Workforce Development
This year, following extensive staff consultation, the Workforce Development Plan 2015-18 was developed and sets out the projects and initiatives related to our workforce that will help Interrelate realise our Vision. These projects focus on Strategic Priority 2 of the Strategic Plan 2015-18: attracting, nurturing and growing a skilled, diverse and sustainable workforce. Accordingly, there are three priority areas in the Workforce Development Plan:
• Attracting a skilled, diverse and sustainable workforce: Interrelate aspires to be a workplace of choice. Accomplishing this requires that we attract and retain a diverse and skilled workforce facilitated by strategic workforce planning and that our current staff enjoy being at work, that staff wellbeing is promoted and that we have a positive workplace culture.
• Nurturing a skilled, diverse and sustainable workforce: it is vital to the success of our organisation that staff are skilled and productive in their work. This means ensuring that we make use of workforce development programs which support and build capability and employee engagement. This development involves experiential( on the job), social( with and through others) and formal( structured and formal) learning and development and can occur at individual, team, location and organisational levels.
• Growing a skilled, diverse and sustainable workforce: it is important that our staff grow and develop, either in the role that they are currently in, or in others. This means focusing attention on career planning and career pathways, identifying high-potential staff and focusing on succession planning and leadership development. It is important that leadership is supported at all levels to ensure that Interrelate is a high performing and engaged organisation.
Central to each of these priority areas is ensuring that workplace diversity is celebrated and supported, that each staff member has the right skills, knowledge and abilities to excel in their role and that Interrelate makes sustainable and planned workforce decisions.
Each project in the Workforce Development Plan has outcomes, actions and measures of success. Given the dependencies contained within the Workforce Development Plan( and the Strategic Priorities 2015-18 document), timelines and accountabilities have been attached to each project. Information is collected from a number of sources, including HR Metrics, and progress against the initiatives is reported to the Board and Executive every six months.
Wellbeing Projects
Interrelate is committed to ensuring the wellbeing of all our staff. Employee wellbeing is now recognised by most organisations as an important priority in the attraction and retention of staff, for improving productivity and creativity, and for overall sustainability and social responsibility.
As part of Interrelate’ s commitment to employee wellbeing, in 2015-16 a review of our existing Wellbeing Program was undertaken to ensure that we were supporting our staff in the most holistic way. The review process included surveys within Interrelate and with other Not-For-Profit organisations.
The review demonstrated that within Interrelate there are a number of programs, benefits and policies already in place to support the ongoing wellbeing of employees. Both the internal and external surveys agreed that the best way for organisations to support employee wellbeing is through flexible work practices, allowing employees to better manage their time, responsibilities and personal wellbeing. Interrelate already offers a number of flexible work options, and the adoption of additional practices will be undertaken through this program. As part of the Wellbeing Program, work will also be done to raise staff awareness of the existing support available through an online platform.
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