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Strategic Directions; managing stakeholders; sharing Group/Regional Plans;
Excellence Framework; and reviewing existing and potential partnerships.
The EMT also joined Senior Managers for a two day retreat in April. The primary
objective of the two days was to reinforce our culture and leadership roles. We
also discussed: context within which we are working; priorities for the new
Strategic Directions; advocacy; stakeholder management; and reaffirmed and
refined our Vision.
Marg Hamley continued to chair the monthly Services and Practice meeting, which
includes the 6 Operational Group Directors and Director Public Policy and Practice
Development, and others as required. The meetings focussed on strategic
development of services and programs.
4.2
Initiatives to enhance Berry Street as an employer of choice
As part of our goal that Berry Street has the right people and organisational
culture for quality service provision, we aim to ensure we can attract and retain
the best available staff. To this end we aim to pay staff in the top third of our
sector for remuneration.
We also worked very hard at sustaining a culture which was supportive, encouraged
initiative and where learning was valued.
Other key initiatives to assist Berry Street to be an Employer of Choice, included: The completion of our third Employee Opinion Survey in March. Key results
included the following:
o 433 staff responded to the survey (67% response rate compared to 66% for
2009 and 64% for 2008), including a significant increase in responses from
residential staff.
o 89% of respondents would recommend Berry Street to others as a good place
to work (94% in 2009 and 89.1% in 2008).
o 92% of respondents said they had opportunities to express their ideas and
86.9% said that the organisation was responsive if they made suggestions.
o Almost 54% of respondents think communication has improved in the last 12
months and another 32% think the current level meets requirements. This is
stable compared to last year.
o Berry Street Values are well understood with 97% of respondents saying they
are aware of the Values and that they see others applying them in their work
(same as last year and the year before), with 98% aware of our Code of
Conduct.
o 97% of respondents said that the organisation was accepting of people from
different backgrounds.
o 89% of respondents either believe that the culture has improved in the last
12 months or was already at an acceptable level (similar to last year).
o 23.2% of respondents indicated that they do not have enough time to
complete their work satisfactorily (25% last year and 46% in 2008).
o 82.1% of respondents believe that their competence in dealing with diverse
cultures has improved in the last 12 months or that they were already skilled
in this area (72% last year).
o 93% of respondents believed that Berry Street advocated for the needs of
our clients.
o 99.5% of respondents believed we make a difference in the communities in
which we operate.
A 3% salary increase for all staff in July.