Human Resources Y12 BIZ

Business yr 12

What is human resources

The total management of a workforce, including the relationship between an employer & employee to achieve the strategic goals of the business 

Strategic role of HR

Provides business with people who have skills, attributes, and behaviours the business will require to achieve its goals 

What is the HR Manager responsible for?

• All people-related issues

• They are also responsible for: Recruitment and selection, Training and development, Performance management

Outsourcing — Contractors

• A contractor is an external individual or business hired by a business to perform a specific task or service, usually for an agreed period or fee.

What are the domestic contractors?

Domestic contractors: Local-based contractors

a) Labour hire/employment agency contractors — hired to recruit & select new employees for the host company (they are not a direct employee under the host business, they are still working for the external-agency)

b) Independent contractors — Runs their own business & provides services to the host company (ie. Uber)

What are the global contractors?

Global contractors: Located in another Country, asissts remotely when needed

a) Process outsourcing: repetitive, easily measured, and documented work (i.e. recruitment & payroll management, customer management, garment manufacture) 

b) Project outsourcing: Uses IT and research skills from overseas, more complicated and risky 

Influences — Define stakeholders

Any individual or group that has a common interest in or is affected by the actions of a business.

Includes: Employers, Employees, Employer Associations, Unions, Government Organisations, Society

(EEEUGS)

Stakeholder — Employer

• Provides tasks & compensation in exchange for labour. Holds responsibility over paying wages/salaries. Have the power to dismiss employees.

• Responsibilities:

  • Communicate expectations for job role

  • Provide a safe workplace (physically/mentally)

  • Comply with contracted obligations

  • Handle HR management issue daily

• Consequences of poor HR Management :

  → Employees suffer from low productivity, higher costs, possible industrial action 

Stakeholder — Employee

• Provides energy, skill, and time (labour) in exchange for an income

• Responsibilities:

  • Uphold responsible, safe working practices

  • Treat business info as confidential

  • Complete all tasks to a suitable standard

  • Reflect the values of the business 

• Consequences of poor HR Management :

  → Lower wage, less safe, rewarding, and interesting workplace

Stakeholder — Employer associations

• Represent employers and help them better understand their rights & responsibilities in the workplace

Activities:

• Consult w Gov. to change policy issues

• Provide advice & assistance to members, updates on the law

• Act on behalf of employers in bargaining before industrial tribunals & courts

Stakeholder — Unions

• A group of employees of a similar occupation joining together to improve working conditions & wages

Represent employees by:

• Meeting the terms & conditions of employee agreements

• Ensure employers meet their minimum obligations

• Work with management to resolve workplace disputes

• Provide advice for employees about their rights at work

Stakeholder — Government Organisations

Responsible for the legislative framework (statute and common law) that impacts HR – e.g. unfair dismissal, workplace safety, sex discrimination etc.

Responsibilities:

• Employers

• Make and enforce laws, policies, legislations

• Monitor (ombudsman)

Examples:

• FAIR WORK ACT (2009) AUS. Prevents and settles industrial disputes between employees & employers (ie. Awards, EAs, Min. wage)

• SAFE WORK ACT (2011) AUS. Legislates work, health & safety, and educates/raise awareness of employee safety

Stakeholder — Society

• Attitudes and views of society can be transferred to the conditions experienced by employees and expectations of employers 

Expectations:

• Job enrichment and fulfilment

• Working from home

• Work life balance, especially in regard to family commitments

• Social justice issues

Legislation influence on HR?

Legislation influences HR through: 

(The Fair Work Act 2009 covers many legal influences)

• Employment contracts

• Human rights

• Dispute-settling

• Superannuation

• Social justice

What is an employment contract

A legally-binding (offer, acceptance, consideration), formal agreement between employer/employee that sets out the terms & conditions of employment. Written or verbal.

Key features:

• Duties

• leave

• hours

• salary

• benefits

• promotion

• discipline 

Common Law (rights & obligations)

• Judge-made law based on legal precedents (previous court decisions)

Employer rights & obligations

Employers

Rights: 

• Manage the workplace

• Direct employees

• Enforce lawful workplace rules and expect employees to follow them

• Dismiss employees with reasonable notice/cause

Obligations: 

• Provide a safe workplace

• Pay agreed wages

• Act fairly

• Honour the employment contract 

Employee rights & obligations

Employees

Rights: 

• Receive agreed pay

• Work in a safe environment

• Be treated fairly

Obligations: 

• Perform duties with reasonable care & skill

• Follow lawful instructions

• Act honestly & faithfully towards the employer 

Minimum employment standards

Employment conditions given to all employees regardless of job type. Minimum standards include:

• Max. Weekly hours: 38hrs per week for full-time employees

• Parental leave & related entitlements

• Annual Leave

• Personal carers leave & Compassionate leave

• Community Service leave

• Long Service leave

• Public Holidays

• Requests for flexible working Arrangements: Hours of work, Work patterns (e.g. shifts or days worked), Work location (e.g. working from home)

Minimum wage rates

Base rate of pay for all employees, applied to those not covered by an award, and differs by employment type/age/work capacity 

What are Awards and their benefits?

A legal document that sets out the terms & conditions— minimum pay & working conditions— for employees in a particular industry/job 

Awards cover: Overtime, penalty rates, hours, allowances, breaks, dispute resolution methods 

Benefits (+):

• Protect employees by setting min. pay & conditions

• Ensures fairness across an industry, so workers in similar jobs get similar treatment

• Reduce disputes by clearly outlining rights & responsibilities

• Helps employers understand their legal obligations and avoid underpayment 

Enterprise Agreements

> Collective agreements made between an employer and a group of employees at a workplace

• Tend to be for workers on high wages & higher skill 

• Sets the terms & conditions of employment 

• Provide more flexibility than awards by allowing some conditions to be exchanged for benefits 

• Apply to one business/group of businesses, not an entire industry

Every Enterprise Agreement must:

• Be approved by Fair Work Commission

• Pass a ‘better off overall test’ : BOOT — Is it better off than the award? It must have better conditions than the minimum in Awards (e.g. Higher pay, extra leave) 

• Have an expiry date (often within 3-4 years) 

• Contain dispute resolution processes 

Other employment contracts

Tend to be for professional workers (i.e. Banking, Finance, IT, Insurance) 

a) Individual common law employment contracts

b) Casual contracts

c) Part-time contracts

d) Labour-hire

Cannot provide for less than the legal minimum set out in:

• The National Employment Standards (NES)

• Awards, Enterprise Agreements, other registered agreements that may apply 

Work Health & Safety workers’ compensation 

Aims to enforce laws requiring employers to take extensive measures to protect the physical and mental wellbeing of employees.

Work Health & Safety Act 2011 aims to protect the health, safety, and welfare of employees, employers, and self-employed

• Workers' compensation under the Workers' Compensation Act, 1987, is compulsory insurance that employers must pay to compensate employees for injuries suffered due to their employment. 

Anti-Discrimination & Equal employment opportunity 

Illegal to discriminate against employees based on gender, race, cultural background, age, religion, martial status.

• Example laws: Racial Discrimination Act 1975, Sex Discrimination Act 1984

Influences — Economic influence on HR

The economic cycle dictates the level of demand for goods & service.

EG:

• PEAK = high consumer confidence, wage growth occurs, employment rate increases

• The opposite occurs during a TROUGH

Economic Factors

Globalisation:  Requires HR to compete internationally

• Outsource non-core functions

• Relocate to other cities/countries

• Manage culturally-diverse workforces 

Structural change: Manufacturing industries become service industries due to

• Advances in technology and automation

• Increased global competition, reducing manufacturing activity

• Rising demand for services (i.e. finance, healthcare, education, health, tourism)

• Automated production, Manufacturing employment ⬇

• Overseas production becomes cheaper, ⬆ service-based industries

• ⬆ need for retraining and up-skilling to meet changing workforce demands

Economic cycle: 

• PEAK: high consumer confidence, wage growth occurs, employment rate increases
  TROUGH: low economic activity, unemployment rises, fewer new jobs are created. Workers are less likely to leave jobs due to limited employment opportunities. Workplace disputes and staff turnover tend to decrease as employees prioritise job security.

Influences —Technology influence on HR

Technology — The use of digital tools & systems to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of HR functions

Ie: Virtual teams, Telecommuting & ‘Hot desking’, Recruitment (internet & social media)

What is the influence of technology on HR?

• Increased efficiency, leading to EOS

• Increased opportunity for product differentiation/innovation, leading to competitive advantage & cost leadership

• Reduced employment, high redundancy pay costs, negative rep and poor morale

• Requires up-skilling/re-training of staff

• HR Replaced by machines

Case study 1 - Influence of tech on HR

Woolworths – Uses Workjam, a workforce management app. Employees use it to view rosters, swap shifts, communicate with their managers, complete training, and receive announcements

• Uses AI to predict customer demand, staffing level requirements, busy shopping periods

• Incorporates Digital learning so employees can complete online compliance modules, food safety, customer service, and leadership training 

Case study 2 - Influence of tech on HR

McDonalds – McHire partnered with Paradox AI to introduce AI chatbot, Olivia.

• Initially McHire was used to 

• Resulted in a cybersecurity data breach in 2024 

• Hackers gained access to the AI recruitment system and exposed sensitive applicant information, including names, contact details, interview data due to insufficient security controls (weak login and passcode 123456 as both username & password)

→ Impact: breach of cybersecurity trust, leading to fewer job applications, reputational damage, difficulty recruiting skilled workers and increased HR costs (investigate & improving cybersecurity issues, strengthen data security)

Influences — Social: Changing work patterns

Characterised by dramatic growth in part-time & casual work, increasing demand for flexibility from businesses & workers

• Career Flexibility & job mobility

→ Workers taking control of their careers = increased contracting/self-employment

• Increased participation rates from women

→ Due to shift towards a service-economy & societal factors 

• Ageing of the workforce

→ Requires even moe workplace flexibility & demand for training

• Early retirement

→ Many workers seek gradual withdrawal approach to retirement

• Generational tensions  

→ Millenials VS Baby Boomers 

Influences — Social: Living Standards

 As time passes, living standards rise, therefore, workers expect more from their jobs

• Conflict between desire for high-quality living standards and work-life-balance)

• A business or HR department must be able to balance the needs of the workers (expectation of higher living standards) with the expectations of the business (being able to afford these benefits)

Influences — Ethics & CSR

If HR issues aren’t handled ethically, it can lead to: Poor morale, Low productivity, Industrial disputes

Ethical employers realise:

• Good working conditions = motivates & retains staff

• Highest productivity = Good Staff wellbeing — feel secure, safe, and valued

• Reputation matters = Ethical/transparent practices, Customers care if a business is acting responsibly

Processes of HR

1. Acquisition

2. Development

3. Maintenance

4. Seperation

(ADMS)

Processes — Acquisition

Acquisition – Identifying a business’ staffing needs, advertising the roles, and selecting the most qualified applicants to join

Process: 

1. Recruitment – locating and attracting the right quantity & quality of staff to apply for vacancies

2. Selection – gathering info about each applicant to make the most appropriate selection 

3. Placement – putting the new employee in a role where they will best meet the needs of the business 

How do businesses choose during the Acquisition process?

Internal analytics:

Goals – Cost containment, growth, downsizing, improved customer service  Culture – Types of staff who will be a good fit for the organisation

External analytics:

Economic conditions, competition, technology, legal, political & social factors

Development

Development – Enhancing employee skills, knowledge, and capabilities through targeted training and ongoing performance management 

1. Induction

2. Training

3. Organisational Development

4. Mentoring & Coaching

5. Performance appraisal

Development: Induction

Process by which a new employee is introduced to their job, co-workers, the business, and its culture

Development: Training

Aims to seek a long-term change in employees’ skills, knowledge, attitudes and behaviour to improve work performance in the business.

Development: Organisational Development

Development at a business level (rather than individual employees)

This includes: 

1. Job Enrichment: Giving employees tasks that involve more (have more breadth) 

2. Job Rotation: Rotating employees through different positions 

3. Job Sharing: 2 People share the same job, gives employees more joint responsibilities (encourages teamwork)

Development: Mentoring & Coaching

Mentoring — An annually-agreed role, which suits experienced staff keen to transfer knowledge and skills to juniors. (unstructured, no time frame) 

Coaching — Focused on improving skills and performance and on helping individuals manage specific work roles. (more structured, specific time frame)

Development: Performance Appraisal

A systematic process of Analysing & Evaluating employee performance for Strengths (+)/Weaknesses (–), and Opportunities for development 

→ Often used to assess employee suitability for promotion 

Objectives:

1. To provide feedback to employees regarding work performance

2. To assess which promotions and pay rises should be implemented.

3. To monitor employee selection

4. To identify training/development needs 

Useful to assess staff: Contentment, Output&Efficiency, Turnover (rate of leaving/hiring)

Processes: Maintenance

Process of retaining & motivating staff by providing appropriate monetary and non-monetary benefits while looking after staff health&safety, industrial relations, and legal workplace responsibilities.

Aims of Maintenance

1. Keep staff Happy & Safe

2. Legal Compliance

3. Giving staff decision-making opportunities and some control

4. Employee participation in various business activities

5. Offering family-friendly programs and work-life balance

Maintenance Factors

1. Good Communication & Workplace culture: Reduce conflicts, Builds trust, Provision of constructive feedback

1. Employee participation: Empower employees

2. Benefits: Monetary & Non-monetary benefits, Superannuation, Flexible work-life balance arrangements

3. Legal compliance & social responsibility: Policies are maintained and comply with legislation

Processes — Seperation

The process of employees leaving, either by their own choice (voluntarily) or through involuntary measures ie. redundancy/dismissal (voluntary/involuntary leave)

Different forms of separation include:

VOLUNTARY — Resignation, Retirement, Relocation

INVOLUNTARY — Retrenchment, Dismissal, Contract expiry

Voluntary seperation

Relocation – move to a new place 

Voluntary Redundancy – job position no longer exists (usually due to tech advancement, restructure, or merger) 

Retirement – stop working completely due to old age

Involuntary seperation

Contract expiry

Retrenchment – Business dismisses employee as there isn’t enough work to justify paying them (doesn’t receive severance pay) 

Dismissal (fired) – Justified and usually based on performance/misconduct (usually given 1 wk notice)

• Unfair Dismissal – Unfair dismissal (harsh, unjust, unreasonable)

Strategies — Leadership Style

The ways managers communicate with their employees to inspire & motivate them to achieve an organisation’s goals.

• Good leaders should be able to adapt their leadership style depending on the circumstance

Leadership styles: Autocratic/Authoritarian

AUTOCRATIC/AUTHORITARIAN — Management makes decisions independently and expects employees to follow (little-to-no employee input)

Usually for:

• Unskilled or inexperienced labour force

• Process driven workplace

• Rewards linked directly to performance

Leadership styles: Participative/Democratic

PARTICIPATIVE/DEMOCRATIC: Management presents a problem and staff/management collaborate equally to decide on a solution

Usually for workplaces where:

• Change & innovation are paramount

• Emphasis on quality rather than output

• Creativity is needed

Strategies — Job design

Relates to the number, type, and variety of tasks (steps) that a worker is expected to carry out in the course of performing their job

Job Design: Specific Tasks

• Tasks are routine, repetitive, and inflexible and reflect a relatively simple approach 

• Usually one fixed method of doing the job

• Often uses low-skilled, cheap labour

Job Design: General Tasks

• Require workers to personally make informed decisions based on specific circumstances 

• Business relies on expertise of its employees to make the right decisions

• Relevant in modern professional workplaces (ie. banking, IT, Law, Education)

Strategies: Recruitment

Process of locating and attracting the right quantity & quality of staff to apply for employment vacancies at the right cost

• Methods of recruitment will vary depending on the type of business and role being filled 

Recruitment: Internal

INTERNAL:  filling job vacancies with people from within the business

(+):

• Motivation for staff — see development opportunity Builds commitment and loyalty

• Employees know culture, operations —  productivity maintained

• Recognises & rewards staff for effort and achievement 

• Cheaper than external, less chance of failure as staff are evaluated in operation, strengths/weaknesses known to employer

(-):

• Can reinforce negative culture

• Can lead to rivalry for positions

• Need established framework for training & merit-based appraisal system

• Usually attracts significant number of internal applicants → need to manage unsuccessful applicant who will be demotivated → poor working relationships

Recruitment: External

EXTERNAL:  filling job vacancies (+ outsourcing the recruitment process) 

(+):

• Wider applicant pool

• New ideas, perspectives, skills may produce better solutions to business issues 

• Get specific skills needed – save on training

• Dilutes internal politics

• More diversity in employment – equal employment opportunity

• Builds organisational ‘brand’ through publicity

(-):

• May hire an unknown staff

• New employee may not fit culture and may not be accepted by internal rivals

• Takes a lot of effort and time

• Risk of legal claims

Strategies: Training & Development

Training —  aims to develop skills, knowledge, and attitudes that lead to superior work performance in the short term

Development — refers to long-term enhancement of the skills of the employee in line with the changing and future needs of the organisation 

Training – Current Skills 

Skills that enable the employee to complete their current job more efficiently

(+):

• Worker is more efficient 

• Clear benefit and easy to justify

(-):

• Once trained, minimal ongoing improvement

• Not a great motivator compared to future skills

Development — Future Skills

Training based on anticipated future needs, either for the employee or the business 

(+):

• Improves the businesses long-term success

• Motivating for employees

(-):

• Can take a long time, prediction of event might not be correct

• Employee might leave

• Costs

Strategies — Performance Management

The monitoring and measuring of an employee’s performance: Monetary/Non-monetary, Individual/Group, Performance Pay 

If goals are met:

• Staff can receive promotion or monetary/non-monetary rewards

If goals are not met:

• Meet with staff for counselling

• Implement training

• Disciplinary proceedings 

Annual Performance review process:

1. Beginning of year:  Set goals & objectives

2. End of year:  Meetings between managers/staff to determine if objectives are being met 

Performance Management: Developmental/Administrative

• Administrative (staff tick-box activity, just get it done for legal purposes, short-term vision)

Model is used by management for planning HR functions (i.e. – training, development, rewards, pay levels, benefits, performance improvement)  

• Developmental (more likely to lead to career growth, long-term view, time-consuming&costly)

Model is focused on using data to develop the individual skills & abilities of employees, so they improve their effectiveness in roles 

Strategies — Rewards: Monetary & Non-Monetary

Monetary — Rewards obtained through pay or have monetary value

Direct (cash):

• Base pay, Incentive pay: bonuses, allowances, overtime, share plans.

Indirect (benefits):

• Insurance, Superannuation, Holidays (paid leave), Medical and health, Childcare.

Non-Monetary  — Rewards that do not have financial value, (e.g. social activities or retirement planning)

Job:

• Interesting work, challenge, responsibility, performance feedback 

Environment: 

• Good HR policies, fair treatment, safe & healthy work environment

Rewards: Individual

Reward one employee based on their own performance, effort, or achievements.

• Examples: Bonuses, commissions, promotions, employee of the month.

Advantages

• Motivates employees to work harder and improve performance.

• Recognises individual effort and achievement.

• Encourages accountability.

Disadvantages

• Can be unfair because employees often rely on teamwork and support from others.

• May reduce cooperation and increase competition between employees.

• Can lower morale if employees feel rewards are distributed unfairly.

Rewards: Group

Reward a team or all employees for achieving shared goals.

• Examples: Corporate profit-sharing, team bonuses, gain-sharing.

Advantages

• Encourages teamwork and cooperation.

• Promotes a shared focus on achieving business objectives.

• Recognises that many outcomes depend on collective effort.

Disadvantages

• Can lead to the free-rider problem, where some employees contribute less but receive the same reward as harder-working team members.

• High-performing employees may feel undervalued if everyone receives the same reward regardless of effort.

Rewards: Performance Pay

Monetary incentives given to employees who meet or exceed predetermined performance goals. They are designed to motivate employees to improve productivity and achieve business objectives.

Types:
a) Pay Increase (long-term) — A permanent increase in an employee's wage or salary due to strong performance, increased skills, or greater responsibilities.

b) Bonus (short-term, performance-based) — A one-off monetary payment awarded for achieving or exceeding performance targets.

c) Commission (short-term, performance-based) — A payment earned for making a sale, usually calculated as a percentage of the value of the sale.
d) Share Plan (Employee Share Ownership) — Employees receive or can purchase shares in the company, giving them part ownership. Employees may receive dividends if the company makes a profit and declares them.

e) Profit Sharing — Employees receive a percentage of the business's profits in addition to their normal pay.

Strategies: Global

Global strategies include: Costs, skills, supply

Global: Costs

• Overseas workers are cheaper to hire than Australian workers

• Australian workplace laws make it illegal to recruit overseas workers and employ them for less than the minimum wage. Workers can be replaced via Outsourcing or Subsidiaries (local office in another country)

However: Replacing local workers with cheaper foreign labour can attract negative publicity and damage a business's reputation.

Global: Skill

• Issues with matching the skills of Australian workers to those needed by businesses have risen. 

  • The global market can fill these skill shortages with overseas workers (temporary visas) 

Global: Supply

• Globalisation grants HR managers greater variety and access to potential workers

• Increases opportunity for HR to find the ideal candidate for the job

Strategies — Workplace disputes

Conflicts, disagreements or arguments between workers and employers

• Disputes occur due to conflicting interests

• Some conflict may escalate into industrial action 

Types of Disputes

1. Strikes — an action taken by a group of employees who stop working in an attempt to pressure their employer into meeting their demands

2. Lockouts —  when employers close the entrance to a workplace an refuse admission to the workers 

3. Pickets (a type of strike) — protests that take place outside the workplace 

Causes for disputes

1. Remuneration — wages, allowances, entitlements, superannuation

2. Poor Employment conditions — working hours, leave, non-cash benefits

3. Job Security issues — redundancy, restructuring, use of contractors, outsourcing

4. Health & Safety — physical working conditions, workers’ safety, protective clothing

5. Managerial Policy — disciplinary matters, suspensions, discrimination

Resolution of disputes: Negotatiation

•  Both parties reach mutual agreement and form a fair solution cooperatively. Increases employee knowledge of company policy, business objectives, and informs employers of worker concerns to implement changes 

Resolution of dispute: Mediated Outcomes

• An independent mediator (such as the Fair Work Commission or AHRC) helps both sides reach a confidential agreement in a safe and non-threatening environment. 

• Reduces risk of disputes escalating and expensive legal costs/industrial action. 

Resolution of dispute: Arbitrated/adjudicated agreement

• An independent mediator (such as the Fair Work Commission or AHRC) helps both sides reach a confidential agreement in a safe and non-threatening environment. 

• Reduces risk of disputes escalating and expensive legal costs/industrial action. 

Resolution of dispute: Grievance procedures

• formal procedures and frameworks outlining the processes involved in resolving workplace disputes

Resolution of dispute: Courts & Tribunals

• make binding decisions that all parties of the dispute must follow. 

• Process is costly, time-consuming, disruptive, and may increase conflict