Those who know me well, in a professional sense at least, know that I'm a bit of a "culture nerd". I've always been curious about what makes some workplaces "work" (that is, where people understand what they are responsible for, they accept that responsibility, they get on well and get on with the job), and other workplaces fail (where, for example...

At this time of year, there tends to be a lot of planning going on, and rightly so. As a business, and perhaps as individuals, what are we going to strive to achieve, and how are we going to get there?Clear Vision and Strategy is one of the most fundamental components of our exclusive 8 Elements to Success through People(c) Model. It concerns the d...

I was fortunate to recently attend the Australian Conference on Culture and Leadership, sponsored by Human Synergistics Australia.This annual conference is often a gold-mine of tips and inspiration in terms of the challenges and opportunities of workplace culture, and this year's event was no exception.Here are a few of my personal highlights from ...

Without question, the Fair Work Act and other legislation impacting the employment relationship can be difficult to navigate, particularly for smaller businesses and organisations with little internal professional HR support. And with fines for individual breaches of the Fair Work Act potentially exceeding $60,000, it's little wonder that we end up...

​Without question, the Fair Work Act and other legislation impacting the employment relationship can be difficult to navigate, particularly for smaller businesses and organisations with little internal professional HR support. And with fines for individual breaches of the Fair Work Act potentially exceeding $60,000, it's little wonder that we end u...

 Most of our readers will be familiar with our 8 Elements to Success through People© Model as a means to assess and prioritise value adding people-management practices in Small to Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs).We've had in excess of 50 SMEs complete the related diagnostic to date, so we thought it about time to aggregate the data and share s...

 I was recently invited to present to the Australian Human Resources Institute's networking group in the Central West region of NSW on the topic of "HR for Small to Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs)".In addition to sharing our exclusive 8 Elements to Success through People© Model as a means to assess and prioritise value adding people-management...

Unless the terminated employee has completed more than 6 or 12 months service with the employer at the time of termination (12 months in the case of a small business with fewer than 15 employees, otherwise 6 months – this is referred to as the "qualifying period"), the employee will generally not be eligible to lodge a claim for unfair dismissal. I...

We recently received a question from an employer who needed to respond to an employee requesting flexible work arrangements (to change from full time to part time and also do some work from home).Q: Can anyone request flexible work arrangements and can I say no?First of all, let's be clear about what we mean by flexible working arrangements. A requ...

Have you ever had the experience where you've been working or otherwise interacting with someone and they've responded to something that's happened in a way that is surprising to you? Perhaps their reaction has been so different to what you anticipated that you've asked yourself what planet they've come from!I've seen this a lot over my career, wit...

​We all get knock-backs occasionally. As the old saying goes, life is not all wine and roses (or beer and skittles for that matter).At these times, it can be a natural tendency for some to slip into a negative mode of thinking and self-talk: "Why does bad stuff always happen to me?", "I made a mess of that", "My life sucks", "I'm a failure/imposter...

​I've spent a lot of time over the years in the leadership development space - as a learner, facilitator, coach, avid reader and observer. One of the things I've learned along the way is that much of the literature and research in this area is focused on seeking answers to questions such as "What is it that constructive leaders DO?", and "How ...

We've been providing our clients with a fair bit of recruitment support lately, so an article by John Wilson and Kieran Pender of Bradley Allen Love in the current edition of HRM (the official magazine of the Australian Human Resources Institute – yes, exciting stuff!), caught my attention.The authors make the valid point that, while most employers...

One of my coaching clients mentioned to me the other day that he was working on some "anti-goals". Rather than focusing on what he wants to achieve in his personal and professional life, he's finding it more helpful to make a list of what he doesn't want (eg. "a job where I have no time for family", "a job with pay that doesn't give me enough incom...

On at least three separate occasions over the last couple of weeks I've had clients make comments to me along those lines, and it's frankly getting annoying.Please don't tell me "She's great at her job [Finance Manager by the way], but terrible at managing people".Please don't tell me "He's great at his job [Business Development Manager], but is in...

One of the key challenges for small business owners engaging others in the business is to understand and comply with legislative requirements. Here's the essential "HR stuff" you need to know:National Employment Standards:The National Employment Standards (NES) prescribe minimum terms and conditions of employment for those covered by the Fair Work ...

​We frequently find ourselves helping business owners or managers distinguish between employees and contractors. While it might seem a matter of little consequence, there's much more than semantics at play. It's important to clearly understand the difference as the result goes a long way to determining the applicability of legislation and the right...

While it's good to have a compliant workplace, it's even better to have a safe workplace. Apart from the risk of fines of up to $3m for corporations and $600k and/or 5 years gaol for individuals found to have breached the Work Health & Safety Act, work-related accidents and illnesses can result in lost productivity, time, reputation, not to men...

'TIS THE SEASON TO BE…..CAUTIOUS! "'Twas a few weeks before Christmas, when all through the workplace, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse" …. that's not entirely correct. One creature that does traditionally stir at this time of year in many workplaces is the HR Manager, who plays the role of Scrooge as he or she proceeds to advise their...

We've had some good feedback on our recent blog article which helps businesses manage the risks associated with staff terminations (refer here). In response, we've gone a step further and produced an infographic which provides a useful summary of key information – click on the image below for access.