Can do better: what uni managements have in mind

The university managements’ peak IR organisation has surveyed members on workplace reform since 2016 and sets out what needs to happen now – which is quite a bit.

What’s accomplished: The survey for the Australian Higher Education Industrial Association identifies major benefits from “significant transformation projects,” occurring since early 2016; “capability uplift,” “increased workforce capacity,” and “efficient workforce structures”. Cost saving was a distant fourth.

What they are doing now:  The survey found universities are now; * prioritising, “expert facilitation and delivery of experiential learning. * skilling up staff (not necessarily academics) in teaching and research technology, * working on digital potential and the student experience,” and *more intensive and block-teaching modes

What’s next: * “addressing pockets of change fatigue and change resistance and developing mitigation action plans.” * leadership development initiatives * leveraging data to make proactive and precise decisions about, “the workforce and future workforce requirements.” * “learning from institutions that have been able to effectively navigate the industrial environment.”

But there’s a problem: “Some universities also cited a challenging industrial environment and a history of industrial reaction to change as a key challenge to realising reform objectives. This includes union-initiated proceedings in courts and the Fair Work Commission perceived to be in pursuit of dragging out the change process timeline rather than to address supposed procedural deficiencies.”