Timothy Bartram

Professor Timothy Bartram

Head of Department

Details

Open to

  • Masters Research or PhD student supervision

About

Professor Timothy Bartram is Professor of HRM and Head of Department HRM in the School of Management. His area of expertise is in HRM, industrial relations and healthcare management.

Professor Bartram's research is in human resource management (HRM), high performance work systems (HPWS) industrial relations and healthcare management. His work also focuses on the effective management and inclusion of vulnerable groups working in organisations, such as workers with intellectual disability, neurodiverse workers, Indigenous men and older men. He has an interest in AI, people analytics and the digitisation of HRM. His research work has culminated in 167 refereed journal publications. Publications include articles in Human Resource Management, Human Resource Management Journal, Journal of Management Studies, Human Resource Management Review, The British Journal of Industrial Relations, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, British Journal of Management, Journal of Product Innovation Management, International Journal of Small Business, Public Management Review, Personnel Review, Industrial Relations Journal, Applied Psychology: An International Review, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Advanced Nursing, and Health Care Management Review. Professor Bartram's work has been cited over 11,000 times (Google Scholar) and has a H-Index of 55. Web of Science Author Analytics has recently ranked him as the fourth most impactful researcher of HPWS in business and management research. 

Professor Bartram has led a number of large externally funded research projects, including ARC grants (Discovery and Linkage(s)), DFAT-funded grants, Federal and State Government research contracts, as well as contract research for both private and public sector organisations, which have culminated in almost $2,000,000 in research income. He has held three ARC grants ((1) DP120103071 Testing the integration and differentiation of national employment systems: Multi-nationals in an international comparative context; (2) LP110200528 Work process change in hospital services; and (3) LP200200379 Promoting Long-Term Employment of Autistic Individuals). He has also been awarded grants and research contracts from the Department of Vetran Affairs, Department of Health ansd Human Services (Vic), Telematics Trust, Department of Foregn Affairds and Trade, WorkSafe, ISCRR, AFL Player Association and others.

CI-Bartram's research work utilises cutting-edge research methods and strong theoretical underpinning (e.g., HRM, organisational behaviour and management theories) to solve real-world contemporary challenges, such as the effective management of healthcare professionals in contemporary hospitals, development of sustainable and effective management systems and the inclusion of vulnerable groups of workers, such as Men's Shed participants, and people with intellectual disability and neurodiversity. His most significant contributions to HRM/HPWS research include a theoretical and empirical examination of the relationships between high-performance work systems, clinician attitudes and behaviours (i.e., intention to leave, emotional labour) and clinician/hospital performance (i.e., HRM performance indicators, quality of patient care and patient safety). This work has been at the cutting edge of HRM in health research and as a result he has developed research relationships and commissioned research with key healthcare industry players (e.g., Victorian Hospitals' Industrial Association, Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, Australian Men's Shed Association, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of Health and Ageing), as well as a range of leading healthcare services. He has also contributed innovative research to lean management and HRM in healthcare organisations (e.g., British Journal of Management), and has recently published leading research on wellbeing-orientated HRM practices and employee resilience (e.g., Human Resource Management, Human Resource Management Journal, International Journal of HRM).

His work on HRM and disability is also cutting-edge. This work has made a significant contribution to social enterprise organisations and other organisations, such as hotels and supermarkets that employ people with a disability and has been published in the Journal of Business Ethics, Personnel Review and the Journal of Vocational Education and Training.

Professor Bartram has been involved in large-scale research projects examining the employment, management and social inclusion of workers with disability across Australian industries. He and his team have examined using a qualitative research the inclusion of workers with intellectual disability design in 15 organisations, which has culminated in over 10 journal articles (e.g., Journal of Business Ethics; Personnel Review) and a special issue in the Journal of Vocational Education and Training.

He has also led large-scale projects for the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) on the Men's Shed movement in Australia (e.g., examining Indigenous men's participation in Men's Sheds and related health, wellbeing and employment outcomes and evaluating the operations of the Australian Men's Sheds Association (AMSA)). These projects have involved a census of all the Men's Sheds in Australia (including shed coordinators, men members and healthcare service workers. He has advised Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) (Federal Government) on the efficacy of the current management (including HRM) operations of AMSA and Indigenous sheds and community groups and their impact on men's health and wellbeing in Australia. He is regarded as the leading expert on the Men's Shed movement (throughout Australia and internationally) having conducted research with twenty-six Indigenous groups across every State and Territory. The research included a review/consensus of over 1,000 Men's Sheds in Australia. This was the first ever census of Australian Men's Sheds. This research has made a significant impact on building healthy communities and improving the health and wellbeing of people. He has published over 10 journal articles on Men's Sheds and he and his team have undertaken several interviews with the media (e.g., ABC Breakfast, ABC Radio, The Australian, Wall Street Journal).

Professor Bartram has also consulted to several medical and healthcare associations (e.g., Victorian Hospitals' Industrial Association) and health care unions (e.g., Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation and Medical Scientists Association of Victoria). He has also published a report detailing the adoption of strategic HRM in the Victorian public healthcare sector (published by the Victorian Hospitals' Industrial Association). This was the first ever large-scale survey of HRM practice of Victorian public health care organisations. He has also led complex research projects in large tertiary hospitals on the use of strategic HRM and HPWS and impact on employee wellbeing and quality of patient care. This research has contributed significantly to the development of management practices within many of these organisations. He has presented his research work at world leading management, human resource management and employment relations conferences, at health practitioner and union delegate conferences and healthcare human resource director forums.

Professor Bartram has successfully supervised 21 PhD students to completion. He has also successfully supervised to completion 24 DBA students.

Professor Bartram is the Co-editor of Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources (APJHR) with Professor Fang Lee Cooke. He is on the Editorial Board of Personnel Review and The International Journal of HRM. He acts as a referee for many leading international journals, including the Journal of Management Studies, Human Resource Management, International Journal of HRM, Personnel Review, Relations Industrielles, British Journal of Management, the British Journal of Industrial Relations, and Human Relations.

Professor Timothy Bartram is Professor of HRM and Head of Department HRM & IR in the School of Management. He coordinates and teaches Key Concepts in HRM (BUSM4499).

Supervisor projects

  • Victorian Treaty Voices and Identity
  • 6 Mar 2024
  • The impact of cultural differences on the job satisfaction of Generation Z employees (employees' emphasis on life and work balance as the mediating variable).
  • 21 Jul 2023
  • Essays on Mental Disability and Disclosure in the Workplace: A Dissertation by Publication
  • 16 Jun 2023
  • Heterogeneous Institutional Investors, Institution, And Firm Value: Evidence From China
  • 21 Apr 2023
  • Healing Hands, Siloed Minds: A collaborative HRM Perspective to Patient Quality Care and Retention through Bridging the Boundaries in Healthcare
  • 29 Mar 2023
  • HRM & Industry 4.0 - A gap analysis of Australian employee expectations and HR perspectives on mental health in the workplace
  • 17 Mar 2022
  • First Peoples Enterprise Success: The Third Wave
  • 15 Feb 2022
  • Leadership in the Victorian Public Sector: The Promotability of Managers into Executive Roles
  • 31 Jan 2022
  • Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change: Rice Farmers in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam
  • 27 Feb 2020
  • The state of affairs: A narrative inquiry into managing infidelity counselling
  • 23 Jan 2020
  • Enablers of Open Innovation in Contemporary Organisations: The Role of Strategic Human Resource Management
  • 21 May 2019
  • Human Resource management and leadership in metropolitan public hospitals and the impact on training and development of medical radiation science (MRS) practitioners.
  • 3 Sep 2018
  • The Role of Human Resource Management in Managing and Mitigating the Effects of Workplace Violence: An Examination of Nurses and Personal Care Assistants Working in Aged Care
  • 2 Jul 2018
  • Linking Ethical Leadership and Employee Performance in the Australian Banking Industry
  • 11 May 2018

Teaching interests

Supervisor interests
Human resource management, human resource management systems, healthcare management, workers with autism, disability employment, mental health at the workplace, HRM and technology. 

Research interests

Professor Bartram commenced employment with RMIT University in February 2018 within the School of Management.

His professional interests focus on the application and examination of HRM within the healthcare sector and related healthcare organisations. His work focuses on the role of HRM in better managing and mitigating some of the most important challenges in healthcare, such as managing clinician turnover, improving quality of patient care and safety, improving rostering and the implementation of workplace innovations and work processes, and professional development and engagement of clinicians. He interested in HRM and technology to solve grand challenges, particularly in the health care sector. 

He also has an interest in the role of HRM in supporting workers with intellectual disability and neurodiversity. He was previously Professor of HRM at the La Trobe Business School, La Trobe University. As Professor of HRM, he was Director of Research for the La Trobe Business School for almost five years.

aboriginal flag
torres strait flag

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.