PEOPLE
Every working day Post’s 35,049 people are directly in touch with millions of customers – either at the letterbox or over the post office counter. This committed and capable workforce represents the essence of Post’s brand: they are reliable, helpful, honest, trustworthy and community-minded.
PEOPLE MANAGEMENT
Post’s business success has been built on a foundation of continuing workforce change and consultation with its people. The operational and cultural transformation of the corporation over the past 15 years has been balanced with the pursuit of progressive industrial policies, proactive management of occupational health and safety (OH&S) issues, a strong commitment to diversity and equal employment opportunities, integrated succession planning and effective grievance procedures. The primary objective of the corporation’s People Strategy (for 2004–2007) is to pursue workplace change in order to achieve competitive advantage. The four-fold strategy that underpins this objective is:
- to reinforce shared corporate directions and values
- to build capabilities
- to motivate our people to achieve
- to establish a cohesive, supportive change framework.
EMPLOYEE NUMBERS
The total number of full-time and part-time employees at Post fell slightly during the year. At 30 June, Post employed 35,049 people (35,427 last year). The number of full-time staff decreased to 26,019 (26,394 last year) and the number of part-time staff was steady at 9,030 (9,033 last year).
PAY RISE AND BONUS PAYMENTS
Eligible staff received a pay rise of 2.5 per cent in December 2003, as set out in the corporation’s fifth enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA5). Eligible staff also earned a $300 performance bonus payment (also set out in EBA5) in September 2003. This bonus was linked to Post’s corporate goal of achieving 94 per cent on-time delivery performance for the basic letter service. Additionally, as a Christmas “thank you” to staff for achieving record high levels of on-time delivery performance in the 2002–03 financial year (96.5 per cent), the Managing Director sent a $96 Coles Myer voucher to every Post employee.
At 30 June, Post was engaged in ongoing negotiations with the unions on the detail of the corporation’s sixth enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA6). The agreement will cover 95 per cent of the corporation’s employees and will detail pay increases, the consultation process for further workplace change and other employment conditions.
DISPUTATION
Industrial disputation averaged 383 days lost for every 1,000 employees. The increase during 2003–04 was due to protected industrial action taken as part of the EBA6 negotiations. The main industrial dispute occurred on 13 May 2004. During this dispute, the majority of staff attended work, enabling Post to minimise the disruption of services and the subsequent impact on customers.
PRODUCTIVITY
The participation of Post staff in workplace change initiatives helped to achieve further productivity gains. Productivity growth was 3.4 per cent for the year, bringing cumulative productivity gains over the past five years to 21.3 per cent. This is three times the national average.
DIVERSITY
With more than 120 nationalities represented in its workforce, Post recognises that business performance and productivity are enhanced when diversity is well managed and individual differences are valued. For this reason, Post’s workforce diversity strategy has two key goals:
- to promote the employment of disadvantaged groups (Indigenous Australians, people with disabilities and people from non-English-speaking backgrounds)
- to eliminate all forms of unlawful workplace discrimination and harassment.
The representation of women in Post’s workforce increased to 38.3 per cent of the total workforce. The focus on increasing the representation of women at executive level continued, with a small increase in the proportion of female executives to 20.2 per cent of all executive positions (19.3 per cent last year).
In 2003–04, Post maintained its reputation as a leader in the area of Indigenous employment programs. At 30 June, the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people employed by Post was 573 (592 last year).
The proportion of employees with disabilities decreased to 9.1 per cent (from 9.4 per cent) and the proportion of employees from non-English-speaking backgrounds remained steady at 20.3 per cent.
Post continues to be influential in public debate and policy formulation related to Australia’s ageing population. Post is working on this issue in collaboration with Swinburne University’s Centre for Business Work and Ageing. Key issues include combating stereotyping, human resources workforce planning and analysis, and encouraging workers to update their skills throughout their working lives.
HARASSMENT AND DISCRIMINATION RESOLUTION
To reinforce its strong commitment to eradicating harassment from the workplace, Post developed a new set of processes for resolving any harassment and discrimination complaints. These processes are designed to deter such incidents and ensure consistency, sensitivity and confidentiality in the handling of complaints.
The corporation developed a central investigation process for dealing with allegations of complex or high-risk workplace harassment and issues of discrimination or inequitable treatment. The new process allows for two trained investigators to conduct an independent investigation into a complaint. A trained senior manager oversees the investigation process and an independent delegate then makes the final decision about remedying the complaint. Over 200 people have been trained in the new central investigation process since its launch in October 2003.
A Field Investigation Information Guide (linked to a one-day training program) was also launched in April 2004 to improve the investigation process for less complex allegations of workplace harassment or discrimination. This training program is being rolled out progressively across the business.
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY (OH&S)
Post’s commitment to “creating and maintaining a safe and healthy working environment” is enshrined in the corporation’s Code of Ethics and listed as one of Post’s 10 values. A strong and consistent focus on health and safety issues throughout Post has seen the incidence of workplace injuries decrease dramatically over the past decade (see graph below).
In 2003–04, the incidence of work-related lost-time injuries fell by 16.7 per cent, with the lost time injury frequency rate (LTIFR) falling to a record low of 10 lost-time injuries per million work hours. The improved OH&S performance is the result of a range of injury prevention initiatives, including motorcycle safety training for postal delivery officers, OH&S auditing, improved equipment design and the further development of rehabilitation and return-to-work programs.
HEALTH AND WELLBEING PROMOTION
Post’s corporate health and wellbeing program, Get a Balanced Life, entered its fifth year in 2003–04. The program is designed to provide tangible quality-of-life benefits for staff while delivering improved attendance and productivity for the corporation.
In 2003–04, the program had a specific emphasis on men’s health issues. Post worked in partnership with Mensline Australia, a telephone service offering information and referral for men with family and relationship problems. The corporation also worked in partnership with the Commonwealth Government’s Child Support Agency to pilot a program, called Staying Connected, for separated fathers who have limited access to their children (see Snapshot at right).
There was a continued focus during the year on sharing with staff information about the five major health risks identified in staff assessments: alcohol, physical inactivity, mental illness, stress and back strain. Staff can access the Get a Balanced Life program via a freecall telephone service, facility-based seminars, a library of health-related books and videos, or information packages that are sent to all workplaces.
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Post has a structured succession management program for identifying and fostering the talents of the corporation’s future leaders. The program includes co-ordinated recruitment, assessment of individual potential, professional development and monitoring of job movement and retention.
During the year, 152 participants joined the program. As at 30 June, a total of 710 managers participated in the program’s three tiers – 56 in Tier One (group and general managers); 189 in Tier Two (senior and executive managers); and 465 in Tier Three (middle managers).
A concerted effort was made during the year to increase the number of participants in Tier Three, with all staff at the eligible middle management level encouraged to apply. Over 300 applications were assessed, of which 147 were successful. Significantly, women comprised 40 per cent of the successful applicants.
The corporation also made important progress with its Leadership Development Pathways program. This program comprises six levels and extends the opportunity for participation in succession management to all levels of the corporation. The initial focus of the program is front-line managers (Pathways 4) and the first pilot program began in June 2004 with a group of front-line managers in Western Australia.
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