On Becoming Chartered: Staying on top of HR Advances in a 24/7 Environment

The ports never sleep. It's just one of the challenges of Lauren O'Neill's People & Capability role, traditionally referred to as "HR", at the Ports of Auckland. Lauren is a Business Partner in the People and Capability team. Everyday she partners with engineers, marine specialists and control teams that keep the ports €“ and the economy €“ moving. Her portfolio also includes health and safety and communications. It's a diverse HR role in a busy operating environment and it's Lauren's happy place. €˜I'm a practical, hands on sort of person €“ so working closely with people in the operational side of the business to get things done is hugely satisfying.'

Influencing for the future

Like her working environment, Lauren says the discipline of HR is always changing €“ particularly so in the past 3-5 years. €˜It has moved from being an add-on personnel department to actively partnering with the business. In my current role, we're working to evolve the conversation in the workplace. We're encouraging our leaders toward a more collaborative way of working, partnering for performance, building bench-strength to manage business requirements today and broadening out the lens to navigate the future.'

To be a successful HR professional you need to support developments in the business and stay in touch with changes in HR.

Chartering lifts the bar

One of the recent changes to HR locally is the opportunity to become a chartered member of the Human Resources Institute of New Zealand (HRINZ). Lauren's drive to do her best by the business drew her to apply for chartered membership. €˜I wanted to lift my own personal bar, so I could lift the business. HR has to help the business reach its goals: its commercial goals and its people goals.'

Becoming chartered is only the first step in the process. Maintaining your registration requires earning points by participating in ongoing learning and development. As an active member of HRINZ before chartered membership was offered in 2017, Lauren has reaped the benefits of the institute. €˜HRINZ webinars and training have helped me stay abreast of legislation changes, particularly in employment relations, and provided an informative network of peers. It's great to see how other businesses do things: their pressure points and how they leverage change to meet their challenges.'

Measuring the core of HR practice

Lauren says you need to be comfortable with change to be an HR professional. But some of the complexities of working in HR remain the same. €˜You need to understand what makes people tick. People are not robots €“ they respond differently. HR results can't always be measured by data and numbers. Some of our results, like growth in emotional intelligence, are more complex and more rewarding as well.'