Human Resources Director 16.05 by Key Media

LOOKING THROUGH THE EX LENS A new focus on what makes employees loyal DATA INSIGHTS AND ETHICS It’s time to talk about how data is used HCAMAG.COM ISSUE 16.05

FINDING THE POT OF GOLD How inclusivity can be good for business

REDEFINING DIVERSITY Atlassian’s Aubrey Blanche is driven by her passion to create a culture of belonging IA TRAL AUS

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WINNERS REVEALED! 4/10/2018 1:10:11 PM

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OCTOBER 2018

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CONTENTS

@HRDAustralia facebook.com/HRDAustralia

UPFRONT 02 Editorial

While it’s human nature to fear change, HR needs to embrace it

04 Statistics

Attracting a wider pool of talent, LGBT+ inclusion can be good for business

06 Head to head

Is a four-day week a winning strategy for improving productivity?

07 Expert insight

What you need to know about new entitlements for casual employees

08 News analysis

50 FEATURES

THE FUTURE OF WORKPLACE TRAINING

How innovations in e-learning are creating more effective tools for training employees on the job

There’s power in employee data, but HR must be open about its use

10 R&R update

Recognition strategies that resonate with employees Australians are ready and willing to work with robots FEATURES

71 Career path

Never afraid to stand up, Victoria Pickles thinks in terms of ‘why not?’, not ‘why?’

72 Other life

PREPARING FOR THE NEW FACE OF LEARNING

66 Five myths about purpose Finding purpose in our work means shattering some common myths

HCAMAG.COM CHECK IT OUT ONLINE

A celebration of excellence, HRD’s Australian HR Awards highlight the impressive achievements of top professionals across the industry

PEOPLE

THE SCIENCE OF BELONGING

FEATURES New insights into the value of employee experience in building loyalty

SPECIAL REPORT

With technology changing the way we work and learn, it’s crucial to prioritise new ways of upskilling staff

There’s nowhere Bronwin Freke would rather be on Saturday than parkrun

62 Looking at talent through the EX lens

2018

HR AWARDS 2018

12 L&D update

PEOPLE

IAN TRAL AUS

FEATURES

FIGHTING THE FEARSOME FOURSOME

Aubrey Blanche, global head of diversity and belonging at Atlassian, is on a “one-woman crusade” to change the definition of diversity

Create a positive workplace culture by stamping out offensive behaviour in the workplace

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UPFRONT

EDITORIAL www.hcamag.com OCTOBER 2O18

Embrace change without fear

his has been a year of cataclysmic change. The rise of empowerment movements such as #MeToo has shifted the zeitgeist while the rate of evolution of robotics continues to astound us. But where does HR sit in this new world order? How can executives ensure they’re really leading through change, and not riding on coat-tails? According to Matthew Burns, CHRO at Danish retain chain JYSK and host of HRD’s HR Leaders Summit in Calgary, Canada, on 8 December, it’s all about embracing the new. “Embrace technology,” he says. “I think, as a profession, historically we’ve been somewhat reluctant to embrace it.” And he’s right. The HR sector is leading the way in so many fields, from championing emotional intelligence to adopting empathetic workplace cultures, so why are we still scared of technology? Well, it’s the human condition to be apprehensive of the new. As Fyodor Dostoevsky said, taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most. But is that really a

It’s the human condition to be apprehensive of the new. But is that really a viable excuse any more? viable excuse any more – especially in a disruptive world? Let’s face it – most HR professionals didn’t join the sector to spend six hours a day working on spreadsheets, or pushing paper back and forth. They wanted to help people. Technology today has the power to automate all those repetitive tasks that we hate, and yet at the same time we seem reluctant to put it in place. One main reason for this that stems from a fear of the unknown is employee anxiety over data privacy. With the recent sagas over Facebook algorithms and GDPR, it’s understandable that your staff are cautious about how HR is handling their information. Gaining employee buy-in can be an arduous process, and one that people seem to be overcomplicating. Essentially, as with most things in HR, the key is communication. It’s human nature to fear the unknown, but we’ve put off embracing technology for too long. Now’s the time to start implementing those HR tech tools, or risk being left behind in the ether. The team at Human Resources Director

EDITORIAL Senior writer Emily Douglas Writers Tom Goodwin, John Hilton, Libby Macdonald Contributors Karen Gately, Aaron Hurst Production Editor Roslyn Meredith

ART & PRODUCTION Designer Marla Morelos Traffic Coordinator Freya Demegilio

SALES & MARKETING Marketing & Communications Managers Michelle Lam, Danica Mendoza 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

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UPFRONT

STATISTICS

Rainbow leads to a pot of gold

NO REAL EQUALITY More than half of respondents don’t agree that opportunities in their organisation are really equal for all, despite lip service being paid to LGBT+ diversity; almost 40% agree that their organisation is not doing enough to encourage LGBT+ workplace diversity.

LGBT+ inclusion will reward employers with a wider pool of talent and an expanded consumer audience THE VIRTUES of inclusion include a strong business case: LGBT+ employees who feel they might not be able to realise their full potential within an organisation will vote with their feet by taking their talents elsewhere – and pass the message to their friends and family, which could well have a detrimental effect on the brand. Happily, more than four in five LGBT+ employees feel comfortable at work, according to the PwC/OutNEXT 2018 global survey Out to Succeed: Realising the Full Potential

80%+

of millennials are attracted by an employer’s policies on diversity, equality and workplace inclusion1

of LGBT+ Talent. And nine in 10 employers believe that being out in the workplace has had a positive impact on the ability of their LGBT+ talent to do business and engage with their customers. Nonetheless, fewer than one in 10 businesses have programs in place specifically geared towards the retention, development and progression of LGBT+ talent; and even then, many LGBT+ employees with access to such programs are hampered by the fact that they don’t know these programs exist.

35%

of employees believe their companies leverage LGBT+ inclusion for business advantage2

$5trn

is the estimated global spending power of LGBT+ consumers3

78%

of LGBT+ people and family and friends would switch to brands that are LGBT+ friendly4

Source: 1PwC; PwC/OutNEXT: 2Out to Succeed: Realising the Full Potential of LGBT+ Talent, 2018; 3LGBT Capital: Estimated LGBT Purchasing Power: LGBT-GDP, May 2016; 4Community Marketing & Insights

MAJORITY NOT OUT WHILE INTERVIEWING Almost two in three LGBT+ respondents reported not being out during the application process and even when interviewed for their current jobs; the figure for the US is lower, at two in five.

41% Yes

INCLUSIVITY GOOD FOR BUSINESS Almost all employers agree or strongly agree that an openly supportive approach to LGBT+ has brought about wider access to the best talent; the same proportion feel it has improved their organisation’s place in the market. Employee

Employer

100

96%

80 60

84%

96% 83%

93% 81%

89% 67%

Were you out during your interview and application process?

59% No

Source: PwC/OutNEXT: Out to Succeed: Realising the Full Potential of LGBT+ Talent, 2018

20 0

Having an openly supportive focus on LGBT+ has provided my organisation with a wider access to the best talent by being inclusive

Having an openly supportive focus on LGBT+ has improved my organisation’s place in the market by being recognised as an inclusive employer

Having a supportive focus on LGBT+ has improved creativity by bringing together diversity of experience and thought

Having a supportive focus on LGBT+ has given my organisation a better understanding of customers’ wants and needs by better matching their diversity and life experiences

Source: PwC/OutNEXT: Out to Succeed: Realising the Full Potential of LGBT+ Talent, 2018

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EMPLOYEESâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; PERSPECTIVES ON DIVERSITY IN THEIR ORGANISATIONS My organisation talks about LGBT+ diversity

46%

39%

11% 4%

47%

12%

My organisation creates a diverse, inclusive work environment

39%

My organisation has LGBT+ programs and policies

34%

49%

10% 7%

My organisation talks about LGBT+ diversity, but I do not feel opportunities are really equal for all

27%

52%

13%

My organisation is not doing enough to encourage LGBT+ diversity in the workplace

24%

15%

Strongly agree Agree

48%

13%

I would recommend working at my place of employment to an LGBT+ friend

Disagree

51%

43%

Strongly disagree

4% 1%

Source: PwC/OutNEXT: Out to Succeed: Realising the Full Potential of LGBT+ Talent, 2018

CEO SUPPORT A PRIORITY

LGBT+ TALENT WANT CAREER PROGRESSION

Almost all respondents agreed that employer commitment to LGBT+ programs and policies were important in creating an inclusive culture for LGBT+ employees; almost as many regarded visible role models and CEO visibility as an ally as important.

When it comes to the attributes most likely to make an organisation attractive to LGBT+ talent, all respondents answered that opportunities for career progression were very or somewhat important. What attributes are attractive to LGBT+ talent? (Respondents answered very/somewhat important) 100% Opportunities for career progression 99% Competitive wages and other financial incentives

How important are the following in creating an inclusive culture for LGBT+ employees?

99% Reputation as a fair and equal employer (eg known for being LGBT+ friendly) 97% Flexible working arrangements and a culture of work-life balance 97% Policies and programs supporting LGBT+ employees

(Respondents answered very/somewhat important)

97% Reputation as an employer of the best and brightest people 93% An organisational purpose that is meaningful and affords me the opportunity to make a difference/have an impact 90% The employer brand 88% The organisation has visible LGBT+ senior leaders

97% 97%

Sponsorship of LGBT+ organisations

78% Opportunities for international experiences

An ally program

73% Organisation has a high HRC/Stonewall/ Community Business/Pride in Diversity/AWEI rating 40

CEO visibility as an LGBT+ ally

Employee resource/ network groups

83% The sector in which the organisation operates

98%

Visible LGBT+ role models

83% The organisation has an LGBT+ ally program

Employer commitment to LGBT+ programs and policies

100

Source: PwC/OutNEXT: Out to Succeed: Realising the Full Potential of LGBT+ Talent, 2018

Advertising/marketing to the LGBT+ community

95% 87% 84% 78%

Source: PwC/OutNEXT: Out to Succeed: Realising the Full Potential of LGBT+ Talent, 2018

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UPFRONT

HEAD TO HEAD

Would you implement a four-day week? Is reducing working time with no commensurate decrease in salary a winning strategy for improving productivity?

Merryl Dooley Chief people officer Tabcorp

“Tabcorp is a 24/7 business, and rather than the concept of a four-day week we have adopted a flexible approach to work. This is about making changes to when, where and how our employees work to better meet their needs and ours – and this ultimately optimises performance. “We never ask our employees why they would like to work flexibly; our ‘say yes’ approach means we always try to accommodate our employees’ flexible working requests. We know that work is just one part of life, and we trust our employees will always deliver.”

Vicki Leaver

Ashley Winnett

Director, people and organisational development Legal Aid NSW

Executive director, human resources Holden

”We’re in the business of providing legal services to disadvantaged people across NSW; accordingly, both our workforce and organisational systems and structure must be agile to readily respond to client needs. We’re currently reviewing our D&I strategy to prioritise flexible working. Flexible working means many things to many people. We have staff that work using a range of flexible options, including part-time, working from home, adjusted work hours and job sharing. Our leaders understand that our clients come first; however, we can be innovative in how we support our people in balancing client and life demands.”

“No. In my experience, work isn’t only about work – it’s about social connections, teamwork, interactions, ideas, stories, conversations, and friendships forged by working together in teams committed to a common vision. It’s what makes us engaged, driven, and ultimately human. Recently a New Zealand business established a baseline for individual output by allowing employees to decide what to eliminate to provide the exact or greater output across four days for the same pay. It was human interaction that was sacrificed. I’d prefer to work at a business where I didn’t need to sacrifice being human to achieve a day off.”

FITTING FIVE DAYS INTO FOUR Trimming work hours with no drop in pay has been trialled or mandated in many corners of the globe; perhaps the highest-profile recent example is that of Kiwi wills and trust manager Perpetual Guardian, which reported that its four-day work week experiment undertaken earlier this year had resulted in increased productivity. Outside researchers monitored the effect of the reduced 32-hour week on the staff of 240, and employees reported 24% improvement in work-life balance and a propensity to return to work from a day off energised. “Supervisors said staff were more creative, their attendance was better, they were on time, and they didn’t leave early or take long breaks,” said Jarrod Haar, professor of human resource management at Auckland University of Technology. “Their actual job performance didn’t change when doing it over four days instead of five.”

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EXPERT INSIGHT

OPINION

Customer loyalty starts with HR Your people must work in ways that are consistent with the promises you have made to your customers, writes Karen Gately HR HAS a critically important role to play in enabling any organisation to win the confidence of customers and keep them for the long term. The simple reality is that customer loyalty is directly tied to the depth of talent your team offers and ultimately how they choose to behave. Reflect for a moment on how often as a customer have you been left doubting the sincerity of an organisation’s efforts to serve you faithfully. Have you wondered whether some people care at all about doing business with you again in the future? Reflect also on the perceptions you hold of any business, and how the people you have interacted with have influenced your confidence and desire to keep going back. The culture of an organisation has the greatest influence on the quality of customer experience provided, and in turn the depth of loyalty earned. In other words, how people typically think and behave has the biggest influence on customer retention and endorsement. Of course skill and knowledge are important, but no matter how capable your people are, if they behave badly your customers are unlikely to keep coming back. Fundamentally, you need your staff to approach their work in ways that are consistent with the promises you have made to your customers about what they can expect from your company. Take for example the vastly different experiences of flying with Qantas versus Virgin Australia. While the two brands have arguably merged somewhat since Virgin’s push to win more of the business traveller market, 10 years ago the difference was very clear. If you were looking for a professional, somewhat formal or traditional approach to service, it was best to fly with Qantas.

But if having a laugh with staff being a little bit cheeky and pushing conventional boundaries of professionalism was your preference, Virgin was definitely the way to go. HR plays an essential role in supporting leaders’ efforts to build teams of people who bring both the depth of talent and strength of behaviours that will not only win customers but keep them. Following are the most important things HR can do to bring your customer experience vision to life.

approach is likely to undermine customer loyalty, it’s not worth having them on the team. Build awareness. Don’t assume your people understand the things that have the greatest impact on customer engagement. Invest in your own understanding of the touchpoints between your customers and the business, and the opportunities people have on each occasion to make a positive difference. Leverage your onboarding process to ensure that every new team member understands not only who your customers are but also why they come to you and what they expect. Of course, ensure they understand the role they are expected to play but also how other members of the team contribute to delivering the best possible customer experience outcomes. Whether or not members of the team have direct contact with your customers, what they do and how they go about it matters. Take action. All too often organisations espouse values but do little to hold people accountable

HR plays an essential role in building teams of people whose talent and behaviours not only win customers but keep them Define what success looks like. Leverage your organisation’s values to clearly articulate the behaviours needed from every member of the team in order to create desirable customer experiences. Work with leaders across your business to build a clear view of what customer service excellence means and how the team can collectively deliver on those outcomes. Help leaders to see their current reality and what aspects of staff capability or behaviours need to be improved. Get it right from the start. Recruitment is undeniably the backbone of HR strategy. Reflect on how often you have observed leaders hiring people for their technical strengths, despite their inability to behave in ways that are needed. The reality is, it doesn’t matter how clever or qualified someone is; if their

for behaving in line with them. If you observe poor behaviour that is a threat to customer experience or relationships, do something about it. If your team is feeling the undesirable consequences of a colleague’s approach, your customers are likely to be feeling it too. Take for example the team who made complaints of bullying against a senior colleague to their employer. The issue was largely trivialised or ignored until the same team member behaved like a bully when dealing with an elderly customer. Only then was the urgency needed in dealing with the issue understood. Karen Gately is a leadership and people management specialist who works with leaders and HR teams to drive business results through the talent and energy of people. For more information, visit www.ryangately.com.au.

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UPFRONT

NEWS ANALYSIS

The power of data insights Are Orwellian nightmares keeping your employees up at night? Maybe it’s time to start opening up about how you use their data, as the benefits of an authentic people analytics strategy can’t be ignored AS THE way we work changes, there’s one area of HR that continues to make headlines across the globe – people analytics. We seem to be caught in a battle between wanting to harness the power of this invaluable data, and balancing the ethics around employee DNA. But, despite the distinctive Orwellian overtones, one thing is clear: you overlook these advancements at your peril. According to Deloitte’s 2018 Global Human Capital Trends survey, 84% of

Kanungo, innovation strategist and keynote speaker at HRD’s HR Leaders Summit in Toronto. “We are complicated beasts. Workforce issues like retaining, hiring and rewarding professionals have always required a gentle touch. However, if you look under the hood of most HR organisations, some of the most wicked problems are related to data – things like disparate HR systems, lack of consolidated reporting, and understanding how people are truly feeling.

“Businesses need to have open and continuous education about how and where they use people’s data” Shawn Kanungo, founder of Silver employers believe people analytics is important, or very important. Furthermore, 70% of survey respondents claimed that their businesses were in the process of analysing how to integrate data into their overall decision-making strategy. So, what exactly are the overarching benefits of people analytics that so many organisations seem to be buying into? “At the surface, HR has always been focused on humans,” explained Shawn

“The ultimate benefits of people analytics are about sensing what’s going to happen before it happens. It’s not rocket science, but if you have better analytics, then you will fundamentally make better, and faster, decisions. In turn, HR could be way more of a strategic player within an organisation. Instead, many HR groups are perceived as the good folks keeping everyone happy.” The notion that HR, as a function, could begin to work pre-emptively, rather than

curatively, in relation to real-time issues is a revelation to the sector. As the model of HR shifts and evolves, HR leaders are increasingly at the heart of organisational strategy, being consulted on the big-picture issues rather than the personnel side. So, what’s the next logical step in this digital revolution? Kanungo thinks the focus should be on overall integration. “The next evolution of the workplace is about integrating all the beautiful technologies that we already use in our actual lives (instant messaging, productivity apps, social media, voice and automation) in order to create a more connected, seamless work environment,” he said. “I’m bullish on two things: artificial intelligence and voice. Listen, no one starts a business because they said, ‘I can’t wait to write emails all day’, or ‘I want to spend all my time reporting’, or ‘I can’t get enough of copy and pasting into systems’ and ‘Oh boy, do I love meetings and repeating myself all day’. The reason why we start businesses is to delight the

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7 WAYS COMPANIES ARE USING PEOPLE ANALYTICS To source top talent To measure ongoing performance To monitor engagement To improve wellness packages To enhance retention To prepare for succession planning To strengthen culture

humans we serve, and hopefully make money. “Artificial intelligence and voice technology are all about speed and efficiency. As a result, they are two important technologies that will help us double down on the things

of Zandel, said at HRD’s recent HR Tech Summit in Toronto. “There are so many companies out there that invest in people analytics, get the insights, and then forget to measure the

“There are so many companies that invest in people analytics, get the insights, then forget to measure the actual impact” David Green, founder of Zandel that actually matter, like our customers. AI and voice will remove the inefficiencies of our workplace.” But in the face of such impressive emerging technology, the question on many HR leaders’ minds will be how you can actually measure the ROI of people analytics. “You have to start working on the right business problems, the challenges that will have a huge impact on the company, and then measure that impact,” David Green, founder

actual impact. It’s important to tie analytics to business performance – the challenge with HR is looking to see if this alone has a direct impact or there’ve been other factors at play.” This new evolution of the people function is exactly what makes 2018 an exciting time to be in HR. The possibilities of tools such as people analytics are, quite literally, endless. And yet employees are still envisioning a ‘Big Brother’ scenario – so what’s HR doing to quash these concerns?

Deloitte’s report found that 64% of organisations are managing any legal liability when it comes to their employee data. Over half of respondents said they were concerned about how their staff perceived their personal data being used. “Today, in business, you need analytics,” Kanungo said. “It’s imperative. And yes, that requires you to track some of your employees’ data. Having great cybersecurity, controls and data security policies is status quo. However, I think it’s all about engagement. “Businesses need to have open and continuous education about how and where they use people’s data. You will always have people who don’t care about how you use their data, and others who may be deathly afraid of getting a smartphone because they don’t want someone tracking them. Different groups require different engagement strategies. Be prepared with a good communication plan.” The message is clear. Simply do what HR does best and talk to your people.

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UPFRONT

REWARDS AND RECOGNITION NEWS BRIEFS Work-life balance an ‘elusive goal’ in Australia Work-life balance remains an “elusive goal” for Australia’s workers, according to research by Indeed. “Roles advertised using family-friendly or flexible language account for 12.3% of Australian job postings,” said Callam Pickering, economist at Indeed APAC. “But almost a quarter of Australian workers report being overworked,” Pickering said. Australia ranked ninth among OECD countries in which workers put in longer hours of service. “Work-life balance is more complicated than simply total hours worked. It includes policies on such issues as flexible working hours, leave entitlements, and ability to work remotely,” said Pickering.

Media chief returns pay increase amid backlash After being criticised by staff over his pay rise in 2017, Financial Times CEO John Ridding has given back a portion of his £2.6m (US$3.3m) pay package to the FT. The journalists’ union, led by Steve Bird, argued that Ridding’s income rose more than 25% and was “100 times the salary of a trainee journalist” last year. The group said the funds should be allocated to staff with lower salaries. The CEO sent an email to all staff stating he would return US$649,000 from his income, and that he had decided his remuneration should be restructured.

Most employees prefer to work in the morning A recent report from CV-Library found that over half of employees believe the traditional nineto-five concept is entirely outdated and are calling on it to be totally scrapped. Two thirds of staff would prefer hours that reflect their own lifestyles and slot into their natural patterns. The most

productive time of the day for 64.2% of employees was in the morning, followed by the afternoon (20.9%), evening (9.3%) and late at night (5.6%). Lee Biggins, managing director of CV-Library, said: “It’s clear from the data that professionals know their own work patterns and would prefer to tailor their working hours around when they’re at their most productive.”

Restaurant employee awarded $25k scholarship fund A restaurant worker at a US-based Chick-fil-A was surprised at work when company leaders arrived to present her with a $25,000 cheque to pay for her education. Jacqueline Murphy was working in the drive-through section of the outlet when the restaurant operator drove up to present her with the scholarship fund. The reward was given as part of the company’s scholarship program called ‘Remarkable Futures’. The scheme provides a fund of $14.5m to award to hard-working and deserved employees. Murphy said: “You can say I’m blessed. I’m blessed by God, my family. From the prayers and support from my people.”

Aussie employees most unhappy with five-day work week Research by Kronos has found that large numbers of employees in Australia, and around the world, are keen on trialling a four-day work week. The results found that Australians are the least content, globally, with the standard five-day working week but feel strongest about not having enough time in the day to get the job done. In fact, 47% of Australians desire a four-day work week, while feeling the least amount of pressure to work longer hours. Globally, if pay remained constant, one third of workers said their ideal work week would last four days (34%), while 20% said they would work three days a week.

Recognition strategies that make an impact There is often a disconnect between what employers think and what employees are looking for from their organisations In the midst of an ongoing talent war, business leaders are facing yet another hurdle: the global productivity crisis. It’s a question that HR managers ask every day: how do we find, retain, and get the most out of talent? The answer could lie in first considering another question: why do workers feel disengaged and fall behind on productivity? “The root cause of this disengagement can be complex and varied,” Paul Burrin, VP of Sage Business Cloud People, tells HRD. “Our research suggests that there is often a disconnect between what employers think is important as opposed to what employees are looking for from their employers.” This disconnect often leads to people management programs that don’t resonate with employees. “Organisations often emphasise superficial perks and other fringe benefits, like in-office ping-pong or various company outings, as being important for motivation,” says Burrin. “However, employees see more value in working with purpose, being recognised, and feeling valued.” To understand the needs of their people, HR managers can benefit from innovative HCM software solutions that have their finger on the pulse of the workforce. “Technology has largely focused on transactional HR – automating core processes and increasing the productivity of HR teams,” says Burrin. However, with the talent war intensifying, the focus has shifted.

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“New solutions are helping not just HR but managers and leaders across the business create better workforce experiences throughout the employee life cycle, driving engagement and increasing productivity.” It’s easy to be drawn to shiny new tech. But Burrin urges HR and business leaders to think carefully about their HR tech choices, whether these are solutions that automate dated ways of doing things, or that give them more flexibility or the ability to meet changing demands.

“Organisations often emphasise superficial perks. [But] employees see more value in working with purpose, being recognised” A new breed of HCM software options – such as Sage Business Cloud People – use near-real-time data from pulse surveys and other types of employee feedback tools to gain a better understanding of the workforce. “Hidden trends can be revealed, while predictive analytics and augmented intelligence can determine future behaviours through sentiment and intent analytics,” Burrin says. This deeper insight helps HR identify problems of performance and retention, and understand what staff think about the business, their manager, and company leadeship, he adds.

Q&A

Changing culture Jeremy Salter Account director BLACKHAWK NETWORK, HOME TO ACHIEVERS

Fast fact According to its survey report Why Your Workforce Isn’t Working, HCM software company Sage found that more than 66% of respondents viewed employee recognition as the most important element of the employee experience.

What role can recognition play in changing culture? Employee recognition and reward programs provide organisations with both a symbolic and a structural way to change organisational culture. They can amplify leaders, communicate values and provide a process that allows employers to encourage, measure and align behaviours. Modern recognition programs can integrate into all aspects of work and reach more deeply into areas of the organisation where employee behaviours are less visible and harder to measure. While compliance programs can mitigate the risk of the wrong culture by limiting the behaviours of a few, effective recognition programs can change culture by providing a practical way to encourage and measure the right behaviours of all. What are the risks of having the wrong culture? An organisation’s culture can be considered a risk if it encourages, supports or fails to prevent behaviours that do not align with its stated values or purpose. Risks can be financial, legal, regulatory and reputational. Levels of risk are amplified by social media and potential public backlash. The consequences of having the wrong organisational culture can be significant and far-reaching. No organisation is immune. How can an organisation change culture? Attempts to change culture often focus more on the symbolic than the structural; more on the influence of leaders and the internal communication of purpose and values; more on what employees think than the processes and procedures that directly influence behaviour. Focusing on the symbolic is hard: it’s difficult to get into people’s heads and change what they think. And a symbolic approach perhaps exaggerates the trickle-down influence of leaders, ideology and creative newsletters on the everyday attitudes and behaviour of employees. Paying less attention to the underlying mechanics of a culture may be one reason why many change programs fail. To be effective, they must consider the structures and associated systems, processes, procedures and workflows that directly influence the everyday behaviour of employees. This includes how people are organised, how their performance is measured, and how they are rewarded.

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UPFRONT

LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT

Would AI make a better PM than a human? The real value of AI lies in its ability to work alongside humans to relieve work pressure, says OpenText VP

the majority (56%) are convinced their role will never be taken over by automation. This suggests a greater inclination to work alongside robotic or intelligent technology. Mike Lord, vice president, Australia and New Zealand, at OpenText, says an increasing number of Australians are seeing the benefits this will bring to the workplace and our wider lives, including the public sector. “By performing more menial, repetitive tasks, automation and robotics allow us to be more efficient and to save time,” he says, adding that

“AI will transform the workplace … but AI will never replace people” Australia might have just elected a new prime minister and cabinet, but the federal government could evolve even more in the not-too-distant future. A new survey of 1,000 Australians found that 40% predict that AI will enter government within five years. Furthermore, 27% of Australians believe AI would make better decisions than elected government representatives, according to the research by OpenText. This is based on the belief that technologies can help change the speed, reliability and quality of government outcomes, and can assist in creating a more robust public service to help meet citizens’ needs. Survey respondents also recognised the value of intelligent automation in reducing wait times,

NEWS BRIEFS

admin and errors in the public sector. The majority (56%) are convinced the government will work with robots within 10 years. This is higher than in the US (where only 38% think this will occur in the next 10 years) but lower than in the Netherlands, where 73% believe robots will be in the public sector within the next 10 years. The research also found that: • more than one in three Australians (39%) are ready to work alongside a robot • 25% would encourage their employer to leverage robots if it meant reducing their day-to-day admin tasks Only one in 10 respondents (11%) are worried that their job could be replaced by a robot, and

Employers want blend of tech skills, human strengths

Australian employers are increasing investment in ongoing training and offering more schedule flexibility, according to Richard Fischer, MD at ManpowerGroup Australia and New Zealand. Employers say the most difficult skill sets to find require a “blend of both technical skills and human strengths” and are responding with increased training and upskilling. “In addition to ongoing training and ... flexibility, employers need to buy skills where necessary, borrow from external sources and help people with adjacent skills bridge from one role to another,” Fischer said. 12

it’s time to stop viewing AI as an “existential threat” to our livelihoods and our health. “AI will transform the workplace as menial tasks are digitised through robotics and process automation, but AI will never replace people,” Lord says. “The true value of AI lies in its ability to work alongside humans to relieve work pressure, but also in the health system, with the goal of bringing comfort to everyday life.” In February, it was reported that a robot employee had joined Fuji Xerox R&D Square in Japan. Designed to improve employee experience, the ‘social robot’ was part of a threeyear collaboration between the UNSW Creative Robotics Lab and the Fuji Xerox Research Technology Group in Japan. The robot will interact with employees in the workplace and perform administrative and organisational tasks.

Chipotle staff undergo training in food safety US restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill launched a wave of food safety training for employees after nearly 650 customers who ate at one of its restaurants in Ohio fell ill. The training took place across the US at different times to allow for normal business operations to continue. Having faced similar incidents of customers with food-related illness in the past, Chipotle said it had established “stringent food safety standards” with a zero-tolerance policy against violations. “[We] are committed to doing all we can to ensure it does not happen again,” said CEO Brian Niccol.

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Q&A

Chloe Fast Senior people and culture business partner CARSALES.COM.AU

Fast fact The vast majority of large businesses in Australia (88%) have cited AI as the number one driver of business change in the next five years, according to research by Cognizant.

How carsales is driving learning and innovation What are some of the employment training and development opportunities offered by carsales.com.au? At carsales we offer a range of internal and external training and development opportunities for our people. From an internal perspective, we have a large tech workforce within our business, so we’ve run internal coding camps for our people, to engender that interest, knowledge and awareness of tech. We also put on regular ‘expert series’ events, where thought leaders from across the business share their experiences and knowledge with other employees to help them grow professionally. In terms of formal education, carsales also offers an annual CEO Scholarship that provides a carsales team member with the opportunity to invest in their career and personal development. Additionally, carsales supports our people who wish to attend/undertake approved external training courses and events. Some of the most common requests we receive are to attend conferences, like TEDx, leadership courses and professional networking events. For people starting out in their careers, this year we launched a graduate program and brought six paid business and technology graduates into the business for 18 months. At a tertiary level, we’ve been working with Swinburne University and provided a scholarship for

9 out of 10 workers would take orders from a robot

There’s a gap in the way people are adopting AI at home and at work, a study on robots in the workplace showed. Seventy per cent of people rely on some form of intelligent software in their personal lives, according to Oracle and Future Workplace. However, only 6% of HR professionals are proactively implementing AI in the workplace, while only about a quarter of employees are adopting it. The study uncovered how today’s workers are willing to embrace AI in the professional space. In fact, 93% claim they are open to taking orders from a robotic boss.

someone to study a computer science degree, plus we offer internship opportunities for them at carsales. For primary school-aged children, we run Kids Coding Camps during the school holidays, to introduce them to the IT industry, excite them about technology and help them pursue their interest in the field.

Can you tell us a bit about how carsales’ hackathons work? Innovation is at the core of our carsales culture, and our bi-annual hackathons provide a valuable opportunity to bring our people from across the business together, away from the day-to-day business activities, to work with each other to generate ideas to improve carsales, help our consumers and solve business issues. At our most recent hackathon, ideas were presented by 12 teams, and Jason Blackman, our carsales chief information officer, said he could realistically see around half of these ideas being put into production in the near future. Earlier this year, carsales won Best Internal Innovation at the Financial Review’s 2018 Most Innovative Companies Awards, for Cyclops, an image recognition tool, which was an idea born at a recent carsales hackathon and is a great example of what can be achieved when people have the time and freedom to be innovative.

Amazon hits back at performance target claims

Amazon Australia has hit back at claims that workers are under unsustainable pressure to meet performance targets or they will lose their jobs. Among the claims are that those who fall behind in their productivity – taking too long to find items and failing to meet key performance indicators for efficiency – must provide an explanation for the lag. However, an Amazon spokesperson said the accusations were intentionally sensational and demeaning to the hard-working and dedicated people who work at Amazon fulfilment centres and do a great job.

IBM uses AI to predict employee potential

At IBM performance reviews, employees get judged not only on past accomplishments (and failures) but also how they might perform in the future. How can IBM predict the future? In a word: Watson. Using AI, Watson Analytics looks at an employee’s experiences and projects to infer the potential skills and qualities each person might have in the future. Watson also scours IBM’s internal training system to see if an employee has gained new skills. Managers then take Watson’s assessment rating into account as they make bonus, pay and promotion decisions. www.hcamag.com

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PEOPLE

GLOBAL HR LEADER

THE SCIENCE OF BELONGING Aubrey Blanche, global head of diversity and belonging at Atlassian, is changing the definition of diversity SOFTWARE GIANT Atlassian is making a name for itself not only for its emerging technologies but also its overwhelming commitment to inclusion and equality. Head of diversity and belonging Aubrey Blanche tells HRD how her background prepared her for such an intense role, and explains how you can measure the ROI of inclusive hiring. “If I had my way, my title would be a little different,” she says. “Firstly, I’m on a one-woman crusade to get rid of the word ‘diversity’. “Our 2018 State of Diversity report showed that people were more likely to associate underrepresented employees with the word ‘diverse’. There’s this assumption that diversity doesn’t include folks from majority groups. You’ll hear people make remarks like, ‘Oh, I had a diverse candidate in here’ – when there’s no such thing as a ‘diverse’ person. You can be under-represented as an individual but not diverse – only teams are diverse. Instead, we talk about balance and belonging. A lot of companies are focused on the concept of inclusion, but at Atlassian we simply don’t think ‘inclusion’ is good enough.” Blanche likens the phrase to being invited to a party just because other guests have dropped out. To be ‘included’ is like saying, ‘Well, I guess it’s fine you’re here’. And it’s not acceptable, at least not in Blanche’s eyes. “That’s not the party I want to hang out at,” she says. “Let’s focus more on belonging. Everyone can sympathise with that dread of not

being part of something, of feeling unconnected. Compare that to a moment when you’ve felt a part of a team, when you know your colleagues have your back. What’s more, when people feel that way their different perspectives influence not only the work they’re doing but also the products evolving out of it.” Blanche explains that, as a global representative, she’s got her fingers in a lot of pies. “At the highest level, I always define my role as helping Atlassian hire the right people, and then ensuring they can do the best work of their lives here,” she says. “Obviously, this is a nebulous

did involved looking at our recruitment practices and finding that we weren’t actually connecting to all the best people we could. We overhauled the way we assessed potential hires, moving to standardised interviews and away from this notion of ‘culture fit’, which is essentially just an intractable method of unconscious bias. We also broadened our outsourcing to contact more communities. This alone helped us to increase the representation of women, people of colour and older candidates in the last three years. “We’re so excited to say that some of our best progress has centred around our graduate

“You can be under-represented as an individual but not diverse – only teams are diverse. Instead, we talk about balance and belonging” answer. Essentially, my role, because of how we think about belonging here, spans every part of the business. Certainly I deal with the basics, like recruitment and cultural formation, but it spans all the way over to thinking about how our global brands reflect our global customer base.” Blanche works with teams across the business to communicate this message of belonging. “I’ve been here about three years now, and thus far I’ve been working closely with all departments to change the way we think about top talent,” she says. “Some of the earliest work we

program. This year, 43% of our technical graduates across the globe identified as female – across Australia and the US. We’re seeing similar growth patterns in our hiring of underrepresented people across all experience levels.” Blanche’s enthusiasm for this ‘science of belonging’ is infectious. Her personal background shaped this path she’s on to help Atlassian, and by extension other businesses, embrace the shifting zeitgeist. “I always say I’m a quadruple minority,” she says. “An LGBT Latino woman with multiple

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PROFILE Name: Aubrey Blanche Company: Atlassian Position: Global head of diversity and belonging Number of years in the industry: 10+ Fun fact: Aubrey was once an amateur opera singer – she’s also a ‘speed racer’

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PEOPLE

GLOBAL HR LEADER disabilities. So, when you’re under-represented yourself, there’s a real passion there. I’ve been so incredibly lucky in my life to get a good education, to travel, to work at incredible companies. “My guiding principles come down to sharing opportunities to create easy access for others. What drives me to stay is the enthusiasm I see around me every day. I have the title ‘head of ’, but in reality it takes hundreds of my colleagues to help bring this important work to life. And you can’t help but feel amazing when you see all these fantastic ideas coming out of your employee base.” Prior to joining Atlassian, Blanche took an academic route. She says her foray into a software giant came about rather untraditionally. “I began as a journalist and ended up as an academic researcher,” she says. “I was studying political science whilst also researching social science and international securities. I left the graduate program and accidentally wandered

it’s ethically and morally the right thing to do to promote an equal workplace, costs do need to be factored in, especially when measuring ROI. “Doing direct causal identification isn’t always possible,” Blanche says. “We don’t know that one investment led to one particular dollar that Atlassian made. But what we do know is that building more balanced teams is a catalyst for greater innovation. “[Social scientist] Scott Page showed that diverse or balanced teams are more likely to find the solutions to prevalent problems, and the individual members of those teams actually become smarter in the process. For example, we recently went through a big brand overhaul. The team that worked on the illustrations and images were incredibly diverse. And now, for the first time, our brand reflects the diversity of our global customers. That was a gap for us in the past. Now they’ve taken to including racial diversity, cultural

“Research shows that when you believe your organisation is a meritocracy, you’re actually more likely to make biased or discriminatory decisions” into the technology industry. And I fell in love with this emerging sector. “Originally, I felt incredibly isolated. As a Latino woman in tech, well, quite frankly, there just aren’t enough of us. I found myself asking why everyone around me seemed to match. People would say, ‘We’re a meritocracy; we don’t want to lower the bar’. But coming from my social science background I knew this wasn’t true. It’s mathematically impossible for the tech industry to be a meritocracy. Balanced teams are the outcomes of having equal assessments of talent. “I became really interested in the problem and was lucky enough to be with a company that allowed me to run a few of my own experiments on my hypotheses. I started optimising recruitment processes within the company to ensure they were hiring the right folks.” This commitment to investment in diversity doesn’t come cheap, Blanche says. And while

diversity, age and body size to ensure all of our customers are represented through us.” While Blanche is optimistic about the state of belonging in her tech company, there’s no denying the sector as a whole has a long way to go yet. “Some of the biggest issues in the technology sector stem from the underlying beliefs the industry has around talent,” she says. “This makes them so much less likely to appreciate and value the contributions from candidates coming from these under-represented backgrounds. The tech industry believes it’s a meritocracy, when in fact this couldn’t be further from the truth.” Blanche says MIT research shows that when you believe your organisation is a meritocracy, you’re actually more likely to make biased or discriminatory decisions. “The sector overall has a very fixed mindset. Studies have found that companies which exhibit a strongly fixed mindset have significantly less representation of women,

ATLASSIAN’S STATE OF DIVERSITY STUDY Key findings of Atlassian’s study include: • 80% of employees agree that diversity and inclusion is important • There’s been a decrease in individual participation in diversity year over year • Move than 40% believe their companies’ inclusion initiatives need no improvement • Less than 30% of under-represented groups boast a sense of belonging at work • 71% of executives believe inclusion is important to their company • 33% of employees believe individuals have the most impact on improving diversity and inclusion ethnic minorities and older workers. So, because the industry believes you’ve got to be a savant in engineering, when engineering is a skill that can be learned just like any other, they undervalue diverse candidates. The technology culture is very exclusive and unpleasant for a lot of people who don’t match the tech stereotype.” Essentially, it can be difficult for candidates to see themselves in the tech industry if they don’t look like Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs. Those are the myths we continue to tell ourselves about who’s a technologist, according to Blanche. “At Atlassian we encourage contributions of under-represented people because we want everyone to imagine themselves as building the future. The best way to do this is to show them who’s a part of it right now – which isn’t just one type of person. “For us, it always comes back to our values. Before I joined, I thought it was corporate spiel, but I’ve been amazed to hear the values being cited day in, day out. We want our employees to go out of their way to help the people around them, whilst also having fun. Having a respectful, positive environment in a culture is something the industry needs to be mindful about.”

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EXPERT INSIGHT

EMPLOYEE WELLBEING

The time has come for EAP 2.0 More effective support of psychological wellbeing requires a new approach to EAPs, says Paul Flanagan EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS are well accepted in Australia. Employees expect their organisations to have an EAP, and HR/WHS staff see it as a useful referral point when an employee is distressed or has significant personal issues. Nevertheless, I have found that many HR leaders express dissatisfaction with EAPs today. While HR leaders are well aware of the increasing importance of addressing mental health and wellbeing issues, they do not see their EAPs as providing a coordinated, holistic program that addresses psychological wellbeing. Indeed, many report problems with their EAPs’ basic service response, do not see them as making an impact on the prevalence of problems, or find that they are too disconnected from HR/WHS and have simply become ‘a counselling service’. As a result, some organisations have looked beyond EAP counselling to separately address psychological wellbeing through presentations, information pieces and training programs on resilience, depression, CBT, mindfulness, mental health, etc. While these may raise awareness, they are neither strategic nor systematic approaches to sustainably supporting psychological wellbeing or managing psychological risk effectively.

An integrated approach There are a few reasons why EAP hasn’t taken an integrated approach to supporting psychological wellbeing. As EAP providers have become larger, to juggle volume they have tended to narrow their focus and lose the capacity to adapt to changing needs. At the same time, organisations in other service sectors have seen EAP as

a ‘counselling service’ that they could also provide, without fully understanding how a quality EAP operates and what that requires. Thirdly, and more fundamentally, how EAP programs are structured and how EAPs operate has not changed in many years. In short, while psychological wellbeing is more important than ever, EAPs have stood still, or regressed, to commonly become a reactive counselling service. Although we now have a greater understanding of psychological wellbeing

What makes EAP 2.0 different? EAP 2.0 is preventive as well as remedial. It doesn’t simply focus on psychological problems and mental ill-health; it addresses the ‘causes of wellbeing’, the factors that promote wellbeing and those that damage it, sometimes to the point of distress or dysfunction. It focuses on causes, not just symptoms. EAP 2.0 is proactive as well as responsive; it doesn’t assume that those who need professional help will use their initiative and seek help. (Research we’ve conducted showed that that is not a safe assumption to make.) And for employees who are inclined to seek help, by the time they do their psychological condition has often worsened to the point where they need significant help, with a less certain outcome. EAP 2.0 has a strong proactive component working along with a responsive component. EAP 2.0 is engaging, relevant and useful for all employees, not only those who see themselves as having a ‘problem’. To effectively support wellbeing, EAP 2.0 addresses the different types of wellbeing needs. The factors impacting on psychological wellbeing vary across employees,

EAP 2.0 incorporates the core elements of a traditional EAP but also leverages advances in psychology, program design and technology than 30 years ago, along with significant advances in psychological tools, interventions and technology, traditional EAPs have not changed; they haven’t adapted to take these advances on board. In my view, a contemporary and significantly better EAP – ‘EAP 2.0’ – incorporates core elements of a traditional EAP but also leverages advances in psychology, program design and technology to better engage the workforce, proactively support wellbeing, and identify and manage psychological/psychosocial risk. These advances need to be fully integrated into the essence of what the program is and does, and how the program functions for employees, not other, disconnected, one-off initiatives.

so an inclusive program that resonates with all (or at least most) employees would address this. EAP 2.0 is engaging because it’s relevant. The traditional EAP, when done well, can be a useful service that deals with employee issues as they occur. However, more effective support of psychological wellbeing in a proactive and preventive way that better manages risk needs a new approach to EAPs. Paul Flanagan, founder of Life Street, has over 30 years’ experience as a clinical and organisational psychologist working with employers and their employees. He was previously a founder of Davidson Trahaire Corpsych and EAPAA.

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EXPERT INSIGHT

Brought to you by

PAYMENTS

The future of payments Workers are expecting faster and better access to their wages and other payments. Here’s what this could mean for your organisation and employees CHANGE IN the workplace is as inevitable as new smartphone technology and will be a constant for us as we continue to transform our businesses. In fact, the entire economy is undergoing a transformation. The way we get paid and the way we work is changing quickly. The number of companies using contingent and freelance workers is increasing and creating a new opportunity for innovative solutions to organise, coordinate and pay them.

The future of pay Mobile payments offer opportunities and disruptions that will affect organisations large and small. Your payments strategy needs to account for these major technological and demographic shifts so your business can concurrently meet both your clients’ and workers’ needs. At a high level, a sound payment strategy should be a solution in three areas. Speed: How quickly the pay is delivered. Accuracy: Workers need to trust that their pay equals their full entitlements. Engagement: How we engage workers and help them manage their money.

Speed Workers have growing expectations of faster access to their wages and other payments. These are driven largely by millennials, who by 2022 will represent 50% of the Australian workforce and have considerable influence on how employers treat their employees. Millennials have heightened technological expectations and understand the immediacy that technology delivers. You can see the influence of millennials in the gig economy. They are largely behind the wide-

spread implementation of on-demand pay. Fintechs are also enabling workers to immediately access part of their earned but unpaid wages so they can handle emergencies and other unexpected expenses before their regular payday. The introduction of the New Payments Platform and government policy enabling the growth of fintechs in Australia is reimagining the ways that payments flow through our systems.

Engagement Employers increasingly want to make financial wellness part of their employee engagement efforts. There is a focus on helping with more tactical day-to-day financial offerings like bill payments, savings accounts, budgeting, etc. At the same time, they have a willing workforce. Millennials are frustrated with traditional banks. According to the KPMG 2017 Banking of the Future report, 84% would consider banking with a tech giant. We’ve seen rapid growth of payment alternatives, like Afterpay, as more people look for help to ‘save them from themselves’ with respect to financial planning.

Rethinking what it means to ‘pay’ At ADP we’ve been rethinking the role of payroll. We are speaking to businesses and thought leaders about the groundbreaking work they are doing. Our first conversation was with Buffer (a social media management company), which has taken a radical approach to pay transparency by publishing employees’ salaries and

The payroll landscape is increasingly complex. Transparency is critical to ensuring trust that pay equals entitlements Accuracy The payroll landscape is increasingly complex. Transparency between workers and the employer is critical to ensuring trust that pay equals entitlements. There is no shortage of examples of where this trust has broken down: the Fair Work Ombudsman compliance audits uncovered a 30% rate of non-compliance with monetary obligations (May 2018 address to the Annual National Policy Influence Reform conference). Non-compliance has a damaging impact on workers and employers alike. Increased visibility through government initiatives like Single Touch Payroll means that payroll systems and processes need your increased focus. You can take steps to better transparency by using employee self-service tools as part of your payroll solution; these communicate pay details simply and visually. The better ones compare details over multiple pay periods.

its unique salary calculation formula on its website. Buffer’s approach of radical transparency is a way of identifying talent that fits – if you don’t want your salary published then you’re self-selecting to not fit with its cultural values.

Navigating change Leaders should do all they can to stay out in front of the digital payment evolution. By investing in technologies that can help further engage their employees, finance and HR leaders can help their organisations navigate the digital transformations necessary to clear a path towards innovation, growth and, ultimately, sustained success. This article has been adapted from ADP’s Spark publication. 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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EXPERT INSIGHT

Brought to you by

EMPLOYMENT LAW

Need to know: Casual employees Luis Izzo advises businesses to review their contracts with casual employees after court ruling gives them new entitlements

IN A huge development for businesses that employ casual staff, the Federal Court ruled in August that certain casual employees were entitled to paid annual leave under the Fair Work Act. The ramifications of this decision are huge, particularly for businesses that rely heavily on casuals.

· notice of termination · redundancy pay In other words, while the employee might be a ‘casual’ for the purposes of a modern award or enterprise agreement, it will not mean they are a casual for the purposes of the NES. Even more alarming was the Court’s finding that an employee can initially meet the definition of a casual but can then ‘morph’ into

What you should do Review the use of casual employment in your business, particularly where the arrangement involves long-term, regular work patterns. For those employees, offer conversion to permanent employment wherever practical. Take steps to mitigate your exposure through well-drafted employment contracts that include clearly defined casual loading provisions and

The court ruling Most awards and enterprise agreements simply describe a casual employee as one “paid and engaged as such”. Until very recently the Fair Work Commission held that, provided an employee was called a ‘casual’ and paid a casual loading, they could legitimately be considered casual, notwithstanding their actual pattern of work. However, in the recent Full Federal Court decision of Skene v Workpac, the Court found that where employees have regular work patterns over an extended period of time, those employees may in fact be considered permanent, notwithstanding the description the parties have given of the relationship, and notwithstanding that the casuals have been paid a casual loading. This means the employees will be entitled to a range of benefits under the National Employment Standards (NES), including: · annual leave · paid personal/carer’s leave · other forms of paid leave

Your business may be exposed to claims for back payment from both current and former employees who may have been engaged on a casual basis a permanent employee at some later point during their employment, which would then trigger an obligation to provide them with leave and other benefits.

What you need to know Your business may be exposed to claims for back payment from both current and former employees who may have been engaged on a casual basis but worked on a long-term, regular or predictable basis. This could include claims for up to six years of unpaid annual leave as well as payments upon termination of their employment.

set-off clauses to maximise your ability to recover any payments made in error, should the casual employee seek to claim unpaid leave entitlements. Seek expert advice on how this latest employment standard ruling may affect your business. Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors (ABLA) was voted #1 Employment and Workplace law firm of the year. If this article has caused concern for your business, call Luis Izzo, managing director, on 1300 565 846.

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LIAN A R T AUS

WINNERS REVEALED

2018

Nominations poured in from across the country to make this the most exciting Australian HR Awards yet. Let’s take a look at the winners from the big night …

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Event partner

Financial Wellbeing Program

CELEBRATING THE industry professionals who strive for excellence every day, the 2018 Australian HR Awards were held on 7 September at a star-studded gala at Sydney’s The Star. Sponsored by Ironfish, the long-awaited event hosted hundreds of the industry’s top professionals, who enjoyed a red-carpet affair with champagne, firstclass entertainment from band Furnace and the Fundamentals and the magnetic personality of celebrity host Natalie Bassingthwaighte. The 20 award categories cut a wide swathe across the HR sector, with both the celebration and the impressive turnout speaking to the hard work and dedication of HR professionals across the nation. Among the big winners were Katie Dunne of Merlin Entertainments, who picked up the Ironfish HR Manager of the Year award, and the crew at TAL, who won the award for Ironfish HR Team of the Year (>1000 employees). The coveted Davidson Australian HR Director of the Year trophy went to Christian Campanella of Pernod Richard Winemakers, and the Hays Australian Champion of Change of the Year was Claire Vissenga of Family Planning Victoria. Want to find out who the other winners were – and what they had to say about their big achievements? Keep reading…

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AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS WINNERS 2O18 HRD AWARD FOR BEST WORKPLACE FLEXIBILITY PROGRAM WINNER MSD Australia

FINALISTS Colin Biggers & Paisley Lawyers EY Family Planning Victoria L'Oreal Australia Melbourne Water Corporation MSD Australia Roche Products WE Buchan

WITH ZERO EMPLOYEE applications for flexible working declined, no qualifying period for eligibility, and 92% of employees agreeing they have the flexibility to balance their work and their lives, MSD Australia is a standout for Best Workplace Flexibility Program.

“It’s a privilege to work in an organisation where we put people at the forefront of all our decisions, whether they be employees or the patients we serve. Flexibility helps people be their best, and be their best at work in whatever circumstances.” LISA ONSLEY MSD HR director

While some companies tolerate requests for flexible working, MSD celebrates flexibility; it even designed its head office around flexibility. Encouraging all employees to “bring your whole self” to work has led to lower-than-industry turnover and extremely high levels (88%) of employee satisfaction, MSD says.

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Event partner Financial Wellbeing Program

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AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS WINNERS 2O18 CONVERGE INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR BEST HEALTH AND WELLBEING PROGRAM WINNER Commonwealth Bank of Australia

HIGHLY COMMENDED Bechtel HR Team, Wheatstone LNG Project

FINALISTS

THE COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA has a diverse workforce that spans the globe. Its health and wellbeing journey was recently transformed as it recognised the need to educate, raise awareness and help its people thrive at work and at home, in order to be the best they could be. Its aim: to develop solutions in line with its values and continue to support the physical and mental health and wellbeing of employees – an essential contributor to the bank’s success. “Winning feels fantastic. It’s awesome recognition for all the hard work that the team and the organisation have put into the health and wellbeing of our people. It’s fantastic recognition.”

Deloitte Australia

“We look at the whole of the person ... we want people to bring their best selves to work both psychologically and physically … each is just as important as the other.”

Peoplecare

BEN SHEIDOW

Rockend Technology Pty Ltd

Head of health, safety and wellbeing, Commonwealth Bank

Accor Hotels, Sydney Olympic Park Bechtel HR Team, Wheatstone LNG Project Brisbane Airport Corporation Pty Ltd Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Virgin Australia

PROUDLY SPONSORED BY

CONVERGE INTERNATIONAL are proud of our six decades of leadership in employee wellbeing; we are a pioneer in the delivery of mental health and wellness programs to workplaces in Australia and overseas. Our expertise lies in supporting organisations to manage risk, boost employee engagement and promote positive mental health. For more information, visit www.convergeinternational.com.au

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Event partner Financial Wellbeing Program

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AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS WINNERS 2O18 BEST LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM WINNER MinterEllison

FINALISTS Adshel Coles Liquor Deloitte Australia

AT MINTERELLISON, its people are encouraged to be their own career architects by learning through experience, exposure to others and program participation. The firm’s learning and development program is aligned to its strategy: to be its clients’ best partner and be recognised as a provider of innovative solutions, underpinned by an agile and high-performance culture.

“This is terrific for our firm.” FIONA GLENDINNING Chief experience ofﬁcer, MinterEllison

Edwards Lifesciences Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) L'Oreal Australia MinterEllison

“It’s also great for our people to see that what we’re offering and what we’re delivering to them is something that’s being acknowledged externally.” And there is still more to be done. “We’re finishing rolling out the program to the rest of the firm and looking at phase two and how we can deliver a better client experience to our very important and valued clients.”

BEST HR TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY WINNER Youi

FINALISTS Claim Central Consolidated Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) Merivale MyBudget Nintex Nova Entertainment Xero Australia Youi

IN 2017, Youi added ‘recognition’ as a company value. It’s something it has been passionate about for ages, so the company officially made it part of who it is by including it as one of its six core values. To support its brand-new value, Youi created an online game using its very own gamification platform for all Youi employees – branding it YourGame. The platform engages its employees, celebrates its culture and provides awesome business benefits.

“It was a great honour to be nominated.” IVAN PIERCE Chief people ofﬁcer, Youi “It’s a very proud moment for our team. We built our own system, our own platform, from scratch, so there’s a lot of creativity and hard work that went into that. “This is such a huge event and it’s just amazing to be here with the best of the best in their industries.”

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Event partner Financial Wellbeing Program

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AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS WINNERS 2O18 JOBACCESS AWARD FOR BEST WORKPLACE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION PROGRAM WINNER Unilever ANZ

FINALISTS Brown-Forman Australia Energy Queensland ISS Facility Services Philips Australia & New Zealand QinetiQ TAL The Star Entertainment Group Unilever ANZ PROUDLY SPONSORED BY

UNILEVER has a long-standing commitment to all forms of diversity, and equality is embedded in the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, which sits at the core of the company’s business. It aims to be the frontrunner in building an inclusive organisation where all individuals feel safe, valued and supported. Leading-edge initiatives like normalising flexible work, supporting carers, removing unconscious biases, strong leadership and role modelling have helped Unilever achieve this. The results speak for themselves, as women account for 52% of management roles and the company’s annual D&I survey shows that over 80% of employees agree that Unilever has an inclusive culture.

“It feels very good to win. The team’s done an amazing job and I’m incredibly proud of the fact that I could stand up tonight to get an award for the team.” CLIVE STIFF CEO, Unilever ANZ

JOBACCESS is the national hub for workplace and employment information for people with disability, employers and service providers. JobAccess provides free and confidential information through a comprehensive, easy-to-use website and telephone service. Contact JobAccess today for helpful advice about financial support, workplace modifications, flexible work environments and a range of other tools and resources for employers. For more information, visit www.jobaccess.gov.au

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Event partner Financial Wellbeing Program

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AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS WINNERS 2O18 BEST CHANGE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY WINNER City of Canterbury Bankstown

FINALISTS City of Canterbury Bankstown Coles Supermarkets

SINCE MAY 2016, City of Canterbury’s Change Management Strategy has guided the amalgamation of Bankstown and Canterbury Councils – seen as controversial by many – to create a new culture and the City of Canterbury Bankstown. The strategy is underpinned by a philosophy of ‘putting people at the heart of what they do’ and its approach has involved employees in creating change together. Significant progress has been achieved towards the government’s objectives to merge, find efficiencies, reduce costs and improve services to the community. Furthermore, it has increased the level of employee advocacy by 30 points, indicating great progress towards creating a new culture and organisation.

Energy Queensland

“It feels awesome to win this award.”

ghd Hair

SIMONE COOKES

LION

Director people and performance, City of Canterbury Bankstown

RACQ Roche Products Singleton Council

“We’ve wanted this award for a couple of years so I’m really proud of the team whose hard work got us here. We’ve just merged two pretty big councils into one very, very big council. And to do that without any major dramas is a pretty big achievement for the HR team. “I think this event is a great opportunity for HR professionals to take a breath and celebrate some really awesome work that’s going on in the community.”

BEST GRADUATE DEVELOPMENT WINNER Honeywell

FINALISTS AMP Colin Biggers & Paisley Lawyers Commonwealth Bank of Australia Honeywell icare Nestlé Pernod Ricard Winemakers Queensland Government Chief Information Office (QGCIO)

THE HONEYWELL graduate program is designed to provide participants with an accelerated leadership and development opportunity. This is achieved through providing challenging and meaningful assignments with great learning opportunities within a planned and supported personal development program. Graduates focus on gaining key technical knowledge and skills, business knowledge, as well as developing their leadership skills. Honeywell’s 90% graduate retention rate, testimonials and participants’ career achievements clearly highlight the success of their program in developing future business leaders.

“We’re really proud to be here tonight.” CAROLINE BOSCH HR director Paciﬁc, Honeywell “The platform of our leadership is all about our early career program. We have seven leaders in fact here with us tonight who’ve come off their graduate program and the apprentice program, and it’s really the backbone of our leadership pipeline. “I think this event is fantastic to get us all together from an industry standpoint. It’s something we’re really proud to be part of.”

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Event partner Financial Wellbeing Program

BEST RECRUITMENT CAMPAIGN WINNER VetPartners Australia

FINALISTS Aegis Services Australia Colin Biggers & Paisley Lawyers Commonwealth Bank of Australia Glencore Agriculture/Viterra Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) The Star Entertainment Group VetPartners Virgin Australia

FOUNDED IN 2016, VetPartners has quickly grown to become one of the leading veterinary hospital groups across Australasia, with over 120 veterinary hospitals. At VetPartners, recruitment and retention of quality candidates are key capabilities it is focused on developing to support its growing network. Its international recruitment strategies and campaign brands Vets Abroad and Project Boomerang are crucial parts of its recruitment strategy to attract untapped talent to work in Australasia with excellent success, and to ensure its clinical teams are well staffed with experienced veterinary professionals.

“The company is 14 months into the campaign, which is a different way of recruiting, and I’m very proud to be winning this [award].” DEREK DEL SIMONE Recruitment director, VetPartners Australia and New Zealand

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AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS WINNERS 2O18 ACHIEVERS AWARD FOR BEST REWARD AND RECOGNITION PROGRAM WINNER Youi

FINALISTS Assetlink Dexus Employsure InfoTrack Rockend Technology Pty Ltd

IN 2017, Youi added ‘recognition’ as a company value. It’s something it has been passionate about for ages, so Youi officially made it part of who it is by including it as one of its six core values. To support its brand-new value, the company created an online game – its very own gamification platform for all Youi employees, branded YourGame. YourGame engages Youi’s people, celebrates its culture and provides awesome business benefits.

“It’s been a lot of hard work and we’re all really, really proud.” BEK SAULTRY Employee engagement ofﬁcer, Youi

Siemens Limited Youi

“I think it really came down to listening to what our employees really wanted and making sure they were engaged in what they’re meant to do.”

PROUDLY SPONSORED BY

ACHIEVERS – Our mission is to change the way the world works. Our Employee Success Platform is specifically designed to drive higher levels of employee engagement. As part of Blackhawk Network, we are a global leader in enterprise employee recognition and reward solutions. For more information, visit www.achievers.com

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Event partner Financial Wellbeing Program

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AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS WINNERS 2O18 BEST LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM WINNER Hollard

FINALISTS Adshel Coca-Cola Amatil

HOLLARD is a challenger brand within the insurance market. Investing in its leaders is a strategic imperative to support the company’s rapid growth and maintain its competitive advantage. Hollard has created a three-pillar leadership framework consisting of leadership fundamentals, insights and aspirations. It also has several standalone leadership programs to enable the growth of its employees. The company’s targeted investment in leadership has resulted in retention of key talent, significant internal promotion, continued high engagement and a strong environment of diversity, while supporting its continued growth.

Flight Centre Travel Group

“It’s just an amazing experience to get the recognition Hollard deserves for our leadership programs.”

Hollard Insurance

ROWENA FRASER

icare

Organisational development manager, Hollard

Deloitte Australia

Johnson & Johnson Rio Tinto Westpac Banking Group

“We’ve focused over the last five years on really building a strong foundation for leadership, focusing on our frontline leadership, our young and ambitious high-potentials, and our executive team and how we develop our future executives for Hollard.”

EMPLOYER OF CHOICE (PUBLIC SECTOR AND NFP) WINNER HomeStart Finance

FINALISTS CanTeen Family Planning Victoria HomeStart Finance KU Children's Services Maari Ma Health Aboriginal Corporation Merri Health Peoplecare

HOMESTART contributes to “building a stronger South Australia” by creating affordable places to live and providing innovative home loans that enable customers to buy their own homes. Its people are driven by a strong sense of purpose, and every one of its employees strives to achieve HomeStart’s reason for being: making homeownership a reality for more people in more ways. Culture is integral to how HomeStart performs as an organisation, and it therefore strives to create an achievement culture in which its people bring the best of themselves to work every day.

“We’re absolutely delighted to win.” MAREE MCAULEY Head of people and performance, HomeStart Finance “My team is absolutely passionate about what we do. Our primary purpose is to get people into homeownership every day. And the way we can do that is to have a really happy and engaged workforce and create an environment where they can thrive.”

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Event partner Financial Wellbeing Program

EMPLOYER OF CHOICE (1–99 EMPLOYEES) WINNER INS

HIGHLY COMMENDED Excite Holidays

FINALISTS Carman's Excite Holidays ghd Hair GO1 INS PD Training Richard Lloyd Recruitment WE Buchan

INS is a specialist organisation providing practical people management solutions that align people, processes and structure to create workforces for the future. For INS, harnessing the skills and wellbeing of employees is critical to delivering on corporate objectives. Whether through recruitment, restructures or career progression, it is people who hold the keys to business success.

“I think from day one we have been an organisation that has cared about our people and our clients, and it’s people first every step of the way – you care for your people; they take care of your clients.” SOPHIA SYMEOU CEO, INS INS fought off tough competition from a variety of strong finalists to scoop the prize for Employer of Choice (1–99 employees).

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AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS WINNERS 2O18 PEOPLESCOUT AWARD FOR EMPLOYER OF CHOICE (100-999 PEOPLE) WINNER MSD

FINALISTS Adshel BPAY Group

MSD has outstanding leadership, employee engagement and benefits. Ninety-nine per cent of employees are proud of the products offered by the company, 89% say they have confidence in senior management decisions, and 95% of employees would put in a great deal of effort to help MSD succeed. Key to MSD’s success is respect and trust – this is evident in its policies on flexible working, diversity and inclusion, learning and development and talent identification, its wellbeing and total rewards program and lower-than-industry turnover. It is truly an Employer of Choice.

Dexus

“It’s amazing.”

Employsure

KRISTY MONTAGUE

hipages Group MSD Australia NOVA Entertainment PHD Australia Rockend Technology

Senior HR manager, MSD

“We’ve had some great finalists this year. I think what sets us apart is that we really invest in people bringing their whole selves to work, and that differentiates what we can offer to people which is unique to each individual.” PROUDLY SPONSORED BY

Sydney Airport

PEOPLESCOUT, a TrueBlue company, is a Total Workforce Solution provider trusted by businesses around the world for Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), Managed Service Provider (MSP) and blended programs. PeopleScout provides cost-effective delivery of scalable, integrated and highly customised recruitment solutions to more than 70 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.peoplescout.com

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Event partner Financial Wellbeing Program

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AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS WINNERS 2O18 O.C. TANNER | ACCUMULATE AWARD FOR EMPLOYER OF CHOICE (>1,000 EMPLOYEES) WINNER Deloitte Australia

FINALISTS ALDI Stores Assetlink Campbell Arnott's Deloitte Australia

DELOITTE’S purpose is to make an impact that matters, for its people, clients and community. The company is creating a positively differentiated work experience that enables its employees to achieve their full potential. Deloitte aims to not only be a great place to work but also a place to be your best self, by enabling its people to make an impact that matters for the community, building a culture of inclusivity based on respect and fairness, encouraging its people to bring their whole selves to work, and a commitment to helping its people feel emotionally, physically, spiritually and mentally supported.

“Winning this is awesome.” CONNIE HANSEN

Flight Centre Travel Group

Partner, leadership and learning, Deloitte

Merlin Entertainments

“This is a massive team effort. We’re so proud of this. We’ve had a lot of categories tonight so I think this is the one that really means a lot to everyone in the team. [HR’s purpose is] about making an impact that matters to our people, the community and our clients. That makes a huge difference.”

Nestlé TAL The Star Entertainment Group

PROUDLY SPONSORED BY

O.C. TANNER | ACCUMULATE – Formerly operating as Accumulate, we help many of Australia’s largest companies understand how to use recognition and appreciation to influence great work. Now backed by the insights, experience and scale of the O.C. Tanner Company, which serves thousands of clients in 150+ countries, we are better positioned than ever to help our clients inspire and connect their people, and build great workplaces cultures. For more information, visit octanner.com/au

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Event partner Financial Wellbeing Program

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AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS WINNERS 2O18 HAYS AWARD FOR AUSTRALIAN HR TEAM OF THE YEAR (<1,000 EMPLOYEES) WINNER Employsure

FINALISTS Carsales.com Employsure ghd Hair Greyhound Australia InfoTrack MSD Australia Nova Entertainment Ooh!media PHD Australia Xero Australia

THE EMPLOYSURE HR team have hired over 447 people across the Australian and New Zealand business in the last 12 months. They have also been responsible for a time-to-fill across all of their roles of nine days, increasing overall engagement by 7% and decreasing attrition by 4% in the last 12 months. They have received an 85% high-engagement score in the company’s annual survey administered through AON Hewitt, and created and delivered a Diversity and Inclusion committee following the plebiscite in 2017. Michael Morris, head of talent at Employsure, said: “I have two main goals: hiring great people and making people greater. I have an amazing team that work at Employsure so [winning this is] a good representation of what they’ve done this year.”

“We’ve got a people first strategy and it’s really focusing on making them better every single day, and that’s what got us here today.” MICHAEL MORRIS Head of talent, Employsure

PROUDLY SPONSORED BY

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

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Event partner Financial Wellbeing Program

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AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS WINNERS 2O18 IRONFISH AWARD FOR AUSTRALIAN HR TEAM OF THE YEAR (>1,000 EMPLOYEES) WINNER TAL

FINALISTS Australian Unity BlueCross | SapphireCare Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) Merlin Entertainments Peabody Australia TAL The Star Entertainment Group Virgin Australia

PROUDLY SPONSORED BY

IN THE last 12 months the people and culture team at TAL have made a significant contribution to the business through a number of high-impact initiatives and programs, making a positive and measurable difference to their people. TAL’s Purpose, Ambition, Priorities and Spirit initiative has captured the long-term vision of the business, setting a clear strategy and goals and describing how it is going to make the vision a reality. The success of this work truly demonstrates the passion and spirit of the people and culture team. Ceri Ittensohn, chief people and culture officer at TAL, said: “I think in the last year we have really helped the business articulate what its purpose is … the HR team has played such a key role in helping the business to be clear about our purpose and to create an environment where great people choose to join, choose to stay and give their best for our customers, our partners and our business every day.”

“The team is so connected to the value of what we do as a company – to really make a difference to our customers and our partners...” CERI ITTENSOHN Chief people and culture ofﬁcer, TAL

IRONFISH plays a key role in the Australian property market as a leading property investment services company in Australia and China. We support our investors in acquiring a diversified property portfolio, backed by the confidence of the latest research, personalised strategies and quality investment opportunities. Central to our philosophy is our commitment to partnership – we’re in this together, and for the long term. We have one of Australia’s largest VIP investor databases, which helps to deliver a high settlement rate for our properties of over 99% in recent years. For more information, visit www.ironfish.com.au

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Event partner Financial Wellbeing Program

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AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS WINNERS 2O18 AUSTRALIAN HR RISING STAR OF THE YEAR WINNER Ashlee Hodson City of Canterbury Bankstown

HIGHLY COMMENDED Lauren Raven, Harris Scarfe

FINALISTS Christine Chen Merlin Entertainments

Heidi Gelmi, Honeywell Ashlee Hodson City of Canterbury Bankstown

Maria Karatsinidis, Viterra Operations Namita Kedar, Australian Unity Melanie Kleinoth Family Planning Victoria

Emelie Kusoffsky, John Holland Lauren Raven, Harris Scarfe Linda Tran Retail Ready Operations Australia (Coles)

Luke Turner Corporate Technology Services

“My approach has been underpinned by a philosophy of ‘putting people at the heart of what we do’, and the concept that ‘people will support what they help to create’.” ASHLEE HODSON HR business partner, City of Canterbury Bankstown

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Event partner Financial Wellbeing Program

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AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS WINNERS 2O18 IRONFISH AWARD FOR AUSTRALIAN HR MANAGER OF THE YEAR WINNER Katie Dunne Merlin Entertainments

DURING her time at Merlin Entertainments, Katie Dunne’s role has grown from NSW HR manager to senior HR manager and now head of HR manager ANZ. She cites as her greatest achievement the growth of her team – both in size and capability.

Dominic Price

“The key to our success in our business is getting in and understanding the people we are working with, making sure we get out to the frontline of what we do. We also have fun in what we do, which is really important.”

Atlassian

KATIE DUNNE

Shannan Quain

Head of HR manager, ANZ

FINALISTS Erin Dann RSPCA Victoria

Katie Dunne Merlin Entertainments

Danielle Lovric Vodafone Australia

Australian Bureau of Statistics

Thomas Hedegaard Rasmussen NAB

She attributes her success and that of her team to their mission to constantly innovate and create an effective and engaging business strategy that is underpinned by the organisation’s core values.

Amie Reed Merri Health

Carmel Wyant Juniper Networks

PROUDLY SPONSORED BY

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Event partner Financial Wellbeing Program

HAYS AWARD FOR AUSTRALIAN CHAMPION OF CHANGE OF THE YEAR WINNER Claire Vissenga Family Planning Victoria

“My approach to leadership is one of authenticity and role modelling.” CLAIRE VISSENGA CEO, Family Planning Victoria

FINALISTS Aurora Fonte Assetlink

Cindy Hook Deloitte

Rene Lalande Transdev

David Smales

“I think the most important thing in my role is to be real, to be a leader to my staff, to lead by example, to work with people to show them how they can be their best and allow that to happen, and to provide an environment that is an authorising environment for staff to work in the best way they can. “As a leader I encourage and demonstrate fairness, equity and access for all our employees whilst working to provide a positive culture across all aspects of the organisation. As an advocate of having robust and sound HR practices embedded into the culture of an organisation, I have ensured that HR maintains visibility across all levels of the organisation, including at board level.”

Energy Qld

Clive Stiff Unilever

Graham Turner Flight Centre Travel Group

Claire Vissenga Family Planning Victoria

PROUDLY SPONSORED BY

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AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS WINNERS 2O18

Event partner Financial Wellbeing Program

DAVIDSON AWARD FOR AUSTRALIAN HR DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR WINNER Christian Campanella Pernod Ricard Winemakers

HIGHLY COMMENDED Michelle Phipps Brown-Forman

FINALISTS Jane Betts Australian Unity

Christian Campanella Pernod Ricard Winemakers

Fiona Crawford InfoTrack

Cecil Fernandes Access Community Services

Nada George American Express

Michelle Phipps Brown-Forman

Natalie Thomson Merlin Entertainments

PERNOD RICARD WINEMAKERS is the global premium wine business for Pernod Ricard. Christian Campanella, HR director at Pernod Ricard, has over 20 years’ experience in HR, eight at a C-suite level, across multiple industries and geographies. The company’s People, Culture and Innovation strategy has been developed and implemented, linking back to the business model and strategic priorities. This has resulted in voluntary turnover of sub-10%, engagement growing at +6% (+6pt FMCG norm) and female senior leadership participation growing +2% in 2017. Recognition of its achievements includes the Pernod Ricard Premier Award for Diversity, the Sydney Design Silver Award for its new office, and a best practice award from Human Synergistics for a leadership impact project.

“I think it is a great recognition for my team ... The company really values HR as a function, so it allows me to work closely with the executive team, really partnering around how we grow the capability in our business and how we engage with our people.” CHRISTIAN CAMPANELLA HR director, Pernod Ricard

PROUDLY SPONSORED BY

DAVIDSON is a leading recruitment and human resources consulting company dedicated to enhancing workplace performance through people. With more than 27 years of industry experience and offices across Australia, Davidson delivers recruitment, consulting and HR solutions to help organisations achieve more for, and with, their people. Davidson has teams across Corporate, Executive & Boards, Projects & Operations, Technology, and Consulting & HR Solutions who work with clients and candidates to provide strategic business advice and career development expertise. For more information, visit davidsonwp.com

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FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: WORKPLACE TRAINING

Building the future of workplace training As organisations seek innovative means of providing workplace education, HRD talks to eCoach about the latest trends in e-learning TECHNOLOGY HAS enabled countless workplace innovations – greater speed and increased efficiency among them. But in recent years one of technology’s big achievements has been enabling far greater ease of learning and training for employees. Gone are the days of walls of text and bleak PDFs – workplace

world working environment. For HR professionals, this opens up a variety of opportunities. It makes it easier to roll out company-wide learning initiatives while saving on costs and time offsite, at the same time providing a way for employees to learn via the means they personally find most effective.

“There’s a time and a place for longform training, but chunked content has an agility and an effectiveness that can provide real value to trainers” Alastair Simpson, head of growth, eCoach training via e-learning is becoming interactive, engaging and fun. When used in an organisation appropriately, e-learning can empower employees to not only stay up to date with the duties of their roles but also to expand their skill sets in a real-

Helping lead this charge is eCoach, a learning provider that was born in 2016 out of a dissatisfaction with existing LMS systems. “We see eCoach as a product of various large trends in workplace training – learning at your own pace, BYOD, bite-size learning

and new technology, among others,” says Alastair Simpson, head of growth at eCoach. “Of course, there’s a lot of overlap between a lot of these trends, which I think is testament to the fact that customers need solutions that will solve multiple problems in one.”

Changing nature of workplace training The idea of work-related training has itself undergone a significant adjustment in recent years. Traditionally, training has been provided to management and afterwards filtered down to employees, and many employers apparently assume this process will somehow occur via osmosis. Naturally, this raised concerns around productivity and information retention, as knowledge was frequently lost in the process. “We seem to have put the days of hours-long training programs behind us,” says Simpson. “There’s a time and a place for long-form training, but chunked content has an agility and an effectiveness that can provide real value to trainers.” Additionally, e-learning makes for an ideal fit with the current trend towards BYOD in the workplace. With the right platform, employers can reach their employees on their PCs, laptops, tablets or mobiles, with content specifically tailored for each format. “Currently, around 50,000 people use eCoach for training purposes,” says Simpson. “We find that the majority of those learners are on mobile, so the ability to use your own device is a huge plus for employees.”

Ease of learning Of course, training innovations have not always been well executed. Historically, many training platforms have been clunky, difficult to navigate and – perhaps worst of all from an employee perspective – uninspiring. Defying these conventions is something that eCoach has taken extremely seriously. Studying the design and function of modern innovators such as Airbnb, Uber and Apple and seeking to apply their lessons to the LMS space has been a key concern for the organisation.

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Brought to you by

“We’ve done a lot of work around how our user interface and interactive authoring templates can create a more engaging and fun experience for the end learner,” says Simpson. “At the end of the day, if you can create a platform that staff want to interact with, you’ll see training outcomes rise.”

Tailored content and compliance It’s crucial that organisations should have the content they require to provide the training their employees need. Some businesses find that the content they are able to purchase directly or source from elsewhere is not necessarily relevant to their needs. In such a situation, content creation becomes a necessity, particularly for highly specialised industries

or organisations that have highly specific processes and procedures. Accordingly, it’s essential to have an LMS that allows for the insertion of created materials with a minimum of fuss. Trainers and other content creators are often pressed for time, requiring a fast turnaround. eCoach allows users to fulfil all their training needs – creation, delivery and reporting – on a single platform, rather than requiring a separate content creation platform. This reduces complexity and cost, streamlining the training process. Users can also edit and update content from within eCoach, giving them the ability to make updates or corrections to training resources as necessary. “No design expertise is necessary,” says

Simpson. “Material can be slotted into readymade templates via drag-and-drop, allowing companies greater flexibility in creating training resources.” Tracking progress and completion is also essential. eCoach incorporates a comprehensive set of reporting features. At-a-glance visual reporting lets HR managers see a breakdown of how many people are completing training, and overall completion rates for resources. Managers can then drill down into granular analytics, viewing data on almost every aspect of their training process, from the average time taken to complete a course, to the marks for a specific quiz, to content commencement dates. This data can be viewed for specific date ranges and can be

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FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: WORKPLACE TRAINING Brought to you by

ECOACH INTEGRATION Given the wide variety of HR and learning-related software on the market, Alastair Simpson, head of growth, was eager to point out that eCoach is easily integrated into existing systems. “eCoach fully integrates with HRIS systems. Our team can set those integrations up, or account holders can access eCoach’s API to connect their own systems up. We created eCoach to streamline processes, so making sure eCoach plays nice with current HR processes and platforms is very important to us.”

toggled between individual users, groups of users, or at an organisation-wide level. At the individual level, managers can even see specific learner actions within a piece of content. For example, they can look at how long a learner spent on each screen within a training program, and at how that compares with the average time other learners spent on that screen. All reporting is also fully exportable, allowing it to be fully synced with other reporting systems. There are also options available for mapping compliance requirements to specific

e-learning. “It’s very intuitive. While we usually have a subject-matter expert work with a designer to create our content, eCoach also allows facilitators without any e-learning background to create content on their own too.” Less than a year in, the shift to eCoach already appears to have paid considerable dividends at all levels of Employsure. With much of the organisation’s induction process occurring online, eCoach has enabled Employsure to cater more effectively to different learning styles. “There’s now more variety in learning

“There’s now more variety in learning options for employees. In turn, that’s meant a higher rate of completion of online training” Marian Afinidad, e-learning coordinator, Employsure pieces of content, allowing managers to fully map and track compliance training.

eCOACH eCoach was created to make online training simple. The first of its kind, eCoach combines a user-friendly learning management system with powerful content creation features. At eCoach, we believe in treating customers as collaborators, with local support who work with clients to improve their training outcomes. This approach has led to a 98% customer satisfaction rate. There are now 50,000 users training with eCoach. To find out how you could become one of them, visit www.ecoach.com/hrd.

options for employees,” says Afinidad. “In turn, that’s meant a higher rate of completion of online training.”

Employsure experience Employsure has been utilising the eCoach authoring tool since December 2017, integrating the content with its own existing LMS. For training sessions that are blended – such as Employsure’s Future Leaders Program – eCoach has aided in bridging the gap between online and classroom learning. Participants complete some pre-work on eCoach, which helps establish a grounding in new subjects prior to entering a more comprehensive training session. “Having eCoach has enabled much better collaboration when it comes to authoring content,” says Marian Afinidad, head of

Moving towards the future Simpson is positive about the future of the organisation and of e-learning in general. With more innovations on the horizon and a commitment to enhancing workplace learning, eCoach aims to stay at the forefront of the field, keeping ahead of trends. “We hope to be part of a positive disruption when it comes to workplace training,” Simpson says. “We want it to be a disruption that results in more engaged learners, less frustrated trainers, smoother systems and processes, better training outcomes, and happier, healthier, smarter workplaces.”

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FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: LEARNING AND DIGITAL DISRUPTION

Preparing for the new face of learning Digital disruption is becoming a standard feature of the modern workplace. Cornerstone OnDemand tells HRD what the future may hold for on-the-job learning as the way we work changes

WITH THE world currently undergoing the Fourth Industrial Revolution, digital disruption and automation have become increasingly common in the workplace. Understanding this, many HR professionals have concerns about where they should be

“Historically, the only thing we know that is going to happen is change,” says Miller. “Yet people typically get nervous about that – they wonder whether they will have the skills and the knowledge to keep up with what’s happening.”

“Technically, you can go online and learn everything you need to know for, say, an MBA. Moving ahead, this will have massive significance” Jeff Miller, associate VP of learning and org effectiveness, Cornerstone OnDemand placing their priorities. How can the very real needs of the present day-to-day be met while also preparing for the future? Jeff Miller, associate vice president of learning and organisational effectiveness at Cornerstone OnDemand, sees this as a unique time for employees to take control of their own learning – and accordingly, their future in the job market of tomorrow.

Certainly, concerns about the way technology and automation will change the workplace are nothing new. But the reduction of some roles will also mean new roles will be created. Reskilling and upskilling will be necessary, even for those who remain in roles that are similar in name. With this in mind, businesses must be aware of the importance of providing pathways

to this knowledge so that it can be effectively accessed by staff. These can take a variety of forms: curated audio playlists, video content, quizzes, database access – it will likely vary according to the industry. What’s crucial is that employees have access to the appropriate information to upskill themselves.

The new face of learning The good news is that technology has also brought about greater opportunities for employees to take advantage of learning opportunities; the internet has enabled a greater democratisation of and access to learning. Workers of the future do not necessarily need to be defined by traditional notions about job history, experience, the university they attended or the degree they earned. Cost, too, has become less of an issue. While those holding management positions have traditionally been the beneficiaries of the most training due to perceived cost and trickle-down benefits, the advent of e-learning and online content providers has made the process significantly more cost-effective. Travel and out-of-work costs are virtually negligible with models like micro-learning. “Learning is now more of an access issue,” says Miller. “Technically, you can go online and learn everything you need to know for, say, an MBA. Moving ahead, this will have massive significance.” Questions still remain around what this may mean in terms of qualifications, but solutions have been posited. Blockchain software could theoretically track an employee’s career, enabling formal qualifications and experience as well as more informal learning to be recorded and utilised effectively as part of a digital résumé. Some of these changes have already begun to be established in many workplaces. ‘Training’ departments have long since shifted to become ‘learning and development’ (L&D) departments instead, and their roles have accordingly shifted with the change of name. “Twenty or 30 years ago, if you struggled

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AUSTRALIAN INSIGHTS

Are you ready? at work or they needed to find a place to put you, you’d go to the Training Department,” says Miller. “Training would be given to you, in a rote fashion – but now L&D departments are more about enabling the staff member to find the information they need in order to develop within their role.” Indeed, it’s an approach that Cornerstone OnDemand has long been taking; the company provides a variety of modular HR solutions, including e-learning and content provision. Miller stresses that it’s also incumbent on managers to embrace this new-look learning. “One of the challenges that managers are going to have – or may already be having – is the idea that the time people need to spend on learning is an investment in the business’s future,” says Miller. “Many managers don’t necessarily perceive informal, social learning as a value-add to getting the current job done – but in fact, it’s a critical aspect of how people are working and learning today.” Ultimately, the businesses with a strong

90% of CEOs expect technology advancements to disrupt their company

70% of CEOs believe they do not have the right skills, leadership or operating structure to adapt

12.3 million

deficit of APAC workers able to meet new job requirements by 2020

Sources: PwC 19th Annual Global CEO Survey; Deloitte: Aligning the Organization for Its Digital Future; Korn Ferry: The Talent Crunch study

learning core are the businesses that will survive and thrive into the future. HR specialists have an obligation to educate their parent business and, accordingly, those HR specialists must also understand the current goals of their business, its future strategy and wider global business trends around their industry. “Just because we’re sitting here in Australia doesn’t mean that people don’t need to know what’s happening in places like India, the United States, Canada or China,”

says Miller. “Managers and staff alike need to understand how these things are connected.”

Counting the long-term cost Business in Australia – and around the world – is heavily driven by cost optimisation. HR departments are not immune to this issue, and accordingly it can be easy to get bogged down in the hand-to-mouth reality of the daily grind, rather than looking at the larger picture and towards the future. A funda-

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SECTOR FOCUS: LEARNING AND DIGITAL DISRUPTION

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mental mindset shift is therefore required to embrace the future of work. “We need to be asking how we can ready our business for these changes,” says Sue Turk, managing director of Cornerstone OnDemand, ANZ. “That does require a movement from thinking about optimisation all the time around cost and what do we need to do to survive the future.” Strategically, HR directors need to be having conversations around which skills the business is likely to need over the next five to 10 years. For many organisations, this will also mean a significant percentage

culture from scratch. This may be a considerable shift for the office, but that doesn’t mean it’s insurmountable; your best staff are likely to be highly invested in learning, even if it hasn’t previously been encouraged. Building a learning culture starts at the top – staff will closely observe the actions of their leaders. Ensuring that your business’s top executives are ‘living’ the value of learning as opposed to simply fobbing off responsibility to subordinates is essential. Additionally, learning is often best received – and most efficient – if incorporated into the wider workflow. While sometimes necessary,

“Too much focus on cost optimisation now will leave you struggling to survive in the future if staff don’t have the skills they need” Sue Turk, managing director, Cornerstone OnDemand, ANZ

CORNERSTONE ONDEMAND Cornerstone OnDemand is a global leader in cloud-based learning and human capital management software. The company’s solutions help organisations to realise the potential of the modern workforce. From recruitment, onboarding, training and collaboration, to performance management, compensation, succession planning, people administration and analytics, Cornerstone is designed to enable a lifetime of learning and development that is fundamental to the growth of employees and organisations.

shift in the employees they have now versus the employees likely to be needed. Eyebrows are likely to be raised at forthcoming board meetings, but Turk maintains that these conversations must be had with senior management in order to remain relevant in the long term. “You can retain many of your existing staff by upskilling them,” says Turk. “But businesses are going to lose out if they don’t prepare. Too much focus on cost optimisation now will leave you struggling to survive in the future if staff don’t have the skills they need.”

Creating a learning culture For many workplaces, this will be a ground-up proposition, creating a learning

taking workers out of their usual environment is rarely the most effective way to engage with them. This is where learning platforms can be particularly helpful, by creating personalised programs to aid employees in learning as part of their role. Learning becomes a natural part of their workday, rather than something they have to take time out to do. This can even extend to the device they use for this process; many learning platforms are device agnostic, allowing for maximum employee engagement. Perhaps most importantly, wins and milestones must be celebrated. Creating a learning culture means everyone is dedicated to improving themselves and helping others do the same in the process. With this in mind, it’s time to ready your business for the future of work.

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FEATURES

WORKPLACE HARASSMENT

Fighting the fearsome foursome

Managing complaints of racism, sexism, bullying and harassment in the workplace in the appropriate manner will help stamp out offensive behaviour and create a positive culture, writes Joe Murphy WHAT SCARES you more? Being sued because of the actions of your employees (or your own inaction)? Or the wider ramifications that workplace legal action can attract? Racist, sexist, harassment and bullying – the ‘fearsome foursome’ of complaints has arrived. And you, as the HR manager, must manage the complaints. Picture this: A female employee has lodged a complaint about being subjected to behaviour by other employees that is racist, sexist, and includes behaviour that amounts to both bullying and sexual harassment. The female employee is of Asian descent. She has complained that three male colleagues have been engaging in a range of behaviour motivated by her gender and race. The conduct is bullying and amounts to sexual harassment. These four words get bandied about in and out of the workplace regularly. Many employers recoil at the suggestion that these things might have occurred in their workplace. But they do occur, and more often than you are probably aware of. The specifics of this complaint are that these male colleagues: • regularly unplugged the female employee’s computer and phone when she was away from her desk

• regularly ‘prank-called’ her at work, mimicking Indian and Asian accents to mask who they were, or remaining completely silent • regularly asked if she had a boyfriend • regularly made odd-sounding noises when she walked past their desks There’s no question you have to investigate, and so you do. The male colleagues are interviewed and all say: • they have unplugged other employees’

the most productive workers your business has ever had. Let’s first conduct a rough analysis of the legal risk arising in connection with these rather broad and general facts as they relate to the ‘fearsome foursome’.

Bullying Has repeated unreasonable conduct been directed by the individuals towards the complainant that gives rise to a risk to her health and safety? The short and easy answer is yes. So bullying gets a tick.

Sexual harassment Is the conduct unwanted or unwelcome sexual behaviour that has made the complainant feel offended, humiliated or intimidated? Probably not. It might be a somewhat unwelcome and inappropriate intrusion into someone’s personal business, but it is not obviously inappropriate ‘sexual’ behaviour.

Sexism/gender discrimination Would the conduct amount to treatment that is less favourable due to her gender? Possibly, although it sounds like these individuals considered everyone as fair game for their hijinks. However, there is some risk that a review of their broader activities would demonstrate that they were

You have an employee who feels aggrieved … So whether you are legally liable or not, you have a cultural problem on your hands computers and phones in the past • they have also pranked other employees • the use of accents during the calls was simply a way to mask their own voices • when asking about whether she had a boyfriend, they were merely trying to be friendly and had been asking about her weekend and what she was doing during her personal time These male colleagues are hard-working, usually polite, and they happen to be three of

more active or focused on the complainant than on any other male colleague, and this might lean towards gender discrimination. Again, it is not clear that the conduct was either directly or indirectly carried out due to the complainant’s gender.

Racism Was the conduct that caused offence or hurt directly or indirectly due to the complainant’s race? While the individuals may not have had a conscious motive to use

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and profitable employees if dismissal is otherwise appropriate and necessary • reunite the complainant with the workplace in a way that ensures they feel supported. This reinforces that this conduct is not tolerated • make sure all employees know how to behave, and ensure they feel safe in the working environment too

Fixing the underlying cause This scenario is just one of many. What is the same in all cases, though, is that if HR spends time and energy on ensuring a positive culture in the workplace, it will help stamp out this behaviour before it happens. Every business should: • adopt values that underpin an appropriate and positive working environment and culture • ensure staff buy in to the values and have their say before these are adopted an Asian or foreign accent, the fact is they did and it is a feature associated with being Asian and is likely to cause offence, so this allegation is likely to lean towards a positive finding of racist conduct.

Legal risk So at this point you’re thinking, “We’ve got some legal issues here...”. And you’re right, you do. But is that really the most important thing? Sure, it’s hugely important to managing the legal, reputational and commercial liability of your business. However, you’ve got a bigger problem. You have an employee who feels aggrieved, and there’s at least some wrongdoing. So whether you are legally liable or not, you’re already behind. In addition to this, you have a cultural problem on your hands. What happens next is really down to you and your organisation. If the complaint and the complainant are not managed correctly, you could end up with multiple legal actions, some of which are likely to succeed. Combine this with a dose of operational inconvenience and the commercial cost of the investigation process, and the costs are high. If you

Put aside any reservations that arise from losing productive and profitable employees if dismissal is appropriate and necessary manage the complaint and complainant appropriately, you dodge a few bullets, but, more importantly, you improve workplace culture, which ultimately impacts productivity and the bottom line.

Managing the issue A good way to manage this situation is to: • make sure you act immediately to implement safe and fair work arrangements so the complainant feels supported and safe. This does not mean that you are prejudging the complaint, but be aware that this may be raised • investigate thoroughly and ensure the investigation is planned, affords the necessary procedural fairness to all parties, and is closed as soon as appropriate • ensure offending parties are appropriately punished. Put aside any reservations that arise from losing three productive

• ensure staff are properly trained in appropriate behaviour • ensure expectations and policies are clearly communicated to your staff • provide support measures and networks for staff so that the everyday incidents of life can be managed with the least impact on the workplace. Employee assistance programs are a great starting point Don’t let the ‘fearsome foursome’ overwhelm you. Bring in third parties to review systems and policies from an objective point of view and identify gaps to be addressed. Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors (ABLA), which specialises in employment law, workplace investigations and HR consulting, has been voted #1 Employment and Workplace law firm of the year. Call managing director Joe Murphy on 1300 565 846 if you have any questions raised by this article.

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FEATURES

LEADERSHIP

What makes a great HRD? ABLA CEO Nigel Ward shares some insights from a group of top-level HR professionals on what it takes to become a great HR director

the first place and then ensure that HR activity (putting aside the basic functional must-have stuff ) is targeted to commercial business outcomes rather than the latest HR fad picked up at this year’s HR conference.

Have courage. Everyone shared experiences of putting their jobs on the line when the culture of the business or the culture within a management team was under threat Know when to get the CEO to sponsor the project, not the HRD. This one led to much mirth, and like a scene from the movie Jaws, we all shared our battle scars in getting this wrong. Sometimes if the ‘people initiative’ is that important it just has to have the sponsorship of the CEO so that the reluctant executives can’t write it off as another HR thing. If not, the learnt conclusion.

LAST WEEK I was sitting in a coffee shop with three very experienced HR directors – two from companies in the ASX 100 and the other from one of Australia’s larger not-for-profits. After the usual chatter the conversation steered to ‘what makes a great HRD?’ It was a robust conversation but I was pleasantly surprised by the level of agreement. There is no right or wrong in this, but the consensus is worth sharing. It is invaluable to have held a line role. Everyone had done this so there may have been some inbuilt bias, but all agreed that by doing this you got a much better understanding of business as well as the real challenges and stresses of line management. For those sampling the coffee it had also

meant that they got over the ‘business/ commercial credibility’ hurdle quicker. Have courage. In fact, everyone at the table shared experiences of putting their jobs on the line when the culture of the business or the culture within a management team was under threat, or just had to change. Knowing when and how to stand up to the CEO or senior managers seemed to be a very necessary part of the arsenal.

Never have an independent HR plan. Note the word ‘independent’. All agreed that an HR plan must be crafted to support the business plan. This means that you need to have enough commercial sense to really get the business plan and model in

There was about 115 years of cumulative business experience around the table, so I hope some of these insights might warrant at least a moment of reflection. As usual I got stuck with the bill, so maybe I still have a lot to learn! Nigel Ward, CEO and director of Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors (ABLA), is one of Australia’s leading advocates and practitioners in employee and industrial relations, with more than 35 years of strategic business planning experience.

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FEATURES

EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE

Looking at talent through the EX lens The first-ever research into the value of employee experience in Australian workplaces has uncovered some surprising insights

HRD CAUGHT up with Lisa Henderson, group executive marketing at Maxxia, and Kim Seeling Smith, CEO of Ignite Global, for a chat about the state of play of employee experience (EX) today – and its outlook for the future.

HRD: What sparked your interest in employee experience? Lisa Henderson: As a provider of salary packaging and workplace benefits, the importance of keeping staff engaged and happy is some-

thing Maxxia understands well. Organisations have been looking for a fresh perspective and new approach to employee engagement, and we’re welcoming the rise of EX as a concept that can provide HR professionals and leaders with a new way of focusing on their employees. When exploring this idea of employee experience, we realised that much of the existing research was US or global centric. As we’ve discovered through our research, EX is providing many Australian organisations with innovative ideas to attract and retain new

talent. That’s why we embarked on our first annual research project, conducted by Ignite Global, with the aim of bringing together insights into what hundreds of organisations in over 20 sectors in Australia are up to in the brave new world of EX. The 2018 Employee Experience Report is about much more than just data. As a business, we take a practical and resultsdriven approach to delivering value through employee benefits. We wanted this report to highlight real-world examples of EX best practice. In doing so, we hope to set

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even more HR professionals on the path to success in EX.

“We wanted this report to highlight real-world examples of EX best practice” Kim Seeling Smith: The reason I love employee experience, or EX, is that it presents a simple solution to a very complex people problem facing organisations worldwide today, and in particularly in Australia. We are staring down the barrel of a skills gap, and every industry needs to find new ways to win the war for talent. One of the major drivers of this skills gap is our ageing workforce. Australia’s workforce is ageing, and the size of the talent pool is shrinking, which is causing a supply and demand deficit. When you add to that the additional layer of globalisation and technological disruption, we are also facing a shortage of employees with the right skills for the jobs of the future. We are moving away from an era that was primarily focused on routine and predictable work, to one that is focused on innovation. To thrive, organisations need to find employees who have the capability to iterate, pivot and innovate to meet changing customer needs. Those employees are very different to the employees who prefer more structured and predictable roles. To put this people problem into context, the ABS predicts that Australia is likely to have 1.4 million unfillable jobs by 2025. When you sit and think about that reality, it can be pretty daunting if you don’t know how to tackle it. Having watched the concept of EX gain momentum overseas and having seen the results Australian organisations are starting

to realise in this area, we knew there was a need to bring together the collective learnings so that others could learn from them.

HRD: How did you define employee experience in your research? KSS: When we began this project, we quickly found that there is no universal definition of employee experience. It varies significantly from organisation to organisation, and, in fact, from person to person. In our view, employee experience requires a holistic approach that starts at job application and finishes at the exit interview. The way we defined it in the report is the lens through which to view every experience and interaction an employee or potential recruit has with an organisation. Everything from the systems to conversations, relationships, benefits and rewards – they each play a role in the day-to-day experience and overall journey for an employee. There’s a consensus among some that

EX as a logical next step. They are already familiar with the idea of journey mapping and looking at their activities through the eyes of the customer. Having seen the positive impact on customer loyalty, they are now applying the same idea to employees. Secondly, EX provides a new way of looking at employee engagement. As Lisa mentioned earlier, employee engagement has in some ways had its day, and organisations are glad to have a new lens through which to examine the people problem. The magic of looking through a new lens often means that the low-hanging fruit becomes obvious and some very simple ideas come to the surface.

HRD: What’s the state of play for employee experience in Australia today? LH: What we found is that the vast majority of Australian organisations surveyed – almost 90% – are well aware of EX. Despite

“Employee experience is the lens through which to view every experience and interaction an employee or potential recruit has with an organisation” EX has to be some big, audacious goal. That couldn’t be further from the truth. By thinking of EX simply as a new lens, organisations can adjust their focus to address the pressing issues and start to identify some longer-term initiatives.

HRD: Why are Australian organisations starting to embrace the concept of employee experience? KSS: Through our research, we’ve seen two notable trends that mark the start of the EX journey for organisations. Firstly, organisations that have already reaped benefits in customer experience (CX) are looking at

this, two thirds of organisations are not having regular dialogue about EX, and only one third are regularly measuring it. So essentially, what we’ve found is a mismatch between intentions and action. Whilst organisations are highly aware and ready for action, the rubber hasn’t quite hit the road for many. One reason for this is that EX is typically a mid-level priority for organisations, with higher priority being placed on other areas, such as operations, systems, transformation programs and customer care. Interestingly, what we found is a number of organisations focusing on providing purpose-led benefits as an entry point into

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FEATURES

EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE

2018 EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE REPORT: KEY FINDINGS The 2018 Employee Experience Research Report is the first of its kind in Australia. Commissioned by Maxxia in January 2018 and conducted by Ignite Global, the research involved two stages: a series of in-depth interviews with leading HR executives, followed by an online survey of over 600 senior HR professionals. Insights from the interviews informed the development of the survey, which was launched in April 2018. Input from organisations in over 20 different sectors across all states and territories captured a broad range of perspectives, attitudes and approaches. Here are the report’s key findings: 88% of organisations are aware of employee experience 65% do not have regular dialogue about it Only 1 in 3 organisations regularly measure employee experience Top 2 contributors to positive employee experience are: 1. Competence of leaders and managers 2. The nature of jobs Top 3 barriers to improving employee experience are: 1. Conflicting priorities 2. Limited time 3. Insufficient resources 95% capture employee feedback via a survey or program 76% believe employee experience will become extremely important

employee experience. For example, LinkedIn has introduced a highly personalised ‘PerkUp’ benefit that provides employees with an annual allowance to spend on services designed to improve their wellbeing. Employees pay for their chosen perk – it could be anything from childcare or fitness classes to a regular massage or a cleaner for their home – and then apply for reimbursement up to the limit of their allowance. We also heard from tech business MYOB, which has shifted its focus from ‘free stuff ’ – which has become something of a standard in the tech sector – towards fostering positive working relationships with managers. Whether it’s about flexibility, the day-to-day experience or the amount of performance feedback given, MYOB is helping managers build employee loyalty.

HRD: What did you find were the key contributors to positive EX? LH: There were two key contributors that came out of the research. Firstly, the competence of leaders and managers. Leaders and managers need the skills to have all kinds of conversations with their direct reports – whether those are coaching or performance conversations. That relationship is key to how engaged or valued an employee feels at work, and we are seeing more organisations focus on upskilling managers. The second-biggest contributor cited was the job itself. Today’s employees are looking for interesting and fulfilling roles. What’s more, they have come to expect it. Organisations are well aware that they need to work hard to ensure they provide a job that is challenging, and a workplace that is inspiring.

HRD: What is the top takeaway or the biggest surprise that came out of the research? KSS: What was really surprising to find is that often the simplest and lowest-tech initiatives create the biggest impact. It was refreshing

and exciting to see that a super-simple idea could be just as powerful as a more complex or high-tech idea. We saw some great realworld examples of this through our research – from old-school idea jams using flipcharts and Post-it notes, to plain old-fashioned faceto-face conversations. What also came through strongly is that

“What was really surprising to find is that often the simplest and lowesttech initiatives create the biggest impact” organisations are overcoming being overwhelmed by focusing on the ‘moments that matter’. Rather than trying to fix the whole world at once, some organisations are being really smart in identifying the interactions or experiences that truly make a difference to the working day of their employees. That’s not to say that the other moments don’t matter; it’s simply a way of distilling a complex employee journey into those key touchpoints. Whether it be the onboarding process or the connection between a manager and their direct report, identifying the key moments can provide more focus.

HRD: How are organisations typically measuring EX? KSS: Something we found quite alarming is that less than a third of organisations are measuring employee experience regularly. Added to that, nearly two thirds highlighted the need for a significant level of improvement in their efforts. That said, almost all organisations are capturing employee feedback through some form of survey or program. What is measured most is

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employee engagement and performance, in some cases complemented by ad hoc surveys, life-cycle programs and pulse surveys to gather feedback. What we also found is that many organisations are taking an ‘always on’ approach to measurement. So rather than relying on just tools and processes we’re seeing the consistent capture of feedback through face-to-face encounters. Organisations are starting to see every conversation as an opportunity to listen in and learn about what employees are facing so they can develop solutions to better support their needs.

HRD: What is preventing more organisations from improving employee experience? LH: Three common barriers to improving EX came through in our research – and all three are linked to capacity in some way. The top three barriers were conflicting priorities, limited time and insufficient resources, which is no surprise given that improving EX is only mid-priority for many organisations. What we also found, however, is that knowing what to measure and how to improve EX is seen as a major hurdle by almost half of respondents. This lack of

knowing is an issue, and it’s one that we wanted to address in the report, by including practical examples – big and small – of what their peers are doing in this space. We wanted to bust the myth that EX has to be

waters with some smaller and more practical bite-sized initiatives. What is very encouraging to see is that organisations are starting to report positive outcomes from EX, such as reduced employee turnover, higher levels

“Three quarters of respondents told us that EX will become increasingly important in attracting and retaining talent” an all-encompassing initiative by showcasing some really clever, yet highly achievable ideas. As we’ve seen through our research, simplicity is often the key.

of employee satisfaction, and an increase in employee engagement and productivity. Once these successes start to become more widely known, the pace of EX adoption in Australia will gather speed.

HRD: What does the future hold for employee experience in Australia? KSS: There is a resounding desire across the HR profession to increase the focus on EX as a means of addressing the people problem. Three quarters of respondents told us that EX will become increasingly important in attracting and retaining talent. Having said that, it’s still early days and we don’t expect an overnight evolution. What we expect to see is a slow and steady adoption of EX, with organisations testing the

Maxxia is a specialist provider of employee benefits for Australian organisations, from large corporates and SMEs to health, not-forprofit and government agencies. Together with sister company RemServ (a leading provider of workplace benefits in Queensland), Maxxia helps Australian organisations attract and retain the best talent through competitive and measurable employee benefit programs. Visit www.maxxia.com.au. Ignite Global is a recognised leader in helping organisations hire, motivate and retain top talent. Our consulting and training services have spanned 32 industries and eight different countries. Visit www.igniteglobal.com.

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FEATURES

PURPOSE

Five myths about purpose Everyone wants and needs to find purpose in their work. But according to Aaron Hurst, doing so requires shattering some common myths

MOST OF what we understand about purpose at work comes from Hollywood. Stories are a powerful way to learn, but most of the stories we see on screen give us a romanticised view of the role of purpose in our work. They build myths about purpose that actually make it harder for us to focus on what matters. But perhaps the most unfortunate aspect of these myths is that they imply that purpose is not something for everyone, which – based on my experience working with thousands of professionals, as well as emerging research on the topic – couldn’t be further from the truth. Myth 1: Purpose = cause In working with thousands of professionals seeking purpose, the greatest barrier has been the ubiquitous belief that they have to find their cause. When business professionals leave Taproot’s pro bono consultant orientations, they are usually fired up and want to get on a project immediately. They can’t wait. That being said, on one of our earliest projects, we were having a difficult time getting any of our largely Gen X, pro bono marketing consultants to join a team. The project was branding and naming work for a critical organisation serving low-income

seniors in one of San Francisco’s most challenged neighbourhoods, the Tenderloin. When I pitched the project to our pro bono consultants, they begged for a different project. “I totally get that seniors are important, but I’m 32, and it really isn’t an issue that gets me excited,” they said. “Do you have anything focused on kids or the environment? I am really passionate about helping kids and the environment. That’s our future.” We shared

San Francisco. It turned out they had not only done a world-class job with the organisation’s brand, but they had become an ongoing marketing committee for the organisation, and several of them had become donors. So many of us who are looking for a cause think we have to find our one true calling. We want to know that our mission is to help save one-legged kittens or find a cure for cancer. Hollywood stars helped popularise

Purpose is about finding a direction, not a destination … We may never find one true calling, but we can understand the colour of our purpose, which can help us have much more meaningful careers and lives with them the dire needs of the organisation and asked them to be open-minded and give it a try. If, at the end, they were unsatisfied, we would give them first dibs on the next round of projects. They reluctantly agreed. Nine months later, I received a surprising email. The leader of the pro bono consulting team was urging me to attend a session at City Hall to protect funding for seniors in

this notion with their high-profile focuses on particular issues, such as George Clooney (Darfur), Brad Pitt (New Orleans), Angelina Jolie (refugees) and Matt Damon (water). I’m also guilty of feeding into this way of thinking. When you are seeking resources or attention, being able to point to your success as part of your destiny works incredibly well. People want to hear that you knew you were

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poor isn’t so bad; it’s just inconvenient.” Purpose isn’t a luxury only for those with money and security. Purpose is a universal need, and even those in challenging situations still make it a priority. Arguably, the most famous advocate for purpose in history is Viktor Frankl, who wrote about the importance and presence of purpose in Nazi concentration camps, where he lived during the Holocaust. He found that purpose was key to his survival. “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way,” Frankl famously wrote in Man’s Search for Meaning. It turns out that in many ways the prioritisation of purpose is inversely correlated with wealth. Money often conflicts with finding purpose, as it creates a false substitute for defining success. going to be a doctor/basketball player/president/entrepreneur the minute you took your first step, still wearing diapers. Once you’re successful, you’re expected to tell a version of your biography that supports this mythology. Destiny makes for a powerful story, but this concept is not only misleading, it also does the next generation a great disservice, as it sets unrealistic and unhealthy expectations. Nearly all the early-career professionals who seek an informational interview with me lament that they haven’t found their cause yet. And while there are certainly people who are driven in this singular manner about a cause, it is almost always the result of a personal tragedy or an experience that inspired them to act. Maybe they were touched by the death of their mother from cancer, or their child died from gun violence. Still, this holds true only for a very small percentage of people, and it is by no means the only way to find purpose. For the rest of us, seeking our purpose is about finding a direction, not a destination.

Purpose is a verb, not a noun. We may never find one true calling, but we can understand the colour of our purpose, which can help us have much more meaningful careers and lives.

Myth 2: Purpose = luxury Why do the poorest Americans donate 3.2% of their income to charity, compared to the wealthiest, who donate only 1.3%? Why do people living in wealthier neighbourhoods appear to be less generous? Why also are those with the least money, education and prestigious jobs more likely than their wealthy counterparts to say that they would keep their job even if they suddenly were financially set for life? Why would a janitor continue to work if he won the lottery and an investment banker take an early retirement? If you talk to people in less prestigious jobs and in poorer communities, they aren’t surprised by these facts. They see it every day and experience it first-hand. As a reverend in south central Los Angeles told me, “Being

Myth 3: Purpose = revelation Connected to the myth that purpose is about a cause is the myth that we discover our purpose in one fell swoop. We’re just walking along, minding our own business, when – bam! – our life’s calling is transmitted to us like a bolt of lightning from above. True, this is usually how superheroes find their purpose. Batman saw his parents murdered, and it became his purpose to fight crime in Gotham City. Superman discovered that his people were wiped out because of civil war and found his purpose in fostering peace and civility. But the reality is that this is not how it usually happens for us mere mortals. “We don’t receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us,” Marcel Proust famously observed. When I shared this insight with a group of international graduate students at Oxford, they suddenly became visibly disturbed. Noticing the change in mood in the room, I asked them what had happened. After an awkward

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FEATURES

PURPOSE

pause, one woman raised her hand and answered that she had come to graduate school looking for a revelation. She didn’t know what she wanted to do in her career but figured that she would leave with clarity about her purpose. Slowly, everyone started nodding their heads. They had had the same realisation – that one of their main reasons to attend graduate school (and go into debt) was to have a revelation. Most of us will work for 45 to 50 years. Think about that for a second. That’s the same amount of time it would take to attend university 12 times. And it’s increasingly true that during that time we will hold many different jobs, and for more and more of us those will be in a range of fields. We have so many opportunities to find the work that best suits our perspective on the world and the way we most enjoy contributing.

Myth 4: Purpose = only some work Administrative assistants spend their days supporting executives and have little autonomy or control over their workflow. Much of their work is repetitive and stressful, but it pays the bills and enables them to have the income they need to support the rest of their lives. It’s just a job – a nine-to-five, right? Well, yes and no. It turns out that this is true, but only for about a third of administrative assistants, and perhaps more surprisingly it’s also true for about a third of those in every occupation. What we do is not nearly as important as how we do it and what attitude we bring to the work. As the saying goes, “Wherever you go, there you are”. What we get from work has more to do with us than the work itself. Work plays very different roles in people’s lives. For some people, a job is simply a job. For them, work is a pay cheque, and they don’t seek anything else from it. It enables them to have the money to enjoy their lives

outside their jobs – they aren’t looking to derive meaning from their work. Those with careers care more deeply about their work as a way to get ahead within their profession or function. It brings social status and power, which boosts their self-esteem. Finally, those with callings fully integrate their work into their lives and values. They see work as integral to who they are and part of their lives. Amy Wrzesniewski and her colleagues

the injuries or watch the thousands of hours of monotonous practice. Winning the race or game is amazing, but their satisfaction stems from their deep investment. With athletes, the relationship between pain and gain is clearest, but the same holds true of doing any work where we are experiencing high levels of purpose. Even when doing work that is making a big impact, if there is no skin in the game, the depth of

Purpose isn’t a luxury only for those with money and security. Purpose is a universal need, and even those in challenging situations still make it a priority found that across occupations there were fairly even divides between people who saw their work as a job, career or calling. It reinforced previous research that demonstrated that the ways individuals view work may be more tied to their psychological traits than to the work itself. Another study by Wrzesniewski showed correlations between experiencing work as a calling and overall wellbeing and health. This implies something very important: it is in your best interest to see work as a calling, and as a society we need to shift more towards calling-based work.

Myth 5: Purpose = easy Running a marathon hurts. There are the blisters, the chafing, the body aches. And yet, completing a marathon is something that many report as being incredibly meaningful. It pushes runners to their limits, both physically and emotionally. Professional athletes make it look so easy. When we watch them, they appear natural and effortless. In reality, athletes work incredibly hard and endure tremendous pain to be successful. As fans, we rarely witness

purpose is diminished. Viktor Frankl also said, “Man’s main concern is not to gain pleasure or to avoid pain, but rather to see a meaning in his life.” As Jennifer Benz put it, “Purpose doesn’t free you from working hard and being challenged – it will actually inspire and drive you to put yourself further out of your comfort zone. The falls will be harder, but the wins will feel so much better.”

The truth about purpose Purpose is for everyone, regardless of our profession or socioeconomic status. It is not about a cause or something that we discover by revelation. It is a challenging and rewarding journey.

Aaron Hurst is the foremost expert on the science of purpose at work. In 2014, he brought global awareness to the rise of the fourth economic era in history, the purpose economy. He is the author of The Purpose Economy: How Your Desire for Impact, Personal Growth and Community Is Changing the World and the co-founder and CEO of Imperative, the technology platform for leaders in the new economy. For more information, visit imperative.com.

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2019

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PEOPLE

CAREER PATH

EXPERIENCE COLLECTOR

With her background in business and her propensity to put herself forward, Victoria Pickles has learned to be ‘comfortable with being uncomfortable’ Victoria Pickles began working as a teen – as soon as she was ‘legal’ – and thrived on the responsibility. Within two years, at barely 16 years old, the supermarket checkout girl was given the additional role of payroll office support. “I just couldn’t wait; I loved the idea of working – I thought it was so exciting! I had to impress people and be independent and responsible, and it sharpened my communication skills. I’ve never been frightened to stand up, and that’s a skill I still use.”

9:25 PM

GRASPS RESPONSIBILITY

1999

APPLIES HR LENS Hired to build an HR team for the call centre at Mercantile Mutual, which included responsibility for L&D, Pickles enjoyed the experience so much that she headed back to university to study adult education and training. The introduction of compliance training at the time played to her strengths, with its emphasis on business acumen for HR. “It was my first real foray into HR; it was a niche of understanding business and then applying the HR lens, instead of the other way around.”

2005

TAKES LEAP OF FAITH Pickles made the leap to a greenfield opportunity at Balmain Corporation with end-to-end responsibility for building the HR function from scratch – and ultimately weathered the GFC. “It took a lot out of me – I kept my foot on the accelerator the whole time. I grew a thick skin; I had to downsize and upsize. Because of that, you can put me in front of anyone and I can handle it. I’m never surprised by anything now, because I’ve seen it all before.”

2015

REJOINS RAT RACE

Getting back into the ‘rat race’ for Pickles meant gaining international experience when she shifted from the role of head of ANZ business at Western Union to the role of regional director, HR, for Asia Pacific. She leapt at the opportunity to manage staff across a wide variety of geographies and cultures. “What I enjoy most is the cultural awareness and the importance of diversity.”

1991

1997

GETS STARTED Business degree in hand, Pickles started her first professional job as an account manager at BT Financial Group. She saw the graduate position as a training ground to help her decide her next step. “I always had aspirations in business – to work in the ‘city’ – but I didn’t really know what that meant. [Working at BT] was fabulous; it was all happening. I knew I’d get a range of experience there and eventually find something I would lean towards.”

2002

EXPLORES HER NICHE In the early 2000s environment Pickles saw the opportunity for HR professionals with the right qualifications to understand industry protocols. Recruited to Tower Group to prepare the business for the imposition of new regulations, within six months she was leading the HR team. Looking back at this time, Pickles says it was a chance to hone her team management skills. “Self-belief and confidence led me to step forward; to think in terms of ‘why not?’ instead of ‘why?’

2014

HELPS OTHERS ‘DRESS FOR SUCCESS’ A friend’s recommendation led Pickles to become involved in economic empowerment non-profit Dress for Success, where she spent six months as interim CEO. “When I took the call, it was meant to be a short four-week gig, but I was there for six months. It was a heartwarming experience; I realised the disadvantages these women were grappling with. I will forever be grateful for that experience – it truly nourished my soul.”

“Operating across multiple languages, time zones, faiths, [APAC is] a very dynamic region. Growth and innovation come from an appreciation of diversity” www.hcamag.com

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PEOPLE

OTHER LIFE

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

The official age to start as a parkru nner is four, although Bronwin Freke says, “I’ve seen toddlers ju mp out of the pra m, ru n, a nd later ju mp back in”

200

Typical number of runners in Bronwin Freke’s local parkrun

35–40

Freke’s average minutes of runtime on the parkrun course

Time the weekly run begins every Saturday morning

RUNNING THE WORLD On Saturday mornings there’s nowhere Bronwin Freke would rather be than parkrun – as both participant and event volunteer PARKRUN HOLDS a very special place in the life of Bronwin Freke’s family. Not only was it one of the Brisbane-based HR manager’s first dates with her now-husband – and it remains a standing date followed by brunch – but the couple’s baby has also taken part, albeit as a passenger in a running pram, since she was six weeks old.

A weekly 5km run open to all, which is held in parks around the globe every Saturday, parkrun’s egalitarian nature appealed to Freke. “It caters for everybody – they’re average people out there giving it a go every week, and everyone is so encouraging: people cheer you on; the vibe is good.”

When a parkrun started five minutes away from Freke’s house, volunteering also became part of her weekend, and she even acted as an event ambassador supporting parkrun’s local event teams while she was on maternity leave. “The more I’ve enjoyed it, the more I’ve wanted to get involved.”

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