Diversity Strategy and Workforce Management Plan Review

The challenge

Given the cultural diversity of the area, it was vital that Council operates, and is seen to operate, in a manner that is not only inclusive, but can further build on its vibrant local community.  

Within this context, Council sought the IPPG Centre for Local Government’s (IPPG:CLG) expertise to review and make recommendations on their Diversity Strategy and Workforce Management Plan to ensure these plans were: 

• Robust, and informed by the latest good practices, principles, policies and approaches
• Impactful, and appropriate to both internal and external stakeholders
• Fit-for-purpose, aligned and consistent with Council’s priorities, its Community Strategic Plan and its broader Integrated Planning and Reporting instruments 

What we did

We co-developed the brief for the review with Council representatives and proposed a detailed approach for Council’s approval. Following initial desktop review of the draft documents, we engaged Council personnel through a facilitated workshop focused on needs and expectations for the documents.  

Once requirements were established, we undertook detailed desktop analysis of the draft Diversity Strategy and Workforce Management Plan documents, including targeted benchmarking and a comparative review of good practice diversity and workforce models relevant to Council’s needs and context, including at both local and state government levels. 

Outcome

Findings and recommendations were fed back and discussed with Council throughout the process. We produced a short report for Council communicating recommendations on options to strengthen the documents themselves, as well as (where relevant) associated documents and processes. We also provided a briefing note to demonstrate how new reforms build on Council’s wider agenda and deliver benefits to the local community.