Human resources and people management
During 2014-15, the NBA continued its commitment to managing and developing its employees to meet organisational objectives. The results of the 2015 Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) Employee Census indicates the success of the NBA in continuing to be an organisation with a strong and happy team culture focused on outcome delivery. The key points from the Employee Census are:
- 87 per cent of employees stating that they enjoy the work in their current job
- 91 per cent of employees stating they have a good immediate supervisor
- 96 per cent of employees stating that they consider the leadership of the NBA is of a high quality
- 90 per cent of employees consider that their supervisor acts in accordance with the APS Values in their everyday work
- 97 per cent of employees consider that the senior leaders in the NBA act in accordance with the APS Values.
- 100 per cent of employees consider that the most senior leaders are sufficiently visible ie seen in action
- 83 per cent of employees feel a strong personal attachment to the NBA
- 87 per cent of employees are proud to work at the NBA
- 82 per cent of employees feel they are valued for their contribution to the NBA
- 93 per cent of employees would recommend the NBA as a good place to work
- 83 per cent of employees are satisfied with the work-life balance in their current job.
FIGURE 3.3 NBA Organisation Chart
Our values
The NBA strongly endorses the APS Values, Employment Principles and Code of Conduct and it's this basis which forms the expectations for the behaviour and conduct from all of our staff. Employees at the NBA understand their responsibilities associated with being a member of the APS and being a representative of the Australian Government.
Staffing information
The total number of staff employed in the NBA remained constant from the previous year with 56 employees (54.3 full time equivalent) at the end of June 2015. Of these 56 employees, two people were on long-term leave. Tables 3.2 & 3.3 provide a breakdown of NBA staff numbers by classification, gender and employment type.
We have a diverse workforce with 25 per cent of NBA employees identifying as being from non-English speaking backgrounds and/or born outside of Australia.
In 2014-15, the NBA did not have any employees who reported as identifying themselves as Indigenous.
TABLE 3.2 Number of NBA staff at 30 June 2015
| Substantive Role Classification |
Female (Full- Time) | Female (Part-Time) | Male (Full-Time) |
Male (Part-Time) |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statutory office holder | Nil | Nil | 1 | Nil | 1 |
| Senior Executive Service | Nil | Nil | 1 | Nil | 1 |
| EL 2 | 3 | Nil | 3 | Nil | 6 |
| EL 1 Legal | Nil | 1 | 1 | Nil | 2 |
| EL 1 | 13 | Nil | 8 | Nil | 21 |
| APS 6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | Nil | 10 |
| APS 5 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| APS 4 | 2 | Nil | 1 | Nil | 3 |
| APS 3 | Nil | 1 | Nil | Nil | 1 |
| Total | 30 | 7 | 17 | 2 | 56 |
TABLE 3.3 Breakdown of male and female and ongoing and non-ongoing NBA staff at 30 June 2015
| Substantive Classification | Ongoing | Non-ongoing |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory office holder | 1 | Nil |
| Senior Executive Service | 1 | Nil |
| EL 2 | 6 | Nil |
| EL 1 Legal | 1 | 1 |
| EL 1 | 19 | 2 |
| APS Level 6 | 7 | 3 |
| APS Level 5 | 6 | 5 |
| APS Level 4 | 1 | 2 |
| APS Level 3 | 1 | Nil |
| Total | 43 | 13 |
The average age of NBA staff is 42.32 years. Table 3.4 provides a breakdown of the age demographic of NBA employees.
TABLE 3.4 Age demographic of NBA staff at 30 June 2014
| Age profile | Number of employees |
|---|---|
| 20 – 25 | 4 |
| 26 – 30 | 6 |
| 31 – 35 | 3 |
| 36 – 40 | 10 |
| 41 – 45 | 14 |
| 46 – 50 | 7 |
| 51 – 55 | 5 |
| 56 – 60 | 5 |
| 61 – 65 | 1 |
| 66 – 70 | Nil |
| 71+ | 1 |
NBA Enterprise Agreement
The current enterprise agreement (EA) was approved on 24 June 2011. The table below details salary levels of staff by classification for 2014-15.
TABLE 3.5 Salary levels of NBA staff by classification at 30 June 2015
| Classification | Minimum ($) | Maximum ($) |
|---|---|---|
| EL 2 | 111,677 | 125,823 |
| EL1 Legal | 93,568 | 113,287 |
| EL 1 | 93,974 | 106,732 |
| APS Level 6 | 76,139 | 85,895 |
| APS Level 5 | 69,019 | 72,846 |
| APS Level 4 | 63,456 | 67,051 |
| APS Level 3 | 56,008 | 62,083 |
TABLE 3.6 Numbers of NBA staff on types of employment agreements
| Staff | Enterprise Agreement | Common law or Section 24 Agreement |
|---|---|---|
| Principal Executive Officer | 0 | 1 |
| SES | 0 | 1 |
| Non-SES | 54 | 0 |
Non–salary benefits
The EA and other employment arrangements provide a range of non-salary benefits in addition to those consistent with national employment standards and the Fair Work Act 2009. The benefits provided are very similar to those provided by many other agencies and are detailed in the EA and available on the NBA website at www.blood.gov.au/employment-benefits.
Non-SES employees may have access to the following non-salary benefits
- access to the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
- maternity and adoption leave
- parental leave
- leave for compassionate purposes
- access to recreation and personal leave at half pay
- flex-time (for APS classified employees)
- flexible working arrangements with time off in lieu (TOIL) where appropriate (for Executive Level employees only)
- access to home-based work, laptop computers, internet access, and mobile phones
- financial and/or paid leave to support professional and personal development
- provision of eyesight testing and reimbursement of prescribed eyewear costs specifically for use with screen-based equipment
- access to the NBA's health and wellbeing programme
- influenza vaccinations for staff and their immediate family members
- annual Christmas close-down
- access to purchase an additional four weeks annual leave per year
- access to salary packaging arrangements
SES non-salary benefits include all of the above (except flex-time and TOIL) plus
- onsite car parking
- airport lounge membership
- cash in lieu of vehicle leasing arrangements
Workforce planning, staff retention and turnover
Staff turnover remained at 19.6 per cent. The average length of service for NBA staff is approximately 4.34 years, an increase from 3.02 years in 2013-14 and 34 per cent of staff have been employed with the NBA for more than five years, an increase of 9 per cent from the previous year.
The impact of the interim arrangements for recruitment in the APS has provided its challenges, but conversely it has allowed the NBA to offer new and exciting opportunities to internal and ongoing APS employees.
Productivity gains
During the year, the NBA continued its rationalisation of staffing levels resulting in an overall reduction of Executive Level and higher APS classifications positions contributing towards the government's efficiency dividend strategy. This rationalisation strategy will continue to be implemented throughout the 2015-16 year.
Throughout 2014-15, the NBA continued to implement productivity gains with the extension of the Aurion contract for the outsourcing of payroll services and utilising a number of other Commonwealth panel arrangements for the provision of services such as recruitment, training and EAP.
Employee and agency census
The surveys undertaken by the NBA in 2014-15 were the APSC State of the Service Employee Census and the APS State of the Service Agency Survey. The APSC set a target rate of 65 per cent of APS employee participation for the Employee Census and the NBA exceeded this with a 88 per cent return, 23 per cent higher than the APS participation rate.
The overall employee census outcomes for the NBA were very pleasing, indicating the organisation has a stable, happy and motivated workforce, however areas for improvement relate to addressing underperformance and increasing opportunities for talent management/career progression and innovation.
Remuneration and performance pay
Total remuneration for senior executive officers is determined through negotiation between individual officers and the General Manager, taking into account the broader Government economic environment as well as APS and Remuneration Tribunal benchmark data. Performance pay is not applicable to NBA staff.
Professional and personal development
The NBA recognises the importance of ensuring that staff continue to develop their skills and this is facilitated through sourced internal training, delivery of internal Knowledge Management forums, in-house training programmes and external training such as conferences, seminars, accredited training organisations and learning institutions.
As part of its role in the health sector, the NBA is encouraged to attend a number of health conferences to promote blood usage awareness. Opportunities are offered to staff from all areas of the NBA.
Part E of the EA states that the NBA will work to identify, assess and cost a range of initiatives to further enhance its organisational productivity, build team cohesion, improve cross team communications, increase staff retention and further build and promote our positive, collegiate culture. A residential leadership workshop was held off-site in March 2015 for 29 staff (excluding managers) and was a successful exercise in team-building, providing staff with the opportunity to voice their concerns and opinions directly to the General Manager as well as reinforcing and embedding the NBA's direction for 2015-16.
Staff health and wellbeing
The NBA recognises the value of encouraging a work environment that supports the health and fitness of its employees. The eligible activities which are now open to staff include:
- classes and activities such as in-house yoga and self-defence
- health memberships
- specialist advice/programmes
- sporting clothing and equipment.
Information relating to Work Health and Safety is located at Appendix 4.