Analysis of HRD Opportunities and Informal Learning in the ATO

This report provides an observational study of the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), focusing on its HRD opportunities and the impact of informal learning on these practices. The report highlights the training and development opportunities, performance management systems, and coaching and mentoring methods employed by the ATO. It then analyzes how informal learning influences these HRD practices, suggesting that it can enhance employee engagement, improve learning speed, facilitate better feedback, and increase overall efficiency. The study concludes that informal learning creates a positive impact on ATO's HRD, making the practices more effective and results-oriented. The references include relevant books and journals supporting the analysis.

Research
Report

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Q(1) HRD opportunities provided in the “Australian Taxation Office” to its current and potential
workers-...........................................................................................................................................3
Q(2) The impact of Informal learning on ATO HRD practices-.....................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................5
References........................................................................................................................................6

Introduction
The organization being chosen for the observational study is “Australian Taxation
Office”, which is an Australian government statutory agency and its principal revenue collection.
The organization administers the taxation system of Australia and other legislative related
matters. It is concerned with income tax, goods and service tax and other federal taxes of
Australia. ATO has its headquarters in Canberra, Australia and consists of 20,384 employees
working in it. This report will highlight the HRD opportunities being implemented by the
organisation and the impact of informal learning on these Opportunities.
Q(1) HRD opportunities provided in the “Australian Taxation Office” to its
current and potential workers-
The following are the HRD opportunities being served by ATO-
Training and development opportunities- These are the basic opportunities being provided by
ATO to its employees. Timely training session for the newly hired employees is being conducted
to make them learn their job and also various training workshops are being organised by the
ATO for the development and upgradation of the existing employees.
Performance management- ATO manages the performance of its employees by setting up
various activities to make sure the work done by them meets the organizational goals and
objectives.
Coaching and mentoring- In order to monitor the employee's performance and guiding them
effective ways to perform, ATO has implemented a Coaching method where a particular coach is

assigned to a particular team of employees to guide them and measure their performance(Uddin
and et.al., 2016).
Q(2) The impact of Informal learning on ATO HRD practices-
Impact on Training and development- When employees are forced into training, they don't
typically develop a rhythm in it. Organizations, if want their workforce more excited, need to set
them at the driver's seat and let them learn at their own pace. Informal learning when used during
the training of employees can make them learn the things faster and they can clear their doubts
and queries and also make them comfortable in learning. This will enhance more participation of
employees in the learning activities and they will feel free to ask the questions. This will in turn
improve the learning ability of ATO employees and make them efficient enough to perform for
the organization. Also the existing employees will be able to share feedbacks and share their
needs to learn. Individuals are wired to think independently and act too. So the learning becomes
more effective when it is an voluntary action and not forced one. This will in turn benefit ATO
as make the organization aware regarding the areas of improvement of its employees(Alagaraja
and et.al., 2015).
Impact on Performance management- Informal learning in performance management of
employees will give the exact capacity and efficiency of the employees to ATO. Informal
behaviour of the managers and seniors to communicate with the employees will help them find
out their capability and efficiency through sharing informal talks. Also the informal
communication can improve any employee's productivity, as they feel like they are the part of
the organization and perform even better. The setup of different activities in performance
management by ATO, will be achieved flexibly by the employees if they are free to think and
perform on it.
Impact on practice of Coaching and Mentoring- When the concept of informal behaviour of
coach or mentor is applied in the HRD practices, the employee may be able to ask questions,
make observations and also apply his new learnings like the rest. Friendly nature of coach may
create positive impact on the minds of the employees, they ask timely feedback of their
performance and ask all the improvement and efficiency related questions to the coach in order
to contribute more to the team. This can create home culture for the ATO employees and make
them show extra efforts as being considered as important part of the organization. Coaches can

train each employee individually and explain him about his strengths and weaknesses. This in
urn lead to individual development at depth level, as often personal suggestions are more
effective than the general ones. ATO will also be able to get the report cards of every performing
employee and note down his performance and feedback from the head coaches or mentors(Otoo
and Mishra, 2018).
Thus, Informal learning will create more of positive impact on “Australian Taxation Office” and
make the HRD practices effective and result oriented.
Conclusion
From the above observational study of “Australian Taxation Office”, it is noted that what
different HRD opportunities and practices are been initiated in the organization and what
influence can Informal learning create on these HRD practices.

References
Books and Journals.
Alagaraja, M and et.al., 2015. The mediating role of leadership and people management
practices on HRD and organizational performance. Human Resource Development
International.18(3). pp.220-234.
Otoo, F.N.K. and Mishra, M., 2018. Measuring the impact of human resource development
(HRD) practices on employee performance in small and medium scale enterprises. European
Journal of Training and Development.42(7/8). pp.517-534.
Uddin, M.B and et.al., 2016. The impact of human resource development (HRD) practices on
organizational effectiveness: A review. Asian Business Review. 6(3). pp.131-140.