NFP Assistance in a Changing Landscape

One thing is certain, change is the new norm, for example, change in technology, community attitudes, change in competition, change in legislation and Not for Profits will need specialist assistance to remain employers of choice.

WorkPlacePLUS specialises in the Not for Profit sector and can assist Not for Profits with the development, tailoring and implementation of strategic HR plans, new enterprise agreements that strengths and supports your organisation being an employer of choice.

WorkPlacePLUS can also support with governance, risk management, modelling of the national costing and pricing framework for the NDIS, and much more.

In the current climate, individuals and organisations need to either adapt or they will become irrelevant.

The roll out of the National Disability Insurance Scheme is the biggest social change Australia has experienced in recent history. By the time the NDIS is fully rolled out nationally it is expected that the national disability funding will climb from $7 billion to $22 Billion with the number of people receiving disability support growing from 222,000 to 460,000.

The NDIS will create a new environment where people with disabilities (“participants”) will be in the driver’s seat rather than a passenger. They will have the capability to request and received tailor made support in order to achieve their goals and live a more inclusive life within their communities. It is anticipated that the participants will request more services over extended periods and therefore it is predicted to double the workforce requirements.

The rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme is gaining momentum and trials have commenced in selected areas throughout Australia.

As a services provider, your strategic plan would have highlighted that your experienced and skilled human resources are a key strategic strength for the organisation that cannot easily be replicated by competitors. There is no doubt that competition from new entrants will increase.

It is expected that participants would prefer consistency in their support, especially with carers that they have built a long term relationship with. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the organisation to retain and engage their good employees especially as their skills will be more in demand. Not to mention staff turnover can be expensive when you include recruitment, training, experience etc.

More than ever organisations will need to be creative, innovative and responsive to ensure they remain competitive and relevant. They also need ensure that their staff are engaged and working towards to same strategic goal.

Organisations will need to navigate a complex set of industrial arrangements to deliver a responsive and flexible services. All this will have to be done while dealing with financial constraints regarding pay rates awards and hours of work.

As part of the NDIS readiness, organisations needs to review their strategic plans to develop and implement human resource plans that support the achievement of the organisational long term strategy.

This includes a need to better understand the culture and its employees through the use of tools such as cultural surveys, training  and skills analysis, developing resource plans that take into account short term pressure to grow staff numbers to respond to growth in demand for services while consider long term resource requirements which may include updating Enterprise Agreement to ensure they maintain and strengthen their key competitive advantage in a sustainable way.

For more information please contact Anna Pannuzzo from WorkPlacePLUS on 0419 533 434 or Anna.pannuzzo@workplaceplus.com.au