As members may be aware, the PSA met with the Commissioner of Victims Services, Michelle Vaughan, last week in order to progress a number of member issues. In preparation for the members’ meeting on Tuesday 15 October, a summary of what was discussed is provided below.
Changes to duties
The PSA raised the following
- Proposed changes to the telephony system
- Impact on roles, duties and performance assessment of CSMT staff
- Training for staff with altered duties
- Evaluation of impact on staff
Proposed changes to the telephony system
All 5/6 level CMT staff will now be required to provide an automatic call overflow, being expected to provide frontline phone service when the call queue exceeds 20 minutes. This may impact workloads as CMT staff are performance-assessed on their administrative tasks actioned.
The CSMT management currently uses a generic role description for all 5/6 staff. However, duties, capabilities and KPIs are distinctly different between the teams. Staff in Accounts and Restitution will now be required to provide direct client service, as clients will have the option of dialling them directly. While this is a significant service improvement, the PSA is not aware of any training being provided to these staff.
The Commissioner agreed to review and evaluate data after two weeks of the new hours being operational. The issues will be further discussed at the next meeting between the PSA and the Commissioner in November 2019.
Further, the Commissioner would like staff to be able to discuss their concerns and provide feedback directly to managers as much as possible. PSA advised that managers did not seek feedback from staff and staff are unsure how to provide feedback to management due to previous workplace culture issues. The Commissioner advised that managers will discuss changes with staff and seek/encourage feedback going forward.
Rostering
The PSA raised the issue of the proposed rostering requirements for CSMT staff, and the proposed changes to lunch breaks/breaks requirements. In response, the Commissioner advised that VS would implement a roster for two/three weeks and then hold a follow up meeting to see what works and what doesn’t. The Commissioner’s aim is to try to reduce the 20-30 per cent abandonment calls and reduce wait time for clients. The Commissioner also wants to have enough staff to cover 9-5 office operating hours.
Training for staff with altered duties
The Commissioner advised that there is the need to see if this training is required and the capacity of managers to train.
Your PSA staff
Industrial Officer Monika Wunderlin
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