3.3 Recognising emerging talent

Identifying and developing talented employees and leaders is critical for sustained high performance, innovation and continuity of professional service to government and the community.

A strong diverse talent pipeline

Two SES talent councils support the development of APS leaders who are equipped to deliver now and into the future. Their goal is to identify and develop talented senior executives to ensure the APS has a pipeline of leaders equipped to steward a modern and dynamic public service in the future. The Secretaries Talent Council focuses on SES Band 3s and agency heads. The Deputy Secretaries Talent Council focuses on high-potential SES Band 1s and Band 2s.

Expanding the work of talent councils was a key recommendation of the Thodey Review, recognising the importance of developing APS senior leaders to lead transformation and support a high-performing public service. Three years on from the Thodey Review, the talent councils – in partnership with secretaries and agency heads – have embedded and matured an enterprise-wide SES talent management system built around an annual talent cycle of assessment and development that draws on global practice tailored for the unique APS operating context. Benchmarking in 2022 indicates that this approach compares well against the approaches in large knowledge organisations across Australia.

Talent councils have linked with global assessment experts to assess the experience, capability and potential of nearly 400 senior officers from 50 agencies including all SES Band 3s who have been in their role for more than a year. This has provided leaders with an understanding of their strengths and areas to focus their development to fulfil their potential. It has also built evidence-based insight into the collective capability of APS leadership.

To identify and develop talent earlier in the senior leadership pipeline, the two talent councils work together to understand critical gateway experiences including the opportunity to work closely with ministers. The Deputy Secretaries Talent Council guides the career plans of high potential Band 1s and Band 2s to ensure they are developing the building blocks required for success in more senior roles. The Secretaries Talent Council oversees the systematic assessment and development of Band 3s, which includes an annual scan of internal and external talented executives who could fill critical senior roles in the APS. This annual scan provides an enterprise-wide view of the strength and diversity of the leadership cohort. The data and insights gleaned through the work of the talent councils guides consideration of development and mobility for high-performing
senior staff.

Encouraging greater connection across the APS, this approach supports senior executives to renew and refresh their capability to deliver in their large and complex roles and lead the system transformation required for a high-performing public service.

SES officers are expected to lead by example and model behaviours reflecting integrity as the foundation of APS culture. In recognition of this critical leadership role, the Minister for the Public Service, Senator the Hon Katy Gallagher, has announced that SES performance will be assessed against behaviours as well as outcomes, with perceptions of SES behaviour to be reported in the next State of the Service Report.[32] This aligns with the Charter of Leadership Behaviours announced in August 2022.