicating a shift in the way people work, and far more digital activity. But the peaks during the workday are really fascinating… We can now demonstrate through big data that productivity has improved, that people are working really hard – sometimes probably too hard. So the challenges for us are more around digital disconnect.
3. How can we improve outcomes for First Nations People as we design the future of work?
Paula: Public servants have an obligation under the ‘Commonwealth Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Workforce Strategy’ to understand the role they play in improving employment outcomes [for First Nations people] across the Commonwealth.
We’re all accountable and we need to work together to improve outcomes. As HR practitioners, we need to understand what a good cultural competency framework looks like.
Cultural safety starts with HR, and it starts with us listening. I don’t use the word ‘listening’ lightly. We need to really listen to our First Nations staff and understand how we can work with them to ensure that we’re attracting, retaining and developing our First Nations people.
“We’re all accountable and we need to work together to improve outcomes. As HR practitioners, we need to understand what a good cultural competency framework looks like.” – Paula Brewer, Chief People Officer, NIAA
NIAA’s Reconciliation Action Plan includes rolling out truth-telling sessions throughout the year. Some of our staff might be exposed to vicarious trauma, so we’re very mindful of that and going to [ensure we ask for] feedback quickly. It comes down to asking questions. We don’t make assumptions, we listen.
I really encourage [HR] to lift your cultural competency. Just be mindful that lifting your cultural competency is your responsibility. Unless it’s their specific job, it’s not the role of your First Nations staff to educate you.
4. What steps can agencies take to manage WHS risks in a post-pandemic world?
Damien: We undertook an employee census for the first time last year. While we saw great engagement and commitment scores, one score where we want to drive a big shift [is psychological injuries].
For the first time ever we’ve seen psychological injuries overtake slips, falls and breaks. If you have time to think about the lead indicators, it gives you a chance to intervene early. We have to get on top of issues early. If we don’t, they can move slowly towards an insurance or workers’ compensation scenario. Or great employees end up exiting the workforce. The importance of data cannot be understated.
Paula: Our staff have been telling us quite loudly and clearly through the Australian Public Service Employee Census that clarity of role expectations is what’s going to enable productivity. We are [creating documents to provide that clarity], but doing it in a measured way to ensure they are useful documents and not just another thing from HR.
5. How do public servants challenge old-school thinking and create more innovation?
Leanne: By inching forward and experimenting. All too often we try to do too much. If we just took smaller steps more often, that could be the tipping point.
Damien: I don’t know if it’s still the case [that the public service isn’t innovative]. I know the ACT is incredibly innovative. It has people in all chapters and all walks of life doing amazing things in the medical sphere, in blue-collar areas and in operational areas. I think sometimes it’s just about celebrating and communicating that… I don’t see the public service of 30 years ago anymore.
People are innovative and want to improve what they’re doing day in, day out. Sometimes you don’t have the ‘Big Bang’ change, but it’s progressive, incremental improvement we see every day.
There are still some processes that bind and drag us back, but that happens everywhere; no sector is immune.
6. Where does trust fit in a ‘work from anywhere’ world?
Damien: At the centre of everything. We have to treat people like adults. If you trust your people, if you induct them into [the organisation’s] way of working, if you’ve made sure they know how to raise issues and concerns, they’ll do the right thing. Accidents or data breaches will still happen, but individuals who are going to act maliciously will do it whether they’re in the workplace or at home.
Paula: We’re doing a lot of work around management capability to make sure we are realising outcomes, rather than outputs and leaders feeling that they have to sit and watch employees working online.
Leanne: I worked with someone once who said, ‘Think the best of people.’ If you start there, you’re going to establish trust quicker, faster and have better outcomes.
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