Australia's Best HR Teams

One thing guaranteed to get most senior HR practitioners fired up is talk about the merits or otherwise of HR team structures. Is there an ‘ideal’ structure for HR teams to adopt? Is the popular but increasingly criticised Ulrich business partner approach still servicing business needs? What should be outsourced?

 

Ultimately the structure will depend on a number of factors, including size, scope, and maturity of the organisation. It will also be influenced by the current business and talent landscape within which an organisation operates. 

 

Mark Busine, general manager NSW, DDI, says the structure should be aligned to the organisation’s HR strategy (which should be aligned to the organisation’s business priorities). The structure at any point in time, however, may be influenced by the organisation’s current HR capability. While it may be desirable to dramatically reshape the structure in line with the strategy, this may require time. Force-fitting a structure into an existing capability set may be difficult. Furthermore, the organisation may not yet be ready for such a change.

 

“This is why models such as the Ulrich model recommend getting the foundation right before launching into more sophisticated HR models and approaches,” Busine says.

 

As for outsourcing, again this will depend on the size, scope and maturity of the organisation.

 

“Ultimately, the HR function must find the most appropriate way to effectively and efficiently deliver core HR services such as payroll, HRIS, and compliance,” Busine says. “This can be achieved internally or externally through outsourced services. Typically, more strategic functions such as staffing and talent management, organisational design and cultural change programs will be managed internally. The effective implementation of these activities can create significant competitive advantage in the marketplace.”

 

The focus of HR now lies in trying to align individual goals and objectives with corporate goals and objectives. In terms of skill sets, Busine says one of the most important skills required by HR functions moving forward is internal consulting or, more specifically, performance consulting. Performance consulting is a process in which a consultant (often internal consultants), partner with their business stakeholders to accomplish the objective of optimising workplace performance in line with an organisation’s strategic and cultural priorities. 

 

“The ability to work in partnership with key internal stakeholders to address business needs and objectives is now fundamental to the success of an HR team, irrespective of structure. It is fundamental to building credibility and gaining buy-in,” Busine adds.

 

As each of the HR directors profiled in this feature testify, the key to their team’s success lies in how well they are integrated into the business and understand what’s required by the business. What is the best way to develop this expertise?

 

“While we tend to focus a lot on developing the business acumen of HR, the answer lies in aligning HR systems and practices with the key priorities of the organisation,” Busine says. “Like any professional discipline, business acumen and credibility will come from adding value to the organisation.” 

 

Too often, Busine adds, when asked the question ‘What is your HR or talent strategy?’, HR functions describe their current or planned HR practices in areas such as recruitment, L&D or performance management. “While strong and robust HR practices are essential, too often these are considered in isolation rather than aligned with an organisation’s strategic and cultural priorities,” he concludes. 

 

Over the following pages, read how four of Australia’s best HR leaders have directed their teams towards understanding and executing on their organisations’ strategic and cultural priorities.

 

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THE STRATEGIC PLAYERS

HR LEADER:  Alec Bashinsky, national partner, people  & performance, Deloitte 

NUMBER OF HR EMPLOYEES: 

Approx. 100

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES IN AUSTRALIA: 

520 partners, with close to 6,000 people

 

At what point does the structure of a corporate team cease being an academic aspiration? Is there any place for the academic formats of the Ulrich model and its ilk in business? Alec Bashinsky says that most HR directors over the years have flirted with outsourcing and insourcing, and have dabbled with various structural fads, but a model like that espoused by Ulrich is just that: a model. 

 

“Things like the Ulrich model are robust from the research point of view, and I’m still a big fan of his, but I’m a little bit concerned that whenever the fad suits he’ll change the research and sell another book. I’m losing perspective on that. I think there are lots of smart people who aren’t writing books. The business case studies around the Procter & Gambles, the Googles, specifically [Google global HR executive] Laszlo Bock – that’s what’s shaping the way we’ll work in the future.”

 

To that end, Bashinsky is an advocate of building “super-efficient HR and talent systems” that allow for improved workflow, and automate the front end and back end. 

 

“HR now should be working on how do we provide insights to business leaders and how do we start to work on the predictive elements of talent data. Anyone can look at data with a past perspective, but how do we understand what’s going to happen in the future? So the ideal structure for me – I’ve been around and seen it – is automating front and back and then looking at what works in other parts of the business.” 

 

For Deloitte’s Australian operations, the HR team operates in three centres of excellence: a talent acquisition and mobility team – they are specifically involved in attracting the right talent, and in graduate recruitment, building the value proposition, looking after social media and local and global mobility; the second is talent development and diversity; this looks after all the leadership development and talent identification, all soft skills and e-learning, along with looking after the diversity portfolio; the third group is classified as talent solutions and advisory, and this incorporates a shared services group of 12 based in Hyderabad – they focus on everything from onboarding to remuneration, employee relations, and some of the transactional processes.

 

The remainder of Bashinsky’s team works in the business units, across all states of Australia.

 

What’s the key to holding a team together across vast geographical distances (the Deloitte team operates in 16 locations around Australia)? 

 

It’s all about communication. “I do a monthly comm call across Australia where I talk about the business, our strategies, what new things are happening, and enable a two-way conversation. We do regular updates, as in once every couple of months we bring every member of the team together in Sydney and Melbourne and elsewhere and we talk about business issues – not just me but other members of the leadership team.”

 

Then there are open forums making use of the latest technology platforms: Yammer and YamJam. “Effective  communication isn’t necessarily the old tools of email and voicemail – it’s the live interaction, be it through a link-up or in person. They’re the things the team gets good  feedback from,” Bashinsky says.

 

Observing the HR function over a number of years, Bashinsky is seeing the biggest strides being made in capability and focus. “The first issue is lots of simplification and automation of HR transactions – if organisations are not doing that now, their teams are being wasted. This has enabled my team to do more coaching, influencing, facilitating within the business,” he says. 

 

Bashinsky believes the entry point in any business, it doesn’t matter what role, is by showing credibility. “It doesn’t matter if you’re in marketing or finance or business development, you need to understand the business and understand it intimately. The very fact my teams are demonstrating that certainly brings them into the conversations, but then their input is valued and I think that is the distinguishing thing that makes my team special: their input is valued by all the businesses we work in.”

 

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THE FLEXIBLE WORKERS

HR LEADER: Robert Orth, director, HR, IBM Australia & New Zealand

NUMBER OF HR EMPLOYEES: 

Approx. 100

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES IN AUSTRALIA: 

Approx. 10,000

 

“The days of everyone sitting in the office and there’s the manager and everyone sitting outside that office are gone,” says Robert Orth of IBM. 

 

It’s this new paradigm that has Orth excited. He’s ensured his HR team not only reflects what’s happening in the broader IBM workforce but also leads it. Hence, it’s embraced flexible work and technology connections wholeheartedly. 

 

His HR team falls into two groups: generalists (essentially HR business partners) and functionalists. The functionalists cover the typical areas – comp & ben, talent, OHS, diversity, etc. The functional area specialists at the high-value end are subject matter experts, with deep expertise, trying to look ahead, and designing or redesigning new programs and interventions. It’s up to the integrated services team to deliver these programs to managers. A service centre sits behind that structure, looking after transactional tasks. 

 

Regardless of the type of work undertaken, Orth is open to flexibility.

 

“This is a big item to explore, which I think we’re leading on. It goes along the lines of: where and how do people get their work done? Work is what you do, not where you are, so this leads to an environment where you change your management practices to suit the flexibility, pursuing diversity and accessing a wider talent pool, and utilising technology to link everyone up,” Orth says.

 

This flexibility takes many forms in Orth’s HR team. For example, his executive resources manager is actually two people, one in Wellington, the other in Sydney, both working three days each with an overlapping day in the middle. “It works perfectly. I deal with them almost as if they are one,” Orth says. Others work a compressed working week, and many work from home a couple of days a week.

 

Orth concedes there is a balance to be conscious of. Those who desire to be close to the business – such as Orth and the other HR business partners – need to be around. It isn’t just about working from home three days a week and never coming into the office. “You’ve got to keep in touch,” Orth says. “The way we’d deal with flexibility – I would discuss what it means for the manager, that is, me, what does it mean to you, what does it mean for the team you’re working in, what does it mean for the client you support. You’ve got to take all those into account.”

 

Orth says the fundamentals of being a good manager – things like communication, motivation, direction, vision – remain in place. But they do morph with flexibility. “I keep using this word ‘outcome’. We’ve changed performance management structures to accommodate this. We’ve agreed your outcome, so you produce it. Time becomes a different sort of matter – it’s  not like I’ll see you outside my office 9 to 5.” 

 

It’s all part of the evolution of business, Orth says, before outlining the next phase: “If you take a look at us now, we’re trying to connect people more closely, to unleash innovation, and to get the collective intelligence going. And we’ll use technology in a big way to put people together.” 

 

IBM uses multiple platforms, including Lotus Connections, to connect with team members based around the world. “Those old statistics: if you’re sitting in a building, 80% of the time you see people on your floor, 10% on the next floor, 5% in the building, and other areas hardly ever. This just opens it up,” he says.

 

While large group meetings now occur less frequently, Orth does like them – with a twist. He notes that such meetings should not be about imparting information– there are plenty of other avenues through which information can be disseminated – but instead it’s critical to get participants into “workshop thinking”: brainstorming, producing outcomes, interacting with each other.

 

“I like meetings to have something for the mind but also something for the soul, if I’m going to have people coming together. You could have workshops where you start the day with yoga, others where you have a resilience session about managing your life and stress and how you approach this. Some valuable things for the person to take away.”

 

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THE CUSTOMER-CENTRIC TEAM

HR LEADER: 

John McDonnell, executive general manager, HR, Accor Australia

NUMBER OF HR EMPLOYEES: 

90 HR representatives

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES IN AUSTRALIA: 

10,000 nationally

 

HR’s influence on customer or client satisfaction has traditionally been viewed as tenuous at best. However, as sectors like retail and leisure and hospitality can attest, employers that place customer centricity at the heart of the employee value proposition can and do make an impact. This is what Accor has prioritised – John McDonnell and COO Simon McGrath have, since 2008, set an expectation of making sure the business has customers at the very heart of its culture. 

 

“In 2011 we recognised that our employees needed new tools and resources to deliver better customer service, but above all an opportunity to change the way they approached working with colleagues and customers,” McDonnell says. 

 

The executive team spent much time deliberating and eventually developing a new service culture for all employees. ‘Peopleology’ at Accor was born. It provides employees with tools to be the ‘Real Deal’ at Accor and take on a new approach to communicating with colleagues and customers.

 

“We want animation at all levels and not part of the everyday mundane service many customers have grown to accept,” McDonnell says. 

 

McDonnell says reshaping the culture of the HR network was essential to this strategy, and the task was to ensure that the divisional HRDs and corporate HR team clearly aligned themselves to the new way of thinking. This, McDonnell believes, is what sets his HR team apart.

 

“We have a terrific HR leadership team that works in an open and transparent manner, continually driving new ideas to improve the way we work and delivering a service model to our internal partners that provides a working environment that offers our employees the best opportunity to either excel in their role or choose Accor for the long term,” he says. He notes that “it’s an old cliché” but the people are everything at Accor – as it is for any organisation with so many client-facing roles. 

 

“Being shortlisted for the HR Team of the Year is a testament to not only the 90 HR representatives but all leaders across the group; it’s an absolute honour to represent the organisation,” he says.

 

The company operates a hybrid of traditional HR leadership and business partnering to suit the different brand models (including Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure and Ibis, among many).

 

The national team based in Sydney comprises L&D, talent management, group compensation, diversity and workplace health and safety. This team is responsible for overseeing strategy and policy, with customer service underpinning every decision. 

 

“If we deliver activity that does not support customer service or operating effectiveness, it has no place in our business,” McDonnell says. 

 

In addition, the operational HR teams are supported by four divisional HRDs and a network of 80 HR practitioners, from business unit HR managers to assistant managers.

 

McDonnell says HR structures or operating models are dependent on many aspects, with the CEO, the business model, and the economic business climate being just three factors to consider. The important feature of an HR structure is to ensure it responds to the business needs while supporting the performance of the organisation, McDonnell adds.

 

“HR structures need to flex when the need arises. I’ve seen many examples in the past few years when businesses having financial or technological challenges move towards a partnering model or outsource model. Is it the best? Probably for that company, but when you have 200 hotels working 24/7, that’s a lot of customers who deserve the best from us.” 

 

‘Peopleology’ is also helping to address future HR challenges. Given a competitive job market, and through a desire to be a more diverse employer, Accor is spending time creating a work environment that fits many different working groups, including mature-age workers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees, and female talent — specifically  implementing an ambitious plan to drive stronger awareness and career management for female talent within Accor.

 

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THE AWARD WINNERS

HR LEADER: 

Bob Hogarth, general manager, HR, Heritage Bank 

NUMBER OF HR EMPLOYEES: 

32

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 

Approx. 800

 

The 2012 Australian HR Team of the Year award went to Heritage Bank. Evidently, Bob Hogarth knows a thing or two about marshalling his troops and getting the very best out of them. But what sets them apart from the countless HR teams scattered around Australia?

 

“The HR team at Heritage has a very clear intention to make a meaningful contribution to the company and to the staff who work for Heritage Bank,” says Hogarth. 

 

“This is something that dominates and drives the things we do. The HR team itself is made up of people who genuinely love what they do and who are focused on building their skills and positioning Heritage for the future. If there is anything special about our HR team it is that driving intention to make a demonstrable difference in what we do.”

 

Uniquely among top HR teams, the Heritage team outsources very little and has a significant investment in L&D due to being a registered training organisation that offers qualifications for both existing staff and to organisations within financial services. The HR team at Heritage includes payroll, traditional HR functions, L&D, and specialist managers in employee relations and health and safety. 

 

What’s changed in Hogarth’s time in the job (some 16 years)? 

 

“As work has become more complex, fast paced and challenging, so have the roles in human resources,” he says. “To reflect the challenges they face in a diverse industry such as financial services, so too HR has had to evolve. What I’ve seen in my role is that HR people have to become both more skilled in HR but also have a clearer connection and understanding of the business they serve. At Heritage Bank I’ve seen the need to have expert specialists in certain roles such as L&D and employee relations while at the same time needing HR generalists with very broad skills to complement the HR strategy.” 

 

When it comes to the vexatious question of whether there’s a ‘best’ structure for an HR team to hold, Hogarth mirrors the opinion of the other HR professionals profiled in this feature. He notes a common trap HR can fall into is assuming there’s one best approach to suit all organisations, cultures and circumstances. “While generally speaking I’m a supporter of the Ulrich business partner approach I recognise that various circumstances such as company structure, geographic spread or philosophy may define a different approach for a HR team structure that would be more effective in that context,” he says.

 

He also believes the structure is an essential element in providing the capacity to deliver real value, but it’s just one component to consider. “Obviously connected to this is the  clarity of purpose, the resources, skills and the intent of the HR leader and team to deliver these services,” he adds. 

 

Does Hogarth go in for the clichéd team-bonding exercises that should rightfully be relegated to the history pages of the 1980s? Not really – he takes a holistic view of team building and concedes that while it’s important to enjoy working together as a team (and like many HR teams Heritage does the occasional fun team-building activity), Hogarth’s view is this: the best way to build team spirit is to provide meaningful work, to provide meaningful development for the individuals in the team, and to ensure they have a real sense of purpose and see value in the work that they do. 

 

“I believe everyone wants to work in an environment where they are valued, where the work is meaningful, where day to day you can enjoy working with each other, and where they have some pride for the organisation they are working for. We try to have a laugh in the workplace, to not take ourselves too seriously but to take what we do very seriously. This approach, to me, has far more impact than any team-building exercise.”