The three main responsibilities of a HR manager in Australia
Discuss about the Australian Government Federal Register of Legislation.
Human Resource Management is a fundamental function in every organization. Primarily, is pertains to the management of human resources within a firm. Over the past few weeks, we have learnt in class the concept of human resource management with a special focus of its application in Australia. Additionally, we have had the opportunity to learn about strategic human resource management as regards to the legal context of the function. By the end of chapter one and two, I was well versed with knowledge on the HRM practices and its legal context within the Australian economy.
From the teachings of week one and two, human resource management is the formal term used to describe mechanisms devised for the official management of workers within a particular institution. Thus, the responsibilities of a HR manager in Australia fall into three main areas, namely staffing, defining and designing work, and employee compensation. Additionally, the purpose of the HR manager is to maximize the productivity of an organization’s employees by optimizing their performance and effectiveness. From these, one also learns that the basic mission of this management function is to always acquire, develop and retain talent within the organization to ensure that they perform optimally to increase the company’s profits.
It is worth pointing out that the lessons were enlightening and eye-opening. Through the lecture, I found out that in Australia, there are trends of HRM policies as they are becoming on more calculative and worker centered as compared to previous practices. Additionally, the trend is moving towards a reduction in the role of organizations with most firms adopting HRM policies that are regarded as more effective. Additionally, Australian firms are increasingly adopting the use of flexible working conditions with greater use of performance appraisals with the aim of developing policies that work towards career break schemes, career planning, and advancement.
Aside from the HRM practices adopted in Australia, the lecture introduced us to the strategic and legal contexts of HRM practices. From the lesson, I was made aware of the fact that legal considerations are significant external forces that affect how HRM relate to state, local and federal legislation. Today, many executive orders have a major impact on HRM. Thus, when a firm complies to the legal requirements and considerations, it contributes towards the enhancement of goodwill reputation for the organization. In addition, it contributes to fair operation of the organization, thereby resulting in the company obtaining competitive advantage over other firms in the market.
The purpose of a HR manager in Australia
As a whole, the lesson illuminated why it is important for HR managers to understand the legal considerations of their HRM practice within a given country. Mainly, understanding the concept is critical as it allows them to understand the legal issues that affect the practice of Human Resource Management in the organization. These may include factors such as how to compensate their employees, the benefits to offer their members of staff, how to handle conflicts, and the procedures of hiring and firing their employees. In turn, when an organization adheres to these legal considerations, it enjoys great benefits and avoids scuffles and disagreements with the legal authorities as well as its employees.
The lesson also introduced us to the Federal Fair Act of 2009 and the Fair Work Relations 2009 among others that provides guidelines to Australian Human Resources practitioners (Murphy, 2017). The Acts provide an overview of the legal requirements, compliance and enforcement policies that a HRM firm must take into consideration while managing its employees and relating to the rest of the business community. Furthermore, the lecture made us aware of how state and territory legislations applies to various organizations.
Outside the classroom, I have also learnt and witnessed the functioning of a human resource management practice. This was during my internship program at Woolworths. During the internship I observed that the hiring, positioning and designation of responsibilities, promotions and firing of employees at the firm were conducted solely by the Human Resource Manager. In addition to that, the HR manager was in charge of disbursing the staff’s salaries and compensation, dealing with employee conflicts as well as handling their complaints. Also, the HRM practioners at the company operated under the legal HRM requirements as stipulated under the Australian federal and state labor laws.
In Chapter 3 and 4 of the Human Resource Management Unit, we were introduced to the concepts of recruitment and selection, and the art of managing diversity at the work place and work-life balance. From the lesson, I learnt that the recruitment and selection process is one of the most important HR functions. Recruitment is defines as the process of searching for and obtaining a pool of prospective applicants with the required skills, expertise and knowledge to allow an institution to select the most suitable people to fill positions defined in the company’s job specifications.
From this chapter, I was able to learn the importance of the recruitment process. According to the professor, the process is mainly aimed at finding the widest pool of job seekers to offer it an opportunity to choose the best people for the vacant roles in the institution. Therefore, it helps the firm to acquire the best candidates for the job and hence help the organization gain a competitive advantage over its peers in the market. Thus, the chapter illuminates the importance of conducting a thorough recruitment for job positions within the organization to ensure that it attracts the best candidates in the field, who can then perform effectively and result in high profitability for the firm.
Trends of HRM policies in Australia
Alongside the concept of recruitment was the selection process. Through the lesson, I discovered that the selection process is also equally important in every organization during the hiring process. Once a group of applicants have been identified through the recruitment process, the best and most qualified candidates are chosen through the selection process. Usually, the process comprises of testing, interviewing and reference checking to determine their suitability. However, the most important aspect in the selection process pertains to appointing the best person or people to a particular position using the most equitable and fair assessments. Thus, the lesson highlights the importance of integrity and honesty in the recruitment process on the part of the human resource manager. When a company is viewed by job seekers as an equal opportunity employer, it boosts the image of the company, making it gain a competitive advantage over its competitors in the market. It would also attract some of the best practitioners in the field, thereby boosting the productivity and eventually profits of the firm.
While working at Woolworths as an intern, I noticed that the human resource management adopted a systematic manner of recruiting and selecting its employees. The hiring process would comprise of advertising the vacancy position, sourcing for candidates, tracking their applications, a preliminary phone interview followed by a face to face interview. After the face to face interview, the management selected the best candidates out of the pool of applicants and then they would extend the employment offer to the individuals who best fit the position.
Aside from the recruitment and selection, I was able to learn a lot on how Human Resource practitioners manage diversity within the workplace, and how one can balance between the realms work and life. According to the lecture, human resource managers have adopted systems that allow the organization to manage diversity among its members of staff. This function has become important mainly because there is a wide range of inequality and discrimination cases in many organizations in Australia and throughout the world. As a result, HRM managers are charged with the responsibility of ensuring that their employees abide by rules of compliance to equal employment opportunities and affirmative action legislation within the organization. Therefore, diversity within the organization can only be managed well if the organization has an effective human resource management.
All work and no play make Jack a dull boy. Just as the lifelong adage suggests, it is important for the employees and management to develop a balance between their work and life. A work life balance refers to flexible working conditions, flexible leave available for employees, among others. These arrangements may also include statutory entitlements to employees that are granted to them in order to cater for their needs outside the work environment. Normally, such entitlements may be fashioned to facilitate family commitments, health or further studies. Therefore, an organization that offers a supportive work life balance for its employees goes a long way in supporting the needs of its workforce who may appreciate the effort by working extra hard and improve their efficiency at the workplace. In turn, this will improve the firm’s performance and profitability over the long term period.
Reference List
Fair Work Act 2009. [Online] Australian Government Federal Register of Legislation. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2014C00031 [Accessed 21 Apr. 2018].
Murphy, K. (2017). The Legal Context of the Management of Human Resources. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 5, pp.157-170.
Recruitment and Selection. [Online] Australian HR Institute. Available at: https://www.ahri.com.au/assist/recruitment-and-selection [Accessed 21 Apr. 2018].
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