RECENT ASSIGNMENT

1 Describe five key functions of a Human Resources Manager.
2 Explain the importance of the human resources strategic planning function and list three objectives related to human resources strategic planning.
3 a. Explain the aim and scope of the Fair Work Act 2009 and its importance for the human resources function.
b. Outline the 10 minimum workplace entitlements for a permanent employee of an organisation outlined in the National Employment standards.
4 Outline at least four examples of the information that must be kept for each employee according to the Fair Work Regulations 2009.
5 Explain which employees are covered by unfair dismissal laws and which are not.
6 Explain each of the following options for sourcing a workforce:
· Recruiting from outside of the company
· Casual labour
· New graduates or trainees
· Offshore workers
· Contractors
· Consultants
· Outsourcing to recruitment consultants
For each option discuss at least two advantages and two disadvantages of using options for the provision of human resource services
7a Explain the impact of technology on the human resources function and how this has benefited the recruiting function of human resources.
7b Describe three key areas that could be included in a Human Resources Strategic Plan.
8 Outline the four key steps in the human resources strategic planning process.
Part 2
A Write a briefing report
Prior to developing the Human Resources Strategic Plan, you are required to develop a briefing report to present to the CEO and Senior Managers.
Thoroughly review the King Edward VII College’s Strategic and Operational Plan that sets out the College’s strategic objectives and operational priorities, as well as Workforce information.
Next, you will need to conduct research in the Internet on human resources strategic plans that is appropriate to the case study.
Then prepare a briefing report regarding information on, and recommendations for, the Human Resources Strategic Plan. This briefing report will be presented at a meeting with the CEO and Senior Managers. Their approval is needed to move forward with the project.
The briefing report should be about two pages long. It should also address the following:
· An overview of King Edward VII College’s human resource requirements for the next three years, as identified from the scenario information and Strategic and Operational Plan and workforce information you have been provided with.
· A review and analysis of emerging trends and practices that may impact on human resources management in King Edward VII College, and strategies to address these. This should also include a review of any new technology relevant to King Edward VII College and all of its departments and staff, and impacts on job roles and design.
· A review of any recent and potential changes to industrial and legal requirements that will impact on the King Edward VII College workforce.
· A review of the number and type of staff that will be needed to meet the company’s strategic direction, skill requirements for new and existing staff, and options for sourcing required staff. You should consider and review the range of options for sourcing staff and discuss the costs and benefits of each approach.
· The philosophies and values you believe should underpin King Edward VII College’s human resources management, as well as the policies and procedures that are required to ensure this. Review the scenario information to identify gaps in existing policies, procedures and systems.
· Recommended human resources strategic directions based on scenario information, research conducted and review of Strategic Plan. As a minimum, your Human Resources Strategic Plan should include three priority areas and objectives and targets.
B Send an email to the CEO and Senior Managers (your assessor).
When you have completed the briefing report, send it to your assessor as an email attachment.
The text of the email should use grammatically correct and respectful English. Remember that the CEO and Senior Managers receive many emails, so you will need to begin by re-introducing the project to them and introducing yourself in an appropriate manner.
It should also include a short summary of the attachment.
Your email should include a brief outline of the purpose of the meeting and the date, time and duration for the meeting (the meeting will last for approximately 30 minutes).
Send the email at least 2 working days prior to the planned meeting. Your assessor will have advised you of the date and time on which you need to conduct the meeting. If they have not, send them a short email to obtain this.
C Conduct meeting
In this part of the assessment task, you are required to conduct the meeting to discuss the briefing report you have developed to inform the development of the Human Resources Strategic Plan. The purpose of the meeting is to present information and recommendations for the Human Resources Strategic Plan and to discuss ideas and seek feedback.
Your assessor will play the role of the CEO and your assessor will identify a number of your fellow students to play the roles of Marketing Manager, Finance Manager, Administration Manager and Academic Manager.
At the meeting, you are required to:
· Provide an introduction to the meeting and state the purpose of the meeting.
· Explain the key points from the briefing paper, as well as provide the opportunity for questions.
· Seek input on all aspects of the briefing paper for the development of the Human Resources Strategic Plan including:
o Asking Managers about their preferences for human resources requirements including all of those explored in the report.
o Discussing and agreeing on the philosophies, values and polices that you have identified for King Edward VII College’s human resources management.
· Write ideas up on a whiteboard or butcher’s paper. You will need to use the ideas you write up in Assessment Task.
· Demonstrate effective interpersonal and communication skills including:
o Speaking clearly and concisely
o Using effective non-verbal communication skills to encourage audience interest
o Responding to questions
o Asking questions to seek feedback
o Use of active listening techniques to confirm and clarify understanding.
Your assessor will also provide feedback on some additional areas for consideration in the development of the Strategic Plan. You will need to incorporate this into the development of the Strategic Plan in Assessment Task 3.
D Develop the Human Resources Strategic Plan
You are now required to develop the Human Resources Strategic Plan using your research and input from the meeting. Use the template provided by your assessor to develop your plan, ensuring that you complete all sections of the plan and clearly state strategic objectives and targets.
Use the Human Resources Strategic Plan Template to guide your work.
E Develop a Risk Management Plan.
You are also required to develop a risk management plan to identify the risks that may be associated with the Human Resources Strategic Plan and risk management strategies that can be used to control risk. Identify potential risks and risk management strategies related to the strategies and actions in your Human Resources Strategic Plan.
Use the Risk Management Plan Template to guide your work.
F Send an email to the management team (your assessor).
When you have completed both plans, send them via email to the management team (your assessor). Your email must indicate that this is the Human Resources Strategic Plan for implementation and the Risk Management Plan and that you are seeking final approval.
Part 3
Carefully read the following:
King Edward VII College has adopted the Human Resources Strategic Plan with the following strategic objectives included:
· Support a safe, healthy and inclusive workplace culture
One of the actions identified to achieve this is:
· Develop the King Edward VII College Work/Life Balance Strategy
In addition, the outcome of a recent survey is showing that staff identify with feeling increasingly stressed through being overworked. The Health and Safety Officer has advised that there must be immediate action.
Complete the following activities:
A Develop work life balance report and action plan
You are now required to implement actions from the Human Resources Strategic Plan and based on the feedback from staff and the Health and Safety Officer.
To do this, you are to conduct research and develop a short report to present to staff about options for the range of potential work/life balance programs that could be implemented and recommendations on which programs you think are most appropriate for King Edward VII College.
Use the Work Life Balance Report and Action Plan Template to guide your work.
You report should be approximately one page long, and written in clear and concise English.
B Send an email to the management team (your assessor.
The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style.
It should introduce and summarise the contents of the attachment, and seek their feedback and approval to move forward with the project.
Attach your work life balance report and action plan to the email.
C Update the Health and Safety Policy and Procedures.
Assume that the Health and Safety Officer has mailed you back, and is very supportive of the proposed actions for Work/Life Balance actions. They advise that a further improvement would be to ensure that the actions are formalised in the King Edward VII Health and Safety Policy and Procedure. This should be a policy statement about the organisation’s commitment to Work/Life Balance.
Review the Health and Safety Policy and Procedures and update it as recommended by the Health and Safety Officer. The update will be a short statement about the organisation’s commitment.
Assume that it is 12 months later, and the work-life balance policies and procedures have been implemented. One of the initiatives implemented was working from home arrangements for some staff members.
Performance indicators relating to the implementation of work-life balance policies are indicated in the Human Resources Strategic Plan as follows:
· High staff satisfaction with working from home arrangements.
· Technology is in place to facilitate working from home arrangements.
Key lessons learnt from implementation of the initiative are:
· The implementation of the work-from-home team has been very positive. This can be attributed to the fact that the initiative was very well researched and project managed; and problems that could have become issues were identified and managed as part of the trial.
· Having the right operational technology is important. There are some technology limitations: due to the bandwidth required for the phone and network connection the work-from-home team are unable to utilise tools such as web cams to facilitate meetings.
· Need for clarity with family members about the time and place of work-from-home.
· Need for internal policy considerations to address issues such as, when an employee relocates residence or an employee is selected/applies for a work-from-home position and the college is not able to provide a connection due to connection limitations.
D Monitor and review implementation of the Human Resources Strategic Plan
Based on the information above, develop a short (half a page) evaluation report for the CEO summarising the impact of the working from home arrangements and performance against objectives from the plan. The report should be in your own words and no more than one page.
E Update your Human Resources Strategic Plan
Include additional actions in your Human Resources Strategic Plan to account for the actions that need to be undertaken based on the scenario information.
F Send an email to your assessor.
The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style.
It should introduce and summarise the contents of the attachments, and seek their feedback.
Attach the following to the email:
· Updated Health and Safety Policy and Procedures
· Evaluation report
· Updated Human Resources Strategic Plan