ENERGEX Employee Relations Strategy
20 August 20 07
F or ew or d by t he Chief Ex ecut iv e Of f ice r
T he ENERG EX Ex ec ut iv e T eam and I ar people w ant e c ommit te t o be par t of . d t o buildin O ur goal is t o ha g an or ganisa w or kf or c e op t ion t hat v e a pr of essio er at ing suc ce nal, engaged, ssf ully in a and f lex ible posit iv e empl oy ee r elat ion s env ir onmen I believ e w e c t . an ac hiev e t h is go al by : • dev eloping a high-per f or manc e c ult ur • aligning ENE e t hat is dr iv e n by our c or p RGEX ’s empl or at e v alues; oy ee r elat ion c or por at e po s pr inc iples an lic ies and st r d pr oc esses a t e gi c d w it h our ir e c t ion; • put t ing appr opr iat e c ompl ia nc e and gov er nan • dev eloping c e sy st ems in good w or ki ng plac e; and r elat ionships t hat r epr esent w i t h ou r employ ees t hem. and t he unio ns T he r esponsib ilit y f or c re at ing a posi ENERGEX is t iv e employ e shar ed by all. e r elat ions en It r equir es se v ir onment at st af f t o mak e nior ex ec ut iv a c ommit men es, manager s t t o EN , super vi sor s ERGEX ’s v a of posit iv e le , and lues and empl ader ship, c ons oy ee r elat ion t ru c t iv e r elat ion s pr inc iples ships, and m eaningf ul c ons ult at ion. T his doc umen t deliv er s a c l ea r s t at ement of t h ENERGEX an e Employ ee R d pr ov ides m elat ions St ra anager s and f or c re t egy at at ing a posi employ ees w t iv e employ e i t h t h e ne c essar y f ra e r elat ions c l w or k w e ar e mew or k imat e. T he st doing ac ro ss t he or gan ra t egy st ro ngly suppor isat ion t o f ur t t s t he her impr ov e st af f engagem ent . P lease t ak e t he t ime t o f a miliar ise y our so t hat w e c a self w it h t he Em n w or k t oget h ploy ee Relat i er t o mak e EN ons St ra t egy ERGEX an ev en bet te r plac e t o w or k. T er ry Ef f eney Chief Ex ec ut iv e Of f ic er
ENERGEX Vision To set a new standard o excellence in delivering customers’ energy needs.
ENERGEX Employee Relations Vision To create a positive employee relations climate that supports workorce saety, workorce capability, sta engagement and a high perormance customer service culture.
Purpose The purpose o this Employee Relations Strategy is to inorm managers and employees o the requirements, responsibilities and processes required or a positive employee relations environment and the achievement o sustainable business outcomes.
Foundation The Employee Relations Strategy supports the ENERGEX Vision and Values by providing the underlying principles to employee relations within ENERGEX. The Employee Relations unction is an integral component o business operations and must be managed having regard to corporate priorities and potential risks, costs and impact on customer service. The ENERGEX Employee Relations Strategy adopts an integrated management approach to addressing employee
Alignment with ENERGEX Values
relations issues. This approach supports employee relations options that encourage supervisors to lead and employees to
The ENERGEX Employee Relations Strategy supports the
actively participate and engage in positive, productive and
ENERGEX Values o:
sae work practices. The principles o positive leadership, constructive
Put safety FIRST
relationships and meaningful consultation are undamental to the Employee Relations Strategy.
Respect and support each other
All people management activities within ENERGEX should align to the four key elements o the Employee Relations Strategy.
Impress our customers
They are:
Set a great example
Alignment with strategic direction Governance and compliance
Be a team player
3 Focus on business outcomes Deliver balanced results
4 Constructive workplace relationships
Fundamental Principles Positive Leadership
Meaningul Consultation
Managers and Supervisors within ENERGEX should positively
The pursuit o positive employee relations involves
inuence the employee relations environment by setting a
undertaking timely and meaningul consultation with key
great example and demonstrating leadership in the pursuit o
stakeholders, including employees and unions.
constructive working relationships.
Dierent situations will require dierent levels o
A positive employee relations environment requires that
consultation, such as:
all employees demonstrate positive leadership behaviour.
• Inormation sharing;
This will contribute to the proactive and timely resolution o • Response seeking;
employee relations issues.
• Employee input into planning; and
Working Relationships
• Cooperative decision-making and planning.
The achievement o common goals such as “no injuries”
ENERGEX acknowledges the need to support and enable
and impressive customer service can be acilitated through
communication between managers and employees; and
the development and maintenance o eective relationships
recognises that openly sharing ideas and inormation generally
ounded on mutual support and respect.
results in better outcomes through shared ownership.
To create an environment o constructive workplace relationships requires a commitment to working with employees, managers and unions to take all reasonable steps to resolve issues. Eective relationships with Government, industry and business partners will assist in the development and implementation o employee relations initiatives. To ensure mutually acceptable outcomes are acheived, all parties have an obligation to actively communicate with each other in order to develop an understanding o each others’ goals and interests. ENERGEX will strive or balanced results which lead to a resolution o the issue and maintenance o a successul relationship.
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ENERGEX Employee Relations Strategy ENERG To set a new standard of excellence
ENERGEX Emplo To create a positive employee relations climate that suppo and a high performance
Fundament Positive Leadership, Working Rela
Four Key Alignment with strategic direction
Governance and compliance
• Ensure Employee Relations outcomes conform with the ENERGEX direction
• Compliance with the legislative and policy framework
• Align employee relations strategies with corporate strategies and values
• Leaders setting a great example through accepting accountability
• Regular reporting on employee relations issues and trends
• Consistent interpretation of conditions and entitlements
• Continuous review of the Employee Relations direction
• Compliance with workplace entitlements through training and audit processes
ENERGE Respect and support each other
Put safety FIRST
Impress our customers
Formal Employee Relatio
CEO Meetings
Industrial Relatio Forum Meetings
Bi-annual
Bi-monthly
Facilitate the development of high-level relationships between ENERGEX and unions, while addressing strategic issues.
Encourage and prom relationship between Relations Consultant effective communica
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X Vision in delivering customers’ energy needs.
ee Relations Vision ts workforce safety, workforce capability, staff engagement ustomer service culture.
l Principles ionships, Meaningful Consultation
Elements Focus on business outcomes
Constructive workplace relationships
• Employee relations outcomes consistent with business priorities and values
• Involve employees in decision making and promote issue resolution at the local level
• Employee relations initiatives that support organisational improvement
• Promote ownership of organisational change initiatives
• Providing timely and accurate advice on employee relations issues
• Proactive, constructive and respectful dispute resolution practices
• Effective implementation and communication of employee relations outcomes
• Facilitate and maintain constructive relationships with unions
Values Set a great example
Be a team player
s Consultative Framework ns Issues
Lines of Business Consultative Committees Bi-monthly or Quarterly
te a co-operative ENERGEX Industrial and unions through ion and consultation.
Promote consultation at the local level in each line of business.
Deliver balanced results
Four Key Elements 2. Governance and compliance. Governance includes developing and maintaining systems and processes to ensure compliance with industrial relations rameworks including legislation, industrial instruments and ENERGEX policy. Compliance is a joint responsibility that lies with both the employees who must claim entitlements appropriately and managers who are accountable or approval and endorsement o pay and conditions. It is important that all employees understand their conditions o employment and the signifcance o their responsibilities in this area.
Strategy: • Promoting compliance with the legislative and policy ramework; • Ensuring accurate employment inormation is recorded and maintained; • Ensuring consistency in interpretation o conditions and entitlements; • Ensuring compliance through training and audit processes;
1. Alignment with strategic direction.
• Meeting Government, internal and legislative reporting requirements; • Leaders setting a great example through accepting
Alignment with strategic direction ensures employee relations outcomes are consistent with the ENERGEX vision and values and support business priorities.
accountability; and • Ensuring timely and eective implementation o enterprise bargaining/workplace agreements, and changes
Strategy:
to legislation, awards and policy.
• Ensuring employee relations outcomes conorm with the ENERGEX direction through processes including enterprise bargaining and/or other workplace negotiations; • Committing to a continuous review o the employee relations direction to ensure it is aligned to corporate strategies and values; • Considering the impact o employee relations decisions across ENERGEX and industry; • Inuencing Government industrial relations policy to ensure that the business strategy o ENERGEX is accommodated; and • Understanding and communicating the impact o Government industrial relations policy on ENERGEX and ensuring eective implementation.
3. Focus on business outcomes.
4. Constructive workplace relationships.
A ocus on business outcomes will ensure that employee relations initiatives are consistent with business practices.
Constructive workplace relationships contribute to the
Strategy:
achievement o common goals such as saety, efciency and productivity, quality customer service, job satisaction and
• Ensuring employee relations outcomes are consistent with
career opportunities. A constructive approach will help to
ENERGEX priorities and support business practices;
minimise industrial disputation and promote innovative issue
• The development o policy and industrial instruments in line
resolution. Participative negotiation can provide a climate
with the ENERGEX vision, values and business needs;
or acilitating resolution and delivering balanced results. In these circumstances, each party has more inuence
• Facilitating employee relations initiatives to support
over the outcome.
organisational improvement;
Strategy:
• Providing timely and accurate advice on employee relations issues;
• Promoting constructive workplace relationships between
• Utilising eective advocacy and representation in
employees and management at the local level;
industrial orums; and
• Recognising the role o unions in issue resolution at the
• Ensuring eective implementation and communication
local level;
o employee relations outcomes at all levels.
• Involving employees in decision making and promoting issue resolution at the local level; • Promoting ownership o organisational change initiatives; • Promoting collaborative and productive working relationships and teamwork; • Proactive, constructive and respectul dispute resolution practices which encourage the timely resolution o disputes through consultation, inormation sharing and negotiation; • Promoting a exible approach to consultation with unions and addressing issues as they arise; • Consultative arrangements at all levels o the business; and • Facilitating and maintaining constructive relationships with key stakeholders including unions based on: > Open and honest communication; > Being proessional and treating each other with respect; > Promotion o equity and actively seeking diverse view points; > Genuine participation in the consultative process; and > Valuing dierent points o view with a willingness to compromise when appropriate.
ENERGEX Formal Employee Relations Consultative Framework ‘To encourage and promote constructive workplace relations
Divisional Consultative Committees
between ENERGEX and unions through
Divisional Consultative Committee Meetings are held
eective communication
bi-monthly or quarterly and are intended to: • Promote consultation at the local level in each line
and consultation.’
o business; • Facilitate communication at the local level between
Chie Executive Meetings
local union delegates, union ofcials, Human Resource
Chie Executive Meetings are held bi-annually and are
Business Consultants, Industrial Relations Consultants
designed to:
and local management; and • Provide a orum or local issues to be resolved at
• Facilitate the development o high-level relationships
the local level.
between the Chie Executive Ofcer and senior union ofcials, while addressing strategic issues aecting the whole o the business; and • Ensure a orum to discuss workplace issues o strategic concern.
Industrial Relations Issues Forums Industrial Relations Issues Forums are held bi-monthly between Industrial Relations Consultants and union ofcials and are designed to: • Encourage and promote a constructive relationship between ENERGEX and the unions through eective communication and consultation; • Facilitate consultation and dispute resolution on industrial issues; • Reduce potential industrial conict through the development o a positive employee relations environment; • Provide a regular orum or the exchange o ideas, opinions and inormation; • Proactively obtain input and eedback rom unions on issues aecting ENERGEX and its employees; and • Facilitate the achievement o outcomes taking into consideration the needs and requirements o ENERGEX employees, customers and organisational goals.
Communication with Employees ENERGEX’s workplace relations approach recognises the
Employee Communications Strategy
benefts o communicating directly with our employees
ENERGEX has a comprehensive approach to employee
wherever possible. Employees are encouraged to have
communications that is outlined in our Internal
genuine input to decisions about workplace issues at an
Communication Guides or Managers and Sta. Two-way
individual, team and organisational level. Examples o
communication is strongly encouraged, and we use a variety
initiatives in place to acilitate employee involvement and
o mediums such as team brie meetings, the intranet, the
respond to eedback are:
daily bulletin board, sta newsletters, and noticeboards.
Annual Staff Survey
Employees are also provided with regular opportunities to meet inormally with the Chie Executive Ofcer through sta
Our Annual Sta Survey monitors employee engagement,
breakasts, morning teas and site visits.
satisaction, and opinion across a broad range o issues. Key issues raised in the survey are addressed in a corporate
Management Communication
level action plan that is led and monitored by the Executive
Leaders attend regular orums to discuss business strategy
Team. All employees receive a copy o the survey results and
and progress and are provided with assistance and support
the corporate action plan, and regular updates on progress.
in communicating key messages to their employees. A ocus on Management by Walking Around (MBWA) helps to ensure employees see their leaders regularly and have opportunities to make suggestions and raise concerns.
Staff Workshop Programs Sta workshop programs are requently used to encourage active employee involvement in the deployment o key business strategies and initiatives. Key topics or workshops include saety, the corporate values, and business strategy.
Work Practice Improvement Teams Workplace Practice Improvement Teams serve an important unction in the Energy Delivery Division. Frontline feld sta meet regularly in teams to develop and implement a range o work practice improvement initiatives.
Path for Issue Resolution
Manager Feedback
Supervisor Feedback
Employee Employees who have an issue or concern in the workplace should raise it with their direct supervisor in the frst instance. Should the matter ail to be resolved at this level, the issue should be escalated to the next level o management. The Supervisor and Manager should endeavour to resolve the issue at the local level. Support or issues resolution will be available through Human Resources.
ENERGEX Ltd ABN 40 078 849 055 GPO Box 1461 Brisbane Qld 4001 Telephone 07 3407 4000 Facsimile 07 3407 4609 www.energex.com.au S U O N 6 0 0 2 . 6 0 . X X X X X X