CAREER AND CAPABILITY FRAMEWORK

Interim User Guide

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Contents Background ................................................................................................................................................................... 2

The Frameworks ........................................................................................................................................................... 3

Summary ................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Application and benefits ............................................................................................................................................ 3

Capability Areas ............................................................................................................................................................ 4

Strategic core requirements ...................................................................................................................................... 4

Functional requirements ............................................................................................................................................ 5

Standard levels of work ................................................................................................................................................ 6

Standard levels of work and relationships to awards, qualifications, and performance requirements ..................... 6

Applying the Frameworks ............................................................................................................................................. 7

Integrating workforce and organisational strategy .................................................................................................... 7

People management across the “employee lifecycle” .............................................................................................. 8

Staff supervision and practice quality ....................................................................................................................... 9

Self-directed learning and development ................................................................................................................... 9

Career planning and pathways ............................................................................................................................... 10

Planning and providing education and training ....................................................................................................... 10

Next Steps .................................................................................................................................................................. 11

Useful Links ................................................................................................................................................................ 11

Using the career and capability frameworks across the, “employee lifecycle” ........................................................... 12

Background

As part of the Queensland Family and Child Commission’s (QFCC) Strengthening our sector

strategy 2016-2019 (the strategy), the development of a career and capability framework

was identified as a priority action in building the capacity, capability and culture of the child

and family support sector workforce.

Throughout state wide consultations to develop the strategy, the sector expressed a need for

new and shared ways to address issues with workforce attraction, recruitment, retention,

development and career progression.

In response, the QFCC has worked with the sector to develop two career and capability frameworks (the frameworks) for the child and family support sector’s frontline and operations management workforce.

The frameworks have been developed on behalf of the QFCC by professional consultants and sector representatives and are available for use now.

This interim guide is designed to assist organisations to understand how to use the frameworks while the QFCC, in continued consultation with the sector, develops more comprehensive implementation resources and the Cultural workforce framework.

During the development of the frameworks the QFCC heard broad consensus from the sector of the need for a separate Cultural workforce framework aligned to the frameworks that articulate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island cultural proficiency.

The frontline workforce and operations management frameworks are available at: https://www.qfcc.qld.gov.au/working-sector

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The Frameworks

Summary

The frameworks are foundational tools for effective workforce planning, development and

people management.

The frameworks identify and describe quality work by capability (knowledge, skills, and abilities) area across workforce levels. The levels of capability increase according to job

size and/or complexity.

The frameworks are based on a proven ‘role requirements’ system for objectively

considering and making decisions about workforce structure, performance and development.

They have wide application and are designed to be used across sector, system,

organisation, and individual levels.

Application and benefits

The frameworks:

identify and describe what constitutes quality frontline and operations management work at various workforce levels. This contributes to building shared recognition and language across the sector

support the development of job role requirements and job structures, which help achieve organisational purpose through alignment between organisational strategy and workforce structure

provide a foundation for consistent workforce attraction, recruitment and selection, performance and development– supporting a standardised, efficient and effective approach to workforce planning, management, and development

support a growing whole-of-sector, collaborative approach to workforce planning and development - driving an integrated workforce across the sector

articulate and influence career progression and workforce development pathways – enabling the sector to attract and retain the right people through clear career and education pathways and products

aid in the development of new tools to support careers for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce and embed cultural capability across all levels of the sector

inform and influence course content and delivery of qualifications related to work with children, young people and families - promoting the capability expectations of the sector across different workforce levels.

The frameworks are designed as supportive tools rather than mandatory requirements. As described above, the frameworks have multiple applications and the scope for implementation can be selective and/or developmental, depending on an organisation’s needs, size and/or capacity. There are two frameworks:

Career and Capability Framework - Frontline workforce (levels 1-11)

Career and Capability Framework - Operations management workforce (levels 7-11)

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Capability Areas

The frameworks identify key capability areas required for quality work for both the frontline and operations management workforce. Each framework has thirteen capability areas made up of eight strategic core requirements and five functional requirements. The capability areas are listed in the first column and the remaining columns describe standard levels of work expectations, which are discussed in the next section.

Strategic core requirements

Strategic core requirements (as the term suggests) are core capabilities required of staff in most areas of any job. The descriptions of what is required at different levels of capability is specific for the child and family support sector. The same eight strategic core requirements are in both the frontline and operations management frameworks. They are:

Sector & Organisation Purpose

Leadership

Teamwork & Collaboration

Communication

External Relationships

Professional Accountability

Problem Solving & Decision Making

Experience/Qualifications

Cap

abili

ty A

reas

Standard Levels of Work

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Functional requirements

In addition to the shared strategic core requirements, each framework has its own ‘functional requirements’. These are capability areas specifically required of frontline staff or operations managers and can be found on the reverse side of each framework. The functional capability requirements for the frontline workforce are:

1. Relational Practice 2. Professional Practice (includes evidence-based practice) 3. Client Work 4. Group Work 5. Administration

The functional capability requirements for the operations management workforce are:

1. Operational Planning & Execution 2. Operations Delivery/ People Management 3. Finance & Resource Management 4. Risk Management 5. Business Systems and Reporting

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Standard levels of work

For each capability area there are standard levels of work:

Frontline workforce framework Levels 1 to 11

Operations management workforce Levels 7 to 11 These levels are based on a systematic job evaluation methodology for how people develop expertise and progress in their career, with the levels increasing in relation to the job size and/or complexity. These levels are numbered across the top of the frameworks. For the frontline workforce framework there are eleven standard levels of work for each capability area, which begin with new entrant roles with little experience and/or capability at the lowest levels, and continue to the most senior/specialist/capable frontline worker role requirements at level eleven. For the operations management framework, the standard levels begin at level seven and run through to level eleven. Beginning at level seven reflects the standard required to be able to undertake an operations management role given the job size and/or complexity. Note: Organisations will not have workers at all levels.

Standard levels of work and relationships to awards,

qualifications, and performance requirements

The standard levels of work may complement classifications in different awards, which can be matched to the standard levels of work by individual organisations at their own determination. The Australian qualifications framework (AQF) is matched directly to the standard levels of work, which should be considered as a useful guide, but not as a concrete association, when viewing the standard levels of work. The standard levels of work enable valid comparison between the capabilities and performance requirements for each level and equivalent levels of work across an organisation, and across the sector. The standard levels of work remain the foundation of the frameworks, and follow the systematic evaluation methodology approach –there is no absolute or prescribed attachment to awards or qualifications.

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Applying the Frameworks

Integrating workforce and organisational strategy

The frameworks play a crucial role in integrating the workforce with organisational strategy

and structure. This highlights the importance of organisational strategy (purpose, strategic

plan, operational priorities) aligning with organisational structure, including the “right” job

structures and role requirements, pay and people management.

ORGANISATION STRATEGY > STRUCTURE & JOBS > PAY & PEOPLE MANAGEMENT > WORKFORCE PERFORMANCE

Getting workforce integration right is critical in the child and family support sector where staff

usually represent the major cost component of an organisation’s budget, often 80%-90%.

The frameworks provide a tool to support the alignment of strategy, structure, jobs, pay, and

people management. The objective and consistent descriptors within the frameworks

support the development of job role requirements and job structures.

In the child and family support sector, where organisational strategies are frequently shifting,

there is often also changes to organisational structures and job capability requirements. This

emphasises the value of the frameworks as they can support a strategic approach to new

and emerging workforce requirements.

Example:

As part of a medium sized organisation’s operational planning activities for the year, the

leadership group uses the frameworks to review job structures currently in place and also

what job structures and role requirements will be needed in the future.

The group uses the frameworks to assess the capability of individuals, teams, and the

organisation’s workforce as a whole. This capability assessment identifies strengths,

capability gaps, and opportunities for development initiatives. The working group also looks

at what the future demand and future service delivery will look like, based on information

from a range of sources: upcoming changes to policy, funding models, business models;

practice standards; social and economic drivers in the communities where they work; and

demographics; for example. All the information is discussed and synthesised to build a

picture of what the future workforce will need to look like.

The group considers the results of the capability assessment, future demand, and future

service delivery in relation to their organisational strategy and operational planning. The

group considers creating a level 9 frontline position to provide a greater level of frontline

expertise and supervision and promote higher quality frontline delivery and support for

frontline workers.

From the capability assessment the group also identifies that there are two capability areas

critical for the organisation to successfully meet its objectives: relational practice for the

frontline workforce and operations delivery/people management for the operations

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management workforce. These two capability areas become core development focus areas

for the group and they plan a range of workforce development initiatives to ensure these

needs are met. The group feels confident the organisation is now strongly placed to carry out

its work and meeting the strategic objectives.

People management across the “employee lifecycle”

The frameworks provide a clear, consistent, and objective tool to support people

management functions and processes such as workforce attraction, recruitment and

selection, performance, and development and succession planning.

The frameworks enable organisations to set expectations for current and future roles and

support clear and effective decision making by managers. Therefore, the frameworks are

important tools across the entire “employee life-cycle”, from recruitment and selection to

performance reviews, professional development and succession planning. A larger visual is

on the final page of this interim user guide.

Example:

The manager of a small non-government organisation wants to improve the organisation’s

people management practices. The manager, in consultation with the staff team, has

identified its frontline workforce requirements are at workforce level five.

Job Design and Grading Use capability areas and levels to support

job design and job grading as part of

service/organisation job structure

design/re-design.

Position Description

Development Use the capability areas, levels, and

consistent language to design clear job

role requirements for job descriptions.

Recruitment and

Selection Align the language and content developed

for position descriptions with recruitment

and selection processes/templates.

Induction Performance

Measures Clear position descriptions assist

performance measurement and goal

setting.

Succession Planning Use the frameworks to identify current and

future role requirements as well as

identifying and developing staff to take on

new roles.

Career Planning Use the capability areas and levels in

individual staff career goal setting.

Professional

Development Planning Use the capability areas and levels in

development discussions

Performance

Feedback/Reviews Use the frameworks to hold clear and

objective performance discussions.

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The manager and staff spend time reviewing and amending the position description using

the frontline workforce level 5 capability descriptions as their guide. As their organisation is

small, they decide to emphasise the importance of teamwork and collaboration in the

position description so use the text from this capability area in the framework in the position

description.

The manager then makes sure the organisation’s other templates, such as professional

development plans, align to the content in the position description.

Staff supervision and practice quality

The frameworks provide clear, consistent, and objective tools that can be used for managing

performance, structuring practice supervision sessions, identifying supervisee strengths and

development areas, guiding supervisee future career development goals, and promoting

collaboration between peers and networks, which could extend to joint training initiatives.

In this context, the frameworks promote communities of practice, excellence in practice, and

increased performance within organisations and across networks.

Example:

A manager with responsibility for staff supervision and practice quality uses the frameworks

to guide individual performance discussions and practice improvement initiatives with staff.

In individual supervisions sessions, the manager shows team members the capability areas

of the frontline workforce framework. She keeps the discussions focused, consistent,

objective and supportive.

The manager uses the framework to identify quality practice themes and develops a staff

training workshop for the organisation. She shares this workshop with her local networks and

advocates for jointly delivering the workshop to local practitioners across organisations in the

network.

Self-directed learning and development

Extensive consultation in the development of the frameworks has resulted in clear

descriptions of quality work by the Queensland child and family support sector.

The frameworks can be used by individual workers for self-assessment purposes. They can

also be used in supervision discussions to support the identification of strengths and

development areas, guide future career development goals, and promote collaboration

between peers and networks. This could extend to higher quality care planning, the

development of joint training initiatives, and promote improved communities of practice and

excellence.

Examples:

A relatively new frontline worker uses the frontline workforce framework to identify his

individual capability strengths and development areas. He takes the initiative to share the

framework with the team. The team agrees to have a standing agenda item at their team

meeting to use the capability areas when reviewing work practices.

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Career planning and pathways

When used together, the frontline workforce and operations management frameworks

articulate career pathways within an organisation and have the potential to create career

pathways across the child and family support sector. There is potential for cross-sector

career pathways, such as within disability services, which has a national career planning and

capability framework based on the same standard workforce levels.

The frameworks can assist individuals with career planning, both for existing workers and

those considering a career in the sector either by transitioning from another industry/sector

or through volunteering or a student placement. The frameworks provide clear and

consistent language to describe quality work for frontline and operations management staff

and articulate the breadth of workforce levels.

Example:

An experienced frontline worker with some supervision responsibilities aspires to move into

a management role. She uses the capability areas in the operations management framework

to create a professional development plan with her manager.

The manager agrees to provide coaching and identifies some management tasks which

could support the worker’s development towards Level 7 of the operations management

framework.

The frontline worker talks to a registered training organisation (RTO) about its management

qualifications and uses the frameworks to inform her evidence gathering for a recognition of

prior learning processes (RPL). The RPL enables the frontline worker to reduce the training

and assessment cost and time as she can demonstrate a range of competencies within the

management qualification.

Planning and providing education and training

The frameworks provide an essential resource for developing training and qualifications

relevant to work with children, young people and families. The capability areas and

workforce levels describe quality work in the child and family support sector and

expectations across workforce levels, including the relationship to qualifications.

Example:

An RTO uses the frontline workforce framework to develop curriculum for their community

services qualifications. The RTO maps the framework to competencies within units of study

that relate to child, youth, and family work. The RTO also uses the framework to map a

number of competencies and employability skills required of students undertaking student

placements within the child, youth and family support sector.

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Next Steps

This interim guide supports organisations to use the frameworks while the QFCC, in

consultation with the sector, develops a comprehensive implementation guide and

accompanying resources.

Alongside the development of these new resources, a Cultural workforce framework will also

be created. This additional framework will align with and enhance the current frameworks in

building cultural proficiency across the child and family support sector workforce.

The QFCC is seeking continued broad sector involvement to support the development of the

full implementation guide, accompanying resources, and the Cultural workforce framework.

The QFCC is doing this through sector champion working groups and broader consultation.

The QFCC is supporting action learning processes in which organisations will test the

resources and provide feedback to inform ongoing development.

A number of possible accompanying resources have already been identified as priorities by

the sector that could be considered for development alongside the implementation guide

which include:

job design, recruitment and selection resources/templates for frontline workforce levels 4

to 7 (a common frontline worker capability range)

employee lifecycle resources for smaller organisations with minimal human resource

capacity

individual/team/organisation capability assessment (capability assessment mapped to

the frameworks)

show case of framework pilot outcomes (case studies)

To follow or be involved in supporting the development of the full implementation guide,

accompanying resources and/or the Cultural workforce framework please contact:

Karl Lacis, Principal Advisor, QFCC on: 07 3900 6032 or Karl.Lacis@qfcc.qlf.gov.au.

Useful Links

Queensland child and family support sector career and capability frameworks:

https://www.qfcc.qld.gov.au/working-sector

Department of Health and Human Services Victoria Community sector workforce capability

framework: https://providers.dhhs.vic.gov.au/workforce-capability-tools. This resource is an

example of a capability framework and accompanying resources, including some case

studies of how organisations of various sizes have used the framework.

National Disability Services (NDS) Career planner and capability framework:

https://www.nds.org.au/resources/disability-workforce-capability-framework-webinars

This resource provides capability frameworks for various job families and accompanying

resources.

Using the career and capability frameworks across the, “employee lifecycle”