Defence Reserves Support Council Review Workforce Analysis ...€¦ · As noted in KPMG’s DRSC...

Department of Defence

Defence Reserves Support Council Review

Workforce Analysis: RYD Support to DRSC

FINAL REPORT

20 May 2019

This report contains 36 pages

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Department of Defence Defence Reserves Support Council Review

Workforce AnalysisMay 2019

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© 2019 KPMG is an Australian partnership and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved. The KPMG name and logo are

registered trademarks or trademarks of KPMG International. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation

Contents

Executive summary 3

1 Introduction 4

1.1 Purpose 4 1.2 Scope 4 1.3 Approach 4 1.4 Background 6

2 Current state workforce requirements 10

2.1 Requirements context 10 2.2 Effort requirements 11 2.3 Skill requirements 14 2.4 Priority of activities 26 2.5 Current capacity to support DRSC 27

3 Future state workforce requirements 29

3.1 Options context 29 3.2 Option 3 – capability delivery 29 3.3 Gap analysis 31

4 Annex 1: Information sources 34

5 Annex 2: Current DRSC structure 35


Workforce Analysis May 2019

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Executive summary

The Defence Reserve Support Council (DRSC) and the Defence Reserve and Employer Support (DRES) Directorate work together to increase engagement between Defence, reservists and current or potential reservist employers. Within DRES, the Employer and Industry Engagement Team (E&IE) provides administrative/secretariat support to all layers of the DRSC and delivers enabling support to facilitate employer engagement events, activities and initiatives under the DRSC banner.

This analysis explores the current level of support provided by DRES to the DRSC and considers how DRES would need to change should Defence reform the DRSC from a four-layer national organisation to a small advisory group of industry experts and relevant Defence representatives as recommended in Option 3 (Capability Development) of KPMG’s DRSC Reform Options report (interim version).

Analysis has identified that under current arrangements E&IE:

has the capacity to meet the majority of DRSC support requirements;

is designed in a way that takes advantage of the mix of Military/APS/reservist personnel;

is designed to continue working through small degrees of workforce hollowness or friction; and

is generally well aligned for the current situation, however, parts of E&IE are not optimally aligned to current roles.

Observations have noted opportunities for E&IE to leverage Defence’ capability professionalisation agendas, improve alignment with the broader Reserve and Youth Division and address other challenges identified through this analysis.

Considered against the future state requirements should Defence transition to a Capability Development model for the DRSC, much of the current day to day effort for E&IE staff will remain although with greater ownership and responsibility from E&IE/DRES. In this context, E&IE would need to enhance its understanding and alignment to Defence’s strategic priorities to identify and prioritise industries and employers where supportive arrangements will deliver the most benefit to Defence. Additional capability will be required in the form of stakeholder engagement mapping and management, data generation/analysis and SOP/ internal policy generation. The capacity to take on these activities will largely be realised by a transition away from secretariat and administrative functions, particularly in State/Territory offices. Based on current requirements, no additional staffing is proposed, however, this may change if DRES/E&IE decides to expand the scope, frequency and scale of engagement activities and events after assuming responsibility for them.

Throughout this paper, a series of observations have been made regarding opportunities for E&IE/DRES associated with the potential DRSC reform. These observations are aligned to adapting to ensure greater ownership of engagement activities, focussed on supporting Defence and DRSC activity supporting Defence capability. Minor changes to some roles are proposed to promote alignment of roles to the descriptions within the DAPSSCO job family model.



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1 Introduction

1.1 Purpose

In February 2019, Reserve and Youth Division (RYD) of the Department of Defence engaged KPMG to review the Defence Reserves Support Council (DRSC) and propose options for reform. While conducting this analysis, the level of support DRSC receives from the DRES was suggested by DRSC stakeholders as a factor influencing the effectiveness and productivity of the DRSC.

A rapid turnaround workforce analysis activity has been conducted to evaluate whether the relevant Defence area, the Employer and Industry Engagement (E&IE) Team within the DRES section of RYD, has the workforce necessary to effectively support the DRSC and to consider whether and how the E&IE workforce would need to change based on the preferred change option proposed for DRSC reform. This report summarises the activity and findings.

1.2 Scope

The scope for this activity has been limited to the specific question of E&IE support to DRSC. An important consideration in collecting information and evaluating workforce requirements has been that E&IE personnel, like DRSC members, work towards enhanced relations between employers, reservists and Defence.

A challenge in incorporating a data-driven approach to this analysis is that:

it is easy to identify work directly supporting the DRSC (e.g. Secretariat services and financial support); however

it is difficult to clearly identify how much of the work E&IE personnel undertake towards activities that are the shared remit and responsibility of both the DRSC and E&IE (e.g. employer engagement activities, employer support awards, awareness raising etc.) should count as DRSC support.

This evaluation is based on information gathered and reviewed during the period 29 April to 13 May 2019. The list of stakeholders consulted and documents reviewed is provided at Annex 1.

1.3 Approach

The KPMG Workforce Planning Methodology considers organisations through four lenses:

Current demand – the amount and types of work that is required currently.

Current supply – current capability in the form of existing employees.

Future demand – the amount and types of work that will be required in future. Scenario planning is often used to identify a range of future states. In this report, future demand is based on the preferred DRSC reform option, Option 3 – Capability Development.

Future supply – the projected workforce supply, often based on separation rates or known increases/reduction to staffing.

Noting the time available for this activity, the workforce planning methodology has been adapted to focus effort on current demand; current supply; future demand as these are the priority areas described in the task list at Table 1.



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1.4 Background

Context for change

The Committee for Employer Support of Reserve Forces (CESRF), was established in 1977 for the purpose of supporting and promoting ADF reserve service in the Australian community. It has since undergone several reforms of name and purpose to its current iteration - the DRSC - tasked with (among other objectives) educating employers about the benefits of reserve service. The DRSC receives secretarial and administrative support from RYD to undertake its mission.

In response to increasing dependence on the reservist/part time workforce for ADF capability, Defence has introduced the ADF Total Workforce Model (TWM) and has sought to reform how Defence engages and interacts with reservists and their employers. The ADF is working to establish a more coordinated and targeted support structure with increased accountability, better able to deliver the support that Reservists, their employers and Australian industry expects.

It has been suggested that the existing personnel support provided to the DRSC by RYD will also need to change to encompass increased professionalisation and different skills to those possessed by current staff.1

Current state – DRSC

The current DRSC organisation is a four-tiered hierarchy structure consisting of:

The DRSC National Executive

The DRSC National Council

Eight State and Territory Councils

Fourteen Regional Committees representing parts of New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania.

Most DRSC positions are filled by volunteers with only the DRSC National Executive, National Council and Chairs of State and Territory and Regional Committees receiving remuneration. A more detailed description of current DRSC makeup is included in Annex 2.

As noted in KPMG’s DRSC Current State Analysis report,2 the DRSC operates under three primary documents listed in order of precedence, which articulate similar but slightly different purposes for the council: 3

Defence Reserves Support Council Business Rules, 2014 (the business rules)

Directive by the Assistant Minister for Defence to the National Chair of the Defence Reserves Support Council on the Direction and Management of the DRSC and its state and territory councils, 2014 (the directive)

1 Proposal – Reform of the Defence Reserves Support Council. Attachment to meeting brief for VCDF – Introductory meeting with Ms Jane McAloon – National Chair, DRSC, 2018, p. 2. 2 KPMG, Defence Reserves Support Council review – Current state analysis, 2019, p. 4. 3 Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Defence represented by Vice Chief of the Defence Force and the Defence Reserves Support Council, 2012, p. 3.



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Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Defence represented by Vice Chief of the Defence Force and the Defence Reserves Support Council, 2012 (the MoU).

The objectives identified for the DRSC in the business rules, directive and MoU are broad and often overlap with the responsibilities of other Defence or external organisations. Critically, as observed in KPMG’s DRSC Current state analysis report:

“The DRSC cannot be expected to achieve each of these objectives within its budget and the scope of its authority.” 4

Noting that the DRSC is mostly staffed with volunteers, there is a heavy reliance by the DRSC on E&IE not only for secretarial and administrative support, but also as the primary enablers of DRSC branded events.

Key observation:

The amount and quality of activity that can be delivered under the banner of the DRSC is directly affected by the amount and quality of support provided by E&IE.

Current staffing and structure – DRES

Information about the DRES section has been collected through stakeholder discussions and analysis of Defence establishments data. The accuracy of the establishments data has been flagged as suboptimal with several individuals not recorded in their correct position and other individuals missing from the data. Efforts have been reportedly underway for up to 18 months attempting to clean up information in PMKeyS and in the Corporate Directory.

Key observation:

Accurate staffing data will provide DRES and RYD managers with more reliable workforce information. Defence People Group should be engaged again to record correct establishments as soon as practicable with updates made when DRES or RYD undergoes restructures.

DRES is a very large section consisting of 50 positions5 split into three teams, each under an EL 1 or O5 level Officer. While all three sections work towards the overall goal of supporting reservists and reservist (or potential reservist) employers, this analysis is focussed on the team responsible for Employer and Industry Engagement and the DRSC, henceforth referred to as the E&IE team.

The E&IE team has 34 positions (21 occupied) also making it large compared to many other Defence and APS EL 1 led teams with the added challenge of being very geographically dispersed. The section consists of: a leadership group; a National Office; and seven State/Territory Offices (ACT/South East NSW; NSW; NT/Kimberley; QLD; SA; WA; VIC/TAS).

The structure of the E&IE team, based on stakeholder consultation, is illustrated in Figure 1.

4 KPMG, Defence Reserves Support Council review – Current state analysis, 2019, p. 6. 5 In the data provided, only 30 of the 50 positions are currently occupied.



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VIC/TAS) or to provide short-term support for events/activities such as Employer Support Awards or updating stakeholder databases.

Current vacancies in this team include the WA Operations Manager and NT/Kimberley State Manager. The ACT/South East (SE) NSW is currently staffed on a part-time basis by a reservist State Manager and reservist Operations Manager with very limited availability. As an example of cross team support, the ACT/SE NSW State Manager specifically called out the value of the support received from the National Team. Despite receiving additional support from the National Team, the ACT/SE NSW DRSC Chair reported instances where capability was appreciated but that the part-time availability or capacity of the ACT/SE NSW team was an inhibiting factor for the DRSC.

Key observations:

The size and distribution of the E&IE team makes it difficult for leadership to see first-hand whether policies and procedures are being carried out as planned, particularly where procedures are not clear or where variations to the standard staffing model are in place.

The workforce structure is designed to rely on State/Territory Operations Managers for corporate knowledge and stability. Where the team works well, it enables Military personnel to come into the role and maintain State/Territory office effort at a high level. Operations Managers have an important role to play in a successful E&IE team as evidenced by the reduction in capability in WA with the current vacancy.



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2 Current state workforce requirements

2.1 Requirements context

E&IE is tasked to provide direct support to the DRSC (administrative and secretariat) and enabling support to DRSC/DRES activities which seek to develop, increase and improve employer support for Reservists.

DRSC Secretariat/Administration requirements – the business rules state that:

The National Executive is to meet quarterly (and may meet at other times as considered necessary).6

The National Council “is ordinarily to meet biannually” – Secretariat to be provided by CRESD (DRES).7

State/Territory Councils are to meet according to the requirements of the relevant council, provided that there should be a minimum of four meetings each year.8

Regional Committees meet according to the requirements of the relevant committee, provided that there should be a minimum of four meetings each year.9

Providing secretariat and administration support to meetings presents a range of tasks and skill requirements for State/Territory and National Offices staff including:

event planning

stakeholder liaison/coordination

generating Defence correspondence and documentation

minute taking

travel coordination and reconciliation (where travel is required)

basic Defence financial management.

Enabling DRSC activities – It is through planned activities and events that a large proportion of DRSC engagement with employers, reservists and Defence occurs. DRSC Counsellors and Ambassadors are seen as presenting an unbiased viewpoint of the benefits of reserve-friendly policies and potentially being more relatable for employers than Defence military and APS personnel.

While these activities are a critical part of the DRSC engagement strategy, it is E&IE’s enabling support that enables most activities to take place. The provision of E&IE support for these activities is not specifically described in the business rules, the directive or the MoU, unless it is loosely interpreted as a form of secretariat support.

Activities include:

employer challenge days

6 Business rules, p. 6. 7 Business rules, p. 5. 8 Business rule, p. 8. 9 Business rules, p. 9.



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reservist engagement activities

Executive Stretch exercises

Boss Lift exercises

Employer Support Awards

representation at industry meetings including boardroom buzzes, breakfast presentations, etc.

These activities represent some of the main ways that Defence seeks to establish and enhance supportive employer’s understanding and engagement. E&IE enables these activities by providing:

detailed event planning including coordination of facilities, transport, accommodation, food and beverages, photographers etc.

stakeholder liaison and DRSC/E&IE representation including with Commanding Officers, senior Defence officers, potential invitees, guest speakers and VIPs

managing invitation and attendance

coordinating efforts including sourcing, briefing and managing support staff,

generating Defence correspondence and documentation including communication material, risk assessments, public affairs plans, business case, post activity reports

travel coordination and reconciliation

basic Defence financial management.

As described, in an optimal situation the DRSC identifies which groups/employers and individuals Defence would most benefit from engaging with, identifies a range of activities throughout the year to potentially leverage, works with E&IE to identify and encourage suitable representatives and supports the activity with a representative who can talk to the benefits employers and reservists experience from reserve service.

In practice, the level of DRSC engagement with activities is variable. Examples of high levels of DRSC involvement and participation (National Employer Support Awards; NSW Regional Employer Support Awards; South Australia events) were offset by several examples of events where DRSC members had limited involvement in identifying the activity or invitees and where no DRSC member attended the activity (Tasmania employer engagement events, inviting employers to state/territory employer support awards (several states/territories)). Where this occurs, E&IE personnel take on additional roles in the coordination of activities including the identification of potential opportunities, engaging with and organising appropriate invitees and giving presentations or answering questions.

2.2 Effort requirements

The challenge in considering E&IE effort requirements is that, in addition to work that has to be done to support the DRSC, a proportion of effort expended relates to opportunities, events and work that E&IE staff generate for themselves.

During discussions, one State Manager was able to provide an estimate of effort aligned with supporting specific DRSC activities and mapped to a timeline throughout the year. This effort is illustrated in Figure 2. It is important to note that the rate of effort (ROE) illustrated is based on one



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individual’s estimates and that efforts for activities/purposes other than specific DRSC activities10 are not included.

Figure 2: Approximate cumulative effort by E&IE State/Territory office supporting DRSC.

Despite the caveats identified above, Figure 2 illustrates that:

The majority of effort associated in E&IE support to the DRSC is in enabling support to activities/events.

ROE aligned to DRSC support varies substantially throughout the year.

Additional requirements described by other State/Territory Managers included:

sourcing and managing Reservists to support Regional Councils or events;

identifying and engaging with supportive employers; and

responding to queries from employers and reservists - although it was noted that effort for this activity has decreased since the introduction of a 1800 number for reservists to call.

One of the challenges for the DRSC and E&IE relates to the scope of potential work. As an example of the scale of potential organisations that E&IE could engage with, data reported by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) shows that in April 2019, more than 2.6 million companies were registered in Australia with more than 15,000 new companies being registered every month on average.11

10 Activities considered for this purpose included: DRSC Meetings, Reservist engagement activities, Employer challenge days, Exercise Executive Stretch, Exercise Boss Lift, and Employer Support Awards. 11 ASIC, 2019 Company registration statistics, https://asic.gov.au/regulatory-resources/find-a-document/statistics/company-registration-statistics/2019-company-registration-statistics/, accessed 10/05/2019.



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Key observation:

The majority of E&IE effort in supporting the DRSC and working towards DRES’s objective is delivered in enabling events and activities under the DRSC banner.

States and Territories have substantial variations in the number of companies and the number of Reservists. While a minimum profile for an E&IE State/Territory office is appropriate, offices with higher opportunities/demand (NSW, QLD, VIC) could be given increased resourcing accompanied by increased expectations to enable Defence to leverage additional opportunities.

Even in the States/Territories with the smallest number of reservists and companies, there are far more opportunities to engage with employers than could reasonably be delivered in each year. E&IE State/Territory personnel should have a plan of engagement aligned to Defence strategic priorities which is reasonable for resourcing and provides stretch targets to build on growing experience/capability.

2.3 Skill requirements

DRES was able to provide high level position statements aligned to Defence Australian Public Service Standard Classification of Occupations (DAPSSCO) codes but advised that further tailoring of the expectations/responsibilities is currently being developed in the form of a responsibilities matrix. Interviews with E&IE staff highlighted concerns of the accuracy of current DAPSSCO role alignments. Consultations have been used as the primary source of E&IE roles and responsibilities and indicated that the skills required to support the DRSC16 relate primarily to four fields:

event planning;

stakeholder coordination/liaison;

administration; and

secretariat.

Building on stakeholder comments reported in Section 2.2, the majority of effort (and skill requirements) relates to event/activity management.

Establishments data for DRES identified that all APS roles in E&IE17 are recorded as Industry Policy and Program roles. For this analysis, the roles as described were compared to DAPSSCO roles. Relevant expectations of the role as described in Defence occupation descriptions are provided below along with the overall perception of alignment.

16 E&IE staff also require other capabilities for other responsibilities but these are not the focus for this analysis. 17 The APS 4 Administration Officer working in the E&IE National Office is not recorded in the DRES section establishments.



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APS 4 Administrative Officer

Expectations of this role based on occupation description.18 This role will:

Be accountable under general direction to perform and achieve moderately complex procedural, operational, administrative and business support work within an integrated workforce.

Be accountable to have a good understanding of and compliance to relevant legislative frameworks, government decision making and Defence’s mission and policy requirement.

Be accountable for organising their workflow, making decisions within their defined parameters relating to area of responsibility and will seek guidance when required.

Provide administrative support that is informed and directed by their knowledge of the administration function.

Be required to share information, monitor work practices, set work priorities and develop local procedures.

Be accountable to contribute towards ongoing self-improvement and professional development.

In addition, the role may:

Exercise some discretion with respect to how legislation, procedures and guidelines are interpreted and applied to their work.

Undertake some research and analysis activities.

Be required to communication with, respond and provide advice to a range of stakeholders on moderately complex operational and administrative issues to achieve work unit and Defence outcomes.

Perception of alignment: High based on the information provided.

18 Defence, APS 4 Administration Officer. AB13830547.



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Operations Managers – listed as APS 5 Industry Policy and Program Officers


Be accountable under limited direction to perform and achieve moderately complex to complex industry policy work within an integrated workforce.

Be accountable to have and maintain a well developed understanding of and compliance to relevant legislative frameworks, government decision-making processes and Defence’s mission and associated policy requirements.

Be accountable for organising their workflow and making independent decisions relating to their area of responsibility.

Interpret and provide advice within the strategic and international policy function based on legislation, policy and procedures.

Undertake specialist research and analysis, conduct investigations and perform procedural and clerical support work to achieve results.

Be required to engage and communicate with stakeholders to identify, respond and provide advice on issues to achieve work unit and Defence outcomes.


Perception of alignment: Minimal based on information provided.

APS 6 Industry Policy & Program Officer


Be accountable under limited direction to perform and achieve complex industry policy work within an integrated workforce.

Be accountable to ensure they have knowledge of and compliance with legislative frameworks, government decision-making and Defence’s mission and policy requirements.

Work independently with the opportunity for reasonable autonomy and accountability for the achievement of outcomes of their work.

Exercise both initiative and judgement in the interpretation of policy and in the application of practices and procedures.

Provide detailed policy and program technical, professional and policy advice in relation to complex work and contribute to strategic planning, program and project management and policy development.

19 Defence, APS5 Industry Policy and Program Officer. AF29455798. 20 Defence, APS6 Industry Policy and Program Officer. AF29455814.


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Have considerable level of stakeholder engagement and will liaise with stakeholders in relation to complex issues.

Be required to identify, anticipate and respond to stakeholders’ needs and expectations to achieve work unit and Defence outcomes.


Perception of alignment: Moderate based on information provided.

EL 1 Industry Policy & Program Manager


Be accountable under broad direction to perform and achieve very complex industry policy and program work within an integrated workforce.

Require an in-depth knowledge of and compliance with legislative frameworks, government decision-making and Defence’s mission and policy requirements.

Exercise a considerable degree of independence and perform a leadership role.

Exercise sound decision making and judgement to provide expert policy advice.

Have in-depth knowledge of the strategic policy function and (be) responsible for the development, implementation, compliance and review of policies and procedures relevant to their work within that function.

Engage in very complex problem solving and issues management and may coordinate and perform detailed or sensitive projects that impact on strategic, political or operational outcomes for Defence.

(be) accountable to plan, lead and manage a range of human and physical resources and exercise the associated people and financial responsibilities to achieve business outcomes.

Manage one or more teams.

Develop and implement work plans, set performance indicators, and review individual, team and business performance, focusing on identifying opportunities for building team capability and continuous improvement.

Set work that align with the strategic objectives and communicate expected outcomes.

21 Defence, EL 1 Industry Policy and Program Manager. AF29455822.



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Be responsible for actively managing key stakeholder relationships and will be required to develop and communicate methodologies and practices to achieve outcomes.

Be accountable to contribute towards ongoing self-improvement and professional development of their work area.

Be required to exercise…people management skills and knowledge to lead a high performing and cohesive team.

Perception of alignment: Moderate based on the information provided.

APS 4 Administration Officer – recommended Family/Function/Role

An APS 4 Administration Officer role has existed and been filled within the E&IE National Team for more than 12 months, however, this role does not appear in the DRES establishments list and is currently assigned to the Command Support Directorate. Based on the advice provided during consultations, the role supports projects in the National Team and provides support to State/Territory offices.

The level of this role in the context of the National Team structure presents two minor challenges. An APS 4 role working under direction of two APS 6 roles represents a capability gap where APS 6 employees will sometimes be required to do work that would be most accurately aligned to an APS 5 level role or to assign the work as ‘stretch’ work for the APS 4 but requiring more supervision/instruction.

The separation between levels also prevents a clear career pathway within the team. There may be ample opportunity for the APS 4 employee to request and undertake stretch activities to build capability and readiness for promotion consideration; but, when seeking a promotion, they will likely need to leave the National team resulting in a loss of corporate knowledge and need to source and train a replacement.

Key observation

Based on current role expectations and opportunities, the APS 4 Administration Officer role appears to be correctly aligned.

A minor challenge with the current structure is that for the APS 4 Administration Officer to be promoted, they must either leave the section or win then transfer to an Operations Manager role.

o Lack of clear career progression pathway may negatively impact long-term engagement in the role or lead to regular turnover in the position. Should another position be required in the National team in future, consideration should be given to it being an APS 5 Administration role to build career paths and enable APS 6s to hand off APS 5 level work appropriately.

Operations Managers – recommended Family/Function/Role

The capabilities described for an effective Operations Manager were described as:

Highly capable with Defence Finance.

Able to understand simple and moderately complex procurement.

Good at dealing with people at all levels of rank or seniority.



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as being more Administration Support or Operations Support than Operations Manager with the State/Territory Manager more accurately described as an Operations Manager.

The situation described above, aligns with stakeholder commentary that descriptions and expectation of Operation Managers responsibilities and duties are not consistent across all States/Territories. This has been connected to the current lack of consistent guidance and SOPs for how activities are to be undertaken. Effort is currently underway in the E&IE Leadership Team to develop a responsibilities matrix and SOPs that will contribute to addressing this issue.

Within State/Territory offices, duties need to be aligned to the appropriate level to ensure that individuals are given appropriate opportunities to perform at-level and sufficient opportunities to develop in the role. Routinely assigning lower grade work can lead to a decrease in employee motivation, satisfaction and a degradation in skills and capability. It should be noted that employees have a degree of responsibility for generating their own opportunities to consistently improve. Position descriptions for APS personnel consistently require that APS employees: “be accountable to contribute towards ongoing self-improvement and professional development.”25

Key observation

As a title, ‘Operations Manager’ is not well aligned to the responsibilities of the role and can lead to confusion for external stakeholders and new State/Territory Managers. Renaming the roles to either Administration Support Officer (for roles that align to APS 4) or Operations Support Officer (for roles that align to APS 5) would reduce confusion.

SOPs that have been crafted to align work consistently with classification based duty statements are required to ensure a clear message of responsibilities and expectations for Operations Managers.

APS 6 Industry Policy & Program Officer

There are two roles in the National Office that are listed at this level and job role. In both roles, the priority skill set appears to be event/project management (reinforced by stated skills sought in the most recent recruitment activity), however, it was acknowledged in several discussions that the National Team has not been providing the required level of Secretariat support to the DRSC Executive due to a lack of resources and that there is a need for increased governance capability (another attribute sought in recruitment).

A challenge for these roles is the need to be generalists. For example, there is currently a need for greater attention and focus on governance to ensure DRSC activities and support occurs as required, however, this requirement may reduce in priority once governance mechanisms are put in place. Even if governance requirements continue, they do not represent enough of the work requirement to make it appropriate for either role to be reclassified as an APS 6 Governance Officer. Similarly, the roles have responsibilities for coordinating communications activities, managing projects and providing financial and administrative support to State/Territory offices. In practice, the current requirements of these roles have evolved to represent a combination of skills relevant to several DAPSSCO roles.

Comparison to other RYD roles shows that other directorates appear to be taking advantage of the broad descriptions for Administration/Customer Service roles, including the professionalisation pathway available to grow personnel with a focus on Corporate Support (including events

25 Defence, DAPSSCO Job Descriptions – multiple roles, multiple levels.



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management).26 Within the Administration and Corporate Support Job Family, the Corporate Support Function includes a role for APS 5s to EL 2s which focuses on Industry Policy and Program: “responsible for planning and managing a range of complex industry engagement activities, within a legislative framework, to support Defence’s mission and business objectives.”

A final benefit to realigning these roles to the Administration and Corporate Support Family is the opportunity to create a clearer differentiation in the two APS 6 roles. Within the Administration and Corporate Support function, there is a split at the APS 6 level between Administration Team Leader and Administration Officer. The Administration Team Leader role 27 aligns well to the suggestions put forward that one of the APS 6 positions could best focus attention on managing the State/Territory Offices while the second APS 6 role (focussing on Secretariat and coordinating national engagement activities) aligns well to the Administration Officer description.28

Key observation

Current alignment of the National team APS 6 positions as APS 6 Policy and Program Officer roles is possible within a broad interpretation of the requirements; it would be more accurate to align these roles to the Administration and Corporate Support job family.

It would help to improve role clarity to have one position aligned to Administration Team Leader (coordinating State/Territories) and another as an Administration Officer (focussing on Secretariat and coordinating national engagement activities).

EL 1 Industry Policy & Program Manager

Based on the information provided,29 this role’s primary responsibilities are focussed on leading and managing both the National Team and State/Territory offices including setting strategic direction for the National team and State/Territory Offices.

At the EL 1 level, DAPSSCO roles often have two positions – one for officers and another for managers. The manager roles place more emphasis on management skills and less on specific skills and technical knowledge while EL 1 officers require the ability to act as subject matter experts in specific fields. The critical responsibilities of the position in question – leading a large, geographically dispersed group which includes several sub teams – indicates that the position is appropriately aligned to the management stream of EL 1 positions. Due to the increased emphasis on management skills, there is less clear differentiation between EL 1 (management) roles in different job functions.

While the increased management focus means that the specific nature of the Industry Policy and Program role is downplayed, a comparison of the occupation description against an EL 1 Administration Manager role suggests that the role as it is currently practiced, more closely aligns with Administration Manager due to:

minimal involvement with very complex industry policy and program work; and

a reduced requirement for in-depth knowledge of the strategic policy function.

Both roles place an emphasis on management using almost identical language:

26 Defence, Administration and Corporate Support Career Development Guidebook. R28960176. 27 Defence, APS 6 Administration Team Leader. AB13830563. 28 Defence, APS 6 Administration Officer. AB13830556. 29 Due to the incumbent being a recent hire for the role and no role description or duty statement being available, limited information was available about the activities and responsibilities of this role.



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The role is accountable to plan, lead and manage a range of human and physical resources and exercise the associated people and financial responsibilities to achieve business outcomes.

Similarly, both roles place an emphasis on managing stakeholder relationships:

The role will be responsible for actively managing key stakeholder relationships and will be required to identify relevant stakeholders’ expectations and concerns to develop and communicate methodologies and practices to achieve outcomes.

A further consideration for this role (and the APS 6 roles) is that across the broader RYD, the majority of APS 6, EL 1 and EL 2 positions have been assigned to Administration. While these roles have not been analysed in this activity to consider whether Administration is the most appropriate function for these roles, the difference in functions potentially creates a separation between the requirements in E&IE and the rest of RYD which could hamper acting or permanent transfer arrangements of individuals. As noted previously, for roles designated as Managers (rather than subject matter experts) there is overlap between job families so in practice many requirements are quite similar. In this context, Administration removes some currently underutilised or not at all utilised expectations of the role that create an artificial separation between E&IE and the rest of RYD.

Key observation

Current alignment of the National team EL 1position as EL 1 Policy and Program Manager is possible within a broad interpretation of the requirements; it would be more accurate to align these roles to the Administration and Corporate Support job family as EL 1 Administration Manager.

Military positions skill requirements

DRES was unable to provide information about current Military categories, however, during discussions, it was identified that incumbents represent a range of backgrounds including Maritime Warfare Officers, Logistics Officers and other functions. State/Territory Managers play an important role in stakeholder liaison with Senior Defence personnel including Unit Commanding Officers and with industry representatives. State/Territory Managers also take a lead in coordinating events and day to day management of the State/territory office team.

Many of the functions undertaken are similar to orderly officer roles although with additional responsibilities including operating with minimal direction, generating and driving forward opportunities for industry/employer engagement and event coordination (compared to some orderly roles).

Within current incumbents, the alignment of individual skills to role needs appears to be the result of good fortune as much as good planning. Suggestions that State/Territory Manager roles are filled by compassionate or ‘other circumstances’ 30 appears to be mixed. While it was reported that State/Territory manager roles were considered to be ‘off the promotion path’, two State/Territory Managers identified that they had sought out the role specifically and one reported that in the preceding posting round there has previously been a high level of competition for the position.

30 DRSC Discussion Paper, Prof Murray Lampard (2014). Australian Defence Force processes, perceptions and appointments of the DRS State and Territory Manager.



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2.5 Current capacity to support DRSC

Stakeholders interviewed indicated that for most activities, E&IE was believed capable of supporting the DRSC. Where proposed activities or requested support could not be provided, it often related to activities or events where process, e.g. insufficient notice of the intention to hold an event, was more likely to prevent support than capacity or capability or where the activity was believed to not constitute value for money.

Two exceptions to E&IE having the capacity necessary to support DRSC were identified:

Secretariat support, particularly for the National Executive. In practice, the National Team in Canberra has been understaffed for a long time due to an employee relations situation. The reduction in capacity has reportedly led to underservicing Secretariat responsibilities for the DRSC National Executive.

o The ACT/SE NSW DRSC chair has also noted that reduced capacity in the ACT State/Territory office (both the State Manager and Operations Manager are Reservists with part-time availability), was considered to be a factor in the effectiveness of the ACT/SE NSW DRSC.

Policy/Governance materials. Representatives from all three E&IE areas talked to the current lack of governance documents. This lack was noted as one of the reasons for variance in approach to managing events, supporting the DRSC and undertaking other activities.

o An acknowledged challenge associated with generating these materials is that the DRSC and RYD are both in a state of flux due to ongoing reform agendas. Change fatigue was reported by individuals in State/Territory offices, contributed to by the large number of different occupants in the EL 1 position over the last four years. The current management group is conscious of past frustrations and the need to avoid introducing another round of changes now when a new direction may soon emerge as a result of DRSC/RYD reviews and reforms.

o One employee interviewed noted that while a lot of the change has been positive, the lack of a common change management plan has meant that the volume is perceived as almost overwhelming.



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Key observations

DRSC Secretariat support must be treated as a priority to address the recent shortfalls particularly at the National Team level. Should E&IE requirements to support to the DRSC remain stable, the level and satisfaction with secretariat support should be evaluated after six months.

The lack of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) has been identified as a key challenge for E&IE but one that must be addressed in consideration of DRSC and RYD reform agendas. A program to develop SOPs should be developed based on planned decision dates for DRSC and RYD reforms. SOP Development should seek to incorporate both National and State/Territory knowledge and experiences.

A Change Management Plan should be developed for future change programs to ensure that staff understand how individual changes will work towards the desired end state, to ensure that change is staggered to not overwhelm staff and to provide employees with a shared sense of strategic direction.

Employment modes

In relation to employment modes, E&IE currently has a combination of APS, Military (Regular) and reservist personnel with the following general distribution:

Leadership Team – APS

National Team – APS with reservist support

State/Territory Offices – Combined team of APS/Regular Military supported by reservists.

There are several advantages to this structure, particularly in the State/Territory offices. The combination of APS/Military provides an important level of redundancy for activities. Military personnel are well positioned to lead engagement with Military Units and Senior Defence representatives while APS staff provide stability and an opportunity to bring additional skills and capabilities which supplement the State/Territory Manager role.

Currently, the lead in each State/Territory office (State/Territory Manager) is intended to be a Military position. Although Operations Managers (at the APS 5 level) have a responsibility to remain aware of and take advantage of Defence and Strategic Priorities, one of the advantages of State/Territory offices being led by Military personnel is a regular refresh of personnel who will have been recently exposed to the evolving Defence priorities.

The use of reservists to support events, regional councils and National team is an effective way to raise awareness/education about reservists (in support events); provide a local level of engagement (regional councils) and to ensure regular input from a Military/reservist perspective for teams that would otherwise lack this representation (National Team).



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3 Future state workforce requirements

3.1 Options context

As part of KMPG’s DRSC reform work, an options paper was developed summarising four options. In accordance with the scope of this activity, only the preferred option, Option 3 – capability delivery, has been analysed.

3.2 Option 3 – capability delivery

Under Option 3, the DRSC would transform from a national organisation with four layers to a small advisory group of industry experts and relevant Defence representatives with a more clearly defined scope and more specific remit which provides advice to support access to priority skills.32

Option 3 notes the continued need for a secretariat to the advisory group and the provision of project management support as necessary. The reform also introduces the possibility and requirement for new capabilities including customer relationship mapping (CRM) management and data capture/analysis skills.

In addition to support for a revised DRSC, Defence’s increasing reliance on Reservists for capability means there is a continued growing need for employer engagement activities that are currently delivered under the DRSC banner. Noting that E&IE already enables substantial components of these events, Option 3 is interpreted as including the workforce requirements for continuation and improvement of current employer engagement ROE.

Although some requirements and activities will remain the same for E&IE staff, changes are predicted to both the skills and level of effort required as summarised in Table 4.

32 KPMG Defence Reserves Support Council review – Options report, 2019, p. 14.





3.3 Gap analysis

Changes required

Taking a high level consideration of current capability to future requirements, E&IE has a strong base to build from. Many of the changes that would need to occur to optimally align with delivery of Option 3 (as it is understood currently) require a combination of administrative and more importantly, cultural changes rather than extensive retraining or the separation of staff from one skill set and replacement with another.

The following changes have been identified for E&IE to align with Option 3:

Shift in State/Territory activities away from DRSC Administration/Secretariat support and to ensure initiative in driving a minimal program of employer/reservist engagement is delivered each year.

Clarification of activity priorities and revision of reporting by State/Territory offices to the National team to identify exemplar approaches to conducting activities. These exemplars should be incorporated into the development of SOPs that become the standard nationally. SOPs should give consideration to the development and inclusion of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) aligned to measure what matters for DRES/E&IE to enable regular objective comparison of effort and accomplishments.

Operations Managers in E&IE should be aligned to the Communications Job Family/Function. Additionally change is required for this group based on the following shifts:

o Opportunities and work expectations for Operations Managers need to be aligned to the APS 5 Communications Officer role.

Performance and contributions by Operations Managers will need to be carefully evaluated following requirement shifts to identify where individuals are failing to perform at level and provide appropriate training or support.

o The move away from secretariat/administration support and towards more stakeholder engagement management; identification of priority stakeholders based on Defence priorities.

o Introduction of National SOPs will reduce the reliance on Operation Manager’s corporate knowledge although past experiences will still provide a valuable basis for event planning/coordination.

Where new capabilities are being introduced, e.g. Customer Relationship Mapping/Management and data development and analysis, new software will need to be sourced from within the Defence Enterprise Information Management (EIM) suite of available software solutions. The distribution of employees that will engage with Customer Relationship Mapping/Management means that training will be required for all E&IE personnel. Training in this system will need to be incorporated into induction for future E&IE personnel.

APS 6 and EL 1 positions in E&IE should be aligned to the Administration and Corporate Support Job Family/Function. Secretariat requirements will likely continue for this team and will need to remain a high priority even when there are capacity shortfalls. Should actual capacity again fall below planned and E&IE be unable to recruit, it may be necessary to utilise reservist or Contractor support to continue to provide Secretariat/Event Management support.





Within the National team, there will be a need for capability with data development and analysis to support a more evidence-based approach to evaluating effort. This role could be aligned to an APS 6 Administration Officer role but is also one of the designed objectives for APS 4 Administration Officer roles. By assigning this requirement to the APS 4 position, the individual in this position will have an opportunity to grow a skill set in increasing demand within Defence and the broader APS (Business Intelligence) and will have a valuable independent perspective to present in National Team meetings.

Key observations

E&IE is well aligned to deliver capability against the majority of requirements should Option 3 for DRSC Reform come into effect. Update will be required to the E&IE responsibilities matrix to ensure expectations and KPIs are clear and understood.

Additional capability/training is required in relation to stakeholder mapping/management; data generation and analysis and secretariat support at the National team level.

One role that will see change that will impact the roles/capabilities is Operations Managers in State/Territory Offices.

o Under current requirements, some Operations Manager roles may be better aligned to APS 4 Administration Officer levels (see Section 2.3). Option 3 necessitates that State/Territory Offices take increased accountability for driving stakeholder engagement with Industry and employers as well as with Defence and reservists. This provides opportunities and necessity for Operations Managers currently without sufficient APS 5 level work to justify that level to improve outcomes and retain current levels.

o The decision to maintain Operation Manager positions at the APS 5 level where they currently align more to APS 4 level, should be linked to clear additional expectations for the position and how the role/responsibilities will shift to align with the APS 5 level.

Employment mode considerations

As noted previously, the current structure and mix of APS/Military/Reservist capability is effective, particularly within State/Territory offices. For structural/staffing updates to be required, these should be based on organisational demand. Currently, all State/Territory offices have a minimal profile (State Manager/Operations Manager) supported by Reservists. The approach is effective in building redundancy, ensuring representation from Military and APS personnel and in providing a degree of regular cultural refresh through military posting cycles.

Revising the extant structures should only be done in the interests of improving the delivery of capability, and in particular, taking advantage of additional opportunities. Should Option 3 be endorsed, E&IE will take more responsibility for engagement with employers, reservists and industry. As illustrated in Figure 3 and Figure 4 the scale of potential engagement is vast but varies by State. NSW, VIC and QLD in particular have large numbers of companies and Reservists. Should E&IE increase the size of these State/Territory teams, it should be accompanied by increased KPI targets for engagement with employers/industry that are of priority to Defence. Where capability is to be expanded, consideration could be given to the reallocation of Reservist positions currently working to support regional councils. While only a small number of days is available to these individuals, local coordination of an employer engagement event helps to ensure E&IE focus does not become overly focussed on the State/Territory capital city and can support regular staff with additional capability.

Key observations





The current variety in employment modes is a strength for E&IE that should be maintained moving forward to continue to realise the benefits associated with stability, flexibility, diversity of perspectives and reservist representation.



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5 Annex 2: Current DRSC structure

The DRSC National Executive consisting of

o a National Chair

o two Vice Chairs

o the DRSC senior member (drawn from state and territory chairs)

o head RYD.

The DRSC National Council – a 32 member council including:

o all members of the national executive

o director-general of reserves of Navy, Army and Air Force

o nominees of other organiations including:

Defence Reserves Association

Australian Defence Association

Defence Families Association

Returned and Services League

o any other persons considered appropriate by the national executive.

Eight State and Territory Councils each consisting of:

o a Chair

o a Deputy Chair

o any regional committee chairs within the State or Territory

o representatives of Navy, Army and Air Force reserves in the relevant State or Territory

o the RYD State or Territory manager (as committee secretary)

o persons appointed by the State chair to fulfil short term requirements

o any other persons deemed necessary by the State or Territory chair.

Fourteen Regional Committees representing New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania and consisting of:

o a Chair

o regional service representatives

o any other persons deemed necessary by the chair with the aim of approximately reflecting the composition of a State or Territory council at regional level.

Defence Reserves Support Council Review Workforce Analysis ...€¦ · As noted in KPMG’s DRSC...

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