People and Culture

Staff Development

In order to best service the University's needs and provide specialised support services, People and Culture has incorporated an Organisational Development (OD) team into its structure.

The OD team will serve as a catalyst for organisational learning and offer services in the following areas:

• Leadership development
• Talent management
• Succession planning
• Staff development
• Performance framework
• Change management
• Climate surveys

Whilst the OD team is still taking shape, our OD Director will be coming on-board in late October 2009.

Projects in the Pipeline:

• Head of School Leadership Program
• 1st intake was in July
• 2nd intake is taking place in September

This is a program which specifically targets Heads of School and involves a number of key elements: A 360 degree assessment, 2-day off-site residential, Monthly Networking meetings, and Quarterly Skill Development Workshops.

This program has met with much success to date.

Attachment / Onboarding Survey
This is a survey which measures employee perceptions of new recruits within their first 3 months of employment with La Trobe University. People and Culture will implement this tool prior to rolling it out to the broader University.

What is attachment?

Bolby and Ainsworth were two psychologists in the 60s and 70s which looked at how children establish a bond with their caregivers. The central theme of attachment theory is that caregivers who are available and responsive to their infant's needs establish a sense of security. The infant knows that the caregiver is dependable, which creates a secure base for the child to then confidently and effectively explore the world.

Applied within an organisational setting, Attachment translates into the specific period within which an employee bonds, to varying degrees, to their new employer. Qualitative evidence indicates that Employee Attachment has direct implications on both discretionary effort and attrition rates within the first 18 months of the employee lifecycle.

This process of employee attachment occurs within the first 120 days (3 moths). Common to all employees is a set of criteria which are consciously and unconsciously assessed throughout the 120 days. These are known as Attachment Drivers (of which there are 20):

1. Recruitment and Selection : the level of efficiency and professionalism associated with the recruitment and selection process impacting the perception of operating standards
2. Pre-Employment : the way the new employee was encouraged to feel secure and excited about their new position and the strength of bond achieved between offer and commencement
3. Orientation : the way the organization welcomes the employee on their first few days of employment – associated specifically with initiation of key interpersonal relationships with their immediate team and the physical work environment.
4. Central Messages : Core messages associated with the company's structure, mission, vision, direction, and philosophy.
5. Rotation : the managed process of ensuring that new staff have the opportunity to meet and initiate open communication with business units upstream and downstream to their own business function.
6. Incremental Learning : staged and progressive learning of skills as they apply to their new position
7. Accuracy of Job Representation : perceived difference between the way the job was presented and the first hand experience of the job being performed.
8. Manager Alignment and Accessibility : the frequency and nature of the hiring manager and the new employee
9. Business Awareness : awareness and understanding of core business, history, products, customers, services, and competitors.
10. Performance Objectives : understanding of expected performance levels relative to their phase of employment.
11. Learning Pathway : the understanding of learning opportunities available to the new employee.
12. Reasons for Joining : the presence of desired and the absence of undesired conditions.
13. Personal Vision and Career Path : the vision of the new employee associated with medium and long term career paths.
14. Senior Leadership : perceived visibility, involvement, and confidence in those responsible for setting the strategy
15. Work / Life Balance : time, energy, and emotional investment in work commitments relative to personal
16. Co-Workers : attitudes and behaviours of co-workers directed toward or observed by the new employee
17. Physical Work Environment and Resources : perceived quality of the working environment including the building, workspace and business tools.
18. Climate and Culture : the perceived alignment of the new employee to collective beliefs, values, and behaviours.
19. Systems and Processes : understanding in the key business systems and processes
20. Safety and Behaviour : perceived value that the organization places on employee safety

The OD team will be working collaboratively with CTLC and other areas of the University to introduce face-to-face Inductions for new staff. This initiative will conducted in addition La Trobe's effective online induction.

The OD team will facilitate and support senior leadership development programs, which in the short-term are likely to take the shape of 360 degree assessments.

The OD team will deliver advisory and support services to faculties/schools/divisions across the University to ensure understanding and effective use of data stemming from the Voice Project Climate Survey conducted in late 2008.

Note: This page is under construction, further developments and updates coming soon. The Unit provides a consultation service on a range of training available to staff.