Quick questions on Effectiveness of HRM: indicators and benchmarking (HSC Business Studies)

Internal benchmarking. Compare across teams, departments, business units, sites within the business. A turnover rate of 15 percent looks different if some teams are at 5 percent and others at 30 percent.

The shared values, beliefs, behaviours and norms that characterise a business. Edgar Schein's three-level model (artefacts, espoused values, underlying assumptions) is the most-cited academic frame. Practically, culture is the "how we do things around here" that shapes individual decisions in moments not covered by policy.

Quantitative tools include engagement surveys (Culture Amp, Glint, Gallup Q12, Peakon) and pulse surveys with specific culture items (psychological safety, recognition, fairness, innovation, voice). Qualitative tools include focus groups, exit interviews, leadership 360s and ethnographic observation.

Top-decile Australian employers score above 80 percent engaged in standard engagement surveys. Median sits around 60-65 percent. Below 50 percent typically signals significant problems.

Atlassian is consistently ranked in published "best places to work" surveys (Best Companies, AFR BOSS, LinkedIn's Top Companies). The high engagement is built on visible HR investment (hybrid work, learning budgets, equity, sabbaticals). Conversely, the 2017-2019 banking royal commission identified culture as the root cause of misconduct across CBA, Westpac and NAB - and culture-change programmes have followed at significant cost.

Voluntary turnover (resignations, retirements) is the HRM-effectiveness signal. Involuntary turnover (dismissals, redundancies) is a separate signal more about strategic change and performance management.

Recruitment cost, training cost, productivity ramp time, lost organisational knowledge. Estimates of the all-in cost of replacing a knowledge worker often run at 50-200 percent of annual salary.

Direct cost is paid leave; indirect cost includes lost productivity, peer overload (other staff covering), and casual replacement cost.

Mental-health-related absenteeism has risen materially over the past decade. The 2023 Productivity Commission report on mental health and the federal "Closing Loopholes" reforms (right to disconnect) reflect the broader policy shift.

Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth and state mirror legislation; WA has its own WHS Act 2020). Officers (directors, senior managers) have a personal due-diligence obligation. Industrial-manslaughter laws now exist in several jurisdictions (Queensland 2017, Victoria 2020, ACT 2003, Western Australia 2022 for some categories).

Quality of output reflects training, motivation, supervision quality, recruitment quality, and the work-system design (ergonomics, tooling, process).

Compare across teams, departments, business units, sites within the business. A turnover rate of 15 percent looks different if some teams are at 5 percent and others at 30 percent.

Compare against industry peers. Industry associations publish anonymised aggregate data. Consulting firms (Mercer, Korn Ferry, WTW) sell benchmarking data.

Compare against the same business's prior periods. Trend matters as much as level. A 12 percent turnover that has fallen from 18 percent is improving; a 12 percent turnover that has risen from 8 percent is deteriorating.

Publishes detailed people-related disclosures in its annual Sustainability Report and other reporting. Key indicators include: