SuniTAFE’s organisational values have undergone a review to better reflect the culture of the Institute and align with the role it plays in the community.

The SuniTAFE Board of Directors recently signed off on the refreshed values, signalling a new era for the Institute.

The values are Relationships, Integrity, Accountable, and Improvement.

These values aim to demonstrate to the communities served by SuniTAFE that, “as an organisation we are committed to connecting with them, we are dedicated, we are courageous, and we seek to grow,” said SuniTAFE Board Chair Neth Hinton.

“The redevelopment of the SuniTAFE values has been a journey that began in early 2022 when we (the Board of Directors), in discussion with the Senior Leadership Team, identified that it was time for the pre-existing values to be refreshed.”

In a push for the values to become more people-centred, a series of focus groups were undertaken with SuniTAFE staff to understand their connection to the former values. Hearing from staff across every department in SuniTAFE then allowed the new values to emerge.

A major theme that arose from the focus groups was that, while staff felt that they behaved in alignment with the values, they were not embedded into the workplace fabric. 

SuniTAFE Chief Executive Officer Brett Millington added, “when the new values were developed, an implementation plan was also created to reinforce with everyone; staff, students, and the broader community, the values that SuniTAFE holds itself to.”

“As we continue the rollout of these values, some initiatives have been trialled to help embed them into workplace culture, starting with the establishment of a Values Leadership Team and a signing off on the values by the whole Board.”

“This was to signify the importance of the values at every level of the organisation.”

“Another early initiative has been the Values Recognition Program. Staff are able to nominate their colleagues who embody the values in their daily operations. Not only does this provide recognition for the individual, but it also celebrates their demonstration and encourages others to follow suit.”

The refreshed values form part of the wider review of the SuniTAFE Strategic Plan to be released later this year.