Redesigning workforce models
notes from Alison Zappala’s (ASQ) presentation
Three trends will shape the future of our workforce:
1) the empowered consumer,
2) disruptive technologies and
3) transformative business models.
Anglicare Southern Queensland implemented mobile devices for run management last year. This week has seen another milestone achieved with Go-Live on an electronic clinical management system in our Residential Aged Care Facilities - neither are ground breaking technology transformations however nonetheless they do represent a change for our workforce in the way they work and signals further change in the way they incorporate technology in their day to day work. In the future we may see multidisciplinary teams collaborating locally, nationally and potentially globally – so what will the historic office or base look like become over time?? The impact on the workplace of technology, digitalisation and automation is not only to dictate what jobs will exist in the future, but where they will be performed from (globalisation) and how they will be performed (i.e. collaboration). Overall we are going to see a workforce that demand more flexible working, more immediacy, faster business operations, and greater collaboration.
A more connected labour marketplace means your specialisations and skills can be used around the country and world not just around the corner.
Orgs can offer greater flexibility, and opening up access to a more agile workforce means orgs and employees reap mutual benefits together
And as many of us will appreciate the quality of any service delivered by Anglicare organisations is directly linked to the skills, knowledge, expertise, values and attitudes of the people who make upour workforce. It’s our people who have a significant role to play in any transformation whether it be in workforce redesign or transforming the skillsets of our people to support and embrace new, highly digital infrastructure particularly in the Wellness and Reablement space. In addition, the pace of cultural change can be slow so a new level of organisational agility may be required to support a rapidly changing digital environment.
Impact of new technologies on workforce
Emerging technologies will drive efficiencies in labour. Increased productivity in our sector – in the retail sector this has led to job losses and changed the nature of the industries workforce however in our sector these technologies will be required to bridge the gap between supply and demand for services.
As digital technology becomes more widely used, associated skillsets will become more highly valued.
The workforce of the future is forecast to be one of people with high skills providing valued services, with many of these services and skills relying increasingly on an appreciation of connected technology.
Educational Institutions: Their business models will be premised on providing quality labour that is skilled and relevant to the market e.g. emergence of new skills in restorative care/wellness approaches to care, technicians to support assistive technologies in the home, customer service, staff with empathy, “heart” and relational skills (soft skills are now as important as the technical skills)
Cater for courses aimed at delivering skills in new roles – emergence of the “concierge” role, Leadership development and training targeting exec and senior management roles
Provide a USP – flexibility, responsiveness, customer service, tailored solutions and offer solutions for increasing consumer and workforce diversity – ATSI, CALD
This is true for basic technology literacy that will be required in the majority of roles, as well as deep specialisations and skills development to take advantage of emerging roles – in Aged Care & Disability Sectors the role of the Technician – a niche, highly skilled technical role to support and respond to issues relating to assistive technologies in the home. Just as we have seen in health and dentistry, we will see roles like the equivalent of the anaesthetic technician of acute care and the dental technician in dentistry emerge within aged care to support the increasing technical requirements of supporting assistive technologies.
Flexibility and independent work will reign according to NBNCo
Employment and Workforce Issues
All workplaces are changing. The range of issues is diverse: the "uberisation" that will affect the delivery of services in; responding to an ageing workforce; the NDIS and other social and demographic changes.
As with all technology, the level of adoption of these changes varies. In considering some of the issues associated with the changing nature of the workplace, how do we best manage the opportunities and risks that arise from the evolution of the modern workplace?
EBAs as mechanisms for changing models of workforce engagement
Industrial relations in Australia is focused on collective rights and obligations. The regime established by the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) enshrines a key role for representatives of employees, namely unions.
A recent report by the CSIRO: Tomorrow's Digitally Enabled Workforce has noted increased technological change, the rapid growth of the peer-to-peer and freelance employment market, working from home and co-working facilities – each of which pose challenges for employers and unions alike.
Managing engagement with employees will become critical as many different types of work become prevalent: from full-time work at the employer's premises, to workers engaged part-time or fixed term, and those who telecommute, work remotely, or have other flexible working arrangements.
Can we keep workplace instruments relevant for the workplace of the future?
Both the nascent "gig economy" and the anticipated proliferation of independent contracting arrangements raise questions about the future relevance of the traditional employment relationship. Is the current framework used to regulate that relationship in Australia –enterprise agreements contracts – sufficiently adaptable for workforces of the future? The capacity our organisations to take advantage of the potential productivity dividends offered by digital technologies, by adopting and implementing alternative work arrangements, will be influenced by the capacity of such instruments to accommodate these types of changes.
It is important to consider how awards and enterprise agreements can themselves better accommodate the needs of modern workplaces without each technological advance requiring a resort to individual arrangements. To some extent, this issue is outside the direct control of employers and is dependent on legislative reform. The Productivity Commission has identified the award-making process as beholden to history and dependent on previous determinations, commenting that "some parts of awards are more historical relics of the relative bargaining strength of past protagonists than a carefully thought out way of remunerating employees".
The Productivity Commission proposes replacing the four yearly award review process conducted by the Fair Work Commission with a new institution, a Workplace Standards Commission that would be empowered to review awards on an ongoing basis and proactively seek out information concerning market trends to guide its determinations. If adopted, this reform would go some way to ensuring that awards remain a relevant touchstone for the employers and employees. While the enterprise bargaining process can be a time-consuming, costly and ultimately dissatisfying process, it nevertheless provides employers with an opportunity to tailor employment arrangements in a way that best suits their business.
Forecasting greater flexibility
At first blush, the industrial relations landscape in Australia might appear to hamper efforts by employers to introduce greater flexibility to their workplaces however there is scope within the existing framework for employers to take the initiative. Just as importantly, there appears to be a growing acceptance amongst thought leaders in this area that the system must continue to evolve in order for the workplaces of the future to flourish. Reform of the IR system may be undertaken, as governments recognize the productivity imperatives for change.
Flexible management models - what are the risks?
Implementing a contingent workforce model, whether it be through "zero hours" contracts, casual or freelance pools, or using independent contractors, can give distinct advantages to organizations by providing flexibility (allowing an organization to "scale up" or "scale down" labor). It also reduces the compliance costs associated with the traditional employer-employee model.
Organizations should keep in mind that the engagement of a contractor under an arrangement that includes a restraint of trade is an indicator that the relationship is one of employer and employee rather than of principal and contractor. If an employment relationship was found to exist between the organization and the worker, the worker would be entitled to the usual employee entitlements and protections.
Now you see me, now you don't: The rise of digital recruitment strategies
As with the workplace generally, recruitment processes are continually evolving. Two recent trends, however, appear to be in stark contrast to each other.
A hot desk or a home desk?A cubicle or a couch? Managing changing office environments
Advancements in digital technologies, a greater demand for innovative and flexible workplaces, cost cutting and market place competition have significantly eroded the traditional model of work. In a number of workplaces, hot desking is now the norm.
Make yourself at home: What could be the future role of safety regulators?
It should come as no surprise that a lot of Australian workers are performing work at home, either informally "catching up" or formally on flexible working arrangements. With employees and employers increasingly moving away from traditional workspaces, what could this mean for the role of safety regulators?
In the future, safety regulators may start to more closely examine work-from-home arrangements. Employers have a duty to protect the health and safety of workers when they perform work at home. "Workplace" is very broadly defined in the model Work Health and Safety Act to include any place where work is carried out for the person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU). The definition of "workplace" under the Victorian and Western Australian legislation is similarly broad. This includes where work is performed periodically. If a worker performs work at home, this will be considered a workplace to which a PCBU's duty of care applies.
Clause 48 of the model Work Health and Safety Regulations expressly deals with the issue of working from home:
A PCBU must manage the risks associated with remote or isolated work, including ensuring effective communication with the worker carrying out the remoteor isolated work.
Safety regulators in many Australian jurisdictions include working from home as an example of remote or isolated work on their websites. Working remotely often involves working alone, which increases the risk of harm because a worker may not have the assistance of other people if required. This is one reason why it is important to maintain effective communication with remote workers.
Two worker's compensation cases where workers have fallen down stairs at home, demonstrate the connection with work", whether the employer is aware of the arrangement or not. In Hargreaves and Telstra Corporation Ltd [2011] AATA 417, an employee had an informal arrangement with her employer to cover the cost of setting up an office at home, working there two days a week. She went to get cough medicine after violently coughing and fell down the stairs. The tribunal found that this fall arose out of the worker's employment, similar to a toilet or meal break. A second fall was similarly linked to her work as it occurred while in the process of locking her front screen door, which the employer had instructed the worker to do.
When local employees go “remote”: Reconsidering management approaches
Managers are increasingly called upon to manage employees via technology, rather than face to face, as flexible working practices, a lack of public transport and/or car parking turn local employees into remote employees. While the basic principles of management apply equally to employees who work remotely, what risks increase with distance?
Employees who are expected to work autonomously and remotely need to be trained on these policies and procedures so that they can understand and apply them effectively.
END
1