Review into the treatment of women at the Australian Defence Force ...

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Chapter 7: ADFA’s Structure and Staffing – Recommendations 11-15There is also evidence of applying adolescent training principles into an overall Adolescent TrainingStrategy at ADFA. 76 More emphasis is being placed on understanding young adults and working withminors and young adults. 77These are all positive developments and the Audit commends ADFA on its significant efforts. While thereare still areas for improvement, particularly as new presentations are developed and honed, 78 the Auditis confident that within the constraints of timetabling and Defence’s mandatory training requirements,enhancements will continue to be made.Undergraduate induction and trainingThe Audit team had the opportunity to observe parts of the 2013 Year One Familiarisation Training(YOFT) and other training that related to specific Review recommendations.• YOFTWith so many Divisions to accommodate and so much material to get through, YOFT is a schedulingchallenge. This is a critical socialisation phase and undergraduates are exposed to many differentelements of their military careers in a very short period of time. 79The Audit team observed that the recurring theme throughout YOFT related to helping undergraduatessucceed. Undergraduates were consistently told that they would be challenged at ADFA, but that staffwere always available to support and assist. They were also told repeatedly about the supports that areavailable to them and were encouraged to seek support.The Chief Instructor (CI) attended most of the YOFT sessions observed by the Audit team. During YOFTthe CI conducted an interactive workshop with all staff presenting sessions to provide feedback, discussany issues arising and to modify presentations where necessary. At the end of YOFT, undergraduatescompleted an evaluation of YOFT to provide feedback on their experience and suggestions for change. 80The CI analysed and distributed these results and convened a forum with staff to discuss the feedback.The feedback was overwhelmingly positive but also suggested particular areas for improvement.Utilising this feedback provides very positive opportunities for continuous improvement.One of the sessions of particular interest to the Audit was the ‘Gender Differences and the ADF’briefings. The results of the YOFT evaluation indicated that significantly fewer undergraduates foundthis session as valuable as many of the other sessions, with 66% of attendees ‘strongly agreeing’ or‘agreeing’ that it was beneficial, compared with around 90% for most other YOFT sessions. 81 Afterexamination of the qualitative responses the CI suggested that many ‘felt the subject material was“common sense” or “second nature” and accordingly, they derived no personal benefit from thepresentation’. 82 The Audit suggests that if these sessions are to continue, ADFA should seek feedbackon how to refine and present this material so that it is meeting its learning objectives.ADFA has actively incorporated adolescent learning principles into presentations (more interactive, lessPowerPoint reliant, opportunities for small group discussion) and reworked some of the sessions sothey are ADFA relevant. However many sessions were held in large formal lecture theatres, and there isstill room for improvement in this area. Some sessions lend themselves readily to a more facilitative anddiscursive format (for example, ADFA Values, Workplace Behaviour, Security Awareness) and so perhapsmore appropriate venues could be sourced for these sessions. While the Suicide Awareness sessionwas an excellent example of delivering an interactive presentation within the constraints of a formallecture theatre, this session may also benefit from a setting more conducive to smaller group discussionand interaction.60
• Ongoing undergraduate training and feedbackThe CI has initiated an online survey at the end of each session of training to receive undergraduateassessments of all AMET training courses and to gain feedback about how training can be improved.The CI analyses these surveys and provides feedback to staff.The Audit received a copy of an email from the CI to all staff at ADFA providing feedback on the end ofSession 1, 2012 surveys for each year group. In his feedback he notes that the results ‘are a massiveupward trend from the same time last year’. 83 In response to a request for further information from theAudit regarding these results, the CI clarified that the upswing was in obtaining useable survey resultscompared to previously received results that were of little practical use. 84The CI provided an analysis of the results to all ADFA staff and followed this up with an open forum on4 July 2012 to discuss the issues and address concerns. He requested feedback on his approach toproviding this information and asked whether staff may prefer to receive this information in another way.The CI also provided this feedback to each year group of undergraduates.These are positive ways of incorporating feedback from undergraduates, ensuring the continuousimprovement of course content and delivery, and in the ongoing professional development of staff.The Audit trusts these efforts will continue and commends ADFA for the ongoing use of undergraduatefeedback.Recommendation 15: As part of their performance reviews, ADFAstaff be assessed against, among other things:a) their capacity to implement equity and diversity principlesb) confidential feedback from cadets and peers.Intent of RecommendationThe Review was aware that the capacity to implement equity and diversity is a mandatory requirementfor staff. As part of their performance reviews, all staff are assessed against their participation inmandatory training and their application of what they have learnt. 85 However the Review observed thatthis can be a mechanistic, ‘tick the box’ exercise and the Review was keen to elevate the importance ofreal and constructive feedback in this area given the nature of the ADFA environment.Implementation actionsADFA has introduced a Life Styles Inventory/360 degree feedback process for all staff. This is aconfidential process which provides feedback on strengths and developmental opportunities. Thecourse is based on the Leadership and Ethics course convened in Navy as part of the New GenerationNavy program. It examines ethical leadership and organisational culture, and develops the links betweenleadership and performance outcomes, and includes a 360 degree feedback session. 86 A member of theAudit team was invited to observe ADFA staff undertaking this course on 18 October 2012. Nine of the15 participants in the course were posted to join ADFA in 2013.Audit Report: Review into the Treatment of Women at the Australian Defence Force Academy • 2013 • 61
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Further InformationAustralian Human
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