Queensland’s Rockhampton Regional Council has developed an innovative behavioural management program. Implemented last March, the program reflects Council’s commitment to being a Zero Harm organisation, where the safety of employees, volunteers, contractors and the public is its first priority.
The Zero Harm policy covers issues including bullying, workplace discrimination, sexual harassment, code of conduct and values.
Rockhampton CEO Alastair Dawson said, as part of this policy, Council introduced a Zero Tolerance program as an innovative training method for all staff.
“As a Zero Harm organisation, Rockhampton Regional Council thinks safety and wellbeing in everything we do by delivering effective training,” he said. “In this way, we are ensuring all leaders are safety role models who are accountable to the Zero Harm policy.
“Our Zero Tolerance program is designed to be ongoing and we believe that once the process of information delivery is established, it can then be used for information delivery on any other issues that need to be addressed. This should result in more effective training tailored to team requirements.
“Our senior management team is committed to the Zero Tolerance program and is aware that for the program to be effective, there needs to be a commitment from the ‘top down’ within the organisation.”
Under the program, two levels of training are conducted. The first level is for managers and supervisors, who then deliver second level training to employees. This means training costs within Council have been reduced, as the need for outside trainers has been lessened.
Alastair Dawson said to ensure managers and supervisors possessed the skills required to present the information, initial training sessions were provided on effective presentation skills.
“Managers and supervisors now deliver the employees’ training to their teams using a series of 20 to 30 minute modules, at a convenient time according to workloads, schedules, or wet weather,” he said. “Under the initial stage of the program, topics were presented on a six weekly basis, as the program is designed on the premise that regular training from the employees’ own managers and supervisors is more likely to succeed than one training session per year with an external provider. Holding the sessions over a period of time also encourages continuous discussion.”
To support the Zero Tolerance message, Council introduced a Contact Officer program. Eleven Contact Officers are available across Council to provide advice to staff on what they should do if they feel harassed or have any policy or procedural questions. An Employee Assistance program is also available to provide free counselling to all employees and their immediate families in times of need.
Alastair Dawson said an interactive Zero Harm campaign was undertaken to promote the policy within Council, with employees entering competitions to complete the safety slogans used in posters around the organisation.
The theme used to promote safety was, ‘I work safe so…’. Staff members completed the slogan with things like, ‘I work safe so I can come home to my family’. The Zero Harm campaign also includes car stickers, magnets, staff barbecues, t-shirts and giveaways.
For further information contact Jan Fullard, Council’s Training and Development Advisor, on 1300 225 577.
