Mind the Gap – A Comparative Analysis of (In-)Congruences in HRD Role Perception

Inspired by role conceptualisations and calls to rethink and reshape activities and competences of professionally qualified HRD practitioners, we examine HRD’s role and its associated activities through established versions of role theory. We ask: To what extent is there congruence in role expectations of HRD practitioners and other stakeholders? We study this question by interviewing 71 HRD practitioners and non-HRD managers across 16 organisations in three countries (US/UK/NL) and by analysing their responses on HRD role expectations and perceptions, congruences and incongruences. We map our findings on a 2x2 matrix and find that only a small number of organisations see professional HRD practitioners as strategic partners; most organisations find themselves within a more operational HRD role definition, or somewhere ‘on the fence’, with mixed ideas of role perceptions. Yet, a few organisations struggle to find alignment on HRD’s strategic aspirations and how those play out in practice. While our findings highlight the progress that HRD practice has made towards strategic partnership, we conclude that many HRD practitioners struggle to gain a seat at the table. We close our paper by discussing implications for HRD practice and scholarship

Supporting mature-aged students from a low socioeconomic background

The aim of the current study was to examine mature-aged student perceptions of university support services and barriers to study. Using a mixed methods approach, interviews and focus groups were conducted with mature-aged students to identify barriers to study, knowledge and use of current student support services, and suggestions to improve upon these services. From these data and an audit of university support services, an online survey was created to examine study barriers and patterns of support service use, as well as, perceptions of proposed support services not currently offered by the university within a larger sample of mature-aged students. Analysis of survey data indicated distinct patterns of barriers and support service use according to socioeconomic status as well as other demographic factors such as, age and enrolment status. Study findings are discussed in terms of generating support services for the retention of mature-aged students of low socioeconomic status and for the retention of mature-aged students in general

Talent disrupted: opportunities and threats for HRD strategy and practice in the gig economy

This chapter addresses calls for research exploring the implications of Human Resource Development (HRD) and its likely role in the gig economy (Scully-Russ and Torraco, The changing nature and organisation of work: An integrative review of the literature. Human Resource Development Review, 19(1), pp. 66–93, 2019). This chapter reflects on a case study of a ‘new law’ digital platform firm that sought to implement an HRD strategy for its highly diverse and gig-based workforce. At a time when HRD has seen its role move from specialist to distributed, demonstrating ongoing relevance and contribution to global, real-world issues becomes paramount. The amorphous, often hidden and fast-changing nature of the gig economy presents renewed challenges for scholarship and practice in Human Resource Development (HRD). This chapter proposes how a critical HRD lens can reassert HRD as a key discipline in supporting a broader range of interests and needs in the gig economy. The critical HRD lens contributes to understanding the nature of precarious work in the gig economy by exposing localities of power and disadvantage but also practical solutions for leveraging equality, capability development and knowledge transfer in the gig economy

Public Health, the APHA, and Urban Renewal

Joint efforts by fields of public health in the last decade have advocated use of the built environment to protect health. Past involvement by public health advocates in urban policy, however, has had mixed results. Although public health has significantly contributed to health improvements, its participation in urban renewal activities was problematic. Health advocates and the American Public Health Association produced guidelines that were widely used to declare inner-city areas blighted and provided a scientific justification for demolishing neighborhoods and displacing mostly poor and minority people. Furthermore, health departments failed to uphold their legal responsibility to ensure that relocated families received safe, affordable housing alternatives. These failures have important implications for future health-related work on the built environment and other core public health activities