As a result, some improvements have already been made to the DPR process, including changes to the Workday platform.

What are the changes?

The main change relates to goal planning for professional staff. Goals are now set and tracked through Workday’s ‘My Goals’ function. The existing template will still be used, but only for reviewing goals at the end of each year.

While the end of year review remains a key element of the process, regular check-ins will be encouraged to keep goals on track.

What is the new process?

The improved process allows professional staff and their managers to better plan, track and evaluate goals.

Plan: Professional staff need to set their goals for the year by 1 March.

Track: To be scheduled as required, check-ins throughout the year will allow for constructive two-way feedback, and help professional staff stay on course. The additional support and encouragement will also ensure greater alignment to overarching strategies at an individual, team and organisational level.

Review: The end of year  Review will occur from mid-November, when we launch the correspondent template for staff members and managers to evaluate outcomes against the goals set for the year in review.

How should I complete the upcoming end of year review?

The end of year review 2023 should be completed using the existing template, which will be available from 15 November for professional staff and from early December for academic staff.

This end of year review relates to all goals with due date between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2023.

The templates will be available in Workday under ‘Development, Performance and Review’ function. Reviews must be completed by 1 March 2024.

The following guides have been created to help you complete the end of year review 2023:

End Of Year Review 2023 – Guide for staff members

End Of Year Review 2023 – Guide for staff managers

How will the 2024 DPR process work?

Goals for 2024 should be added to ‘My Goals’, available in Workday, by 1 March 2024. This relates to all goals with a due date between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2024.

You may wish to start discussing 2024 goals during your end of year review 2023 or schedule a separate meeting.

Supervisors or managers can navigate to ‘My Team Management’ in Workday to:

• cascade their own goals to team members
• view and endorse goals proposed by their team members
• create new goals for their team members.

Other Workday updates

The following changes have been made to Workday to enhance the user experience and improve functionality:

• The ‘My Goals’ function can be accessed year-round, allowing staff to add, edit, or archive goals, keep track of milestones and progress against your individual goals, and exchange confidential comments with their supervisor at any time.
• Notifications: Improved manager and staff activity visibility through the new manager dashboard, ‘My Team Tracker’ and notification activation which will alert staff members every time there is an action related to their goals.
• Comment exchange functionality: Staff and managers can confidentially exchange comments in the Activity’ text box under the goals section. If you want to create a notification in Workday to flag your comment, simply include @name in your comment.
• Reports of your goals with or without comment exchange can now be converted to a PDF file offering added access versatility and privacy.

For additional resources to support the Development Performance Review process contact your HR Client Services Representative.

This is only one area of our diversity and inclusion work, and while the survey focuses specifically on LGBTQIA+ inclusion, it does not lessen our focus in other areas of diversity practice.

The AWEI survey data enables our organisation to gain insights into the knowledge levels and experiences of all our employees. It will also provide us with essential information about many areas specific to LGBTQIA+ employees, allowing us to develop inclusion plans and initiatives that prioritise the needs of our LGBTQIA+ employees and their allies.

Regardless of how you personally identify, we encourage all staff members to participate in this survey as it provides a means by which you can have your say. While the survey data will identify the name of our organisation, please note that individual employees cannot be identified and participation is completely anonymous. Your feedback will enable us to not only gauge the visibility and impact of our LGBTQIA+ inclusion initiatives, but also understand the views of those who do not identity as LGBTQIA+, as well as the experiences of those who are of diverse sexuality and/or gender.

If you have any questions, please contact workplacediversityinclusion@mq.edu.au

The survey will close midnight Thursday 29 February 2024.

To participate in the survey, please click here.

In addition to gazetted public holidays, the University, U@MQ and MGSM provide staff with three additional concessional days off. A table of the public holidays and concessional days for this year is provided below:

Staff wishing to take annual leave or other leave before or after the close-down period should discuss their plans with their manager.

If a staff member is required for operational reasons to work over the close-down period, they should discuss alternative arrangements with their manager. Arrangements might include alternative days or payment for work. Questions about the close-down period should be directed to your Human Resources contact.

The SES will enable us to assess the importance and effectiveness of these services with the insights fed into the Service Governance Board, which plays a role in providing strategic oversight of the improvements to the professional service delivery models.

“I am grateful to those of you who have completed the survey so far and I encourage others to complete the survey prior to closure on Tuesday 14 November,” says Nicole Gower, Vice-President, Professional Services.

Please contact the survey team via uniforum@mq.edu.au for any questions, or if you need the survey invitation to be re-sent.

Find out more here.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Professional Staff Agreement and the Academic Staff Agreement on 11 October 2023 and 17 October 2023 respectively.

Enterprise agreements come into operation seven calendar days after Fair Work Commission approval. Accordingly, the Professional Staff Agreement came into effect on 18 October 2023 and the Academic Staff Agreement on 24 October 2023.

Links to the new enterprise agreements can be found on the staff portal, alongside current agreements which apply to nursing and support services staff at MQ Health. U@MQ and MGSM staff can contact their HR Client team representative for any questions about their employment conditions.

I would like to provide you with an important update on negotiations for new enterprise agreements covering academic and professional staff.

Our current enterprise agreements contain some of the most generous terms and conditions in Australia and the sector, which we are committed to maintaining and enhancing through the enterprise bargaining process. Substantive negotiations commenced in May last year with the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) and Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU). The unions tabled the final proposed changes to our current enterprise agreements on 16 February 2023.

At our bargaining meeting yesterday, the University tabled a pay offer to union representatives and presented a proposed framework and approach to resolving outstanding issues with a view to finalising enterprise bargaining as soon as possible so that staff can benefit from proposed salary increases and other enhanced conditions.

University pay offer

The University recognises that salary increases will be a priority for staff given the continued increases to the cost of living over the last 12 months. We also appreciate that maintaining competitive salaries is critical if we are to continue to attract and retain the best people.

We have therefore tabled the following proposed salary increases to union representatives:

• 5% salary increase on approval of the new enterprise agreements by staff
• 3.5% salary increase effective in 2024 (effective 12 months after the previous increase)
• 3% salary increase effective in 2025 (effective 12 months after the previous increase)

Together with the 2% salary increase provided outside the enterprise agreements last year, this equates to a cumulative pay increase of more than 14% from 2022 – 2025. We consider this to be a fair pay offer which balances the need to appropriately recognise and remunerate our high-quality staff with the need to ensure that any increases are sustainable and responsible. It is also consistent with salary increases agreed or proposed at other universities and will maintain our competitive position in the sector.

Update on other bargaining matters

I am pleased to share that there are a number of other areas where we believe substantial agreement has been reached with union representatives or where the University has proposed resolutions to issues raised. Areas of substantial agreement include:

• Improved provisions in relation to flexible work aligned with our Flexible Work Framework
• Protections in relation to work-life balance and disconnecting from work
• Improved casual conversion provisions for professional staff
  20 days per annum of Domestic Violence Leave for continuing and fixed-term staff and 10 days per annum for casual staff
• Commitments in relation to supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment

University proposals specific to academic staff colleagues include:

• A commitment to create a minimum of 60 new Teaching and Leadership positions over the life of the enterprise agreements. This builds on the work we have already done to create opportunities for more secure forms of employment for casual academic staff – noting that we have created 86 Teaching and Leadership positions since 2018 and that 68 of these are occupied by staff who were previously casual academics at the University
• Inclusion of a set of principles in the enterprise agreement to support fair and equitable models for academic workload
• A more coordinated process for the Outside Studies Program (OSP) across faculties

Other proposals from the University include:

• 20 days per annum of gender affirmation leave as a separate category of leave and in addition to other leave entitlements
• Improvements to our provisions in relation to redeployment
• Some clarifications to our leave provisions so that they are easier for staff to interpret and navigate

The unions have raised concerns in relation to our processes for managing workplace change. The University is committed to continuing to discuss and explore how these concerns are most effectively addressed.

A more detailed summary of areas where substantive agreement has been reached and proposals from the University is available here.

Next steps

We have asked that the NTEU and CPSU consider our pay offer and proposed framework for resolution. The University will also table draft clauses which provide more detail in relation to some of its key proposals. Negotiations will continue as all parties work towards a mutually acceptable resolution of outstanding issues. Please be assured that the University is committed to negotiating with union representatives in good faith and progressing enterprise bargaining as expeditiously as possible so that staff can benefit from salary increases and enhanced terms and conditions. I will continue to update staff as negotiations progress.

The provisions of the current enterprise agreements will continue to apply until new enterprise agreements have been approved through a staff vote and then by the Fair Work Commission.

If you have any questions about the enterprise bargaining process, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the enterprise bargaining team at bargaining@mq.edu.au in the first instance.

Regards

David Ward
Chief People Officer
Macquarie University

We are the first Australian University to achieve FlexReady Certification at any level.  The FlexReady Certification is the only one of its kind, it focuses exclusively on the maturity of an organisation’s Flexible Work policies and practices.

It is led by FlexCareers, Australia’s leading job platform, talent network and employer consultancy.

“We’re proud to be the first university to achieve accreditation from FlexCareers and to achieve the Extended level of FlexReady certification. This is a strong endorsement of our new Flexible Work Framework. Special thanks and recognition go to the Flex Working Group and the Flex Champions for making this a success, and to all staff for engaging in this work” says Nicole Gower Co-Executive Sponsor along with Professor Patrick McNeil.

Flex Work Digital Resources Available Now

A set of digital tips and tricks has been developed to support the implementation of Flexible Work across the University. Advice is available on how to make the most of video conferencing on teams, setting up a breakout room on zoom and getting the most from an online meeting. There are tips on email etiquette, including updating your email signature to show the days that you are in the office and best contact methods. You can find out more here.

Term of Office – 4 years from election

UniSuper is the Superannuation Fund that covers the majority of employees at Macquarie University.

An important part of the Fund governance is the Consultative Committee, made up of employer and employee representatives. More information about the Consultative Committee can be found here.

Macquarie University has two employee representatives on the Consultative Committee, one elected by academic staff and one elected by professional (non-academic) staff. Representatives serve a four-year term.

The University is calling for nominations for the professional staff representative on the Consultative Committee from eligible professional staff.

Who is eligible?

Nominations are only open to employees who are members of either the Defined Benefit Division or Accumulation 2. Staff members can check their Division membership details via their UniSuper statement or UniSuper online.

How do I nominate?

Nominations open on Tuesday, 16 August 2022 and will close at 5pm on Tuesday, 23rd August 2022.

In the event that there is more than one nomination, an electronic ballot will be held.

Eligible staff can self-nominate for this role, by emailing their nomination to ChiefPeopleOfficer@mq.edu.au.

The nomination should specify the staff member’s name, Macquarie University staff number and their Fund Division membership.

For any enquiries contact: Mandi Larsen, Executive Assistant to the Chief People Officer, Human Resources at mandi.larsen@mq.edu.au

 How this might impact you: 

Payslips from 16 January 2022 are available on  Workday => Pay => Payslips. If you require a copy of your payslip for earlier dates, please ensure that you download a copy from HROnline before 22  August.  

From 22 August onwards, If you need a copy of your historical payslip, please contact the payroll team by lodging a  Onehelp ticket.  

“The results from the survey have given us a high-level snapshot of the diversity of staff views and experiences of inclusion, where we are doing well, and areas that need to be improved to create a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment for everyone. While the overall response is very positive, the results reveal that not everyone feels included nor do they think they have an inclusive manager, so we need to dig below the surface and find out why,” says Ward.

The Diversity and Inclusion team want to gather more detailed, richer information to understand the full picture of life at Macquarie.

“The Macquarie leadership team want to hear about your experiences, any barriers or challenges you have faced in feeling included at work, and your suggestions for actions the University could implement to improve workplace diversity, inclusion and belonging.” says Ward.

There are two ways you can provide this information. You can complete this short survey here by 31 August 2022 or you can have a confidential conversation on your individual experience with the Centre for Inclusive Design (CfID). This will take up to 60 minutes via telephone or zoom.

CfID is an independent organisation working to break down barriers, develop robust systems that encourage and foster inclusion, and create meaningful connections with people from vulnerable communities. All discussions with CfID will be anonymised with no identifiable information shared. Please email CfID at alina.butolina@cfid.org.au and register your interest by 23 August 2022

Results will be analysed to identify emerging themes, and this will inform the next stage in the development of the Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Strategy.  Updates will be provided including information on how staff can have further input to help build an inclusive workplace culture and a shared sense of belonging at Macquarie University. 

Any questions, please contact the MQ Workplace Diversity and Inclusion team on workplacediversityinclusion@mq.edu.au