Port Adelaide Enfield Council’s (PAE) continuous improvement philosophy has led to the implementation of a number of systems to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of its services.
PAE is engaging its managers and team leaders in a Change Management Leadership Development Program to ensure they understand the need for, and actively engage in, the process that will deliver further improvements.
The ‘Change Management Leadership Development Program’ was introduced in 2011 with a view to aligning the content to competencies in the National Training Framework in order to equip their leaders with knowledge, skills and confidence to drive change throughout the organisation.
Participants report satisfaction and fulfillment as a result of learning new ways of working and thinking and they now have the task of helping their people understand what needs to be done to improve the way they work; why the work is necessary, and how they contribute to the overall success of the organization.
Already PAE has seen substantial change in the way people work together across departments, share knowledge, and demonstrate greater empathy for each other in the challenge of delivering a diverse range of services.
The program has helped leaders support staff in understanding that performance is dependent on them and has enabled participants to be involved in subsequent projects and programs for their own teams to benefit their department and Council as a whole.
The induction stage of the program resulted in 36 participants achieving a Diploma of Management, partly funded by the ‘Skills for All’ government iniative.
The next stage of the program will focus on teams of staff working on continuous improvement projects as part of their ongoing development and is supported by regular forums where the leadership group share ideas and report on the progress of their individual and team projects.
