1. Submissions from Government Departments and Crown Entities
2. Staff Focus Groups
3. Staff Submissions
4. Stakeholder Groups
5. Beneficiary Advocacy Groups
6. Public Submissions

C. STAFF SUBMISSIONS

13.1    The staff of DWI were encouraged to make written submissions to the Review Team and 228 employees responded, mainly frontline staff. These submissions were given to the team in confidence.

13.2    A number of problems and suggested solutions were offered. These issues should be considered in light of the strong support for the 'one stop shop'. Staff feel that the integrated department is a step forward and should not be tampered with. Changes to the department to improve service to clients and achieving the Government's outcomes should be made within the current framework.

13.3    Identified problems from the staff were:

• the role of the Case Manager;
• the culture of the Department;
• staff morale;
• staff turnover;
• information technology;
• Key Performance Indicators;
• the impact of the integration of employment services; and
• Community Employment.

13.4    Service delivery staff identified these problems as they relate to their ability to perform for their clients. In order to achieve improved performance, those involved in service delivery would appreciate greater recognition of workload (as opposed to caseload), less rigidity in the use of KPIs and an IT system that is wholly owned by the department and that has a high level of reliability.

13.5    Specific issues mentioned were:

• case manager workload and the complexity of information required by an individual to provide an accurate service needs to be reviewed;
• some type of specialisation for case manager and work broker positions should be considered;
• the culture of the organisation must be able to recognise diversity of thought and allow for honest feedback;
• the need for a single national information technology infrastructure that is owned by DWI;
• Key Performance Indicators need to recognise quality of work alongside placement numbers;
• further work is required on enhancing the proactive role of DWI to help job seekers find employment and to work proactively with employers; and
• Community Employment requires urgent attention.

13.6    The desire for specialisation either by benefit type, work-tested/non-work tested or a demographic group or duration band is high on the list of solvable problems for service delivery staff.

13.7    Community Employment staff requested an urgent review of their place in the department. There were strong feelings that the community approach does not blend in well with the individualised focus of DWI and that the risk of being submerged in the department is very high, thus endangering the achievement of Government's objectives for community development.

13.8    A major theme running through many staff submissions was request for recognition of diversity of thought and honest feedback. The department is not seen by some staff to be a safe place to offer up constructive criticism.