Working in HR has always demanded adept multitasking, but the disruptions of the pandemic and the numerous changes to our work dynamics have necessitated expanding HR skill sets even further.

“During COVID, HR got called into really high-level, strategic conversations that they didn’t always get brought into previously,” says Tani Jacobi, HR Standards & Capability Development Manager at AHRI.

“No one else had the skills; no one else had the reach and the capability to be able to navigate these situations because it was so heavily focused on the impact on people. It accelerated the path that HR was already on – that we’re not just focused on policy and compliance, or the ‘fluffy’ stuff. We are business contributors and leaders that enable business performance and growth.”

Since then, HR has become increasingly integral to decision-making conversations, which Jacobi asserts is “exactly what businesses need”. However, this shift has revealed that some HR practitioners were not fully prepared to assume these new responsibilities.

A byproduct of the rapid business changes from the past five years is that the HR practice has changed, says Beth Hall CPHR, General Manager of HR, Standards and Capability at AHRI.

“To stay commercially viable and support business growth goals, there is an increased expectation for sophistication in HR capabilities.” – Beth Hall CPHR,  General Manager of HR, Standards and Capability, AHRI

“HR has had to think differently about how to attract, engage and retain people, and how to navigate employee relations in a landscape that’s become even more complex. 

“When you think about the increase in criminalisation and individual decision-makers being held personally liable for some of the decisions they’re making at work, that’s a lot for HR to manage.”

As the professional body for HR in Australia, AHRI was determined to support its members and the broader HR profession to manage these challenges head-on and to grow their capability and influence.

“To stay commercially viable and support business growth goals, there is an increased expectation for sophistication in HR capabilities,” says Hall. 

The Australian HR Capability Framework

AHRI’s refreshed Australian HR Capability Framework (AHRCF) has been created with this increased sophistication in mind.

Designed to promote universal standards of HR best practice, the AHRCF defines the essential capabilities, skills, knowledge and behaviours required of HR practitioners, enabling career progression and empowering organisations to achieve their goals by nurturing the capabilities of their HR teams. 

It also acts as a clear roadmap for becoming a well-rounded HR practitioner, which requires a big-picture mindset, says Hall.

“For example, if you’re an IR/ER specialist, you can’t think about the legislation criminalising underpayments or the right to disconnect without considering your wellbeing skills, payroll, or your HR generalist skills. Nothing should happen in isolation.”

The new design of the AHRCF (see below) purposefully focuses on capabilities rather than specific roles, says Jacobi.

“We’ve been clear in saying, ‘This isn’t a job description.’ It’s about encompassing the broad practice of HR. 

“We’ve also quite deliberately designed the capabilities to flow from the big-picture, strategic level, then work around in a logical sequence of capabilities,” says Jacobi.

The framework begins at business strategy, says Hall.

“That’s about considering, ‘What’s happening from a business perspective, and what impact does it have on the HR strategy?’ 

“Then you go on to organisational enablement. Consider: how am I enabling the organisation to look after themselves and not be constantly relying on HR – because we’re a cost centre; we don’t generate income. We enable the organisation through data, insights and technology.”

Next, you layer in the foundational elements, such as the wellbeing perspective, to make sure you’re looking after the physical, emotional and mental wellbeing of your people.

“Then it’s about getting us to a culture that we can be proud of. We can look at ethical practices and DEI to make sure it’s aligned with the business strategy,” says Hall.

Workforce effectiveness speaks to the critical industrial relations skills required of the modern HR practitioner, as well as ensuring that you’re “being strategic in the chess moves of your people, structures and your succession planning to enable a future effective workforce”.

Talent management and trusted partnership runs across all elements of the framework.

“Your talent management and trusted partnership is keeping the lights on,” says Hall. “But if you don’t couple them with organisational enablement and workforce effectiveness, you’re going to come unstuck.

“If you think about old HR versus new HR, old HR was all about trusted partnership and talent management – we found people, we hired them, we gave them the skills and knowledge they needed, we managed their performance and then we moved them into their new role. We did that through employee relations, influence and impact.”

That work is still incredibly important, of course, but there is now so much more nuance and complexity to add on top of this foundational HR work.

“The employee experience is now uber-personalised. It’s not one-size-fits-all; sheep-dipping won’t work. Therefore, how do you use your organisational enablement and workforce effectiveness to start building the personalised, curated employee experience of the future?”

Using the AHRCF and Capability Analysis tool

AHRI’s HR Capability Framework is designed to uplift both individual capabilities and that of your entire HR team.

“We are, by nature, a giving group of practitioners, but we sometimes do that at the expense of ourselves,” says Jacobi. “Our performance as HR practitioners is measured on how we can impact business outcomes, not by our own growth. So we tend to neglect investing in our own capability because we’re so busy doing it for everyone else.”

The intent of the AHRCF and the capability assessment tool (exclusive to AHRI members), is that you can build it into your already established talent management cycles (see below).

“We’re also giving you access to development opportunities so you don’t have to go and create your own HR Bootcamp for your HR team. We have a range of options available that are specifically linked back to this framework,” says Jacobi.

The AHRCF is freely available for any HR practitioner to view. However, AHRI members can also access a career-stage breakdown of each capability, as well as the accompanying Capability Analysis Tool, which helps map and benchmark their skills over time.

Here’s how it works:

1. Assess your skills: AHRI members can log in to their membership dashboard and click on ‘Australian HR Capability Framework self-assessment tool’. Next, answer a few short questions to help AHRI benchmark your skills against the AHRCF. This should only take up to 30 minutes to complete.

2. Design your learning journey: You will receive a personalised PDF report of your results in your inbox. This will include specific recommendations for your learning and development from AHRI’s range of capability development programs.

3. Track your progress over time: Your personalised report will include a set of graphics to help you benchmark your results over time, should you choose to use the Capability Assessment Tool again in the future.

“Being able to benchmark capabilities allows us to see where our capabilities are compared to our peers,” says Jacobi. “Tracking growth over time helps to demonstrate return on investment and celebrate the progress we’ve made.”

Sign up for a webinar on 18 July, 12-1pm, to learn more about the revamped AHRCF and how it will benefit you. AHRI members can register for free.

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