Top of mind...

Nick McKissack is Chief Executive of HRNZ. Nick is passionate about people development and sharing the success of members and organisations leading the HR profession in New Zealand.

Whenever I think about the future of the HR profession, my mind automatically turns to the people who are entering the profession today. After all, these are the people who will hold senior HR roles in the future and will, therefore, shape the practice of HRM in New Zealand workplaces in the years to come.

HRM has evolved over the years. Back when I started, HR people tended to enter the profession from many different angles. It often wasn’t necessarily a deliberate career choice. My journey started with volunteering for a project to implement a new HRMIS into a national organisation. Little did I know where that would take me. Times have changed, and now we more typically see people choosing the study of HRM and consciously making this their career path. This is a really positive change that shows the increasing professionalism of HR that lies at the heart of HRNZ’s vision.

It is for this reason that HRNZ has introduced a new accreditation standard for those starting their career journey within HR. The Emerging Professional Member accreditation will support these people by acknowledging the completion of their foundational education and training and their early development and application of HRM competencies. The accreditation also encourages young professionals to commit to a Code of Practice for HR and their ongoing professional development. For employers, this will provide an assurance that, when recruiting new HR professionals into their team, they are hiring those who have made a commitment to ethical standards and to applying best practice in their organisation.

This is an exciting step for HRNZ, and it’s one we hope will also encourage new HR professionals to start early on a pathway to becoming Chartered Members in the future.

In addition to a new accreditation standard, HRNZ is working on a research project to identify how the skills and attributes expected of Emerging Professionals are changing. We’re engaging with senior HR leaders from various sectors to find out what is most important to them when recruiting new team members into HR and how they see this changing in the future. We’ll use this information to ensure we’re providing our members with the kind of professional development support that prepares them for the future.

Of course, none of us has a crystal ball and so predicting the future with any degree of certainty is not possible. The most crucial goal, in the end, is to support our members in the HR community to embrace the notion of HR as a profession and encourage others to do the same. For those getting started in HR roles today, having access to a professional network is essential for future success.

In many ways, the most significant contribution we can all make to shaping the HR profession for the future is to set the next generation on this professional journey, including adopting professional accreditation with pride. If we ensure that those who are to become future HR leaders are committed to ongoing professional development and a principle of lifelong learning, we can feel confident that the HR profession will evolve and grow as the world around them changes.

We’ve been extremely pleased with the early messages of support and enthusiasm that we’ve received about our new Emerging Professional Member HR accreditation. We look forward to releasing a whole new range of resources and opportunities to support those who will take up the mantle of leading the HR profession into the future.

Nick McKissack, Chief Executive HRNZ, nick.mckissack@hrnz.org.nz