Our staff spotlight is Shannan Quain, who works at the Digital Health Agency and was recently awarded the inaugural Australian HR Institute (AHRI) scholarship. This scholarship reflects AHRI’s commitment to extending HR knowledge and practice, supporting the HR profession, as well as providing a unique professional development opportunity.
As the 2023 recipient, Shannan will investigate the current state of performance management in the Australian Public Sector, including identifying challenges, opportunities, and recommendations for improvement through the development of practical tools for HR professionals and managers.
We spoke to Shannan, who shared valuable insights into her project, how winning this scholarship can help her achieve her long-term goals, and how you can get involved in her ongoing work.
How would you summarise your work as part of the scholarship program?
My work is looking at a new way of thinking about performance management for the public sector. I am not looking at the management of underperformance (maybe I’ll do that in 2026!). I am looking at assessing current state through interviews with people and agencies, along with a survey that will consider the views of public servants across the country. I’ll also be looking at the current research to see what the latest academic thinking is and how we can use it to develop a way forward. I’ll be putting a podcast together and developing a toolkit for HR practitioners that helps in the implementation of any tools that are designed.
What does the scholarship mean to you and how does it help you achieve your goals?
This scholarship means that I get to contribute to the HR Profession and hopefully, help solve an issue that I have seen across the public service. I’m close to finishing my Masters of Neuroscience and I am curious about the intersection between leadership behaviours, performance, and productivity. I am curious as to how we all need to do performance management, we all design tools, systems, education programs around the need for good performance management, but it’s not something we can say “we’ve nailed it!”. I want to understand why we think that is.
I really want to leave a lasting legacy on the HR profession. I want to know that I’ve helped HR practitioners do something that makes a difference, and I am doing this so I can improve as a leader. I don’t think I do performance management well, so I really want to improve my own skills and knowledge.
How can other HR professionals get involved in your project?
I’m about to write out to each Agency and seek your input by providing your performance documents/policies. My first piece to publish will be a literature review and an assessment of the current state of all agencies’ performance management policies and practices. You can help me by providing your agency documentation so I can use it in my research. I am also looking for people who want to be interviewed as part of the podcast – people who are willing to share their stories about public sector performance management and your thoughts on what we can do better.
If you would like to touch base with Shannan, we encourage you to join her LinkedIn group were you can keep up to date with her literature review or email her at Shannan.Quain@digitalhealth.gov.au.