HRM in New Zealand: Performance Reviews, Talent Management Challenges

This assignment delves into various aspects of Human Resource Management (HRM), beginning with the preparation of an induction checklist and welcome kit for new employees, emphasizing the importance of a structured onboarding process. It explores alternative methods of performance reviews beyond traditional approaches, such as psychological appraisals, 360-degree feedback, and management by objectives. The challenges in designing remuneration packages in New Zealand are examined, highlighting the need for equitable pay and employee motivation through both monetary and non-monetary benefits. The assignment summarizes the main challenges of managing talent globally, including compensation demands and high turnover, and discusses the relevance of welcoming the available talent pool for companies operating in New Zealand. It identifies key areas needing action in workplaces, such as improving skill sets for the Maori labor force and enhancing employee engagement through transparent communication and flexible working conditions. Furthermore, the assignment outlines recent changes to employment legislation in New Zealand and their potential impact on businesses, discusses the concept of 'good faith' in employment situations, and summarizes the main rights and obligations under New Zealand's minimum rights, arguing for their effectiveness in protecting workers' rights. Finally, it lists situations where coaching and mentoring can be used within an organization, emphasizing their roles in enhancing employee performance, skills, and leadership.

6. Prepare an induction checklist for a role of your choice
Action Plan Description Key Stakeholder Date of Completion
Prepare a
Welcome Kit
A welcome kit
should be prepared
for the new
employee, with the
details of the
organization,
departmental
hierarchy chart,
map of the
campus, and other
documents for the
purpose of the
induction.
Induction
Coordinator
Ensure that the
employee is aware
of his/her routine
for the first day
The new employee
should be briefed
on the details of
the induction
programme and
also be informed
about the details as
to where and
whom to report on
their arrival on the
first day
Induction
Coordinator
Ensure that the
workplace and the
required
equipments are
kept ready for the
new joinee
The work space,
laptop, phone etc
should be kept
ready for the new
joinee to start their
work
Induction
Coordinator
Buddy If required, a buddy
should be assigned
for the new recruit
to make the person
comfortable in the
first one week of
his/her tenure
Induction
Coordinator
7. Conduct your own research into the other methods of performance reviews
Among the many appraisal methods, psychological appraisal, 360 degree appraisal
and management by objective are the methods which can be utilized for the effective
performance review of employees.

Psychological Appraisal – This is a measure for assessing the employee’s potential
for the future, rather than the past by reflecting on the employee’s intellect, cause of
motivation and emotion
360 degree appraisal – One of the best methods to ensure a positive feedback
system and ensure justice across the organization
Management by Objective – This is a measure of employee performance based on
some predetermined objectives
8. What do you think the main challenges are in New Zealand with regard to
designing remuneration packages?
The optimal remuneration for retaining talent is a major challenge in all industries,
irrespective of the size of the business. Through the remuneration package, the
employees need to be motivated. However, the challenge remains in the fact as to
what should be the designing of the package to keep the employees motivated and
ultimately retain them.
At the very onset, the basic pay needs to be equitable and as per the industry
standards. Any organization failing to do so shall have issues retaining their talents.
Again, organizations where the employee satisfaction is aligned with the company’s
vision, the process of motivating the employees is easier. However, this is not the
case for all the companies. Apart from monetary benefits, the company needs to go
the extra mile to keep the employees’ internal motivation factor active. For example,
the company can offer appreciation letter from management, company paid team
outing with lunch, increase in half a day leave, etc. These are examples of the extra
mile that the organization can go to create a connection between the company and
the employees through appreciation and reward. With the changing demographics of
the working population and advanced technologies, the expectations of the
employees also keep changing. As a result of which, flexible working conditions are
expected to maintain a work life balance. Thus, while designing a remuneration, the
companies should keep in mind that the word remuneration does not only mean
monetary benefits and also understand the present changing scenario to
accommodate the employee expectations (Hendry, 2017).
9. Summarise the main challenges of managing talent globally and answer the
following question with an explanation. “A company will either succeed
quickly or fail slowly if it does not welcome the available pool of talent.” Is this
true for companies operating within New Zealand?
According to a report by Society for Human Resource Management, by the year
2022, talent management shall come across as the greatest challenge for the HR.
First and foremost, would be the demand for a better compensation package. The
continuous drive to increase the disposable income, instigates the employees to

demand for further increase in compensation. The challenge is to keep the
employees satisfied, along with keeping the cost low (Tactics, 2012).
Acquiring good talent is a demanding process. If the company does not have the
resources for an attractive package to lure prospective employees or retain existing
employees, then the company should consider other attractive perks.
The young population, especially the Millenials, expect a different work culture which
is a combination of “fun at work”. They look for transparent and easy communication
policy, job description with a purpose and clarity in objectives. Work culture, has also
become important for the young generation of talents.
Retaining an existing employee always proves to be profitable rather an acquiring a
new talent. High turnover in a company affects the bottom line of the company.
Another major issue, that the HR is facing globally, is the high rate of turnover at the
senior executive level due to lack of leadership on the part of the organization. As a
remedy, the HR officials should take the help of the present leaders in the
organization and arrange for training the new executives who are replacing the older
ones. This process is cumbersome as well as intimidating, but might prove fruitful in
the long run (Vaiman, Haslberger, & Vance, 2015).
According to a report released by PWC in 2014, the picture is nothing different in
New Zealand. Managing the talent pool is proving to be difficult across the globe.
According to the survey, the shortage of Skills, ongoing trends of urbanization,
advancement in technology, and changes in demographics are not helping the issue.
The companies in New Zealand, also need to harness the opportunities coming their
way and minimize the risk by buffering the companies against the changing
dynamics (Growth, 2014).
10. Note 3-4 areas in which action is needed in workplaces. Share your
thoughts as to what role HRM can play here
The labour market for the Maori population is on the path of improvement, however,
the Maori labourers are younger compared to the rest of the labour population in
New Zealand. The HR department can engage in proper training and improve their
skill sets and gradually move them to a higher skill set. This shall help in the
development of the individual as well as organization.
Another change which calls for importance is employee engagement. Before the
company management decides on a major change, they should take feedback from
the existing employees and genuinely consider the feedback. The implementation of
the change should be a slow process and not dumped on the employees. This shall
give rise to unrest. Also, after the implementation, the management should continue
talking to the employees to understand the situation better and develop a positive
relationship between management and employees.

Flexible working conditions, transparency and relaxed atmosphere at the workplace
are becoming more and more important for retaining the younger population. Apart
from the perks and job description, potential employees also try and find out about
the work culture of a company rather than ending up creating an imbalanced work
life ratio (McIntyre, 2016).
11. Conduct your own research to find out the main changes to employment
legislation proposed and introduced. Then discuss the following topic
“Employment legislation is stifling innovation and costing businesses too
much in New Zealand”.
The changes which are effective from the year 2019 are as follows:
 The Union representatives can have free access to workplaces where
collective agreement is being held
 The Union is allowed to start bargaining 60 days prior to the expiry of the
collective agreement
 Employers are not allowed to opt out of bargaining in lieu of Multi-Employer
Collective Agreement (MECA)
 The delegates of the Union shall be entitled to paid time off while representing
employees
 Employers are entitled to share the information about the Union rules to new
employees and employees who are not part of the Union
 An employee cannot discriminate on the grounds of Union membership status
 According to good faith, the parties’ bargaining for a collective agreement are
required to conclude the same
These are some of the legislative changes that shall come into force from May
2019. However, the amended laws have a strong implication on the bottom
line of businesses. Increased wage, changes in overtime policies, period of
rest during work, and scheduling rules are bound to cost the businesses more
leaving a minimal amount for new inventions and research. The paid time off,
free access to workspace, etc. can be misused by people with negative
intentions (Nathan, 2018).
12. List at least two employment situations in which good faith must be and
provide 3 examples of behaviour by either employer or employee which would
breach the ‘good faith’ obligation.
Good Faith means a collaboration of the employees, employer and the Union for the
better interest of the organization. The parties involved should be transparent,
communicative and responsive and also operate in an honest way. For example,
when an employee is being terminated from the service, the employee should be
provided enough opportunity to speak and the employee should be given enough
notice. The employer should not give false hopes of new prospect within the
organization, should conduct an appraisal where all the issues should be raised and

consequences discussed, and lastly, the employee should be provided an
opportunity to improve. If these things are not taken into consideration, then that will
amount to breach of good faith.
In the second example, if an employee while leaving the organization, mishandles
the documents, or shares confidential data with competitors or spreads false
information about the company, that would be another form of breach of good faith
which believes in honesty and transparency (Theodore & Germann, 2014).
13. Write a brief summary of the main rights and obligations under the
categories listed on the website and present your arguments as to whether
you think NZ minimum rights and obligations go far enough to protect
workers’ rights.
The minimum rights ensure, that the employee doesn’t work or is forced to work in
conditions which does not allow the minimum rights of employees by law. The
employer should ensure that the recruits are legally eligible to work in New Zealand
and irrespective of their work status, they are entitled to the rate of minimum wages.
The employers are responsible for maintaining accurate records of employees and
any deduction from their wage needs a written consent. The entitlements for break
and holidays which includes sick leaves, bereavement leaves and parental leaves,
are also detailed in the minimum rights document. The employees can also request
for flexible working hours and arrangements and any denial from the employer needs
sufficient argument and logic. By the above, it is evident that the New Zealand
minimum rights have a very strong ground rules for supporting the rights of the
employees and eventually a strong support (Responsibilities, 2018).
14. List 3 situations in which you could use coaching in an organisation. Who
would the target audience be for the coaching and say why you believe is an
effective approach?
Performance coaching can be used for employees at all levels since this form of
coaching helps in improving an individual’s effectiveness and productivity. It
enhances the employee’s performance
Skills coaching can be targeted at employees who are new to the organization and
need some support to enhance their existing skills to increase their productivity for
the chosen role.
Executive coaching is an upcoming branch of coaching in which the leadership in the
organization is trained so that their performance improves and new ways of thinking
are implemented in the performance of the organization.
The monotony of the daily tasks are broken through the coachings and effective new
ways of improving performance come as a fresh breather. This helps in a change in
the monotony and at the same time provide the executives with a fresher outlook
(Marcone, 2017).

15. List 3 situations in which you could use mentoring in an organisation. Who
would the target audience be for the mentoring and say why you believe is an
effective approach?
Mentoring helps new employees to get an insight into the job and practical advice
from the existing employees.
Nurturing mentoring is an informal way of mentoring the new recruits by introducing
them to an experienced employee who helps in the day to day information about the
job and help with the hands on training.
Career mentoring is targeted at employees who have a career plan in mind within
the organization. In these cases, the managers act as the mentor and guide them
towards their career goals.
Situational mentoring applies to the type of mentoring where an existing employee or
a new employee is associated with another existing employee with knowledge in a
particular skill set. This kind of mentoring helps in developing a particular skill set of
one employee with the help of another employee (Irby, Lynch, Boswell, & Hewitt,
2017).
Reference
Government, N. Z. (2018, July). Minimum Employment Rights and Responsibilities.
Retrieved March 22, 2019, from Employment New Zealand:
https://www.employment.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/tools-and-resources/publications/
86e062c012/minimum-rights-booklet.pdf
Hendry, C. (2017, March 20). Article: Challenges businesses could face when approaching
total rewards. New Zealand.
Irby, B. J., Lynch, J., Boswell, J., & Hewitt, K. K. (2017). Mentoring as professional
development. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning , 1-4.
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https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/trends-and-forecasting/research-and-surveys/
Documents/SHRM-Challenge-HR-2022-Spotlight.pdf
Marcone, M. (2017). The Impact of Coaching Styles on the Motivation and Performance of
Athletes. Brockport: The College at Brockport: State University of New York.
McIntyre, D. (2016, December 15). Fit the culture to the workplace. New Zealand Herald , p.
Business.

Nathan, B. (2018, December 26). New Zealand: Legislative changes to NZ employment
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http://www.mondaq.com/NewZealand/x/767600/employee+rights+labour+relations/
Legislative+changes+to+NZ+employment+relations+law
PricewaterhouseCoopers. (2014, May). The talent challenge: Adapting to Growth. Retrieved
March 22, 2019, from PricewaterhouseCoopers: https://www.pwc.co.nz/pdfs/pdf-pwc-
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Theodore, R., & Germann, S. (2014). The Duty of Good Faith in Franchise Agreements -
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Vaiman, V., Haslberger, A., & Vance, C. M. (2015). Recognizing the important role of self-
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