Workforce Development

Projects

CRC Workshop

R1.112 Attraction & Image

R1.111 Skilled Migration

R1.113 Staff Retention & Engagement

Skilled

Migration

Retention and

Engagement

Attraction &

Image

Ros Cameron-PL

Tania Davies-PC

Amanda

Gudmundsson - PL

3 Workforce Development

Projects

Neroli Sheldon-RA

Frances Brown-PC

R.112 Attraction and Industry

Image

The issue

The Rail Industry is not attracting sufficient

numbers of engineers, tradespeople and

operational staff to fulfil current and future

needs.

The project steering committee

Frances Brown – Chair (QR)

A/P Michelle Wallace – Project Leader

ARA, QR, Railcorp,TransAdelaide,

MetroRail, VicTrack

SCU and QUT

R.112 Attraction and Industry

Image

Project aims

To identify the knowledge and

perceptions of rail careers within

engineering students, teachers,

academics, careers advisors and

commercial recruitment consultants

To identify ‘better’ practices in

employer branding and attraction

strategies among rail and other

organisations internationally

R.112 Attraction and Industry

Image

Deliverables

Interim Report (Jan 2010)

Final Report (Nov 2010)

Portfolio of ‘better’ practice in

employer branding and attraction

strategies especially those that

position rail careers favourably

(CD-ROM/Webpage)

R.112 Attraction and Industry

Image

Data collection

7 focus groups, 34 interviews with

students, teachers, academics,

careers advisors, commercial

recruiters, industry representatives

Survey – 350+ engineering students

Survey – Industry HR personnel

Findings: Career knowledge

Generally low level of knowledge – Why?

1. Does not feature in engineering curriculum

2. Industry involvement in education low e.g.

placements/internships, project

sponsorship, guest lectures etc

3. Not the role focus of careers advisors

4. Lack of information

Notes:

Students, academics, careers advisors, recruitment

consultants expressed interest in rail career

opportunities

Findings: Influences

Influences on knowledge and perceptions

1. Careers advisors have low influence

2. Teachers/academics some influence

3. Placement officers, recruiters influence

4. Positive perceptions of rail careers from

family and friends

5. Negative perceptions from negative media

and consumer experiences

Findings: Student preferences

Job characteristic preferences

Salary and promotion opportunities

Job security and flexibility

High level of professional freedom

Innovative projects

Using cutting edge technology

Recognition and support

Notes:

Initial survey results suggests students do not have a

strong view that a rail career will offer benefits sought

Findings: Perceptions of rail careers

Not real engineering – maintenance v design

Public service – slow

Pale, male and stale

Lack of portability and career opportunities

Low prestige

Hard to please – want experience ‘now’

Notes:

Initial survey analysis indicates most students do not

have a clear brand image of rail suggesting they lack

information about rail’s image.

Contrasts with views of some graduates/apprentices

Tentative recommendations

Knowledge of rail careers

Increase engagement with university sector

Improve relationships with influencers

Increase information flow

Get to students early (placements etc)

Branding of rail careers

Leverage strong brands of private sector

Streamline recruitment processes

Consider issues of culture

Get to students earlyNotes: Portfolio provides examples

International perspective

Best practice attraction strategies

Viewing universities as fundamental source of talent

Providing significant funding to university initiatives

Engaging with students early (e.g. placements)

Promoting the industry and careers in schools

Developing superior recruitment websites

Targeting minority groups e.g. those with disabilities

Promoting rail as culturally important as well as

environmentally necessary (e.g. French Rail film

festival, sporting activities, cultural tours)

Notes:

Portfolio provides examples

Deliverable: Portfolio

Portfolio (CD-ROM/webpage)

1. Designed for industry practitioners in HR,

workforce planning, marketing and branding

2. Current issues facing employment brand of rail

3. Feedback from students, recruiters, academics,

and careers advisors on rail knowledge and

perceptions

4. Suggestions from marketing/branding experts

5. Links to documents, videos, animations and

websites that we consider better practice attraction

and image strategies (international focus)

Portfolio

R1.111 Skilled Migration project

Project Steering Committee

Tania Davies – Project Chair

Dr Ros Cameron – Project Leader

QR

Railcorp

TransAdelaide

SCU & UoW

Project Aim

To research skilled migration policy

frameworks, recruitment

approaches and innovative ideas

around securing the medium to

long term supply of highly skilled

labour for the Australian rail industry

Engaging multiple stakeholders

Research a wide cross section of

Australian rail industry

Skilled Migration Project

OUTPUTS

1. Skilled Migration Forum Report

2. Skilled Migration Stage 3 Interim

Report - literature review

3. Skilled Migration Stage 4 Interim

Report – Creativity Hub data

4. Skilled Migration Information Kit

DVD/Webpage

5. Skilled Migration Final Report

Stage 3 Interim Report

1. Rail Industry HR issues & skill shortages

2. Skill shortages in general

3. Historical context of skilled migration in Australia

4. Contemporary policy (skilled migration)

5. Current research in skilled migration

6. Engineering skill shortages/international mobility of the highly skilled

Skilled Migration Project

KEY DELIVERABLES

SKILLED MIGRATION

FORUM

INFO KIT/DVDWEB PAGE

CREATIVITY HUB Projects

Skilled Migration Forum -

26-27 November 2009

DIAC

DEEWR

EA / APESMA / Australian National Engineering Taskforce

Skills Australia

VETASSESS / TRA

Universities- Engineering academics

Recruiters / relocation specialists / migration agents

State initiatives

Rail industry leaders

Skilled Migration Forum -

workshops

Creativity Hub projects

1. Attracting and retaining skilled migrants - offshore

Methodology:

Case studies; interviews; focus groups; questionnaires

Recruitment practices and experiences

Perspectives from HR, Supervisors & skilled migrants

2. Recruitment of onshore skilled migrants

Methodology:

Case studies; interviews; 2 surveys

EA- Migrant members-online survey

AMES- hard copy survey

Independent general skilled migration

Representative industry

sample - data collection

Government entities/passenger

Manufacturing

Contractors

Consultants

Qld

NSW

Vic

SA

WA

Skilled Migration Information

Kit - DVD and webpage

7 Sections: Recruitment

Skilled Migration Programs

Research

Skilled Migration Forum

Case Studies & Testimonials

Useful Links

Videos-snippets; podcasts; Ppts; research

reports; links; YouTube links

Recruitment section

Recruitment decision tree

Costs and return on investment

Marketing tools

Relocation and settlement issues

Induction and rail bridging courses

YouTube Recruitment campaigns

Case Studies

State Initiatives: WA, SA and Vic

Rail organisations:

Recruited onshore and offshore

Partnership with recruitment/

relocation companies

Perspectives from skilled migrants

Perspectives from HR managers and

supervisors/operations

R1.113 Staff Retention and

Engagement

Project Team:

Robert Thompson (QUT)

Lisa Bradley (QUT)

Yvonne Brunetto (SCU)

Artemis Chang (QUT)

Bernd Irmer (QUT)

RailCorp

Queensland Rail

V/Line

TransAdelaide)

VicTrack

Background

Strategic challenges in retention and engagement in

rail.

High costs associated with the loss of employees,

knowledge and capabilities.

Need for reinvention of workforce management

policies and strategies.

Understanding retention and engagement for

individuals, organisation and across the industry.

Project Objectives

Identify strategies for improving employee

engagement/retention for organisations and industry.

Identify and document examples of leading practice in

employee engagement/retention for knowledge

sharing within the industry.

To identify alternatives to retention/ engagement to

enhance organisational sustainability and build

organisational capacity through knowledge

management.

Project Benefits

Practical, industry‐specific and evidence‐based

strategies that can be developed to aid

retention and engagement of current and future

staff.

The implementation of these strategies will help

the rail industry redress the expected staff

shortages.

The adoption of leading practices to manage

employee retention/engagement will promote

the rail industry as an employer of choice

across the wider community.

The project will contribute to knowledge sharing

in the rail and related industries.

Key Areas

Culture and change

HR policies over time

Current retention and engagement

issues

Key human resource capabilities

Generational Cohorts

Employee types/groups

Employees today

Organisation success and

performance a consequence of

employee skills and knowledge

Ageing workforce

Shortage of skilled employees

Need to maximise retention and

engagement of skilled staff

Our Focus

Individual

• Age

• Career Stage

Organisation• HR Policy

• Leadership

Industry• Alliances

• Talent pool

Individual

Age, generation, career stage,

motivation

Generational cohorts – baby

boomer, generation x,

generation y

Deeper understanding of needs,

motivations, career orientation &

work/life balance is needed

Organisational

Culture

Adaptability

Flexibility

Autonomy

Leadership

Relationships

Industry

Organisations may become more

innovative

or depart from standard HR

practices in order to create

sustainable competitive advantage

Change is a common theme

across organisations in the rail

industry

Methods

Secondary data collection (meetings

and personal communications)

Literature review

Questionnaire + interviews

Case Studies

Progress to date

Literature review undertaken

Secondary data collected

Identification of broader

organisation and industry issues

Global examples collected

Cross industry comparisons

underway