Meeting in Darling Harbour, Sydney from 12 to 15 May 2002, some 600 delegates attended the National Congress of Local Government Managers Australia (LGMA). Preceding the Congress, LGMA was host to the International Best Practices Symposium on 10 and 11 May. Working in collaboration with peak Local Government professional bodies in the USA and New Zealand, LGMA presented five best practice case studies to over 200 delegates. Almost half were international delegates representing 12 nations.
At the Congress itself, there were delegates from the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, Fiji and Sweden.
“We proudly claim this to be Australia’s premium Local Government Forum,” said National President, Rod Oxley. “Once again, we have presented a program of expert commentators and practitioners chosen to add to delegates’ personal skills and competencies.”
Referring to this year’s Congress theme, ‘Local Government Big Role – Big Impact in our Communities’, Rod Oxley said that, no matter what its size, a Council plays a vital role in community life.
In addition to a range of keynote addresses, the Congress presented sessions three concurrent streams covering management, government and professional development.
Janine Kirk, Executive Director of the Committee for Melbourne, spoke on the importance of working with others to achieve desired outcomes. Comprising 180 chief executives from corporations, academia, Local Government and community organisations, she described the Committee for Melbourne as a ‘not for profit think tank looking for ways to enhance Melbourne’.
“We draw people together to bring about collective action,” Janine Kirk said. “This is harnessing the input and skills of individuals across a range of organisations.”
In describing the 21st century as a time of paradox and complexity, she said that this is compelling us to look for new ways and new models for delivery.
“We need new leadership that is creative and inclusive, that values employee and community input,” Janine Kirk said. “Valuing people’s contribution builds loyalty and long term corporate sustainability.”
She said the recent spate of corporate collapses highlighting issues of ethics and values; the rise of shareholder activism; and triple bottom line policies are all driving the debate against short term financial decision making.
Speaking on the topic, Selecting Exceptional People, Martyn Rogers, Managing Director of the Rogers Group, pointed to the pitfalls of relying too heavily on CVs and interviews in selecting new staff. He said that training in interview techniques and understanding people is essential for Councils to avoid the time and costs associated with making wrong choices.
“Around 20 per cent of CVs that are checked are found to have falsified qualifications,” he said. “Moreover, few people conducting interviews with prospective staff have ever undertaken training to develop this skill.”
Only 10 per cent of delegates at this session indicated they had attended at least a one day course on interviewing techniques.
Martyn Rogers said that there is now a range of typical questions and how best to answer them available on the Internet to help candidates in their preparation for an interview. He said that behaviour based questions, skills and ability testing plus personality profiling will provide a much better indicator than an interview.
“Behaviour based questions don’t ask ‘What would you do if’ but ‘When was the last time you had to deal with … and how did you react?’” he said. “Then ask ‘In hindsight what would you have done differently? The more recent the incident the better a predictor in getting the people who want to do the job and will enjoy doing it.”
