FOCUS ON HUMAN RESOURCES
People power initiative COVID-19 has seen many Councils navigate and adapt many aspects of its operations and none more so than Northern Beaches Council who successfully rolled out several modules in their one-stop human resource system know as People Central - right in the middle of a pandemic! People Central was envisioned in 2019/20 starting with the introduction of both online performance management, and a learning management system followed by the recruitment and onboarding of modules being added. In 2020/21 Council went live with the most significant changes including: My Time - (UKG Workforce Dimensions) Including a rostering, time and attendance, timekeeping, scheduling and absence management system My HR (SuccessFactors Employee Central) Includes relief duties with delegations, updating bank details and other personal information My Pay (SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll) Payroll processing system At go-live a small, dedicated change team was supplemented by a large group of frontline staff to form a business readiness crew equipped to advocate, consult, train and provide support for users. HR also introduced My Help (Whatfix) an insystem training tool providing real time help for its less digital savvy workers, to capture time, change their details, apply for leave and access their payslip. Workforce and Technology Director Karen Twitchett said it was both the right time and the wrong time to implement such significant changes to the organisation. “It was always the plan to automate, digitise and go online with HR and payroll functions, but when 100% of our workforce were impacted by the pandemic and working from home or working differently it was certainly a tricky time,” Mrs Twitchett said.
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Readiness Crew who supported staff in the lead up to and launch of People Central - they are wearing their safety vests to help staff easily identify who that can reach out to for help. velop organisational capability to deliver further tech driven changes to meet customer expectations.
SHOWCASE YOUR REGION TO AUSTRALIA
JULY 2021
A large, diverse municipality in Melbourne’s north, the City of Darebin prides itself on being inclusive, sustainable, vibrant and multicultural – an enviable community in which residents love to live.
A MESSAGE FROM OUR MAYOR The City of Darebin is not a simple one to govern; it is not generic. We are strong, energetic and complex – a diverse people in every sense.
This style of promotion provides you with the opportunity to promote your Council to others in the local government sector and to state and federal government authorities, highlighting your best practice programs especially following Covid-19, Four Full Pages tourism, initiatives, and achievements. These supplements can also be a cost-effective way for local governments to disseminate information to residents and ratepayers at expos, in new residents’ kits or as information for new businesses moving into your area. They can also provide a good overview of key activities and can be included with grant applications to both state and federal governments.
Costing $6,600 including GST
No additional charge for editorial assistance or production plus receive 500 copies of the supplement are provided to Council free of charge.
E. phill.lepetit@starnewsgroup.com.au | M. 0439 377 525 or E. louisa.kneller@starnewsgroup.com.au | M. 0413 380 545 www.lgfocus.com.au LGFOCUS.COM.AU
“Was it worth it? Absolutely and we’ll happily take on the next big tech change, but maybe once the pandemic has come to an end!”
I was elected along with my fellow eight Councillors in October last year. It is now our privilege and responsibility to guide and govern this wonderful city. We can only do this effectively by working together with our community, businesses and other service organisations. Our Vision for these four years is to be: Vibrant, Respectful and Connected – making sure our community is one where all our people are valued, and no-one is left behind; Prosperous, Liveable and Flourishing – building on and industry, and where all services and facilities that support a balanced, healthy life are easily accessible;
A MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO
Climate, Green and Sustainable – ensuring Darebin is a leader in responding to the climate emergency, and our natural environment is protected and enhanced; Responsible, Transparent and Responsive – recognising we are here to serve our community, in all its diversity, and that we govern transparently and accountably. If this last year has taught us anything, it is that we are in this together. We all need to continue to play an active role in creating the Darebin we want to become. A Message from Our Mayor TCr Lina Messina Mayor, City of Darebin
As we focus on the future of Darebin, I want unprecedented challenges for our community, and our organisation. It was a year that saw the introduction of a new
ways, to operate.
30 years – and Council elections, which would normally be a huge undertaking alone. But of course, we also all experienced the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which required wholesale changes to how we operated, to continue our services to our community.
– to ensure we have a future view of our resources. This is important, as we need to make sure we can fund our commitments and provide the facilities and infrastructure our community will need.
The pandemic also put an enormous strain on individuals, which served as another reminder of the critical importance of effective local government in our lives. Darebin took proactive measures to help our residents and workers who were doing it tough – hundreds of Council staff, who were temporarily unable to work due to lockdowns, were redeployed into projects and programs around Darebin, and we took in an extra 110 people from our community displaced by COVID. We also substantially ramped up our service offering to help thousands of community members.
of our greatest challenges in the years ahead.
I want to wholeheartedly thank our wonderful were steadfast in leading this city through this time of uncertainty. I also welcome working with our new Council to continue and to see in a new era of prosperity and community connectedness. At the core of the new Act is how we can better listen to, and work with, our WWW.LGFOCUS.COM.AU
communities. It also supports local governments to more easily work in partnership with each other – across municipal
With our community and businesses pandemic, we maintain our infrastructure and provide our services. Partnership is the only way forward – with our organisations, businesses and service providers – and more broadly, with our local government neighbours, and state and federal governments. It is also how we want to orient our Council and organisation to our community. This a new dawn for Darebin, and we want to grow our connectedness with our diverse communities. We look forward to working together. Sue Wilkinson CEO, Darebin City Council
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“Six months down the track our employees and managers are still learning and growing their capabilities and we have continued to de-
February 2022 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS 17
