One thing I’ve learned (the hard way) from founding a rapidly growing company is without ownership and accountability you literally cannot grow your business. In fact, without employee ownership and accountability,…

In our recent blog article Running Man – Employee Who Faked Test Results Abandons Hearing we discussed the Fair Work Commission (FWC)’s discretion to make a costs order in exceptional circumstances.  The FWC in F v GHS Regional Pty Ltd [2016] FWC 3120 has decided to exercise its discretion to award costs in favour of the Employer once…

When an employer decides it would like to implement a new policy or amend one of its existing policies, key steps in the process are sometimes overlooked – communication and training. 

Communication and training are important as they ensure employees are aware of changes workplace as well as any new requirements.

Ideally communication and training about the new policy or changes should take place prior to implementation. 

By not training and educating employees,…

When the chips are down, how do your staff describe you as a leader? In times of stress, most leaders (through no fault of their own) fall into the trap of becoming overly focused on one of two key aspects of their teams - either people, OR profits. This is because our stress reactions encourage us to default to our comfort zone.

People focused leaders devote their efforts to ensuring that above all else relationship are maintained. In the short term this…

Outsourcing and offshoring is particularly fashionable at the moment with businesses of all shapes and sizes exploring strategies to keep labour costs down whilst still maintaining high operational standards and efficiencies.

Outsourcing or offshoring can be an excellent way to address skills shortages here in Australia as well as save money on employment costs and keep overheads in check.…

Investigating claims around issues like bullying, harassment or health and safety may seem unnecessarily costly and time-consuming. But time and time again, I’m reminded that the costs of acting without first investigating are usually far greater still.

That’s why I’ve put together this step-by-step guide that lets any business conduct a safe, effective workplace investigation.

1. Decide whether you need to…

One of the issues that is repeatedly raised with me by leaders is how to "deal" with change resistant team members.

Some of the first questions I ask them are "How are you framing or positioning the initiatives to your team members?" and "What aspects of the initiatives are they perceived to…

In an attempt to reduce the gender imbalance in Melbourne University’s School of Mathematics and Statistics, the University is now advertising three permanent positions exclusively for female applicants only.

This raises some interesting points of discussion about discrimination laws in Australia.  There are a number of laws in Australia applicable to discrimination in employment on the basis of gender including the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth), Equal Opportunity Act…

We see many cases where negative emotions arise at work. And it’s certainly not unusual for employees and employers to sprinkle angry discussions with yelling and/or expletives. Yet when does bad language warrant a strong reaction from the…

Performance is probably the most common word in the business lexicon. We have performance indicators, performance management, business performance, personal performance and of course high performance. Performance is at the heart of what we strive to achieve as leaders – for ourselves our teams and our organisations.

Delivering consistent levels of high performance has never been easy, but in today’s…

Feedback is at the cornerstone of SoapBox's culture and the heart of what we do. Employees who get helpful, continuous feedback will not only work better, but will be much…

In a recent article, I highlighted the challenges that many L&D and HR leaders face when trying to implement a leadership program into their organization which enables women and men to participate equally: one that is tailored and flexible, and addresses unconscious bias.

Late last year, Skillsoft announced the…

There has been a spate of decisions delivered by the Fair Work Commission recently dealing with terminations of employment arising from the way employees have spoken to their managers. We all know that bad language in the workplace is unacceptable, but employers seeking to dismiss employees as the result of outbursts of profanity must still take the time to properly execute the termination process or risk adverse findings from the Commission. We thought it was a good time to review a few of…

Earlier this month, journalist and TV presenter Waleed Aly in his Logie acceptance speech referenced an interaction he had with an actor that night. Aly recalled that the actor told him that he was not able to use his birth name Mustafa, because he would not be able to get a job in the TV industry.

Aly’s speech highlighted one of the potential dangers to businesses in the recruitment and selection process – omitting from the selection process an applicant with a name which may…

It seems just about everyone has heard a workers compensation horror story,- a claim that was accepted which shouldn’t have been or vice versa. Theatrical…

Technology has changed the way we consume information outside organisations, and it is natural that we want the same choices within. Companies that incorporate channel choice in their communication mix will win the war for engagement.

• Employees demand value for their share of attention

• Millennial workers expect the flexibility Bring Your Own Device brings

• Without engaging formats like multi-platform video, your channel mix is…

At the risk of sounding like Pollyanna (or Candide), in the world of my dreams there would be no conflict.

How different would the workplace be?

We would all link hands in a circle and sing songs of joy at the sense of wonderment that our goals and approaches are perfectly aligned to each other.

The sun would shine, the birds would sing and the bunnies would hop about happily in the fields. My work environment would be super-harmonious: brimming with positive energy and…

Let’s face it. There are aspects of our jobs that we love and then there are aspects that we don’t enjoy as much. Any job. Things we look forward to. And things we don’t.

Like feedback conversations. Nobody looks forward to those. Whether you’re a manager, leader, or coach who has to deliver the feedback or the one who is on the receiving end.

But what is it about…

Time to get serious about building your influence?

Actively contributing to leading the thinking in your field is now an essential part of what it takes to stand out. There are a lot of professionals looking to equip themselves for a successful professional life after corporate, or…

Generally speaking, most matters in the Fair Work Commission run in a “no costs” jurisdiction. This means that parties bringing or responding to applications in the Commission will be responsible for their own costs - no matter who is successful. However, the Commission does have some discretion to order costs in exceptional circumstances. One such rare decision was handed down last week in G v Toll Holdings Ltd [2016] FWC 2790.

Mr G was a Yard Truck Driver for Toll Holdings…