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Contemporary issues for career development

The Deputy Commissioner Deputy Commissioner

Lynne Tacy
Lynne Tacy is the Deputy Public Service Commissioner. She has held this position since October 2000.

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Address to the AIM: 27 November 2002

In the past I have sometimes envied people who have had a ready and very precise response to the question 'where do you see yourself in 5, 10, or whatever years?' and seem to know exactly where they are heading against their own personal, positional map. My own planning and choices have been based on more of a compass than a map-on a sense of intrinsic, rather than positional goals. Indeed, career planning in its traditional sense could perhaps be said to be an oxymoron in my case.

Reviewing the research and developments in career development for this morning has reassured me that I am certainly not alone in this. A major research study of career development perceptions in the Canadian Public Service, for example, identified two different and distinct views of career and career success amongst employees surveyed that broadly equate to my map and compass distinction[1].

The first was the more traditional or positional view of progress through the ranks and increased financial reward-of climbing the ladders in an inexorable and linear upwards fashion-and as quickly as possible.

The second view of career success identified was a more 'holistic' one, which focused more on what the employees wanted out of their work and was characterised by aspirations of learning, a sense of accomplishment and the ability to make a difference.

Of course, the two views are not always mutually exclusive-for many people a mix of these factors would influence their career choices and directions.

Career development needs to take both perspectives into account, as well as the significantly changing shape and context of careers in the APS and in the workforce more widely. Careers are becoming less predictable and far more varied. Career development has become increasingly complex from both the organisation and individual points of view.

The drivers behind this change are multi-faceted.

Our operating environment in the APS has become more dynamic and contestable, with rapid changes to the nature of our functions and services, how they are provided and the way we do our business. Agencies are looking for different skills and capabilities to meet the changing demands and pressures on them. Service delivery, strategic IT, and contract management are just a few examples. Agencies are also looking for people with the capability and flexibility to adapt and change, learn new skills and are adept at relationship management (whether in Commonwealth/State, whole-of-Government, stakeholder management, private sector delivery or partnership arrangements).

The APS has moved to a devolved employment framework and management approach. Under the Public Service Act 1999, agency heads have the power and responsibility of employers. Within some broad legislative and policy parameters, wages and conditions and people management strategies are framed at the agency level. The primary responsibility for determining capability requirements and related career development approaches is also at that level.

Discharging this responsibility occurs, however, within a broader framework and service-wide considerations in relation to careers and career development remain important. And I would like to briefly touch on some of these.

Of particular note are the APS Values that are now spelt out in the Public Service Act. They provide a set of legislative principles which agency heads are required to uphold and promote. The Values articulate the corporate responsibilities and the expectations of the APS and act as a cohering force across the Service. They define and shape:

The APS as a key institution in our democratic system
The relationship between the APS and the Government
The relationships between the APS and the public
The relationships in the workforce
Personal behaviour and ethics

The Values relating to workplace relations cover requirements relating to the merit principle, communication and consultation, diversity and providing a fair, flexible, safe and rewarding workplace. The Values, and the Commissioner's Directions which flesh them out, require agencies to focus on work and family balance and implement effective performance management systems.

They also include an explicit emphasis on the APS as a career based service.

The legislation through the Public Service Act continues to provide for a cross APS Senior Executive Service. The SES Leadership Capability Framework, developed by the APS Commission in conjunction with agencies, establishes a shared understanding of the critical success factors for performance in APS leadership roles. It is used for selection, leadership development, performance management and planning for the SES. It also provides a clear articulation of the capabilities that SES aspirants will need to acquire and acts as an important signpost for career development.

While much greater flexibility is provided for in classification arrangements, a common service-wide underpinning structure is set out in the Classification Rules to facilitate the application of merit and mobility across the APS.

A number of agencies use the Public Services Training Package, which is a collection of nationally agreed skills or competency standards required to carry out public service work effectively. These competency standards are packaged into nationally recognised qualifications ranging from entry level to senior management. The package is a Commonwealth and State Government initiative.

Thus, while the primary focus of career development at the agency level, there are also important service-wide dimensions and influences. Getting the right balance between them is an important challenge.

The APS workforce has also been changing with significant implications for the nature of careers and their management.

The age profile in the APS is getting older and will continue to do so. Like many employers, given the wider demographic trends at play, we will be placing an increased reliance on mature aged workers. We will need to re think our concept of career from a life stage point of view. It is clear that there is a strong preference among many mature aged workers for more flexible working patterns, eg part-time or phased retirement-a preference that is really only met at the moment through reengagement of people on a different basis after their retirement. We also need to re think the ever upwards ladder concept of career with increasing responsibility and leadership demands to allow for a greater tailoring and diversity of roles-more project based, mentoring, allowing for the divesting of managerial responsibilities-and for a valuing of different contributions.

Classification profiles and arrangements in the APS have been changing. Our structures have become more streamlined and flatter. Many agencies are using broadbanding to varying degrees. With the wider opening up of employment opportunities reinforced through the Public Service Act, we are now seeing increased lateral recruitment of people at different classification levels and at older ages. We now have people coming in, for example, at middle and senior management levels with no previous experience in the public sector.

At the same time more people-especially younger employees-are leaving after only a relatively short period in the Service. While the pursuit of long-term careers commencing as a graduate or base grade recruit is still common, there is much more diversity, variation and fluidity in the Service.

The composition of our workforce is also changing. APS employees are more likely now to have had a tertiary education. We have an increasing number of part-time workers and employees working on different arrangements (eg on a non-ongoing, labour hire or contractual basis). Over the years there has been a strong growth in women's representation rates, including at the middle and senior management levels. With the growth in dual income families our employees have increasing family responsibilities-whether that be childcare or, increasingly with our ageing profile, elderly care. Work life balance has become a more important influence in career choices, such as interruptions like maternity leave, to delay or not to pursue increased responsibilities or to work part-time. These considerations also need to be taken into account in devising career development strategies.

Consistent with wider trends, we can expect our younger employees to have different attitudes to work and careers, in particular a greater tendency to view their careers as a series of stepping stones in which they augment their skills.

The forces at play call for a rethinking of careers and career development in the Public Service. They are also call for a more strategic and systematic approach to the identification, development and maturing and recognition of talent. This will be critical for the Service and individual agencies within it to build and maintain the capability for delivering the outcomes sought by the Government of the day.

Approaches will necessarily have to be 'horses for courses', tailored to meet the nature of agencies' particular business needs and capability requirements. Nevertheless, there are some common elements or best practice principles for such a contemporary approach.

Drawing on research here and overseas, particularly the Canadian research I referred to earlier, they should, in my view, include the following:

First: top management full commitment and support-both articulated throughout the organisation and consistently followed through in resources, behaviours and systems. Senior managers set the tone for the agency's culture, and without their driving force, the rhetoric will not match the reality, regardless of the formal processes in place.

Second: alignment with corporate planning and integration with the agency's HR strategies. As I said before, agencies need to tailor their career development approaches to their particular business and capability requirements. The best fit for a large service delivery agency like Centrelink will not necessarily be that for a policy Department or indeed a central agency like the APS Commission. Career development needs to be pursued within the agency's broader management and workforce planning framework, with the starting point a clear understanding of current and future capability requirements for business objectives to be delivered. Also important is that agencies have a proper understanding of their workforce-its demographics and characteristics. I mentioned the ageing profile in the APS earlier. This is one area where there is a very significant variation between agencies. Retention rates, particularly of graduates, are another area where there is inter-agency variation. These differences highlight the importance of agencies understanding their own profile and its implications.

In best practice organisations, career development is part and parcel of the performance management process. With performance assessment comes the identification of skills gaps and developmental activities that will enable better performance and a higher level of growth and career aspiration.

The need for improvement in alignment and integration has been highlighted by the ANAO in relation to learning and development, performance management and HR approaches more generally. It has also been identified in the Commission's State of the Service Report recently tabled in Parliament as a key challenge for agencies to focus on.

As Andrew Podger stressed in his overview to this year's State of the Service Report:

The more successful performance management approaches are also building in more systematic career planning and skills development and succession planning, linking these to improved overall workforce planning to enhance the agency's future business capability.

Also highlighted has been the need for improvement in workforce planning. A subset of this will be effective succession management to ensure agencies leave the future leadership, management and technical capacity to delivery to government expectations-that they develop 'bench strength'. Ensuring the availability and sustainability of supply of capable staff who are ready to assume key roles, if selected through competitive selection processes.

I notice in the soon to be released research conducted for the AIM on management development practices that, while 87% of organisations claimed to have a formal management performance system in place, only 58% acknowledged succession planning to be in place. So clearly we all have a way to go on this.

Third: a culture that values supports and rewards learning. Again the commitment of the top management team will be critical here-and the degree to which they consistently reflect in a practical way the value placed on continual learning and career development-so that it is seen as part of the ethos and 'as the way we do things around here'.

Fourth: shared responsibility for career development. The Canadian research talks in terms of it being 'employee owned, manager facilitated and organisation supported'. It goes to say that

Without question, the traditional, more paternalistic view of career development (ie that organisations will manage employees' careers for them, that people will join an organisation for life and the organisation will take care of them) is no longer valid.

'Organisation supported' in our context covers both agency and service wide support. While primary responsibility is with the agency, the APS Commission plays an important role focusing on cross-service dimensions, eg through its range of leadership and middle management development activities, particularly programs like SWIM, network building, the encouragement of more systematic succession management and its involvement with and promotion of the Public Services Training Package.

Fifth: Ensuring managers play an effective role in supporting career development. Agencies need to ensure their managers have the necessary skills and preparedness to play a strong support and mentoring role. Capability building and people management more generally should be part of managers' own performance agreements and assessment and reinforced through the performance management and reward systems. More generally, best practice organisations have accountability built in to their career development processes-accountability is highlighted and institutionalised. Who is made responsible and held accountable, however, varies from organisation to organisation.

Sixth: Employees have the processes and information they need and the organisation is good at communicating with employees. If employees are to 'own' and take responsibility for their career development they must have the processes, information, tools and resources available to proceed. A fundamental part of the information is having a clear picture of the capabilities required to work in different areas or levels.

Seventh: A variety of development options are employed. Again this depends on the nature of the business and the capabilities required and it can include both on the job and off the job approaches. Interestingly, the Canadian research found that promotability and career success were clearly linked to breadth of knowledge and experience-with rotations, assignments, projects and lateral moves playing an important role. In the UK, considerable value is placed on breadth of experience for the senior civil service and particularly exposure to, and development of skills in, a service delivery setting.

Considering how best to provide for such experience and skills broadening is an essential part of contemporary career development. It could involve a range of different approaches such as exchange arrangements with the private sector, placements with not for profit charitable organisations, lateral movements within the organisation, the wider portfolio and/or the service more generally.

Lateral moves and placements can also play an important role in preventing stultification or skills atrophy and helping people stay 'challenge hungry' and open to new ideas and ways of working.

The AIM's research into Management Development Practice will be a particularly useful guide on the variety of activities used. I understand one of the key findings is that the future emphasis is seen to be on building business and leadership skills using informal (eg mentoring and coaching practices) more frequently than formal methods.

Career development options or opportunities also need to be tailored to employees' different life stages-and sensitive to the balancing of work/life responsibilities.

Eight: identification of high potential employees and targeting them for systematic and more extensive development and exposure, and planned career moves. I have already mentioned succession management in this regard. Effective performance management system, at the agency level, will be critical, as is mentoring both formal and informal. Looking back and reflecting on my own career, the advice and encouragement of a mentor was critical in me branching out into quite different fields and initially deciding to go for an SES role. Having an objective but supportive sounding board is a major plus for individuals' career development.

At the service-wide level, the APS Commission has, in conjunction with a number of Departments, developed and now runs highly effective Career Development Assessment Centres. These are aimed at identifying and providing intensive feedback on the development needs of our high potential middle managers.

Ninth: a focus on leadership through the organisation. Better practice organisations also recognise that focusing on high potential employees is not enough. It is also important to pay attention to, and recognise that career development is the many 'solid citizens' who may not be the high flyers but whose motivation and contribution is critical to the organisations success.

Tenth and finally: regular evaluation of approaches to capability identification and career development. Evaluation can be done with varying degrees of sophistication. It is an area where there is significant room for improvement in the Public Service as part of a more strategic approach to HR. It has been highlighted in a number of different people management contests in the Commission's State of the Service Report and also by the ANAO, most recently in its report on learning and development. Evaluation will form an important element in a Better Practice Guide on learning and development currently being developed by the Audit Office in conjunction with the Commission and a number of individual agencies.

In reviewing developments across the APS for its State of the Service Report, we have observed increased attention by agencies to capability planning and to workforce planning more generally. However, it remains patchy and an area we will be actively encouraging agencies to work on.

Further impact will be provided by a soon to be released report by the Management Advisory Committee on Organisational Renewal. The Management Advisory Committee (or MAC) is required by the Public Service Act to advise the Government on matters relating to the management of the APS. It is chaired by the head of PM&C (Max Moore-Wilton) and comprises the heads of all departments and major agencies. Its report on organisational renewal will review, in detail, the fundamental changes to the APS workforce and explore the particular issues being faced in relation to mature aged workers and graduates, including their attitudes to work and careers. It draws on research undertaken by the Commission and the Australian Bureau of Statistics, involving surveys of mature aged workers (both current and former), recent graduates and agencies. It is likely to be released early next year.

While career development may be less predictable and more complex than in the past, its systematic and strategic pursuit is more important than ever. It needs to be a priority for individuals, agencies and for the Service as a whole. It is also one where the role of the AIM plays a valuable role in nurturing and maintaining high leadership. Finishing on this note, I would like to thank the AIM for events such as these to focus on issues of contemporary management and foster informed debate in these areas.

[1] Career Development in the Federal Public Service: Building a World Class Workforce. Treasury, Board of Canada Secretariat. January 1999.

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