Reports
Human Resource Management: maintaining
a motivated and productive workforce
Steve Towarnicki 1
Health Information Manager or
Human Resources Manager?
Heathfield (n.d.) defined Human Resource Management
(HRM) as ‘the function within an organisation that
focuses on recruitment of, management of, and providing
direction for people who work within an organisation.’
In all organisations the true Human Resource (HR)
Managers are the line managers who are able to lead
and manage people who report to them either directly or
indirectly. The majority of Health Information Managers
(HIMs) are responsible for the management of employees
within their unit or department. By focusing on key HR
management skills and managing within organisational
policies and legislative guidelines, a skilled HIM can
maintain a motivated and productive workforce.
Managers are responsible for planning and organising activities within organisations, and for leading and
controlling organisational activities though motivating
the people who work in them. These core management
responsibilities relate to all aspects of management,
including HRM. The HR management function focuses
on the recruitment, management and direction of people
who work within an organisation. As the HRM of a unit
or department, the HIM deals with personnel issues such
as recruitment, performance management, health and
safety, learning and development, workers’ compensation
and industrial and employee relations.
ƒ
ƒ
HRM skills and knowledge to ensure
productivity and motivation
Familiarity with organisational policies and legislation
(Acts of Parliament) that relate to workforce management is essential. It is important that managers have a
good understanding of these documents as they provide
direction on how to manage a particular workforce and in
turn, ensure productivity and motivation.
The following are key areas of Human Resource
Management:
ƒ Recruitment practices should ensure that the processes
used guarantee the ‘best person’ for the job is
selected on the basis of merit; that is, ‘determined
1
ƒ
by a fair and transparent assessment process based
on the stated principles of merit, natural justice,
human resource management and conduct’ (Office
of the Commissioner for Public Employment n.d.).
Employing the best person for the job guarantees that
the employee will be able to perform the duties of the
position at the acceptable level of performance.
Performance management is ‘a process that commences
with the recruitment and orientation of an individual
and involves an ongoing cycle of planning, coaching
and reviewing individual, work unit team and
organisational performance within the context of
the organisation’s goals and strategies’ (NSW Health
2005a). In conjunction with effective recognition and
rewards it can be useful in reinforcing organisational
support for excellent performance and in motivating
employees towards achieving goals, including setting
agreed expectations. In addition the linking of salary
increases to high performance can lead to greater
workforce productivity and motivation. However, this
can prove difficult to achieve in some organisations,
such as in public hospitals.
Occupational health and safety. States and territories
are responsible for making laws about occupational
health and safety (OH&S) and for enforcing those
laws. Each state and territory has a principal OH&S
Act, setting out requirements for ensuring that
workplaces are safe and healthy. These requirements
spell out the duties of different groups of people
who play a role in workplace health and safety. HIMs
should have an understanding of the OH&S Act that
applies in their particular workplace. Managers and
supervisors have specific responsibilities under the
legislation and should ensure that they are aware of
their responsibilities under the relevant legislation.
Learning and development opportunities that
complement individuals current jobs lead to improved
job satisfaction and foster greater commitment and
loyalty. In addition they assist in developing better
working relationships between managers and their
staff by encouraging a collaborative approach to
identifying and addressing learning and development
needs (NSW Health 2005b).
The author is a Human Resources Manager (HRM) working in the largest Area Health Service in New South Wales. He has been a HRM for over 20 years and currently
manages a small team of human resource consultants who provide HR consultancy advice to over 6,000 employees and managers within the Area Health Service. He
has been married to a Health Information Manager (HIM) for over 26 years and has achieved an excellent understanding of the challenges facing HIMs on a day-to-day
basis.
HIM-INTERCHANGE Vol 2 No 1 2012 ISSN 1838-8620 (PRINT) ISSN 1838-8639 (ONLINE)
9
Reports
ƒ
Industrial relations. Employment law is governed
by either state or federal legislation. The federal
legislation is called the Fair Work Act 2009.2 Both
federal and state awards provide the minimum
conditions and salary rates that apply to all employees
covered by the award.3 If a workplace is covered
by an award it is important that managers have a
good understanding of award conditions, union
coverage and dispute resolution procedures. Ensuring
compliance with the award ensures industrial
harmony which can lead to greater productivity and
motivation.
HR and EQuIP
The Australian Council of Healthcare Standard (ACHS)
Evaluation and Quality Improvement Program (EQuIP)
provides healthcare organisations with an organisationwide framework to deliver a consumer-centred service.
The framework includes standards, a self-assessment
process and systematic external peer review survey.4
The effective use of EQuIP requires an integrated
organisational approach to quality improvement. Human
Resource Management is part of EQuIP review and
is included in the Support Function criterion which
includes: workforce planning; recruitment, selection and
appointment; continuing employment professional development; learning and development system; and support
and workplace relations. This highlights the importance
of Human Resource Management in providing quality
healthcare. To meet the EQuIP criterion an organisation
should have documented policies and procedures that
relate to Human Resource Management.
policy will assist in justifying how decisions were made.
Finally, organisations that do not have workforce-related
policies can seek policies from larger organisations and
use them for guidance.5 For further advice on Human
Resource matters contact the HR department or line
manager.
References
Heathfield, S. (n.d.). What is Human Resource Management? About.
com Guide. Available at: http://humanresources.about.com/od/
glossaryh/f/hr_management.htm
Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment (n.d.). Merit
Selection. Northern Territory Government. Available at: http://
www.ocpe.nt.gov.au/ntps_careers/recruiting_employees/merit_
selection
NSW Health (2005a). Managing for performance - a better practice
approach for NSW Health. Sydney, Department of Health, NSW.
Available at: www.health.nsw.gov.au/policies/PD/2005/pdf/
PD2005_180.pdf
NSW Health (2005b). Learning and Development Policy – NSW
Department of Health. Sydney, Department of Health, NSW.
Available at: http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/policies/PD/2005/
pdf/PD2005_255.pdf
Steve Towarnicki
Human Resource Manager
Central Hospital Network
South Eastern Sydney Local Health District
Locked Mail Bag 21
Taren Point NSW 2229
AUSTRALIA
email: steve.towarnicki@sesiahs.health.nsw.gov.au
Resources for managing the HIM
workforce
All organisations should have documented policies
that relate to all the aspects of employee relations and
management of their human resources. It is important
that these policies be followed. Should things go wrong
and result in litigation, before a court or tribunal the
2
3
4
5
10
See http://www.fwa.gov.au/
See http://www.gov.au/ Go to the relevant state then search ‘Industrial
Relations’
See http://www.achs.org.au/
See http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/jobs/emp_policies/index.asp for examples
HIM-INTERCHANGE Vol 2 No 1 2012 ISSN 1838-8620 (PRINT) ISSN 1838-8639 (ONLINE)
„