Every HR team’s job is to ensure the wellbeing of the employees’ performance. Specifically, the goal of an HR department is to hire and fire people, to make sure that the employees are receiving their promised compensation and benefits, and to define, monitor, and report the employees’ work.

The purpose of every HR team is to maximize the productivity of the company by constantly optimizing the efficiency of all employees.

Therefore, as an employer, manager, or CEO, the best…

Scenario:

A Supervisor is attempting to manage a sensitive Return to Work (RTW) situation with a direct report. The direct report is keen to return to active fieldwork duties. The Supervisor is concerned such activities would exacerbate the worker’s injury. The Supervisor seeks HR’s review of the email to be sent to the worker communicating the delayed RTW process. The HR Manager approves the email content and the…

Let’s face it; no one enjoys sitting an employee down and telling them they no longer have a place in the company because their position has been made redundant. Unplanned redundancy conversations can be hard and challenging, and you can encounter some pretty big emotions.

While we often recognise the difficulty these conversations have on transitioning employees in the business world, we don’t always remember the effect it has on the person who has to deliver the conversation. To…

I was fortunate to recently employ an additional staff member.  I appreciate how new employees can bring diverse perspectives, new knowledge and an opportunity to assess what we do, why we do it and the culture we have created around us in the workplace. 

As part of the induction process, I explained the organisation's mission statement and values to demonstrate the important elements of the…

When a workplace investigation has to be conducted, the most valuable information will generally be obtained through interviewing the staff involved in the incident and any witnesses. This information will play a critical role in determining what has happened or who or what was responsible. 

In order to obtain relevant and reliable information from the parties involved, good communication skills, an…

Most HR managers know there is a skills gap in marketing capability but what’s been difficult to quantify is exactly which skills are lacking that would pose a risk to marketing strategies.

The pace of change in most industries has resulted in many people lacking the right knowledge and capabilities to help support the new reality of digital-led, customer centric marketing that leverages the wealth of data at our disposal.

To address this challenge, the…

For us human beings, change has always been ingrained into our heads as something difficult; anything from changing houses to a household brand we use on a daily basis. The same applies within the workplace. When change is introduced, it brings a level of anxiety and discomfort for workers as it puts them out of their comfort zone. Despite this, for businesses to remain competitive and improve their performance, change is required. As Henry Ford once said, “if you always do what you’ve…

Learn what you can do to take charge of your own career path and land in the field that's ideal for you.

“Find out what you like doing best and get someone to pay you for doing it.” (Katherine Whitehorn)

Envision where you want to be professionally in five years. Do you know a quick way to turn your vision into a reality? It’s…

There is absolutely fundamental need in company for a solid structure. Organizational structure concerns who reports to whom in the company and how elements are grouped together. A new company cannot go forward with out this.

There are several organizational structures companies can choose from. The most popular structure is functional. The main benefit of this system is clear lines of communications from top to bottom. Another structure is organized along product lines. In this case…

In the event of an allegation of child sexual abuse in the workplace, it is essential that immediate steps are taken to ensure the safety of any child allegedly involved. 

Following from this crucial first response, mandatory reports need to be made to the relevant statutory child protection authorities and subject to any police investigation, the allegations must be objectively investigated. The investigation report must…

I don’t need to tell you that the retail landscape has changed dramatically in recent years.

Whilst online retailers, such as Amazon and ASOS, have been huge winners online, many traditional retailers have struggled to find their place in the modern world – and a large number of those have been lost from the high street, for good. In the UK …

Regardless of what state we reside in, an employer has a duty of care to provide and maintain a safe workplace for all its employees. However, unfortunately despite all efforts, incidents and injuries still occur in the workplace. When an employee becomes ill or injured because of their work, and has incapacity for work, the employer has an obligation to ensure that they are cared for; has every opportunity to recover and return to work. Let’s explore this in more detail for…

In yet another decision resulting from a tragic workplace safety incident, an employer has been fined $375,000 after one of its workers was fatally crushed by a turf harvester being driven by a co-worker.

In SafeWork NSW v Turfco Australia Pty Ltd [2018] NSWDC 191, the Court heard that, at the time of the incident, Turfco had in place a ‘hop-off’ system used by its workers that was contrary to its own operator’s manual.

Turfco is engaged in the growing, harvesting and…

In SafeWork NSW v Li [2018] NSWDC 189 the NSW District Court convicted a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) of failing to comply with a health and safety duty after a worker died following a fall from a ladder as a result of a poor system of work.

Mr Li, who traded as Apple Electronic Security, operated a business that involved installing security systems. In June 2016, Mr Li was engaged by a smash repair business to install seven security…

Down-sizing, upgrading, outgrowing and restructuring – change in the life-cycle of a business is inevitable and changes in size and operational needs often demand a relocation.

Relocating a business is a huge logistical challenge in itself and as a result, it’s not uncommon for the employment and HR aspects of a relocation to become secondary considerations.

In this two-part blog, we outline some of those key considerations and touch on a few issues that HR, managers and…

Today, as part of our leadership series, we’re sitting down with David Ryan, managing director of City West Water, a government owned retail water company, to hear his thoughts on leadership and running a large organisation.

The background is that People Leaders ran a six-month leadership programme for David’s team at City West Water in Melbourne. Based on the feedback and the shift in behaviour we've seen, it’s been very successful. David explains:

“Leadership is a journey of…

One of the most challenging and important tasks undertaken by a workplace investigator is the analysis of the evidence that has been gathered during the course of the investigation. 

Key questions to consider include: What evidence should be contained in the investigation report? How do I analyse what I have gathered? How does this connect with the findings I make in the investigation report? …

One of the fundamental principles of the employment relationship is the work-wages bargain – an employer pays an employee wages in exchange for work performed. The work-wages bargain assumes that employees are ready, willing and able to perform the work requested of them by the employer. This assumption is challenged when an employee is unable to perform the required work because of some limitation such as the loss (or suspension) of an essential qualification such as a driver’s…

In Urso v QF Cabin Crew Australia Pty Limited T/A QCCA [2018] FWC 4436 the Fair Work Commission (FWC) considered whether a flight attendant was unfairly dismissed after he failed to attend for work following a night out in New York.

The flight attendant was scheduled to operate a seven-day flight pattern of Brisbane-Los Angeles-New York-Los Angeles-Brisbane.

After arriving in New York, the flight attendant visited a bar with another employee. The…