Workplace Diversity Program 2009-2012

Secretary's Foreword

Workplace diversity focuses on the differences and similarities that people bring to an organisation. It is about creating and maintaining an inclusive work environment in the Treasury that values the contribution of all our employees and supports their wellbeing in the workplace.

Having a workplace diversity program assists us to meet our responsibilities under the Australian Public Service Act and equal opportunity and non-discrimination legislation. However, the valuing of diversity is more than just a legislative responsibility as it provides the foundation for Treasury's People Values that both shape our culture and influence all aspects of the way we work.

There is also a very strong business case for recognising and supporting diversity in the workplace. A successful workplace diversity program contributes to productivity and our ability to attract and retain our people. Valuing diversity in background, skills and knowledge also encourages different perspectives and promotes innovative ideas. It facilitates a deeper understanding of the diverse Australian and global community and improves the Treasury's capacity to deliver sound and timely economic analysis and policy advice to the government across a wide range of issues. Ultimately, the valuing of diversity assists us in our mission of improving the wellbeing of the Australian people.

We all have a responsibility to ensure that the principles of workplace diversity are an important part of our daily working practices and I encourage all staff to familiarise themselves with these responsibilities as outlined in Treasury's Workplace Diversity Program.

SIGNED

Ken Henry
Secretary to the Treasury

Why does treasury have a workplace diversity program?

The Treasury is committed to supporting and valuing diversity in the workplace.

A workplace diversity program addresses the potential disadvantage that may be posed in the workplace by, for example, gender, age, language, ethnicity, disability, cultural background, sexual orientation or religious belief. Diversity also extends to other dimensions that influence the perspectives people bring to their working environment, including profession, education, family responsibilities, life experience, work experience, socio-economic background and personality.

In addition, a workplace diversity program recognises the benefits that a satisfying, healthy and productive workplace will bring to an organisation. It embraces flexibility in the workplace in regard to work-life balance and includes the strategies available to support staff in the workplace.

Who is responsible for workplace diversity?

The Human Resources Division, Corporate Services Group, has overall responsibility for developing and implementing policies and programs which support workplace diversity.

However, it is the responsibility of every Treasury employee, and all levels of management, to ensure that workplace diversity remains an important part of our daily working practices. These responsibilities are embedded in Treasury's People Values and influence all aspects of the way we work.

Treasury Values

Treasury people:

strive for excellence;
value teamwork, consultation and sharing ideas;
value diversity among our people;
treat everyone with respect;
exhibit honesty in all our dealings; and
treat colleagues with fairness.

What are your responsibilities?

Individuals

As individuals we all have a responsibility to:
Uphold the Treasury Values and embrace and model the principles of workplace diversity in our work team.
Seek assistance or speak out if you witness behaviour which is not in accordance with these values.
Value diversity in all its forms, including the diversity of ideas and work styles.
Consider how our words or actions may impact on, or be perceived, by others.
Be an active and informed participant in all aspects of the performance management process, including career development discussions.
Know where to access, and to be familiar with, the information available on Treasury's intranet relating to staff health, safety and wellbeing. This information includes:
- Treasury's Personal Accountability Framework;
- Treasury's Health and Safety Management Arrangements;
- Treasury's Policy on the Prevention of Harassment and Bullying in the Workplace; and
- programs available to support Treasury staff in the workplace.
Check and update your diversity data on Aurion.
List and update information on your skills (including language and other cultural skills) using the Curriculum Vitae tool in Aurion and on the phone list (under ‘What I do' and ‘What I know'). We each have skills which, while they may not relate directly to our current position, may be valuable to others in the organisation.
Ask for assistance through the Human Resources Division if we have, or acquire, a disability or injury which may require appropriate workplace support.

Managers

If you are a manager you have an added responsibility to:
Recognise, value and utilise the variety of individual skills and strengths within your team.
Cultivate and ensure a secure and supportive environment within your team for the sharing of ideas.
Encourage and support staff to achieve an appropriate work-life balance, including in periods of increased work pressure.
Assist in maintaining a healthy and safe work environment for your team by adopting strategies aimed at prevention and early intervention. Importantly, be aware of your occupational health and safety management responsibilities as detailed in Treasury's Health and Safety Management Arrangements.
Take action to address issues which may arise in your team.

Organisation

At an organisational level the Treasury has a responsibility to:
Ensure that the principles of workplace diversity underpin all aspects of Treasury's people management policies and practices and to review and report on these policies and practices.
Provide a working environment which supports the health, safety and wellbeing of all Treasury staff, including mechanisms to support staff who may wish to raise diversity issues and to support staff to achieve an appropriate work-life balance.
Provide the opportunity for all staff to perform to their full potential.
Raise awareness of workplace diversity issues and initiatives.
Maintain and build the diversity capability of the department.
Ensure data on the diversity status of Treasury staff is as accurate and up-to date as possible so as to assist in monitoring and reporting on diversity issues both within the department and, more generally, within the Australian Public Service.

Workplace Diversity Program

The aim of Treasury's Workplace Diversity Program 2009-2012 is to promote awareness of the framework through which the principles of workplace diversity operate throughout the department, including the underlying policies, strategies and support networks which are available to staff. The program also highlights the responsibilities that we all, as Treasury employees, have in relation to workplace diversity and to detail particular areas of action for 2009-2012.

The key objectives identified in relation to workplace diversity are to:

Encourage and support staff to value, respect and embrace workplace diversity and for this to be reflected in Treasury's management systems and everyday work practices.
Attract and retain a diverse workforce which is, wherever possible, representative of Australian society. Strategies will include areas which have been identified for action across the Australian Public Service, such as the attraction and retention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees and of employees with a disability.
Ensure a safe and supportive working environment that meets the needs of a diverse workforce, including strategies to support staff to achieve an appropriate work-life balance.

Actions

The strategies and actions identified to assist in meeting Treasury's workplace diversity objectives are detailed below.

Objective: 1. Encourage and support staff to value, respect and embrace workplace diversity and for this to be reflected in Treasury's management systems and everyday work practices.

Strategy		Action
1.1	Staff and managers are aware of Treasury's commitment and expectations in regard to workplace diversity.	Include information on workplace diversity as part of Treasury's induction program.
1.2	Staff and managers are aware of their individual responsibilities in relation to workplace diversity.	Provide information on workplace diversity, including this workplace diversity program, on the intranet.
1.3	Principles of workplace diversity underpin Treasury's people management processes and policies.	Ensure Performance Management System processes, including training, articulate Treasury's commitment to workplace diversity.
1.4	Maintain appropriately trained support networks and resources to assist staff with diversity issues.	Ensure staff are aware of and have access to support networks including: Workplace Harassment Contact Officers; Health and Safety Representatives; and Senior Executive Responsible forWorkplace Diversity.
1.5	Raise awareness of diversity issues through celebration of diversity events.	Celebrate at least one diversity calendar event per year, including International Women's Day, NAIDOC Week, International Day of People with Disability, or National Families Week.
1.6	Identify diversity issues and outcomes and report on these to the Treasury Executive.	Monitor and report on diversity information collected through exit surveys, staff surveys and feedback from networks such as workplace harassment contact officers. Include diversity information in reports to Treasury Executive and benchmark this data against APS-wide results.
1.7	Develop additional resources to support managers in their people management role.	Implement a Management Development Program to provide managers with training on roles, responsibilities and accountabilities. Training will be supported by a Managers' Portal on the intranet which will provide a range of information, including responsibilities in relation to workplace diversity.
1.8	Raise awareness of the support strategies and networks available to assist staff.	Provide staff with regular and up-to-date information via: induction briefings; emergency contact emails; and the intranet. Provide staff and teams with appropriate workplace diversity training on request.

Objective: 2. Attract and retain a diverse workforce which is, wherever possible, representative of Australian society.

Strategy		Action
2.1	Recruitment processes are merit based.	Ensure selection panels for recruitment processes are appropriately trained, including on issues of workplace diversity. Ensure recruitment processes are conducted in accordance with Treasury's Recruitment Information and Procedures.
2.2	Broaden the awareness amongst minority groups of employment opportunities in Treasury.	Develop recruitment activities which will target diversity minority groups including: extending graduate recruitment activities to include University Indigenous Units/Centres; and utilising disability employment networks. Assess the effectiveness of these activities by monitoring applicant diversity data.
2.3	Assist in retention and attraction of Indigenous employees.	Implement and report on actions developed under Treasury's Reconciliation Action Plan, including the introduction of an Indigenous Employment Strategy.
2.4	Assist in retention and attraction of employees with a disability.	Review and update Treasury's Disability Action Plan, in accordance with the Commonwealth Disability Strategy and the National Mental Health and Disability Employment Strategy.
2.5	Develop strategies to encourage more equal representation of women in Treasury senior leadership positions.	Foster an appropriate gender balance in the Treasury graduate intake. Identify and promote leadership development opportunities for Treasury women. Review the operation of flexible working opportunities.
2.6	Assist in retention and attraction of skilled mature age workers.	Implement strategies in accordance with Treasury's Mature Age Employment Strategy, including use of the Alumni Register.
2.7	Make better use of our diverse capabilities, including cultural and language skills.	Strengthen the quality of diversity data by encouraging staff to update their details on Aurion. Encourage staff, through the induction process, to more effectively utilise Treasury's on-line curriculum vitae tool and phone list skills bank.

Objective: 3. Ensure a safe and supportive working environment that meets the needs of a diverse workforce, including strategies to support staff to achieve an appropriate work-life balance.

Strategy		Action
3.1	Staff have access to flexible working conditions.	Promote the availability of flexible working conditions, including part-time, job-share and home-based work.
3.2	Promote a family friendly working environment which will support staff in their caring responsibilities.	Support staff in their caring responsibilities through the provision of: a carer's room; nursing breaks and access to breastfeeding accredited facilities for nursing mothers; support for staff on maternity /paternity leave; and a range of carer's information.
3.3	Treasury's working environment supports staff with special needs.	Provide support and assistance to meet the individual requirements of staff with special needs.
3.4	Treasury's working environment supports staff from diverse cultural/religious backgrounds.	Facilitate the observance of cultural/religious holidays within Treasury's working environment.
3.5	Proactive management of staff wellbeing, particularly during periods of peak work pressure.	Provide access to a range of wellbeing strategies aimed at prevention, early intervention and management of injury and illness, including psychological injury. Develop and provide targeted assistance to individual work areas, as required.
3.6	Identify, monitor and inform strategies to assist staff to achieve an appropriate work-life balance.	Monitor and report on a range of wellbeing data including: turnover; exit survey feedback; TOIL and excess leave balances; EAP usage and trends; and feedback from the Workplace Relations Committee. Use this data to identify issues and inform workforce strategies.

Measuring, evaluating and reporting

The Human Resources Division is responsible for measuring, evaluating and reporting on workplace diversity. The Division measures and evaluates workplace diversity through:

the Treasury Staff Opinion Survey results;
State of the Service Employee Survey data, including comparisons with APS-wide diversity data;
Treasury Exit Surveys;
generalised feedback from Staff Advisers, Workplace Harassment Contact Officers and Health and Safety Representatives; and
a range of other staff wellbeing data including access to TOIL and flex, excess leave balances, unscheduled absences and occupational health and safety data.

The Human Resources Division reports annually on workplace diversity in the:

Treasury Annual Report;
Reports to Treasury's Executive on staff wellbeing data;
Reports to Treasury's Executive on the results of the biennial Staff Opinion Surveys; and
ad hoc reports to Treasury's Executive on work-life balance data.

Information on staff wellbeing, including the results of Treasury staff opinion surveys, are available to staff on the Treasury intranet.

Performance indicators

Performance under this workplace diversity program will be reviewed using the following indicators:

achievement against the individual actions outlined in this program;
staff satisfaction as measured through the Treasury Staff Opinion Survey results;
staff feedback on diversity issues as measured by exit survey data, information from Workplace Harassment Contact Officers or feedback from the Workplace Relations Committee; and
comparisons against APS averages, as measured through the annual State of the Service Employee Survey results.

Workplace diversity information and resources

Further information or advice on workplace diversity issues is available from the Organisational Wellbeing Team, Human Resources Division.

A range of information is also available on Treasury's intranet in relation to workplace diversity, including associated policies and support programs available to staff. Links to these resources are provided in the attached document.