Human Resources Director 12.01 by Key Media

HR SUMMIT EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE

ONE-ON-ONE DIVERSITY AT SIEMENS

HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR HCAMAG.COM ISSUE 12.1

WAR AT WORK CONFLICT RESOLUTION

SURVIVAL GUIDE

HR DIRECTORS TALK:    

Surviving C-suite powerplays Onboarding executives Driving culture change Cultivating creativity

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EDITOR’S LETTER / HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR

HR SUMMIT EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE

ONE-ON-ONE DIVERSITY AT SIEMENS

HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR HCAMAG.COM ISSUE 12.1

WAR AT WORK CONFLICT RESOLUTION

FROM LITTLE THINGS… SURVIVAL GUIDE

HR DIRECTORS TALK:

The most exciting part of my job has been as witness to a profession that has truly taken flight in recent years. When I started on Human Capital Magazine (now HR Director) seven years ago, the debate was whether HR should have a position on the executive team and whether it truly deserved such a seat. I’m heartened to see that this debate is now redundant. It doesn’t need to occur because, in the majority of organisations, this is already the case. Now we need to ensure HR retains that position and continues to add value in ways beyond just the ‘people function’ – as critical as that function is. The sky is the limit for the HR profession in the years ahead. I like to think that, in a small way, HRD has contributed to this debate and helped steer it in the right direction. But, as always, the road will be a tricky one to navigate. A bit like the publishing world, which has seen enormous upheavals in the last three years (some would argue more change than in the previous 100 years), HR faces an increasingly complex, politically charged and hazardous road ahead. Battles for budgets, drastic changes to the ways in which business does business (which of course has a major impact on just about everything HR does), globalisation, battles to stay on top of ever-changing technology… the list goes on.

   

HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR: THE NEW NAME FOR HC MAGAZINE Cover+spine.indd 1

Iain Hopkins, editor, HRD

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COPY & FEATURES EDITOR Iain Hopkins JOURNALIST Cameron Edmond PRODUCTION EDITOR Roslyn Meredith

ART & PRODUCTION DESIGN MANAGER Daniel Williams DESIGNER Marla Morelos, Joenel Salvador TRAFFIC MANAGER Abby Cayanan

CONTRIBUTORS Kenexa, Frontier Software

SALES & MARKETING MARKETING EXECUTIVE Anna Farah 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 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

The sky is the limit for the HR profession in the years ahead This is my final issue as editor of HR Director. It has been a phenomenal journey. I’ve interviewed something like 800 HR professionals and many hundreds more consultants in my time on the publication. The magazine has grown from one publication based in Sydney to literally a global network of similar publications (Canada, New Zealand... and the US later in 2014). I feel part of the industry and almost like I have a vested interest in its ongoing success. But change is good, so they say, and I leave feeling extremely proud of our journey up to now. I wish you all the best and look forward to watching – from afar – the next exciting stage of HR’s evolution.

Surviving C-suite powerplays Onboarding executives Driving culture change Cultivating creativity

Advertising enquiries National commercial manager, HR products Sophie Knight tel: +61 2 8437 4733 sophie.knight@keymedia.com.au Subscriptions tel: +61 2 8005 6674 • 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 Auckland, Toronto, Denver, Manila, Singapore hcamag.com

HRD wants to hear from you. Email us: editor@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 HRD can accept no responsibility for loss.

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

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CONTENTS / HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR

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COVER STORY: HR SUMMIT

HR survival guide From onboarding executives to surviving leadership powerplays in the C-suite, HR Director talks to four leading HR professionals about their tips for sustained excellence in the ﬁeld

War at work If you suppress it, it will escalate. If you ignore it, it will have serious future repercussions. Conﬂict may be a way of life in the workplace but there are strategies to handle it more eﬀectively. Iain Hopkins investigates

Right time, right place: Selecting business leaders for Asia Australian businesses are increasingly looking to Asia to expand operations. However, as Andreas Raharso reports, such expansion requires a diﬀerent set of leadership styles in order to leverage the region’s unique, increasingly well-developed and sophisticated workforce

Getting back to work, faster A new study at Melbourne’s St Vincent’s Private Hospital has found that an early intervention approach to workplace injury can cut workers’ time away from work by almost 70% and signiﬁcantly lower employer costs. Here’s how they did it

Switched on & ready to learn? How can you improve the readiness of your employees to undertake learning initiatives? Lisa Rubinstein outlines one fail-safe approach

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REGULARS 04 | Insight: Bullying in the workplace

FRONTLINE INTELLIGENCE 08| HR Consulting 09| Technology

CHECK OUT THE HRD ARCHIVES ONLINE: hcamag.com

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INSIGHT / BULLYING

T U O G N I K C O KN

BULLYING ONCE AND FOR ALL

Workplace bullying is an old enemy of any seasoned HR professional. New research has revealed the true nature of the problem. Cameron Edmond outlines what can be done about it

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HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR

ROUND ONE: WHERE ARE WE? The current landscape views bullying as being centred on notions of power. In addition, many professionals divide bullying into categories based on how the bullying relates to the organisation’s hierarchy: ‘upwards bullying’ is used to refer to a manager being bullied by a subordinate; ‘downwards bullying’ to indicate the reverse; and ‘bullying’ simply indicates bullying between two colleagues. Experts, however, believe these notions are flawed. RtB’s research, Bullying in Context: A Risk Management Perspective, provided exclusively to HR Director, has found that bullying is much more heavily linked to the ‘games and tournaments’ played in an organisation and the general business culture than to arbitrary ideas of power over others. “Organisations determine the games that need to be played for people to be successful, and the systems and processes determine the rules of the game that needs to be played … we are dealing with humans, and nearly everybody bends the rules when they are competing, because that’s how they win,” Stuart King, managing director of RtB, tells HRD. In addition to shifting focus away from viewing bullying as a power struggle and understanding the role the workplace’s systems and games play, Kate Carnell, CEO of beyondblue, feels that splitting the concept of bullying into separate facets, such as upwards bullying, detracts from the issue. “I think we’ve got to say that bullying is not acceptable under any circumstances, whoever might be doing it,” Carnell says. “Bullying is bullying, and no tolerance for it means no tolerance for it.” While stress, anxiety, depression, and in some cases suicidal behaviour are known to occur in the

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Stuart King victims of bullying, what often remains unreported is the ‘bystander’ effect. When bullying occurs in the workplace, others will witness or in other ways be aware of it. The bullying can then have an effect on these bystanders. Carnell explains this can swing one of two ways: either the bystanders become fearful of a bullying culture in the workplace (especially if they are new to the workplace); or it can mean these bystanders will adopt similar bullying approaches to try to move up the hierarchy of the organisation. “If it is seen that bullying-type behaviour is allowed in a workplace – particularly if it is successful in achieving whatever the bully’s ends are – then many people respond by believing that is the way this

ORGANISATIONAL LEVEL OF BULLYING: PERPETRATOR VERSUS VICTIM 80 70

Workplace bullying is a problem that has persisted for years. Despite ongoing adjustments to legislation, workplace initiatives, and many organisations adopting zero-tolerance policies, Australia continues to be rocked by the devastating impact of workplace bullying. The Australian Productivity Commission estimates that workplace bullying costs Australia $6bn–$36bn per year, with research from Risk to Business (RtB) suggesting that as many as 30% of workers in Australia have experienced workplace bullying in the last 12 months.

“The fundamental question of why a business is in business drives everything”

50 47

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Senior manager

Manager

Senior manager Manager Team leader

0 3

Team leader

3 4

9 9

Team member

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Team member Individual employee Source: Risk to Business’s Bullying in Context: A Risk Management Perspective

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INSIGHT / BULLYING

CASE STUDY: SEEKING A SOLUTION

company or organisation works so they will adopt a similar approach,” Carnell adds.

ROUND TWO: HOW DO WE SOLVE IT? The revelation surrounding bullying’s link to workplace games and tournaments – which are fundamentally tied to the culture of the organisation – suggests the problem is indeed solvable. The way these tournaments and games manifest is dictated by the structure of the organisation and how success is measured. When pay increases or bonuses are linked to performance, these competitive tournaments begin to play out, as one’s lifestyle and financial well-being is on the line. “If you tell someone they are going to get a shiny red sports car if they hit their target, they will move hell and high water,” King explains. “If you tell the team if they hit their targets they are all going to get to take part in an event together, they will work together.” In addition to encouraging collaboration as an HR matter, organisations must move towards

THE LEGAL CRACKDOWN AND WHY AUSTRALIA NEEDS IT Changes to the Fair Work Act (2009) took effect on 1 January 2014, with the aim of cracking down on workplace bullying. The changes include defining workplace bullying as “repeated, unreasonable behaviour directed towards a worker or a group of workers that creates a risk to health and safety”, and empower the Fair Work Commission to investigate and handle complaints of bullying. While experts like Jessica Fletcher of law firm Hall & Wilcox fear that these new provisions will result in a surge in bullying complaints by employees out to rort the system and stop reasonable management action from taking place, the landscape before the changes wasn’t pretty. September 2006 saw the tragic death of Brodie Panlock, who took her own life after relentless humiliation and bullying at the hands of her co-workers at a Hawthorn cafe. A wake-up call for the community, Panlock’s death drove home the serious consequences bullying has on its victims, leading to the introduction of Victoria’s Brodie’s Law in 2011, which treats serious bullying as a criminal offence punishable by up to 10 years in jail.

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SEEK has a zero-tolerance stance on bullying. The company’s HR director, Meahan Callaghan, shares her insights on workplace bullying with HRD HRD: What are some internal initiatives SEEK has implemented to stamp out bullying? Meahan Callaghan: For us, it starts with recruitment. All candidates who secure a role at SEEK undertake psychometric and cultural tests to ensure they understand, and will thrive, in the culture that we have established. We are clear in the recruitment process of our company values and the behaviours associated with these. We are very speciﬁc that we are after people who can participate in active debate, that can challenge and question, and are open to being challenged. However, we stress that this is never to be at the expense of showing respect for each other. Every person at SEEK is measured against both what they do (goals) and how they go about it (values). Anyone who does behave inappropriately would be seen as a low performer regardless of the results they are delivering. HRD: Are there any forms of bullying that don’t appear to be widely reported? Why do you think this is? MC: You don’t hear a great deal about direct-reportto-manager bullying [referred to as upwards bullying in this feature]. I think there is an emphasis on the behaviours of managers to their direct reports. I also believe it is a big shame that the cases that get the most attention typically imply male employees bullying female employees. Sadly, I have seen female-to-female bullying a great deal. HRD: What advice can you give to employers if they believe their employees are being bullied, or if they think a worker is a bully? MC: Take immediate action. Look for evidence in a range of areas as the person being bullied may avoid telling you for fear of consequences. Never let a matter be ignored as you are sending a signal that you don’t take bullying seriously or will tolerate certain types of bullying or by certain people. Don’t be afraid of making the action you take public in your organisation; by talking to people about a situation that has happened, it can raise awareness and education of the issue. It makes your culture stronger. Have courage and tackle all situations regardless of their seniority, performance history and service with the company. Take a strong public stand in your organisation.

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HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR

WHERE AND WHEN BULLYING INCIDENTS OCCUR

PRE-EMPTIVE STRIKE Doing nothing is not an option. As you work towards remedying broader problems in your organisation that may contribute to bullying, Risk to Business recommends the following steps be taken now:  Develop short- and long-term strategies that reduce the opportunity for workplace bullying to occur through organisational systems, processes and structures  Expose behavioural risks that are currently invisible  Take a leadership position at every level of the organisation and at every opportunity. Ask the hard questions, seek out risks, show others what leaders stand for and how work is really done in your organisation, and take action to protect organisational values  Engage competent, licensed and qualiﬁed third-party specialist service providers to open up lines of communication and independent employee complaint responses  Develop and implement a long-term strategy based around organisational values to raise awareness and impact positively on employee engagement and recognition

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40 30 20 10 0

43 39 35

establishing their purpose as one that is more meaningful than hitting targets. “The fundamental question of why a business is in business drives everything,” King says. Understanding and explaining to staff the true purpose of the organisation – what service it is trying to provide and why, what meaning their work has, etc – will lay the foundation for a workforce that is not driven by competition and numbers and is instead moved by purpose. This leads to a less hostile work environment in which bullying is less likely to occur. Furthermore, identifying risks in the organisation, such as small indiscretions and insecure personalities, is important in preventing a culture of bullying that may be bubbling beneath the surface. “Once bad behaviour or bending the rules starts, it gains momentum, and that’s why we shouldn’t condone small indiscretions. This is the leadership component,” King explains. Most importantly, business leaders must take a strong stance against bullying to help perpetuate

25 22 19

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14 13

In front of peers

Performance feedback Execution of duties During work break

In front of managers

13 13

10 10 6

In front of outsiders

15 10

15 8

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In front of subordinates

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Source: Risk to Business’s Bullying in Context: A Risk Management Perspective

a culture that proactively stamps it out. In the same way that bystanders can be influenced by bullies who dominate in the workforce, so too can leaders influence those around them if they take a stance. Sadly, RtB research indicates that many organisations don’t do enough when evidence of bullying presents itself: 6% of Aussie workers claimed their employer made things worse; 23% of employers turned a blind eye; 40% did nothing at all; 4% victimised the person who complained; and only 16% made things better. Informing all employees of the workplace policies regarding bullying is important too, so they can then feel confident and empowered to speak up if they see bullying occur. “It is important that people understand what their options are if they see bullying incidents,” Carnell says. “We can never stop bullying if nobody says anything.” Championing a stance of anti-bullying through leadership is something King feels all organisations must strive for – and there are no excuses. “It only takes common sense, leadership, wisdom and good governance for a CEO or a board to ensure that a workplace is safe and, better still, harmonious,” he says. “Helpful mechanisms are available for every company, every employer, every executive and every employee.”

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FRONTLINE INTELLIGENCE / HR CONSULTING

SHIFTING HR – leading positive disruptive change HR IS SHIFTING FROM SERVICE TO A STRATEGIC BUSINESS DRIVER The VP of Operations says, “I need you to hire five new engineers for me”, and HR traditionally responds with: “When do you want them by?” However, this ‘yes-man’, ‘service-centre’ attitude of HR is changing, and fast. In progressive organisations HR is emerging as a real strategic business function, not simply a shared service for implementing policy and process. It is quickly becoming viewed as the owner of the organisation’s key strategic asset – people; and is no longer simply expected to maintain this asset, but to critically increase the returns on that asset. This is shifting HR into a position to lead a real and positive disruption in business.

THE BEFORE AND AFTER

Ed Hurst Consulting Practice Leader, Kenexa, an IBM Company. 601 Pacific Highway, St Leonards, Sydney. Phone 13 24 26 or email edhurst@au1.ibm.com

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I like to use the analogy of a car mechanic versus a car engineer to describe the shift in HR thinking. The mechanic services the car, typically following a standard process of, for example, changing the oil, cleaning the filters, etc. The mechanic will also fix a problem once it has occurred. Through their admirable service, mechanics support the goal of a smooth-running car that gets us from Point A to Point B. The car engineer, on the other hand, is pivotal in designing the solution to achieve the desired outcomes. Starting with the goal of a smooth-running car that gets us from A to B, they will design and build tyres, gearboxes, fuel systems, etc, that interact with each other and the external environment to produce a successful car. Strategic HR has transformed itself to become predominantly an engineer instead of a mechanic. In the boardroom they are becoming deeply connected to the business strategy, then they design people agendas to achieve those business outcomes. Increasingly, the CxOs are turning to the CHRO to drive their business forward through workforce capability. The conversation is now around hiring the very best people and then maximising their experience so as to use our people as a competitive

advantage. Smart executives know it is one of the last really big levers left to pull in order to exponentially increase business performance. For an increase in Employee Engagement and Performance Enablement of 0.25%, Kenexa research has shown the link to an increase in Return on Assets (ROA) of 1.14%. Mention that you can get a 1.14% increase in ROA to your CFO and watch their interest peak!

SUCCESSFULLY ACHIEVING THE HR SHIFT Shifting HR to become the strategic ‘engineer’ is driven top down by the HR leadership. Great HR leaders are maximising the strategic impact they have on their organisations by: • building credibility into the boardroom through bringing a disciplined business focus to people management for example, by articulating the financial impact of HR decisions • proactively driving a people strategy that is measurably linked to business performance by providing feasible business cases for HR programs • creating an HR unit that is efficient, flexible and able to adapt along with the business and external environment • demonstrating the value, that we all know HR can bring, by using together business and HR data to show the bottom-line efficiencies, improvements and growth that can be achieved If you had answered the opening question from the VP of Operations by saying “How do you measure the effectiveness of your engineers?”, you may have uncovered, with more probing, that perhaps it is more of a knowledge and engagement issue. So instead of needing more people, training and engaging the current engineers more effectively would be a far greater return on investment. That is the real essence of the HR shift. Now, as HR practitioners we need to build and then display these new competencies within our organisations and become the leaders of disruptive change.

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FRONTLINE INTELLIGENCE / TECHNOLOGY

E-RECRUITMENT IN FOCUS

Q A

How can we get more from our eRecruitment solution?

For many organisations, attracting and hiring the right people is a strategic imperative. Most businesses know the cost of a bad hire, and it’s not simply a financial cost, it can extend to staff morale and productivity. An eRecruitment solution is the ideal tool to streamline recruitment processes and also provides the BIG data to support informed decision-making. I have six tips to help you get the most out of your eRecruitment solution.

Identify the channels that work Use the data already stored in your system to discover your best recruitment channels. By identifying the recruitment sources of the top-performing new starters from the past year, it should be easy to choose the best channels to source future stars.

Creating a positive candidate experience In highly competitive job markets, it’s crucial to keep applicants engaged at every step of the recruitment cycle. Your eRecruitment solution can make the recruitment process simple and engaging if you use the automatic emailing feature. The emails can update applicants on when they can expect to hear from you, remind them of interview times and may even contain links to recruitment videos that will further enhance their experience.

Identify the best-fit candidates For your eRecruitment system to work effectively, it needs to highlight the applicants with the right skills, the right cultural fit and the right expertise to meet the job requirements. This means that, as an organisation, you need a deep understanding of your ideal employee for each position. When this information is available, your eRecruitment system can be configured to capture the data that will strengthen your ability to identify the best candidates.

The right access Mobile recruiting continues to increase in popularity and your potential applicants are searching for

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opportunities using smartphones and tablet devices. It’s important that your eRecruitment solution is responsive and scales across a variety of devices. If it doesn’t, check with your vendor to see what options are available.

Boomerang rehires In industries experiencing a shortage of talent and where specific skills are required, there has been an increase in boomerang rehires: attracting topperforming former employees. It’s a cost-effective method of sourcing talented people who can do the job and provide a good cultural fit. Using historical employee and performance data, you should be able to identify the very best former employees, and these records can be easily moved into the potential talent pool within eRecruitment.

Integration with Human Resources and Payroll Using data from Human Resources and Payroll systems will ensure that you are getting the most from your eRecruitment solution. If your solution is tightly integrated, then your Payroll system should be able to trigger a notification in your eRecruitment system when someone leaves and a position becomes open. The sooner positions are advertised, the faster they can be filled, which will reduce those vital timeto-hire metrics. A good eRecruitment system will have access to an extensive talent pool that incorporates new candidates, previous candidates and existing staff. Use this data to identify the best candidates for open positions. Offering existing employees access to vacancies promotes engagement and drives employee retention.

A FINAL WORD As the competition for talent continues to increase across many industries, your eRecruitment system will be an invaluable tool. I encourage you to review your recruitment procedures and look for potential time savings and improvements. Leveraging your eRecruitment solution will streamline processes and eliminate paper shuffling, which will enable managers to focus on the important task of selecting the right candidates.

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

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COVER STORY / HR SUMMIT EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE

“Executives need to be very careful in the early weeks … and sometimes unfortunately they will change things simply for the sake of making change” Neil Baker, Cooper Grace Ward

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BRING THEM ALL ON BOARD With executive recruitment facing high failure rates, onboarding is a critical part of hiring new talent. Joshua Gliddon explores the topic with HR Summit speaker Neil Baker of Cooper Grace Ward Lawyers The recent management upheavals at corporate behemoths General Motors and Microsoft have highlighted the need for strong onboarding procedures when new executive hires are made. General Motors took the safe option, appointing a long-term employee, Mary Barra, to the top job, replacing the departing chief executive Dan Akerson. Over at Microsoft, things are less certain. Steve Ballmer, who replaced founder Bill Gates, is set to depart in 2014, but the selection process for a replacement has been riddled with speculation. This has centred mainly on whether an insider will get the job, or whether someone like Ford chief Alan Mulally, who helped steer the car maker through the GFC, will come in and take the reins. Microsoft watchers are right to be concerned. According to a report in Psychology Today, “CEO Failures: How on-boarding can help”, external executive hires have a failure rate of around 40%. There’s a good reason for this, says Neil Baker, director of people and culture at Cooper Grace Ward Lawyers. “Sometimes the candidate can underestimate the challenges facing the organisation,” notes Baker. “And sometimes the organisation can oversell the

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role, and perhaps downplay the issues or overstate the ability [of the executive] to influence the organisation.” That’s why a storied company such as General Motors went with a safe pair of hands – someone who already knew the organisation inside out and had been with the company through the dark days of the GFC, bankruptcy and the onerous oversight of a government shareholding. Barra would be familiar with every aspect of the company, and less likely to require the short- and mid-term hand-holding that an external executive would have needed. But what of Microsoft? If the software giant chooses an external candidate, how are they going to be safely brought on board and quickly empowered to make the changes and decisions the company needs? According to Baker, onboarding must begin during the recruitment process. “That’s where, hopefully, there is complete honesty and transparency in what the organisation is about, and what the issues are.” For a company like Microsoft, those issues include the rise of tablet computing and the smartphone, and the steady erosion of its Windows

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COVER STORY / HR SUMMIT EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE

See Neil Baker talk about executive onboarding at HR Summit Sydney, 1-2 April 2014

CEOS BY THE NUMBERS yy Percentage of Fortune 500 CEOs appointed internally: 66% yy Average years at company prior to CEO appointment: 12.8 yy Median age: 55 yy Most common university degree: Bachelor’s degree yy Percentage of Fortune 500 companies run by women: 12% Source: Fortune

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and Office franchises by rival, and often free, offerings. Speculation – no friend of an executive with self-doubt – has even gone as far as to suggest the incoming chief may spin off various divisions, including the successful Xbox gaming console and the struggling Bing search engine. If Microsoft chooses an outsider, the best way to get them up to speed is to give them an accelerated immersion in the practices and culture of the organisation, Baker observes. “It is imperative to speak with those who are portrayed as key decision-makers, and as quickly as possible, [and also] with a range of individuals … who can provide differing and hopefully honest perspectives,” he says. One thing Microsoft is getting right is having a long recruitment process in a bid to find the right person to lead the organisation. After all, the new chief executive will be only the third person to lead the nearly 40-year-old company, following in the footsteps of the legendary Bill Gates, and then Ballmer, his long-term right-hand man. Recruitment, Baker says, needs to be fast to avoid uncertainty, but not so fast that it prevents deeper fact-finding by the incoming executive about the organisation, and by the organisation getting to know the new leader. One of the common requirements for any new executive, and especially a chief executive, is the idea of ‘hitting the ground running’. Baker notes this idea is fine when it comes to an individual’s core technical ability – such as if Microsoft

recruits from another tech company – but also observes that the more complex the business and its market, the longer it will take the newcomer to adjust. A Harvard Business Review report, “The First 90 Days”, bears this out. It notes that even a midlevel manager can take six months to get their head fully around a particular role. The challenge for a chief executive is even greater. There are also questions around whether an executive has a mandate for change, and how much change they can actually make. Before announcing his retirement, Microsoft’s Ballmer put in place wide-ranging organisational changes intended to transform the company into an organisation focused on ‘devices and services’. The question for the newcomer is whether they want to maintain that change, or institute some other form of direction shift. “Executives need to be very careful in the early weeks … and sometimes unfortunately they will change things simply for the sake of making change,” Baker says. “They want to be seen doing something even if there is really no underlying reason for making a change.”

ONBOARDING: TOP TIPS yy Up to 40% of external hires result in failure; have all internal options been explored? yy Ramp up the due diligence process – call previous employers and colleagues. yy Go beyond the typical interview – ask them to do a presentation. yy Look for a good cultural fit – skills are important, but not everything. yy Make new hires feel welcome – the first day is critical in achieving staff happiness. yy Write a formal onboarding plan, then stick to it. yy Monitor the employee (and the program) over time. yy Technology is your friend – use it during recruitment and onboarding. yy Onboarding takes time – do regular follow-ups.

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DIVERSITY OF THOUGHT:

THE SECRET TO POWERFUL LEADERSHIP Diversity in the workplace involves a consistent commitment to behavioural change and shifting habits. Sarah Megginson chats to HR Summit speaker Helen O’Loughlin of ASIC In simple terms, workplace diversity means creating an inclusive environment that values each individual and embraces their strengths, while providing opportunities for all staff to achieve their full potential. Valuing difference can have wide-ranging positive impacts, not only at an internal relationship and employee level but also in the experiences that customers, clients and other stakeholders have when interacting with your business. A diverse workplace is essential for creating high morale and strong retention rates, says Helen O’Loughlin, senior executive leader, people and development, at ASIC, Australia’s corporate, markets and financial services regulator. But O’Loughlin believes the benefits flow on in another way that is perhaps less tangible but equally important.

solutions. It becomes less about filling board quotas and getting women promoted to the executive level, for example, and more about creating a culture in which women feel valued, supported and encouraged to apply for leadership roles. “When we looked closely at our applicant lists, we realised that we were struggling to get women to actually apply for the jobs. There’s that old rule that women will only apply if they feel they are 99.5% qualified, whereas men will apply at 70% – that’s really playing out from what I’ve seen in our recruitment.”

REFRESHING THE ISSUE The traditional way Australian businesses look at

DIVERSITY OF THOUGHT “The main benefit for us is diversity of thought. [This allows] the best decision-making we can do, and it’s good governance to have that diversity in decisionmaking,” O’Loughlin explains. “We have more university degrees per head than you can imagine; we’ve got huge depth of expertise … There’s some robust research showing how complex problems – and at ASIC, our problems can be very complex – need people with diverse problem-solving skills to get the best outcomes. So it’s about making sure we leverage all the specialists we’ve got in a productive fashion.” Diversity goes hand in hand with inclusion, O’Loughlin adds, because it encourages a small but powerful shift in mindset that leads to more holistic

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See Helen O’Loughlin talk about diversity and culture change at HR Summit Sydney, 1-2 April 2014

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“At ASIC, our problems can be very complex – [we] need people with diverse problem-solving skills to get the best outcomes” Helen O’Loughlin, ASIC

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4 diversity “hasn’t been refreshed for a long time”, O’Loughlin says. This has fostered a situation in which people have grown disinterested in initiatives designed to address issues like gender diversity. “I find it really interesting that people are getting bored with gender diversity, given that we’ve made such limited progress. It’s astonishing, as I think the real issues are just starting to be unpacked. There has to be some significant change very soon or the economy will start feeling the results, especially the wasted investment in all of these women being educated but none of it playing out in the running of our economy and in key leadership positions,” she says. When the topic of inclusion is broached, O’Loughlin adds, you don’t approach some subgroups and filter out others – you’ve got to look at it in its totality by bringing everyone into the equation. “By its very nature, inclusion is more about holistic cultural change,” she says. Having initiatives in place to address imbalances is one thing; changing viewpoints and culture is quite another. “Sometimes, there just has to be accountability. You have to make people accountable and look at the processes you use to get people thinking, because those processes are in themselves what shape behaviour and create habits,” O’Loughlin says. “You can’t really change people’s beliefs, or it’s very hard to do, but you can change behaviour. When people demonstrate that behaviour over and over again, it will hopefully also shift some beliefs.” In addition, the organisation has put all employees

TOP TIPS: FOSTER DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE y Identify and address unconscious bias in recruitment, retention and promotion. y Value individual skills that each employee brings, including language skills and international experience. y Be aware of different cultural practices and special needs of employees, and make workplace adjustments where appropriate. y Develop flexible work options and make them available to all staff, including comprehensive parental leave policies. y Take steps to prevent discrimination and harassment in your workplace. Source: Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland

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through unconscious bias training, which is ultimately about awareness raising. ASIC has also conducted hard analytical work to see what’s happening with organisational processes that may encourage bias. “It’s not only ensuring people have awareness of their unconscious bias, but it’s also ensuring your processes are so tight and clean that the space for people to make decisions is as small as it can be. So when they exercise judgment and make decisions they’re doing it in a very targeted and businessfocused way,” O’Loughlin says. With the goal of creating a true meritocracy, ASIC is doing everything possible to remove the inherent biases and unconscious biases in the system. “The inherent biases are there – we know that because our data would show, for example, that we have highly educated women who perform well but are not moving in appropriate numbers into leadership positions,” she says. “So we’re creating a meritocracy that will lead to us reaching our targets. There’s research showing quotas can actually have a negative impact, and they can also have a negative impact on the people being placed in these roles due to a quota because they feel they haven’t earned it.”

THE PROCESS OF CHANGE O’Loughlin is quick to add that the process of change is ongoing at ASIC, but this is just as important as the outcome. In other words, sometimes the process in which you engage the organisation can have some powerful ripple effects. She cites as an example the CEO of aluminium manufacturer Alcoa in the late 1980s, Paul O’Neill. Upon arrival in the position, he was faced with a company in disarray, with industrial problems and cost blowouts. The board wanted him to tackle cost reduction straight away. To do this he found one topic he could talk to the entire organisation about: work health and safety (WHS). By talking about this topic across the organisation all the time, a whole lot of other processes were changed, which actually helped with the cost management – for example, dealing with unions became more civil because WHS became a focus area and they could all agree on it. Employees also felt empowered to suggest improvements to processes. “Sometimes the process through which you talk to and work with the organisation on can have significant knock-on effects. You can kill more than one bird with one stone, in the way the organisation interacts and functions,” O’Loughlin concludes.

DID YOU KNOW? y Companies with high executive and board diversity had a return on equity an average of 53% higher than those with low levels y 70% of employees exposed to racial discrimination, violence or harassment take time off work y US research shows that when a company has a diversity complaint that goes public, their share price will drop within 24 hours. However, when employers win a diversity award their share price will increase within 10 days Source: Diversity Council of Australia, dca.org.au

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COVER STORY / HR SUMMIT EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE

“I deal with people at all levels and we are a very highly unionised, male-dominated industry, so strong leadership and credibility is very important – whether it be in the boardroom or in the warehouse” Susan Davies, TNT

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LEADERSHIP

IN THE C-SUITE Survival in the C-suite means adopting an entrepreneurial outlook that not only delivers on promises but also views HR as a ‘business within a business’. Sarah Megginson talks strategy with HR Summit speaker Susan Davies

Successful leaders are visionary, future focused, and, most importantly, they can genuinely influence outcomes at the highest level. This is no easy feat. While HR directors have well and truly earned their place at the executive table, that doesn’t mean you can afford to rest on your laurels. Establishing and maintaining credibility and value is an ongoing process and something that Susan Davies, director of human resources, administration and customer service at TNT, believes is “critical” to career success. “In my role, I deal with people at all levels and we are a very highly unionised, male-dominated industry, so strong leadership and credibility is very important, whether it be in the boardroom or in the warehouse,” she explains.

THE BENEFIT OF EXPERIENCE Davies, who has worked for TNT for 32 years in a range of roles in the UK, Europe and Australia, has been on the company’s board since 2006. As

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an expert in change management, she helped turn TNT around from an enterprise that was $100m in the red to a profitable and thriving business.

2014 CHALLENGES “First and foremost, HR needs to be adding value to the business, being completely aligned with the strategy, delivering on the EBIT. A very important factor for me personally will be to bring a $60–$70m EBA to a successful conclusion in February. “Workforce planning is important and it has multiple associated issues: skills, demographics, succession, productivity attraction/retention and so on. In our case, for instance, we have a workforce that, in common with most employers in our industry sector, is both male dominated and ageing, and the latter can be an issue given the pace of technological change and the potential for higher productivity.”

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COVER STORY / HR SUMMIT EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE

IN HER OWN WORDS: BUILDING BOARD ALLEGIANCES

See Susan Davies present a survival guide for leadership in the C-suite at HR Summit Sydney, 1-2 April 2014

“It is important to understand the players in any board and what attributes they bring to the table. A performing board will openly question and critique and it’s important that each board member feels able to do that, so the chairman is key to ensuring the environment is conducive to that. I also think trust and respect is extremely important at board level and allegiances are built on that for me; there are obviously topics where you know you will get more support from some members of the board than others, but transparency is everything at that level. To be an active player you need to contribute, and to contribute you need to understand the business and the strategic intent, as this in turn allows you to actively participate.”

It was during these experiences that she discovered just how crucial it is for effective leaders to evolve and embrace change as it happens, which demands the ability to communicate clearly, consistently and with the ‘bigger picture’ in mind. “If you really want to influence at the highest level you’ve got to have credibility, and if you want a seat at the boardroom table you’ve got to be adding value,” she says simply. “You need to have a deeper understanding of the business itself – how it operates, what customers are expecting, sustained profitability – and you need to be delivering around these three imperatives. “If you are doing activities that are not linked to at least one of these things, you are probably wasting time and money.”

BUSINESS WITHIN A BUSINESS Within this framework, Davies suggests one powerful strategy for getting the best results: by treating the HR department as its own business, with clearly defined goals, targets and metrics for accountability. In this sense, the ‘business’ is always striving to innovate and create value, as there are no other departments or resources to fall back on in times of low productivity and poor results. “Our CEO and other senior executives are very clear: they want HR to function as a ‘business within a business’, and I need to be a strategic partner of the broader business to define and

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deliver on our KPIs and manage our budget effectively,” Davies says. “Our CEO often says that every internal service department, like HR, should focus on delivering value in the same way that an external provider would – as if the renewal of the supply contract depends on demonstrating value. There should be no room for complacency in any department or indeed in the boardroom.”

THREE STRATEGIES TO OVERCOME POLITICAL WARFARE Dealing with politics in the workplace is unavoidable, but Susan Davies shares her strategies to try to handle issues of ego and politics before they get out of control: yy Encourage honesty: I believe in straight talking. However, it’s important to understand when you can apply that approach and when you can’t. Everyone has their ‘hot buttons’ – being open and honest will encourage others to get to the bottom of the issue quickly. yy Focus on facts: I am very focused on facts and I always try to steer discussions away from emotions, which generally gets you to the ‘real story’ behind a conflict or an issue. yy Be solutions oriented: I am a great believer in not always bringing issues to the table but bringing solutions. Everyone should be accountable; all care and no accountability is a bad approach.

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TIME TO GET CREATIVE

With the business world changing at a rapid rate, organisational agility has never been more critical. Iain Hopkins talks to HR Summit speaker Susan Henry about unlocking creativity in complex times

“I have a great idea! Why don’t we try this...?” How many times have you heard that from an enthusiastic employee, full of great ideas and keen to contribute to organisational success? And then what happens? Too often, unfortunately, the great idea gets quashed amid office bureaucracy and slow processes. Organisational agility – the ability to react swiftly to shifts in the broader economy and the industry environment – has become a buzzword in 2014. Agility also implies actively encouraging and fostering innovation, and encouraging thoughts, plans and ideas ‘out of the box’ from employees. It’s something Susan Henry, head of people and culture at Starlight Children’s Foundation, has seen in practice in her organisation. “Agility is important at it ensures organisations can achieve their vision, strategy and goals in a meaningful and impactful way,” she says. Having passionate employees who really care is a great starting point, and Starlight is blessed with a meaningful EVP that gets cut-through with all employees. Starlight is involved in delivering programs that contribute to the well-being and resilience of seriously ill children, young people and their families. “Meeting their needs with deep impact starts with us having the right people in roles that play to their strengths,” says Henry. “This allows us to stay ahead of the game and to respond effectively to changing external trends. When people are working to their strengths and are highly aligned and engaged, they achieve great outcomes, are innovative; they care for their colleagues and together own the results.” By the very nature of its work in the not-for-profit

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sector, Starlight operates as a lean, fast and entrepreneurial organisation, so there is no room for bureaucracy and red tape. “We have a strong set of values that guide the way we work, and a wellarticulated two-way EVP,” Henry says. In addition, ‘The Starlight Way’ ensures employees don’t reinvent the wheel on non-valueadding activities. “We work in a very collaborative way and our teams our completely aligned to the strategy and know how they contribute and add value,” Henry adds.

AVOIDING ORGANISATIONAL OBSOLESCENCE Countless companies in recent years have fallen by the wayside in failing to keep up with consumer demand, especially in terms of how technology is impacting on the delivery of goods and services. Blackberry, Kodak and music retailer HMV are three that are often cited as having a ‘head in the sand’ approach and moving too slowly.

See Susan Henry talk about cultivating organisational creativity in an age of complexity at HR Summit Sydney, 1-2 April 2014

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4 “Again, this is all about being ahead of or abreast of external factors and ensuring we have the right balance of vision, leadership, strategy combined with a highly talented team focused on achieving great outcomes,” Henry says. All Starlight programs have a strong foundation based on need; the organisation does not work in isolation and works collaboratively with the health sector. It then measures the impact of the work through research and evaluation. Countless organisations claim to encourage the ‘voice of the employee’ to be heard and their ideas to bear fruit. Since Google unveiled its ‘20% time’ policy several years ago – essentially a requirement that 20% of an employee’s time is spent on project work – it has provided the launch pad for products like AdSense, Gmail and other hallmarks of the Google brand. Countless organisations have since adopted similar initiatives. While Starlight may not have the resources to devote 20% of an employee’s day to ‘outside the box’ thinking, the company prides itself on recruiting people who have great ideas and initiatives and who are resourceful and innovative. “We work with the donated dollar so this is an imperative. Innovation and creativity is part our DNA. We encourage people to try new ideas, and the idea of ‘failing quickly’ is part of our culture,” Henry says. Yet despite tight budgets, Henry does not see this

HARNESSING INNOVATION: TOP TIPS Consultancy Maximus provides six tips to embrace innovative thinking in any organisation: y Define what innovation means to your organisation. y Ensure members of your executive team understand and are aligned in terms of what good innovation looks like for your organisation. y Engage your broader leadership group to think-tank innovative concepts regularly, and build a bottom-up culture of idea generation. y Leverage your strategy teams and business experts to work with your high-potential experts to work with your high-potential leaders to turn concepts into strong business cases. y Prioritise good, ROI-focused ideas and gain executive agreement on value-based investing. y Create a culture that supports the continual flow of new ideas and strong feedback loops.

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as an excuse to squander innovative ideas. She believes it just means getting creative – and this is done by keeping people aligned, engaged and communicating consistent messages. “This means all leaders are aligned and on the same page – and this doesn’t cost money.” Starlight also has certain initiatives and symbols that unite the team. ‘I-Call’ and ‘I-Care’ are initiatives to ensure employees are responsive. The ‘Bright Ideas’ initiative encourages ideas from across the organisation, and ‘Get Connected’ sees all team members spending a day per quarter working in one of the organisation’s programs out in the field. The company also employs 90 Captain Starlights who are highly talented performers who work to transform the hospital experience for seriously ill children, young people and their families. “The Captains bring a creative flair to the organisation and we have an innovation fund that allows them to apply for funds to see an idea through to fruition,” Henry explains. Finally, the organisation also holds a quarterly CEO Innovation award.

MANAGING DISPERSED EMPLOYEES At HR Summit 2014, Henry will also be exploring the topic of managing a geographically dispersed and diverse workforce. While technology is an enabler of this, Henry stresses that having a clear vision and strategy, as well as strong leadership and a values-based culture, is critical in terms of employee alignment and engagement. Most important of all, however, is having highly skilled people managers. “People managers are responsible for ensuring their people have a great employment experience – that is, they know what’s expected, they know where the role fits with the bigger picture, they are working to their strengths, feel valued, and have opportunities for growth and development,” Henry says. “Investing in our people managers is core to our success. Building a community of people managers and bringing them together for shared L&D equips them for their vital roles.” In addition, Henry adds, all Starlight employees must have the resources they need to perform their roles, no matter their location. This also ties back to the concept of the ‘agile organisation’. “A big focus for us in 2014 will be equipping our people with the information and technology to support them working in a fast, smart and mobile way,” she concludes.

IN HER OWN WORDS: 2014 CHALLENGES “Our biggest challenge is attracting the talent we need. We need people who can succeed in any environment, but we can’t compete on dollars. Our EVP is that we offer a positive brand, meaningful and impactful work that makes a difference, and the opportunity to be part of a high-performing team. In return we recruit people who have great ideas and initiative, who can develop great relationships and who will take responsibility for making things happen. We need to get the message out externally that we offer real purpose and meaning and a great place to work.”

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ADVERTORIAL / LUMESSE

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ADVERTORIAL / LUMESSE

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ADVERTORIAL / LUMESSE

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TALENT ACQUISITION / E-RECRUITMENT

Deep mining for

TALENT

Seventy-nine per cent of working professionals around the world are thought to be passive candidates. Reaching and engaging with them is vital for employers. Is e-recruitment the way to tap into this vast talent pool? Five years ago e-recruitment meant applying for a job online, either through an online job board or a jobs page on a company’s website. Few could have predicted just how broad and diverse e-recruitment has now become. Yet the old saying ‘The more things change…’ is relevant here. The concept – applying for a job online – remains the same, but the mode in which people are doing so is no longer just via their laptops or desktops. Social and mobile recruiting are now the buzzwords. Tools like LinkedIn have revolutionised how jobseekers look for jobs and employers build their talent pools; and as the tools have become more sophisticated, so too have the processes used by employers to find the best talent.

SMARTER SOURCING “Leading employers in Australia and globally are setting up sourcing teams to do deep mining of potential employees, and there’s more long-term sourcing and recruitment, particularly for critical

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roles and key leadership roles,” says Matt Chaplin, talent consultant, Hay Group. Sourcing teams can now use platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter to keep tabs on people. An individual may not be ready to move now to a particular role, but HR and hiring managers can stay in touch and ‘keep them warm’ for when the time is right for both parties to have the conversation about potentially joining the company. Employers are also increasingly using LinkedIn as a means of reaching passive candidates (those who might not be actively looking for a job but might have the best skills suited to the role) and enhancing their employer brand. “We are constantly educating employers on how to leverage LinkedIn; not just for recruiting but also on how to actively use the platform to build a strong talent brand – a key to attracting good talent,” says LinkedIn’s Adam Gregory, senior manager, staffing and agency solutions, APAC. The rise of LinkedIn has not been without

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HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR

SOCIAL SOURCING & SCREENING: TOP TIPS controversy. The recruitment industry has been experiencing a seismic shift. In the past, a recruitment agency’s greatest strength was their unique database full of résumés and contact details. However, in recent years, online social networks such as LinkedIn have democratised those databases by empowering professionals to build and manage their professional brands online. At first glance this may seem like bad news for recruitment agencies, but that is not necessarily the case. “It’s like anything in life or your professional career: you see a threat but you turn it into an opportunity,” says Chaplin. “The smart recruiters have certainly embraced LinkedIn as a tool for their business to be more effective at their job. Certainly I think if you’re a recruiter you ignore LinkedIn at your own peril.” Reps from LinkedIn have consistently denied that their platform is a threat to recruiters; in fact, quite the opposite, they claim it allows talent to be located and engaged with more quickly and cost-effectively than before. Recruitment professionals, both internal or from agencies, can leverage LinkedIn data, tools and insights to find, engage and recommend top talent more effectively. “Agencies can spend less time updating their database and more time providing their clients with strategic input on activities like employer branding, succession planning and talent pipelining,” suggests Gregory. That’s not to say all roads lead to the digital world. Chaplin notes LinkedIn has a limitation too: it advertises itself as a professional networking site, but he believes it’s yet to crack the blue-collar market and also some of the baby boomer generation who are still in the workforce. And purely from a psychometric assessment viewpoint, there’s still a lot to be said for eyeballing the candidate and asking them questions face-to-face. “LinkedIn is a tool you can use to find and source candidates; psych assessment is a tool you can use to provide further insights and more information, potential gaps that need to be developed in a candidate. There is still a huge benefit in a wellstructured behavioural interview to ensure you’re getting the best candidates into the role,” he says.

GLOBAL TALENT POOLS The workplace is increasingly global and workers are willing to move overseas if opportunities arise. How can employers make the best use of their e-recruitment strategies to tap into global talent pools? Chaplin suggests first asking why your organisation should tap into global talent pools. Hay Group’s

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Actively observe passive seekers through search functions

Placing information on your personal LinkedIn page relating to the people you are seeking to hire (job descriptions, etc) will mean you will start to appear in searches by individuals looking for that kind of position. Keep an eye on who views your profile, and take note of their own profile. If they don’t apply, they may be a passive jobseeker – meaning they might make the leap if you make the right offer.

Foster connections

Connectivity is a hallmark of social media. Hospitality giant Hyatt is one company that has developed social media pages specifically for candidates. This includes a website and blog for college recruiting, and Facebook and Twitter accounts targeting jobseekers.

Get mobile

Mobile accessibility is important, and making sure candidates can apply directly from their mobiles (ideally without having to download an app) is crucial. This way they can apply for that job they found while sitting on the 6am train. In addition, tech company Intel unveiled an internal tablet app that identifies and aggregates key candidate information, streamlining the process for its recruiters.

Tweets for the passives

Stay engaged with passive candidates through Twitter. Try setting up your own profile on Twitter if you don’t already have one, and be on the lookout for the types of individuals you’d like to hire. For example, if you are hiring for a tech company, have a look at the people who engage with Wired Magazine or New Scientist. Check out their own profiles and follow them. If they follow you back, you’ll have a direct contact for when a position comes up.

research into the ‘Best Companies for Leadership’ highlights that the top 20 on this list place a greater emphasis on innovation than all other companies. This leads to greater opportunities for talent, both internal and external; therefore leading organisations need to think global with everything they do, from their operations strategy right through to how they source, develop and nurture talent. “That’s where online tools are effective and useful to find candidates for those critical roles,” he says. “Also, understanding that objective assessment tools become even more important if you’re looking for global candidates, because you’re now broadening the scope from which you’re searching for a particular candidate.” Cross-border recruitment requires roles to be clearly defined from a competency or capability perspective, and the recruitment and assessment process must tap into or measure those capabilities or competencies multiple times so that objective overview is achieved.

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TALENT ACQUISITION / E-RECRUITMENT

SOCIAL RECRUITING ESSENTIALS Ensure the candidate has a positive experience in the digital world. A bad experience with any organisation – whether it’s a customer service experience or a recruitment experience – can be broadcast very quickly to a huge audience. It’s critical for any organisation to have a clear, transparent recruitment process, and that if psychometric assessments are being used the experience is equally reflective of that particular organisation. Keep people informed and use tools that are appropriate for candidates at that particular stage of the recruitment process.

Use assessment as early as possible. This enables recruiters to screen in and screen out candidates against predefined criteria, so it allows recruitment teams to be more efficient and effective in their roles, and to allocate their time to the better-fit candidates.

For further information on what sets the Best Companies for Leadership apart from the rest, visit haygroup.com

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SMARTER DATA USAGE Finally, recruiters and HR need to get smarter about using the data they obtain about their employees at the recruitment stage and from psychometric assessments. “We’re all hearing the buzz now about ‘big data’, but it can be used beyond just recruitment,” Chaplin says. “You can use the data from the assessment process to feed other sources: strategic workforce planning, succession planning, talent pipelines, HiPo programs, leadership development.” Modern assessments now have the capability and scientific rigour behind them to be able to use data from a single source, from multiple applications and multiple outputs. In business today that is extremely powerful. “If you can harness that data you’re going to be able to more effectively and efficiently resource your organisation with people with the right capabilities and skills to do those roles effectively,” Chaplin concludes.

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General Manager HR, REA Australia

PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY

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16/01/2014 12:47:52 10:55:05 PM AM

PEOPLE MANAGEMENT / CONFLICT RESOLUTION

WAR AT If you suppress it, it will escalate. If you ignore it, it will have serious future repercussions. Conflict may be a way of life in the workplace but there are strategies to handle it more eﬀectively. Iain Hopkins investigates

Let’s be clear up front: most managers – most humans in fact – dislike conflict. Indeed, perhaps a stronger word than ‘dislike’ needs to be used in this instance. Most managers fear conflict, due to several factors: • They have no skills in constructive conflict engagement. • They fear that if they fail to deal with it well it will reflect badly on their career in general and current role in particular. • They fear it will end badly for the participants, who will then have difficulty working together. • They see conflict as ‘bad’ – they have not been able to reframe it in their mind as ‘the grit in the oyster that produces the pearl’. This last point is particularly worth considering. Conflict in most cases is stressful and unpleasant; however, it can be productive if the outcome leads to positive change. An oft-cited Harvard Business Review article (“Productive Friction – A Key to

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HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR

CONSTRUCTIVE CONFLICT Catherine Gillespie, director of Workplace Conflict Resolution, gives her top tips: Conflict essentially stems from a diﬀerence of perspective. This shouldn’t be avoided. Constructive conflict embraces these situations as an opportunity to discuss, enquire, learn, problem-solve and produce good outcomes.

Step 1: Acknowledge that you have to address a situation

Early intervention saves time and energy and gives the best opportunity for improved outcomes and restored relationships, yet we rarely do this. Seize the moment!.

Step 2: Take a deep breath, clear your mind and set your intent This needs to be a calm and focused conversation, not a reactive one. Prepare using the ‘GROW’ model and remain analytical.

Accelerating Business Innovation”, by John Seely Brown and John Hagel) talks about creative abrasion and productive friction. It notes that “creative sparks fly not when interactions between companies are seamless but when the activity at the seams is challenging, stimulating and catalytic”. “When people learn some conflict engagement skills and where the culture of a workplace makes room for a culture that allows robust engagement, then conflict can be an effective part of the business environment,” suggests Dr Rosemary Howell of The Dispute Group. For instance, conflict regarding ideas within a team can be productive if the individuals involved are willing to work through opposing solutions together to come up with a solution. “Sometimes, the compromise that is reached through such a process can be better for the business than the initial ideas put forward,” says Adrianna Loveday, general manager HR consulting, Randstad. To provide another example, if two employees cannot come to a resolution within the organisation’s existing policies, these may be tweaked so that future grievances can be handled more effectively. Conflicts such as this, while initially negative, can lead to a positive outcome. “Approaching conflicts as opportunities to improve policies, processes, procedures or plans as opposed to viewing them as ailments to be ignored will result in a more productive workforce and greater internal efficiency, improved morale and increased creativity,” Loveday says.

CONFLICT – IT’S EVERYWHERE! Workplace conflicts reflect all the conflicts of life: relationships; business operations; and culture and values. Each kind of conflict plays out differently, and as with all disputes the conflict is often not about what it seems to be about.

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Step 3: Active listening

Firstly, this is an enquiry conversation, so listen, ask questions and let the other person know you have heard and understood them. Acknowledge their perspective. Now there is more chance they will listen and acknowledge your perspective.

Step 4: Constructive conversations

Be assertive but avoid judgmental and destructive comments. This is not about being nice; it’s about constructive outcomes. Speak from behind the ‘organisational filter’ – remember you are representing the organisation; this is not about you.

Step 5: Gain mileage

Too often managers find this conversation uncomfortable and look for an early exit, not capitalising on the real gains to be made. Before closing, check understanding and clarify agreements. Document and if necessary send an email. It is vital that managers regularly follow up to keep communication open, build on that conversation and relationship, and ensure the agreement is fulfilled. All managers should be increasing the number of ‘conversation contacts’ they have with staff, being clear on their expectations and allowing staff to give opinions and raise issues. Having more detailed and robust conversations more often will promote a productive, effective and harmonious team. For further conflict resolution tips or to obtain professional guidance on conflict issues, visit workplaceconflictresolution.com.au

Loveday generally sees two forms of workplace conflict. The first is when an employee’s decisions, ideas or behaviours are in opposition to what is required as part of their role. These conflicts are generally easier to resolve, particularly when the organisation has a strong grievance resolution policy in place. Quite often the terms and conditions of the guidelines in place have not been effectively communicated to the employee, and once the employee is made aware of the issue they will quickly correct their behaviour. The other type of conflict occurs when two people simply do not get along, ie there is a personality clash. “Personality clashes can be

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PEOPLE MANAGEMENT / CONFLICT RESOLUTION

IF YOU DO ONE THING… Use the following simple conversation to prevent conflict from flaring. It involves three steps and can be used both at work and at home. When you have a problem, stop and frame it in the following way: “When you do [X – put in the issue], I feel [Y – put in the emotion]. Next time could we [Z – put in the future step]?” The language you use in those brackets is factual, emotionless language, almost like a police report. For example: “When you email the president of our company in New York with our problem, it makes me feel like an idiot and I’m embarrassed that he sees our problems. Next time could you talk to me first before you email outside of the country?”

dangerous within organisations, largely because they can lead to reduced productivity and discontented teams,” says Loveday. “These are also not only confined to the workplace but also likely to overflow into an employee’s personal sphere and disrupt their general sense of well-being.” However, it’s important to note that while personality clashes like this are quite prominent, employers should be careful not to use this as an excuse to avoid addressing the real causes of conflict. Conflicts about culture are far more challenging. “Very often these touch on behaviour which is unacceptable and not negotiable,” says Howell. “There need to be consequences for this behaviour and often a public signal that this has happened. Failure to do this rewards bad behaviour and makes it plain that there is a gap between cultural aspiration and culture in practice. In the end this creates a cynical and demoralised workplace.”

AVOID IT – IT WON’T GO AWAY The human default is to avoid conflict, and in the workplace this can often result in temporary solutions being used to avoid dealing with the deeper issues. Naturally, a problem untreated only grows larger. Unresolved conflict in the workplace has been linked to miscommunication, increased stress, reduced cooperation and productivity, distrust among colleagues, and lower levels of team problem-solving and creativity. Conflict avoidance can also result in destructive office behaviours such as gossiping, venting to co-workers, or misdirected frustration. Another major ramification of ignoring conflict is that an external or legal party may be consulted if

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employees feel they cannot deal with the situation internally with senior management. This can lead to financial penalty, and the organisation’s employer branding can be negatively impacted.

MORE THAN HR Are there ground rules for handling conflict more effectively in the workplace? Who should be involved? Howell does not believe there is a single answer to this because the solution is often situation specific. However, the strategic challenge is to ensure that conflicts are not just ‘flicked to HR’, who are then expected to work some miracle. “HR and the managers of the business are in this together. It’s a shared challenge,” Howell says. “There is an obligation to share the responsibility for wise diagnosis and resolution. It’s only when these partnerships work effectively and are properly resourced that conflict can be truly resolved in a way that gives staff confidence and trust that the business culture is what the business leaders say it is.”

CONFLICT RESOLUTION Just as the punishment needs to fit the crime, so the conflict resolution practice needs to fit the conflict. HR Director and its website HC Online have regularly reported on legal and court-based avenues of resolution, but there are ways to avoid a matter escalating to this level. Howell says that court proceedings should be the last resort. “Sometimes it is the best action because the parties need a decision imposed on them. However, mediation and facilitated conversations very often can help peace to break out.” Loveday suggests dispute resolution can occur through three different methods:

1 2

The first is a negotiated outcome, where the concerned parties work through the problem internally and arrive at a mutually agreeable solution.

The second is a mediated outcome, where the opposing parties use the services of an independent mediator to help them agree on an outcome. It usually involves a telephone meeting between the person who made the complaint and the party the complaint is set out against. A Fair Work Ombudsman mediator also attends the phone meeting and acts as a neutral third person who helps the parties discuss the matter and find an agreed resolution.

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PEOPLE MANAGEMENT / CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Finally, an arbitrated outcome occurs when an independent arbitrator or court determines how the dispute is to be resolved. The decisions made in court are then legally binding, and both parties must abide by steps outlined. A great adjunct to this, Howell adds, is conflict coaching. This is now being embraced by innovative businesses. The conflict coach works with individual managers to identify and enhance their skills in conflict engagement. This can be an effective tool for creating a culture that sees conflict as natural and healthy. Facilitated meetings led by a skilled, trusted, neutral individual can help the parties to reframe the conflict and think about what it will take to resolve it.

“A good dispute resolution process may help to avoid the costs of resolving a claim externally” Adrianna Loveday Mediation, which is a more formal version of this process, can have “remarkable results” particularly in repairing relationships where the parties need to keep working together, Howell says. Mediation is a structured process. The mediator controls and supports that process, and the conflicting parties control the content. The mediator has no advisory role and no other role but to assist those parties. Sometimes they may offer some tools or a bit of coaching to help the parties better understand each other, but they don’t give advice and the parties really sort out their own issues.

RESPECTFUL WORKPLACE PROGRAMS Conflict is a key leadership issue; it’s up to business leaders to foster a collaborative, healthy environment in which conflict is encouraged, not quashed. A leader surrounded by ‘yes men’ is doomed to failure. One way to encourage positive conflict is to follow the lead of organisations in Canada that are developing Respectful Workplace Programs (RWPs). The grounding principle behind these programs is that conflict needs to be resolved one way or another or it will continue to fester and spill over into the team dynamics of the organisation. The goal of an RWP is to support the shift in workplace culture from one of conflict avoidance to

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one of conflict resolution. RWPs aim to equip all individuals in the organisation with the skills to deal with conflict constructively. Those skills are underpinned by organisational policies and procedures, including professional development programs, coaching, peer and supervisor support, style awareness, and of course employee assistance programs allowing employees to attend confidential coaching and counselling programs. Equipped with those skills, if individuals have an issue, they can sort it out though interaction with each other. If they cannot sort it out among themselves, they are encouraged to go to their direct supervisor or HR manager or internal trained mediator. If the conflict still cannot be resolved, a third party – a mediator or facilitator – will be brought in.

FINAL TIPS Having a structured grievance policy in place seems almost like a box-ticking exercise in many companies. How can conflict resolution be moved beyond box ticking towards having a culture in which it’s OK for people to voice grievances? Howell admits this is a constant struggle for businesses. The real issue is that businesses view conflict resolution as a risk management or operational issue. It is actually a strategic issue, she notes, and is part of how a business defines itself. “It has the potential to be a force for good or for destruction, depending on the focus it is given,” Howell says. The first step should be to run a new employee through the policies relating to disciplinary and grievance procedures. Allow all staff access to these documents, through an intranet or other tool, so they can refer to the policies whenever they need to. Secondly, ensure your workplace culture fosters open communication and collaboration. In order to establish a culture in which employees feel they can be heard, ensure established avenues of communication are available so they always have somewhere to voice concerns. By managing disputes quickly and effectively, employers can maintain good working relationships with their employees. “Workers will likely be more cooperative and productive if they know their grievances will be taken seriously by senior management. A good dispute resolution process may help to avoid the costs of resolving a claim externally,” Loveday concludes.

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16/01/2014 12:56:16 PM

HR STRATEGY / LEADERSHIP

RIGHT TIME, RIGHT PLACE: Selecting business leaders for Asia Australian businesses are increasingly looking to Asia to expand operations. However, as Andreas Raharso reports, such expansion requires a diﬀerent set of leadership styles in order to leverage the region’s unique, increasingly well-developed and sophisticated workforce The role of Asia in global business is increasingly taking centre stage, and the faster MNCs prepare for this shift, the better their chances of succeeding in the region. According to figures from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, East and Southeast Asian economies received a combined $336bn in foreign direct investment from offshore investors in 2011, a 14% increase over 2010. 1 Further, despite a 14.96% decline in the number of projects in the Asia-Pacific in 2012 in line with global trends, it was still the leading world region, attracting 3,740 projects with a 31.72% global market share.2 There is no denying that MNCs are expanding into Asia in greater numbers, and as the rapid pace of globalisation churns out greater numbers of cross-border business units, the role of corporate leadership in this region takes on a

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greater significance for both senior HR executives and top management.

THE TROUBLE WITH MNC EXPANSION IN ASIA Large corporations traditionally operate under a centralised structure – controlling all foreign operations and offices directly from corporate headquarters (HQ) – to allow for better oversight of the entire organisation. However, its overseas subsidiaries often get mired in slow decision-making processes and a lack of local responsiveness due to geographical distance. As globalisation forces companies to be more agile in order to capitalise on growth opportunities in Asia, corporate HQs are increasingly decentralising control and transferring regional authority to regional headquarters (RHQs). In fact, a strategy to expand operations into Asia

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HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR

WHERE HAVE ALL THE ASIAN LEADERS GONE? But accepting that we need to select a new generation of leaders from Asia is only a small part of the problem. According to leadership research by Korn/Ferry International in 2010, Asia has a scarcity of leaders with the right competencies required to support the growing number of businesses in Asia.3 In the study, the pool of executives from China and India were compared against the global best-in-class

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FDI INFLOWS INTO ASIA* Forecast

600 550 FDI inﬂows (US$ billions)

almost mandates that the growing MNC set up an RHQ to effectively oversee offshore operations of its business units and subsidiaries. Essentially, the RHQ acts in the stead of HQ and has the singular and delicate task of achieving global objectives through a local approach. Unfortunately, Hay Group’s analysis of over 30 years of data regarding RHQ performance has shown that this decentralisation often fails. When HQ makes the decision to give more authority to its RHQ, the RHQ again faces the same tensions between centralisation and decentralisation when trying to manage its regional offices. This then prompts HQ to intervene and institute a swift return to centralisation, which restarts the problems of slow decision-making and lethargic local responsiveness. Given that the RHQ operates with near autonomy when controlling its regional offices in Asia, it functions in a similar manner to the corporate HQ. Yet, while MNCs are perennially concerned about the leaders who will form the top management team in corporate HQ, the emphasis on RHQ leadership is not given equal weight or as rigorously evaluated. Instead, MNCs tend to simply reassign leaders from its Western or European offices to head RHQs, who may exacerbate the ineffectiveness of the RHQs as they lack the appropriate competencies to manage across cultures. MNCs need to accept that the current wave of Asian-led growth is not a result of managerial wizardry by Western and European leaders. With the global economic turmoil in Europe and the US, demand for goods and services from the West has plummeted, and it is Asian consumers themselves who are at the forefront, driving Asia’s growth engine with their unique and increasingly sophisticated demands, changing the way companies create, design, and market products. Today, ensuring the success of an RHQ to drive Asian growth requires Asian leadership.

500 450 400 350 300 2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Asia refers to the following countries: West Asia (Saudi Arabia, Turkey), East Asia (China, Hong Kong, South Korea), South Asia (India) and Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, SIngapore, Thailand, Vietnam) Source: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

Top 10 destination countries in Asia in 2012 COUNTRY

NUMBER OF PROJECTS

China

944

India

704

Singapore

348

Australia

307

Hong Kong

184

Malaysia

162

Indonesia

155

Vietnam

143

Japan

118

Thailand

118

Other

557

Total

3,740

Source: fDi Intelligence

executives (based on four leadership styles identified by Korn/Ferry Institute). It was found that only 1% of Chinese executives and 8% of Indian executives were ready to lead the next wave of growth in Asia. A further 10% and 13% of the managers from China and India, respectively, possessed the qualities that could be developed further into sound leadership for success. What do the two issues of Asia’s growth and the lack of Asian leadership capable of capitalising on this growth mean for Australia? Plenty. Like the US

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HR STRATEGY / LEADERSHIP

OVER

71%

% SHARE OF AUSTRALIA’S TWO-WAY TRADING PARTNERS (2011) 71.0%

of Australia’s total trade in 2011 took place with member economies of the Asia-Paciﬁc Economic Cooperation group, with seven out of the top 10 two-way trading partners being Asian countries

46.2%

PICKING THE RIGHT LEADER

APEC

14.5%

13.4%

ASEAN10

EU27

OECD

Source: Department of Foreign Aﬀairs and Trade, Australia

and Europe, Australia’s growth is greatly tied to the growth model of Asia because of its strong trading dependencies with Asian countries. According to a 2012 report by the Australian government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, over 71% of Australia’s total trade in 2011 took place with member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group, with seven out of the top 10 two-way trading partners being Asian countries.4 If Asia lacks the leaders to champion global economic growth, Australia’s economy will take a hit as well.

UNDERSTANDING THE ASIAN RHQ’S ROLE IN VALUE CREATION At the heart of the struggle to exercise effective leadership in RHQs – the constant vacillation between centralisation and decentralisation – is a failure to understand for what purpose an RHQ is set up. Understanding this purpose from the outset by defining the type of value that the RHQ is meant to deliver can greatly inform the type of Asian leader an MNC needs to select to head its regional operations. When a compatible match between value and leadership is established, effective RHQ control over regional business units will flow naturally. What do we mean by value? At the most fundamental level, RHQs are meant to deliver value in three ways: resources, synergy and learning. Given the different types of value an RHQ can be tasked to create, whether explicitly or implicitly communicated by HQ, there are vast differences in the approaches required to control its regional business units. Each approach requires that the

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RHQ’s leaders are able to utilise a different leadership style. In essence, the type of value to be created by the RHQ necessitates a corresponding mix of the right leadership styles. No matter how experienced or talented a manager is, if he or she exercises a form of leadership that is not conducive to the particular type of value creation activities mandated by HQ, the organisation as a whole will benefit little from its regional operations.

By effectively taking on a particular leadership style and approach to a given situation or environment, a leader can meaningfully improve (or adversely worsen) employee morale and performance and thus directly influence the value creation efforts of employees in foreign subsidiaries. Our research has identified that leaders today have to understand six leadership styles, and are required to effectively switch between them in order to be more versatile and engage a broader spectrum of employees. Further analysis also shows that certain leadership styles are best suited to certain types of value creation activities. While it is also useful to note that leadership styles are situation-specific and need to be regulated according to the personality of employees and the organisational culture of the regional office, it has been consistently proven that certain leadership styles work best for a specific form of value that the RHQ wishes to realise. Resources: For RHQs whose primary goal is resource control and allocation for its regional business units, a leader who displays a combination of directive and pace-setting leadership styles will allow the RHQ to achieve results more efficiently. In this type of RHQ, absolute obedience is required from foreign offices, and resource allocation decisions are not generally up for debate. Examples of such RHQs include financial or HR head offices that oversee support functions across the region. Resources

Leverage/ allocate organisational resources

Synergy: While an RHQ is not usually set up with the sole purpose of identifying intra-organisational synergies, this is still an important function for businesses looking to expand and innovate in new markets. RHQs that hope to identify opportunities for creating economies of scale or for parallel implementation of innovation across products or departments must have leaders who are visionary, participative, and Synergy

Creation of organisational synergy

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HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR

AFFILIATIVE

PARTICIPATIVE

Mandating immediate compliance from employees

DIRECTIVE

Providing long-term direction and vision for employees

VISIONARY

Creating harmony among employees and between manager and employees

Building concensus among employees and generating new ideas

Accomplishing tasks to high standards of excellence

Focusing on long-term professional development of employees

This style relies on ‘directives’ rather than ‘direction’, and uses very little dialogue. Close monitoring is supported by negative, corrective feedback with an implied, if not explicit, threat. Eﬀorts to motivate are focused mainly on the consequences of noncompliance.

This style relies on dialogue with others as well as the manager’s unique perspective on the business to establish a vision. The manager keeps others engaged by assuring them that the direction is in the long-term best interests of the group and the organisation, and by monitoring performance toward established goals.

This style is used to create harmony and avoid conﬂict. A manager utilising the aﬃliative style spends a lot of time cultivating relationships. This style tends to reward personal characteristics and avoid performancerelated confrontations.

This style relies on the ability of employees to establish their own direction and to resolve their conﬂicts constructively. It is typically characterised by a lot of meeting, a lot of adequate performance, and little criticism of low performance.

Managers utilising the pace-setting style tend to lead by modelling. They establish themselves as the standard/benchmark and are apprehensive about delegating. Their concern with the immediate task accomplishment makes them disinclined to collaborate with their peers, except when they need to obtain or exchange resources.

A manager using the coaching style helps individuals identify their unique strengths and weaknesses. This typically involves sitting down with the employee and conducting a candid, mutual assessment of the employee’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as providing ongoing support and feedback.

When used eﬀectively, the directive style draws immediate, and for the most part willing, response from employees. In cases when employees resist directions, despite the eﬀective use of the directive style, employee termination is the next logical step.

When used eﬀectively, the visionary style motivates employees, particularly new ones, by focusing their attention on the long-term goals of the work unit and the way in which day-to-day eﬀorts support these goals.

When used eﬀectively, the aﬃliative style motivates employees by supporting them during either highly routine or stressful times. By strategically and explicitly focusing on the human element of a situation, this style succeeds in getting the job done.

When used eﬀectively, the participative style motivates employees by empowering them to make decisions about their own work processes and goals. It is designed to create teamwork and team commitment to achieve those goals.

PACE SETTING

+ When used eﬀectively, the pace-setting style works for employees who are completely self-motivated and understand their objectives. It is also important for demonstrating that a manager can ‘pitch in with the troops’ when necessary.

When not used eﬀectively, over the long term, the directive style draws passive resistance, rebellion, resignation, and in the worst instances physical damage to an organisation or strategic damage to major objectives.

When not used eﬀectively, this style fails to take full advantage of the natural talents and ideas of knowledgeable employees.

When not used eﬀectively, the aﬃliative style leads to low standards, a sense of favouritism, lack of clarity, and frustration for many employees.

When used ineﬀectively, the participative style produces confusion, delays, and conﬂict among employees and the manager due to a lack of focus and direction.

This style is less eﬀective in times of organisational change when an explicit discussion of the mission and employees’ roles is warranted. Also, it can produce extreme stress as the manager takes on more of the work of his or her subordinates.

COACHING

+ When used effectively, the coaching style motivates employees by linking their daily work to personal long-term objectives. It helps employees develop sound thinking strategies that build their confidence in functioning more autonomously. When not used effectively, the coaching style leaves employees unsure about what they should be doing next and can result in diminished standards and procrastination in regard to solving problems.

Source: Inventory of Leadership Styles (ILS), Hay Group

affiliative. This combination of leadership styles is found in leaders with a macro-level overview of the organisation, its business units and global markets. Learning: RHQs that have the role of creating ‘centers for excellence’ or a repository of best practices benefit greatly from coaching, participative, and affiliative leadership styles. To enable innovative cultures in such RHQs, these softer approaches to leadership ensure that employees have the freedom to collaborate and experiment with new ideas and concepts. Examples of such RHQs include R&D units or corporate think tanks. Although there are differing views on how to best classify leadership styles, many such studies conclusively show that Asia requires a different set Learning

Formation of new organisational knowledge

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of leadership styles in order to leverage its unique, increasingly well-developed and sophisticated workforce. This alone should be a wake-up call for firms that are currently located or are planning to locate business units in the region, and is a timely reminder that such firms must begin preparing their existing human capital by leveraging two crucial levers, Asian leadership and the right set of leadership styles, in order to effectively ride out the current wave of Asian-led growth. References: 1. World Investment Report 2012, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development: unctad-docs.org/files/UNCTAD-WIR2012-Full-en.pdf 2. Global greenfield investment trends, The fDi report 2013: investtoronto.ca/InvestAssets/PDF/Reports/The_fDi_Report_2013.pdf 3. Asia 2.0 – Leading the Next Wave of Growth in Asia, 2010, Korn/Ferry International: kornferryasia.com/leadership/Asia2.0.pdf 4. Trade at a Glance 2012, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australian Government: dfat.gov.au/publications/trade/trade-at-a-glance-2012.pdf

About the authors Contributing author Senthil Sukumar is a research and content strategist, and Shakifur Chowdhury is an applied research analyst at Hay Group.

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16/01/2014 3:57:46 PM

L&D / LEARNING POTENTIAL

Switched on &

READY TO LEARN?

How can you improve the readiness of your employees to undertake learning initiatives? Lisa Rubinstein outlines one fail-safe approach Globally, companies spend an estimated $135bn p.a. on training and development. However, according to the Wall Street Journal, approximately 90% of new skills learned are lost within a year, representing a massive waste of time, energy and resources, as well as a missed opportunity for companies and employees. Unfortunately, the majority of organisations do not take into consideration not just the degree to which people are able to process the information being delivered but also the extent to which they are actually open to new ideas and ready to learn. It’s a critical difference that can make or break any initiative. How can you ensure your people are ready to learn?

SWITCHED ON OR OFF? As opposed to being able to learn, being ready to learn can be defined as a mental state of awareness and responsiveness to your internal and external environment that allows for learning and adaptive behaviour. In other words, to learn, one must be ready to take the time to respond constructively to what is being conveyed and then use it to alter one’s thinking and corresponding behaviour. When we’re racing to meet that critical deadline, with 300 unread emails in our inbox, and back-toback meetings all day, we’re unlikely to be interested in training on a new IT system. We just want to get things done. As opposed to being able to learn, being ready to learn is not simply a function of an individual’s

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capacity to process and utilise information. It’s actually a function of three interrelated factors that work in concert to influence one’s readiness to step away from current activities to engage in a learning process. This pertains to any learning experience, from a formal program or evaluation, to a casual exchange of ideas or even a momentary examination of current behaviours. Those three interrelated factors influencing our readiness to learn are our individual capacity for learning; the people around us that influence our mental, emotional and physical well-being; and our internal and external environment. Our potential for learning can be improved the more ready we are to take in and process new information. That readiness depends on our perspectives that drive current behaviours, how we relate to others and deal with our circumstances.

HIERARCHY OF PERSPECTIVES EVOLUTION ADVANCEMENT

EQUILIBRIUM

SURVIVAL

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Consider that our perspectives fall into one of four categories: survival, equilibrium, advancement, and evolutionary thinking, together forming a ‘Hierarchy of Perspectives’ pyramid. The base of the pyramid is survival, which occurs when we are in a situation that triggers a threat state in the brain. This occurs in situations ranging from a new and challenging role, to suffering from an illness or lack or sleep, to coping with a difficult colleague, large structural or strategic changes, or just a simple busy day. Any situation in which we feel stressed may trigger a survival perspective. The brain experiences a cognitive narrowing as we focus on the immediate and urgent and put aside any consideration of future ideas. This also occurs in new situations requiring focused attention demanding conscious effort and energy. Next is a state of equilibrium in which one experiences a sense of stability, predictability and order. This can involve anything from settling into that new role, to acclimatising to the high pace so that we no longer feel stressed, to working in the same role every day for years on end. The brain craves certainty and is wired to want to predict what will next happen. That sense of certainty triggers a reward response – a release of dopamine, which results in a similar feeling to eating a piece of chocolate or having that first sip of coffee in the morning. It feels good. That response will be more acutely noticed the greater the change in situation. So, receiving your morning newspaper generates less of a reward response than when that new promotion finally comes through. When we experience certainty, stability and order, we are then able to move forward, take risks and try something new. However, if we are too dependent on certainty and too resistant to change, our readiness to learn will also be very low. Gaining that sense of certainty enables us to then move forward to the next level, which is advancement thinking. At this level, we are very focused on ourselves. This occurs in situations when you notice that you need to focus on yourself. You may seek to improve your diet, begin exercising or get more sleep, or to take time off work and recharge your batteries. This is the time when you focus on your needs, which can be very necessary and important. It is also when you will be open to learning something that will enable you to

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develop personally or advance your career objectives. However, there is a dark side to advancement thinking and that is when your focus is solely on yourself, often to the detriment of others. It is when your interest is only in gaining more power, money or status that you risk the kind of narcissistic thinking that leads to a reduced capacity to make the right decisions. For instance, advancement thinkers in a sales role can produce excellent short-term results but struggle to develop the long-term relationships that are crucial to building a sustainable business as they aggressively pursue that one win. Advancement thinking leaders will tend to be very dominating, autocratic and self-centred, stifling independent thinking and autonomy. This type of advancement thinker will be disinclined to be introspective, and closed to learning. They are highly likely to deflect any perceived criticism or challenge to their world view. These are the bullies, the cheaters and autocrats. Their value needs to be carefully weighed against the damage they can inflict on others and the organisation as a whole.

TOP OF THE PYRAMID Finally, at the apex of the hierarchy is evolutionary thinking. When we feel free enough to think about the future and plan, create or dream, we are in an evolutionary frame of mind. This is when we experience success in the wins of the people around us and are focused not just on ourselves but also on the people around us. Evolutionary thinkers make excellent leaders. They tend to be self-reflective, with a high resilience. They seek out challenges or opportunities to learn and grow. Therefore their readiness to learn will be very high and they will be open to any opportunity that enables them to contribute more towards others and the overall success of the organisation. It’s important to have a range of perspectives in any organisation, as each level offers valuable thinking and corresponding behaviours. However, there are also pitfalls to be aware of. Knowing where your people are thinking from and what their priorities are will enable you to effectively tailor your initiatives to the specific focus of your target audiences and improve their readiness to engage in the process and learn.

Lisa Rubinstein is CEO of the Institute for Human Potential. Visit thehpinstitute. com or email lisarubinstein@ thehpinstitute.com.

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16/01/2014 11:47:22 AM

WHS / RETURN-TO-WORK STRATEGY

Getting back to work,

FASTER A new study at Melbourne’s St Vincent’s Private Hospital has found that an early intervention approach to workplace injury can cut workers’ time away from work by almost 70% and significantly lower employer costs. Here’s how they did it

Before the Melbourne hospital study began, there had been a shortage of skilled workers in the hospital’s operating theatres and kitchen units due to workplace injuries. This staff shortage prompted the hospital’s management team to review its approach to injury prevention. All employers have a legal and moral responsibility to prevent workplace injuries and protect staff health. To comply with state human rights laws, employers are expected to develop and maintain safe work practices that not only manage workplace injuries but also avert them. Yet, strangely, there is no Australian regulatory requirement for employers to invest in employee health, despite the welldocumented links between health promotion and injury prevention.

ABOUT THE STUDY The innovative two-year hospital study used injury outcome data provided by an accredited workers’

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HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR

RETURN TO WORK STATS The timing of the initial return to work is critical. It has been found that if an individual is off work for:

20 days, the chance of ever returning to work is 70%

EARLY INTERVENTION RESULTS Before the program began, workplace data from two years prior to the study was analysed to assess lost-time injury rates, time to return to work, incidence, and costs of claims and premiums. The study results found that the hospital’s early intervention health care program was working (see graph at right). The key findings were: • The cumulative cost of injuries (including medical treatment and remuneration costs) was reduced by 56% over the two years of the program. • The number of compensation claims was reduced by 43%. • Lost-time injury days (number of days an injured worker is away from work due to a workplace injury) were reduced from 1,600 in the year prior to the program to 400 and 200

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45 days, the chance of ever returning to

work is 50%

70 days, the chance of every returning to

work is 35%^

All stats from Konekt Market Report 2013 except: ^ Australasian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2011, p. 12

DURATION RATES OF LOST-TIME INJURIES 90 80 70 Duration rate (avg days paid)

compensation insurer to measure the success of its health intervention program. This was highly costeffective because the data was collected as part of the insurer’s existing work – assessing workplace injury costs and reporting to WorkSafe. It also meant the data was independent of the health intervention program. With a research grant from the Victorian workers’ compensation insurance authority, the hospital commissioned a health management consultancy firm, Jointcare, to undertake the study. Jointcare worked with the hospital to develop best practice workplace-based strategies with the goal of cutting both the rate and severity of workplace injuries. The program brought groups of workers together to learn health management skills, including exercises to stretch and strengthen muscles. It provided access to skilled clinicians within the hospital and trained managers and colleagues to support injured workers returning to work. An advisory committee, including members of the hospital’s executive team, the Health Services Union, WorkSafe Victoria and the insurer oversaw the new Work Health Management Program.

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 2 yrs pre

1 yr pre

1 yr post

2 yrs post

Source: Gallagher Bassett Insurance

respectively in the two subsequent years. • When a worker sustained a compensable injury, the time to return to work was reduced (on average) from 80 days to less than 20 days, a reduction over the two years of 68%. The hospital’s health program worked, with 1,400 hospital staff from 16 different areas of work.

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WHS / RETURN-TO-WORK STRATEGY

WORKERS’ COMP: KEY FIGURES The average age of a worker being referred for rehabilitation services is 41, with 51% of all referrals being for people between 30 and 49 years of age. Males account for two thirds of all serious workers’ compensation claims lodged [claims requiring an absence from work of one working week or more]* There were more females in the group with mental injuries compared to the group with other injury types For mental health injury, on average there was an 84% return to work, compared with 89% for other injuries All stats from Konekt Market Report 2013, except: * Safe Work Australia, 2013

Many past studies have shown that workers who ‘come back to work to get better’ are more successful in the workplace than those with the historic view of ‘wait until you are better’

About the authors Dr Toni Ryan is a work health management consultant, Jointcare (jointcare.com.au) Anna Clarke is director of human resources and workforce, St Vincent’s Private Hospital Susan Limbrick is injury manager, St Vincent’s Private Hospital Dr Vanessa Rice works in the School of Exercise Science, Australian Catholic University Associate Prof John Saunders works in the School of Exercise Science, Australian Catholic University

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The participants were from its operating theatres, kitchens, nursing wards, day procedure units, central sterilising department, specialist clinics such as angiography and maternity, and environmental services. The hospital’s injury manager, Susan Limbrick, was amazed at the findings: “The workers have loved the program; we have completed over 100,000 minutes of exercise, which is just fantastic,” she said. Encouragingly, the lift in incident reporting rates showed a cultural shift in the workplace about reporting injury. During the course of the program, staff became more aware of the signs that lead to injuries that could result in time off work. The study also showed that colleagues would encourage a fellow worker to seek help if they experienced a loss in their range of movement in joints, or felt pain during the group exercise program. Unit managers also noted that staff more readily

reported discomfort rather than waiting until they had a specific injury. The study showed that these cultural changes allowed for early intervention and management of injuries, which in turn led to a fall in injury compensation claims.

ROI A key target of the study was to help injured workers return to work more quickly. Many past studies have shown that workers who ‘come back to work to get better’ are more successful in the workplace than those with the historic view of ‘wait until you are better’. Returning to work can boost staff morale and improve workplace productivity. Both WorkSafe and the hospital saw speedier returns to work as a positive outcome of the program. The hospital study also revealed significant savings. On average, the cost of the injury intervention and management program, with an effective return-to-work strategy, was $1,500 for each participant. Over two years, this cost was $22,500 for 15 employees. This compared to in excess of $500,000 in equivalent claims for 15 standard compensations over the same time. It was an enormous saving for the hospital. The CEO of the hospital, Martin Day, has been a strong supporter of the program: “By saving a million dollars a year we have been able to invest in the core function of the business. The result of the program has been quite profound. We have created a consciousness in our workforce and managers that health and safety is extremely important.” The study concluded that early identification, intervention and management of workplace injury are good for both employee welfare and employer productivity and cost savings.

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FIVE POINTS / MARK STROM

FROM MUD TO MANAGEMENT It’s a long way from the brickyard to the management suite. Yet Mark Strom has found lessons learned early in life can have a signiﬁcant beneﬁt down the path. Mark Strom is an author, speaker and management consultant with an unusual background – he used to work as a brickie and a truck driver before moving into advising corporates on strategy. His major theme? Dealing with people at a human level will always give better results than enacting policy from on-high. Here Strom presents his five main tips for HRDs wanting to engage in effective leadership.

ASK GROUNDED QUESTIONS A grounded question prepares the way for deep change. It does so by drawing out the overlooked stories that are key to rich insights.

TURN ENGAGEMENT UPSIDE DOWN Engagement can and often should be turned upside down. Usually managers ask staﬀ to engage in the managers’ vision. But new possibilities in strategy, innovation, and operational excellence arise when managers engage in the established crafts and communities of their staﬀ.

FIND THE STORIES THAT UNCOVER BRILLIANCE Professional reputation depends on competence, integrity, and brilliance. Without competence we’re not (or shouldn’t be) in the game. Without integrity we won’t stay in the game (at least not in any I want to play). Only brilliance marks us out. Not IQ but the ability of every human to shine. This is crucial to strategy, innovation, and engagement. But few of us know our brilliance, nor that of our staﬀ. The key is to ﬁnd the stories.

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PUT CONVERSATION FIRST When it comes to change, conversation matters even more than communication. Both are important, but diﬀerent. Communication is about sharing already created meaning. Conversation is about creating new meaning. Without new meaning, change is doomed. With contrived meaning, change turns sour. But when people ﬁnd new meaning by bringing alive the conversations that matter most, deep change is always possible.

GROW RELATIONSHIP TO GROW INFLUENCE Influence can only go as far as a relationship will bear. To grow influence, grow relationship. But if we contrive relationship, we distort influence. So we face a paradox: to grow influence, we must pursue relationship first, influence second.

About the author Mark Strom is the author of Lead with Wisdom: How Wisdom Transforms Good Leaders into Great Leaders. Published by Wiley, 2014. Strom can be reached via: mark@markstrom.co

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16/01/2014 11:32:02 AM

GLOBAL BEST PRACTICE / DIVERSITY AT SIEMENS

Five different fingers,

ONE STRONG HAND

In the first in a series, HRD presents global best practice insights from some of the world’s leading companies As a multinational player with operations in over 190 countries around the world, it’s no surprise that engineering/electronics giant Siemens has made diversity and inclusion a key focus area. Global chief diversity officer Denice Kronau has introduced a number of initiatives to ensure Siemens stays ahead of the pack. Having previously worked as CFO of the company’s health care diagnostics entity and CEO of Siemens shared services in the US, Kronau brings a ‘numbers mindset’ to the diversity and inclusion equation. She sat down with HRD to share her global best practice tips.

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HRD: Siemens is a large global entity. How do you handle diversity across such a broad spectrum – for example, do you have initiatives to tackle specific diversity areas in each nation or do you have blanket initiatives across the globe? Denice Kronau: The first thing I’d do is substitute ‘or’ for ‘and’. We have global diversity principles and local initiatives – because diversity is ultimately local. It’s important to know what is relevant in the local market. For example, in Germany there are many discussions around gender and women in the

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HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR

SAYING IT WITH NUMBERS

workforce. A lot of that is driven by the fact many women working today are first generation workers. Their mothers didn’t work, their grandmothers didn’t work. So you face the usual things when you are a pioneer, when you’re the first to do something. That discussion is always relevant in the US but not as topical as, say, LGBTI is right now, as well as veterans’ issues. In South Africa we’re looking at the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment issue; that’s a legislative response to apartheid. And if I visit China or Turkey, one of the prevalent topics is the generational issue. In Turkey, in particular, we have such a young workforce. Globally, diversity for us is diversity of thinking, diversity of mindset, diversity of experience. And we also care about the relevant local dimensions of inherent diversity, which is being a woman, being a certain age, potentially being a person with disability; whatever it is that makes you diverse from an obvious physical standpoint. We’re presenting things in a way that nobody feels excluded. It doesn’t matter what the majority group is, whether it’s all men or all women or all American. If you’re one or two in the minority, you’re a little hesitant to speak up. So I always tell people my actual job is to ensure every voice is heard.

HRD: That’s the inclusion element? DK: That’s right. We do business in so many countries, so by definition we have diversity in our company. What we have to be able to do is consciously address the inclusion piece.

HRD: So having diversity does not necessarily equate to being inclusive? DK: No, it doesn’t. I think this is part of a natural evolution. As an example, in the US a lot of diversity topics started with equal opportunity employment. Then as a natural by-product of that came chief diversity officers. Then it evolved into diversity and inclusion – because if you think about it, diversity isn’t actually the topic; the topic is whether you are inclusive. In Australia, if you’re talking about diversity and numbers – number of women on boards, whatever it is – that’s where everyone

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The latest stats show the number of ASX 200 directorships held by women increased substantially in 2012 for the first time since the census was first conducted in 2002. The figure now sits at 12.3%. More broadly, however, women hold just 9.2% of ASX 500 directorships and there are still only six female chairs in the ASX 200 (compared to five in 2010) and a total of 13 in the ASX 500. The over-60s cohort is growing in number at approximately four times the rate of other demographic groups. At current trends, by 2050 there will only be 2.7 working Australians for every citizen over 65. In the 1970s, the ratio was 7.5 workers for each older Australian.* Australia could increase its GDP by $48bn if it could find a way to boost the participation rate of workers over the age of 55 by a mere 5%.~ 20–25% of Australian residents are overseas-born, and the largest growth in religious affiliation has been in Hinduism and Buddhism.^ Yet approximately 75% of the leadership pipelines of Australia’s ‘Big Four’ professional services firms are Australian-born or born in northwest Europe (eg the UK, France, Germany, Sweden).**

‘‘I’ve noticed the new generation coming in, Millennials, are gender blind’’

Australia ranks 21st out of 27 OECD countries for disability employment.^^ Sources: *Financial Services Council of Australia ~Deloitte Access Economics ^ABS **Diversity Council Australia ^^PricewaterhouseCoopers

starts. What I’ve seen in the three years I’ve been in this role is if that’s the starting point, you are then able to leapfrog to the inclusion discussion, compared to the 10 years it may have taken to get into the diversity issue.

HRD: Gender diversity and inclusion remains a hot topic in Australia, but I’ve heard concern from HR directors that the current debate is still not getting cut-through. How do you think this issue can remain fresh, relevant and repositioned for a new generation of workers? DK: Firstly, I’ve noticed the new generation coming in, Millennials, are gender blind. They don’t understand what all the noise is about: “Of course there are women in my classes, of course

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GLOBAL BEST PRACTICE / DIVERSITY AT SIEMENS

‘‘How do you get included in something? You have to get a hand extended to you from someone who is already in the room. It isn’t about breaking the door down; someone opens the door for you’’ Denice Kronau they are capable, and frankly we need them to get stuff done, so why are we talking about this?” Will they retain that? Did the Silent Generation retain their perspectives from when they were 20 to when they were 60? Or did they change as they got older? Secondly, what I think people are leaving out of the discussion is whenever you have a minority, whatever that minority is, you must get the majority interested in their success. It’s not about making that minority ‘better’, whatever that means, so they can become the majority. One of my favourite things to do when I’m looking for support – say for a women who’s said, “I’m trying to do things but it’s just not working” – is I go and find senior leaders who have daughters who are just about to go into the workforce. These parents hear the stories at home about how hard it is for their daughter, and they end up being great coaches in the workplace. They can also learn about the challenges their own daughter is facing or might face in the future. Some of our women’s networks have men in them too, for that very reason. It’s about saying, “Actually, this makes me a better leader or manager, and I’m a little bit self-motivated because I’ve got a daughter in a similar circumstance. I want her to have a great job”. This makes it a fresh topic again. How do you get included in something? You have to get a hand extended to you from someone who is already in the room. It isn’t about breaking the door down; someone opens the door for you.

HRD: Where do you see the diversity space heading next? Perhaps a focus on some more neglected aspects, eg disability? DK: I see people with disability as always being a 52 | JANUARY 2014

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topical issue. We have a program at one of our US headquarters called ‘Life at Siemens’, targeting kids at high school. They come in on internship – they all have special needs, whether it’s being slightly autistic or in a wheelchair – but whatever it is, they are absolutely able to be employed. They come in with their teacher and they learn life skills for working in a company. Then many have been hired by us, or they’ve gone on to jobs in other companies. They may not have had this opportunity if they’d stayed in school and did not get exposure to a work environment. Anytime someone can productively work, it’s great for society as a whole. It also changes the mindset of the people they work with; they can say, “I know this person at work who has Down syndrome, and look what they can do”.

HRD: Can you outline the Siemens Diversity Charter? DK: About three years ago we set up a tool on our intranet where employees could go to a map of the world and click, ‘I believe in Siemens’ principles of diversity, diversity of experience and expertise, with no silos, no prejudice, and that we give an equal opportunity to everyone’. When you click, you are effectively signing the charter. We keep score about which country has the highest percentage of employees who have signed this charter. Australia is winning and has never been unseated. We’ve had over 15,000 employees worldwide sign this.

HRD: What other initiatives does Siemens have in place? DK: We have a Facebook page called ‘Diversity at Siemens’. On International Women’s Day we

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HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR

encouraged people to post a story about women who inspired them, and I then responded to that story – it was like an online chat. We had hundreds of employees posting. Diversity needs to mean something at your desk; you need to know that you are being included, that your voice is being heard, in a way that is relevant and meaningful to you at your desk – this was a way to get that engagement. We also have 120 employee networks, varying from ethnically based groups, to women, to people with disability, and so on. We don’t overengineer this or put too many rules or regulations around them, but these networks typically get together and decide what their purpose is. Usually they’re about professional development and topics relevant to that group, mentoring and coaching other people like themselves, and recruitment. And then CSR. What we find is people who join these types of groups are very interested in giving back to the community. Siemens as a whole is also doing this, but these groups are great multipliers of that.

HRD: How do you track the success of your initiatives – what metrics/analytics do you look at to prove ROI? DK: Number one, there’s no question within the Siemens family this is the right thing to do and we need to do it. You can look at it in different ways. For example, you can talk about it in terms of 17% of college graduates today are white males. So we have to increase the intake from a wider pool – we can’t recruit from the 17% of people because we won’t get all 17% of them anyway. You can tie numbers into cost of recruiting and all sorts of other things. I can also talk about 10 people in a team but you don’t get the best from two of them, so you’re only operating at 80% capacity. We’re engineers, so that data is maybe correlated but not causal. That’s a little tricky on the ROI. I can show numbers that show correlation, but there are other variables, other dimensions in play at the time. We do keep a detailed scorecard, which we don’t share publicly, but we have about 50 KPIs which I track and change to ensure the efforts we’re putting in are getting a positive return.

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These are employee engagement, number of women in certain positions, age groups, etc – the traditional measures of a diversity scorecard. From there I know we need more networks, more time on communication, or I can see when we did this we saw a spike in engagement over here. Again, that’s correlation not causality, but that’s almost more important for me; it isn’t something like measuring productivity of widgets on a production line: “they used to do 10 and now they do 12”. It’s not as clean as that. When sceptics hear those numbers – “we have 40% more of this or that” – they will immediately dismiss it. So I don’t give them that option to disregard the analysis. Instead you say, “There’s probably several correlations that are significant; however, it’s significant enough that it’s worth thinking about”. Being a numbers person I also then outline the story the numbers tell in a credible way. We can sniff when a number doesn’t seem right, so I’m always mindful of this.

HRD: What’s the significance of ‘Five different fingers, one strong hand’? DK: When I started in this role three years ago, we started out with the slogan ‘Diversity means business’. We then moved to ‘All diversity is local’, to remind people it happens at your desk – and it’s everybody’s job, not just HR’s. Then last year we held a competition and asked all Siemens employees for their slogan for diversity. One of our service engineers in India came up with ‘Five different fingers, one strong hand’. He explained that if you look at your hand each finger is different and that’s what makes your hand strong. If you had five thumbs you wouldn’t be able to do much. Also, extend your hand: it’s about someone opening the door for you and pulling you into the room, not you trying to push your way in. It’s been such a powerful metaphor for us as to why everyone counts.

DID YOU KNOW? Although women make up 52% of the population of Australia, 46% of the workforce, and in recent years 56% of university graduates, they hold only 10.7% of senior management positions in ASX 200 companies. Perhaps more disturbingly, according to research by Mercer, despite growing interest in workforce diversity among organisations in Australia and New Zealand, only one in four (26%) have a clearly defined strategy to attract and retain women long enough to reach senior leadership positions.

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SALARY WATCH

Procurement, supply chain and logistics salary and job trends Role Procurement oﬃcer

Hays

Robert Walters

Michael Page

HRD median

$77,500

$72,500

$75,000

Purchasing oﬃcer

$55,000

$72,500

$66,666

Purchasing/procurement analyst

$80,000

$92,500

$95,000

$89,000

Procurement specialist

$90,000

$82,500

$86,250

Procurement manager

$120,000

$197,500

$150,000

$155,833

Contracts administrator

$85,000

$90,000

$87,500

Purchasing manager

$100,000

$120,000

$106,666

Commercial/contracts manager

$120,000

$155,000

$137,500

Strategic sourcing leader/manager

$150,000

$175,000

$162,500

Junior category/commodity manger

$110,000

$107,500

$108,750

Category/commodity manager

$150,000

$132,500

$144,166

CPO

$280,000

$387,500

$350,000

$339,166

Procurement director

$265,000

$350,000

$307,500

Inventory analyst

$60,000

$85,000

$72,500

Demand planner

$85,000

$102,500

$87,500

$91,666

Materials manager

$85,000

$130,000

$107,500

Supply chain analyst

$80,000

Supply chain manager

$140,000

$175,000

$170,000

$161,666

Supply chain director

$210,000

$290,000

$240,000

$246,666

Inventory controller/oﬃcer

$55,000

$72,500

$75,000

$67,500

Supply planner

$65,000

$80,000

$72,500

$132,500

$155,000

$143,750

$105,000

$82,500

$155,000

$114,166

$67,500

$65,000

$66,250

Warehouse manager

$90,000

$100,000

$115,000

$101,666

Logistics manager

$130,000

$140,000

$135,000

S&OP planning manager Operations manager Customer service oﬃcer

All salaries are an amalgamation of roles from procurement, supply chain and logistic sectors and represent an overview of the roles. When viewing these sectors in isolation, these medians may vary. Hays: Salaries are based on Sydney roles, exclude superannuation and are based on a median of a lower and upper range. Robert Walters: Figures are a median of an upper and lower range and based on Sydney roles, inclusive of superannuation but exclusive of beneﬁts/bonuses. Michael Page/Page Personnel: Figures refer to the median of an upper and lower range, based on employees of large organisations or with 5–7 years’ total experience in the stated role. Figures are for NSW and are inclusive of superannuation but exclusive of bonus/incentive schemes.

54 | JANUARY 2014

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HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR

KEY TRENDS

PROCUREMENT SALARY INCREASES OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS All my employees will receive the same percentage increase

NSW, Vic and Qld experienced stable hiring activity in procurement over the past year, with a slight slowdown in WA – attributed to declining activity in mining and resources. Recruitment in procurement is expected to stay stable over the next 12 months due to factors such as a slowing Chinese economy. Sixty-nine per cent of employers said they would not hire procurement staff on 457 visas over the coming 12 months. While financial rewards remain an essential part of attracting and retaining talent, a growing focus is being placed on non-financial rewards such as flexible working arrangements and professional development opportunities. A strong demand for procure-to-pay/ e-commerce procurement experts, procurement analysts and spend analytic professionals is expected over the next 12 months, with businesses continuing to focus on identifying areas of spend to optimise price and mitigate risk.

MOST POPULAR BENEFITS OFFERED TO PROCUREMENT EMPLOYEES*

80%

Mobile phone

55%

Personal laptop

51% Parking

27% All my employees will receive an increase, but it will vary according to performance

56% Only my best-performing employees will receive an increase

13% No one in my team will receive an increase

AVERAGE PROCUREMENT SALARY INCREASES

0-2%

29%

3-5%

64%

6-8%

9-11%

12-14%

15-17%

AVERAGE PROCUREMENT BONUS AS % OF GROSS SALARY

1-5%

29%

6-10%

40%

11-15%

16%

16-20%

15%

FACTORS IMPACTING PROCUREMENT SALARY LEVELS IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS Domestic economic conditions

69% Competition with other companies

42%

34%

32%

Higher superannuation Company car contribution

22%

Income protection insurance

Global economic conditions

44% Not sure

3% Other

19%

Health care/ health insurance *More than one could be selected

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11% Other

Travel pass

14%

Don’t expect any factors to impact salaries

6% Source: Michael Page Salary & Employment Forecast, Australia 13/14

JANUARY 2014 | 55

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HCAMAG.COM

14/11/2013

incident The Rana Plaza tional attention focused interna ditions and con on working ty in the workplace safe ld developing wor

signatories to take Accord obliges The Bangladesh n and ensure to implement, maintai significant steps s workplaces to within oversea acceptable safety standards ce to internationally to achieve ensure adheren standards. In order of workplace safety a keen regimen out sets Accord tion and these goals, the ons, reporting, remedia ING SAFETY inspecti BUILD ce AND workpla ACCORD ON FIRE international more than 80 has several training. 2013, Accord esh April the Banglad tive, Since s in From an IR perspec ies with interest arly notable: fashion compan and Building particul Fire are on that ent Accord structured features is a legally enforceable agreem have signed the tional agreement union z It ds in ies and global Safety, an interna ce ace safety standar between compan in respect of workpla to address workpl industry. federations (GUFs) Made’ garment ies’ global esh Accord Bangladesh’s ‘Ready those compan standards in behind the Banglad Prime movers iALL, two supply chains. Union and Industr adjudication are the UNI Global For some time, rates a strong legal ions. incorpo the It federat z over of disputes large trade union for multinational mechanism in respect have pushed ion of the ‘global’ applicat these groups and apply interpretation negotiate and Accord specifically, the corporations to supply chains; agreement. More ed in ds across their s will be arbitrat workplace standar the Rana Plaza ion provides that dispute in the wake of UNCITRAL Arbitrat but it is only efforts have the accordance with their campaigning awards made under incident that be Rules. Arbitration ion procedure can esh Accord borne fruit. s, the Banglad UNCITRAL arbitrat domestic courts, tional by d In certain respect interna s enforce of previou upheld and America. ork evokes the spirit tional Framew in Europe and North Interna ce both the as workpla provisions concords, such states that the however, the z It explicitly to include go adhered be Accord Agreement (IFA); must esh ace standards that the Banglad recognised workpl on the ways contained within “internationally impact significantly further, and will with local and safety standards”. companies interact in which global unions. the Accord international trade TION PLAN signatories to THE IMPLEMENTA parties to the Bangladesh In mid-July 2013, detailing how year, Plan. entation Plan, In July of this released an Implem . Considered their Implementation was the operate in practice Accord finalised the Accord would noteworthy feature signal major that will developments Perhaps the most ental structure together, these with workplace will multilevel governm companies deal how formal, of the Accord. It and changes in how chains the implementation global supply across manage features. issues within their s’ representatives the following key worker exhibit with they engage the chain.

Th y Workplace Safet

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