Australian HR Institute

David Thodey AO

Chair, Review Panel

APS Review

Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet

PO Box 6500

CANBERRA ACT 2600

Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Australian Public Service Review.

How we see the background to the APS review

AHRI sees the Australian Public Service providing advice to government and delivering

services to the Australian people against a backdrop in which agencies are faced with a

changing world of work that is characterised by:
• emerging technologies that are shaking up many traditional business and
operational models, and affecting the nature of work, workplaces and workforces
• pressure to develop workforce plans, performance frameworks and talent strategies
that enable the APS to anticipate those future workforce changes, and deal with
them expeditiously as they present themselves
• demands for specialist expertise, capability and foresight in undertaking challenging
initiatives with respect to the way the APS workforce, workplaces and work itself are
designed and how they might look in the future, including labour models that
encompass contractors and gig workers, as well as part-time and full-time
employees. It will mean looking in detail at a potential overhaul of classification
structures and mobility, and extend to consideration of industrial arrangements,
flexibility, APS values, contingent workforces, and transitioning workforces to meet
future needs.
AHRI and the APS

AHRI is well placed to contribute to enabling the APS, through building shared

accountabilities, to become a more sought-after employer of choice for workers operating

within a range of labour models in the future by providing work that is productive and

enriching for its people, who in turn serve the community as exemplars of innovation and

agility.

Custodians of culture

Good leadership and management of APS people needs to include line managers and

agency heads working with HR partners to share ownership and accountability as custodians

of organisational culture. HR should be expected to play a key role and rightfully be held

accountable for key elements of that leadership, including the development of an

organisation’s culture strategy.
However, for cultural transformation to be truly successful and driven through the entire

organisation’s non-HR processes, agency policies and practices also need to change, so that

individuals, regardless of their seniority, need to be accountable for the culture they display

and to which they contribute.
Strategic capability

It should be noted that the APS is already on a path towards a shared services and centres of

excellence model, with transactional HR services outsourced to six hubs within APS

agencies. The HR teams that remain, as the APS transitions to this model, could be

effectively used to lead and contribute substantially to the building of strategic HR

capability.

HR certification and the APS

AHRI is making this submission on the premise that a combination of a globalised workforce

exposed to rapid future advances in technology have presented those who oversee

workforces in general, and the public-sector workforce in particular, with challenges that

require solutions to new problems, and often problems to be dealt with in unchartered

territories.

It is no secret that for many years the APS has not enjoyed access to HR practitioners who

have demonstrated the level of leadership capability and business acumen in the areas to

which we have alluded above. In addition to the independent analysis the Australian Public

Service Commission (APSC) has undertaken in relation to HR capability, further evidence for

that can be found in the number of occasions in which people from outside HR have been

appointed to fulfil the HR function and wear the label of HR, and often without having

brought with them the range and depth of capabilities that enable them to perform at the

level that their senior HR counterparts would be expected to perform in the top companies

within the private sector.
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The outcome has been that in the past the HR function has not earned a reputation in the

APS for its capacity to operate at the level required to deal adequately with the complex

issues that confront them with respect to the workforce they oversee in the present, as well

as the workforce they foresee in the future.

Recognising that malaise, in 2015 AHRI took upon itself the task of creating a certification

regime that set a high bar in Australia for entry to the HR profession. The certification

standard is based on a globally benchmarked set of capabilities and behaviours outlined in

the AHRI Model of Excellence, and includes validating professional behavioural attributes

such as being credible, solutions driven and future oriented. As an industry model, it was

developed with extensive Australian and global industry and public-sector input, and the

intellectual property it supports is continuously reviewed to ensure relevance to shifting

trends and organisation needs.

Certification candidates are now required to demonstrate organisation expertise and

capability via a 4-unit exacting postgraduate-level professional study program, to undertake

continuous professional development, and to sign up to an enforceable code of conduct.

Since then, 555 HR practitioners have become certified via one of the pathways to

certification, one of which involves large numbers of senior and experienced practitioners

undertaking a senior leader pathway. Of those, around 40 percent are from the public

sector, the remainder being from the private sector and not-for-profits.

While considerable time was spent in building the right capability development and

assessment tools, and also ‘telling the story’ to AHRI members, the momentum generated is

reflected in the total number of 1118 candidates who are presently engaged in the process

of certification, and the growing evidence of positive organisation and individual impact of

the certification journey they are on.

The wider context of global HR certification developments

AHRI is not alone in establishing HR standards through certification, with the UK, Canada,
Singapore and the US also initiating certification models.

AHRI has a longstanding partnership with its UK counterpart, the Chartered Institute of

Personnel and Development (CIPD), which includes a globally unique opportunity that

affords mutual recognition of certified practitioners through a reciprocity agreement, thus

aligning AHRI certification with CIPD chartered HR practitioner status. This agreement is

contributing to the mobility of certified HR practitioners between the UK and Australia.

More recently in our region, the Singapore Government initiated a National HR Certification

Framework to set HR standards for the good of the nation that involves the Ministry of

Manpower, the Trade Union National Congress, and the Singapore National Employers

Federation forming a tripartite agreement to raise the standards of HR practice through a

national certification standard.
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It is expected that within a few years certification will be a pre-requisite to work in HR in

Singapore. AHRI is in the process of establishing a memorandum of understanding with

Singapore, with both parties taking the view that establishing reciprocity of certification

standards will facilitate future mutual recognition and mobility of certified HR practitioners

between Singapore and Australia.

What does HR certification look like in the APS?

HR capability isn’t simply about what HR practitioners know or studied, or even how long

they’ve been in a role (i.e., what's typically listed on an individual's CV). True impact is based

on their professional knowledge, skills and behaviours, as articulated in the AHRI Model of

Excellence. They are the professional attributes the AHRI certification framework is able to

assess and validate. When combined with AHRI membership that holds HR practitioners to

account against a professional and enforceable code of conduct and

ongoing requirement for continuous professional development, the outcomes lead to

genuine 'professionalisation’ of key capabilities that have been attested to within the

organisations that employ successful HR certification candidates.

The very first AHRI certification program commenced in the APS in August 2015 as a pilot

with 24 HR practitioners representing a number of agencies from across the APS. Since that

time, AHRI has worked with agencies that have been proactive in building HR capability,
including the Australian Taxation Office, Department of Agriculture, Department of Defence,
Department of Environment and Energy, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and

CSIRO.

The AHRI HR certification strategy goes beyond mere rhetoric and is genuinely delivering on

professionalising the HR profession in the APS, as evidenced by testimonials (video and

written) and references that can be viewed in attachment 1. They demonstrate return on

investment (ROI) by way of improved HR capability. HR certification can deliver at an

individual and organisational level. Certification establishes HR behaviours such as ethical

practice, which is enforceable through a professional code of conduct supported by the

requirement to undertake continuous professional development.

What differentiates AHRI certification from some other global models (for example, the US

utilises a multiple-choice online knowledge assessment) is that AHRI certification focuses on

demonstrating business impact of HR practice on real business and organisation problems in

the present, with a future orientation. It is this unique feature that has resulted in agencies

like the ATO, Defence and CSIRO supporting repeat certification programs in their agencies.
Indeed, agencies such as the ATO and Defence who have seen the ROI of certification are

now setting AHRI certification as being advantageous when applying for HR roles within

their agencies.

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The ATO partnership with AHRI on certification also shows the potential of building HR

capability in a large organisation with distributed networks of geographical coverage beyond

Canberra.

Another feature of AHRI certification is that because the AHRI Practising Certification

Program (APC) is set at postgraduate-level, it provides articulation into university programs

in Master of Human Resource Management and MBAs. The AHRI APC program forms part of

a vocational education training pathway (VET) as noted in the recent PwC’s Skills for

Australia report, and also provides opportunities for successful APC candidates to continue

their studies in order to broaden their career pathways.

What does HR certification look like in the other industry sectors?

At an organisational level, AHRI has selected as evidence of momentum a number of leading

brands within the private sector to profile the organisational benefits of HR certification
(e.g. Qantas, Deloitte, Optus and Virgin).

In addition, certified HR practitioners who have self-funded their own certification,
represent a significant number of practitioners from the private, not-for-profit and local-
government sectors (see attachment 2).

The future is about partnerships

With respect to opportunity and impact in the APS, the evidence is clear that AHRI is well

positioned to support an accelerated engagement and delivery strategy into the future

around building HR capability and establishing HR standards and professionalism through

certification.

During AHRI’s interaction with HR practitioners undertaking the APC program, it has become

apparent that there is a great deal of work in the organisational development space that is

undertaken outside the HR function in the APS. It is often performed by external consultants

at significant cost. This is an expensive practice compared to building internal capability to

undertake these activities within the HR function.

AHRI has a proven model which is ready and able to support the APS in building HR

capability and contributing to the delivery of cultural change with a new operating model.
The AHRI certification model enables HR professionals to partner agency leaders to align

practices in order to ensure the development of organisational strategy and organisational

culture.

More than ever, the expertise of appropriately credentialled HR professionals will be

required to effectively and agilely respond to the complexities and realities of changing

work, workplaces and workforces. As such, core HR capabilities such as organisational

design, workforce planning, job design, culture change, employment relations, performance

management and stakeholder management with a focus on building public value are at the
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centre of the AHRI certification program. These capabilities will be crucial in supporting any

future APS reform agenda.

The case studies and testimonials set out in attachment 1 demonstrate the ROI already

being derived from the AHRI HR certification program, and they could be accelerated across

the APS in a very cost-effective way.

AHRI has an established public sector network through its Public Sector Reference Panel

which plays a key partnership role with the Institute which we actively lead and use as a

collaborative forum. Led by Carmel McGregor, former Deputy Secretary Defence People,
this panel can be mobilised to assist the APS once the review is finished and roles for

organisations and HR are clear. The panel provides insight and advice on public sector HR

issues and is also engaging with key international leaders such as Lord Gus O’Donnell former

Cabinet Secretary in the UK, Peter Ong in Singapore, and Peter Hughes in New Zealand.

There is an opportunity for AHRI to work with a coordinating body such as the Australian

Public Service Commission to accelerate the work we have been doing with the

departments and agencies and our own Public Sector Reference Panel to gain momentum

and give greater traction to support the APS reform agenda in the context of the changing

nature of work, workplaces and workforces.

Peter Wilson AM Lyn Goodear

Chairman Chief Executive Officer

About AHRI

The Australian HR Institute is the national association representing human resource and people

management professionals. We have around 20,000 members from Australia and across the globe.

AHRI Vision: Shaping the HR profession for the future

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Attachment 1

AHRI HR CERTIFICATION WEBSITE

https://www.ahri.com.au/hr-certification

• AHRI Practising Certification Program (APC) https://www.ahri.com.au/apc
• Senior Leaders Pathway https://www.ahri.com.au/seniorleaderspathway
• Academic Pathway https://www.ahri.com.au/academicpathway
• HR Certification Pathfinder https://www.ahri.com.au/pathfinder

PwC's Skills for Australia – Industry-led review and development of vocational training (July

2018) makes reference to AHRI's HR certification model.

APC CAPSTONE PROJECT SUMMARY

The Capstone Unit of the AHRI Practising Certification Program (APC) is the mandatory Unit

4 of the APC that attests to candidates’ capability in practice to deliver impact. It is

differentiated from the first three units in that it assumes knowledge and skill, and unlike

the first three units, APC candidates cannot satisfy the unit’s requirements by way of RPL or

credit transfer. What follows are summaries of Capstone projects that have been completed

and that demonstrate impact in organisations:

How the ATO reaped the benefits of certification (Donna Ross CPHR, Director of People Support,
Australian Tax Office; Lauren Sloan CPHR, HR Manager, People Support Team, ATO; and Kerrie Wilby

CPHR, Director, Learning and Development, ATO)

How does Russia in HR compare to Australia? (Jill Collins CPHR, Department of Foreign Affairs and

Trade, Deputy Ambassador at the Australian Embassy in Moscow)

Onboarding: Developing, testing and implementing the onboarding process for post-doctoral fellows

and their line managers by Kathryn Alison Rogers CPHR, Senior HR Adviser, CSIRO

HR upskilling: HR immediate upskilling by Susan Moriarty CPHR, HR Account Manager, HR Support

Branch, Department of Human Services

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EMPLOYER PERSPECTIVES ON CERTIFICATION

Public Sector

Push and pull Rowena Bain CAHRI, Assistant Secretary, Culture and People Development Branch,
Department of Defence

Why certification is the key to making CHROs into CEOs Jacqui Curtis FAHRI, Chief Operating Officer,
Australian Taxation Office

How to make the leap from HR professional to chief operating officer (Paula Goodwin FCPHR, COO,
Corporate Strategies Division, Department of the Environment and Energy)

The career advantages of HR certification (Samantha Robertson CPHR, Assistant Director HR Policy

And Analytics, People Branch Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet; Cathy Stokes CAHRI,
Director, Wellbeing and Employee Relations Section, People Branch, Corporate Services Division,
DPMC)

The strategic value of HR certification (Fiona Michel FCPHR, Chief Human Resources Officer, and Gil

Sewell CPHR, Director, Organisational Development, Auckland District Health Board, NZ)

How HR certification helps build organisational capability (Darren Sharp CPHR, Assistant Secretary,
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade)

Why even the most senior HR professional should get certified (Trevor Heldt CPHR, HR Director,
CSIRO)

Centre stage Jess Lang CPHR, HR Business Partner, Department of Defence

Certification: It's never too late Clifford Gillam FCPHR, Executive Director – Workforce, Department

of Education (Western Australia)

Showcasing Public Sector Talent https://player.vimeo.com/video/236690432

Department of Environment and Energy case study https://player.vimeo.com/video/244291515

Department of Social Services case study https://player.vimeo.com/video/231493741

The Australian Taxation Office on the APC Program https://player.vimeo.com/video/197978194

The Australian Taxation Office on HR certification https://player.vimeo.com/video/210712203

The Australian Government on HR Certification https://player.vimeo.com/video/197978312

Department of Defence on HR Certification https://player.vimeo.com/video/197977885

PDF of public sector testimonials

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Private Sector

Selected private sector testimonials include:

The Business of HR Certification https://player.vimeo.com/video/230523976

Qantas case study https://player.vimeo.com/video/259946681

PDF of private sector testimonials

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Attachment 2

Individual HR practitioners who have and/or are currently

in the process of self-funding their HR certification come from more

than 100 organisations, a sample of which are presented in this graph.

Private Sector Other

NAB Australian Catholic University

Qantas BNP Paris (Malaysia)

Lendlease Deakin University

PWC HR Academics

Rio Tinto HR Consultants

SAP Australian Red Cross

Viva Energy Woollahra Municipal Council