I often visit small and growing businesses to discuss with them their people management needs. Their need is a very simple one - "I just want to treat my people right and make sure I am compliant". Unfortunately,until recently, that need could not be addressed in a simple manner and many employers would place the need in the "too hard" basket.   read more

The Federal Government has introduced into parliament its second tranche of legislation amending the Fair Work Act. The changes to the Act include new responsibilities for the Fair Work Commission in regards to Workplace Bullying by introducing a new avenue for a employee to complain about Workplace Bullying. The bill allows a worker who believes they are being bullied at work to apply to the Commission for an order to stop the bullying. read more

The latest HR Coach Quarterly Index has been released.  The HR Quarterly Index provides a summary of industry confidence in the business sector. According to Index,  "The new year seems to be bringing a sense of conservative optimism with it. Although business confidence hasn't risen, it hasn't worsened, indicating that business sentiment could be leveling out."  According to the index, business indicators appear to be trending into positive territory  read more

We are delighted to announce an important milestone in our business. As of Monday the 4th of February 2013, People Smartz Pty Ltd will be partnering with enableHR to provide implementation and training support to Xero Accounting practices. Xero is an ASX listed online accounting and payroll tool that has rapidly gained acceptance with leading chartered accounting practices and book keeping groups. read more

We are pleased to announce the release of the February 2013 WebinHR program. Designed for small businesses, these seminars are presented by some of the best in the business and this month cover topics such as managing bullying, reducing labour costs, accessing government funding for training and simplifying recruiting.  read more

Everywhere you go today, social media is the topic. The news bulletins are telling us about "social media trolls", television advertisements invite you to "follow" a particular company and radio stations are embracing "multi-mode marketing" encouraging listeners to visit their website for more juicy information.   read more

Fair Work Australia this week released its latest annual report.  It is interesting reading. As you can see by the title of this post, the number of unfair dismissal claims has once again risen over the year 2011-2012 to a total of 14,027.  This is an increase of 9.2%. The "headline" number for the government in this report is the number of claims settled overall under this system - 81%.  Evidence that the system is "working" they say. read more

The October WebinHR program has now been released! Great topics including "Is it costing you too much to pay your people" and "How do you hire for skill and fit". For more information on these great webinars for small business - Click Here  read more

At People Smartz we receive a large number of phone calls and website hits every month from clients, ex-clients and others requesting information regarding Small Business HR Issues. We have been keeping records for sometime about the questions asked, however, for the first time this month, we have decided to publish the top 5 topics based on the questions asked.  Our top five for the last month are: read more