Nearly half of employees in Australia and New Zealand (48 per cent) are experiencing daily workplace stress, according to recent research from Gallup. 

Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2024 report revealed that stress levels in Australia and New Zealand are 17 per cent higher than than the global average. What’s more, just a quarter of employees in this region report feeling engaged at work. Around two thirds (64 per cent) are passively disengaged, while 11 per cent are actively disengaged – i.e., taking actions that directly harm or obstruct the organisation.

“When people are stressed and disengaged, at best, they’re ambivalent, and at worst, they’re actively working against the organisation’s goals,” says Claire de Carteret, Managing Director, APAC at Gallup.

“That can have an impact on customers. It can have an impact on [the employee’s] own feelings of efficacy. And it can even go so far as to impact their physical health.”

Below, de Carteret offers research-backed advice for HR and managers to address workplace stress in the short, medium and long term. 

Short-term strategy: Intervene with the right questions

Short-term exposure to stress at work is unlikely to do serious damage – in fact, some forms of temporary stress have been shown to benefit performance and motivation. However, left unchecked, stress can cause our bodies to be in a constant state of stimulation, increasing the risk of serious harm to our mental and physical health.

In light of employers’ new legal obligations to manage psychosocial hazards at work, it’s particularly crucial for both HR and managers to be vigilant in recognising early signs of stress among employees to address them before they escalate, she says.

According to SafeWork NSW, some of the most common stress symptoms to look out for include: 

• Physical: headaches, tiredness, slow reactions, shortness of breath.
• Mental: difficulty with decision-making, forgetfulness.
• Emotional: irritability, excess worrying, feeling of worthlessness, anxiety, defensiveness, anger, mood swings.
• Behavioural: diminished performance, withdrawal, impulsive behaviour.

Regular, meaningful check-ins with employees are the best way to catch these symptoms early, says de Carteret.

“​They don’t have to be long conversations – just 15 to 30 minutes every week – and then you’ll build a fluency around [that person], which allows you to recognise when someone is struggling.”

To get a well-rounded view of how the employee is feeling and the best ways to support them, you can ask questions such as:

1. Open-ended questions to encourage employees to share their feelings and thoughts in detail.

• How are you feeling at the moment?
• Can you tell me more about what’s been on your mind lately?
• What aspects of your work are you finding stressful?

2. Specific questions to pinpoint particular areas of concern or sources of stress.

• What specific tasks or situations are causing you stress?
• Can you think of any particular moments or events that caused you stress? 
• What was it about that event you found stressful?

3. Supportive questions to show empathy and willingness to help.

• How can I better support you in managing your workload?
• What can we do to make your work environment more comfortable?
• What resources or support do you think would help you manage your stress?

“[These conversations] open up a pathway for the employee to talk about when things are not going right, when they need help, when they’re struggling or when they need time off,” says de Carteret.

When symptoms of stress are identified, interventions should happen promptly to avoid the issue snowballing. Based on employers’ responsibilities under the new psychosocial safety code of practice, WorkSafe Victoria has developed a five-step guide for managers to conduct these short-term interventions: 

1. Make contact. Arrange a confidential meeting time and location and consider what you want to discuss and achieve.

2. Explore the issues. Ask open-ended questions and listen attentively. It’s helpful to state the behaviours you have observed and your concern, and discuss potential factors driving the stress, which could be internal or external.

3. Develop options and offer support. Work together with the employee to explore potential workplace adjustments that could be made to support them, taking into account operational demands. If the employee’s direct manager is the stress source, ensure alternative support is available. Inform them of available resources both in and outside the workplace.

4. Agree on action. Decide on specific steps and agree on follow-up actions and review times.

5. Stay in touch. Follow up regularly, ensuring clear outcomes and agreed follow-up frequency.

Frameworks like this can offer structure to these conversations for managers who might not feel confident initiating them, says de Carteret.

“We need to give them tools to support them in the science of those conversations,” she says. “Because if we just leave it all up to art, some people do it well, and some people don’t – that’s just human nature.”

Medium-term strategy: Empower managers to address workplace stress

Given that managers have a disproportionate impact on employees’ experiences at work, medium-term strategies to address workplace stress should focus on supporting and empowering middle management.

Positive management practices are more than half the battle in mitigating workplace stress; according to Gallup’s findings, those who work in companies with bad management practices are nearly 60 per cent more likely to be stressed than people working in environments with good management practices. 

“We don’t want to villainise managers because they’ve got the toughest job at the moment. When they’re feeling overwhelmed and they’re not supported by their direct manager, then it’s hard for them to cascade [that support] down. They revert back into survival mode, which is the opposite of a growth mindset.

“So [HR should] focus on supporting that manager population first because when they’re engaged, connected and energised, then they will energise, connect and support their teams.”

Beyond providing managers with mental health support of their own, HR can also equip managers to address employees’ needs by providing training in areas like coaching, trauma-informed practice and mental health first aid.

Gain the knowledge and skills necessary to conduct workplace processes in a trauma-informed manner with AHRI’s Trauma Informed HR short course.

Given that managers tend to experience more stress than their direct reports, de Carteret stresses the importance of framing this training the right way so it doesn’t feel like an additional burden on their time or energy.

“They have to believe that it’s going to be an enabler for them,” she says. “They have to see the connection between [reducing stress] and delivering performance and profit. That way, it’s less about giving them more to do and more about giving them skills to be more effective.”

“[HR should] focus on supporting that manager population first because when they’re engaged, connected and energised, then they will energise, connect and support their teams.” – Claire de Carteret, Managing Director, APAC at Gallup.

Long-term strategy: Create a culture of recognition and development

Effectively mitigating stress in the long-term requires a sustainable approach that goes beyond immediate interventions and manager training. 

No matter how effectively managers can respond to stress in the moment, these measures are only a band-aid without long-term cultural change.

One of the most effective ways to mitigate stress in the long term is by creating a robust and meaningful reward and recognition program, says de Carteret.

“Everyone just wants to be acknowledged for their contribution. If you don’t feel like someone’s seeing what you’re doing or acknowledging and appreciating it, it can have such a big impact,” she says.

“[In our research], we see a big gap between how managers rate themselves in terms of recognising their teams and the way their direct reports rate them recognising the teams. It’s a bit of a blind spot for managers.”

It’s in employers’ interests to close this gap, she says, since a lack of reward and recognition is one of the 14 psychosocial hazards put forward by SafeWork Australia as part of the new code of practice. 

Another important long-term stress management strategy is ensuring employees feel challenged in a healthy way.

Read HRM’s article on how to push employees out of their comfort zone (without pushing them too far).

“Something else we’ve seen in our research is that when people can use their strengths, they are three times more likely to report having an excellent quality of life, and they’re six times more likely to be engaged,” says de Carteret. 

“So if people understand what their strengths are, and they can find a way to use them every day, then they’re energised through that.”

Leveraging recognition and opportunities for growth helps ensure that any pressure employees experience is temporary and productive rather than prolonged and draining. 

Driving these cultural shifts while ensuring that immediate support systems are in place is the key to alleviating workplace stress and, crucially, improving employees’ overall quality of life, says de Carteret.

“The workplace can be so fulfilling and developmental, and it should have a positive impact on people’s lives,” she says. “The only thing we do more than work is sleep, so we have to [make sure] it’s fulfilling.”

Improve your ability to recognise the signs and symptoms of mental health conditions and learn effective strategies to manage health and wellness in the workplace with AHRI’s Mental Health at Work short course.

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With productivity pressures growing, many global leaders are investing huge amounts of time and resources on cutting-edge tools to enhance their efficiency, from generative AI to virtual and augmented reality. 

With that said, for leaders to make the most of the opportunities presented by these new tools, they first need to turn their attention to the wellbeing and efficacy of the employees using them, said Dr John Chan, Managing Director at Infinite Potential, during an address at AHRI’s recent NSW State Conference.

“[As leaders], we can’t do all the great things that we want to do and help people unleash their potential if the environment they’re working in is not healthy or sustainable,” he says.

“Look within – look at the policies, the processes, what you’re doing. If you can improve that, you’ll instantly improve [employees’]  activity and quality of life.”

Chan recently co-authored a global report on the state of workplace burnout, which found that almost two in five employees (38 per cent) currently report experiencing burnout – a similar level to last year, and a 27 per cent increase since 2020.

Significantly, the report also uncovered a gap between how managers perceive their people’s wellbeing and how employees themselves reported on their wellbeing.

The report, which surveyed over 2000 participants across 43 countries, found that almost seven in 10 managers (68 per cent) say employees’ wellbeing is the same or better compared to 12 months ago. Meanwhile, 45 per cent of employees said their wellbeing is worse in the same period. 

“There are two reasons that we’re seeing this,” says Chan. “One is that managers are much more likely to be burned out themselves, so they don’t have time to actually [address it]. The other one is about education and training. 

“[Many] managers weren’t trained to look for burnout or stress. They weren’t trained to know how to mitigate these kinds of things. They were promoted because they’re really good at what they do… but they don’t have these abilities.

“If we’re going to put the onus of taking care of people’s wellbeing on managers, we need to make sure they know what to do and have the tools to do that.”

“Look at the way a job is structured or designed, and [ask yourself], ‘Can one person actually do that job within the time allocated? Are they getting paid enough that they can live and not [worry about] the rent?’”  – Dr John Chan, Managing Director at Infinite Potential

Three dimensions of burnout

Part of supporting managers to address burnout is helping them understand what it looks like, says Chan. Many see burnout as simply a synonym of ‘feeling tired’, but the condition is a multifaceted one that must be understood in its entirety in order to be managed effectively, he says. 

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), burnout is “a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed,” and is characterised by three dimensions: 

1. Exhaustion

Exhaustion can take a number of forms, including physical, mental and emotional depletion. 

Levels of exhaustion often correlate to the volume of an employee’s workload, but can also be exacerbated by factors such as low job control, which can drain employees’ sense of involvement and engagement with their work.

“Exhaustion is the one we all know, and a lot of the time people think burnout stops here,” says Chan. “But if you’re exhausted but love what you’re doing and you’re [achieving] goals, you’re not [necessarily] burned out.”

Rather, burnout is the combination of exhaustion with the other two dimensions, he explains.

2. Cynicism

Employees experiencing burnout often develop a cynical outlook, mentally distancing themselves from their work and their colleagues and approaching tasks with negativity or even callousness.

“When you see people starting to hate their job, hate the people that work with and hate everything about their role…that’s a lot more problematic than the exhaustion piece when we’re trying to fix the situation,” says Chan. 

“Once someone grows that cynicism, it’s a really difficult road [to come back from].”

3. Reduced professional efficacy

This dimension of burnout could involve increases in mistakes and feelings of incompetence, which are often not grounded in truth, says Chan. 

“You might be very capable, but because of burnout, and because of the pressures that you’ve been put under or the culture you’re under, you’re starting to make mistakes and you’re starting to doubt your capabilities,” he says. 

Given that employees experiencing this symptom tend to take longer to complete tasks, it can create a vicious cycle of playing catch-up and lead to a “burnout spiral”, he adds.

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Combating burnout through sustainable work practices

Managing the dimensions of burnout explained above requires transparency and open communication from leaders to ensure employees don’t begin to self-blame, which only exacerbates the issue, says Chan.

“Burnout is not the fault of the individual. It’s not something that they have or haven’t done that has called them to burnout. It’s not that they aren’t good at prioritising. It is chronic workplace stress, and so it’s the structure and culture within the organisation that’s creating this environment.”

Based on Infinite Potential’s research, Chan’s team has devised a five-part framework for creating a sustainable workplace – i.e., a workplace where burnout is less likely to occur. 

The five foundations of a sustainable workplace include personal growth through training and career development, protection from harm and strong connections among teams. 

See the full framework below:

One of the most important aspects of this sustainable workplace model is people-centred structures, says Chan. 

“This has so much to do with an employee’s wellbeing. Look at the way a job is structured or designed, and [ask yourself], ‘Can one person actually do that job within the time allocated? Are they getting paid enough that they can live and not [worry about] the rent?’ [Thinking about] all of these structural things will do much more for wellbeing than other initiatives,” he says. 

While providing career development opportunities to employees whose workloads we are trying to reduce might seem counterintuitive, Chan stresses that these opportunities are essential to give employees a sense of purpose and thus mitigate burnout. 

“They still want to grow. They want to do less work, but to keep growing professionally and as a person. So don’t think that if we want to improve people’s wellbeing, it’s all about just taking stuff away from them,” he says. 

Instead, it’s about providing opportunities for meaningful work and reducing the volume of stress-inducing tasks.

To effectively apply this structure, Chan says employers need to be willing to trial and test sustainable work strategies that work for them. 

“No one knows the right answer. There is not going to be one right way [to approach] the future of work. It’s going to be different within organisations and within teams, and it’s going to change. So be open to experimentation.

“If you’re engaging with people on how you should try something, and [telling them], ‘This is an experiment and it might not go well,’ people really buy into that. So don’t be afraid to try it.”

Learn to design a wellbeing strategy tailored to your organisation’s unique needs with AHRI’s Implementing Wellbeing Initiatives short course.

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Preparing for the end of the financial year (EOFY) can sometimes feel like a never-ending to-do list for even the most experienced of HR practitioners.

As well as preparing for BAU tax-time tasks, such as supporting business unit leaders to determine FY25 budgets and enabling them to conduct fair performance and pay reviews, HR practitioners also need to stay abreast of a host of upcoming legislative changes. Failing to do so can open your organisation up to unnecessary risk. 

The infographic below can be used as a handy checklist for HR to work through this EOFY. Plus, HRM shares some tax deductions HR practitioners can claim for their business.

Download a PDF of the checklist here.

AHRI members can access a range of useful templates, guides and more via AHRI:ASSIST. Learn about more practical member benefits here.

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Getting a new business initiative approved can feel like pulling teeth. HR practitioners often hit a wall in the form of budget restraints, unrelenting leadership or a workplace culture averse to change.

In the current economic environment, this can turn into a Catch-22. In times of skills shortages, technological disruption and shifting regulatory landscapes, large-scale people initiatives are often necessary for survival, but these same issues are driving many executives to tighten their purse strings.

As a result, HR practitioners without the necessary influencing skills risk letting their best strategies remain forever as ideas on a page.

To avoid this, HR practitioners can develop the skills to speak executives’ language, cultivate advocates and develop a deep understanding of a business’s needs and pain points.

A research-backed approach to executive buy-in

When pitching for executive buy-in, an approach that combines human skills with business acumen is key. 

In an article for Harvard Business Review, professors Susan J. Ashford and James R. Detert provide a detailed breakdown of how to gain executive buy-in based on their research. 

In their research, Ashford and Detert identified the tactics of a successful “issue seller” (their name for a person seeking buy-in).

“Issue sellers who accomplish their goals, we found, look for the best ways, venues, and times to voice their ideas and concerns – using rhetorical skill, political sensitivity, and interpersonal connections to move the right leaders to action,” they write.

They break this down into seven key tactics:

1. Tailoring your pitch – this was the key success factor. They say it’s critical to become familiar with your executive’s “unique blend of goals, values and knowledge” and use these insights to customise your pitch according to who you’re speaking with.

2. Strategically frame the issue – this is the stage most HR professionals would be familiar with: building a business case. Not surprisingly, the researchers found this was more effective than moral framing (e.g. trying to convince people to ‘do the right thing’).

3. Manage your emotions – passion, they said, was proven to help in achieving buy-in, but passion can easily spill into anger and this inevitably works against issue sellers. Emotional regulation is key.

4. Choose your timing wisely – pitch ideas when there’s a groundswell from employees, when a business’ priorities are shifting (we’re in such a time right now) or when a new leader is at the helm.

5. Don’t do it alone – the researchers found having a group of people involved in seeking buy-in made it happen a lot faster, as each individual brought their own experience, relationships and social pull.

6. Tailor your approach– understand how various executives like to receive information. Do they prefer formal presentations to a casual coffee catch-up, for example? Or, does anecdotal data sourced from employees have more impact than referring to external statistics?

7. Have a solution – it seems obvious, but don’t suggest changing a process without providing what the researchers call “thoughtful fixes”. Come prepared with a well-researched solution, but be willing to make changes and seek feedback from others to ensure diversity of thought.

Read the full HBR article for further explanation, advice and examples backing up the tactics.

HR influence in action

Gaining executive buy-in requires HR to strike the right balance between human skills such as emotional intelligence with technical skills such as business acumen, says Shirley Vella CPHR, Executive Director of HR at SPV Consulting.

Based on her experiences getting HR strategies over the line, Vella offers three key tips for HR practitioners hoping to boost their influence among the executive team.

1. Speak executives’ language

For HR practitioners, the engagement, wellbeing and/or capabilities of the workforce tend to be the number-one goals of any new initiative. So, when pitching to executives, it’s often HR’s first instinct to lead with workforce benefits. 

However, it’s important for HR to put themselves in executives’ shoes and demonstrate that costs and business context have been prioritised in the strategy, says Vella.

“In my experience, executives really want to do good things for the employees, but, at the end of the day, the business needs to be sustained,” she says. 

“You need to understand your audience. If they’re looking at the bottom line, then you talk about the bottom line. Look at the ROI and what’s in it for the business.”

To get this right, it’s essential for HR to upskill themselves in the fundamentals of finance, she says, such as the right way to do a cost-benefit analysis or return on investment forecast.

“HR is fundamentally about people, but it also requires a strong focus on the profitability of the business. So you need to have that business acumen.”

“In my experience, executives really want to do good things for the staff, but, at the end of the day, the business needs to be sustained.” – Shirley Vella, Executive Director of Human Resources, SPV Consulting

Vella recalls an instance where she put these skills into practice to get executives at a previous organisation on board with a new HR information system (HRIS). 

“The company had never done it before. And they [looked at] the subscription fees and implementation fees first and asked, ‘What’s good about it?’

“The first thing I did was [demonstrate] the ROI of having the system – for example, [pointing out that] leave management and performance management could all be done through the system, so it’s saving a lot of HR time [to be reinvested into more high-value work]. Also, regulatory compliance is all set up in the system, so, for example, if an employee had an expired or invalid license, the system comes up with an alert, which reduces the risk to them. So we’re using those points and converting them into dollar signs.”

2. Divide and conquer

When cultivating the ability to influence executives, it’s important for HR to remember that each executive will have their own unique language and priorities.

“When you’re trying to get executive buy-in, use a divide and conquer [model],” says Vella. “Try to map your stakeholders first.”

For example, when she pitched the HRIS mentioned above to her company’s executive team, she first made a list of the leadership team members and determined who was the most computer-savvy and systems-focused, and approached them first to demonstrate the benefits.

“If you get their buy-in first, then they will become your advocates, and they will spread the word.”

Once initial advocates are onboard, leverage their support to influence other executives, she says. Many executives will be more convinced of an initiative’s benefits if they hear about them from more than one source, and this can create a positive knock-on effect that lends momentum to your proposal.

3. Start small

As well as building advocates within the executive team, Vella says that the greatest advocates for launching or sustaining HR initiatives are often the employees participating in them. 

Similarly to executives, employees are often more swayed by word of mouth than by formal presentations from the HR team.

For this reason, Vella suggests launching every important initiative through a pilot program in an area of the organisation where it’s likely to have the most impact.

“Whoever you pilot with will become your advocates too,” she says.

She offers the example of a lunch and learn initiative she recently launched in her current role.

“Everyone was fairly sceptical at first,” she says. “First of all, I [convinced] the executives to buy in, but they couldn’t force staff to go. So the next step was [convincing] the frontline managers, who are always busy. I personally went to them and said, ‘Come for five minutes, and if you don’t like it, you can leave.’

“Some of them who never wanted to join [in the first place] just came in to have a look, and  ended up  staying for the entire hour. The positive feedback was enormous and, slowly, they started to talk about [rolling] this out to other teams as well.”

By using these strategies to cultivate advocates among both the executive team and the broader workforce, HR can ensure their ideas translate into meaningful change.

A version of this article was originally published in June 2020, and has been updated with fresh insights from Shirley Vella CPHR.

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Executives in Australia are increasingly turning to talent analytics to derive insights on outcomes such as employee attrition, performance and sentiment to influence talent and business decisions. While many leaders value the availability of this data, few feel confident their organisation is maximising its potential.

According to Gartner research, 78 per cent of HR leaders say their organisation relies more heavily on talent data to make decisions compared to four years ago. However, 71 per cent agree that current team structures and capabilities limit their ability to use these insights effectively.

To be successful, HR leaders need to focus on developing the skills of their HR team members to help them become:

1. Analytics experts who manage and prepare the data to produce insights 
2. Decision enablers who interpret the information and apply learnings
3. Strategic consultants who influence broader business priorities as tactical communicators.

Doing so will enable talent analytics to influence HR’s biggest functional decisions and act as a central driver of innovation throughout the organisation by providing objective and timely advice.

Building a culture of analytical learning

Skilled talent analytics experts play a crucial role within any organisation. They are responsible for maintaining data, effectively analysing it and supporting an integrated approach to workforce planning and risk management, among other strategic activities. 

To develop analytics experts, HR leaders must build a culture of technical learning within their team. This can be achieved by fostering collaboration between those responsible for talent analytics and the learning and development (L&D) team. 

This will help HR leaders identify technical skills gaps within the team and create learning pathways that ensure employees stay ahead of new methods and technologies. 

Rotational programs with IT or data and analytics functions can also be introduced to bolster technical skills and knowledge. 

“Traditional earning mechanisms won’t be enough. A core competency that drives effective decision enablement is the business acumen that can only be gained through experience.”

Using data-driven HR to develop strong decision makers

Gartner research reveals only nine per cent of HR leaders feel their department has been truly successful at arming their team with data to enable them to support workforce-related business decisions. 

Given that talent processes can be disrupted by external changes and technology, HR decision-makers need uninterrupted access to relevant data to gain a deep understanding of HR’s priorities and activities. 

The L&D function can also be an invaluable partner here by facilitating regular knowledge exchanges on priorities, emerging trends and insights between talent analytics experts and HR leaders. 

However, traditional learning mechanisms won’t be enough. A core competency that drives effective decision enablement is the business acumen that can only be gained through experience.

Developing true business acumen and the underlying competencies of industry, organisational and financial knowledge is best achieved through a combination of classic development activities combined with high-impact, hands-on learning moments.

For example, providing HR team members with the opportunity to work in cross-functional teams to lead change initiatives, build and execute business cases or play a significant role in delivering a solution can transform by-the-book thinkers into strategic problem solvers and innovators.

From tactical directives that respond to changing business conditions to supporting the entire employee life cycle, this approach ensures leaders can make data-driven talent decisions with confidence.  

Becoming a strategic partner

Executives and business leaders often face many competing priorities, particularly when managing the interests of shareholders, internal stakeholders and customers. As a result, HR leaders can struggle to effectively influence their decision making, even when equipped with data or insights.

According to a Gartner survey, 81 per cent of talent analytics leaders state that it’s important for their team to be proficient in strategic consulting. However, less than half (47 per cent) are currently satisfied with their team’s proficiency.

Rather than focusing on relationship management approaches designed to drive stakeholder satisfaction, strategic consultants should build and hone skills such as persuasion and storytelling with data, which can empower HR to be more effective in their dealings with stakeholders. 

To do this, consultants need to develop a deeper understanding of their business stakeholders’ needs and drivers, along with demonstrating the impact of their interactions. 

Feedback from business stakeholders and measures of consultants’ performance should go beyond the basics of capturing face-to-face time to collect real evidence of when HR insights have resulted in action.

Similarly to decision enablers, strategic consultants benefit from connecting with other department leads or C-suite members, fostering partnerships between talent analytics and other functions. Creating these relationships allows for the sharing of best practices and can help inform talent analytics teams about which HR technologies (e.g., data visualisation tools) are the most effective for sharing insights with stakeholders.

HR leaders who can implement these steps will be well-placed to grow their talent analytics function, increase their credibility, influence innovation and drive critical business decisions. 

Robin Boomer is a Senior Director, Advisory in Gartner’s HR Practice. He provides strategic advice and insights to support HR leaders and strategic workforce planning teams.

Understand the principles of data-driven decision making and learn to apply a data-driven mindset to HR strategies and challenges with AHRI’s foundational short course in People Analytics. Take the advanced course to elevate your workforce data management and analytical skills in a business context.

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Around 12 months ago, our data told us we had higher staff turnover than previous years. At the same time, surveys and exit interviews were identifying extremely high engagement scores in most areas, but low scores in relation to career development and professional development. We dug deeper and found several issues relating to the lack of opportunities around career development.

Having recently implemented a new HR information system (HRIS), we knew there was a module for performance management that we hadn’t yet developed. That went hand in hand with a review of our performance management process. The new process could incorporate a strong connection with professional development and career development, and be enabled by the HRIS.

A democratic approach

After an employee survey, and utilising data from exit interviews, we presented the problem   we’d identified and the solution we’d devised to the executive. It was important that we had their support and they were keen to remain across what was happening.

We also had a working group made up of employees and managers to help design and guide the process.

Our focus was not just to ensure a clear professional development process and framework, but to support it with an HRIS element that reduced the amount of time a process like this might take up. In the not-for-profit space, time is a luxury most people don’t have. We needed to improve efficiencies and add value, rather than add administrative effort.

Another deep focus was ensuring every element of the system was fit for purpose. One excellent piece of advice I received when we spoke with other organisations that used the same HRIS was, “Don’t get caught up in what the system can do. Instead, focus on what you need it to do.” 

“[AHRI Certification] recognises job-based learning and expertise, and offers me greater confidence in my own decision-making.” – Megan Werner CPHR, People and Culture Business Partner, Stroke Foundation

Our previous performance management process involved meetings in November and December, with notes typed into Word files. It simply wasn’t conducive to structured, ongoing development. There was a great opportunity to change things.

We looked at our HRIS, at the key functionalities that were available. Then we created our processes to align with the pieces of functionality that matched our needs.

A new approach to career development

As we planned and executed the additions in functionality to the HRIS, we realised the result of those changes was far greater than the sum of their parts.

For example, there are now more areas that can be developed and customised for each individual in terms of performance management and professional development. There are employee goals, career goals, competencies for each role, performance reviews and more.

Other changes included:

• Check-ins are now happening at least once a month and people are going into the system with their managers and assessing their role competencies. Importantly, that’s not from a performance perspective, but instead from the angle of where they need to develop to do their job well.
• The mindset has changed from assessing how a person is performing in their role to assessing areas for development.
• Goals are set and regularly assessed – it’s a living platform, as opposed to a Word file that’s rarely opened because it’s hidden in a folder somewhere.
• Salary reviews aren’t connected to these performance check-ins or to performance reviews. Instead, it’s up to the manager and employee to work out how the process works best for them.
• Feedback and data from the system has already led to new offerings within the business, such as internal training programs and a mentor and emerging leaders program. 

It also brought a simple but powerful change to the timing of the major annual performance review, from the very busy November/December period to the much more manageable January/February one.

Overcoming challenges

The major challenge of the Team Stroke Performance and Development Project was a personal one – the fact that I am not an IT developer.

There was a lot of back-end work to be done on the system. While the vendor was exceptionally helpful and supportive, I had to develop a strong understanding of what our HRIS can and can’t do.

I did not anticipate the amount of time that was going to take, so I spent a lot of time learning about that space. Having said that, it was a positive experience and I now feel I have a new level of knowledge. It was excellent personal development.

I have been with Stroke Foundation for 19 years. I started out as the executive assistant to the CEO. So, for someone like me who doesn’t have a breadth of experience across organisations and sectors, doing this project to achieve my AHRI Certification shows how I’ve been growing and progressing.

You learn so much as you work in a role. This Certification recognises job-based learning and expertise, and offers me greater confidence in my own decision-making. 

This article first appeared in the April-May 2024 edition of HRM Magazine. Megan Werner CPHR is the People and Culture Business Partner, Stroke Foundation

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What does it take to run an effective coaching session? Does the coach need to have undergone a comprehensive training program in order to provide value to their mentee? Do they need to develop a 12-step action plan following the session to help put their mentee on the right path?

According to coaching expert Michael Bungay Stanier, often it’s just about learning how to ask better questions.

“If you can coach somebody in five minutes or less, everybody wins. And sometimes that’s having the discipline to ask them good questions, and then [staying quiet] and listening to their answer,” he said in a recent episode of AHRI’s podcast Let’s Take This Offline.

His book The Coaching Habit has sold over a million copies worldwide because, in his words, it “unweirds coaching”.

“I didn’t write the book for coaches because they already love coaching. What I was trying to do was [write something] for all the people who are like, ‘My organisation is making the coach. I don’t really want to do it, but I have to. Where do I start?'”

He wanted to help them see that coaching can be baked into your everyday interactions without a huge amount of extra effort and time, which is exactly what time-poor managers need.

7 questions for an effective coaching session

Often, what trips managers up when running a coaching session with their team members is adding structure to their line of questioning. They might go into the conversation with the goal of learning about the employee’s learning and development ambitions or to understand more about how they want to progress in the organisation.

However, Bungay Stanier thinks it’s often best to just let the conversation unfold naturally and learn what’s on their mind.

Following decades’ worth of experimenting, he landed on what he believes are the seven most important questions to ask in a coaching session:

1. “What’s on your mind?”
2. “And what else?”
3. “What’s the real challenge here for you?”
4. “What do you need?”
5. “How can I help?”
6. “If you’re saying yes to this, what are you saying no to?”
7. “What was most useful for you?”

They might seem overly simple, but that’s the point. And he says that, time and time again, they prove to be fruitful questions.

One that he often gets positive feedback on is: ‘What’s the real challenge for you here?’. Because we’re prone to trying to solve other people’s problems, we often jump at the opportunity to impart our hard-earned wisdom and advice, but that’s not always useful.

“We’re all so wired to get on with stuff. Our advice monster shows up and we start trying to solve the first thing that has come up,” he says. “But the first thing that shows up is never the real challenge. It’s just the first challenge.”

“If you can coach somebody in five minutes or less, everybody wins. And sometimes that’s having the discipline to ask them good questions.” – Michael Bungay Stanier, author and coaching expert.

People are testing the waters, assessing how safe it might be to disclose the actual challenge they are facing, he explains. 

For example, they might mask their deep dissatisfaction with their manager by instead talking about frustrations they’ve experienced during a recent project.

“Curiosity takes you closer to figuring out what’s really [concerning] the person that you’re working with. So it works both at a strategy and a cultural level.”

For HR professionals, being the person who can figure out the root of an issue will make you “immensely more valuable to your organisation”, he says.

“And you have far more impact because you’re willing to say, ‘My job is to figure out what the real challenges are.’ That is a strategic act.”

The way the question is structured also helps, he adds.

“It’s not just, ‘What’s the challenge?’. Because, if you ask somebody [that], you’re going to get a bit of a restatement from what you’ve already heard, when you asked them, ‘What’s on your mind?’. When you add the word ‘real’, what you’re saying is, the first thing you told me isn’t the real challenge. So immediately, you’ve got them thinking. 

“You can feel the difference. What’s the challenge, what’s the real challenge? It’s like a different question, even though there’s only one word added. 

“But then I think the magic happens when you add ‘for you’ at the end of that question: What’s the real challenge here for you? Now they’re not talking about the problem out there. They’re talking about, ‘Here’s why I am wrestling with this. This is what’s hard for me around this.'”

Download a one-page guide to Bungay Stanier’s 7 questions for an effective coaching session.

Coaching the coaches

A lot of what Bungay Stanier talks about will relate directly to HR practitioners, who themselves need to be effective coaches to leaders, managers and employees. However, often they’ll be the ones teaching managers to level up their approach to coaching employees.

Sometimes that means being willing to tell managers that they’re prone to giving too much advice, rather than listening deeply to what their mentee is saying to them (or what they’re not saying).

 “You could say, ‘There’s a really important place for advice, just not as fast or as omnipresent as you’re currently delivering it. So let me introduce curiosity as an element of leadership that is underdeveloped in you right now,”’ he says.

But what about those leaders who don’t want to be coached?

“For most leaders, if you come up to them and say, ‘Hey, I’m from HR. I’m here to coach you.’ The typical reaction is [to resist that]. So I usually don’t make a grand announcement that the coaching has begun. 

“When you push into a system, it pushes back. It’s a survival mechanism driven by your lizard brain – your amygdala. So don’t make a big deal about it. Just be curious.

“So if I’m starting to work with a leader, I’ll go, ‘How can I help? So what’s the challenge here for you? And then I go, what else? So what’s the real challenge? So what do you need?’.

“You can call that coaching, or you can call it having a conversation where you’re trying to be as helpful as possible.” 

This is an excerpt of a conversation from AHRI’s new podcast, ‘Let’s Take This Offline‘. Listen to the full episode here.

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With the HR function playing a more strategic role than ever in many organisations, the ability to make evidence-based decisions has quickly become a critical skill for practitioners.

As HR leaders know well, in an era defined by rapid change and disruption, the stakes are too high to rely on gut instinct alone. By grounding strategies in evidence, HR practitioners can offer clarity amid uncertainty and ensure their efforts are aligned with the broader business goals.

In recognition of this, recent years have seen the concept of ‘evidence-based HR’ (or EBHR) grow in popularity. Evidence-based HR is an approach that emphasises the use of data, research and empirical evidence to make decisions about HR practices and strategies.

The term has become increasingly recognised in the HR community, with many employers placing more focus on data-driven decision-making. The rise of AI and more sophisticated analytics tools has also made it easier to collect and analyse large amounts of HR-related data to inform an evidence-based HR practice. 

According to Tanya Hammond FCPHR, Founder and Chief Collaborator at Tailored HR Solutions, while the increase in awareness of evidence-based HR is a welcome development, there is still some progress to be made in terms of how HR harnesses the right evidence in the right way.

“What we’re observing is that evidence still means ‘what we can get out of an HR system’,” she says. “But I think the world has evolved beyond saying that people analytics is something that’s purely systems-based – it’s way bigger than that.

“It’s about unlocking the data in the HR system, and being comfortable asking questions and considering the data against a variety of factors to draw out meaningful insights,” says Hammond, who will be speaking about reconfiguring a healthy, resilient and high-performing organisation fit for now and tomorrow at AHRI’s National Convention in August.

What does evidence-based HR look like?

One of the most important principles of evidence-based HR is to incorporate a variety of sources and forms of evidence into decision-making. Relying too heavily on one system or process as a single source of truth can prevent HR from noticing subtleties behind workforce trends.

“This will include unlocking relevant information from HR information systems, but also branching out further to leverage other sources of evidence, such as external expertise and research findings,” says Hammond.

In a report published last year, the Corporate Research Forum broke down the sources of evidence typically drawn on by a well-rounded, evidence-based HR practice into a four-part framework, as shown below:

Source: Rob Briner and CRF

As an example of evidence-based HR in action, picture a scenario where an organisation finds its employee engagement scores have declined significantly over the previous year. 

Using the principles of EBHR, HR gathers data through engagement surveys, focus groups and individual interviews to understand the main drivers behind this decline. 

They identify that employees feel a lack of recognition and growth opportunities. They then examine research on effective recognition programs and talent development initiatives and decide to pilot a new program focusing on employee recognition and career advancement. 

The program tracks engagement metrics before and after its implementation, showing an improvement in employee engagement and satisfaction. HR then scales the program company-wide and continues to monitor its effectiveness through regular engagement surveys.

“Drawing on a broad range of evidence allows HR to effectively define the problem and help identify important nuances behind organisational opportunities, issues and trends,” says Jaye Matheson, Chief Insights and Transformation Expert at Tailored HR Solutions.

“People analytics or evidence-based HR is a method to uncover the root cause of an issue, and by gaining varied perspectives, you’re going to get better insights and a more impactful solution. Sometimes you need to slow down to speed up,” says Matheson, who is also speaking at AHRI’s National Convention and Exhibition.

Getting started with evidence-based HR

One thing that can hold HR practitioners back from embracing the shift towards EBHR is the misbelief that they need to be experts in data and analytics. 

“In fact, many HR practitioners have the right capabilities, tools and resources to undertake EBHR, like problem-solving, a curious mind and strong business acumen – all foundational elements for effective HR decision-making,” says Matheson. 

“Often, people want HR or people data to be perfect before they do anything,” she says. “But you can’t let perfection get in the way of making a start and delivering something impactful. If you want to run a marathon, you’ve got to start running.”

The more evidence HR is able to leverage, the more likely they are to uncover places where data is being reported inaccurately or inconsistently, and support continuous improvements.

“Instead of saying, ‘My headcount doesn’t line up,’ ‘My turnover numbers are wrong,’ and letting the conversation end there, we should be using this information holistically to help answer a question,” she says.

“When faced with inaccurate data, people often decide to stop there,” says Hammond. 

“[Maybe] it’s wrong by two or three per cent because it’s live data, and it’s constantly changing. But even if it’s [slightly] wrong, a trend is a trend. And it’s not ‘wrong’ for the purpose in which we’re going to use it.”

“You can’t let perfection get in the way of making a start and delivering something impactful. If you want to run a marathon, you’ve got to start running.” – Jaye Matheson, Chief Insights and Transformation Expert at Tailored HR Solutions

Given the sheer volume of evidence considered in EBHR, both Hammond and Matheson advise HR to ensure they are dedicating enough time to assessing and acting on the information and insights.

“The tension is the desire to move quickly,” says Matheson. “There tends to be a bias to action. People tend to want to go forth and solve a problem. 

“But, if they want to make the right decisions and know with confidence that they’re investing in the right initiatives to achieve their desired outcomes, they need to take the time to exercise diligence to fully examine the information from various different perspectives.”

Risks and ethical considerations

As with all branches of data collection and analysis, employers need to be aware of the relevant legal safeguards and their ethical responsibilities to their people. 

“You need to understand the basic foundations of people analytics and the principles to make sure you’re thinking about data ethically,” says Matheson. 

“[With evidence-based HR], the world is your oyster. But just because you can [use some sorts of information], it doesn’t mean you should.”

She recalls an example of a large organisation which, in an effort to optimise its supply chains, gave its employees wearable devices to track their work tasks. In addition, they also captured how long employees spent taking breaks, which was then used to manage employee performance. 

This example demonstrates an instance where data can be collected to solve an intended problem (supply chain optimisation), but can also be used in a way that may contravene the original intent, leading to questions around the ethical use of data.

“Think about what information is going to have a positive impact on the business and a positive impact on the workforce,” she says. 

The recent proliferation of new AI technologies means that HR is now able to gather and assess information at greater speed and volume than ever before. However, these machines cannot yet replace humans’ ability to think critically about data and spot ethical nuances like this.

As a result, getting the most out of this technology will mean striking a balance between harnessing its processing abilities and maintaining a critical human eye.

Given their expertise in all things people, HR is in a prime position to manage this balance, says Hammond.

“Ultimately, it’s about how we source the greatest people, and how we ensure that people perform at their best,” she says.

“If we don’t use evidence-based HR in the work that we do, then we’re not providing the services that are truly required – we’re not being that trusted, critical, credible partner that our organisations need.”

Understand the principles of data-driven decision making and learn to apply a data-driven mindset to HR strategies and challenges with AHRI’s short course in People Analytics.

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HR professionals are often involved in supporting a coaching culture, training others to coach, and coaching employees themselves.  

One-to-one coaching is a well-established practice, and can be very effective, but it often doesn’t address challenges that occur at a team level. Team coaching is starting to gain traction in many organisations as a way to address more complex ways of working and relationships within a team, and boost team value and performance.           

I previously worked intensively with a team as their coach over a three-year period. The team, team leader, wider stakeholders within the organisation, including HR professionals, and I, grew our team coaching experience and knowledge together. 

The frameworks and tips below represent our collective advice for HR professionals wanting to bring team coaching approaches to life within their own organisations.

What is team coaching?

Before diving into the practical tips, it’s worth defining what team coaching is.

Put simply, it’s like one-to-one coaching, using many of the same techniques (open-ended questions, active listening and holding silence) but instead of working with one person, you work with a collective, treating them as one entity.  

It’s intentionally flexible and organic, tailored to the particular environment in which the team finds itself, and does not have a predetermined outcome. It’s not the same as training, consulting, facilitating, teaching or team building. Although, in reality, there may be some overlap.       

For example, when working with a team who aren’t used to collective development, it might take time for them to warm up. In that instance, a team building approach might be a good place to start to build psychological safety, before moving on to coaching over time.  

Topics covered in a team coaching conversations could include:

• Improved collaboration
• Prioritisation
• Delegation and accountability
• Problem-solving and decision-making 
• Understanding stakeholder relationships and their needs

The aim is to unpack how the team is working together, encourage awareness of themselves and others they work with, and, ultimately, increase their value to the organisation.                          

Bringing team coaching to life

Now, on to the practical insights. The suggestions have been grouped into three important areas: the team, the team leader, and yourself as the team coach.

Content has come directly from lessons the team, team leader, stakeholders and I learnt while working together over three years. 

Tips for coaching the team

Tips for coaching the team leader 

David Clutterbuck, a thought leader in leadership and team coaching, emphasises the critical role of team leaders. 

They usually approve spending on development and decide how much time to invest in particular activities. Also, as we discovered in this case, the leader’s style significantly influences the team’s progress.

Tips for self-coaching           

Tatiana Bachkirova, emphasises the importance of the coach themselves being the most effective tool in coaching. What you bring, the way you behave and your ability to role model all make an impact in team coaching.

To ensure you remain the sharpest tool in your own toolbox, looking after yourself, reflective practice, self-awareness and self-care are critical.                    

Final words of advice

 This article alludes to the complexities of team coaching, reflected by the years of study, practice and supervision it takes for professional team coach certification. 

Don’t be put off. Although often challenging, the rewards for the team, leader, oraganisation and yourself are high. Integrating just some of the practical tips and tools suggested in your work with teams will bring team coaching approaches to life.Further reading

Clutterbuck, D. (2020). Coaching the team at work. London & Boston: Brealey.

Clutterbuck, D., Turner, T. & Murphy, C. (2022). The team coaching casebook. London: Open University Press.

European Mentoring and Coaching Council (2020). EMCC global team coaching accreditation standards framework. Retrieved from https://emccglobal.org/accreditation/tcqa.

International Coaching Federation (2020b). ICF team coaching competencies: moving beyond one-to-one coaching. Retrieved from https://coachfederation.org/team-coaching-competencies.

Zink, H. (2023). Team coaching in organisational development: team, leader, organisation, coach and supervision perspectives.  London: Routledge.  

Helen Zink is a growth coach working with leaders and teams, with business and leadership experience at a senior level. Helen draws from a large toolkit, including coaching, team coaching, applied positive psychology, change management and other strategic tools and methodologies. She is a certified Senior Practitioner Team and Individual Coach with EMCC, has an Advanced Certification in Team Coaching and is a Professional Certified Coach with ICF, MSc (Coaching Psychology), MBA, BMS (hons), and others. 

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Warning: This article contains content that may be distressing to some readers. For those who need immediate support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Australians are reeling after two attacks in Sydney’s southern and eastern suburbs last week, which have claimed the lives of six people and injured several others.

“Our thoughts and condolences are with the families, friends and colleagues of the victims,” says AHRI’s CEO, Sarah McCann Bartlett. 

Dr Zena Burgess, CEO of the Australian Psychological Society (APS) and organisational psychologist says the effects of the attacks may be far-reaching.

“For the friends and families of the victims and those who bore witness to the attacks, the mental health impacts could stick with them for life.”

“We also need to consider the impacts these tragedies could have on the broader community. Many people will be distressed by these events and will talk about them in the workplace. They might speculate about motives or share concerns regarding further attacks,” says Dr Burgess.

“It’s possible we could see increases in emotional distress, such as anger, sorrow, fear and confusion. And, for some people, old trauma could possibly be reactivated.”

This is why, following any traumatic event, it’s important for employers to have robust processes in place to reduce distress and respond to those whose trauma may be triggered.

Supporting employees following traumatic events 

Most organisations will incorporate a response to a dangerous or traumatic event in the workplace into their crisis management or business continuity plan. This should guide them during and immediately after the event.

However, these plans sometimes omit support for employees who may be affected by an incident that occurred outside the workplace. In this instance, it’s advisable to assess who in your organisation might be impacted.

“It’s very important that the reality [of the situation] is acknowledged and the way people feel is heard,” says Dr Cathy Kezelman AM, medical practitioner and President and Executive Director at Blue Knot Foundation, an organisation that supports people to recover from complex trauma.

“Employees’ response to situations like this will also be dependent on their own lived experiences, including whether they have prior histories of trauma. So there’s a holistic response to consider as well as an individual response.”

This trauma can be cumulative, she adds, noting that the past few years have exposed people to an array of distressing situations.

“On top of [the recent attacks], we have a community that has been shaken by things like COVID and the current global [geopolitical] situation. There’s a sense of this pervasive threat throughout the entire community, so each thing that happens needs to be understood in that context.”

“When you’ve experienced repeated trauma, or repeated traumatic stress, that response is often heightened. So people will tend to be hyper vigilant, easily startled, anxious or sometimes they’ll shut down.” – Dr Cathy Kezelman AM, President and Executive Director, Blue Knot Foundation.

Following an organisation’s immediate response, the employer would then decide whether a company-wide message outlining where employees can go for support would be useful, including details such as how to contact their employee assistance provider (EAP). It’s also important to assess who may need more intensive mental health support and help connect them with a mental health expert.

When discussing at a team level, HR professionals should encourage managers to talk to their teams with empathy and factual information. 

“We don’t want to sugarcoat any of the details or minimise any of the distress people are experiencing, but we also don’t want to perpetuate any misinformation or stereotypes that might be circulating in the news or on social media,” says Dr Burgess.

When addressing your teams, consider the following:

• Create space for dialogue and grief – While some traumatic incidents might call for a company meeting or an all-company email, you may also need to allow for deeper discussions to take place.Employees may benefit from peer-to-peer debriefs or one-on-one conversations with their managers to unpack their fears, concerns and complex feelings.
• Don’t try and fix things – “Ask people: ‘What do you need right now’ and then just see what that reveals,” says Dr Kezelman. “Don’t jump in and say, ‘Do X,Y,Z’ or ‘That happened to me too,’ and take over the story. Just be there in an accepting, compassionate and empathetic way. Don’t try and solve it; don’t prod people. Just gently encourage people to get support and offer the support you have available in your organisation.”
• Promote self-care behaviours – In the aftermath of a traumatic event, it’s important to prioritise recuperating behaviours for any employees who are directly impacted. Create opportunities to bring teams together and create moments of authentic connection. Showing employees that they’re not alone and creating a sense of unity within your organisation can help to build resilience.
• Understand your limits – In the initial wake of a tragedy, ensuring employees have access to mental health resources and safe spaces to discuss their feelings is an important first step, but sometimes longer-term support is required.
  
  “The impacts of a traumatic event often don’t surface in people for weeks, months or sometimes even years,” says Dr Burgess. “If you discover this, consider [referring employees to] a mental health expert who can design a long-term support plan.”

Signs to look out for

Following a traumatic event, Dr Kezelman says employers should be on the lookout for out-of-character behaviour in employees which could signal that they are experiencing trauma or distress.

“People who’ve experienced trauma have a biological survival response – fight, flight and freeze. When you’ve experienced repeated trauma, or repeated traumatic stress, that response is often heightened. So people will tend to be hyper vigilant, easily startled, anxious or sometimes they’ll shut down.

“They might usually be a very conscientious worker who turns up on time and is reasonable in their interactions, but then they might become reactive or aggressive. It’s not that they’re behaving badly, it’s that their behaviour is telling us something.”

Dr Burgess says some changes to look out for include:

• A sudden drop in quality of work
• Becoming withdrawn from social situations 
• Sudden fatigue or low energy
• Difficulty making decisions
• Becoming uncharacteristically agitated or upset at work
• Changes to their appearance (e.g. looking dishevelled) 

“An increase in any of these behaviours could signal mental ill-health, so it’s important that managers are given the tools and resources they need to help identify risk areas.” 

Take a trauma-informed approach to HR

In the coming weeks and months, taking a trauma-informed approach to HR will be important, says Dr Burgess.

“A trauma-informed approach requires managers, leaders and HR professionals to remain aware of the many factors that could trigger an emotionally distressing situation for an employee, such as exposing them to distressing imagery or news, perpetuating stereotypes about mental ill-health or forcing them to come into the office if they’re feeling distressed about being out in public.

“It’s about doing everything within your control to minimise potential harm.”  

Dr Kezelman adds that employers need to understand that trauma will more than likely “overwhelm people’s capacity to cope”.

“Being trauma-informed also means being open, receptive and understanding that trauma is about feeling unsafe. So, [employers] can think about how to build a sense of psychical and emotional safety at work.

“Also, often people who’ve been traumatised have also been disempowered, so think about how  you work with people rather than impose things on them. How are people given choice in what happens to them?”

In a bigger-picture sense, it’s also important to make sure your culture is set up to enable a trauma-informed approach, she says.

“Is it a culture where people feel safe to say things like, ‘This is what I need’ or ‘I feel unsafe or scared?’ Or is it a culture where there might be fear of showing vulnerability or weakness?

“It’s all very good to sprout certain [values] and principles, but how do you marry that with the system of work? What is the culture of transparency? How well does the organisation communicate? How trustworthy is the organisation? Is feedback accepted well? And is it realised?'”

These are all important questions to consider because you can have all the right policies, but if what’s written in them isn’t lived out, you’re not operating in a trauma-informed way, she says.

AHRI members can log into AHRI:ASSIST to get a guideline on developing a trauma-informed HR Practice. You will find this resource in the health, safety and wellbeing resource page.

Ongoing mental health support

HR professionals can’t be expected to be mental health experts. It’s important to bring in the right expert support if employees are struggling in the wake of a traumatic event.

“Avoid putting pressure on leaders, HR and middle managers to ‘solve’ people’s distress around this tragedy,” says Dr Burgess. “For many, the impacts will be complex. As workplace leaders, your responsibility is to direct employees to adequate professional support.”

McCann Bartlett adds that it’s important for HR to take care of themselves.

“HR professionals are often lent on for support, but remember to take care of your own mental health too. Consider giving yourself a break from consuming distressing news content, for example, and lean on your HR community for support.”

AHRI has a range of free resources available to its members via AHRI:ASSIST. Log into your member portal for the following resources:

• Managing Grief and Loss in the workplace
• Having effective wellbeing conversations

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