Your Guide to My Talent Plan @ DPIE

NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment | dpie.nsw.gov.au

Your Guide to My Talent Plan @ DPIE User Guide for Leaders

Your Guide to My Talent Plan @ DPIE

NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment | | i

User Guide for Leaders

Contents Overview ..................................................................................................................................... 2

Leader responsibilities ................................................................................................................. 2

Meaningful priorities ................................................................................................................... 3

Your leadership priorities ................................................................................................................. 4

Maximising learning .................................................................................................................... 4

Having a conversation about development ..................................................................................... 5

Career discussion framework ....................................................................................................... 7

Regular constructive two-way feedback ...................................................................................... 7

Regular feedback .............................................................................................................................. 7

Constructive feedback ...................................................................................................................... 8

Be specific ..................................................................................................................................... 8

Talk about the situation, not the individual ................................................................................. 9

Give praise where it's due ............................................................................................................ 9

Be direct but informal ................................................................................................................... 9

Be sincere ...................................................................................................................................... 9

Listen ............................................................................................................................................. 9

Make it timely ............................................................................................................................... 9

Two-way feedback.......................................................................................................................... 10

Effective conversations .............................................................................................................. 10

Preparing for a conversation(s) ...................................................................................................... 11

Questions to ask yourself ............................................................................................................... 12

Questions to ask during the conversation ..................................................................................... 12

Suggested agenda ...................................................................................................................... 14

Suggested schedule ................................................................................................................... 14

Checklist .................................................................................................................................... 16

Arrangements to make .............................................................................................................. 17

Where to get help ...................................................................................................................... 17


Performance Management @ DPIE 2

Overview Performance development plays an important part in supporting our vision as well as ensuring your team gets the most out of their careers with DPIE. Performance development is an all-encompassing term used to describe the practice that helps drive decisions about performance, promotions, transfers and development needs within DPIE. The aim of our performance development framework is to improve organisational, functional, team and individual performances. We do this through a structured process which involves planning and reviewing performance and development. We record these outcomes on My Talent Plans. My Talent Plans are a great way to improve performance and achievement across the organisation. They allow us to understand the performance of our employees so that we can ensure everyone can reach their potential. This guide is designed to assist you in understanding your responsibilities, the planning process, how you can provide guidance in setting and reviewing individual priorities and assisting you in having effective, meaningful conversations with your team. This User Guide should be read in conjunction with the Your Guide to My Talent Plan @ DPIE – User Guide for Employees.

Leader responsibilities The achievement of priorities as well as development activities and indeed career aspirations, remain the employee’s responsibility to consider and take action to achieve. However, leaders have a significant role to place in enabling and supporting the individual to take steps to enhance their performance and achieve their career and development needs and aspirations for both their current and future roles. Employee performance and development is a shared responsibility; it is a collaborative process between leader and employee. The key role for a leader is to work with your team members in:

• Clarifying expectations and capabilities required for effective performance in their current role and as the role evolves, so employees remain “current” in their knowledge and skill sets

• Recognising and building on their strengths as well as working with them to identify areas for development

• Understanding the work / life balance preferences and matters / priorities in their non-working lives – refer to Career Discussion Framework for guidance

• Setting development plans for progressing learning

• Clarifying any future career aspirations and what these may mean in terms of capability development and learning opportunities

https://intranet.dpie.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/461041/Your-Guide-to-My-Talent-Plan-@-DPIE-User-Guide-for-Employees-FINAL.pdf




• Sharing how the organisation’s needs are evolving and informing employees how they can best contribute to these developments

Underpinning the above actions is the need for:

• Meaningful priorities that directly contribute to DPIE’s priorities and your employee’s individual goals;

• Maximising the learning of employees on the job eg. Coaching, stretch assignments, etc.

• Regular, constructive two-way feedback; and

• Effective conversations.

You play an important role in the above actions. We’ll explore these a bit further now.

Meaningful priorities Based on the belief that everything that people do at work at any level contributes to achieving the overall purpose of the organisation then it seems reasonable that your priorities and those of your team should align. The easiest way to do this is to cascade your priorities to your team, as appropriate. The concept of cascading priorities is a hierarchical framework to structure an organisation's priorities. At the executive level, strategic goals are set, and then those goals cascade down throughout the rest of the organisation to help guide team and individual priorities. Cascading goals can also provide clarity to your team. By having clear objectives, they can understand how their work directly contributes and makes an impact on DPIE’s success. But it is important to remember that any priorities that you cascade to your team MUST take into account their capabilities and responsibilities (you can get these from the role description). So, whilst you may share a priority with your team member(s), the activities and actions will most likely be different. And don’t forget, all priorities must be writing following the SMART method – refer to the Your Guide to My Talent Plan @ DPIE – User Guide for Employees for further information on writing SMART priorities. Whether priorities are cascaded or not, your team member should have a maximum of five (5) priorities per year. Having too many priorities over the review period may mean they are taking on too much – remember each priority should be achievable!





Your leadership priorities The Public Service Commission (PSC) has outlined priorities or goals for leaders, with a focus on people leadership and financial responsibility. These priorities may be cascaded onto your team, as appropriate. People leadership (if you manage people)

Priority

Managing for performance All employees in the division / business unit have My Talent Plans that is clearly linked to organisational objectives and is reviewed regularly.*

Workforce planning and development The division / business unit implements strategies to align its workforce capability and capacity with the organisation’s current and future priorities and objectives.*

* should be cascaded only to those in your team who have direct reports.

Financial responsibility (if you manage a budget)

Priority

Budget compliance - operating The Executive manager has operated within their operating budget (budgeted expenses and, where relevant, revenues).

Budget compliance – capital The Executive manager has operated within their capital budget.

Budget compliance – employee expenses The Executive manager has operated within their labour expense budget.

Delivery of savings The Executive manager has incorporated rigorous implementation plans into the Budget to achieve savings measures.

Maximising learning Crafting an appropriate development plan is an important part of the performance development framework. Development can be short term (over the next 12 months) - generally undertaken to give your team members the skills required to deliver on their priorities – or longer term (anywhere from 1 – 3 years) which should be aligned to the team members career aspirations. Personal development might also be considered, particularly in relation to assisting your team member to develop the behaviours required to demonstrate the DPIE values. However, development is not a one size fits all and should be tailored to the individual in terms of their existing skills and experience and any capability gaps present.



The 70:20:10 framework describes how best to structure professional and career development to maximise learning and is useful to consider in your talks with your team on how they might most effectively develop.

70

Experiential Learning

(the 70%) Learning and developing through day to day task,

challenges and practices eg. Workplace projects, higher duties opportunities, secondments

20 Social Learning

(the 20%) Learning and developing with and through others eg.

Coaching, mentoring, conference attendance

10

Formal Learning

(the 10%) Learning and developing through structured modules,

courses and programs eg. Further study, formal workshops or seminars, online learning

Having a conversation about development The conversation about development should, like all conversations in the process, be a collaborative conversation with your team member, designed to facilitate shared responsibility.

Leader

Explores aspirations

Discusses possibilities

Encourages action

Team member

Tells their story

Plans for and takes action



Exploration

• Ask your team member to talk about their interests, aspirations, strengths, improvement opportunities.

• Provide feedback and agree on focus.

Discussing possibilities

• Explore options for achieving their focus ie. Building on strengths, learning, improvement, achieving aspirations, and/or facilitating their interests.

• Consider in the context of the team / work area and organisation.

• Explore expectations with two-way feedback.

• Confirm what can be supported by the organisation.

Encouraging action

• Discuss possible action.

• Confirm next steps.

• Coach and encourage contact as they implement actions.

• Offer support if they face challenges.

Some possible questions when having a conversation about development might be:

• Where do you see your career going – in the next 12 months? Next 2 – 5 years?

• How do you learn best?

• How much time could you dedicate to a qualification? Are you in a position to do so?

• What ambition / aspirations do you have for the future?

• What have you learned about yourself in your career so far?

It is also expected that part of any development discussion with your team member should include a reference to the work / life Career Discussion Framework (see below) developed to support the performance development objectives and policy.



Career discussion framework

Build Sustain Stretch Coach

Your team member is commencing their career or have just

started in a new role

Your team member is satisfied with their

current role and wish to continue contributing in

this way

Your team member is experienced in their current

role and looking to be further challenged by

building their expertise and capability

Your team member is established, experienced and comfortable in their

current role and are looking to share their skills and knowledge with others

Hel

pin

g yo

urs

elf

dev

elo

p

Suggested development opportunities:

• Shadowing

• Mentoring and coaching

• e-Learning


• Networking

• Join an advisory or practitioner working group

• Contribute to a working group


• New assignment or activity

• Short term project or working group

• Secondment

• Acting opportunity


• Establish a mentoring relationship with team member that would like coaching

• Setup opportunities to share knowledge and expertise with employees in roles that could benefit

Regular constructive two-way feedback One of the main responsibilities of a leader is providing feedback that supports their team’s performance and learning and development.

Regular feedback Just as important is being able to provide this feedback on an ongoing, regular basis – not just when the mid-year or end of year conversation comes around. The benefits of regular feedback are:

• Regular performance feedback lets your team know what they’re doing well and which areas they can improve on.

• When you communicate regularly with your team it creates a better relationship over time. Your team will likely feel more comfortable approaching you with questions, comments or concerns and you will have an easier time giving direction.

• Regular feedback provides your team with an understanding of exactly what is expected of them and eliminates guesswork.

• Timely, constructive feedback is especially vital when there are issues that require your team member to improve on mistakes or shortcomings.

How often this feedback occurs will be up to you and your team member to decide but the guideline would be at least on a monthly basis. Keep in mind, these meetings don’t



need to be lengthy or formal. Providing regular feedback on performance against the priorities can be part of your regular 1:1 meetings.

Constructive feedback Constructive feedback is concerned with providing useful comments and suggestions that contribute to a positive outcome, a better process or improved behaviours. It provides encouragement, support, corrective measures and direction to the person receiving it. Constructive feedback can be positive (letting your team member know they’re doing well), negative (letting your team member know about ways in which things could be improved), or neutral (just an objective observation). Feedback is often confused with criticism, but feedback should NOT be viewed as a personal assault or a list of errors, mistakes or mishaps. While the content of the feedback can be negative, its delivery can always be constructive. There are two main elements that make feedback constructive;

• The content of the feedback: Constructive feedback is specific, issue-focused (rather than a value judgement about the individual) and based on what is observable (rather than assuming anything about the person's attitude or motivation). It also includes some specific direction on how to make improvements (where needed).

• How the feedback is delivered: To be constructive, feedback should not be delivered in a way that provokes hurt feelings, shame, defensiveness, resistance or a sense of failure. Honest does not mean tactless.

Some useful tips on how to give feedback that helps your team recognise and avoid their mistakes, and inspires them to achieve their full potential are:

Be specific As well as telling your team member what they need to do better, tell them why. For example, starting the conversation with “You need to be getting into the office earlier” assumes that they know why punctuality is so important. Be clear about the actual problem at hand (e.g. you don't want to keep your clients waiting), and structure your feedback around it. Also, don't always assume that your team member has all the background information they need. If necessary, tell them how the situation affects you and the rest of the business. The more specific you can make your feedback, the more actionable it will be.



Talk about the situation, not the individual By its very nature, constructive feedback focuses on outcomes and impartial observations rather than the team member’s personal attributes. “Your presentation put a lot of people to sleep” is likely to be taken as an attack that is motivated by personal feelings rather than any objective facts. By discussing the situation itself rather than your personal opinion about it, you are showing that you are most concerned about fixing the problem at hand, not the employee's own personality.

Give praise where it's due Weaving some positives among the negatives can be a good way to reassure your team member that you haven't lost perspective. For instance: “I think you did a great job with your presentation. We got some great feedback from the group.” Then you can start talking about the area that needs improvement: “However, we've had a few members tell us that the length of the presentation was too long.” This tells the employee that you're not criticising their overall performance; just that certain aspects of their job need attention. Just be careful not to over-emphasise the positives, as this can make you appear uncertain or insincere.

Be direct but informal Try not to use technology such as email, text message or the phone to relay your feedback, as this can lead to misinterpretation and make it seem less important than it really is. Find a quiet meeting room where you can have an honest and informal one-on-one chat with the employee. At the same time, try not to beat around the bush; whether it's positive or negative, constructive feedback is most effective when you get straight to the point.

Be sincere If your tone and manner don't match the context of the feedback itself, you could send out a mixed message that confuses the recipient. If the feedback is positive, let your emotions also indicate that you appreciate their efforts. For negative feedback, a more concerned tone will show that you believe the problem should be taken seriously. Most importantly, always try to avoid displaying negative emotions such as anger, sarcasm or disappointment, as they are likely to be perceived as personal criticism.

Listen While giving constructive feedback, make sure that team members are given a chance to respond. This shows that you are prepared to listen to their concerns and their interpretation of events. It can also be used as an opportunity for the employee to express their ideas and become part of the solution.

Make it timely Always try to give positive feedback when the team member’s praiseworthy achievement is still fresh in everyone's memory. The same applies to negative feedback – with the



exception that if they've done something that makes you feel genuinely bad, it may be wise to wait until you've “cooled off” before taking it up with them. This will help to ensure that your feedback is objective and not coloured by emotion. The best type of constructive feedback is that which focuses on behaviour, not personality. It is given in a tone and setting that conveys support and respect. Also keep in mind that we all thrive on positive reinforcement, so don't assume that employees will always know when they're performing well – come out and tell them. Be it positive or negative, providing staff with ongoing constructive feedback is one of the most important and powerful employee development tools at your disposal.

Two-way feedback One of the most common mistakes made by leaders when offering feedback, or attempting to communicate constructive criticism, is turning it into a one-way dialogue – feedback delivered by the leader to the team member only. The problem with this is that the team member finds this are no opportunity to respond and express their own comments and concerns. Feedback must be a two-way talk. Here are some steps you can use to create effective two-way feedback with your team members:

1. Ask the team member what they did well. Encourage them to elaborate in detail.

2. You (the leader) add feedback to what the employee did well. Include examples.

3. Ask the team member what they will do differently next time. Use this opportunity for the team member to set / amend their priorities.

4. Suggest what they should do differently next time and provide advice for developing priorities that will help the employee achieve them.

Steps one and two are good for building confidence in the team member. Steps three and four are good for building team member skills through priority setting. All four steps create a confident, goal-oriented, and engaged employee.

Effective conversations All the above actions should lead to an effective conversation. However, there are a few things to remember to get the most out of the interaction with your team member:

• Ensure they know what is required of them in the conversation:

• For the planning phase – they should be familiar with the My Talent Plan process and understand what will be discussed ie. what specific actions they will put against their priorities. For ease, you may like to share your priorities



with them prior to the meeting and ask them to think about their contribution to these. The planning phase conversation is also the time to discuss any development needs they may have as well as how they intend to demonstrate the DPIE values.

• For the mid-year conversation – at this meeting they will be expected to comment on the achievements towards their priorities, be able to talk about what the values mean to them and provide examples of how they have lived the values as well as detail any development opportunities they have undertaken (or why they haven’t). They should think about any barriers they have to achieving their priorities and how you, as their leader, could assist them.

• For the end of year conversation – they should be aware that at this meeting they will be reviewing what has been achieved and any development activities undertaken in the reporting period. They need to be aware that this is the final formal review for the year and, as per the mid-year conversation, there will be a discussion around how they have lived the values. The meeting and the completion of the My Talent Plan will end the cycle for that year.

• It is not a form filling exercise. Whilst the form may guide the conversation, completing the discussion and the paperwork can be separated.

• Be flexible in your approach - Consider your team’s skill and experience and discuss with them the importance of a flexible approach so that the process adds value. For example, a range of literacy levels in your team may mean that some staff simply jot down some key points and bring them to the conversation. Perfect documentation is not the point of the exercise and over time and with training, this ability can be developed.

Preparing for a conversation(s)

• Do your best to be fully informed regarding DPIE’s vision, values and direction.

• Translate DPIE’s priorities into meaningful goals with your team.

• Ensure you are informed of relevant big picture issues including possible change programs, resource and budget levels that may need to inform plans and professional development activity

• Make time to reflect on your own conversation – what was it like for you? What worked, what didn’t? and what information was relevant that needs to inform your meetings with team members?

• Review the agreed priorities?



• Consider what you perceive to be the team member’s progress and achievements, strengths and areas to develop.

Questions to ask yourself

• Do you have sufficient examples at hand to support your feedback?

• Has there been any change in circumstances or in the job that may have influenced performance?

• Have you been able to provide the right amount of guidance and support? If not, what else could you begin to do?

• Are you making the best use of the team member’s skill and experience?

• What are the key priorities in which you think they could make a contribution?

• Are there any special projects you could delegate that would be of benefit to the individual and DPIE?

• What direction do you think their career could take within or external to DPIE? How can you support them in their career?

• How does the team member learn best? How are they different to you?

• Consider the team member’s relationship with the team, internal and external customers, and yourself. For example, have there been any recent critical incidents that could be influencing performance?

• Analyse the outcome of any training or development activity that has been undertaken. Have new skills and knowledge been applied to the job?

Questions to ask during the conversation Over time, with practice and regular conversations, you’ll know the questions to ask but to get you started below are some sample questions you might like to ask during the conversation. At the planning phase:

• Where do you think we need to focus our energies this year?

• What goals are we looking at this year that interest you and present an opportunity to develop?

• What motivates you? What makes you feel valued in the work place?

• What do you think ‘good’ performance would look like?

• What impediments or barriers might stop you from meeting these priorities?

o Do you need to modify your approach in some way?

o What are your thoughts for how to manage this concern?

• What support might you need to meet these priorities?



o What would sufficient support look like?

o How regularly do we need to meet to discuss progress?

• What do you think we can do to minimize the risk in that area? What can we do to help increase your effectiveness?

• What do you think your strengths are? How do these align with your current work?

• How can you continue to build and develop these strengths?

• What does success look like for you? What holds you back from achieving your goals?

• What gets in the way of performance? What derails you?

• What do you particularly like about what you are doing?

• What is your profile in the organisation and how could this be further developed?

• What could prevent you achieving your goals?

• What are your major challenges in the next year? What do you need to tackle these effectively?

• What do you need in order to become more effective?

• How can I best work with you to enable improvement?

• What additional support do you need from the team?

• What motivates you to come to work and feel valued? Is something missing? What is it?

• What deeper levels of knowledge/understanding do you need? How might you get this?

At the review phase(s):

• How do you feel the job is going? How do you feel about your current performance in your role?

• What has interested you most in your job in the past year?

• Where do you think you are being most effective in your job?

• Overall, how do you feel about the goals we set?

• When you think about the last 6/12 months, what do you feel really proud of?

• Why do you think this is the case?

• What skills and or strengths did you employ that helped you achieve that priority? What else helped?

• What were the disappointments and or frustrations?

• Where did you feel least effective?

• To what degree are these challenges still an issue?

• What do you think we can do to minimize the risk in that area? What can we do to help increase your effectiveness?

• What help or support can I give?

• What were the lessons learnt?



Suggested agenda The following page contains a sample agenda that you can use to shape the conversation.

Suggested schedule The following schedule is recommended only. You may decide with you team member to

vary the schedule, particularly in the first year when the process is very new:



Reg

ula

r co

ach

ing,

su

pp

ort

an

d f

eed

bac

k

Leader schedules a performance planning conversation and provides a copy of their priorities. Asks the team member to give some thought to what their goals and

objectives might be, emphasizing the importance of alignment.

Performance planning conversation held between team member and leader.

Team member drafts SMART priorities based on the conversation with their leader. These may be in line with your leader’s. The team member details any development

desired taking into account their own role and responsibilities.

My Talent Plan (Planning Phase) agreed and finalised

Leader communicates to team member(s) that it is time for the mid-year conversation and schedules a mutually convenient time and place

Leader asks team member to review previously set priorities and achievements to date, any progress made to date on the development plan as well as examples of how they

have lived the DPIE values

Mid-year conversation is conducted

Team member completes their mid-year comments on the My Talent Plan based on the conversation with their leader. Mid-year conversation agreed and finalised – either via

MyCareer or, if desired, via email if using electronic form

Leader schedules the end of year conversation.

Leader asks team member to review previously set priorities and achievements, the development plan as well as examples of how they have demonstrated the DPIE values

End of year conversation conducted

Based on the conversation with their leader, team member completes their end of year comments on the My Talent Plan and passes onto leader

Leader makes comments on the team member’s achievements, their development plan and how they have demonstrated the DPIE values

The My Talent Plan cycle for the year in now complete



Checklist At the planning phase:

• Did you share with your team your priorities?

• Did you and your team member have a conversation about their My Talent Plan?

• Does your team member have no more than 5 SMART priorities ie.

o Are they specific enough?

o Do they have appropriate activities and actions associated with them?

o Is it clear what success looks like? ie. is it obvious once they have achieved the priority?

o Has your team member been able to demonstrate how the DPIE values will be displayed in the achievement of the priority?

• Does the development plan support the achievement of the priorities and/or the longer-term career plans of the team member?

At the mid-year review:

• Did you and your team member have a conversation? Did it include:

o Progress on the achievement of their priorities?

o What each value means to them and how they have lived our DPIE values

o How they have progressed with their development (if any)?

• Has the team member documented their achievements to date on their My Talent Plan?

• Does it reflect your conversation?

• Please note, at the mid-year review you, as a leader, will not be required to make comments on the team member’s My Talent Plan.

At the end of year review:

• Did you and your team member have a conversation? Did it include:

o The achievement of their priorities?

o What each value means to them and how they have lived our DPIE values

o Their development (if any)?

• Has the team member documented their achievements on their My Talent Plan?

• Has the team member made any overall comments on their My Talent Plan?

• Have you made any overall comments on their My Talent Plan?



Arrangements to make Creating and keeping to a conversation schedule is important. Consider the following questions when you are creating the schedule, and revisit them with each talk:

• Is it the right time for a conversation? For you, for them?

• Have you made enough time in your diary?

• Where is a suitable place to hold the interview?

• Is it a private space neutral place free of interruptions? Have you spent enough time in preparation?

• Conversations should be no less than 30mins and no more than 1.5 hours per meeting.

Where to get help • Your leader.

• Your People Partner

• Your People Advisor (dial 02 9995 6400 - Option 3 - Option 3).

• “Get help” guides are available on the DPIE intranet. Click here to access these.

• For technical support with MyCareer log a ticket via the CCS Portal (HR Services – MyCareer)

https://intranet.industry.nsw.gov.au/support-and-services/people_partners/dpie-people-partners

https://intranet.dpie.nsw.gov.au/industry/employment/performance/performance-and-development-plan

https://environmentnswgov.sharepoint.com/sites/CCS-Intranet/hr/Pages/Careers%20and%20Opportunities/MyCareer/Home.aspx

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Your Guide to My Talent Plan @ DPIE

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