Aus Hospitality is in a period of expansion and needs to ensure that it can access a sufficient number of qualified staff. Over the last 12 months, the company has found it challenging to attain and maintain adequately trained staff. During this time Aus Hospitality has experienced a range of staffing issues including workplace bullying, harassment, and multiple staffing complaints fueled by employee differences. Aus Hospitality recognizes its talented and diverse workforce as a key competitive advantage. Our business success reflects the quality and skill of our people. As a result, the CEO has decided to address this by rolling out a 'Set for Skilling' program to help introduce diversity into the workplace.The CEO hopes that this program will help to expand the employment pool and reap all the benefits of a highly-skilled, diverse workplace. Program Objectives To ensure the business continues to expand Aus Accountancy has introduced the Set for Skilling Program to: Implement the new diversity policy ensuring all staff understand and act on the diversity policy Improve staff retention Reduce staff incidents and complaints relating to workplace bullying and harassment Build staff skill sets and overall business capacity The Program Initiatives The CEO has designed the Program to include three major initiatives: The Place Initiative The WorkWise Initiative The Awareness Initiative The Place Initiative The Place Initiative focuses on encouraging a flexible, diverse workplace. Aus Accountancy will enable people to work from home, during their own designated hours. Staff will be encouraged to select their workloads to suit their commitments. Job and task sharing will be welcomed and supported by the WorkWise Program. The Program aims to improve recruitment. By welcoming candidates from all over Australia, Aus Accountancy will be able to take on a diverse range of staff. Part of the program initiative will be to encourage applicants from a range of different backgrounds and varying skill sets. This will help build the skill sets in the business. The WorkWise Initiative The WorkWise Initiative will build the skill capabilities of staff by pairing diverse team members up and having them share their roles, responsibilities, and tasks. As staff skills improve, the business’s capacity will build. There will be more opportunities for staff to move into new and advancing roles as the business grows. The Awareness Initiative This initiative is aimed to encourage the building of awareness of differences and how they can strengthen the organization’s services and customer relations. The Awareness Initiative will be delivered to staff through a range of training sessions and associated training activities developed by the Recruitment Manager and their team the Recruitment Officers. The training sessions will focus on building employee awareness of both the organization’s diversity policy and the government legislative requirements. It will be the driving initiative in communicating the organizational overall efforts to value and promote diversity. The Program Implementation Plan The CEO has assigned the Recruitment Manager to oversee and implement the program. The Recruitment Manager will be responsible for: - Updating the diversity policy and developing new procedures. Developing a staff training manual for the program Designing and implementing staff training Diversity policy Introduction Aus Accountancy recognizes its talented and diverse workforce as a key competitive advantage. Our business success is a reflection of the quality and skill of our people. Aus Accountancy is committed to seeking out and retaining the finest human talent to ensure top business growth and performance. Diversity management benefits individuals, teams, our company as a whole, and our customers. We recognize that each employee brings their unique capabilities, experiences, and characteristics to their work. We value such diversity at all levels of the company in all that we do. Aus Accountancy believes in treating all people with respect and dignity. We strive to create and foster a supportive and understanding environment in which all individuals realize their maximum potential within the company, regardless of their differences. We are committed to employing the best people to do the best job possible. We recognize the importance of reflecting the diversity of our customers and markets in our workforce. The diverse capabilities that reside within our talented workforce, position us to anticipate and fulfill the needs of our diverse customers, both domestically and internationally, providing high-quality products and services. Aus Accountancy is diverse in many dimensions. Our diversity encompasses differences in ethnicity, gender, language, age, sexual orientation, religion, socio-economic status, physical and mental ability, thinking styles, experience, and education. We believe that the wide array of perspectives that results from such diversity promotes innovation and business success. Managing diversity makes us more creative, flexible, productive, and competitive. Recruitment As a responsible community member, Aus Accountancy recruits people from all backgrounds. We believe that our employees from many different cultural, linguistic, and national backgrounds provide us with valuable knowledge for understanding and reflecting our customers in local markets. To achieve and fully benefit from a diverse workforce We have established outreach programs to identify individuals from under-represented backgrounds for recruitment. Career development and promotion Aus Accountancy rewards excellence and all employees are promoted based on their performance. All managers are trained in managing diversity to ensure that employees are treated fairly and evaluated objectively. Community programs Aus Accountancy recognizes that distinct demographic groups have long been disadvantaged. We recognize that racism, ageism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination are problems for our organization and society. Aus Accountancy is committed to tackling cultural stereotypes both within and outside our organization. We have clear reporting procedures for any type of discrimination or harassment combined with follow-up procedures to prevent future incidents. Aus Accountancy combats discrimination in the wider community through partnerships with community-based groups. We work closely with a range of community groups. Diversity bodies Our commitment to diversity is led by our diversity champions who come from all levels of the company, from top management to the shop floor. The diversity champions make up a diversity committee responsible for ensuring that our diversity policy is articulated in the day-to-day running and the company's strategic direction. Diversity practices All employees undergo diversity training. Diversity training encompasses raising awareness about issues surrounding diversity and developing diversity management skills. Aus Accountancy provides a safe and pleasant environment for our employees. We offer: - Flexible working time arrangements Flexible work locations Job sharing arrangements Employee education assistance Employee network and support groups Open communications - Childcare assistance Buddy systems (Work Wise Initiative) Mentor programs Key Workplace Legislative Requirements: The CEO has identified that the following legislative topic must be addressed within all of the Set of Skilling Program documentation and actions. He has offered a range of links to help support the research you might undertake to meet these legislative obligations in the design of your program documents. Useful legislative links about Workplace Diversity: Fair Work Act 2009 - https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2016C00785 Prohibits discrimination against a person who is an employee, or prospective employee, because of the person's race, color, sex, sexual preference, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, family or career responsibilities, pregnancy, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin in awards and agreements and the termination of employment. Age discrimination Age Discrimination Act 2004 - It is unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of age. https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2016C00746 Disability discrimination Disability Discrimination and Other Human Rights Legislation Amendment Act 2009 https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r40 24- It is unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of disability. Racial discrimination Racial Discrimination Act 1975 https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2016C00089 It is unlawful to discriminate in employment on the grounds of race, color, or national or ethnic origin. Equal employment opportunity The Equal Opportunity Act 2010 https://www.humanrightscommission.vic.gov.au/the-law/equal-opportunity-act Sex discrimination Sex Discrimination Act 1984 - It is unlawful to discriminate in employment on the grounds of gender, marital status, pregnancy, or potential pregnancy, or to sexually harass another person. Human Rights Human Rights Commission https://www.humanrights.gov.au/ This site contains information on Human Rights, Disability Rights, Racial Discrimination, Sex Discrimination, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice. Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986 - Sets up a mechanism to deal with complaints of discrimination in employment through the Australian Human Rights Commission. https://eoc.sa.gov.au/eo-you/discrimination-laws/australian-laws/humanrights-and-equal-opportunitycommission-act
