Fostering a positive culture key for People Services team

Catholic Education Tasmania’s People Services team is an essential cog that keeps Catholic education safe and running effectively in Tasmania. They support key recruitment strategies for all positions across our 38 schools and the Tasmanian Catholic Education Office while working with leaders within our system to foster a strong positive culture across the organisation. 

People Services consists of 16 staff that are working across four key areas within the system: 

• Recruitment
• Industrial Relations / Employee Relations
• Child Safety
• Risk, Work Health Safety and Compliance

Paul Kealy is the Executive Manager for People Services at CET. As the designated Child Safety Officer, Paul plays a key role in ensuring that CET provides a safe environment for our 16,500 students. Paul explained how his role relates to the students and their families: “As a support function, we don’t always have direct contact with students and their families, but we are always in the background supporting those who are.”

Some of our People Services team!

Paul loves the culture that CET has developed and wants to continue fostering an environment where staff look out for and support one another. “In an environment like this, such a culture is a strong platform for introducing new ‘people’ initiatives.” Discussed Paul, “I feel that we have an exciting opportunity to do things a little differently and introduce some new initiatives like engagement surveys, workforce planning, and talent management.”

One aspect that is at the forefront of the People Services team is teacher recruitment and retention of quality teaching staff. There are a number of positions currently available across all education systems in Tasmania, and experienced teachers are in high demand in the classroom. The People Services team has partnered with a group of Principals from within our system to help understand the challenges that this issue creates. This will allow them to build an approach that will help make CET stand out to the types of candidates that will develop and support our students. It is also integral to Paul and the People Services team that they provide career opportunities for existing staff to help nurture their growth within the organisation, and help them become future leaders in our system.

More of our People Services team!

The Recruitment team are also developing a series of ongoing campaigns to attract teachers and support staff to CET, so they can create a pool of interested candidates that are ready and motivated to pursue a career within CET. This will hopefully sustain quality education across our system and ensure that the best possible candidates will be sourced for positions throughout the state.

Paul explained the challenges they face in trying to find the best candidates for roles in Tasmania, “One of the big-ticket items for the People Services team is finding and bringing talented and motivated people into the organisation.” Said Paul, “The labour market in Tasmania is challenging. We need to be agile and quick to identify good candidates, understand their fit with our organisation, and get a competitive offer to them ahead of the competition.”

Another core area of People Services is the Risk, Work Health and Safety, and Compliance team (RWC), who play an important role in keeping the students and staff in our schools safe. This is an area that is constantly developing and has taken many forms over time, but as safeguarding has become more prominent in schools this team has been integral in keeping our schools safe and supporting the well-being of students.  

Some of our RWC team! 

Each school and college within the system is given access to a CET Safety and Compliance Portal (CETKP) that has structures, systems, policies, and guidelines in place to ensure that schools meet obligations around WHS legislation, regulations, and Codes of Practices. The RWC team is integral in ensuring the system is across its obligations, making sure they are followed, and that staff are proactive in maintaining safety in all areas. Paul explained, “The RWC team is doing a great job reinforcing WHS compliance across the schools and contributing to a safety-conscious culture while working with schools to assess and manage potential risks that would impact staff, students, and anyone entering our school sites.”

The Employee Relations team is the glue that keeps everything together. They work in partnership with staff, Principals and managers to provide trusted advice and guidance around people processes, and the complex situations that can arise in any workplace around disputes, grievances, and supporting staff through difficult times.

When it comes to understanding and interpreting our Enterprise Agreement, or the various legislation at the local national levels, the Employee Relations team is our first port of call.

Like many teams within the Tasmanian Catholic Education Office, the work that People Services does every day is focused on supporting our students. Their work might often go unseen but knowing that students are safe and there is a strong culture of support within our system is why CET’s People Service team are a great asset to our organisation.