Analyzing the Current State of HRM in Australia: Trends and Challenges

This report provides a critical review and evaluation of the current state of Human Resource Management (HRM) in Australia, emphasizing the trends and challenges that shape the role of HR managers. It identifies key functions of HR managers, including recruitment, training, and professional development, and discusses current trends such as the use of talent websites and agile working methods. Challenges like an aging workforce, diversity issues, talent shortages, and technological advancements are also explored. The report analyzes the impact of these trends and challenges on the perceptions and roles of HRM in the workplace, emphasizing the need for strategic involvement and effective talent management. The analysis encompasses legal frameworks like the Fair Work Act 2009 and the Equality Act 2010, highlighting their implications for HR practices. The report concludes with recommendations aimed at improving organizational performance and employee engagement in the Australian context.

Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Human Resource Management
Name of the Student
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Executive Summary
The report has thrown light on the different kinds of role and functions of the human resource
managers in the different Australian organisations. The different types of aspects such as the
various trends along with challenges of the HR are described which helped in managing the
different elements efficiently. Furthermore, this has been noticed that due to the different
kinds of HR trends and challenges, this is affecting the overall efficiency of the firm
positively with proper implementation of the different strategies in an efficient manner.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Evaluation of Current State of HRM in Australian Economy...................................................3
Key Roles and Functions of Human Resource Managers in Australian Organizations............4
Current Trends and Challenges for HRM in Australian Economy............................................7
Current Trends.......................................................................................................................7
Challenges..............................................................................................................................9
Impact of Current Trends and Challenges on Perceptions and Roles of HR in Workplace....10
Recommendations................................................................................................................11
Conclusion................................................................................................................................11
References................................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
The report throws light on the different functions along with the role of the Human
Resource Managers in various organizations’. Human Resource Management is one of the
strategic approaches of the efficient management of the company as this helps the employees
in the organisation to gain competitive advantage appropriately.
The primary motive of the Human Resource Management department is to maximise
the performance of the different employees and achieve the different strategic objectives in
an efficient manner (Akyüz, Kaya & Özgeldi, 2015). Furthermore, this has been noticed that
in the present scenario, this can be identified that HRM mainly focuses on hiring, motivating
along with maintaining workforce within the businesses efficiently.
The main aim and purpose of the report are to mainly focus on the current state of the
HRM in Australia wherein the main highlight is required to be provided on the challenges
along with trends and the impact of the same on the future role of the HR manager. The entire
assignment is needed to be based on Australia, and the different implications of the same on
the HR activities is required to be identified. Lastly, the analysis is needed to be done as to
analyse the impact of the HRM activities on perceptions and role of HRM in the entire
workplace.
Evaluation of Current State of HRM in Australian Economy
In the last twenty years, this has been noticed that the different companies in Australia are
trying to manage the various individuals in much more competitive, deregulated and
supportive manner. Additionally, this has been notified that the different practitioners support
the development along with the implementation of the human resource development
approach with proper integration of the corporate strategy (Howes et al., 2015). One of the

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main motives of the human resource management approach is to improve the overall
organisational performance efficiently, and this allows the organisations in gaining
competitive advantage. In the 21st century, this can be analysed that HRM is one of the
accepted managerial positions with the own profession along with training and professional
networks as well.
In the present scenario, this can be seen that in different organisations in Australia,
this has been recognised that there have been different kinds of HRM practices which are
being applied to retain the employees who are the assets of the organisations as well.
Additionally, the various human resource managers in the various organisations in Australia
are trying to perform their role and functions to become more active (Glendon& Clarke,
2015). According to the Fair Work Act 2009, this has been analysed that the HR department
has to satisfy the different demands of the employees appropriately.
However, this can be seen that there are different kinds of challenges in HRM which
are being faced by the various organisations in a negative manner and this is affecting the
overall efficiency of the firms. There can be different recommendations which can be
provided to the managers in the organisations in Australia as this will be beneficial for the
overall success of the firm and motivate the employees to improve their morale in performing
the different tasks (Albrechtet al., 2015). As per the Fair Work Act 2009, under section 229,
the employees in the organizations need to comply with the different rules and regulations
which are being adopted by the company in different appropriate circumstances.
The challenges which are being faced by HR managers are required to be taken into
consideration as this will have massive impact on the managers along with the perceptions of
the HRM in the workplace as well. The discrimination act has been taken into consideration
which helped in managing the effectiveness in the firms. Under the Equality Act 2010, there

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will be legal protection of the employees in workplace and this will strengthen protection in
some situations as well.
Key Roles and Functions of Human Resource Managers in Australian Organizations
Shuck et al. (2014), has commented that there are different kinds of roles and
responsibilities of the various HR managers to recruit, train and proper professional
development to the different candidates in an efficient manner. The primary purposes of the
human resource managers are inclusive of the following aspects:
Recruitment- This is one of the fundamental parts and functions of the human
resource managers in different organisations in Australia. Hiring is one of the primary
responsibilities of the manager to devise along with strategic plan kind of campaigns along
with different guidelines for recruiting the suitable types of candidates in the organisations
efficiently (Chelladurai&Kerwin, 2017). The HR managers serve as the mediator between the
different employer along with the candidate as they will be the one who will be
communicating the company related policies and norms to the candidates.
This is the first pillar of the human resource manager in the organisation which will
be beneficial for the overall success of the firm and gain productivity in the entire market as
well. The attracting the different talents in the organisations is the first planning requirement
of recruiting workforce in the organisation in an appropriate manner (Bratton& Gold, 2017).
For instance-In Australian organisations, such as in PwC and Commonwealth Bank,
this has been noticed and identified that the Human Resource managers try to put the best
tool forward as this helps them in creating recruitment strategies which are detailed in nature
in carrying out the hiring process.

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Secondly, the hiring of the resources is the other aspect which is taken care of by the
different HR managers in the organisation which comes under recruitment. In the current
stage, in Australian organisations, the HR managers run the different possible engines to
found the suitable gem in the market in an efficient manner (Knies et al., 2015).
From the different articles of Deloitte Australia. (2018), this can be seen that HR
professionals are not prepared for the future as there are no such introduction of HR robotics
and digital transformation. Reviewing the article of Deloitte’s 2017, this can be identified that
only 9% of the organizations in Australia feel that they have the capability to build HR
practices and transform the same for the future growth and development.
On the other hand, the article of Deloitte. (2018), has suggested that the culture and
leadership are the major challenges of HR which is being faced by the organizations in a
negative manner. In Australian economy, the leadership hierarchies are not being managed
and there is no such empowerment of the teams and there are less of the global diverse
leaders which affects the overall efficiency of the different firms in a negative manner.
Training- This is the other aspect in which this can be seen that after recruitment,
after selection of the suitable candidate, this can be seen that the training is the other aspect
which is required to be analysed by the HR manager in the organizations as this will be
helpful in making the different employees aware about the different skills of the job which is
necessary for them to become successful (Brewster, 2017). The HR managers play a
significant role in assessing the results of the training program along with grading the
employees as per their performance in the different tasks performed by them.
For instance- This can be seen that in Commonwealth Bank in Australia, the HR
departments provide a sophisticated and essential training to the different new joinee and
make them aware about the various rules and regulations which are necessary to be followed

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after their training period in the jobs or the tasks in aneffective manner
(Gradaustralia.com.au., 2018).
Professional Development- This is the other role of the HR manager in the different
organisations which is closely related to training. This is the kind of professional
development is vital for the organisation in improving the employee engagement practices
and motivating the organisation and improves their morale (Kramar, 2014).
For instance- In Commonwealth Bank, Australia this has been noticed that there are
various kinds of seminars and the conferences which enable the employees in establishing
and maintaining the proper level of the efficiency in the different tasks which is beneficial for
the organisation along with for the employees working in it as well.
Performance Appraisal- In this aspect, this can be seen that HRM is the body meant
for the different employees, and this helps them in gaining a competitive advantage. The
performance appraisal process should not restrict to once a year process as there can be
application of the 360-degree appraisal system which will be beneficial for the increasing the
overall potential of the employees. There can be mentoring and the training problems which
can be beneficial for the improving the potential (Kramar, 2012). HR department needs to
accelerate the pace of the involvement with the business which will be more impactful in
nature.
For example- In PwC, this has been noticed that the HR manager holds the 360-
degree appraisal for the different employees wherein the peers, higher level officials along
with the outside stakeholders take part in the same and receive proper reports on the same
appropriately. There are different kinds of rewards provided to the employees as this
motivates them and helps them in performing better (PwC- 360° feedback., 2018).

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Current Trends and Challenges for HRM in Australian Economy
Duarte, Gomes and Neves (2015), have commented that there are different trends
which are being identified in the Australian economy such as innovation in HR along with
changes in the sourcing of the talent in an appropriate manner. In different Australian
organisations, this has been noticed that there is there is the end of the various static jobs and
there are different agile ways of working as the HR in the multiple organisations which
makes it useful in appropriately managing the different tasks. Furthermore, this can be seen
that there are smarter recruitment techniques which will be beneficial for transforming the
various tools in achieving the employees (Brewster & Hegewisch, 2017).
Current Trends
The primary current trends in the Australian economy are being discussed as follows:
Usage of the talent websites is one of the current trends of HR in the Australian
economy in which this can be seen that due to the rise in globalism, the different business
owners are appointing the various Human Resource Professionals in the organization which
will be beneficial for making the use of the international talent websites and forums to search
for the different qualified employees in the organization effectively (Sheehan et al., 2014).
For instance- PwC uses the different job portals such as Naukri.com along with other
such websites to search the suitable kinds of candidates for the different positions. By
searching in such portals, the HR executives and the managers are gaining a proper idea on
understanding the actual knowledge which is required for the specific kind of job, and this is
beneficial for the overall success of the firm in an effective manner as well (Tung, 2016).
Cloud-Based Systems and technology are the other trends of the HR in the Australian
market in which HR departments and the representatives are expressing their interest in

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different cloud-based systems, and this assists them in performing the tasks within a short
period. With the different technological shifts, this can be seen that HR will be able to gain
knowledge on recruiting the different employees and providing them with cloud-based on the
job training aspects which will be beneficial for the success of the firm (Voegtlin&
Greenwood, 2016).
Agile Human Resource Management System is the other aspect which is being used
by the different organisations in the Australian economy. The various organisations in the
Australian economy are adopting the agile techniques of working as reinventing HR essential
and the new methods of recruiting along with the introduction of self-managed teams are
essential aspects which play a significant role in the organisations as to attract more
customers effectively (Jackson, Schuler & Jiang, 2014).
Outsourcing is the other aspect which is required to be analysed as the trend of HR in
which it will be beneficial for the performing of different HR related functions. This helps in
streamlining the human resource functions such as payroll, compliance management along
with benefit administration. This will help in reducing the workload as all the services are
being outsourced and this will be providing proper and efficient benefits (Jackson, Schuler &
Jiang, 2014)
The inclusion of Chatbots in the HR domain is proved to be useful in nature wherein
this is efficiently entering into the HR domain. The addition of chatbots will help in
increasing the service level along with increasing efficiency and speed of HR. Furthermore,
in the present scenario, there is enormous inclusion of different recruitment, onboarding
along with training programs which are being done to improve the employee and candidate
experience while working in the organisation (Marchington, 2015).

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For instance- In Commonwealth bank, this has been noticed that the company uses
the chatbots in making the experience of the employees effective. With the inclusion of the
chatbots, this has been notified that there is enormous inclusion of the representative who is
responsible for handling the calls and makes the entire system faster in nature
(Gradaustralia.com.au., 2018).
Challenges
On the other hand, this has been noticed that there are different kinds of problems
which are required to be analysed as faced by the Australian firms. The different types of
issues are being described as follows:
Firstly, the ageing workforce is the first and foremost challenge in the HR domain
wherein this has been noticed that the employees who are working in the organization for a
long span of time are the assets of the organization. However, there can be breach of
communication between them and the young generation who are working in the organization
in the present scenario. Furthermore, this has been noticed they are not so adaptable to the
different technological advancements which can be one of the major challenges (Von
Bonsdorff et al., 2018).
Secondly, workplace diversity is the other threat which is being faced by the different
HR professionals working in the organisation. Furthermore, there will be increased training
costs which are being designed to promote diversity in the workplace, and this can be a
considerable disadvantage for the HR department in increasing the diversity in the workplace
(Reiche et al., 2016).
Furthermore, retention of the employees in the workplace is the other challenge
which is being faced by the HR department in different organisations. This has been noticed

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that there is less motivation provided by the respective department to the various employees
working in the organisation and there is enormous resistance to change among the employees
as well (Akyüz, Kaya & Özgeldi, 2015).
As per the PwC Surveys (2018), there is lack of talent or shortage of talent in the
workplaces in the present scenario as this has been noticed that the needs and demands are
not being matched in an effective manner. In the present scenario, this has been seen that the
employees are resistant to change as they are not being able to cope up with the changes in an
effective manner and this is affecting the overall efficiency of the firm as well (Reiche et al.,
2016).
These are the significant challenges which are being faced by the HR managers and
the departments in the different kinds of organisations in a negative manner. This has been
noticed that due to the enormous competition in the market, there is implementation of
technological advancements in the different organizations and this has been fearful for the
employees as they due to the progress, there will be a smaller number of employees as every
aspect are becoming automatized in nature (VonBonsdorff et al., 2018).
Impact of Current Trends and Challenges on Perceptions and Roles of HR in
Workplace
Due to the different current trends, this can be seen that the Human Resource
managers will be beneficial for the success of the firm in an effective manner. Shortly, the
market will become more competitive. Therefore, the HR trends such as agile human
resource management activities along with proper performance appraisal programs will play
a significant role in making the different technological advancements and gaining
competitive advantage in the overall market as well. Additionally, this has been noticed that