Employee value review Final results – Central Goldfields Shire Council

1. Employee value reviewFinal results – Central Goldfields Shire Council Peter Treloar & John Ward November, 2012 Can You See It?

2. The idea of value

3. Three steps to build a strategic understanding of employee value How are we performing? Understand our position relative to norms as an employer on core areas that drive value Our committed workforce? As a result of this performance, what is our retention/acquisition position? How does the team feel? Attitudinally, what is the profile of the workforce/team? Pulling together these 3 steps, what is our overall position and what should our next steps be to drive desired strategic outcomes? Develop communications and activation strategies to act on the results and drive real business change

4. How do we perform in the key areas of employee value?

5. The foundations of value from an employee perspective Perceived value in the employer offer Non-Financial Benefits Financial Benefits Professional Benefits Personal Benefits Ability to meet the needs of your life and your interests Ability to play a role in society Contributing to career development and industry reputation An ongoing sense of professional purpose • Engagement • Work/Life balance • Values & ethics • Company image & reputation • Respect • Career • Support • Purpose/ achievement

6. Summary of key performance Financial Benefits Note: Impact scores for the CGSC generally align with the overall Australian norm Perceived value in the employer offer Non-Financial Benefits Scores in bold are significantly higher when compared to the Australian Norm

7. FinancialWith financial reward representing almost half of the decision making when it comes to value, the council overall not seen to be a leader in this area Across all measures included, CGSC in line with the Australian Norm. However, there are opportunities to focus on other areas in the value proposition outside wage/pay (to be discussed) Market Norm CGSC Result * Solid markers indicate a significant shift from the norm Note: some statements abbreviated for reporting

8. Professional - Career & ReputationOpportunities for improvement in career development, with the council performing below the Australian norm on training and opportunities to grow and succeedDirect managers felt to respect their staff, less so senior management Market Norm CGSC Result * Solid markers indicate a significant shift from the norm Note: some statements abbreviated for reporting

9. Professional - Professional PurposeA stronger performance when it comes to personal and direct support, and working positively with a direct team. Again, a gap between direct managers and senior management starting to emerge Market Norm CGSC Result * Solid markers indicate a significant shift from the norm Note: some statements abbreviated for reporting

10. Personal – Life & LifestyleAt a personal level, staff generally feeling satisfied with the work they do, and positive about the work life balance offered by the Council Market Norm CGSC Result * Solid markers indicate a significant shift from the norm Note: some statements abbreviated for reporting

11. Personal – Value and Corporate ImageThe Council is seen to align well with personal values. A concern that staff do not feel the Council is well loved in the community or that it has a good reputation – a tension point from this high impact area Market Norm CGSC Result * Solid markers indicate a significant shift from the norm Note: some statements abbreviated for reporting

12. Developing an action plan High High priority – Short Term Focus Maintain as competitive advantage, communicate strongly This summary chart represents all value drivers, showing their level of impact on employee value and how the council is performing to identify important action points for the organisation IMPACT ON DRIVING VALUE Maintenance level investment Low Priority – Long Term Focus Low High PERFORMANCE RELATIVE TO COMPANY AVERAGE Low Respect Engagement Work/Life Corporate Pride Personal Values Career Support Purpose/Achievement Performance relative to company average an index dividing score by company average

13. Developing an action plan High High priority – Short Term Focus Maintain as competitive advantage, communicate strongly Corporate pride and reputation a key immediate action point! IMPACT ON DRIVING VALUE Maintenance level investment Low Priority – Long Term Focus Low High PERFORMANCE RELATIVE TO COMPANY AVERAGE Low Respect Engagement Work/Life Corporate Pride Personal Values Career Support Purpose/Achievement Performance relative to company average an index dividing score by company average

14. Department issues Performance across Personal elements of value strongest with Go Goldfields and the Executive team. Technical Services below the average in this area, particularly in career development and day to day engagement Personal On the professional side, we also see Technical Services below the average – an opportunity to focus in this area to drive up the overall Council performance Professional Index relative to overall average Note: Some low base sizes. Executive management 6; Corporate and Community Services 64; Technical Support 45; Go Goldfields 13

15. Summary of performance How are we performing? Understand our position relative to market/industry as an employer on core areas that drive value

16. What is the impact of our performance on team commitment?

17. Exploring team commitmentA loyal workforce, with very few looking to leave in the next 12 months Does location play a role in this? Likelihood to leave in the next 12 months When it comes to minimising the risk of staff leaving, staff that require the greatest focus are those who… Feel that their wage is good and that they are respected for their role 16% Have looked for another job in the last 3 months BUT… Do not feel their values align with the company or that there will be continued opportunity for growth and development

18. Role satisfaction and location driving reasons to stay Most note that they are happy with their current role at the moment “Happy with my work place and what I do at the moment” “I am happy & comfortable where I work & passionate about what I do” “I love what I am doing and believe it is an ideal role for me” “I enjoy living and working in my current environment” But for others, the location is a key consideration “Family situation means the distance and work/life balance is right so too hard to 'break in' a new employer” “No suitable opportunities in the near vicinity” Note: image is a word map of all comments given. Size of word indicates relative frequency of mention

19. A variety of professional reasons driving a small proportion to look for new roles Some clear dissatisfaction with management in the verbatims “I’ve lost the drive for the position, there is no direction for what it is that is wanted” “I like to be challenged and thrive on self satisfaction and making a difference” “Terms of employment” Note: image is a word map of all comments given. Size of word indicates relative frequency of mention

20. Exploring team commitmentVery positive levels of recommendation, with 81% open to recommending the council to others Likelihood to recommend When it comes to driving recommendation for an employer, the key attitudinal drivers are… Feel that the values of their employer align with their own, and they have a high level of pride in their organisation Additionally, they need to feel that the job itself is personally engaging and does not interfere with life outside work

21. What do we love? “Personally, very rewarding & satisfying” “The support I receive by my immediate colleagues around me to fulfill my day to day tasks” “Some of the people I work with are a joy to work with, others are not. I enjoy working with the elderly and making a difference in their lives” “Variety and challenging workload & requests each day” “I enjoy working with people and helping them with their requests”

22. What would we change? “I would like to have more input into what I do and be listened to” “Appreciation from other departments” “The location of our office doesn't allow for a great degree of interaction with other council staff” “More inclusive ,less hierarchical, management style, a relic of the commissioner era” “More opportunity to change roles”

23. Summary of commitment Our committed workforce? As a result of this position, what is our retention/acquisition position?

24. Understanding the attitudes of our team

25. CommunicationsCouncil performing above norm on feedback and direct manager communications, though not as strong when it comes to senior management What could be causing the disconnect between senior management and front line staff? Potentially consider as an area for further exploration with one-on-one discussions Market Norm CGSC Result * Solid markers indicate a significant shift from the norm Note: some statements abbreviated for reporting. Norn not available for all statements

26. Ideas to improve communications focus on sharing across departments and ensuring all staff have the opportunity to get involved “I prefer face to face communication rather than emails or paper trails” “Access to technology and IT that assists in delivering to the local community. Eg IPads and Iphones” “Staff meetings are rare. More would be good and workers should be rostered and made to attend. They should not be held at the same time and day because this doesn't allow all staff to attend” “Send communications to all workers instead of just managers because it doesn’t get passed on” “Monthly meetings or catch ups. Sometimes unable to do this due to heavy workload” “More interaction between those who work at Nolan St. and the staff who work in isolation” “Introduce new staff members to all”

27. No clear issues across the work group on the work environment or workloads Results collected on a 7-point agree/disagree scale Norn not available for all these statements – client specific

28. However, there are clearly some issues when it comes to communications across teams Around one-third not finding it easy to build relationships across teams, or that departments work well together to serve the community. Clearly some barriers noted across the work group when it comes to building a united team Need to explore methods for building cross team sharing and understanding. This will also have flow on effects in addressing some of the corporate pride concerns

29. Absenteeism To explore the issue of absenteeism within the Council, we conducted a statistical analysis to look for relationships between the average annual sick hours taken, and performance of CGSC across the various EVR metrics The following model shows the key attitudes impacting on sick leave hours… Have a sense that they are part of something bigger High Low 6% Ave. hours - 61 ! Group 1 I receive a good wage for the industry Low High 10% Ave. hours - 15 Read down through the levels of decision making The work I do is important Low High Good professional support is available Good professional support is available High 26% Ave. hours - 18 Low 14% Ave. hours - 43 High 14% Ave. hours - 28 Low 15% Ave. hours - 36 ! !

30. Three key groups to focus on to address absenteeism With the highest number of sick leave hours, this small but important group generally feel that they make little or no contribution to the collective (strategic) goals of the Council. No clear skews in this group, though like to be full time permanent staff 1 The disillusioned They are of the belief that they make little or no contribution to something bigger Opportunity to remedy with broader, positive impacts across the entire work group – links to key value drivers! Highlighting the importance of every individual role in contributing to the community ! 2 The inconsequential Feel they like they do contribute to the to the collective goals of the Council. However, they rate their wage as poor, and rate the availability of professional support as low. They believe their work is unimportant This group feel that they are contributing to the greater good, though are dissatisfied with their wage and feel that their specific tasks add little value. Skew to Tech Services and males 3 The lost missionaries Feel that their work, and the work of the council, is important However, they are frustrated with what they perceive to be low wages and the lack of professional support With the second highest level of sick leave, this frustrated group wants to contribute strongly to the community, but are frustrated and lost in their role. Spread across all departments, looking for a clear broad and personal strategy

31. Reviewing our strategic employee offer

32. The Value Offer: CGSC In summary, compared to the market norm, the Council sits close to the market norm in the Fair Deal territory This position suggests an average performance from an acquisition and retention perspective However, this position has been boosted by location factors, which need to be considered when reviewing Market Norm Good deal territory Non-Financial Fair deal territory Notes: Great deal territory where combination of Financial and Non-Financial performance drives an Overall Value Score leading to positive retention and acquisition outcomes Financial (wage and non-wage)

33. Developing your employee brand identity • Council strengths • Pride in their role, and enjoyment in the tasks and job they do • Strong team connection, with positive direct manager relationships • Work life balance, driven by the opportunity to live and work in the area, and have reasonable working hours • Feel that the values of the role align with their personal values • These are important areas to communicate and emphasise with the team, ensure that the strengths here are valuable and highlight the Councils leading position • Areas for development • Two key areas overall playing an inhibiting role on the team’s perception of the employer offer: • The relationship between senior management and front line staff – a communications issue and sense of disconnect • The reputation of the Council in the broader community, impacting on job satisfaction, pride and respect • In addition, staff looking for increased opportunities in training and career development

34. Initial thoughts on next steps • Communicate results to the broader team, highlighting that senior management is aware of the frustrations and developing a plan to address • Training and communications with direct managers to ensure they understanding the critical role that they are, on the whole, doing very well. Consider feedback from these managers to senior management to build Council wide communications strategies • Need to understand what is driving the disconnect between senior management and the team – what are some strategies we could introduce to help over come this? • What is the holistic strategy of the council, and how is this communicated internally and externally • Review methods of communication and interaction • Build sense of collective understanding and achievement – greater exposure to tasks/roles/purpose across teams • Community reputation and pride is a broader and more challenging issue – need to understand the brand profile in the community and how this aligns with the internal perspective (see following) Discuss?

35. Developing your brand identity to become an employee of choice The position of a highly valued employee offer needs to address an employees sense of purpose from an internal and external perspective Aligning our brand profile across all stakeholder groups can help to address this…

36. Can You See It? Can You See It? Peter Treloar e. peter@canyouseeit.com.au m. 0425 715 087