1.0
Executive summary
The
strategic plan for the human resource of the firm is geared towards aligning
the human resources that are available at the firm with the directions and
priorities of the department. The human resource department of the Department
of Education, Training and Employment has a prerogative to ensure that the
department has a workforce that has the necessary skills to be able to
undertake the various operations that the department is tasked with. The
recruitment process which entails the selection and hiring, the training and
development of the workforce, the motivation of the employees and the focus on
the diversity of the workforce must be considered if the firm is to achieve the
high levels of service quality that it is seeking. Different strategies that
are essential to the continued growth of the firm must be developed, reviewed
and implemented by the firm so that the objectives of the strategic plan can be
achieved without fail.
2.0
History
The
department of Education and Training is an important department of the government
of Queensland. The main purpose of the Department of Education and Training is
to ensure that the Queenslanders are provided with skills, knowledge and
confidence that are geared towards maximizing the potential as well as
increasing or contribution towards the productivity of the economy of the
region. The Department of Educational and Training inaugurated its various
functions following the ETRF reforms that were initiated in the educational
sector in 2002 (Department of Education, Training and Employment, 2012).
The
department has a number of initiatives and partnerships that they are working
on so that they can be able to significantly improve the educational levels and
quality in the Queensland area. They include the restoration of accountability
in the government, the improvement in the delivery and planning of the
kindergartens, TAFEs and schools. There is also a focus on ensuring that the staffs
of the department who are located in the different locations of the states are
able to be committed towards the achievement of the different goals and also
leave long lasting positive experiences on the people whom they come into
contact with. The employees needed to be motivated so that they can be able to
offer the high quality service to the various people who visit the department (Department
of Education, Training and Employment, 2012). The department is also focused on
the various ways through which they can be able to ensure that all the children
in Queensland are ready to start school. There is the high flyer program that
has been started by the department. Moreover, there is a focus on ensuring that
the transition between early years, education, training and employment is
seamless for the students and the workers.
2.1.
Analysis of the Strategic Plan
The
Queensland Department of Education and Training strategic is premised on a
number of key objectives that are instrumental towards the increasing of the
various benefits that the department has called upon to be implemented to the
consumers. The strategic plan covers a
period of 5 years from 2012 to 2016 (Department of Education, Training and
Employment, 2012). The main vision of the strategic plan is to ensure that the
people of Queensland are offered with high quality education and training as
well as bright employment futures. The strategic plan also aims to ensure that
the children, all the children in Queensland, are able to access high standard
and high quality education and childhood care. There are a number of facets of
the objectives which the department is seeking to achieve.
First,
there is a clear focus on the improvement of the infrastructure through better
planning and the delivery of the improved infrastructure in the kindies,
schools and the TAFEs. Secondly, the strategic plan has an objective to be able
to reduce the costs associated with the livelihood in Queensland. The above
would be achieved through the focus on the reduction of wastes and increasing
the operational efficiency thus significantly reducing the cases of red tape.
Thirdly, there is a focus on the improvement of the service delivery quality in
the training, employment and the education in Queensland (Department of
Education, Training and Employment, 2012). Also, there is an objective that
greatly focuses on the improvement and restoration of accountability in the
government. Moreover there is the economic perspective objective which focuses
on equipping the people with skills, confidence and knowledge that can play an
instrumental role in helping them to maximize the potential that are inherent
in them as well as helping them to built and contribute towards building the
economy of Queensland through an increase in the productivity.
From
the diversity perspective, the Queensland ensures that the workforce is not
developed from the large and dominant groups but is made up of people from
different cultural backgrounds. The focus of the Department of Education,
Training and Employment has been on the various ways through which the firm can
be able to attract, hire and retain employees of high calibre (Banfield &
Rebecca, 2008). The high quality employees who are retained by the firm will be
able to aid in the achievement of the high quality objectives which will
increase the productivity of the department. The diversity of the department is
reflected in terms of the creating work environment where people that have a
number of differences for instance, abilities, cultures, knowledge and
experiences can be brought together. The department is committed to creating an
environment where there is an equal opportunity for employment of all the
people who are involved in the different undertakings in Queensland. The
diversity considerations which are undertaken by the firm have embraced people
who have a lot of differences for instance the people who are living with the
different disabilities, women, and the linguistically and culturally diverse
people, the Torres and Aboriginal Strait Islanders and the Australian South Sea
Islanders (Department of Education, Training and Employment, 2012).
2.2 Swot Analysis
Department
of Education, Training and Employment’s strategic plan can be analysed through
the use of SWOT analysis tool so that the various internal and external factors
that have an effect on it can be clearly identified. The various elements of
the internal factors will be shown under the strengths and the weaknesses. The
external factors that are beyond the control of the firm will be explored
through the consideration of the opportunities and strengths (Ericksen &
Dyer, 2005).
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Strengths
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Weaknesses
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-The teams that are
involved in the implementation of the strategic plan are effective due to the
high skills and qualifications.
-The diversity of the
workforce also plays an instrumental role as very high qualified employees
were able to be acquired.
-The Council of
Australian Governments (COAG) provided a very strong support to the
activities of the department.
-There was also a
high rate of support from the community especially the marginalized people
who were given a new voice.
- The stakeholders
and the staff also supported the various activities of the firm strongly.
- The department could be able to achieve
high quality learning outcomes and training due to the workforce that was
effective due to the high skill levels.
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-The department was
faced with an acute shortage of personnel in some levels. This problem was
great in the Early Childhood Education (ECD). This therefore spelt doom for
the achievement of the right mix of employees in the firm.
- There were limited training and learning opportunities for the
people of Queensland as there was a huge gap in the international
partnerships. The Partnerships which were found in the firm were only regional
or national with very few initiatives and the international scene.
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Opportunities
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Threats
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-
Through thee workforce development and training, the department can be able
to increase the service quality.
-The department can
increase the number of qualified personnel in the areas where shortages were
experienced through an increase in the training.
-Through the increase
in the service quality, the department will command an increased support from
the government thus the department will continue to post improvement in the
numeracy and literacy levels.
-The department can
also make use of technological advancement for instance virtual training and
learning to deliver high quality services at slightly lower costs to the
Queenslanders especially to the Island communities.
-International
partnerships will be used to expose the employees to the global educational,
training and employment good practices thus increasing the skills and
knowledge levels of the different employees of the firm.
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-There will be
challenges in attracting and retaining the skilled and diverse workforce
which will ensure the achievement of the uninhibited service reach.
-The
high demand for the Early Childhood Education teachers will present a
significant problem in the endeavours of the department to attract and retain
them in an ongoing process.
- The support of the
government of Queensland will dwindle in case there are drops in the quality
of the service for instance if the literacy and numeracy levels of the
youthful Queenslanders drop; significantly.
-The limited funds
occasioned by the constraints in the budgetary allocations will have an
adverse impact on maintaining the high levels of motivation that are
indicated in the strategic plan.
-Maintaining the
support of the communities particularly the vulnerable and the disadvantaged.
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3.0
Implications of the SWOT analysis on the Human Resource
The Department for Education, Training and Employment’s
2012 to 2016 strategic plan’s SWOT analysis has led to the identification of four
(4) human resource implications. They include the motivation of the workforce,
training and development, the recruitment of the workforce as well as the focus
on ensuring an increased diversity in the workforce.
3.1.
Training and development
The
training and development of the workforce is an instrumental part in the
implementation of the strategic plan that was developed by the Department of
Education, Training and Development (Richard & Johnson, 2001). The training
and development of the workforce will ensure that the employees are equipped
with the right skills and knowledge so that they can be bale to effectively
deliver on their mandate. There should be a proper identification, distribution
and the capture of the knowledge across the workforce so that the various
objectives and key obligations of the department can be effectively met.
The
focus on development and training of the workforce will aid in enhancing the
decision making capabilities of employees of the department; both the new and
the existing employees (Tessema & Soeters, 2006). The decision making
capabilities will help the department in the careful selection of the skills,
confidence and knowledge that should be imparted to the Queenslanders who
require training, schooling and the early childhood services. The training and
development of the workforce must at all time focus on enhancing the mission of
imparting the skills and knowledge (Wilson, 2009). This focus should use the
different theoretical resources together with the practical knowledge that is
available in the firm so that the goals can be achieved. The training and
development must also focus on enhancing the skills of the workforce with regards
to technology. This will significantly enhance the use of technology to deliver
learning to the Early Childhood services as well as enhance the reach to the
islanders who are traditionally marginalized.
3.2.
Department of Education and Training Recruitment
The
selection and hiring of the workforce must be undertaken in a proper manner,
taking consideration of the qualifications, knowledge and skill levels of the
employees, if a training and educational service of high quality is to be
achieved by the department. The staff that offer the training and the
educational staff must be of high quality; a feat that can only be achieved if
the department recruits employees who have very high skills (Storey, 2007). Through
the proper selection that leads to high quality staff, the objective of the
provision of the Queenslanders with knowledge, skills and confidence towards
improving the productivity will be achieved by the strategic plan.
The
main challenge that has been noted under the SWOT analysis is how to achieve a
mix between the skills, knowledge and competencies and the need for diversity
and inclusivity especially with regards to the disadvantage and vulnerable
Islanders. Apart form the challenges
posed by achieving the proper mix, there are also problems that are associated
with the proper ‘locationing’ of the workforce for enhanced efficiency (Bae,
Chen, Wan, Lawler & Walumba, 2003). The recruitment strategies of the
department must consider the factors below:
ü Alignment
of the recruitment process with the missions of the department;
ü Recruiting
from all geographical areas so that diversity of the workforce can be achieved;
ü Proper
balance between the staff acceptability and attractiveness in the areas where
they would serve;
ü Incorporation
of flexible work arrangement to ensure proper work-family balance;
ü Provision
of attractive packages to the workforce so that highly skilled and diverse
workforce can be achieved;
3.3.
Workforce motivation
When
the employees of the department are highly motivated, they will greatly focus
on the achievement of the objectives. On the contrary, when the workforce is
not motivated, they will not focus on the successful achievement of the
objectives. The above statements clearly indicate the role that motivation
plays in a firm (Delery and Doty, 1996; Cinar, Bektas & Aslan, 2011). High motivational levels can be achieved
through the use of attractive packages and remuneration, flexible work
arrangements and supportive work environments. The above factors will lead to
high competitiveness of the staff as well as ensure a high level of motivation
amongst them (Larcker & Tayan, 2012).
3.4.
Diversity in the workforce
The
focus of the department will be on ensuring that the recruitment process leads
to the diversification of the workforce to include the disadvantaged and
indigenous segments of the society. However, qualifications such as skills and
knowledge levels should not be compromised. When the workforce is diverse,
representative of all the members of the society, the societal acceptance of
the work of the department will greatly be improved. The acceptance will also
increase as the people will be of the view that there is lack of discrimination
at the department (Delery and Doty, 1996).
4.0
HR Policy Statements
The
SWOT analysis clearly showed the main HR implications as being the recruitment
and the training and development of the workforce. The two main elements are
instrumental as without them, the firm cannot be able to achieve the goals of
high quality workforce that helps to inculcate high quality skills, knowledge
and experience to the young Queenslanders (Budhwar & Aryee, 2008). The two polices are discussed below:
4.1
Policy statement on Training and development
Banfield & Rebecca (2008) argued that training
and development significantly enhance the knowledge and skills of the workforce
so that the performance can be increased. Therefore, the department must be committed
towards equipping and proving the workforce with knowledge and skills that will
ensure high quality ECD. The department must focus on a number of factors if
the objectives of training and development are to be achieved:
ü Continuous
teacher training and development to improve their quality;
ü Equipping
teachers with up-to-date information and skills especially on ECD;
ü Provision
of support skills to the teachers throughout Queensland;
ü Diversifying
the knowledge areas of the teachers so that the student learning outcomes can
be improved.
4.2.
Policy statement on recruitment
The
focus of the policy is to attract employees of high quality skills and
knowledge. The workforce must be flexible towards meeting the challenges and
ensuring high success is achieved (Richard & Johnson, 2001). The staff must
also focus on improving the image of the department in the eyes of the
government as well as the community through the focus on quality (Storey, 2007).
Internal workforce promotion will be encouraged as a means of motivating the
workforce (Wilson, 2009).
5.0
Strategic human resource plan
5.1.
Background
The
department must focus on the recruitment as well as the training and
development of the workforce if high levels of success are to be achieved in
the firm. The two will ensure that the objectives are met by ensuring a strong
human resource (Tessema & Soeters, 2006).
5.1.1
Recruitment,
Training and development plan
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Recruitment Plan
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Objectives
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Strategic
Alignment
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Aim
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High quality, committed and diverse
workforce
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Recruitment of workforce with the
rights skills and knowledge.
Rigorous recruitment process should be
used
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To help the department acquire
employees with right skills and knowledge sets;
To ensure that the employees are
competent
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To attract and retain the most
competent employees
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Employee competitiveness in terms of
skills and knowledge will be used.
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To guard against discrimination;
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Strategic Training
and Development Plan
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Objectives
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Strategic
Alignment
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Aim
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To improve the skills of existing
employees
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Proper identification of employees who
can be assigned new roles
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To ensure competent employees are
promoted
To enhance the motivational levels;
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To enhance workforce competitiveness
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Retain highly skilled employees
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To enhance technological adoption by
the workforce
To advance the efficiency of the workforce
through technology adoption
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5.1.2
Assumptions
The
assumptions for the recruitment, training and development of the department
include:
ü The
majority of the workforce will retire during the period of the strategic plan;
ü The
department has a specialised HR section;
ü The
people in the specialised HR section have skills and knowledge which will allow
them to recruit highly skilled workforce (Wilson, 2009).
ü The
recruitment procedure is flexible thus can be adapted to suit the requirement
of the strategic plan.
5.1.3
Contingency plan
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Risk
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Strategies
for mitigating the risk
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The absence of a
specialized HR to hire the employees;
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-Use
external recruitment agencies
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Inability to maintain
a highly motivated workforce
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-Use
confidential surveys to determine areas of dissatisfaction
-prompt address of the
areas of dissatisfaction.
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5.1.4
Ethical considerations
·
Elimination of
discrimination especially of the Islanders and the Aboriginals;
·
Proper observation of
the regulatory and legislative recruitment requirements;
·
Focus on privacy and
confidentiality of information regarding the applicants; (Storey, 2007).
6.0
Recommendations and conclusions
The
department should ensure that employee retention is emphasized through the
focus on the motivation of the employees in terns of the benefits and career
progression.
Secondly,
an open recruitment and training program should be used so that the goal of
diversity in the department can be achieved. The potential for a variety of
highly skilled people will play an important role in the department.
7.0.
References
Bae,
J., Chen, S., Wan, T.W.D., Lawler, J.J., & Walumba, F.O. (2003), ‘Human
Resource Strategy and Firm Performance in Pacific Rim Countries,’ International Journal of Human Resource
Management, 14, 8, 1308– 1332
Banfield, P. & Rebecca, K. (2008), Introduction to Human Resource Management,
Oxford: Oxford University Press
Budhwar, P. & Aryee, S. (2008), Strategic Human Resource Management:
Building Research through practice. London. CIPD
Cinar,
O., Bektas, C. & Aslan, I. (2011), “A Motivation Study On The Effectiveness
Of Intrinsic And Extrinsic Factors”, Economics & Management, 16690-695
Delery, J. and Doty, H. (1996), 'Modes
of theorizing in SHRM', Academy of
Management Journal, 39(4), 802–835
Department of Education and Training
(2012), Strategic Plan 2012-2016,
retrieved on July 31 2012 from http://deta.qld.gov.au/publications/strategic/pdf/strategic-plan-12-16.pdf
Ericksen,
J., & Dyer, L. (2005), ‘Toward a Strategic Human Resource Management Model
of High Reliability Organizational Performance,’ International Journal of Human Resource Management, 16, 907– 928
Larcker,
D. F., & Tayan, B. (2012), Does your CEO compensation plan provide the
right incentives? Mckinsey Quarterly, (2), 20-25
Richard,
O.C., &Johnson, N.B. (2001), ‘Strategic Human Resource Management
Effectiveness and Firm Performance,’ International
Journal of Human Resource Management, 12, 2, 299– 310
Storey, J. (2007), Human Resource Management: A Critical Text, Mason, OH:
Thompson.
Tessema,
M.T., and Soeters, J.L. (2006), ‘Challenges and Prospects of HRM in Developing
Countries: Testing the HRP-performance Link in Eritrean Civil Service,’ International Journal of Human Resource
Management, 17, 1, 86 – 105
Wilson, J. (2009), Human Resource Development: Learning and Training for individuals and
organizations, London, UK: Kogan Page
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