Yes, it’s that time of year again — when the groans of managers can be heard over the mere mention of the words, annual performance reviews. Many managers see performance appraisals as nothing more than an empty, bureaucratic exercise forced on them by HR. 

My research of 1,200 HR managers…

I’ve started to notice how the general greeting, “How are you?” is often followed up with a second question: “Busy?”  Or if not, I’ll often answer the first question with, “Good, busy!” 

This got me thinking: Are we now starting to determine our wellbeing by how busy we are?  And is this really the best way to…

With an ageing workforce, a tight labour market, ongoing skills shortages and an increasingly knowledge based economy, businesses are driving a focus on maximising employee performance and efficiency. Optimising performance and productivity is about collaborating to share best practice knowledge and aligning corporate learning with business goals. HR and the learning and development (L&D) team play a key role in enabling performance on the job and when coupled with the right technology…

The current ABS stats on Industrial Action released recently indicate a significant increase in the number of days lost due to the increase instances of Industrial Action.

Whilst stats are open to interpretation from both sides, employers and unions, lets focus more on why Industrial Action takes place.

The main causes can vary, but the biggest cause boils purely down to bad communication. First off lets be clear that the "union" is not the officials standing waving flags,…

This week I met up with a client who had over 150 emails in their inbox waiting for their attention. Just the thought made me squirm with discomfort!  How can you possibly respond, action, remember or even read that many emails? How can you honestly be productive with that much content staring you in the face?

This situation reminded me of a common problem I would…

The economic burden of Australia’s obesity epidemic is well known to most, with recent studies putting the cost of caring for overweight and obese Australians at $56 billion per year¹.

But it’s not just the tax-paying public who are crumbling under this ever-increasing load – Australian businesses are also suffering as the health problems of our nation significantly decrease employee productivity.

Businesses recognise the link between poor employee health,…

A Code of Conduct is an essential part of any employment relationship. It sets clear, indisputable boundaries of behaviour and expectations, for both the employees and the employer.

To establish a truly sustainable business, you need to not only deliver high standards of service and product to your customers, but you need to also demonstrate behaviours that are consistent with your businesses values and expectations.

Now there is no right or wrong format for a Code of Conduct,…

The most contentious point of any negotiation/discussion about wages and conditions linked to productivity is how you measure the productivity changes. It is important for negotiators to be aware that the productivity gains do not necessarily equate to job losses, or loss of current conditions.

With the recent media exposure in regards to agreement outcomes for some major australian industries, it begs the question, is the art of effectively negotiating…

So why are negotiators failing to secure productivity gains during union negotiations? One simple answer, they are unaware that the Good Faith Bargaining door swings both ways.

So lets examine, in brief, a typical negotiation scenario. The union surveys its members for what they want as outcomes to the negotiations. The employer (if properly supported/advised) establishes a negotiation framework. This sets clear boundaries for their negotiators in terms of what productivity…

There seems to be a growing number of instances where HR Consultants/Advisors and Managers are confused about the minimum requirements for the provision of a Right Of Entry Notification under the Fair Work Act, allowing unions to gain access with non-compliant notifications.

There are a number of instances where union officials can exercise their right of entry, the most common being entry to hold discussions with employees who are members of the union under the unions…

With the recent media reports around the rapidly decreasing level of productivity in australian businesses, and employer associations focused on unproductive political lobbying to have the Fair Work Act changed, one question springs to mind. Why are employers so afraid of IFA's? 

The intent around the use of IFA's is to allow the employee in essence to not only request, but to have a meaningful discussion around changing certain conditions of employment to facilitate a better…

There are various definitions of workplace bullying, but for those who are uncertain, it can be described simply as “the repeated, less favourable treatment of a person by another or others in the workplace, which may be considered unreasonable and inappropriate workplace practice.”

Now that I’ve got the definition out of the way I’ll scare you a little more.

There would not be a business in Australia that at some stage has not had a workplace bullying incident.

Examples…

One of the regularly highlighted weaknesses of the Fair Work Act 2009 is the trade unions ability to impose work bans for indefinite periods in pursuit of unsustainable improvements to wages and conditions, without the necessity for any productivity improvements being offered to the employer as an offset.

Unions bargaining around the country continue to reject acceptable wages increases averaging 3-4%. This has been an acceptable and sustainable percentage wage increase across a…