Human Resources Director 15.09

EXCLUSIVE

Winners revealed

HCAMAG.COM ISSUE 15.09

Tomorrow’s HR leaders HUNTING A RARE BREED J.P. Morgan’s search for STEM talent

00_OFC 15.09_SUBBED.indd 2

ADAPTIVE EXPERTISE The key to leading in VUCA times?

TECH’S PRESSING CHALLENGE Why D&I initiatives are failing

28/09/2017 2:46:51 PM

12_HeadtoHead_SUBBED.indd 14

29/09/2017 10:14:23 AM

NOVEMBER 2017

CONNECT WITH US Got a story, suggestion or just want to find out some more information?

CONTENTS

@HRDAustralia facebook.com/HRDAustralia

UPFRONT 02 Editorial

Doing what you’ve always done when it comes to leadership development is not a smart move – it’s time for a fresh approach

04 Statistics

HR technology is big business, but where are companies spending?

06 News analysis

Despite the money, resources and attention spent on D&I, positive results have been stubbornly slow to come – and some are calling for a rethink of D&I strategy

60

INDUSTRY EVENT

2017 AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS Find out who won on the industry’s night of nights

08 Technology update

Accenture believes smart use of technology can empower workforces

10 Rewards/benefits update One employer outlines why being pet-friendly has its perks

12 Head to head

If you were to return to study, what would help you most in your current HR role?

PEOPLE 74 Career path

Finding out what drives people and igniting the passion within them has always been Cherie McGill’s goal

32 FEATURES

ADAPTIVE EXPERTISE: THE EXECUTIVE EDGE

Iain Hopkins chats to one innovator who is boosting the ‘Adaptive Expertise’ and ‘Fluid Intelligence’ of executive teams globally

When she’s not whipping new mums’ careers into shape, Beth Yarzab is most likely working them into a sweat

50 FEATURES

CHECK IT OUT ONLINE

COVER STORY

RISING STARS 2017

The future of the HR profession is in good hands: HRD presents its annual list of upcoming superstars

PROFILE

GETTING FROM A TO B – WITHOUT A HITCH

Travel technology company Amadeus is using a combination of disruption and innovation to win fresh talent. Iain Hopkins chats to the firm’s global head of HR, Sabine Hansen-Peck

76 Other life

HCAMAG.COM

18

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX

14

J.P. Morgan is proving that sometimes it helps to look beyond the traditional sources for the brightest talent – especially STEM talent

www.hcamag.com

01_Contents_SUBBED.indd 1

1

29/09/2017 12:33:47 PM

UPFRONT

EDITORIAL www.hcamag.com NOVEMBER 2O17

LEADING IN A VUCA WORLD

T

he world’s companies will spend US$50bn a year on developing leadership capabilities.

Yet, for all that investment, assessing ROI on any sort of L&D initiative, let alone leadership development, remains hazy at best. Albert Einstein is lauded for saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. If that’s the case, can organisations expect anything different from their investment in the same leadership development initiatives?

It might be time to rethink the approach. Phillip Campbell of leadership development company enigmaFIT says what has served us well in the ‘steady state’ past has been a focus on enhancing Crystallized Intelligence.

In a nutshell, this is defined as subject-matter expertise. In today’s VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) world, however, this is not sufficient.

Leadership programs should be aiming to bolster Fluid Intelligence, which is

VUCA is actually a military term that describes being in a battle in conditions you’ve never fought in before defined as the ability to adapt and solve new and novel problems. Campbell adds that VUCA is actually a military term that describes being in a battle in conditions you’ve never fought in before. In short, one can’t rely on past experience, and thinking ‘on the go’ is de rigueur – this is the very definition of Fluid Intelligence.

Neuroscience has progressed in leaps and bounds in the past decade or so.

The most effective L&D interventions recognise these developments and now aim to enhance both the Crystallized and Fluid Intelligence of participants.

There are other problems when it comes to our investment in future leaders. Stats from CEB indicate that only one in seven high performers actually has high potential. They also suggest that 30% of people on development programs shouldn’t be on them. Can you think of any other area of business in which a 30% investment write-off from day one would be accepted? Again, these are disturbing stats that indicate something is well and truly amiss in our identification of high potentials and how we develop those people.

However, these are challenges for another day…

EDITORIAL

SALES & MARKETING

Editor Iain Hopkins

Marketing & Communications Manager Lisa Narroway

Journalist John Hilton Editorial Assistant Hannah Go

Business Development Manager Steven McDonald

Production Editor Roslyn Meredith

CORPORATE

ART & PRODUCTION

Chief Executive Officer Mike Shipley

Design Manager Daniel Williams

Chief Operating Officer George Walmsley

Designer Marla Morelos Traffic Coordinator Freya Demegilio

Managing Director Justin Kennedy Chief Information Officer Colin Chan Human Resources Manager Julia Bookallil

EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES iain.hopkins@keymedia.com.au

SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES tel: +61 2 8011 4992 subscriptions@keymedia.com.au

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES steven.mcdonald@keymedia.com.au clive.thomas@keymedia.com.au

Key Media Regional head office, Level 10, 1–9 Chandos St, St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia tel: +61 2 8437 4700 • fax: +61 2 9439 4599 www.keymedia.com Offices in Singapore, Sydney, Auckland, Denver, London, Toronto, Manila, Bengaluru

Human Resources Director is part of an international family of B2B publications and websites for the human resources industry HRD CANADA www.hrmonline.ca HRD ASIA hrdmag.com.sg HRD AUSTRALIA hcamag.com HRD NEW ZEALAND hrmonline.co.nz

Iain Hopkins, editor

2

www.hcamag.com

02-03_Editorial_SUBBED.indd 2

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 Magazine can accept no responsibility for loss.

29/09/2017 2:21:32 PM

02-03_Editorial.indd 3

28/09/2017 3:28:10 PM

UPFRONT

STATISTICS

WORKING THE SYSTEM

HR TECH AROUND THE WORLD Almost one in two surveyed organisations made an effort to utilise a single system or single vendor inside a region or a country; conversely, only 6% have a different strategy for each location.

The rapid evolution of HR systems and the tech behind them is only likely to accelerate HR SYSTEMS have moved away from their original function of transitioning the error-prone paper-based core admin process to a more seamless electronic process, and on towards playing a key part in HR’s transition to strategic business partners.

In the modern world tech plays an integral role in tackling the core challenges that HR professionals face, such as driving employee engagement, keeping costs competitive, and maintaining compliance in legal and regulatory fields. Processes added to the

24%

of organisations use on-premise solutions; the remainder use cloud-based solutions

92%

plan to make changes to their current HR tech

HR systems landscape include learning, recruitment and performance management.

As outlined in Ernst & Young’s Global Limited Pulse Survey on HR technology, adding to the pace of change is the emergence of disruptive technologies such as cloud, mobile and big data. The entry of more new tech to the HR systems space has brought about major changes in the landscape and the manner in which HR technology is being utilised. This change is only likely to continue and become more pronounced.

50%

expect an increase in spending on HR technology in the next 12 months

Organisations spent close to US$2bn on HR tech systems and platform development in 2016*

The majority of organisations have HR software that is more than 7 years old^

13%

still use manual/ paper-based talent management

*CB Insights

^Bersin by Deloitte

Source: HR Technology Survey, Ernst & Young Global Limited Pulse Survey, 2016

NO CLEAR LEADER

SERVE YOURSELF

No distinct preference was in evidence across the majority of responding organisations in terms of how their internal technological landscapes are configured. One in four have a single solution that involves incorporating HR solutions in businesswide enterprise technology.

Three out of four organisations use a portal that caters to both managers and employees. The promotion of employee/manager self-service was given as the chief reason for deploying such a portal.

20%

Best functionalities in the market (best-of-breed technology)

25%

One system used for entire organisation (business-wide enterprise technology)

Reason for not implementing yet

Do you deploy a self-service portal?

Reason for deployment

6%

40% Readiness of the organisation

30%

No, and we have no plans to develop a self-service-portal

Promote employee/manager self-service

23% One-stop shop for access to all HR systems

20%

17% Information sharing/knowledge mgt

Our primary processes don’t lend themselves to self-service

30% Custom/in-house

25% One HR system

developed tools

(HR enterprise technology)

Source: HR Technology Survey, Ernst & Young Global Limited Pulse Survey, 2016

4

40% Other

23% 19%

No, but we are working to develop a self-service portal

75%

Cost reduction

Yes, we have a self-service portal for employees and managers

7% Other

Source: HR Technology Survey, Ernst & Young Global Limited Pulse Survey, 2016

www.hcamag.com

04-05_Stats_SUBBED.indd 4

29/09/2017 10:58:33 AM

35%

24%

24%

6%

run a global system/vendor and only use other systems on exception

make an effort to use a single system/vendor within a country

allow each location to determine its system/ vendor-sourcing strategy

make an effort to use a single system/vendor within a region

Source: HR Technology Survey, Ernst & Young Global Limited Pulse Survey, 2016, except where noted

PRIMARY DELIVERY SYSTEMS

WHERE TO SPEND?

Primary delivery systems are set up, on average, such that 56% of the tools used for each functional area are either best-of-breed or enterprise technology.

When anticipated investment is broken down according to area of technology it becomes clear that the lion’s share of spending is planned for the area of performance management and goal setting.

7% 20%

40%

33% Recruiting/staffing

21%

21%

29%

14%

Career development/ planning Manual/paper-based

21% 29%

21%

7% 20%

29%

Onboarding/joiner administration

27%

27%

20% 27%

Succession planning and retention

20% 13% 13% 13%

36%

40%

43%

40%

40%

Enterprise technology

20% 40% Payroll

10%

27%

No anticipated investments

12%

21%

Compensation and benefits 14% Performance management (goal setting, assessment)

10%

27%

13% 7% 27% Expat management

Recruiting/staffing

Onboarding/joiner administration

7%

Performance management Learning management (goal setting, assessment) and training

Workforce planning/ analytics

Custom/in-house developed tool

20%

33%

27%

Compensation and benefits

7% 20%

7%

20%

5%

19%

Learning management and training

7%

Career development/planning

7%

Succession planning and retention

7%

Workforce planning/analytics

Payroll

2% Expat management Best-of-breed technology

Not applicable

Source: HR Technology Survey, Ernst & Young Global Limited Pulse Survey, 2016

0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16% 18% 20% Source: HR Technology Survey, Ernst & Young Global Limited Pulse Survey, 2016

www.hcamag.com

04-05_Stats_SUBBED.indd 5

5

29/09/2017 10:58:48 AM

UPFRONT

NEWS ANALYSIS

ARE D&I INITIATIVES UP TO THE TASK? Google may have algorithms down pat, but one issue remains harder to solve: gender inequality A FIRESTORM erupted in August after an internal memo from Google engineer James Damore went viral. The widely shared 3,000-word document, titled “Google’s Ideological Echo Chamber”, criticised Google for its pro-diversity programs. Damore wrote: “Distribution of preferences and abilities of men and women differ in part due to biological causes and these differences may explain why

In June, Google voluntarily released workforce demographic data as part of its efforts to create a more inclusive culture – a process that senior vice president of corporate development and chief legal officer David Drummond says has been “slow but real”.

The stats show that while the percentage of women at the company (31%) is increasing, men are still overrepresented, especially in

“Strong stands elicit strong reactions.

Changing a culture is hard, and it’s often uncomfortable” Danielle Brown, Google we don’t see equal representation of women in tech and leadership.”

He also wrote that women “prefer jobs in social and artistic areas” while more men “may like coding because it requires systemising” and “have a higher drive for status”.

Google’s leadership responded by slamming the statement.

“Our job is to build great products for users that make a difference in their lives. To suggest a group of our colleagues have traits that make them less biologically suited to that work is offensive and not OK,” commented CEO Sundar Pichai.

6

tech (consisting of 80% men) and leadership (75% men) roles.

The company also announced that Danielle Brown would become Google’s new vice president of diversity. Brown previously worked as chief diversity and inclusion officer at Intel.

Brown released her own memo, which stated: “Google has taken a strong stand on this issue, by releasing its demographic data and creating a company wide OKR [objectives and key results] on diversity and inclusion.

Strong stands elicit strong reactions. Changing a culture is hard, and it’s often uncomfortable.

But I firmly believe Google is doing the right

thing, and that’s why I took this job.”

Brown added that part of building an open, inclusive environment means fostering a culture in which “those with alternative views, including different political views, feel safe sharing their opinions”. However, “that discourse needs to work alongside the principles of equal employment found in our Code of Conduct, policies, and antidiscrimination laws”.

While many observers disagreed with Damore’s sentiments, others applauded him for calling out the fact that D&I initiatives can be less than effective. The reaction from Google – Damone was dismissed, which he claimed was for “perpetuating gender stereotypes” – was also criticised, with some citing it as the latest example of “politically correct authoritarianism creeping into every level of society”.

What’s going wrong?

Lance Hodgson, marketing manager at Mentorloop, has criticised D&I initiatives in the past, and says many people are “disillusioned and frustrated” with them.

www.hcamag.com

06-07_NewsAnalysis_SUBBED.indd 6

29/09/2017 2:23:03 PM

FALLING SHORT? Mercer suggests that making the link between inclusiveness and metrics around engagement and retention, as well as articulating the relationship between inclusiveness and customer intimacy, can help to position D&I goals as both a vital risk mitigation strategy and a prerequisite for innovation and growth.

96% of companies have some form of D&I initiative in place

14% of executives indicate that D&I investment would make a sizeable difference to their company’s performance 1 IN 3 HR professionals say their D&I strategy is aligned to their company’s business goals “The discrepancy between the investment and attention to D&I and the tangible evidence of progress is frustrating – mostly for the marginalised groups who are most impacted by the systemic discrimination, but also for many other people inside of these organisations who would love to work in a more diverse workplace but continue to see initiatives fail.”

Hodgson adds that although the assumption the Google employee made isn’t a correct one, his logic isn’t too far-fetched. “All of this investment, effort and time to little or no avail.

There must be something more biological at play, right?”

Gender stereotyping is one of the root causes of bias in the tech sector. With male-female stereotypes deeply engrained in even the most self-aware person, it doesn’t take much for these attitudes to snowball. Hodgson says small unconscious biases skew early representation at tech companies, which then compounds and results in the poor diversity statistics often seen at later-stage companies.

He adds that, in his view, few companies

9% of surveyed employers listed ‘retaining female talent’ as a HR priority for 2017 16% suggested ‘ensuring equitable pay’ was an HR priority in 2017

Source: Mercer’s Global Talent Trends Study, 2017

intentionally set out to make their workplaces unappealing to women or families. However, women use mental shortcuts and contextual cues to make decisions – like all humans – and are often discouraged from applying/ interviewing at certain companies and in certain roles as they feel the very real pressures of imposter syndrome: feeling like an outsider or ‘fraud’ in a male-dominated ecosystem.

what he describes as “special programs for special people”. While well-intentioned, many of these programs exacerbate existing differences by further segregating the people who are different in an attempt to help them – instead of focusing on breaking down the systemic and artificial barriers to integration that created the problems in the first place.

“Cross-departmental meetings are conducted to align teams around common goals and communication, and yet diversity programs are created in a vacuum where communication between participants and non-participants is nil – and there is no common goal,” Hodgson says.

“As has been proven time and time again, the way to overcome artificial differences – which these are – is to find commonalities and shared pursuits.”

While Hodgson concedes that it’s easier said than done, he suggests creating programs in which interaction is not just encouraged but becomes a normal everyday practice. This then creates a truly sustainable, beneficial and diverse culture.

“Current programs and initiatives do play a role; they serve as interim and helpful bandages while we work towards a more holistic approach,” he says.

“As a sector and as a people, we need to evolve from providing sporadic and sometimes perfunctory diversity and inclusion programs, to addressing the entire funnel systematically – from education all the way through to upper management.”

“All of this investment, effort and time to little or no avail. There must be something more biological at play, right?”

Lance Hodgson, Mentorloop Avoiding ‘special programs for special people’ Other companies head down a path that leads to the opposite desired outcome of D&I: exclusivity.

Hodgson says too many diversity initiatives are aimed at a subset of individuals, or

As Hodgson points out, countless studies point to the fact that gender diversity – as well as ethnic diversity – results in better organisational outcomes.

“There is a strategic fiscal responsibility as well as a moral obligation to solve for the bottlenecks that inhibit diversity,” he says.

www.hcamag.com

06-07_NewsAnalysis_SUBBED.indd 7

7

29/09/2017 2:24:52 PM

UPFRONT

TECHNOLOGY UPDATE DEALING WITH DISRUPTION

NEWS BRIEFS Is microchipping employees the future?

A developer of software used in vending machines is offering all its employees the option to get a microchip implanted between the thumb and forefinger. Three Square Market in the US state of Wisconsin is implementing the RFID (radio-frequency ID) chips to enable employees to complete a multitude of tasks with a wave of their hand. This includes opening doors, paying for purchases, sharing business cards, storing medical information, paying for things at other RFID terminals, and logging in to their computers. Earlier in the year, a Swedish company named Epicentre implemented similar technology.

NAB ditches CVs, embraces digital recruitment

National Australia Bank is forgoing CVs and face-to-face interviews for thousands of entry-level jobs. Twelve months ago, NAB piloted online cognitive assessments and video interviews for candidates for entry-level roles across many parts of the business. This approach has since been adopted more broadly for some 2,500 entry-level roles a year.

NAB also argues that the new model saves more than 700 hours per month in management time, helps the bank recruit faster those who are well suited to their roles, and has halved turnover of new starters during training.

Impact of AI will be ‘positive’, says report

Asia-based senior executives in global firms believe the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics on their business performance in APAC will be “immediate, profound, and positive”. That is according to a report published by the MIT Technology Review, which surveyed senior executives (including HR professionals)

8

in the region. Researchers looked at four markets – Singapore, China, Australia, and India. While many are still wary of potential job cuts that are perceived to go hand in hand with AI, respondents to this study felt that technological advancements in the field would have overwhelmingly positive effects across sectors in Asia.

Cloud expertise lacking in Australia

Large enterprises in Australia could be losing out on revenue as nearly half (48%) of IT decision-makers say they don’t have the required cloud expertise, according to a new report commissioned

by Rackspace in collaboration with academics from the London School of Economics. The study also found that this lack of expertise is stifling creativity, with 64% of IT professionals saying they could bring greater innovation to their organisation with the right cloud insight. In addition, 50% believe they need to invest more in their workforce to meet the developmental challenges of cloud computing.

Flexible work options here to stay

Despite a growing trend of employers bringing their remote workers back into corporate offices, most employees still look to flexible work arrangements as the workplace standard. According to the MRINetwork’s latest Recruiter Sentiment Study, 68% of recruiters and 53% of employers report that job candidates expect to work remotely ‘somewhat often’ to ‘very often’. Over half of the surveyed candidates say that having an option to work from home is ‘somewhat’ to ‘extremely important’. “In-demand candidates have choices,” said one participating MRINetwork recruiter.

“If they don’t want to relocate or work five-day weeks in an office environment, they may turn down a solid offer if they can’t work remotely.”

HRD talks to one business leader about how HR departments have taken a ‘one size fits all’ approach to technology transformation The nature of the workforce is changing constantly, and HR need to be on their toes, according to Sarah Kruger, managing director at Accenture.

“We’ve seen the rise of digital technology lead to a more mobile, agile workforce, as well as the workforce marketplace, where talent can be outsourced with ease through online platforms,” she tells HRD. Overall, Kruger says technology has completely disrupted traditional workforce hierarchies, and now more than ever HR professionals need to be on top of emerging technologies and trends.

“HR departments have typically taken a ‘one size fits all’ approach to technology transformation,” she says.

Unfortunately, this leads HR technologies to be very standardised, Kruger says, which is not ideal for employees who work in many different ways, thanks to digital technology.

Kruger adds that as customer expectations have changed due to technology, so too have employee expectations.

“They now expect HR systems that are intuitive, connected, user-friendly and mobile,” she says.

“The HR function needs to be able to work in an agile manner and make decisions based on data in real time to best understand and relate to the employee experience.

“They also need a thorough understanding of how emerging technologies like artificial intelligence will change the workforce and how their HR systems will manage for this.”

If Kruger could give one piece of advice to HR professionals on dealing with disruption, it would be that “in this space, nobody really has all the answers”.

www.hcamag.com

08-09_Upfront-Technology_SUBBED.indd 8

28/09/2017 9:11:24 AM

“Therefore, part of being innovative is about experimenting and learning. Importantly, it’s not just about changing technology – it’s about how you apply that technology,” she says.

“HR needs to embrace a liquid mentality and be open to learning new technology skills and tools.”

Kruger adds that technology advancement will keep accelerating, and HR professionals need to be ready to adapt at all times.

“One of the most common mistakes is thinking that the latest technology will be a panacea to HR’s problems,” Kruger says.

“It’s about how this technology is applied, not simply the acquisition of this technology.

“Workforce technology can often seem

“[Employees] now expect HR systems that are intuitive, connected, userfriendly and mobile” intimidating, but discussions and case studies can emphasise how technology is here to empower workforces, not replace them.”

Q&A

ADAPT OR PERISH Scott Davidson GM of Synchrony Global ANZ SAP GOLD PARTNER

Fast fact Only 34 % of employees say that their company is able to give them the training they need to keep up with digital technology – Oxford Economics Leaders 2020 Fact Sheet.

Do you think HR leaders are fully prepared for the impacts of digital transformation?

I recently read that 44% of CEO’s say the prevalence of robotics, automation and artificial intelligence (AI) will make people “largely irrelevant” in the future of work. I think that, at least in the short term, the role of HR leadership is to ensure that their workforce is skilled and equipped to add meaningful value to their organisation. Undoubtedly this will involve significant adoption of cloud-based digital tools and applications to automate processes and improve capability.

Just as marketers have discovered the power of chatbots to personalize a shopping experience, HR leaders are starting to pilot chatbots to transform the employee experience. According to the Korn Ferry study, 33% of HR teams are using some form of AI technology to deliver HR solutions, and 41 percent are actively building mobile apps to deliver HR services.

What can HR leaders do prepare for a digital workforce?

First and foremost, HR needs to become core strategic function that is a driving force in an organisation’s digital transformation.

Successful organisations will build a holistic digital transformation strategy which looks to engage customers, empower employees, optimise operations and transform products.

HR leaders also need to embed a learning culture and drive innovation by championing a change management methodology of ”adopt, then adapt”… with continuous improvement. They also need to move away from traditional employee training and leverage online and mobile learning platforms.

Finally, HR leaders should realise the tangible advantages that digital transformation can enable in terms of driving stronger employee engagement, improving capability to manage talent, and enabling higher levels of process efficiency and automation.

In your experience, how do we achieve high levels of employee adoption of a HRIS implementation.

Our customers recognise the importance of rapid delivery and immediate, cost-effective adoption in benefit case realisation, which is why Synchrony Global’s unique delivery method is simple, rapid and scalable; removing the complexity of traditional IT implementations and making transformative HRIS solutions deployable in days.

We also recommend HR Leaders take a best practice approach by choosing the leading out-of-the -box configured software, rather than customising to inferior or soon to be redundant requirements. SAP SuccessFactors is at the forefront of HCM cloud technology, and has a user friendly, consumergrade digital interface, which when combined with our SyncPilot – powered by Walk Me solution, creates an intuitive user experience with “GPS-like” guidance for digital processes. This helps facilitate high levels of HRIS user adoption, addresses the employee digital skills gap, increases employee engagemnt levels, and allows companies to fully realise their investment in cloud technology.

www.hcamag.com

08-09_Upfront-Technology_UPDATED for eMag.indd 9

9

10/10/2017 9:37:04 PM

UPFRONT

REWARDS/BENEFITS UPDATE

WHY EMPLOYERS SHOULD ADOPT PET-FRIENDLY OFFICES A top employer reveals the furry secret to its success, and explains why other companies should follow its lead One of Australia’s top workplaces has revealed one of its secrets to greatness: it allows pets in the office.

Mars Petcare Australia was named best workplace of all businesses employing 1,000 or more staff by Great Place to Work Australia in its recent announcement of Australia’s best workplaces.

Mars general manager Barry O’Sullivan says employers around the world are recognising the link between workplace

day. I come into the office and I go to meetings with her by my side.

“There is no doubt that it is something that just makes you feel better, and ultimately associates are more productive and happy in a pet-friendly environment.”

In fact, a recent survey by Banfield Pet Hospital found that seven out of 10 employees and HR managers said that pets had a positive effect on office dynamics and workplace morale.

A recent survey ... found that seven out of 10 employees said pets had a positive effect on office dynamics happiness and having pets around.

“In addition to increasing morale and reducing stress, it really does create a fun working environment,” O’Sullivan tells HRD. “I have my adopted kelpie with me every

NEWS BRIEFS

Moreover, the employees said having pets in the office boosted their sense of well-being, reduced guilt about leaving pets at home, decreased stress, and supported a greater work-life balance.

Why communication about pay and rewards is a must

Organisations must be on the front foot to ensure that there are clear lines of communication around pay and rewards as part of their employee value proposition, according to Aaron McEwan, HR advisory leader at CEB, now Gartner. He added that it’s important for managers to talk to employees and let them know how the process works, find out what they want and recognise the effort they are putting in. McEwan’s comments come as new findings from the research company show employees in Australia are working harder and base pay expectations have climbed to a six-year high.

10

O’Sullivan adds that it’s only dogs that Mars Petcare Australia has walking around the offices.

“You would have a lot of challenges to make the environment conducive for both dogs and cats at the same time,” he says.

“Specifically, at this site at Wodonga we have a cattery where associates can interact with cats, and it’s a safe and secure environment.”

So, what’s O’Sullivan’s advice for making a workplace great for employees?

“A tool that we use is the Gallup Q18 Survey, and many businesses around the world engage in that.

“They really give you those insights into what you need to do to continue to improve.

They help us create an environment where people can be happy to come to work each day and be themselves.”

Other perks that Mars offers its employees include: • comprehensive health and wellbeing programs • a flat structure • competitive remuneration and leave allowances • on-site perks, including (but not limited to): - snacks during the day - mailing services - massage therapy - travel services - fitness centres and boot camps - educational forums on mental health, nutrition and stress management

Aussies want their birthday off, says report

The majority (59%) of Australians would like a job offering more than 20 days of annual leave, while 55% would like a day off work for their birthday, according to recruiting experts Hays. However, of the 1,118 people surveyed, 29% currently receive more than 20 days of annual leave, and just 6% receive a day off for their birthday.

The most common benefit of all is flexible working, which 70% of people presently receive. Of the remaining 30% who do not currently benefit from flexible work practices, 24% want to and the final 6% are not interested in receiving this benefit.

www.hcamag.com

10-11_Upfront-Rewards and Benefits_SUBBED.indd 10

28/09/2017 9:12:40 AM

Q&A

Kylie Green Director of consulting REWARD GATEWAY

Fast fact More than half (52%) of UK employees agree that they would choose a company that cared about their wellbeing over one that paid more, according to new research by Reward Gateway.

ALIGNING BENEFITS TO ALL EMPLOYEES How do you ensure your benefits are relevant?

A good place to start is with a thorough benefits review.

A good review should: • encompass all employee groups • review industry benefits benchmarking and trends (such as Mercer’s Australian Benefits Review) • include benefits feedback from surveyed employees • conduct a competitive market review to highlight the ‘base’ benefits level for your market and discover your opportunities for gaining a competitive edge in recruitment and retention

How do you increase adoption of your benefits program?

There are two main factors that impact benefits adoption: communication and employee experience.

1. Communicate, communicate, communicate Over the past 20 years I have asked HR professionals how they communicate their benefits to employees.

The most common answer is… poorly! This represents an exciting opportunity to be the innovator who brings your EVP to life.

A good employee communications campaign will involve multiple touchpoints, mixed media, targeted messaging, but most of all, great employee communications are authentic. The best benefits campaigns deliver messages from your leadership

The benefits of childcare offerings

Companies that offer childcare services for their employees found that the benefit had a significant positive impact on their businesses, improving recruitment, retention, and productivity of workers, according to a report released by International Finance Corporation. In 11 of 50 economies examined recently by the World Bank Group’s Women, Business and the Law report, employers are required by law to support or provide childcare. Even without the need for regulatory compliance, many employers offer childcare support and achieve better business outcomes.

Culturally diverse women not being recognised

team that highlight the ‘why’ of your benefits.

Stand-out benefits programs often have an internal communications resource or a dedicated benefits provider who has communication and design experts at their disposal. This allows for a communications plan that provides continuous and relevant touchpoints for your people (think social media updates, benefits webinars or expos, postcards to home), keeping your benefits topical and front of mind.

2. Employee experience Companies with high adoption of their benefits (and a strong EVP to match) are obsessive about the employee experience. These companies look for: • benefits support – ideally 24/7 support for employee and their families to ask questions in order to maximise their benefits • immediate redemption – there is a ‘dad’ joke in the benefits industry that rings true: ‘When do your employees want their benefits?’ ‘Yesterday!’

The best benefits programs are now powered by technology, such as apps that will provide your employees and their families with real-time benefits redemption • choice – by providing your employees with an extensive range of choice and the freedom to frequently select their benefits, you’ll empower their benefits to change as their lifestyle does

New research from Diversity Council Australia (DCA) has found that while 88% of culturally diverse women plan to advance to a very senior role, only one in 10 strongly agree that their leadership traits are recognised or that their opinions are valued and respected in Australian organisations. “These women told us that gender equality initiatives typically benefited women from AngloCeltic backgrounds, and that cultural diversity initiatives typically benefited culturally diverse men,” said Lisa Annese, CEO of DCA.

Having ‘purpose’ is key to happy employees

The most effective approach for getting employees to promote their workplace is by aligning their role with the organisation’s narrative, according to Lindsay McMillan, lead researcher at A Future That Works.

McMillan believes happy employees with purpose and meaning in their work are the best advertisement any company could hope for. “Giving employees genuine purpose and meaning in the work negates the need for employee advocacy,” he said, adding that brand advocates are those who enjoy their work and support their company’s goals. www.hcamag.com

10-11_Upfront-Rewards and Benefits_SUBBED.indd 11

11

29/09/2017 2:28:44 PM

UPFRONT

HEAD TO HEAD

What study subjects would help you in your current role?

HR has changed – has your skill set kept pace? How would a return to study help?

Catherine Triandafilidis

Tanya Deery

Fiona Crawford

Systems and people colleague Back In Motion Health Group

GGM, talent and culture ANZ

General manager, human resources InfoTrack

The best study would teach data analytics and storytelling so I can accurately interpret the messages my people are sharing and encourage my organisation to get on board an amazing change journey!

Human resources is morphing into employee experience, culture and capability, and a million things in between; arguably this is merely semantics, but I think these changes reflect the transformation we ‘people people’ are championing.

To keep up, the things we learn need to adjust. Arguably no single traditional course of study will fill the gap – although combining a few would help.

I like the approach of some tech giants targeting an equal mix of traditional HR practitioners, consultants and academics, thereby ensuring the team has the latest research-based thinking to drive innovation; statistical modelling capability to leverage employee data; human-centred design to shape employee experience; and technical and operational excellence for delivery.

With this in mind, based on my background and experience, I would want learn more about the latest predictive analytics methods, to ensure the HR experience delivered is intimately aligned to employee and business needs.

It’s vital for HR practitioners, in their strategy and initiatives, to be able to adapt to the pace of the environment. We are entering a new wave of digital value creation, in which innovators and data scientists are the future leaders. So I’d look to do an MBA that equipped me with skills for an era when digital platforms and data will be at the heart of every economic, administrative and human activity decision we make. I’d look for a university where there was close alliance between the technology, psychology, science and business schools.

I think Imperial College is at the forefront of MBA teaching for the digital era, and it would be such a buzz to study in the heart of London.

LIFELONG LEARNING As last year’s SME Directions survey made clear, the onus for upskilling rests on the employee; however, only one in four business owners are committed to investment in staff training. The survey also found that more than 40% of respondents had plans to seek out other opportunities in the near to mid-term future, lending new urgency to professional development. A survey from training.com.au the same year isolated the fact that more than four in 10 workers felt their qualifications and skills were a barrier between them and the career path to which they aspired. This study isolated the fact that more than half of those with plans to return to study or acquire new skills in the next three years stated a preference for a hybrid approach that blended both online and offline modalities, while almost three in 10 preferred a delivery that was solely online.

12

www.hcamag.com

12_HeadtoHead_SUBBED.indd 12

28/09/2017 9:14:06 AM

EXPERT INSIGHT

Brought to you by

WORKPLACE RELATIONS

It’s that time of year again...

With the silly season once again nearly here, Joe Murphy has some timely advice for employers AS WE move towards the end of every year, we write about the ‘silly season’ and warn businesses that they need to be vigilant in their approach to work functions and work-related events. Despite these yearly warnings, every year without failure we receive a range of calls about various incidents that have arisen at work functions and Christmas parties across the country.

The regular types of risks that present include sexual harassment, generally offensive behaviour, personal injuries, and even assault.

The liabilities extend to huge investments of time in respect of investigations, workplace cultural impacts, financial compensation and legal costs.

At the centre of the issue is the need for people to recognise that work functions, Christmas parties and so forth are an extension of their workplace and the obligations they owe to their fellow employees to behave properly.

If someone crosses the line from appropriate behaviour to inappropriate behaviour then they ought to properly expect that they’ll be held to account for it. However, where an employer has not properly prepared itself and its staff, disciplinary action following even the most abhorrent behaviour can prove hard to enforce.

In short, your checklist should include: • Ensuring your policies relating to workplace behaviour are up to date

• Redistributing your policies (a link in an email might suffice) • Ensuring staff have read and understand what the policies stand for and what is appropriate behaviour • Ensuring the rules for work-related

that the way they behave in relation to fellow members of staff can impact on their employment.

The best case that most recently demonstrates why it is important to implement the measures recommended in this article is the matter of Keenan v Leighton Boral Amey Joint Venture. While the case is a few years old, it reminds us that even when an employee swears at senior managers, sexually harasses fellow employees and becomes uncontrollably inebriated, if you have not put these measures in place you will likely find it hard to implement and subsequently defend disciplinary action (such as dismissal), and could expose the business to legal liability for the unlawful conduct of employees such as sexual harassment or other protections provided for under discrimination and workplace laws.

It is understandable that employers do not want to be seen to be a ‘wet blanket’ before the party has even started, but it is vital that you do take these steps to place your business in the best position to defend itself against

The liabilities extend to huge investments of time in respect of investigations, workplace cultural impacts, financial compensation and legal costs events are clearly communicated and in writing (including start and finish times, appropriate consumption of alcohol, responsible service of alcohol, provision of food and non-alcoholic beverages to accompany alcohol consumption, arrangements for travel home from the events, appropriate reminders about drinking and driving, and appropriate gifts for ‘secret Santa’ type events!).

• Ensure that employees understand that any ‘after party’ or flow-on event is not endorsed or otherwise supported by the business but that staff must be conscious

claims arising from circumstances out of its control and to be able to implement remedial action and disciplinary measures when warranted and appropriate.

Joe Murphy is a director at Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors (ABLA). Serving business and only business, this legal and advisory firm is trusted by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and is the leading voice for industry in the Fair Work Commission. Call Joe on 1300 565 846 or joe.murphy@ablawyers.com.au if you have any questions about matters raised in this article.

www.hcamag.com

13_SF - ABLA Legal_SUBBED.indd 13

13

29/09/2017 10:05:33 AM

PEOPLE

GLOBAL HR LEADER

GETTING FROM A TO B – WITHOUT A HITCH With STEM skills at a premium globally, travel technology company Amadeus is using a combination of disruption and innovation to win fresh talent. Iain Hopkins chats to the firm’s global head of HR, Sabine Hansen-Peck ANYONE WHO travels for work knows the sinking feeling of arriving at the airport only to be met with lengthy queues for check-in.

Fortunately, there’s a good chance that waiting game could be coming to an end. In one of its more innovative market disruptors, global travel technology company Amadeus IT Group has trialled and implemented – at various airports around the world, including Perth – technology that allows travellers who are attending a major conference or event to check in at that conference or event without having to tackle that task at the airport.

“That’s good for airports which can have such a big flow of travellers coming in and lengthy delays for everyone,” says Sabine Hansen-Peck, senior vice president of human resources at Amadeus. “For major events like the Olympic Games it could be a game changer.”

Amadeus provides the technology that makes travel easier. The company works with travel agents, airlines and airports to provide the platforms and tools used to book, manage and deliver seamless travel experiences. HRD recently sat down with Hansen-Peck to discuss innovation, recruiting and engaging

14

millennials in STEM roles, and her own international career in HR.

but it also reflects the global customers we’re dealing with.

HRD: Can you outline your role at Amadeus?

HRD: Amadeus is a technology company. How difficult is it to attract and retain talent with STEM skills?

Sabine Hansen-Peck: It’s a global role and I’m responsible for the people and culture function across 15,000 employees.

I’m also responsible for branding and

SHP: I think every employer needs to do more because STEM is absolutely key for our industry, but for many other industries

“While you must have the right incentives in place, beyond that a real differentiator is the culture” communication. I’ve been with Amadeus since November 2009, and it has been an amazing journey. I’m currently based in Madrid, but before that I worked in the US, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, the UK, and now I’m in Spain, where Amadeus is headquartered. We’re a very international company with a presence in more than 100 countries and 132 nationalities speaking over 60 languages in our workforce. This makes it a wonderful company to work for,

as well. As an employer we do quite a lot of work and collaboration with universities around the world, including Europe, the Middle East and Australia. We’re doing hackathons and also providing internships for students to gain some experience. Often those internships later result in permanent employment with us. We know as a tech company talent is absolutely crucial for us, so we also try to provide attractive positions and experiences for employees.

www.hcamag.com

14-17_GlobalHRLeader_SUBBED.indd 14

28/09/2017 9:16:59 AM

PROFILE

While we are a B2B company and might not be as much of a household name as Google, once students understand the content of what they can work on they usually actually don’t want to leave; as such we have very low attrition. If an engineer can work on missioncritical technology, technology that powers an aircraft, which allows passengers to board an aircraft seamlessly, that’s very appealing. We are trying to develop software solutions so that any type of disruption at the airport or with the airlines is minimised.

For example, imagine you are flying from Sydney to Singapore and you have an onwards flight to Paris, and that second flight is disrupted for whatever reason. With Amadeus technology we can re-accommodate the

passengers already on the flight to Singapore, so when you land you don’t need to stand in a queue for two hours in order to get rebooked and get your ticket. That can all happen because of the talent we have developing solutions. That’s pretty sexy stuff to work on, and with that we can attract talent.

HRD: What’s the key to attracting millennials?

SHP: When we ask people why they joined us and what do they view as the biggest differentiator for us, they will cite Amadeus’s culture. So while you must have the right incentives in place, beyond that a real differentiator is the culture. We are truly an international company, and that really

Name: Sabine Hansen-Peck Company: Amadeus IT Group HR experience: 22 years Qualifications: MBA, International Management, Thunderbird School of Global Management (1991–1992) Masters, Industrial and Organisational Psychology, Catholic University of Eichstatt-Ingolstadt (1986–1991) Previous roles: »»HR head, EMEA Consumer, Citibank »»Head talent, leadership development & diversity EMEA, Citigroup »»VP – HR head division Europe, Gate Gourmet International (Texas Pacific Group) »»VP HR EMEA, Citigroup Private Bank, Switzerland »»VP compensation & benefits, Citigroup US and Europe Consumer Bank

www.hcamag.com

14-17_GlobalHRLeader_SUBBED.indd 15

15

28/09/2017 9:17:13 AM

PEOPLE

GLOBAL HR LEADER excites people. If someone wants to join the company in Sydney but work in Nice for a couple of years, that’s absolutely possible. We have a very transparent system in regard to openings, so people can see worldwide what openings are available, and then apply for them. We also try to be innovative in terms of what we offer – we provide learning, including elements of gamification, which has proven to be very appealing for millennials.

HRD: Can you tell me how Amadeus uses gamification to engage employees, bridge cultural barriers and provide feedback?

SHP: What we wanted to do is create a very open and collaborative work culture, and giving feedback in a positive way is a very

co-pilot notices the captain doesn’t use the most up-to-date procedures for take-off. She is supposed to give him feedback. How do you do it effectively? With feedback there’s always an element of facts, and also the relationship between two people – you must maintain the relationship, but you want to have facts presented in an accurate way. With this scenario there are multiple-choice responses, and four different flight options, which increase in complexity. You can also play different roles so you can play the game over and over again.

Participants gain points along the way, as well as feedback and learning nuggets.

Importantly, it’s in a totally safe environment.

We literally make learning child’s play. I’ve not pushed it from a corporate perspective, but it’s available and ready for people to use. We had 6,000 people playing in the first week. We’re

“In any aircraft, what happens in the cockpit and how people communicate is absolutely crucial in order to avoid mistakes and disasters” important element of that culture. We came up with the idea of creating a game, using various aircraft scenarios. In any aircraft, what happens in the cockpit and how people communicate is absolutely crucial in order to avoid mistakes and disasters.

We worked together with a captain who flew airbuses, as well as a company involved in neuroscience and how we learn. We also wanted to build in elements of organisational behaviour and cultural aspects unique to Amadeus. We brought all of that together to create a pretty nifty game in regard to giving and receiving feedback, which simulates a scenario where you find yourself in the cockpit. You might be the captain or you might be the co-captain or purser.

We made it more interesting by adding in a cultural aspect, so there might be a Japanese captain and a female American co-pilot. The

16

receiving feedback about it and will continue to develop it.

HRD: In terms of your own career, you’ve got extensive experience working in HR in financial services.

How did that experience shape how you handle your current role at Amadeus?

SHP: It was also a very international company, and that’s something that’s very appealing to me. That role also shaped my belief in always knowing who the customer is and being very customer-centric. For me today, our employees are our customers, and being available for them, designing the programs for them, I think is very important. The other thing is I was very lucky being part of a company which put a lot of emphasis on best practice HR tools

TWO WAYS TO STAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE With the pace of business rapidly increasing, Amadeus aims to ensure its employees are continuously exploring and embracing new information and skills.

The Internal Faculty program: Employees

1 develop and facilitate internal training

sessions to share their knowledge with peers.

Topics include everything from software development to foreign languages. This leverages the untapped skills of Amadeus’s people, and reduces the cost of hiring external trainers.

HR offers training and coaching to internal faculty members to help them deliver high-quality training and content.

Leadership Link Ups: Leadership Link Ups

2 provide the opportunity for managers to

spend time sharing challenges, celebrating wins, and focusing on best practice, while also offering the chance to learn from peers, mentor fellow managers, and gain insight into new ideas and perspectives. HR facilitates the Link Ups quarterly, with each session focusing on a different topic (such as engagement or onboarding). Leaders are encouraged to take part in active discussion and contribute ideas towards improving and developing the topics within the business. and practices. A lot of what I learned there I can also apply at Amadeus.

HRD: You’ve held roles globally.

What’s your top advice for HR professionals who are perhaps considering an overseas posting?

SHP: I’d say do it – it’s the best thing anyone can do. It provides such a rich learning opportunity on a professional and personal level. I’d always recommend it.

We’re practising it in my team. A third of my direct reports have been in different roles in different locations globally, and we’ll continue doing that because for me it’s the best development you can get.

www.hcamag.com

14-17_GlobalHRLeader_SUBBED.indd 16

28/09/2017 9:17:31 AM

14-17_GlobalHRLeader_SUBBED.indd 17

28/09/2017 9:17:43 AM

FEATURES

SPECIAL REPORT: RISING STARS

The future of the HR profession is in safe hands – find out who is shaping the future of the industry in HRD’s annual Rising Stars list HRD’S FIRST Rising Stars list in 2016 was met with such a positive response from the HR industry that a follow-up was inevitable – and this year the response has been just as enthusiastic. HRD received 112 nominees. Those selected hail from a wide range of industries, from tourism to insurance, and each has worked on impressive projects and can demonstrate both quantitative and qualitative results from initiatives they have played a key role in creating and driving. From negotiating industrial awards to downsizing workforces and implementing domestic violence awareness initiatives, the ‘rising stars’ profiled on the following pages have already added to the standing of HR as a profession, despite having under 10 years’ experience in the field.

Research suggests many younger workers have a limited desire to work in management or leadership roles – however, those on this list have the ambition, knowledge and skills to excel either as individual contributors or future leaders. It’s up to the HR leaders of today to recognise their talent and provide suitable road maps to the future. Read on to see who made the grade this year.

18

RISING STARS INDEX NAME

COMPANY

PAGE

Asher, Jessica

CHEP Australia

20

Baack, Rachael

Sureway Employment and Training

20

Bajoria, Priyanka

BankVic

20

Boland, Kimberly

Schneider Electric

22

Campbell, Nicola

Accenture

27

Chan, Yuki

Vinci Construction Grands Projets (SCL 1103 & 1122)

24

Cooper, Ivana

Insight

25

Cubillo, Jacinta

Crown Melbourne Limited

24

Fleming, Lachlan

Endeavour Drinks Group

25

Galizi, Ebony

carsales.com

24

Higgins, Jo

IAG

25

Jesse, Terri

BlueCross

24

Khan, Farzana

Fink Group

29

www.hcamag.com

18-29_Rising Stars_SUBBED.indd 18

28/09/2017 2:55:36 PM

HAYLEY STEVENS HR adviser Federal Group – Tourism

After receiving her Bachelor of Commerce in HR and marketing in 2014, Hayley Stevens successfully gained a recruitment position in the HR team at Wrest Point. At the start of 2017, she moved into a recruitment position in the Tourism division of the Federal Group, where she became a key member of a project team to recruit and select team members for the brand new hotel, MACq 01. Even with demanding deadlines and a highly competitive market, Stevens and her team were still able to fill over 120 positions for MACq 01, while keeping to impeccable service standards.

During the same period, she was also responsible for recruitment for two other award-winning hotels under Federal Group’s tourism portfolio.

Since the opening of the MACq 01 Hotel, Stevens has taken on a lead role in reviewing the current recruitment practices, systems and selection methodology employed across the group.

NAME

COMPANY

PAGE

Kilgour, Lindsay

Children’s Cancer Institute

28

Kokkinos, Thomai (Tammy)

Pentana Solutions

29

Lean, Caroline

Queensland Treasury Corporation

26

Naddaf, David

Accor Hotel Sydney Darling Harbour

26

Piper, Ellen

Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation

28

Pomare, Paige

kikki.K

26

Purdy, Chris

Mantra Group

23

Roberts, Samantha

AMP

28

Sheedy, Amber

News Corp Australia

22

Stevens, Hayley

Federal Group – Tourism

19

Thomas, Alicia

Mercy Health

19

White, Hayley

Allergan Australia

21

Wong, Jody

Excite Holidays

22

ALICIA THOMAS Group diversity and inclusion manager Mercy Health

For the past 12 months, Alicia Thomas has re-energised Mercy Health’s health and wellbeing strategy by creating Thrive@Mercy, an online health and wellbeing hub for the staff. Covering topics such as physical and mental wellbeing, positive ageing, work-life balance and family violence, the hub houses information, tip sheets, Ted talks, exercise playlists, healthy recipes, YouTube clips, self-assessment tools, referral services, and much more – all presented on a colourful and engaging platform to keep people coming back for more. The hub has been recognised as a finalist in the 2017 Australian HR Awards for Best Health & Wellbeing Program. Within the same year, Thomas has taken Mercy Health’s Employee Assistance Program in a new direction. This has resulted in access to a significantly more holistic and proactive EAP service for the 7,500-plus staff, going beyond traditional counselling services to provide, among other things, free sessions with nutritionists, financial counsellors and other experts.

www.hcamag.com

18-29_Rising Stars_SUBBED.indd 19

19

29/09/2017 2:30:20 PM

FEATURES

SPECIAL REPORT: RISING STARS JESSICA ASHER HR business partner CHEP Australia

Jessica Asher is a promising HR leader of the future. She took on a newly created role in August 2014 as an HR adviser at CHEP Australia. The position involved the establishment of thorough disciplinary and performance processes, as well as policies and tools for managers. Less than a year after becoming HR adviser, Asher was promoted to HR business partner and assigned to look after sales, marketing and IT. In the last 12–18 months she added to her remit the largest CHEP business unit portfolio, supply chain, which consists of more than 1,000 people. She has also designed a Recognition Toolkit for managers, which, along with the CHEP Formal Reward & Recognition Program, won the 2016 Australian HR Award for Best Reward & Recognition Program. In her spare time, Asher volunteers for major NGOs, such as Red Cross, Foodbank and Lifeline, and was recently involved in the annual National Student Leadership Forum in Canberra as a small-group facilitator.

RACHAEL BAACK GM people and culture Sureway Employment and Training

PRIYANKA BAJORIA Head of talent acquisition BankVic

With barely three years’ experience in HR, Priyanka Bajoria is already heading the talent acquisition function at BankVic and has been a key player in the company’s cultural transformation. By demonstrating versatility and forward-thinking commercial acumen, Bajoria has contributed to the following accomplishments within the business in less than 12 months: • Enhanced remuneration practices – she has advised the joint consultative remuneration committee, and was instrumental in the development of value-added HR metrics that have provided key insights on trends related to diversity • Improved age diversity metrics through the introduction of the intern program, appointment of HR interns to the talent acquisition space, and a strong focus on internal mobility • Enhanced employer branding through digital marketing, as seen in a dramatic increase in LinkedIn followers • Successful completion of assignments for the board and executives. She ably demonstrated strong relationship-building skills and confidence in advising board members and executives on best practices

20

Among the many significant achievements of Rachael Baack’s career at Sureway so far, highlights include implementing re-engagement strategies to improve key areas identified in the Great Place to Work survey results; being part of the executive team that successfully achieved a $6m business turnaround by keeping to a one-year strategic objective and creating a strong internal communication plan; and conducting an organisation-wide survey to come up with new values and a mission, vision and purpose, along with a new three-year strategic plan for the business. Though now on extended leave from this role, Baack is keeping herself busy as an HR specialist volunteer in Majuro, Marshall Islands, where she is currently working to create an HR function for the Ministry of Finance. This involves recruitment and mentoring of local people who are looking to become HR professionals, and setting up support tools and structures for them and for the Ministry to achieve its financial objectives.

www.hcamag.com

18-29_Rising Stars_SUBBED.indd 20

28/09/2017 2:55:51 PM

HAYLEY WHITE HR manager, ANZ Allergan Australia

In 2015, pharma company Allergan merged with Actavis. This required Hayley White, as HR administrator, to complete a long list of tasks in a short period of time, including assisting with calculations and deeds for redundancy, running five payroll systems simultaneously to ensure everyone received their pay on time, handling numerous calls from Actavis employees about new policies and procedures, and ensuring that people received the correct information and complaints were properly addressed. White also managed the complex integration of SAP and Workday, which gave her the opportunity to become a ‘super user’ in the ANZ region. Not only did she manage to accomplish all these tasks within the short time frame, but she also completed her graduate diploma in HR. For her efforts, White received the Managing Director’s Annual Award for 2015 and was promoted to HR manager in April 2016. Since 2017 she has taken on the L&D function, which focuses on rolling out new programs to meet the strategic needs of the organisation and its employees.

www.hcamag.com

18-29_Rising Stars_SUBBED.indd 21

21

28/09/2017 2:55:56 PM

FEATURES

SPECIAL REPORT: RISING STARS JODY WONG Senior HR coordinator Excite Holidays

Jody Wong has become the HR go-to person for Excite Holidays’ call centre, a division with a notoriously high turnover rate. Whereas she previously only handled recruitment, Wong now manages the entire employee life cycle for the team. She has also been involved in a broad policy review, which led her to do extensive research on legislation and best practice. Her level of detail and diligence has ensured that the company’s policies are thorough, and representative of the employer brand. On that note, Wong also took on the project of revamping the employer brand within the candidate market. She began by transforming the company’s LinkedIn profile into a candidate-focused platform, giving Excite an outlet to promote the brand to prospective applicants. Excite’s engagement stats have almost doubled since the focus on LinkedIn began. Wong continues to provide weekly content that is relevant, fun and informative, to give followers a good peek into how rewarding ‘Life at Excite’ can be.

AMBER SHEEDY HR business partner News Corp Australia

Amber Sheedy joined News Corp at a critical time when the organisation was undertaking forced redundancies. She immediately stepped in to handle some difficult changes and conversations, including coaching the managers on the process, and did what her peers call an “outstanding job”. Faced with the challenging culture and the significant changes occurring in the media industry, Sheedy has demonstrated her ability to adapt to her customers’ needs, and has consistently kept up with the incredibly fast pace of the business since day one. She oversees a large customer base of over 400 that make up two major sales groups, including a call centre, and she manages them with intelligence and humour. As a result of her contributions and support, the organisation has seen an increase in the contact centre engagement score from the mid-50s to high 60s, and a reduction of the attrition rate from 56% in 2016 to 25% currently.

22

KIMBERLY BOLAND HR business partner Schneider Electric

In just five years, Kimberly Boland has worked on six organisation design projects, and the increased scope of her responsibilities in that time frame reveals a budding HR star.

Within two months of becoming a business partner, her scope of work was expanded to include support for Schneider’s national logistics team, comprising approximately 500 employees. She also filled up her evenings with MBA classes during this time.

As a business partner, one of Boland’s major measurable successes has been bolstering the employee engagement score in two of her portfolio areas. This was achieved through a focus on actions that were championed by members of the leadership team and employees. Focus points were developed and voted on by employees to ensure that the priority actions met their needs. To enhance culture and engagement, Boland is currently working on three innovation projects, one of which involves redesigning performance improvement documents and processes to reflect positive psychology language. She has recently assumed the role of NSW HR business partner at the company.

www.hcamag.com

18-29_Rising Stars_SUBBED.indd 22

28/09/2017 2:56:01 PM

CHRIS PURDY HR manager – shared services Mantra Group

With a strong focus on providing tools for the millennial generation, Chris Purdy was the driving force behind a new learning management system introduced by hospitality leader Mantra Group. The platform is mobile-friendly and encourages access to learning packages available online, while providing accessibility and reach for the group’s greater population, especially those based in more remote regions. One of the highlights of the platform is the ‘China Cultural Awareness’ short course, which has provided many front-line employees with a well-rounded understanding of the Chinese market. Purdy also sought, negotiated and implemented the SuccessFactors Recruiting solution in 2016, which integrates with the company’s payroll platform in order to resolve audit issues. Additionally, Purdy managed to successfully implement the following: video cover letter applications as part of the recruitment process, and a 32-page career development manual called ‘MyPlan’ for team members looking for growth opportunities within the business.

www.hcamag.com

18-29_Rising Stars_SUBBED.indd 23

23

28/09/2017 2:56:15 PM

FEATURES

SPECIAL REPORT: RISING STARS JACINTA CUBILLO HR manager – industrial relations and HR support Crown Melbourne Limited

Originally from Darwin, a Wadjigan woman from the Bulgul community, Jacinta Cubillo moved to Melbourne seeking new opportunities, and joined Crown in 2012 as a reservations agent in hotels. In 2014, Cubillo became part of the HR team as an HR coordinator. In this role, she reported directly to the executive general manager for HR. Cubillo then worked in various areas of HR operations, providing support for investigations, enterprise agreement negotiations, organisational restructures, and other key projects. Following her achievements, Cubillo was promoted to the role of HR manager – industrial relations and HR support in April 2017 on a four-month secondment. In addition to being part of Crown’s newly created LGBTI executive steering committee, Cubillo was appointed to the Emerging Indigenous Executive Leadership Program in March 2017. The program is the first of its kind, a national program to identify and develop Indigenous professionals with the capability and potential to become corporate executives.

YUKI CHAN Labour officer Vinci Construction Grands Projets (SCL 1103 & 1122)

As labour officer for a construction unit, Yuki Chan challenges the stereotype of construction sites being an ‘all-male’ environment.

Despite not having any background in construction or HR, Chan made the most out of her degree in sociology and culture and willingly stepped into construction sites in order to communicate effectively with front-line workers. In doing so, she served as the bridge between the HR department in the head office and the site offices, helping foster good communication and the friendly atmosphere needed to address HR issues of site personnel, most of whom are foreign workers. In her current role, Chan ensures compliance with the statutory requirements of the labour department and plays an active role in the running of induction courses for front-line workers to ensure thorough understanding of safety requirements. Chan is continuously developing herself and hopes to eventually become a labour relations specialist.

TERRI JESSE People and development business partner BlueCross

Terri Jesse brings to her roles a unique mix of exceptional analytical capability and the ability to engage with varied stakeholder groups at BlueCross, a residential aged care provider. In less than five years she has gone from being a people and culture adviser to business partner, and currently serves as acting people and development business partner. In 2016 Jesse was tasked with designing and implementing an integrated people metrics platform with a dashboard that provides critical people analytics for the business. Most recently, she was appointed project lead for a workforce sustainability and wellness initiative. Jesse devised a suite of tools to assist managers in analysing data trends and identifying interventions appropriate to site, teams and individuals, all to improve attendance and support wellness. Her efforts have led to managers’ improved understanding of their workforce, taking workforce sustainability to the next level.

24

EBONY GALIZI People and culture business partner carsales.com

Since joining carsales a little over two years ago, Ebony Galizi’s HR career has progressed in leaps and bounds. She has been the driver behind many work-life balance initiatives that have benefited every member of the carsales team – from overseeing the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s Employer of Choice initiatives, to scheduling yoga, meditation and HIIT exercise classes in the office. If it’s something that fits into the realm of diversity, inclusion and work-life balance, Galizi is almost guaranteed to be involved. She has also worked relentlessly to raise corporate awareness on domestic and family violence, and has guided the company towards providing the necessary support for employees going through tough times. For the past 18 months, Galizi has been busy completing the requirements for carsales to submit its accreditation application to White Ribbon Australia.

www.hcamag.com

18-29_Rising Stars_SUBBED.indd 24

28/09/2017 2:57:50 PM

LACHLAN FLEMING HR business partner Endeavour Drinks Group

This rising star has proven his worth many times over. Not only is he a member of the Endeavour Drinks Group HR leadership team but he is also tasked with driving the business strategy forward by attracting, developing, engaging and retaining top talent, building organisational development strategies, improving efficiency of the organisation, and enabling a strong performance culture through leadership development for his respective client groups. One of Fleming’s recent highlights has been partnering with the HR director and group executive to drive the development of a group-wide people strategy, titled the ‘Multi-Year Talent Plan’, which designed and deployed people initiatives with a three-year horizon to ensure Endeavour has the right resources, in the right places, doing the right work, and with the right capabilities to deliver its three-year business strategy. Fleming also led the change management aspect of optimising the company’s operating model, which reduced its cost base significantly and enabled the delivery of financial targets.

IVANA COOPER HR business partner APAC Insight

As HR business partner for tech innovation company Insight’s APAC operations – which consists of 350 team members across Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore and China – Ivana Cooper’s most notable accomplishment of late has been facilitating the integration of 100 team members into the company. In September 2016, Insight acquired a Perth-based company, which then required transitioning of 100 employees and careful merging of the two companies’ policies, practices and HRIS platforms. The complex project had to be completed within 12 weeks as the acquisition timetable required all employees to be onboarded by 1 January 2017. Cooper made this possible by efficiently producing acquisition documents, including letters of offer for all teammates, terms and conditions documents, a full orientation guide and a policy manual.

In addition, she continued with her existing responsibilities, which include managing the APAC reward and recognition program and launching SuccessFactors HRIS across the region.

JO HIGGINS Strategic business partner IAG

IAG’s Jo Higgins still considers herself to be a ‘work in progress’, and is always on the lookout for new ideas to introduce to the insurance giant. In the last 12 months alone she has managed to assist with launching a number of initiatives, such as championing the Australia Network on Disability review of IAG’s accessibility policies and procedures, initiating a ‘Stay in Touch’ pilot program for caregivers away on maternity leave, and setting up a ‘Women in Labs’ learning lab, the first part of a gender equity program that has the potential to scale across the organisation. Her thought leadership has helped reorient the organisational mindset on diversity and inclusion, extending these to include the concept of belonging. Higgins participated in the China Australia Millennial Project, a cross-border innovation program that brought together millennial leaders who are passionate about learning designthinking and creating industry solutions while strengthening relations between Australia and China.

www.hcamag.com

18-29_Rising Stars_SUBBED.indd 25

25

28/09/2017 2:57:54 PM

FEATURES

SPECIAL REPORT: RISING STARS DAVID NADDAF Talent and culture coordinator AccorHotels Darling Harbour

As a member of the talent and culture team, David Naddaf is known and respected for his forward-thinking ideas and confident outlook.

In early 2017, he was selected by the regional team to be part of a strategic recruitment project in NSW and the ACT, which has already seen a number of initiatives implemented across all 50 hotels in the region. Naddaf is responsible for driving the data analytics and technology aspect of this project. He created QR codes and made improvements to existing systems to drive traffic to the organisation’s recruitment websites. As the hospitality industry continues to experience a severe talent shortage in Sydney, Naddaf’s impact in this area has been significant in improving sourcing capabilities for AccorHotels. Naddaf has also served as a mentor to interns and hotel management trainees who have worked in the talent and culture department as part of their rotation program. Also keeping him busy was the launch and implementation of a nationwide employee app, which has enhanced communication with employees across all generations.

CAROLINE LEAN Talent attraction specialist Queensland Treasury Corporation

Caroline Lean has been in the industry for seven years and at QTC for nearly four years.

As talent attraction specialist she has led QTC’s recruitment and onboarding function through a time of significant organisational transformation. Lean examined the changing talent needs and culture of the business, and adopted contemporary recruitment practices to ensure QTC attracts the highest calibre of applicants. She has led the charge in utilising leading-edge technology to interact with relevant talent pools, and aligning the company’s employee value proposition with its broader brand. Through her efforts, the results of surveys over the last 12 months have shown that the recruitment and onboarding experience at QTC is aligned to industry best practice. As the face of QTC for potential applicants, Lean has been heralded by colleagues as an excellent brand ambassador who exemplifies QTC’s values and culture of being ‘Bold and Trustworthy’.

26

PAIGE POMARE People consultant kikki.K

From starting out as people coordinator to a quick promotion to people consultant, Paige Pomare is now responsible for all generalist work at retailer kikki.K’s support office, as well as for driving HR strategies. Over the course of the last 12 months Pomare has been leading a project to implement the company’s first enterprise agreement. Thus far, she has successfully navigated complex industrial relations requirements within tight deadlines, while partnering with third parties in legal, public relations and HR, and working closely with the CEO, CFO, and global retail director. All of kikki.K’s Australian retail team are now covered by an instrument tailored specifically to the business – it provides better terms and conditions than those that exist under the General Retail Industry Award.

In the next 12 months, Pomare expects to focus on leveraging kikki.K’s culture to build resilience and capability within the team, and to look at ways to simplify and streamline work processes. This includes redefining the approach to position descriptions, project management and business communication, all from a global perspective.

www.hcamag.com

18-29_Rising Stars_SUBBED.indd 26

28/09/2017 2:58:58 PM

NICOLA CAMPBELL Graduate recruitment lead Accenture

Nicola Campbell shifted from hospitality management to HR during an overseas stint at a boutique hotel company, progressing from HR administrator to adviser in just two years and building a strong foundation of HR knowledge. After returning to Australia, Campbell decided to continue her career in HR and so commenced her Master’s in HR Management. In 2010, she joined Accenture and has since held various positions. Campbell took on the role of graduate recruitment lead in 2015. In the last two years she has launched a number of initiatives, including restructuring the recruitment team to grow practice knowledge, resulting in more tailored graduate alignments; refreshing the ‘Keep Warm’ program for future graduates and providing them with new and more meaningful networking opportunities prior to joining Accenture; and partnering with Indigenous organisations to increase the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander graduates and interns in the Australian Accenture offices.

www.hcamag.com

18-29_Rising Stars_SUBBED.indd 27

27

28/09/2017 2:59:05 PM

FEATURES

SPECIAL REPORT: RISING STARS SAMANTHA ROBERTS Talent management consultant AMP

In the last 18 months Samantha Roberts has managed to firmly establish her leadership potential. Working directly with one of AMP’s largest and most challenging business areas, she was able to provide strategic peoplerelated advice and support needed for a complex transformation project. Roberts led the large-scale work to enable changes to the business area’s operating model, which included reviewing employees’ contractual arrangements across four separate entities; providing business recommendations for moving employees to AMP terms; and successfully transitioning and aligning the employees to their new arrangements, businesses, teams and leaders. Faced with complex work that she had never tackled before, Roberts ably navigated the legal and organisational processes and managed often-competing interests of stakeholders with a level of influence and impact well beyond her years of experience. Her exemplary work led her to receive the prestigious People & Culture Group Executive’s award at the end of 2016.

ELLEN PIPER Learning and development adviser Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation

Drawing on her experience of the WHS function and supported by her manager, Ellen Piper is 100% dedicated to developing the people and future leaders at Commonwealth Superannuation. Piper originally joined the company as a WHS adviser, and in this role she effectively managed all aspects of the health, safety and wellbeing of the staff during a highly stressful period when the company was experiencing relentless change following a merger. Now as L&D adviser, Piper is designing and implementing online L&D tools, while managing numerous technology platforms and navigating the complex relationships between IT, vendors and external suppliers.

Described as both innovative and tenacious, Piper understands that the future of HR lies in the delicate balance of integrating people and technology to ultimately serve customers better. One of her colleagues commented: “Ellen has all the attributes and, more importantly, the positive, can-do attitude of a ‘rising star’.”

28

LINDSAY KILGOUR HR and WHS adviser Children’s Cancer Institute

On top of his usual responsibilities as HR and WHS adviser, Lindsay Kilgour has played an instrumental role in the Children’s Cancer Institute’s HRIS transformation project – Project ConnXtion – which was launched with the aim of enhancing and delivering organisational capability. Kilgour went above and beyond his duties, accomplishing a huge portion of this project outside of his normal work hours. He undertook a vast amount of research to understand the capabilities of the existing system and identify what was needed to align it with the HR agenda and the strategic direction of the organisation. Kilgour employed best practice change management methodology, read numerous implementation manuals and consulted extensively, and built and tested several improvements to the system. He created easy-to-follow user guides and process flows that make up one of the most comprehensive sets of documentation his organisation has come across. His efforts have resulted in a platform that drives efficiency and productivity not only for HR but for all employees.

www.hcamag.com

18-29_Rising Stars_SUBBED.indd 28

29/09/2017 2:31:01 PM

FARZANA KHAN HR coordinator Fink Group

Farzana Khan looks after the entire HR department at Fink Group, which employs up to 500 people working in well-known restaurants such as Quay, Bennelong, OTTO Sydney and OTTO Brisbane. Prior to this position, the company had no HR department and no source of support for advice on legalities, compliances, regulatory changes, etc. Since stepping into the role, Khan has introduced and updated policies and procedures, set up proper formatting for contracts and job descriptions, initiated structured training, and worked on development plans for employees.

As HR coordinator, Khan manages all aspects of HR, including job analysis, recruitment and onboarding, reward and recognition, performance appraisals, disciplinary processes, L&D and succession planning. Khan credits her CEO, Karyn Kajan, who has a deep understanding of HR, as being her mentor since before day one. In April 2016, she assisted her CEO with the centralisation of the Fink Group, which involved relocating all teams, from accounts to operations, to a new head office.

TAMMY KOKKINOS General manager, HR Pentana Solutions

Tammy Kokkinos has been instrumental in the creation of automotive technology provider Pentana’s global HR department. In her time with the company, Pentana has expanded to 12 countries, from Australia and New Zealand to Southeast Asia and China, Europe and the US. Her ability to manage all matters HR has been the reason why the business has been able to get the cultural part of the expansion right.

In line with the company’s expansion, Kokkinos launched a series of initiatives, beginning with a new vision and mission initiative, induction programs, internal communication platforms, cultural initiatives, clubs and health programs, and key event celebrations, which are all global.

She has also been involved in all aspects of Pentana’s transformation, and continues to juggle all her responsibilities with professionalism.

Kokkinos’ achievements and vision have made her a prime candidate for future executive leadership.

www.hcamag.com

18-29_Rising Stars_SUBBED.indd 29

29

28/09/2017 2:59:29 PM

FEATURES

ENGAGEMENT

CREATING A CULTURE OF RECOGNITION IN RETAIL By empowering employees to recognise everyday good behaviour, employers can ensure retail experiences are memorable for consumers – for all the right reasons. Mark Barling reports

READ THE headlines and you might be tempted to believe Australia’s retail landscape is set for its biggest disruption ever, thanks to the arrival of Amazon on these shores. There are hints that such claims are being exaggerated. For example, a 110-page UBS report published in July analysed the likely impact of the behemoth’s entry to Australia’s $300bn retail sector. The report stated that Amazon was likely to capture just 2% of retail sales within five years of entry to the country.

However, there’s no denying the potential longer-term impact on retailer profits as consumers are lured away from bricksand-mortar shops and into online stores.

As retail is the nation’s second-largest employment sector with 10% market share, the steps taken next will be watched with intense interest. What can employers in this space do to both prepare and go on the defensive in this new war?

Making a difference on the front line We’ve all has subpar retail experiences, and more often than not these are due to poor interactions with retail staff. Sitting at the front line of interactions with customers, retail workers are deeply linked to a retail brand’s value proposition. While appropriate training plays a critical part, HR can also impact this perception by creating a culture of recognition.

30

A culture of recognition means there is a shared belief in the importance of recognition and the values against which behaviours are recognised. A culture of recognition exists when recognition becomes an everyday behaviour within an organisation.

As an organisation’s culture is the sum of all behaviours, a culture of recognition encourages employees to recognise value in all behaviours, big and small.

A culture of recognition can also produce two significant benefits: employees feel more connected and valued; and barriers

Hut and Taco Bell, Novak was an advocate of empowering employees to give peers recognition – in fact he was branded ‘the recognition leader’ by CEO Magazine and believes that recognition is the foundation for motivation. “Too much recognition? I’d love to have that problem,” he stated at the 8th Annual Achievers Customer Experience conference in New Orleans in September.

He added: “If you’re gonna err, err on the side of giving too much”, and “I’m not doing it just to be nice. I’m doing it because it drives results.”

A culture of recognition exists when recognition becomes an everyday behaviour within an organisation between support offices and retail stores are broken down.

The actions of leaders are critical. If an organisation wants to create a culture of recognition, its leaders should be visibly active within a recognition program. A case study from an equally customer-driven sector highlights the benefits.

Dave Novak, previously CEO and chairman at YUM Brands, led a team of 1.5 million employees. During his tenure at YUM Brands, which included KFC, Pizza

Creating a culture of recognition The first step is to empower employees to recognise everyday good behaviour. This is made even more powerful if the behaviours and values held to be the most critical to business success are those being recognised.

For example, if employees are rewarded for demonstrating exceptional customer service, it stands to reason that those behaviours and actions are likely to be repeated. By following Achievers’ four principles referred to as RISE, recognition cultures are built.

www.hcamag.com

30-31 Grass Roots_SUBBED.indd 30

29/09/2017 9:52:33 AM

Brought to you by

newsfeed via an app and see all the great things done today within the company. They might also want to acknowledge the great work by the retail team member that they have just observed.

It’s critical that at the time of recognition, it’s specific, it’s relevant, and it’s timely.

REGULAR

IMMEDIATE

1. Recognise on a REGULAR basis.

• Recognition isn’t just something you only do annually at performance reviews or award ceremonies – there should be a regular cadence.

• In fact, Gallup* identified that one of the core elements of engagement is if your employees have received any praise from a supervisor in the past seven days.

• Giving recognition on a regular basis will not only help to create a culture of recognition, but it will fill you with more gratitude.

SPECIFIC

ENCOURAGING

4. Be ENCOURAGING when you recognise.

• Personalise your recognition by expressing appreciation and celebrating success.

• It’s important to remember what may be encouraging for one person may not be encouraging for another – some people are introverts and don’t enjoy the spotlight, while others are extroverts and enjoy being celebrated in a public way… so you will want to make sure you know how the individual likes to be recognised.

Regardless of how recognition is given, there are three parts to an effective recognition message.

2. Recognise IMMEDIATELY (or as soon as possible) after the behaviour, effort, or result.

• When recognition is timely, it shows that you’ve noticed and care enough to celebrate their success.

• We know that what gets recognised gets repeated.

1. Describe the behaviour, effort, or result of the individual(s) or team.

2. Align it to a company goal or value and explain how they contributed to it.

3. Express your appreciation and reinforce their value to you, the team, and/or the company.

3. Be SPECIFIC when you recognise.

• Don’t just say ‘thank you’, ‘great job’, or ‘I want to recognise you for all of your great work’.

• Specify what behaviour, effort or result you want to recognise.

• Describe the impact on you, the team and/or the organisation.

Imagine you are the HR manager of a major sporting retailer and your area manager has just walked the floor at one of your retail outlets. They’ve just noticed a team member doing something amazing.

They might not be in front of their computer. But they will have their phone on them. On their phone they can access their

It’s also important to link recognition to key values and initiatives that are important to the business.

Notice how timely it can be when you do it on the spot on your mobile.

Very simple, very straightforward, in the moment, and fast.

And just as important, smart recognition produces results. As Novak stated, “I drastically increased employee recognition because I had to turn around KFC.” He summed up his approach: “It’s nice... and it works!”

For those doubting the power of recognition it’s worth remembering that human beings are motivated by more than money. They crave positive feedback, recognition when they put the hard work in, and acknowledgement from peers and leaders. It’s the inner glow one gets from knowing an achievement or goal has been seen, appreciated and celebrated. Magnify that by the size of your workforce and the benefits will speak for themselves. *Gallup Business Journal, ‘‘In Praise of Praising Your Employees”, 2006

Mark Barling is regional sales director at Blackhawk Network (Asia Pacific) | Recognition and Incentives. With our Achievers Employee Success platform we help businesses better engage their employees through social recognition, helping increase employee engagement and ultimately creating a happier, healthier and safer workplace. Visit www.achievers.com.au to find out more.

www.hcamag.com

30-31 Grass Roots_SUBBED.indd 31

31

29/09/2017 9:52:53 AM

FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

ADAPTIVE EXPERTISE: THE EXECUTIVE EDGE

Neuroscience is opening up a world of opportunities in L&D – not least in leadership development. Iain Hopkins chats to one innovator who is boosting the ‘Adaptive Expertise’ and ‘Fluid Intelligence’ of executive teams globally

HR PROFESSIONALS are well aware of the rapid – some might say frantic – pace of business today. Innovation and agility are more than buzzwords; they are vital to surviving disruption. If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed it’s not surprising.

What is surprising is the possible reason why: it comes back to how we learn and adapt, and the fundamental differences between ‘Crystallized Intelligence’ and ‘Fluid Intelligence’.

Phillip Campbell, CEO of enigmaFIT, outlines the two terms thus: “When we lived in a steady-state business world, subject matter expertise, or what we call Crystallized Intelligence, was fine. At a basic level, this is defined as everything we’ve ever learnt.

Most traditional leadership development is focused on Crystallized Intelligence.

However, in a rapidly changing business world, you need to complement Crystallized Intelligence with Fluid Intelligence, which is defined as the ability to adapt and solve new and novel problems in uncharted territory.

Fluid intelligence underpins what’s called Adaptive Expertise.”

Crystallized Intelligence is primarily a left-brain activity and is underpinned by language. In most educational forums, from kindergarten all the way to university and on to business training courses, the learner is told information, or they read information.

Crystallized Intelligence is then tested by asking questions such as ‘Tell me what you know about X, Y, Z’, and the learner either verbalises it or writes it down.

“It’s like you’re only exercising your left leg until it gets really strong, and doing no

“It’s the individual’s Fluid Intelligence that drives their ability to change and adapt” Phillip Campbell FLUID INTELLIGENCE IN A NUTSHELL Most of HRD’s readers would know that VUCA stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity. What you might not know is that it’s actually a military term that describes being in a battle in conditions you’ve never fought in before.

“What they’re saying is you can’t rely on past experience, and that’s exactly what Fluid Intelligence is all about,” says Phillip Campbell. “Fluid Intelligence is how you handle new or novel problems, or, as we say, how you handle uncharted waters.

By definition you can’t do what you’ve always done under business-as-usual conditions. To stay ahead of the pack, many of the executives we work with want to accelerate their ability to handle VUCA conditions.”

32

exercise on your right leg, and unfortunately when you try to walk you go round and round in circles. With today’s world we need to start exercising the right leg so you are balanced in your approach,” says Campbell.

So how do we exercise that ‘right leg’?

Significant advances in neuroscience and understanding of right/left-brain plasticity have helped in our understanding of why a combination of both Crystallized and Fluid Intelligence is so important.

Campbell provides an example that all HR professionals can relate to, which highlights why brain function is critically important to L&D outcomes. In this example, a dozen people are sent off to an offsite training program for two days. They’re all of similar expertise and experience. It’s the same facilitator, and the same course content and materials are used for everyone. Two of the participants come back and say the course was fabulous; two of them come back and say it was a waste of time; the others say it was just OK. Why the divergent opinions?

“The only thing that’s different is what’s happening inside people’s brains,” Campbell says. “Many of those people will come back to the office and feel good about it, but there will be no behavioural change.

It’s the individual’s Fluid Intelligence that drives their ability to change and adapt.

That’s why unless we’re upping their Fluid Intelligence we’re not giving them the chance to apply the learning and develop their new behaviours. All we’ve done is increase their comprehension [Crystallized Intelligence].”

www.hcamag.com

Sector Focus - enigmaFIT_SUBBED.indd 32

28/09/2017 9:27:45 AM

‘HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM…’ When Phillip Campbell is asked by clients to define Adaptive Expertise, he uses something everyone can relate to. “If I say, ‘Houston, we have a problem’, everyone thinks of Apollo 13, the real-life event and the film. This is the ideal way to outline what Adaptive Expertise is about.

No one had been in that situation before and anyone who’s watched that film will see Fluid Intelligence in action – they were literally rapidly coming up with innovative solutions on the go where they couldn’t rely on historical precedents. The leader had to continually lead while utilising the expertise within his team. That’s what we’re doing – we’re developing the brain’s capability to deal with issues that leaders haven’t come across before.” Or as child development pioneer Jean Piaget so elegantly put it, “It’s what you use when you don’t know what to do”.

The rise and rise of cognitive science Campbell, who holds a master’s in cognitive science and has over 25 years’ experience in the field, says cognitive science is fundamentally about how the human brain processes information, and the way we learn and develop. He likens the subconscious brain to a computer’s operating system.

We don’t really see what goes on in the operating system – we use a tool like Excel or Word, punch in the numbers or words and expect an output. The first we often know of something being wrong with the operating system is when the computer slows down or it hangs. “That’s what happens with the brain too,” says Campbell. “It’s not able to process the information quickly enough, and the problem is we’re getting more and more information dumped on us and we have to turn things around quicker and quicker, so we’re getting less time to analyse it. We’re being attacked from both sides.”

As the speed of change quickens, our ‘half-life’ of knowledge is decreasing.

This means that even if we believe our ‘Crystallized’ knowledge is an asset, it’s rapidly depreciating because a lot of what we learn is becoming redundant in a short

space of time. Hence, learning adaptability and learning agility are rapidly becoming critically important.

Campbell says that in the past an executive with lower Adaptive Expertise could still get by. Now and in the future they won’t be able to survive without improved Fluid Intelligence, which underpins their Adaptive Expertise.

Utilising Campbell’s knowledge about the brain’s natural brain plasticity and ability to change, enigmaFIT addresses the root causes of human behavioural change.

“Most programs address the symptoms, but it’s very difficult to get major change in a short period of time if all you’re doing is addressing the symptoms and not the underlying cause,” he says.

Just like changing habits, it takes time to create new subconscious brain patterns, which is what enigmaFIT does.

“Because it’s subconscious you can’t just talk about it, you have to actually use the brain, and use it in different ways,” Campbell says. “The program takes two to three months because that’s the time it takes to build and strengthen the neural pathways so that it becomes a subconscious habit even during times of stress.”

The enigmaFIT approach The goal of enigmaFIT’s program is to improve adaptability and agility, both vital traits in today’s VUCA world. “We don’t do any subject matter coaching or training because that is, by definition, left-brain, language-based Crystallized Intelligence,” Campbell says. “That’s still important and still needs to be done, but it’s not what we do.

We uniquely focus on the Adaptive Expertise and Fluid Intelligence. We aim to improve learning agility, strategic agility, mental agility, delegation agility and communication agility.

We also improve social leadership skills – that’s a big payoff as well,” says Campbell.

Participants in the programs – who range from high potentials to senior executives and CEOs – first undertake a 40-minute test of where they currently sit in relation to those previously mentioned traits. The test utilises pictures, diagrams and brain puzzles.

Participants are then given a report and a score, the real purpose of which is to tailor the subsequent development program to them.

For C-suite and senior executives, it’s commonplace to do one-on-one sessions, while high-potential executives might do the program as a group. Regardless, the

www.hcamag.com

Sector Focus - enigmaFIT_SUBBED.indd 33

33

28/09/2017 9:27:56 AM

FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT commitment level is the same: typically eight 1.5 hour sessions, once a week. Participants then do three to four 30-minute Fluid Intelligence practice sessions in between, such as brain puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, etc, but they need to be done in a very specific way.

Campbell likens this approach to using a personal gym instructor once a week, but if you don’t go to the gym in between the sessions, the impact will be minimal. “People have to commit to doing that or there’s no point,” he says.

The enigmaFIT approach aims to address what Campbell views as a flaw in many leadership development programs. “Think of it as looking to add a second storey on your leadership house,” he says. “Firstly, we’re testing the foundations of your house. Then we want to strengthen those foundations. Only then do we add the second level. Too often companies will build the second storey without first firming up the foundations. Basically, the first two thirds of the program is spent addressing those foundational areas. The last third is spent applying it to the job of each participant.”

At the end of the program, participants are retested. “We do the retest because we’ve found that people in finance, accounting, engineering and sales roles really want to see quantitative evidence of change. The retest also identifies any fine-tuning that needs to occur, but you’re only doing that in the areas where it’s needed,” Campbell says.

Time for a change?

Astute HR directors are already on board with this innovative approach to developing existing and future leaders. enigmaFIT’s impressive client list includes Scentre Group (owner and operator of Westfield in Australia and New Zealand) and Boston Consulting Group in New York (see case studies). “Every HR department we’re talking to is saying, ‘We need to make our leaders more adaptable, agile and flexible’, but they don’t know how to do it. That’s what we do uniquely. Others can’t do that, because they’re trying to do it with Crystallized Intelligence, which makes people more aware but doesn’t get an outcome. It’s time for a different approach.”

34

CASE STUDY:

BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP HRD chats with Vickie Zalkin, Consulting, Staffing and People Team Director at Boston Consulting Group’s New York office, about how enigmaFIT’s approach to leadership development is helping BCG’s high potentials adapt to the strategic demands of future leadership roles HRD: What sparked your initial interest in how enigmaFIT develops leaders?

Vickie Zalkin: We attended a breakfast a little over a year ago, where we first heard about the program and the concept of Fluid and Crystallized Intelligence, and Adaptive Leadership. We thought this could be an interesting program for our high-potential Principals. Within BCG we have a Senior Partner level and then a Pre-Partner level – our Principals – and we were keen to offer something new to both these cohorts in addition to our existing development programs.

We thought this would be a good opportunity to pilot something different that we hadn’t really encountered before and position it almost like a reward for our high potentials in particular.

Ross Love, our Managing Partner, also commented: “Designing our new office at 10 Hudson Yards required innovative, strategic and edgy thinking as we wanted a degree of unpredictability. We didn’t want our people to just slip into a regular pattern of thinking at the new office. So we also engaged enigmaFIT to develop our people’s Fluid Intelligence and Adaptive Thinking so they could think differently about projects and develop answers that delivered a differentiated and advantaged outcome for our clients.”

HRD: Had you tried traditional coaching sessions before?

VZ: We’d used traditional executive coaches before and they are great – they are helpful in getting people to work through performance issues or developing specific skills, such as presentation skills. However, what appealed to me was the fact that this is rooted in neuroscience. This was very different both in terms of how the enigmaFIT profile assesses where you are to start with, and then how it explores the various dimensions that are helpful for executive performance. Then the approach the program takes is fresh and different – from the brain practice exercises in between sessions and the different types of exercises, to the coaching itself.

HRD: What were you hoping to achieve by putting these high potentials through the Group Adaptive Expertise Program?

VZ: These participants are at Pre-Partner

www.hcamag.com

Sector Focus - enigmaFIT_SUBBED.indd 34

28/09/2017 9:28:12 AM

level so they are yet to have much experience and exposure to the executive level. We were looking to help them pull back and see the bigger picture, including how they could delegate more effectively to their teams.

Many of them were really close to the Project Manager phase of work at BCG, so they were still tactical and focused on the day-today activities of project management and execution. We wanted them to get a sense of how they might handle some of the strategic challenges inherent in these roles.

HRD: You participated in this course yourself. Walk us through how the program was implemented at BCG. VZ: Our high-potential Principals had their profiles done, then we undertook group sessions, and then we practised the brain exercises between each session. We undertook the coaching sessions together in an interactive group format, with additional one-on-ones with each person over the course of the two-and-a-half-month program. As each participant completed the course they undertook a post-program test to see how and where they’d developed.

HRD: What results have you seen so far?

VZ: One of my roles has been overseeing the career development for this cohort of staff, and six months since they completed this program I can see where those who made the biggest gains in the program, from pre-program to post-program, have actually also made the biggest gains in their overall performance. They have been able to stand back, look at the bigger picture, and see how they can adapt or flex to the different challenges coming their way.

I think they’re continuing to see benefits and are really accelerating into their roles. Those who didn’t do all the exercises in between the coaching sessions didn’t see as much of an impact from their pre-program profile to their post-program profile evaluation, and haven’t had the same level of acceleration. From my own perspective, I have become much more strategic, more proactive, gained considerably more leverage, and more effective use of my time. In fact, as a result of undertaking the

program, I actually made the decision to hire two more direct reports, which has enhanced my effectiveness and leverage even more.

HRD: Can you provide an example of the brain exercises?

VZ: An example would be the series of mazes, which became increasingly difficult; however, there was also a specific way to complete each maze. It wasn’t just starting at the beginning and working your way through. Initially it seems quite basic, but as the mazes become more complex you can see how this approach makes a big difference. It’s actually a very visual representation of something that you’re doing all the time in management roles. It’s

with being uncomfortable and knowing that was when I was making the most progress.

HRD: You’ve since rolled out the 1:1 Adaptive Expertise Program with Senior Partners. How has that experience been?

VZ: We’re still only partway through. It’s eight sessions theoretically done once a week, but with some scheduling issues it will take a little longer for the Partners to complete. Using the 1:1 sessions is more impactful as each person is working in a different industry or practice area, and they each have different ways of working with clients. The 1:1 sessions make more sense as they can dig into live situations

What appealed to me was the fact that this is rooted in neuroscience” Vickie Zalkin, Boston Consulting Group the same way that a large, complicated project might initially look insurmountable. However, in much the same way that you can train your brain to navigate a maze in a different way, you can also ensure your brain is wired and equipped to deal with a larger or more strategic problem in a more effective way.

HRD: Did the course challenge any preconceived notions of your own abilities?

VZ: You do get a sense of which exercises are addressing which dimensions of Adaptive Expertise and Fluid Intelligence. What surprised me was the experience of doing the profile test and having the profile results fed back to me, outlining what my profile results on each segment of the assessment indicated.

I kept saying: “That’s exactly how I think about things”. I was surprised at how accurate it was, but I was told this reaction was normal.

It was the fact that these results reinforced what I naturally gravitate towards and what I feel most comfortable doing, and also where I feel most uncomfortable and need to stretch myself. Working through that was probably the most arresting piece – getting comfortable

and determine how to apply some of the techniques and approaches to the challenges they are facing. Ethan Dabbs, who is a Partner and Managing Director and recently started the 1:1 version of the program, commented at a breakfast event: “It’s early days yet, but I have already substantially improved my own and my team’s productivity. I have also got an additional hour back in my day.”

HRD: Any advice for other leaders considering such a course?

VZ: It is unlike most programs where you can take a more reactive approach of just attending and focusing on understanding the content. With the Adaptive Expertise Program you need to appreciate the science underpinning it which requires you to be proactively engaged and undertake the brain practice exercises on a regular basis in order to become more strategic, flexible, agile, leveraged, etc. Put simply, if you do the brain practice exercises then you get the payoff, but if don’t then you won’t get the payoff. This is critical to making it work, so it is important to select motivated and engaged executives to undertake the program.

www.hcamag.com

Sector Focus - enigmaFIT_SUBBED.indd 35

35

28/09/2017 9:28:24 AM

FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

CASE STUDY:

SCENTRE GROUP HRD sat down with Scentre Group’s Director of Human Resources, Janine Frew, and Organisation Capability Manager, Carolyn Agar, to discuss how enigmaFIT’s program has helped transform the company’s leadership team HRD: Can you provide some context around why you revised your leadership development programs?

Janine Frew: With the establishment of Scentre Group (owner and operator of Westfield in Australia and New Zealand) several years ago, we had a new corporate entity, a new board and a new CEO, but effectively the same leadership team that we had when we were known as Westfield.

Our aim was to establish Scentre Group as a new identity.

The executive team started by creating a new purpose and also the DNA or cultural values of the organisation. That process revealed there was a significant culture shift needed from where we were to where we needed to be. We also knew that from a capability perspective we also had to make a shift from being a very technically competent, operationally efficient organisation to one that was more focused on strategic thinking, innovation and being able to adapt to the changing needs of our retailers and shoppers.

We knew we needed to have the right leaders in place in order to make that transformation. We’ve explored a whole range of approaches to how we could go about doing that, and what struck us about enigmaFIT was that it was quite different and unique in that there was a very strong emphasis on building that strategic agility and innovation and actually working with your existing leaders. The question was: could these leaders

36

become more agile, more strategic? That’s where enigmaFIT came in.

Carolyn Agar: We also wanted to focus on the next layer down from those 20 or so senior executives. We needed to be grooming that pool of 24 high-potential executives so we could eventually elevate them to more senior executive roles. They were seasoned senior managers and we wanted to understand what they had in their tank if they had to step up.

So it was a key part of succession planning and building bench strength.

HRD: What attracted you to the enigmaFIT program?

JF: The enigmaFIT program gave us the ability to understand where people were at, but just as important, it gave us an understanding of how much each individual could shift. We wanted participants to increase their adaptability and agility so they could deliver results, but do that in a really effective and efficient way.

That was quite unique. It also allowed us to use our own language in how we applied the tool and the process. It couldn’t be just another leadership program; we didn’t want the jargon.

It had to be meaningful and relevant to our business strategy and where we were taking the organisation.

HRD: How do you assess a program like this?

JF: We always start with the anecdotal piece, which occurs when you talk to the individuals

Carolyn Agar (left) with Phillip Campbell and Janine Frew

who went through the program. We did this with the executives and every person who went through the complete program, of which enigmaFIT was one part. enigmaFIT was reported in some cases as being the most life-changing, most impactful element, so that anecdotal feedback was incredibly powerful.

Then obviously we looked at the results pre and post the program in terms of any change. One of the reasons was to support the pipeline of talent through the business.

When we look at those high potentials, 20 of the 24 have been promoted or had significant role-stretch in the organisation.

For those in the GM ranks, we’ve had a significant amount of movement there too – moving into roles of greater significance. So you could definitely say it’s done the job we needed it to do.

HRD: How about the more subtle elements – the culture change, the desire to create a new entity?

CA: In an employee survey we ran last year, our engagement score was at 85%, which would indicate people have a huge amount of goodwill towards the organisation, and that is primarily achieved through their relationship with their leaders. When you look at things like whether people are clear on what they’re here to deliver on and do they understand the strategy of the business, those scores are in the 90s. So it has definitely helped to translate strategy into clear goals for people.

www.hcamag.com

Sector Focus - enigmaFIT_SUBBED.indd 36

28/09/2017 9:28:41 AM

AWARDED AUSTRALIA’S BEST BUSINESS EVENT

14-15 March • Luna Park Sydney

FIRST SPEAKERS ANNOUNCED

Saroo Brierley, Author, A Long Way Home

Ann Sherry, Executive Chairman, Carnival

Liam Hayes, Chief People Officer, Aurecon

Rachael Powell, Chief People Officer, XERO

Greg Barnier, Chief People Officer, icare NSW

INTRODUCTORY SUPER SAVER OFFER Register by 15 December and save

Principal partner

Legal sponsor

Sponsors

Workshop sponsors

Dynamic Leadership Programs Australia

Exhibitors

www.hrsummit.com.au NHRS_fp ad V2.indd 1

Official publication

Organised by

#HRSummitAU 28/09/2017 8:21:21 AM

FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: CAREER TRANSITION

NEW BEGINNINGS Career transition services have traditionally only been thought about reactively, at the time of need.

Today, with an increasingly contingent workforce, a proactive approach can reap significant dividends

AFTER YEARS of talking about change fatigue and the potentially damaging impact that relentless change can have not just on productivity and engagement but also on health and wellbeing, it seems employees have embraced the concept to the extent that change is now fundamental to how work is undertaken. Change and transition between jobs underpins today’s gig economy, which consists of freelancers, contract workers and project-based workers. The rise of the gig economy has also forced the hand of

based employment,” says Stacey Blanch, national sales director at Sageco – a RiseSmart Company. “Transition has become an increasingly normal part of today’s work environment.”

Redefining outplacement Some traditional HR functions, such as outplacement, need to be reconfigured to match the changing needs of employees and employers. In today’s market, leading employers create environments that promote

“Transition is no longer a notion contained within the traditional concept of outplacement, but rather is an evolving process of discovery within the established relationship” Stacey Blanch employers, who now need to reconsider the relationships they have with employees.

“The dynamics of the workforce are undergoing a monumental shift, with more remote workers and flexible working options, including a shift towards project-

38

open conversations regarding employment transition options from the beginning of the employment relationship. In addition to flexible/remote working options, leading employers are also reviewing their operational environment to identify opportunities to

implement project-based options, which when planned effectively can deliver significant benefits to employers and employees alike.

“Transition is no longer a notion contained within the traditional concept of outplacement, but rather is an evolving process of discovery within the established relationship,” Blanch says. “Sageco’s clients are prepared and empowered to consider employment alternatives upstream of the activities generally considered as ‘redeployment’ or ‘outplacement’ initiatives.”

Indeed, rather than considering an existing employee-employer relationship in terms of an ‘end-to-end solution’, Sageco refers to the relationship in terms of ‘beginning-tobeginning’. This is RiseSmart’s global approach to transition which assists employers in effectively identifying, designing or redefining alternative employment modes within their businesses prior to the requirement for change.

As a RiseSmart company, Sageco guides and inspires companies and their employees from beginning to beginning.

Career transition for mature-age workers Just as baby boomers have redefined all phases of life, they’re also redefining the concept of retirement. And while the ‘big ticket’ forces such as technology development and globalisation, automation and outsourcing offshore are increasing the rate of change within Australian organisations, demographic change is still having a major impact. Fortunately, the proliferation of flexible working conditions in today’s workplaces can provide a great platform for the retention of mature-age workers.

“No longer is retirement the end stage of one’s career at a predetermined age. Now, mature-age workers can explore a variety of ways to work differently in their career field of choice or apply their cumulated knowledge and know-how to new work options,” says Blanch.

www.hcamag.com

38-41_SF - Sageco_SUBBED.indd 38

29/09/2017 9:55:03 AM

Brought to you by

Again, the ‘beginning-to-beginning’ approach can help. Employers using this philosophy are well positioned to have early change conversations with mature-age employees regarding their future. Mature-age workers benefit from participating in a holistic approach, which supports them in envisaging a positive and productive future. The key is in exploring the meaning of flexibility for each individual, as it is different for all.

Fundamental to this, however, is leadership commitment. “People leaders need to be champions – facilitating conversations, challenging the norm and monitoring targets and embedding them in performance measures,” says Blanch.

“Senior leaders need to actively help all people leaders navigate the risks, challenges and opportunities of an ageing workforce to ensure their engagement and good practice.”

Sageco’s mature-age specialist team encourages employers to look through the inclusion lens at their recruitment and retention practices. In many instances, simple tweaks here and there can make all the difference – for example, website images and how these reflect the diversity within the organisation.

A proactive approach might also include targeted education and training for matureage workers. Blanch cites research that indicates people in their late careers receive less organisation-funded professional development and training. Additionally, qualifications acquired later in life have as good, and in some cases better, pay-off than qualifications obtained at a younger age.

Best practice career transition Blanch outlines several key factors that employers should consider in order to embrace best practice career transition services: • Maintain positive and productive relationships: As the construct of our workforces change in our progress towards

TRUST AND EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIPS While employee loyalty is still sought after, today the key is building employee relationships.

Stacey Blanch outlines what this means for career transition services “The success of transition hinges on trust, the new cornerstone of the employer-employee relationship. Part of preserving that trust is recognising that a company’s relationship with its employees is never finite. A specialised workforce bonded by strong company cultures means that former employees and contractors become brand ambassadors, references, customers, recruiters, and cheerleaders. These relationships will make or break the industry leaders of the future, and we’re here to preserve and protect them.

“The challenge is that as organisations we are hard-wired industrially, legally and culturally in a traditional employer-employee relationship. As we move towards a time where employment contracts change and we have a much more contingent workforce, what are we going to do as an organisation to build trust and empower each individual who works within it? How can you help them create their career and go from beginning to beginning?”

the future world of work, the ultimate goal of transition for organisations is to maintain positive relationships that span beyond employment periods or projects, and create brand ambassadors within our markets.

Talent, and our access to it, will continue to become more fluid in the years to come.

Now is the time when organisations need to be readying themselves to equally support their permanent and flexible workforces.

• It starts at the top: Organisations that are serious about creating brand ambassadors must have the buy-in and ongoing support of their senior leadership. These champions must encourage and empower their people leaders to explore creative alternatives to employment that meet both the commercial outcomes desired by the business and the individual considerations of the employee.

www.hcamag.com

38-41_SF - Sageco_SUBBED.indd 39

39

29/09/2017 9:55:16 AM

FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: CAREER TRANSITION Brought to you by

THE EVOLUTION OF SAGECO Alison Monroe outlines how Sageco has gone from strength to strength “Organisations have long known Sageco for our mature-age expertise.

In the last four years we have increasingly worked on broader career transition management projects with large organisations who sought out our unique holistic approach. In January 2017, Sageco became Sageco – a RiseSmart company – and we believe we can now offer the best-in-class solutions for all ages and all stages of transition.

“This year, we have been managing the typical internal transitions of becoming being part of a bigger entity with global reach. We are already known as RiseSmart New Zealand, and in January 2018 Sageco will become RiseSmart Australia, incorporating the well-known and loved Sageco solutions. I am proud to lead the Sageco team through this journey as national director, Australia and New Zealand, and am looking forward to the Sageco suite of solutions becoming available globally under the RiseSmart banner.”

SAGECO – A RISESMART COMPANY Sageco – a RiseSmart company makes new beginnings possible, faster. We provide expert transition services to support people through organisational and demographic change. Sageco is part of RiseSmart’s Network of Global Solutions in 70 countries.

Follow us LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/ company/sageco-pty-ltd Twitter: @SagecoHQ Facebook: https://www.facebook. com/SagecoTransition/

40

• Real flexible work options: There is a paradigm shift occurring within the employer-employee relationship. Desired talent are becoming more selective in ‘who’ they work with, and this decision is strongly linked with the organisation’s ‘why’. A clear organisational position on flexible working arrangements that details their impacts and benefits on work-life balance is a ‘must have’ for organisations to remain successful in the future.

• One size does not fit all: Transition projects of the future will include an increased diversity of specialty groups that will each require unique approaches to transition. Whether you consider the varying needs of workers, from ‘blue collar’ to ‘white collar’, mature age to Generation Z, or special knowledge holders or contractors, to name a few, it is clear that the process and outcomes of transition mean something a little different to each group – let alone the L&D differences that occur at an individual level.

• Speed and agility matters: As a RiseSmart company, Sageco is powered by revolutionary technology that helps participants get started quickly; find targeted, smartly matched roles quickly; get a résumé in no time, and still have a personalised coaching, résumé writing and job sourcing experience. Sageco’s participants are landing roles 40% faster than the Australian national average – globally it can be up to 60%. We are really confident about making new beginnings possible, faster.

A fresh approach A fresh approach to career transition that includes the latest technology can provide a helping hand. For example, Blanch says the ‘high touch/high tech’ approach is common

across the transition industry – however, RiseSmart has taken that to a whole new level, with demonstrated capability to accelerate career transition beyond market expectations – 40% faster than the national average in Australia/New Zealand.

RiseSmart is the first to pioneer the ‘Team of Three’ approach: a dedicated transition coach, a dedicated résumé writer to provide tailored personal branding, and a personal job concierge, handpicking roles for consideration.

RiseSmart’s revolutionary patentprotected technology includes SmartMatch, a proprietary algorithm that gives participants a shortlist of the best-fitting jobs in just seconds. “Our contact discovery engine reveals contacts in the participant’s existing network who can help them source roles,” says Blanch. “In effect, our transition coaches are accessible 24/7 via the RiseSmart platform, with messaging systems, a wealth of resources and organisation tools.”

In addition, RiseSmart’s ‘Insight’ is the first client portal that provides clients with real-time access to the progress of their transition projects and individual participant program. Further, the company provides hard facts on ROI for business impact studies.

From reactive to proactive However, while a multifaceted transition provider can help, relationships and trust lie at the heart of effective career transitions.

Blanch also urges employers to be proactive.

“Transition for the future world of work needs to be a proactive activity. That requires an evolving series of conversations and not a reactive single conversation brought about by market and/or business changes,” she says.

“The more open and transparent the transition conversation is, the more powerful it is for each individual to act confidently and manage their career.”

www.hcamag.com

38-41_SF - Sageco_SUBBED.indd 40

29/09/2017 9:55:46 AM

38-41_SF - Sageco_SUBBED.indd 41

29/09/2017 9:56:29 AM

FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: TALENT MANAGEMENT

THE SUCCESSION DILEMMA

Outmoded processes and a reluctance from young people to step up to leadership roles may impact future business sustainability

THE PACE of business in 2017 means that longer term strategic planning can often be jettisoned and replaced with short-term reaction-based planning, which ultimately doesn’t do anyone any favours. One area that should never fall victim to this ‘short-termism’ is succession planning. However, headlines from around the world indicate that this is something large corporates continue to fail on.

Research from DDI* in 2016, indicates that

of effectively developing efficient succession strategies, with too few or no candidates in the pipeline.

He adds that there are two key reasons for this lack of preparation: outmoded systems and processes, including the technology and data insights that are required in today’s rapidly changing world; and a growing indifference from younger workers that the management path is one they want to tread.

“We have literally billions of records.

Our data scientists will run algorithms on this data in order to find correlations across different disciplines” Olivier Pestel, Cornerstone OnDemand only 15% of HR professionals in the 2,000plus organisations surveyed rate their future bench strength as strong. Just as worrying, for less than half of the critical positions in those organisations, there are no internal candidates ready and waiting in the wings.

Olivier Pestel, Cornerstone OnDemand’s Head of Presales & Business Development Asia Pacific & Japan, regularly hears from client organisations that they are falling short

42

“Technology evolves so fast that many employers might be losing some of the value that comes from connecting data – and succession planning in a siloed environment isn’t very effective,” Pestel says. “It’s vital to have technology that supports the entire organisation in these talent management tasks.”

As for the growing indifference to eventually moving into management and leadership roles, Pestel cites Arthur C. Brooks, a columnist with

The New York Times, who wrote: “Why don’t people stop rising when they’re happy?... We incorrectly infer that promotions will equal greater satisfaction.”

Indeed, a CareerBuilder survey from 2014 found that a mere 34% of workers aspire to leadership positions. Why? The majority (52%) are simply satisfied in their current positions. What’s more, many people who are already in management positions would rather be doing something else. With that in mind, organisations are starting to realise that rising up the ladder is not always the Holy Grail and there are many ways people can remain influential individual contributors and continue to hone their expertise. For example, they can act as one-on-one mentors, they can offer training to new employees, they can lead internal committees or they can become ‘fellows’ within the company dedicated to researching their respective fields.

Clearly it’s time to reconsider what succession means and how it can once again be factored into long-term talent management.

Reimagining succession Pestel says there’s more to succession planning than identifying the next wave of senior managers or VPs. While it’s important to groom future leaders for your company, a singular focus on finding ‘leadership’ often comes at the cost of missing talent for lower-level positions.

“When this happens, your succession planning strategy can feel a lot like musical chairs,” he says. “Instead of creating ‘holes’ throughout the bottom of an organisation and hoping for the best, HR professionals need to think holistically about the talent lifecycle.”

He adds that when succession, development and recruiting are in sync, it’s possible to proactively fill those holes.

There is an obvious strong link between succession planning and talent mapping – the latter of which could be described as the process of linking the skills inventory with short-term

www.hcamag.com

34-45_SF - Cornerstone.indd 42

28/09/2017 3:05:44 PM

Brought to you by

WHY IS SUCCESSION A PRIORITY? DDI’s white paper, Taking Your Succession Management Plan into the 21st Century, identified five key reasons why succession management should be on top of the strategic agenda: • An exodus of baby boomers in many countries is creating a shortage of experienced leaders. As a result, millennials – with different expectations and views on leadership – will be filling open slots from the C-suite on down.

• Upwards of half of the global workforce remains disengaged year after year. Highquality leadership plays a key role in employee engagement. When leaders don’t have the skills to engage their workforces, business productivity and talent retention suffer.

• Most companies are facing some form of digital disruption, requiring a new set of competencies such as 360-degree thinking and hypercollaboration.

• Leadership is very much becoming a global value proposition. Organisations must find, develop and nurture leaders who can work across cultural boundaries and manage multiple operations in different countries.

• Inclusiveness is becoming a leadership issue for more than social/cultural reasons. DDI’s research shows that higher performing companies have double the number of females in leadership versus their lower performing counterparts

to long-term headcount planning, managing the balance between an organisation’s existing supply of high-performance and high-potential talent, and the need for different skills and qualities as the business changes. As such, talent mapping is an important part of succession planning as well as workforce planning.

Doing it better Knowing who to move where and when is a key part of succession planning but talent mobility also plays a key role in helping organisations stay agile.

“When we talk about agility we talk about how your organisation can react to changes in

the marketplace, recognise and close employee skill gaps, and align the right people in the right places to handle any pivots in business strategy,” says Pestel.

He adds that the increasingly popular ‘career lattice’ – with its sideways moves and tangential project work – is enabling that agility in the workplace. Pestel says there are three essential elements required to ensure succession works in 2017.

1. A common competency language. “This simply means that an employee can carry his or her competencies around with them, from job to job, from organisation to organisation, even from country to

country. It becomes like an identity card and people can continue to develop those competencies along a structured path in different businesses throughout their career. For the employees it means ensuring that the skill or competency they’re developing today will have a midto long-term impact on whatever jobs they will do in the future.”

2. Individualised employee development.

“HR technology is no longer designed for HR people; the primary consumer is the manager and the employee. They are the consumer of all these applications. It’s no longer designed for the back-office, but

www.hcamag.com

34-45_SF - Cornerstone.indd 43

43

28/09/2017 3:06:18 PM

FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: TALENT MANAGEMENT Brought to you by

TIME FOR A RETHINK A recent ManpowerGroup survey^ found that only six percent of millennials want to be leaders, and just four percent want to manage others. When millennials are told about the great growth potential and amazing things leadership can do for their career, many feel they are unprepared for these positions. In fact, 63% of millennials surveyed by Deloitte^^ said their leadership skills aren’t being fully developed. Olivier Pestel of Cornerstone OnDemand says it’s time for a rethink of how succession is handled and communicated to young future leaders. “Managers are often shocked at these statistics – they assume people want to go higher, to a bigger title and usually bigger pay. However, our motto is ‘realise your potential,’ and there are numerous ways to do that. It’s time to get creative with how people are developed within organisations.”

Sources: *Global Leadership Forecast 2014/2015, DDI ^‘Millennials: A Career For Me’, ManpowerGroup ^^Deloitte Millennial Survey

CORNERSTONE Cornerstone OnDemand is pioneering solutions to help organisations realise the potential of a modern workforce. As a global leader in cloud-based learning and human capital management software, Cornerstone is designed to enable a lifetime of learning and development that is fundamental to the growth of employees and organisations. www. cornerstoneondemand.com.au/

44

rather for employees so they can master it and own their personal development.”

3. The promotion of an internal job marketplace. “The open job marketplace is about providing some transparency and making it easier for someone to land a job at your company. It’s about trying to break down that mindset of keeping people within your team. That takes a lot of change – managers tend to keep their good people with them and it can be a painful process to replace good people. But there comes a point where allowing people to move internally with transparency pays off and benefits individuals and employers.”

Keeping track HR professionals and people managers may feel slightly overwhelmed by the task at hand.

From recruitment to L&D and performance management, and onto wider organisational design, there is much to consider when it comes to succession planning. The rise of big data and prescriptive analytics has also exponentially increased the amount of team and individual data available to managers and their HR business partners.

Technology can assist in keeping everything on track. Just as important is having the right service provider offering advice and solutions.

Cornerstone, for example, has built a solution to give real-time visibility into the employee ‘pedigree’ – in terms of competencies, aspirations, performance and potential, to manage talent reviews, to tie it to the typical succession metrics (impact and risk) – to explore internal and external talent pools and develop individual and job-specific plans for both shortterm and long-term horizons.

Indeed, big data and prescriptive analytics can actually provide great assistance to simulate and anticipate the evolution of the potential and the performance of the employees based on their path to development and many other variables.

Cornerstone has a data scientist team that

hypothesises and tests predictions on a large set of data to see if the predictors have valuable insight into that data. Once the team has verified that there is predictive power in the data, the company creates models out of them to generate new insights.

Cornerstone cross-validates its models frequently, and thanks to machine learning, models get smarter over time.

“We have literally billions of records,” says Pestel. “Our data scientists will run algorithms on this data in order to find correlations across different disciplines – so recruitment, onboarding, learning, performance. An example might a correlation between hiring someone with these behaviours and competencies having a better performance rating over time in customer service. By crunching all this data we identify correlation. Once that’s identified, we can provide a list of actions – because we know these actions will have an impact.”

Using that example of wanting better customer service, the action might be to hire them from a particular school curriculum and to put them through a particular induction program.

“It’s not just a static model, it’s a dynamic model, but the data we collect over time will continue to validate whether that model is correct over time,” says Pestel.

One piece of a bigger puzzle Pestel adds that succession is just one piece in Cornerstone’s talent management suite, as it should be in any organisation’s talent management strategy.

“Inherent within the development lifecycle of an employee, succession strategies should be managed alongside career planning, performance management and development,” he says. “The dependency of these programs on each other reflects the need for a solution that unifies all this critical talent data in one place.

It’s based on this premise that Cornerstone’s succession management solution has been designed to manage your talent for the future.”

www.hcamag.com

34-45_SF - Cornerstone.indd 44

28/09/2017 3:06:53 PM

34-45_SF - Cornerstone.indd 45

28/09/2017 3:08:01 PM

FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: RECOGNITION

THE WORLD IS YOUR OYSTER Expanding to overseas markets has long been an attractive strategy for Australian businesses.

THE GRASS is always greener overseas – or at least that has been the commonly held view of Australian business leaders and their desire to expand operations overseas.

In June, NBN commissioned a report on the emergence of ‘Glocals’ – businesses looking to expand internationally while enjoying the freedom and lifestyle of staying local. Although the report targeted SMEs and not the bigger end of town, it still provided insights into the continued global ambitions of business owners. The report revealed that almost half (46%) are planning to operate overseas in

struggled to keep pace with clients who may require regional or global services?

Daniel Sherrington, Regional Director APAC at engagement specialists O.C. Tanner, says globalisation has had a dramatic impact on how vendors such as O.C. Tanner operate to support clients around the world. He explains that in terms of market growth, on one hand, there are greater opportunities to reach new customers as offerings are expanded; on the other hand, a business may be exposed to greater competition and a variety of different competitors who offer everything from full

“If you start making local changes that move too far away from the original idea you run the risk of the program losing its clarity” Daniel Sherrington, Regional Director APAC the next 12 months. Specifically, the study indicated that countries such as China (39%), Singapore (29%) and the US (26%) are the most attractive markets to move into, due to their strong demand for local products and vast potential customer base.

Yet while the impact of globalisation on businesses and their employees is well documented, less covered is how it impacts on service providers. Have service providers

46

service to pure SaaS low cost to entry.

“In terms of setting up a truly global offering to support your client’s programs, this is far more complex than running domestic programs,” says Sherrington.

“Global clients require you to provide multilingual technology, a global reward supply chain operation that can reach to over 100+ countries, many currencies and different tax laws. Customer service needs to be provided to

cover multiple time zones and languages.”

Sherrington has been involved in consulting on many global reward & recognition programs, and says there is no ‘one size fits all’ model when it comes to global reward & recognition and appreciation programs.

Glocalisation In the past, regional and local HR leaders may have faced the challenge of having global HR initiatives foisted on them, with little or no consideration for local market nuances. However, Sherrington has noticed this is changing – especially when it comes to supporting global culture enablement programs.

A global program will usually be supported on one platform worldwide but will ideally provide the flexibility to tweak some of the features, language and messaging in each market or region.

“You tread a fine line between having a vanilla solution that misses the mark in certain places, versus giving local HR too much autonomy to have it completely localised,” says Sherrington. “Remember, one of the benefits of a global program is to have a clear strategy worldwide. Furthermore, many of the key drivers for a global program are cost savings worldwide and simplicity. If you start making local changes that move too far away from the original idea you run the risk of the program losing its clarity and having a cost blow out.”

Part of the shift in thinking, Sherrington adds, is due to the increasing tendency for local HR professionals to focus on business outcomes rather than administrative matters.

What remains a challenge is the need to educate in these markets. Sherrington says it requires a long-term training plan to help three generations of employees understand the importance of recognition and engagement, and the impact of it, when done well.

“At O.C. Tanner this is something we’ve always been extremely focused on, conducting

www.hcamag.com

46-49_SF - OC Tanner.indd 46

28/09/2017 3:14:53 PM

Brought to you by

OVERSEAS EXPANSION: KEY TRENDS

KEY FINDINGS FROM THE NBN ‘GLOCALS’ REPORT INCLUDED:

‘Glocal’ industries: The top industries expanding their business internationally are information media and telecommunications (80%), wholesale trade (76%), manufacturing (65%), retail (60%), education and training (59%), accommodation and tourism (59 per cent) and food products/services (56%).

Attracting Asian markets: Asia is one of the most lucrative markets for expansion with three quarters (72%) of Australian businesses looking to sell products within that market. Strong demand for Australian products and services (37%) was a key factor for businesses expanding into Asia, followed by population size and market potential (35%) and easier access to large markets through online selling platforms (31%).

thousands of online, offline courses a year, together with webinars and keynote sessions, classroom training and leadership events.”

Expanding while keeping it lean HR should still expect there to be some need to integrate disparate systems and processes.

When it comes to technology integration, however, this is something that most global vendors are now very familiar with and would consider it a basic requirement for any program.

However, despite the push towards regional HR initiatives and potentially more stakeholders being involved, Sherrington sees

Technology tools: Almost all (91%) businesses agreed online technology is a key enabler to overseas expansion with four in five (81%) stating improved technologies such as the NBN network will make overseas expansion easier.

no reason to revert back to having too many internal processes and extensive bureaucracy.

“In the past, Australian HR would design and approve a program and to save time and hassle pay for the program at the HQ and only charge regional cost centres for the reward that went through the program,” he says.

“This has changed in that it is now a regional conversation, and projects such as employee engagement are passed around to different HR centres in APAC who lead the project. As a result of this, the budgetary process from the outset is clear that each region carries their share of the program management as well as reward costs.”

Making the move abroad: The majority of businesses said setting up legal and financial requirements are the biggest challenges to going ‘Glocal’ (96%) followed by identifying local sources of support in overseas markets (94%) and overcoming language barriers (92%).

When it comes to budgets, this needs to be tied to the overall business outcome the company is looking to achieve and then working back from there, rather than plucking a number out of a spreadsheet and using it as the budget. Sherrington suggests that many companies now take the view that it is recognition and appreciation (and not just reward) that is more likely to make someone feel more valued, achieve a greater sense of purpose and a sense that what they do matters to the company.

“With that in mind, many companies have been able to cut their R&R budgets and significantly increase employee engagement

www.hcamag.com

46-49_SF - OC Tanner.indd 47

47

28/09/2017 3:15:09 PM

FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: RECOGNITION Brought to you by

AN EMERGING TREND As we approach the end of another year, it’s timely to ask what upcoming trends are shaping the culture/engagement/R&R space.

Daniel Sherrington responds: “Our most recent O.C. Tanner Institute research has identified that there are a number of interconnected factors that work together to create an optimal company culture. One of those factors that we think companies need to keep top of mind is overall wellbeing. Not simply the ‘on-site gyms and healthy lunches’ kind of wellbeing – that is a little played out – but real and meaningful attention paid to the emotional and physical health of your employees. We know this is increasingly important to employees and that in order to have a culture that attracts and retains employees, organisations need to have more comprehensive wellbeing solutions. That is a focus for us right now at O.C. Tanner and we’re excited about some forthcoming developments in that area that you will see from us in 2018.”

O.C. TANNER The best workplaces on earth attract, engage and retain talent by focusing on greatness. And thousands of them do it with the Culture-Building Products from O.C. Tanner. They give you everything you need to recognize, reward, and influence greatness in your organization. For further information contact Karen Aroney, Director of Business Development, on 61 407 022 297 or Karen.Aroney@octanner.com

48

scores. At O.C. Tanner we support many clients around the world who have done this, and have great stories to tell. That then gives us much more flexibility to work with the client on something that is within budget.”

Tech and a shrinking world Global operations – for both vendors and their clients – have been given a boost by technology.

“Technology has changed both in terms of what we can offer our clients through more sophisticated front and back end, apps and employee lifecycle communications,” Sherrington confirms.

Furthermore, he adds there are more options for clients to choose from by way of platforms that offer a range of flexible features. In the past, programs required heavy manual work to administer and reporting was often pulled at the request of the client. Today, analytics and predictive behavioural patterns can be identified through program reporting that provides employers with a much greater understanding around the mood of the organisation.

In addition, more companies want a downloadable app as part of their employee experience. O.C. Tanner’s latest research indicates that 13% of clients are using the app to send appreciation, which is a growth year on year.

Integration is also key, with many employers now insisting their service providers integrate with their HRMS provider to minimise the amount of standalone systems.

A true business partner However, when it comes to globalisation, Sherrington says technology is only one piece of the puzzle.

“It’s easy to develop a website and source a voucher partner and label yourself an

employee engagement expert, but what does that really mean?” he says. “The real impact you bring is on knowing the global marketplace, understanding how different countries and employment laws impact the levels of engagement and having experience operating within it.”

Just as important, he concludes, is having the relevant local knowledge and understanding to develop a global program that makes sense to the local market and doesn’t short change the employees in the emerging markets who get a less than favourable experience and then don’t engage with it.

Get all these components right, however, and the grass may well and truly be greener beyond Australia’s borders.

With these objectives in mind, O.C. Tanner itself has just announced the acquisition of leading ANZ reward and recognition and incentives provider Accumulate.

“It has been one of our strategic goals to continue to grow globally,” says Sherrington.

“While we have previously had a presence in Australia, this acquisition provides a way for us to more quickly expand our footprint in that region, not only for our own continued growth as a company, but also to provide a benefit to our global clients. It also further expands our existing global network in the US, Canada, Europe, Singapore and India.”

In addition, it allows the company to introduce the O.C. Tanner Institute, with its deep research and publishing capabilities, into the Australian market.

“As part of O.C. Tanner, Accumulate will continue to deliver its world-class services and products to current clients and will continue its day-to-day operations,” Sherrington says. “O.C. Tanner’s suite of products and services will now be available for both multi-national clients and Australian clients.”

www.hcamag.com

46-49_SF - OC Tanner.indd 48

28/09/2017 3:16:24 PM

46-49_SF - OC Tanner.indd 49

28/09/2017 3:16:47 PM

INSIDE HR

J.P. MORGAN

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX With every employer today needing to tap into tech skills, J.P. Morgan is proving that sometimes it helps to look beyond the traditional sources for the brightest talent

SOMETIMES APPEARANCES can be deceiving. The general public may consider J.P. Morgan a financial services firm – which it certainly is – but with over 40,000 technologists globally, it could also be classified as a technology firm. With technology transforming banking and financial services, along with every other sector, just about every company today needs to have workers with relevant IT skills. In 2017, everything and anything tech is a focus for J.P. Morgan.

“We have to compete with the Googles and other tech firms,” says Supriya Doshi, head of HR for Singapore at J.P. Morgan. “It means we need to get creative not just with our recruitment but also how we engage employees throughout their tenure with the company.”

Indeed, J.P. Morgan is looking beyond conventional recruitment solutions to hunt for talent, not just for traditional banking roles but also for operations and technology roles.

Tapping into the next generation As part of a global initiative, the firm kicked of

50

its annual campus recruitment campaigns in March with pop-up café at leading universities.

In Asia-Pacific, for example, the cafés appeared at universities in Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore. The campaign aimed to attract undergraduates from across multiple disciplines for careers with the firm, in addition to educating them about the company before

650 showed a keen interest in J.P. Morgan and registered for upcoming events and program information.

The Central Forum at the National University of Singapore (NUS) campus at Kent Ridge Park (pictured) was transformed into an al fresco-style café where over a period of four hours students were able to network

“We’re not afraid of the fintech firms as disruptors; instead we’re looking to work with them, to partner with them” Supriya Doshi, J.P. Morgan they have the chance to ‘opt out’ of pursuing certain career paths due to misconceived notions that they might not be suitable or have the right skills and background.

Doshi says that last year’s Singapore event saw over 1,000 students take part, of which

with former NUS graduates who have since embarked on successful careers with J.P. Morgan.

The pop-ups are designed to provide a relaxed and informal setting for students to engage with the bank’s employees over coffee

www.hcamag.com

50-53_InsideHR.indd 50

28/09/2017 3:18:07 PM

Following J.P. Morgan’s Careers Pop-up events in Spring, 600 students attended the annual careers lounge on a number of Singapore campuses to help students to navigate the different lines of businesses at the bank and network with employees in an informal/casual environment.

in HR and we made her a full-time offer in HR,” Doshi explains. “So it’s all about reaching out to populations that might not be obvious candidates to apply for roles at J.P. Morgan.”

There are certain traits that the firm is on the lookout for. Students must be eager to learn, have an interest in financial services, have wellrounded experience inside and outside of the classroom, and have demonstrated ability to master new skills via strong academic performance.

From there, J.P. Morgan’s own training and mentorship programs will help build future professionals. “Each of our programs has unique training and mentoring tailored to help our interns and analysts to be successful in that area of the business and also provides the foundation for them to be successful throughout their career,” says Doshi.

Tech hubs

and snacks in order to learn more about the company.

“This is a great opportunity for students to get to know J.P. Morgan, our people and our culture in a casual setting,” says Doshi. “By bringing in analysts and associates who were once in their shoes, the students are able to get tangible career advice and get more insights on a career in financial services industry.”

Doshi adds that the initiative has extra resonance in Singapore, which has always been a competitive market for talent, not least at graduate level.

“We welcome students from all disciplines and majors, not just business or finance,” she says. “An inclusive and diverse workforce makes smart business sense. Bringing together employees with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives enables us to produce more innovative ideas and better solutions for our clients.”

Doshi relates that her summer intern in 2016 was a physics major. “She had an interest

The firm has several strategic technology hubs scattered throughout the world, with one being Singapore. The technology hubs allow different technology focus areas – such as cloud, robotics and blockchain – to be co-located in one area.

Each tech hub harnesses innovation and thought leadership, and also provides L&D options to the wider J.P. Morgan employee base.

“Our technology population globally is fairly significant and has grown in the last few years, despite challenges in financial services,” says Doshi. “I think we’re becoming a magnet for that talent – that’s part of the reason why we’re on campus doing innovative things; we’re trying to position ourselves so people know they’re coming into a firm that is investing in tech and investing in cloud, robotics – the future. We’re not afraid of the fintech firms as disruptors; instead we’re looking to work with them, to partner with them.”

Doshi says the tech focus, as well as the campus recruitment initiatives, can be a tonic for existing employees who have weathered uncertain economic conditions for some time.

The financial services sector in particular has witnessed a tough couple of years.

A “J.P. MORGAN LIFER”

Supriya Doshi proudly describes herself as “a J.P. Morgan lifer”.

She started as a summer intern with the firm in 1999 and then converted into a full-time analyst role following graduation from university in the US. She then went through the firm’s corporate analyst development program, which rotated across multiple functions in the corporate business.

After a number of rotations she placed into the investment bank technology group. During those four years she was involved in HR-related activity – recruiting on her campus, diversity events, mentoring – and it piqued her interest. Ultimately in 2004, she transitioned into HR and worked in L&D and as a business partner.

She also undertook a sixmonth assignment in London.

She made the move to Singapore just under two years ago. “My first HR job was actually doing technology training,” she says.

“This is the advice I give a lot of people. If you have a competency in something – for me at that time I knew technology systems – and you want to get somewhere else, find that anchor and then try to get to where you need to go.”

www.hcamag.com

50-53_InsideHR.indd 51

51

28/09/2017 3:18:29 PM

INSIDE HR

J.P. MORGAN

“When you see that growth is still happening in the junior talent ranks you don’t get as nervous about joining a new firm.”

A focus on innovation Technology tends to go hand-in-hand with innovation and J.P. Morgan is taking steps to ensure the creative ideas of employees are not neglected. The firm recently held its global innovation week, involving different innovation themed events around the world.

In Singapore, for example, the company invited guests from New York and Hong Kong, as well as fintech experts and specialists involved in cloud and robotics technology, to take part in panel discussions and webcasts. In addition, the company’s employees tackled real business challenges by holding a hackathon. “I was a

the firm in general, is ensuring it’s attracting the right diverse talent mix into the company.

“We definitely make an effort to make sure when we’re recruiting that we’re hiring the best and most qualified candidates but also keeping in mind the elements of diversity,” she says. “In Singapore, we want to hire local talent and we want to ensure we’re hiring women into tech.”

It’s significant that J.P Morgan was deemed a ‘top performer’ in the diversity & inclusion category of HRD’s own Employer of Choice Awards in 2016, as this is a priority for the company. As just one example of progress in this area, each year regional diversity councils run internal leadership development programs specifically aimed at diverse talent. These diversity councils are supported by business resource groups which are composed of over

“At J.P. Morgan we have global themes and global messages – and diversity is certainly one of those themes” Supriya Doshi, J.P. Morgan judge for the Singapore hackathon,” says Doshi.

“We had a tonne of great ideas. It’s been a while since I was fully involved in technology but I was able to follow what was happening and listen in. They were literally building prototypes and demonstrating them. Many of these will be implemented and go into production.”

Doshi says one great example was an idea for a virtual assistant – and while most of the innovations are intended for internal use, some may make their way into enhancing the client customer experience.

In September, the firm will be taking the hackathon concept to the next level by hosting the Code for Good challenge – a firmwide recruitment event whereby undergrads compete in a day-long hackathon, coding to solve challenges for non-profit organisations.

Future priorities A key focus for Doshi and her team, as well as

52

20,000 J.P. Morgan employees. For example, the Women’s Interactive Network (WIN) holds conferences and invites guest speakers into the firm. WIN also provides access to the tools that enable the successful development, advancement and retention of women at all levels of the firm. New hires are also introduced to the firm’s approach to D&I during induction.

“It’s something we’re passionate about, and you’re hearing about it not just in the recruitment process but from day one and then all throughout your career here,” says Doshi. “At J.P. Morgan we have global themes and global messages – and diversity is certainly one of those themes.”

On a more personal note, in early September Doshi announced her journey with company will continue; she will return to New York in a senior role at J.P Morgan, no doubt keen to build the next chapter of a career that has already had a taste of global success.

www.hcamag.com

50-53_InsideHR.indd 52

28/09/2017 3:18:44 PM

An example of J.P. Morgan's Careers Pop-up events.

TECH INVESTMENT IN NUMBERS

$9.5 billion

In 2016, J.P. Morgan spent more than $9.5bn in technology firm-wide, of which approximately $3bn is dedicated toward new initiatives.

$600 million

Of that amount, approximately $600m was spent on emerging fintech solutions – which include building and improving digital and mobile services and partnering with fintech companies.

32%

Attracting, retaining and developing top talent is a priority and the firm casts a net far and wide to find the best and the brightest. In 2016, 32% of senior hires in technology globally came from non-financial services firms. J.P. Morgan’s employee training programs cover new skill sets, such as cloud and agile development.

J.P. Morgan invited a total of 40 female undergraduates from STEM faculties across Singapore to the firm's Singapore Corporate Centre. The Winning Women in Technology event offers the students a first-hand look at work in the tech field.

www.hcamag.com

50-53_InsideHR.indd 53

53

28/09/2017 3:19:03 PM

EXECUTIVE EDUCATION SPECIAL REPORT

MASTER OF HUMAN RESOURCES

RISING STAR CREDITS SOLID FOUNDATION Last year’s winner of the Rising Star of the Year category at the Australian HR Awards shares her postgraduate experience with HRD KELLY WATSON began her Master of Human Resources Management degree at Edith Cowan University (ECU) with one goal in mind, to progress into a senior management position with her current employer, retirement home operator St Ives Retirement Living.

Remarkably, with less than a year left of her postgraduate studies, she has not only achieved her goal and become human resources manager at St Ives, but also won the 2016 Australian Human Resources Rising Star of the Year award.

application, something she appreciates both as a student and as an industry professional.

“The degree’s content is really relevant to what we do day-to-day on an operational basis in the workplace,” Watson says.

“Being in human resources I do a lot of shortlisting and a lot of recruitment, and I know that when I see ECU on someone’s résumé then that’s straightaway a tick or a thumbs up.”

The breadth of the degree is also beneficial, as it goes beyond the ‘warm and

“The degree’s content is really relevant to what we do day-to-day on an operational basis in the workplace” Kelly Watson This prestigious national prize recognises an individual who has demonstrated excellence in the first five years of their HR career, based on leadership, communication, strategy, drive and results – all of which Watson has in spades.

She attributes the development of these traits in part to the focus of ECU’s Master of Human Resources Management degree, which emphasises practical and hands-on knowledge. This focus has helped her to connect theory and concepts with real-world

54

fuzzy’ aspects of HR management to include ‘bottom line’ areas of organisational life such as accounting, budgets and finance.

Motivation meets flexible study options Always striving to improve and enhance her skills, Watson began her postgraduate study only a year after completing her undergraduate double degree, acting on the advice of her manager at St Ives, who also graduated from the course. While balancing

work and study seemed daunting, Watson was spurred on by ECU’s flexible and supportive course structure.

“I actually worked full-time and then went to class for night school. One of the great things about the Master of Human Resources Management is that it is offered on a part-time basis, and that made it easier for me to fit around my professional life,” Watson says.

“The fact that the seminars were held later in the day made it easier, and that the lecturers were available in the evenings and on the weekends meant that I could email them and expect a response within 24 hours. “The lecturers are really helpful and experienced – they have first-hand knowledge and are very interesting and approachable.”

This reflects ECU’s ethos of having strong industry connections and treating students not as numbers but as individuals who can flourish with guidance and care.

The proof of this philosophy is evident, with the university having achieved a fivestar rating for teaching quality in the Good Universities Guide for an astonishing 10 years in a row.

Furthermore, a 2017 Federal Department of Education and Training study found ECU students to be the most satisfied compared to students at any other public university in Australia.

For those thinking about making the leap into postgraduate education, Watson is unequivocal. “The best advice I could give to anyone who wants to progress their career in the workplace is the same advice that my manager gave to me, which is, do it now,” she says.

ECU’s AHRI-accredited Master of Human Resources Management degree is available as two years full-time or four years part-time. The course is the third stage of the postgraduate Human Resources suite of courses at ECU, which includes the Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma. For more information, visit www.ecu.edu.au/degrees/courses/master-of-humanresource-management.

www.hcamag.com

54-55_ExecEd - ECU_SUBBED.indd 54

28/09/2017 9:19:13 AM

54-55_ExecEd - ECU_SUBBED.indd 55

28/09/2017 9:19:33 AM

EXECUTIVE EDUCATION SPECIAL REPORT

MBA

TAKING THE NEXT STEP Get the career skills and confidence you need with an MBA from South Australia’s fastestgrowing university. An MBA signals that you’re ready for your next career move

FLINDERS UNIVERSITY’S MBA is designed to prepare early- to mid-career managers and professionals with the skills to advance their management careers. Graduates with significant work experience will be prepared for a wide range of senior management roles.

Our graduates work across all sectors, including business, government, public entities and notfor-profit organisations.

Flinders’ MBA program provides a comprehensive foundation covering the core business and management disciplines and a range of electives to suit your professional development needs and career goals. You will not only learn about proven businessrelated theories and frameworks but also apply the acquired knowledge to solve real business issues in the form of projects and business cases. With our small class sizes, supportive and approachable staff and flexible study modes, you’ll maximise your learning experience.

Flexible study modes Most topics are available in internal mode (ie face-to-face), with many also available online.

Depending on the topics you choose, you can complete the graduate certificate, graduate diploma and master’s completely online or take a mix of online and face-to-face classes to fit your study and life commitments.

Selected face-to-face topics are offered in

56

intensive mode for added convenience.

Small class sizes ensure that you can engage with lecturers and tutors while getting to know your fellow students, with the opportunity to develop life-long friends and professional acquaintances through teamwork and interaction.

Our online content gives you access to interactive activities, online group discussions and a capstone strategic business project.

A focus on you and your career development Postgraduate business studies at Flinders rate above the national average in terms of overall satisfaction and teaching.* With the special focus on career development you will attend workshops led by industry specialists, which will provide an opportunity for you to extend your networking and communication skills, consider your career direction, improve your employability and focus on achieving the next important step in your career.

More information: flinders.edu.au/mba *Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT)

HEAR FROM OUR GRADUATES… “The flexible online study options and intensive pace allowed me to complete the full-time degree whilst maintaining a busy professional life. Flinders’ MBA has broadened my knowledge of both leadership and business skills, adding a new skill set to my medical career and allowing me to make a greater contribution to healthcare beyond the traditional clinician role.”

Dr Chris Mills Gastroenterology registrar, Austin Health

“Studying an MBA provided me with a broad range of skills, knowledge, confidence and cultural perspectives that have greatly helped me to become a better manager and an innovative business leader in my community as a founder of a social enterprise. Flexible study options allowed me to successfully balance study with a busy full-time job, and to put my learnings into immediate practice. My MBA has opened doors for me in my career and with my networks, and provided a solid foundation for me to build my own scalable business as a social entrepreneur.”

Amy Orange Executive manager community services, Carers SA

“I chose to study my MBA at Flinders University as it allowed me to finish the degree fast; I completed my course in one year, which is unusual for most MBA programs. What I enjoyed most about studying at Flinders was the ability to engage with the professors and lecturers around real-world business problems and learn from case studies not only from the Adelaide market but also overseas.

I made a lot of connections with other international students and gained valuable mentoring from the teaching staff.”

Hujjat Nadarajah

APPLY NOW TO STUDY IN 2018 Last day to apply: 8 January 2018 Course start date: 15 January 2018

Business analyst, Zagar Communications

www.hcamag.com

56-57_ExecEd - Flinders_SUBBED.indd 56

28/09/2017 9:20:47 AM

56-57_ExecEd - Flinders_SUBBED.indd 57

28/09/2017 9:21:01 AM

FEATURES

INDUSTRY EVENT

IMPROVING WORKPLACE CULTURE: IT & HR JOINING FORCES

Innovative organisations are moving away from traditional ways of operating to an Activity Based Working approach

WHAT DO the traditionally siloed and distant functions of HR and IT have in common?

For starters, they both play a significant role in employee productivity, engagement, operational costs and cultural benefits.

And it’s these two functions that will have to increasingly collaborate in order to accommodate the changing needs and behaviours of employees.

Rob Mattlin, national practice manager – modern workspace at Thomas Duryea

employees have different activities to complete, and assigning a single workspace for each individual worker is not ideal to facilitate that.

Consequently, it makes more sense to provide employees with lockers to store their resources in and let them choose a work setting depending on the task they are working on.

The lunch was attended by 20 HR and IT experts, including Waudi Tahche, GM of people and culture, Cardinia Shire Council, and Oliver Sebastian, head of IT digital and

“I feel very passionately about what we are doing in this space with our customers – but only because of the impact it has on people” Michael Chanter, Thomas Duryea Logicalis Logicalis, has noticed a major shift towards employees working where they want, when they want, and on the devices they want.

Mattlin was the moderator of a recent ‘lunch & learn’ event at the Quay Restaurant in Sydney, sponsored by Thomas Duryea Logicalis. The event focused on the theme of how IT and HR could improve culture by implementing Activity Based Working (ABW).

ABW recognises that throughout the day

58

customer platforms at Charter Hall.

Both organisations have worked closely with Thomas Duryea Logicalis to implement ABW to improve engagement, collaboration and culture.

Fixing communication through collaboration For Cardinia Shire Council in Victoria, the transition was partly based on the challenges

of having employees spread throughout six different locations.

“A separate set of staff in each of those locations meant that collaborating and talking to each other had its challenges, and as a result impacted decision-making and community engagement,” said Tahche.

The move to a new building meant that for the first time in 17 years Cardinia Shire could have all its staff under one roof and create one culture instead of multiple mini-cultures.

The new headquarters featured areas that allowed employees to conduct specific tasks, such as collaborating, socialising, learning and brainstorming.

Tahche said the benefits of ABW extended beyond culture, cost and cohesion.

“There is definitely a direct connection between ABW and health and wellbeing, because ABW means people are dynamic and more active. Over 65% of our employees have said they feel healthier.”

He added that the move was also about adjusting to the trends that are rapidly shaping the workforce.

“It all comes back to where society is heading,” he said. “These days we are seeing kids being groomed to have technology in their hand from a very young age. By the time they get into the workforce, there is going to be technology all around them. A workplace that’s

www.hcamag.com

58-59 Roundtable_SUBBED.indd 58

29/09/2017 10:15:34 AM

Brought to you by

just a traditional working environment is less likely to attract elite talent, so from a talent attraction and retention perspective it makes a lot of sense to go down this path.”

Tahche added that his organisation liked to see itself at the forefront of innovation and technology. Indeed, staff at Cardinia Shire Council are provided with various technology tools, including ultrabooks and tablets.

The thinking behind implementing this technology was to empower employees to work both inside and outside of the office, and to collaborate and exchange information in real time.

“Collaboration is an enabler of innovation, and innovation leads to growth, so it’s very scientific in a sense,” Tahche added.

Cardinia Shire Council was also the first council in Australia to adopt ABW. The council found that ABW led to a reduction in paper usage, a decrease in operational energy costs and an improvement in customer response times.

Adapting to rapid growth ABW has also been a success for the property group Charter Hall, which has experienced significant growth in recent years. In fact, when Sebastian joined the

business eight years ago there were only about 60 people. That number now sits at approximately 530.

Prior to implementing ABW, Charter Hall had siloed business units, geographically dispersed staff and an inefficient working environment.

In partnership with Dell, Thomas Duryea Logicalis worked closely with Sebastian to implement ABW. This meant moving into a new building at 1 Martin Place, Sydney, and creating a range of different spaces, including collaboration areas and ‘highfocus areas’.

It also involved having laptops installed with Microsoft 10, Microsoft OneDrive and Office 365, which enabled Charter Hall to provide offline working.

In order to help make the process enjoyable and easy for staff, Charter Hall also introduced a range of employee benefits.

“We introduced getting your birthday off.

We introduced yoga. We partnered up with the coffee shop downstairs and had deals for our people,” Sebastian said.

“The way we implemented this was by introducing a new benefit every two weeks in order build engagement, excitement and anticipation [for the switch to ABW].

“And it really felt quite natural to make the locker your own space.”

The results at Charter Hall have included significant improvements in team collaboration, culture, flexibility, efficiency and staff satisfaction.

Commenting on what Thomas Duryea Logicalis has observed in the marketplace in recent times, the company’s CEO, Michael Chanter, said: “I think you would all agree that human capital is the thing that really makes a difference to success or otherwise.

I feel very passionately about what we are doing in this space with our customers – but only because of the impact it has on people.”

www.hcamag.com

58-59 Roundtable_SUBBED.indd 59

59

29/09/2017 10:15:52 AM

AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS WINNERS 2O17

The Star City Sydney came alive on 8 September for the 2017 Australian HR Awards. The Awards offer a rare opportunity for the industry to come together to celebrate best practice and outstanding achievements. This year, the impressive list of finalists across 20 categories was applauded by a record number of 880 HR professionals.

The black-tie gala, proudly presented by event partner Ironfish, was hosted by Logie-winning actress, musician and TV personality Natalie Bassingthwaighte. While celebrating the HR industry’s brightest and best, guests also enjoyed entertainment from musical acts Furnace and the Fundamentals, The Three Waiters and the Luke Zanc Duo. HRD, Ironfish and all the award sponsors congratulate the 2017 winners.

See who they are over the following pages.

60

www.hcamag.com

60

www.hcamag.com

60-71_HRAwards_v2_SUBBED.indd 60

29/09/2017 9:58:08 AM

Event partner

Event partner

60-71_HRAwards_v2_SUBBED.indd 61

www.hcamag.com

61

www.hcamag.com

61

29/09/2017 9:58:35 AM

AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS WINNERS 2O17

62

BEST HEALTH AND WELLBEING PROGRAM

HRD BEST WORKPLACE FLEXIBILITY PROGRAM

YOUI

DEXUS PROPERTY GROUP

YOUI’S HEALTH and wellbeing program is called YourLife, and its aim is to provide employees with literally hundreds of opportunities to be happy and healthy. The company has two full-time resources dedicated to delivering this program, one of whom is a fitness professional and qualified personal trainer who assists employees with regular training sessions, health appraisals and personalised fitness advice.

YourLife is made up of three key categories, Health, Wealth and Wellbeing, each of which is designed to provide a variety of initiatives to positively impact life and happiness.

Under the Health banner, the focus is on physical fitness, personal health and nutrition. Under Wealth, the focus is on financial planning, superannuation support and saving people money. The Wellbeing category is focused on mental health, relaxation, personal safety, self-development, fun and learning.

Ryan McGrory, employee engagement team manager at Youi, says the program is successful because it is holistic.

“We try to make as many opportunities possible for people to be happy and healthy,” he said on the night. “We’ve seen a noticeable difference since we launched. The feedback we’ve received indicates that we are providing that opportunity to be happy and healthy, and we’re very proud of that.”

DEXUS OFFERS all employees a program called ‘All People Flex’, a workplace flexibility program that is driven from the top down. The company prides itself on the fact that the executive team models flexible work by working from home or different offices, and using flex work time.

The program ensures that all employees, where possible, have the opportunity to perform their roles in a flexible way. Formal and informal flex work may include job sharing; part-time work, including nine-day fortnights; early start/finish times; remote working/work from home options; transition to retirement.

On the night, Dan Cook, general manager – people at culture at DEXUS Property Group, said the key to the program’s success was embracing both informal and formal flexibility options.

“A lot of our culture is geared towards giving people flexibility to be able to work where they need to in order to be their best.

They’re able to choose the option that suits them in their life, whether that’s flexibility to look after kids or run a marathon or undertake a hobby.

“For us it’s about choosing your own path and choosing your own adventure.”

AWARD SPONSOR

www.hcamag.com

60-71_HRAwards_v2_SUBBED.indd 62

29/09/2017 9:58:59 AM

Event partner

BEST LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

BAKERS DELIGHT

APPRECIATING THAT to create truly delightful customer experiences would require shifts in mindset, knowledge, skills and behaviours, a holistic, end-to-end blended learning solution, The Delight Factor, was crafted by Bakers Delight. It incorporates: • an engaging, high-energy face-to-face workshop • seven e-learning modules • an in-store bakery kit aimed at helping to embed the program • a ‘Heroes of Delight’ reward and recognition program All measurement indicators since the implementation of the program have shown a marked improvement. Justine La Roche, on behalf of Bakers Delight, said on the night that the holistic nature of the program was critical to its success.

“It had some in-person and digital elements, then there was a big focus on embedding the learning back in the bakeries, so it was a very thoughtthrough program from that perspective.”

www.hcamag.com

60-71_HRAwards_v2_SUBBED.indd 63

63

29/09/2017 9:59:18 AM

AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS WINNERS 2O17 BEST RECRUITMENT CAMPAIGN

INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION CENTRE SYDNEY

THE OPENING of ICC Sydney was always going to be challenging. Faced with a significant shortage of hospitality talent, no physical venue or processes in place, and the task of completing one of the industry’s quickest and largest recruitment drives to support this, the ICC Sydney team developed a creative and innovative approach to attracting, recruiting, onboarding, training and culturally immersing 1,800 employees.

These employees would not only have the required skills and experience to operate the new $1.5bn venue, but would also fit the aspirational team culture.

Matthew Paine, director of human resources at ICC Sydney, said one of the key outcomes of the recruitment drive was the use of digital interviewing. “We saved over 10,000 hours using our digital platform, and it brought us into the modern era. Achieving our objective of being ready on the staffing front for the opening of ICC Sydney, and recruiting that volume of candidates in line with the diversity segments we’d identified, is something I’m immensely proud of.”

64

SOLTERBECK BEST REWARD & RECOGNITION PROGRAM

EMPLOYSURE

THOSE WHO best embody Employsure’s values and have been with Employsure for more than two years are to be invited to join an exclusive club called the Ambassadors’ Club.

The mission of the Ambassadors’ Club is to thank members for their efforts, to show the broader business what living Employsure’s values looks like, to drive innovation and creative thought, and to provide a feedback channel for those who know the company best.

“It’s apparent all throughout our culture that reward & recognition is paramount to us,” said Michael Morris, head of talent at Employsure. “We have high expectations at Employsure – we set a high bar but we recognise great work when it’s done.”

AWARD SPONSOR

www.hcamag.com

60-71_HRAwards_v2_SUBBED.indd 64

29/09/2017 9:59:42 AM

Event partner

AFTERBURNER BEST LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

BEST GRADUATE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

SBS

BROADSPECTRUM

IN 2016, the SBS HR team launched ‘It’s How We Lead’. The program was designed to offer a new style of learning, one that would develop practical skills in short bursts and could be applied immediately.

What advice did Brett Archer, capability development lead at SBS, have for other HR professionals when it comes to creating an award-winning leadership development program? “Be flexible and agile,” he said. “Our leadership program is a blended approach, with a mix of online and face-to-face components.

That resonates with our leadership group – they need something that’s low-touch, high-impact, and meets them at the coalface.”

THE REINVIGORATED #SpectrumGrad Program at Broadspectrum has been developed to ensure graduates rotate seamlessly across functions and locations, thereby building a holistic understanding of the organisation while also strengthening ties between business units.

The sustainable and individually tailored rotation structure enables #SpectrumGrads to drive their own careers based on their interests, while remaining engaged and accountable throughout the program. An online development journey complements the continuous growth of the #SpectrumGrads through TED talks, podcasts, challenges and self-reflection.

Emilie Kusoffsky, HR adviser – diversity, inclusion, talent and projects at Broadspectrum, commented: “We’ve tried to put a lot of responsibility on grads by giving them choice of their rotations, and options on where they’re going to take their careers moving forward.”

AWARD SPONSOR

www.hcamag.com

60-71_HRAwards_v2_SUBBED.indd 65

65

29/09/2017 10:00:19 AM

AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS WINNERS 2O17 SMARTGROUP BEST WORKPLACE AND DIVERSITY & INCLUSION PROGRAM

VISION AUSTRALIA

VISION AUSTRALIA’S diversity strategy has resulted in the company becoming a leader in disability employment. As much as 15.2% of the company’s 658-strong FTE workforce, spanning all levels of the organisation, are blind or have low vision.

“We’re focusing on recruitment, on accessibility of systems, on making sure that everybody – from leadership through to staff – has a fair go in the organisation, and is able to excel in what they do best,” said Chris Edwards, manager strategic partnerships and initiatives. “To have such a diverse workforce that adds so much value to our workplace is incredible and is part of what makes our business fantastic.”

AWARD SPONSOR

66

www.hcamag.com

60-71_HRAwards_v2_SUBBED.indd 66

29/09/2017 10:00:46 AM

Event partner

BEST CHANGE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

CEB BEST USE OF TECHNOLOGY

PEPSICO

ISS FACILITY SERVICES

OVER THE last two years, PepsiCo Australia has undergone a significant strategic transformation focused on three objectives: 1. Deliver productivity savings through becoming the ‘lowest-cost producer’.

2. Transform customer relationships to drive top-line growth.

3. Reinvest in culture, capability, the environment and tools to secure the future.

MYISS IS a custom-built mobile app and website that gives all front-line, remote and office-based ISS Facility Services team members mobile access to payroll information and rosters, self-service management of online leave applications, and personal details, as well as company information and new avenues for employee engagement.

With thousands of downloads and over 100,000 logins since November, MyISS has rapidly become an integral part of the ISS employee experience and engagement strategy for the Pacific region.

Lucy Hartmann, national GM of HR, ISS Facility Services, said a major challenge for the HR team was how to communicate with staff spread across a wide geographic region. She said the key was self-empowerment – empowering employees to access and update annual leave and rosters, and access payslips anywhere, at any time. “It doesn’t matter where they are located – you can check these details anywere,” she said.

Through this significant change, Australia saw lifts in engagement (job satisfaction increased 12 points in 12 months and engagement is at 81%).

Shiona Watson, senior HR director at PepsiCo ANZ, said her advice to fellow HR professionals undertaking transformation programs was to firstly ensure they were involved from the very beginning when decisions were made, instead of just during the execution and implementation phase. Secondly, she suggested finding that line between viewing things through the commercial lens of the business and also through the people lens. “Change has a significant impact on people, and change also doesn’t last if it isn’t embedded,” she added.

AWARD SPONSOR

www.hcamag.com

60-71_HRAwards_v2_SUBBED.indd 67

67

29/09/2017 10:01:02 AM

AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS WINNERS 2O17

68

EMPLOYER OF CHOICE (PUBLIC SECTOR AND NFP)

EMPLOYER OF CHOICE (1–99 EMPLOYEES)

EMPLOYER OF CHOICE (100–999 EMPLOYEES)

CANCER COUNCIL NSW

EXCITE HOLIDAYS

LINDT AUSTRALIA

WHAT’S THE key to being an Employer of Choice? Fiona Fahey, HR director at Cancer Council NSW, says it’s more than a genuinely great cause and commitment to people; leaders also play a critical role. The organisation has invested time and resources in continuously improving the leadership skills of staff, with the firm belief that it’s up to leaders to engage, drive and grow their people to be high-performing staff members.

To assist leaders with this, the HR team has rolled out training in high-performance conversations, which has helped managers deepen their understanding of themselves as leaders and strengthened their confidence in having quality conversations.

“Leaders are fundamental to our success because we are lucky to have not just talented full-time employees but also 3,500 volunteers come in and undertake roles for us,” says Fahey.

“Without great leadership we wouldn’t be where we are, and we wouldn’t be able to deliver the services we deliver.”

EXCITE HOLIDAYS has implemented key initiatives to create an environment in which its workforce can flourish.

Ultimately, the aim is to make every employee feel cared for, empowered and part of the family so they perform to their full potential.

An impressive array of employee benefits incorporating physical, mental and financial wellness, fun runs and triathlons, healthy snacks and baristastyle coffee, a comprehensive line-up of L&D options and open forums like Google+ for employees to connect, share and communicate all add up to make Excite an Employer of Choice.

Ashleigh Carr, head of HR at Excite Holidays, said the achievement was especially impressive given that the company is just 15 years old. “We’re so different; there’s no red tape; we can bend and flex and do some amazing things for our employees. From an employer-branding perspective this accolade will certainly help the company demonstrate that it’s a young, fun and great culture.”

IN THE last two years, Lindt Australia has relocated, expanded and centralised the workforce to a new $60m facility.

The company’s HR strategy during this period was ‘MY LINDT’, involving a range of initiatives to pump up the culture and create a sense of community.

As just one example of this strategy in action, the company designed its next-generation workspace after listening to employee feedback – providing space for social connection, creativity, productivity, rest, and refresher activities.

Employee comfort is number one: communal areas for creating day-to-day relationships, chocolate and coffee machines, expansive work stations, greenery, and state-of-the-art technology making jobs easier. ‘My Lindt Concierge’ is an initiative offering services such as mobile food orders and on-site car washes.

“Our culture is very unique, very dynamic,” said Phil Turner, HR specialist, talent projects and systems at Lindt.

“What binds us all together is we’re all so passionate about the products we produce.”

www.hcamag.com

60-71_HRAwards_v2_SUBBED.indd 68

29/09/2017 10:01:18 AM

Event partner

ACCUMULATE EMPLOYER OF CHOICE (≥1000 EMPLOYEES)

PEOPLE + CULTURE STRATEGIES AUSTRALIAN HR TEAM OF THE YEAR (≤1000 EMPLOYEES)

PEPSICO

QUEENSLAND TREASURY CORP

PEPSICO’S Australian executive team set a clear aspiration of making PepsiCo Australia a great company to be part of for employees. This aspiration has been brought to life through six focus areas, including ‘Be a place where people can learn, grow and bring their best to work every day’ and ‘Make it easier to do our job, deliver results and improve’. The company has also invested heavily in leadership development, from front-line managers through to executive leaders.

Associated initiatives around each focus area have delivered double-digit engagement increases over the last two years, despite organisational transformation occurring. (PepsiCo also won ‘Best Change Management Program’ this year.)

Shiona Watson, senior HR director, PepsiCo Aust/NZ, said that over the past two years the executive team had focused on things that really matter to employees and to the business. “I’ve been there for six years and I think it’s a phenomenal culture, one that works hard in terms of delivering financial performance but also sustainability and focusing on how we make great products. It’s also a place where people come together and support each other. We rally together to deliver great results.”

OVER THE past three years, QTC’s HR team has operated as a true strategic business partner, leading the structural and cultural transformation of QTC as part of its transformational Strategic Change Program (SCP).

The SCP successfully streamlined and replaced all core internal business systems and procedures and redefined the strategic direction for the business.

On the program’s completion, Ernst & Young recognised it as one of the most rapid deployments of its type. Key to this success was a whole-of-organisation redesign and restructure, with every role impacted and a 50% change in capability mix and therefore in employees. To enable the success of the program, the HR team provided the strategic planning and organisational design framework to redesign the organisation.

Selena Turner, executive director of leadership and organisational development at QTC, shared her view on the night about what HR needs to do during times of organisational transformation. “Really understand the business imperatives and the chief executive’s vision,” she said. “Then it’s about enabling that vision through HR strategies and initiatives.”

AWARD SPONSOR

AWARD SPONSOR

www.hcamag.com

60-71_HRAwards_v2_SUBBED.indd 69

69

29/09/2017 10:01:46 AM

AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS WINNERS 2O17 IRONFISH AUSTRALIAN HR TEAM OF THE YEAR (>1,000 EMPLOYEES)

DAVIDSON AUSTRALIAN HR DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION CENTRE SYDNEY

Assistant Commissioner

THE OPENING of the brand-new ICC Sydney venue was always going to be challenging, particularly the requirement to identify, attract, recruit and onboard 1,800 team members. Being one of the industry’s largest and quickest recruitment drives, ICC Sydney needed a world-class HR team to accomplish this task and build a new employer brand and organisational culture.

The greenfields HR team is divided into four streams: talent acquisition; learning and development; employee relations; and workforce planning. With a team of 15 and the driving support of the director of HR, Mathew Paine, the team has led over 600 different project lines to achieve the successful opening of ICC Sydney.

“So much hard work went into the opening of ICC Sydney, and I’m really proud to win this award,” said Paine. “To have recruited, onboarded, inducted 1,800 new employees and sifted through 44,000 applications in 12 months, I think the judges saw that as an immense effort, and I couldn’t be prouder with what we’ve achieved.”

ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER York has made psychological wellbeing a centrepiece of her HR team’s support of the workforce. The ‘HR – Live, Work, Well’ strategy has been speaheaded by a Workforce Improvement Program across the NSW Police Force. The program is visionary, driving culturally foundational changes that have significantly changed the focus from reactive to proactive employee management and support.

“The NSW Police Force demands a lot from their officers,” said Commissioner York on the night. “They run in when danger is present and they want to protect the community – and that can take its toll on officers. We’ve developed strategies to make sure they stay healthy or we identify problems very early on to make sure that we can get them better and back to work.”

When asked what skills a successful HR leader needs to have in 2017, Commissioner York responded: “I think you’ve got to genuinely care about people. You must have great communication and listening skills to see what their issues are and to see what they need in terms of their own development, their performance, their career paths. And then try to identify strategies that will help them to be a better worker.”

AWARD SPONSOR

70

CARLENE YORK

Commander, human resources command, NSW Police Force

AWARD SPONSOR

www.hcamag.com

60-71_HRAwards_v2_SUBBED.indd 70

29/09/2017 3:22:27 PM

Event partner

ELLE BELLE RECRUITMENT AUSTRALIAN HR RISING STAR OF THE YEAR

HAYS HUMAN RESOURCES AUSTRALIAN HR MANAGER OF THE YEAR

AUSTRALIAN HR CHAMPION (CEO) OF THE YEAR

LACHLAN FLEMING

JANE SHAND

TRENT INNES

IT’S THE aspiration of many upcoming HR professionals to partner directly with the executive team, but few are granted such an opportunity. Lachlan Fleming has not just been given that opportunity, he has taken it to the next level. Fleming partnered with the HR director and the group executive to drive the development of a group-wide people strategy, titled the ‘Multi-Year Talent Plan’ (MYTP). The MYTP designed and deployed a three-year horizon of people initiatives to ensure the company had the right resources, in the right places, doing the right work, with the right capabilities to deliver its three-year business strategy.

His advice to upcoming HR stars is simple: “Back yourself and have confidence in your own abilities.”

JANE SHAND has transformed the people experience team at Endeavour Foundation to support the needs of the organisation, which has itself undergone significant recent change.

To bring cohesion to a traditionally siloed function, Shand introduced regular meetings, both formal and informal.

These meetings became platforms for the different teams to develop relationships, but also provided opportunity to air concerns, have robust discussions and work out a way to do things better.

“You need to trust your team,” Shand said. “They know what to do. My advice to others is to take a deep breath. Change is always going to be around us; you need to get used to it. You need to look after yourself – self-care is really important.

In our team we look after each other.”

AWARD SPONSOR

AWARD SPONSOR

TREND INNES’ leadership style is shaped by a belief that employees should be empowered and equipped to do the best work possible. Weekly meetings for all Australian employees are run by Innes himself. He also instigates one-on-one sessions with each member of the C-team, country leads and other senior leaders in the business, to get their feedback and ideas. Innes has also championed the major global business project, Project Infinity. This project ensures the executive team is clear and aligned to Xero’s purpose, strategy and priorities, and that these are clearly communicated.

“The key thing is to have purpose, so one thing we do at Xero is ensure everyone is aligned to our purpose and values,” Innes said on the night.

He’s also got a simple philosophy for a successful HR/CEO relationship: “It’s not that hard – as long as you hire people you enjoy spending time with, the rest takes care of itself. I’m incredibly lucky to have an amazing HR manager who has done a lot of hard work to ensure our business is heading in the right direction.”

HR business partner, Endeavour Drinks Group

Manager people experience, Endeavour Foundation

Managing director, Xero Australia

www.hcamag.com

60-71_HRAwards_v2_SUBBED.indd 71

71

29/09/2017 3:22:42 PM

AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS SPONSORS AND PARTNERS 2O17 EVENT PARTNER

Ironfish plays a key role in the Australian property market as a leading property investment services company in Australia and China. We support our investors in acquiring a diversified property portfolio, backed by the confidence of the latest research, personalised strategies and quality investment opportunities.

Central to our philosophy is our commitment to partnership – we’re in this together, and for the long-term. Our holistic and personalised service approach also includes educational workshops, property management and mortgage broking. In addition to our 14 offices across Australia and China, we have our own development arms in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.

We have one of Australia’s largest VIP investor databases which helps to deliver a high settlement rate for our properties of over 99 per cent in recent years.

Contact: Xiao Houghton, Marketing & Events Manager P: 02 8668 8370 E: xiao.houghton@ironfish.com.au W: www.ironfish.com.au

CEB is a best practice insight and technology company. In partnership with leading organizations around the globe, we develop innovative solutions to drive corporate performance. CEB equips leaders at more than 10,000 companies with the intelligence to effectively manage talent, customers, and operations. CEB is a trusted partner to nearly 90% of the Fortune 500 and FTSE 100, and more than 70% of the Dow Jones Asian Titans.

Contact: Sam Whiteman, Market Director, HR Practice & Talent Measurement P: 02 9321 7560 E: swhiteman@cebglobal.com W: cebglobal.com

AWARD SPONSORS

Davidson HR Consulting offers a range of HR solutions to assess, develop, and transition your people, and design your business around them. With offices in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, the team demonstrates ROI across specialist services such as organisational design, psychometric assessments, people analytics, leadership development, surveys and career transition.

Accumulate: Employee Loyalty Specialists Chat to us about how we can help you create a more vibrant, sustainable workplace culture to inspire positive behavioural change.

Contact: Amanda Sheard, Davidson HR Consulting NSW General Manager P: 02 8093 0608 E: Amanda.Sheard@davidsonwp.com W: davidsonwp.com

Contact: Russell Flint, Senior Manager, Commercial Partnerships P: 03 8645 6457 E: russell.flint@accumulate.com.au W: accumulate.com.au

Flawless execution isn’t about perfection. It’s about accessing the right information at the right time to empower decision-making and get results.

Afterburner Australia helps individuals, teams and organisations aim higher and grow faster through a range of nationally acclaimed learning experiences focusing on the techniques used by elite fighter pilots to drive accountability, increase agility and accelerate performance.

Contact: Crystal Tarasin, General Manager P: (02) 9939 2731 E: ctarasin@afterburner.com W: www.afterburner.com.au

72

elle belle recruitment specialise in the placement of all business support based positions on a Temporary/Contract and Permanent basis across all industry sectors. elle belle recruitment work in partnership with their clients across all facets of the recruitment process by providing exceptional levels of service through open communication and an honest approach. We are big enough to deliver and small enough to care.

Contact: Linda Lewin, General Manager P: 03 9553 4436 E: linda@ellebelle.com.au W: www.ellebelle.com.au

www.hcamag.com

60-71_HRAwards_v2.indd 72

28/09/2017 9:09:32 AM

Event partner

We understand that HR professionals are critical to the future growth of any company. Our recruiting experts offer a personalised recruitment service to guide you through every stage of the recruitment process, while our HR career advice will ensure you achieve your work ambitions.

Contact: Hays Human Resources P: (02) 8226 9797 E: sydhr@hays.com.au W: www.hays.com.au

Established in 2001, Smartgroup has become an award-winning, ASX listed company recognised for innovation and exceptional customer service.

Our employee benefits services provide efficient and easy-to-access solutions in salary packaging, novated leasing and share plan administration.

Smartgroup also helps organisations become more efficient through innovative fleet management services and workforce-modelling software.

Contact: Greg Parkes, General Manager P: 0414 944 789 E: greg.parkes@smartgroup.com.au W:smartgroup.com.au

People + Culture Strategies is a unique Australian law firm that also provides management consulting and leadership development services in labour, employment and migration law. It services employers nationally out of its 15-lawyer Sydney office including prominent blue-chip corporates, government departments, not-for-profits and senior executives. The firm has been recognised as one of the most forward-thinking and innovative professional services firms in Australia due to its unique approach to holistic service delivery, focusing on the “preventive” and its breadth of pricing options for its clients.

Power Great Performance Solterbeck pioneered employee recognition in Australia, and continues to be the leading practitioner in delivering world’s best practice. Whether you’re looking to develop a new program or re-invigorate your current one, we can help inspire your employees to share your goals, reflect your values and to support and recognise each other’s efforts.

Contact: Joydeep Hor, Managing Principal P: (02) 8094 3100 E: joydeep.hor@peopleculture.com.au W: peopleculture.com.au

Contact: Dave Jackson, executive director P: 0419 358 188 E: davidj@solterbeck.com W: www.solterbeck.com

TROPHY PARTNER Working in partnership with H.W.Holdsworth Recognition and Rewards, you will be surprised how easy it is to develop and administer a cost effective recognition program that engages, motivates and rewards your employees. This year we are pleased to introduce The Staff Shop, an exclusive online shopping experience available to our clients.

Contact details: Nic Holdsworth, Managing Director P: (03) 9885 8825 E: nic@hwholdsworth.com.au W: www.hwholdsworth.com.au

www.hcamag.com

60-71_HRAwards_v2.indd 73

73

28/09/2017 9:10:13 AM

PEOPLE

CAREER PATH

A PASSION FOR PEOPLE

For Cherie McGill, finding out what drives people and igniting the passion within them has always been the goal

The child of publicans, Cherie McGill grew up in Newcastle, NSW, working in hospitality as part of her daily life after school and on weekends.

“I grew up in pubs. I knew early on that I wanted to study hospitality, and worked in food and beverages while at TAFE. My big career break was moving to Sydney to take a job as a minibar attendant. I got into the industry because I liked people, but in that job I didn’t see anyone!”

1980s

1996

STARTS AS HR CONSULTANT

McGill’s post as a hospitality lecturer segued into HR when an agency that had often approached her in connection with hiring recent students asked her to work with them as a consultant. It was to be the first of a succession of management and consultant roles.

“It was my first toe in the HR space. I wanted to go out on a limb. I work to make my role redundant; to be available for the next role” 2006

TURNS NINE INTO ONE McGill joined Mantra Group at a challenging time for the hotel and resort operator – when nine distinct brands came together.

“The CEO asked me to do a proposal on how to integrate all the businesses and nine different policies and cultures; I did a structure on the back of an envelope and a couple of weeks later he offered me a job.”

2016

GOES BACK TO SCHOOL Last year marked McGill’s return to the classroom, this time as a student.

She was also approached by a professor to act as an industry adviser to the school, reviewing the curriculum annually to ensure relevance.

“I don’t actually have a piece of paper that says I can do HR. Sometimes I felt I was winging it, and I wanted some structure around that. I’ve committed myself to do all the topics. It’s not easy, but I really enjoy it.”

74

GROWS UP IN PUBS

1994

FINDS HR IN THE CLASSROOM Back in Newcastle working at the Radisson Hotel, McGill was invited by her alma mater to give a guest talk, and indirectly found a path to the career that became her passion.

“I came in as guest speaker and left with a job; they wanted me to teach one class at first, and then I picked up more; I was balancing full-time work and teaching three nights a week – I loved it! I always describe myself as a hospitality professional who found HR.”

“I came in as guest speaker and left with a job” 2002

TAKES ON SENIOR ROLE McGill’s work as a consultant resulted in her recruiting an unexpected candidate for a senior role with a major resort operator: herself.

“P&O were trying to fill this position; they called me in and talked about the role – and again, I walked out with a job. It was a huge leap of faith by the managing director, but he knew that I understood what they wanted to do.”

2015

SUPPORTS GLOBAL GROWTH When Mantra’s operations expanded to Indonesia, McGill, as group GM of HR, was called upon to help in the globalisation of functions; the following year Hawaii was added to the hotel and resort operator’s locations.

“It’s been a real eye-opener. Over the last two years we’ve been opening approximately one hotel a month and have to make sure we keep pace with this growth with systems that can stretch and still be robust.

Our strategy is shared across the group.”

www.hcamag.com

74-75_CareerPath_SUBBED.indd 74

28/09/2017 3:22:01 PM

SPONSORED FEATURE

AUTOPIA

LET’S TALK ABOUT DIVERSITY In the midst of significant global changes such as generational turnover, talent shortage and advancing technology, Greg Parkes, Executive General Manager at Autopia, shares the organisation's journey towards a more diverse and inclusive workplace THERE ARE thousands of articles discussing the importance of diversity, while study after study proves the economic benefits of a diverse workforce to an organisation.

As a result, over the last decade, the corporate world has focused more on diversity, celebrating our differences in gender, cultural background, ways of thinking and more.

The journey towards diversity At Autopia, the importance of diversity and inclusion stems from the core of our business: our customers. Having built an organisation with a personalised, highly consultative approach, it was evident to us that our customers came from a whole range of backgrounds, and our staff should too.

So, in an effort to learn how to promote diversity and inclusion within our organisation and create a positive impact in our business community, we embarked on our own diversity and inclusion journey, leading to the

development of our thought leadership program.

Diversity matters: facilitating the conversation Through Autopia’s Diversity and Inclusion thought leadership program, we have had the privilege of sharing experiences with corporate leaders from around Australia, and partnered with pivotal organisations, including UN Women National Committee of Australia and Juggle Strategies, a workplace flexibility consultancy firm.

Through these partnerships, we have developed a series of White Papers for business, exploring gender and cultural diversity, as well as workplace flexibility, and best practices for promoting and implementing effective diversity and inclusion programs within a business. With the objective of generating discussion around these issues, these White Papers also aim to provide guidance for companies on their own journey of change.

“Working towards diversity and inclusion in the workplace is not only the right thing to do; it’s the smart thing to do.”

Along the way, and thanks to insights from our expert partners, we have learned that it is not enough to achieve a statistically diverse workforce; true inclusion comes when there is a cultural shift within the organisation.

“Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance,” Verna Myers, Author and Diversity Advocate Undoubtedly, changing an organisation’s culture can be slow. In fact, achieving diversity and inclusion is not a one-off, set-and-forget exercise. It is an ever-evolving process that must go beyond written procedures to become part of the day-to-day life of an organisation.

Achieving diversity and inclusion is a process that requires us to re-think how we do business, but one that we know can have a positive and tangible effect on productivity and performance.

Greg Parkes is the Executive General Manager at Autopia - a specialist novated leasing provider to the corporate sector in the Smartgroup network of companies. Smartgroup is an ASX-listed group recognised for innovation and exceptional customer service.

To explore diversity and inclusion white papers produced by Autopia, visit autopia.com.au

Greg Parkes, Executive General Manager, Autopia

www.hcamag.com

FINAL-Autopia_HRD magazine article_Aug 2017_new.indd 55

75

28/09/2017 3:25:25 PM

PEOPLE

OTHER LIFE

LEADER OF THE PACK When she’s not whipping new mums’ careers into shape, Beth Yarzab is most likely working them into a sweat

TELL US ABOUT YOUR OTHER LIFE Email hrdeditor@keymedia.com

IT WAS the transition to motherhood that provided consultant career strategist Beth Yarzab with the impetus to rediscover her passion for fitness instruction.

Always an active girl – albeit one who struggled with body image – Yarzab had taught step aerobics and the like at university and kept her certification current even once she was working in the corporate sector.

This came in handy when, in addition to the beautiful twin girls she welcomed 10 years ago, she gained more than 100 pounds during her pregnancy.

“As I struggled with early motherhood,” Yarzab says, “the fitness was a life-saver. I could get out of my head; could feel competent; I could lose the baby weight. I would push the strollers so my kids would sleep.

The move back into teaching fitness was organic.”

2:13

Yarzab’s best half-marathon result so far

76

Also organic was the manner in which the classes Yarzab began to teach for her fellow new mums led to community-building.

The popular stroller fitness classes were held in a park, for which participants “just showed up with the tots in tow”, and often attendees found the exercise secondary to meeting other mums.

“They share and help each other.

It’s more than just an exercise class.”

This networking aspect led to the other component of Yarzab’s enterprise: assisting new mums through career transitions.

“Often they want to reinvent themselves; their priorities on work and life might have changed.”

The years since then have brought Yarzab success both professionally, with her careerfitmom.ca website, and personally – she is currently training for her seventh half-marathon.

15

Highest number of classes she has taught per week

11

Number of instructors she has working for her

www.hcamag.com

76_Other Life_SUBBED.indd 76

28/09/2017 9:22:09 AM

76_Other Life_SUBBED.indd 77

28/09/2017 9:22:32 AM

12_HeadtoHead_SUBBED.indd 14

29/09/2017 10:14:39 AM