End-to-End Cultural Change · Premier's Department NSW

Premier's Department NSW

From goodwill to governance — embedding DEI as core business.

Transforming decentralised enthusiasm into enterprise-wide strategy and leadership capability.

Client Goals

The mandate

The Premier's Department NSW had strong goodwill, passionate internal advocates, and multiple grassroots DEI initiatives. But efforts were decentralised, awareness-based, and disconnected from workforce planning and business strategy.

●Strategic alignment of DEI with organisational priorities
●Clear executive accountability
●Integration into talent and workforce systems
●Measurable, business-relevant outcomes

What We Did

Our approach

Phase 1: Diagnostic & Discovery

●Executive and senior leadership interviews
●Focus groups across functions and levels
●Desktop review of workforce data, governance structures and policies

Phase 2: Strategic Reframing

●Repositioned DEI as a driver of decision-making quality
●Framed as workforce capability imperative
●Established as governance and accountability issue
●Connected to public sector effectiveness

Phase 3: Enterprise DEI Strategy

●Strategic pillars with measurable objectives
●Defined executive ownership
●Phased implementation roadmap
●Review and accountability mechanisms

Phase 4: Inclusive Leadership Development

Since 2019: 80+ workshops, 1,000+ leaders trained, ongoing year-on-year delivery.

●Bias and decision-making
●Inclusive recruitment and talent development
●Psychological safety and team culture
●Managing difficult conversations and addressing exclusion
●Linking inclusion to team performance and public value

The Outcome

What changed

From fragmented activity to a coherent, executive-owned DEI capability embedded in everyday leadership — with consistent leadership language and reduced reliance on individual champions.

●Enterprise DEI Strategy with executive accountability
●Sustained leadership capability build across cohorts
●Integration with workforce planning and talent systems
●Common DEI language and governance across the Department
●Consistency in leadership language and expectations became the norm
●Reduced reliance on individual champions for inclusion momentum

Key Impact Areas

Where it landed

Strategic Coherence

From silo'd initiatives to enterprise-wide strategy.

Executive Accountability

Clear ownership of DEI outcomes at senior level.

Leadership Capability

1,000+ leaders trained across five years.

Sustainability

Ongoing delivery keeping pace with workforce growth.

Services Delivered

What we provided

✓Current-State Diagnostic
✓Enterprise Strategy Design
✓Governance Frameworks
✓Executive Engagement
✓Inclusive Leadership Development Program

Client Feedback

In their words

"Culture Plus has partnered with the Premier's Department since 2019 to move inclusion from goodwill to embedded in how we work. Felicity helped us turn passionate but fragmented grassroots effort into an enterprise strategy, and then built capability across more than 1,000 of our leaders. Her Inclusive Leadership program gave our people a common language and practical tools for fairer decisions, inclusive recruitment and psychologically safe teams. Inclusion no longer rests on a few champions. It is part of how we lead. Felicity's expertise, rigour and genuine care have made her a trusted partner."

— Brooke Black, Executive Director People, Culture and Talent | NSW Premier's Department

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