4. Organisational Capability

DEVELOPING THE DEPARTMENT'S INTERNAL CAPABILITY ASSISTS THE DEPARTMENT TO ACHIEVE ITS OUTCOMES AND THE WIDER GOVERNMENT GOALS. THE DEPARTMENT NEEDS TO HAVE A HIGHLY CAPABLE WORKFORCE AND SYSTEMS SO THAT IT CAN OPERATE EFFECTIVELY AND MANAGE ITS RESOURCES AND PERFORMANCE.

In 2008/09, capability development centred on creating 'one-department' with shared systems and processes, and addressing issues around its systems, processes, capability and culture.

To guide capability development within the Department, five Organisational Development Goals have been developed:

1. Knowledge and Expertise - be knowledgeable, influential and collaborative experts on labour and immigration.
2. Service Delivery - be a facilitative, responsive, and effective regulator providing high-quality and innovative services.
3. Leadership and Culture - have our people, working environment, and shared culture support excellent performance.
4. Systems, policies and processes - be a highly capable Department with integrated systems, processes and policies.
5. Value for Money - create value for New Zealand.

The Goals are aligned with the Development Goals for State Services, as well as supporting the Department's service delivery. In 2008/09, the Department undertook activities to work towards the Organisational Development Goals, some of which can be mapped to more than one Goal.

Activities undertaken by the Department in 2008/09 include:

Goal 1: Be knowledgeable, influential and collaborative experts on labour and immigration

Working to improve Trans-Tasman passenger facilitation

In response to the announcement by the Prime Ministers of Australian and New Zealand to streamline the customs and immigration processes for Trans-Tasman flights, the development of a terms of reference to evaluate SmartGate was initiated. SmartGate is used by Australia to provide automated customs and immigration passenger processing for some e-passport holders. The Department also provided input into a multi-agency Trans-Tasman passenger facilitation Cabinet paper.

Collaborating with border sector agencies

The Department continued to participate in the Border Sector Governance Group (BSGG) with the New Zealand Customs Service, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and other agencies with regulatory border management responsibilities. The aim of the BSGG is to create a stronger, more integrated and responsive border management system that best serves New Zealand by facilitating trade and travel while managing risk.

The Department led the 'Identity @ The Border' BSGG work stream. The work stream has been developing an integrated vision and framework for identity management for border security. During the year, the work stream produced The Identity Management Principles, providing border sector agencies with guidance for identity-related decision making.

Understanding the future labour market: Workforce 2020

The Department initiated Workforce 2020 to consider the future labour market impact and implications of population demographic changes, productivity, resource pressures, globalisation and the recession. In October 2008, the work programme began showing how these forces will impact on peoples' working lives in the future. Through Workforce 2020, the Department generated awareness and encouraged debate on future labour market issues to influence government and industry stakeholders to prepare a productive workforce for 2020 and beyond.

Auckland - a world-class city

The Department worked with regional stakeholders to advance several projects outlined in the Metro Action Plan which aims to improve Auckland's performance as a world-class city. This collaborative work is designed to improve the understanding of the region's labour market issues. The Department supported the funding of a study on the analysis of skills and local economic development opportunities for the Tamaki area due to a major housing redevelopment within the area.

The Department provided labour market information to the Boating Industry Training Organisation to inform the development of its Skills Plan. The Skills Plan is intended to address recruitment and retention issues in the marine industry in Auckland.

Goal 2: Be a facilitative, responsive, and effective regulator providing high-quality and innovative services

Improving project management

The Departmental Portfolio Management Office (DPMO) was set up in 2008. During 2008/09, it assumed responsibility for coordinating information on the Department's projects and programmes. With the Department undertaking significant programmes of work, the DPMO's structured processes and methodologies are intended to increase the likelihood of successful outcomes for the project and programme being undertaken by the Department.

To improve the management of projects and programmes, the DPMO provides 'best practice' standards, advisory services, and training and mentoring in project management.

Becoming a modern labour-market-regulator

The Department continued to work towards becoming a modern labour-market-regulator. The Department uses this approach so that it can respond to the challenges presented by a rapidly changing labour market and build on the Department's traditional roles in the administration and enforcement of legislation.

The aim is to lift the level of voluntary compliance towards best practice, while maintaining required minimum standards. Broader labour market outcomes of growth, efficiency, productivity and innovation are advanced by lifting practice. To achieve these broader outcomes, the Department used:

• a wide range of intervention levers to inform, incentivise, enable, require, and enforce
• the 'right mix' of interventions targeted specifically to the business, industry or sector to create value which enabled them to lift performance and move toward best practice and self-management
• the right tools and capabilities across the regulator and the regulated: knowledge culture such as diagnostics, technical skills and co-ordinated effort.

Goal 3: Have our people, working environment, and shared culture support excellent performance

Developing the Department's vision and values

High performing organisations have a vision and values that unifies the organisation by providing a picture of where staff would like their organisation to be in the future and the organisational values required to achieve the vision. Staff participated in the development of the Department's vision and values so that they could relate to it and be committed to achieving it. The vision, New Zealand thriving through people and work, has the associated values of integrity, respect and excellence.

People plan

The people plan describes the kind of workforce and workplace the Department wants to have and provides context for initiatives that focus on the Department's people. Some of the actions progressed under the people plan included the Gallup Engagement Survey, the leadership development workshop and the identification of the Department's vision and values.

Engagement survey

Engaged employees are loyal and committed to an organisation and to their role. In 2008, staff participated in an initial staff engagement survey that measured how they viewed the Department's performance. Based on the survey results, staff developed and implemented plans that they believed would improve their working environment.

In June 2009, the survey was held again. The results will be used to measure the Department's progress compared to the 2008 benchmark.

Learning and Development Strategy

A Learning and Development Strategy was developed to promote a whole-of-department approach to learning and development, and reflect the importance of learning and development to improve the Department's staff capability.

A core curriculum programme was developed and implemented to provide training to staff on the core skills required by the Department. The programme included training on communication skills, writing skills, and problem-solving and decision-making. An online programme was also implemented to help staff understand what the Department of Labour does, how we do it and the state sector context in which we work.

Maori Capability

Maori Cultural Awareness and Treaty Workshops were developed to build the Department's internal capability. It also gives staff the confidence to work effectively with Maori to contribute to Maori business development and Maori workforce development as part of the Department's Maori Strategy.

Performing for Outcomes performance management system

The Department analysed the performance management system and identified what could improve understanding and application of the system. A series of workshops were run with managers to ensure understanding and effective use of the system. An effective performance management system is fundamental to the Department achieving its goals and enhancing its people capability by having clear performance expectations for staff and clear linkages between work and the Department's goals.

Staff safety and wellbeing

The Department achieved tertiary accreditation in the ACC Partnership Programme. This is the highest accreditation level from ACC and followed an audit of the Department's safety and wellbeing management system.

Goal 4: Be a highly capable Department with integrated systems, processes and policies

During the year the Department continued to work on its Foundation Capabilities Programme. This programme develops organisational capability through building staff capability, the replacement of existing systems and upgrading ICT infrastructure. The multi-year programme is needed to address legacy issues around systems, processes, capability and culture and build the foundation systems, processes and capability necessary to support the Department.

Management and leadership development

The Department carried out an organisational leadership needs analysis process to identify development areas for the Department. A suite of leadership development initiatives were identified to be run over a three year period to better support managers and lift leadership capability.

The initial design phase was completed for a set of Leadership competencies and accountabilities to underpin the development initiatives. These will be finalised and implemented during 2009/10.

Upgrading document and records management

Improved document management systems and processes are required to enhance the Department's productivity and achieve its goal of a connected organisation. The Department is working to replace its current document and record management system with a new system that is able to provide support for the whole Department. A preferred vendor was selected for a new Electronic Document and Records Management System and planning was started for the implementation of the system.

Upgrading information and communications technology infrastructure

The Stage-2 Business case was approved for the ICT Infrastructure Programme which will deliver a modern, standardised, organisation-focused ICT environment. Work completed during the year included the selection of a new supplier for telephony services and the commissioning of a new SAN (Storage Area Network).

Immigration's Application Management System (AMS)

The AMS Refresh Project was completed to improve the reliability and short to medium-term sustainability of the AMS system. New hardware and software was installed and system capacity was increased. A two-year project was also initiated to address other risks associated with the application.

Project Management Handbook online

An online Project Management Handbook was developed so staff can easily access project reference material, guidelines, processes and templates. Project management methodologies have been adopted to bring a consistent and structured process to project development. Investment Logic Mapping was also adopted to assist in the identification of a project's drivers and benefits.

Recruitment Strategy and Career Centre

The Department assessed its recruitment practices and developed a whole-of-department Recruitment Strategy including recruitment branding and supporting policies and processes. The Department wants to ensure that the right people are appointed at the right time to the right roles.

The introduction of e-recruitment technology has led to improved systems and reporting with all vacancies registered with the Career Centre.

Goal 5: Create value for New Zealand

The achievements listed under the four previous organisation development goals also contribute to ensuring that the Department creates better value through strengthening its internal capability and improving the delivery of services.

New Departmental Strategic Framework

The Department developed a more outcomes-focused strategic framework. The principal area of change was to remove the key areas of focus, which were activity based and replace them with the immediate outcomes the Department is seeking to achieve. The changes informed the development of the Statement of Intent 2009/10 - 2012/13. The Department will be able to monitor progress towards achieving its outcomes using the immediate outcomes and the associated indicators that have been identified.

Line-by-line review

The Department undertook a line-by-line review of its expenditure to identify expenditure that does not align with government priorities, and identify areas where there are opportunities for improved efficiency and effectiveness, and build government confidence that the Department is well placed to meet the shift the Government is expecting the State Sector to make.

Opportunities for further savings and operational improvements were also identified.These will be delivered through the more considered value-for-money reviews. The Department is working through these as part of an ongoing commitment to ensuring the Department provides value for money.

Value-for-money projects

The Department identified value-for-money projects across the Department's activities which vary in scope and timing. The twelve projects are:

1. Policy functions review
2. Research and evaluation review
3. International functions
4. Vote Employment functions
5. Immigration Business Process Diagnostic and Design
6. Workplace - business process and management structure review
7. Skills Strategy programme funding
8. Corporate model implementation
9. Upskilling Office (LLN) funding
10. ESOL Fund review
11. Immigration Advisers Authority funding model
12. Measures for cost containment in the ACC scheme

The Upskilling Office funding and the ESOL Fund review projects were completed in 2008/09 with the rest due to be completed in 2009/10.

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