SOUTH AUSTRALIAN

PUBLIC SECTOR

VALUES

AS PUBLIC SERVANTS, WE DO IMPORTANT WORK

OUR WORK HELPS PEOPLE BUSINESSES IN

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Thrive&

thrive:Develop or grow successfully; prosper or flourish

Our community relies on us to 

get things done

PRODUCTIVELY

...and to DELIVER

QUALITY services

HOW we go about achieving things is just as important as WHAT we achieve?

We want our citizens to have

CONFIDENCEin how we go about our work

and to be SATISFIED with the services we deliver

We want to be a

WORLD LEADING

PUBLIC SECTOR

TO DO THIS, WE NEED GREAT PEOPLE TO CREATE GREAT RESULTS

Great people & great results are driven by

STRONG VALUES

HERE ARE OUR

PUBLIC SECTOR VALUESTHAT DRIVE OUR GREAT PEOPLE

AND GREAT RESULTS

OUR VALUESSERVICE PROFESSIONALISM

SUSTAINABILITY

COLLABORATION + ENGAGEMENTHONESTY & INTEGRITYCOURAGE TENACITY

TRUST RESPECT

WE TAKE OUR VALUES

SERIOUSLY

Define us

Our values

Guide us

Our values

Connect us

Our values

Values are the building blocks of our culture

...and it is a great culture that helps people deliver their best work

SERVICEproudly serve the

community and Government of South Australia

ON

E

SERVICE is at the heart of what we do

Some of us serve our citizens

FACE-TO-FACE

...and some of us work behind the scenes

And we are

COURTEOUS, FAIR & EFFECTIVE

in all our dealings

We will go the extra mile in order to deliver the

BEST OUTCOMESThat way, we can be proud of how we serve our state

Help others and give something back. I guarantee you will discover that while public service improves the lives and the world around you, its greatest reward is the enrichment and new meaning it will bring your own life.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

TWO PROFESSIONALISM

strive for excellence

WHY would we want to be

MEDIOCRE?

To be excellent, we do things to the

of professional behaviour

WE WORK CONSCIENTIOUSLY

AND COMPETENTLY

IN A POLITE AND HELPFUL MANNER

We provide

HONEST, & OBJECTIVE

ADVICE to those in a position of power

We think of and create new & better ways of doing things

We ensure our behaviour always promotes the positive contribution the public sector can make to South Australia

Translation:Be on our best behaviour, and don’t do anything that will give the public sector a bad name

I refuse to lower my standards to accommodate those who refuse to raise theirs.

STEVE GAMLIN

Speaker, author and motivational ‘Firewood Guy’

TRUSThave confidence in the ability of

others

THREE

Trust is the glue of life.It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication.It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.

STEPHEN R. COVEYWe couldn’t have said it better ourselves – so we didn’t!

We build TRUST by embracing responsibility and CONSISTENTLY DELIVERING on our commitments

Either way, we follow through  and keep them informed

of our progress

These commitments might be to our colleagues, or to our citizens

WE SHOW WE

by being CONFIDENT when relying on COLLEAGUES to help ACHIEVE common goals

TRUST

4

FOU

R

RESPECTvalue every individual

We respect other people’s views and feelings

Even if it doesn’t mean anything to you, it could mean everything to them

We respond

POSITIVELY, & THOUGHTFULLY

to each person’s individual circumstances, needs and contributions

We listen attentively

because it shows we care

We embrace

DIVERSITYWe know that different views and

backgrounds can only strengthen our workplaces and our community

FIVE create solutions

together

ENGAGEMENTCOLLABORATION and

So when we solve for our culturally diverse community, we make sure we know their different needs and their priorities

We ask them questions, share information with them,

and involve them in decisions that affect them

This way we create better policies and services that are tailored to their needs

SO WE DELIVER PUBLIC VALUE

SOLVING FOR OUR COMMUNITY and DELIVERING GREAT SERVICES also means that we need to

Collaborate & Share Ideaswith other teams within our organisation,

and across the public sector

We know our decisions are better when we get input from others with relevant knowledge or a vested

interest in the outcome

Afterall, two heads are better than one

Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.

HENRY FORD

SIXact truthfully,

consistently, and fairly

INTEGRITYHONESTY and

Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.

OPRAH WINFREY

INTEGRITYis the foundation of your

reputation – and that of the Public Sector

In fact, integrity is so important that we have a

CODE OF ETHICS to help us do the right things

We uphold the Code of Ethics in everything we do, because it helps us make better decisions and

supports better behaviour

If you have integrity, nothing else matters.

If you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters.

ALAN SIMPSON

WE ARE ACCOUNTABLE FOR OUR OWN ACTIONS, SO:

We do what is right, not what is EASY

We make sure ALL of our decisions and actions can withstand scrutiny

We fully and accurately disclose information and share resources without being prompted

We make considered, unbiased decisions based on reliable evidence

Integrity requires good judgement. Here’s the cheat sheet for good judgement.

Don’t solve for your personal interests at the expense of the public sector and the citizens we serve

CITIZENS > PUBLIC SECTOR > SELF

Sometimes it takes courage to do the right thing or be completely honestBut courage is our middle name, and we approach difficult conversations and tough issues with fearlessness and tact

We have courage to address unethical behaviour, and we have the courage to look at our own biases and how they can influence our decisions

Dame Roma Mitchell – Australian lawyer, Judge and Governor of South Australia

Wisdom is knowing the right path to take…

INTEGRITYis taking it

Humility is not about thinking less of yourself, it is about thinking of yourself less.

C.S. LEWIS

Integrity also requires some humility...

never give up

TENACITYCOURAGE and

SEVEN

We like people with courage...

They THOUGHTFULLY CHALLENGE the way things are done

They are UNAFRAID OF TRYING OUT DIFFERENT WAYS of doing things

And they STICK UP FOR WHAT IS RIGHT

We have a history of courage in South Australia

South Australian suffragist and social reformer

We have a bias for

Tenacity...We expect CHANGE, and we expect the UNKNOWN.

We expect our jobs will sometimes be really tough, and that sometimes our projects will be so BIG that they will take a really, really long time.

But we don’t give up. We work until it works. NOPE. WE DON’T GIVE UP.

tenacity:The quality of persistence; determination

CREATIVE COMMONS Source Lleyton Hewitt, Author Carine06 from UK

Aegon Championships, Queen’s Club, June 2015.

Even when faced with failures and setbacks, we will focus on the bigger picture, and push through anyway.

TENACITY is what gets us results*

*Unless it is the kind of “dog with a bone” tenacity that makes you stubborn or hold firmly onto one idea without considering others. That kind of tenacity

can be unproductive. We like people to understand multiple perspectives.

The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.

AMELIA EARHART

Courage & Tenacity

Have the guts to start something if it needs to be done

...and then finish it!

SUSTAINABILITYwork to get the best

results for current and future generations of

South Australians

EIGH

T

In EVERYTHING we do, we remind ourselves that the prosperity of South Australia depends on the decisions we make and actions we take... TODAY

We don’t implement unconsidered solutions in order to achieve quick wins

NO TOKEN GESTURES FOR US!

We are in it for the long haul

We want the best long term solution, not just the easiest or cheapest

We balance the future benefits against the amount of time and resources necessary to

achieve success

We use our limited resources wisely and consider the availability of

resources in the future

We are working together to leave a lasting legacy for future generations

These

Values underpin all the

different work we do…

… across South Australia

EVERYDAY

Guided by our

VALUES

we will continue to improve our wonderful state in

countless ways

Our Valuesare who we are and

who we aspire to be...

let’s live them

PUBLIC SECTOR VALUES

ALL

ACROSS SOUTH AUSTRALIA

ALL

OF THE TIME

ALL

We are the SOUTH AUSTRALIAN

PUBLIC SECTORWe help South Australia THRIVE

The Office for the Public Sector

http://www.publicsector.com.au