Up to two dozen top public servants will take part in a leadership talent program as the tax agency begins its search for the next group of leaders.
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The Australian Taxation Office is expected to select top-performing senior executive staff to join its year-long talent program in February next year, as revealed in tender documents released last month.
Three-quarters of the participants will be from the tax office while a quarter will join from other agencies within the federal and ACT governments.
Senior public servants will be put through their paces in order to "grow their capacity to lead through complex and challenging issues".
"It will provide participants with an opportunity to explore and apply contemporary leadership ideas and approaches to real life issues," the tender documents said.
"The program will facilitate different ways of thinking about current and emerging problems, offering diverse ways to frame problems and varied tools to diagnose them."
Once designed, the program will feature expert speakers, challenges based on "real issues" along with networking opportunities.
Management consultant expert Max Rixe said the move could help to retain top-performing public servants from heading to the private sector.
The program could set the standard for other public service agencies to follow suit if successful, he said.
"The APS simply does not have the levers that the private sector does," Mr Rixe said.
"ATO [staff] worked really hard last year to prop up the economy, and they didn't get a Beamer out of it, they didn't get a trip to the Barbados, the only thing they had was to feel good about what they did at the end of the day.
"A talent management program is a nice lever to tell talented leaders of the organisation, 'We value you, we want to invest in you'."
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Mr Rixe said it was important the tax office, and the wider public service, began to forward plan its talent management hunt.
The earlier it was done, the better it could retain talent from the graduate level.
"If we are going to be able to serve the needs of our citizenry in 2030, we need outstanding leadership to do so," he said.
"We've got to start looking for them now."
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