What can you do at an individual level to improve your chances of really thriving  as your career evolves? The fact is, each one of us needs to improve our skills, aim higher and deliver more. So how do we maintain our high standards? How does an individual recruiter take some control over their professional development and impact positively on future success? Here is a neat way to sum up what’s important.

I call it the “Three Rs”

Grow the “Three Rs” and you will grow your…

Make your employee benefits count!

I am not talking here about financial benefits. If you are a great employer you know the market levels of financial reward and presumably you are paying a fair salary in return for the work of your employees. Pensions are another financial reward which I know is subject to all manner of pressures, so you may not be able to offer a…

Every good gardener knows they need to have an effective toolkit to help them do all the tasks that are required to keep a garden in order. They know they can’t get by with just one tool or tools that are old, rusty or broken. Having the right tools just makes the job so much easier. Imagine trying to dig over a large garden bed using a tiny hand tool designed for pot plants. It would take forever, hurt your hands and probably not aerate the soil very well anyway. That’s why gardeners take…

At the end of last term, it was my daughter’s turn to be the VIP for the week in her reception class.  This is a confidence building strategy which involves the girls being interviewed by the Principal at the front of the class being asked about her family, favorite things, hobbies etc. Parents are invited along, the session is completely documented and then a full wall…

As what can only be described as yet another blow to employers, the Federal Court has upheld the right for unions to take legal strike action before any bargaining has taken place. 

Three Federal court judges last week found that no union was obliged to show any employee support or meet any other test if employers refused to engage in bargaining.

Needless to say the Union movement has heralded the decision as a landmark victory for workers rights. Now whilst most IR…

This post was originally published on the RecruitLoop Blog, by Paul Slezak.

It's generated some interesting comments, so thought we'd share it here as well.

Help! A recruitment agency stole my wallet:  The myth of guaranteed…

When you’re clear on what is not negotiable in your business, you put yourself in a position to make better decisions and move forward. Here’s some expert advice for establishing non-negotiables.

Imagine if we were all crystal clear on what we wanted or needed and how we communicated this.

In an article recently published in a prominent Sydney newspaper titled ‘Ceasefire ‘not negotiable’, it reads, ‘US President Barack Obama has delivered a blunt…

There has been an on-going debate amongst industry groups, businesses and unions, about "insecure employment". The Australian Council of Trade Unions broadly defines insecure employment pretty much as any form of employment other than direct, full time employment with an employer.

Needless to say the ACTU casting such a broad brush has brought about some interesting responses from industry groups,and organisations such as the IPA. 

Whilst it is assumed that most employees seek…

Recently, one of our senior managers was considering promoting a long-serving employee to a supervisory position for the first time.  To help paint a picture of “management” for the employee, the senior manager drew up a list of “Things Managers Are and Do” and shared it with the prospective supervisor.  I thought it was a very good and thoughtful list, so I asked him…

With the recent announcements of voluntary redundancies across the Australian Public Service (APS), many public servants will be thinking redundancy right now. They may be thinking about redundancy for themselves, but equally they may be thinking about the impact on the workplace: how it may impact on the team and ultimately themselves.

Some of…

The benefit of consistently attending a range of recruitment conferences is that, amongst other things, you hear different things from different experts at different times and patterns start to emerge. Many people at these events make public predictions which are just that ... predictions.

What happens down the track, months or years after these predictions are made?

Do these predictions come true, partly or fully, or not at all?

Here's an example of when an expert has…

The most common question I get asked these days, by clients, candidates, journalists and even my own staff, is whether the job market is improving around the world. Is confidence on the up? Specifically, are employers hiring again, or do they plan to?

To make an informed assessment of the coming quarter, I have looked at our business activity in the countries and cities where Firebrand operates. Are job orders increasing in…

Organisations are no longer simply basing performance reviews on employee’s achievements; they are also considering how they go about achieving their goals. So while an employee may exceed their sales targets for the quarter, managers need to know how they did this; for example, was it through bringing in new clients, or by poaching clients from others?

More comprehensive performance reviews affect the culture of a workplace and can help to improve levels of employee engagement…

“Don’t be afraid to show your imperfections. It’s why we like real flowers that wilt rather than plastic flowers that never change.”

 This is a quote I read recently in a book by Jason Fried and David Heinemeir Hansson called “Rework: change the way you work forever”. I would highly recommend it for anyone who wants to get out of the rut of how they do business and is looking for some new ways of thinking.

 I am always disappointed when I visit an office or sit in a…

Employee performance appraisals are one of those much maligned HR processes that many feel we’d be better off doing away with altogether. But at a time when employee engagement, productivity and alignment are so important to our organisations, they can be an important tool for effectively managing your workforce — if they’re done right.

Here are some pointers for how to use performance appraisals to help your employees perform to their potential.

Solicit your employees’…

This post may offend some readers. But only because it’s going to cut close to the bone for many.

And I don’t care if I sound old-fashioned, because actually it’s nothing to do with ‘fashion’ or ‘generation’. It’s got everything to do with basic good manners and respect for other people.

So here goes… How did it get to be “OK” for people to be late for everything?

Because as far as I am concerned, it’s not OK.

In recent years it seems that a meeting set to start…

When most people think of a garden, they picture a flat piece of ground with plants growing on it. Sure, this is the traditional way of thinking but there are many other options available . . . growing plants on lattice or against a wall (called “espalier”) are two established methods. However, there is a new method that is growing in popularity . . . the vertical garden. It’s ideal for people with small spaces or those who want to maximise every growing surface. Plants are hung almost like…

We all know ‘time is money’ yet we are sometimes willing to throw away time to an extent most of us would never consider throwing away money!

Did you know that if you spend just half an hour each day dealing with junk email, interruptions and other time-wasting activities, you are essentially throwing away over 3 weeks a year!…