Human Resources Director 16.02 by Key Media

VIVE LA DIFFÉRENCE HR insights from L’Oréal Group PROMOTING GENDER EQUALITY Sheryl Sandberg’s #MentorHer movement HCAMAG.COM ISSUE 16.02

ALIGNING, MEASURING AND CONTROLLING How to get the most from your leadership investment

LEADING THE PACK

NSW Business Chamber wins gold SPECIAL REPORT | HR Technology

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APRIL 2018

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CONTENTS

@HRDAustralia facebook.com/HRDAustralia

UPFRONT 02 Editorial

Life is all about perspective – that’s why it’s time to get off the dance floor and onto the balcony

04 Statistics

Parental leave is evolving, with changing societal expectations – here’s what’s happening globally

SPECIAL REPORT

06 News analysis

TECHNOLOGY

While all employers should be aware of their legal obligations when a sexual harassment claim is made, it’s #MentorHer that is capturing attention

From intelligence augmentation to the latest trends in e-learning, HRD looks at some of the major breakthroughs shaking up HR tech

08 Employment law update

The latest on family-friendly working hours and domestic violence leave

10 Rewards/benefits update Is it time to offer financial advice to staff?

12 Head to head

Is HR strategy a dead concept?

13 Expert insight

Managing the tricky balance between WHS obligations and employee discipline

54 FEATURES

TIME FOR A (HEALTH) TUNE-UP?

If you’re taking a best guess or relying on gut instinct to guide your organisation’s health and wellbeing interventions, it’s time for a rethink

PEOPLE 70 Career path

She’s come a long way, but for Sara Marshall the ultimate goal has always been encouraging others to reach their best

72 Other life

When she’s not consulting for the Disability Trust, you’re most likely to find Sara Saliba centrestage

58 FEATURES

HCAMAG.COM CHECK IT OUT ONLINE

HOPING FOR THE BEST

20 SPECIAL REPORT

EMPLOYER OF CHOICE 2018

HRD’s annual Employer of Choice awards highlight exceptional work practices – and critically the results are decided upon by the people who matter the most: employees

PEOPLE

VIVE LA DIFFÉRENCE

It’s rare for a multinational company with a rich cultural heritage to embrace local norms, but that’s just what L’Oréal Group strives for. HRD chats to HR director Amber Kristof

Aligning, measuring and controlling leadership investment starts with a strategy. Is it time to develop yours?

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UPFRONT

EDITORIAL

All about perspective

f all the wonderful case studies and insightful talks given by HR leaders at the National HR Summit in March, one anecdote in particular sticks in my mind. It’s not necessarily a new concept, but it’s certainly unique. It involves both a dance floor and a balcony… Picture yourself on a dance floor with a balcony perched above it. Your focus is on having fun with your friends, ensuring you don’t bump into anyone else and soaking up the music and atmosphere. You work up a sweat as you swirl around the floor. Now imagine that instead of dancing on the dance floor you were watching other people dancing from the balcony. A new location means a different perspective: you’d spot patterns of behaviour you had previously missed; perhaps you’d notice some people not dancing at all, others who

Imagine that instead of dancing on the dance floor you were watching other people dancing from the balcony stepped off the dance floor when the music tempo increased, still others who seemed quite out of sync with everyone else, seemingly following the beat of their own drum. Applied to the business world, of course, the message is that sometimes it’s beneficial to step back from the action and take a wider view. It’s critical to get the balance right between being in the thick of it on the dance floor, and taking a strategic view from the balcony. One view should enhance the other. If we rely too heavily on one over the other, it tends to cloud our judgment and decision-making ability. The temptation for overstretched HR leaders is to remain on the dance floor – to get swamped with everyday tasks which, while still critical, could perhaps be done by someone else, or could be delayed. It’s crucial to pencil in some quiet time each day to remove yourself from the daily grind and review what you are doing against where you would like to be going. Create an opportunity in between your daily tasks to take stock. Take a few moments to determine how your time is split between the ‘dance floor’ and the ‘balcony’. If there’s too much time being spent in either location it’s time for a rethink. And finally, don’t be afraid to ask others on the balcony how you are behaving on the dance floor. Iain Hopkins, editor

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www.hcamag.com APRIL 2O18 EDITORIAL

SALES & MARKETING

Editor Iain Hopkins

Marketing & Communications Manager Michelle Lam

Journalist John Hilton Editorial Assistant Hannah Go Production Editor Roslyn Meredith

ART & PRODUCTION Designer Marla Morelos Traffic Coordinator Freya Demegilio

Marketing Executive Emma Kemmery Business Development Manager Matthew Nutt

CORPORATE Chief Executive Officer Mike Shipley Chief Operating Officer George Walmsley Managing Director Justin Kennedy Chief Information Officer Colin Chan Human Resources Manager Julia Bookallil

EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES iain.hopkins@keymedia.com

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

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES matthew.nutt@keymedia.com

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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.

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UPFRONT

STATISTICS

Taking your leave Employee expectations of parental leave are changing, and company policies are evolving with them IN THE name of attracting talent, many parental leave policies have expanded well beyond the traditional model of maternity leave; more than one third of organisations worldwide have one overarching policy covering the various forms of leave available, which now include paternity, adoption and parental leave. The evolution of leave programs can be seen as a reaction to social changes and, subsequently, to the needs of a changing

64%

of companies worldwide provide maternity leave only for a birth mother1

24%

of companies provide leave to the primary caregiver, regardless of gender2

workforce. For example, adoption leave is becoming more of a factor, particularly in light of the definition of families expanding to include same-sex parents. Almost one in three (29% of ) companies globally offer the provision of adoption leave beyond what the law demands. In the case of adoption leave for same-sex couples, almost nine out of every 10 companies (87%) handle the provision of that leave in the same manner as for opposite-sex couples.

89%

of fathers consider it important that a company should offer paternity leave3

LEAVE WORLDWIDE The contrast is sharp between family-friendly nations such as Sweden, which offers parents up to 480 days per child, and those such as the US, where paid maternal leave is optional and only 14% of employers extend the benefit.

44%

of companies indicate that eligible employees use their statutory paternity leave4

Source: 1, 2, 4Global Parental Leave Report, Global Edition, Mercer Select Intelligence, 2016; 3The New Dad Report, Boston College Center for Work & Family, 2014

MULTIPLE KINDS OF LEAVE

MOVING TOWARDS INCLUSIVITY

Approximately one in three of the companies surveyed reported having a global parental leave policy covering multiple types of leave. For those that do not, 19% have a global policy covering all four types of leave: maternal, paternal, adoption, and parental.

A breakdown of the leave types included in global policies reflects the redefinition of parental leave policies to ensure inclusivity as benefits play a more significant role in choice of employer. Maternity leave

94% Paternity leave

76%

36% Yes 52% No but considering 12% No,implementing one

Adoption leave

73% Parental leave

67% 0

Source: Global Parental Leave Report: A by-country study on maternity, paternity, adoption, and other family leave, Global Edition; Mercer Select Intelligence, 2016

100

Source: Global Parental Leave Report: A by-country study on maternity, paternity, adoption, and other family leave, Global Edition; Mercer Select Intelligence, 2016

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No paid leave Less than 14 weeks 14–25.9 weeks 26–51.9 weeks 52 weeks or more Source: Is paid leave available for mothers of infants?, World Policy Analysis Center, 2018 (www.worldpolicycenter.org)

A WORLD OF ENTITLEMENTS

PATERNITY LEAVE

A measure of total paid leave entitlements available to mothers, which includes paid maternity leave and paid parental leave available to mothers, shows Canada’s entitlements as slightly below the OECD average, while Australia’s come in well under the average.

Paternity leave is not required by statute in many countries. The US has the highest percentage of companies allowing paternity leave above what is required, despite organisations having no legal obligation to do so.

73.4

70 60

52 52.6

47.9

50 42

16 7.6

27.3

Americas

63.4

Europe, Middle East and Africa

26.8

Asia-Pacific

41%

12.2

7.7 New Zealand

41%

38.1

Global

0 0 0 Australia

33%

54.1 42.6

31.3

53.6

Length of parental leave entitlements (weeks)

Canada

Denmark

Average payment rate of national average earnings (%)

Germany

Sweden

38%

OECD average

Full-rate equivalent (weeks)

Source: Key characteristics of parental leave systems, OECD, 2016, reported in Workplace Gender Equality Agency insight paper Towards gender balanced parental leave: Australian and international trends, 2016

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Source: Global Parental Leave Report: A by-country study on maternity, paternity, adoption, and other family leave, Global Edition; Mercer Select Intelligence, 2016

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UPFRONT

NEWS ANALYSIS

The rise of #MentorHer While all employers should be aware of their legal obligations when a sexual harassment claim is made, it’s another initiative that is capturing attention AS NEWS spread globally in mid-October 2017 about Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein’s sexual harassment and intimidation of numerous high-profile female actors, it was social media that served as the amplifier of the message. On Twitter, #MeToo was used more than 500,000 times by 16 October 2017. On Facebook, it was used in 12 million posts during the first 24 hours. Since then, numerous industries – in particular in the creative fields of journalism and the theatre, and other high-profile areas like politics – have come under fire for

a tailored, specialised training or discussion forum for managers. “It is critical that your management team understand their role in preventing sexual harassment – both by leading from the front and by being the ‘first responders’ in relation to any possible improper behaviour,” he says. “Managers need to know how to respond to the common introduction that precedes many misconduct allegations: ‘I don’t want you to tell anyone, but...’” It’s also suggested that all allegations of sexual harassment are investigated by an independent and impartial person. However, the latest groundswell movement

“It’s clear that this problem has existed for some time now, and that this survey is simply highlighting the proliferation of this indelible sentiment” Lance Hodgson, Mentorloop allowing inappropriate behaviour of men towards women to continue unchecked and without repercussions. All workplaces have felt the pressure to take action. Michal Roucek, senior associate at Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors (ABLA), says every employer should have a discrimination and sexual harassment policy. Roucek also recommends implementing

in response to #MeToo is #MentorHer, which shifts the dialogue beyond legal obligations. The campaign was launched by LeanIn.org, which discovered via a survey that nearly half of all male managers “are now uncomfortable participating in common work activities with women, including working alone and mentoring”. LeanIn.org – which was co-founded by

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg to promote gender equality in the workplace – sponsors an online community, promotes educational materials, and runs peer groups called Lean In Circles. The latest initiative aims to connect women with “the high-quality mentorship that advances careers”. Lance Hodgson, marketing manager at Mentorloop, says #MentorHer is long overdue. “It’s clear that this problem has existed for some time now, and that this survey is simply highlighting the proliferation of this indelible sentiment,” he says. “It’s easy for one element of an overwhelmingly large problem like gender equality to get buried in the noise. But it’s critical that every element of the problem – in this case mentoring – is acknowledged independently, as each element is a key part of the larger issue and a single lever we can pull to make progress.” #MentorHer also provides insight into male–female relationships in the workplace, and the story is not great; in fact, things are worse than previously thought. It tells us that much of the objective progress we have made on open, public discrimination has at least in

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MALE–FEMALE RELATIONS IN 2018 LeanIn.org’s online survey of 2,950 employed adults, conducted in the wake of the Weinstein scandal, revealed: Almost half of all male managers are uncomfortable participating in a common work activity with a woman, such as mentoring, working alone, or socialising together. Almost 30% of male managers are uncomfortable working alone with a woman – more than twice as many as before. The number of male managers who are uncomfortable with mentoring women has more than tripled from 5% to 16%. This means that one in six male managers may now hesitate to mentor a woman.

part been transposed into hidden bias – which is equally damaging and often much harder to address due to its subtlety. There are five ways HR executives can apply #MentorHer in their workplaces. Firstly, HR execs and departments can seek to uncover the hidden problems and biases that are circulating and propagating around

HR departments should also put more resources and effort into ensuring people are comfortable with their programs and understand what their individual roles are. Hodgson says that while men should feel comfortable mentoring women or taking them out for a business lunch, we shouldn’t demean them for not being so comfortable,

“It is critical that your management team understand their role in preventing sexual harassment – by leading from the front and being the ‘first responders’” Michal Roucek, ABLA their organisations. “The onus of uncovering systematic organisational problems needn’t lie with research organisations or special interest groups; it can lie with HR and people departments,” Hodgson says. Secondly, create larger and more formal programs. Informalities create subjectivity, which creates anxiety around not knowing whether you are doing the right thing.

because that doesn’t help either party achieve its goals. HR should share expectations and parameters. HR execs can also focus more closely on the why of their programs and efforts. LeanIn and #MentorHer didn’t create a global movement based on the fact that men should mentor more women; they created a movement based on the need for men to mentor women

Women and men feel similarly about the media reports of sexual harassment: 47% are not surprised, and 25% think this is the tip of the iceberg. About half of all women and men say their companies have responded to the #MeToo movement by taking action against harassers, updating their policies, or offering employee guidance or training. because of ‘X’ fact and ‘Y’ fact. They focused on why men need to mentor women, not just the fact that they should. Additionally, HR executives can ask more of their people from an ethical and financial standpoint. They can ask more men to mentor women, and point to the reasons and benefits for doing so – both from an individual perspective (ethical/moral) and from a financial perspective (inclusive organisations perform better). Roucek makes one final salient point: “Employers can’t control every movement of their workforce, and whilst there are always going to be some individuals exhibiting ‘outlier’ behaviours, employers can take real steps to ensure that they are operating workplaces that respect diversity in practice.”

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UPFRONT

EMPLOYMENT LAW UPDATE NEWS BRIEFS NSW laws changed for pregnant employees NSW Parliament has repealed a law that allowed employers to dismiss or refuse to hire women who knew they were pregnant when applying for a job. Women facing sex discrimination in the private sector can make a complaint to the Human Rights Commission under the Commonwealth Sex Discrimination Act 1984. However, the Commonwealth Act does not apply to NSW public sector agencies. These amendments close that loophole and improve the protection of women who are seeking employment, or who are currently employed, in the public sector. NSW now aligns with other states and territories.

Sexual harassment inquiries jump 128% In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment case, Shine Lawyers national call centre received 645 calls requesting help with general employment rights in October 2018 compared to just 341 calls in September – an increase of 89%. As the Harvey Weinstein allegations escalated and the #metoo campaign grew, calls continued to flood in, jumping to 779 in November, a rise in employment law enquiries of 128% in just two months. By December 2017 the number of workplace sexual harassment cases the firm was investigating had also more than doubled.

When is a casual employee not casual? In Apostolides v Mantina Earthmovers & Constructions Pty Ltd [2018] FCCA 279, the Federal Circuit Court determined that an employee whom the employer purported was a casual employee, was in fact permanent and was owed a payment in lieu of notice and 15 years’ worth of annual

leave payments. Observers suggested: there was no written contract of employment or written terms setting out the basis of the employee’s engagement; the employee worked fulltime hours with substantial amounts of overtime for 15 years; the employee had not been paid for public holidays over the course of his employment.

Caltex sites breach workplace laws The latest Compliance Activity Report by the Fair Work Ombudsman shows a workplace noncompliance rate of 76% in the Caltex service network. In light of this, Caltex announced to the ASX that it would transition franchise sites to company operations, a move that did not surprise Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James. “FWO’s report shows Caltex Australia has been presiding over a non-compliant and unsustainable operating model,” said James. Inspectors visited 25 retail fuel outlet sites operated by 23 Caltex franchisees. Only six of these sites were found to be compliant with workplace laws.

Does a change in duties trigger a redundancy? In Sensis Pty Ltd v Gundi, the Full Federal Court held that an employee’s position is not redundant when there is a change in the combination of duties to be performed. The judgment also stated that the onus of proof lies with an employee to persuade the Court that their position was made redundant and that they had not been offered a reasonable alternative. Employment lawyers observing the case suggested the critical issue for employers was to check what the contractual arrangements were when dealing with redundancy, specifically the relevant industrial instrument.

FWC rules on family-friendly working hours and domestic violence leave The Fair Work Commission has rejected union demands for workplace flexibility procedures and paid domestic violence leave The full bench of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has concurred with employer groups that a right to ‘family-friendly work hours’ would prevent management’s ability to control rosters and might have a substantial adverse impact on businesses. The workplace umpire has recommended that employers be required to confer with employees to try to reach agreement on flexible work and provide an extensive explanation of reasons for a decision to refuse it. The decision was the right call, according to the Australian Industry Group chief executive, Innes Willox. “If the ACTU’s [Australian Council of Trade Union’s] claims had been accepted, all awards would have been varied to give employees the right to dictate to their employer what hours and days they work, with the employer having no right to refuse regardless of the circumstances,” said Willox. “The Commission has drafted a model clause aimed at facilitating discussion between employers and employees about flexible work arrangements rather than imposing outcomes upon employers, and has called for submissions on the model clause.” Moreover, the FWC has announced that millions of Australian workers will be able to access five days’ unpaid domestic violence leave a year; however, it refused the

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ACTU’s push for 10 days’ paid leave. The new leave provisions are estimated to be available for 2.3 million Australian workers on modern awards. The leave will be available to employees who are not able to deal with the impact of domestic violence outside the ordinary hours of work. Willox added that the outcome was a “measured” decision, saying employers typically took a compassionate approach to giving time off for domestic violence. “While different employers have different capacities to provide assistance to employees experiencing domestic violence, most employers are not likely to experience problems with what the commission has decided,” Willox said.

The new leave provisions are estimated to be available for 2.3 million workers on modern awards The ACTU secretary, Sally McManus, cited research that shows it costs $18,000 and takes 141 hours – nearly all during business hours – to escape an abusive relationship. “Millions of workers have been denied their rights today as a result of this broken FWC decision,” McManus said. “It’s completely unacceptable that women have to choose between abuse and protecting their children and keeping their job.” If elected, the Australian Labor Party has said it will legislate for 10 days’ paid leave.

Q&A

Dismissing long-term absent employees Julia Sutherland Counsel ASHURST

Fast fact Best practice is to consider whether operationally the employer’s business can continue to accommodate the employee’s absence (eg because the prognosis of a full return to work in the short to medium term is good and other staff can cover their absence for this period).

What are the risks of dismissing a long-term absent employee? It is possible to lawfully dismiss an employee who has been absent from work for a long period. However, careful prior consideration needs to be given to several factors to ensure that any decision to dismiss is appropriate and legally defensible. This decision commonly arises where an employee is absent due to illness or injury. The main legal risks that arise when considering dismissal in these circumstances are that the employee alleges: • the dismissal is because of their illness or injury and this is in breach of the general protections provisions of the Fair Work Act or anti-discrimination laws; • the dismissal is in breach of the general protections provisions of the Fair Work Act because their absence is a “temporary absence from work”; and/or • the dismissal is in breach of protections contained in workers’ compensation laws, which apply where an employee is unfit for work following a work-related injury. For example, in NSW an employer must not terminate employment within six months of the date of the injury. A reverse onus of proof applies where there is an alleged breach of the general protections provisions of the Fair Work Act. This means that the employer must prove that, on the balance of probabilities, illness/injury or temporary absence was not a reason for the dismissal. How can employers mitigate against these risks, before any decision is made to dismiss? • Review the employee’s terms of employment, including to understand the employee’s right to paid sick leave and any notification and evidence requirements to take sick leave. • Require the employee to comply with any notification and evidence requirements. • Seek appropriately detailed medical evidence from either the employee’s treating doctor or an independent medical practitioner. The doctor should be briefed with detailed information about the role that the employee is required to perform, as well as any medical evidence the employer already has. The employer should seek information from the doctor which explains: » the nature of the employee’s condition » the employee’s short-, medium- and long-term prognosis » the effect of the illness or injury on the employee’s ability to perform the key aspects of their role, including as a consequence of any medication they may be required to take » whether the employee may perform that role with adjustments to it. This information is necessary and relevant for an employer to consider whether an employee is able to perform the “inherent requirements” of their role. A termination of employment where an employee is unable to perform the inherent requirements of their role will not be a breach of the Fair Work Act or anti-discrimination laws.

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UPFRONT

REWARDS AND BENEFITS UPDATE

Should employers offer financial advice to staff? Flight Centre is one of a growing number of companies with a financial inclusion program for their workers

what they have got to work with, because unfortunately most people are not very good at managing money,” says Beckley. “We have been working in the space of financial inclusion for the last 23 years when our founder, owner and current managing director set up a small division in Flight Centre to look after his staff ’s finances.” According to Beckley, the aim of the plan is to help employees better manage their money, control their spending and make sure they are clear on what their financial goals are and how to get there.

“Unfortunately most people are not very good at managing money” The rising cost of living and stagnant wages are creating unprecedented financial stress for workers. So what role should employers, and HR departments in particular, play in helping staff manage their own money? During the past 12 months, 30 companies in Australia (including banks, utilities, universities, lawyers and investment firms) and non-profits have rolled out programs to promote ‘financial resilience’ in their staff. These companies are part of the Financial Inclusion Action Plan (FIAP) program. The FIAP efforts include education sessions for

NEWS BRIEFS

young workers (who are more inclined to spend than save), financial workshops for people with disabilities, and toolkits to help women manage their budgets after relationship break-ups. One company that’s part of the FIAP program is Flight Centre, which has a high proportion of young employees who have been spending more than they earn. Flight Centre business leader Stacey Beckley tells HRD that a trend towards online shopping and the prevalence of credit cards has contributed to a generation of workers with scant personal finance skills. “Our mantra is to help staff to understand

Time to adopt three-day weekends?

New Zealand-based Perpetual Guardian will run a trial of three-day weekends for six weeks in the hope of boosting productivity and engagement. “In today’s world it’s very difficult for people to juggle both work at home and work in the office,” said company founder Andrew Barnes. “We want people to be the best they can when they’re in the office but also the best at home.” While some organisations have trialled longer hours across fewer days, Barnes says employees will still work a typical workday and receive their normal salaries. 10

“It’s about trying to give them those skills to assess what the current situation looks like for them and how to better make use of the funds you have got coming in,” she says. “A lot of what we do is about preventing bad spending behaviour, as opposed to dealing with the symptoms. So we get countless emails from people asking us to help them get out of a situation that they are in; to help them get out of hot water and to structure a plan on how to consolidate their debts and pay them back. “Most people want to save to go on a holiday or buy a house, or conversely get out of debt, so we monitor our people’s financial goals on a monthly basis.”

Recognising employees for promoting values While 83% of senior decisionmakers say their companies recognise employees who demonstrate corporate values, 42% of employees don’t agree they receive this recognition, according to new research by Reward Gateway. The consequences of not bridging the gap with mission and values are twofold; firstly, through employee churn as workers choose to work for companies where there is a culture of continuous recognition. Moreover, there is the issue of presenteeism – employees who show up each day but have no understanding of their mission or how to contribute to it.

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13/04/2018 2:35:47 PM

Q&A

Strong teams = strong cultures Dwain Richardson Managing director CORPORATE CHALLENGE EVENTS

Fast fact Corporate Challenge Events has delivered more than 7,000 team-building events since 1994. The first event delivered was the RMIT Melbourne Pub Crawl back in the early ’90s.

How do employees benefit from team-building events? Team building is all about understanding, appreciating, and developing the people in your team. Team-building events provide a time when the focus is purely on these outcomes, with no workplace distractions. The benefits of team-building events really depend on what the organisation wants to focus on. Some of the main impacts are teamwork, communication, leadership, confidence, trust, responsibility, morale and bonding. Most of these events are designed to be a combination of fun with a focus on specific outcomes that ultimately provide a boost to workplace culture.

What’s your advice for companies that want to build a positive team culture? Practising a positive and fun team culture in your workplace requires time and commitment. We all have many and various tasks to perform in our jobs. Particularly in busy times, the focus can become so heavy on completing tasks, meeting deadlines and getting the job done that we lose sight of enjoying work and operating effectively in teams. In other words, we get too bogged down in day-to-day operations even though we know the value of a positive team culture. This is similar to exercise in many ways. We all know the benefits of being fit and healthy, yet other tasks often take priority over exercising. The reality is that if we make the time and a commitment we will reap the rewards. Undertaking an activity as a team focused on fun

Demand for health and wellbeing beneﬁts surges

In a survey of 150 HR directors worldwide, Bupa Global found that just over a quarter (26%) of staff expect more from their employer in terms of health and wellbeing benefits than five years ago. Respondents named international private medical insurance and flexible working hours as the most desirable benefits. When asked more specifically about looking after their health when abroad, 82% of senior executives and 90% of employees said they considered it the responsibility of their employer.

and positive outcomes or some training on practising a positive culture is a great place to start.

Why should organisations train with FISH!? A: FISH! is a training philosophy highly regarded for transforming team cultures around the world since the late ’90s. From my experience applying the principles of FISH! training, it has had a profound impact in five ways: 1. FISH! shows that cultural change is the responsibility of everyone in an organisation, not just senior management. Each person is a vital cog for success and can impact others significantly. 2. The training provides four simple practices that will build trust, teamwork, accountability and appreciation. The practices can be applied by anyone at any moment in any situation. 3. It improves the culture within an organisation, which will lead to better customer service, resulting in greater customer satisfaction, increased repeat business and more referrals. 4. Everyone has more appreciation for enjoying their job. Given we spend so much of our adult lives at work, it helps us understand how important and beneficial it can be to spend this time happy and motivated. 5. FISH! develops leaders who lead, influence and inspire. It shows leaders there is always a choice of how we behave every moment of every day.

Australia’s most sought-after employers revealed

LinkedIn’s Top Companies for 2018 are dominated by the big accounting firms, with PwC (1), Deloitte (3) and KPMG (4) all making the top five, and EY at 10th. The big four banks also made the list, with Commonwealth Bank coming in second. Among the benefits on offer: a Lego room at PwC to encourage collaboration; onsite wellness centres at EY and Commonwealth Bank; free cooking classes at Deloitte; hot breakfast and yoga classes at Macquarie Group; and a multisport facility at Optus are just a few examples. Buying and selling annual leave was also popular.

How to avoid ‘quarter-life’ crises

Offering opportunities for travel, mentorship and training are some of the ways companies can support young Aussies in building fulfilling and successful careers, according to Jason Laufer, senior director of talent and learning solutions at LinkedIn Asia Pacific. LinkedIn says onethird (33%) of Australians between 25 and 33 have experienced a ‘quarter-life crisis’ – often described as a period of doubt and confusion over one’s identity and purpose. Despite more job opportunities, over half (51%) of millennials say ‘too much choice’ can leave them frustrated. www.hcamag.com

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13/04/2018 2:35:53 PM

UPFRONT

HEAD TO HEAD

Is a long-term HR strategy a dead concept? In a fast-changing world is the idea of a three, five- or 10-year plan a thing of the past?

Damir Kucan

Sonam Jain

VP HR Asia Pacific region DHL eCommerce

Executive general manager, HR Crown Perth

“HR strategy is more alive today than ever. It is the overall business strategy that dictates the strategy of every function; it is the employees that help realise the business strategy. “If your business wants to improve sales (short- or long-term), and you have no HR strategy to either further develop sales capabilities or create an environment that encourages high sales output behaviour, then all you have is someone hoping that it turns out right! “Don’t confuse HR strategy with HR function. HR strategy can be business or HR led, but unless well planned, you are leaving business success to chance!”

“A person, a team, or an organisation without strategy is an entity without direction. While the business environment is rapidly evolving, a company’s core purpose should be enduring. How that purpose is executed is the element subject to competitive and environmental pressures; it is incumbent upon HR to position the business to meet those challenges. This requires a two-level approach ensuring clarity around longterm direction and the actions required to get there. Simultaneously, the business must position itself to respond to shortterm factors. I think that’s called a strategy, and HR has a critical role to play in both.”

Holly Barnes

Head of people and culture Moodle “Our world of work moves quickly: organisations need to be agile. Gone are the days of executing a rigid three-year HR strategy that aligns to the implementation of a business plan. “Instead HR must support the business in shifting its focus to team and culture. Putting energy into building a great team rather than a structured plan makes adapting at a moment’s notice easier. While focusing on hiring and developing talent for culture and capability across multiple skill sets, HR strategic planning needs to evolve to create the agility that the business requires to adapt to changing market conditions. Fast trumps long-term.”

RACING TO STAY RELEVANT Darren Linton, CEO of digital agency Yellow, says the pace of change has of necessity shortened the time window available for planning so much that strategy may no longer fit into the thinking of an HR department the way it once did. “I used to talk about strategy rather than execution, but I think it’s harder these days to have a three-year plan and a set strategy – it’s more about how your organisation can execute in the next quarter, the next six months, maybe the next 12 months. When I started my career we used to sit down and write three- and five-year strategies because the world didn’t move quite so fast. Now – and we know this in both our professional and personal lives – so much is changing around us and you need people who can help you execute in order to stay relevant.”

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EXPERT INSIGHT

Brought to you by

WORKPLACE RELATIONS

WHS and employee discipline Alan Girle offers tips on how to discipline employees who breach workplace health and safety policies EMPLOYERS HAVE a responsibility to do all that is reasonably practicable to ensure the safety of their workers, but often the real problem is convincing employees to look after themselves. Motivating workers to develop a safe work culture is no easy task. It involves a combination of instruction, incentive, reward, supervision and discipline. If an employer is not effective in this process, they may be criminally prosecuted. While motivation may be the primary goal, employers must keep in mind that they may have to discipline a recalcitrant employee. From a work health and safety (WHS) perspective, if a worker is injured the test will be whether the employer has ensured, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of that worker. The very first incident can form the basis of a prosecution, so it is important that the fundamentals are covered. The test will be whether the employer has: • created a safe working environment • given clear instruction to employees • monitored the level of compliance by its employees • supervised the employees Examples of prosecutions of employers as a result of employees disregarding instructions are abundant. In NSW a company was convicted and fined $240,000 when a 15-year-old work experience student suffered permanent loss of vision in both eyes when he was welding on the first day of work without eye protection in place. In Western Australia a roof carpenter was convicted and

fined $27,500 after a worker lost sight in one eye as a result of a ricocheting nail from a nail gun. In Victoria a hotel was convicted and fined $60,000 after a kitchen hand suffered serious burns to her eye from waste liquid produced after cleaning a cooking grill. From a disciplinary perspective, it is sometimes difficult to dismiss an employee for a safety breach. The Fair Work Commission has made it clear that this will need to be supported by evidence that the employee:

1. Give the employee details of the alleged safety breach. 2. Allow the employee to have with them a support person. 3. Give the employee a fair opportunity to respond. 4. Ensure that the decision to dismiss is fair, just and reasonable. 5. Take into account other mitigating factors such as the age of the employee, length of service, explanation for the breach, and a good disciplinary record. If on balance a decision is made not to dismiss, then it is important that the employee is left with no doubt that a further safety breach may lead to dismissal. Clear documentation to this effect is advisable. Safety breaches have the potential to result in serious injury or death for the worker involved and those around them. In many cases a program of coaching and positive reinforcement will be adopted to

From a disciplinary perspective, it is sometimes difficult to dismiss an employee for a safety breach • knew what was required of them • knew a breach of the safety requirement could result in dismissal • had been warned that non-compliance could result in dismissal • was aware there was a pattern of noncompliance without improvement • was given a fair opportunity to respond to the allegation • failed to give an adequate response to the allegation Dismissal following an initial breach may be harsh, unjust or unreasonable, but the breach should be used as an opportunity to better ensure the safety of workers and to set up a basis for strong action in the future. At the point at which an employer wants to dismiss, they should take the following steps.

develop a stronger safety culture. However, unambiguous warnings should follow to protect the employer’s ability to manage what can be a difficult process of disciplining the employee. Escalation and documentation is often the best approach, and not only will that support the employer but the process will also act as evidence that the employer is doing what is required under WHS laws. Alan Girle is a director at Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors (ABLA). Serving business and only business, ABLA is trusted by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and is the leading voice for business in the Fair Work Commission. Alan is a specialist workplace and employment lawyer with a focus on work health and safety (WHS) and other regulatory law. If you have any questions about your WHS practices, contact Alan on 1300 565 846 or at alan.girle@ablawyers.com.au.

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EXPERT INSIGHT

Brought to you by

PAYROLL

Bad data equals a bad STP transition Preparation is the key to remaining compliant once Single Touch Payroll launches in July, writes Matthew Ryan THE PAYROLL industry in Australia is consumed by the launch of Single Touch Payroll (STP) by the ATO on 1 July 2018. After that the ATO will have unprecedented access to the operational data of businesses – both what’s reported and the frequency of reporting. That’s great for transparency, but consider the potential for error in this data and the issues this could create for you: the back and forth of getting the data right or, worse still, the risk of posting incorrect data that flags an

 validating that current timesheet data capture is efficient and reliable … ditch paper timesheets  reviewing all pay codes and documenting how they should be classified for tax, superannuation and workers’ compensation Tip: The ATO will see if you’re applying your superannuation calculation correctly with every pay run and super guarantee fines may still apply if you’re not doing this correctly.

Make sure you have a process to review the data before approving it to be sent to the ATO unnecessary issue to the ATO. Ouch! You don’t need more reporting issues, right? The best approach is to get your data right to begin with. This is a two-step approach.

Step 1: Check it once, check it twice… do it now! Get your employee records in order now. Typically you may do this once a year as part of the end of financial year process, but now you’re reporting on this data every time you run the payroll – you need to stay on top of your recordkeeping. Items you’ll need to address include:  capturing tax file numbers within 14 days of your new employee’s start date  reviewing your superannuation policy for simple and timely capture of employee fund details

Step 2: Keep on checking… before you show the ATO Now that you’re sending all this payroll data to the ATO (with every pay run), you don’t want to be dealing with loads of error files and, worse still, to unintentionally be flagged by the ATO because of a reporting mistake. Make sure you have a process to review the data before approving it to be sent to the ATO. You may have reports you can generate in your payroll system to help you check the data, but the ATO transmission file is complex. At ADP we’ve developed a solution to limit errors. Our STP data review system will validate your data through multiple layers of checks. You can work through a report card of items that need to be addressed. Importantly, this is all done before the ATO sees the data. Remember your

goal is to meet your compliance obligations without adding to your operational burden. Check it before you send it.

STP’s first action was due 1 April! This is not a joke STP is mandatory for all “significant employers” from 1 July 2018 (that’s all employers with 20 or more employees). Unsure if that’s you? Then you will need to perform a head count test as of 1 April 2018. It was a Sunday, so you may have missed it. So go back to your employee records and do a check as at that date. At our recent webinar with the ATO, this was the hot topic. So let me address some of those points now:  You need to include all employees on your payroll as of 1 April. Yes, ALL employees (full-time, part-time, casual, seasonal, those that may be overseas or absent or on leave).  Don’t include company directors, employees who ceased work before 1 April 2018, independent contractors or staff provided by third-party labour hire organisations.  You don’t need to submit the head count to the ATO; it’s a self-assessment. You need to keep a record that you did this (when and the data for your test). If the ATO asks why you’re not complying with STP, you’ll need to show details of your test. So be sure! If you need assistance with your head count, check out ADP’s head count guide at adppayroll.com.au. There is a lot to get moving on with the introduction of STP. Good data and strong data management processes have always been important. With increased visibility to the ATO through STP, your data management processes are now mission critical. Matthew Ryan is the marketing director for ADP Australia and New Zealand and is executive sponsor for the project to implement STP solutions at ADP. From software to outsourcing solutions, organisations of all sizes take advantage of ADP’s deep expertise to free their teams and help them focus on driving greater business results. For more information, visit adppayroll.com.au or call 1300 961 734.

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PEOPLE

GLOBAL HR LEADER

VIVE LA DIFFÉRENCE It’s rare for a multinational company with a rich cultural heritage to embrace local norms, but that’s just what L’Oréal Group strives for. HRD chats to HR director Amber Kristof about universalisation and what she’s learnt from a global HR career WITH OUR cultural blinkers on it’s hard to imagine two more divergent cultures than those of Australia and France, yet the two nations share surprisingly rich cultural, historical and commercial links. In terms of the latter, most Australians would consider the women’s beauty and cosmetics industry to be synonymous with France’s – and leading that industry for the past 100 years has been L’Oréal. The L’Oréal Group is represented in 150 countries and has 34 brands and 80,000 employees worldwide. Not surprisingly, while the company prides itself on its cultural heritage, it has thrived by not just being a slice of France transposed overseas. Instead, the company’s leaders aim to effectively balance local culture with a truly multinational company. HR plays a key role in this strategy, and leading the team in Australia and New Zealand for the past four years has been Amber Kristof. “Having worked in multinationals before, something I’ve really appreciated here at L’Oréal is what we call universalisation,” Kristof says. “That’s where we think globally but act locally. That’s not just how we sell

the product to the market – for example, whether we use an Australian spokesperson for Garnier – but also how we manage the culture here in Australia.” HRD chatted to Kristof about those cultural differences, some of the tougher aspects of undertaking work in HR, and why her goal is to create a ‘school of excellence’ at the company.

program and I always describe it as doing a second university degree, full of great practical elements and not just theory. HR in manufacturing is not easy, and I made many mistakes, but I was fortunate to have some great mentors who guided me along the way. I was also fortunate early on to have my first international experience with Ford, when I spent almost three years at the

“HR in manufacturing is not easy, and I made many mistakes, but I was fortunate to have some great mentors who guided me along the way” HRD: Can you outline some highlights of your career to this point? Amber Kristof: I started my career as a graduate with Ford Motor Company around 20 years ago. This was one of those really rich HR experiences. Ford was very heavily involved in manufacturing back then, and we had rotations through training, recruitment, and business partnering. It was a three-year

Detroit headquarters. When you’re working for an international business in Australia as I am today with L’Oréal, spending time in that head office, understanding how things come about and get cascaded down, to see it from that side of the fence is really important. I left Ford for a few years and worked with Walt Disney, another great learning experience in a totally different industry

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PROFILE Name: Amber Kristof Company: L’Oréal Role: HR director HR experience: 21 years Qualifications: »»Bachelor of Science (Hons), Psychology and Genetics, University of Melbourne »»Graduate Diploma, Industrial Relations & Human Resource Management, University of Melbourne Previous roles: »»Executive general manager HR, Melbourne IT »»HR manager – APAC and Africa IT, Ford Motor Company »»Leadership development manager, Ford Motor Company »»HR manager, The Walt Disney Company »»HR manager – Stamping Plant, Ford Motor Company »»HR manager – USA HR Division, Ford Motor Company »»First HR role: Graduate program, Ford Motor Company

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PEOPLE

GLOBAL HR LEADER

with a totally different business model. The company has a number of successful divisions in Australia, but unfortunately, during my time at Walt Disney the company opted to shut down non-strategic Disney stores around the world. Sadly that included all stores within Australia, and hence one key project I delivered during my time with them involved planning and executing the activities to close down a whole division. After two years at Disney I was lured back to Ford where I took a role focused on leadership development, followed by a role in New Zealand. My final role with them was an innovative APAC and Africa HR regional role supporting the IT functions across the 14 countries in the region. Before L’Oréal, I worked for Melbourne IT, an Australian listed company with operations in 16 offices in 10 countries. It was my first role dealing directly with a board and shareholders, so again I learnt a lot. I had some great years there as part of a dynamic executive team who, via organic and inorganic growth opportunities, transformed the business from one dependent on the sale of products that had become highly commoditised, to one that leveraged the use of online services in the enterprise space and helped introduce services like brand protection and cybersecurity management to companies globally.

HRD: What are some of the lessons from your time at Walt Disney Company? AK: When we had to make our retail staff redundant the most critical thing I learned was about making messages as honest and human as possible. Where we can get caught up is when we try to tell stories that aren’t true, or we forget that people are human. So I learned about the importance of authenticity in HR; this comes to the fore when you’re dealing with things like poor performance, and especially things like redundancy. Importantly, I believe you can balance the human side with the business side – so you can have your serious business hat on and understand the business drivers and bottom line, and you can also be human and show empathy. Those two aren’t mutually exclusive. When you try to do only one or the other, you’re not authentic, and I often say whenever we’re doing a redundancy that person always needs to leave feeling that you’ve treated them with respect.

HRD: What’s the HR philosophy at L’Oréal? AK: We talk in terms of HR’s proximity to our employees. Do we really know them and what they want to be doing in their careers? Do we get into the finer details so

we can then help them be successful? We’re measured as an HR function on how close we are to people, whether we are getting the best out of them and how we’re providing them with opportunities to grow and advance their careers. We also want to create a school of excellence so people start their careers here and can continue here. That means allowing them opportunities to move around the business – we have 34 brands globally, so there are plenty of opportunities. For millennials who are perhaps not as loyal to companies as previous generations, having this school of excellence mentality to draw from is invaluable. If we can create that within the organisation then there’s no need for us to lose their IP as they haven’t had to move elsewhere to gain experience.

HRD: How would you describe the culture at L’Oréal, and do you believe this is consistent around the world? AK: The perception from the outside might be that it’s all very Devil Wears Prada and glamorous events, but that’s not L’Oréal’s Australian culture at all. It’s very much about about collective success: the brand will be successful; we’re all going to be successful. We’ll launch this particular fragrance and we’re going to do it together. There’s a real sense of people helping each other to achieve success for the business. However, we operate in a very dynamic and competitive market so we can’t play it safe. We have to be innovative and we have to be far more on trend than a lot of multinationals might, simply due to the changeable nature of the marketplace. In 2017 the L’Oréal Group invested €877 million, or 3.4% of our sales, in research and innovation. We have 20 research centres across the US, Japan, China, India, Brazil and South Africa, and last year we filed 497 patents. Beauty is above all a scientific adventure, and we know to stay ahead of the game we must be quick and inventive. The other great aspect of L’Oréal’s culture is its focus on diversity and inclusiveness and

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ethics. We foster a workplace where all people of every ethnicity, social background, religion, gender, age and ability feel welcomed and valued. Throughout its history, L’Oréal has always set itself the objective of providing security and protection to all of its employees, to enable them to work with peace of mind. Our Share & Care program, initiated in 2013, is part of a long tradition of social progress and attention to the individual. It promotes, in all the group subsidiaries, a common set of social benefits at the best market level while drawing inspiration from local initiatives and specificities. We also give back from the philanthropic perspective. Take our iconic For Women

HRD: Like many organisations L’Oréal has a focus on D&I, but your problem is somewhat unique. Can you explain? AK: Seventy-five percent of our workforce is female, so we are concentrating on bringing more men into the company. The retention bit is fine once males join us and see what we have to offer. The difficulty is around attracting them, because we are perceived as being a beauty business. To combat this our messaging to candidates focuses on how we are a successful global business, our innovation, what we are doing with technology, our excellent opportunities for career growth, and how entrepreneurial behaviour is expected and rewarded in the business.

“We’re measured as an HR function on how close we are to people, whether we are getting the best out of them, and how we’re providing them with opportunities to grow” in Science program that combines science, which is at the heart of our business, and our passion and drive for equality. Each year, the program recognises the achievements of exceptional female scientists at different stages of their careers and awards them with fellowships to help further their research. We give $25,000 to four Australian Fellows and one New Zealand scientist to promote and highlight the critical importance of ensuring greater participation of women in science.

HRD: You’ve mentioned universalisation. Does this mean you can pick and choose what works best for the local market? AK: What comes out of France is great, and we’re lucky as there’s lots of research behind it all. But we usually pick the initiatives that make the most sense for us, and make it work for our culture. Often, as long as the underlying message is not lost, the company is fine for us to tweak it to make it work and ensure it is successful.

We also offer extensive learning opportunities, which is attractive to all candidates. L’Oréal mandates in every country that a certain percentage of sales be put back into training every year. We have a budget and it doesn’t falter. In the middle of every year managers sit down with their employees as part of the performance review process, and input into the system training suggestions (from a catalogue of training opportunities); the data is collected and the training team then works with the leadership team to plan the annual training calendar. There are also other learning opportunities such as individual coaching, and some employees are fortunate to go to Paris for L&D sessions – I’ve been lucky to go several times for HR-specific training. We have had gatherings of 400 or more HR people undertaking HR lab-type hackathons with external ‘disruptor’ experts to ensure we’re going to be cutting-edge in the HR space too. We also just launched a new parental leave policy, which provides all L’Oréal employees with equal paid leave for secondary and primary carers.

TWO-WAY STREET: UNIVERSALISATION L’Oréal uses ‘universalisation’ – a unique take on ‘glocalisation’, which takes the best of the company’s global initiatives and tweaks them so they fly in the local marketplace. Here Amber Kristof provides her tips for ‘selling’ ideas back into the parent company based overseas. Be clear on the business case. “If you

1 work for a company that wants to do something local, you need to talk about the business benefit, how it will help the local business operations and by extension the parent operations.”

Take the emotion out of it. “Sometimes if

2 you get something that has been sent

down through the layers of the organisation you might think it doesn’t make sense. You can go into it with a bit too much emotion, and that’s often HR’s problem – our heart drives our approach. Best to be objective.” Persistence is gold. “Always remember if

3 it doesn’t work then try again. If you really

believe in it, maybe you haven’t told the story right. See how else you can tell the story; go back and try it again. Don’t give up! We need our employees to know the value HR brings to them, because it ultimately impacts the culture and the working environment.” This initiative means that if a L’Oréal employee’s partner takes parental leave after the birth or adoption of a child, then the L’Oréal employee will be entitled to take 10 days’ paid leave immediately after the birth or adoption, followed by 12 paid weeks once their partner has returned to work (within the first 12 months). This matches the entitlement our employees currently receive who are primary carers. This initiative was a key step to providing equality within our workplace, which supports both parents in having significant time as full-time carers; it also aims to make it easier for the primary carer to return to work and fosters a culture of shared parental responsibilities.

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SPECIAL REPORT

HRD EMPLOYER OF CHOICE

With a renewed focus in 2018 on the employee experience, HRDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fourth annual Employer of Choice awards highlight those employers who are setting the bar high in the local employment market

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HRD STOPPED talking about the ‘war for talent’ some years ago, when it became apparent that this well-worn cliché was losing its power to convey the talent challenges facing employers, but also after recognising the fact that the situation was not going to change any time soon. All HR professionals know they must remain on their toes when it comes to attracting and retaining talent; the competition is simply too steep to drop the ball. Unfortunately, despite that awareness, it seems Australian employers are struggling. Employee engagement in Australia has declined despite global levels being at an alltime high in 2017. According to Aon’s latest analysis of more than five million employees at more than 1,000 organisations around the world, global employee engagement levels rebounded back to 65% in 2017, up from 63% in 2016. The percentage of employees who were highly engaged increased from 24% in 2016 to 27% in 2017. In Australia, levels have dropped slightly from 61% in 2016 to 60% in 2017. According to Aon, improving engagement can pay dividends. Its research shows that a five-point increase in employee engagement is linked to a three-point increase in revenue growth in the subsequent year. Aon’s research indicates that rewards and recognition ranked as the strongest engagement opportunity for the second year in a row, with recognition for contributions and fair pay being the most influential factors.

The top three drivers for employee engagement in Australia in 2017 were rewards and recognition, employee value proposition and senior leadership. This year

Top engagement opportunities globally

Last year

Rewards & recognition

Senior leadership

Career opportunities

Employee value proposition

Enabling infrastructure

In an attempt to dissect that broad topic of engagement, and taking into consideration all elements of the employee experience, HRD’s Employer of Choice survey asked employees themselves about key areas that have been identified as critical to feeling engaged at work. Chief among these are whether their employer provides career paths, offers suitable learning and development opportunities, and rewards and recognises a job well done (see boxout overleaf for the full list of questions asked). Those companies that achieved the highest average scores from employees across all these questions are acknowledged as ‘top performers’ in each subcategory. The cream of the crop are the Employer of Choice winners. Gold, Silver and Bronze awards have been given to those employers in our three size categories who are truly going above and beyond. This year it was great to see some return stars from previous years, as well as many new entries to the list. Read on to see why they came out on top.

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SPECIAL REPORT

HRD EMPLOYER OF CHOICE OVERALL RESPONDENT SNAPSHOT

Company size

How many hours do you work each week?

% of overall votes

48%

25%

Less than 10 hours 1% 10–27 hours 6% 28–47 hours 71% 48–59 hours 19% Over 60 hours 3%

27%

10 0

1–99 employees

100–499 employees

54%

30 20

How long have you worked for your current employer?

500+ employees

22%

30 20

15%

10 0

Under 2 years

3–5 years

6–10 years

9% 10+ years

How many days of annual leave have Will you change employer in the next you taken in the last 12 months? 12 months?

Gender

Less than 3 days

10%

4–10 days 11–20 days

Female Male

42% 58%

21 or more days Other

91%

23% 39% 25%

Yes

METHODOLOGY Date of survey: February–March 2018 Method: Online survey Number of respondents: 2,611 employees from 143 companies Employer of Choice status was determined by averaging employee scores given to a range of statements. Scores ranged from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) for the following statements: • My employer provides satisfactory remuneration • My employer provides sufficient opportunities for training and professional development • My employer offers a clear career progression path for all employees • My employer has a strong commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace • My employer provides access to the technology and resources I need to do my job effectively • My employer encourages effective communication at all levels of the organisation • My employer demonstrates effective leadership • My employer offers flexible work practices to help me achieve work-life balance • My employer supports my health and wellbeing • My employer offers sufficient reward and recognition initiatives • My employer has effective recruitment and onboarding strategies to bring the best talent into the organisation

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EMPLOYERS OF CHOICE: OVERALL WINNERS 1-99 EMPLOYEES

intelliHR Christian Super BigCommerce

“It’s really great to be recognised for the things we are passionate about. We see staff development, inclusion, diversity and recognition as critical to our business’s success” Rob Bromage, intelliHR

HRD CHATS to Rob Bromage, managing director and CEO of Gold winner (1–99 employees) intelliHR. HRD: Congratulations on taking out the Gold medal in the small employer (1–99 employees) category. How does it feel to win? It’s a fantastic result and I’m excited about this award. It’s a proud moment for all of our staff to be recognised for the investment we make into professional development and training, inclusion, and also into the diversity of the business. I’m really proud of the way we manage recognition here at intelliHR; it’s something we put a lot of focus on. We use a peer recognition system which ensures our people get the recognition they deserve both by utilising technology and then by bringing it back to a human level and celebrating the wins together at a monthly business meeting.

HRD: Do you believe it will be a struggle to ensure the culture that has made the firm successful to this point will continue as you grow and expand? How will you ensure it doesn’t change too much? I don’t see it as a struggle but more as a priority. I believe if we truly understand who we are and what makes us successful today, and we stay true to that, then success will follow into the future. Culture is not a ‘set and forget’ thing. Every time you bring a new person into a business your culture changes. It’s all about the structures, routines and processes you set within your business that create the culture. Setting the right routines is so important early on, and I’ve been very mindful of that. It’s about making sure the systems and processes you create achieve what you want to achieve in the business both culturally and through your values.

HRD: How would you describe the culture at intelliHR? It’s a very hard-working environment but incredibly collaborative and innovative. People are recognised for their individual contribution to the overall success of the business, and it’s a very open and supportive place to work. I was very recently putting a lot of thought into this same question: what makes us ‘us’? And I’ve put it down to this: intelliHR is your place to be valued for your individual talents and trusted to innovate, collaborate and create. I think that sums it up nicely. It’s about giving people the right tools to excel and then allowing them to come together and contribute to a common goal, which is ultimately the overall success of the business, and very happy customers.

HRD: What’s on top of your people management agenda in 2018 and how are you addressing that issue? It’s about keeping up with the fast pace of the business and understanding the potential challenges that might bring for our staff, in terms of how they need to adapt and more importantly grow at the same rate as the business. That’s what’s really at the top of my mind. It’s not easy to go from 15 to 30 to 60 staff quite quickly. It comes back to culture and how you create and control that culture. We want to maintain a culture which celebrates individual talent and one where staff are supported to innovate, collaborate and create – together. We need to do that in order to support our customers in the best possible way.

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COVER STORY

HRD EMPLOYER OF CHOICE

EMPLOYERS OF CHOICE: OVERALL WINNERS 500+ EMPLOYEES

NSW Business Chamber ALDI Data#3

“This accolade is very important for our employer brand. Candidates from all generations, not just the millennials, take a special interest in wanting to work for an Employer of Choice organisation” Alex Diab, NSW Business Chamber

HRD CHATS to Alex Diab, general manager, human resources, at Gold winner (500+ employees) NSW Business Chamber HRD: Congratulations on taking out the Gold medal in the large employer (500+ employees) category. How does it feel to win? Thank you. We are delighted to have won this prestigious award, and when I say we, I speak on behalf of my team, the CEO and the organisation as well! HRD: How would you describe the culture at NSW Business Chamber? We have a positive, driven, fun, focused, higher-purpose culture with a passion to create a better Australia by helping businesses maximise their potential and outcomes. HRD: What’s on top of your people management agenda in 2018 and how are you addressing that issue? It’s taking the organisation to the next level as we operate in an ever-changing, fast-paced digital world. This includes equipping our people leaders at all levels to be and to lead their teams in being commercially responsive to change and disruption. HRD: NSW Business Chamber did well in a number of subcategories, including ‘career progression’. Is there anything specific you’ve put in place to ensure employees get both the career path and development opportunities they require to have successful careers?

The organisation aims to support employees in developing themselves to help them progress their careers wherever that may be, either within the organisation (which is the preference), or somewhere else. We are grateful for the contribution of our employees. The idea is, even if employees leave, if they loved it here they will come back bringing back with them new learnings in their career. We ensure that we empower employees to own and manage their own development by nurturing strong, open relationships with their leaders. Our leaders score very high in not only the technical aspects of their leadership but even higher on the authenticity of their leadership. HRD: NSW Business Chamber was a top performer in the ‘worklife balance’ subcategory, among others. What do you do to ensure this balance is achieved? This one is an easy one for us, as this is really entrenched in our culture. We genuinely believe if you give a little to employees, they will give a lot more in return. All managers understand the harsh reality of the scarcity of time for working people – most workers are also carers, or students, etc., and when we give employees a bit more control of their life (from a physical and psychological aspect), they really appreciate it and end up giving a lot more in return due to sheer gratitude. Discretionary effort exhibited by employees is visible. This is a great contributor to the health and wellbeing of our employees and overall productivity, ie lower turnover, absenteeism and presenteeism, and higher discretionary effort, productivity and performance.

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SPECIAL REPORT

HRD EMPLOYER OF CHOICE

EMPLOYERS OF CHOICE: OVERALL WINNERS 100-499 EMPLOYEES

Talent International Employsure Colin Biggers & Paisley

HRD CHATS to April Marcot, head of people and culture at Gold winner (100–499 employees) Talent International HRD: Congratulations on taking out the Gold medal in the midsized employer (100–499 employees) category. How does it feel to win? It feels great, of course! As a competitive and award-winning business, we love to win! To be recognised for the way we treat and relate to our employees means a lot to us. As this award is voted for by employees, it feels good to know that this is not a result of our policies and systems but the genuine engagement our people feel with Talent. HRD: How would you describe the culture at Talent International? When I am asked about work outside of work, I find myself saying: ‘The company actually cares’. Our culture is ultimately one where we appreciate our people, we recognise that our success is a direct result of the hard and passionate work of our people. HRD: How important is an accolade like this for your employer brand? Accolades and awards are great; they give you validation that you are getting it right, but ultimately we are working hard to be an Employer of Choice, not for the awards but for the huge benefit it is to

“As this award is voted for by employees, it feels good to know that this is not a result of our policies and systems but the genuine engagement our people feel with Talent” April Marcot, Talent International

the performance of the business. Happy people equals engaged employees. They stay in their jobs longer, they look after their clients and candidates, and they go the extra mile. Having a good reputation in our industry makes it easier to recruit excellent people. HRD: The company finished strongly in a number of subcategories, including diversity and inclusion. What’s your philosophy on this area? I really believe this comes very strongly from our leadership team; we don’t overcomplicate it. We value the opinions of others; we don’t judge – and we encourage people to bring their whole selves to work. The behaviours exhibited at the top of the organisation, including our board, set the tone throughout. HRD: What’s on top of your people management agenda in 2018 and how are you addressing that issue? We are doing a lot in the people and culture space at the moment. We have recently launched a Health and Wellbeing program that focuses on solving issues before they become problems; we are involved with the 100% Human at Work movement in Australia; we are working to develop the best learning programs in the industry; and are putting in more formal processes to make sure we don’t forget the impact recognition has on us all. And of course we give our leaders the tools, support and autonomy to lead.

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REMUNERATION DESPITE WIDESPREAD wage stagnation – in 2017 the average worker received just a 2% wage increase – these Employers of Choice recognise that in order to attract and retain the top talent they must remain competitive with remuneration. An HR project assistant in one organisation wrote: “I get paid very well for what I do. My remuneration sits at the higher end of the scale when compared to peers in my industry.” A talent acquisition adviser commented: “[The company] has a fair approach to remuneration and making sure that it keeps up to date with market trend. More importantly, [the company] treats everyone in their specific roles fairly, making sure the salary is in line with the role and not based on their time in the role.” Another key to success is transparency. While there is no consensus from participating companies about whether or not remuneration should be openly discussed among colleagues, some degree of transparency – at least for bonuses – was welcomed. One senior business consultant wrote: “We have a very open salary structure, which has been promoted from the top down. This is designed to provide transparency across the business.” Other Employers of Choice use pay to reinforce desired behaviours, emphasising that it’s not just about hitting KPIs but how those KPIs are hit that makes a difference. “Pay very much in line with my skill sets and capabilities. Good commission structure that drives positive behaviours,” wrote one general manager. Even if some employees find the remuneration a bit lacking, they’re willing to accept the status quo because of other non-financial perks – something that HR consultants have advised all along. Yes, pay is important, but there are other factors that can be used to attract and retain talent. A survey of 1,006 people in permanent employment across all industry sectors by Indeed in 2017 found more than 40% would forgo a pay rise in exchange for additional holiday leave or flexible working hours. “Pay could be better, but it’s more than made up for with the flexibility provided and the great culture,” wrote one HR programs specialist.

TOP-PERFORMING COMPANIES

Donesafe Halcyon Knights Talent International Sidekicker “Transparency is key. We keep our commission structures simple and achievable and reward longevity within the organisation. We don’t move the goalposts as soon as people get close to them” April Marcot, Talent International

‘MY EMPLOYER PROVIDES SATISFACTORY REMUNERATION’

38.22% 38.01%

Strongly agree Agree

15.21%

Neutral

5.89% 2.67%

Disagree Strongly disagree

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SPECIAL REPORT

HRD EMPLOYER OF CHOICE

CAREER PROGRESSION HR PROFESSIONALS are all too aware of the key reasons why people leave organisations: the most cited reasons are more pay being offered elsewhere, lack of professional development, and the closely related lack of a clear career path with their current employer. Career progression is treated seriously by Employers of Choice, with nearly 70% of employees agreeing or strongly agreeing their organisation provides suitable career progression. Here’s one testimonial from a consulting services manager: “I made the move to the company almost four years ago. In that time, I have gone from being a fresh employment relations professional with less than two years’ experience to running a department of over 80 staff. Opportunities are provided based on effort and results as opposed to favouritism or tenure.” The key is not just about providing opportunities but support as well. A project assistant wrote: “Not only am I offered a great career path here, I am also coached to achieve it. If skill gaps are identified, training is provided to bridge the gap. Everything is transparent so I know exactly what paths are available to me should I choose to pursue them.” Rather than thowing open the doors to what one reader called “outsiders with no prior connection to the company”, Employers of Choice are very mindful of offering promotions within the company. This is increasingly important with flatter organisational structures now the norm. One reader wrote: “If career progression is desired, then there are pathways. Promotions are almost always from within the company.” Importantly, Employers of Choice recognise that career progression does not necessarily mean hierarchical steps up a corporate ladder. This is particularly true for technical specialists who perhaps have no desire to manage people but would rather continue to enrich and deepen their specialty skills. One account executive wrote: “If you want to progress, you can. If you are happy with your role, you can stay put, but [still] have the chance to be successful both financially and personally through company awards and recognition.”

TOP-PERFORMING COMPANIES

Talent International NSW Business Chamber The Star Entertainment Group Cooper Grace Ward Lawyers “We believe development is more than moving into a leadership role and, in fact, is not suited to many. Our development planning is about finding out where an employee’s desire sits and working with them on that” Alex Diab, NSW Business Chamber

‘MY EMPLOYER OFFERS A CLEAR CAREER PROGRESSION PATH FOR ALL EMPLOYEES’

32.88% 36.10%

Strongly agree Agree

20.34%

Neutral

6.99% 3.70%

Disagree Strongly disagree

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LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT LIFELONG LEARNING has become something of a mantra for professionals from all backgrounds, and it appears employers are listening. Employers of Choice place strong emphasis on professional development and this shows no sign of abating despite the rapid pace of change in business today. Importantly, Employers of Choice embed learning as part of the culture. Over 80% of employees agree or strongly agree their employer provides suitable L&D opportunities. One customer success manager wrote: “There is a strong culture around training, backed by the use of training budget as a KPI for all employees.” A safety coordinator commented: “[The company] offers various on-the-job training opportunities as well as a plethora of external training. We are encouraged to attend training sessions, conferences and other relevant training in our specific fields so that we can assist in introducing new ideas to the business.” When times are tough it’s not unusual to hear of L&D budgets being slashed, but despite ongoing lean times, many of the organisations cited in this survey have done the opposite: they have boosted spending on professional development. One manager noted: “We have a training budget of $1,500 per employee per year, which we can use for courses etc. Last year I wanted to do a course that cost almost $3,000 so they allowed me to use the budget for the current and future year.” From bite-sized e-learning sessions to gamification in compliance training, Employers of Choice are willing to try innovative approaches to L&D. One talent coordinator noted: “All managers display a desire for their team to develop professionally, and there is even a unique dedicated ‘Academy’ where the L&D team run sessions open to all employees to develop their professional skills, both hard and soft.”

TOP-PERFORMING COMPANIES

intelliHR Christian Super Perform HR PD Training “We aim to achieve two things: we want to listen to our employees and act when they tell us areas they want to be developing; and we also want to show them we care enough about their growth to make suggestions of development opportunities and avenues” Elise Hill, Christian Super

‘MY EMPLOYER PROVIDES SUFFICIENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT’

51.10%

Strongly agree

31.10%

Agree

11.30%

Neutral

4.52% 1.99%

Disagree Strongly disagree

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SPECIAL REPORT

HRD EMPLOYER OF CHOICE

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION D&I REMAINS a key area for businesses to concentrate on, and many have integrated what they are doing in this space into their employer brands. They want to link D&I excellence with their brand in the minds of candidates and employees. Encouragingly, almost 90% of employees agree or strongly agree that their employers are making headway in this area. Employees from our top performers in this category have enthusiastically listed the D&I initiatives their employers have in place, such as company-wide events to celebrate multiculturalism, committees and employee groups that promote awareness through various activities, and specific programs – training on unconscious bias, and diversity programs for women and other minorities. It appears that Employers of Choice recognise that diversity really is a strength; research shows that diverse teams are likely to be more productive and profitable. An audit manager wrote: “I identify as part of a minority group and I feel included, welcomed and appreciated every day at the company. I am proud to work for my company.” An account executive noted: “We have a huge variety of cultures and age groups. I am quite mature for the industry; however, I feel equal to all my colleagues.” Gender diversity and equality remains a key touchstone for D&I. Many respondents noted the ripple effects of strong role modelling, with “a strong female CEO” being mentioned several times as being beneficial to D&I initiatives. “As a woman, it has been an honour to work for a company that does research on, encourages and promotes women into leadership roles,” commented a brand partner. Another summed up the thoughts of many with this comment: “I look forward to the day when gender is no longer an issue that needs to be factored into any discussion in the workplace. We’re not there yet, but hopefully one day in my lifetime even being branded as an employer of choice for gender equality will not be a thing, because it just won’t be needed.”

TOP-PERFORMING COMPANIES

intelliHR Black Dog Institute Talent International ALDI “From a recruitment perspective, we have no bias whatsoever. We focus on people’s individual talents, no matter what gender, generation or culture they may be. It doesn’t matter where they’re from; it’s what they’re capable of” Rob Bromage, intelliHR

‘MY EMPLOYER HAS A STRONG COMMITMENT TO PROMOTING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN THE WORKPLACE’

67.60%

Strongly agree

21.23%

Agree

6.71% 2.60% 1.85%

Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

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TECHNOLOGY FROM BOTS and AI to mobile apps, Employers of Choice constantly strive to provide employees with the latest tech to enable them to do their jobs more effectively. “We have brand new computers, the latest AV in all meeting rooms, huge amounts of applications to ensure we are conducting our work efficiently and effectively, and we also have a team (solutions) dedicated to reviewing new technology within the business to determine how we can go about doing our work better,” wrote one CEO. It also appears that Employers of Choice want to make this a two-way dialogue – after all, no one knows more about what tools might help than employees themselves. A solicitor wrote: “Continuous commitment to updating the technology and resources being rolled out through all offices. Our employer always ask for employees’ input about what technology and practices would make staff work more effectively, and genuinely listens and puts these suggestions into practice.” Despite the apparent sophistication of these employers’ use and application of technology, there are also limits. “We sometimes struggle to keep pace with technology given how fast we are growing,” wrote one sales manager. A compliance administrator likewise commented: “They invest in the IT (hardware and software) for the office environments, but it’s difficult to extend that same investment to the client sites.” On the whole, however, Employers of Choice know that when their employees are assured of proper technical support, they feel empowered and motivated to perform well. “I have everything I need – internal support, resources on hand, and ICT support is a quick phone call away,” wrote one HR consultant.

TOP-PERFORMING COMPANIES

BigCommerce Data#3 Employsure MSS Security

“We believe that highly motivated and engaged staff are an asset to any business. If they have the tools and environment to perform at their best, they will drive results and be recognised. This is strongly linked to staff retention and employee satisfaction. As such, we do what we can to make sure that the technology they have enables them to do their best work, from wherever they need to be” Tash Macknish, Data#3

‘MY EMPLOYER PROVIDES ACCESS TO THE TECHNOLOGY AND RESOURCES I NEED TO DO MY WORK EFFECTIVELY’

60.55%

Strongly agree

26.23%

Agree

8.70%

Neutral

2.19% 2.33%

Disagree Strongly disagree

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SPECIAL REPORT

HRD EMPLOYER OF CHOICE

COMMUNICATION TOP-PERFORMING COMPANIES

intelliHR Sidekicker NSW Business Chamber The Star Entertainment Group

“THIS WAS the greatest influence for me in joining this organisation – transparent, two-way communication up and down the company,” wrote one services consultant, highlighting just how critical communication is in any business. It seems Employers of Choice pride themselves on having ‘no walls’. Anyone can reach out – and expect a response from – the CEOs of such companies. “Communication is one of the company’s strongest attributes. You can connect instantly with anyone, no matter their level, their location, or their job. We have tools to assist, but with the culture here that means there are no boundaries,” wrote one general manager. Others go on to list more specific topics they regularly communicate about, which range from weekly updates on ongoing activities to company strategy and key results, including colleagues’ achievements, which “gives the company a buzz and helps build positive energy”. For many of our Employers of Choice, it’s simply the variety of communication channels on offer that resonates with employees – something that will remain critical as new technology and new ways of working emerge. Readers reeled off a range of communication channels: company intranets laden with multimedia content and ‘news feeds’ and social profiles of employees, weekly newsletters, video blogs from leaders, even podcasts highlighting the latest news, which are downloadable on the commute to and from work. ‘Lunch and learns’ are also a key component of face-to-face communication from senior leaders.

“The key to corporate communication in 2018 is to make communication less corporate and more real! People of all generations have become accustomed to much more relaxed, free and open means of communication via social media, and it has become the new norm. We need to connect both mind and heart. Employees are people, and appreciate real talk at a more ‘human’ level or down-to-earth level. Employees no longer want long-winded formal memos” Alex Diab, NSW Business Chamber

‘MY EMPLOYER ENCOURAGES EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION AT ALL LEVELS OF THE ORGANISATION’

55.75%

Strongly agree

30.00%

Agree

7.33% 4.11% 2.81%

Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

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LEADERSHIP ”GREAT LEADERS lead by example and don’t ask people to do what they’re not prepared to do themselves,” wrote one general manager of this all-important but all-too-often sadly lacking aspect of the workplace. Despite the vast sums of money spent on enhancing the leadership capabilities of leaders, it seems many initiatives miss the mark. Encouragingly, approximately 85% of employees surveyed agree or strongly agree that their employer excels at leadership. Employers of Choice provide continuous feedback loops and development for leaders – all with the intention of creating those hard-to-distil traits of truly great leaders. This account director summed up the feelings of many: “My boss would be the best person I have worked for. I respect his decisions and he is very approachable. He understands I need flexibility with my young family. His door is always open and he has a cool head on his shoulders. He is fun and enjoys his role and company which reflects in the workplace.” Another wrote: “Leadership at the company is so much more than being a manager. All executive managers within the business are provided with training to ensure they can be effective leaders and be the best they can be. Who would want to be a leader today? The world is uncertain, ambiguous. It takes a special person to want to lead and to be good at it.” Indeed, it’s clear that employees value transparency and openness from their leaders, and this inevitably brings us back to effective communication – even during tough times. One respondent described how their leaders handled a potentially damaging court case in a way that demonstrated authenticity and integrity: “There was no whitewashing. All employees were told what was happening, why it happened and what the expected outcomes were. The key was open communication and transparency. This was a difficult ‘he says/she says’ scenario and I appreciated that both sides were being told as openly as possible. It added to my appreciation of the leaders in the company.”

TOP-PERFORMING COMPANIES

Halcyon Knights Crossmark Australia Colin Biggers & Paisley Genworth Mortgage Insurance “Our Managing Partner leads the strategy and direction of the practice. His leadership style is not only authentic, it is open, frank and timely. He shares regular updates with the partnership and the practice on a weekly basis and delivers a quarterly update, ‘Around the Grounds’, in person at all our offices” Louise Campbell, Colin Biggers & Paisley

‘MY EMPLOYER DEMONSTRATES EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP’

54.59%

Strongly agree

31.51%

Agree

7.67% 3.42% 2.81%

Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

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SPECIAL REPORT

HRD EMPLOYER OF CHOICE

WORK-LIFE BALANCE TOP-PERFORMING COMPANIES

BigCommerce Christian Super NSW Business Chamber Tourism Australia “As reinforced by our Flexible Work Practices Policy, we are committed to providing a work environment in which employees can achieve a work-life balance that is fulfilling in all aspects of life, recognising that this investment is just as beneficial for the Fund as it is for the employee” Elise Hill, Christian Super

WORK-LIFE INTEGRATION has become a buzz term in the last few years. Previously, the trade-off for the latest technology allowing people to work from home was ‘always being on’. This is slowly changing as employers and employees recognise the give and take that is required on both sides for true work-life integration to flourish. Critically, flexible work policies are being utilised to facilitate greater diversity and inclusion in the workforce. These two readers sum it up: “I live over two hours away from the office and have a young family, and my employer has enabled me to work from home for 50% of the time (more if needed).” “I am a single mum of a four-year-old and the company has been nothing but supportive around my care for him. They understand that I have school pick-up and drop-off requirements and have never made an issue of this – in fact, they ensure that I am there on time every evening. When my son needed his tonsils out last year, being in a public hospital I was given very short notice – this was not a problem and my leave was approved instantly.” From flex-work to work-from-home policies, employers are becoming ever more adventurous in their flexible work options, even if Australian employers remain some way off their Nordic counterparts – Sweden has recently trialled sixhour working days. This managing director commented: “We have just introduced a flexible work policy available to all employees which includes the option of a nine-day fortnight.” Importantly, at Employers of Choice it’s the leaders who are walking the talk. One reader suggested that having policies around flexible work is all well and good, but if one still feels guilty about leaving work to pick kids up from school at 3pm it all counts for nothing. “Being able to work how, where and when you want to work seems to be obvious, but until now it was not really possible. But when my CEO walks out the door early and makes a point of telling people he is going to his kids’ school event, that’s when it starts to get cut-through.”

‘MY EMPLOYER OFFERS FLEXIBLE WORK PRACTICES TO HELP ME ACHIEVE WORK-LIFE BALANCE’

63.42%

Strongly agree

22.95%

Agree

8.08% 3.01% 2.53%

Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

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HEALTH & WELLBEING THE OPTIONS for employers seeking to offer employees the chance to improve their health and wellbeing are escalating yearly. Critically, Employers of Choice provide a scope of interventions to employees so they can pick and choose what works best for them. A manager at a financial services company commented: “My employer now has numerous initiatives in place to help with health and wellbeing – a dedicated Employee Life portal, a wellness committee, free gym memberships, lunchtime education sessions, mental health workshops, free counselling services, safety week, Zero Harm initiative, etc. These are numerous and always evolving.” An L&D coordinator wrote: “We have an annual wellness program that includes things such as pilates, yoga, massages, mental health awareness, mindfulness, health and nutrition, etc. We receive funding from a number of sources to support us, offering skin cancer screenings, health checks, audiometric testing, Hep A and B injections.” An account director commented: “We have a program called ‘Thrive’ in which we get free skin cancer assessments, healthy snacks, workplace massages and a host of other benefits.” Numerous employees noted a growing focus on not just mental and physical wellbeing but also financial wellbeing. “We do lunchtime learning sessions and have a digital portal around financial health,” wrote one HR manager. “I know I’ve had questions about saving for a home and how to do a personal budget. It’s those sorts of things – alongside tips for particular times of year such as tax time – that have been very helpful for me.” Employers of Choice also understand one critical aspect of health and wellbeing: it should be fun. A philanthropy manager wrote: “I’ve never worked in an environment that has such a huge focus on staff health and wellbeing. The organisation offers free mental health support, yoga, boxing and occasional fun activities such as Retro Sweat (’80s-style aerobics) and ‘the amazing race’ style group activities.”

TOP-PERFORMING COMPANIES

Christian Super Black Dog Institute City of Cockburn Data#3 “The results of a national health and wellbeing survey provided the strategic direction for our Health and Wellbeing program. We provided information and activities, such as onsite health checks, yoga, massages and more, that were targeted to improve areas highlighted by the survey” Tash Macknish, Data#3

‘MY EMPLOYER SUPPORTS MY HEALTH AND WELLBEING’

67.67%

Strongly agree

21.58%

Agree

6.78% 1.85% 2.12%

Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

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SPECIAL REPORT

HRD EMPLOYER OF CHOICE

REWARDS AND RECOGNITION TOP-PERFORMING COMPANIES

Talent International intelliHR Employment Hero College of Law Australia “Saying ‘thank you’ isn’t considered a weakness; supporting people is just part of the way we behave. We try and focus on how we achieved as much as the achievement itself to help others understand that there is no magic to performance, just hard work and sticking at it” April Marcot, Talent International

ALL EMPLOYERS should be aiming for positive work cultures where the concentration is not on managing poor performance but instead on recognising positive performance. Awards, shout-outs and incentives are part and parcel of these workplaces. Simple words of praise from a manager can have a major impact on morale. A project assistant commented: “Positive work performance is always met with praise and appreciation from my manager. I like to think of it as a little added bonus on top of my monthly pay cheque! This makes me motivated to come to work each day and give 110%.” In organisations/industries that don’t offer the highest remuneration, rewards and recognition matter even more, especially with the knowledge that while a ‘thank you’ doesn’t cost a dollar, the impact on the recipient can be amazingly positive: “Within the framework of a not-for-profit, recognition plays a greater role that says ‘rewards’, particularly financial rewards. The staff understand this and are motivated to achieve business outcomes,” wrote one respondent. Smart companies tie their recognition programs to company values and behaviours. A practice leader commented: “We have an annual company-wide conference where we recognise people across a number of different categories, including sales, and also the Square Peg awards, which are given to four people who most reflect our values, which are Passion, Integrity, Teamwork and Continuous Improvement. Everyone within the business attends and it is a great annual event.” Of course, technology is also shaping this space. Employers of Choice are using platforms to provide social and peer-to-peer recognition. The ability to ‘like’ and ‘share’ means recognition has never been more transparent. Technology is also helping to make instant rewards possible – usually borrowing some elements of gamification in the form of points that are accumulated which can be exchanged for certain benefits. Moreover, the use of software means that tracking employee preferences and tailoring their rewards based on order history and points redemption is easier than ever.

‘MY EMPLOYER OFFERS SUFFICIENT REWARDS AND RECOGNITION INCENTIVES’

48.70%

Strongly agree

32.53%

Agree

10.34%

Neutral

5.21% 3.22%

Disagree Strongly disagree

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RECRUITMENT AND ONBOARDING ONE OF the leading best employer programs has a fascinating question posed to employees, asking whether they have a best friend at work. Our peers can indeed make or break our experience in the workplace. And where does all that start? By getting the right people in the door at recruitment stage. It makes perfect sense that Employers of Choice have highly honed and effective recruitment and onboarding processes and strategies. “We would rather not recruit than recruit the wrong people,” wrote a marketing executive. One HR project assistant commented: “Cultural fit is so important here. Our unique company culture means we are always looking for a specific type of person in addition to a specific skill set. At the end of the day, skills can always be taught!” A business partner noted: “Values are very strong, and during the recruitment process we ask about how the candidate exhibits these values.” Likewise, Employers of Choice recognise how critical it is to get new hires up to speed quickly. They have invested in comprehensive onboarding and induction programs, some of which utilise technology to deliver bite-size learning about the company even before a new hire starts. This manager commented: “The onboarding and induction program at the company is very detailed and exposes new managers to all facets of the business. This is very beneficial in dealing with other departments and ensures employees meet the company’s expectations, allowing them to maintain the values whilst feeling part of the team.”

TOP-PERFORMING COMPANIES

Colin Biggers & Paisley ALDI Tourism Australia PD Training

“Colin Biggers & Paisley has a dedicated talent acquisition function that is passionate about having a creative approach to the legal market and giving candidates an insight into the Colin Biggers & Paisley culture. Within this function we have a strong focus on building our employment value proposition, sourcing talent from social media tools, creating opportunities for internal talent as well as leveraging from external networks” Louise Campbell, Colin Biggers & Paisley

‘MY EMPLOYER HAS EFFECTIVE RECRUITMENT AND ONBOARDING STRATEGIES TO BRING THE BEST TALENT INTO THE ORGANISATION’

54.93%

Strongly agree

27.33%

Agree

11.78%

Neutral

3.97% 1.99%

Disagree Strongly disagree

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TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL REPORT

INTELLIGENCE AUGMENTATION

Artificial intelligence vs intelligence augmentation Most HR professionals are aware of AI, but Rob Bromage, CEO and founder of intelliHR, outlines the emerging field of intelligence augmentation and what it means for HR

THERE HAS been so much hype around artificial intelligence over the last few years that I think there’s now a bit of fear surrounding it. A lot of people I speak to are still unsure why we need it and what exact role it can play, and probably wonder, “Will it take over our jobs?” I recently spoke at the HR Directors Forum at the National HR Summit about big data and how you can use AI to leverage all of your human capital data. There is an enormous opportunity for HR teams to leverage the latest technology around AI, but more specifically there’s also an opportunity to focus on intelligence augmentation, or IA, which is a term not as many people are familiar with.

What’s the difference? AI is an autonomous system that can be taught to imitate and replace human cognitive functions. To put it simply, the machine completely replaces human intervention and interaction. IA, on the other hand, plays more of an assistive role by leveraging AI to enhance human intelligence, rather than replace it.

What can IA do for HR? When it comes to IA, there’s certainly nothing to worry about, and in fact there is a massive opportunity for HR to embrace the access to the data insights that can be generated. There’s so much data that flows around an organisation;

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there’s data in exit feedback, goal feedback, performance feedback; it’s everywhere. There’s literally so much content flowing around an organisation that even the best HR team could not possibly process and make sense of it all. With IA, the machine is not making a decision and doing something about it without consulting you; the machine is just saying “Hey, take a look at this; I think it’s important and so you should pay attention to this”. That’s the whole concept of the augmentation: it’s enhancing not replacing. A machine can identify trends and process data in order to make our jobs easier, our staff happier, and our businesses more successful. Even with issues like attrition, we can put an algorithm together to assess flight risk in

there, and this is where an all-in-one analytics and people management platform can allow people to get a grip on potential risks before they get out of hand.

Do we need AI then? It might sound a little daunting, but the truth is we need AI in HR because it has the capability to do some really awesome things for us and the business. One form of AI is actually natural language processing (NLP). NLP is a computer application designed to understand the human language as it is spoken or written. It can be used to do sentiment analysis by predicting sentiment or underlying emotions coming through in your qualitative data, and that’s

Intelligence augmentation plays more of an assistive role by leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance human intelligence, rather than replace it a business. I’ll give you an example. If you’re an HR manager sitting in another office, you might not know that Mary in your accounts team has just moved way out to the suburban outskirts because the rent is cheaper. You don’t actually know that Mary is now taking an extra 1.5 hours to get to work every day and, as a result, her passion for the job is fast flailing. Your People Management application helps you to identify that Mary’s address has changed and alerts you that her travel time is now pushed out to 2.5 hours each day. This may have given you earlier insight into why Mary’s performance may have been slipping and suggested an office transfer or even a salary review. So you see, the machine does not do the job for you – it enhances your ability to do yours. There’s logic and an algorithm sitting

pretty amazing. A member of the HR team simply could not sit there and process the mass amounts of data flowing in and around your business, let alone compile a report on it for you at the click of a button. At the end of the day, AI allows HR teams to see key issues taking place and act on them much quicker than you would have been able to without it. One of the main reasons we created the intelliHR platform was because we wanted to give HR teams all the tools to manage those issues more proactively themselves. To put it plainly… I think the ‘now status’ for many HR managers without the right technology is that they are forced to go digging through mountains of data for crucial information, which takes a lot of time. However, the ‘now status’ with intelliHR is that you can find the

THE DATA THAT MATTERS Critical data is everywhere and the intelliHR platform will find it for you. Data in employee life-cycle processes Onboarding and probation reviews Continuous feedback processes Goal and performance chat Self-reviews and performance reviews Diary notes and discipline processes data you need at a click of a button and save yourself not only time but the stress involved in getting to an issue after the horse has already bolted. There is a massive opportunity to leverage AI in an HR organisation, particularly if we look at it from the perspective of IA. I believe the greatest value to a business is the ability to be across all data, to the point where you can understand exactly what data is important at any point in time. The CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, said that if we wanted to have the biggest impact the best way to do this would be to make sure we always focus on solving the most important problems. I see AI with IA thinking as arming us with the data that shows us where those problems lie. Rob Bromage is an HR technology specialist with more than 20 years’ experience. He is the founder and managing director of intelliHR, a cloud-based people management platform that allows organisations to maintain a real-time handle on performance, creating a culture that contributes to strategic decision-making with data-driven insights.

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TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL REPORT

RECRUITMENT

Stacy Zapar’s 5 essential recruiting tools The veteran Fortune 500 recruiter embraces new tech but is wary of ‘flavour of the week’ trends STACY ZAPAR’S 21-year career in recruitment has seen her consulting on global employer branding, social recruiting and sourcing initiatives for top employers including Zappos, TripAdvisor, Amazon and Netflix. The founder of Tenfold and The Talent Agency has also been a member of multiple technology advisory boards – it’s fair to say she knows a thing or two about how technology can enhance talent acquisition outcomes. “I’m interested in any tool that makes it easier to customise an outreach message and reach candidates wherever they hang out. That’s the direction I see technology going for us as recruiters,” she tells HRD. When asked what technology she could not do her job without, she did not hesitate in her response, reeling off five key tools to consider.

1. Combined ATS/CRM platforms “I’m a big fan of having your ATS and CRM in the same platform so that everyone is tracked in one place and people don’t get doublecontacted. I think having two separate databases is a bad candidate experience and an inefficient sourcing process waiting to happen,” Zapar says. She has recently demoed 16 different ATS/CRM tools and settled on Loxo, which she confesses she has “fallen in love with”. “It won’t work for large enterprises; it’s more for SMBs. But in general, a combined ATS/CRM is best practice – and there are plenty of them out there,” she says.

2. Facebook Groups She remains an advocate of Facebook Groups for crowdsourcing, networking and sharing with other people in the recruiting community. “It can almost act like a talent community, with groups of like-minded professionals gathering, sharing knowledge and tips.” Some of her favourite groups are SourceCon, Secret Sourcing Group, HR Open Source – #HROS and her own networking group, The Talent Agency.

to reach out to candidates. These tools pop up as a sidebar on social media sites and will show the candidate’s entire social footprint, including their various other social profiles, contact details, blogs they’ve written, Quora interactions and more. However, Zapar noted that, in the past year or so, LinkedIn Terms of Service have “put the kibosh” on the use of these aggregators on LinkedIn – leading to users’ profiles being suspended or deleted entirely – but they will still work on other social sites. Some of these social aggregator Chrome extensions include Prophet, Hunter and Hiretual.

5. Mixmax More critically, she suggests recruiters utilise other business technology – not necessarily just HR tech – to enhance productivity. “It’s easy to fall into this trap of saying ‘there are too many candidates, I can’t get back to all of them’. That’s when you need to look at your own processes and whether you are being as efficient as you could be,” Zapar says. Specifically, she mentions Mixmax, a CRM for Gmail that includes templates, scheduling capabilities, polling, and the ability to read email receipts and open rates in real time. “It means I can tell as soon as a candidate

“I’m a big fan of having your ATS and CRM in the same platform so that everyone is tracked in one place” Stacy Zapar 3. Canva.com Zapar also uses Canva to create visual job postings and other employer branding images. “It’s about employer branding and sharing graphics and photos on job postings. The engagement you get from that is so much better than a text-only LinkedIn status update sent out from an ATS that says something generic like ‘UX Designer, rec number 2546, click here to apply’,” she says.

4. Social aggregators For the past several years, Zapar has been an advocate of social aggregator tools as a means

opens an email, or if they click any of the links. Even for hiring managers I can tell when they read my emails. That’s when I know when to pick up the phone and engage them in conversation,” she says. While she acknowledges the growing importance of AI and machine learning, she urges recruiters not to be swept up by “buzz terms”. “Great recruiters need to find great people and reach out to them in a way that will get a response. All these other tools are all well and good, but for me it comes down to the basics: find good people and get them talking to us,” she says.

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TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL REPORT

EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION

Amplifying employee recognition through technology Technology has changed the recognition game in organisations, but the best might be yet to come, write Mark Barling and Amit Kaura

TECHNOLOGY IS helping to transform employee reward and recognition programs faster than at any other time in their history. So, why is this the case? A key in the shift from reward- to recognition-led programs is the removal of as many barriers as possible that limit the act of recognition, such as passwords and separate portals. By removing these barriers and incorporating recognition into an employeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s flow of work, recognition frequency increases. At Achievers, through a clear focus on creating a fun, easy-to-use and integrated SaaS platform, recognition frequency is now the number one metric for best-in-class R&R programs. Globally, this produces programs that average 12 moments of recognition per person per annum. The next evolution of modern R&R is the seamless integration of where to recognise

Employees should be able to create and send a recognition from whichever system they are in at the time they see something worth recognising everyday great acts with where people work. This means recognition from and for everybody, everywhere, every day. So how does HR capitalise on the technological advancements in modern R&R platforms, and what do these changes mean? To answer that question, we need to consider how most organisations operate and how their people spend their week at work.

System overload Most organisations use anywhere between

10 and 16 different software systems to run their businesses. These systems can range from HRIS systems such as Workday or SuccessFactors, to document management systems like SharePoint, project management software like MS Project, and collaboration tools like Yammer and Facebook for Work. Not to mention social tools with a newsfeed, instant messaging and email, and many more. Employees spend at least 30 hours of their work week in such systems. With technology helping to transform R&R, the risk is introducing even more

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complexity into the HR-technology ecosystem. Modern R&R technology like the Achievers Employee Success platform are SaaS-enabled. They introduce a range of simple, smart, yet sophisticated functionality to power a recognition-led culture within any organisation. The risk, however, is that an organisation’s IT function will see such technology as yet another platform that needs to be managed, secured and controlled. The challenge is simple: how do you enable your employees to recognise everyday great work in your organisation while ensuring any R&R-enabling technology complements, rather than clutters, your existing systems?

predefined, well-understood and agreed-upon standard. The API lays out the functionality that is available in the host service, how it must be used, and what formats it will accept as input, or return as output.

Why is an API valuable in the world of modern R&R? Firstly, imagine all of your employee R&R programs – everyday recognition, innovation, recruiting referrals, years-of-service awards, even sales incentives – on one platform. It’s the place where everything belongs: a behaviour-driving engine that aligns your employees to your business objectives and company values, fuelled by recognising and rewarding shared victories every

With technology helping transform R&R, the risk is introducing even more complexity into the HR technology ecosystem The way employees need to recognise Employees need an easy way to recognise their peers from whatever system they are working in when they discover a colleague’s accomplishment. It won’t matter if the employee is on the shop floor, using a point-of-sale system, answering calls in a call centre, in the warehouse, or in an email system like Outlook. Employees should be able to create and send a recognition from whichever system they are in at the time they see something worth recognising. Recognition needs to be where employees spend most of their time. Recognition needs to be where the work gets done. How can you achieve this outcome? By connecting your organisation’s software systems with modern R&R technology via API technology.

What is an API? An application programming interface (API) is essentially a way for two different software systems to communicate with each other via a

day. And because it’s the modern approach, you have a recognition-led, fun-to-use social media approach in which great moments are shared in an instant. You have an HR software platform that everybody actually wants to use. Now, imagine if there was a ‘Recognise’ button inside all of the systems that your employees work in every day, allowing them to recognise fellow employees. Fostering a culture of recognition and driving employee engagement isn’t easy, but technology can make it seamless for employees to interact within a modern R&R hub. It can increase adoption and thus further the culture of recognition. That is the purpose of an API – the ability of a story, created in one system, to be amplified across a recognition hub, an RSS feed, or monitors in a call centre. This single story helps promote the message that what gets recognised gets repeated. APIs are rapidly transforming the opportunity for recognition to be created by

employees – and with that the value, meaning and return on technology for HR.

Wrapping this up What’s exciting about the world of APIs and app ecosystems is that it has opened new doors for modern R&R technology like Achievers that hasn’t even been thought of yet. As an industry, we have never been better poised for innovation in the space of employee engagement than we are now.

API INTEGRATION FOR R&R – BEST PRACTICE Workday has become an industry standard for HRIS. APIs are helping increase their value by enabling the transfer of recognitions and achievements of employees into core modules like Feedback within Workday. Most of us can barely remember what we had for dinner yesterday, let alone what people on our team did six months ago. This integration can help provide a more informed review, allowing managers to see all the recognitions they’ve sent, as well as any recognitions their team members have received throughout that period, directly within the performance management system.

EMPLOYEE & ORG DATA (DAILY SINGLE FILE)

FEEDBACK

USE ACCOUNT CREATION & UPDATES REPORTING HIERARCHY ORG HIERARCHIES WORKER PHOTOS

FAVOURITE OR ALL RECOGNITIONS

Mark Barling is the Senior Sales Director at Blackhawk Network. Amit Kaura is a technology leader at Achievers, a Blackhawk Network company. The Achievers Employee Engagement Platform combines the highest-adopted employee recognition platform with an active listening interface to accelerate employee engagement.

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TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL REPORT

E-LEARNING

6 strategies to create digital learning success Digital learning is more than a convenient way to share information. With the right planning, it can be a cost-effective strategy to deepen workforce and leadership capabilities, write Samir Mehta and Holly Downs TECHNOLOGY HAS changed the way corporate learning and leadership development happen across the globe. Organisations increasingly rely on digital learning for a portion of their leadership development and training needs. Whether the delivery method is a massive open online course, a small private online course, virtual instructor-led training, microlearning, blended learning, or other digital tools that allow participants across multiple locations to learn together or independently, it’s critically important to maximise employees’ time and company resources. However, getting a return from digital learning experiences on an ongoing basis requires far more than just providing a library full of innovative content. Before jumping into developing or reinvigorating a digital learning initiative, learning leaders should consider the following six ways to maximise effectiveness.

Embrace the ‘less is more’ principle for online learning

Many organisations pitch their learning initiatives with the concept of having ‘something for everyone’, and then they offer up thousands of choices. These kinds of broad initiatives often

lack focus and are rarely successful. Utilisation rates for non-compliance courses, in particular, tend to drop significantly as time passes. To boost utilisation rates and ensure learning efforts are worthwhile, consider employees’ unique needs, and have them set clear goals around challenges they want to address. For instance, what specific leadership skills do they need? What skills do they want based on specific roles

support from upper management. First, learning leaders must make the business case to senior leadership that time spent on digital learning will lead to new skills that will make employees more efficient and effective long-term. Provide specifics related to established business objectives. Then provide ways for senior leaders to publicly support the learning program. Videos are typically better received than email. For instance, if a senior leader comes to address a group of learners participating in a face-to-face learning initiative, make a video and then put it on the company’s primary digital learning platform. That support can do a lot to boost participation rates. CCL leverages its proprietary Learning Platform to capture powerful messages from a C-suite officer in its client organisation. These video messages are often the first message that a digital learner from CCL’s client organisations will see. This makes the learning immediately relevant.

Use learner-centric design

Would leaders benefit from a monthly online seminar? Or would a virtual lunch-andlearn program be more effective? Talent leaders must find ways to make learning initiatives a part of the technology employees already use. Having ongoing gaming elements embedded into the

Talent leaders must find ways to make learning initiatives a part of the technology employees already use or functions? Limit program content based on these needs and wants. Then provide targeted digital learning offerings that align with them. An example of how the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) has effectively done this by leveraging technology is CCL Boost*, a minimalist approach to new leader development.

Enlist and creatively publicise support from the C-suite

To be effective, digital learning initiatives need

experience, such as recognition and competition incentives, can help keep learners engaged and coming back. For example, promote and focus on one leadership topic each month or quarter; couple that with a means of recognising learners’ achievements around specific content offerings, such as a LinkedIn badge. This type of engagement is more likely to be impactful. CCL’s path-breaking course Frontline Leader Impact* leveraged the design-thinking expertise of IDEO to create a course experience that was learner-centric for the digital age.

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Make leaders into teachers

Leadership concepts and behaviours should be reinforced. Learning leaders should ensure that managers get the tools and support they need to become effective coaches, and that they are encouraged to share what they’re learning with their direct reports. To reinforce learning, ask managers to train additional front-line leaders, and have them provide follow-up training modules for skill refreshment. All learning doesn’t have to be purely digital. CCL’s clients often augment digital learning with leaders leading leaders by leveraging CCL’s Workshop Kits*.

Tap into the power of learning partnerships

Learning doesn’t happen just once. Takeaways learned from a webinar or in an interactive session must be practised and refined for employees to retain the information. Establishing accountability partners connects peers who learn together so they can share experiences and discuss challenges and goals. In this way, development experiences create a bond between participants, and they foster an interest in helping each other succeed. This bond also promotes accountability. CCL leverages the power of learning partnerships using technology. CCL Compass* is a way for learners and coaches or mentors to stay connected on development and actions taken towards specific goals in a digital way.

Measure what matters

Remember that what gets measured is what gets done. One of the most difficult but crucial ways to determine an initiative’s success is to perform ongoing evaluation. Measurement provides data that can be used to refine and strengthen ongoing digital learning efforts. Looking at the return on investment and expectations and linking these to top-line business metrics such as sales, retention and promotion rates can be a powerful way to account for program impact beyond participant satisfaction. Further, digital

EVALUATION TIPS Evaluate digital learning initiatives to track and measure success in the following areas: 1. Program objectives: Ensuring program objectives are clear and measurable is critical to exploring both expected and actual outcomes. Instructors in face-to-face environments can overcome weaker content alignment on satisfaction ratings with a charismatic nature and likeable delivery style. The digital environment doesn’t provide the same connection between instructor and participants, so measurable objectives are vital to assessing how well content is received and covered. 2. Previous experience: When collecting data on the learning content and experience, consider the participants’ previous experiences with that learning delivery method and technology platform. If a participant had to first learn the platform before absorbing the content, this might negatively affect their overall experience. 3. Corporate culture: A learning strategy built around metrics must align with the company’s strengths and cultural preferences to succeed. For example, simulation-based e-learning like gamification will work if the culture encourages competition. However, if competition is not part of the corporate culture, there will be a risk in creating an environment in which people are likely to be embarrassed, resulting in people checking out completely. Similarly, setting a goal like ‘complete three e-courses in the first quarter’ on an individual development plan will work if that is a cultural preference within the organisation. If not, it’s likely to become a check-the-box activity that employees click through quickly but don’t necessarily absorb or use on the job. 4. Business objectives: Employees are more likely to commit to a learning initiative that is aligned with the organisation’s business objectives. Learners often need to see the connection between their participation in learning, the work they do on a daily basis, and the company’s big-picture goals.

Digital learning initiatives offer data insights such as participation rates and timing that typical face-to-face experiences don’t learning initiatives offer data insights such as participation rates and timing that typical face-to-face developmental experiences don’t. Linking these pieces to business objectives can also be informative. CCL works with its clients in discussing the insights from all the data it collects through every channel available. These insights then guide CCL’s path forward so every dollar spent on development is targeted and impactful.

Sustainable, ROI-driven learning Technology offers paths for developmental opportunities in real time and across broad

geographic locations, and leadershipfocused digital learning and development is growing rapidly. With proper planning, these initiatives offer a cost-effective way to deepen workforce development to ensure learning is sustained and ROI is delivered. *For further information, visit www.ccl.org/lead-it-yourself-solutions Samir Mehta is a blended learning leader at the Center for Creative Leadership. Holly Downs is a senior evaluation faculty member at the Center for Creative Leadership’s Evaluation Center.

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TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL REPORT

CASE STUDY: DOW CHEMICAL

Mind the (tech) gap(s) While organisations race to keep up with the digital evolution, tech developers may want to look back and better align themselves with business needs

HRD: How would you say HR tech has evolved in the past couple of years, in terms of use and needs addressed? Butch Clas: I think what you’re going to see is that we’re trying to look for ways to make HR even more productive than they have been so far. One trend that everybody keeps talking about is HR’s got to get out of the administration role and get more into the consulting role. And some of these tools are going to help us do that. If we look at our HR Next Generation [system], the intent is we’re going to have much more self-service, so people will be able to go on and ask those questions, and the system’s going to have a lot of that. And hopefully that’s going to generate a lot more discussion, where they’re coming to HR and saying “Help me. What should I be doing here? What can I look for?” And some of that help will be online, but then hopefully, with the HR partner, there’ll be a lot more sitting down, talking about strategy [and] how we can do things for the business, the functions we’re working for, and really step up to that next level. I’m not sure whether we’ll have fewer people in the future, but we want to continue this productivity drive, and we should have less ‘approvals’ and less administration, and more time to really talk with the clients and make sure we’re getting the most out of the organisation.

HRD: What are some challenges you’ve seen/encountered in dealing with HR tech?

ACCORDING TO a survey by CareerBuilder, at least 45% of employers are definitely keen to adopt new technologies but are often unable to do so due to a number of factors. Key challenges mentioned include finding a comprehensive and unified set of applications and partnering with a trusted software vendor. Many HR practitioners may be ready to leap into new technology, but given limited knowledge and infinite choices of solutions/software most of them likely end up

holding back for fear of getting the wrong kind and wasting valuable time and resources. HRD chats with Butch Clas, HR director for SEA and ANZ at Dow Chemical, on how far HR tech has come and the ground that has yet to be covered. Dow Chemical Pacific provides wholesale and distribution of chemicals and allied products for various industries, such as construction, energy, packing and healthcare.

BC: One of the challenges that we’ve had is – it’s interesting, because I haven’t heard of many companies doing this – we tried to go to a global payroll solution. We’ve had a few stumbles, [and] we’re still not where we want to be on that. We have a range of payroll providers and solutions right now. We’d like to think that HR tech should be an enabler, to make things simpler and easier. But sometimes when you implement large ERP systems, what you find out is there’s a lot of work that goes behind the scenes.

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Another challenge that we’re looking at that I’m curious to see if we can get ahead of the game with is – when you’re a chemical company, you have quite complicated shift patterns because you’re running plants 24/7. And there are a lot of rules around things like when do people work, how do you pay them overtime, what kind of allowances they get, etc. We’ve been trying to automate more, to have a time and attendance management system that would do all that, and that’s part of our HR Next Gen project. But sometimes the solutions I’ve seen really aren’t there yet. Even though we’re ready for the next step and we’re ready to define what the rules are, sometimes the technology is not quite where it needs to be right now. Sometimes it’s [because of] the complexity of the business, or certain things that make it difficult to take it to the next level in digitalisation and become more automated and user-friendly. The problem is if you’re working in 70–80 countries, it could be you have even more than 70–80 potential solutions; sometimes it’s sitedriven, sometimes it’s country-driven, and sometimes the solutions out there aren’t really set up for that, even though they’re trying to get there.

HRD: Are there any tech-related issues that you find more specific to the Asia-Pacific market? BC: Of the things we run into sometimes, one is how well the technology is ready to deal with local language issues. There are ones that are easy to deal with, like Mandarin; you can have a system that talks in Mandarin. Sometimes we get into a bigger challenge in Southeast Asia because we also have specific alphabets and languages that are not always catered to, and because of a smaller population it becomes a bit prohibitive as to whether you can create a localised, tailored solution. So if I want to have something in Bahasa Indonesia, or Thai, or maybe Burmese eventually, that’s another set of alphabet characters/language altogether. The problem is, it’s not that easy to create those custom solutions, even though

technology should make that possible. And as we have plants in some of these countries, like Thailand and Indonesia, we do have this need sometimes. But the problem is we don’t have big operations. We could probably do it for Thailand because we have 1,000 people, but for a place like Indonesia, we’ve got two small plants, with a few hundred people, and they may not necessarily speak English, so you want to try and provide some of the content in Bahasa, which is not that easy to do. With the HR Next Gen, they are going to

through some iterations of prototyping right now as we put the solution together.

HRD: Does Dow Chemical have an overall strategy for digitalising HR? BC: We see that we have to be a lot more efficient, and part of that digitalisation is looking at how we do things right now. So we’re trying to see if we can move from our current ERP systems and find ways for both our customers and employees to put more things on the cloud, to become more [user]

“The problem is, if you’re working in 70–80 countries, it could be that you have even more than 70–80 potential solutions” have to look at the country level to see how they can customise some of the help, and that may give us the opportunity to introduce some local languages; even though the panels may not be available in those languages, there may still be ways to provide help in the local language. So if somebody wants to change their address, or enrol a new person in medical insurance, you can have local tips and local language help for that. We’ll see how that comes; it’s a little bit early to say. We’re going

friendly for the people working with Dow. We’re looking at things like how to get rid of paper, how do you make this into a more digital experience? Digital to me is hand phone, any type of device that you’ve got, you should be able to interact with Dow [through it], and it should be easy to use. We’re really talking about the employee experience – how can we make it easy to use, how can we make the data available 24/7 to people whenever they need it.

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES Butch Clas provides three essential tips for those starting out on their digital journey. Embrace the change. “It depends on the size of the organisation – if I’m looking at big organisations, I don’t think the HR folks have a choice. Practitioners are going to have to get ready for the change, because the fact is analytics and new platforms are becoming the norm, and I think if you don’t keep up with that, you’re going to become obsolete.” Step back and assess what you can do better. “Even for an SME with limited resources, you’re trying to look at how you can do things better and more effectively, and that’s just a matter of surviving and keeping up. There are a lot of tools out there on productivity, and I do think with cloud-based solutions we’re going to see more and more of that as time goes on.” Networking pays dividends. “Networking with other HR practitioners is a good way to try and be aware of the current environment. One thing I try to spend time on is always to keep up with what’s new, keep my HR skill set up to date, [and consider] what kind of things I should be thinking about. Sometimes you may have to sell it to the owner or to the business, and you’ve got to be proactive in doing that, because if you don’t, somebody else will come along, and you can become obsolete.

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TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL REPORT

CASE STUDY: MICROSOFT

Reimagining HR at Microsoft The global giant shares with Hannah Go how HR tech helped link business strategies to employees

WHEN IT came time for Microsoft to modernise its HR practices several years ago, the overarching aim was to “realign its corporate strategy to meet the evolving needs of their customers”. From there, the leaders saw the need to revamp HR strategies to match that realignment. However, there was a third element that remained disconnected and had to be properly integrated: the employee experience. In order to piece them all together, the team made use of their main expertise and best resource – technology. HRD chatted with Lee Murphy, senior director, human resources, for Microsoft Asia Pacific.

HRD: How has HR technology evolved in the past couple of years? Lee Murphy: Today’s HR technologies are adapting to a changing workforce. According to the Commonwealth’s Global Youth Development Index and Report 2016, the APAC region is home to nearly 60% of the world’s youth population – a group that is gradually taking over the workplace. Meanwhile, a recent Microsoft study on the changing face of Asia’s workforce revealed that even though only 29% of respondents are spending all of their work hours in the office, three quarters of respondents are working off personal smartphones, indicating a more mobile workforce. As a result, most new HR technologies are focused on digitalising HR processes in order

to transform workplace culture and refine talent acquisition strategies.

HRD: Could you share with us an overview of Microsoft’s digital HR strategy? LM: Creating a digital workplace is at the heart of our strategy. A digital workplace is where employees find more effective ways to work and use technology tools similar to what they use in their personal lives. We have introduced policies that promote ‘work-life integration’, which is enabled by digitalising HR

For instance, data analytics can generate interesting correlations that show how employees and teams can be more productive. This includes examining time spent in meetings, volume of emails worked on, as well as interactions with peer networks, and more. Data also dispels myths that might hold us back in areas like recruiting and retention. Predictive analytics helps us foresee what factors may drive employee attrition, gain insights into peer performance over time, and even assess manager behaviours and effectiveness. Microsoft’s Intelligent Edge, Intelligent Cloud strategy enables HR teams to reimagine business processes with a cloud, mobile, and employee-centric approach that uses business insights to innovate talent acquisition. And with Power BI, we’re providing a 360-degree view for the team with our most important metrics in one place, updated in real time, and available on all of their devices.

HRD: What are some challenges you’ve encountered in dealing with HR tech? LM: Security: The rise of mobility and proliferation of mobile and cloud technologies

“Most new HR technologies are focused on digitalising HR processes to transform culture” management and allowing employees to work from anywhere and on any device. This strategy centres on reinforcing a corporate culture in which flexibility, benefits and meaning trump money. It also finds new ways to mentor employees so that valuable knowledge is spread to many and not kept in the hands of the few.

have raised new security concerns for organisations. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to ensure organisations have a solid cybersecurity architecture and robust cyber-hygiene practices to better protect their digital environment, detect threats and respond to attacks.

HRD: Is there any particular aspect of HR technology that your company has utilised that might be considered cutting edge?

Disconnectedness in the hiring process: Today’s employee management processes are primarily focused on administration of employees. They are often disconnected across the recruitment, hiring and onboarding of employees and there is minimal insight into the company’s own employee and talent base. Rigid ‘one size’ approaches lack the level of personalisation today’s employees expect.

LM: We believe that building a true digital, data-driven enterprise requires organisations to empower their people by connecting them with everything else: people, processes, data and systems.

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SECTOR FOCUS: PAYROLL

Payroll beyond national borders The debate about whether to keep payroll operations in-house or to outsource continues to rage, but what happens when the debate shifts from in-house to offshore? THE HEADLINE in the 2 November 2017 edition of the Canberra Times said it all: ‘Data breach sees records of 50,000 Australian workers exposed’. The report revealed that nearly 50,000 Australians and 5,000 federal public servants had sensitive personal information exposed online as part of one of the nation’s biggest-ever data breaches. Employees of the Department of

A new era Data breach activity continues to escalate in Australia, with Equifax, Uber and the public service facing some of the biggest breaches of 2017 and many smaller breaches going unreported. While not all of these breaches relate to payroll, employers do have certain obligations under the new Mandatory Data Breach Notification Law (see boxout). If a data breach fits the eligible criteria,

“Organisations must shift their focus from breach prevention to strategies that will help them secure the breach” Eugene LaFontaine Finance, the Australian Electoral Commission and the National Disability Insurance Agency were caught up in the massive leak caused by a private contractor, who was not named, along with more than 40,000 private sector workers from insurer AMP, utility UGL and Dutch multinational Rabobank. This case was just one of countless breaches that have raised concerns about data security in Australia. Indeed, it’s a global problem. It’s estimated that more than five million personal records are stolen globally every day.

within 30 days of becoming aware of the breach the organisation must: 1. alert the Australian Information Commissioner of the incident 2. notify the affected person(s) of the data breach If these steps are not followed, incidents can attract a maximum penalty of $360,000 for individuals and $1.8m for organisations.

Offshore vs onshore Every organisation has its own unique set of

needs when it comes to payroll. From budget to workforce complexity to tax considerations, there’s guaranteed to be a software or outsourcing service to suit your business. However, there are endless offerings to investigate, and these are magnified when there is an option to offshore payroll operations to another country. Eugene LaFontaine, national payroll services manager at Frontier Software, says there are a number of key reasons why an organisation might opt to offshore payroll. These might include:  costs associated with managing the

payroll function in-house  payroll being considered a non-core

business activity  payroll being a transaction-based function

that delivers a low value proposition  to direct staff to more tactical and

strategic functions  to minimise business risk  to utilise world-class technology and

expertise  to have the ability to swiftly scale up and

thus support business growth  to allow the organisation to focus on its

core business activity  to consolidate disparate multicountry

operations into a single global sharedservices arrangement However, with data security top of mind in 2018 – especially given the previously mentioned Mandatory Data Breach Notification Law – it’s natural to assume that once data is moved overseas it is more susceptible to data breaches. Is that true? LaFontaine responds: “Where data is moved overseas as part of the offshore outsourcing arrangement, it becomes difficult for an organisation to conduct security audits to ensure compliance with the organisation’s Information Security Management Systems [ISMS]. The reliance will be on the offshore

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MANDATORY DATA BREACH NOTIFICATION LAW

outsourcing provider to demonstrate they are complaint with the customer’s ISMS framework.” In addition, LaFontaine says data that is managed by offshore outsourcing providers will be subject to jurisdiction of more than one country, which may cause an issue in data sovereignty. This can raise concerns around: a. data protection and security b. compliance with privacy obligations c. notification of data breaches “Customers should ensure these important factors are adequately covered in their contract with their service provider,” LaFontaine says. However, he adds that it’s easy to make assumptions, including the key misnomer that data saved on Australian shores is somehow ‘safer’ than data saved overseas. Indeed, the Gemalto Breach Level Index recorded 22 incidents in Australia in the first half of 2016, far more than the 13 recorded in

Effective from 22 February 2018, organisations subject to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (eg many Australian government agencies and private sector organisations with an annual turnover of more than $3m) have an obligation to notify individuals whose personal information is involved in a data breach that is likely to result in serious harm. This notification must include recommendations about the steps individuals should take in response to the breach, and the Australian Information Commissioner must also be notified of eligible data breaches. What kind of information could cause serious harm? PwC suggests examples of the kind of information that may increase the risk of serious harm if there is a data breach include: • sensitive information, such as information about an individual’s health • documents commonly used for identity fraud, including Medicare card, driver’s licence and passport details • financial information • a combination of types of personal information (rather than a single piece of personal information) that allows more to be known about the individuals

India and seven in Japan and New Zealand. “The APAC region accounted for 8% of incidents worldwide, compared with 79% that targeted North America. The probable flaw with these statistics is that they are of recorded incidents and provide no view as to the number of unreported incidents,” LaFontaine says. “As the volume of data increases with varying levels of sensitivity, it is clear that data breaches will occur, therefore organisations must shift their focus from breach prevention to strategies that will help them secure the breach.”

Employers are urged to ensure their payroll service provider has taken steps to maintain the highest standards of data security. For example, the Frontier Software IT Security Team has developed its ISMS framework, which outlines the Security Protocols in the management and storage of client and company data. This now incorporates the new Australian NDB and United Kingdom GDPRS requirements. In addition, Frontier Software educates its staff on compliance of the ISMS framework and in particular how classification of data is to be treated and protected as part of its new

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SECTOR FOCUS: PAYROLL Brought to you by

ACT NOW When it comes to assessing the security of an organisation’s payroll data, KPMG has urged employers to consider these questions: ? Is the payroll information

entrusted to my entity really secure? ? What safeguards and measures

does my entity really have in place to secure the integrity of payroll information? ? Does my entity have the right

governance and risk appetite for cybersecurity and data protection? “Do not wait until you have to report an eligible data breach. Financial and reputational damages can be devastating. Get your safeguards tight or even tighter. Now is the time to act,” the professional services firm urged.

employee-onboarding process. This is no more pertinent than in relation to the data breach provision recently added to the Privacy Act. Frontier Software also conducts an annual Information Management Security test with its employees to ensure compliance and understanding of the ISMS framework. The company is ISO 27001 accredited and conducts an Annual ASEA 3402 Audit to ensure security compliance.

Other key challenges of offshoring Of course, data security is just one challenge for business leaders to consider in their decision to offshore or onshore their payroll systems. There are cultural differences in communication styles, attitude towards

LaFontaine says payroll professionals must be trained on all Australian and state employment legislative frameworks to ensure compliance of payroll processing has been adhered to. Payroll professionals must be proficient in providing guidance and support on up-to-date employment legislative information at frequent intervals both for operational processing and software compliance. Organisations are also dealing with fundamental changes to how, when and where people are working. The concept of nine-to-five, Monday to Friday jobs is being challenged amid the rise of gig-economy workers. It stands to reason that all processes that support the workforce, including payroll, must be constantly revised.

“In addition to the cultural differences, there is the difference in time zones which would make it difficult for organisations to communicate effectively with the offshore outsource provider” Eugene LaFontaine

FRONTIER SOFTWARE Frontier Software is an acknowledged leader in the provision of global HR and payroll solutions. Representing over three decades of investment in peoplefacing technology, the ichris solution sets the benchmark for human capital management platforms. Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, Frontier Software has offices in seven countries servicing 1,700 clients. For further detail on Frontier Software Solution and Payroll Outsourcing Services, please visit us at www.frontiersoftware.com.

conflict resolution, and simply different ways of getting work done. “Organisations need to ensure the staff who have direct contact with the offshore outsource providers have been educated in these areas to ensure the cultural gap has been addressed to allow seamless service delivery of the contracted services,” LaFontaine suggests. “In addition to the cultural differences, there is the difference in time zones which would make it difficult for organisations to communicate effectively with the offshore outsource provider.” And of course, pay obligations for Australian employers are constantly changing and it’s up to payroll professionals to stay on top of these changes.

“As Stephen Hawking rightly said, ‘Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change’, so as service providers we not only plan but we focus on the execution of the change,” says LaFontaine. “Progress and long-term sustainability is not possible without change, simply because ‘change is inevitable and growth is optional’ [John C Mowell]. Our concentration is on the rules and regulations that apply in the changing landscape and enhancing our software and services to cater for such change.” Indeed, while many might assume that offshoring is a cheaper option, there are other factors to consider. And while most would agree there are savings to be made, the damage caused by a data breach would quickly negate any cost benefits.

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FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: CORPORATE HEALTH

Time for a (health) tune-up? How well do you know the health of your employees? If you’re taking a best guess or relying on gut instinct to guide your organisation’s health and wellbeing interventions, it’s time for a rethink ‘HOW DO I know if any of our activity around health and wellbeing works?’ It’s a question posed daily by countless HR professionals – and in this day and age when expectations around how employers should be helping employees manage their health and wellbeing

That’s just one of the unique selling propositions of OzHelp, a provider of health and wellbeing programs. Founded in 2001, following the suicide of a young Canberra apprentice, OzHelp today engages and supports 34,000 people nationally each year.

“The report provided to workplaces includes a snapshot of physical health, mental health and how workplace practices impact on employees” James Mills, OzHelp more effectively is at an all-time high, it’s more critical than ever to know the answer. To this point, the success (or otherwise) of many workplace health and wellbeing initiatives has been hard to measure. A ‘spray and pray’ approach is commonplace: offer a wide array of interventions and hope that some have a positive impact. What if programs targeting the specific health issues of your workforce could be implemented – and then measured for effectiveness?

The nature of this engagement includes the design and delivery of health and wellbeing programs that are created to uniquely address physical and mental health issues in each workplace. OzHelp offers employers market-leading tools to proactively support the health and wellbeing of their workforce.

The Workplace Tune-Up Key to OzHelp’s success is its Workplace Tune-up (WTU), a screening tool delivered

online to each employee, which then presents to the employer the aggregated health and wellbeing data of a workforce or industry, benchmarked against other workplaces with in-built data analytics. The data available from the WTU guides interventions so as to be based on need rather than ‘gut instinct’. James Mills, OzHelp’s director of operations, explains: “The report provided to workplaces includes a snapshot of physical health, mental health and how workplace practices impact on employees. It is a tool to measure the effectiveness of your activities and initiatives and gives you an evidence base to inform what future interventions you should consider undertaking in the space.” The WTU report incorporates your workplace rating and benchmarking on a number of validated and reliable measures of employee health and wellbeing, including:  AusD risk – diabetes risk assessment  chronic disease risk assessment  WEMBS (Warwick-Edinburgh Mental

Wellbeing Scale)  PHQ 9 Depression scale  productivity measures as linked directly

to wellbeing (SPS6) The report is split into three sections: Overall Ratings; Health and Nutrition; Workplace Practices. The benchmarks used consist of a combination of live benchmarking from OzHelp data over the past six years and population health data where appropriate. The WTU is endorsed by Nutrition Australia (ACT) and the Heart Foundation and was designed in collaboration with the University of Wollongong Graduate School of Medicine. The data in a WTU report is de-identified and is intended solely to give a snapshot of the organisation, to provide an evidence

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IMPECCABLE CREDENTIALS base to inform what intervention might be undertaken, and to measure the effectiveness of any activities undertaken. The report outlines:  the impact of workplace practices on the

mental health of employees  average wellbeing scores of your

organisation as compared to the benchmarks  overall physical and mental health ratings of your workplaces  productivity of the workforce as linked to wellbeing Crucially, the WTU also addresses the ‘what’s in it for me?’ factor for employees. Those who take part receive personalised results and recommendations. As individual health issues are flagged via the WTU, OzHelp’s health and wellbeing coaches –

OzHelp programs are designed and evaluated by the University of Wollongong Graduate School of Medicine. OzHelp’s national delivery partner is the Safety Institute of Australia. Members receive substantially discounted services. OzHelp was selected by the Federal Department of Health to deliver the National Suicide Prevention Leadership Strategy nationally. This means that for employers in industries defined as high risk, OzHelp programs are substantially subsidised. This funding, to the tune of 80% of cost, is available now. High-risk industries include construction, mining, transport, utilities, manufacturing, agriculture and several others.

including a team trained in mental health – and/or registered nurses will be prompted to offer ongoing confidential coaching to employees for up to 12 months. Employees can also request counselling support via the employer’s EAP provider.

In practice The aggregated workforce data can then inform what activities in terms of training,

etc, will have the biggest positive impacts on the workforce. Mills provides an example of one client who discovered that over 40% of its workforce was not eating breakfast. Further exploration showed the nature of the shift work/starting times was a major reason for skipping breakfast. The client was subsequently able to implement a program to address that issue. This intervention

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SECTOR FOCUS: CORPORATE HEALTH Brought to you by

A POSITIVE IMPACT In 2015, in the three-month follow-up calls conducted by OzHelp:

30%

of people had seen a GP since the OzHelp Health Check

36%

reported exercising more

then impacted on diabetes risk assessment and chronic disease risk assessments. Cross-pollinating data sets is also providing valuable insights. “Some really interesting data correlations are starting to come through in the data. For example: people with a below-average wellbeing score are three times more likely to be actively looking for other work,” Mills says. Another example would be the large workplace that discovered they were below benchmark on 10 of 11 measurements of their workplace practices as they impacted on employees’ mental health. This provided the business case for the HR team to secure resources for training and structural interventions.

Making a start – and ongoing support

54%

were eating more fruit and vegetables

had spoken with a counsellor or friend for support

OZHELP Founded in 2001, OzHelp engages and supports approximately 34,000 people each year with their health and wellbeing. OzHelp offers employers market-leading tools to proactively support the health and wellbeing of their workforce. Its award-winning suite of life-saving programs are designed and evaluated in conjunction with the University of Wollongong Graduate School of Medicine and are available to workplaces in any location across Australia. For further information on the Workplace Tune-Up and all OzHelp services, visit www.ozhelpconnect.org.au or phone 1300 694 357.

How does OzHelp initially engage with

program. This pack includes three posters and an email template.

Mental and physical wellbeing Importantly, OzHelp’s interventions support both the mental and physical wellbeing of employees. Mills says the company’s 15 years’ experience in the area proves the two are very much symbiotic. “We’ve always taken a whole-of-person approach to wellbeing, encompassing all aspects of a person’s life, and this approach is being increasingly validated with currently accepted best practice,” he says. “This is a design pillar of our programs, such as the WTU, along with ensuring a proactive approach to both physical and psychological wellbeing. “For example, through participation in the Workplace Tune-Up we might pick

The old saying ‘you can lead a horse to the water but you can’t make it drink’ is apt when it comes to health clients? Mills says that as the engagement strategy varies from employer to employer, industry to industry, a needs analysis assessment is the best way to suggest the way forward. A free demonstration of OzHelp’s services can be offered. OzHelp also partners with client organisations to introduce programs and impart skills to ‘Wellbeing Ambassadors’. These ambassadors are empowered to deliver mental health and wellbeing training – including training in difficult conversations – and facilitate the rollout of OzHelp wellbeing programs themselves. OzHelp master trainers provide ongoing mentoring and support to ambassadors, following their completion of a one-day ambassador training course. Employers also receive a marketing pack to assist them with the rollout of the

up that an individual is not eating the recommended amount of fruit and veg or missing breakfast most mornings. In their follow-up coaching with our Wellbeing Support Team we find out that this is because they are sleeping on their friend’s couch because their relationship has broken down. “People’s mental health impacts on physical health and habits and vice versa.”

Win-win The old saying ‘you can lead a horse to the water but you can’t make it drink’ is apt when it comes to health. Employers can offer support and services, but it’s really up to the employee to take action – and that’s where OzHelp’s Workplace Tune-Up report offers so much value, providing valuable insights to both employers and employees.

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FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Hoping for the best Too many organisations simply hope for the best from their leadership programs, yet aligning, measuring and controlling leadership investment starts with a strategy. Is it time to develop yours? IT’S A damning statistic and one that sits uncomfortably with the cautious, more measured approach taken in just about all other areas of business. According to Ernst & Young, the world’s companies spend US$50bn a year on developing leadership capabilities, yet the results are hazy at best,

little integration and often no attempt to link development initiatives with identified future capability gaps. Coming from different budgets, with different owners – and often entrenched in tradition or aligned with personal interests – leadership development has few controls.

“Any program should be able to be measured on either improved financial indicators or reduced risk indicators, depending on the needs of the organisation” Karlie Cremin, DLPA with many programs not hitting expected return on investment metrics. EY found that there is almost no such thing as a joined-up, rigorous approach to aligning, measuring and controlling their investment in leadership development. EY’s report – Why is the best investment strategy a human one? – suggested: Activities are usually carried out ad hoc, with

Fundamental flaws What typically goes wrong with leadership development programs? Karlie Cremin, principal at Dynamic Leadership Programs Australia (DLPA), suggests six common reasons why programs don’t return at the desired level. a) Wrong people in the leadership roles – If the people in the leadership team are not

suited to their roles, any program is going to be a little limited in what it can return. b) Lack of senior management buy-in – Where leadership programs are viewed with suspicion or viewed as irrelevant they are likely to be sabotaged or have limited effect. This is why engagement and co-design is really important in the structure and implementation of leadership programs. c) Poor-quality program content – It does have to be said that there are many programs on market that really do not deliver quality content. Where this is the case, of course the program is unlikely to yield. d) Poor-quality facilitation and delivery – Cremin sees many organisations that have run programs in the past where the content was solid; however, the delivery and facilitation let the program down. This can occur where people try to save money and engage inexperienced facilitators, or simply where the facilitator is not well suited to the organisation. e) Toxic culture – Sometimes organisations try to use a leadership program to correct a toxic culture. “Leadership programs are an essential part of cultural change programs; however, they will not work in isolation. Coordinated action is critical to successful cultural change,” Cremin says. f ) The business model is broken. “If the business model fundamentally does not work, there is not a lot a leadership program can do,” Cremin says. “Any structural issues need to be addressed prior to the implementation of a leadership program.” There’s a further, deep-rooted problem with too many leadership development programs: unrealistic expectations. To believe a leadership development program can resolve deep-seated problems within an organisation means they will always fail to live up to ROI expectations. “I believe that most organisations are not really attempting to measure the success of

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THE ROI FACTOR With boards and the C-suite becoming increasingly accountable for the quality of leadership, EY urges organisations to ask themselves: How much are we spending, and what are we spending it on? Incredibly, many organisations find it difficult to identify their total investment in leadership development – or even to understand where they are spending their money.

these programs in statistically valid ways,” Cremin says. “Many organisations we see run programs because they think they should, or because they want to tick a box on a development program.” Ultimately, Cremin says it’s not unreasonable to expect a great return on a leadership program. When properly constructed and run they have the capacity to completely change an organisation and create high-performing, resilient businesses. However, in order to achieve that she suggests it’s necessary to properly draw a correlation between your business performance and the leadership skills and capabilities that drive performance. “This is where most programs that do try to measure ROI fall down. They have a lack of clarity on what skills and capabilities they need in their organisation to drive success, and as such the leadership program is not relevant to their business model,” she says.

What impact did the spend have on business and leadership performance? Even worse, few companies are able to measure the impact of their spend – beyond tracking the satisfaction of the participants attending leadership programs.

Context is king As a first step, it’s essential to match the leadership development approach to the context of the organisation – its business plan and business cycle, its industry, and so on. “Where programs don’t take into account organisational context, DLPA has also found that participants become frustrated because they struggle to utilise their new skills and capabilities, because they have not had training and coaching in dealing with the likely obstacles in their environment, or indeed thinking strategically about change within their organisation.”

Support at the right levels It’s not uncommon for organisations to break their leadership programs down to targetspecific individuals on their career trajectories,

for example upcoming/future leaders, mid-level leaders and executive leaders. Cremin suggests there are arguments for and against that approach. “Which option is right for you will come down to your culture, business model and what you are trying to achieve through the program. Leadership programs can be a great way to build teams, facilitate change and transfer knowledge through an organisation. If those are your aims you are probably better having a mix of people rather than focusing on a level within the organisation.” However, if the aim is more focused on capability building, then Cremin says segmenting in this way can mean that the content is more tailored and pitched to the level of the participant.

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SECTOR FOCUS: LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT Brought to you by

KEY QUESTIONS Karlie Cremin suggests five questions to ask before settling on a leadership development program.

How will return on investment be measured?

How will this support the organisation’s strategy?

What opportunities are available to participants once they complete the program?

3 4

Have I selected the right people for this program?

Do I have a business model that works? (If the business model is broken, it doesn’t really matter what people or capability you have.)

“You can also ensure unity in purpose and approach across different levels in the organisation, which has its advantages,” she says. “In short this is a valid approach; however, as with anything, you need to properly consider the context and purpose of the program to decide what is right for you.”

Exec leadership programs in 2018 If there’s one overarching trend Cremin is witnessing in 2018, it’s programs that display a mix of management, leadership and technical skills. “We design programs around the need of organisations so that we cover off the exact skills and capability mix the organisation needs to succeed,” she says. “This is then structured into a program that makes those

assessing the success (or otherwise) of a leadership development program? “Any program should be able to be measured on either improved financial indicators or reduced risk indicators, depending on the needs of the organisation,” Cremin says. “It is important to properly define these at the start of a program. Examples might include increased profit, increased market share, cost reduction or increased sales pipeline. This is because a more effective leadership team should be able to be measured by improved business unit performance. In the absence of that you really do need to look at the core charter of your leadership team.” On the risk side, Cremin suggests HR

“Which option is right for you will come down to your culture, business model and what you are trying to achieve through the program” Karlie Cremin, DLPA

DLPA DLPA is a bespoke leadership and business development program provider that drives strategic objectives and unlocks the potential of current and emerging leaders. With corporate strategy at the heart of programs, our team works closely with clients to identify key barriers to their success, develop leadership skills, and empower people to reach higher levels of performance. Contact: info@dlpa.com.au or 1300 766 339.

skills tangible, real and relevant to the participants so they can start using their new skills and capabilities straight away, and they don’t have to wait for the program to complete to start effecting change. This also ensures there is support available through the implementation of these skills.” She adds that the key to a genuinely successful program really does seem to be ensuring the content is tailored to the needs of the organisation as well as the individuals selected for the program. Layering the content over time is important as well for ensuring a deep understanding, and the forming of true, positive habits in the executive team.

ROI Returning to the opening EY statistic, what should HR leaders be looking at when

might look at cultural indicators such as staff churn, grievances and claims, and overall employee engagement. Risks may also include management of market or business risks, succession planning, and general business volatility. Again, an effective leadership team should be actively managing these risks, so a successful leadership program would result in these and other relevant risks reducing. Effective leadership during uncertain times is critical; in fact, it can make or break an organisation. EY’s report summed up where leadership development fits in with this overall picture: “By ensuring leadership investment delivers a clear impact, boards and executive teams will effectively manage the risk of a leadership capability deficit damaging the long-term health and performance of their organisation.”

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EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE

The new people problem With Australia’s employment landscape facing several headwinds, Kim Seeling Smith provides her tips for attracting and retaining top talent OUR WORKFORCE is currently undergoing historic change that has huge implications for Australian businesses. Often known as the ‘people problem’, this phenomenon is the result of several converging factors likely to reshape the labour landscape. Firstly, due to our ageing population we are headed for a future in which there will be too few workers to fill thousands of vacancies left by retiring baby boomers, with current birth and immigration rates failing to plug the gap. Secondly, there is the impact of technological disruption, with automation and labour-saving technologies expected to result in nearly one third of jobs being automated within 10 years. There is also the ongoing effect of globalisation, which continues to alter the types of jobs on offer in the labour market as certain sectors decline, low-skilled roles shift overseas, and local demand lifts for creative workers.

Companies need to take action While overall demand for workers will likely remain strong, these changes will lead to a shortage of people with the right skills for the jobs of the future.

Official estimates make this clear, forecasting that Australia is likely to have around 1.4 million unfillable job vacancies by 2025. With this scenario on the horizon, it’s critical that businesses take action now to

attract and retain the right type of talent, or else risk failing to survive the next 10 years. The big problem, however, is that while many companies understand that there is a looming problem, they often don’t know what can be done to fix it.

There are many ways that companies can prepare for this workforce disruption, but an easy place to start is to focus on delivering positive employee experiences WHERE TO NEXT FOR AUSTRALIAN ORGANISATIONS? Employee Experience – or ‘EX’ – is clearly a hot topic in the HR sector. While there is a lot of global research and insight on the subject, much less is known about the Australian context and whether there are features and considerations unique to our marketplace. To understand this better, Ignite Global in partnership with employee benefits specialist Maxxia, is launching an Employee Experience survey. The study will survey Australian HR professionals to uncover what companies think, what they are currently doing, and what shape EX could take in the future. The results will be released in the 2018 Employee Experience Report. The goal of the research is to deliver an industry-wide perspective that HR professionals can use to benchmark their approach and inform strategy. If you would like to participate in the Employee Experience survey, you can access it via research.net/r/EX_Report2018. All participants will receive a free copy of the report that will be released in July 2018.

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staff as internal customers – a perspective geared towards the imminent job market in which there will be intense competition for skilled workers. After all, our current people practices come from the industrial era when work was process-driven, focused on efficiency, and staff were easily replaceable. By contrast, in today’s world, automation has reduced the need for workers who do repetitive tasks and boosted demand for high-skill and strategic roles. Looking ahead, I expect this will shift again to a new focus on adaptability as organisations seek people who can respond to the changing business landscape. Critical to this employment climate will be finding people with the right values, cultural fit and adaptable competencies. As the nature of work changes, our people practices must change with it.

Re-examine HR processes Fostering a positive employee experience There are many ways that companies can prepare for this workforce disruption, but an easy place to start is to focus on delivering positive employee experiences. At times overlooked, creating positive experiences involves revamping how businesses think about staff by borrowing from the principles of customer experience. This, in essence, means reconceptualising

In practical terms, employee experience – or EX – involves looking differently at our people practices in order to place staff at the heart of business. That includes applying an EX mindset to things like sourcing, hiring, onboarding, managing and leading people in the workplace. Staff training, internal communications and performance management should also be viewed as opportunities to improve employee experience.

Importantly, these are all changes that can be executed without a huge investment of resources but can nonetheless have significant positive, long-term impacts.

Supporting employees along their journey With the workplace set to change dramatically over coming years, Australian employers need to be looking at their people practices through the lens of employee experience. Keeping the best talent will be driven by an organisation’s ability to deliver positive experiences at every step of the employee journey. Combining this with new hiring practices that focus on values, cultural fit and adaptability will enable companies to not only survive but thrive in the midst of disruption. Kim Seeling Smith founded Ignite Global in 2009 and is committed to helping her clients hire and retain better people. The author of Mind Reading for Managers: 5 FOCUSed Conversations for Greater Employee Engagement and Productivity, Seeling Smith is a frequent contributor to major business and trade publications in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and India. Powered by Maxxia The 2018 Employee Experience Report is brought to you by employee benefits specialist Maxxia. Maxxia’s salary packaging and novated leasing solutions can help enhance your employee value proposition to attract and keep the best talent.

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FEATURES

DIVERSITY

Bridging the generational ‘fiscal gap’ The role of mature-age workforce participation in closing the fiscal gap must be explored, writes David Kennedy WE ARE frequently reminded of the economics of a society growing older – a dwindling base of taxpayers to support a growing queue of age pension and healthcare recipients. A treasurer’s worst nightmare. Economists describe the impact of this mismatch as a ‘fiscal gap’. In other words, if nothing changes in the future, government

increases in workforce participation among older Australians can meaningfully boost the economy and counter the fiscal challenges of an ageing population (see boxout).

Win-win outcomes Of course, an increase in workforce participation of this magnitude is no easy

A recurring theme in my conversations with business owners, academics, jobseekers and retirees is that age discrimination is alive and well in Australian society revenue will fall short of the money needed to run the country. The good news is that we can begin to bridge this gap by embracing the skills and experience of the healthiest-ever generation of older Australians. Health permitting, and with sufficient workplace flexibility, many are willing to continue working beyond the traditional retirement age – provided such opportunities exist. Numerous studies have shown that material

task. But the trend is underway and win-win outcomes abound where older Australians who are willing and able to work are given the opportunity to do so. Individuals enjoy the financial benefits, social connections, and sense of purpose that working flexibly into their 50s, 60s and 70s provides. Employers retain the experience, mentoring capacity and reliability of older employees, while the economy benefits from ongoing tax receipts, a deeper pool of

national savings, and the prospect of reduced pressure on the social security system.

Discrimination rears its head But here’s the problem. A recurring theme in my conversations with business owners, academics, jobseekers and retirees is that age discrimination is alive and well in Australian society. Ruth Williams is the academic convenor of the Hallmark Ageing Research Initiative at the University of Melbourne. She is an expert in workplace trends affecting older Australians, and a passionate advocate for ‘positive ageing’ and unlocking the value of mature-age employees. Williams has conducted significant studies into some of the potential benefits of remaining engaged in the workforce beyond the traditional retirement age. “Anecdotally, I can’t keep count of the number of people who have said, ‘I retired but I only lasted six months’. People want to remain engaged … It’s very well documented that working actually increases health and wellbeing. Social contact is important, and people get a lot out of it,” she says. Yet Williams adds that while things

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GOOD TO KNOW… Two thirds of 55–64-year-olds and more than 13% of over ’65s now participate in the workplace – the latter figure has more than doubled since the 1990s, according to the ABS. A five-percentage-point increase in participation rates among 50–69-year-old Australians could add some 2.4% to GDP by 2050, according to the ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research.

are improving, older workers have trouble accessing the same opportunities as younger employees. “There is still work to be done. Discrimination is prominent within the recruitment stage. In the workplace, I think some employers still have stereotypical attitudes of older workers … A lot of

they’re nearing retirement. Age discrimination in the recruitment process and the workplace silently strangles productivity and leaves everyone worse off.

EveryAGE Counts Tackling ageism, and creating more employment opportunities for older Australians, must

The potential contribution of older Australians may just be our greatest untapped resource employers think they’re going to retire soon anyway. As we know, with the push to work longer, it could be that a 55-year-old has 10, 15, 20 years left in them in the workplace, and denying them those career progressions – or learning, education and training opportunities – is doing a real disservice to the individual,” she says. Williams points out that older workers can experience age discrimination in the workplace through a lack of career advancement and job progression opportunities. She says some employers may invest less in their mature-age employees based on the outdated assumption that

therefore become a higher priority if we are to ensure a more dignified workforce experience and a transition to eventual retirement, while collectively securing our future standard of living. To this end, EveryAGE Counts is a national campaign launched by the Benevolent Society in 2017 to address the social and policy impacts of ageism. As part of the launch of the initiative, Kirsty Nowlan, executive director strategic engagement, research and advocacy at the Benevolent Society, says, “We need a radical rethink of attitudes towards getting older, because we perceive older people as frail,

less involved in life, confused and nonproductive … It’s time to change thinking and behaviours about and towards older people. “What the research shows is that many of our views about older people are based on outdated myths and stereotypes … we aim to change those views so older people continue to stay engaged in work, community and political life.” When combined with sufficient incentives and signals in the super, tax and social security system, addressing ageism is essential in enabling the type of increase in participation rates needed to move the dial on productivity and long-term GDP growth. This will require a community-wide shift in attitudes and perceptions of the value of older employees, and more examples of businesses that thrive when they consciously employ a higher proportion of older workers. When we collaborate – as individuals, employers and government – to meaningfully lift the number of employment opportunities for over 55s, the reward will be worth the effort. The potential contribution of older Australians may just be our greatest untapped resource.

David Kennedy is the author of End of the Retirement Age: Embracing the Pursuit of Meaning, Purpose and Prosperity and principal at Hillross Pacific Advisory, a Sydney-based retirement planning consultancy.

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FEATURES

INSIDE HR

Career rotations are a key component of HP Inc.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s talent management mix, for everyone from grads to executives

Where do great ideas come from? HP Inc. has launched an organisation-wide talent management strategy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and at its heart is a commitment to ensuring innovation flourishes

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Innovation at HP Inc. Innovation has long been a trademark of HP Inc. and its corporate predecessors – and as the above story reinforces, great ideas can be sparked at any time, by any person. William ‘Bill’ Redington Hewlett and David ‘Dave’ Packard founded the company in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California, in 1939. Since then HP Inc. has been viewed as the symbolic father of Silicon Valley. It has also weathered countless transformations – the latest of which occurred in 2015 when the parent company split into two entities: HP Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. When the newly formed HP Inc. was first being established, the business leaders asked employees what they would like to see as the foundation for the entity. The overriding response was for it to return to its innovative

exciting and fulfilling I’ve had so far”. It’s easy to see why. Central to HP Inc.’s rebirth has been an overarching HR vision in Asia-Pacific called the Intentional People Strategy. This is a multifaceted talent strategy focused on cultivating a growth mindset that drives innovation and empowerment. This focus on constant reinvention plays a fundamental role in the company’s performance and growth. “Our whole Intentional People Strategy has to tie to our business strategy, so everything we do we want to ensure it has business impact and there must be a way to measure the return on everything we’re investing in,” Marzicola says. Several pillars have been established. One is around promoting a strong sales culture. “The company had divided in two and

“At HP Inc. we’re about creating technology for everyone, everywhere. It’s about creating a culture of innovation where people are absolutely our most important asset” Nicolina Marzicola “WHAT DO you do with your photos? Do you print them out and put them on your fridge at home?” That was the innocent question asked by a senior executive at HP Inc. of a junior member of the team. The response was a mix of perplexed bemusement and surprise. With a birth date evidently well after the heyday of actually printing photos captured by cameras and the like, the young employee did not fully understand the concept of printing out photos and having them on display. That same conversation sparked a germ of an idea. HP Inc. soon launched a pocket-sized wireless device that could print out photoquality images; it is known as the HP Sprocket Photo Printer. The mini printer, which aims to bridge the gap between social and print, has been flying off the shelves ever since.

roots, which some felt had been lost as the original company grew and grew. “At HP Inc. we’re about creating technology for everyone, everywhere. It’s about creating a culture of innovation where people are absolutely our most important asset,” says Nicolina Marzicola, the regional head of HR for Asia Pacific and Japan at HP Inc. “Quite frankly, that is something our founders, Hewlett and Packard, stated many years ago as the fundamental core of what makes HP’s brand.”

The Intentional People Strategy Marzicola, who is a 20-year veteran of the company and started at HP in Canada, maintains that her current role is “the most

we wanted to re-establish what it meant to be in sales for our employees,” Marzicola says. “This pillar looks at how we can help our sales employees move from being transactional to more solutions-focused. We created a sales academy just to ensure they have the learning, not only how to sell but how to influence, how to undertake storytelling – in other words, some of the soft skills they needed to be better salespeople.” She adds that a core purpose of the Intentional People Strategy is to build a workforce that will be ready to tackle constantly shifting dynamics. “As we evolve that strategy we’re also aiming to help people managers manage more effectively. How do we make sure we’re hiring the right person for that job?

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FEATURES

INSIDE HR

HP Inc. campus graduate recruitment remains a key way of connecting with young talent

AN INNOVATION HOTSPOT In December 2017, HP officially opened its new S$100m (A$98,714,000) Asia-Pacific and Japan (APJ) campus in Singapore, bringing together for the first time more than 5,000 employees from across Singapore and the region in a single location to carry out sales, logistics and research and development for the region. The campus is designed to leverage natural lighting and intelligent controls to conserve energy. It includes collaborative spaces, mobility solutions, as well as a research and prototyping facility. HP also unveiled its world-first Smart Manufacturing Applications and Research Centre (SMARC), a 6,000-square-feet facility located within its new APJ campus. SMARC – an idea sparked by a female HP engineer who had been with the company for 26 years – seeks to “help digitally transform and reinvent” HP’s supplies manufacturing processes by using digital technologies such as additive manufacturing (3D printing), advanced robotics, and large-scale data analytics.

We’ve put together a curriculum for managers to assist them in conducting better interviews and evaluating candidates for a better fit into the company, into our revived salesforce. It’s more robust and it’s ensuring we have a salesforce that is ready to compete and drive our strategy.” Another pillar has been focusing on the next generation coming into the company. Marzicola says the company lacked a consistent graduate hiring program regionally. India was different to China, which was different again to Singapore. An engagement program called HP STAR, built for graduates and managed by graduates, was launched. Helmed by four grads in the region, the program’s intention is for these people to be involved in briefing leaders about the next generation coming into the workplace. “What type of L&D do they need and expect? How can we do our on-campus recruiting more effectively?

The HP STAR

engagement

program lead ership team

How can we get our story out there? These are the sorts of questions we’re asking the HP STAR team to build a strategy around,” says Marzicola. She adds that a key measure of success will be changing the perception of HP from one of “being a great company name to have on your CV to a place where you can build your career”. Instead, career rotations will allow employees to build lengthy and successful careers at the company. “We have to be more intentional about the opportunities we’re putting in front of them, giving them the visibility and also making it an intentional move, so every nine months they get to do something different at least for the first three years of their career. Part of that is allowing for some kind of opportunity to move to another country or region,” she says.

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KEYS TO INNOVATION Successful innovation goes far beyond just technologydriven skills and insights. It demands a range of perspectives driven by diversity of thought – which means seeking input from across disciplines and backgrounds. Here are the human factors deemed critical to innovation success:

65%

innovative behaviours and culture Business Impact Networks foster innovative ideas for the wider business

HP Inc. has purposely built career rotations into the talent management mix for all employees, from grads up to executives. “We get a lot of people coming from Palo Alto into the region, but that flow doesn’t necessarily happen the other way back,” says Marzicola. “I want us to be influencing decisions rather than waiting for decisions to cascade from headquarters. Working in our headquarters helps our local employees to understand the way decisions are made and what needs to be considered on a global scale when programs, initiatives and decisions are implemented.” Another key area is around D&I, which Marzicola says is “foundational to everything that we do”. Business Impact Networks (BINs) – which might be known as employee resource groups in other organisations – provide insight and suggestions on how the company operates with a D&I lens. The company today has the most diverse board of directors of any tech company in the US. Forty per cent of the board are women and 50% are under-represented minorities.

Hearing the voice of the people BINs also play a critical role in innovation. When asked how the company shifts great ideas into viable products and services, Marzicola says the solution is to simply ensure that people’s voices are heard. “In the former employee resource groups

we had at HP, they often conducted meetings with upper management, and they were great conversations but they didn’t go anywhere, or it didn’t lead to that information being supplied to people who made decisions.” Today it’s the members of those groups talking to the leadership teams in different configurations, such as a regional leadership team in Singapore. “It’s having these senior people sitting down with the business impact groups, listening to their feedback, what they are doing and what they are working on.” Marzicola says it’s those “multigenerational conversations” that are leading to products being designed – such as the forementioned Sprocket printer – because it’s now easier for leaders to hear what employees and by extension consumers want. “It’s as simple as bringing visibility to these groups and then keeping leaders accountable for the outcomes of those conversations,” she says.

Creativity and innovation It’s well established that creativity – something that children have no shortage of – sadly goes missing in most adults. Yet the connection between creativity and innovation is strong. It’s for this reason that HP Inc. has unleashed its growth mindset. “At its core are three questions. How do we imagine the future? How do we inspire

63%

fresh thinking

52%

strong C-suite leadership

47%

clear business model

32%

increasing innovation budget Source: PwC’s Innovation Benchmark Report, 2017

the team? How do we make it happen? Since the launch of the Intentional People Strategy I’ve never seen so many ideas sparked and actioned. What’s remarkable in this region is we work really fast and we make it happen. And if something doesn’t work, we stop and try something new. That is the key to creativity,” says Marzicola.

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PEOPLE

CAREER PATH

FULFILLING POTENTIAL She’s come a long way, but for Sara Marshall the ultimate goal has always been encouraging others to reach their best

The Auckland native grew up believing nothing limited her, and with a passion for people and social connections. A turning point came when a bicycle accident while at university almost resulted in Marshall losing the use of her arms. This experience gave her a new appreciation of the opportunities surrounding her. “I thought, ‘I am never taking anything for granted again’. I decided to really apply my abilities and do what I was most interested in: I changed my major to psychology.”

1980s

1994

BROADENS HORIZONS

A move to Australia brought with it a series of cultural changes for Marshall, not only in geography but in the methodology and attitude required at the consultancy she helped found. “It was a fantastic foundation in understanding different sectors. I had to be quite fluid in how I managed things, and part of that is to do with putting yourself in the shoes of another individual: thinking in terms of what do they need; how do I approach it?”

GROWS UP WITHOUT LIMITATIONS

1990

GETS HANDS-ON Her first HR position, in an education and training support agency, provided Marshall with hands-on education in terms of balancing the interests and needs of culturally diverse stakeholders while working with an agency representing Maori and Pacific Islanders. “It taught me to think on a variety of levels; it was a tremendous grounding in putting theories into practice. My supervisor pushed me to go outside my comfort zone, and I welcomed the challenge. It made me reach my full potential.”

2006

JOINS MERCER An approach from Mercer with an offer of an ANZ position appealed to Marshall’s desire to test her abilities. One instance of helping a person realise their potential that makes her particularly proud dates from this time: “An HR person who started off lacking in confidence, had never been overseas, was ultimately seconded to an HR manager role in China, and she nailed it. It makes you realise how you can help people reach their full potential.”

2008

DEVISES A GLOBAL ROLE FROM SCRATCH A global HR role that called for the set-up of global HR structures from scratch for a company providing pathway courses for international students into universities worldwide presented a special challenge, given Marshall knew it would be sold within a few years. “The selling process was worth hundreds of millions of dollars. I had to devise the people plan from scratch and the HR infrastructure to support the sale along a limited time frame.”

2017

JOINS CANON

Sara joined Canon in part because of the company’s track record of diversity initiatives. “I was attracted to Canon by the great opportunities; I’m passionate about talent development and giving people opportunities. I always strive to help people reach their full potential, and diversity and inclusion is very much linked with that. People coming from different experiences – how do you leverage that so we all come together and get the best of all worlds?”

2012

TAKES ON A CHANGE CHALLENGE Marshall joined Reckitt Benckiser, a business experiencing tremendous change, and took on the challenge of shaping it. Again, at the core, her interest was in seeing people reach their full potential.

“I looked at the structure, at change initiative, succession planning, and the calibre of people developed and promoted. I saw people go from strength to strength with good support”

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HR Tech

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SAVE THE DATE 19 September 2018 The Westin Sydney

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PEOPLE

OTHER LIFE

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

Most recently, Saliba joined a hip-hop dance crew. “It’s more intense than anything I’ve done before,” she says.

2 years old Saliba’s youngest-ever dance student

Estimated number of competitions in which Saliba has taken part

7am–2am Length of Saliba’s day when filming The Veronica’s clip

DANCING UP A STORM When she’s not consulting for the Disability Trust, you’re most likely to find Sara Saliba centre stage DANCE HAS been a part of Sara Saliba’s life since the age of two, when the now-HR consultant’s parents signed their constantly pirouetting toddler up for lessons. Since then she has studied jazz, contemporary, lyrical, hip-hop, ballet and modern dance up to four days a week; activities that have been supplemented by teaching – from the age of 16 – and choreography.

But it was more recently, when the thenWollongong resident won a scholarship for a workshop that culminated in a dance role in a professional music video clip, that she says she “started to get hungry for more”. Performing in video clips has since become a sideline for Saliba, who has appeared in promotional videos for such high-profile recording artists as The Veronicas, Guy

Sebastian and Samantha Jade. While Saliba says performing has helped her in her professional life by making her more comfortable with speaking in front of a group, what really keeps her going back is the pure joy of dance. “Any physical exercise is good for relieving stress, but dancing makes me happy anytime – it’s pure happiness and joy.”

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