Staff surveyed on ‘bullying’ claims

ERIN PEARSON
UNIONS are surveying staff at Geelong’s Gordon Institute of TAFE about a team-building program linked to allegations of workplace bullying, according to a union official.
Australian Education Union deputy vice-president Greg Barclay said the survey sought to determine the causes and levels of the alleged bullying during the Leading Teams program.
He said the questions probed staff morale, experiences with Leading Teams and the institute’s management style.
Mr Barclay told the Independent earlier this month that 100 former and serving Gordon staff had expressed concerns about the program, which encourages staff to air grievances with colleagues
He said National Tertiary Education Union was also involved in the survey.
Results were starting to come in, Mr Barclay said.
“I’ve been through quite a lot of reports already that indicate negative experiences are very widespread.”
Leading Teams’ website says the company “is passionate about improving organisation performance by aligning teams and developing leaders”.
Gordon chief executive officer Grant Sutherland said the institute would run an independent investigation into one session of the program.
“The Gordon has worked successfully with Leading Teams for two and a half years and Leading Teams have also implemented similar programs in the education sector for over 15 years,” he said.
“The Gordon has recently received a formal grievance relating to one session held with Leading Teams to which we have acted on by appointing an independent party to review the grievance and they will provide a report and findings on this one session.”