There is no guarantee that your temporary position within a company will parlay into a permanent one, however, it is certainly possible if you play your cards right.

Working as a temporary employee allows you with the opportunity to work inside the company and ultimately give you an advantage over external candidates when applying for permanent jobs. Securing yourself a temporary role is the most productive strategy for finding a permanent position at the end of your contract. When a permanent position becomes available, an employer’s first preference is to consider the temps who are already working within the company.

Of course there are people who deliberately seek out temp work because of uncertainty in their own lives, because they need some extra cash, or because they simply want to try on a job for size, says Michael Kerr, an international business speaker, author and president of Humor at Work. “[But] the vast majority of temp workers I know are desperately hoping to parlay that experience into something full-time, either with that company or by taking the experience they gain and moving on elsewhere.”

Furthermore, the size of temporary positions’ applicant pool over the past few years has increased as well as an improvement in the quality of those applicants according to James Essey, president and chief executive of The TempPositions Group of Companies. Essey also denotes the trend in temporary work is due to the large volatility and uncertainty in the economy.

Temporary jobs offer more flexibility to employers as finding the perfect employee for a role is often challenging - especially when they need to find the right person with the right skills and cultural fit. Henceforth temporary roles are favourable in order to evaluate the individual on the job and the period services as an extended job interview and the number of temporary jobs turning into permanent positions is at an increasing rate over the years.

Essey also states that his firm has found that roughly 70% of people in temporary positions ultimately get a permanent job at that company, proving that ‘it is indeed an effective backdoor way to get hired’.

So what can you do as a Temp to increase your chances of becoming a Permanent staffer?

1.Treat your Temp Job Like Permanent Job

Be reliable, punctual and do not lose your motivation because you are a temp. Treat it like an extended interview and utilise it as your opportunity to shine and deliver quality work and communicate effectively with your colleagues.

You can still go the extra mile by coming in early or offering to stay late – this shows your commitment, enthusiasm and flexibility.

Avoiding the mindset that you are a temporary worker is also important. The company has accepted you into this temp role because of your skills and by thinking you are part of the company, it changes everything.

2. Find out whether permanent employment is a possibility

Before you commence your temp role, find out the company’s policy towards hiring temporary employees and the prospects of temporary roles turning into permanent roles.

3. Network and build relationships

If you network well, there is also a higher chance you will land the job. Be sure to keep in touch with your contacts at all time, rather than when you are on the lookout for a new opportunity.

Reinforce the value you provide and try to get to know the leaders who make the hiring decisions. Even though you are only there for a short time, getting the time to know your colleagues are also great sources of information about who is hiring and where the opportunities lie within the company.

4. Get to know the company

Research the company that you are working for and try to understanding the history, mission and values, goals, earning reports, culture.

5.Leverage your fresh perspective

You may identify ways to make processes or systems more effective and efficient within the company. Making a list of ideas an sharing them with your manager not only shows initiative, but also show that there is a lot of useful and important work to be done and that could justify hiring you permanently.

“Identify a gap in the company that you could fill.” He says to be proactive by suggesting ideas for improvement, getting involved in implementing the changes, and volunteering for opportunities that arise.”*

6. Adapt to the culture

It is important to blend into the work environment and being a person that is friendly and approachable, provides great visibility and opportunity to showcase your work and gain new projects.

7. Ask for the job.

‘Plant the seed early on with your employer that you would like to become a permanent employee, Find out what it will take to get the offer. Make sure you will be considered when they are ready to fill permanent positions.’* Letting the person of influence know from the beginning that you could possibly be interested in working permanently for the company is also important.

Do you have any other tips to increase the chances of turning a Temporary role into a Permanent role? Do you agree with these tip? We would love to hear your thoughts.

Source: Jacquelyn Smith, How To Turn Your Temp Job Into A Permanent One, <http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2012/09/28/how-to-turn-your-temp-job-into-a-permanent-one/>

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Step back in time to a few decades ago when a typical workday ended at 5.00pm. You would pack up and switch your mind off for the rest of the evening.

Now fast forward to today’s digital age. It is almost impossible to escape from smartphones, computers and tablets. Technology is an inevitable part of our life today. Our constant connection with technology means that work tasks such as checking your client’s emails, proposals and projects are being taken from your desk in the office to outside of the office. And it is because of the ease of access to technology, that these extra hours and inability to step away from work have caused many individuals like yourself to call for a work-life balance.

It is easier said than done - juggling work and your personal life with friends and family outside of the office can be challenging. In this week’s article, we discover ways, shared in Henry Fan’s article*, that you can adopt to improve or maintain a work-life balance, especially in the age of technology:

1. Incorporate Physical Activity Into Your Routine

Physical activity not only helps to refresh both your mind and body, but also provides mental clarity during a time of stress at work. Additionally, it keeps your body in optimal physical shape, which makes you feel more productive and healthy. If your schedule does not allow for going to the gym before or after work, consider making this a part of your workday. Use your break time to step away from your desk and take a little stroll outside of the office to gain a new perspective, free your mind from work and exercise your muscles.

2. Separating from Electronic Devices

Another important aspect of maintaining a work-life balance is separating from electronic devices during evenings and weekends. I you feel the need to complete extra work or respond to emails outside of the office, designate a specific time for these responses. For example, allow yourself to complete work in the evenings from 6-8 and then close your laptop. Or, respond to emails Saturday morning and then take Sunday off. Find what works best for you and your schedule and make a point to separate from electronic devices and clear your mind. While spending time working outside of the typical 9-5 has become normal in our current workforce, working all day every day is not efficient and will eventually cause you to burn out.

3. Make Work More Productive

The Internet and social media have made our lives faster and easier. Workplace communication that previously took place in the form of long meetings and phone calls has been replaced by quick email and instant message exchanges. While the use of technology for communication has saved us time, it can often serve as a distraction as well. This is important to keep in mind at the office. When you are at work make it productive and spend your hours completing projects and assignments instead of surfing the web or checking Facebook. Consider keeping a time-sheet to monitor your hours and stay on task.

4. Incorporate Downtime Into Your Routine

Take some time to do what you love whether that means spending time with friends and family or investing in a hobby. Having an active social life often correlates with having a positive work life so make sure to invest in what makes you happy outside of the office. This will provide you a sense of meaning and allow you to define yourself outside of a work role. Feeling overwhelmed by a situation or project at work? Sometimes the best ideas come when your mind is refreshed and focused. Grabbing dinner with a friend and discussing your situation may provide new light and a solution to your problem.

Take some time to see how others in your office maintain a work-life balance and follow their lead. They may have tips to help you achieve the work-life balance you have been looking for.

What are your ways that you incorporate to ensure a healthy work-life balance?

We would love to hear from you! Please share with us your comments below!

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Businesses continue to focus on creating outstanding customer experience to build strong, lasting relationships with customers.

As well, they have discovered that improving employee experience (EX) not only has internal benefits for companies. Like being able to provide enticing employment opportunities, easier or better executive search and selection, as well as guaranteed employee engagement. It also has benefits for customers. Like more effective customer journey mapping and even better customer experience (CX).

To help improve your EX and ensure you can provide superior CX, here is a deeper look into EX, the link between EX and CX, as well as ways you can improve your EX to provide your customers an experience that won’t only delight them but also earn their trust and loyalty:

What is employee experience (EX)?

EX is not the same as employee engagement.

EX is the total of all the touchpoints employees have with their employers, from when they were candidates (whether active or passive) to becoming alumni, according to leading research-based human resources (HR), talent and learning membership programs provider Bersin by Deloitte.

The touchpoints that make up EX are grouped into three “environments”, namely the cultural environment, the physical environment and the technological environment, according to best-selling author, futurist and keynote speaker Jacob Morgan.

The cultural environment refers to the things about a company that set its mood and tone as a workplace. These include its organisational structure, its leadership style and the sense of purpose of the people who work there.

The physical environment refers to the things that make up the office itself. These include the floor plan, the employees themselves and the amenities, if there are any, like a lounge area or an on-site gym.

The technological environment refers to the tools the employees use to do their jobs. Apart from computers, those include the company’s internal social network and the software that impact how the employees work.

Having a motivating cultural environment, an energising physical environment and a well-designed, up-to-date technological environment leads to positive EX, guaranteeing employee engagement.

An example of a business that has successfully created notable EX in Australia is Salesforce. It was recognised by management consulting firm Great Place to Work Australia as the best place to work in the country for 2018 and 2016. It offers its 1,000+ employees several perks that make it an amazing place to work, including parental leave, adoption and fertility support, as well as baby bonus policies.

A customer experience definition in this context is amplified by the employee experience, more engaged employees are given the tools and subliminally encouraged to deliver better customer experiences.

How EX and CX Are Linked

Simply put, when employees are happy, customers are happy. That’s because employees who’re engaged and like the company they work for consistently deliver first-rate service or help to create quality products. Customers who receive such service and products are satisfied customers who will certainly become loyal customers. When a business has such customers, it can count on becoming successful.

Take Marriott International. 92 years old with over 5,700 hotels across the globe, including 24 in Australia, it’s one of the most successful companies in the hotel industry. It rewards its employees for doing their jobs well, offers them various training programs, values their loyalty and celebrates diversity and inclusion. No wonder it has been recognised many times not only as one of the best places to work but also as a leader when it comes to CX.

This shows that HR is also now needing to acknowledge recruitment and selection as also a part of branding activities. It’s a given, if candidates have heard about your organisation (which is great) this also means they’ve already formed a brand image of your company. In the same way that branding influences customers through all levels of the funnel — from awareness to trial to long-term loyalty — perceptions of an organisation’s brand influence how people interact with you. This means their impressions can impact whether they apply for a job, accept a position and, ultimately, stay with the company.

Tips to Improve EX to Deliver Great CX

Does that mean your business has to be as successful or well-known as Marriott International to make your EX better and create excellent CX?

Not at all. There are many simple but surprisingly effective ways to do it. Here are no less than five you can get started on right away:

Survey Your Employees

Nothing boosts employee engagement as well as seeing feedback put into action.Examples of important topics you can ask them about are workload, how easy it is to get things done, managerial support and what the focus needs to be when it comes to customers. Find out from them what your company as a whole needs to keep, start and stop doing to improve. After analysing the information, tell your employees what you understood and what you’ll do based on that and make sure it’s carried out.

Start Your Very Own Employee Peer-to-Peer Recognition Program

If you’re not doing it yet, consider letting your employees nominate one another for delivering great customer service or being a phenomenal team player. It’s an effective way to promote camaraderie and trust among them. Encourage them by giving out small but immediate rewards, like gift cards.

Turn Your Senior Executives into Company Ambassadors

After showing them the positive effect good EX has on CX, get upper management to promote your company, including employee highlights. It’s a sure-fire way to engage your employees and customers. It conveys passion and authenticity. They can do it as announcements, town halls, newsletters or even online videos.

Sponsor Employee Events

Whether it’s a fun run, a tournament or a picnic, an event that lets your employees and senior executives bond will surely improve camaraderie and trust among them even more

Define and Communicate Your Mission, Vision and Values

Without clearly defining and communicating your mission, vision and values, it would be practically impossible to figure out what your company’s guiding principles need to be for success and build the right company culture. That will make it much more difficult to engage your employees and create positive EX. Failing at these will prevent you from providing unparalleled CX.

Forbes suggests:

“Leaders and HR needs to experiment with technology in the market such as pulse feedback tools, employee wellness apps, modern communication and productivity tools that will help facilitate the understanding and development of the employee experience.”

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There are good meetings and there are bad meetings. Bad meetings may drone on forever, dance around the main purpose of the meeting and leave you feeling like you have just wasted your time. Whereas effective meetings leave you feeling energized and accomplished with something to take away.

Meetings that don’t lead to sustained results for the company. A poorly run meeting that is unproductive, long and disorganised is simply a waste of time and money for you and your company. Everyone knows about them, at least on a qualitative level, but few managers step up to solve the problem.

A reason for that is because no one really thinks about the real-world costs associated with bad meetings. Citrix GoToMeeting have calculated the time collectively wasted in bad meetings everyday worldwide, the cost would probably equate to the annual GDP of a small country.

Furthermore, Wolf Management Consultants asserts that 73 percent of professionals admit to doing unrelated work in meetings and 29 percent dozed off in meetings.

Common Characteristics of Good and Bad Meetings

Surveys conducted by Citrix GoToMeeting have also concluded that the top five common characteristics of a good and bad meeting is shown below:

Good Meetings

The goal of the meeting is clearClear actions are assignedAction items are followed up onDecisions get madeAn agenda is distributed prior to the meeting

Bad Meetings

No clear goal has been setThe meeting goes off topicThere is a lack of structureAttendees are inattentiveNo decisions are made

By addressing the issues of a bad meeting and incorporating the characteristics of a good meeting into your meetings, this will lead to expected, positive and constructive outcomes.

Save Money on Meetings

An employee’s time is a company’s most undervalued asset. To waste less of it, start by adding up the true cost of meeting. “Companies could be much more productive and profitable if everyone were just a bit more aware and intentional about it.” – CEO of VoloMetrix, Ryan Fuller. Take a look at the ways where your company can save money as well as conduct better meetings in your workplace:

1. Establish a Meeting Time Budget

‘By adding up the total number of hours that you and your team spend in meetings every week and aiming to reduce that time by 10% or 20%."It forces you to really think about which meetings you could cut out altogether.” Some VoloMetrix clients have taken what Fuller calls “extreme measures” to enforce time limits, like using conference lines that cut off at a preset time, or conference room doors that lock at the precise moment a meeting begins, so that latecomers are shut out. “You usually don’t need to go that far” to keep the time suck to a minimum, he says. “Just keep reminding people who stretch the limits that they need to do better next time.”

2. Avoid time fragmentation

At lots of companies, meetings are scheduled with 30 or 60-minute blocks of time between them, but Fuller points to reams of research showing that it takes people at least 15 minutes to regain focus after an interruption, and “it’s difficult to be productive when you have less than an hour until your next meeting.”

Whenever possible, he suggests, schedule meetings back-to-back, so that everyone gets a big block of uninterrupted time each day to concentrate on their actual work.’

3. Make Sure You Need a Meeting

‘Once you’ve developed your meeting plan, ensure that a meeting is the appropriate vehicle for accomplishing the set goals. To schedule and hold a meeting is expensive when you account for the time of the people attending. So, make efforts to determine that a meeting is the best opportunity to solve the problem, improve the process, or make an ongoing plan.

You may find that you can accomplish the meeting goals with an email discussion or by distributing and requesting information through the company newsletter. Make sure the meeting is needed and not just convenient for you – you’ll get better results from attendees.’

Do you have any ways you implement in your team meetings that makes it effective? What are some of the issues that tend to occur during meetings that should be addressed?

I would love to hear your thoughts!

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Whether it is a large or small organisation, many companies today use consultants for a multitude of reasons. In this week’s blog post, we take a closer look at just a few of the many reasons why organisations hire external HR consultants in order to help you decide whether using one could be beneficial for your organisation.

What is a consultant?

Consultants are independent contractors generally specialising in a particular area – in this case, we are looking at those whose specialty is in HR. External consultants are highly trained in solving problems, doing research and/or exploring alternatives. They focus on results and work flows from what their client organisations’ objectives are. The degree to which these objectives are met is a key criterion of the consultant’s contribution.

We now take a look at top three benefits of using an external recruitment agency to the company:

1.A fresh perspective with external objectivity

All businesses, regardless of size, need HR expertise. HR consultants offer a third-party, outside perspective to help businesses navigate their evolving business landscape and maximize their human resource efforts. These experts can assess your current HR processes for compliance as well as help navigate through delicate labour issues and the potential minefield of hiring, compensation, and benefits.

Coming from an outside perspective allows consultants to have a more objective, bird’s eye view of the company and the industry as a whole (aka “the bigger picture”). Often business owners struggle to see things that may seem obvious and necessary in their business because they are so focused in their everyday operations – it's easy to take for granted something you see all the time. This is where it is useful to have an objective, fresh set of eyes looking at your people management processes to determine what is needed to take your business further. An external HR consultant can offer objective, unbiased opinions and are able to share with you other business stories, success and ideas.

2.Expertise

A consultant can bring a high level of technical knowledge, expertise and services to you and your company. There are a lot of skills that a company needs to have but may not have enough use for them to justify using a full time employee at the job – in this case it often makes sense to bring in a consultant. Not only are consultants usually high skilled in their specialty, they come with valuable experiences working with other companies in the same industry that may have faced similar challenges. Therefore, they can apply experience from the past into their current projects and engagements.

Even if there's an HR staff member in place, the HR consultant can advise him on HR functions that will sustain employee engagement and productivity. Most HR consultants work hard to continually upgrade their knowledge and expertise in HR best practices so they can market high-quality services to clients and ensure that their clients trust their advice and counsel.

3.Effective Recruitment

While a HR business consultant may not post job advertisements or sit in on candidate interviews, they can advise you on what it takes to attract qualified applicants. Consultants whose specialty areas include recruitment and selection, gives organisational leaders tips on the best recruitment strategies as well as how to make wise hiring decisions. Small businesses often cannot afford to waste resources on ineffective recruitment strategies; therefore, an HR consultant can help create a more productive and efficient workforce which can ultimately save an organisation thousands by minimising cost-per-hire and increasing retention.

What do you think about external HR consultants? Have they added value to your firm? Did you have any positive or negative experiences with them? We would love to hear your thoughts b leaving your comment below!

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Over the past decade we have seen a dramatic shift in the recruitment process. In an extremely competitive global setting where there is always someone else doing something faster, better, and/or more innovative, the competition for talent has been transformed with the help of technology.

In this week’s blog post we share a few growing trends in technology, their impacts on the recruitment process and what you can do in order to embrace these tools effectively rather than get lost in the evolution.

Here are just a few trends in technology impacting recruitment today:

Despite cost cutting in some areas of HR, we are seeing a substantial spike in technology spending including HR data and analytics, and integrated talent management systems. No longer is HR limited to being a series of isolated silos focusing on staffing, training, compensation and succession. Companies are starting to master the data part of HR and are much better able to select the right candidates, which is the most important thing to do in HR – hire people.Social media to attract and engage a wider range of quality candidates (with more and more applicants spending increasing amounts of their online time using social media, HR will use technology to help them use the social space to find great candidates)On-line eligibility and suitability assessments can screen and rank candidates efficiently and effectively screen and short list prior to interviewing.Video interviewing, whether live or recorded, can reduce costs and travel time as well as improve overall interview effectiveness. Online video will be embraced as a better way to get to know candidates faster and more personally than the traditional phone screen.Globalisation. Rapid advances in technology are altering our concepts of time and location, work and workplace, and the boundaries between organisations, markets, and the environment. The evolution of true worldwide telecommuting is quickly becoming a reality (for example an Australian programmer living in Hong Kong but employed in London)

Some tips dealing with these trends:

With the growing trend of investing in data management and analytics, remember that information is only as good as the minds that are using it. According to Richards Carpenter (1994), "Line managers could make immense use of HR data if they were taught what to look for and how to interpret what they see." For example, when a line manager develops a strategic objective to "increase sales in the Southeast region by 25%," she will review data not only on regional sales by product line, market share, delivery times, and returns but on salesperson turnover, sales-per-salesperson, the number of new salespeople needed, offer-to-acceptance ratios, time to train, comprehensive performance measures, and factors that characterize the most successful salespeople.The trick with social media is to not go overboard, and to remember to have a relationship with potential clients. Social media doesn't mean that you don't have to talk to candidates, or that you should be only making tweets or status updates on jobs alone. Social recruiting has its own set of best practices, much like the recruiting process itself.In a global job market, be open and prepared to offer video and webcam interviews to candidates to speed up the recruitment process.Technology has an important place in recruiting, but it cannot entirely replace human interaction. Technology will continue to enable quick and cost-effective recruiting through applicant tracking, screening, evaluating, and communicating. You can use technology to your benefit, but recognise that there is still a need for in-person meetings and phone calls to discover who the person behind the screen is – not just another candidate file or number.

We’ve seen how much technology has evolved in the past decade, can you imagine how much faster the changes would be in the next decade?

Moving forward technology is predicted to play a bigger role in recruitment and can also be leveraged to help with building relationships with talent pools.

Has technology already greatly impacted the way you recruit? How? Share your tips with us and our other readers.

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Distinguishing who is the best potential new hire in an interview alone can be difficult to judge. Thus, a growing number of companies are incorporating assessment tests into their hiring and recruitment process. In this week’s blog, we discuss assessment centres and how they can be an integral part of the recruitment process.

What is an assessment centre? It is not a location. It can be called an event, a methodology or a process in itself, in which participants go through a variety of job-related exercises and real life work-based scenarios while trained assessors and hiring managers evaluate their behaviours and test results. Many HR professionals view assessment tests as an unbiased way to predict a candidate’s future performance.

Assessment centres are usually used after the initial stages of the selection process, because of the large amount of time and expense in conducting them, and usually follow the initial job interview. They can be deployed for evaluating people for internal promotion or internal selection as well.

The length of an Assessment can range from half-a-day to two-three full days and may be held on the employer’s premises, often within their own training facilities or on the premises of another third-party venue such as a hotel.

It is a data-centric process providing objective, standardised information to organisations about employees' abilities. It’s easy to become subjective in the interview process. Hiring managers can be won over by the way certain candidates sell themselves in an interview, but are they really suitable when it comes to performance? Many interviewers have said they went with their “gut feeling” but sometimes that gut feeling may be wrong. It can be argued that hiring assessments help employers stay in a business mentality. They can help pinpoint people with the right skills rather than those who are just smooth talkers. Furthermore, resumes can be tested. Certainly anyone could write a particular skill down, but how does one know if they are accurate?

What happens during an assessment centre? Here are some examples:

Leaderless Group Discussion – involves candidates working as part of a team to resolve a presented issue. These exercises are designed to measure interpersonal skills such as group leadership, teamwork, negotiation, and group problem solving skills.Role Playing – candidates are to act out a given a real life work-based scenario where the assessors can view their responses to problems that may arise and how they would handle them.Presentations – each candidate is given a topic or a choice of topics and asked to make a presentation of around five to ten minutes with time at the end for questions. It is designed to measure a candidate’s research and presentation skills including their ability to organise and structure information and communicate their points clearly and concisely.Q & A Panel Reviews – regarded as a more objective means to assessing a candidate’s suitability because the interview involves three to five people on the panel, so the decision is not dependent on just one person’s opinion.In-tray or in-basket exercises – Similar to role-play, candidates are asked to assume a particular role as an employee of a fictitious company and work through an in-tray. In this in-tray are different types of internal problems in written form (such as emails etc.) that a candidate may need to deal with during a normal work day. The exercise is designed to measure their ability to organise and prioritise their work load.

Points to be aware of:

Use of assessment tests shouldn’t replace the traditional interview as still nothing can replace a face to-face interaction. Rather, assessment results should be one of many pieces of information that are used by expert decision makers to help collect the data they need to make good, accurate predictions.Employers also shouldn’t expect any test or procedure to measure a personal trait or ability with perfect accuracy for every single person. Nor should they be 100% dependent on any test or procedure to be completely accurate in predicting future performance.Assessment may not provide a summary of a candidate's past accomplishments or achievements nor can it provide a reference on the candidate's past work history. However, it can provide insight into a candidate's personality, their behavioral traits, and how they rate with other existing top talent in your organisation.

Do you use assessments in the hiring process in your organisation? How do you balance the results of these assessments with what your managers observe post-recruitment and/or experience in the initial face-to-face interviews?

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Regardless of how happy you make your workers and how enjoyable your company may be to work for, from time to time employees will leave - be it to retire or relocate, or just in response to changing circumstances in their lives. There is, however, such a thing as excessive employee turnover (Schreiner, 20414). In this week’s blog post we explore why employers and managers need to understand their rates of staff turnover and how they affect an organisation’s performance (CIPD, 2015).

What is Employee Turnover?

Employee turnover refers to the proportion of employees who leave an organisation over a set period (often on a year-on-year basis), expressed as a percentage of total workforce numbers. At its broadest, the term is used to encompass all leavers, both voluntary and involuntary, including those who resign, retire or are made redundant, in which case it may be described as ‘overall’ or ‘crude’ employee turnover (CIPD, 2015).

When it comes to turning over employees, the fewer you lose the better, as each new hire presents associated challenges for the company. As Forbes Magazine (2014) notes, any rate below 15 percent annually is considered healthy and no cause for alarm. This means that a company of 200 workers can lose 30 individuals within a calendar year without it becoming a problem (Schreiner, 2014).

To come up with a level that is reasonable, companies often look to industry averages. A goal might be to keep turnover to a level no higher than the average for the industry (Woods, 2015).

The ultimate answer is that every firm should establish its own ideal rate (Monster, 2014) –

Look at what percentage of past turnover among this population is related to a life event (a family move for example) that made continued employment by your firm difficult.Subtract from that percentage the number of turnovers that could have been avoided by making simple accommodations (a flexible schedule for example).The result should be your ideal turnover rate among average performers. Employee departure costs companies time, money and other resources. Research suggests that replacement costs can be as high as 50%-60% of an employee’s annual salary with total costs associated with turnover ranging from 90%-200% of annual salary (SHRM, 2008). Replacing top-level positions also requires substantially more financing, extensive training and adjustment, and a high element of risk — as new management can drastically alter the status quo (Halogen, 2013).When retention is higher than normal, customer satisfaction, productivity, and profitability also tend to be higher than normal (Bernthal & Wellins, 2001).·Turnover costs can be both direct and indirect. Direct turnover costs would include the costs to locate, hire and train a new employee to fill the position that was vacated. Indirect costs can be harder to quantify and include things like lost sales or customers due to inexperienced staff or being short-staffed, lost knowledge of company operations that has to be re-created later and the impact on morale of people leaving the company (Tribe HR, 2013).

The cost of turnover

According to CIPD (2015), companies can reduce turnover by focusing on push factors:

Push: Individual’s perception of limited opportunities; lack of senior leader role models; excessive workload, especially attributed to bureaucratic and management inefficiencies; non-competitive rewards and recognition; lack of respect of personal life/desires

What is retention?

Retention relates to the extent to which an employer retains its employees and may be measured as the proportion of employees with a specified length of service (typically one year or more) expressed as a percentage of overall workforce numbers (CIPD, 2015) . Employees need to feel valued and appreciated, be given feedback, provided with growth opportunities, be given work-life balance options, and have trust and confidence in their leaders (Yazinski, 2009).

Here are some Ideas to retain your valuable employees:

Make a counter-offer – In order for a counter-offer to be truly effective, it must be strategically negotiated to ensure that it is really responding to the person’s employment needs, whether it’s a better wage, work conditions, or access to tools and resources they need to perform to the best of their abilities (Wallace, 2013).

Conduct exit interviews – Even though departing employees are often reluctant to tell you the reasons why they're leaving, it's still worth asking them. It can also be helpful to ask the employee for their suggestions about ways the organisation can improve and better retain staff like them, rather than directly ask them why they are leaving (CIPD, 2015).

Evaluate your company’s culture - Frequent employee complaints center on a lack of clarity about job performance expectations, earning potential, advancement and career opportunities, specific feedback regarding performance, failure to hold regularly scheduled meetings, and failure to provide a overall structure where the employee feels they can succeed (Chron, 2013). Interview candidates carefully, not just to ensure they have the right skills but also that they fit well with the company culture, managers and co-workers (May, 2014).

Over to you – what do you think is the ideal rate for turnover? Do you have any tips to increase retention in you organisation? Please leave your comments below.

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In this week’s blog, we explore conflict management and share with you a brief overview of some styles and strategies in dealing with conflict in the workplace.

According to Thomas & Kilman (1972) there are five conflict management styles or strategies that people employ. These are: Competing, Accommodating, Compromising, Avoiding, and Collaborating:

COMPETING – “It’s my way or the highway”

In a nutshell: where one uses their formal authority or other power to satisfy their own concerns without regard to the concerns of the party that you are in conflict with

Also known as: Dominant style

Goal: I win, you lose (force)

Pros: decisive, assertive, addresses personal needs

Cons: can damage relationships, shut others down, it may cause the other side not to voice important concerns because they will be ignored anyway.

Use: when you have to implement an unpopular decision (e.g cost cutting, discipline etc.); when a quick, decisive action is vital (e.g emergency); or it is important to let others know how important an issue is to you.

ACCOMMODATING –“It’s ok with me, whatever you want”

In a nutshell: Setting aside your own personal needs because you want to please others in order to keep the peace

Also known as: Smoothing or Harmonizing style

Goal: I lose, you win (yield)

Pros: can preserve harmonious relationships; can admit there is a better way

Cons: unassertive behaviour, can lead to resentment by not getting your needs met, can diminish your influence

Use: When one is wrong or when you want to minimize losses when you are going to lose anyway because it preserves relationships.

COMPROMISING – “You got to give a little to get a little”

In a nutshell: Attempting to resolve a conflict by identifying a solution that is partially satisfactory to both parties, but not completely satisfactory to either.

Also known as: Sharing style

Goal: I win some, you win some (middle ground)

Pros: fixes things quickly, finds temporary settlements to complex issues, and has back up strategy when competition or collaboration fails.

Cons: can play games, bypass longer-term solutions, compromises found may be dissatisfying and may need to be revised

Use: when both parties are equally powerful and willing to cooperate, and they want to preserve the relationship for the future; as a backup mode when collaboration or competition fails to be successful.

AVOIDING – “I’ll think about it tomorrow”

In a nutshell: Not paying attention to the conflict and not taking any action to resolve it; there is indifference to the outcome of the issue and the relationship and the person withdraws or postpones dealing with the conflict.

Also known as: Flight mode or withdrawal

Goal: I lose, you lose

Pros: doesn’t sweat the small stuff, delays may be useful

Cons: avoidance builds up and then blows, important issues don’t get dealt with, it can take more energy to avoid then deal with at the time

Use: Avoiding only makes sense if the issue is minor or when conflicting parties need to cool down. Use only if you are certain that you are not employing it as a way to escape an unavoidable conflict. The avoiding style is only a delaying tactic and if use it too often decisions could be made without your input.

COLLABORATING – “Two heads are better than one”

In a nutshell: requires an open discussion of all the issues and concerns, exploration of alternative solutions, and honesty and commitment from all the parties. To be successful, the collaborating style participants need to be able to surface concerns in a non-threatening way and think imaginatively

Also known as: Problem solving or integrative style

Goal: I win, you win

Pros: finds the best solution for everyone, which leads to high commitment, higher creativity in problem solving, team-building

Cons: takes time and energy; if applied to all conflicts it can be draining and unnecessary

Use: when both sets of concerns are too important to be compromised; when your objective is to learn; to merge insights from people with different perspectives on the problem; to gain commitment by Incorporating other’s concerns into a consensual decision; to work through hard feelings which have been interfering with an interpersonal work relationship

Now that we’ve provided you with a brief overview of each conflict style, the goal is to develop skills in all of the styles so that you can manage conflict and turn it into something constructive. All the style are relevant and can be useful in different contexts. When used strategically, these styles can help you navigate and manage conflict with success. If you think one is better than the other, you will be locked into certain styles that will not serve you or you will judge others who may employ those styles at times. The trick is to understand when to use which style.

What’s your thoughts about these management styles? Which conflict resolution style do you find the most effective or ineffective? We would love to hear your thoughts! Please leave us a comment below.

image courtesy of free image : pexelbay/rawpixel.com

It is not uncommon for managers to skip contacting unsuccessful candidates who didn’t get the job. The manager may not simply have enough time to do so or may dislike giving negative feedback.

However, as we share briefly in this week’s post, responding to all candidates – whether rejected or accepted – not only improves your company’s brand (through candidate experience) but also line up talent that might be suitable for another position or great potential for another point of time.

Not This Time Around

• Branding: Treating candidates well reinforces both your employer brand and your consumer brand.

According to a survey by Web Recruit, nearly 75% of job seekers would let others know if they had a negative experience with a company during the recruitment process. These findings were supported by a Startwire survey of 2,000 job seekers which found that 72% of applicants would be deterred from recommending or speaking positively about a company that did not respond to their application.

• Follow up with every candidate: Ideally, you should to respond to every single applicant who applies or at the very least, the candidates you bring in to interview – even when it’s bad news. After all, the candidate took just as much time out of their day as you did to come in for the interview.

• Respect: Every organisation should treat its job applicants with the same level of courtesy and respect as it would treat its customers.

In many cases, your job applicants will be your customers. Design your entire selection process from the applicant's point of view. Think about what steps you can take to make sure they feel engaged at every stage and when it comes to rejecting candidates, make sure you do it with care and consideration (SHRM, 2015; Waung & Brice, 2007; Ployheart, Ryan & Bennett, 1999).

• Create an ‘Almost there’ list: If you had to reject well skilled candidates who only fell short in a few areas and who could probably have done the job, then file them in your ‘almost there’ list or talent management system as a ‘near miss’ who you can call on again should you be recruiting for the same or similar role again. Explain that they are a ‘near miss’ to the candidate and let them know they will be considered for future opportunities — which primes them for the future.

Re-considerations

Candidates that have been previously rejected for a position may re-apply either for the same position or if another opening becomes available, for a different role within the company – would you consider them this second time around?

• Poor Interviewees: Some people just don’t interview well, but are more than competent in their field of expertise. While it’s not good news if a salesperson can’t convince you of their value, someone applying for a skill-reliant role like IT or finance might just be more comfortable letting their résumé do the talking. Try implementing a skills-based assessment to complement the interview process, or bring in a co-worker with expertise in their field to test their knowledge and expertise.

• Constructive Feedback Follow Up: Sometimes you might have turned down a candidate that lacked a certain qualification or needed improvement on. Like those talent shows on TV, if rejected on a previous attempt and feedback was given, did the candidate come back taking on any constructive feedback and improve? They may have addressed those shortcomings and now possess exactly the competencies for which you’ve been looking.

What’s your experience with previous candidates that were rejected? Would you consider hiring any of them for another position in the future? Do you think from their previous rejection experience that they would consider joining your organisation?

image:pexels.com

Around 13.5% of today’s population are currently aged 65 and over, but by 2050 this age group will make up almost 23% of the population (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012). The ageing population has given rise to a host of issues for organisations and workplace planning. In this week’s blog we talk about the typical age of retirement in Australia, how this affects an organisation and how you can help manage these issues.

Average Retirement

Currently, in Australia, there is no set-in-stone retirement age (SmartMoney, 2014), however, there is an average number. For most people, the point at which they are ready to retire is determined by a few factors, including eligibility and age to access superannuation funds, the qualifying age of the age pension from Centrelink, health status, job satisfaction, work/life balance, job stress etc. Power (2015) mentions that the current pension age is 67 years old.

Around 77 per cent of Australians over the age of 65 receive some income support from the government. For those wishing to retire early, it will mean relying on their superannuation and other savings between retiring from the workforce and reaching age pension age.

Continued Careers?

With a wave of baby boomers reaching age 65, retirement is being redefined for the 21st century. In the 21st century, most first world citizens live 30 years longer on average than they did a century ago. Average life expectancy is now 81 for women and 76 for men. With more people living longer, it also means there will be more people to work longer as well (Shacklock, 2013).

Although the word "retire" means to withdraw or depart, many 65-year-olds today are healthy enough to work, travel and pursue their lifelong dreams – with opportunities that were unimaginable a century ago (Shacklock, 2013).

Adjusting Mindsets

There is now an increased level of awareness, or at least a perception, among older workers that they may have a choice about whether to remain working in their present employment, switch to an alternative job—either full time or part time or alternatively cease working entirely. Choices are a consequence of health, financial position and motivation to work (Patrickson 2001). Those whose health is deemed to be good, and who feel they need the money are the most likely to want to stay. Those whose skills are in short supply are the most likely to have the opportunity to stay. Managers have the opportunity and the responsibility to initiate discussions with their older employees to consider employment options they may not have thought of themselves, which may have the effect of prolonging their productive working lives to the benefit of the organisation, as well as the employees (Patrickson & Ranzijn, 2015).

Be proactive, not reactive

It is essential for employers to get away from thinking of older workers as a homogeneous group. Organisations need to collect information on each of their older workers to find out what their intentions, expectations and aspirations are, and to identify the range of employment options that they could possibly put in place. Managers need to initiate discussions with their individual older workers to explore different options and possible new roles. Once identified, talented older workers should be retained, even in a reduced working capacity, and the challenge is to reach agreement on an employment option suitable for all parties (Patrickson & Ranzijn, 2015).

Transition to full retirement

The final option is easing the transition from the workplace by exploring forms of staged retirement. There is increasing acknowledgment that external factors, such as caring needs and other responsibilities can impact productivity, and working hours and conditions for many employees are increasingly being modified on an individual basis to reflect this (Platman, 2003).

What do you think about the ageing population issue and its effects on the workplace? Do you implement any strategies to retain and/or help retirement transitions? We would love to hear your thoughts!

image:pexel

As a manager, have you ever looked for someone with great potential?

Someone with enthusiasm and passion for the job?

Someone willing to do the grunt work and understand that every detail is important?

Who hasn’t?

But finding a candidate like this while reviewing tons and tons of applicants can be challenging and costly. What if we told you, you can attract candidates with these qualities easier, and that by having a certain program in place can ensure you get candidates looking for you rather than you looking for them.

What program are we talking about?

In larger corporations such as banks and international hotel chains, you might know them as graduate programs.Depending on the industry, in other business they can also be known as trainee programs, internships, apprenticeships etc. These words might bring to mind to you how they work - a placement on rotation in different parts of your business with different criteria and the opportunity for young people to get a foot in the door. In this week’s blog post, we look at graduate programs from the manager’s perspective and share a few of the benefits of having a graduate program in place for any organisation, however small, medium or large.

1. Low-cost Staff Resource

Interns are an inexpensive resource. Their salaries are significantly lower than other employees, and you aren't obligated to pay unemployment or a severance package should you not hire them on full time. Moreover, while their wage requirements are modest, they're among the most highly motivated members of the workforce.

2. Low-risk Commitment

Offering an internship or graduate position is a relatively low-risk way to attract new talent and skills in your business, with the opportunity for some of these newbies to turn their experience into long-term employment. It’s sort of an on-the-job-training, hands on example where you assess your intern’s potential and whether fit into your culture in a real world example. By offering graduate internships, you gain access to an ambitious workforce that is well-prepared for work. In this way, internships can give you an advantage over your competitors by helping you make better use of time, reduce your costs and be more profitable.

Did You Know?

According to the US National Association of Colleges and Employers' (NACE) 2009 Experimental Education Survey:

7% of 2007-08 interns were offered fulltime positions.6% of these offers were accepted.3% of employers' fulltime, entry-level college hires came from their internship programs.80% of those employers who employ apprentices agree they make their workplace more productive

3. Mouldable

Graduates provide raw talent which can be shaped into targeted and focused employees who can make a long term contribution to the development of the company. As in our previous point, the program is a great indicator of their potential and ability to fit in with your organisation, and in this sense you can target early top performers and mould them in your organisation’s culture, groomed as a future leaders and permanent workers. Through training in different rotations you are able to assess them and see where they truly excel.

4. Opportunities to Mentor

Allows your existing team members to practice their leadership skills and review their ability to pass on information and encourage others in the organisation.

5. Networks that work for you

An internship/graduate program is a year-round recruiting tool and can allow you to have an ongoing pipeline of future fulltime employees. Moreover, universities campuses are viral societies. This means if your organisation impresses one class of interns/graduates, word will quickly spread.

6. Increased Productivity

Setting up an internship/graduate program allows you to take advantage of short-term support. The extra sets of hands help your employees be more productive, prevent them from becoming overburdened by side projects, as well as free them up to accomplish more creative tasks or those where higher-level, strategic thinking or expertise is required.

Does your business accept interns? Does it have an official graduate program? Tell us what your experience has been with them. Do you think they are useful to the company?

imagesource: pexels

Yes, the work-life company policies look amazing on paper when you are reading your contract prior to signing your employment agreement. But in practice, it’s true that a majority of you do not utilise these perks.

According to a study from LeanIn.org and McKinsey & Co., More than 90% of both women and men believe that they will take a career hit if they utilise these flexible work perks offered by the company as they are worried that they will look less committed than their peers. Whilst 118 companies surveyed offer flexible work programs, only a fraction of workers take advantage. Just 4% opt for extended maternity leave.

These findings clearly show the need for companies to possibly reinvent or change their corporate culture to facilitate a work environment that actually offers flexible work policies that their employees feel comfortable to use. Simple steps such as:

highlighting successful examples of flexible leave-takingencouraging mentor-ship and diversity programsrethinking performance reviews can most definitely influence the attitudes of employees.

We would love to hear your thoughts in respect of this issue in the workplace! Are you afraid to take advantage of flexible work policies in your workplace for the same or any other reasons?

As workforce demographics shift and global markets emerge, workplace diversity is increasingly becoming necessary in companies, rather than being advertised on their website as part of their commitment to embracing differences and change.

There are clear signs in the Leadership, Employment and Direction (L.E.A.D) Survey results prove that companies are slowly awakening to the positive benefits available through a diverse workforce.

In this week’s blog, we highlight the main points in Senior Professional HR Writer , Ruth Mayhew’s article about how employees reap tangible as well as intangible benefits from a diverse workplace:

Mutual Respect

Workplace diversity fosters mutual respect among employees. ‘Whether employees work in groups or teams comprised of co-workers with varied work styles, or colleagues who represent different cultures or generations, a synergistic work environment become the norm. Although an idyllic atmosphere may be difficult to achieve, employees nevertheless recognize the many strengths and talents that diversity brings to the workplace and they gain respect for their colleagues’ performance.’*

Conflict Resolution

Conflict is inevitable in every workplace. ‘However, employees who acknowledge others’ differences often also find similarities, particularly when there are common goals -- production and quality. Respect for co-workers either reduces the likelihood of conflict or facilitates an easier road to conflict resolution. The ability to resolve workplace conflict minimizes potential liability for employee complaints that would otherwise escalate to formal matters, such as litigation. Workplace diversity preserves the quality of employees’ relationships with their co-workers and their supervisors.’*

Business Reputation

Workplace diversity manifests itself in building a great reputation for the company and may ultimately lead to increased profitability and opportunities for workers. When companies demonstrate their commitment to diversity through aggressive outreach and recruiting efforts, a company known for their ethics, fair employment practices and appreciation for diverse talent is able to better attract a wider pool of qualified applicants.

Another advantage in respect of a positive reputation from workplace diversity includes customer loyalty as they choose to engage with companies who are socially responsible.

Job Promotion

‘The appeal of global markets creates two kinds of opportunities for employees: opportunities for promotion and employee development. A global marketplace opens doors for employees with diverse language skills and multicultural understanding to build global profit centres. Employees interested in learning multinational business strategy and who are available or possible assignments may lo find new and challenging career opportunities.’*

Increased Exposure

“A diverse workplace offers more than exposure to employees from different cultures and backgrounds. Employees learn from co-workers whose work styles vary and whose attitudes about work varies from their own. This is particularly true for employees within multigenerational work environments. Traditional-generation workers learn new technology and processes from workers who belong to the tech-savvy Millennial generation. Likewise, Generation X employees learn from exposure to the assertive, go-getter work ethic typical of many Baby Boomers.’*

Source: Ruth Mayhew, Demand Media, Why is Diversity in the Workplace Important to Employees? , <http://smallbusiness.chron.com/diversity-workplace-important-employees-10812.html>

There is no guarantee that your temporary position within a company will parlay into a permanent one, however, it is certainly possible if you play your cards right.

Working as a temporary employee allows you with the opportunity to work inside the company and ultimately give you an advantage over external candidates when applying for permanent jobs. Securing yourself a temporary role is the most productive strategy for finding a permanent position at the end of your contract. When a permanent position becomes available, an employer’s first preference is to consider the temps who are already working within the company.

Of course there are people who deliberately seek out temp work because of uncertainty in their own lives, because they need some extra cash, or because they simply want to try on a job for size, says Michael Kerr, an international business speaker, author and president of Humor at Work. “[But] the vast majority of temp workers I know are desperately hoping to parlay that experience into something full-time, either with that company or by taking the experience they gain and moving on elsewhere.”

Furthermore, the size of temporary positions’ applicant pool over the past few years has increased as well as an improvement in the quality of those applicants according to James Essey, president and chief executive of The Temp Positions Group of Companies. Essey also denotes the trend in temporary work is due to the large volatility and uncertainty in the economy.

Temporary jobs offer more flexibility to employers as finding the perfect employee for a role is often challenging - especially when they need to find the right person with the right skills and cultural fit. Henceforth temporary roles are favourable in order to evaluate the individual on the job and the period services as an extended job interview and the number of temporary jobs turning into permanent positions is at an increasing rate over the years.

Essey also states that his firm has found that roughly 70% of people in temporary positions ultimately get a permanent job at that company, proving that ‘it is indeed an effective backdoor way to get hired’.

So what can you do as a Temp to increase your chances of becoming a Permanent staffer?

1. Treat your Temp Job Like Permanent Job

Be reliable, punctual and do not lose your motivation because you are a temp. Treat it like an extended interview and utilise it as your opportunity to shine and deliver quality work and communicate effectively with your colleagues.

You can still go the extra mile by coming in early or offering to stay late – this shows your commitment, enthusiasm and flexibility.

Avoiding the mindset that you are a temporary worker is also important. The company has accepted you into this temp role because of your skills and by thinking you are part of the company, it changes everything.

2. Find out whether permanent employment is a possibility

Before you commence your temp role, find out the company’s policy towards hiring temporary employees and the prospects of temporary roles turning into permanent roles.

3. Network and build relationships

If you network well, there is also a higher chance you will land the job. Be sure to keep in touch with your contacts at all time, rather than when you are on the lookout for a new opportunity.

Reinforce the value you provide and try to get to know the leaders who make the hiring decisions. Even though you are only there for a short time, getting the time to know your colleagues are also great sources of information about who is hiring and where the opportunities lie within the company.

4. Get to know the company

Research the company that you are working for and try to understanding the history, mission and values, goals, earning reports, culture.

5.Leverage your fresh perspective

You may identify ways to make processes or systems more effective and efficient within the company. Making a list of ideas an sharing them with your manager not only shows initiative, but also show that there is a lot of useful and important work to be done and that could justify hiring you permanently.

“Identify a gap in the company that you could fill.” He says to be proactive by suggesting ideas for improvement, getting involved in implementing the changes, and volunteering for opportunities that arise.”*

6. Adapt to the culture

It is important to blend into the work environment and being a person that is friendly and approachable, provides great visibility and opportunity to showcase your work and gain new projects.

7. Ask for the job.

‘Plant the seed early on with your employer that you would like to become a permanent employee, Find out what it will take to get the offer. Make sure you will be considered when they are ready to fill permanent positions.’* Letting the person of influence know from the beginning that you could possibly be interested in working permanently for the company is also important.

Do you have any other tips to increase the chances of turning a Temporary role into a Permanent role? Do you agree with these tip? We would love to hear your thoughts.

Source:

Jacquelyn Smith, How To Turn Your Temp Job Into A Permanent One, <http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2012/09/28/how-to-turn-your-temp-job-into-a-permanent-one/>

Image:pexels

9am until 5pm. Most people within Australia would consider this to be a standard workday.

However in modern day society it has been seen that within many companies and even societies a shift away from this cultural norm may be highly beneficial. This could create not only better workplace environments but better workplace results for both companies and the individuals that work for them.

Sweden and Work-Life Balance.

A few months ago in October, many national news services reported Sweden’s change in the number of hours in an average workday. Sweden continued its reputation as a highly innovative country through the encouragement of shifting to shorter workdays.

Many companies reportedly have implemented the decision to have shorter working hours resulting in an average 6-hour working day rather than 8-hour shifts.

The rationale behind as such is that there has been the achievement of a better work-life balance for employees. This has led to a greater focus on family and friends, a more enjoyable workplace and even possible health benefits. In return, companies have received higher productivity rates than during longer drawn out 8-hour shifts.

An example of such, according to the BBC author Maddy Savage in her article ‘The truth about Sweden’s short working hours’, is a Swedish Toyota service centre. The centre, which shortened shifts over a decade ago, still maintains this practice due to the massive increase in profitability they achieved.

The Millennial Approach.

According to Forbes Business Magazine, there is an increased need for businesses to focus on millennial's. As the primary workforce of the future many businesses will need to adapt their practises in response to millennial wants and needs.

In respect to altering from the standard 9am to 5pm hours Kate Taylor, the author of the article ‘Why Millennials Are Ending the 9 To 5’ states, “60% of Millennials are leaving their companies in less than three years. With 87% of companies reporting a cost of between $15,000 and $25,000 to replace each lost Millennial employee, industries need to start paying attention to structural changes.’

Taylor continues, ‘Reports and studies seem to indicate three roots to Millennial's’ discontent and the resulting upheaval: the drive for flexibility, purposeful labour and economic security”.

This statement is followed up by the result of a branding report suggesting that forty-five percent of millennial's would choose workplace flexibility over pay.

With a shift towards the characteristics and behavioural trends of the upcoming primarily millennial workforce, it appears flexibility and movement away from the rigidity of a nine to five day could be the key to retaining employees for longer. This would also assist in raising and maintaining employee engagement – a vital element of workplace productivity.

Australia’s Path?

Although there have been few studies performed resulting in little conclusive statistical evidence, first hand accounts of many business owners and employees seem encouraging.

More trials are needed, but it does seem that in many cases Australian businesses could potentially obtain a multitude of positives in decreasing and/or changing the rigidity in the number of hours performed in the working day.

What do you think? Could your business benefit from a change to standard hours?

Sources:

http://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace-relations/sweden-is-moving-towards-a-six-hour-working-day-as-australias-hours-increase-20150930-gjyp33.html, Chloe Booker, October 2015

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34677949, Maddy Savage, November 2015

http://www.forbes.com/sites/katetaylor/2013/08/23/why-millennials-are-ending-the-9-to-5/, Kate Taylor August 2013

Image Sources: pexels

A few years ago Larry would’ve been called a star player and valuable person in his office. But lately, Larry’s performance seems to be lacklustre. He comes into work late, and while he does seem to do the bare minimum he doesn’t seem to excel or add more to the team as he used to. Does Larry sound like an employee you’ve worked with before?

In this week’s post, we talk about burnt-out or de-motivated employees and share some ideas on how you can re-invigorate those you feel are not progressing.

STEP ONE: VISIBLE SIGNS

Observe energy levels – while their performance may still be on par, they don’t have the same high energy level and thus, they may not be enjoying their work. According to Lontos (1997) managers tend to dismiss this because it hasn’t show up dramatically in sales figures or output numbers. But there are important signs to look at closer and do more than just a little motivating to prevent burn-outWatch for overwork. Tell people when they need to slow down or take a break. Be available to your employee to speak about their frustrations and problems with you. Holding in these feelings can lead to burn-out, de-motivation and in turn losses in your organisation’s bottom line.Monitor and assist employees who have heavy workloads. Some employees can handle the workload and love it, but that doesn’t mean others can or will. And if they’re productive in their own right, you shouldn’t use that against them. Either way, you should monitor every employee to make sure they aren’t overloading themselves with work (even if they want it) and assist them by delegating it evenly.Burn-out is less likely to happen if we are aware of its approach, watch for signs in its early stages and step in to support and educate the employee to change their ways before it starts affecting business.

STEP TWO: RE-INVIGORATING EMPLOYEES

These are some ideas to help those who are feeling de-motivated:

Set short term goals that are achievable and believable. These help to get people’s confidence back. If you were a marathon runner that had broken your leg and just had your cast taken off you wouldn’t think ‘right 20 kms next Saturday’. You’d start out gradually and build back up. After a series of hard times and setbacks look for the small wins, they are more powerful than you anticipate at reinvigorating your people.Team-building exercises. Leaders can inspire their teams to do even better with a break from work to strengthen the bonds between co-workers, perfect communication throughout the organisation, and generally be inspired to be better workers. There are plenty of fun exercises that help work teams grow together. One of the most effective is listening to a qualified speaker expound on corporate merits.Weekly Food Options. According to Forbes (2013), food is one of the most underutilized incentives in the office. In one their studies of more than 1200 workers, Forbes (2013) found that 60% of all employees feel more appreciated when their companies provide free food. Plus, food in the office allows teams to bond over shared meals. Leaders should consider making regular offers of sustenance to their employees; perhaps Friday can be pizza day, or Monday morning can have toasty breakfasts. If a weekly meal still isn’t in the budget, leaders can still use food as a reward by inviting employees to bring their own special meals to work. Usually, employees are more than willing to share their most beloved recipes with their co-workers, and potluck lunches can provide even more comradery than takeout.

Do you have any ideas to share on how to re-invigorate or re-motivate your employees? Share with us in a comment below.z

'What we do now echoes in eternity’ – Marcus Aurelius

Unfortunately, within today’s society (and economy) sacrifice is a word heard far too often in achieving a career. In the development and progression of their careers many individuals find themselves sacrificing one thing or another in order to maintain or achieve a role.

But what are the most important things to take account of when considering a role? How do you make sure the career decisions you make now are the right ones for your future?

Here are some considerations that we believe if kept in mind and implemented can help ensure you achieve your career goals.

SHOW ME THE MONEY!

Remuneration, by necessity, is a key element in career decision making. You have to estimate not only your current but also your future needs and relate this to the type of roles you seek and if there is a match. The fundamental importance of remuneration to career satisfaction is illustrated in a survey of more than 3,900 fulltime employees. The majority of participants (70%) described increasing remuneration as the best method for employee retention (CareerBuilder 2013).

ARE YOU HAPPY?

Another essential element to keep track of when considering career opportunities and pathways is the level of contentment in any job. Contentment can be seen in a number of ways – engagement through routine variety, moral agreement with company activities and aims, levels of teamwork or lack of. In the end many aspects of contentment fall under the umbrella of cultural fit within a company. In fact, according to Glassdoor, having positive contentment through cultural fit can increase productivity. Glassdoor quotes, “companies with engaged employees outperform those without engaged employees by up to 202%” (2015).

OPPORTUNITY FOR ADVANCEMENT:

For the majority of individuals we enter from the ground floor up. Opportunities for advancement within an organisation fosters ongoing career satisfaction. According to the Society for Human Resource Management almost one third of individuals surveyed (29%) suggested a lack of opportunity for career advancement as the rationale behind influencing them to change employers (2008).

A BALANCING ACT:

Whilst an incredibly importance component, our careers are not the be all and end all in how we define success within our lives. Family, friends, travel, hobbies, interests etc. are massive alternatives keys to happiness and health. In considering career decisions the levels of commitment, work-life balance, and flexibility needed are important considerations. A Mashable publication cites that according to a Mental Health Foundation, ‘a third of UK-based participants were unhappy about the time they devote to work, with more than 40% of employees saying they were neglecting other aspects of their life’ (2015).

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION:

Although it may seem a minor detail, location is actually highly correlative in considering job opportunities. The location of a role, and increasing commute times can have large implications for the level of contentment, work-life balance and the like. For example, according to ABC’s Fact Check, a report has shown that the percentage of individuals travelling more than 90 minutes a day has increased from 12.7 to 17.8 % of the population between 2002 and 2007 (2015). With a growing population and the likelihood of further increasing transit times job location is and should be a consideration.

What do you think? What other aspects are highly important in considering a role?

Sources:

CareerBuilder Survey Reveals Most Wanted Office Perks and What Motivates Workers to Stay with Companies, 2013, CareerBuilder, viewed 16 February 2016, <http://www.careerbuilder.com/share/aboutus/pressreleasesdetail.aspx?sd=1%2f24%2f2013&siteid=cbpr&sc_cmp1=cb_pr735_&id=pr735&ed=12%2f31%2f2013>

Elliott, A. 2015, Working hours around the world: Does work-life balance exist?, Mashable, viewed 16 February 2016, <http://mashable.com/2015/04/27/work-life-balance-worldwide/#zmUfuz_gAPqs>

Fact check: Do nine in 10 Australians spend more than 90 minutes a day commuting?, Fact Check, viewed 16 February 2016, <http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-09/commuting-times-travel-shorten/6592510>

Gurchiek, K. 2008, Lack of Career Advancement Main Reason Workers Consider Leaving, Society for Human Resource Management, viewed 16 February 2016, <http://www.shrm.org/publications/hrnews/pages/lackofcareeradvancement.aspx>

Why Investing in Your Culture is Worth it, 2015, Glassdoor, viewed 16 February 2016, <https://www.glassdoor.com/employers/blog/why-investing-in-your-culture-is-worth-it/>

Education, employment history and skills … For many employers these three aspects of an individual are considered paramount in evaluating suitability for hiring.

True, these three aspects are incredibly important in assessing suitability. However, they may not be the be all and end all in indicating employee performance. In quite a contrast, one of the best indicators may in fact be the level in which an individual’s personality aligns with that of the company – i.e. their cultural fit.

CULTURAL FIT:

A concise definition of cultural fit is provided by Harvard Business Review’s Katie Bouton (2015) as, ‘the likelihood that someone will reflect and/or be able to adapt to, the core beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours that make up your organisation’. In other more simplistic terms she merely labels cultural fit as, ‘the glue that holds an organisation together’.

THE BENEFITS:

In focusing on obtaining an employee who is united with the culture of a company, rather than just having the necessary on paper skills the benefits may be numerous to both employer and employee. Centrally, employers enjoy increased retention and engagement whilst employees gain an increased sense of contentment from working in a positive culture with like-minded individuals.

More specifically here are some facts that truly illustrate the concrete nature that a focus on cultural fit can provide:

Increased revenue, profits and return:

According to Forbes contributor Kevin Kruse (2012), ‘companies with highly engaged employees beat average revenue growth in their sector by 1 percent while companies with low engagement were behind their sector’s revenue growth by an average of 2 percent’.

Increased productivity:

Business blog Growth Everywhere states the case for cultural fit in referencing a study from the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick. The study found, ‘happy workers are 12 percent more productive than the average worker, and unhappy workers are 10 percent less productive’ (n.d.).

Decreased Costs:

Bouton (2015) states that according to the Society for Human Resource Management individual turnover as a result of poor cultural fit can cost businesses between 50 and 60% of that individual’s salary.

Increased Quality of Candidature:

Logan Hill of Bloomberg Business states ‘Glassdoor’s Dobroski reports that job seekers cite company culture as their second-highest priority, “almost tied with salary”’ (2013).

Increased Employee Retention:

Kruse (2012) further states in his article, ‘employees with lower engagement are four times more likely to leave their jobs than those who are highly engaged’.

THE TAKE HOMES:

These are just a few of the many benefits that may be delivered to a business that has a dedicated focus on cultural fit within the recruitment process. Increased revenue, profits and productivity, decreased costs, increased quality of candidatures and increased employee retention… These are not petty elements in a business’ success. Whilst education, employment history and skills are immensely important, so too should be an individual’s personality and fit with that of the organisation they might one day represent

Sources:

Bouton, K. 2015, ‘Recruiting for Cultural Fit’, Harvard Business Review, 17 July, viewed 2 February 2016, <https://hbr.org/2015/07/recruiting-for-cultural-fit>

Hill, L. 2013, ‘ Job Applicants’ Cultural Fit Can Trump Qualifications’, Bloomberg Business, 3 January, viewed 2 February 2016, <http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2013-01-03/job-applicants-cultural-fit-can-trump-qualifications>

Kruse, K. 2012, ‘Why Employee Engagement? (These 28 Research Studies Prove the Benefits)’, Forbes, 4 September, viewed 2 February 2016, <http://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2012/09/04/why-employee-engagement/2/#57d6e9c97329>

Siu, E. N.D, The Statistical Case for Company Culture, Growth Everywhere, viewed 2 February 2016, <http://growtheverywhere.com/management/statistical-case-company-culture/>

*imagesource :pexelbay.com

Almost three-quarters of Australian businesses said that working mothers bring valuable skills and expertise to the workplace, while 89% believed that companies that do not employ women returning from maternity leave are missing out, according to research from global workplace provider Regus (2014). In this post, we look at working mothers and how businesses today can attract and retain these special recruits. In our opinion we need talented and skilful women working in organisations and moving into the leadership ranks!!

WORKING MOTHERS IN AUSTRALIA

One of the very significant changes that has occurred within Australian families over recent decades has been the considerable growth in maternal employment. This sustained growth is apparent across the last 30 years of Census data, which are collected every five years (AIFS, 2013).According to News.com.au (2011) Australian working mums are among the best in the world when it comes to spending time with their kids. In the international study, Aussie mums ranked second after Ireland of the 21 developed countries examined.

MOTHERS IN GENERAL

Research shows that working mums bring benefits to their families and society in general. A 2012 US study found that women who return to full-time work shortly after starting a family often have better mental and physical health than those who stay home.The researchers from the University of Akron and Penn State University discovered that women who juggled career and family life reported higher levels of energy and mobility and were less likely to encounter periods of depression.In a 2010 Australian study, conducted by the University of New England and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, found that the children of part-time working mums are less likely to be overweight, watch less TV, eat less junk food and are more physically active than children whose mothers work full time (more than 34 hours a week) or are stay-at-home mums.

ATTRACTING AND RETAINING WORKING MOTHERS

A work-life-family balance is highly valued by most workers and employers now realise they need to offer flexible arrangements such as reduced hours, flexi-time or telework (working from home) at times.

Regus (2014) conducted a survey on working mothers and found that 93% of businesses said that flexible working hours would help returning mothers, 63% reported that more women wanted to work remotely when returning to the workforce, and 43% said working closer to home was a key factor for returning mums.

“Whether it’s flexible hours, the opportunity to work closer to home or to their families at least some of the time, or the option to choose video conferencing over business travel, these changes incentives are key to helping more women back into employment and driving the workplace into the future”, says Meghan Ashby from Regus.

Workplace flexibility is not just in the interest of employers, but also in the interests of employees as part of a dialogue and undoubtedly contributes to the productivity of individual enterprises.

What workplace strategies do you see as being most important for working mothers?

*Image Courtesy of pexelbay free image

While Interview techniques can vary significantly between employers based on wants and needs. Largely interviews focus on traditional aspects of intelligence as the main body of conversation for candidate evaluation – as reflected through the focus on qualifications and the like.

Whilst these traditional measures are highly effective to evaluating suitability for a role there is another aspect of employee potential that is far less utilised. That is, an assessment of Emotional Intelligence.

In this article we present what Emotional Intelligence is, its origins, assessment benefits, and assessment methodology - presenting how its appraisal can significantly alter the hiring process for the better.

WHAT IS IT?

Emotional Intelligence is defined as, ‘the ability to identify and manage your own emotions and the emotions of others’ (Psychology Today n.d.).

According to the Institute of Health and Human Potential this term derives from the research of Peter Salavoy and John Mayer (n.d). It was largely popularised by Dan Goleman (Instiitute of Health and Human Potential n.d.).

Furthering its definition, Psychology Today suggests Emotional Intelligence composes of three main streams of emotion; awareness, application, and management (n.d.).

Emotional awareness is the capability for awareness of both own individual emotions and the emotions of those around you (Psychology Today, n.d.).

Emotional application is the ability to exploit said emotions for the application of tasks such as thought and problem solving (Psychology Today, n.d.).

Emotional management is the ability to manage and regulate both personal emotions and the emotions of others (Psychology Today, n.d.).

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

The main benefits of an analysis of Emotional Intelligence lies in its application alongside traditional tools utilised in interviews.

While traditional tools are immensely important in determining applicability of candidates for certain roles they do not account for the level of variance in performance and success (Emmerling & Goleman 2003).

'When IQ test scores are correlated with how well people perform in their careers the highest estimate of how much difference IQ accounts for is about 25 percent' (Hunter & Hunter, 1984; Schmidt & Hunter, 1981 cited in Emmerling and Goleman 2003).

This is hugely significant as, of course, when hiring organisations don’t just want candidates that are suitable for certain roles…they want candidates that are able to excel.

Emotional intelligence can be assessed to distinguish top candidates and performers from those who are simply able to complete the role through the integration of, ‘cognitive, emotional, and social abilities’ (Emmerling and Goleman 2003).

According to Johnson (2014) Emotional Intelligence may have a significant positive impact on cultural environment, revenue growth and profitability, strategic focus, engagement, innovation, employee turnover, and industry survival.

Mariah DeLeon, vice-president of people at Glassdoor, illustrates the significance of such in a quote:

‘While different companies embody various values and cultures, success in the workplace is strongly influenced by a person’s emotional intelligence, a quality that should be a non- negotiable when vetting job candidates’ (Sun 2016).

HOW CAN YOU ASSESS EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE?

There are a multitude of methods in which Emotional Intelligence may be assessed in interviews.

These are largely based on the conception of questions aimed as evaluating aspects of a candidate’s personality.

Common focus areas could include achievements, failures, interests, habits, emotional responses, and the like.

You can create your own or there are abundant sources presenting commonly used questions.

IN SUMMARY

An assessment of emotional intelligence can be the aspect of an interview that separates the good hires from the great.

What do you think? Do you implement Emotional Intelligence assessment in your hiring processes?

SOURCES

Emmerling, R.J & Goleman, D. 2003, Emotional Intelligence: Issues and Common Misunderstandings, Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations, viewed 15 March 2016, http://www.eiconsortium.org/reprints/ei_issues_and_common_misunderstandings.html>Johnson, P. 2014, ’20 Emotional Intelligence Interview Questions’, LinkedIn Pulse, posted 16 December, viewed 15 March 2016, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20-emotional-intelligence-phil-johnson?trk=tod-posts-post1-ptlt>Sun, C. 2016, 7 Interview Questions That Determine Emotional Intelligence, Entrepreneur, viewed 15 March 2016, http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/248524>What is Emotional Intelligence? n.d., Psychology Today, viewed 15 March 2016, https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/emotional-intelligence>What is Emotional Intelligence? n.d., Institure for Healthy and Human Potential, viewed 15 March 2016, http://www.ihhp.com/meaning-of-emotional-intelligence>

*Image Courtesy of pexelbay free image

As they say, the only thing in life that is constant...is ‘change’. In a society that has changes all the time, with new and improved ways of solving problems, collaborating and getting things done; one of the key characteristics of any good employee or leader is adaptability. We are talking about taking charge of your career! - being employable is your responsibility, it’s not up to organisations to spend the time and money on your development - your job is to keep yourself relevant and resourceful and keep up with changes in your industry. Here are some tips that can help you to avoid redundancy of your career.

WHAT IS REDUNDANCY?

Redundancy occurs when an employer either doesn’t need a certain role or job to be done by anyone or has become bankrupt. Redundancy can happen when a business introduces new technology (when the job can be completed more efficiently and less costly by technology); company progression is reduced due to lower sales or productions; closes down; relocated interstate or overseas; restructures or re-organises because of a merger or takeover.

TIPS TO TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR CAREER

Gather info - Come up with a career plan. It starts with awareness of self and your industry - what’s happening now and where it is headed - explore your skills, values, opportunities, obstacles and the goals to be constantly improved on. This will represent where you stand, and what you want for the future and how you will adapt. This plan is a work in progress and can be implemented as you continue down your career path, e.g exterior training programs, seeking support from family, friends and colleagues etc.

Transferable skills - these skills can help you be indispensable. More often than not we take our skills for granted without recognising that they are in what makes us unique and employable. Being aware of our Transferable Skills is valuable in self-development and further distinguish yourself from other colleagues and candidates. The greater and prominent your skills, knowledge and experiences are, the greater your prospect of being indispensable becomes. Ensure that your skills and qualities are actively shown to the employer.

Longevity - Most of us are great at short-term plans to stay on track, but remember you must also be able to improvise and adapt when it comes to your career (a lifelong event). There are times where unexpected events can occur and you’ll need to figure out a plan B.

Resources - Think of your career as a resource you need to develop. You need to develop 3 types of career capital:

1. Why? What drives/motivates you to give your best everyday?

2. How? What skills do you have to offer? How will you do your work?

3. Whom? Who will be key contacts and be a part of your network that you can leverage to propel and build your career?

If you are able to answer these three questions, you are heading in the right preparation for anything!Pulse - keep an eyes on these areas as they will change over time, check on these periodically and what any shifts could mean in your career. The key is to continuously reinvent your career to stay relevant.

Further Reading:

> Developing a strategic vision for your career plan

> Being Effective at Work; essential traits and skills > The six best ways to find your next job

What is the difference between leadership and true leadership? Why is it so important to differentiate the two? The answer is simple, one is leading the team and one is “leading by leading”.

Have you ever come across those leaders that follow the “Do as I say, not as I do” philosophy? Well, these leaders don’t make any sense, we believe that the leader should lead by example. The only way to show the employee that they are valued and the work is important is if the person in charge also treats it as such.

Why is it important?

Leading a team is like anything in life, it requires judgement and decision making. If you are going to ask someone to complete a task, ensure that you take everything into consideration; what the task involves, if the employee can actually do it and how you as the leader can help. If you are in the leadership position, regardless of your positioning in the company, it’s your role to lead from the front. Its important to lead by example, through your own actions. What you do will reflect on how well the team performs; this benefits all of you.

Qualities of true leadership

Being a leader is not an easy task, you’ll need to coordinate your team and manage your own work. Becoming a true leader and one that will benefit the company and the team is a work in progress; no one will just turn up one day and become the best leader. The ability to make mistakes but using that as a lesson to improve yourself is an essential aspect of being a leader. A successful leader understands that they do not know everything, instead they are open-minded to opportunities for continual learning. Being a leader does not mean you are king of the team or the company, no job is beneath you.

Leaders will always make difficult decisions; the key is to make them decisively and share a clear vision with the group. There is nothing worse than a group functioning without an aim or target, they are just mindless robots tapping away at their keyboards, it just doesn’t work. True leadership must involve the leader to fully understand what is required of the team and to explain it well so that everyone can understand.

Trust is one of those characteristics that always influence our decisions and relationships, if you trust someone; you’ll want to stay with them. That is human instinct, no one wants to work or be friends with untrustworthy people. This is the same for leaders. Leaders can lead by motivation or intimidation both will probably increase your production. Studies have found positivity has the edge over scare-tactics; people are just generally more productive and like their job if they are happy.

The final key point for true leadership lies in this one simple sentence. Accepting the failures and promoting the successes. A leader needs to focus on the solutions and finding the best way to tackle the problem with your team. A good leader will surround themselves with the necessary and important team members to quickly analyze and solve the problem.

Remember, just because you are given the position to lead does not make you the leader; the difference between a true leader and leader is that people are willing to follow you.

References:

Rhett Power http://www.inc.com/rhett-power/the-5-traits-of-true-leaders.html

Bruna Martinuzzi https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_60.htm

There is a worldwide culture around connectivity. Not sure what we’re talking about? How many times have you checked your mobile today, even when you’re not at work? The 24/7 connectivity to work is increasingly becoming the norm, but does being ‘connected’ also mean your employees are ‘engaged’ thus ‘productive’? In this post we talk about connectivity and share some tips for setting parameters for a healthy work/life balance when it comes to technology.

Connectivity + Employee Engagement

Your people are working out of hours more and more these days but could this also be one of the root causes of burnout? Employee engagement is where employees are emotionally committed to an organisation and its goals. They actually care about their work and the organisations they work for but that doesn’t mean they have to be constantly working or available to do that. In fact, as we mentioned in one of our previous blogs, longer hours doesn’t mean being engaged for that long and can even affect productivity. In a study by Deloitte (2014), researchers found that people check their mobile devices up to 150 times every day”, concluding that interruptions and involvement in constant and multiple communication flows (“hyper-connectivity”) are minimising employees’ ability to absorb and process information.

A Closer Look at Behaviour

Think about it this way: would you rather have a top performer work 24/7 for two years, after which point this employee burns out, or have a top performer contribute to your organisation consistently over a tenure of 10 years? Rather than measuring hours or reach-ability, employers needs to look at behaviours and feedback to see how truly ‘engaged’ their people are. You can find this through feedback, conversations, and checking in from time to time with employees. How do you people talk about your organisation? Are they excited for that upcoming training session? Have they referred friends and family to your organisation’s products and/or services? Employee engagement is also evident through things like an employee volunteering to accept more projects; offering to help other colleagues; or speaking positively about the business…not working all the time, but having a health balance in their own mindset. Whilst a little bit of being available outside of working hours is acceptable and professional, make sure your employees get time to live and have their own space, giving them room to think and maybe even think of creative, innovative, different, great ideas to contribute for the business as those of who are engaged do.

This week’s manager tips:

Consider how connected you really need to be

Take a closer looks at your current business processes when it comes to communication with clients. Is it ok to check social media once or twice a day? Can you answer lead inquiries within a 12 to 24 hours period? These metrics will differ for each business.

Promote HR policies and practices that promote workplace flexibility and enable employees to switch off

For example, make all phone calls after 5pm go direct to voicemail to ensure that work is done between office hours. Same with emails, those received during outside hours will be replied the next office day. Another example, would be to only allow work devices and work emails (no personal emails or personal devices be used for work tasks and projects). This example, also helps when it comes to data security, encouraging for sensitive data to stay only on business owned devices.

Automate when possible

Create FAQs on your website, have an automated phone tree menu or pre-recorded hours and directions which can help reduce customer questions while freeing up employees for more important tasks.

“While technology certainly helps in streamlining processes, it’s also part of the reason why work hours have skyrocketed! In this post, we talk about long hours and how they can affect productivity.

A Global Issue

Aussies are among the hardest-worked citizens in the Western world. Even with four weeks annual leave, we bear an average workload of 1,885 hours a year. But we’re not the only ones working long hours. According to a Gallup Poll, the average American works approximately 2,370 hours a year. Many Asian countries also have a reputation for working long hours; about 22% of Japanese employees work more than 49 hours a week, and a whopping 35% of South Koreans working more than 49 hours a week. Working long hours isn’t just limited to our borders but in other highly developed countries too, so, what is the appropriate hours to work?

Long Hours = Productivity?

Research suggests that regardless of our reasons for working long hours, overworking does not help productivity. In a study of consultants by Erin Reid, (Boston University’s Questrom School of Business), managers could not tell the difference between employees who actually worked 80 hours a week and those who just pretended to.

Considerable evidence shows that overwork is not beneficial — it hurts us and the organisations we work for. Numerous studies by Marianna Virtanen of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health and her colleagues have found that overworking and the resulting stress can lead to all sorts of health problems; including impaired sleep, depression, heavy drinking, diabetes, impaired memory, and heart disease. Those are bad enough on their own. But they’re also bad for a business’s bottom line, showing up as absenteeism, poor work quality and high employee turnover.

What to do as a manager

It’s no secret that overworking can have a negative effect on a person’s productivity. Persistent long hours are contributing to higher levels of depression and anxiety. To become more productive, there needs to be a focus on work/life balance, as an employee, it all comes down to time management.

Tips to increase productivity

Making the most of your time is critical, manage it and use it well. There are two ways to increase your output - either put in more hours or work smarter. Surely you’re like us, the best way is to work smarter. Being more productive at work shouldn’t be hard, but it does require being more deliberate about how you manage your time.

- Track and limit how much time you’re spending on tasks. Research suggests that only around 17% of people are able to accurately estimate what they’ve been doing with their time. A tool like Manic time can help by letting you know exactly how much time you spend on daily tasks, including social media, email, word processing, and app .

- Take a break. What? Someone is actually telling you to take break? Did you know that breaks can actually improve concentration? Research has proven that taking short breaks during long tasks helps you maintain a constant level of performance; while working at a task without breaks leads to a steady decline in performance.

- Minimise distractions. This may mean setting office hours/ keeping your door closed/earphones in during scheduled task without interruption/ checking emails only at certain times of the day etc.

If you feel the need to increase your productivity at work, resist the temptation to put in longer hours or ask others to work longer hours too. Instead, take a step back, and re-evaluate the ways you can utilise time more efficiently.

Underperformance or poor performance has always been something to worry about by both managers and employees alike. Ever worked in a workplace or a team where your colleague isn’t exactly pulling their weight? It can be infuriating and troublesome. What can we do about it?

What is Underperformance?

Underperformance or poor performance is a failure to perform the duties of the job to satisfactory levels required by the company. A common mistake people associate underperformance with is “misconduct”.

Misconduct involves absence from work, having a bad behavior or attitude towards work/colleagues or breaching of policies and procedures. While Underperformance entails unacceptable standard of work, poor quality of work and outputs and low productivity.

Should we figure out the issue or release the Underperformers?

It is important to understand that people face problems and difficulties in their lives, whether it is short term or long term. It can be simple to label them as underperforming and be done with it. Studies have shown that in most cases, underperformance can be caused by a number of reasons; whether their roles are clear to them or having personal issues. There are a few questions you, as the performance manager, should question before labeling them as unsatisfactory.

1. Are the expectations made clear to the employee(s)?

2. Whether the employee has the right skill sets and training to complete the task

3. Have you asked the employee what difficulties he is having and provide him/her help?

4. Do you have conversations regularly with the employee to better understand their situation?

These questions are important in understanding the situation the employee is in; sometimes it could be a performance fix or more in-depth at the emotional level. In both cases, it is essential for the manager to be clear of the situation.

The behaviors and actions of the underperformers are just the tip of the iceberg. If you don’t address the entirety of the issue, it could blow out of proportion for both you and the organization.

Ways to help manage the underperformers:

There are a number of ways to help manage and assist underperformers to meet organizational working conditions. These are just some suggestions that will work in most cases; ensure that they fit with your organization’s goals and compatibility.

A commonly used method is utilizing the SMART objectives approach; where you set up “Specific” objectives, “Measurable” indicators of performance, “Agreed” responsibility and roles, “Realistic” achievements and “Timely” results. This approach is more organizational based and will involve the managers making it clear what is expected and that every employees know what is required from them.

To regularly conduct performance reviews, there are many cases where the employee may be unaware they are not performances are not meeting expectations. It needs to be conducted on a periodic basis and has to be specific with no generalizations. It is important to establish exact performance goals and the consequences that may occur if not achieved. Afterwards, if the performance review shows the employee is below expectation, the manager needs to organize training for the specific deficiency to maintain relevance of the employee; if the issue is performance related.

For cases that involve personal or more emotional-based problems, it is important to show support through a mentoring program. To match the employee with someone who they can learn and understand the skills involved as well as having someone to talk to. Being satisfied and happy at the job is essential for performing well too.

Reference:

PlusHR, How to Identify and manager underperformance, http://www.plushr.com/how-to-identify-and-manage-underperformance/

Jeremy Reis, 5 Steps in Managing Underperformance in the workplace, http://learnthat.com/5-steps-in-managing-underperformance-in-the-workplace/

Sometimes your job will last you a lifetime, sometimes you just can’t stay there any longer. Whether it is for a change in your career or the environment just isn’t right for you, you will need to undergo the process of resignation.

Is it uncomfortable? YES

Is it awkward? YES

Do you still need to tell the people involved? YES

It is an inevitable procedure and you will likely face a lot of uncertainties and unhappiness. You need a plan and to remain calm in this moment. Be motivated by the excitement of a new opportunity that you are heading towards. It is important to not “storm out”, destroy all your friendships in the office and most definitely not leave a terrible reputation behind. Be a decent human being, not the one people will hate.

What you should never do

“One employee left a note on her manager's desk saying she quit and wouldn't be back. Another employee got mad, yelled at the boss, and walked out the door. Neither option, of course, is the best way to resign if you can help it.” – Excerpt by Alison Doyle Jobsearch

Some Professional Advice for your Resignation.

The most important aspect of your resignation is to resign gracefully. Give them the appropriate notice period so they can find someone and you have the opportunity to pass on your work. Positivity is always wiser than negativity.

When you quit, it is essential to provide a resignation letter, it acts as a formal document that you are leaving the company. Agree on the notice period as required in your contract of employment and as well the priorities around completion of tasks.

This may sound counter-intuitive, offer your help with the new transition and hand over your responsibilities and projects appropriately to the next person. After all, during your notice period, you are still employed and hence it’s your responsibility to continue to give your best effort in the job and finish in the company on a high note. People will remember you as the employee that has a hardworking and positive attitude; when it is time for a reference, colleagues and bosses are more willing to provide a good reference.

Lastly, on the last few days of your notice, send an email to all the colleagues you have worked with and have formed connections with that you are leaving. If you send a company-wide email, it appears insincere and those you’ve never come in contact before wouldn’t even know who you are! Keep it short and simple, let them know why you are leaving and a farewell message. If you wish, you can leave your contact details for the ones that you wish to continue interactions with.

Exit Interview

Some companies or the HR department will invite you to attend a farewell interview. It is courteous to attend and always be professional at the interview, it is your final contribution to the company and make it helpful! You are allowed to provide any constructive feedback but ensure it isn’t a complaint.

Take Home Message

Resignation can be an extremely difficult and uncomfortable topic to raise and even more awkward during the notice period. Maintain calm and professionalism during this time, remember that your colleagues will always be your connections, friends you made during your work time can continue to be friends. Be motivated by the new opportunity that awaits you!

Staff Engagement and employee retention are top issues for CEO’s and HR Directors. Well, that is what most articles will tell you. Company Culture and Retention, these subjects always pop up on HR news, LinkedIn posts and news on employees. Why is this a hot topic? Is staff attrition and people engagement trending in the wrong direction for organisations??

Let’s break it down and explore further.

“The only thing we have is one another. The only competitive advantage we have is the culture and values of the company. Anyone can open up a coffee store. We have no technology; we have no patent. All we have is the relationship around the values of the company and what we bring to the customer every day. And we all have to own it." – Howard Schultz CEO, Starbucks

Employee retention can be determined by career paths, remuneration, recognition or responsibilities. Employees come and go, but what about those that rapidly lose interest upon setting foot into the company?

There are a number of reasons that could explain this notion, though one overarching factor comes to mind. Company Culture. Company Culture, is what the organisation and the boss stand for, what they expect out of everyone working there to reproduce an environment that reflects what values they represent.

Take NetFlix for example. They’ve published their company culture online for all to see and admire, and people will click to read it! They’ve received at least 11 million views already and even with the COO of Facebook approving their culture. “Freedom and Responsibility” is their “Culture Manual” and it sets out the values that people need to buy into when working at Netflix. Research has shown, their retention rate is one of the highest in the world and they consistently encourage employees to maximise their career potential. Taking the Netflix example, transparency and helping employees to grow seems to be a good idea…

The Competing Values Framework by Kim Cameron and Robert Quinn has created the table below that sums up four different categories of organizational culture. Each section determines a different approach to work, each has its benefits and each has its negatives.

Which quadrant are you in?

Is there really a correct approach to dealing with organizational culture? I don’t think so.

Every company has their own culture, their personal approach to doing business. Their culture should reflect what they do externally and internally and the way they interact with the customers and clients of their business. Culture can only be determined ineffective when you are producing negative results and staff retention is low. It may be wise to observe and understand what your employees think about working at the company!

Take Home Message:

Workplace culture and retention go hand in hand, employees work well when they fit in with the group and having similar ideals and work ethics. There are many approaches towards generating a successful and sustainable culture. Flexibility, Stability, Inward and Outward approaches, they can all be considered for your next evaluation. Company culture is not set in stone. The company is a place to grow, so address the challenges and thrive!

Employees and their motivation is an important aspect of any successful organization. Productivity and efficiency follows when the employee is motivated and inspired to deliver great results. However it’s not uncommon at certain stages for employees to stagnate in their jobs, whether for personal or external reasons. You need to look out for the tell-tale signs of an employee’s lack of drive!

“Peter recently started an exciting new career as an account coordinator at an award-winning ad agency. Everything about the new position excited him, from working with new clients to collaborating with fellow creatives to coming up with innovative ideas. The future was looking bright.

Fast forward one year.

Peter’s first year with the agency was successful. Unfortunately, the enthusiasm when he first started has since faded. He’s grown comfortable in his position -- maybe even too comfortable. What used to excite him is now just another item on his to-do list.” – Managing Employees - Entrepreneur

There will be many people just like Peter in this case, people who are exceptional and ready to work but will soon find they are not as valued or the job is not as engaging as they previously thought. Three in Four employees are open to or looking for new job opportunities according to a study by Career Builder.

What makes your company different?

To understand and be engaged with your employee means to be on the same page as them. One of the most important ways to retain your staff is by including them in your company’s vision. Sounds really simple…but do they know what their role is in the greater scheme of things? The mission statement will be the same but the vision of the company continues to evolve and develop. The employee needs to know this so they will be able to set and align their own goals with those of the company. Being able to connect work to results will create an enthused and motivated workforce.

Agile work environments as we have mentioned before, are beginning to become part of the mainstream in organizations. Less structure and more engagement style of workplaces have been found to be the go-to environment employees thrive in. It creates an atmosphere of change and change creates opportunity whether for work or to forge new relationships.The work environment can be a highly competitive place; targets need to be met. These expectations can be stressful and create demands on a person’s energy and mental capacity to deliver. Introduce a bit of friendly competition in the workplace, set aside time away from work as a team or department and do something that is different to work. Not only will it stimulate concentration, it will generate excitement.

Take Home Message:

The mission statement and the company vision are two separate entities, the former relates to the direction of the business while the latter is the process to achieve that goal. Everyone has a role in shaping and solidifying that vision. If your employee does not know that vision, you are creating a bridge with no support. Tell them they are important and tell them they matter, introduce some uniqueness into the workplace to ensure your employees continue to perform and want to stay!

Improving office morale is an initiative not to be taken lightly. Negativity in the workplace can not only have disastrous effects on employee attitudes and cohesiveness, but can suffocate new ideas and potential business growth.

The symptoms can aggravate low employee retention and high turnover, threatening a company’s biggest asset: people. In order to reduce the likelihood of toxicity and negativity, one must find the source of the problem. Investigating any types of social rumblings or general complaints is an effective way to start acknowledging the significance of negative attitudes. Identifying employee groups and surveying their feedback allows management to gain a more transparent perspective of the issues. By analysing the environment, relevant polices and changes can be easily implemented.

Firstly, communicate with people the strategic framework and core values of the business. Revisit the mission statement and make adjustments if it needs more clarity. Cohesiveness comes with employees showing inclusiveness. Indicate to them that they are all on the same team, this can be done through showing clear direction and shedding light on the contribution they can make.

Empowering your employees and creating alignment with your strategy and vision give’s them a sense of purpose. This is why recognition and reward systems are vital for employee motivation. Promotions and lateral transfers must be visible for all staff, they must know there is room for growth. For them to trust you, you must trust them. Even if they are newly hired, treat your colleagues as if they are worthy of your respect and trust.

Make opportunities known to those who have suggestions regarding topics such as a new dress codes, desk arrangement or pay. Unsurprisingly, some people can be intimidated by the hierarchy of management and so you want to put your workers at ease when making recommendations or requests. Remember Its important to not be complacent when it comes to the mood in the office.

This situation is often the best worst thing. Two great, but very different opportunities are on the cards and choosing between them can be highly stressful. Its never an easy or simple decision when you’re evaluating all aspects of the job, especially when you’re having to decide on things such as salary and lifestyle. Here are some useful strategies to make that decision making process run smoother.

Firstly, comparing the opportunity of two jobs is best done with a list. Make two columns for each employer and add in the following factors: Salary, hours, commute, growth opportunities in and outside the company, level of rapport with prospective staff, personal days, perks, company values and reputation. Whether you’re using excel or a notebook, this is the quickest way to draw a conclusion and get you thinking about the variables involved with both companies. The effectiveness of this method depends largely on you having complete information about each offer and the job responsibilities.

Listen to your gut. If you noticed any red flags during your interactions with either organisation, don’t ignore them. Picking up on these minor inconsistencies might just be enough to get you off the fence. It’s important that you evaluate the potential relationships and this is not something to be neglected, if anything, these professional relationships might mean more for you than the job itself. You need to identify what it is you want out of your career and align it with the two jobs in contention. There could be an opening for you to negotiate an aspect that is holding you back from accepting the offer. There is no harm in discussing your questions or requests with the organisations, if you hold back on doing that, you may end up regretting that later.

Lastly, handle turning down your offer as politely as possible. Along the lines of thanking the employer for their interest in you and essentially keeping the door open for future conversations. There is no point burning bridges, especially if they end up needing someone with your skillset and you’re on the job hunt again.

A good leader knows how to bring out the best from every member of their team, playing to their strengths is necessary in order to be successful. Employees who are innately timid can often get overlooked by colleagues who are typically louder and confident. It’s a skill to unlock the potential and talent within your employees who may be less outgoing than others. An effective manager is one who takes his time to understand and empathise with their employees. Here are some ways in which the more introverted people in your office can be empowered by colleagues.

Help them prepare, especially if its an oral based task, like a meeting or an important presentation with clients. Preparing speaking points and clarifying their role within the meeting will help with confidence. If they have a strong knowledge base and good ideas, all they need is some encouragement, offer suggestions and ways in which they can deliver their comments. They should not be overlooked for their achievements and giving them credit is a good way to prevent this. Keeping a close eye on their welfare is needed since they may not have the courage to speak up if they are having issues. Put yourself on the right side of them and put an extra effort into encouraging them when they experience shortcomings.

For introverts, brainstorming is best left one on one. Quiet employees tend to succumb to nerves and self consciousness when they make suggestions. The pressures of being creative by whim is hard enough as it is. Submitting written recommendations in their own time or compartmentalised brainstorming sessions might see your shy employee’s great idea come to life. What works best will different for everyone and this is why it is important to get to know them better. Identify their skills in order to evolve their positions within the company. Foster a culture where quieter personalities are not considered a sign of weakness. Above all, let them know they are valued regardless if they talk a little or talk a lot.

The glue that holds any successful relationship together, is trust. The work place is a combination of varying personalities and work ethics, trust can help with ensuring these interactions are healthy and positive. Leaders in all contexts must build trust in order to achieve their goals.

We know that a strong web of professional relationships mostly stem from qualities such as respect, diligence and kindness. Trust implies a sense of reliance and a duty of obligation. If achieved, it will mean that co-workers will go above and beyond with people they trust.

Praising your peers is an effective way to develop an authentic relationship. Much like in social scenarios, complimenting someone makes you seem as gracious. It has to be carried out genuinely meaning that the timing of such praise needs to be carefully considered. Team meetings and presentations are a great opportunity to extend your thanks or appreciation more naturally.

When it comes to office politics, sharing gossip and secrets is obviously not ideal for building trust. Rumours can poison even the best of relationships. If you are talking behind someones back, people will assume you do the same to them. Its an ongoing toxic cycle that ends with you not being involved in the first place. If you are in this place already, be honest in clearing any circulating gossip that could be harmful in the future. Resolving the issue in person and in private is often the best way to do this. This does not mean that it should stop you from sharing information. It is a matter of your intentions, if the goal is to help your co-workers develop and succeed, make sure you carry it out selflessly.

Of course, trust is a two way street. So trust your peers if you are expecting them to trust you back. Unintentional or not, micromanaging others can be a big deterrent in building trust. Schedule check in meetings to give them all they need in order to succeed and trust them to execute it. People trust leaders who make them feel valued. The degree of this all comes down to being consistent with your expectations. If you are routinely on time for meetings and projects, no one will ever doubt your delivery. This applies to your individual mood as well. Being calm, collected and cool under high pressure situations is a must in achieving a professional rapport.

Is the job ad dead? Well certainly not yet. All companies, from big corporates down to small businesses continue to advertise vacancies on such mediums as SEEK, Indeed and Linkedin. HR and hiring managers sometimes wonder why people are not getting inspired by their job opportunity. It could be because the market for that role is ultra competitive or it is often due to the quality and presentation of the job ad.

A job ad is like any sales pitch and its ultimate purpose is to allow ease of access for promising talent. And like any great movie or book, you must capture the attention of the audience from the beginning. Think about the role in particular and target questions or statements that might appeal to him or her. Craft the introduction using words to capture your potential candidates, ideally, you want to strike a good balance of professionalism and excitement. Know the difference between what qualities and expectations needs to be mentioned rather than what would be preferred. At the end of the day, the job needs to be filled by the most ideally skilled candidate.

Keep it concise. List three to five key responsibilities or competencies someone would need to be successful for the job. List the essentials of education and experience, and depending on the type of job, 400 to 800 words should suffice. Whilst you don’t want your job ad to address every skill under the sun, you do want to make it as detailed as possible. Share and make clear the realities, the possible rewards and room for growth within your company. Selling them the opportunity is the employers job.

This is why it is important to maintain a human voice. Indicate to the potential candidate that the company is exciting and it does have a sense of personality. This will set you apart from other listings and set the tone for the culture of your organisation. Be sure not to overdo it with humour and misrepresent the feel of your company. Think about the words you use and ensure it’s inclusive, everyone has an opportunity for the role if they believe they have the required aptitude and skills - even if they only have experience in a completely different industry. The more transparent you are from the beginning means the likelier they are to succeed with your company in the future.

A successful team performance is the sum of each member’s personal contribution. Which means that there can be no weak link. To be noticed by peers and superiors alike, it is imperative that you know how to play well with others. Whilst the 21st century brings an increased degree of diversity, it does demand one to be hyper-compatible with an array of differing personalities and backgrounds. There is no greater outcome than a team combining their knowledge and talents to achieve a certain goal, so it is no surprise companies are encouraging more team based projects in the modern era. However, getting the individual basics right is the first step towards being a successful team player.

Practice being open-minded. With an expected amalgamation of opinions, it is essential that you adjust and consider everyone’s perspective - even if you downright know that what they’re saying is a ‘stupid’ idea. Being receptive to feedback and constructive criticism is all part of the job and should be welcomed. This is because these peer to peer suggestions might have the ability to transform your own skills and eventual success. Think of it as a learning curve to seeing things differently, who wouldn’t want that ability when aspiring for future promotion? Things like meeting deadlines and respecting team meetings is another way to earn the respect of your team members. If you say you’re going to do something, do it and do it to the best of your ability. Everyone loves a reliable group member and no one wants to be blamed individually if things turn sour.

Adapting and appreciating your colleague’s work styles are noteworthy tips. The multigenerational workforce means that there will be different approaches and timelines for each member’s work. Expect the process of teamwork to be a rocky ride but know when to pick up the pieces. Yes, unfortunately, there will be situations where you’ll have to account for other people’s work. Your effective management can help avert the crisis and thats why flexibility is a key attribute for any successful team member. Focus on the quality of work at hand and avoid office politics, even if people are slacking off. In the latter case, it may be appropriate to call them out, rather than push it under the carpet. Lastly, know when to celebrate your peer’s successes. This display of humbleness towards a co-worker means they’re likely to do the same for you in the future. Focus on your team goals and never stray from what you set out to achieve in the first place.

Nothing can be more unnerving when a senior manager or head of the company decides to quit. It’s completely natural to experience feelings of uncertainty about what this means moving forward. After all, when the person was “steering the ship” there was a sense of stability and certainty. News that the boss is leaving is normally out of the blue and can leave you with questions about what that can mean for your own professional future. So what are the best steps to take in order for you, and hopefully the company, to succeed?

This advice might come as a surprise but in order to not over-read the situation, it is best to keep doing what you are best at and that is your job. Think business as usual, especially in the short term. Don’t let the departure of one influence your performance negatively. Definitely avoid gossiping or speculating on the subject with co-workers and clients alike. Alternatively, if you are relieved to see them leave, keep it to yourself. It’s unprofessional and will make you appear insensitive to your colleagues. Hierarchy will be reshuffled and it would be wise to discreetly take advantage of this notion. Let HR know that you’re willing to step up if needed.

After the announcement is made, ask the right people what the next move is. Talk to your most trusted and relevant superiors about the plan moving forward. Hopefully the nature of the resignation is not out of the blue and immediate, in any case, preparation is key. This is where you fill the void and assist with keeping the morale high. Look out for people who are feeling nervous or unsettled, reassure them by relaying the direction of the company. Remind them that the new boss could be just as good. Tell them and yourself to be proactive and schedule a meeting with the new boss so you are up to speed on their vision and expectations.

Of course, it is important to know if its time to leave. The boss’s departure could signal an organisational shift or restructure that could negatively impact on your career plans. There could also be a silver lining for some people with this change. A restructure may offer up opportunities for redundancy and a payout.

It can take some time getting used to the new boss and sometimes it just doesn’t work out. If its not clicking, stay on top of future opportunities elsewhere and remain in control of your own destiny.

Unfortunately, the phrase, ‘ I hate my job’ is one that appears far too often. Everyone deserves to get out of bed every morning to go and do what they love. In reality, I know its tough to go to work every day when there is a prominent aspect which you’ve come to greatly dislike. However, the first rule is to keep those negative thoughts to yourself and don’t share them in the workplace. I have heard plenty of stories where people “offload” their grievance to colleagues, only for it to filter back to a manager, sometimes distorted along the way. Which then requires a lot of explaining and back pedalling. Telling your family or close friends is always a good outlet for discussion. Never forget that just because you hate what you do doesn’t mean you have to keep at it. Getting to the point where you dislike your job is not out of the ordinary, it happens. The most important thing is what you do next.

Don’t quit your job unless its absolutely unavoidable. The last thing you want is to make an irrational decision and end up regretting it because you couldn’t find another job fast enough. So it is important to reflect on the current situation. What are the reasons for you wanting to quit? Can these be quickly resolved? Is there anything you could be doing to make you happier at work? If the problem is perceived to be short term, perhaps you could ask for a department transfer or shift change. Always consider the alternatives, as it is usually easier than having to find a new job. Which means you have to be ready to for the forthcoming job search. Take the time to do up your cv, update your linkedin and network a suitable job opening. This process may take a while so be prepared for the long haul in your current job.

Lastly, it is of the utmost importance to resign cordially. You don’t want to burn any bridges. You want to leave a positive long lasting impression on your way out. Always keep in mind that hating your job doesn’t always mean quitting it.

In a time where social media is thriving, its an important to use it so you can build and enhance your social and professional brand. It provides an excellent platform to showcase your skills, opinions and abilities. Blogging and commenting on certain topics within your desired industry is a great pathway to developing a profile and visibility to others. Social media channels can lead recruiters to your virtual doorstep and it helps strengthen your chances at the job interview.

Following the social media sites of companies which are of interest will help give insight into their company culture and workplace values. Linkedin in particular will allow you to understand who are the key decision makers and what it is they do. This is especially important if you plan on reaching out directly to a head of a department. You’ll also gain knowledge on the company’s clients and the type of work that they deal with. This type of information can be used during the interview and hopefully give you the edge needed to succeed.

Updating your Linkedin profile is critical, companies rely on the platform to search and hire candidates. In essence, it is simply an online CV. It also provides the opportunity for colleagues to ‘endorse’ your skills and competencies for greater authenticity. Former bosses or co-workers can include personal testimonials praising your ability. Its these types of extra features which make updating your Linkedin profile vital. Remember to be mindful of what you post, share, like or comment on. It is highly likely that recruiters will see all of your activity, positive or not.

Whether it’s in the office, an offsite or a staff function, knowing how to small talk is all apart of being a business professional. Unfortunately, it has a reputation for being superficial and unnecessary. However, it can provide the foundations for effective and meaningful business relationships. Communication and engagement is the glue that helps bind people and empower them to respond and work together. Plus if you have aspirations to climb the corporate ladder, engaging with people throughout the organisation is critical

The first step is to get you in the right headspace. Facing the fear of falling into trivial conversation might be especially likely for introverts, however it is important to remember that everyone has some degree of social anxiety. Once you highlight the reason for why you avoid engaging in small talk, then you can make a plan to conquer that fear. Create a pitch to start the conversation and your interest in the person will be made immediately clear. Tailor the conversation around the current situation or their particular character. It is also helpful to come up with a 30 second introduction which is broad enough to be used time and time again. It doesn’t always have to be about work, but try using the conversation to display your interests and passions. This should help with continuing the conversation, especially since it’s a topic you are familiar with. Finding common interests or experiences is what turns small talk into meaningful conversation.

Always ask questions and be engaged in what they have to say. Most people enjoy talking about themselves and are flattered when you take an interest in them. By asking follow up questions, you allow more room for your contributions to be just as relatable. Keep them open ended to allow for conversation paths. This will lead to the a flowing discussion.

One last tip is to boost your conversational partner’s self esteem, done in a genuine way of course. You want to leave the conversation knowing you made their life a little better after having met you. Practice makes perfect at the end of the day. So practice with everyone you meet. You’ll eventually start feeling comfortable enough that it won’t feel like small talk anymore, just simply, good conversation.

Mastering the phone interview is something of a lost art. It is a common hurdle during the hiring process which is often overlooked by aspiring professionals. For companies, this step can save time and money when pooling candidates for the job. The importance of phone etiquette is often neglected amongst the rise of social media, making preparation essential.

First and foremost, choose a quiet spot with no distractions but be certain it is somewhere your phone will stay connected. Speak in a clear and confident voice. It ensures conviction in what you are saying. Don’t forget to sound upbeat and enthusiastic. In terms of preparation, it is crucial that you study the company, the job position itself and the industry. Subsequently, aligning your skillset and experiences where relevant. Write down these mock answers on a ‘cheat sheet’, which you can refer to throughout the phone calls duration. This will help keep you on track with your answers and writing it all on paper allows for better memory retention, especially when faced with interview nerves. It is also recommended that you keep your resume with you, as it is likely the caller will be reviewing it at the time of the interview.

Listen attentively and take notes where necessary. Towards the end of the interview, you can use whatever valuable information you’ve written down to create new questions or discussion surrounding the job. The interview is meant to be a conversation so it is important to jot down questions to show you are interested in not just any job, but the one they’re offering. And remember, one of the biggest rules in interviewing is to avoid discussing money until after an offer has been made.

After the call, send a follow up thank you note. The interview doesn’t end when you hang up the phone so ensure you show your gratitude. It can be along the lines of thanking them for putting aside the time to see you. It is in this note which you can reiterate your interest of the position and emphasise why you are the perfect fit. Leaving a lasting impression such as this could give you the edge needed to secure the role. Hiring is never an easy process, so get as much practice in as possible.

In the business world today, employee health and wellbeing is a key focus of some of the world’s most successful and innovative organisations and contributes to staff retention. Investing great time, energy and resources into creating workplace environments will monumentally increase engagement and performance. It will also provide lower turnover rates, fewer absences and higher job satisfaction.

Leading from the front is very important when it comes to such programs. Those with senior positions must be seen as the champions of the wellness program. They must embrace the role and are responsible for nurturing a culture of transparency. Without the right attitude from the top, it is likely the program wont be seen all the way through.

It can be in the form of providing healthy food options within a 2km radius of the office. People who tend to avoid healthy foods will typically need an incentive to do so. It also gives opportunity for co-workers to eat out together and socialise. Negotiating corporate discounts for nearby health clubs and gyms is another effective way to localise your wellbeing efforts. It could be as simple as giving a 30 minute break each day for employees to exercise or walk. Many would automatically think of the high cost associated with introducing a type of ‘program’, but in reality, it can be done extremely cheaply. Of course we don’t expect you to provide nap-pods, lego stations and massages daily like Google does. An affordable option could mean encouraging the employees to get up and stretch once a day. There is no right way to do this, you must tailor your ideas around a company’s employees and not the other way around. For example if the building’s smokers are trying to quit, provide smoking cessation services. Showing that you care about your employees will help with building morale. Remember, the goal is to create a positive and healthy culture within the office.

Every company wants 100% engagement from their employees. It is expected for employees to give their best each day and commit to the organisations goals and values. Bringing a high level of dedication and passion to the job often leads to innovation in the workplace, a quality most companies fail to achieve. It is essential for businesses to create a work environment that encourages employee engagement and retention. This is because it is likely that the most successful ideas will derive from those who know the company best - the current employees.

Similar to employee retention, an effective recognition and reward system must be put in place. Each worker should have an opportunity to to recognised for their hard work, but its important the business makes this accessible. Frequent, transparent and sometimes overt displays of merit towards an employee is the type of encouragement that is needed to keep them productive. This should be coupled with frequent feedback on ongoing performance. It is important to remember that it must be carried out in a progressive and positive manner. Specify what they do well, what they can do better and what they want to achieve in the near future. Aligning their values with the company’s values is another assured way of improving engagement. You must make them realise the business’s vision and remind them of their value in achieving it. Menial or not, no employee will be interested in the work if they can’t see what it is they are aiming for.

Strong relationships with co-workers is for the most part, positive for the business - especially when they are equivalently engaged. Creating an environment in which these types of friendships can be cultivated is likely to keep employees motivated as it ensures co-operation and shared passion. Setting up the team for success also means that each and every employee needs proper training. Knowing the job will improve their confidence and ultimately their performance. Look to prioritise your employee’s engagement and the company will reap the benefits of a happy, productive team.

Employee retention is essential to your business’s health, both internally and externally. They boost customer satisfaction, product sales, volume sales and ensure satisfied co-workers. In a perfect world, your star employees want to remain with the company. Here are some suggestions to keep those over achievers intact:

Managers are constantly interacting (or sometimes are not, which could be the problem) with employees and therefore have a large impact on employee performance. Its common for workers to leave managers rather than the job itself. The last thing you want is for a good employee who does enjoy the work but feels inclined to resign as a result of poor management ability. This is usually due to a lack of clarity of expectations, feedback on performance, structure of work and frequency of scheduled meetings. If you feel that more than one of these areas are slipping amongst certain departments, review and discuss them immediately. Any delay may incur a snowball of resignations. You want to create an environment where the employees feel like an asset to your company. No one will give 110% if they believe their position holds no value. It could be as simple as greeting them by name or acknowledging their contribution. You could ask for their opinion on the current efficiency of certain business processes, which may in turn improve company performance. Rewarding good work should be engrained into the company’s culture. Monetary bonuses are always nice, but sincere praise and recognition is more effective at creating loyalty.

It also helps to clarify the job description where necessary. Communicating this directly and clearly will give confidence to the employee, likely to result in improved individual performance. Of course, employees want to improve their skills and hopefully earn a larger salary as their professional lives move in to the future. That is why it is critical that there are opportunities to grow and learn, but perhaps even more important to make this known to current employees. Provide challenging and stimulating tasks. Believe in your employees with certain projects. Tap into their passion and ask what their career development plans are. Creating a supportive environment in which employees know their is room to advance in the company may just be enough to keep them around.

Take a look at your organisation and make note of your employees, superstar or not. Don’t exclude or forget anyone’s ability because at the end of the day, they all have potential to be the very best in the company.

What if I told you that something as simple as your morning routine may have implications on your professional success. The most accomplished of individuals perform their early mornings rituals almost exclusively. Drawing inspiration from Apple founder Steve Jobs, in which he asked himself, “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I’m about to do?”. If the answer was a no for too many days in a row, he knew he’d have to change something. Its never too late to start, so we thought we’d provide some suggestions to help with that morning routine of yours.

Take charge of your day and wake up earlier. Richard Branson wakes up at 5am every morning to spend time with his family and exercise, putting him in a good frame of mind before work. Now this may be too early for you, but the benefits of waking up first in your household allows solitude for your morning. When the alarm goes off, no snoozing, its time to get up. It may even help if you start waking up each day incrementally earlier than the day before.

Before you head straight for a cup of coffee, have a glass of cold water first. Rehydrating your body before a big day at the office will help your focus. From here, have a light read. It can be the paper or simply just a few pages of a book. It will help wake up the mind and might even inspire you. Review your day over a healthy breakfast, being the most important meal of the day, this is essential. Your morning routine should involve avoiding any technology - it might even mean that you have to switch off your phone once your alarm goes off.

Of course, engaging in a physical activity before you head into the nine to five grind is beneficial in many ways. It helps with controlling weight, improves mood, promotes better sleep and boosts your energy. It can be a walk through the park or a session at the gym with a fellow co-worker. Subsequently have a cold shower to wake yourself up even further.These guidelines will provide a good foundation for your new early morning routine. Hopefully, you will start to notice an improvement in your overall productivity at work and a happy wellbeing. It is encouraged that you experiment with your schedule and discover which works best for you.

Socialising with fellow workers out of the office comes with its many pro’s and con’s. Happy hour after work with the whole department. Alex from HR is your new gym buddy every morning before the big nine to five grind. If accepted, you may risk complicating your professional relationship. Of course, if you decline, you may come off as stand-offish and not interested in getting to know your colleagues.

The obvious benefit is that you’ll build a stronger relationship with that person. Bonding over a similar interest or experience together helps build respect, trust and loyalty. Reciprocated good behaviour is common amongst friends and is also valuable in the workplace. It also means that office introverts might find socialising outside the office a more comfortable scenario. This is especially important in modern diverse work environments where there may have been unnoticed skills or talents from one of the more “quieter” employees. A social interaction may allow you to encourage them to contribute to the organisation at a higher level. Chatting about work around the dinner table or sporting field will also help with keeping up to date on office activity and current projects. Valuing your co-workers will in turn allow increased employee engagement.

Of course their are potential liability issues. If alcohol is involved, it leaves room for lapses in judgement and lowered inhibitions. Negative office talk may hinder the cohesiveness and eventual productivity of the team. The last thing you want to do is involve yourself in office politics, or be exposed to inappropriate behaviour. Perhaps the most obvious drawback is employees not getting along. Its natural for everyone to not always see eye to eye, but ensuring mutual respect goes along way.

So if you decide to join in on your office’s next social event, acknowledge the pros and cons. Its great to build relationships and get to know your colleagues. Having said that, as popular as after work drinks are, it’s sometimes best to resort to other activities of a sober nature.

Some people feel as if they are underpaid for the role they perform. Some accept it, but if that is your belief, why don’t you ask for a pay rise? Sure it can be a scary prospect for some people, but if you believe its justified, then why not present your case?. Even if it is never given, asking - appropriately - may show your professionalism and initiative. It’s essential that you have a good idea of how your colleagues and managers view you. If they consider you dispensable, your raise is less likely to come to fruition. However, if you have proved your value in the company and know first hand that you are one of the few capable of pulling off certain tasks, then you have a stronger case to argue.

Start by preparing yourself with the current company’s performance. Is the business meeting goals, where do you fit in with achieving these goals and how much value do you provide. Then you want to know what the current market rate is for someone in your position and align your tasks and pay accordingly. When determining your expected salary, you need to objectively put yourself in the employers shoes and ask: “How much would I pay this person to do this job?”. If you know you do extra work on top of your current position, don’t be afraid to make mention of this.

Your timing is the next major aspect of asking for a successful raise. For example, if the company has undergone a recent restructure which prompted a handful of layoffs, you may want to avoid asking for a raise. That is why phrasing your request is especially important. Phrasing your desire in two parts that recognises the current company situation and your own contributions. Something along the lines of:

“I understand that the company is looking at it’s most positive financial quarter to date. Our department has been putting in the extra hard yards and my last performance review was exceptional. I'm wondering if I could have a 5 percent pay increase”

If they respond tentatively, put forward your market data of your job position to support your request. If the raise proves unsuccessful, lay the groundwork for the future. Ask for constant feedback on your progress so you can improve. If no adjustment is in sight, then you know where you stand. You now have the choice to accept the outcome and move on, or perhaps its time to look elsewhere for another opportunity.

Going through the process of getting a new job can sometimes feel daunting or is considered an arduous task. Selling yourself to the employer requires a conscientious and focused effort. So we thought we’d provide some simple tips to get you through it:

Preparation is essential. Start by researching the company and its respective industry, get to know their competitors. Analyse the job description and gain insights into the type of person that would be most suitable for the role.Write up a handful of mock or common questions that are to be expected and subsequently write out your answers. The visual will not only resonate better, but will help with brainstorming stronger responses. A rough outline is good and you want to avoid sounding formulaic or excessive. You want to stand out and provide responses that remain in the interviewers memory long after the conversation. Just keep note on making your answers sound as authentic as possible.

It is important to recognise your strengths and then put them on full display. You only have a short period of time to impress the interviewer so don’t hold back out of fear of being too arrogant. The fine line between arrogance and confidence can be distinguished by outlining your accomplishments in terms of other peoples comments.

Avoid sounding vague with your answers, be as specific as possible. Avoid responding to questions by saying “we” but instead talk in the first person as its YOU that they want to know about. A story is often an effective method of providing the right amount of detail whilst showing some character. Being respectful to the interviewer’s time and paying attention to their cues is especially important. Be succinct and avoid rambling.

There is no clear cut answer to what one should wear to an interview. Do wear something that is comfortable yet industry appropriate. Ensure you are well groomed and presentable. Your body language should be confident, avoid slouching and mumbling. Hold yourself well and ensure politeness. Interviews are a fleeting glimpse into your character and so you must maintain a good impression throughout. Things like a firm handshake and making eye contact are a solid starting point. Attempt to leave out ‘ums’ and ‘like’ in your speech, as it denotes uncertainty and a lack of articulation.

Regardless of what the job may be, it is imperative that you know what the interviewer wants. Put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself ‘What would I want from this person?’. Heed the advice and you’ll be putting yourself in a very positive light. Remember, their is no such thing as being too prepared.

When it comes to asking how long you should stay in a role there is no right or wrong answer and it is often dependent on the scenario. Moving from job to job over a short period of time suggests a lack of commitment (or worse) and can signal red flags to future employers. Although harder to recognise, staying in a job can also have its own setbacks. For example, those future employers may assume you’re not driven enough if your resume has few jobs listed and with limited career progression. So looking at the pros and cons of each pathway will help make the most of your professional life.

In this day and age, regularly changing jobs every 3 years is an encouraged phenomenon. Three or four years in a job is allows you to adapt to rapidly evolving skill sets. The most obvious being shift for businesses, big and small, to handling transactions using technology. Exponential advancement in IT related business systems demands workers from multidisciplinary backgrounds. Staying in the same business might mean handling the same tech, day in-day out, and may cause a hard time taking the next step in your career.

In terms of career advancement, holding the same position with a company for many years can prove hindering. The first few years at your company should be an inspiring and innovative experience. You want to evolve the company as much as possible in order to move up the ranks and succeed professionally. If there is no hint of such progress, then one should consider other options. Even if it means branching out to other departments, as there is much to learn in these different areas of the business. This strategy is also much easier than finding an entirely new job altogether.

A noticeable indicator is if you feel as though you’ve stopped learning new things. It may mean you are bored or you have trouble setting goals on the job. This is usually followed by a loss of enthusiasm when going to work. If this is you, look to something that will reinvigorate the professional niggle you once had. This is the same if you start to notice that you are complaining about work more than usual. If you find it hard to find anything positive about your workplace and the issue cannot be addressed accordingly, move on. Lastly, if you are not actively monitoring your accomplishments, trivial or not, it may lead to a decrease in productivity. Putting off and avoiding tasks constantly is a sign that it could be time for a change.Whether you stay or leave, your decision should be based around your career goals and a healthy lifestyle.

Whether you stay or leave, your decision should be based around your career goals and a healthy

or leave, your decision should be based around your career goals and a healthy lifestyle.

Quitting your job is often harder than one might expect. Its never an easy to task to advise an employer of your desire to move on. We know that from working closely with candidates who have to navigate the resignation process. For many people, resigning invokes mixed feelings. Whether the motivation to leave stems from a work or non-work related reason, it is common for professionals to fumble the execution. There are good and bad ways to quit your job and the last thing you want is to harm your reputation over resignation. When its completed, the load is lifted from your shoulders.

Avoid being Negative

You might have the cruelest boss in the world or the worst co-workers imaginable - either way, leave your job emphasising the positive. Reminisce on the good times with co-workers, talk about how the business has helped you in some way or celebrate some of your biggest achievements whilst working there. If you are invited to attend an exit interview, that may be the opportunity to provide constructive feedback.

Give Notice

Your employment contract will stipulate your notice period. Unless its unavoidable, you should as your first priority understand you need to serve out your notice. If there are pressing reasons for requesting a shorter notice period, it needs to be handled sensitively, recognising its at the employer’s discretion. Just because you may be mentally “out the door” does not mean your employer needs to do the same. They will most likely need all the time they can get to fill your position.

Do Write a Formal Letter

Your notice should come in the form of a written formal letter. Avoid making it too lengthy, you don’t need to say much more other than your leaving and when your last day in the office will be. Its also important to tell your manager before anyone else so as to avoid any rumours, this is where a written explanation straight to your superior is advantageous.

Farewell Sincerely

Put aside time to write a farewell card to your co-workers. Putting it on the staff notice board or giving little messages to those in your department expressing your gratitude. Even if your terms for leaving are due to any discrepancies with fellow co-workers, a simple message still goes along way. Leave on good terms by leaving them with this token gesture.

Request a Reference

Kindly ask your colleagues or superiors if they’d be willing to give you a reference or a Linkedin recommendation. The latter is suggested as hiring is experiencing a greater shift to online services such as Linkedin.

Offer where to Help

Ensure that you offer your help with your resignation wherever needed. Whether they accept your assistance or not, it leaves a good impression. In any case, it is courteous to plan how you’ll transfer your responsibilities to other or new co-workers.

The first month of the new year is coming to a close and it presents a good time to reflect on the resolutions we set for ourselves. Are we performing to the best of our ability in the office? Are we consistently exercising and eating healthy as promised? Contemplating the progress of your goals, whether it be professional or personal, is an effective way to ensure actual development. It’s easy to get distracted by summer weather or that cool new gadget you got as a Christmas gift. It most cases, your goals may not have been as realistic as previously thought. There is no shame in adjusting them sightly in order to accommodate your new schedule, there are still another eleven months!

Here are some recommendations to help you achieve your New Year Resolutions:

Acknowledge Your Current Progress

It’s easy to lose track of your resolutions if theres not a voice motivating or congratulating you efforts. People don’t often realise that the most powerful voice stems from oneself. Theres nothing wrong with giving yourself credit and patting yourself on the back when you deserve it. Been a superhuman at work recently? Recognise yourself for your efforts by writing positive notes to remind yourself.

Develop a Planner To Track Your Goals, Desires and Resolutions

Whether it be alarms on your phone or post it notes or a wall calendar, organise what you set out to do in 2018. The latter may be more satisfying due to physically pulling the notes from the wall. Either way, this level of planning will motivate and allow you to effortlessly weave them into your day.

Your Year, Your Life

Do something, anything, just for you - and make sure to do it every single day. The broadness of this request might seem intimidating at first, however, it gives you enough to make it anything you want. Business professionals can easily get carried away in doing tasks for others during the workday. If you’ve started a unexpectedly busy year and can’t fit in time for the new goal you set, replace it with something similar, albeit trivial. Just make sure that the activity is different from what you do already.

Remain Focused, But Know When To Let Your Hair Down

Giving a relentless ‘110%’ to your job at every moment is all well and good, but remember to take yourself a little less seriously. Its okay to allow some leeway in your plans, take time to laugh with your co-workers after a stressful week. Take time to appreciate the skills and personality they bring to the job. And you’ll inadvertently find yourself giving that desired ‘110%’.

GO FOR IT IN 2018!!