It is important for Delegates to be aware of their responsibility to have a staffing profile that is matched to the strategic needs of their Area. This must be done in a fair and equitable manner and must not be left to chance on the presumption that certain staff will remain at the University and that they will be able to undertake new projects or develop new skills as required.
Staff changes can be healthy if they are foreseen, planned for and implemented properly. The aim is not to have absolute stability, but it is important to have certainty about the intentions of individual staff (eg about retirement dates) and to have contingency plans in the event of unforseen changes.
It is essential therefore, that Delegates undertake fair and effective workforce planning. Workforce planning includes:
- identifying your Area's future work directions;
- analysing the staff skills, qualifications and attributes that will allow the fulfilment of those directions;
- building in refreshment when setting research priorities;
- recognising future trends in teaching methods, and recruiting/training staff members to meet those future needs;
- succession planning so that when staff members retire/resign, your Area has retained its corporate knowledge and history, and you have staff members who can take the place of those who have left; and
- establishing a diverse staff profile to take advantage of the different perspectives, knowledge and ideas of people that diversity brings.
Some specific mechanisms to assist you and individual staff to develop some certainty about staff members' plans for retirement include:
- performance appraisal and planning discussions;
- utilising pre-retirement contracts;
- restructuring your area in line with your strategic direction (see Managing Change and Redundancy for Academic and General Staff);
- offering voluntary early retirement salary packages or superannuation enhancement for early departure;
- renegotiating working hours to make use of fractional appointments;
- offering visiting fellowships;
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encouraging staff to maintain their links to the ANU Community
Supervisors, Deans and Directors should discuss with their staff the staff member's plans for the future, while remembering that the decision to retire or not is one for the staff member to make. Such discussions may occur at any time; however the issue is most likely to arise in the context of the staff member's annual Planning and Performance Review interview, during which there is an inherent focus on the future.
Supervisors, Deans and Directors should also ensure that staff members have adequate information to assist them to plan positively for retirement. Information that can be contributed by an area includes:
- opportunities to receive information on and to discuss retirement options including with successful retirees; and
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opportunities to explore alternative means of being actively involved in the life of the Area after formal retirement, including invitations to seminars, or through continued access to area facilities for a period.
*The term “retirement age” in this document, and linked documents means the age established by the relevant superannuation fund as the age at which superannuation funds can be accessed. Otherwise, continuing staff of the University have discretion in determining their retirement date.
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