EMMA HOGAN
DIRECTOR OF PEOPLE & CULTURE Organisation: Foxtel Industry: Subscription television Biggest HR issue in 2012: One of the big challenges we’re facing at the moment is what’s happening in our industry, subscription TV. The competition has changed significantly over the last 10 years so it’s about continuing to remain innovative and retaining our best people and continuing to be the great organisation that we are.
ogan See Emma H e talk about th an essentials of team at effective HR dney, Sy HR Summit ch 28-29 Mar
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s evidenced by Foxtel’s win in the ‘HR Team of the Year’ category at the Australian HR Awards in 2011, Emma Hogan knows a thing or two about building and maintaining an outstanding HR team. However, like all recognition, that accolade is the end result of years of significant change and a lot of hard work. Hogan notes that when she joined the company five years ago HR was still very much the traditional administrative function “with some pockets doing great work depending on who the leader of that area was”. She adds that the key to HR’s development and acceptance in the business was not just ‘runs on the board’ but also building a solid relationship with the CEO, whereby the HR function sought to prove “how we could actually help him, not hinder him and the other executives”. This CEO endorsement has not always existed; Hogan has worked in other organisations where HR has either not been allowed to demonstrate its value, or hasn’t had a strong enough team to proactively create that credibility. “You kind of need it to work both ways. You need the sponsorship and you need a strong team to do it well,” she says. But before HR professionals start dreaming big, Hogan adds that it’s fundamental to get the basics right. “In HR
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