People Smartz Blog

End of year/Christmas Office parties - a great time to unwind, rub shoulders with workmates and other great antics.  They 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 from our members section.

People Smartz is proud to have been accredited as an approved consultant for the Jobs Assist Program.

The Queensland State Government is providing grants through approved Consultants for the delivery of advisory and mentoring services to businesses with 10 or more (full time equivalent) employees under the Jobs Assist programme.

The Department of Employment, Economic Development & Innovations (DEEDI) is providing the support intended to help businesses weather the current economic conditions. The financial loss and consequent unemployment caused by business failures is well understood. DEEDI is generously providing funding wherever such assistance is beneficial to sustaining businesses and the retention of employees.

To find out more about eligibility or to apply please contact us for more information today!

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The HR Coach Research Institute has released its latest quarterly research into employment confidence in the business sector.

The research indicates that positive signs are beginning to enter into the minds of business owners and preparations are being made for an economic recovery. Because of this there is a focus on short term business improvement strategies in readiness for the growth. 

The following is quoted from the results of the research:

"The Institute has identified that in anticipation of an economic rebound, businesses are moving into preparation mode.

The top 3 critical issues facing business have remained the same over the past year – Lack of Work or Sales, Cash-Flow and the Economic Climate.

With an improving expectation of growth in sales and profitability, businesses are looking to resource this trend with increased participation of employees as well as the recruitment of new employees. Concern in relation to finding and keeping talent could see an increase in wages bills – both through an increase in hours of part time employees, and rates of pay for full time employees. This may address the labour underutilization rates that have increased in the past year.

With a low expectation of investment in capital expenditure, businesses are maintaining a short term view in relation to return on investment strategies. This will drive business improvement strategies; building on core business rather than innovation.

As internal organisational confidence continues to decline, businesses will need to focus on internal processes. Businesses will most likely be addressing orientations, workplace and legislative policies in the coming months. This may trigger a resurgence of quality management systems in the market."

The full report on this research is available from the People Smartz Members area. To download - click on the link below:

HR Quarterly Index - October 2009

The Australian Industrial Relations Commission has been releasing over the last couple of months the new Modern Awards to cover employment within Australia from 1 January 2010 .

The process is continuing and by the time January 1 comes along, all employees under $108,000 per annum will be covered by one of the new modern awards.  This includes professional occupations who previously had not been covered by an award - some of them under a new "catch-all" award created for the purpose of ensuring they are covered.

While not all the awards have been released, a list of the one's released so far (with a copy available for download) is available from http://www.airc.gov.au/awardmod/fullbench/awards.htm

I would strongly recommend that you review this list and download the award applicable to your industry.  From 1 January 2010, when the awards become effective, you will be required to be complying with the award applicable to your business.  The time to start preparing is now not on 31 December!

The businesses I am working with on preparing for the new awards vary in the amount of work they need to do to prepare for the changes.  It really does depend on the individual business.....

If you want to know more, as well as a suggested list of activities you can undertake to help yourself prepare for the changes - visit out website by clicking below and downloading our information sheet.

Australia's New IR Laws - Information Sheet

If you have any questions about the changes, please feel free to contact us or post a question on our forum page!  Our forum is also hosting a discussion on what effects you believe the new laws are going to have on your business - why not give us your thoughts today!

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The People Smartz Forum

It should come as no surprise that the latest research is indicating that Australian businesses are "under threat due to the increasing complex economic and labour market".

The latest white paper released by the HR Coach Research Institute talks to the maturation in professional services to Australian businesses in most professional areas (for example legal, accounting, sales and IT).  Titled "The Business of the HR Crisis", it discusses the effect a lack of effective people management practices is having over an estimated 651,000 businesses.

Some of the conclusions in the white paper include:

• The effects of uncertainty on the confidence of employers and strategic direction;
• The increasing management fatigue beginning to be seen due to down-sizing of workplaces
• The effect on small businesses of not being able to attract or retain employees
• The effect of struggling with paperwork and compliance
• The compounding effect of industrial relations and Health and Safety legislation changes.

The cost of labour is the biggest cost on most businesses.  This cost is exacerbated by the inability for business to have access to effect people management advice and solutions.  This white paper discusses this in detail and delivers a conclusion which is not only interesting but in line with our People Smartz philosophy that "People Drive Results".

I highly recommend downloading the full white paper and would be interested in hearing your comments through our forum. If you don't have a membership (it's free), please register.

> Download the White Paper

> The People Smartz Forum

Is recruiting simply a matter of picking the a person and filling a number in your business?

I have been working with a number of clients over the last couple of weeks helping them recruit for a new team member.  On each occasion, their initial request has been "we need to recruit a admin person (or sales person, or account manager or whatever).

When working with these businesses my first question is a simple one - "what opportunities does this vacancy present for you?".

A vacancy in a business is an opportunity to improve your business.  You have the opportunity:
 

• to look at your current practices to see if you can improve them,
• to look at your team and correct any weaknesses that may exist,
• to look at your structure and perhaps redefine the role to improve business development; and
• to revitalise your business through the introduction of new and different experience and attitudes.

One client I have been working with has a number of sales people in his team.  Over time the sales team has been performing well but there has been a drop off in lead generation.  My clients initial thought was to replace the sales person who is leaving with another sales person.  After I had worked with him for a period, he realised that he could replace the sales person with a person (or person's) who could concentrate on the marketing and lead generation aspects of the sales process.  The opportunity was there to correct what could have been a serious concern going forward and provide an avenue for further growth.

The above situation doesn't apply to every business.  In businesses with high turnover (such as hospitality) we are basically looking at a numbers game, but this doesn't mean an opportunity does not exist to improve your business!   Another client took advantage of the opportunity created by a vacancy to upskill her existing team and improve their overall ability to service the customer.  The overall effect was cost neutral but had a significant effect on return customers - a win for the business, the team members and the customer!

So next time you are looking at filling a vacancy in your business, turn the question around from one about numbers to one about opportunity - it could have some very positive effects.

As always if People Smartz can help you - let us know!

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Over the last couple of days I have been assisting a business owner with a problem that had happened with one of his team members.

Now I will not be going into detail about the situation, that would be breaking confidentiality - but I will share one thing that occurred to me while I was with them.

Many years ago, I read (and attended a course on)  Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.  One of the seven habits was "First seek to understand and then be understood". 

Well, this situation would probably have been helped if both sides had taken the time to follow this habit!  I am not saying that either side was at fault, the truth is that if they had taken the time to understand what the other was saying, they would have found they were saying basically the same thing!  In other words they were disagreeing over something they agreed on!

Some sort of conflict can arise in any relationship - we all know that.  In business, when they occur and the business owner is involved they can take a momentum of their own if not handled promptly.  This was an example of one such occasion.

The first rule I explain to business owners in these situations is to keep their mouth shut and "listen".  This is followed by asking questions to ensure they understand what is going on in the mind of the team member and then act to correct the misunderstanding or incorrect performance.

This approach has the advantage of defusing situations, opening dialogue and giving team members the opportunity to feel they have been listened to.  It also gives the business owner (or manager) the ability to get their side understood in a more effective manner by helping them clear away the "noise".

It is an approach which is, in essence - "Seek first to understand and then be understood".  From my experience, I can tell you - it works!

People Smartz can assist you with your team, helping productivity and efficiency and introducing good "habits" to your organisation.  Contact us today to find out how we can help you and your team.

You will have seen me write before that the two things business owners need more than any thing else is cash flow and time.

Today's blog is all about the later - time.  Now in researching today's blog, I found many documents, reviews, white papers about time management - making lists or setting goals.  While it was tempting, this is not what this blog is about!

From my experience, business owners are always on the move, busy working on this part of the business or that, making everything work on a day to day basis.  This is how it was when he or she first started the business on their own and what they have become used to.

But in order to grow a business, the owner needs to move out of the day to day - if they do not devote some time to the future, then they will be forever stuck in today. 

Time is often the first area a coach needs to begin with a business owner.  For it is the creation of time that creates opportunities for business growth and increasing cash flow...

So how does a busy person find more time?  Well simply it is not possible to find more time!  It is a scarce resource with only a certain amount of it available - and the time you do have has many conflicting priorities pulling on it!

If time is scarce, then it is time to start looking for ways to make your use of time more efficient.  For many business owners, identifying the work they do which could be done by others (or not done at all) is often the first step in this process.  It is all about looking for the way your business can run more effectively, whether by using others, automating a process or just changing the way you do things.

This is not a hard process to begin yourself - if you can find the time to do it!  Bit of a Catch 22 isn't?

So if you want to grow and develop your business, start thinking about time - not in terms of lists but in terms of outcomes, effectiveness and how you can devote some of it to the future.  People Smartz Coaches can assist you in the process by providing you with an experienced perspective of your and your peoples activities. Contact us

So why do I need a business coach? Why do I need a HR Coach?  Why do I need a coach at all?

These questions are fired at me fairly regularly and I would like to take the time today to explain why!

First - Coaching is not consulting. Consulting implies that you identify a problem that a client has and you propose a solution. Coaching is more about assisting your to help yourself.

There are many other reasons for working with a business coach, but here are just a few:

1. Working with a coach is an investment in you and your business.  Your business is about your future and you need to have your time and energy concentrated on the important areas of growing your business.
2. The purpose of working with a coach is to guide and encourage you to achieve your goals. A coach will insist on excellence and guide you towards the desired outcomes through the development of a well structured and tailor made business plan. 
3. A coach will help you identify the areas of waste in your business, where your time is being used ineffectively and assist you in correcting these areas.
4. A good coach will have experience in identifying the right people for your team.  The individual's fit into the team is as important as their technical skills.
5. Your coach will look to assist you in developing your sales funnel through targeted sales and marketing processes and activities.
6. Because coaching is not consulting it is more cost effective by building the internal resources within your company.

There are many coaches out there with their own specialities.  Some concentrate on sales, others on marketing, others on strategic direction.  The choices is yours about which is the most suitable for your business.

People Smartz believes that regardless of the specialty area, it is the people involved that produce the results.  This is why our coaching is designed to identify the ways your business can achieve success through people. With People Smartz Coaching you are investing in you and your team - not a process.

For more information - contact us today.

> Learn more about People Smartz Coaching Programs