GRDC Annual Report 2006-07 - PART 3: Our people

Our people

Staff are important to the GRDC, and priority is given to looking after them. The GRDC acknowledges the importance of families, and is committed to helping staff maintain a balance between personal and family responsibilities and work responsibilities. Excellence is valued throughout the organisation, and staff take pride in their achievements as talent and hard work combine, through teamwork, to achieve the required organisational goals.

Staff

As at 30 June 2007, the GRDC had 52 full-time positions and employed 43 full-time staff members, including the Managing Director, as shown in Table 13. These staff were employed under s. 87 of the PIERD Act, which provides that the terms and conditions of employment are to be determined by the GRDC.

The GRDC also engaged four program consultants, under s. 88 of the PIERD Act.

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Table 13 Staff as at 30 June 2007
	Position	Occupant
Managing Director’s area	Managing Director Manager Communications Executive Assistant Executive Manager, Communication & Customer Services	Peter Reading vacant Wynette Neil Vic Dobos
Corporate Services	Executive Manager General Counsel Corporate Lawyer Compliance Officer Manager Finance Accountant—Reporting Contract Payments Officer Accounts Payable Officer Manager Human Resources Records Management Coordinator Travel Coordinator Receptionist Administrative Assistant Manager IT Facilities Network Administrator Webmaster Network Support Officer	Gavin Whiteley Geoff Budd vacant Noelia Freitas Danielle White Nino Divito Cathy Wells Kylie McLay Wendy Neil Ross Thompson Sarah Smith Ros Walton vacant Tavis Hamer Bhargav Prajapati vacant vacant
Corporate Strategy & Program Support	Executive Manager Business Analyst Corporate Strategist Evaluation and Reporting Manager Procurement and Contracting Contracts Coordinator Administrative Assistant Panel Coordinator (National and West) Panel Support Officer Panel Support Officer (North and South)	Iftikhar Mostafa Vincent Fernandes Zoltan Lukacs Cathy Stewart Klaudia Skazlic Lauren Kennelly Julia Polkinghorne vacant Janine Corcoran
Varieties	Executive Manager Administrative Coordinator Administrative Coordinator Administrative Assistant Manager Gene Discovery Manager Germplasm Enhancement Project Manager Breeding Project Manager Pre-Breeding Manager Wheat and Barley Breeding Manager Pulse/Oilseed Breeding	John Harvey Merrilyn Baulman vacant vacant Andreas Betzner Richard Brettell Sara Hely Jody Higgins Leecia Angus Brondwen MacLean
Practices	Executive Manager Administrative Coordinator Administrative Coordinator Manager Agronomy Soils and Environment Project Manager Practices Manager Crop Protection Manager Validation and Adoption Manager Extension and Grower Programs Manager Publications	Greg Fraser vacant Angela Ditton Martin Blumenthal Rohan Rainbow John Sandow Stuart Kearns Tom McCue Maureen Cribb
New Products	Executive Manager Administrative Coordinator Manager New Farm Products and Services Manager New Grain Products	Vince Logan Bettina Garrett Paul Meibusch John de Majnik

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Single Vision Grains Australia

In 2006-07, the GRDC funded two full-time positions and a part-time administrative position in Single Vision Grains Australia (as shown in Table 14), as well as an Interim Board consisting of five members.

Table 14 GRDC-funded staff of Single Vision Grains Australia as at 30 June 2007
Position	Occupant
Chief Executive Officer	Selwyn Snell
Business Development Officer	Matt Kealley
Executive Assistant (part-time position)	Michelle Fairbrother

Equal employment opportunity

Staff are employed under terms and conditions consistent with the Equal Employment Opportunity (Commonwealth Authorities) Act 1987 and the equal employment policy set out in the GRDC Operating Manual. Table 15 shows the age and gender profile of GRDC staff for the past two reporting periods.

Table 15 Breakdown of staff by age and gender
	20–30 yrs	30–40 yrs	40–50 yrs	50–60 yrs	>60 yrs	Female	Male	Total
2005–06	18 36%	10 20%	7 14%	14 28%	1 2%	28 56%	22 44%	50 100%
2006–07	11 26%	10 23%	11 26%	10 23%	1 2%	21 49%	22 51%	43 100%

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Staff location

Six management groups, including the professional staff who manage research contracts and investment opportunities, are housed in offices at the following Canberra address:

Grains Research and Development Corporation

First Floor
40 Blackall Street
BARTON ACT 2600

The GRDC owns one floor of Tourism House at 40 Blackall Street. The GRDC does not own any research facilities.

Until the end of its operations on 30 June 2007, Single Vision Grains Australia operated from a rented office at:

Suite 17
Level 2
2 Loraine Street
CAPALABA QLD 4157

Code of conduct

The GRDC Code of Business Conduct and Ethical Behaviour is published as part of the GRDC Operating Manual, and copies of the code are publicly available upon request.

New staff members are introduced to the code during induction, and presentations on the code are made to staff at regular intervals. All staff have access to the code via the policies section on the GRDC intranet.

Performance management

The GRDC has a structured approach to reviewing, recognising and improving performance. Measures of performance are aligned with the strategic direction of the organisation, and individual performance is rewarded through the annual bonus scheme, in which performance is assessed against agreed key result areas and performance indicators twice each year.

Performance improvement and excellence is encouraged, and individual efforts and behaviour are identified and rewarded.

Recruitment, training, retention and succession management

In a climate of increasing labour shortages the GRDC is faced with strong local competition. Increasingly, the recruitment process looks for the relevant skills and the right people-organisation match. The GRDC aims for an honest and open exchange of information in order to find this.

New staff are given induction training during the first week, and induction information is available in hard copy as well as online for easy reference.

Training is an extra reward benefit which is highly valued by many GRDC staff members. Training and development opportunities are identified to challenge staff and develop their capacity to perform both in their current roles and in future roles in the organisation. Attention is paid to helping staff find career paths that add direction and a sense of achievement to their roles.

The GRDC values its people and seeks opportunities to demonstrate this. A formal succession management process takes place each year, and all staff are rated according to their potential to succeed in certain roles. Excellent performers may show potential to succeed other staff and be developed for that purpose. This allows retention of valuable industry knowledge across the organisation. All vacancies are advertised internally at first, which offers staff a chance to move up in new areas.

Occupational health and safety

The link between good health, enjoyment of work, productivity and excellence means the health and wellbeing of staff continue to be priorities at the GRDC.

Some ways in which health and safety support are provided to staff are:

promoting good nutrition by providing fresh fruit each week
preventing injuries by increasing awareness of ways to prevent strains and injuries
increasing awareness of stress and depression and ways to manage them, including through lectures by employee assistance program counsellors
providing a free flu immunisation program
providing a free employee assistance program and counselling service for all staff
providing and maintaining safe plant, systems of work and access to and egress from the workplace
improving hazard identification, risk assessment and risk control through health and safety representative training
providing training on incident reporting and notification
maintaining information and records relating to health and safety.

During the year there were several instances of staff requiring extended sick leave. The GRDC was able to demonstrate its commitment to staff by an individual approach in each case, allowing in most cases a full and safe return to work. These instances showed a consistent application of policy, while allowing fairness and flexibility in accordance with the circumstances.

Table 16 summarises the key elements of the GRDC's occupational health and safety performance during the year.

Disability strategies

The GRDC implements the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Commonwealth Disability Strategy to an extent which relates to the size and functions of the corporation, and as the need arises.

If documents are presented on the internet, accessibility guidelines are followed and large print is available on request. The principle of 'reasonable adjustment' is recognised and every effort is made to deal with concerns fairly.

Table 16 GRDC occupational health and safety performance
Position	Occupant
Chief Executive Officer	Selwyn Snell
Business Development Officer	Matt Kealley
Executive Assistant (part-time position)	Michelle Fairbrother