Department Of Human Services

Department of Human Services 1

DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES

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Department of Human Services 2

Department Of Human Services

The department of human services handles different challenging situation arising from

the changing demographics and social alterations. A higher level of service and more financial

investment is required for the organization to operate effectively within the markets. The

workforce, therefore, is constantly faced with intricacies that must be addressed to re-establish

the position of the organization within the markets it serves. The policies in the environment

within which the department of human services operates are changing gradually and the

employees are faced with competing demands and pressures every day (Teicher, Holland &

Gough 2013, p. 266). The core challenges affecting the workforce management of DHS include

increased demand for services, emotionally draining work, workloads, lack of clear scope of

practice boundaries and productivity improvement targets. The requirements of the industry have

shifted and the organizations within the trade must equip their workforce to match the new

expectations of the markets (Australian Public Service Commission 2014, p. 3). The DHS plans

to put up mechanisms that will ensure effective recruitment and retaining of employees to ensure

competitiveness. To meet the demands of the industry, the organization seeks to develop a

sustainable workforce, produce high performing and well-managed people, and create an

effective and efficient workplace.

The DHS serves a wide range of people, some who are emotionally challenged and in

difficult living conditions. The number of socially challenged people has increased in the recent

past thus raising the service demands for the DHS workforce. Regardless of this shift in social

demographics, the DHS has not invested in more human resources to cater for the increasing

needs. As a result, the workforce is faced with unmanageable challenges that often lead to

burnout and emotional strain. As mentioned above, the department works with emotionally

Department of Human Services 3

challenged people; therefore, employees must be at the right state of mind to offer effective

services to the customers (Australian Public Service Commission 2015, p. 5). However, this is

not usually the case, which leads to a high level of dissatisfaction in both the internal and

external customers resulting in many employees leaving the department prematurely. The

organization also faces a challenge of the elderly workforce that is not able to handle the

challenging industry demands in the current world. Job burnout, poor retention of employees and

an elderly workforce limit the organization’s ability to match the market requirements, which

places the department at a disadvantageous position within the industry (Loughlin, Browning &

Kendig 2017, p. 278).

The scope of operation within the DHS is not clearly defined. As such, employees are

involved in almost all aspects of the organization, which hinders productivity, staff satisfaction

as well as growth and development. The lack of a clear scope of operation makes it hard for the

organization to match the employee values with the organization standards. Further, the workers

are not able to offer specialty and focused services to the customers because they are involved in

many unconnected activities (Wanna, Lindquist & Marshall 2015, p. 338). The lack of focus

among the staff poses a challenge in the organization’s ability to meet the higher productivity

targets that have been set in the industry. Moreover, the retention of employees who desire career

growth is a problem for the organization because without a well-defined scope of practice the

progression of a career is almost impossible.

The DHS plans to focus on three key principles in solving the workforce management

challenges discussed above. The first approach to effective management is the development of a

sustainable workforce. To achieve this goal, the organization will have clearly defined workforce

requirements. Creating a sustainable workforce will require continuous training, development,

Department of Human Services 4

and improvement of employees through educational programs and workshops. Further, the

department will enhance the retention and attraction of employees from a known source. An

employment strategy, implementation of the disability action plan and the use of incentives and

rewards will help in the retention of the workforce (Australian Public Service Commission 2015,

p. 5).

The second strategy towards ensuring a stronger workforce in the DHS is developing a

high performing and well-managed people. The department will achieve this through an

empowerment program that will seek to promote a leadership culture. The development of the

managers will go a long way in showing the workforce that the department values and respects

all the people involved in the promotion of DHS agenda (Teicher et al. 2013, p. 271). Other sub-

objectives that will help in the promotion of well-managed people will include the embedment of

occupational health safety, development, and progression of leaders as well as have a recognition

plan aimed at honoring the values and productivity of different people within the organization.

The third principle will focus on ensuring a valuable and efficient workplace. A favorable

working environment will promote the retention and the satisfaction of employees. The

department will seek to provide enough human resources and offer the necessary support

services to serve the immediate needs of the internal customers. Through this approach, issues of

burnout will be eliminated and employees will be able to develop personal performance

indicators to guide their operations within the department (Wanna et al. 2015, p. 340). Auditing

and providing compliance services, refining the systems and implementing an improvement

strategy that promotes service excellence will also aid in the formation an environment

conducive enough to foster growth in the DHS.

Department of Human Services 5

Reference List

Australian Public Service Commission 2014, Capability Review: Department of Human

Services, Australian Government Publishing Services, Canberra.

http://www.apsc.gov.au/publications-and-media/current-publications/dhs

Australian Public Service Commission 2015, Capability Review Program, Australian

Government Publishing Services, Canberra. http://www.apsc.gov.au/priorities/capability-

reviews

Loughlin, K, Browning, C & Kendig, H 2017, Ageing in Australia: challenges and

opportunities, New York, NY: Springer.

Teicher, J, Holland, P & Gough, R 2013, Australian workplace relations, Cambridge Port

Melbourne, Vic: Cambridge University Press.

Wanna, J, Lindquist, E & Marshall, P 2015, New accountabilities, new challenges, Acton, ACT,

Australia: Australian National University.

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