As the year draws to a close, I’d like to provide the last update for 2022 on the integration.
Planning to bring together the ways of working across the group is now well underway, including developing ways to gather input and feedback to inform the integration work. Thank you to those who have responded to the employee survey sent out last week. We have received more than 200 responses to the survey so far and I’d like to take this opportunity to share with you some of the feedback we’ve received. We’ll share a more detailed overview next month, after the survey closes.
Firstly, we have been told that the most important thing in the integration work is to maintain our focus on the people we support. The Integration Team and I wholeheartedly agree and this is a key part of the Integration Vision and Principles that are guiding our work.
Employees have identified one of the key benefits of the merger as having a greater influence within the community services sector. A stronger voice will help us to continue to advocate for important improvements to the NDIS and out-of-home care systems.
Survey respondents said they would like the integration team to focus on improving systems and processes to best support employees to do their job and in turn benefit the people we support.
Employees also said it was important to maintain communication throughout the process and gain input from them along the way.
Integration Management Plan
I’m pleased to announce that the Integration Management Plan has this week been approved by the board and in many ways it speaks to the priorities you identified in the survey.
Key objectives of the Integration Management Plan are to ensure that we come together in a way that:
Improves the service experience for people we support
Improves the experience for employees delivering services while also managing costs.
The merger presents a great opportunity to learn from each other and adopt the ‘best of both worlds’ across the group.
The Integration Management Plan outlines key initiatives such as:
Improving our capability to deliver outcomes for the people we support
Improving recruitment and onboarding of new employees
Providing better training and development opportunities for employees so you are supported to provide excellent services
Providing better IT systems so that less time is spent on paperwork and more time is focused on the people we support
Creating a unified, best practice approach to keeping safe the people we support and employees
Improving a range of processes to ensure we effectively manage costs and track payments for our services.
While we are only making changes where necessary, there will be range of changes as 2023 progresses. We will carefully plan the timing of the introduction of initiatives to keep it in manageable chunks. The Integration Team will keep those affected informed and consulted as planning for each initiative progresses.
Listening to feedback
We are taking steps to make sure that our plans reflect the needs and wishes of the people we support. An Advisory Group is being set up to provide input into the integration work.
We want to hear their voices so we can maximise the benefits of the merger to them and communicate with them in the ways that they want as the integration progresses. The integration team is currently identifying potential members of the group.
We are offering four ways for employees to get involved in the integration:
Survey – an online survey has been sent out to all employees to let us know about your priorities and concerns.
Reference Groups – we will be setting up a number of Reference Groups in early 2023 to provide input into various change projects and how we implement them.
Change Network – we are seeking a range of people to help us to implement the new ways of working.
Local engagement – forums will be held in each state early next year offering employees an opportunity to contribute to the shaping of a new vision and values for the group. Invitations to participate in the local forums will be sent out early next year.
If you would like to be involved in a Reference Group or Change Network, please fill in an Expression of Interest.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone for embracing the merger while at the same time keeping our focus on delivering high quality services. There is lots of work to be done, but I’m sure evidence of the many benefits will be clear by this time next year.