Supreme Court Listening Meeting – Performance Management Framework

Supreme Court Listening Meeting – Performance Management Framework – August 2015 (PDF version)

Background

The Government Sector Employment (GSE) Act (Section 67) requires all NSW public sector departments and agencies to implement performance management systems.

Your union, the PSA, sees the value in agencies basing performance management systems on the prerequisites of the PSC’s Capability Framework which would provide members with a common foundation to negotiate performance agreements and engage in performance reviews. However, as not all agencies have introduced new role descriptors based on the Capability Framework, there is potential for unfair and inequitable performance management systems to be created within and across agencies.

The PSA is consulting with members through “listenings” so that you can identify concerns and have input into addressing them.

Supreme Court

Your union, the PSA, conducted a “listening” with PSA members at the Supreme Court on Tuesday, 18 August 2015.

Thank you to all the participants. Members considered the following questions:

How can we ensure learning and development is undertaken in a fair and effective way?

What does a fair and reasonable performance management system look like?

To successfully resolve unsatisfactory performance, an employee must have…….(finish this sentence).

Outcomes

In summary, members determined that a fair and equitable performance management system must have:

• on the job training with training and development programs relevant to the role and which allow for upskilling/advancement and which are available within a reasonable timeframe;

• easily accessible and understandable documented procedures/guidelines/policies for undertaking the role;

• equal access to the internet for all employees regardless of their role to facilitate entry to e-learning programs;

• appropriate budget allocations for training, with equal distribution to all employees;

• projected training needs and a commitment by management to implement training;

• updated and regular training with accredited courses which are widely recognised;

• expectations which are clearly defined and understood by employees and management, with appropriate training provided to facilitate consistent application;

• unsatisfactory performance must be evidence based and managed as it occurs, with clear and specific targets for improvement identified, and addressed with support and any necessary training/retraining;

• provision for consideration of outside influences such as personal issues which may affect performance which should be handled with respect and dignity;

• clear definitions of satisfactory and unsatisfactory performance;

• regular and constructive feedback and acknowledgement of strengths as well as weaknesses;

• an independent reviewer to alleviate personality bias.

The information collected will be used in the development of the PSA’s position paper on the Performance Management Framework. The PSA’s position paper will be provided to all members when it is completed.