As a leader, instead of owning and completing tasks yourself, the expectation is now that you inspire a group of employees to produce quality work within agreed timeframes by coordinating, guiding, inspiring and managing them, and representing the work of your team to senior officers, clients and stakeholders.
You will model the behaviours and values you expect from your team members and clarify for them how their work aligns with the departmental vision to deliver very high quality, effective and timely services to clients. Our culture and the values we hold underpin the decisions we make and actions we take. Assisting team members to identify their personal values and how they become motivated in their work will support engagement and consequently increase productivity.
Setting high standards for yourself and your team, having regular conversations in which all opinions are valued and considered, and being adaptable and innovative when faced with difficulties will demonstrate some of the desired behaviours.
A useful resource to assist you and your team to understand and embed the values and behaviours expected of departmental employees is the culture and values action plan. There are several support tools available, including the culture and values action plan maturity assessment matrix. You might use this at a team meeting to begin a discussion of team values and develop shared goals.
Empowering team members by accessing their capabilities and ideas contributes to the individual's sense of being valued and rewarded, as well as benefits and builds the team while achieving outcomes/contributing to our communities.
Some helpful starting points:
- We are a large public service agency and promote best practice human resource management through the application of the Queensland Government
positive performance management (Directive 02/24). This directive is a supportive framework that allows employees and managers to work together to develop and recognise performance achievements and opportunities.
- The department's performance and development processes provide team leaders with an opportunity to reflect, identify developmental opportunities and establish goals to build greater confidence and capability.
Managing performance
As a leader, you are responsible for managing the work performance of your team members. Occasionally you may need to address unsatisfactory performance or behaviours that impact adversely on other team members - this can be challenging. If you consistently provide clear expectations and specific feedback, as well as establish regular performance and development conversations with your team members, you may find it easier to initiate difficult conversations.
Having developed a culture of trust and respect within your team, if you are perceptive of tensions, you will deal effectively with issues before they develop into major problems. Enquire about the situation; stating what you have observed without implying blame - to discover contributing factors (personal or professional), perceptions of the issue and how it might be remedied. Take care to have such conversations privately when necessary.
If you need to have a difficult conversation with one of your team, you may want to prepare by reaching out to your leader or mentor, reading some books on the subject and accessing the process and appropriate procedures below.
Awards and agreements
Employment conditions are set out in industrial awards and in certified agreements that have been negotiated between the department and the unions representing employees. You may occasionally need to refer to one of these documents to clarify an employee's responsibilities or entitlements. Conditions of employment are available on OnePortal.
Awards embody baseline conditions of employment. Public service conditions are also governed by Directives and the
Queensland Public Service Act 2008.
Induction
All employees are required to complete
Mandatory All-Staff Training induction within a week of starting work with the department. Additional mandatory training requirements based on role, responsibilities and location may also apply. A refresher program is then completed annually.
The
mandatory annual training ready reckoner provides information on required programs.
The
induction planner provides a guide for the information you will need to share with new staff.
Inclusion and diversity
An inclusive workplace culture allows us to perform better, attract and retain the workforce we need, and deliver services that support the communities we serve. In the department, we believe that each of us, regardless of our position, has a role to play in building workplaces that embrace and value diversity.
The department's
Equity and Diversity Plan outlines our approach and actions to grow together as an organisation, valuing and embracing the different skills, knowledge and experiences each of our staff brings to our work. Students who feel they belong, are understood and have role models like them have the best chance of succeeding to create a Queensland for the future.
New employees are asked to complete the
Workforce Diversity Census. The information provided will be used for statistical purposes only and no information identifying you personally will be disclosed to any agency or person.
Census data is critical to understanding the
diversity of our workforce. It enables us to monitor and report on our progress in developing inclusive leadership and inclusive workplace cultures across our organisation.
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Strategic Plans
- We All Belong online learning suite (available via QLearn)
If you have any questions about workplace inclusion and diversity in the department, please email the Inclusion and Diversity team at
weallbelong@qed.qld.gov.au.
International volunteers and work experience people
There are significant benefits for teams that host a volunteer or a work experience person from overseas. There are also issues that you will need to consider before agreeing to such an arrangement.
Leave and accumulated time off
You may be responsible for overseeing and approving employees' timesheets and leave applications, either manually or in MyHR Self Service. You can check what you are able to approve in the Human Resource delegations manual.
Useful resources:
Recruitment
The Workforce Recruitment and Employment unit has developed instructions and flow charts showing the processes you need to follow to appoint a new staff member on a temporary (contract) or permanent basis. Role descriptions are usually generic but may be revised to reflect new priorities and responsibilities.
You may need to consider current employees who are on the redeployee or transfer list as a priority. Your supervisor will also be involved in the decision-making processes. The Workforce Recruitment and Employment Unit can advise you further.
Reward and recognition
The department implements a variety of reward and recognition programs for employees, all of which are explained in
annual reports. However, nothing has as powerful an effect on employee morale as timely and specific recognition from you.
Separation
When permanent employees decide to leave the organisation, they need to provide two weeks' notice by completing a notice to cease employment and an exit survey. Temporary contracts and casual appointments do not require separation notices. Certain forms of separation, such as termination, require approval by an officer with the relevant delegation.
You must ensure employees hand in their corporate cards, access and identification cards and any other means of access to buildings or finances before they leave.