People and Organisational Development

The PTA aims to be an employer of choice. During the year, its workforce passed the 1000-people mark.

Strategic People Management

The People Reference Group, which was formed in June 2004, continued to provide advice directly to the Executive on a number of key people strategies. This included a review of the organisation’s Aim to ensure its relevance to employees, and recommendations on leadership throughout the organisation, and internal communication. The new recommended Aim, which appears at the front of this report, is: “To make public transport an attractive and sustainable choice for connecting people and places.”

The Building Capability Workforce Plan was developed and key strategies implemented on an ongoing basis. These include completion of a retirement intentions survey, the identification of roles critical to the business, and the establishment of succession management guidelines to ensure ongoing expertise and skills are available to meet the business objectives of the organisation.

The PTA is an equal opportunity employer committed to achieving greater workforce diversity.The strategies in the Equity and Diversity Management Plan 2004- 2006 will help PTA people achieve this outcome. The plan identifies and sets priorities to improve equity and service delivery through increasing diversity. It details specific initiatives and responsibilities to ensure the PTA meets objectives for targeted priority groups, creates a sense of well-being for all employees and is a

tool for cultural change. The Director of Equal Opportunity in Public Employment commended the plan as a best practice example of planning in this critical area.

Innovation is a key driver of sustainable business performance. The PTA developed an internal program harnessing employee suggestions for improvement in processes, systems and customer service. The Lightglobe program links innovative interactive software with systematic assessment, evaluation, implementation and recognition of employee ideas on better ways of doing business.

Recruitment and retention of specialist skills needed to complement Perth’s expanding urban passenger rail system was particularly challenging in a year when WA’s resource industry boom quickened and the labour market became increasingly tight. Rapid growth in required operational roles in the Transperth Train Operations Division saw five pooled recruitment exercises conducted during the year, which added 94 new Transit Guards and 37 new Railcar Drivers to the Division.

Workforce Planning

To address the global concerns of skills shortage, an ageing workforce and a growing trend for early retirement, the PTA developed a workforce plan that enables it to proactively prepare for future needs by ensuring that the organisation has the right number of people, with the right capabilities, in place at the right time. Implementation of strategies in the workforce plan commenced and will assist the PTA to achieve its objectives by ensuring that its workforce can deliver the business needs and required outcomes.