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CONCLUSIONS

In 2004 it is reasonably positive news that the APS results on employees’ perceptions of merit remained consistent with those in public services in other State jurisdictions and that the APS has maintained stability in the broadest measure of employees’ perceptions of merit–with around three in five employees agreeing that merit is consistently applied while around one in five disagrees and another one in five is ambivalent. Some agencies, however, have considerable room for improvement and should take action to explore further the factors underlying their employees’ perceptions. Perceptions of merit might be improved if constructive and accurate feedback is provided systematically at least to unsuccessful internal candidates for positions, and if agencies improve their employees’ knowledge and understanding of how merit is applied in their selection processes.

The results of the agency survey suggest that despite the flexibility available to agencies under the PS Act, many managers are continuing to rely on traditional methods such as face-to-face interviews. While face-to-face interviews can be managed more innovatively, for example by including specific tests of skills or by using carefully designed and testable selection criteria, it is important not to rely too heavily on these traditional methods when it may be that other assessment methods may be more suitable. The Commission’s recent Get it Right kit for recruitment and selection offers practical assistance to line managers in considering both the requirements of a job and the means of recruitment and selection.

There have been some interesting developments in APS remuneration in 2003. AWA coverage continues to grow strongly and those on AWAs generally continue to be paid more highly than those on CAs at the same classification level. The gap between base salary levels between those covered by AWAs and CAs, however, narrowed for all classifications except graduates. In the past few years the trend has been in the opposite direction and it will be interesting to see next year’s results. There also appears to have been some narrowing in APS-wide overlaps between salary ranges for classifications. This narrowing may be linked to the narrowing gap between CAs and AWAs and the increasing coverage of AWAs.

The funding arrangements for remuneration increases in APS agencies continue to present a conundrum. There is a clear case for the Government to require ongoing productivity gains to help finance wage increases, and most agencies have been able to increase wages in line with their labour market notwithstanding the funding constraints, but there is some evidence to support concerns about the impost of the ongoing requirement on some agencies.

Some positive developments have been noted in workplace consultation–more employees report being satisfied with their overall say in decisions that impact on their work and more agencies report having policies requiring section/team level meetings. Overall, job satisfaction levels have remained much the same as last year with around three-quarters of employees having a job satisfaction index of over five. It is of some concern, however, that two of the five most important workplace factors for job satisfaction–‘regular feedback/recognition for effort’ and ‘salary’–have relatively low satisfaction ratings (52% and 51% respectively). While the scope to address issues relating to ‘salary’ is limited by budgetary constraints, in the two-thirds of agencies without written remuneration policies for non-SES employees on AWAs, producing such policies may help to address employee concerns that relate to the transparency and equity of remuneration arrangements. In relation to ‘regular feedback/recognition for effort’, while it is positive that the proportion of APS employees reporting that they have received formal individual performance feedback in their agency in the last 12 months has increased from 79% in 2003 to 87% in 2004, more focus on informal feedback and recognition for effort may pay dividends.