Quick questions on HR processes: acquisition, development, maintenance, separation (HSC Business Studies)

Acquisition is the process of attracting and selecting people the business needs.

Development is the process of growing workforce capability.

Maintenance is keeping employees engaged, productive and committed.

Separation is the end of the employment relationship.

The Fair Work Act 2009 underpins all four processes through the NES, the unfair-dismissal regime, and the General Protections (against adverse action for protected reasons like union activity, complaints, parental leave).

Defining the role, the requirements (skills, experience, behaviours), and attracting applicants. Three sourcing models.

Shortlisting, interviewing, testing, reference checking, offer. Effective selection uses structured interviews (the same questions asked of all candidates), skill or work-sample tests (a coding test for a software role, an in-tray exercise for a manager), and reference checks against the role's actual requirements.

Orientation in the first weeks. Covers the business (vision, strategy, structure), the role (responsibilities, success criteria, key relationships), the systems (HR systems, security, tools), and the culture (values, expected behaviours, norms). A well-designed induction reduces time-to-productivity by months.

Skill-building specific to the role or function. Modes:

Pairing junior staff with senior staff for ongoing development beyond formal training. Useful for career development, knowledge transfer, and integration of new hires.

Structured review of work against expectations. Two modes.

Involving employees in decisions that affect their work. Mechanisms include enterprise bargaining (covered separately), works councils, joint health-and-safety committees, employee surveys and town halls. High-participation cultures correlate with higher engagement and lower turnover.

The shared values, behaviours and norms of the workforce. Culture is shaped by leadership behaviour, recognised behaviours (what gets rewarded), recruitment patterns (who is hired), and physical and digital workspaces. A strong culture is a competitive asset and a major HRM concern.

Helping the workforce navigate change (technology, restructure, growth, contraction). Established approaches include Kotter's eight-step change model (urgency, coalition, vision, communication, empowerment, short-term wins, consolidation, anchoring) and Lewin's unfreeze-change-refreeze model. We cover change management in more depth in VCE Business Management's Senge dot point.

Map each of the four processes against the growth context.