Earlier this month Lois Boswell, Acting Chief Executive of the Department of Human Services, was IPAA South Australia’s guest for a virtual ‘on the couch’ conversation.

During the conversation Lois talked about her involvement in the state-wide response to COVID-19 and expressed her pride in the work of her staff in support of the Department of Health and the non-government sector:

‘Human Service workers are the firefighters in a pandemic in many ways. Health workers are the front-line and we’re very close behind’.

She also spoke about leadership

‘People do go into “command and control” — and there’s definitely a role for that in crisis, there’s no doubt about that —  but there’s also a role for “How do you get people to come along on it?”.

So one of the things that has been reinforced for me about leadership is something I’ve always believed which is “communicate, communicate, communicate”.  Talk about it, ask about it, share what you’re actually thinking and what the challenges are with people, because that’s what makes them prepared to participate.’

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“Thank you very much, from the bottom of my heart. This has been a real test, and the South Australian public sector has proven itself to be extraordinarily capable”

disclaimer: this video contains an unedited transcript

During the Premier’s Address to the Public Sector released 7 May 2020, Premier Steven Marshall extended his sincere thanks to the exemplary efforts of all those delivering services to the community in these challenging times.

Prior to the interview Michael O’Brien gave a moving Welcome to County, highlighting the importance of opportunities such as this to share knowledge.

Premier Marshall was interviewed by Commissioner for Public Sector Employment, Erma Ranieri. Commissioner Ranieri addressed a number of questions from the audience to the Premier seeking his insight into the response to COVID-19, as described below.

• Premier, what are the exceptional behaviours that the public service has displayed during these challenging times that every member of the public service can champion to assist our State in the recovery phase?
• The healthcare system has undergone a significant makeover due to preparation for COVID, what will happen to Wakefield and Cottage Grove once COVID is past?
• To maintain work mobility, post-COVID19 will you issue an across government directive to approve workers requests to continue to work from home e.g. 1day per week?
• Will there now be a focus to manufacture our own medical supplies and medication so that we are not solely reliant on China and India?
• With so many people out of work do you think it is wise for Chief Executives to get a pay rise when their contracts are renewed?
• If SA keeps up the trend and becomes COVID free, what measures will SA take to keep the virus from coming from interstate? Do visitors obey self-isolation?
• Are the targets, Gov structures, and ambitions pre-COVID still relevant, given the world has changed? Is there an appetite for a Gov directional rethink and in particular how do we use this current situation to reform the Public Service?
• When can we actually do some travel interstate or travel that was postponed?
• What would you like to see every single public servant do to see us become stronger than we were before?

To all public sector employees and affiliates, a key takeaway of the Premier’s Address is to keep up their great work which to date has put the state in a great position to meet the evolving challenges of COVID-19. Premier Marshall also emphasised that he can see the state coming out of this pandemic ‘stronger than before’, and the efforts of people working for the public purpose will be the cornerstone in achieving this outcome.

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“The way we’ve performed in South Australia is a credit to the community of South Australia and I don’t think that can be overstated”.

South Australia Police, Commissioner, Grant Stevens APM praised the efforts of the Public Sector and the broader community in their response to the COVID-19 crisis. Commissioner Stevens also shared with us his calm and diligent approach in managing this pandemic in his key role as State Coordinator.

With the easing of restrictions, the Commissioner also reflected on the three elements of the SA COVID response which have paved the way to where we are now, which is;

1. What the community have done;
2. The moderate approach we took to start with;
3. How we as a police service have worked with the community rather than force it upon them.

Commissioner Stevens was interviewed by Imelda Alexopoulos, Partner, PwC where they explored the below questions:

• What were your key focus areas when you set about tackling the task and what has been the biggest challenge in having to undertake that role?
• What do you think are the key leadership qualities and behaviours that leaders really need to be displaying in times of crisis?
• Having experienced [the loss of Superintendent Joanne Shanahan] firsthand and not being able to pay your respects in the usual way, has that given you a different perspective on the impact restrictions are having on the broader community?
• Given the current restrictions regarding isolation has SAPOL seen an increase or impact in the numbers of crime in general?
• What other factors do you think contribute to the success [of the approach to COVID-19 restrictions in SA]?
• Has SAPOL had to innovate or do things differently in order to serve the community?
• What does the three-stage plan mean for SAPOL and how do you feel about the outlook in terms of being able to implement and executive that three-stage ease of restrictions?
• We have now seen over 5.2 million downloads of the COVID-SAFE app nationally. What does that mean in terms of being able to ease restrictions and being able to move back to normality?
• Policing the borders must be extremely difficult. What measures have you put in place for areas where there are less police officers?
• What was the SAPOL experience [of flexible work] during COVID-19 and do you think this will continue?
• How prepared were we as a state, for the pandemic?
• If you were to stay somewhere in South Australia on holiday where would that be?

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COVID-19 has brought many negative impacts, but it has also brought with it a wealth of opportunity to connect with others unbound by the constraints of location.

We are pleased to announce that we have expanded our Event, Forum, Planning and Management services to include virtual and mixed-mode events of all sizes. This service will be offered throughout COVID-19 restrictions and will continue into the future, as a new and powerful way to help you deliver on your event goals.

Virtual event delivery allows you to leverage our years of experience in event and forum planning and management while also adding greater flexibility and reach to your event. We will work with you to identify the technology requirements of virtual delivery and ensure that your event runs smoothly online for your audience and presenters whilst making it a seamless experience for you.

If you would like to explore virtual delivery of an upcoming event within your department or organisation please contact Athena Wallbank, IPAA SA Event Manager, at athenaw@sa.ipaa.org.au or on 08 8212 7555.

By huge demand from our member community, we are proud to announce the launch of our Member Mentoring Program. This program pairs young professionals within the public sector with experienced mentors in a relationship of mutual learning and benefit for both parties. In light of COVID-19 this program will continue ahead, though face-to-face meetings will temporarily be held virtually to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all our community.

The program will run over six (6) months and will match a mentor to a mentee based on their skills, experience, and development goals. Participants can expect a likely time commitment of at least one face-to-face or virtual meeting per four-six weeks, but the exact commitment is to be agreed between the mentor and mentee.

Personal Members are invited to express their interest in a place as a mentee in the program – there is no additional charge to Personal Members to participate in the program. If you are interested in being a mentor, membership is not required.

If you are interested in joining this program as a mentor or a mentee you can learn more about this opportunity and register your interest here. If you have any questions about this program please be in contact with us at membership@sa.ipaa.org.au or on 08 8212 7555.

To help you stay informed during COVID-19, IPAA SA, the South Australian Leadership Academy (Office of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment) and PwC are pleased to offer the Virtual On the Couch Series.

This Virtual On the Couch session we had the opportunity to hear from Chief Executive, Department for Education, Rick Persse on his views on the challenges of responding to COVID-19 in the education sector. Mr Persse expressed great positivity in South Australia’s response to the pandemic and what this means for our children returning to school in Term 2. Mr Persse was interviewed by Jamie Briggs, Adelaide Managing Partner, PwC where they explored the following questions:

• What’s the current outlook for the state with the return of school?
• How has the decision to return to the classroom been informed?
• How important is the ‘element of normal’ for young people, especially for our year 12’s?
• From a public sector perspective how have your interactions with colleagues in other states and departments in similar positions changed?
• Do you think the positive changes and new efficiencies we have seen emerging will stay after the crisis period ends?
• How are you communicating with teaching professionals to manage increased stress and demands?
• How is thinking turning at the government level to ‘switching back on’, what are your observations in this area?
• What do you feel you have learned over the last few weeks about managing a crisis?
• How have you found the experience of forced change in your department?
• What is the biggest takeaway from this epidemic that could be applied to the education perspective?
• What do you think the classroom of 2021-22 will look like given recent events, will it impact class size?
• What are your thoughts on the impact of changes to families work circumstance affecting choices in school for public and private sector?
• Will 2020 end better than it has begun?

disclaimer: This video contains an unedited transcript

Links and Resources

Australian Health Protection Principal Committee

Letter from the Chief Public Health Officer

Schools Open For Term Two – Media Release

Learning in Term 2 – Department for Education

“We don’t want to leave any child in an at-risk situation”, Chief Executive, Department for Child Protection, Cathy Taylor FIPAA, emphasised this as being at the heart of her department’s response to COVID-19.

Ms Taylor also shared her insights on the challenges and opportunities her department is experiencing, and how they can continue to deliver services whilst keeping people safe.

Ms Taylor explored the below questions during this interview with Mark Thomson, Partner, PwC, throughout praising the overwhelmingly positive response from the community, NGO’s and her department.

• The need for child protection doesn’t stop because of the coronavirus. What are you seeing in the world of child protection at the moment?
• Given what you are seeing how has this event impacted your department?
• At a very local level what have been your key focus areas, challenges and key initiatives of your department during this time?
• What are you seeing on the ground and at the government level around this conversation?
• Has data been elevated in importance for you through this event and do you think there are learnings for society about data? Has such a need arisen the space of Child Protection?
• Crises can often kindle people’s innovation, strength, spirit and resilience. Which we are seeing on a daily basis as small businesses in particular innovate. What positive outcomes have you seen come out of the coronavirus?
• What advice would you give to those leading teams at the moment?
• Are there any leadership frameworks, models and mantras that you find particularly helpful during these times?
• Given that there’s most likely some increased costs for carers in terms of access to Internet, technology devices and the like. Is there a plan to address this issue moving forward?
• Those who are in processes such as foster care applications or any other involvement in the sector, should they expect any difference in sort of the timeframes that those processes typically run?

Resources

Can We Declare a COVID Dividend, by Martin Stewart Weeks – as mentioned

COVID-19 one-off cash boost for our foster and kinship carers – Media release from Rachel Sanderson MP – as mentioned

Disclaimer: This video contains an unedited transcript

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