Human Capital magazine issue 10.07

STRESS BUSTER

Work-life transitions P.16 MAKE MEETINGS MATTER ISSUE 10.7

Top tips revealed P.24

EMBRACING THE FEMININE

Coaching for Yin P.60 HUMAN CAPITAL MAGAZINE HCAMAG.COM

RETENTION SPECIAL REPORT

YOUR GUIDE TO EASING STAFF TURNOVER

ENGAGEMENT & ATTACHMENT Focusing on key drivers

LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT Enhancing existing skills

REWARD & RECOGNITION Maximising what’s on offer

CORPORATE CULTURE Identifying hidden symbols

editor’s letter

Express yourself! Got a burning issue to get off your chest? Check out the readers’ forums at hcamag.com

Retention: An impossible task?

When I think of talent in an organisation and how easily it can slip away I often get a visual image of someone trying to pick up and group together a pool of mercury; indeed, one HR professional I interviewed likened retention to trying to pick up mercury in their hands. It’s a challenging task to direct that silvery chemical element in a desired direction. Challenging, but not impossible – and the same applies for HR professionals when it comes to retention.

Alongside the ongoing hunt for talent, retention is perhaps the most pressing issue facing HR professionals in Australia. The idea of dedicating a fair chunk of this issue to that central theme was borne out of the disturbing stat that 56% of HR professionals and senior business leaders fear that other employers are looking to recruit their best talent. If that is correct, the key question must be, why make it easier for them?

Of course, retention has so many key elements.

In fact, there is an aspect of ‘how long is a piece of string?’ about the topic. Where does one start – especially when most workforces now are so diverse, with each group invigorated and engaged by different elements? For clarity’s sake, we’ve broken the topic down to four key areas: engagement, L&D, reward & recognition, culture.

In each of these sections you’ll find some theory and helpful hints, an ‘in practice’ case study, and a ‘to-do’ list.

Unsurprisingly, HR teams themselves are not immune from high turnover rates. The Next Step’s 2012 Global HR Viewpoint Survey indicates that nearly 35% of HR professionals have worked for their current company for less than a year, and fewer than 5% of HR practitioners have worked in the current organisation for more than 10 years.

Some of the reasons for this high turnover – constant model and structural changes, the limited scale of HR teams, inhibiting growth opportunities, poor leadership and burnout – seem to mirror almost identically the reasons given by other employees for jumping ship.

While it is a worry that HR practitioners themselves cannot rectify some of these push factors (if you can’t help yourselves…), it’s clear that HR does have an important role to play in retention strategies for all employees. And it stands to reason that they should be; as HR is often involved in the expensive, time consuming hiring process, it’s a shocking waste to see that talent slip away in some instances only months later.

56% of HR professionals and senior business leaders fear that other employers are looking to recruit their best talent

Letters to the editor

editor@hcamag.com

COPY & FEATURES EDITOR Iain Hopkins JOURNALIST Stephanie Zillman EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Patrick Durrant, Tom Goodwin PRODUCTION EDITORS Sushil Suresh, Moira Daniels

ART & PRODUCTION SENIOR DESIGNER Rebecca Downing TRAFFIC MANAGER Abby Cayanan

CONTRIBUTORS Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers, The Next Step, Peak Health, Kenexa

SALES & MARKETING MARKETING EXECUTIVE Anna Keane COMMUNICATIONS EXECUTIVE Lisa Narroway NATIONAL COMMERCIAL MANAGER Sophie Knight ONLINE COMMERCIAL MANAGER Sarah Wiseman

CORPORATE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Mike Shipley CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER George Walmsley MANAGING DIRECTOR – BUSINESS MEDIA Justin Kennedy CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER Colin Chan HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER Julia Bookallil Editorial enquiries Iain Hopkins tel: +61 2 8437 4703 iain.hopkins@keymedia.com.au Advertising enquiries National commercial manager, HR products Sophie Knight tel: +61 2 8437 4733 sophie.knight@keymedia.com.au Subscriptions tel: +61 2 8437 4731 • fax: +61 2 8437 4753 subscriptions@keymedia.com.au Key Media keymedia.com.au Key Media Pty Ltd, regional head office, Level 10, 1–9 Chandos St, St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia tel: +61 2 8437 4700 fax: +61 2 9439 4599 Offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Toronto hcamag.com Copyright is reserved throughout. No part of this publication can be reproduced in whole or part without the express permission of the editor. Contributions are invited, but copies of work should be kept as HC can accept no responsibility for loss.

Got a burning issue to get off your chest? We value your opinions and input.

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HC MAGAZINE 10.7

contents

16 16 | Why we DON’T really want balance Dr Adam Fraser introduces a new concept that may just assist in that elusive search for harmony in work and home life: transitions

30 Cover story: Special Report: Retention Knuckling down and soldiering through the economic turmoil will come down to one key factor: retention. In this special report, Human Capital looks at four key ingredients to retaining happy, productive employees 2

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20 | My Brilliant Career As Australia’s first bank, established in 1817, Westpac has seen a full spectrum of challenges. Shenaz Khan, the bank’s general manager HR, tells Carolin Wun how it is embracing the gender equality debate 24 | Make meetings matter Meeting time! Cue rolled eyes, murmurs of ‘time-wasting’ and overall reluctance from participants. Why have

Check out the HC archive online:

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28 REGULARS

04 | In brief: news 06 | In brief: forum

FRONTLINE INTELLIGENCE

meetings become such a drag for all concerned, and what can you do as the facilitator to enliven proceedings?

08 | In Step – HR career experts 10 | Legal 12 | Corporate health 13 | Technology 14 | Leadership

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56 | Profile: HR at SAP This month’s profiled HR professional, Lisa Christy, talks diversity, change management and following a passion in life and work 60 | Coaching for Yin What might your organisation look like if more leaders embraced feminine (Yin) energy? Taking a leaf out of Taoist doctrine, Dennis Roberts discovers the likely result would be workplaces filled with collaborative, creative, and sustainable traits and energy

60 WWW.HCAMAG.COM HCAMAG.COM

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IN BRIEF

news MATURE AGE WORKERS

TIME TO LEGISLATE FLEXIBLE WORK OPTIONS FOR OVER-45s?

n Employer groups have slammed the proposal to change the Fair Work Act to allow older workers a legal basis to demand flexible working arrangements.

A review panel is currently investigating whether the act should change in order to extend flexible arrangements to workers aged over 45. Currently, the provision is confined to people with children of school age, under 18 or with a disability.

Yet according to the Business Council of Australia, doing so would tip the balance of choice even more firmly in favour of younger workers. “As the Fair Work Act already allows for carer responsibilities and disability to be a basis for workers of all ages to request flexible work arrangements, there would be a risk of increased regulatory compliance costs in return for small (or no) additional benefits for older workers,” BCA CEO Jennifer Westacott wrote in a submission.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACC) also weighed in on the debate, adding that it is also opposed to extending the right to request flexible working arrangements.

Rather than legislating for flexibility, some organisations have said that the same can be achieved through HR policies. Insurance Australia Group (IAG) told the commission that in strategising the approach to retaining older workers, options such as allowing employees to take a ‘career break’ for reasons such as caring for their grandchildren, should be considered.

The BCA also argued that discrimination against workers based on their age could be tackled through better education programs for companies, advertising the benefits of hiring older workers. “While there has been a strong increase in the labour force participation of older Australians over the past 10 years, suggesting that the problem of age-based discrimination is falling, Australia still has lower levels of older worker participation than other OECD countries,” Westacott said.

• The graph below shows the dependency ratio between those not of working age (both young and old).

• By 2030 the aged population will start to overtake the younger generation.

Australia’s dependency ratios 70

40 30 20 10 1990

2000

2010

2020

2030

2040

2050

Child Aged Combined Source: ABS cat. no. 3201.0 (2008) and Treasury projections

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71% –

percentage of Australians aged 55–59 participating in the labour market.

These rates drop to 51% for people in the 60–64 age group, and to 24% for people aged 65–69. For those aged 70+ it drops to around 3%*

30% –

percentage of HR professionals who use social media to locate talent; 20% use it to communicate with candidates; and 19% use it to source references for potential hires^

number of working days of productivity lost per employee annually due to flu*

50

0 1970 1980

The month in numbers

6.5 – average

60

%

HR technology

Sources: *’Working past our 60s: Reforming laws and policies for the older worker’, compiled by the Australian Human Rights Commission (HREOC) ^Robert Half online survey *Kimberly-Clark Professional research

CLOUD TECHNOLOGY STILL MORE OF A FOG FOR HR

n The latest survey figures have revealed a high proportion of HR professionals do not fully understand what cloud technology could do for their business, and barely half have any idea what the term means at all.

Put simply, the cloud-based software market is where companies ‘rent’ software over the internet rather than installing it on their own machines. According to the Sage Business Index for 2012, just 53% of businesses had ever heard the term “cloud” prior to the survey. Of those, the main barriers to adoption of cloud computing included: • limited perceived benefits • confusion about the potential savings or benefits • uncertainty as to how to implement a cloud solution; and • a belief that their business “isn’t the sort that could make use of the cloud” However, once the technology was explained, some 48% stated that they would be interested in implementing cloud software in their operations.

Research by Deloitte has revealed that for organisations that have begun the transformation, the reason couldn’t be more straightforward: cost-cutting. Their chief motivators are the lack of licensing fees and the requirement for additional infrastructure, automatic maintenance by the provider, minimal training, and world-wide connectivity.

DID YOU KNOW?

WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION

BUSINESS BACKLASH AGAINST CONTROVERSIAL DISCRIMINATION COMMENTS

n Controversial comments made by South Australian liberal opposition leader Isobel Redmond have come at a time when employment law experts have highlighted that state-discrepancies in discrimination claims could be putting national employers at risk.

Redmond, who said that women should ignore discrimination and instead focus on their job performance to achieve equality, was not discouraging women from pursuing legal action over gender discrimination but said there were other options they could consider.

Among other business leaders who voiced their disgust at the comments, David Cruikshanks-Boyd, from engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff, said performing at work was necessary but not sufficient to combat gender discrimination. “Discrimination can be unconscious, simply because there is a strong representation of men in leadership roles and they’re used to working with men in other leadership roles,” he said.

Joydeep Hor from People + Culture Strategies said: “We’re finding most employers are aware of the traditional discrimination grounds such as race, sex, age and disability. However, a number of other protected grounds are often overlooked, resulting in legal action being undertaken by the terminated employee.”

Because the variance between states is significant, compliance with the correct legislation is proving to be a challenge for many employers, especially businesses that operate across state borders.

Source: ‘The leadership premium: How companies win the confidence of investors’

by Deloitte

CORPORATE HEALTH

TIME TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT PRESENTEEISM, IT’S COSTING YOU $34BN

n Research has demonstrated that healthy workers are more productive workers.

A report by Medibank estimates the price of absenteeism at $6bn annually. However, the cost of ‘presenteeism’ –when an employee comes to work in ill health and does not work at full capacity – could be as high as $34bn, and the overall cost for the economy equates to a decrease in gross domestic product (GDP) by 2.7%.

Dr Matthew Cullen from Medibank Health Solutions said investments need to be made in the health of staff, so that employers can reduce presenteeism rates, productivity and, in the long term, generate an overall positive impact on business.

The research identified steps to address presenteeism and improve their employee’s productivity, including:

80% of investment analysts factor in a discount for ineffective leadership and a premium for effective leadership.

Indeed, concerns over the quality of a senior leadership team is enough for some analysts to avoid investing in the stock at all.

1. Awareness of the problem and the economic impact of health conditions on business and the Australian economy.

2. Identification of particular health issues affecting employees, so a company can design better programs to improve their health.

3. Education of employees to ensure that illnesses are not going undiagnosed.

Other strategies include: • Health risk assessments • Counselling services for employees and their families.

• Wellness programs

RECRUITMENT

PLACE A BID FOR YOUR FAV CANDIDATE

n A new online professional social network allows fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) workers in the mining industry to post their profile and literally compete for jobs in bidding wars.

The website – fifobids.com.au – is touted as filling a need on both ends: the skills shortage plaguing the mining industry, and workers who are looking for competitively paid jobs. Users create a profile, upload their CVs and state their price. Employers then go onto the network and a bidding war ensues.

In just four weeks the site has more than 7,500 member profiles on the books. “We have built an open, transparent and fair market accessible to everyone, and where companies can easily see who is available,” co-founder Antonluigi Gozzi told The Australian.

The site founders say their future plan is to extend the concept to cover all industries – but it remains to be seen if the concept will work effectively in industries without serious skills shortages.

Notably, employee profiles are anonymous, so an employer can bid only on the skills and experience presented in the listed CV.

IN BRIEF HC ONLINE

forum

Schoolyard bullies to face job ban Twelve major employers in NSW are trialling a new scheme that aims to attack the bullying endemic plaguing high schools – bullies are warned that their schoolyard behaviour will follow them right into the workforce.

ClubsNSW launched the radical BullyCheck scheme in May, and employers that sign on will reject job applications from people aged 17–22 who engaged in bullying, cyber stalking, harassment or threatening behaviour at school.

Participating employers will ask job applicants to consent to a reference check from their current or former high school and will not be hired if they fail the character test.

While the initiative has been welcomed by anti-bullying campaigners, some commentators have raised concerns over a minefield of potential issues. For example, some have pointed to the possibility of excluding applicants who have been wrongly accused of bullying. Others have questioned whether it would be fair to reject a person of 22 who has matured and is remorseful of their behaviour at school.

Yet Gaming and Racing Minister George Souris stood by BullyCheck, hailing it as a fantastic initiative. “Bullying both at school and in the workplace has a costly and devastating effect on victims and the community at large and I congratulate ClubsNSW on helping to fight this scourge,” he said.

ClubsNSW said the program would be adopted by clubs across the state by next year.

“The message is simple – if you bully then you are risking your own career prospects,” chief executive Anthony Ball said. Forums will be held in schools to advise kids that aggressive behaviour would not be looked on kindly, and a record of bullying could severely harm their future career prospects. “If students have engaged in serious bullying, cyber stalking or

threatening behaviour clubs will not hesitate to reject their job application,” Ball commented.

If a student voluntarily raises their bullying history and demonstrates remorse and a high level of community service then their application for a job may be considered on its merits, ClubsNSW said.

To protect privacy, no personal documents will be released and jobseekers will not be told why their application was refused. Schools in the program must agree to provide information confidentially to employers about a job applicant’s history.

The rollout of the scheme follows a number of high-profile bullying incidents where teenage victims have been driven to suicide, and schools have largely copped the brunt of blame.

– Stephanie Zillman

What do you think? Leave your comments on all HC news and opinion:

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Readers’ comments BREE VREEDENBURGH on 28 May 2012 01:56 PM No, no, no. This is an awful idea.

You marginalise these kids for their behaviour, without giving them (a) opportunity to demonstrate they have changed and (b) assistance to overcome their bullying...? What if the kid is a bully because his dad is an idiot? Shouldn’t that kid be educated and nurtured instead of marginalised? Do you really think bullies are going to stop bullying if you refuse them the advantage of stepping into a workplace where they are required to behave like an adult? Also, why would jobseekers not be told why their application was refused? Doesn’t it defeat the purpose of the exercise – to make bullies understand that their actions have consequences? I am thoroughly confused by this scheme.

DEBORAH on 28 May 2012 03:36 PM And what happens to these jobseekers if they get refused a job? They go on the dole? That’s NOT an acceptable solution. Bullying should be addressed at the coalface – not x number of years later when applying for a position.

BERNIE ALTHOFER on 30 May 2012 10:07 AM One would hope that this program has been based on sound research and even consultation with a range of academics, professionals and practitioners.

As many of the online discussions are indicating, there appears to be a range of concerns regarding this program, not the least of which lies with privacy issues, and the long-term impact on a school bully who may have turned the corner. Issues such as procedural fairness and natural justice are important issues and whilst no-one wants to see or hear of another suicide, education seems to be the most commonly suggested approach. I note that this is a trial – at the end of the trial, there should be an evaluation, which may or may not highlight the gaps that are being identified in various online discussions. It would be interesting to read the current documentation that exists in relation to how this trial developed. This might help create a better and more informed understanding of the complexities involved. Given the apparent lack of information available, current comments in various forums are already highlighting a few positives, but a majority of negatives.

FRONTLINE INTELLIGENCE

recruitment

Lisa Robson is a Consultant within The Next Gen division of The Next Step, a specialist consulting practice in the human resources market. For more information call (02) 8256 2500 or email lrobson@thenextstep.com.au. Website: www.thenextstep.com.au

Professional Development in HR– A Balancing Act! The HR function is responsible for the design and execution of professional development (PD) opportunities for organisations. Often the challenge that presents itself is the tension that exists between PD programs that concentrate on functional expertise versus those that concentrate on broader management and commercial capability.

HR professionals also need to ensure that their own PD is technically equipping them for their role as well as accommodating the business context they are operating within.

To effectively manage and focus development at both ends of the spectrum is certainly a Balancing Act! This month, we look at how well HR is doing in this Balancing Act as there appears to be a disparity between the areas that HR professionals are focusing their PD activities in and the areas that the business considers to be the most important.

THE NUMBERS

The PD preferences of HR professionals was just one of the many areas examined by the recently published 2012 Global HR Viewpoint Survey (Viewpoint) conducted by The Next Step. The Viewpoint is based on the responses from almost 3,000 HR professionals within Australia/New Zealand, Asia and the UK/Europe.

There are some clear messages about the preferences of HR professionals regarding their PD in the Viewpoint data. When we asked in the survey what PD HR professionals considered to be the most important from a technical capability perspective, the results in the survey showed that in Aus/NZ • 32.1% cited Organisational Development; • 24.3% cited Change Management; • 8.0% cited Financial/Commercial skills; • 4.3% cited Line Management experience.

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FUNCTIONAL EXPERTISE

It seems that PD for interest-driven professionals like those in HR is often skewed towards technical expertise instead of general management and commerce. So despite all the talk of “understanding the business”, the evidence in the Viewpoint data indicates that in many cases, HR professionals focus their PD efforts in functional knowledge.

One third of HR professionals considered Organisational Development to be the most required technical capability, making it the most sought-after PD strategy.

This was followed by Change Management, with a quarter of all HR professionals focusing their PD efforts in this area.

Perhaps not surprisingly given the broader economy and its associated challenges, this figure has increased significantly by 6.4% from the previous HR Viewpoint results in 2010.

COMMERCIAL ACUMEN

Given the small percentage of respondents who indicated Financial/Commercial skills as their key PD area, it raises the question of how widely the message is being received on the importance of the role that commercial acumen plays.

With only marginal improvement, this figure has increased 0.7% since the 2010 HR Viewpoint.

Linking directly to this, only a very small percentage of HR professionals indicated that some Line Management experience would have the most impact on their career.

This is even fewer than those in 2010, with 0.6% less focusing their PD efforts in this area. Our interpretation of these results is that the high regard that business stakeholders hold for those HR professionals who have done a stint in a Line role (and essentially can show they “walked the talk” when it comes to advising

business leaders on people management) is perhaps contradicted by the number of HR professionals that see the benefit in doing so.

INCREASING BUSINESS EXPECTATIONS

Another interesting piece of data in the Viewpoint is that 81.0% of HR professionals in organisations employing over 1,000 people indicated they work within the Ulrich model. The underlying premise of the Ulrich model is that HR professionals need to be commercially savvy.

For instance, HR Business Partners are increasingly required to be capable of having meaningful and credible conversations with their business stakeholders.

THE FINAL WORD

All areas of professional expertise need to technically equip themselves for their roles but also be able to think commercially to ensure they understand the financials and can contribute to the business objectives.

Although this concept is widely discussed and understood, it seems there is an opportunity for the HR profession to ensure a more balanced approach is being taken in PD to close the gap between the rhetoric of needing to be commercial and a concerted effort to develop in this area.

HR professionals with the ability to demonstrate their capability in commerciality are likely to be in a very strong position to stand out from their peers in an increasingly competitive market and add real value to the business context they are operating within.

For more information about the 2012 Global HR Viewpoint Survey, please contact The Next Step

MARKET MOVES

radar

Recent HR Market Moves Stephen Daley has joined QBE as their Manager, Employee Relations. Stephen brings extensive Human Resources generalist and specialist Employee Relations experience developed throughout his career with organisations such as Challenger, CBA and NRMA. Kimberly-Clark has appointed Robin White as their General Manager Human Resources for Australia and New Zealand.

Prior to joining Kimberly-Clark, Robin enjoyed a successful ten year career with Merck & Co and was most recently their Executive Director Human Resources for Asia Pacific.

CBA have promoted Rhonda BrightonHall to the role of Group Head of Organisational Development from her previous role as General Manager of Human Resources for Retail Bank.

Stepping into the role of General Manager Human Resources for Retail Bank at CBA is Ian Cormack. Prior to joining CBA Ian spent five years with George Weston Foods, most recently as Divisional CEO of their Foodservice business and previously as their Group Human Resources Director.

Michael Whitlow has been appointed the Human Resources Director of International SOS with an Australasian remit. Michael brings global experience and has worked in Director level roles with organisations such as Sara Lee, Singtel Optus and BOC Group.

Also joining International SOS is Richard Venn as their Human Resources Manager for IHMS. Richard previously enjoyed four years with Sydney Ports Corporation in a Senior Human Resources Manager role. He also brings extensive Human Resources management experience from the manufacturing and retail industries.

Allison Stewart has joined Smart Salary as their Human Resources Manager. Allison is a registered Psychologist and brings strong senior Human Resources generalist and consulting experience and has worked across a diverse range of industries including Property and Information Technology most recently.

Bayer has appointed David Lawson into the Director level role of Talent and Organisational Development Manager, ANZ. Prior to joining Bayer David was employed as the Director, Organisation Development with Luxottica Retail Australia. David has also held Director roles with Audrey Page & Associates, Goodman Fielder and ABN AMRO. Leading global insurance broker Willis has appointed Paul Cripps to the role of Human Resources Director. Paul previously held a Human Resources Management role at QBE Insurance having worked for them in both London and Sydney.

Katrina Withers has joined CHEP as their Organisational Capabilities Manager.

Katrina has extensive OD, L&D and Human Resources Project Management experience within high profile organisations such as ING Direct, Caltex and Singtel Optus.

Chris Zyner has joined Billabong International as Group Executive Human Resources. Chris joins Billabong from CSL where he held the role of Senior Director, Human Resources. In addition,

Chris has held executive roles with nab and Deutsche Bank.

Fortune 500 corporation Cummins has appointed Cherie Logan to the role of Director, Occupational Health, Safety & Environment for the South Pacific region. Cherie joins Cummins from Wesfarmers where she most recently held the role of Group Manager Occupational Health & Safety with their Industrial & Safety division.

Minerals and Metals Group have appointed Dean Young to the role of Group Health, Safety & Security Manager. Most recently Dean held the role of Group Safety Security & Environment Manager with Kraft and has previously held executive roles with Fonterra, Carter Holt Harvey, Amcor and Boral.

By supplying Market Moves, The Next Step is not implying placement involvement in any way.

HCAMAG.COM

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FRONTLINE INTELLIGENCE

legal

Joydeep Hor, Managing Principal P: 02 8094 3101 M: 0416 265 797 E: joydeep.hor@peopleculture.com.au. Georgia Rutecki, Associate P: 02 8094 3100 E: georgia.rutecki@peopleculture.com.au

Auditing your workplace culture A positive workplace culture is an essential ingredient for any successful organisation. Getting the culture “right” in a workplace is important for many reasons.

From an ethical perspective, the culture of a positive workplace can ensure the health and well-being of the organisation’s employees and reduce an employer’s risk profile in terms of its exposure to bullying, discrimination and harassment-type claims.

From a commercial perspective the fostering of a high performance culture can have a direct impact on an employer’s bottom line.

In May this year the Federal Government announced that the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Employment will be conducting a review into workplace bullying. The review is aimed at looking “at the nature, causes and extent of workplace bullying”. Interestingly, the terms of reference require the Committee to consider the role of workplace cultures in preventing and responding to bullying.

While the culture of a workplace is important from a bullying perspective, it also plays an equally important role in driving performance. Creating a high performance culture can be a difficult proposition for organisations. There is a fine line between cultures that motivate employees to succeed, and cultures that emphasise outcomes over individuals. If there is too much of a focus on outcomes at all costs, this can not only lead to poor results but increases in absenteeism and staff turnover (not to mention potential liability for stress claims). To perform to their best ability employees need to feel that they are supported and valued.

Organisations need to be mindful of this and ensure that structures are in place that can encourage and enable strong performance.

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There is a fine line between cultures that motivate employees to succeed, and those that emphasise outcomes over individuals WHAT CAN YOU DO?

A workplace culture does not develop overnight. Instead, many factors contribute to the development of an organisation’s environment. However, without regular audits and a commitment from the leadership team to create a supportive environment, then the culture of a workplace can take on a life of its own.

The starting point in achieving acceptable workplace behaviour is ensuring that all levels of an organisation are aware of their legal obligations and they monitor and enforce compliance. Top level engagement (ie at the Board and Chief Executive Officer level) is critical to achieving the desired workplace culture and eliminating unacceptable behaviour. While engagement can be achieved in a variety of ways, workplace behaviour and compliance must be a strategic priority for an organisation, and adequate resources must be devoted to achieve compliance (such as in budgets).

Managers and supervisors at all levels of an organisation will also have an extremely important role in achieving a desirable workplace culture. Management must set an example by behaving in the manner expected of employees. Leaders also have a key responsibility to monitor workplace behaviour actively and take action if they witness any alarming conduct.

Responsiveness of an organisation will also be a key factor in achieving a respectful workplace culture. It may not always be possible to prevent certain types of behaviour. However, it is important to ensure that comprehensive and effective procedures are in place to deal with behavioural issues that may arise in the workplace (examples include grievance procedures and informal and formal resolution options).

STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO IMPROVE YOUR WORKPLACE CULTURE

Creating a positive workplace culture is an ongoing process that requires commitment from all levels of an organisation. However, the audit process can begin with a few key steps: • conduct staff surveys, including 360 degree reviews; • analysis of exit interviews with outgoing employees; • analysis and review of employee leave patterns (especially sick leave); • consideration of grievance numbers and types; and • informal observations by managers and supervisors.

Regular training in behaviour and culture should also be a prominent part of Human Resource’s deliverables.

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FRONTLINE INTELLIGENCE

corporate health

Chris Rabba is General Manager, Peak Health Management, part of Bupa

Winter wellness The dark days of winter are the perfect time for viruses that cause colds and flu to spread.

Contrary to popular belief, it’s not going outside in winter that makes you more likely to catch the cold or flu. Colds and flu are caused by viruses and spread by sneezing, coughing and hand contact. Your chances of catching a cold or the flu increase during winter simply because people tend to stay indoors and are in closer contact with each other. So how can you combat this?

GET UP, GET OUT, GET MOVING

Getting outside and doing at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise most days of the week can actually help support your immune system to fight off winter bugs.

Following are some top tips to boost your daily activity, even with a busy work schedule.

Fit in exercise as part of your regular day.

Try getting off the bus/train a stop early, park further away, or build in some extra movement by taking the stairs instead of escalators or the lift.

Wrap up and travel a little further afield for your mid-morning coffee, or go for an outdoor lunchtime walk.

Consider participating in a fun run, charity cycling event or a short triathlon to keep you motivated, and for the support you can get as part of a training group.

EAT RIGHT

Your diet also affects how well your immune system works to fight off infection, so healthy eating is especially important throughout the colder months.

This means eating a range of colourful fruits and vegetables high in fibre, vitamins and minerals as part of a balanced diet, which also includes low-fat dairy products, lean protein, fibre and wholegrains. This helps give your body the nutrients it needs to function at its best as well as protect you from illness.

Some foods may also have anti-viral properties, perhaps helping to make your symptoms milder and go away faster. You 12

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Doing at least 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week can help support your immune system to fight off winter bugs

can try garlic, vitamin C and zinc to see if any work for you. Chicken soup and other hot fluids have even been shown to be good for cold and flu too, helping you feel better and ease some of your symptoms.

SLEEP TIGHT

Lack of sleep can affect our moods and make us more infection-prone, so make sleep a priority to stay well this winter. Try establishing a relaxing routine before you go to bed, such as having a hot bath, or reading a book.

PREVENTING COLDS AND FLU

If someone has an infection you may be able to reduce the chances of it spreading in the office by maintaining good hygiene and a bit of extra distance.

Wash hands regularly and thoroughly in hot, soapy water or use hand sanitisers.

Keep shared surfaces such as door handles clean and avoid sharing cups or towels.

If you get sick stay home if you can, especially if you’re sneezing and coughing a lot.

If your symptoms persist beyond seven to 10 days, or if they get worse, see your GP. Sources Better Health Channel. Colds Explained. 2011. (www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au) Cohen S, Doyle WJ, Cuneyt MA et al. Sleep habits and susceptibility to the common cold. Arch Intern Med 2009; 169: 62–7.

Dietitians Association of Australia. Diet key to fighting winter colds and flu. 2008. (daa.asn.au) National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2012. The Flu, the Common Cold, and Complementary Health Practices: What the Science Says. (nccam.nih.gov/) National Prescribing Service. 2008. Common Colds Need Common Sense, Not Antibiotics. (www.nps.org.au) Nieman DC, Henson DA, Austin MD, Brown VA. Immune response to a 30-minute walk. Med Sci Sports Exerc 37: 57–62.

FRONTLINE INTELLIGENCE Nick Southcombe is General Manager, Frontier Software. (03) 9639 0777 frontiersoftware.com

technology

Performance Management Systems Q

Our organisation is considering purchasing a performance management system. What are the primary considerations when reviewing these systems?

A

Employees are one of the largest costs for many organisations, but they are also one of their greatest assets.

Effective performance management will promote employee engagement and maximise workforce effectiveness. When reviewing systems it is important to consider how your existing processes can by simplified and how an online system can make the task less onerous for managers. By automating these processes you can streamline this sometimes cumbersome task and leverage your human capital more effectively.

Many organisations have evolved. Their performance management methodology is no longer considered an arduous annual task but a primary element of their talent management philosophy and a key component of employee lifecycle management. When reviewing systems it is ideal to look for one that supports best practice performance management, rather than a system that can duplicate outdated manual processes. It is imperative that a new system save time for everyone involved.

There are four main functions underpinning performance management. They are planning, coaching, reviewing and reinforcing – the system you select will add enormous value to your organisation if it can simplify and support all four functions.

Planning: in organisations with paperbased performance management, the planning stage can be cumbersome and time consuming. The planning phase should take into account the career development objectives of each staff member as well as look to align workforce goals with company

strategy. A system that supports cascading individual, departmental and corporate goals is ideal to ensure workforce alignment with corporate goals.

Look for a system that allows organisations to create their own user-defined KPIs across different performance categories, as this will increase the likelihood of great performance across these areas and will further support engagement. A solution that allows ratings for individual and team performance will align your workforce and promote greater teamwork.

During the planning phase, succession planning needs to be considered. Who are the flight risks in your organisation? What skills do they possess that are needed by the company and what are the future skill requirements of the business? Selecting a system that can support succession and career planning will ease the planning burden and ensure you have a constant supply of talent underpinning your business as it evolves and grows.

Coaching: by coaching employees during the review process they will obtain comprehensive feedback which drives future performance. A system that allows changes on the fly will assist managers in capturing useful information during performance review meetings. By uncovering areas for improvement during coaching and feedback meetings, areas for learning will be identified which will further support employee growth.

A system that stores a complete history of previous appraisals will give the manager a comprehensive picture of the employee – particularly if they have recently joined from a different department.

Underperforming employees can be costly to an organisation – the coaching phase can help to transition underperformers into valuable team members; if underperformance is not addressed, a gradual loss of productivity across the entire team may result. A solution

that assists to identify and coach these employees may save your company thousands of dollars in lost time as well as help keep team morale at high levels.

Reviewing: regular reviews of performance plans are an ideal way to ensure employees stay on track with their goals.

Regular review meetings allow skills and competencies to be updated, which will ensure your skills framework remains current.

Identifying and developing staff potential is one of the goals of performance management systems. A system that provides flexibility with review timeframes and skills updates will support the needs of everyone in your organisation.

Reinforcing: conducting regular meetings to review objectives and progress assists with reinforcement. The alerts and triggers functionality offered by many performance management solutions will assist by scheduling regular meetings. Positive reinforcement will also occur through pay increases by selecting a system that offers integration with the payroll system; managers should have access to a complete history of salary increases.

In order for performance management to be effective, review meetings must be conducted at regular intervals to demonstrate to staff and management the organisation’s commitment to this process. A solution that automates the dissemination of the review forms in predefined company timeframes will ensure company-wide commitment to this important function. In addition, the system needs to follow up with managers and staff when forms are not completed. This will save busy HR departments time.

Finally, by selecting a system that is fully integrated with your payroll and HR software, you will add value to these core functions and support best-practice performance management.

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FRONTLINE INTELLIGENCE

HR consulting

Margot Zielinska, consultant at Kenexa, Level 2, 451 Little Bourke St, Melbourne Phone (03) 9602 3899 or email margot.zielinska@kenexa.com

Developing authentic leadership In today’s turbulent economic and political climate, it seems that we are becoming dissatisfied and disillusioned with corporate leaders. A recent global survey by Kenexa® reports that only 38 percent of employees rate their leaders as effective.

This is a shocking statistic that paints a bleak picture of leaders. However, it is even more worrying when our research also shows that employee engagement is actually five times higher for those employees who believe their leaders are effective, compared to those who say they follow neutral or ineffective leaders.

This loss of faith in contemporary leaders has propelled researchers and practitioners to take a renewed interest in the concept of authentic leadership.

CORE ELEMENTS OF AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP

As different perspectives on authentic leadership are emerging, there are some commonalities between them in terms of their core elements. These have direct implications for leadership development.

Self-Awareness Authentic leaders are true to themselves and aware of their own values, beliefs, strengths, identity, sense of purpose, emotions, motivations, goals and their impact on others. Self-awareness is a constantly evolving process in which leaders continually become aware of their experiences and the context in which they operate.

Self-Regulation Self-regulation is a process by which leaders align their experiences with their actions and intentions. Self-awareness enables leaders to lead from their own personal 14

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convictions. Many organisations have cultivated a culture in which leaders are trying to attain perfection, and a lot of leadership development attempts to help leaders achieve it. However, this contradicts the notion of authenticity, which cannot be achieved by adopting someone else’s image, style, methods or behaviours.

Leaders can learn from the experiences of others, but to be authentic, they must lead in their own way. In the current, resultsdriven and highly political organisational climate, being true to yourself is not always easy. It requires strength of character and personal courage.

Personal Courage Leaders can learn to be authentic. They need to use their personal courage to be open about confronting their life stories, roots and experiences – the positive as well as the negative ones. This is a crucial step in authentic leadership development and may mean that the leader has to reveal not only his/her strengths but also some of their vulnerabilities and weaknesses.

THE ETHICAL AND MORAL DIMENSION

Having invested a lot personally, authentic leaders care about what they do and work toward long-term and sustainable results.

Authentic leaders also understand the impact they have on others, take responsibility for it and care for people.

This is one of the most important and appealing components of authentic leadership and has important implications for development.

Organisations need to factor in a sense of ethics, responsibility and care when developing leaders. Bear this in mind when selling, purchasing and designing

leadership development interventions and adopt a long-term focus and sustainable solutions.

RELATIONAL ASPECTS: FOLLOWERS, TEAMS AND ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT

There are no leaders without followers.

Leaders are authentic and truly powerful when followers choose to follow them.

Leaders lead not only individuals but also teams and they do so within an organisational context. Building personal relationships with followers is not enough. In order to be effective, leaders must understand the dynamics of groups that their followers belong to and other contextual variables. This is a process to transform groups into high performing teams.

An organisational context provides background to all the leadership interactions and can moderate opportunities for authentic leadership development.

CONCLUSION

As the authentic leadership framework emerges, it becomes obvious that authentic leadership development is a long and complex process that will not be given justice in a standard training program. It involves not only gaining self awareness, but also developing a sense of meaning, responsibility and ethics as well as building honest and authentic relationships.

Developing authentic leadership does not happen overnight. It is a continuous process demanding a high level of commitment and effort from the leader as well as the support of the organisation. However, the leaders who commit to this kind of development will be worth following.

Article originally featured in trainingzone

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FEATURE

work-life transitions

WHY WE

DON’T REALLY WANT BALANCE

Dr Adam Fraser introduces a new concept that may just assist in that elusive search for harmony in work and home life: transitions

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The term ‘work-life balance’ was first used in the UK in the late 1970s. Since then it has been the Holy Grail that every working person has pursued. After four decades of searching are we any closer? In a nut shell – NO! Eighty per cent of Australians feel the pressure to have better work-life balance. Eighty-three per cent hate or don’t like their job, and since the introduction of the term work-life balance, depression has increased by a factor of 10. What we are doing is clearly not working.

Why? We are focusing on the wrong thing – balance.

Saying you want balance is like saying you want to be on a diet. You don’t want to be on a diet; you want to lose weight. We don’t want balance; we want to be happy and have better relationships. Rather than focus on our schedule, our time management and ensuring that each part of our life gets equal investment, we need to focus on our behaviour. In particular, what we do in the transitional space between work and home.

TRANSITIONS I first came across this concept of transitions in 2008 when I watched a number of close friends return home from serving in Iraq. I saw them struggle to re-connect and relate to their family and friends. When I told them about my observation, they shared with me the pain and challenge of transitioning from a vigilant soldier to a calm, loving and empathetic parent or partner. Why was this transition so hard for them? Because the mindset they needed as a soldier was very different to the mindset they needed as a parent, partner or civilian. When we worked on how they transitioned home their behaviour and level of comfort improved dramatically.

I questioned whether this technique would apply to the average worker. Partnering with John Molineux from Deakin University we set out to test my theory. The first step was to take a large group of small business owners

and examine their mood and behaviour in the home. The initial survey did not paint a pretty picture. Only a small percentage said that they came home in a good mood, with a positive mindset and exhibited constructive behaviour. The next step was educating them on the ‘Third Space’ (my name for the transitional space between the activity we are doing now and the next activity we are about to transition into). We asked them to carry out the following three simple steps in the ‘Third Space’ between work and home.

Reflect: This is where they reflected on and analysed the day. However, they were encouraged to only focus on what they had achieved and what had gone well for them. This activity of examining how they had grown and improved increased their level of positive emotion and put them in a growth mindset.

Rest: In this step they took time to relax and unwind.

Being calm and present allowed their physiology to recover from the stressful day. This phase also allowed their brain chemistry to support more constructive behaviours.

Reset: This is where they became clear about their intention for the home space and articulated the specific behaviours they wanted to exhibit. In other words, how they wanted to ‘show up’ when they walked through the door. From our research the most important step that determined if people had a good interaction in the home was how they entered the home environment. If they walked in happy, calm and relaxed, they had a positive interaction. In contrast, if they came home angry, frustrated and manic, they had a negative interaction.

After a month of the participants applying these three principles, we saw a whopping 41% improvement in behaviour in the home. When interviewed they conveyed that the improved interactions they had with friends and family led to a greater feeling of overall balance.

THE THIRD SPACE FIRST SPACE

REFLECT

REST

RESET

How do I interpret what just happened to me

Can I be still and present

How will I ‘show up’

SECOND SPACE

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FEATURE

work-life transitions Boundries don’t exist anymore!

Most work- life balance strategies have a mindset of pushing against the world. If you prescribe to this doctrine it is a fight you will surely lose. One way many people suggest to gain balance is to place very clear boundaries between work and home.

How’s that working for you? Forbes, in their report titled The @Work State of Mind Project, showed that boundaries between work and home no longer exist. Ninety-eight per cent of people surveyed said that they regularly did work in home/family time.

The rise of globalisation and the development of mobile technology drove a knife deep into the heart of regular work hours. However, is the lack of boundaries a bad thing? Many people I’ve spoken to stated that

this blurring of boundaries actually improved their balance. Some said that they checked emails and did work at 9pm.

While that sounds like a complete lack of balance, doing this allowed them to come home at 6pm and be with their family while the kids were awake. While working at home was not ideal, the alternative was to stay at work until 7.30pm and miss seeing the kids altogether. Likewise, one manager said that she was at her boys’ school sports carnival and took a phone call on her mobile from the office. When one of the other mums gave her a hard time, the manager pointed out the alternative was to stay at work and miss the carnival altogether.

Case study 1 “As soon as I get in the door at the end of the day the kids have to go to the rumpus room (their garage has been converted to a play room). They are not allowed out for 30 minutes. My husband is not allowed home during that time. It’s the only 30 minutes of the day I have to myself, where I’m not responsible for another human being. In that time I do my Reflect, Rest and Reset. NO ONE interferes with that time – my kids could be bleeding from the eyes and they would not get my attention. I could not even begin to measure its impact. I’m less stressed, the relationships with my family are better and I am a better mother, partner and psychologist. I love it.”

About the author Dr Adam Fraser is a thought leader and author in the area of human performance.

For further information visit dradamfraser. com

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Case study 2 A CEO sent me an email after hearing of this concept.

He realised that the people at work got the best of him.

At work he was energetic, fun, optimistic and engaged.

However, when he went home his family got the worst of him. Not that he was openly horrible to them, he just showed up better at work than at home. He gave the best of himself to work. He lives in a gorgeous suburb of Sydney called Manly. Due to his position in the company he has a parking space right under the building. After hearing of the Third Space he now parks the car outside the city and does a six-kilometre walk into and out of the city each day. On the way in to work he listens to music on his iPod. He thinks about what is coming up in the day and starts to visualise it – how he wants it to work and what his focus will be. In contrast, on the way home he doesn’t play music, he simply does his Reflect,

Rest and Reset. He goes over the day in his head. What went well, and then how he can relax. As he gets halfway to his car, he switches off from work and starts to think about how he wants to show up when he gets in the door. What kind of a husband and father he wants to be. He said that the Third Space completely changed how he enters the home environment. He no longer feels like his family gets the worst part of him.

BROADEN THE IDEA This technique not only applies to the transition between work and home; it applies to all the little transitions we make in our day. Our day is spent moving or transitioning between different roles, tasks and environments. Each of these require us to be different things to different people. Add to this the rapid rate of transitions where juggling interruptions, multi-tasking and layering of time has become our default work style.

My research shows that what we do in the Third Space has a significant impact on our performance. In other words, it’s not what you do – it’s what you do in between what you do – that really matters. It is similar to Darwin’s theory: “It is not the strongest of the species that will survive. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change”. Time management is dead. We can’t work any harder. The competitive advantage in the 21st century is the ability to transition rapidly and shift into a mindset that aligns with the next task, role or environment.

In my experience within the corporate world, HR practitioners undergo more transitions than any others. On any given day a HR professional may go from conducting a termination to then carrying out a performance review, to catching up on compliance, to focusing on high level strategy to dealing with a case of bullying to then solving a payroll issue.

When people applied the principles of the Third Space to each transition they made they felt more in control, and their performance improved. Some reported back saying they did their Third Space between meetings: they literally had one minute to do it and the Rest phase was relegated to two deep breaths, but they felt it still made a difference.

Put simply, when we collected their feedback this was what they said about the benefits of managing the Third Space at work.

Reflect: It allowed them to learn and identify the key behaviours that led to positive outcomes and to deal with the previous interaction without carrying the ‘baggage’ from it to the next one. When Reflect was performed as a group (eg. in a sales meeting reflecting on the previous week and what they had achieved) it led to an improvement in culture. This is powerful because when someone feels that they are growing and achieving, they exhibit an increase in engagement. The Reflect phase facilitates this perfectly.

Rest: This phase simply allowed them to pause and clear their mind. Rest was a chance for them to catch their breath before the next activity. People felt that the clarity of thought that came from Rest helped them be more strategic and accurate with their thoughts. New research in the area of stress management is showing that short regular pauses in our day on a consistent basis leads to a dramatic drop in stress, anxiety and depression.

Reset: People found that the Reset phase (which asks us to identify our clear intention for the next interaction and the behaviour that will make the intention a reality) helped them cut through the clutter and busyness of the world. Due to our hyperkinetic society where we feel that we are on a roller coaster stuck on repeat, we often lose sight of the outcome we are after. The Reset phase allows us to get clear, heightening our sense of control. The articulation of behaviour is also crucial. If we want to change and grow it starts with altering behaviours.

If you feel the need to have greater control over your life and improve your relationships, apply the principles of the Third Space to each transition you make. Go forth and Reflect, Rest and Reset.

Within the corporate world, HR practitioners undergo more transitions than any others

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PROFILE SHENAZ KHAN

my brilliant career

Banking on

gender equality As Australia’s first bank, established in 1817, Westpac has seen a full spectrum of changes. Shenaz Khan, the bank’s general manager HR, tells Carolin Wun how it is embracing the gender equality debate Human Capital: What drew you to an HR role initially?

Shenaz Khan: I’ve always been passionate about the people agenda because, ultimately, business performance is all about the people – and ensuring we have the right people in the right roles. Having led teams for many years now, I really enjoy developing teams and driving a highly engaged workforce. Being in an HR role, I have the ability to put in place the systems and processes to support our leaders and our people to achieve great business outcomes.

HC: What is your current role and how did it come about?

SK: I’m currently the general manager HR for Westpac Group Services, and I lead the HR function for IT, Investments & Business Partnering, Operations, Group Counsel, Risk and Finance, as well as providing end-toend accountability for the Westpac Group functions Health & Safety, Internal Communications, Strategy, Metrics and Employee Advocacy.

I was promoted to the role in November last year as part of organisational changes at Westpac Group which involved the creation of two new divisions, Australian Financial Services and Group Services.

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HC: Your current employer, Westpac, was a major sponsor for this year’s International Women’s Day. Does Westpac have a special interest in supporting women?

SK: We have over 23,000 female employees, which is approximately 61% of our workforce [Source: Employee Metrics] so this is a key focus for Westpac. We are committed to helping lead the gender equality debate both nationally and internationally and have a long and proud history of taking action to make a positive difference for women.

I’m very proud of Westpac’s partnership with UN Women Australia as a major sponsor of International Women’s Day. This is an extremely important day in the Westpac calendar and we held a number of activities during the month of March that promoted diversity and flexibility across our teams to support women. This included education workshops, seminars, discussion forums and events that recognise and celebrate the success of current and emerging female leaders in the Westpac Group.

HC: More specifically, what is Westpac doing to increase the number of women in leadership roles?

To attract the best talent you need to offer work environments that are conducive to diversity and flexibility for both men and women

SHENAZ KHAN ROLL OF HONOUR Executive MBA, University of New South Wales

Pulch Photography, pulchphotography.com

– SHENAZ KHAN

HCAMAG.COM 21

PROFILE SHENAZ KHAN

Career timeline: Shenaz Khan

1985

First job Pensions Administrator (South African Mutual)

1987–1992 Variety of client services roles

1997–2006

Next steps • Senior manager – Life Business, ING • Assistant general manager – Client Services, ING • Executive director – Customer Service Group, ING • Head of performance management, reward and HR consulting, ING • Head of organisational development, ING • Executive director, people & culture, ING

2006–2011

At Westpac • Head of corporate core people & performance, Westpac • GM human resources, BT Financial Group, Westpac • GM human resources, retail and business banking, Westpac

2011

Current GM human resources, group services, Westpac

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SK: Westpac is tracking extremely well to increase the number of women in leadership roles. As at the end of April 2012, our women in leadership population has increased to 38.5%, so we are well on track to meet our target of 40% by 2014.

How have we achieved this? We’ve hard-wired change within the organisation through policy and processes, including implementing Women in Leadership targets within business units. Progress on these targets is regularly tracked through the Westpac Group Diversity Council which is chaired by our CEO, Gail Kelly, and meets quarterly.

We also understand that to support women in senior leadership roles we need to provide more flexibility in the workplace. We continue to support flexible work practices and stay abreast of industry-leading practice through strategic research and community partnerships. Over 48% of Westpac’s workforce operate on flexible working conditions and are accountable for their own work-life balance. This type of accountability is a huge contributor to overall productivity and employee engagement.

There is also the soft-wiring that is taking place across our organisation which involves driving cultural change through a range of initiatives, including being one of the first Australian companies to sign the CEO statement of support for the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles. We have established an Employee Action Group to support the progression of women within Westpac.

We are also the first private sector company to begin paying superannuation on unpaid parental leave for up to 39 weeks (from June 2010) in addition to 13 weeks of paid leave.

HC: Is enough being done to support women in business?

SK: Westpac has been doing a great job, and there is nothing like a target

Did you know?

• Westpac has supported Surf Life Saving and the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Service since 1973, and sponsored the first civilian rescue helicopter in Sydney.

• CEO of Westpac, Gail Kelly, has a background in HR. In 1990, she became head of HR at Nedcor, a South African bank, after starting her career as a teller and being fast-tracked into an accelerated training program.

• Westpac has been described as one of the world’s most socially responsible banks, and in 2002 released a Social Impact Report that outlined the bank’s plan to meet the highest international standards in the area of CSR. This led to Westpac being assessed as the global sustainability leader for the banking sector.

to motivate energy, drive and commitment, and we also keep raising the bar to continue the momentum. Gail Kelly announced an aspirational target of equal representation of men and women in senior leadership roles last year so that’s another goal we will continue to work towards.

I think there is heightened awareness among executives that to attract the best talent you need to offer work environments that are conducive to diversity and flexibility for both men and women. Many organisations are doing extensive work in this area and are really lifting the standards which will deliver benefits in the long term for attracting the best talent and achieving a productive and highly engaged workforce.

HC: What do you consider to be your biggest career achievement to date?

SK: Leading the merger of BT and St.George Wealth. This was a challenging period where we brought together two great wealth management businesses and I’m proud of the work we did on embedding a high performance culture while respecting and building on both organisations’ heritage and strengths.

HC: Describe yourself in a few key words.

SK: I’m passionate, positive and performance oriented. I love to have fun and celebrate successes along the way.

HC: The advice I would give a fresh grad starting out in HR would be…

SK: • Be curious and pro-active – ask questions about why things are done the way they are, ask successful people for tips and ideas • Put your hand up for the challenging tasks – sometimes these can seem mundane or scary but will lead to opportunities for growth and exposure • Deliver on your promises More industry profiles at:

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HR SKILLS

Presentations & meetings

Make meetings

MATTER Meeting time! Cue rolled eyes, murmurs of ‘time-wasting’ and overall reluctance from participants. Why have meetings become such a drag for all concerned, and what can you do as the facilitator to enliven proceedings?

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Do you remember the last time you delivered a great meeting presentation – nods of agreement, laughter at the right points, no one yawning in the back (or front) stalls…

It sounds easy but holding an engaging meeting – whether it’s for an intimate small team or for a conference room full of people – is a fine art. It’s also something that many HR professionals dread.

Increasingly being asked to speak in front of the executive team, or indeed to wider workplace teams, all but the most outgoing meeting facilitators amongst the HR fraternity will freeze at the thought of getting up in front of peers and presenting with confidence.

It need not be the case. Here’s a sure-fire roadmap to success.

SET AN AGENDA AND GET THE PEOPLE THERE

Too many people find meetings wasteful and not beneficial to their work. Grant Emanuel, a selfproclaimed ‘king of meetings’ and senior product manager, Avery Dennison, says his first piece of advice for meeting facilitators is to always double-check that the people invited can add value. “If you don’t think they need to be there, then don’t invite them – send them an email and update them in a written manner after the meeting,” he suggests.

When a meeting request is sent, set the agenda in the subject or body of the email. Include a summary of all those who will be attending, including their role and responsibilities for being there, so all involved are well aware of what they bring to the table and can prepare adequately.

If it is a large meeting involving various stakeholders from different places, states or even countries, take advantage of free Cloud tools, such as Dropbox, to upload any information they need to bring along with them. This tool can include videos, images and summaries that will be accessible anywhere at any time, and also removes the hassle of trying to send large files.

Don’t just presume those you have invited will attend, Emanuel adds. Keep track of meeting request acceptances and make sure you contact those who have not responded. A simple reminder can make all the difference and ensure you don’t rock up on the day with a half empty room or table. “Perhaps you could award a reward for the first lot of people to RSVP. If it’s going to help make your time more productive, why not?” he suggests.

When it comes to opening the meeting itself, Dr Ken Hudson, author of the international series The Idea Generator, The Idea Accelerator and Speed Thinking suggests highlighting the goals and outcomes of the meetings upfront. “This will help attendees ask relevant questions without wasting anyone’s time. Design the

If the purpose of the meeting is purely to inform, rather than to collaborate send an email or update via the intranet meeting around the set goals – including the invitation list. If the purpose of the meeting is purely to inform, rather than to collaborate, send an email or update via the intranet.”

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX

Don’t feel restricted to the board room. Removing the four walls of office can usually open up free communication and can help get creative ideas flowing.

Depending on the people and the agenda for the meeting, Emanuel suggests changing it up a bit to help create a sensory experience for all those involved. He suggests taking the meeting outdoors to a local park, a beach or café to ensure attendees are comfortable and the meeting is met with enthusiasm.

Dr Hudson says meetings reflect the culture and values of the organisation. They should also reflect the drive and passion of the leaders in the business. “Consider this when designing meetings, and in particular the management and delivery of the meetings. Meetings can create or destroy company culture,” he says.

KEEP IT MOVING

In this meeting-jaded age the trick is to engage people early. Emanuel suggests something as basic as putting up a picture of something amusing or something that’s metaphorically relevant to the topic can get people thinking. Alternatively, ask people if they are happy with the agenda or would like to add something or move items around. Not only does this get people involved, it also helps to set the tone for the meeting: yes, questions are OK. In fact, Dr Hudson notes that rigidly sticking to a set agenda means that people lose focus on the real point – an outcome. He too recommends keeping meetings open for questions. “Remember the most valuable ideas come from your people so give them a chance to share,” he says. “Explore side avenues briefly – if there seems to be a lot of interest and energy in those, then decide if the side avenue is actually where the action is or take it up HCAMAG.COM 25

HR SKILLS

Presentations & meetings separately with the protagonists and see how you can harness their enthusiasm and give them positive feedback for their contribution.”

Visual cues can also avoid the dreaded ‘death by PowerPoint’ malaise that affects so many meetings.

“There’s nothing worse than going to a meeting and seeing a PowerPoint screen with 250 words on that screen – and the meeting facilitator reads every word.

The less words the better,” Emmanuel says.

If PowerPoint must be used, Emanuel suggests using more images than text. The images can also act as a cue to the facilitator to move through their list of key points.

Tools for attendees also need to be considered. Take a kit including pens (that work!) and notepads. Name tags with the attendee names and role are a handy way to ensure Larry doesn’t mistake Bob for Pete. Also ensure that key points in printed handouts are easily found – Emanuel suggests using tabbing products to assist with quick access to information.

“Don’t forget plenty of fluid, fruit and or lollies to ensure everyone is alert and hydrated for the full duration of the meeting,” he adds.

SHORT AND SWEET – OR NOT AT ALL

Dr Hudson suggests reducing standard meeting times.

“Our electronic calendars default to a set time, in many cases one hour. Reduce this to 30 minutes. Most

Virtual meetings Collaboration technology is making it easier than ever before to connect with clients and colleagues regardless of distance. Here are a few quick tips to get you on your way to having more professional virtual meetings: • Ensure engagement: To ensure people are focused throughout a call, keeping them on their toes will decrease the amount of time they spend multitasking. If you’re presenting, ask lots of questions and make calls as interactive as possible.

• Be organised: Send through a meeting agenda in advance, and ask attendees to come prepared with information they want to discuss in the meeting too. Not only will this help more people get involved, but it will also mean the meeting is likely to stay on track and not go off at a tangent.

• Cut out the noise: You wouldn’t expect interruptions in a face-to-face meeting, so for those that are frequently on the

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move and have to take conference calls on the run, make sure conference details are included in the Outlook invitation, along with instructions to mute/unmute their line to block out background noise.

• Seeing is believing: With technology opening up more doors than ever before, the ability to use web conferencing in conjunction with the telephone means that it’s possible to see people on webcams throughout the meeting too.

Having some face-to-face time makes things far more personal.

people find that this makes no difference to the productivity of the meeting but makes a huge difference to the overall productivity, particularly when there are many meeting participants who join many meetings each day,” he says.

“If people know they have 30 minutes for most meetings they’ll dispense with the rambling intros and personal weekend accounts and get straight into productive work. That’s more energising for everyone in the meeting and rewards the more organised and focused individuals.”

In addition, consider holding a short daily meeting and cancel a longer weekly one. Change the metaphorical term for your meeting – use words like, ‘scrum’, ‘muster’ or ‘huddle’ and encourage the meeting to move quickly by having people stand instead of sitting. Use this meeting to highlight brief achievements over the past 24 hours and run through what needs to be done next, ensuring bottlenecks are removed. The daily meetings are effective because they are short (10–15mins), everyone is involved in at least one daily huddle and it covers key results and metrics.

Alternatively, to keep the whole thing fresh, have a ‘meeting free day’. Create a day where there are no meetings. This can be a day where employees can catch up on projects, and work that needs to be done.

Alternatively, keep 20% of your day free from meetings so you can keep on top of other activities.

SUMMARISE AND FINISH WITH A BANG

For optimal ‘take-away value’ it’s best to finish off any meeting or presentation with a bang by making an impact at the conclusion. It might be a video that makes people laugh, or an image that is a bit silly. Alternatively it might be something more serious or a call to action that might leave a mark on the audience.

Make sure you finish every meeting with a ‘thank you’ and ensure time for an open forum or Q&A to ensure everyone is on the same page. If circumstances (and size of group) permit, it’s also great to allow some time for a little social activity to help establish and develop relationships further.

Most importantly, make sure you create a meeting summary to send your attendees, which clearly states the next point of call. This also gives you a written record of all that was discussed for future reference. Free online tools such as Wunderlist can be helpful for managing a tasks list that can be accessed and shared with all attendees and worked on collaboratively. It can be used everywhere on the go via iPhone, Android, the iPad, on PC & Mac or online with the new browser version. This allows you to keep track of activities needed for completion between one meeting and the next.

ANY QUESTIONS?

If preparation is crucial to the actual presentation or meeting agenda, it’s equally important to prepare for the feedback session that typically follows. Survey meeting attendees and encourage honest and constructive criticism. Make meetings an opportunity for feedback. Ask simple questions at the end of a meeting. Was this a good use of your time? Have you learned or shared anything that will help us achieve our company goals? Can you explain the purpose of this meeting? What would you suggest is a better way to get the result we’re looking for? A presenter’s greatest fear is not knowing the answer to a question from the audience and thus losing control of the situation.

“Change the metaphorical term for your meeting – use words like, ‘scrum’, ‘muster’ or ‘huddle’ and encourage the meeting to move quickly by having people stand instead of sitting”

HERE’S HOW TO STAY IN CONTROL:

Preparation is key Always be prepared from the outset, even if you’re not sure that there will even be a formal Q&A session. You never know when ‘impromptu’ questions might arise.

So what should you do?

Start by anticipating and making a list of questions that are likely to be prompted by your presentation.

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Top tips: Body language ● Position your head level both horizontally and vertically when you want to appear authoritative and want what you say to be taken seriously. ● Keep your arms to the side of your body or behind your back – this shows you are not scared to take on whatever comes your way. ● Palms facing slightly up and outward is seen as open and friendly. Palm down gestures are generally seen as dominant and possibly aggressive ● Posture is important – slouching collapses the chest and inhibits good breathing, which can contribute to making you feel nervous or uncomfortable.

This includes negative questions that aim to dig holes in your position or your message. Once you’ve done this, prepare a response for each and make it part of your rehearsal.

Restate each question clearly You’ve completed your presentation, it went well and now you open the floor to a Q&A session. What should you do when the questions start coming?

• Avoid giving the wrong answer or facts: make sure you listen closely and stop yourself from interrupting.

• Pause before answering and keep your focus on the questioner. This is a great trick to ensure that everyone present (including you), has heard the question properly, and it gives you an extra few moments to compose your thoughts.

What if there is a domineering questioner in the room?

If someone starts to dominate the Q&A session, you might want to: • Respond to the first question or comment politely.

• Use a tactic such as, “we’ve heard from this side of the

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HR SKILLS

Presentations & meetings room” and then, walk over to the side from which you have not had a question.

• Keep the session moving and try to answer a question from a different person each time, in order to avoid any one person monopolising the discussion and to give the audience more opportunities for input.

Handling hostile questions Hostile questions pose a particular challenge, and they can come in a variety of formats. How do you stay in control?

• Remain calm. Take a moment to think through your response, stick to the facts and answer the question carefully. It is perfectly acceptable for you to disagree on a point that’s been made, but make sure you are not criticising the questioner or the question that has been asked.

Awkward silence What if there are no questions from the floor? Here are some useful tricks: • Ask the audience what they think about your presentation. Do they agree with you? Do they have other opinions?

• Plant a colleague or a friend in the audience. Make sure you choose people who are trustworthy and will ask questions that will spark the process.

• Some people may prefer to ask questions on a 1:1 basis, rather than in the presence of an entire room. Offer to take questions in private too at the end of your presentation to facilitate them.

Don’t be a know-it-all You can craft a great presentation and deliver it brilliantly.

But if you fumble when responding to questions, you will risk sinking your credibility and the success of the presentation. Here are some useful tips: • If you don’t know the answer, let the questioner know that you don’t have the information to answer right at the moment but offer to revert back at a later time.

• Do not speak outside of your area of expertise.

Remember, you are not expected to know everything.

• Ensure your tone and body language is open: arms uncrossed, and speak with an even tone.

• Turn the tables: ask if anyone in the audience has had experience and would like to share their insights if the Q&A turns to an aspect of the topic that you are unfamiliar with.

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COVER STORY RETENTION

Special Report - Retention

The death of loyalty Knuckling down and soldiering through the economic turmoil will come down to one key factor: retention. In this special report, Human Capital looks at four key ingredients to retaining happy, productive employees The penny has finally dropped. Business leaders globally are starting to realise that talent is the last remaining source of competitive advantage. And just like Australia’s mining resources, culled from a finite reserve in the earth, finding and retaining the best people will only become more difficult as time progresses.

The power balance has shifted towards employees.

According to a Right Management survey, 56% of the 1,400 CEOs and HR professionals surveyed feared other employers were looking to recruit their best talent. Some 47% expressed doubts about maintaining their middlelevel management pipeline, and just 27% said their company has a sufficient number of qualified internal candidates who were ready to assume senior management or executive roles.

In terms of business sustainability, it’s that last stat that has business leaders most concerned.

“CEOs and HR staff are right to feel enormously vulnerable and many are stressed seeking ways to hold onto their rising leadership,” said Michael Haid, senior vice president of Right Management, on the release of the report.

Haid warned that no organisation can consider itself immune from needing effective retention strategies or offering the most competitive recruitment packages.

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THE END OF LOYALTY

So what can employers do? Clearly the notion of having the same job for life and a high sense of loyalty towards employers is a quaint concept that is long gone.

In an article published in the Financial Times, workplace specialist Lynda Gratton wrote that loyalty, a virtue prized in personal relationships, has disappeared altogether in the workforce due to the globalised high speed economy.

The result, she said, is “shortening contracts, outsourcing, automation and multiple careers”.

Wendy Phaneuf, managing director of consultancy firm The Training Source, added that what bosses perceive as employee loyalty is often really nothing more than services rendered in exchange for their paycheque and some job perks.

“In the past, you worked for a company for life, and you’d do anything for the company, including sacrificing your family life,” Phaneuf said. “True loyalty means going the extra mile when it’s needed, and many employees today are unwilling to do so unless they’re compensated for their extra effort.”

Further, workforce consultant Tammy Erickson said in her Harvard Business Review blog that the concept of loyalty has been replaced with trust, and this is actually a more complex value to manage.

Speaking with Human Capital, David Helvadjian from workplace consultancy firm Gallup says that if you really want loyalty and trust to prosper, engagement is the key.

For companies looking to reignite loyalty, he says it is paramount that employers clearly communicate the mission and purpose of their company, as well as clearly communicate employees’ roles.

“When we look at different businesses, if engagement is high, turnover is low. If people are engaged, they will feel valued and a part of something they can remain loyal to, and they can therefore learn and grow. If employees feel that management doesn’t listen to them, they will go elsewhere to have those needs met,” Helvadjian says.

“The organisation will provide interesting and challenging work. The individual will invest discretionary effort in the task and produce relevant results. When one or both sides of this equation are no longer possible – for whatever reasons – the relationship will end,” Erickson says.

The concept that companies need to actively foster trust is a position backed by Australian workplace consults. By talking to employees about what they do well, turnover will be reduced, Helvadjian assures. “We did a study of 65,000 employers, and those who provided feedback had 15% greater retention. By sitting down and talking about their strengths, [employees] will feel valued, and like they’re in an environment where they feel they’re being told what they’re doing well instead of focusing on their weaknesses.”

The influence of personality PERSONALITY AT WORK Influences

Influences

YOUR CULTURE

Influences

ENGAGEMENT WITH THE JOB

RETENTION

Influences

GET STICKY

While there will be naysayers who claim it’s impossible – and not desirable – to retain everyone, Andrew Warren-Nicholls, a freelance trainer and facilitator with Epilogue Training Solutions, suggests that an employee’s personality is the key to their engagement and retention.

The key is to let them use it.

The simple fact is most humans are only good at being themselves, so Warren-Nicholls recommends using that fundamental truth to get the best out of people. He suggests asking two key questions: • Are you encouraging your staff to use their own personalities at work?

• Are they allowed to work in a way that suits them best?

“Allow your employees to be themselves as much as possible and engage them in achieving specific goals and tasks, which you establish together,” he says.

Warren-Nicholls outlines six key areas affecting your employees’ experience – and what you can do about it.

Danger points In the last six months, have you been approached by external sources (eg recruitment companies, other organisations, etc) with new job opportunities?

NO 57%

YES 43%

Baby Boomers (aged 48-67)

NO 46%

YES 54%

Generation X (aged 34-47)

NO 49%

YES 51%

Generation Y (aged 18-33)

Source: Australia’s Skills Gap, Australian Institute of Management

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COVER STORY RETENTION

Special Report - Retention Where to start?

From 2008 to 2011, Quantum Management Indicators compiled data explaining employees’ intention to remain with their current organisation. The data includes responses from 21,619 employees from 90 Australian based organisations and provides a succinct insight into the key retention issues.

TOP 5 RETENTION FACTORS

1

Flexible work arrangements In 2011, flexible work arrangements became the most important motivator to retain employees, with 43% of respondents selecting this factor

2

Interesting and challenging work Each year, interesting and challenging work has been selected by at least 37% of respondents, indicating that this is still critical to employees, regardless of the economic situation.

3

Good manager/supervisor In 2011, 35% of employees believe that working under a good manager is still very important, demonstrating the greatest increase of all the retention factors since 2010.

This can be justified by the observation that employees are starting to recover and return to the preference that was predominant pre-GFC.

4

Reasonable pay/salary In 2011, employees placed less importance on pay/salary, with a sharp fall of 13%. This retention factor was number one in 2010 as a counterattack when employees faced pay cuts or stagnation in 2009/09.

5

Autonomy and empowerment 31% of employees indicated autonomy and empowerment as the fifth placed factor to retain their services from a list of 20. This is a sign that employees are beginning to seek psychological fulfilment gained from having power over another as factors like remuneration begin to settle.

DEMOGRAPHICS (BASED ON RETENTION FACTORS) Gender Males tend to place more importance on reasonable pay/salary, technology savvy equipment and empowerment.

Females emphasise flexibility, friendly work environment and working within an organisation that values community and the environment.

Generational differences Employees aged 26–45 place a greater emphasis on flexible work arrangements possibly because these groups are raising young families and dealing with general lifestyle issues. This factor is least important to employees aged 25 and under and employees aged 55+ Tenure differences Employees with less than a year’s service are more attracted to interesting and challenging tasks. Whereas employees with 1–2 years’ tenure emphasise remuneration, demonstrating that they do not mind working hard to progress rather than taking time off.

Industry differences Flexible work arrangements were found to be most important to finance sector employees and to those in the public sector.

Industrial sector employees are more motivated by remuneration and performing interesting and challenging work.

1. Define your culture, where it is and where you want it to be.

You have a culture already. The question is whether that is the one you want. It’s not just the fun stuff; it’s the job, and the achievement of going home satisfied. A good culture is being able to tell your friends you like what you do at work.

Small steps are great; start with the boss and work down. Get an external facilitator, run a new pulse survey or blow the dust off your current one. Establish where your culture is, where you want your culture to go and what actions you need to take to get there.

2. Have values and hold people to them.

Establish what standard of work, behaviour and values you want and then outline what is considered unacceptable.

With people of so many diverse backgrounds in workplaces today, don’t assume everyone has the same values; be open, define them and champion them.

“There is nothing worse than people watching others cross a line at work or not knowing themselves if they have crossed one, the result being someone feeling threatened and powerless.

“Facilitate a session to determine what you as a company place value in. It’s key to have this conversation, but keep them separate, values are important,” WarrenNicholls says.

3. Do you have clear goals and recognition?

What do you need to achieve today and what recognition, praise or incentive will you get for getting there?

Be very specific about the individual targets, the team goals and the company goals. Don’t tell people how to work, tell them what to accomplish and help them achieve it.

4. Trust the person to do the job you pay them for.

It’s their job; you hired them to do it based on experience, skill set and fit within your company. Have faith in your decision and trust them to do the job. Judge people on what they do, not necessarily how they do it.

“Your managers should be supporting and helping their teams to achieve their goals. Support your managers and encourage them to step back and allow your employees to do what you pay them for. In light of this, your managers should have more training, trust and support than anyone,” Warren-Nicholls says.

5. Understand each other’s style.

There will always be tensions at work, we all work in different ways and it takes a long time for any relationship to find its groove. Sometimes it never does.

Find out what everyone’s personalities are, get them out in the open and use the information to do things better as a group of people.

“Behavioural profiling is a perfect place to start, as it

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T O-D O L

6. Communication.

Speak plainly. Communicating well and reaching complete understanding should be vital in every conversation, email or meeting. Our résumés say we are great communicators, but how much time do we spend practising or checking ourselves to see if what we say makes sense?

“There is an endless array of training in this area,” Warren-Nicholls says. “Do it by discovery as a team, plan exercises based around what you do. Have training regularly, not when something is deemed to be broken, so your team is always learning and interacting together.

Have a simple activity at the end of your weekly team meetings and build from there.”

IST

identifies how we like to work,” Warren-Nicholls says.

“It’s essential to find out styles, as it empowers people to be themselves, starts worthwhile conversations and helps us understand the way others think and act, which is a powerful thing.”

they claim t of top tips lis a om fr rnover: ks creasing tu ultancy wor lty and de ya Gallup cons lo talked to s ng ha si k or to increa meone at w so re is the key su . en al progress bi-annually  At least ployees about their individu cted of them at work. em pe ur ex yo t to ow what is ployees kn d equipmen  Ensure em ployees have the materials an  Ensurememtheir job description. perfor pment. e them oyee develo ns and mak urage empl co En oyee opinio pl  em t ou ly care ab  Genuinewhen they are given. clearly purpose is count mission or ’s r job is ny ei pa th m oyees feel re your co  Make suunicated while making empl comm d is committe e workforce important. th re he w t environmen  Create an work. ity al to qu

Over the following pages HC provides further retention tips around four key areas: engagement, reward & recognition, L&D, corporate culture.

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COVER STORY RETENTION

Special Report - Engagement

ON

TARGET All HR initiatives are now expected to show reasonable ROI; engagement is no different.

HC looks at the most effective ways to target engagement efforts for optimal retention

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Over the past decade organisations like Hewitt, Watson Wyatt and Gallup have done a solid job of building awareness of the concept of engagement in business. Most HR professionals and a growing number of other business leaders now know that engagement is the emotional and intellectual commitment of an individual towards the entity in which they are employed.

However, while general awareness of the concept of engagement has increased, it’s possible we’ve lost sight of the sub-elements of engagement. If ‘engagement’ is considered an umbrella term tracking employee perceptions that develop, form and change throughout the course of their employment lifecycle, it makes sense to measure and then manage these sub-phases of engagement separately.

Anthony Sork, managing director of Sork HC, outlines the following key phases of engagement, all of which should be measured and managed: • Attraction – looking at employer brand in the marketplace • Attachment – looking at core perceptions of security, trust, value, acceptance and belonging over the first 120 days that drive risk of attrition, discretionary effort and performance over the first 18 months of employment • Alignment – following the first 120 days, alignment between an employee’s desired state and their actual state, and identification of pull factors: the more closely aligned an employee is, the higher their engagement will be. Ideally organisations would see these ‘pull factors’ consistently across their workforce so they can measure it from a zero to 100.

• Detachment – those alignment pull factors drop below zero and start operating as push factors. Detachment is when the push factors influence the employee to be looking at another working environment over the existing one.

• Post-employment/transitioning – what will keep the employee connected to the organisation, either as a future resource as an employee or as a referral advocate.

For Sork, the crucial phase is the second. His company has developed the Employee Attachment Inventory (EAI) to focus specifically on the critical bonding period at the beginning of the employment relationship. Most of the time that focuses on new employees coming into an organisation (the first 120 days); however, attachment perceptions are forming all around us all the time in different social structures.

“Where it comes into play within an organisation is

where you have structural realignment of an individual, so where they are changing teams and have a new direct report relationship. Where the direct reporting relationship changes for an existing employee you also have a resetting of attachment perceptions as well,” Sork says.

When attachment is looked at as a phenomenon across any social structure – workplace or otherwise – it is apparent that this is the critical period of time in which the core perceptions of security, trust, value, acceptance and belonging are formed. The strength of those perceptions then drive key behaviours: firstly the likelihood an employee will stay or go (the risk of attrition); and secondly, discretionary effort, and through that, the performance of the employee.

PRIMARY CARER ABILITY

The key here is the skills of the direct manager, or the ‘primary carer’ as Sork refers to them. “In the first 120 days it’s vital that the primary carer is aware of their impact on these attachment perceptions. They are the primary influencer of these perceptions.”

Sork believes organisations have the right intentions but they tend to focus on only one half of the equation, which is, “Can the employee do the job, and will they fit in?” They haven’t traditionally been focusing on employee perceptions, which in fact drive the behaviours of whether they’ll stay and how much effort they’ll put in, he says.

There are two sides of the same coin an employer must assess. From the employer centric perspective they need to be able to assess whether the person can do the job, and whether they can align with the organisation’s vision and values. The one way to assess that, Sork notes, is by looking at competency, value alignment and performance: essentially, are they prepared to perform to the level needed in order to reach minimum performance criteria in this role.

From an employee perspective it’s all about the 20 drivers they are assessing (consciously or unconsciously) during their first 120 days, and how these are influenced most significantly by the primary carer. These 20 drivers include pre-employment, orientation, accuracy of job representation, vision and career path, work-life balance, co-workers, climate/culture, systems and processes.

Ninety days into tenure the attachment level of the new employee is assessed via survey. There are 100 questions that require a response based on a five-point rating scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree. The EAI Feedback Report goes to direct managers and provides an overall measure of attachment based on the

WHAT DOES HIGH ENGAGEMENT COST?

73% of organisations achieving employee engagement scores in excess of 80% invest at least $2,000 per employee/per year on their engagement programs. 64% of organisations with engagement scores of between 40–60% invest less than $1,000. It is three times more likely for an 80%+ organisation to invest more than $2,000 on engagement activities than those with an engagement score less than 60%.

WHAT DOES HIGH ENGAGEMENT DELIVER?

On average highly engaged organisations were up to 20 times as likely to see improvements in customer satisfaction, attraction of key talent, a decrease in sick days, and higher productivity, customer loyalty, and profit than those with an engagement score of less than 60%.

Source: RedBalloon/Altus Q Engagement Capabilities Report

2012

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COVER STORY RETENTION

Special Report - Engagement average of the 20 driver scores, and individual attachment scores per driver (20 drivers in total).

If attachment levels are lower than desired at 90 days on any of the 20 drivers there is an action plan put in place – a window of opportunity – for the manager to work on improvements for the next 30 days.

DID YOU KNOW?

In February 2012 AON Hewitt released new evidence illustrating that organisations with an engagement score of 65% or more achieve profit growth at a rate four times greater than that of other organisations.

The same report also highlighted a drop in overall levels of engagement in the Asia-Pacific region of four points to 56% in 2011.

WHY BOTHER?

There are two key benefits of working on attachment.

Firstly, a reduction in the risk of losing good talent. “If you lose that person not only have you not been able to break even at the 18-month mark but you’re likely going to have to go back and repeat the investment, so you’ll have to add the loss onto the next investment – it can be a really compounding, quite crippling impact on business,” Sork says.

The second benefit is that by increasing attachment discretionary effort is also increased, which means ROI will be achieved faster, and the employee is retained at a higher performance level. “It’s actually a double shift in terms of the ROI,” says Sork. “You go from a loss scenario to a gain.”

As a conservative estimate, Sork says it can cost up to $100,000 to find, recruit, upskill and onboard a new employee. He says it’s telling to then determine retention of that talent based on average profit contribution per employee.

“We recommend that is a weekly calculation – last year’s profit divided by last year’s headcount, divided by 52 gives you a weekly average profit contribution per employee. From the three month mark, given you are negative $100,000 at that point, how long do you need to retain them in order to pay back that $100,000? Look at attrition rates relative to tenure to see how many people are leaving prior to 18 months – that will give an indication of how much loss they are incurring through poor attachment levels. Then the business case would be if we can change even X proportion of this, what’s this going to do in terms of bottom line performance of the business?”

WHERE TO FOCUS ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS

Research by RedBalloon and AltusQ has revealed what

employers should be concentrating their engagement efforts on, and what they should be moving away from.

The Employee Engagement Capability Report identified a framework of 20 core organisational capabilities (see table below) that organisations measure themselves against according to the level of depth, understanding and mastery within their organisation. Gaps are then identified between the desired and the reality.

The report aims to provide clarity for investment decisions around particular skills or organisational capabilities that will provide the biggest uplift in an organisation’s engagement score.

AltusQ partner Oliver Christen explained: “For example, we found that the biggest gaps between the skills of the most engaged organisations and those scoring below 40% engagement – and in turn the biggest opportunities for improvement – are in the areas of brand, expectation management, coaching, rewards & recognition and effective meetings.

“So straight off the bat we have a prescription for improving the employee engagement reality for those organisations and can help them start to close the gap.”

In assessing the reported engagement outcomes of the organisations that took part in the survey, it was demonstrated that whilst the level of investment and type of activity do play a part, it’s not as simple as investing big or delivering a whole list of programs and initiatives.

In fact, the data suggests that it’s probably better to do fewer things in the engagement space and do them really well, rather create an engagement solution that is trying to be all things to all people.

The report surmised: “The evidence gathered confirms our hypothesis that an organisation’s depth of capability or skill in specific areas past implementation or ‘manager awareness’ to a mastery level where mentoring and leverage can occur … or ‘employee owned and loved’ is the biggest determinant on engagement outcome within a specific cultural context.”

THE CORE INGREDIENTS

According to the report, the core ingredients for engagement success are flexible working arrangements, recognition programs, non-cash rewards/incentives,

The 20 core organisational capabilities

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Purpose, intent, cause

Managing capacity and workload

Coaching

Onboarding

Culture

Functional structure/resource allocation

Managing expectations

Performance management

Commercial vision

KPI

Work-life balance

Developing people

Innovation

Rewards & recognition program

Compensation & benefits

Decision making

Brand energy

Communication

Recruitment

Effective meetings

training and development programs, paid parental leave and time off for study.

“These are the basics required to deliver on expectations and start to engage a workforce. They are the base of the pyramid, so if you don’t get them right, the whole structure will topple,” says James Wright, RedBalloon’s corporate engagement specialist.

“These findings are backed up by studies showing that non-monetary incentives have a higher perceived value and are 24% more powerful at boosting performance than cash incentives, while rewards and recognition are key to creating and maintaining an engaged workforce.”

HEAVY HITTERS

According to the report data, the activities that have the greatest impact – once you have the basics in place – are coaching, time off for volunteering, buddy programs and company lunches/nights out.

“Coaching has been identified as a key lever in effecting employee engagement levels within the 911 organisations surveyed. We know there are great ROI outcomes to be realised from a focused, well structured coaching program, so it’s great to see this reality reflected in the data,” Christen said.

“And according to the data, a combination of coaching and buddying specifically in an organisation results in an 82% chance of achieving an engagement score of 80% plus.”

If you lose that person not only have you not been able to break even at the 18-month mark but you’re likely going to have to go back and repeat the investment – ANTHONY SORK

T O-D O L

Not all engagement efforts are so successful; in fact, some activities traditionally thought of as being contributors to engagement are missing the mark. “What was once a generous extra for an employee quickly becomes an expectation and stops to deliver ever increasing engagement returns that perhaps the investment requires,” the report notes.

Among the list are perennials like training & development programs, paid parental leave, time off for study and flexible working arrangements: all these are now employee expectations, not extras as they once were. The business case for increasing investment in these areas is weak if looking for increased engagement as an outcome.

Christen warns that it’s not about how much you spend but how you spend what you have.

“You have to question the cultural environment of your organisation and what capabilities in your team will deliver the greatest uplift in engagement from the budget available. It’s not about having huge budgets, but learning how to use what you have – in terms of spending and existing capabilities – wisely.

“Increasing the dollars invested in engagement activities only delivers up to a point. The report shows that spending more than $3,000 a year gives only a 29% chance of achieving a high engagement score.”

IST

MISSING THE MARK

ertake an anaged. Und re red gets m su sense of whe ea e m m so ts  What gement climate survey to getgement. Data can also be engage with enga ently placed you’re curr ws e rv exit inte ie right: flexibl gleaned from gagement en cash nof no ts s, en m progra core elem  Get the arrangements, recognitioden velopment programs, working aining and centives, tr r study rewards/in d time off fo t; this an e av le al nt employmen re of pa paid st 120 days ons of fir ti e ep th rc on pe e ee at oy ,  Concentrg period is when core emplth ct manager sure e dire bondin En . e es ed th rm fo er are influence on the employ are of their carer’ is aw or ‘primary ledged s ese acknow perception effort into th a programs, tr y ex dd e at bu tr coaching & ’: rs  Concenem te os off for e bo t out and tim ‘engag en s and nights he nc lu ny compa in ng to invest volunteering ee ght for faili per employ ness case ri si on ti bu bu ur ri nt yo  Get ment: average profit co way of doing this (see engage hire is one with cost-tocompared main story)

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COVER STORY RETENTION

Special Report – Engagement Case Study – Engagement’s role in retention Human Capital talks to Peter Acheson, CEO, Peoplebank, an AON Hewitt accredited Best Employer 2012 Q: In your experience what role does the engagement of employees play in retaining key staff?

A: I think there’s a very strong link between high engagement and high retention, and likewise I think one of the predictors of staff turnover would be low engagement. When you see a business with low engagement you can be reasonably certain that one of the outcomes of that low engagement will be some turnover, if not immediately then certainly over time.

Q: Why has Peoplebank decided to concentrate so heavily on engaging its employees?

A: We started the process of aiming to become an AON Hewitt best employer about four years ago and it’s been through an ongoing process, an ongoing journey that we managed to get there.

There are two reasons why we’ve invested so heavily. One is we see a really strong link to business results. In our business what we sell is totally intangible – we can’t roadtest it, we can’t demonstrate it to people. Our clients and our contractors and our candidates buy our people’s passion, their belief in the company they work for. Passionate, engaged employees create passionate, engaged clients and that ultimately creates passionate and engaged investors, so we see a very strong link.

Our internal analysis has also shown that our more highly engaged account managers and recruiters are actually more productive. In percentage terms our highly engaged account managers are typically up to 25% more productive. What does that mean?

In our terms that means gross margin, so they are able to deliver 25% more gross margin per head. Likewise in the recruiter context – those who do the sourcing of the candidates – typically our highly engaged recruiters will make more 38

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I look at it as an investment, not an expense – PETER ACHESON

placements per month.

So they’re the left brain rational reasons behind why we think engagement is important, but the other thing is we spend at least a third of our lives at work and I have a fairly simple view that if people are going to spend that long at work you want to make sure it’s a good experience, that you have fun, that it adds to their meaning in life – it’s not a chore, they look forward to coming to work and they are engaged in doing things they feel good about.

Q: Where did you focus your engagement efforts?

A: As part of the AON Hewitt survey you get feedback on the areas that are important drivers of engagement in your organisation. They’ll be different in other organisations but for us it was career opportunities, communication, benefits and brand/reputation. We then went back to our staff in engagement focus groups and asked them why they nominated, say, career opportunities as an important driver.

Career opportunities in our context means a couple of things: people feel we are interested in their development within their role; secondly, that as being part of our organisation they get the opportunity to participate in some job rotation, perhaps to other state capitals for a period of time; thirdly, as a result of our growth, we’ve expanded into Asia and have just posted our first Peoplebank Australia employees into Singapore.

Q: Do you think engagement initiatives need to be costly?

A: I look at it as an investment, not an expense. The most significant investment is in time. We’ve never thrown money at this – but I don’t think that’s what staff are asking for. They’re asking that you take the time to listen to them, that you take the time to engage them in conversations around these drivers, and that you demonstrate you are committed to improving the drivers of engagement.

Q: What are your thoughts on turning around a disengaged worker: is it worth the effort?

A: It depends. The first thing I would say is that people who are actively disengaged are difficult to turn around and they can actually be damaging your business, so you need to make a decision reasonably early on about whether you think it’s a person you can turn around. If that’s the case you work with them on addressing the issues that need to be worked on.

But if the conclusion is you can’t turn them around then you need to go through a process – as hard as it is – of managing them out. AON Hewitt feedback this year showed there were four defining characteristics of best employers: leadership commitment, a compelling promise, connection to the company strategy and differentiated performance – which is exactly what we’re talking about: people perform at different levels and you need to reward them accordingly.

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COVER STORY RETENTION

Special Report - Reward & recognition

What’s in the goodie bag?

Employers and employees are starting to come around to the idea of the ‘total remuneration package’, but there is still an over-emphasis on financial remuneration. While certainly an important component, it’s not the be-all and end-all

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A fair day’s pay – or at least an iota of recognition – for a fair day’s work doesn’t sound all too complicated. Yet when the full suite of reward & recognition is factored in, including financial and non-financial elements, it’s no surprise that many employers still get it wrong.

FINANCIAL REWARD

When it comes to adequately providing financial reward to employees, knowledge is strength: knowledge of benchmarks and what’s expected in the market at granular (state, sector) level. Garry Adams, head of reward at Mercer, says this is critical given the global economic situation.

“Australian HR and remuneration teams are finding it somewhat more difficult to convince their global headquarters that remuneration budgets in Australia are continuing to be at a median of 4% per annum in 2012,” he says. “For companies with headquarters in the US or Europe that’s not an easy sell because in those markets remuneration budgets have been significantly lower and the level of economic contraction in many countries in Europe is quite high at the moment.”

While Adams concedes it’s too difficult to paint generalist views of remuneration trends, given that some sectors (mining, resources) are showing real strength while others (retail) are very tight, he says that composition of base pay remains similar to previous years.

“Most companies now would operate with some form of total fixed remuneration or fixed annual reward or total employment cost concept, and would use that as their main way of both measuring the market and calculating their budget increases.”

What he is seeing is an increasing prevalence of incentives and increasing proportion of incentives as a proportion of the overall package.

“We noticed some interesting trends in the data when we looked into it and that was that the companies that have done well in the last year and expect to do so this year tend to be using incentives to a greater degree than companies that have done poorly last year and expect that this year will be tough. So, they are using it both as an attraction mechanism and also as a reward mechanism.”

For long-term incentives (LTIs), Adams says for listed companies remuneration committees are continuing to closely look at the overall composition of the rem package for CEOs and senior execs to achieve the optimal balance of fixed and short and long-term.

“They are looking very carefully at the measures of performance both in short-term and long-term plans and trying to ensure they are both appropriate in terms of being the measures that really matter, and that the incentive opportunity is at an appropriate level. It’s a balance between driving strategy and results on the one hand and exposing organisations to risk on the other,” he

A total reward perspective – of which salary package is naturally a big part – also encompasses career development, work-life balance, the nature of work itself says. Another feature of listed companies, which Adams says is spreading across the broader corporate market, is some form of deferral of part of the STI and in some cases a clawback, if the results achieved over a particular period ultimately proved to be misstated or have exposed the company to risk or underperformance in later years.

MAXIMISING WHAT’S ON OFFER

When it comes to optimising remuneration budgets Adams recommends looking closely at the way employers are allocating remuneration increases, targeting those employees who are high performers and those where there are significant anomalies that need to be addressed.

“The consequence of that of course is if you’re going to target increases there you need to make some tougher calls about increases for those who are underperforming,” he says.

He recommends having performance management processes up to the task.

“You need a robust performance management system so people have a clear understanding of what’s required, how their performance will be measured, and some procedural fairness so that people don’t get a surprise at the end of the year,” he says. “Managers must also be comfortable with having performance discussions with employees and providing constructive feedback on a regular basis – not saving it till the end of the period and then dropping a bomb on people.”

Adams also recommends employers look broadly at what their reward offering is. A total reward perspective – of which salary package is naturally a big part – also encompasses career development, work-life balance, the nature of work itself.

“We’ve been encouraging clients to think about what the totality of their offer to employees is, and to make sure that in a tight time they’re not automatically looking to slash budgets. People come to work and expect to contribute but on the other hand they expect they will be developed. The employer must honour its side of the HCAMAG.COM 41

COVER STORY RETENTION

Special Report - Reward & recognition STIs in the remuneration mix Country

Australia

Year

Percentage of employees receiving STIs

Actual incentive as a percentage of base salary

Target Incentives as a percentage of base salary

2009

65

20

23

2010

68

22

24

2011

66

22

23

Mercer’s Short-term Incentives Around the World report analysed STI data from executives around the world to gain insights into company confidence that their financial targets will be met.

In Australia and New Zealand specifically, the percentage of executives receiving STIs is increasing, from 56% of executives in 2009 to 67% in 2011. The longer, threeyear trend from 2009 to 2012 on STIs as a percentage of base salary across Asia-Pac and Australia/New Zealand is upwards, with awards increasing by 2.3% and 2.6% respectively.

The data also suggests that short-term confidence from Australian employers is also bucking the regional trend, with a marginal increase anticipated in 2012 of 21.9% compared with the 21.6% paid out in 2011.

Outside the executive suite, the report highlights that companies are looking at adjusting their use of variable pay to help manage the cost of labour, which is a major factor for most organisations. The size of potential awards and the eligibility for them are directly related to an employee’s level and role within a company. As with other types of remuneration, STI size and eligibility differ by region and country.

STIs can be used at all employee levels to focus employee behaviour and performance on metrics that relate to its success. This is affordable from a company’s perspective because awards are typically tied to specific, measurable, agreed-upon financial performance goals – often related to incremental revenue or profits.

bargain in that area of career development. It’s a double whammy in a sense, if rem budgets have turned down and then on top of that access to training, etc also gets hammered.”

NON-FINANCIAL REWARD

Countless studies have shown that greater remuneration is unlikely to retain an employee much longer than a few months if they are already disengaged; that’s where non-financial reward and recognition programs come into their own.

AON Hewitt confirms that “variable pay programs get the employee’s attention”, and Buck’s Compensation Planning survey of 2011 revealed that 19% of companies intend to shift towards more non-cash recognition.

“The opportunity for moving your investment from increases in pay to recognition in return for discretionary effort and the return to the business is really quite massive,” confirms Emma Nicolle, corporate account director, RedBalloon.

Nicolle says regardless of the organisation, rewarding & recognising of desired behaviours is crucial, as is giving line managers the tools to do so; indeed, research from Hay Group indicates that 70% of all engagement is driven from direct line manager to employee – so they need the tools to do that.

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There isn’t one standard framework or set-piece that works for every organisation when it comes to R&R – each organisation will have different DNA and therefore the underpinning for a recognition program will be very different. For some it may be values; for others it will be built around organisational goals or mission or purpose – it’s really about finding the sweet spot in the organisation that is going to provide ROI in a meaningful way and becomes a brand builder for each employee.

Nicolle says that the most important element is commitment and leadership buy-in.

DO SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF

Nicolle says it’s “frightening” to realise how many organisations don’t understand that recognition does not need to be about spending lots of money; it’s about praise.

“A thinktank from the UK called White Water Consulting showed that a simple act of praise can actually have the same impact as 1% increase in salary. It’s a simple thing to say but it’s all about giving managers the tools to go out and say it. I know there are many managers out there who are afraid of getting too fluffy and not having a distinguished or respectable clout in their small teams.”

RedBalloon’s Engagement Capabilities report highlighted that extras previously thought to deliver in terms of engagement actually did not deliver any more (or in fact never did).

“Things like paid parental leave and flexible work conditions don’t actually drive engagement in the way that some organisations believe they will,” Nicolle says.

Having Tim Tams in the office is an example. Nicolle says the return from those Tim Tams may be some happy people around the office in the short term but then they become expected – and once they become expected they’re not actually delivering.

“The really canny and dynamic businesses are those that are keeping their recognition mix fresh; they’re shaking it up every month or quarter and are keeping people on their toes. They’re making sure that a $5 investment in a packet of Tim Tams is going to be used another way – so maybe they’re bringing in fresh watermelons on a hot day. That will actually surprise and delight people in a way that something that’s expected every day just won’t.”

What’s the key to a sustainable R&R program?

Communication is top of the list: ensuring that every person understands the rules of the game, understands what’s in it for them, understands how they can be involved – “and that doesn’t just mean how they can win but also how they can nominate their peers”, Nicolle says.

The other key environmental factor is keeping things seasonal and fresh; ensuring a program is branded in a way that’s meaningful for everyone. Nicolle suggests getting employee interaction by getting them to suggest names for programs.

The traditional school of compensation & benefits was born out of the historically discretionary, unfair and biased practices whereby the bosses decided arbitrarily who would share in the blessings of a good year.

Professional organisations have since moved towards sound and tested remuneration and reward practices which are well researched, objective, consistently applied, benchmarked. As Gary Taylor, HR industry veteran and regular contributor to HC says, it’s now commonplace to have comp & bens experts with spreadsheets doing regression analyses, we have the massive surveys that take a month to complete and a morning to read, and we have organised labour negotiating for days “to ensure equity and remove any hint of managerial prerogative”.

“Of course, we do need structure and science in our compensation design – both fixed and variable pay,” he says.

“Yes, we tweak with the various elements, but this is all necessary. Remuneration and rewards then become entirely predictable, as we seek to drive and pay for performance.

KPIs are cascaded, interlinked, and then locked into a system. No surprises – good or bad – by design.”

Taylor adds that in our sanitisation efforts, we might have missed out on the benefits of discretionary awards.

Firstly, he recommends de-linking discretionary awards from the normal remuneration system, creating a separate budget, and using a different mindset in design.

Remember, he notes, this is not a substitute for your compensation strategy, but a supplement to it. “It’s not about money, but psychology. It’s often retrospective, rather than driving future performance. For a start, have as few rules as possible,” he says.

• Incidental awards can be useful in supporting a particular drive or project. They can be constructed around a theme, or be introduced just as a once-off for a period of time. Simple movie tickets are a very inexpensive way of recognising extra effort. Vouchers to stores are always appreciated.

• Sales incentives frequently involve some of the most imaginative design elements, and clearly are resultsinducing, hence the higher price tag. Taylor has seen “some outrageous” incentives targeted at spouses, to induce support and even pressure on the sales employee. The overseas ‘conference’ is a regular winner, he says, as both partners are pampered.

• Rarity value of certain rewards can make them particularly memorable. For instance, a ‘collector’s

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DISCRETIONARY AWARDS

item’ gift from the CEO can be seen by the ambitious as a status symbol and something to strive for.

• The Ego boost is the kind of reward which no one would normally do for themselves. For instance, exclusive car dealerships will rent out a Ferrari or Rolls Royce for a weekend. “The recipient will use it to visit every friend he has over that weekend, each time retelling and reinforcing why he won the award,” Taylor says.

• A family treat reinforces why the employee is a hero in the home too. Imagine a dinner at a great restaurant for the family, where they are collected by limo.

• Above-and-beyond awards are ideal when a person has delivered outside of their regular KPIs and the regular rewards associated with them. Catch people doing extraordinary things, and reward them extraordinarily.

• Training has perhaps wrongly been used as a ‘motivator’ or reward for years, but consider the following. You have a high potential manager; offer them a relevant one-week program at an international Business School of their choice. The cost is a flight, and a few thousand dollars at Harvard, but there is both direct and indirect payback of enormous value.

Compensation guru Ed Lawler spoke about the perceived value of rewards. Generally, the perceived value of cash is ‘dollar for dollar’, while the perceived value of most fringe benefits is just 70% of the actual cost.

“All that energy and money we spend in retirement benefits just doesn’t hit home, yet employers insist in believing that their staff will learn to appreciate the broccoli,” says Taylor. “Lawler’s challenge was for employers to find the reward programs where the perceived value is higher than the cost. I would argue that discretionary awards represent your best chance to delight recipients.”

T O-D O L

“It’s really about making it personal to the team and keeping it really exciting by driving through different rewards, making sure it’s not always the same package and that people have little sprints they can work on in a two- to three-week period, or teamwork awards that they can activate by working with new groups of people,” she says.

and s in totality ition offering fered gn of co ng re hi & yt d Assess ever s your rewar s. es d ee ss an A oy , pl I) ST  ate this to em se pay, LTI, communic onuses, ba ) lf (b se al it ci k an or s: fin e, the w to employee k-life balanc ent al (L&D, wor ce managem an m non-financi or rf pe n and st io bu at ro er e un there ar target rem to r de or  Ensure se su in en re place rve it; then proces s in e who dese os rformance th pe to ld s ho fit other bene to be able to s ill sk e th ve managers ha peer selves (via discussions ployees them gnise co em re d to an s le ager ols to be ab to e th s)  Give man m progra recognition al and esh, season good work programs fr n the io r it fo gn ks co or rw ward & re es – whateve  Keep rem ful objectiv ng ni ea e tied to purpose rceived valu lues, goals, where the pe company: va the m ra be og ht pr ig d m war nary awards ement a re io pl et Im cr is D .  an the cost is higher th er answ

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COVER STORY RETENTION

Special Report - Reward & recognition Case Study - The role of R&R in retention

Human Capital talks to founder and managing director of Pulse Marketing, Lauren Brown, about her company’s R&R offerings Q: Can you outline the reward & recognition programs in place at Pulse Marketing, and how you position such programs as retention drivers for staff?

A: For a multitude of reasons – from the value and loyalty of clients having long-term relations with their key Pulse contact, to the financial and time investment into growing individual skills – retention of talent within the agency is essential. Therefore there are different initiatives that have been introduced or evolved to foster that retention, which include: • Training: 48 hours training funded p.a.

• Pulse Ideas School: weekly session run whereby staff are challenged to crack briefs and present back to the group.

• Communication Sessions: a dedicated hour per month to catch up with their managers to talk about goals.

• Over and Above trophy: one of our core values, each month the team vote who has gone over and above in their eyes the previous month, and the winner is then announced at a team morning tea.

• Relationship Days: everyone is given an extra day’s leave to invest in a relationship.

• Team activities: without fail, we take a Friday afternoon off each month and do a team activity together.

• Charity days: everyone is encouraged to choose a charity they believe in, and are given one day off per quarter to support that charity.

• Cultural Grants: this is a set amount of money that each person can spend on activities outside of work to get their creativity flowing. Some to date have included learning a language, going to see a play, or getting a ballet subscription.

• Salary sacrifice: there are various policies in place for staff to salary sacrifice.

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The real challenge I have faced over the years is understanding how to generate organic motivation – or ‘real motivation’, where someone achieves because they want to simply do the best job they can. This is where the person actually takes ownership of what they’re doing, and it’s by far the most challenging trait to cultivate consistently.

Q: We often hear that recognition – a simple ‘thank you’ for a job well done – can do wonders for engagement and productivity. How do you do this at Pulse?

A: It can be as simple as instead of sending an email without any tone or body language, actually walking across the office and personally thanking them for the work they have done.

When we win a new client, there’s usually no-one in the office that hasn’t played a part. From the office manager who greeted the client and made their coffees, to the creative team and account service team who worked on the proposal.

Therefore when we get word that we have won the business, we all stop work – no matter what time – and open a bottle or two of champagne to celebrate a job well done.

It’s then a chance for the extended team to hear who we are about to start working with, some client background, and what they’re all most excited about.

Q: Do you also use financial reward for a job well done?

A: It’s very rare that you find someone who is working solely for the love of it; therefore financial rewards are needed and effective. It’s important to recognise, however, that they’re not a silver bullet to achieving performance, success and harmony.

Q: Can you see any tangible results from your R&R efforts (e.g. engagement, productivity)?

A: Without question. Nurturing the health of the agency is a crucial part of my role as the managing director. To gauge that health, I have a dashboard of results that tell me how we’re going, areas that have improved/need work, and each client and staff member’s role within that.

These measurements are done through a variety of productivity and job reporting, management updates, monthly communication sessions, and informal debriefs.

Without question, the second I started putting these measurement tools in place and looking at results often, I became a more focused leader with quantifiable requirements always at the front of my mind.

Q: What’s your top tip to other business leaders for making their R&R programs creative and fresh?

A: Never think that you have the perfect combination, not just with your R&R, but across your whole business. I have committed to being on a learning journey, one where I speak to other business owners every day, I hear speakers across a range of subjects, I’m part of a business group called Entrepreneurs Organisation, I genuinely want to know everything that is out there and how I can put the best of the best into Pulse.

I would encourage all business owners who want to retain their staff and head towards enduring profitable growth to always look for more, never sit still.

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COVER STORY RETENTION

Special Report – L&D

Sure bet:

L&D and retention The growing body of evidence pointing towards well targeted and meaningful L&D programs and the link to employee retention is undeniable. Where should you be directing your efforts?

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While some employees may view L&D opportunities as an ‘expected right’, rather than a perk or benefit, it’s interesting to note that employer-provided training has the same effect on job satisfaction as a 17.7% net wage increase, according to a recent study. What’s more, job satisfaction emerged as one of the most important factors of overall life satisfaction and happiness. Can HR afford not to invest in employee skills training?

The research was conducted by the University of Madeira in Spain, and canvassed the opinions of more than 5,000 workers. The paper, The shadow value of employer-provided training, reported that short-term training spells are particularly beneficial to jobsatisfaction levels, and the flow-on effects of receiving new skills training has many and varied results which are critical to HR. These results include: • Increased productivity • Decreased rates of absenteeism • Improved rate of retention

BENEFITS ON BOTH SIDES

As always, HR professionals will be interested in how best to spend the sometimes too tight development budgets. A 2012 report by Skills Australia, Better Use of Skills, Better Outcomes aimed to highlight how employers should be harnessing and developing their workers’ abilities and talents to gain maximum value. The paper included 11 case studies of companies excelling in this area (one of which is profiled on p.51).

The report outlined the benefits of linking the skills of the workforce to business strategy in industries as diverse as resources, health, construction and finance.

It found that businesses that harness the skills and abilities of their workers perform well because both parties are getting more out of the employment arrangement: employers benefit from innovations suggested by their staff and lower costly turnover; and employees are more likely to be satisfied at work and motivated to perform at their best.

On the retention side, Skills Australia CEO, Robin Shreeve, notes that providing employees with a clear framework for advancement to more senior roles provides an incentive for staff to develop their skills and remain with the organisation. “By encouraging employees to identify opportunities and by applying those skills within the workplace, employees in our case studies felt their organisations had helped them in work towards their career goals,” he says.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

Despite these obvious benefits, formal career discussions between employees and their immediate managers remain a rarity. This limits the ability to help employees steer their career in a direction that will add value to the organisation and allow it to thrive.

Career development: A 5-step program STEP 1: Formalise your career development approach

An essential step in taking a systemic approach to careers is to create a formal career development program. Depending on the needs of the organisation, this could take a variety of forms, but certain features are universally applicable. A distinction must first be drawn between the accountabilities of the organisation and those of employees.

STEP 2: Conduct a skills vs needs inventory

Organisations must undertake a rigorous analysis of present workforce skills and future talent needs. Creating an inventory of present skills and future needs is important for giving proper direction to individual development. Development cannot succeed for the individual, let alone for the organisation, unless it is strategically oriented towards achieving larger business goals. Employees who develop capabilities of little relevance to their job or organisation won’t have an active part to play in the organisation’s success.

STEP 3: Initiate meaningful career discussions

Organisations must also take the lead in initiating and facilitating meaningful career discussions, providing an essential step in empowering employees to drive their own development. Right Management’s global research and anecdotal evidence suggests that career discussions between employees and immediate managers are rare. Skilling and equipping managers to have regular, meaningful, career coaching conversations with employees is a foundational step in a systemic approach to careers. Just as important is holding managers accountable for holding those career conversations.

STEP 4: Make employees accountable for career discovery process

A successful L&D program cannot rely on the organisation alone. With guidance, support and tools from their organisation, employees must be held accountable for engaging in a process of career discovery. This process should involve three phases: self-discovery, organisational discovery, and career discovery.

STEP 5: Articulate ROI

There are several ways to measure the effectiveness of a career development program. Below are some most common ROI measurements organisations can use: • Decreased recruitment and onboarding costs • Increased productivity • Improved quality of career development plans • Increase in internally filled roles • Higher engagement levels • Decreased absenteeism and presenteeism • Minimising attrition of high potentials “Ultimately, it is all about alignment between organisations and employees,” says Shi. “A successful career development practice should help employees to articulate their value and needs clearly to their managers and organisation, whilst giving managers a framework and the coaching skill to manage career conversations effectively. Together a career development plan can be developed in line with both the organisational needs and the value of employees.”

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COVER STORY RETENTION

Special Report – L&D

3%

g int

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Train i

ng a

nd d

evel o with pment f iden or em erna tifie l res d sk ployees ourc ills g es to Recr aps uitin boos g t tra to h outsid inin ire r e th g elev e org ant skill anisati ed ta on Prom Usin lent otin g ex g int tern erna al tr aini lly to b ng pro with Flex oost vide the ibilit t rain rs righ ing t cory when Rest e sk recru r u ills b itin c t u r ing ase, g to then look Outs upsk for pe ourc illin ople ing t g th o an em exte rnal Pred prov ictin ider g fu ture Incr skill easi s ne ng w eds orkp lace Con flexi duct b i lity Sour ing a cing skill labo s inv ur fr ento om i ry Usin nter g go stat vern e / o vers men eas t res ourc Usin es/fu g Ba ndin

by B g oom ers a s me ntor s

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35

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What is your organisation doing to address the skills gap?

40

*respondents could select all that applied Source: Australia’s Skills Gap Survey, Australian Institute of Management

Striking the right balance between the capability needs of the organisation and employee comes down to a fine-tuned career development strategy.

An effective career development process ensures that organisations have the right people with the right skills to get the job done and meet organisational objectives. It provides the means to build a talent pool able to meet current and future needs through continued development of employees in competencies the organisation needs to succeed.

“It’s a vital part of an organisation’s talent management strategy as it can help retain valuable employees, re-engage the disengaged as well as assist employees in adapting to changing environments,” confirms Yu Dan Shi, senior consultant, Right Management.

So what does it take to successfully introduce a career development program? According to Boxall and Purcell (2003), performance is a combination of ability, motivation and opportunity, known as AMO. The question is what sort of HR and business practices, structures and programs are required for AMO to be 48

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turned into action. Shi says a functioning career development process will involve employees, managers, and HR personnel, each dependent on the other for success and each with specific responsibilities.

WHAT PRACTICES PROMOTE EFFECTIVE SKILLS USE?

Enterprises have countless options when thinking about upskilling workers. It can start in-house with thinking about future business directions and developments and whether they have the right staff with the right skills for the work that needs to be done. Many enterprises have found workforce planning, and development tools have been useful for this sort of analysis, and Shreeve notes that a wide range of these are available online through various industry and training sources – particularly national Industry Skills Councils.

The types of initiatives used by the Skills Australia case studies include:  Job redesign – Changing the role or description of a job so that skills of the employees are put to the best use. Aspects of job redesign can include teamwork and flexibility in job descriptions and work arrangements.  Employee participation – Involving employees in discussions on business strategy or direction means that the valuable knowledge and experience that they have can be used.  Autonomy – Giving employees a degree of freedom and authority to make decisions about how to do their job.  Job rotation – Facilitating the learning and use of new skills by moving employees through different jobs/roles/positions.  Skills audit (training needs assessment) – Identifying the skills that employees currently have so that these can be used effectively as well as identifying the skills that are needed.  Multi-skilling – Closely linked with job rotation is ‘multi-skilling’, whereby employees are trained in multiple skill-sets enabling them to undertake tasks that may fall outside their traditional job description.  Knowledge transfer – Applying new skills – Offering training (either formal or informal) that is highly relevant and able to be used at work.  Mentoring – Passing on skills and knowledge of experienced workers. This can assist in providing leadership and strategic direction.

CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

Skills Australia identified several critical success factors for getting the most from employee skills, including: 1. Leadership and management Shreeve notes that of the 11 companies profiled in the Skills Australia white paper, across the board there was strong support from senior leadership, ensuring

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COVER STORY RETENTION

Special Report - L&D real-world challenges, but it’s also essential that those challenges seem worth tackling. Learning organisations give their employees a reason to acquire new skills, by connecting the daily task to a larger purpose.

“Whether we’re making coffee or cars, selling insurance or balancing the books, we need to believe that what we do matters, before we’ll learn how to do it better,” Messenger says.

“An open, supportive, inclusive workplace environment will better encourage employees to contribute their ideas”

2. Culture and values: creating learning organisations Organisational culture, and a supportive, inclusive workplace environment can encourage employees to contribute their ideas.

Learning organisations make time for learning (lack of time is the most frequently given reason for a lack of learning in an organisation); they integrate learning with the daily work. Best practices and new ideas are discussed on a daily basis. However, the real difference comes at the top: leaders need to demonstrate, rather than just assert, that learning is a priority. “If senior staff don’t participate, then it can’t really be all that important,” says Kate Messenger, director, Meme Partners.

Messenger says that in learning organisations, the executive team attend internal and external training sessions, as well as industry conferences, and they report back on what they’ve learned. Examples of new ideas are shared frequently, customers or guest speakers are invited to address regular staff meetings, and continuous innovation programs are supported by senior resources.

It also helps if training is enjoyable and interesting.

People talk, and they’re a lot less likely to make time for a workshop that they’ve heard is boring. “Cutting through the cynicism and apathy is harder than ever now.

Trainers must earn our attention, or we’ll go straight back to our Blackberries and iPhones,” Messenger adds.

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T O-D O L

commitment to developing staff and being open to new ideas from staff. This includes an oft-overlooked but crucial sector – middle and frontline managers – through training and mentoring.

Good leaders and managers encourage creativity and innovation in employees by enabling measured risktaking and providing opportunities for staff to have a say in business processes.

Leadership structures are important, but effective leaders also encourage individuals to take responsibility, “because then you get the ownership rather than the top down”, Shreeve says.

IST

– ROBIN SHREEVE

3. Communication, consultation and collaboration In some corporate cultures, people are afraid to ask questions or show any gap in their knowledge or understanding, for fear that it will be seen as a weakness.

“In some organisations, the desire to learn is simply overwhelmed by the need to protect your turf or even your job,” Messenger adds.

Here are some tips to remove that ‘fear of learning’: • Actively listening to the ideas of employees is a crucial way of involving them, as is recognising staff contributions within the workplace.

• Transparency of information gives staff a sense of how their work contributes to the business. This can inspire commitment and contribute to the success of the organisation.

• Staff can contribute to company innovation by being encouraged to raise issues, discuss aspects of work and provide ideas about better ways of doing things.

• Engaging staff in decision-making and continuous improvement processes brings rewards to enterprises, in terms of both financial and relationship benefits.

skills are hat existing establish w ped to t ap di m au be s n ke a skill ; this ca  Underta employees in the businesshere demand for skills held by ives and w ness object against busi ship and s for leader lies ession plan cc su al rm fo and  Considerss critical roles objectives r own career ei busine have th t ey ou th s ab employees ives; perhap  Speak toey plan to reach those objectve might work for them how th L&D initiati unity for ea of what e the opport their own id ence: provid how their er nd sf ta an rs tr s de ill un  Ensurersskto come away, reflect ande workplace. A good ck learne ied in th to take it ba can be appl w learners lo al n ill ai new learning w ag m ay ning progra en come aw blended lear ce it, and th vironment, en lace, practi al kp ci or so w a e th into etimes in again – som and reflect y . ly al du vi t are the ke di in process wha other times gn ss si ne de si e th bu early on in in terms of  Identifyives you’re trying to achieve rformance outcomes pe e th object e and t ar e program, Look at wha a result of th outcomes. arning as le e d ev hi an ing to ac outcomes you’re look into learning at th e at sl then we tran design.

Case Study – Using L&D as a retention tool Human Capital talks to Cassandra Kelly, joint CEO of financial and strategic advisory firm, Pottinger, about L&D Q: What role does skills development play in your retention strategies?

A: The most fundamental point is that we have intentionally created an environment that is attractive to those who love learning new things and who have curious minds. It’s no accident that these people see skills development as key, and so for us it is an absolutely critical part of retention.

We’re very motivated by employee satisfaction and this goes well beyond remuneration. By regularly offering stimulating training to staff, the benefits are twofold: Pottinger and clients benefit directly through the application of these skills; and our employees are satisfied and more likely to remain with us.

We also look to maximise the learnings along the way. At the commencement of every assignment, we outline a clear set of goals that each team member is expected to achieve from working on the project and then we review them at the end. We have also agreed that we need to reflect on and review each assignment that we Q: Pottinger has been selected as a ‘best undertake so that we don’t overlook the practice’ case study by Skills Australia. learnings that they provide. These provide Can you outline specifically what you benefit to our clients as well as our team. are doing in terms of skills development?

Our team structures also contribute to A: There is no single recipe but there is a skill development, as we undertake all secret sauce and that is quite simply that projects, whether large or small, in we must never forget that people are focused, collaborative and dynamic teams. individuals. It may be tempting to try to As a result, each team member gets proper standardise and roll out a one-size-fits-all exposure to all aspects of the engagement, training program but in my experience enabling them to build their knowledge this just reinforces to a colleague that they and learn from the collective experience are neither appreciated for who they are of the group. The team sizes also mean nor important enough to have something that team members are able to take that is tailored to their particular needs. ownership of key aspects of the project We have a mix of on the job mentoring, from which they learn valuable skills. We practical training and theory. We also do not limit people’s learning by a job title encourage our team to read widely and – instead we acknowledge that limitations well beyond the subjects that are are primarily due to their experience and so immediately relevant to our day jobs. we focus on broadening that experience.

Although we are in an industry which We put a lot of responsibility on the requires detailed technical knowledge individual for their own development. We across a wide range of subject areas, encourage them to read widely across Pottinger is seeking to build careers, not many fields, including finance/economics, just skills. So our development program science & technology, society & culture, extends beyond technical knowledge. environment and philosophy. To be a truly For technical learning and theory, we creative problem solver, this sort of draw on knowledge in the team, but we learning is invaluable. also involve external resources where a fresh perspective or particular expertise Q: What’s involved in your skills audits? will improve the learning outcome.

A: I’ve always believed that a performance

review should contain no surprises. The real purpose of a formal performance review in my mind is to encapsulate the year, providing a neat summary of what has been achieved and clear guidance for the year ahead.

Our reviews are very much a two-way process and our annual review framework is very comprehensive. The staff member is required to assess themselves independently of the management review – ie both staff and management provide ratings across various measures without seeing the other’s scores.

The outcomes of these are then discussed in a formal review session.

Every review commences with a reflection of the individual’s performance against our stated values and principles to make it clear that what we stand for is not only important but not negotiable. In other words, have they walked the walk? From there we focus on technical skills. Another important aspect is that each employee has the opportunity to reflect on their achievements and aspirations.

Taken together, the results provide a framework for guiding the development of technical knowledge, experience, management capability, personal impact and related profession skills.

No system in the world is perfect, so we always tell employees that they must not delegate responsibility for their learning and development, and that we are there to partner with them to help them meet their needs. All that being said, we aim to create an environment and operational processes that support their development.

Q: What stats do you look at to determine the ROI of your programs?

A: At the end of the day, the value in our business is its people and the individual and collective knowledge. The only really reliable measure of our success is reflected in the success of the firm itself. We’ve always said that we need to look first at reputation, then at relationships and only thirdly at results if we want to have good long term measures as to whether we are succeeding.

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COVER STORY RETENTION

Special Report – Culture

Love me, love me not…

Organisations often have a desire to change the culture in their business – sometimes as a result of poor performance, poor employee engagement scores, or sometimes just due to a gut feeling that things either aren’t right or could be better. What areas should be tackled?

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In the AltusQ/RedBalloon 2012 Employee Engagement Capability Report, the key take-away for HR professionals was that culture is king. That is, it’s the most important capability when it comes to the likelihood of a high engagement outcome. Having the expected values and behaviours, the rhythms and rituals, not just articulated by leaders, but demonstrated by managers and lived by employees, is the number one driver of engagement.

So what are the characteristics and attributes that make a culture more effective?

John Kotter and James Heskett described two types of cultures in Corporate culture and performance in the early 1990s: constructive and defensive.

Kotter and Heskett showed that whilst defensive cultures were very successful and profitable over a 10-year period, constructive cultures outperformed defensive cultures significantly in all aspects of business performance.

This is backed by AltusQ, which over the last 12 years has differentiated, through case studies, between a culture of love and a culture of fear when working with their clients. These studies show that businesses that adopt a culture of love consistently perform better, are more productive, have higher engagement and typically have people waiting to join their business.

Against that backdrop, respondents in the 2012 survey were asked to rate their culture against nine descriptive pairs. The descriptors, either attributes of a culture of love or a culture of fear, were chosen based on AltusQ’s methodologies for driving growth in organisations.

When the cultural characteristics of organisations are compared, it was found that as many as 74% of the organisations with 80%+ engagement scores identified with the culture of love descriptor as opposed to as few as 10% in those with a less than 40% score on engagement.

Looking at the attributes of a culture of fear it was found that organisations with less than 60% engagement score are 2–3 times more likely to be perceived as threatening, protective, judging, controlling and authoritarian than highly engaged organisations.

Further analysis of the individual descriptors consistently shows for each attribute that the culture in a company with 80%+ engagement is a lot more likely to be described with a culture of love attribute.

When the responses of the best (80+) and the average (<60) are compared there are still some significant differences. Here are the top characteristics and how much more likely 80+ are to have this attribute.

1. Acknowledging – 8 times more likely 2. Collaborative – 6 times more likely 3. Trusting – 5 times more likely 4. Transparent, Inclusive & Opportunistic – 4 times more likely It seems that a single cultural trait on its own will not

CULTURE OF LOVE

CULTURE OF FEAR

Inclusive

Exclusive

Collaborative

Authoritarian

Transparent

Protective

Opportunistic

Threatened

Acknowledging

Judging

Humble

Arrogant

Trusting

Controlling

Entrepreneurial Responsible

Bureaucratic Critical

Whilst defensive cultures were very successful and profitable over a 10-year period, constructive cultures outperformed defensive cultures in all aspects of business performance create a big difference in engagement, but a combination creates a stronger likelihood of it occurring.

BABY STEPS – ACKNOWLEDGING THE HIDDEN SYMBOLS

What further steps can be taken? A ‘cultural revival’, as Tammy Tansley, principal of Tammy Tansley Consulting refers to it, sometimes means a review of the organisation’s mission statement or values – and can be accompanied by a launch showing “how things are going to be different around here from now o”. Whilst mission statements and stated values are important, on their own they are unlikely to do much to change the culture of an organisation.

Instead she suggests that a useful starting point is to review both the overt signs (such as organisational and financial performance, quality, health and safety, absenteeism, turnover, employee engagement survey scores) in conjunction with the ‘hidden symbols’.

“Together, these can provide a powerful insight into the culture of the organisation – and a starting point for what HCAMAG.COM 53

COVER STORY RETENTION

Special Report – Culture A tale of five monkeys

T O-D O L

IST

Behavioral scientists placed five monkeys in a cage with a ladder against one wall. At the top of a ladder was a bunch of bananas. A set of sprinklers were installed in the ceiling.

As the monkeys scrambled up the ladder, the sprinklers were turned on, and they got drenched. This process repeated itself several times until the monkeys gave up trying to get the bananas.

The scientists then replaced one monkey with a new one. The new one spotted the bananas and began climbing the ladder. The other monkeys pulled down the climbing money. The monkey repeated its attempts several times, facing the same consequences. Eventually, it stopped trying.

The same thing happened when another monkey was replaced. By the end of the experiment, all five monkeys in the cage were replacements, and none reached for the bananas.

The scientists put a sixth monkey in the cage. The other five aggressively pulled it down, deterring it from going against the established protocol in their ‘organisation’.

This study highlights the power of an organisation’s past on its present culture.

Stories and histories are passed down, creating rules of behavior that employees sense without necessarily understanding the reasons behind them.

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should be celebrated and retained and what might be changed,” Tansley says.

Tansley suggests a model known as Johnson’s Cultural Web to check for hidden symbols. There are six elements to consider: Stories – What stories are told about past events and people? These can say a great deal about what is valued.

It can also affect ongoing reputations, as these same war stories are likely to be repeated outside of the workplace.

Rituals and routines – The daily behaviour and actions of people that signal acceptable behaviour for the organisation. This indicates what is expected to happen in a given situation, and what is valued by management.

This is often where a disconnect occurs between the stated values of the organisation and the reality observed by employees, or the written policy and what actually happens.

Symbols – The visual representations of an organisation including who wears a uniform, who receives offices (and how plush they are), who receives a parking space and where, the formal or informal dress codes. How up-to-date and professional are noticeboards and notices? How clean and functional are staff amenities?

Organisational structure – This includes both the formal structure as written on the organisatinal chart, but just as important – who wields the informal power and influence and who is most valued (irrespective of the formal org chart).

Control systems – The ways that the organisation is controlled. These include financial systems, quality systems, and rewards (including the way they are measured and distributed within the organisation).

Power structures – The pockets of real power in the company. This may involve one or two key senior executives, a whole group of executives, or even a department. The key is that these people have the greatest amount of influence on decisions, operations, and strategic direction.

The review of the hidden symbols is most effective when undertaken by an impartial observer who can look for and at symbols with fresh eyes. “Focus groups and one-on-one interviews with employees, managers and the leadership team can provide a rich source of information on the ‘real’ values, rituals and stories that can define an organisation,” Tansley says. “Read in conjunction with quantitative data, the two sources can paint a very real picture of ‘the way things are done around here’.”

The results are often surprising and can provide unexpected aspects of the culture to celebrate and emphasise. Almost always, the results provide a more real and true result of what the organisation is about – good, bad and indifferent; a vital starting point for moving forward with any cultural review.

Case Study – Culture as a retention tool Human Capital talks to Ian Flemington, GM human resources, Canon Australia, about corporate culture Q: What role does the corporate culture play in retaining key employees?

A: Corporate culture is absolutely critical in retaining employees. As an organisation evolves, the culture organically evolves along with the organisation. If the values and behaviours associated with this culture are not aligned with what employees believe or hold true to themselves, then ultimately they may find it difficult to work within an organisation.

Successful key employees who are obviously marketable may then opt to look for external opportunities in organisations that will better fulfil their personal needs.

For this reason, it’s important that when defining a corporate culture the organisation stays true to the culture it espouses so that candidates attracted to the values and ethos of the company pre-employment, experiences them as being embedded in the fabric of the organisation and not just empty words.

This helps ensure that the organisation is not only able to attract top talent but also keeps hold of key talent longer term.

Q: Have you ever had to deal with a culture that needed to change?

A: If I look at the Canon culture and our cultural values journey over the last couple of years, what became really apparent a couple of years ago was that we needed to change to attract and retain employees and ensure that our behavioural expectations were aligned to our Master Brand.

Looking back, we had our values at the time, the ‘Canon Keys’, displayed on walls around the office, but these didn’t really resonate with everyone internally. They were unachievable aspirational statements that didn’t provide people with a clear vision of what to expect or how to contribute. This resulted in an environment where employees were confused with the conflict between what the organisation expected and said it was

about, versus the reality. We experienced first-hand people leaving due to the fact the values that initially attracted them to Canon were not being demonstrated internally and that there was no recourse to behaviours that undermined what we said we stood for. Engagement was being impacted as leadership, which is obviously a key driver of engagement, was seen as behaving in a way that was disconnected from the values we espoused.

To address this we involved people from all levels of the organisation in the development of the new set of values that reflected how the brand should be represented and how leaders and all employees should behave to drive the organisation forward. It was important that we aligned these elements so that the culture could organically change in the direction that would support both business growth as well as improving engagement and retention. We conducted ‘Why of Leadership’ workshops with all people leaders to deploy the new values in addition to shorter sessions with individual contributors. To ensure the work would stay alive within the organisation, we also incorporated the behavioural expectations into performance management and reward structures.

Q: How would you describe the culture at Canon?

A: The culture at Canon is changing and is now a far more honest, positive and optimistic environment, which is a change

from two to three years ago. One of the things we wanted to do with that culture is to make it a safe environment to give feedback, enabling people to put things on the table and have honest conversations, which in turn would lead to idea generation and productivity improvements. What I see now is people coming to HR for advice on how they can best provide feedback.

It’s also become a far more collaborative culture, where we’re seeing the camaraderie, knowledge sharing and support between the divisions. By removing layers at the top of the organisation we have also moved the senior leadership closer to the grass-roots.

Through discussions at performance calibrations and talent reviews it’s also apparent that we are becoming a behaviour-led organisation. As a sales and marketing company we have to keep a keen eye on our results and commitments to our parent, Canon Inc; however, how we achieve those results is now equally as important.

Q: How do you know you’re doing the right things with corporate culture?

A: We have hard and fast metrics such as engagement and also employee attrition, which is coming down. In the current employment market, top talent can easily walk out and find an alternative role as they have much more bargaining power due to the skills shortage. At Canon, this is happening less and less.

In addition to the hard metrics, we offer formal exit interviews to all leavers.

When we look at the exit interview feedback, the things that were jumping out 18 months ago are now gone. For example, previous comments about the culture, competitiveness and leadership of the organisation are no longer raised.

I’m confident that in the main, those who leave are genuinely leaving for other reasons not related to the culture. The indicators in the past where we needed to change are not appearing anymore, clearly showing us that we are on the right track.

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PROFILE LISA CHRISTY

HR at SAP

Something to believe in This month’s profiled HR professional, Lisa Christy, talks diversity, change management and following a passion in life and work Lisa Christy, director of HR, SAP Australia and New Zealand, has managed to create a career encompassing her two passions: HR and technology. The majority of her career – stretching back to her time in Sydney University’s personnel department where she worked with a group researching fibre optics and laser technology – has been spent in the IT sector.

“It’s my passion and that’s where I’ve stayed,” she says.

“I find that technology is always changing, it’s a very dynamic environment, and the people are very energetic and passionate about what they do. Technology for me is not just about the stuff we use day to day; for me the real meaning and benefit is that it does great things for the world.”

She notes proudly that companies like SAP and other large IT businesses work directly with medical institutions and other organisations that help cure diseases and save lives – “that for me is an important part of working in IT”, she says.

It was during her work at Sydney University that Christy was introduced to the breadth of HR. She decided to undertake a Masters in IR, and she undertook organisational development and wider HR subjects as part of that. She says her studies provided a solid foundation but she learned so much more from executing on the job and from other people.

“I’ve built on those foundations by heading into roles where I’ve had to sink or swim, and operate in some organisations quite independently. In others I’ve had great managers who’ve been great mentors.”

HR AT SAP

After 20-odd years in HR, including work at Microsoft, Gartner and Oracle, Christy found herself at another influential and upwardly mobile IT company: SAP. Today, Christy and her team of 12 HR professionals hold responsibilities across 750 employees across Australia and New Zealand. Specifically Christy is part of the executive team and she works primarily on aligning the global SAP 56

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HR strategy with local operations. That covers everything from talent acquisition, diversity, leadership development, broader people development, and also working through acquisitions. “It’s a broad role pulling those pieces together and delivering to our clients, who are effectively our managers and our employees,” she says.

She says that like any multinational company with extensive operations overseas there can be challenges in executing on the global strategy, but at SAP that global strategy is intended to be directional; she is empowered to drive and execute as needed in the local market.

CHANGE MANAGEMENT

SAP’s recent acquisitions of Sybase and SuccessFactors means that Christy and her team are well versed in change management processes. Although the SuccessFactors acquisition is so recent that employee integration is yet to occur, the Sybase integration is occurring right now. She says both SAP and Sybase employees are enthusiastic about the integration, which she notes provides a caveat around change fatigue: in Christy’s experience change fatigue only occurs when there is resistance around change. “With the acquisitions there hasn’t really been much of that. Even for the companies being acquired, the employees are quite excited to be joining SAP. However, we still need to ensure we integrate smoothly and manage that transition for all employees.”

Christy recommends “a few simple things” when it comes to change.

“You can’t communicate enough and the earlier the better. Clarity about where we’re heading and where people fit in is so important, because whilst there is excitement there’s also uncertainty as well for the employees. We’re ensuring we’re supporting them and giving them clarity and direction about where we’re heading.

“With Sybase we’re bringing two cultures together, two teams together, so there’s that teambuilding element to consider.”

IN HER OWN WORDS...

Pulch Photography, pulchphotography.com

What achievement are you most proud of in your career?

“At Microsoft I worked with a couple of executives whose teams had very low engagement levels. After a period of 12 months we had the highest results in the next survey. We implemented simple initiatives – it was around doing all the right things for employees. We had some new people move into leadership roles and we’d role model the right behaviours. We rolled out career development sessions, and we made some changes to the physical environment so people could work more collaboratively.

We put in forums for communication and also built up the recognition program.”

Personal file: Lisa Christy “We’re making sure we’re providing the right level of training – be it in various product areas or core competency training. It’s about good onboarding, good training, so people feel that they are integrating into the team here.”

A global head of M&A will outline plans and forums for communication for the SuccessFactors integration, and as with other global initiatives, it will be up to Christy and her team to channel those through to the local market, and tailor them as appropriate.

BUILDING DIVERSITY FROM THE GROUND UP Family: I’ve had five kids, but lost a little boy to cancer a couple of years ago.

Favourite sports: I really love golf but it’s a challenge to play with four children and a job that takes up the rest of my time. My husband and I plan to play golf together when we retire. And it’s not my favourite sport but through family/peer group pressure I have to be interested in rugby – I have a husband and a son who play and support rugby.

Favourite movie or tv: I really like lifestyle programs – like Grand Designs.

Best advice ever received: It wasn’t overt advice but the best thing that happened was that in my family we were raised to make our own way in life from a very early age. That upbringing has made me quite independent and appreciative of everything I have.

Self-described: I’m quite creative, very persistent, focused, driven, an eternal optimist – where there’s a will there’s a way – and I’ll always find a solution. I’m also quite supportive and always willing to listen.

Hobbies: I do some renovating, gardening, landscaping. I designed our own frontyard!

First job and/or worst job: First job was in a country town in a fish’n’chips shop. I walked in and asked for the job because I wanted to earn some money to buy myself a set of golf clubs. I saved up $600 and bought myself a really nice set of clubs.

If not in HR: Probably doing something like property development or landscaping or something that involves creativity. Having a vision and bringing that vision to life.

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The IT sector has been renowned over the past couple of years for talent shortages. Not surprisingly this is a key concern for Kristy. SAP has a talent acquisition team charged with mapping the talent market, and understanding the potential talent out there. “We have a strategic sourcing strategy, where we build a pipeline of candidates,” Christy explains. “We build a long-term relationship with the candidate, so whether they’re ready now or not we continue to follow up with them and alert them to possibilities down the track.”

Related to that is diversity. Although SAP has a strong focus on women in leadership, and globally there is a goal to have women holding 25% of management roles by 2017, Christy notes there is a wider problem: there are simply not enough women considering or entering the IT profession. At present Christy is talking with regional HQ about having a dedicated resource for finding female talent in the market. SAP has also engaged with UNSW to sponsor a business information technology degree.

“We met with a rep from UNSW last year and they have a relatively high ratio of females in that degree but we were talking more generally that it is tough to get women into the IT/computer science area. For me the education needs to start not just at university level but also in schools. We need to be educating children and teenagers about the opportunities available in IT.”

GRAND PLANS

With so much on her plate, it’s surprising to learn that Christy has set an ambitious goal for 2013: she wants SAP to be recognised as a best employer. To that end, she will be entering into the BRW Best Places to Work study next year. Internally she’s set a goal in the annual pulse check survey of raising engagement by 5%.

“We’re hoping some of the work we do this year around employee programs and building a place where people enjoy working will result in some accolades and recognition.

I think we have a good brand but as more competition emerges we can’t take our eye off the ball,” she says.

More industry profiles at:

hcamag.com

“For me the education needs to start in schools.

We need to be educating about the opportunities available in IT” – LISA CHRISTY Grassroots innovation SAP Research, the global technology research unit of SAP, has launched Young IT Explorers competition. This not-forprofit event, initiated by SAP in Australia in partnership with the University of Queensland, has the goal of encouraging innovation in schools and boosting awareness of career opportunities in IT. The competition has been running in Queensland primary and secondary schools for the last two years and has just launched in NSW. Students compete in teams across four age groupings from Years Four to 12.

The competition aims to encourage and inspire students to use their creativity and innovation skills to gain a greater understanding of the diverse possibilities today’s technology has to offer.

Glenn Neuber, senior business developer at SAP Research Labs, said: “Smart phones, tablets and social media tools have only been around for a few short years, yet these technologies are rapidly changing many aspects of how we work and socially interact.

“Government policies on education are now reflecting ways in which innovation capabilities in students can be developed through technologies and education, with the goal of building an innovation skills base in Australia.”

The NSW judging event will be held on 4 August 2012 at University of NSW, with the Queensland event to take place on 11 August 2012 at University of Queensland.

PROFILE KRISTA PARCELL

HR at ninemsn

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COACHING FOR

Yin

What might your organisation look like if more leaders embraced feminine (Yin) energy? Dennis Roberts discovers the likely result would be workplaces filled with collaborative, creative, and sustainable traits and energy

According to Taoists everything has both masculine and feminine aspects. There is an innate nature to all things and, furthermore, how we view things affects our interpretation just like wearing sunglasses affects the clarity of what we are seeing. We view the world through our own filter.

I need to make a distinction at the outset. Feminine energy is not the sole preserve of women. Both men and women to varying degrees access their feminine energy.

If all things have both masculine and feminine aspects then this may relate to people, business enterprises, environments, work culture and everything else.

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Let me contrast two perspectives of feminine (Yin) energy. At its core the feminine is a metaphor of the field of infinite potential. It has no boundaries, cannot be quantified, is latent, innate, unrealised. In colour terms the Taoists suggest Yin energy is dark. It is still, motionless, uniform, passive. It is a place of rest and retreat. If it were a direction it would be inward.

There are two perspectives, or filters, through which we view this Yin energy and not surprisingly they are: â&#x20AC;˘ How the masculine views the feminine, or White Yin â&#x20AC;˘ How the feminine views the feminine, or Black Yin White represents the masculine (Yang) energy and black represents feminine (Yin) energy. The opposite also holds true, ie there is a white Yang (how the masculine views the masculine) and black Yang (how the feminine views the masculine).

In business parlance a white Yin perspective might embrace more feminine energy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for example, ask open questions, brainstorm ideas, invite contribution, adopt an open plan environment to create a competitive advantage. The end justifies the means. The masculine perspective is one of competition, advantage, victory.

On the other hand, a black Yin perspective in a business setting might ask questions, brainstorm ideas,

LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT

coaching invite contribution, etc simply out of respect for the individual. It is a show of empathy and genuine caring for the individual. The creation of authentic dialogue, trust and respect is integral to being in business, and being a leader. A transaction doesn’t have to consummate the relationship. The relationship in and of itself is enough.

If we apply this black Yin perspective, or how the feminine views the feminine, into a business context what might it create at the enterprise level? What sort of work environment or organisational culture may result?

Well, it would be a collaborative and creative environment based on real relationships and authentic dialogue where one might expect high rates of staff retention. Staff would feel personally empowered, work-life balance would be something practised and not just preached. Plans would be more flexible. The paradigm of leadership would be situational and adaptive rather than directive and based on positions of power and authority. The goal of the business would reflect sustainable growth and work practices and not be consumed by growth for growth’s sake. It may shift the very driver of the business from profit maximisation (for shareholders) to something more equitable and sustainable for all stakeholders.

The central theme of Taoist philosophy is that we have an innate nature and life is best served being in tune with our innate nature. Finding flow is another expression of the same theme. This is in contrast with the traditional model of business premised on the Protestant work ethic, and that is you must work hard to be successful.

A business enterprise which adopts more of this Taoist perspective is embracing more feminine energy and in a rapidly changing economic landscape being fluid and in flow is essential to health, harmony and prosperity.

Perhaps it is the road less travelled.

COACHING FOR FEMININE (YIN) ENERGY

Here are five examples of the feminine (Yin) aspect: 1. Centre – rather than standing apart, the feminine seeks a return to the centre. For a human being this centre is the heart. And the path to heart evokes stilling of the mind and the exploration of a deeper felt sense of being. Beyond the senses one can explore heart consciousness and this is the quest many feel compelled to explore now, more than ever.

2. Sustainability – the feminine (Yin) energy is not about the perpetual movement forward. It is about balance, restoration, rejuvenation and “the pause between the notes”. Think of a rock climber. He climbs upward and pauses to secure his position by inserting a peg. Progress forward is only subjected to a falling back of one or two steps. The feminine balances advance with retreat.

3. Space – a quintessential aspect of the feminine is the creating and holding of space. Space may be represented in a business context by a think tank, blank canvas, open

agenda, question time, silent pause to consider a motion, or deliberation of the jury. None of these concepts are new, they are just not as widely considered as they might be. In the world of design, space is often used to create context and depth. In a busy, cluttered world this respite enables us to recharge and refocus.

4. Empowerment – the leadership model embraced by the feminine (Yin) energy is situational leadership rather than positional leadership. Positional leadership confers power, authority and control. Power and authority are delegated. In the feminine aspect we (the collective) are all empowered to lead. It is erroneous to believe you can empower someone. You can only empower yourself. You can, however, create an environment (read “the space”) or a culture that is conducive for people feeling empowered enough to step up into their masculine power. I use the term masculine power in the sense of being an individual not exerting their will.

5. Potential – the epitome of the feminine is the field of infinite potential. It goes further than the notion of maximising your potential. In the domain of energy there is no ceiling. And that it has no definition, measure or boundary is further reflection of the feminine essence.

The nature of potential is that it is inherently unrealised.

Here is a table of distinctions between masculine and feminine aspects. This will give you clues as to which coaching style may be appropriate for a given situation and also point to possible development areas a client may benefit from working on.

Coaching for masculine ( Yang)

Coaching for feminine (Yin)

Deductive

Inductive

Left brained

Right brained

Planned

Spontaneous

Delivery – outcome/ results focus

Discovery – opening possibility

Action & Accountability

Reflection & Insight

Individualisation

Tribal/ collective

Differentiation / Finding your edge

Homogenisation (fit in) / Return to centre

Decision making

Brainstorming

Solar plexis chakra (Will/ ego)

Heart chakra

Assertiveness

Compliance

Focus strengths – strength based

Focus variances/ gaps

Progress

Sustainability

Outward growth – progress

Inward/ upward growth

Getting out / withdrawal

Staying in/ Reinvestment

Leadership

Empowerment

Performance

Potential

Contract

Expand

Focus, choose, decide

Create & hold space

Act

Pause

Dennis Roberts is a speaker, coach and mentor. He offers personal empowerment programs for women at a personal, enterprise or corporate level. You can read more of his work on ‘The Rise of the Feminine: How women are changing the game of business’ at DennisRoberts. com.au HCAMAG.COM 61

SIGN OFF

the lighter side written by Stephanie Zillman

OFFICE PRANKS GONE HORRIBLY WRONG

Urban HR dictionary With the advent of technology and rapidly changing social norms, sometimes it’s difficult to find the right words to describe modern dilemmas…

BEARDS AT WORK ARE FINE, BUT ONLY IF THE CEO SPORTS ONE As a growing number of CEOs sport beards these days, many have begun to muse that if the top-dog has one, everyone else can too.

While certain professions (eg police, fire-fighters) require a clean shave, men often query when facial hair is permissible in a professional setting. Some employers consider beards unprofessional, and it’s not unheard of for company policy to forbid beards – though this has caused some controversy when it conflicts with an employee’s religious beliefs.

As a rule of thumb for beards at work, J. Scott Omelianuk, co-author of Things a Man Should Know says: 1. Look around – At the most conservative companies, it isn’t a question of finding an appropriate look. Any beard at all is probably a lousy idea.

2. Get a second opinion – Don’t make the decision alone.

3. Keep it simple – When the decision has been made to keep the hair, Omelianuk says it should be well-kept and trimmed.

4. Cut! Omelianuk thinks it’s best for individuals to go without until they’re professionally established – unless the direction comes from the top.

STRAY INTERNS COULD BE SQUATTING IN YOUR BUILDING! Eric Simmons managed to stay undetected at AOL headquarters after he enrolled in a four-month start-up incubator program. The program awarded him US$20,000 to work on his start-up and he was issued with a building badge. After the program ended and he was left without an income, Simmons found his building badge still worked and decided to start living at AOL to continue work on his start-up business.

Eating the company’s free food , enjoying staff gym and shower access, Simmons was able to sleep on couches outside security patrol areas, use the on-site laundry and store his belongings in a locker.

The plan became unstuck when a security guard came in early one morning to catch him. Luckily for Simmons, the guard knew he had previously been a member of the incubator program and did not call police.

Don’t worry though; based on what Simmons created whilst squatting, the young entrepreneur managed to secure US$50,000 from a Silicon Valley venture capitalist to continue building his start-up.

Beepilepsy The brief seizure people sometimes suffer when their phone goes off in a meeting, especially in vibrator mode.

Characterised by physical spasms, goofy facial expressions and stopping speech in mid-sentence.

Flight risk Used to describe employees who are suspected of planning to leave a company or department soon.

Email bankruptcy A decision to delete all emails older than a certain date, due to an overwhelming volume of messages.

During the act of declaring email bankruptcy, an email is usually sent to all contacts explaining the problem, that their message has been deleted, and that if their message still requires a response they should resend their message.

Chainsaw consultant An outside expert brought in to reduce the employee head count, leaving the top brass with clean hands.

Keyboard plaque The disgusting build-up of dirt and crud found on some people’s computer keyboards.

While there’s nothing wrong with a well-planned practical joke, an over-the-top prank will leave no one laughing. Here are HC’s top finds for practical jokes that lost their way.

1. ’Win a Toyota’ Contest A manager at a restaurant chain in Florida decided to get into the April Fool’s Day spirit by offering a ‘free Toyota’ to the waitperson who sold the most beer. After one waitress ‘won’ the competition, she was awarded her prize… a genuine ‘toy Yoda’ – that is, a plastic Yoda doll from the movie Star Wars.

The waitress sued the franchise and won. Her lawyer said that the compensation awarded was “more than enough to walk into any car dealership and pick out whatever type of Toyota she wants”.

2. Dog food worth $1.4m Back in 2007, the Los Angeles Fire Department was forced to shell out more than $1.4m in compensation after a workplace gag fell flat. Tennie Pierce ate an odd-tasting spaghetti meal served up by his mates – for which a can of dog food had been used for the ‘bolognaise’ sauce.

The firefighter successfully sued the department for “racial harassment, emotional distress, retaliation and failure to investigate”, and resigned from his longserving role.

3. Fake arrest not so funny Southwest Airlines had an initiation ritual for new employees at its Albuquerque base for those who completed their probationary period. Newbies were ‘arrested’ by airport police and were led away in handcuffs on a bogus charge.

The tradition came to an end when a new customer service agent was ‘arrested’ in front of customers and her colleagues. The agent claimed she suffered serious emotional distress – she successfully sued the airline and the police!

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