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To attract develop and sustain organisational capability through our people
We strive towards:
Our People
Our Manager Traffic Management Services Jerko Ostoic is a regular guest speaker on 882 6PR radio talkback session with Oliver Peterson. Jerko provides a direct conduit...
Investing in our people and their know-how is key to creating an organisation where people embrace and accept those who inspire and bring innovative ideas, skills and perspectives. We seek to ensure that the right people are attracted and retained to address our future business operations.
Two significant highlights during the year included the development and implementation of two major systems – Aurion as a replacement of HRMIS and EQSafe. Both systems were successfully implemented and continue to be developed to meet organisational needs. Other highlights included the focus on Aboriginal employment, the development and registration of new Enterprise Bargaining Agreements, the transition to new regional operating models, Federal Safety Accreditation, the re-introduction of development employee recruitment and the development and implementation of a new corporate safety model.
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
| Full Time Equivalent (Average) |
1013 | 1010 | 1026 |
| Demographics | 2016 (%) | 2017 (%) | 2018 (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female employees | 30 | 31 | 31 |
| Male employees | 70 | 69 | 69 |
| Indigenous Australian employees | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Employees with a disability | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Employees of culturally diverse background | 17 | 20 | 22 |
| Employee age profile | 2016 (%) | 2017 (%) | 2018 (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| <30 | 14 | 12 | 12 |
| 30-39 | 19 | 21 | 22 |
| 40-49 | 20 | 20 | 21 |
| 50-59 | 29 | 28 | 28 |
| 60+ | 18 | 19 | 17 |
| Regional profile | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Southern | 28 | 31 | 30 |
| Goldfields-Esperance | 16 | 15 | 21 |
| Kimberley | 27 | 30 | 29 |
| Midwest-Gascoyne | 46 | 45 | 44 |
| Pilbara | 22 | 24 | 33 |
| South West | 64 | 58 | 62 |
| Wheatbelt | 44 | 40 | 34 |
A key focus during the last 12 months has been the reintroduction of the workforce planning cycle. Attracting and retaining critical skills particularly in regional areas continues to be a significant challenge.
The workforce planning cycle has been focused on identifying and addressing key capability risks and gaps in core areas. It involves a comprehensive environmental scan of the organisation and considers current capability, succession planning, recruitment forecasting and other capability development and resourcing strategies.
During 2017-18 we commenced the implementation of new maintenance contracts. These new contracts are more activity based than the previous Integrated Service Arrangements which reinforces our role as the Asset Owner. This has meant that regional structures have been reviewed to ensure that we have the ongoing capability to manage these contracts. In particular new positions of Maintenance Managers and Maintenance Coordinators have been created and the recruitment and development of staff into these positions has commenced.
Recruitment activity over the past 12 months focused on Asset Management, Project Delivery, Maintenance Management, Network Operations, Traffic Management and specialised technical and engineering disciplines, in particular structures and materials engineering.
To assist with sustaining our workforce, we also focused on the re-introduction of our Development Employee Programs across the agency. This included significant recruitment of engineering cadets, engineering associates, technical officer materials trainees and Aboriginal clerical trainees particularly in our regional locations.
Building resources in these core functions is critical to support a demanding maintenance and construction program of works, managing state assets valued at over $47 billion, delivery of the Traffic Congestion Management Program as well as building capability within the organisation.
A panel contract for Training Courses is now in place for many of the courses our staff attend. There are 18 training providers on the panel to deliver training across 65 courses. The contract offers a mix of ‘pick and buy’ standardised public training courses, as well as a panel of suppliers that can deliver customised training in-house. Training services are available across several categories including self-development, management, safety, commercial acumen and customised delivery.
Also released this year was a management skills development program called TEAM (Training Engaging Accountable Managers). The program is designed to empower people managers to perform their role more effectively. It covers a wide range of topics including resource management, procurement and finance, conflict resolution, performance management, and mental health in the workplace. In total 18 modules are available, offering a balance of internal and external experts, keynote sessions and coaching and has been popular. Approximately 34 staff have completed the full program with up to 120 additional staff completing individual modules identified as a development need or as refresher training.
Our three-year structured graduate program has continued to develop a strong group of future leaders and technical specialists, including on the job learning, mentoring and training in the areas of work readiness, technical, commercial and leadership skills. A successful recruitment program this year, in both Engineering and Engineering Associate Cadetship Streams, resulted in 38 per cent of our intake being female, contributing towards a future diverse workforce.
| Female (%) | Male (%) | |
| Development Employees | 27 | 73 |
Note: Development Employees include Trainees, Graduate Engineers and Engineering Associates, Engineering Cadets, Engineering Associate Cadets and Scholarship Students
We released an updated performance review process called Career Conversations. The process encourages open discussion between manager and employee on performance objectives, development opportunities, career goals and demonstrating our guiding principles in work activities. A streamlined form through MyHR removed the tick boxes and focused on feedback, reflection and review. This year we had a 96 per cent completion rate for Career Conversations and 92 per cent of mid-year reviews were conducted.
The Innovation and Research Program encourages our people to collaborate, learn, solve problems and explore new and innovative opportunities. Our Bright Ideas software package helps us to foster a high level of engagement throughout the year as people can participate in specific corporate challenges or submit their own ideas on innovative approaches. We have 19 initiatives under consideration, 13 projects underway and 10 that were closed out over the past 12 months.
Some of the activities and projects include:
We undertake significant activity to develop and enhance our collective knowledge of economic, environmental and social topics. We do this through close collaboration and partnership with industry and research institutions undertaking leading-edge road and transport research.
These organisations include:
We regularly conduct a ‘Futures’ review to identify new trends, technologies and business models from around the world that might affect the transport sector. This review is updated periodically to ensure currency and that we understand the global and local context in which we operate.
Our people
Sharni Bennell joined our South West office as a business services trainee in late 2016. Having grown up in Bunbury, Sharni spent three years in Port...
We strive to create a rich, diverse workforce and promote equality ensuring our workplace is free from harassment and discrimination, with all employees having access to training, progression and promotion. Following is an update on achievements in this area.
Our Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Management Plan is developed in accordance with Part IX of the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (WA) and aligns with the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity’s outcome standards framework. Our Diversity Working Group continues to implement the actions of the EEO Management Plan which is focusing on six specific areas:
Our Diversity Calendar highlights key dates and events of significance to our focus groups and celebrates them by actively publicising articles on the Intranet, providing training and guest speakers on key issues and participating in various community events and projects associated with these diversity groups.
As a business imperative we recognise and value the role of women in the workforce and gender diversity at all levels of the organisation. There has been continued focus on attracting, retaining and developing women in non-traditional roles and leadership positions. We recognise that women in positions instrumental to our future will lead to increasing numbers of women in leadership roles.
This year’s International Women’s Day theme was #PressForProgress and focused on Women in Leadership positions.
Two hundred representatives from across our Transport Portfolio attended a networking event hosted by Main Roads, where the Minister for Transport and our Executive highlighted current statistics, opportunities for improvement, and some of our successful Women in Management to inspire our future generations.
| 2016 (%) | 2017 (%) | 2018 (%) | |
|
Women in Level 6 and higher positions |
18.5 | 18.5 | 21 |
Our Reconciliation Action Plan 2017-19 is driven by our Diversity Working Group and focuses on:
Our Senior Leadership Aboriginal Employment Initiatives Taskforce has made great strides in implementing Aboriginal employment initiatives including:
| 2018 (%) | |
| Trainees that are Aboriginal | 40 |
This year’s National Reconciliation Week’s theme was ‘Don’t keep history a mystery’. We celebrated the week through various initiatives such as:
It is a time to learn about shared histories, cultures and achievements and to explore how we can contribute to reconciliation in Australia.
We recognise the importance of engaging our staff to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples during NAIDOC Week. This year our celebration included a Welcome to Country and storytelling from Whadjuk Elder and author, Doolan-Leisha Eatts. This was followed by bush tucker inspired delicacies for afternoon tea sourced from Kuditj Kitchen, an Aboriginal owned and locally based café.