Public Sector Commissioner's Circular 2013-04 EEO Management Plans and Workforce Planning in the Public Sector

Enquiries To: Fiona Roche 6552 8801
A/Director Equal Opportunity in Public Employment Public Sector Commission

Number: 2013-04
Issue Date: 2 October 2013
Review Date: 2 October 2015

Supersedes: Public Sector Commissioner’s Circular 2011-02

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY MANAGEMENT PLANS AND WORKFORCE PLANNING IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR

POLICY

1. Authorities as defined in section 139 of the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (EO Act) are required to prepare and implement an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Management Plan under section 145 (Preparation and implementation of management plans). A copy of a current EEO management plan must be forwarded to the Director of Equal Opportunity in Public Employment (DEOPE) in the Public Sector Commission (PSC).

2. Authorities are required to report annually under section 146 (annual report to Director). Unless specifically advised otherwise, this requirement is met to the satisfaction of the DEOPE through provision of workforce data to the PSC through data collection processes administered by the PSC.

3. All agencies and non-SES organisations, as defined in section 3 of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 (PSM Act), are encouraged to develop, implement and review an integrated workforce and diversity plan that both meets the requirements of section 145 of the EO Act but also serves as a broader workforce plan addressing attraction, retention and workforce development objectives linked to service outcomes, government priorities and business priorities.

BACKGROUND

Workforce and diversity issues are aligned to Government legislation, strategies and a range of cross-government documents, including:

i. Equal Opportunity Act 1984
ii. Public Sector Management Act 1994
iii. Strategic Directions for the Public Sector Workforce 2009–2014
iv. Aboriginal Employment Strategy 2011–2015
v. CEO Performance Agreements
vi. Skilling WA—A Workforce Development Plan for Western Australia
vii. Disability Access and Inclusion Plans

In February 2011, Commissioner’s Circular 2011-02 was released that encouraged entities to develop a workforce and diversity plan by 30 June 2012.

IMPLEMENTATION

With the majority of agencies now having EEO Management Plans and Integrated Workforce and Diversity Plans in place, the focus should move to implementation. To support this, plans should be action oriented and include strategies that are SMART:

Specific - Strategies and initiatives should be focussed on specific objectives that clearly define what needs to be achieved (e.g. targeted retention strategies that address a high level of staff turnover for a category of positions or employees)

Measurable - Be matched to a qualitative and/or quantitative metric (e.g. 10% reduction in turnover for group ‘x’ in a ‘y’ month period).

Achievable - Be realistic given the available resources, the nature of issues and other competing priorities

Relevant - Be aligned to the strategic objectives and business priorities of the agency

Timed - Have a defined timeframe for the achievement of the objective.

Key focus areas should include:

• addressing workforce challenges that are clearly linked to capacity to deliver services to the whole of the eligible community (including diversity groups that may not be experiencing substantive equality in access to services)
• ensuring compliance with section 145(1) of the EO Act
• ensuring accurate and complete workforce data for reporting purposes
• ensuring regular review of the plan in order to be responsive to internal or external changes in operating environments.

PUBLIC SECTOR COMMISSION SUPPORT

Support to agencies is available through:

1. an advisory line and consulting support services at the PSC

2. a Workforce planning and diversity toolkit—further information and tools on workforce planning and diversity are available at: www.publicsector.wa.gov.au/workforce/workforce-planning-data/workforce-planning-toolkit

3. Intersector forums that are moderated and monitored by PSC staff (see www.intersector.wa.gov.au)

4. learning and development programs run through, and in conjunction with, the Foundations of Government HR program. Scheduled events can be viewed at www.publicsector.wa.gov.au/news-events/events

M C Wauchope
PUBLIC SECTOR COMMISSIONER

Other relevant Public Sector Commissioner’s Circulars: n/a