HRMT20025 International HRM Report 3 Sample

HRMT20025 International HRM. Ass 3

Human Resources – Report

Task

Selecting an organisation – You are required to find a real Australian-based organisation that also operates in at least one other country. The choice of the organisation is entirely up to you. However, highly recommend selecting an organisation on which you can collect enough information to complete this assessment effectively. Avoid selecting organisations that have no employees working overseas.

Preparing the report – You are expected to conduct extensive research on the organisation you have chosen, specifically focusing on HR issues and policies relevant to the company. Your report should outline how the HR practices of this company have been affected by external environmental factors (such as the COVID pandemic, and political or economic instability in the host country).

Your report should also provide recommendations on how the company should adjust its HR strategy in the future in light of significant environmental forces affecting both Australia and the host country. 

Elements in the report – You are recommended to include the following aspects in your report:

• Background of the organisation.

• HR policies and practices of the organisation in Australia and in the host country.

• External environmental forces impacting the organisation (e.g., COVID-19, wars, political and economic issues).

• Any recent changes that the organisation has made in response to any of the environmental
factors you discuss.

• Recommendations on how the organisation should/could change its HR policies/practices in response to external environmental changes. This is a critical part of your report, and your recommendations should be logical and well-supported by evidence.

Solution                                                              

Introduction

The purpose of this report is to discuss about various HR issues and policies in the selected organisation Ramsay Health Care in Australia and UK. It has also analysed how external environmental factors in UK affect the HR policies of the organisation.

Background of Organisation

Ramsay Healthcare was founded in 1964 in Sydney, Australia. Paul Ramsay, a leading Australian businessman and philanthropist started this at the age of 28 years (Ramsay, 2023b). As per the MBA Assignment Expert, It has now emerged as one of the most diverse and largest private healthcare companies of the world. Ramsay offers high-quality healthcare services and facilities across 10 countries through its excellent clinics and hospitals, outstanding patient care and wide range of integrated services (Ramsay, 2023a). The company diversified into various surgical and medical facilities alongside expanding its psychiatric sites and building and acquiring new ones across the country that made it the largest hospital in Australia during 1978 to 2006 (Ramsay, 2023b).

HR Policies and Practices of Ramsay Health Care in Australia and UK 

Australia

Ramsay ensures workplace health and safety for all employees through legislative compliance, monitoring, improving and reviewing objectives, reviewing performance, consistent safe practices, consulting and communicating with stakeholders, fostering a culture for empowering and encouraging employees (Ramsay, 2023c). The safety management system of Ramsay Australia consists of various policies and procedures for standards and guidelines, specific safety education and instruction, compliance and risk management, audits and inspections, performance and targets and consultation. Ramsay Australia provides various employee benefits through the National Employee Benefits and Wellness program (Ramsay, 2023d). It covers various areas such as retail and service discounts, financial education, lifestyle and health improvement, banking services, scholarships, gym memberships and discounted health insurance. Ramsay further provides employment opportunities to experienced and motivated people and offers a range of part-time, casual and full-time positions in areas like nursing, corporate, health professionals, doctors, volunteers and support services (Ramsay, 2023d). The company also provides access to various other options for career development, management pathways, diversification, education and skills training. Employees also have access towards desired learning, management development pathways, resources like Bupa Life Skills, Ramsay National Library Service and other specialised clinical programs (Ramsay, 2023d).

UK

Ramsay Health Care UK also provides various benefits to the employees. These include employee assistance program, employee recognition and appreciation, family friendly policies, flexible working hours, free DBS check, free private medical insurance, free mandatory training, free life assurance, free onsite parking, free uniforms, hospital bonus, employee incentive scheme, long service awards, occupational health, pension scheme, public holidays, planned care, sick pay scheme, excellent rates of pay, subsidised meals and training opportunities (Ramsay UK, 2023a). The Ramsay Academy helps in offering innovative, high quality and memorable learning and development opportunities having national qualifications. Ramsay UK also offers internal development programmes, which include the Leadership Programme, Aspiring Leader, LEAP and apprenticeships (Ramsay UK, 2023b). Apart from competitive basic salary Ramsay UK also offers a range of benefits to the employees, which are flexible working hours, negotiable salary, pay enhancements, career development opportunities, annual leaves, continuous professional development, discounts programme, employee assistance programme, performance development review, long service awards, wellbeing tools and support and work life balance (Ramsay UK, 2023c). Training and development opportunities are also provided for enabling employees to learn, develop and succeed while achieving their full potential and improve their personal and organisational performance (Ramsay UK, 2023d).

Impact of External Environmental Forces 

Brexit

With the uncertainty around Brexit and declining NHS work, Ramsay’s UK operations were significantly hampered that made up around 80% of its volumes (LaFrenz, 2019). This Brexit uncertainty further slowed down the movement of workforce including doctors and nurses from continental Europe to the UK. This made it difficult to gain adequate number of people to be working for Ramsay UK. This further forced the organisation to use more expensive agency staff until the NHS volumes returned to the normal levels (LaFrenz, 2019). Ramsay’s UK unit also experienced a decrease in its earnings in the 2019 fiscal year as it was unable to provide adequate services because of lack of workforce during the Brexit movement. For this purpose, Ramsay Health Care UK formulated a “no deal” operational readiness plan by focusing on seven core areas of supplying medicines and vaccines, supplying medical devices and clinical consumables, delivering non-clinical goods, consumables and services, reciprocal healthcare research and clinical trials, data sharing, processing and accessing and workforce (Ramsay Health Care, 2019). In this regard, the company engaged with their staff where 7% of the workforce were from EU country. Thus, this shows that how the Brexit movement impacted the workforce and HR strategies of Ramsay Health Care UK.

COVID-19 

The pandemic outbreak had severe impact on the organisation. Ramsay UK experienced a fall in its earnings as employees were unable to provide services to the customers during the crisis (Davies, 2022). Despite the easing of disruptions and activities becoming normal, the organisation still faced various deleveraging challenges and delay in recovering its margin. Ramsay UK was facing labour shortages alongside expensive labour contract costs during the COVID-19 pandemic (Fitch Ratings, 2023). There were also some unresolved labour challenges facing the company during that time. On the other hand, with the subsiding pandemic challenges, Ramsay UK was expecting rising demand for its hospital services because of ageing and growing populations, improved medical technology, rise in chronic diseases and longer life expectations (Fitch Ratings, 2023). This high demand made it essential for Ramsay UK to employ and train more employees for catering to this. Here, government policies supporting long-term demand for Ramsay UK services further encouraged the firm to ensure the presence of quality workforce and providing them with compensation and benefits to make them motivated in providing services (Fitch Ratings, 2023). Thus, COVID-19 pandemic outbreak was another external force that had a significant impact on the HR strategies of Ramsay UK. 

Competition

Ramsay Health Care has been facing competition from its rival firm Spire, which is another British healthcare company. Ramsay decided to enter into a merger deal with this rival with a planned $1.8 billion takeover that would make it one of the leading UK operators with 73 hospitals (Koehn, 2021). This plan was to create a more diverse healthcare network in the UK for delivering outstanding patient outcomes and catering to greater need for quality healthcare services. After facing decreasing profits from COVID-19, Ramsay was keen to undertake this opportunity for ensuring its growth, which would also be beneficial for its workforce (Koehn, 2021). This merger would also affect the employees of both the companies as they different working and management styles. However, this deal collapsed after three months as Spire investors argued that the business was being undervalued and thus rejected it (Plimmer, 2021). This harmed Ramsay UK that aimed at being the largest hospital provider in the UK alongside benefitting from increasing patient numbers. Thus, this shows that the organisation still faces competition from its rival, which can influence its HR policies.

Recent Changes in Ramsay Health Care 

Ramsay has started offering ongoing training, clinical research, education, professional development opportunities, trials and academic partnerships. It provides Continuing Professional Development in various topics including mental health, medicine, paediatrics, surgery, gynaecology and obstetrics (Ramsay Health Care, 2022). Both virtual and in-person sessions are also offered by partnering with specialists and health professionals. Ramsay Conducted its first global survey of doctors in 2022 for better comprehending the experience of clinicians and specialists working at the organisation (Ramsay Health Care, 2022). This helped in identifying and sharing best practices across the clinical network. Furthermore, Ramsay focuses on the wellbeing, safety, inclusion and satisfaction of its employees to offer high-quality patient experiences and outcomes. It invests in the workforce by enabling them to fulfil their careers by providing learning and career advancement opportunities (Ramsay Health Care, 2022). Safety and risk management are also included in daily operations for ensuring safety of the employees. Rewards and recognitions are also important for praising employees through employee share program. During the entire year of 2022, Ramsay was successful in establishing several working groups to collaborate on new projects (Ramsay Health Care, 2022). In this regard, a global Employee Value Proposition was established alongside conducting a Global Corporate Graduate Program. Besides, an Alumni Program Framework was formed for additional recruitment and referral pool of former employees (Ramsay Health Care, 2022). Ramsay also conducted a Global Employee Survey in 2021 for reviewing its employee engagement. It was found out that employees prefer more flexible working conditions, gaining access to learning and training opportunities, leadership programs and investing in technology for allowing employees to spend their time with patients (Ramsay Health Care, 2022). These responses were further used for developing regional action plans based on the local needs of the workforce. Ramsay has also been undertaking agile and tailored measures for attracting and retaining talented employees. It is also the first European healthcare provider to enter into the agreement of Quality of Life & Working Conditions with its union partners for ensuring safety and healthy working conditions for the employees (Ramsay Health Care, 2022). It also focuses on maintaining work-life balance, hardship provisions and family care for the employees. Ramsay has also been increasingly focusing on diversity and inclusion by committing to gender equality and employing people from diverse cultures and backgrounds (Ramsay Health Care, 2022). In addition, it has increased women representation across all management levels in the group.

Recommendations on Changing HR Policies and Practices 

Proactive Approach

Ramsay Health Care needs to undertake a proactive approach for staying ahead of its competitors in the UK market. Here, the company should focus on using the best talent management practices and exploiting opportunities for operating its businesses (Williams, 2020). In this regard, it must emphasise on anticipating and adapting to emerging opportunities related to talent management before the rest of the firms in the market. This proactive approach can be beneficial in finding the right talent for the company and hiring them before the competitors. Such an approach can help in generating implications of the strategic talent management for Ramsay for supporting capability development in the organisation (Williams, 2020). Here, the talent management strategies should also be aligned with the overall company strategy by including aptitude of training and development and retaining the talented employees.

Selective hiring

Ramsay should follow the process of selecting hiring that is hiring the right people for the job. This can enable the organisation to bring in employees adding value. It should partner with those medical specialists and clinicians who would be able to deliver the services of the organisation in the right way by upholding the company’s values and principles. Ramsay must undertake suitable hiring strategies for recruiting the best people capable of adding value to the business. In this regard, developing a structured and fair selection process is essential. Here, legal requirements, internal diversity goals and inclusive workforce must be kept in mind while hiring employees. This can be beneficial in better understanding diverse and local needs of the patients at various locations.

Self-managed and effective teams

Ramsay must further focus on building high performance teams for achieving success in the healthcare industry. Developing self-managed and effective teams can help in attaining desired goals and objectives of the organisation related to providing high-quality healthcare services. Here, members from diverse backgrounds and departments can be included in a team for enhancing its effectiveness. The team members will provide different perspectives and viewpoints to a particular problem and work towards achieving the common goal. These different ideas can be processed and screened for selecting the best ones for achieving the desired goals. These self-managed teams can also have the accountability and liberty of undertaking decisions that would help in providing high-quality healthcare services.

Conclusion 

The report discussed about various HR policies and strategies present in Ramsay at two different locations, namely, Australia and UK. Here, its also analysed how external factors like Brexit, Covid-19 and competition have been affecting Ramsay UK strategies for its workforce. Lastly, some specific recommendations for changing HR policies and strategies have been provided.

References

Davies, M. (2022). Ramsay UK hospital earnings fall as Covid disruption continues. https://www.laingbuissonnews.com/healthcare-markets-content/ramsay-uk-earnings-fall-as-covid-disruption-continues/ 

Fitch Ratings. (2023). Fitch Affirms Australia's Ramsay Health Care at 'BBB'; Maintains Negative Outlook. https://www.fitchratings.com/research/corporate-finance/fitch-affirms-australia-ramsay-health-care-at-bbb-maintains-negative-outlook-21-04-2023 

Koehn, E. (2021). Ramsay bets big on UK with $1.8b hospital deal. https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/ramsay-bets-big-on-uk-with-1-8b-hospital-deal-20210526-p57vek.html 

LaFrenz, C. (2019). Ramsay Health Care boss says Boris is good for UK business. https://www.afr.com/companies/healthcare-and-fitness/ramsay-health-care-boss-says-boris-is-good-for-uk-business-20190828-p52lq5 

Plimmer, G. (2021). Spire shareholders reject £1.4bn takeover by Ramsay. https://www.ft.com/content/72a4b55a-b1ef-4a49-881d-68c7875ebd43 

Ramsay Health Care. (2019). Investor Day Presentation. https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20190314/pdf/443gkd8v034y8q.pdf 

Ramsay Health Care. (2022). Caring for our People, Planet and Communities. https://www.ramsayhealth.co.uk/-/media/ramsay/rhc-2022-impact-report.pdf 

Ramsay UK. (2023a). Employee Benefits. https://www.ramsayhealth.co.uk/careers/employee-benefits 

Ramsay UK. (2023b). The Ramsay Academy. https://www.ramsayhealth.co.uk/careers/the-ramsay-academy 

Ramsay UK. (2023c). Benefits. https://www.ramsayhealth.co.uk/careers/theatre-careers/benefits 

Ramsay UK. (2023d). Theatre Careers. https://www.ramsayhealth.co.uk/careers/theatre-careers 

Ramsay. (2023a). Our Story. https://www.ramsayhealth.com/en/about/ 

Ramsay. (2023b). Our History. https://www.ramsayhealth.com/en/about/our-history/ 

Ramsay. (2023c). Caring for our people. https://www.ramsayhealth.com.au/Sustainability/Caring-for-our-people 

Ramsay. (2023d). Employee Benefits. https://www.ramsaycareers.com.au/Why-Ramsay/Employee-Benefits 

Williams, A. (2020). Five Recommendations For Human Resource Management. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2020/02/03/five-recommendations-for-human-resource-management/?sh=641b862339ed