Workforce strategy begins with the direction of the business and the operating model needed to carry it through. We help leaders connect growth, market entry and changes in operations to workforce planning, working arrangements and the decisions required for implementation.
We examine the workforce implications of the proposed course: the work to be performed, the roles and accountabilities needed, the industrial arrangements that apply and how people will be involved. Restructuring is one possible response, not the starting assumption for every strategy.
The consultation obligations in modern awards and enterprise agreements govern when consultation must begin, the information to be provided and the matters on which employees and their representatives must be consulted. A failure to meet them can delay a change and lead to a dispute before the Fair Work Commission. In the case of redundancy, it can also determine whether a dismissal is a genuine redundancy.
We identify the obligations that apply, plan the sequence of decisions and communications, and prepare the consultation documentation. We brief the managers responsible for consultation and individual meetings, and advise on selection, redeployment and redundancy entitlements.
Change involving new technology, including AI and automated rostering, requires the same analysis. Many enterprise agreements require consultation before a decision to introduce such technology is made, and work health and safety duties extend to the psychosocial risks the change may create.