One multi-site organisation’s journey towards a robust HR function

At the time of engagement with performHR, our Client had no existing internal HR capability or external HR support. The Client in mention is an Aged Care organisation provides a range of care services, at their various sites, including retirement living; day clubs; hostels; nursing home; residential respite; home care; residential care; and youth care services.

For a complex, multisite organisation the major concerns of the General Manager and Board were in relation to risk and compliance as well as systems and processes. In addition to good HR governance, system and process, a lack of leadership capability and accountability across mid-level management was also a challenge.

Our initial engagement with this Client saw us working closely with their management team to develop and facilitate a tailored leadership training program, at both an across-the-board employee level and also a Management level.

Following the roll-out of the leadership and team-building training program, we continued to support the Client with IR and performance matters on an as-needed basis. This virtual support arrangement extended across multiple regions; providing Managers with the timely and required support they needed to handle HR matters in their day-to-day operations, and improve their own HR capability and people management skills.

From this ongoing business as usual interaction as well as planned consultations with senior management across the Regions, we have been able to identify the core HR support needs for the Client. We have been able to solve both immediate HR issues as well as plan and prioritise value add solution development with the organisational strategic objectives and values as context.

Moving from an ‘as needed’ model to a ‘retained support arrangement’ allowed us to provide more insight, expertise and guidance to our Client, ensuring they have been able to confidently lead, grow and protect the organisation. This has included policy and procedure development, performance management advice, and training development and facilitation, to independent workplace investigations, site-specific HR projects, remuneration banding, enterprise agreement implementation and restructure and redundancy advice and support; both virtual and onsite.

With multiple sites across New South Wales, including regional locations, this organisation required a fresh perspective to a shared services model. For the past five years, we have been providing HR, recruitment, employment relations and training support across more than 30 locations through a model that:

• Operates via phone, email and onsite support. By costing onsite support separately and to the cost centres of the individual regions, the business can manage and track relevant costs.
• Relies on immediate and expert advice for all levels of management. The Client takes comfort in knowing their ER Client Team understand the business, will engage in coaching conversations and be proactive in advice and escalations. As a trusted partner, performHR assumes a risk-mitigating position in that we have the remit to escalate matters with full transparency to senior leadership.
• Via close monitoring and reporting, we can feedback to the Executive Leadership Team and the Board data that supports decision making through the identification of trends and risks. This might be in relation to workforce planning, training and development budgets and requirements, hard people metrics and culture markers.
• Through a single point of contact, all ER Case Management is triaged to the broader ER Client Team.