Annual Report 2011 - Sydney Opera House

64earning our wayimagination lives insidePeople and Cultureeleven staff received national qualifications from our Registered TrainingOrganisation this year.overview > Working with staff toenhance organisational effectiveness andperformance, initiatives from the secondround Marker Business Excellence Projectcontinued to be implemented this year.Improvements to remote system accessfor staff were carried out and anothertwo people were awarded a CEO Awardfor Outstanding Service in recognitionof their contribution to the organisation.Work also commenced to review the Codeof Conduct with the aim of providingupdated and more relevant guidance onethical work standards.A three-year Enterprise Agreement wasagreed and commenced, providing a 3.4%pay increase and a series of reforms toimprove business efficiency and delivermore flexibility in meeting customerrequirements. The simpler and more logicalformat of the new Agreement ensuresgreater clarity for staff and assists tostreamline the implementation of reforms.A focus on personal and professionalgrowth this year provided a range oflearning programs as outlined in thetable on the following page. Qualificationsfrom the Sydney Opera House RegisteredTraining Organisation were also awardedwith three staff gaining a Diploma ofManagement and eight staff achievinga Certificate III in Venues & Events(Customer Service). Next year theorganisation will work with Bangarra DanceTheatre as they host their first IndigenousTraineeship for a 12-month placement.With the aim of building a positive safetyculture amongst staff and onsite partners,a range of safety training programs andresources were provided this year. Safetyrelatedtraining was delivered to 116 staff,including manual task training for 37people, while OH&S induction resourceswere strengthened to support generalsafety inductions for staff and performers.Safety Week was once again celebrated inOctober 2010 with a series of activitiesfocused on workplace safety inspectionsand safety in the theatre environment.Yoga and Pilates classes continued to beoffered to staff free of charge on a weeklybasis to assist them to manage stress andmaintain fitness (p.110).Sydney Opera House staff this yearcontinued to support seven charities andSydney Opera House’s Arts Assist programthrough Workplace Giving. Staff gave$24,808 through payroll contributions,fundraising events and donations, anda further $4,400 in goods through theChristmas Gift Appeal. The BoysTownbookstall, a fundraising fixture at SydneyOpera House, raised $2,500 through thesale of donated books.Contributing to fundraising efforts,CEO Richard Evans participated in theinaugural Whitelion Sydney Bail Out 2011in order to raise funds to support youngpeople at risk. Staying overnight with31 other CEO inmates at the YASMARJuvenile Detention Centre on 13 May 2011,$2,470 was raised for Whitelion, also apartner in Sydney Opera House’s In theHouse youth engagement program (p.36).Challenges > Increasing operationaldemands – Balancing the increasingnumber of day-to-day work demands withthe time required for staff developmentis an ongoing challenge. Consistentengagement with staff to measureorganisational and personal performanceto date has assisted in identifying areasof development. Key training programsare scheduled on a monthly basis withothers conducted on demand and learningresources provided online. Ongoing workto improve the alignment of performancemeasurement programs to the business