Welcome to the first issue of Human Resources of 2006. Recently, a retrospective study of workforce participation in Australia observed that over the past 20 years, the workforce has undergone a “seismic shift”.
Welcome to the first issue of Human Resources of 2006. Recently, a retrospective study of workforce participation in Australia observed that over the past 20 years, the workforce has undergone a “seismic shift”. Today, that workforce is larger, better educated and older than ever before. Part-time work and flexible work arrangements are increasingly common and the gender participation gap has narrowed.
These are exciting times for human resources professionals. The nature of employment remains in flux, and while some future trends – such as the inevitable development of the aging workforce – can be anticipated and prepared for, plenty more will take us by surprise. HR has a range of challenges to which the profession must respond and it is for this reason that last October the Australian HR Awards celebrated the “transformation of HR”.
Again, elements of that transformation can be anticipated while others lie in the future, unexpected and unprepared for.
As Human Resources enters its sixth year of covering the profession, we prepare to take up a challenge of our own: to provide all those who work in HR with the information they need to make better informed professional decisions, to act as a guide as this transformation unravels itself, and – along with our website humanresourcesmagazine.com.au – to be the voice and forum for industry debate.
The involvement of our editorial board of HR experts has always been vital to our operations, representing a rich source of guidance and comment from those who work, in different capacities, at the coalface. With the New Year we welcome a new board and we introduce its members later in the magazine.
Regular readers will also notice some changes to the publication. New design elements as well as some new departments, such as the CareerWise section on pages 18 and 19, will, we believe, enhance the value of the publication for our readership.
We look forward in 2006 to covering development not just of the perennial issues – attraction and retention, skill shortages, offshoring et al – but also of those that may emerge during the course of the year.
Consider the magazine as your guide and companion.
