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Department of Treasury and Finance
Corporate support
 
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The staff who work in the Corporate Support Division provide the management and support services that enable the Department to carry out its functions.

Human Resources

The Human Resources Branch is responsible for developing and delivering best practice human resource management policies and practices. Human Resources staff provide a support service in the areas of:

  • recruitment, selection and induction;
  • employee entrance programs;
  • payroll, conditions of service and leave administration;
  • performance management;
  • learning and development;
  • employee health, safety and well-being;
  • workplace diversity; and
  • organisational development and employee engagement.

This year we have focused on embedding a range of employee engagement initiatives to assist us in attracting and retaining high performing employees. We aim to employ people who are motivated to stay with us and “go the extra mile”. The highlights of our achievements during 2008–09 are:
  • implementing the Tasmanian State Service Award, including revising our HR policies and core competency framework to align with the Award and incorporate culture fit, and updating all Statement of Duties;
  • delivering a “leadership pipeline” program designed to assist aspiring leaders to build skills that will engage employees, and a “leadership extensions” program for senior managers;
  • embedding our “employment experience” strategy, which aims to attain a high degree of alignment between the expectations of job candidates and the experience that we offer, through revised promotional materials and a group induction program;
  • encouraging staff participation in the Global Corporate Challenge and a State Service-wide health and well-being survey;
  • continuing to deliver learning and development programs to meet employee needs and build management capability; and
  • developing an information system to enable electronic management of learning and development, which is to be rolled out next financial year.

Recruitment and selection

Our recruitment practices are designed to select the best person for vacancies by applying the merit principle. Our core competency framework describes the skill sets that are required at each classification level in the areas of communication; output management; conceptual, analytical and judgement skills; leadership and people skills; and technical and professional skills or knowledge. During the selection process, candidates demonstrate how well they meet each of these competencies in relation to the position objective and primary duties for each vacancy. Treasury seeks to recruit people who are strongly aligned with our culture, our vision and our mission.

Our recruitment and selection processes are underpinned by Treasury’s values – respect, integrity, passion, excellence and camaraderie – as well as by the requirements of the State Service Act 2000, and Commissioner’s Direction No. 1 - Employment in the State Service. All vacancies of more than 12 months are advertised in the Tasmanian Government Gazette. Vacancies of less than 12 months are usually advertised internally, providing valuable development opportunities for our employees.

During 2008–09, we advertised 81 vacancies in local and interstate print media with 71 of these vacancies filled before the end of the financial year. A total of 27 fixed-term vacancies were advertised in the Tasmanian Government Gazette and 21 of these were filled. We advertised 42 fixed-term vacancies internally and of these, 38 were filled.

Entrance programs

The Department has two special recruitment initiatives – the Cadetship Program and the Finance Graduate Program. These are designed to attract people who are either intending to complete tertiary studies in areas of relevance to the work of Treasury or want to complete post-graduate studies in accounting. Treasury’s Cadetship Program is primarily designed for those who have just completed either year 12 or the first year of university studies. A cadetship provides an opportunity to study part-time for a degree in a professional field such as accounting and financial management, economics, business or public policy, while working for up to six years in a central agency. The Program combines off-the-job and on-the-job training as each cadet rotates through the various Branches of Treasury, usually on a 12 month basis.

Recruitment for the Finance Graduate Program is currently aimed at recent graduates who intend to complete a professional accounting qualification either as a Certified Practising Accountant or through the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. While participating in this three-year Program, graduates rotate on a 12 monthly basis between the Government Finance and Accounting Branch and the Budget Management Branch.

During 2008–09, one finance graduate was recruited and two candidates were selected for the Cadetship Program. As at 30 June 2009, there were fifteen cadets on staff and four people participating in the Finance Graduate Program.

Internships

Several Branches have been involved in the University of Tasmania’s Corporate Internship Program in 2008–09. This program provides an opportunity for a student to gain practical work experience within their chosen field of study. The students work one day per week for the duration of a university semester. During their time with the Department students undertook project work required by Treasury and specifically related to their field of study.

The Corporate Internship Program is beneficial to both student and the Department. For the students it provides the opportunity to gain real life experience working in a corporate environment and the Program counts as one unit of study towards the completion of their degree. The Program provides the opportunity for the Department to utilise the skills and knowledge of a student currently studying in a relevant field to undertake a specific project as well as providing staff members with an opportunity to act as a mentor to the student.

Learning and development

At Treasury we offer our employees a broad learning and development program that is aligned with our strategic direction. It is designed to improve technical, management and leadership skills, as well as provide opportunities to extend professional knowledge. Immediate and longer-term training needs are identified during our corporate planning and performance management processes.

Training needs are also assessed at recruitment, during probation, and when an employee moves to a new role or position. Informally organised initiatives such as on-the-job training, mentoring and coaching, are important aspects of our program. Employees are encouraged to view professional development as being integral to career planning.

Learning and development options are offered in the following categories:
In 2008–09, we spent a total of $358 103 on our learning and development program. The average cost per employee was $1 044 and the total training hours were 7 599. This represents an average of 22 hours and 9 minutes for each employee in 2008–09.

Occupational health, safety and welfare

Treasury continues to strive to maintain a safe workplace for all employees and promote a healthy and balanced work environment. We are active in the areas of accident prevention; hazard identification, control and removal; protection from injury or illness, and health preservation; education and promotion. We also provide rehabilitation and return-to-work programs for employees. During the year we participated in an audit of internal health and safety processes conducted by our internal auditors.

Occupational, health and well-being related initiatives undertaken during 2008–09 included:
  • information sessions covering the following general interest topics: Beating the Winter Blues, Managing Stress, Climate Change, First Aid for Babies and Children, Car Safety and Connecting with Children on Drug and Alcohol Issues;
  • OH&S Awareness for Managers and Supevisors training courses which cover OH&S legislation, hazard identification, risk assessment and control, and responsibilities of employers and employees;
  • manual handling training;
  • handling suspicious mail training; and
  • free, onsite flu vaccination program at all Treasury sites.

Employee Safety Representative and Senior First Aid Certificate training was provided for three new First Aid and Safety Officers. Annual first aid training is also undertaken by all First Aid and Safety Officers.

Four new fire wardens were appointed who received Emergency Control Organisation training. Our First Aid and Safety Officers conducted bi-annual workplace inspections of all sites and addressed any potential building or equipment hazards. Our electronic hazard and incident reporting database continued to streamline the process of hazard and incident identification, action taken and resolution. Workstation ergonomic assessments were undertaken for all new staff. For more complex cases, a qualified occupational therapist conducted an assessment.

Through our employee and manager assistance programs, members of staff are provided with support for a wide range of workplace and personal issues. Staff who need assistance to deal with or resolve personal or work-related problems have access to a free counselling service through the Department’s Employee Assistance Program provider.

Workplace diversity

During the past twelve months, we have reviewed our Workplace Diversity Plan 2004–07 and drafted a new Workplace Diversity Plan 2009–12.

We have continued to implement strategies identified in the Plan including the promotion of the State Service Disability Employment Program, and participation in the Australian Rehabilitation Service’s “Return to Work” program; Corporate Internship Program run by the University of Tasmania; and Migrant Work Experience Program coordinated through the Public Sector Management Office. We also provide ad hoc work experience opportunities through CPA Australia and local schools.

We maintain our commitment to workplace diversity through our values based environment, our recruitment and selection practices, our performance management strategy and the provision of training and development opportunities. In particular, we offer a “Stop! Bullying and Harassment” training program for managers/supervisors which provides information on roles and responsibilities in relation to bullying, harassment and discrimination, and provides effective strategies for dealing with these issues.

Disability Action Plan

Treasury has an approved Disability Action Plan that is actively identifying existing barriers and addressing:
  • access to and working within the Treasury environment;
  • access to information;
  • access to services;
  • inclusive policy development; and
  • raising disability awareness (including strategies to further enhance the employment of people with disabilities).

Recent activities have included an audit of all Treasury buildings, utilising appropriate expertise, and attendance by several staff at Disability Awareness Workshops run off-site by Tasmanians with Disabilities. Treasury actively promotes employment opportunities for people with a disability and regularly provides work experience and work placement programs for people with disabilities.

In 2009–10, we will submit a report to the Premier’s Disability Advisory Council outlining our progress towards achieving the goals set out in our Plan.

Employee participation

Through our values framework and active values team we aim to promote a workplace culture that is based on openness, mutual respect and trust. Opportunities for employee involvement in the decisions that affect them, is sought through regular Branch discussion, the staff consultative group and direct requests for feedback. “All staff” emails are distributed, including the Secretary‘s “Friday thoughts” message, to help keep employees informed of developments.

The Department of Treasury and Finance is a values-based organisation. Treasury employees are actively involved in developing our values, a process that began in 2001. Our core set of values was launched in 2005. These go beyond statements of principle to indicate the kinds of behaviours that demonstrate our values in action. The Values Team, with members from every Branch, help to keep the values journey moving forward. Each year we celebrate Values Week, on the anniversary of the launching of our values.

Internal grievance procedures

The Department of Treasury and Finance is committed to fostering a harmonious and professional working environment within which our people are able to produce quality results. All employees have the right to be treated with courtesy, honesty and sensitivity by all other staff members. The Internal Grievance Resolution procedures are to be utilised in the first instance to resolve employee grievances.

The Human Resources Branch is responsible for assisting staff should they wish to investigate their options. It is the responsibility of all levels of management and supervision to be receptive to the concerns and grievances expressed by employees with the objective of a fair resolution. Giving full consideration, and showing fair judgement, will maintain a good working relationship between the parties.

What next?

In 2009–10, we will continue our strategies for attracting and retaining staff, particularly in the areas of:
  • Leadership – we will continue our programs in leadership and management development, including a strategic review of our leadership development.
  • Culture – we will continue our cultural change program to foster an employee-centred and values-based culture, and undertake an organisational culture survey.
  • Recruitment – we will continue to market the employment experience that we offer and provide training for selection panels on assessing culture fit.
  • Retention – we will be reviewing our performance management system, embedding a career development framework, and enhancing our employee health and well-being program.

We will also be:
  • reviewing the efficiency of some of our systems and processes;
  • developing a set of HR management metrics and reviewing the management information that we provide;
  • implementing a new version of our payroll system and employee
    self-service kiosk; and
  • finalising our Workplace Diversity Plan and continuing to implement and report on the progress of our Disability Action Plan.

Corporate Information Support

The Corporate Information Support Branch provides service to our colleagues by managing, storing, researching and presenting information. Our colleagues come to us for help when they need to: locate documents; store information; research the latest information on issues such as water policy, demographic change and the Tasmanian economy; and inform the public about the issues affecting them.

As the Branch responsible for information management we are always looking for ways to improve the way staff use, find, manage, present and secure their information.

In 2008–09, the benefits of our new electronic document management system came to the fore with improved access to, and security of, information. We focused on improving usability, and ensuring staff are able to securely manage and share their information. The focus will remain on increasing usability and assessing security in 2009–10.

The benefit to staff of having access to all documents electronically was investigated in 2008–09. Research was conducted into the equipment required to do this. In 2009–10, the facility to scan documents will be introduced.

During 2008–09, we reviewed the way we manage our information on the intranet. We also investigated using our electronic document management system to manage web content, and as an interim measure, a workflow and archiving database was developed. This will be implemented in 2009–10 ensuring more efficient management of our information on the Internet.

A number of improvements were made to the way we manage information security, including updating the way information security incidents are reported and implementing new mitigation strategies. A review of information security practices will be conducted in 2009–10 to ensure we maintain a high standard.

This year the Treasury library collection was reviewed with older key documents moved to storage and the latest publications, in all formats, made available to staff via the library and intranet. In 2009–10, the library will continue to source and manage publications used by Treasury staff in the course of their business and professional development.

Information Systems

The Information Systems Branch is responsible for managing the Department’s information systems infrastructure, including providing support for desktop PCs, servers, local and wide area networks, and maintaining and developing business applications.

This year we upgraded our version of the email management system and commenced testing of an upgrade to the office desktop application. We went to tender for a supplier of multi-function and specialist scanner devices.

We finalised the strategic review of our information technology infrastructure based on a business needs analysis and commenced the detailed designs for an upgrade in our IT infrastructure.

We developed a system to administer the exclusions from gaming venues. As a component of Revenue Business Process and IT Project, we commenced work on the data quality of taxpayer information, particularly addressing standardisation.

We also contributed to the Standard Business Reporting project, an Australian Government initiative, and completed work on Payroll Tax Harmonisation.

What next?

We intend to commence implementation of the IT Infrastructure Strategic Plan recommendations. This will include updating our Disaster Recovery Plan. These actions will improve system availability, performance and capacity as well as our ability to recover quickly in the event of a disaster.

There will be an upgrade of the standard desktop operating environment, including new versions of TRIM and Microsoft Office software. These actions will assist in increasing staff productivity at the desktop level.

We will continue our involvement with the Standard Business Reporting project which aims to improve client interaction with the Australian Government and with other state jurisdictions. We will also continue our involvement with the Revenue Business Process and IT Project which aims to improve productivity within the State Revenue Office.


Back to basics:saving power and reducing our carbon footprint
The implementation of multi-function devices will reduce the complexity and number of devices delivering printing, copying and faxing facilities while saving power and reducing our carbon footprint by having fewer individual devices.

We are also proactively reducing our desktop computer fleet and introducing more energy efficient PCs.


Finance and Administration

The Finance and Administration Branch provides financial and administrative services to the Department. This includes developing, managing and reporting of Departmental and Branch budgets; preparing and submitting the Annual Departmental Financial Statements and other Statutory Returns; managing the Department’s corporate financial information systems; managing the Department’s accounts payable and accounts receivable activities; and the general management of facilities administration services, including building and reception services.

During 2008–09, an upgrade of the Department’s financial management information system was completed. The upgrade has provided all internal users with a more effective use of the modules of the FMIS, as well as allowing for the integration of the FMIS with the Department’s budgeting system.

The Branch has had a large involvement in the continual upgrade of security measures within the Department and continues to be instrumental in the evaluation and implementation of climate change initiatives within the Department.

What next?

We plan to further upgrade the Department’s FMIS in order to ensure that the financial management system continues to be fully supported and compatible with Microsoft Office 2007. As a part of this upgrade, additional modules will be utilised to provide greater functionality and improve the productivity of the system for all internal users.

Finance and Administration staff will actively contribute to the Department’s security review, and will be responsible for the implementation of all agreed physical security measures arising from the review.
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