An Interim People and Culture Manager to implement a Human Resource Information System in a leading Victorian Independent Girls’ School
The Brief
A prominent independent school in Melbourne engaged Future Leadership™ to appoint an Interim People and Culture Manager to address pressing workforce and organisational challenges.
The school sought an experienced HR professional to implement a Human Resource Information System (HRIS) to streamline processes, provide strategic guidance during Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) discussions and support learning and development initiatives for staff while enhancing workplace culture.
With a workforce of approximately 130 staff, the role focused on realigning HR operations to support the school’s ethos while fostering engagement and operational improvements.
Increase in General Management Skills
According to the American Management Association, only 14% of businesses consider themselves “well prepared” to handle a sudden loss in senior management. Add to that the fact that it takes at least four months to fill an executive role, and an Interim Executive experienced in operations makes a lot of sense!
Increase in Customer Experience Skills
These days experience is everything. What truly makes for a good experience? Speed. Convenience. Consistency. Friendliness. And human touch. Our Interim Executives deliver a great experience while improving your customer experience!
Increase in People & Culture Skills
Organisations are constantly changing as they respond to internal and external pressures. Continual process improvement can enable team engagement and lead to growth. Interim Executives bring fresh eyes and effective industry best practice to the execution.
Increase in Data Analytics
Complex challenges require critical thinking and in the age of information-overwhelm it is imperative to have analytical minds at the table. These skills range across finance, data science, systems and more. An Interim Executive can be the right person to optimise your inputs to maximise your output.
The Process
The Future Leadership™ Interim Executive team sought to identify and experienced interim professional with a proven track record in similar roles across education and healthcare sectors.
Key steps included:
- Integration and Assessment: Leveraged significant expertise in HR operations to understand and align with the school’s values, fostering a supportive and collaborative environment.
- Operational Leadership: Identifying a candidate with experience in the implementation of an HRIS to enhance efficiency and compliance and knowledge of EBA processes.
- Tailored Solutions: Delivered solutions designed to address unique challenges in the education sector, ensuring engagement and alignment with organisational goals.
This rigorous process ensured the appointment of a candidate capable of delivering operational and strategic leadership.
Emerging Capabilities
Initiative and Drive
Leads self by working independently, setting and attaining personal and work-related goals, and demonstrating motivation and responsibility for their own actions. Demonstrates awareness of personal strengths and improvement areas. Effectively relates to others in a professional manner.
Culture and Engagement
Engages stakeholders inclusively with sensitivity and regard for diversity and facilitates a psychologically safe environment for social or cultural differences affecting behaviour.
Communication and Influence
Communicates with clarity and impact to facilitate individual and collective understanding, inspire action and enable information exchange. Leverages human-centric communication and storytelling to effectively influence stakeholders across the physical and virtual realms.
Organisational Capability
Anticipates future workplace skills and requirements and builds capability across the organisation. Pro-actively seeks opportunities to develop other people’s talent and career pathways and takes appropriate action to address skill gaps in others.
Critical Thinking
Examines information for assumptions and gaps in logic; reframes problems and presents well-reasoned insights accommodating diverse perspectives. Persistent in asking insightful questions, enabling complex strategic judgements to be made across multiple dimensions.
The Outcome
A highly experienced professional with a background in implementing HR frameworks and leading workforce cultural change, aligning closely with the school’s immediate needs was appointed to the interim position. The interim professional’s contributions exceeded expectations, leading to the initial three-month assignment being extended by another month.
Key achievements included:
Cultural Advancements
- Strengthened staff engagement through strategic initiatives and effective communication.
- Promoted a positive and inclusive workplace culture, aligning with the school’s mission and values.
Operational Impact
- Advanced the HRIS implementation, creating a foundation for long-term process optimisation.
- Provided critical support during EBA negotiations, ensuring alignment with staff expectations and organisational objectives.
