People Smartz Blog

It is becoming more and more apparent, that no matter how small your business is, you can not avoid your obligations in regards to meeting your employer obligations.

Many thanks to our great friends at Brands Law for this great example of the line of thinking to which our courts are dealing with breaches of the Fair Work Act:

"Back in April 2011, in a case involving underpayment of penalty rates to employees, Magistrate Hawkins said there was a need to "send a message to the community at large and small employers particularly, that the correct entitlements for employees must be paid and that steps must be taken by employers (of all sizes) to ascertain and comply with minimum entitlements (as opposed to ignoring those obligations).

"Compliance should not be seen as the bastion of the large employers with human resources staff and advisory consultants (accountants, consultants, lawyers) behind them"."

In a speech in May 2011, the Fair Work Ombudsman made a point that it "was not sufficient for companies to turn a blind eye and hope that they are meeting their obligations".  He particularly made the point that companies need to make sure that they are resourcing their obligations appropriately.

With this type of language coming from our courts and the Ombudsman, it is very evident and important that all businesses, regardless of size have in place a system for ensuring compliance with their awards, the Fair Work Act and the National Employment Standards.

Our experience with small to medium sized businesses has shown that business people are finding it more and more difficult to manage these obligations.  As we have said in our blog posts before - the system itself is not built for small business.

Unfortunately, it appears that the message from our courts is that small businesses need to manage their obligations similarly to the way they would be handled in big business.  However, small businesses do not have the human resources staff etc to do that!

Understanding your obligations can be difficult and managing them can be time consuming. The place to start is to ensure you are compliant now!

Why not book one of our People and Business Reviews where we can help you identify the actions you can take to ensure you are meeting your obligations.

Book your review today!

Yes it nearing the end of the year.  We are entering party season - a great time to unwind, rub shoulders with workmates etc.  This can be a fun time!

But end of year parties have a very serious side as many of these antics lead to "regrets" after.

Recent research in Australia found that 70% of people believed that hitting the booze led to a more "personal" feeling amongst staff.  Nearly a quarter of females interviewed admitted that their boss had made a pass at them at an office party. 

Such behaviours can present many problems for businesses, particularly if the "antics" involved lead to a complaint from a member of staff regarding the behaviour of another.

It would be easy to say "no office party" or "its too risky", but sometimes the advantages of holding the party far outweigh the negatives.  The decision to have or not have one is one for the business alone. 

I would recommend a level headed approach to this years Xmas party - making sure the party is well planned and your staff are aware of the required behaviours before hand.  This way you can have the fun while managing the risk!

To help you plan for your businesses party, download our Christmas Checklist today.

Recent research has identified the challenges businesses are facing in managing people in 2011.

This is quite a list!  

• Uncertainty in times of change impacts on confidence of employers and clarity of their strategic direction.

• Fatigue of key employees and additional workload due to shrinking workplaces leads to disengaged workers or management turnover.

• Labour is on average the largest cost to business. The statistics show that it is escalating due to employee expectations for pay increases, the growing anxiety of individual debt and increased competition between employers for talent.

• Over 50% of employees will be looking for new jobs in the next year.

• Employers are ramping up employee numbers but not planning on wage increases.

• Small business is struggling with the fact that they cannot attract quality applicants.

• It is estimated that it can cost more than $48,000 to replace an average employee on $45,000 a year.

• The Red Tape Commission estimates 75% of businesses struggle with paperwork and compliance.

• According to the published National Accountant, 65% of employees have experienced harassment.

• Changes in legislation causes confusion and mistrust. Businesses are at risk externally and it cannot be ignored. Changes in the health and safety and parental leave in Australia are major changes in compliance.

• Internationally, labour laws are becoming more stringent and complex, adding a cost and compliance burden that did not exist before.

• The aging workforce, generational shift, technology adaptation and social media impact are issues that will take hold in the coming year.

If you identify with any of these and are wondering how you can meet the challenge - then give People Smartz a call!  Contact Us

Today I was almost involved in an accident in my car.

I was driving along the road, the last of three cars travelling along a suburban street.  Up ahead was a side street with one car waiting to turn out and another waiting to turn into it.

Unexpectantly, the first of the two cars ahead of me suddenly stopped to let these two cars exit and enter the side street.

Taken by surprise, both I and the driver of the second car braked hard.  Unfortunately, the second car was unable to stop in time and drove straight into the rear of the first car, which then crashed into both the cars turning.  Luckily, I was travelling far enough behind to avoid being physically involved and my car was undamaged - something I can not say for the other 4 cars involved.  

More importantly, no one was injured in the accident.

Now what has this got to do with a blog about business you might ask?

Well, it teaches us a lesson in why it is important to manage expectations in your business - when you don't, the unexpected happens!

We have road laws that control how traffic behaves, signs that indicate who is required to give way or stop, speed limits and many other things that are provided to ensure we are safe and consistent on the road.  Today's accident occurred (in my opinion), because someone decided that they would do the "unexpected".

Simply, he stopped to allow traffic that legally did not have the right of way to turn.  As he stated after, he thought he was "doing the right thing" and that "they could be waiting for ages".  

The problem was that this was not a behaviour those travelling behind were expecting - we were expecting him to follow the rules.  He hadn't even thought that others would be expecting him to do something different!

Now we have said before in this blog that the number one thing we see when asked to assist businesses with issues that develop with people is that there is an inconsistent approach to expectation management.  

When expectations aren't clear or not understood, then problems occur.  In the case of the car accident, the expectations were clear, but the understanding was not - the driver did not understand the need to stick to rules, he did not understand the effect that his actions may have (I am sure he does now!)

So there is a lesson to be learnt from today's event - how you deliver and ensure understanding of your and your businesses expectations is important in ensuring your business remains on track - without any "accidents".

This is were tools such as position descriptions, employment agreements, codes of conduct, processes and procedures become very important.  They lay out the basic "expectations" of the business in regards to behaviours, customer and peer interaction, business development etc.  If these are clear and easily understood, you are a long way along the track to ensuring a smooth running business.

In line with this is ensuring that you have strong systems to communicate formally and informally with your team.  This includes performance management systems and the way you pass on important information.  Regardless of the size of the business, these systems in themselves can be designed to improve both individual and business performance.

Equally important is the demonstrated behaviour of owners and managers of your business. By ensuring your own actions are line with these expectations, you are providing an example to your team.

If you would like to improve the performance of your team, first look to how you manage your expectations - For many years, we at People Smartz, have been assisting in ensuring that businesses run smoothly through the strong development of these expectation management tools and behaviours. Call us today to assist you!

Contact