Goal 4: Be a highly effective organisation

Annual Report 2014-15

Stakeholder engagement

Tourism Tasmania regularly engages with Tasmania's tourism industry and relevant stakeholders to inform them of the activities of Tourism Tasmania and the business opportunities available to them.

Tourism Tasmania uses a range of channels to communicate with stakeholders and the public including Tourism Talk – a fortnightly newsletter with a subscriber base of around 2360, industry advisories – email news notifications distributed to all members of the TigerTOUR database, and through website publishing, RSS broadcasts and Twitter feeds.

During this financial year, Tourism Tasmania distributed nine industry advisories on topics including campaign launches, announcements from the CEO and the publication and analysis of research outcomes.

Tourism Tasmania continued to use video messages to communicate to stakeholders and over the year produced six video messages from the CEO providing general background information on the work of Tourism Tasmania as well as encouraging contributions to a whole of government review of T21 – The Tasmanian Visitor Economy Strategy 2015-2020.

Tourism Tasmania also engaged widely with all Tasmanian tourism operators to support them in their transition to a new MyTigerTOUR self-authoring interface to the TigerTOUR database.

Tourism Tasmania continues to publish a corporate website to keep stakeholders informed of the activities of the agency, the outcomes of research and to provide online services to enable them to register for workshops and other corporate events. In 2014-15 there were 97,554 visits to the corporate website compared to 90,887 the previous year, an increase of 7.3 per cent.

Tourism Tasmania also publishes a Trade Resources website to assist in the delivery of information and tools to distribution partners to help them sell Tasmania. The website provides online training services to support Tourism Tasmania's Tassie Specialist Program.

Tourism Tasmania supports the Minister for Tourism, Hospitality and Events in providing executive communication services including preparing speaking points and media releases on funding announcements, tourism industry events, new product openings, Tasmanian Visitor Survey results and other Tasmanian tourism initiatives.

To keep the public informed of the activities of the agency, Tourism Tasmania provides regular briefings, fact sheets and research data to Tasmanian and interstate media and responds to requests for comment or statistics on tourism issues in the state.

In addition, Tourism Tasmania communicates with significant stakeholders directly through the work and engagement of the CEO and directors through their attendance at industry forums such as the Tourism Conference and those presented by the regional tourism organisations.

The CEO of Tourism Tasmania also sits on boards and committees at the local and national level and maintains a regular schedule of meetings with relevant counterparts in government and the tourism industry.

With regard to commercial partnerships, sector-specific industry groups, visiting media and marketing initiatives, engagement is managed on an individual basis through relevant teams within the organisation.

Business services

Tourism Tasmania's Business Services manages the flow of government and ministerial information into and out of Tourism Tasmania on behalf of the Minister, undertakes contractual and procurement oversight and provides board secretariat services for the Tourism Tasmania Board and the Audit Finance and Risk Committee.

It also plays a vital role in providing timely and accurate budget and financial information and advice, as well as maintaining financial controls to ensure accountability for government resources.

Internal audit

The Audit Finance and Risk Committee (AFRC) selects audit topics for the calendar year that are aligned to the agency's risk management framework.

The committee commenced or completed audits during 2014-2015 addressing the regional tourism organisation model. The audit assessed the controls and maturity of the model in the context of established future goals.

The committee also commenced a review of corporate services to assess the corporate support functions required to meet the agency's current and future needs.

The AFRC monitors management's response to recommendations made from internal audits, with the internal auditor also providing periodic updates. Management has or is in the process of addressing all previous recommendations.

Risk management

Reviewing business risks is fundamental to Tourism Tasmania's strategic and business processes. Tourism Tasmania takes a comprehensive approach to managing risk using a risk register framework, a process that identifies the business risks arising from its strategic direction and operating environment.

The Audit Finance and Risk Committee (AFRC) undertakes an annual review of Tourism Tasmania's strategic risks and ensures that the internal audit program reflects these risks. Management reports quarterly to the AFRC on the risk treatment plans and on any new or escalated risks and the appropriate processes to manage them.

Tourism Tasmania incorporates risk management in its project plans. This included a risk assessment of our contribution to Restaurant Australia, with the project used as the case study for the annual risk management training provided to staff and facilitated by internal auditors.

Tourism Tasmania is a member of the Tasmanian Risk Management Fund (TRMF). The TRMF is a significant mitigation measure to make sure there is adequate financial provision to insure the risks of the agency. The insurance cover is for travel, property, accident, transit, motor vehicles, general liability and workers compensation.

Workplace health and safety

Tourism Tasmania has a strong commitment to active management in workplace health and safety in promptly identifying risks and addressing problems.

Activities undertaken for 2014-15 included:

Continuation of annual influenza vaccination program for staff
Supporting employees during extended absences from work and providing a supportive return to work program
Warden training by the Tasmanian Fire Service for two employees
Access to independent employee assistance programs to help with work related or personal matters
Mandatory completion of online WHS training modules as part of the induction program for new staff
Conducting ergonomic assessments for employees.

Tourism Tasmania acts on all recommendations from the independent assessor within a reasonable timeframe.

From 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015 there were five incidents reported, one workers compensation claim, one first aid officer and three fire wardens.

Performance management

Tourism Tasmania's integrated performance framework includes:

People and Performance Plans (PPPs) that align individual performance deliverables directly to the key outcomes of business units, agency goals and the agency's overall purpose
A performance assessment matrix for salary progression, advanced assessment and accelerated progression of high-performing people
Guidelines for managing poor and under-performance.

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