Embedding the APS Values: Case studies and other supporting material

Please note: These documents are for reference purposes only and are no longer considered by the APS Commission to be current. They may contain good practice advice and/or advice on the transitional arrangements between the 1922 and 1999 Public Service Acts.

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Case study 30:
Attorney-General's Department:
Generic capabilities

Background

In 1998-99, the Attorney-General's Department (AGD) experienced one of the most significant periods of change in its long history. At the same time it was implementing significant government initiatives aimed at enhanced public sector performance and accountability. To meet these challenges, the department needed to communicate effectively and become a collaborative, inclusive and flexible organisation in which all staff felt valued for their contribution. In introducing change the department's overall aim was to become recognised by its stakeholders and clients for its professionalism and expertise.

As a result, it was decided that it was critical to devise a practical approach to workforce planning and management to provide for skills development, career management and succession planning. It was agreed that the department would assess its capability and projected strategic direction over the next three-to-five years to clarify workforce projections. This would underpin recruitment, job design, development and all other elements of an integrated approach to people management, covering workforce plans and a program of training and development to align individual development with organisational goals.

Description

To help ensure that the AGD recruits and develops people who will support its organisational values and help achieve its vision, a set of AGD generic capabilities was developed. They are based on the APS Senior Executive Leadership Capability Framework and are consistent with the APS Values.

The capabilities, developed through extensive consultation with the AGD executive, managers and staff, are designed to assist AGD managers and staff in discussion, planning and decision making on:

recruitment and selection
people development, including career path planning
performance management
workforce planning.

The capabilities describe five essential generic skill sets that apply to all positions and levels within the AGD. Each capability has a number of indicators that describe the skills and behaviours expected at each classification level when demonstrating the particular capability. The indicators are designed to help establish a consistent, shared understanding of the level of expectation for each capability at each classification. Some indicators might not be applicable to a particular position because the nature or function of the job does not require or allow a particular behaviour to be demonstrated.

Under the demonstrated personal drive and integrity capability at each classification level, there is a performance requirement relating specifically to the APS Values and Code of Conduct.

The capabilities are essential selection criteria for all AGD positions. They are complemented by position-specific criteria which:

relate to professional, technical and/or subject matter knowledge, experience and/or qualifications relevant to the position
should not overlap with skills/requirements covered by the generic capabilities
should only be included where they are considered an essential or significant requirement of the position
should be classified as either essential or desirable criteria.

In conjunction with the above process the department developed its vision of Achieving a just and secure society using scenario-planning techniques.

The Workforce Planning Strategy continues to evolve and, over the next few months, the department will again examine its future needs to:

identify the department's strategic direction over the next one-to-five years
identify and agree on future workforce capabilities required over the next three-to-five years
identify the need for workforce planning
engage the support and commitment of the SES in the workforce planning process.

The outcomes of this examination will establish the department's workforce demand. Phase 2, Data Collection, will establish its workforce supply and phase 3, Gap Analysis, will help the department to identify human resource strategies to reduce the gap between its workforce supply and demand. It is expected that this will focus more on the technical skills required (i.e. position specific capabilities) than on the Generic Capabilities required across the organisation.

Key APS Values

The APS focuses on achieving results and managing performance. (s. 10(1)(k) of the PS Act)

The APS is a career-based service to enhance the effectiveness and cohesion of Australia's democratic system of government. (s. 10(1)(n) of the PS Act)

The APS is a public service in which employment decisions are based on merit. (s. 10(1)(b) of the PS Act)

The APS provides a reasonable opportunity to all eligible members of the community to apply for APS employment. (s. 10(1)(m) of the PS Act)

For more information please contact:

JAN BLOMFIELD
PHONE 02 6250 6635
jan.blomfield@ag.gov.au