HR Foundations: updated for 2024

Jo Martell, Chartered Member and former HRNZ Director, with over 30 years of HR experience, takes us through the updated and refreshed HRNZ HR Foundations course.

In 2022, HRNZ launched ‘The Path’. This framework helps practitioners identify the capabilities they need at each stage of their career, enabling each of us to build a development plan that underpins career progression.

Our HR Foundations programme is a critical pillar in this curriculum. It has been designed to promote the confidence of practitioners new to Human Resources and People and Culture, and who are in the ‘Deliver’ and ‘Advise’ stage of their professional journey.

At HRNZ, we are keen to ensure that the development opportunities we provide continue to meet the changing needs of our members. Earlier in 2023, we checked in with a few of our ‘new in career’ HR practitioners to explore the challenges in their roles. We also met with some of our valued HR leaders to talk to them about their aspirations for their ‘early in career’ team members and how we would help them achieve these aspirations.

What did we learn? There were common needs that people shared with us.

People Processes

First, there is a need to understand and manage key HR processes. This includes processes such as recruitment, performance and change management. It is about aligning people processes with the delivery of business outcomes, using data to identify priorities and solve problems, and understanding the employment legislation that guides our actions.

SELF-EFFICACY

Asecond priority identified by practitioners and leaders was to build confidence and selfsufficiency, especially for practitioners experiencing situations for the first time in their HR career. HR practitioners wanted an opportunity to practise tackling problems and to put theory into practice within a safe learning environment. Leaders reflected that it was important for practitioners to deal with ambiguity, without being constrained by the belief that there was ‘one right way’ to implement a process or solve a problem. Both practitioners and leaders were looking to increase confidence when making tough calls, influencing upwards and dealing with conflict.

Building Networks

The third theme was connection. Many ‘early in career’ HR practitioners find themselves in sole-charge positions or situations where they have to think on their feet. Knowing where to go for information that they could rely on and access without delay –or having an HR friend they could call on – was really important to them. Therefore, it was a priority to build their professional network and know how to access HR Guides available to HRNZ members.

Equipping for today

An equally important theme was identity and personal credibility. This included how I want to be as an HR practitioner, what are the values that guide my behaviour (regardless of the situation I find myself in), how do I increase my understanding of and participation in te ao Māori, and how do I build my HR brand.

The HR Foundations facilitators, Debbie Dawson and Denise Hartley-Wilkins, have been involved and contributed to the redevelopment of the programme. They are excited about this new era for the HR Foundations. It takes a holistic approach around identity, purpose, and career development, combined with a focus on the essential skills needed for developing today’s HR professionals.

WHAT HR FOUNDATIONS LOOKS LIKE NOW

We’ve taken the opportunity to review our much-loved HR Foundations course and have given it a makeover. Our updated programme provides a three-day interactive learning environment, facilitated by experts and senior HR practitioners, where attendees are supported to do the following.

• Strengthen individual identity and values as an HR practitioner, and create a development plan for your ongoing growth and career progression. Explore what it means to be an HR practitioner in Aotearoa New Zealand and how you can build your confidence in respecting te ao practices and te reo Māori.

• Use several case studies to learn more about delivering and advising on essential ‘early in career’ processes, including recruitment and selection, performance management and change management. Explore how to translate people data into a narrative that you can use to engage and influence your stakeholders.

• Participate in small group workshops where you can learn from each other and build the HR networks you can call on for help and guidance as you progress in your career. Observe the approaches used by your colleagues that you can adopt as you increase situational adaptability across different scenarios and employment environments.

• Practise accessing online HRNZ guides, increasing your confidence in how and where to get information when you need it (enabling us geeks in HRNZ to keep material up to date and relevant for you).

Please contact the HRNZ National Office at events@hrnz.org.nz, if you are interested in learning more about our HR Foundations programme. Or find a date to participate in this exciting development opportunity.

Aspiring to elevate humanity within organisations, Jo Martell has 30 years of professional experience in HR. Working primarily with large corporate entities, Jo has partnered with executives, leaders and professionals across a range of industries including distribution, telecommunications, airline, retail and dairy. She has operated within functions including sales, customer service, finance and corporate services. Jo is passionate about supporting people to explore ways to fulfil their potential in life and work. Jo established MPath in 2023 to provide consultancy, coaching and facilitation services to organisations and people seeking to navigate change.