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AFP’s innovative approach to people management part of best practice seminar

Last month, the Public Service and Merit Protection Commission hosted a major international conference to discuss and display innovations and exemplary practices in public administration. The conference has six major themes - Policy Formulation and Advice, Process Improvement, People Management, Customer Service, Organisational Strategy and Performance, and International Export. Public Service Commissioner Dr Peter Shergold said the conference provided the opportunity for government organisations to display innovative practices, new techniques and changing approaches to public administration The AFP was invited to participate in the conference and Commissioner Mick Palmer accepted an invitation to speak at one of the plenary sessions. The following paper has been submitted outlining the AFP’s approach to people management. It provides a summary of the change process and places a range of current initiatives, such as the AFP’s anti-corruption policy, in context. The paper, prepared by Media and Public Relations and the Change Oversight Team, is reprinted for the information of Platypus readers.

Public Service Commissioner Dr Peter Shergold

About the Australian Federal PoliceWith a workforce of 2800 personnel the AFP is the primary law enforcement

agency through which the Commonwealth pursues its law enforcement interests. It is unique in Australian law enforcement in that its functions relate both to community policing and to investigations of offences against Commonwealth law which involve law enforcement in Australia and overseas and to the protection of high office holders, the safeguarding of witnesses and the provision of policing expertise to meet the Commonwealth’s UN commitments and international law- enforcement obligations.

The AFP has a head office in Canberra and regional offices in every Australian State and Territory, including a community policing structure which serves the ACT under an arrangement with the ACT Government. It has liaison posts in 15 cities in 13 countries, a representative attached to Interpol in Lyons, and provides members for the United Nations peacekeeping operations in Cyprus. Police services are also supplied for the Commonwealth territories of Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Norfolk Island and Jervis Bay.

Description of Innovation/InitiativeDuring the past 18 months the AFP has taken major steps towards

transformation into a team-based organisation with a vision ‘to fight crime and win’. This organisational change, is moving the AFP from a largely traditional police service into a client-focused, results-oriented, modem investigative body.

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Prior to the change, the AFP was typical of the policing profession:• being autocratic-centralist controlled;• being rules and regulation bound;• being strictly hierarchical with between 10-14

ranks and generally seniority promotion based;

• having no mobility between forces/services;• not recognising other qualifications;• comprising specialists-often elitist branch

based; and• driven by the speed of response rather than the

quality of service on arrival.All these qualities and structures were probably

right for their time but the time had come - and gone.It was clear from several major reviews,

particularly the Review of Commonwealth Law Enforcement Arrangements and the Elliott Report on fraud, that there was an expectation of a need for a fundamental change in AFP operations towards the investigation of major criminal enterprises. The AFP had to ensure it was in the best position to respond to these changes and priorities.

The AFP needed to be:• flexible and adaptable;• able to give greater priority to serious fraud,

major organised crime and special references;• able to undertake protracted more

sophisticated investigations; and

• able to deploy a wider range of investigative skills to emerging criminal activities.

The AFP had to free-up its organisation:• to move away from a management system

based on para military models of command and control;

• to release many of the centrally held controls;• to develop and motivate people through

proper trust and empowerment; and• to recognise that ‘divisions’ - as their label

clearly warn - ‘divide’.What was required was more pride, increased

self-confidence and self-regulation, and better trust within, between and across law enforcement agencies. This would achieve higher status, increased government confidence and the development of a positive law enforcement ethos and values which in turn would be envied and copied by others and, most importantly, willingly and consciously adopted by all personnel.

At an executive conference in October 1994 the AFP set the scene for the change. In the first instance the conference ignored structure and focused on redefining its core business and key relationships, reassessed its recruiting strategies, the way it treated and developed staff, and its culture and ethos.

The AFP also adopted a new vision statement which unequivocally focuses on the successful achievement of core business, unashamedly aims

In 1995-96, the AFP underwent a structural change:

• from this

1■I ■■ ■ ■ ■ ■!■ ■■

■ ■ ■ 1 ■ ■Traditional hierarchical structure which values command and control and adherence to rules, stifles innovation, initiative, flexibility and communications, is judgmental and results in slow decision making.

• to this

NationalService

ElementsRegional

ManagementTeam

Sydney

RegionalManagement

TeamMelbourneRegional

ManagementTeam

Canberra

NationalManagementCommittee

RegionalManagement

TeamAdelaide

RegionalManagement

TeamBrisbane Regional

ManagementTeamPerth

The teams approach which values empowerment, risk taking, innovation, initiative, is flexible and creates a learning organisation in which communications are speedier and decision making is devolved to the lowest possible level.

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for excellence and is easily understood and remembered by its people and partners. The statement 'To fight crime and win', is applicable both in the community policing sense as well as in our quest to combat serious organised crime in a global environment.

ApproachOur approach to change has been, and will

continue to be driven by the organic nature of the organisation and the environment in which it operates. We acknowledge that, to be effective and lasting, change efforts will need to touch every aspect of organisational life. The well- known McKinsey 7-S management model has given guidance in identifying the underlying interdependence among shared values, systems, structures, skills, staff, strategy and style elements in the AFP. This model has given concrete form to much of the ‘change’ thinking within the AFP.

As a starting point, a picture of the ‘ideal’ Australian Federal Police was developed alongside an honest appraisal of the current state of the organisation. Much of the descriptive material can be found in proposals put forward by change project teams across the organisation.This has been a deliberate and often painful process of reflection. The views of our clients and stakeholders, as well as of our people, have been most useful in creating an atmosphere conducive to moving forward into transformation and renewal.

In line with those principles, representative groups from across the AFP worked on developing an operational structure to achieve best practice. Through this process, an agreed model was developed to ensure that the prime focus was operational, with all investigations being organised and conducted by flexible, empowered teams. This model, known as the National Operations Model was introduced in the AFP on July 1, 1995.

Underpinning all these changes was a clear statement of vision, mission and values for the AFP reflecting the direction of the change process.

This statement emerged following a process of widespread consultation, including that with Australian Federal Police Association (AFPA) representatives, personnel from a wide range of operational and support areas and management.

The AFP recognised that if the proposed changes were to succeed they needed the full cooperation of all staff. The value of people in the workplace is strongly emphasised in the outcomes of the new classification remuneration and reward systems which will be introduced as part of a ratified enterprise bargain agreement.

A new approach to people management and industrial relations in the AFP, based on genuine consultation and negotiation, has been incorporated in the agreement. As well as all the elements of change, it also recognises that if the AFP is to work with, and be trusted and respected by its partners, it has to be free from corruption and operate according to the highest professional standards.

A joint change oversight team (COT) comprising both the AFP and the AFPA coordinated the project teams. The advisory group coordinated, supervised, monitored and provided advice to project teams and ensured the goals of the agreement were achieved.

The AFP also took into consideration that it must be value-driven, adequately funded and resourced, and be perceived by others as a highly credible and professional law-enforcement organisation. It had to become smarter and more sophisticated in outlook, confident and more service-orientated with an enhanced client focus, and also must refine its image by focusing on core business priorities.

It was recognised from the outset, that while the AFP needed to move ahead, it was made up of different parts. The change needed in ACT community policing, for example, would require a different approach, however it should where possible, adopt the broadly identified and agreed principles.

Deployment/IntegrationAs a strong symbolic, as well as actual, first

step, the AFP virtually abolished every operational and operational support branch in the organisation, replacing them with a new organic model in which people operate in flexible, properly empowered teams with the size and composition of the teams depending on the nature and complexity of the task and - in a world of limited resources - competing priorities.

But moving to teams alone was not enough - the negative side of broad banding was limited promotion. This meant a narrow triangle of restricted opportunity - an environment in which every vacancy attracted dozens of applications and in which every selection caused dozens of rejections. It was an environment which not only reduced motivation - it almost killed it.

The AFP attacked the root cause.The AFP moved away from the traditional

police classification system with designations that reflected rank (constable, sergeant etc.) adopting instead the generic title of‘federal agent’ for all sworn members below deputy commissioner.This title applies in all areas of the AFP except with respect to the AFP’s United Nations

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responsibilities, and its community policing role in the Australian Capital Territory where traditional police rank titles were maintained.

All personnel - sworn and unsworn - were given titles that better reflected their roles and responsibilities - that describe their ‘home’ rather than their ‘rank’.

In the past, static jobs formed the basis of work organisation. To achieve the flexibility and full use of people we are seeking, jobs are being abandoned in recognition of the fact that in the future there will only be work and people. Basing work around people rather than jobs will enable full use of individual capabilities. For this to occur legislative amendments will be necessary to reflect these radical changes.

The AFP put in place the basis for a new culture that stresses belonging, caring and self motivation in lieu of the previous industrial culture which emphasised entitlement and bargaining. Instead of ‘resources’, people become ‘assets’, and learning became an investment. Maximum value of the investment comes from the development of a culture which fosters a sense of belonging and self motivation.

The government’s expectation of the AFP to dismantle the higher levels of criminal activity requires effective deployment of our investigators. The AFP’s strategy to utilise a team-based investigative approach, with team leaders being selected on the basis of their experience and skills, is an important part of achieving effective deployment.

As part of the overall changes the AFP’s top management structure was revised (and reduced in size) in October 1995 to bring it in line with the model and to support a more workable team- based approach to operational and operational support roles.

A new peak decision making forum for the AFP, called the National Management Team (NMT), focuses on policy and strategic issues concerned with the future direction and activities of the AFP. Its charter is to assist with the development of key policy initiatives which further the achievement of the AFP's goals and obligations to government. Other committees established within the model are:• the Operations Committee (OC) which is

responsible for establishing national priorities and oversighting, reviewing and monitoring major operations. The OC is also supported by a National Operations Coordination Centre (NOCC) which is responsible for providing timely advice on AFP operations.

• Regional Management Teams (RMT) which determine regional operational priorities while

ensuring adherence to the policies and priorities set by the NMT and OC.The AFP workplace has traditionally featured

defined jobs, a single set of skills and a command structure. Except where the functions dictate a need for continuity and stability of staffing, the new operations model, requires job flexibility, multi-skilling and a team-based structure.

Operational teams are flexible and may be either single or multiple target teams. Each empowered team is responsible for managing the investigation, including taskings, oversight, coordination and conduct of investigations, and the utilisation of allocated resources.

In addition to the change process a new operational methodology has been developed which resulted in the development of the Operations Evaluation Model. The model is an essential tool supporting the move towards a team based environment and is currently used to enable the NOC and RMTs to make informed decisions about the priorities of competing operational demands.

Results/OutcomesIn the past 18 months change was pursued in

core business, ethos, organisation, people and key relationships. The principal outcomes were:• a clear statement of a vision, mission and

values for the AFP;• the commencement, on 1 July 1995, of a

flexible, empowered, teams-based approach to AFP operations in place of the former division, branch and section structure;

• the adoption, from February 1996, of a similar team-based approach in AFP Flead Office;

• except where required by legislation, abolition of prescriptive rules and replacement with a series of guidelines;

• confirmation that the core business of the AFP is to counter organised crime, major fraud, drug offences, serious crimes against the Commonwealth, as well as to deal with NCA ‘menu’ items, national and international matters, ACT community policing and United Nations commitments;

• the establishment of more refined and effective alliance arrangements with the NCA, State/Territory law-enforcement agencies, Commonwealth agencies and other key stakeholders;

• the alignment of support functions such as intelligence, planning, technical and scientific, and corporate services to further enhance operational effectiveness;

• adoption of a streamlined national

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IN NOVATIONS

management team principally comprising the general managers of all AFP business units;

• the abandonment of the use of former rank titles in favour of the generic description of federal agent for AFP members, except in the ACT where the use of conventional community policing rank titles is presently retained.

• uniform and redirection of the national training and development program including the creation of an Education Advisory Counsel consisting of professional and community representatives;

• reinforcing a culture of integrity by the introduction of a professional reporting policy, illicit drug testing, integrity/private interest reporting and a security plan; and

• focusing the recruitment policy of the AFP on ‘qualities and values’ rather than its emphasis being on mechanical skills and qualifications.The AFP is currently developing a range of

more qualitative corporate performance indicators. Previous internal reporting systems focused on workload, efficiency and the achievement of objectives by individual work units rather than on outcomes achieved by the AFP as a whole. This will be redressed by the current process which provides indicators of organisational effectiveness against agreed objectives.

Early indicators from the teams approach show significantly enhanced ‘clear-up’ rates in ACT Region. The Regional Crime coordinator said recently: “The results show that the flexible team-based approach to policing is being used effectively”.

While the change process has already delivered outcomes, many longer-term strategies are still being developed or being finalised.These include:• an intelligence plan which will address issues

including access to intelligence information, coordination of regional and national intelligence, service delivery and awareness;

• an investigations management process involving a quality assurance review to ensure best practice is identified and maintained in AFP investigations;

• introducing mechanisms for reviewing existing resource allocations to ensure the primary focus is consistently directed towards activities which best deliver and support AFP core business;

• a process to establish and foster strategic relationships with key partners and stakeholders to recognise common interests and facilitate open communication;

This change to paying the person ratherthan ike job is the key to achieving the level of flexibility, opportunity and motivation the AFP is seeking for our people

• a management and leadership profile which reflects total quality service principles; and

• reviewing the structure of corporate and operational support areas with a move away from existing functional delineations towards a client focused, processed based ‘business unit’ structure.

ImprovementThe transition from a basically hierarchical

rules-bound organisation to one which fosters initiative, learning and empowerment has not been without cost. Many personnel felt the strain of this fundamental cultural change and this resulted in a short term drop in performance levels. While this almost unavoidable downturn has already been reversed, there are three key initiatives which have the potential to lead to levels of performance significantly higher than previously achieved.

The refinement of the commercial role- classification system known as ‘Classify’ is being adapted to incorporate the particular needs of the AFP. This will support the new remuneration/rewards structure which will reinforce learning and accomplishment and support the flexible empowered teams based model by rewarding people for the skills they possess and what they actually do. It will also provide the opportunity to rationalise and modernise remuneration arrangements, for example, composite salaries, flexible packaging of benefits such as cars, mobile phones etc.

The settling of individual remuneration levels will be determined by the level of demonstrated capability held by individuals, not the role which they may be undertaking at a particular time. This change to paying the person rather than the job is the key to achieving the level of flexibility, opportunity and motivation the AFP is seeking for our people.

Rather than promotion from level to level of job value, the new system will provide for advancement on the basis of increasing value of personal capability. Because there is no pyramidal structure to block advancement, it will provide opportunities for people to grow in capability and advance in value to the AFP on the back of demonstrated performance. The system will therefore value the ability of an individual to

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I N N V A T I

continually learn and adapt as well as the ability to use existing knowledge and skills.

Concomitant with the implementation of the operational model has been a review of the activities included in the AFP’s major operational program (Investigation of Crimes Against the Commonwealth). The findings of this review provides the AFP with national framework for dealing with referrals and tasks. The framework identifies:• core business strategies• national consistency in work• clearer guidelines on referrals and tasks• prioritisation of referrals

The most significant of these points is the framework for the national prioritisation of referrals. It represents a major break with past practices. The policy framework introduces a new, four stage assessment process through which a decision is made on whether a referral/task will be accepted, rejected or dealt with by other means.• Assessment of the referral or task against the

five criteria in the ‘essential category’, to determine whether it must be accepted now.

• If not ‘essential’, assessment of the referral against the criteria in the ‘very important’ category to establish a perception of ‘value’.

• Determination of the relative value of each of the referrals/tasks and their consequent ranking (at the time received).

• Determination, in priority order, of how each referral/task can be most effectively actioned in the prevailing circumstances. This may include referring it to another region, acting in concert with other agencies, or assisting the referring agency to undertake the matter itself. The ‘core business’ of the AFP is very broad,

and the challenge is to identify those referrals and tasks which maximises the value of AFP work at any given time. It is not feasible to rank national priorities in terms of specific incidents or tasks. Informed professional judgements about the ‘value’ of each referral must be made to assist prioritisation.

No practical formula-driven approach or application of a system of weights to various factors could capture the unpredictable and often volatile environment in which the AFP operates. Similarly, the framework is an aid to decision making, but it does not in itself set priorities.

It is believed that by taking the initiative to be flexible, adaptable and responsive and therefore able to face the new environments, the AFP will be well placed to provide dynamic, trusted and effective law enforcement to the people of Australia. The AFP’s identity will emerge from the quality of the AFP people who will meet the demands and challenges presented to them and by

the assessment of our stakeholders on how well we execute our role.

In summary the reform program of the AFP focuses on people and how to select, protect, mentor, coach and motivate them in prioritising and undertaking the work the AFP must do if it is to effectively protect the interests of Australia.

RecruitmentThe selection and appropriate development of

people who reflect the values of the AFP and who are most likely to contribute as much to the way we do business as the business we do.

ProtectionThe protection and development of our people

through:• externally and professionally driven, flexible

and modular skills and values, focused education and development programs;

• a professional reporting policy which protects and mentors personnel who report wrongdoing; and

• illicit drug testing targeted to protect team members and where risk factors are present, integrity and private interest statements and team driven codes of conduct.

MotivationProviding people with work and rewards

which match their capabilities and potential. This involves the capability and total employment costs based remuneration strategies, properly accredited development and training opportunities, recognition of performance and wider development opportunities to obtain the diverse range of skills necessary to ensure effectiveness in an increasingly diverse and unpredictable criminal environment.

WorkA professional approach to prioritising and

selecting core business which recognises the seriousness and importance of crime is not simply determined by the size and nature of the individual offence but also by:• the potential to become a systemic problem;• its importance to the proper effective

government; and• the relevance to appropriate levels of

compliance in government regulation.A flexible, adaptable and empowered teams

approach to the conduct of operations which direct the mix of people skills and capabilities and resources to each operation which, having regard to completing priorities is most likely to achieve best outcomes and results. Jk

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