HR case studies Flashcards
Case study : Outsourcing/contracting
UberEats hires its delivery riders as contractors rather than employees
By doing so, Uber avo terfids legal obligations such as the minimum wage, workers’ compensation and WHS requirements, despite the dangerous working conditions cycling on busy roads
Uber provides up to $400,000 in compensation for families of delivery riders who are killed, less than half the legal requirement for employees under NSW law
Case study: Awards & Minimum wage
In 2015, 7-Eleven was found to have been paying its staff around half the award wage.
They employed migrants on student visas, and employees feared they would be deported if they reported 7-Eleven to the FWC
The business has now had to repay over $110 million in wages to its staff.
Case study: Enterprise agreement
In 2021, the union representing Sydney Trains began negotiating a new enterprise agreement
The union demanded that Sydney Trains could not outsource any more work, that domestic violence leave entitlements would be increased, and that no changes could be made that would reduce safety standards
Following slow negotiations, the union started a ‘work ban’ (a partial strike) where staff refused to change tasks once a shift started or check Opal cards. In response, the NSW Government announced a ‘lockout’ and suspended train services for a day
In arbitration in March 2023, the Fair Work Commission decided that on a pay raise of over 4%, more than 1% above the NSW Government’s maximum offer
Case study: WHYS and workers’ compensation
UberEats hires its delivery riders as contractors rather than employees
By doing so, Uber avoids legal obligations such as the minimum wage, workers’ compensation and WHS requirements, despite the dangerous working conditions cycling on busy roads
Uber provides up to $400,000 in compensation for families of delivery riders who are killed, less than half the legal requirement for employees
Case study: Anti discrimination and EEO
Chevron have recruitment and outreach programs that target underrepresented groups, including the ‘Women in Engineering’ training courses
They also establish support committees for different groups (e.g. the Indigenous Employee Network and the ENABLED network for employees with disabilities)
In 2019, Chevron earned a perfect score on the Disability Equality Index and was ranked in the top 100 ‘Best Places to Work’ on Glassdoor
Case study: Technological, Social & Economic influences
UNSW uses technology such as Zoom software and remote access logins for staff to work from home flexibly. The use of online and recorded lectures has also reduced the number of lecturers and tutors that UNSW employs
In response to social influences, they have a Flexible Workplace Champion who acts as a change agent to encourage staff to take advantage of flexible start times, part-time and remote work options. This was especially useful during the coronavirus shutdown
In response to the economic recession due to coronavirus, UNSW asked staff to take leave without pay or to earn holiday leave rather than be paid their full wage. UNSW also made 10% of employees redundant due to the pandemic
Case study: CSR
Chevron have recruitment and outreach programs that target underrepresented groups, including the ‘Women in Engineering’ training courses
They also establish support committees for different groups (e.g. the Indigenous Employee Network and the ENABLED network for employees with disabilities)
In 2019, Chevron earned a perfect score on the Disability Equality Index and was ranked in the top 100 ‘Best Places to Work’ on Glassdoor
Case study: Job design
Software company Atlassian engineers work in teams across areas of expertise
Staff have full control over how they spend their time
Atlassian hold 24 hour hackathons’ where employees stop their work for a day and work collaboratively on nominated problems
Smart Company currently ranks Atlassian as having the 3rd best worker satisfaction in Australia
Atlassian owns 82% of the ‘bug and issue tracking’ industry
Case study: Recruitment
Atlassian focus on general skills in recruitment, to ensure employees fit with the corporate culture
They use LinkedIn to advertise and headhunt talent, and a range of skills tests and interviews to select the best candidates
Atlassian have also established two ‘tracks’ for internal recruitment: those who are working towards promotions as specialists in an area, and those who are being developed to become managers of teams
Case study: Global strategies
The Australian software developer is taking advantage of the Government’s new Global Talent scheme to employ skilled foreigners on more than $180,000 in wages
One quarter of Atlassian’s staff in Australia are on migrant visas
They were unable to access new staff globally during the pandemic
Case study: Training and development
Atlassian runs an annual Hack House to onboard new graduate
Graduates complete coding workshops, meet their mentors and work on challenges to pitch to management at the end of
the week-long program
They use a combination of in-person workshops , online courses and job widening to continue upskilling their staff
Case study: Performance management
Netflix believe that performance management is too time consuming and inefficient
They use the keeper test to decide whether they should fire a good employee when they think they can find a great one
For underperforming staff, they pay a severance package and dismiss them immediately rather than spending time and
money on training and supervising them
Their annual staff turnover of 11% is still below the tech industry average of 13%, partly due to the high quality of
colleagues and corporate culture at the company
Case study: Rewards
Employees choose the percentage of their salary to receive as equity in the business, so that the dividends and increase in share price become a group reward
Netflix rejects employee bonuses on the basis that mature employees do not need extra incentives, they just need extra development
Netflix also provides non-monetary rewards by only keeping high quality colleagues and having behavioural leadership style
Case study: leaderships styles
Netflix uses a behavioural management approach that trusts their employees
HR focuses on recruiting talented mature employees rather than tracking everything they do. Staff decide their own holidays, sick leave and working hours
The main criteria that managers are judged on is the quality of their recruitment and creating a team culture
Case study: Dispute resolution
In 2017, a former software engineer published allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination from a senior manager
The HR department failed to follow grievance procedures and covered up misbehaviour by high performers
In response to negative publicity, Uber lost $20 billion in share value and dismissed more than 20 employees, including the resignation of its CEO
