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.

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.

Working in partnership brings teams from different disciplines and functions with different skills and expertise together to collaborate and find solutions to enhance service delivery. The next round of workshops will give teams the opportunity to look at existing partnerships and to consider the customer’s experience when delivering service through partnership.

“Working together is critical to Macquarie’s success,” says Katrina Avery, Director, Partnerships in the Research Partnerships team. “Whether it is within the University, or the University working with external organisations or individuals, true partnership is bringing together the best of what we each do and have to offer, so that we can realise our collective value and achieve greater success together than alone.”

Recognising the importance of partnership in service design and delivery, Brad Windon, Head of Student Shared Services at Service Connect, adds: “Partnership in service requires us working together to achieve a good outcome. One of our delivery partners realised that what they were doing could contribute to Service Connect’s management of special consideration. Their connection and empathy led to better options for our service and ultimately the students who consume it.”

Fiona Reyerink, DVCA Executive Director Strategy and Operations, on what partnership means to her.

As powerful enablers of the University’s purpose, professional staff teams in faculties and portfolios are encouraged to host a team discussion or a workshop on the principle of partnership before the end of December.

Resources to support these discussions – including a workshop guide – are available on the Professional Staff Service Charter SharePoint. Service Advocates are also available to support leaders to implement the charter.

The conference is an annual event for professional staff who hold a leadership role or have leadership responsibilities. It is an opportunity to enhance knowledge and skills in areas including leadership, continuous improvement and team development.

Highlights will include:

• address from Vice-Chancellor, Professor S Bruce Dowton
• keynote address on leadership by award-winning author and leadership coach Dr Kirstin Ferguson AM
• discussions on leadership, service excellence, continuous improvement and team development, featuring leaders from across the University
• networking opportunities.

To express your interest in attending the conference, complete this form by 5pm, Monday 30 October. Applications will be assessed by members of the conference Working Group, comprising representatives from across the University’s professional staff community.

Read more about professional development opportunities for Macquarie staff.

Over the coming months the focus will be on understanding the four principles – Clarity, Partnership, Agility and Empowerment – in more detail. Clarity will be the first topic for discussion.

Clarity in service delivery remains an important driver and priority at Macquarie. We are continuing to evaluate and refine our professional services operating models, processes and systems to achieve clarity and consistency in service experience for our students, staff and stakeholders. Examples include optimising and standardising our services through Service Connect, the digital transformation program’s focus on student experience, improved internal communications to our staff through the new staff intranet, and establishment of the University-wide Service Governance board to oversee service quality and clarity.

But what does clarity mean to you and your team? Whether you are delivering frontline services to our students, leading a professional staff function, or supporting academic and research staff in faculties, clarity will have a distinct meaning.

All professional staff teams in faculties and portfolios are encouraged to host a team discussion or a workshop on the principle of clarity before the end of September.

Resources to support you through the clarity discussions – including a workshop guide, videos and frequently asked questions – are available on the Professional Staff Service Charter SharePoint.

A memorable service experience – be it terrific or terrible – has the power to change your mood, your day, your outlook. And, at a place like Macquarie University, a single service interaction can even change someone’s future.

When lives are potentially transformed through our day-to-day work at the University, it is important we have a shared understanding of what impactful service looks like.

This is why a new Professional Staff Service Charter has been developed. The Charter aims to align professional staff on the core service principles we aspire to deliver, as Nicole Gower, Vice-President, Professional Services, explains.

“Over the past few years, we have put significant focus on our service delivery model,” Ms Gower says. “Now we are building on the strength of our model to define the core principles of what exceptional service looks like at Macquarie.

“Through this Charter, we distinguish Macquarie as an organisation that genuinely puts those we serve at the centre.”

Informed by diverse perspectives

Work on the proposed Charter and the definition of our core service principles began in 2022, driven by a dedicated group of colleagues representing a broad range of faculties and portfolios. Consultation with customers and stakeholders informed an early draft which was presented for feedback at the Professional Staff Leadership Conference in December.

Now, the broader University community is invited to have their say. All staff, both academic and professional, are invited to view the proposed Professional Staff Service Charter and complete a short survey to provide their input.

Defining our service mission and principles

The proposed Professional Staff Service Charter defines the role of our professional staff, finding commonality across different professional roles to support a collective sense of identity. Our service mission is at the centre, defined by an important promise: We put (YOU)^us at the heart of service delivery – with trust, accountability and care.

The core mission is surrounded by four service principles and what each of these mean in practice:

• Empowerment: We seek to empower our customers and each other
• Agility: We are agile and adaptable to meet the evolving needs of our customers
• Clarity: We strive for clear, simple and seamless services
• Partnership: We deliver the best services when we work together

From draft to day-to-day

Following consideration of staff feedback and finalisation of the Charter, focus will move to implementation. David Ward, Chief People Officer, says the Executive Group and Our People Program Board are determined to see the Charter go well beyond a “document that just sits on the shelf”.

“We are looking for the principles of the Charter to be firmly embedded in all our key people processes including the way we recruit, recognise and develop staff,” Ward says.

“In doing this, we recognise there may be differences in how our service principles are applied in practice across the University. We are keen to work with local areas to actively consider what the principles mean in their day-to-day work and the best ways to bring these to life.”

Feedback on the proposed implementation of the Charter is welcome as part of the staff survey.

Share your views

To provide your feedback, read the proposed Professional Staff Service Charter linked below and complete the survey by close of business Wednesday 15 February.

• Proposed Professional Staff Service Charter
• Survey

Whether it is supporting students, facilitating the work of our academic staff or, quite simply, keeping things running as they should, Macquarie’s professional staff live and breathe the University’s ‘service and engagement’ mission daily.

Recognising the critical role of professional staff in realising Macquarie’s ambitions, the University held its first Professional Staff Leadership Conference on 6 December, with people managers and senior professionals coming together to focus on service and collaboration.

In his opening address, Vice-Chancellor Professor S Bruce Dowton shared moving stories of students who had their lives changed at Macquarie and urged staff to never lose focus on the experience of each individual they served.

“It is service that creates these stories of accomplishment; of triumph; of overcoming difficult times,” the Vice-Chancellor emphasised. “Though we design systems and processes to serve a common need, our service is ultimately measured by our ability to respond to the needs of an individual in their moments of wondering or anguish.”

Vice-President Professional Services Nicole Gower thanked attendees for their innovation and creativity in building the University’s new service model, noting the conclusion of the Professional Services Transformation (PST) program had created a sense of ‘new beginnings on multiple fronts’.

“There is significant work ahead on improving our processes, systems and service culture,” she said, citing the German phrase ‘Mut zur Lücke’ (roughly translated as ‘courage for the gap’). “But today is a day for connection, collaboration and learning.”

SJET representatives shared student insights that are informing improvements to the student experience.

Among other conference highlights:

• Keynote speaker Damon Rees, CEO of Service NSW, explained how it was able to transform from a traditional government agency to a dynamic service organisation by being customer-centric and ‘change fit’.
• The Student Journey and Experience Taskforce (SJET) shared how they are using Customer Experience (CX) research to ensure student needs are at the centre of improvements.
• Faculty of Arts staff joined industry experts to explain why Macquarie’s re-imagined Bachelor of Arts program provides for employers that prefer divergent thinkers over ‘book smart’ graduates.
• Sophie Curtis, Campus Life Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Lead (currently on secondment with Sydney WorldPride), generously shared her personal story and inclusive approach to leadership.
• Chief People Officer David Ward introduced an initial draft of the Professional Staff Service Charter, which will be shared with staff for feedback early next year.

The Professional Staff Leadership Conference is an initiative of the Our People stream within the Operating Plan 2020-2024.

When service extends to selfies: Vice-President Professional Services Nicole Gower paused to capture a snap of proceedings with This Week writer Antra Kalnins.