Inspector Michael McGarry currently leads the Workplace Assessment & Support Team of the Queensland Police Service. He was sworn into the QPS in 2001 and has worked in various rural, regional and metropolitan centres as well as specialist areas of prosecutions, CIB and Domestic & Family Violence. Career highlights include working in first nations communities of Aurukun and Pormpuraaw and Cairns during Cyclones Yasi & Ita. Insp McGarry has published research on juvenile delinquency and police problem solving models in peer reviewed journals and holds tertiary qualifications in psychology, public policy and a MBA (Leadership).
Presentation
Workplace Culture Change in the Queensland Police Service: Lessons from the Workplace Assessment and Support Team
Mr Michael McGarry1, Mrs Rima Seferovic1, Mr Danni McCann1
1Queensland Police Service, Brisbane, Australia
This presentation outlines the systems, processes and practices of the Queensland Police Service’s (QPS) Workplace Assessment and Support Team (WAST) to achieve workplace cultural change in the organisation.
Methods
The Team operates on a ‘call for service’ basis, usually in response to macro level workplace cultural fractures. Evidenced based processes are utilised for assessment and diagnosis of cultural deficits and then rigorous and evidence based interventions such as bespoke workshops are applied for restoration and transformation. Practices are inclusive with participation sought from all members, including senior leaders, of the area being supported. Restoration and/or elevation of teams and business units is achieved through the ‘Higher Performing Teams’ workshop system. This incorporates the facilitation of tailored workshops to scaffold and enhance participants knowledge which enables extraction of cultural flashpoints. This then creates a community of practice that enables team driven plans to make self-identified improvements. Teams use a ‘Start, Stop, Continue’ methodology to identify key areas for improvement, then collaboratively build 30-, 60- and 90-day action plans. After Action Reviews are applied for evaluation of change impact.
Results
WAST commenced on 11 November 2020 and has conducted 104 engagements across the state of Queensland for the QPS. Qualitative feedback and quantitative data (Organisational surveys) has shown that the vast majority of engagements have resulted in higher morale, higher productivity, less absenteeism and less conflict.
Conclusions
The lessons and practices of WAST will be presented here with a view to potential application for other police jurisdictions.