If you have been reading my blogs, you may get the impression that I want to end a lot of things in HR; I do. The things that aren't working are the things I want to put a stop to. One of my previous books - …

For someone that works in assessment and selection, competencies (or capabilities as many organisations seem to refer to them now) are part of our everyday language, they are the foundation for all that we do.  But this can easily be seen as psych babble/jargon to anyone that doesn’t work in the area!

So what do competencies refer…

Fairy lights, tinsel, wreaths and Santa Claus have all started appearing at shopping centres, which can only mean one thing … the office Christmas party season is upon us!

The office Christmas party is a great way for an Employer to bring staff together and celebrate what has hopefully been a joyful and prosperous 2014 for all. While Christmas parties are a time to be merry and to let your hair down, there is a serious…

Induction is a very important process in the employee engagement cycle. It can either provide the foundations for rapid growth and performance or lead to disappointment, confusion and disconnect.

The preparation and implementation of the induction phase can be very time-consuming for both the HR professional and operational manager who will directly engage with the new…

If you’re feeling as though you’re drowning amidst a flood of overwhelm, you’re not alone. For many, each day involves a tremendous volume of work. I believe we all have the ability to increase our capacity and fast track our execution and the results we deliver each day by investing into two key assets; our asset of focus and our asset of energy. I want to share specifically today around our asset of focus. Two important steps need to happen in…

No matter if you are an introvert, extrovert or something in between, many of us struggle to move from the shadows into the spotlight. Being open to ‘Yes’ enables us to redefine the spotlight, understand we all deserve to be there and share our voice with the world.

I know first-hand what it’s like in the shadows; you are not illuminated and you are not…

Are you limiting innovation in the workplace without realising it?

As a consultant who works with many different organisations and HR teams, I often wonder why so many HR managers consistently have such low opinions of their Operational Managers' capabilities to embrace strategic or innovative HR concepts, systems and tools.

My experience permits me a reasonably educated guess.

When attempting to understand any perceptions that we have of others, we must take into…

The widely expected announcement of a China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) included several commitments on immigration. The proposed changes to Australian immigration for Chinese nationals and businesses have been met with both satisfaction and expressions of concern about the impact on local employment conditions.

Business…

Shaun McCarthy, Managing Director and Chairman Human Synergistics Australia

I want to comment on an interesting phenomenon we are experiencing right now – the love of leadership and possible disdain for management.

Some years ago we launched the Leadership/Impact® (L/I) feedback instrument. This tool differs from the LSI in that it profiles the 'impact' the leader has on those they lead – how others believe they are expected to behave as a consequence of the…

Newly promoted managers and leaders find themselves in a position of leadership yet often face the immense challenge of the more defining aspect of it - having influence; the ability to get people to engage or participate and have people follow and listen to you because they want to, not because they have to.

I believe a common trait of great influential leaders is that they communicate trust. You will never be assumed as trustworthy by what…

There was recently talk in the media about teaching students work ethics and one of the examples given was telling them to ring up and speak to their Supervisor or Manager when sick and unable to attend work rather than texting.  Unfortunately, though I think there are many in the workplace, of various ages that text rather than ring.  If you are unable to speak with staff it is difficult to find out if they are ok, how long they expect to be off, what appointments are scheduled for the day,…

Shaun McCarthy, Human Synergistics Australia

Leaders and managers have the great privilege and responsibility of creating a certain culture in their organisation. Whether they are conscious of it or not, their impact is felt by those around them. We want to help leaders and managers make conscious decisions around how to have the most constructive impact possible.

People in leadership roles have a direct impact on culture simply through 'what they do' - the way…

I believe all of us are called to be leaders in many different arenas of life. Being a leader is less title and more mindset. My personal belief is that the word leader is a verb not a noun. We don’t wake up one day a leader, but rather we are always becoming leaders…

Be ‘Process’ Not ‘Results’ Orientated

An aspect of developing a leadership mindset with your team, your personal performance, or the goals and…

Employee generated insights for identifying problems, overcoming obstacles and harnessing opportunities are extremely powerful.   Employees who are at the coal-face of the business, dealing with customers and hearing about competitive activity, have access to vital information.  The collective brain is simply the sum of the entire organisations’ individual brains, working together to achieve a goal.  But how many organisations effectively utilise this powerful resource?

Sure,…

SUMMARY

October saw a number of reforms to the Employer Sponsored immigration system announced but few changes implemented.

The most relevant change for employers was the amendment of the Subclass 400 Short Stay Work visa to increase the maximum visa period to 6 months and entry date to 6…

Giving employees clarity around what to expect from leaders can dramatically reduce the incidence of psychological injuries at work, an employer has found.

OHS Alert - the news service I write for and sister site to HR Daily - covers workplace psychological issues in depth, and I have summarised below the key points HR practitioners can take away from two recent articles.

Psych injuries drop under tailored…

I'm right! Yes, it does happen occasionally. 

I now have substantial evidence from a highly credible global consulting firm that supports one of my more common rants; the ludicrous waste of time and money that a vast number of tenders and PSAs prove to be. 

Wasteful recruitment tender and PSA processes are one of my pet hates, and I am willing to bet my house on the fact that they are also a very big hate of many recruiters. 

Last week, Top 4 global accounting…

There is no getting away from the simple fact that effective management is about effective communication.  Survey after survey is also telling us that on average 70% of employees are disengaged from their work.  What is going on?  What are managers missing?  As is often the case, the answer is surprisingly simple . . .



A number of years ago two of the researchers at Gallup reverse engineered literally millions of employment survey responses and collated the key things that great…

In my time as a leadership and management consultant, I have seen many different types of leaders each with their own qualities – but there remains one character trait that I have come across that I still find quite perplexing.

I am talking about the leaders or managers that can recite buzz words or the latest leadership theories and models but when you look at their performance it may be well below what they have the potential to achieve. 

In a more similar definition – these…