Queensland Health HRM Leadership Challenges - Case Study Example

Queensland Health HRM Leadership Challenges Name: Institution: Executive Summary Basing on secondary material obtained from Queensland health department, the research analyses strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Queensland Health Service. In addition, it discusses issues of human resource management and the key challenges in relation to Queensland health service delivery. The paper seeks to addresses issues of HR recruitment, selection and retaining, appraisal and development needs of its workforce. Queensland health leadership embraces modern technology to better productivity achieved through improved service delivery. This research identifies demographic issues to be the main challenge facing Queensland health. Introduction Queensland Health Service is one of the main health institutions in Australia that provides health services to the Australians, particularly in Queensland. However, there are challenges that are encountered by the management of the institution. Strategic human resource management has played a greater role in solving in the challenges that are currently being experienced. Human resource management is currently considered a modern development that continually reshapes employment relationships (Beardwell, Claydon & Holden, 2004). Strategic human resource management is one tool embraced by the Queensland department of health HR team in attempt to effectively replace traditional management models such as personnel management and industrial relations models. HRM remains a contemporary issue. However, it is an evolving discipline dealing with complex beings, in multifaceted organizational environment (Wilkinson, 2010). Overview In 1901 the Queensland department of health was put in place and made responsible in managing and delivering of public sector health service within Queensland. Things have since changed and the services are executed through an identified network of 16 health service provisional districts (Purcell, 1999). The health system management has established a varied range of state support services this include radiology and pathology all created to support institutional functions. In the period 2009/10 Queensland health service management invested estimated $ 9.552 billions, the institution is revealed to be spending over $26.1 millions on daily basis. The reversed health investment is reported to have boosted the clinical service, during 2009/10 an estimated 2169 clinical staff were hired. This number represented medical doctors, nursing professional among other allied health professionals. In our resource we attempt to review the Queensland department of health with more focus directed to district public hospitals’ human resource management (HRM). On this we seek to establish HRM as a framework (Legge, 2005). Legge considers HRM as a strategy emerging from location of HRM in attaining organizational goals. The orientation towards Queensland department of health institutions is a key while practices such as better recruitment, selection criteria and motivation systems are considered as vital tools. Strategic human resource management works in a manner that serves to guide managers in their relations with the employees, while concentrating on soft aspects of HRM. HRM strives to win employee commitment and not control. In addition, the HRM system works to premise that employees are required to be working as a team remains competent and cost effective (Purcell, 1999). The Queensland human resource flows into the organization is used for recruitment, selection, though organization, placement, promotion and out of the organization as termination pay. The strategic human resource management at Queensland health established a reward system to basically attract and motivate so as to keep employees. Furthermore, employees influence is tailored on controlling authority and decision making. The system defined jobs within Queensland health, not based on duties as defined under classical approaches. The system presents advantages for instance, the premise that high employee commitment leads to better job performance (Beardwell, Claydon and Holden, 2004) The human resource management at Queensland health systems has to ensure transparency and accountability (Wilkinson, 2010). This can only developed with placing right people in place. Being a public sector; resources need to be improved in ensuring better governance. In most countries, changes within the public institutions such as hospitals have been achieved by privatization or through corporatization. In our case the Queensland of health hospital human resource management has a vision whose objectives are focused towards creating this public institution to be an autonomous public service structure (Panayotopoulou, 2003). This can be witnessed in line with the current effort by the organizational strategic human resource management intentions in creating healthcare service reform in creating an efficient system. The whole idea is to make delivery of particular public services more independent and free from unpredictable bureaucratic red tape, rules and regulations among the Queensland health organizational historical culture. In considering this, the institution’s human resource system has a role in developing strategic ideas that handle hospitals issues of self-directed workforce. The HR system has recently considered decentralizing it’s, this serves to handle matters of economic administrative power, responsibility addressing issues that ware formally centralized (Salaman, 2005). The centralized system faces challenges and its reverse for to adopt a better and effective method attempts to: a) Improve hospital inter-departmental communication while reducing administrative complexity, thus enhancing organizational responsiveness towards their local healthcare needs b) The HR has a role in enhancing effective and efficient elements within the organizations management a concept that is achieved through allowing greater judgment of desired needs c) Work to increase Queensland health management accountability to the public d) Improve resource recruitment process to achieve development of both organizational and country’s policies and further enhance societal knowledge development priorities e) Redesign the role of the healthcare community in ensuring improved governance The Queensland health human resource management according to the Michigan model, this model borrowing from Blyton (2008), people should be manage responsibly like any other resources. They have to be developed and exploited effectively. Basing on this model, selection, appraisal, employee development and rewards has to designed and directed towards organizational performance. It is thus regarded to be a critical component for successful arrangement of the healthcare. It is this division that it is responsible for mobilizing, motivating, and competence development among the health personnel. This is important if the organization has to meet increased demands and objectives of the hospital. The hospital human resource system faces several challenges among them, low motivation, ineffective use of staff, reduced staff productivity, employee redundancy or in appropriate skills and knowledge among many other issues. Queensland Health SWOT Analysis This is a strategic planning method aimed at analyzing the strength, weakness, threats and opportunities considering Queensland health nature of service. Strength Weakness Existence of high patients quality health services Developing new clinical services model delivery Patient and consumer satisfaction in service delivery through the use of modern technologies and changing service delivery models Employee challenges- difficulties in recruitment and retaining of clinical employee among other related medical staff. Over reliance on financial transfer on public sector, may limit achievements of the organization objectives The concentration of regulatory authorities on their activities of the economic and financial assessment Opportunities Threats Improved employment capacity together with productivity opportunity in developing private non- governmental among others partnerships Use of newly established technologies that enhance effective health delivery demographic pressures due to increased growth financial pressures in funding Queensland health service Increased rates of disease from marginalized communities such as Aboriginals, people from low social economic setting. Queensland Health Human Resource Challenges Human Resource Competence Increased workforce creates extra pressure in developing capacity and competence measures required to grow and sustain the capability of such a large diverse workforce (Panayotopoulou, 2003).Queensland health human resource management has experienced changing models of care, rapid development in technology among other needs. Thus it is faced with a challenge of identifying and creating the right training needs to meet these demands. The Queensland health HR system has to frequently plan for employee appraisals to establish training needs. This is needed in delivering quality services. A strategic approach to managing employment relations which emphasis the leverage individual competence as it remains critical in achieving a competitive advantage (Sonja, 2004). This can be achieved through developing distinct set of employment policies, practices or program identifies the right candidates within the Queensland society. While the institution management agrees on the important aspects of healthcare human resource planning, there has been little coordination concerning evidence based planning to practice (Sano, 1993). Over the time, lack of readily accessible evidence based human resource planning tools in support of organizations and the strategic human resource team for effective planning, recruitment and selection process and integration of Queensland health resources. Recruitment and Selection The human resource management strategies are to ensure both current and future employment requirements of the organization with minimal focus directed towards the Queensland health as organization objectives rather than on the human resource system (Sano, 1993). Having the right workforce in place creates a possibility of improved productivity. The human resource has to identify the right candidate to effectively feet in the identified position. In essence, the Queensland health human resource management systems have embraced change over the years. These are particular changes in the human resource division within this institution (Blyton, 2008). It has been established that staff recruitment and selection and placement is an issues that is left to the discretion of the hospital strategic leadership under a structured to meet all national standards. Contractual connection between hospital and employees will replace that of the civil servant status arrangements (Boselie, 2010). The current human resource has a duty to in creating recruitment and employment that base on defined expectations and payment systems. The Queensland health strategic human resource management therefore is responsible in creation of both short-term and long term recruitment plan for organization (Sano, 1993). It is therefore important for human resource practitioners to focus on identifying target groups within their structure and developing a recruitment system that is responsible in exploring specific strategies such as hospital placements, recruitment campaigns, mentorship initiatives in realizing improve and attract healthcare workforce in the organization. According to Chuang (2004) argues that iincreased changes in the Queensland healthcare delivery system remains a challenge to most nursing and medical professionals, this has so far influence professional in this field to opt moving for other professions or other place of employment, of ten the public hospitals are faced with this challenge and Queensland health human resource is not an exception. The strategic human resource within the Queensland health system has to effectively evaluated and identify the weakness placed system change, as this tend to influence employee perception towards their employer. The environment in which staff work is of great value and issues within this environment have to be fully addressed (Boselie, 2010). Migration and Population Increase During the resource the reports indicate that overseas migration contributes to over a half of the Queensland’s population growth. Both societal and language have been associated with advanced risks of adverse events (Beardwell, 2004). The Queensland health faces with adverse risks events from non English speaking backgrounds. There cases indicating that cultural and linguistically diverse groups has a high prevalence of health risks factors and chronic diseases for example diabetes, obesity among others. The HRM at Queensland health faces this challenge. However, Queensland health human resource managers have to plan on handling increased population caused by migration issues (Kim, 1999). Over the years this has attracted increased political as well as the media attention. The rights to healthcare as well as the rights of healthcare givers are understood to be paramount in understanding the interest of Queensland health stakeholders. This includes patients and healthcare professionals. Borrowing Legge (2005), arguments it is revealed that human resource has a mandate strategically set measures in support employees motivational measures as they play a critical role in monitoring the increasing needs of their organizational workforce, address them essentially to develop a structured force that will see reduced trends in professional migration within its institution. In addition, population increase indicates increased expenses for Queensland health this especially concerns planning increased demands to hire more clinical professionals to equally handle the growing population (Chuang, 2004). Employee Training needs and Retention Establishing a reward system aimed at attract and motivate to help develop performance appraisal. The Queensland health human resource has to equally plan its employee development and retention mechanism (Dessler, 2003). This is one challenge that threatens to test effectiveness of this workforce when it concern service delivery. Employee training programs not only improved employee productivity but also work to achieve improved employee motivation. Often employee have to be motivated to create good relationship in achieving increased productivity and reduced employee turn over, a situation that if no controlled offer increased costs to any given organization rather than improve performance (Blyton, 2008). According to Boxall (2011) arguments, organizations that have created better able system of recruiting, and maintain staff has a better evaluation of quality of care provided to its society. Basing on this the Queensland health has to equally handle issues of economic, political and environmental (Kim, 1999). The HR organ has to design proactive measures in recruitment and retention of their nurses. To fully understand the challenges, the force currently influencing the profession progression and those of the institution has to be well identified and understood. This force can not only affect the human resource team but rather the entire organizational and has severe effect on service delivery across the system. There are several mechanism applied to encourage employee service within the organization, this measures include employee training (Bratton, 2003). There exists a direct link between employee training and employee retention. Often training creates an idea among employees that their employer has interest offering a better job, while the employer cares about making an increased investment in their development. However, this may not be enough as the training can be viewed as a real idea to foster required change within the organization (Panayotopoulou, 2003). Conclusion In our discussion we reveal Queensland health service and its importance to the surrounding society. The public health service provider is faced with increasing challenges that are of economic and social environmental nature (Legge, 2005). The discussion reveals human resource management practices and the benefits. However, the Queensland health fails to adopt knowledge based aptitude that has a positive health behaviors. The finding shows that Queensland health needs to improve its employee capacity to ensure productivity of its community health. By using improved and new technology Queensland health is able to ensure better and a healthier community. Reference Beardwell, I. H. (2004). Human Resource Management a Contemporary Approach, 4th edition. London: Prentice Hall. Blyton, P. B. (2008). The Sage Handbook of Industrial Relations. London: Sage Publications. Boxall, P. &. (2011). Strategy and Human Resource Management, 3rd edition . London: Palgrave Micmillan. 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