03 Sep 2012

Legal Issues
When hiring senior executives, a lot of time and attention tends to be given to perfecting the remuneration package.  A leading workplace law and strategy firm warns that it is important to give equal attention to exit strategies, to avoid costly legal battles if the relationship sours. One aspect of the exit/departure process that is often disputed when senior executives move on is t...

27 Aug 2012

Workforce
Employee Engagement: Small Perks, Big Impact Research has shown that some of the 'perks' that keep employees happy in their jobs are not the stereotypical 'big ticket' items that only larger businesses are able to offer. Boredom, lack of opportunity and poor work-life balance are within the top four reasons that people leave their jobs, according to The Australian Human Resources Ins...

22 Aug 2012

GPS Building
A GPS for business? No, we're not talking about a Global Positioning System for your car. But it is a similar principle. Many organisations and business leaders are arranging their organisation around GPS, or Guidance and Positioning Statements. Like a GPS in your car, an organisational GPS will guide your organisation to a chosen destination, providing clear directions and guidance alo...

20 Aug 2012

Hidden Cost
A recent research poll of Australian workers has found that more than 80% of Australian employees feel disengaged and work, with more than 20% being actively disengaged, that is behaving in ways that are actively harmful to the organisation.  They estimated that disengagement costs Australian organisations at least $33.5 Billion a year in lost productivity.  It also has other negative so...

15 Aug 2012

Woman Working
One of the most important issues in the current labour market is the ageing of Australia's workforce. There are not enough Generation X's and Yers to replace the retiring baby boomers (BBs). However, this is not necessarily cause for concern as over the last decade we have seen a big increase in the number of BBs working past traditional retirement age (60-65 years). In 2000 approxima...

15 Aug 2012

Management
Most organisational occupational health and safety (OHS) interventions focus on controlling employee procedures and the physical work environment in an effort to maximise workplace safety.  While such efforts are important, they do not take into account the human factors related to work safety, such as individual and group attitudes and the influence of management. Recent research inv...

20 Jul 2012

Scale
A large survey of Australian businesses conducted by the National Institute of Labour Studies at Flinders University and the National Centre for Vocational Education Research reveals some interesting findings about the significant ways in which employment patterns have changed in the last 20 years. They found that since 1992: There has been a significant shift away from full-time, ...

20 Jul 2012

Office
As seen recently in a leading Australian Human Resources magazine, the importance of 'soft skills', including creativity, flexibility, diplomacy and original thought in the modern workplace is gaining momentum.  In an increasingly complex business environment these skills can help organisation's develop new and better solutions to problems, as traditional ways of interacting with clients...

20 Jul 2012

Employee Engagement
Employee engagement (EE) refers to the extent to which your employees believe in the values and mission of the organisation, are committed to their work and will act in ways that further the organisation’s interests.  It integrates the well known constructs of job satisfaction and organisational commitment. It can also be thought of as an emotional or intellectual “attachment” (positi...

20 Jul 2012

Protect Business
Australia’s Aging Workforce The ageing of Australia’s workforce is one of businesses’ major emerging challenges.  By 2044-45 it is estimated that 25% of Australians will be aged 65 years or over, which is approximately double the present population. Additionally, over the last decade the average age of the Australian workforce (especially the full-time workforce) has been increasin...