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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Technology will undeniably be at the forefront of our future working lives. But this is exactly why we need to factor humans back into the equation says Lynda Gratton, the renowned organisational theorist and management consultant who founded the Hot Spots Movement – to bring the latest thinking around the future of work into organisations.

Automation and AI will, it is predicted, eliminate the need for people to focus on mundane tasks. But then what?

We’re not robots

Humans are a collaborative species, and so the way we work together should be central to an organisation’s thinking – with a strong emphasis on trust. Humans are also highly inquisitive and creative, so HR needs to be thinking about giving employees the space and time to maximise that potential.

According to Gratton, the way many organisations currently operate is to treat people as if they were robots – piling on the responsibilities without giving them room to consider how to do things better and their place in the wider scheme of things. Lack of clear direction, or knowledge about people’s place in the future workforce has allowed anxieties to brew.

“Organisations need to create stronger signalling about what it is they want from people, and what direction they think people will be going. There needs to be more navigation,” says Gratton.

Don’t forget the present

The types of work in each particular organisation need to be carefully identified, and a clear idea of what role humans will play established. Gratton says this should begin now – a diagnostic of people’s current place in the workforce, and ideas about how they need to change and develop.

“Organisations need to separate their thinking into tangible and intangible assets,” says Gratton. “We talk a lot about the tangible aspects, such as the bottom line, but I think we need to focus more on the intangible things – how do we inspire productivity and vitality, how can people transform themselves and upskill – in essence, how can you future-proof people?”

Future-proofing your workforce

So how does HR do this? Firstly, by developing a blueprint of technological trends – which jobs will be automated? What specific functions within roles will be taken over by automation? And how will this process develop over the next five to 10 years?

Longevity is another key factor. As people will continue to live longer, they will need to remain in the workforce for longer. More people will stay in work until they reach 70, and this may even extend as time goes on. HR needs to adapt to this ageing workforce and tailor roles and responsibilities accordingly through training, development and extended career path and retirement planning.

Lastly, there is the social aspect of the workforce. Gratton points out that one of the most prevalent social trends in Australia is dual-career households, and the impact that has on children, families and the workforce. Organisations need to be responsive and cater to the needs of dual-career partnerships.

Looking ahead

Gratton believes HR has a big role to play in getting organisations to look ahead.

“HR needs to shift the focus from the now into the long-term and help organisations realise some of the big trends that are going to shape work,” she says. But there is also a need to emphasise the traditional role of the HR function as a protector.

“HR need to be guardians of good work. People flourish when they do good work, so helping people to find the work that gives them some sort of autonomy so that they can be innovative, and work that allows them to build strong relationships and networks with others.”

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