Human Resources Director 15.10 by Key Media

SERVICE PROVIDER AWARDS 2017

Australia’s top HR service providers revealed

HCAMAG.COM ISSUE 15.10

HOT LIST HR’s innovators, game-changers & thought leaders

HUMAN-CENTRIC LEADERSHIP Aurecon’s Liam Hayes on design thinking and future-ready workforces

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2018 FORECASTING Everything you need to know about the year ahead

BEYOND A TICK OF THE BOX Moving the dial on gender inequality

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DECEMBER 2017

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CONTENTS

@HRDAustralia facebook.com/HRDAustralia

UPFRONT 02 Editorial

The half-life of skills learned is just five years – that’s why 2018 should be the year of investing in your own skills

04 Statistics

SERVICE PROVIDER AWARDS 2017

A new report highlights that benefits should be viewed as more than just ‘hygiene’ factors to retain employees

06 News analysis

Employers are placed in a difficult situation when employees bring extremist views into the workplace – what are the options available to them?

SPECIAL REPORT

HR SERVICE PROVIDER AWARDS

Find out who has taken the Gold, Silver and Bronze medals in HRD’s inaugural HR Service Provider Awards

08 Employment Law update

HRD provides tips on handling disciplinary action for employees with psychological wellness issues

10 L&D update

Can workplace training improve mental health?

12 Head to head

Are employers doing enough to reduce gender inequality?

PEOPLE 70 Career path

When HR manager Nerissa Stafford isn’t working, you’re most likely to find her on the run

72 Other life

Her strategy of targeting roles or companies to ensure a diverse skill set has served Linda Hamill well

30 FEATURES

HOT LIST 18 18 COVER STORY

HOT LIST 2017

In a year marked by relentless change and disruption, the HR professionals listed on HRD’s annual Hot List are demonstrating resilience, innovation and can-do attitude

2018 FORECASTING

From Single Touch Payroll to big data’s impact on L&D, 2018 promises further disruptions to business. Find out what’s hot in HRD’s comprehensive forecasting report

44 FEATURES

PROFILE

A HUMANCENTRIC LEADER

Liam Hayes suggests humancentric leadership is critical in a globally disrupted marketplace, from design thinking to creating a future-ready workforce

DIVERSITY BEYOND A TICK OF THE BOX HCAMAG.COM CHECK IT OUT ONLINE

More needs to be done on gender equality in the top ranks of organisations. It’s time for D&I commitments to move beyond just a tick of the box

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UPFRONT

EDITORIAL www.hcamag.com DECEMBER 2O17

YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION

’m not really one for New Year’s resolutions. Although they are usually well-meaning and well-intentioned at the time, they rapidly fall into the ‘what was I thinking?’ category as soon as the first weeks of January fade away. However, there’s one commitment – if not resolution – I’d like all HR professionals to at least consider for 2018: invest in your own skill set. According to Deloitte’s 2017 Global Human Capital Trends report, employees can now look forward to a 60-year career. However, the half-life of a learned skill is now just five years. Software engineers, for example, must redevelop their skills every 12 to 18 months. This rapid change is forcing employers to change their approach to L&D. Employees today expect employers to help them continually reinvent themselves, move from role to role, and find their calling over time.

EDITORIAL

SALES & MARKETING

Editor Iain Hopkins

Marketing & Communications Manager Lisa Narroway

Journalist John Hilton Editorial Assistant Hannah Go Production Editors Bruce Pitchers Roslyn Meredith

ART & PRODUCTION

Marketing Executive Emma Kemmery Business Development Manager Matthew Nutt

CORPORATE

Designer Marla Morelos

Chief Executive Officer Mike Shipley

Traffic Coordinator Freya Demegilio

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

EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES iain.hopkins@keymedia.com

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

The half-life of skills is rapidly fading – it now sits at five years As the report states: “In the past, employees learned to gain skills for a career; now, the career itself is a journey of learning.” Today, some 83% of respondents to Deloitte’s survey say their organisation is shifting to flexible, open career models that offer enriching assignments, projects, and experiences, rather than static career progression. Forty-two per cent of respondents also acknowledged that their organisation’s employees will have careers that span five years or less with the company. HR professionals are placed in their usual tricky position: not only must they ensure the broader workforce is engaged by this new approach to L&D, but they themselves must also move with the times. Those relying on a degree in psychology or human resources dating from 1985 and have not done anything to upskill since then are only doing themselves – and the company they work for – a massive disservice. So make 2018 a year of continuous learning – in whatever format suits you.

Iain Hopkins, editor

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ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES matthew.nutt@keymedia.com

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

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

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UPFRONT

STATISTICS

BENEFITS AND THE DOUBT

EMERGING TREND – AN INTERNAL FOCUS

Lure for top talent or grudge purchase? When it comes to employee benefits, it’s in the eye of the beholder WHILE HR professionals regard benefits as a priority and better than four in 10 organisations spend 10% or more of their total employment costs on the provision of benefits for their workforce, other business leaders tend to take the view that benefits are a necessity to satisfy statutory requirements rather than a means of attracting and retaining quality staff. Often awareness of employee benefits – defined as any form of non-wage compensation

45%

of organisations view benefits as a hygiene factor to satisfy statutory requirements

received by an employee including statutory items, such as superannuation and annual leave, as well as discretionary benefits that vary from company to company – among the workforce is low. Even superannuation – typically the single most valuable and costly benefit provided by employers – is neglected, with 64% of multinationals self-reporting to have not tendered their default in the last two years or to be uncertain when it was last done.

36%

of employers state that employee management of their own benefits should be more user-friendly

40%

of employers cite the administrative burden as a reason not to introduce new benefits

When it comes to designing benefits, the majority of employers (86%) still focus on external benchmarking; however, almost three-quarters are also examining the specific needs of their workforce. Employers are looking at their benefits programs, taking into account industry standards, but with a greater focus on their own internal issues, to tailor benefits to meet employee wants and employer business needs.

18%

have increased their spend on benefits in the past year

Source: Employee Benefits: The CEB International HRD Forum & Flare HR Benefits Survey, 2017

LOW UNDERSTANDING

BARRIERS TO BENEFITS

Fewer than one in 10 HR directors report their employees as having a “great understanding” of the benefits provided to them; close to one in every two think their workforce is “less than satisfied” with the benefits offered them.

The largest segment of companies (34%) reports spending less than 5% of total employment cost on benefits; fittingly, cost is listed as the single biggest barrier to the introduction of additional benefits.

28% Great understanding

Little to no understanding

56%

50 40

43%

40%

24%

Good understanding

63%

Some understanding

Source: Employee Benefits: The CEB International HRD Forum & Flare HR Benefits Survey, 2017

0 Cost

Administrative burden

Global policy does not allow

Unsure which external providers to engage

Other

Source: Employee Benefits: The CEB International HRD Forum & Flare HR Benefits Survey, 2017

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External benchmarking

Internal focus

Benchmarks against competitors in the industry or from different industries

76% Australia

Consistency*

Specific needs of the workforce or driving behaviour change of employees

Consistency across all locations in a region or the globe

86%

74%

73%

66%

64%

Asia-Pacific

Australia

Asia-Pacific

Australia

Asia-Pacific

Australia Benchmarks against a peer group of competitors in our industry Benchmarks against a select group of companies (from different industries)

72%

Programs aimed at driving behaviour change

63%

Programs designed to meet specific needs of various segments of the workforce

46%

57%

Consistency across all locations in a region

59%

Globally consistent approach

51%

Source: 2017/2018 Australia Benefits Trends Survey, Willis Towers Watson, * Employee Benefits: The CEB International HRD Forum & Flare HR Benefits Survey, 2017

PREFERRED BENEFITS While traditional benefits, such as retirement benefits and healthcare benefits, continue to be viewed as the most important to employees, three years from now, employers plan to expand the provision of non-traditional benefits, such as additional maternity leave (53%) and the ability to buy/sell annual leave (42%). Employees were asked which of the following were most important to them. Health and wellbeing

Retirement

41%

Healthcare benefits Other health benefits

While 57% of survey participants believe their benefits package enhances attraction and retention, over the next three years, employers are looking to obtain more strategic value from their benefits programs by undertaking the following steps. Review/revise benefit plan designs and strategies to manage benefit costs better

48%

Wellbeing programs

TOP STRATEGIC PRIORITIES 2017-2020

78%

Retirement benefits

Review/revise benefit plan designs and strategies to influence employee behaviours better

24%

Financial protection

74%

Leave and allowance All benefits information available in one place

59%

Disability benefits Life insurance/accidental death insurance Critical illness insurance

46% 28%

33%

Other allowances Employee discounts Annual leave

26% 20% Source: 2017/2018 Australia Benefits Trends Survey, Willis Towers Watson

67% Better educate their employees about what is on offer and the impacts for them*

71% Source: 2017/2018 Australia Benefits Trends Survey, Willis Towers Watson * Employee Benefits: The CEB International HRD Forum & Flare HR Benefits Survey, 2017

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UPFRONT

NEWS ANALYSIS

EXTREMISM AT WORK Dissenting viewpoints are often lauded in business – but what happens if an employee’s extremist views infiltrate the workplace? WHEN SO-CALLED alt-right groups descended on Charlottesville in the US in August, several of those taking part were identified on social media and subsequently lost their jobs. It was a timely, if troubling, wake-up call for employers globally: is it possible to take disciplinary action or even to fire an employee for his or her political views or affiliation with extremist groups? Unsurprisingly, the answer is not clearcut. Different jurisdictions around the world naturally have their own rules. In Australia, the issue is further complicated by different state laws related to anti-discrimination, in addition to adverse action provisions in the Fair Work Act. However, generally employees cannot be terminated just because they

‘hate group’, says XpertHR legal editor David Weisenfeld. For instance, someone who believes homosexuality is immoral but otherwise is an exemplary employee would likely not fall into the category of someone who supports ‘hate groups’. Weisenfeld adds that no employer wants to be seen as “overreaching”. He cites North Carolina employment attorney Robin Shea, who eloquently suggested that employers should limit defining hate groups to those groups that preach the racial or ethnic inferiority of others or that espouse violence.

Building a case However, it’s a fine line to tread between respecting freedom of speech and protecting

“One employee saying a co-worker is in a hate group doesn’t necessarily make it so” David Weisenfeld, XpertHR belong to an extremist group. The exception is if the affiliation or unacceptable behaviour carries over into the workplace through jobrelated misconduct, such as harassment of employees who are in minority groups, or the creation of a hostile work environment. In cases like this, the employer does have certain rights.

Definitions matter Regardless of geographic location, all employers must be careful in defining a

a company – and its employees – from harm. “Employers don’t want to be seen as stifling any dissenting view,” Weisenfeld says. “If the employee is expressing political views outwardly to customers during work hours in a way that affects the business, then it would be a different matter.” Weisenfeld suggests that for an employer with a diverse workforce, but really for any employer, it’s important to consider the business impact if political extremism is left unchecked. This might include causing

other employees to be distracted and give less than their best effort, or causing good performers to look for work elsewhere. He adds that doing nothing is a decision in itself and “could be tantamount to giving tacit approval to the political extremism”. Kylie Groves, partner at Hall & Wilcox, says it may also depend on how those extreme views manifest themselves. For instance, if they do have racial ramifications, then that may classify as vilification, which is unlawful behaviour. “Racial vilification is unlawful under most of the anti-discrimination legislation in Australia,” Groves says. However, she suggests “it’s a pretty high test” to establish racial vilification, and often it’s not really for the employer to argue that someone is being racially vilified; it needs to be the group affected by the comments or actions who must make a complaint. If an employee was expressing views that fell within one of the vilification definitions, it would be incumbent on the employer to do something about that because they would be vicariously liable for that employee’s conduct if other employees have been negatively impacted – for example, if it affected their mental health or they regarded it as bullying.

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CASES TO NOTE • Anderson v Theiss Pty Ltd [2014] FWC 6568. In this case the employee was dismissed after disseminating anti-Muslim propaganda via his employer’s email system. His dismissal was held to be harsh and unreasonable even though it was found the employer had a valid reason for the dismissal. • Joseph Johnpulle v Toll Holdings Ltd [2015] FWC 3830. In this case an employee was dismissed after he engaged in a conversation at work with a fellow employee who was Afghani in ethnic origin and made comments about Islam being associated with killing and the Taliban. Again, the employer was held to have a valid reason for the dismissal but the termination was found to be harsh. This decision was latter appealed by Toll. Where do employers stand? Groves says there are several key elements to consider. Firstly, is the conduct – when viewed objectively – likely to cause serious damage to the relationship between the employer and the employee? Secondly, does the off-duty conduct damage the employer’s interests? This occurred in the case of Cameron Little v Credit Corp Group Limited [2013] FWC 9642, whereby the FWC held that Mr Little’s comments on Facebook

weren’t wearing a T-shirt with the employer’s name on it or they haven’t put anything on social media and there’s no other connection – it’s unlikely you would be able to take much action, even if you as the employer thought they had done the wrong thing.” Indeed, a common defence from an employee might be that their personal life has nothing to do with their work and ‘never the twain shall meet’. However, in an age of social media, this argument is tenuous at best. “The counterargument would be that if

“We see the problem when it’s too late – the conduct has occurred” Kylie Groves, Hall & Wilcox about not-for-profit organisation Christians Against Poverty damaged his employer’s interests, because Credit Corp Group’s client base was other not-for-profits, and this justified the termination of his employment. To cite another hypothetical example, if someone was arrested at a rally for the National Front, could their employer use that to terminate their employment? “It would go back to whether they are able to establish a connection to their employment,” Groves says. “If there is no connection – they

other employees are aware of those beliefs, it potentially could harm the workplace and become very much the concern of the employer,” Weisenfeld says. An employee who expresses their extreme views in a public social media forum “would have less of a leg to stand on”, Weisenfeld suggests. Again, once co-workers have seen those views it could greatly hamper employee morale, not to mention customers who could stumble upon them. “It would be very much akin to making

sexist remarks on Facebook – and equally difficult to defend,” he says.

Great expectations Weisenfeld offers some parting tips to employers. Firstly, ensure all the facts are gathered and remember there is a difference between having views that may be outside of the political mainstream and being a member of a hate group. “In addition, one employee saying a co-worker is in a hate group doesn’t necessarily make it so,” he says. “The complaint may be 100% legitimate or the accuser may have an axe to grind. Either way, the employer generally should speak to the accused before taking disciplinary action.” Groves advises employers to continually remind employees of their expectations regarding acceptable and unacceptable behaviour in the workplace; and secondly, to have policies that reinforce these expectations. “We see the problem when it’s too late – the conduct has occurred and the employer is trying to deal with the conduct,” she says. “But it’s a ‘prevention is better than a cure’ scenario. For the prevention to be achievable, it comes down to not only having clear expectations in your policies, but to have training and other interventions to ensure you have a more tolerant workplace.”

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UPFRONT

EMPLOYMENT LAW UPDATE NEWS BRIEFS

Fair Work Ombudsman releases Annual Report

In the 2016/17 financial year, the Fair Work Ombudsman resolved nearly 27,000 requests for assistance involving a workplace dispute, a 9% increase on the last financial year. A focus on early intervention by providing employees and employers with tailored education and dispute resolution services has seen the average time taken to resolve a request for assistance involving a workplace dispute reduce to 15 days, as compared with 19 days in 2015/16. Targeted compliance activities have resulted in a 12% increase in the total number of enforcement tools used, with $30.6m recovered for more than 17,000 employees.

HR manager penalised for ‘systemic exploitation’

An HR manager is one of three people who have been found to be systematically exploiting employees at a Chinese restaurant in NSW and fabricating records to try to cover their tracks. Almost $400,000 in penalties were imposed in the Federal Court after 85 employees at the New Shanghai Charlestown restaurant were underpaid $583,688 over a 16-month period in 2013/14. A $21,760 penalty was imposed against the restaurant’s HR manager, Ting 'Sarah' Zhu, and Justice Robert Bromwich dismissed her argument that her culpability was greatly reduced because she was following her boss’s orders.

Anti-discrimination concerns continue

Lawyers have urged Parliament to move swiftly to introduce legislation that legalises marriage equality while preserving important anti-discrimination protections for LGBTI Australians. Law Council of Australia president Fiona McLeod SC

said: “The people of Australia were asked if they wanted same-sex couples to marry and they have delivered a resounding ‘yes’. They have not been asked if Australia’s anti-discrimination protections should be wound back. This important distinction should be front of mind for all Parliamentarians.” She added that discrimination on arbitrary grounds, including sexual orientation, is contrary to Australia’s international human rights obligations.

Employee unfairly dismissed for job hunting at work

A former employee of Amber Traffic Management has been awarded $10,374 in an unfair dismissal case. The graphic designer was dismissed in May for using office equipment to hunt for a new job, and for sending work files to his private email account. However, the Fair Work Commissioner found that the employee did not intentionally breach company policies by sending work files to his private email, and that there was no evidence that “even if they were (sent to a third party) that their distribution would have caused significant or irreparable detriment” to Amber Traffic Management.

Survey reveals legal knowledge gaps

Only one in three employers are confident they are compliant with the Fair Work Act, according to the Employsure Workplace Index. Further, 20% admit they know very little or nothing at all about the Fair Work Act. The Employsure Workplace Index surveyed 500 Australian small and medium sized businesses. The research also revealed one in four employers find it difficult to calculate the correct pay, entitlements, and interpret the Modern Awards for their business. In addition, only 10% of managers are confident they understand the Fair Work Act.

DISCIPLINARY ACTION AND MENTAL ILLNESS HRD investigates what support should be offered to an employee with a mental illness during performance management A rigorous and formal disciplinary process can have a “devastating” impact on someone with a mental illness, according to Campbell Fisher, managing partner and solicitor director at FCB Group. When an employee has a mental illness and a formalised performance management process is being contemplated, the first question to be asked is whether the employee is capable of participating, Fisher tells HRD. “It’s important to question whether somebody with a mental illness is actually well enough to properly respond to a process and make decisions for themselves,” he says. “That’s always a difficult issue. Essentially it is a medical question rather than a legal question, but it’s something that people often don’t pay enough attention to. “Instead, they just launch straight into a process and wonder why it doesn’t go very well.” Fisher says that determining whether an employee is well enough to participate in the process should be conducted through an independent medical assessment, particularly if the person is contending that they are not well enough. He adds that there are a range of structures that can be added to a process to ensure it is objective and as fair as possible. “Obviously, if there are interpersonal issues at play you might want to introduce some different people to the process,” Fisher says.

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“You would normally offer the person who is going through the process a support person so that they can be supported through the process. “If the person is really unwell, you have got to assess whether the process itself places them at further risk of harm and whether it is also manageable for the people who are involved in the process with them.” So what type of support does someone with a mental illness really need during performance management? “Lots of organisations have employee assistance programs, which allow you to separate the support and treatment of the mental health condition vis-à-vis the

What type of support does someone with a mental illness need? work issues,” he says. Fisher adds that it can be stressful managing a person with serious mental health issues, particularly if they may threaten to self-harm. “It can be not only a danger to them but also to the people around them who take on the responsibility of trying to ensure that they don’t do that,” he says. “People who have mental health issues sometimes operate in unpredictable ways, and the obligation of organisations is not only to protect their health and safety at work but also the other people at work.”

Q&A

DISMISSAL FOR ‘SERIOUS MISCONDUCT’ Amber Chandler Partner BARKER HENLEY

Fast fact The Regulations of the Fair Work Act 2009 define “serious misconduct” as the following: • wilful or deliberate behaviour that is inconsistent with the continuation of the contract of employment • conduct that causes serious and imminent risk to the health or safety of a person; or the reputation, viability or profitability of the employer’s business • engaging in theft, fraud or assault in the course of the employee’s employment • being intoxicated at work • refusal to carry out a lawful and reasonable instruction that is consistent with the employee’s contract of employment

What is serious misconduct? Employment contracts often contain a ‘get out’ clause which allows for an employee to be dismissed without notice (summarily dismissed) if they engage in serious misconduct. However, employers can often be hesitant to use this clause as there is a risk that they might get it wrong, and the misconduct might not actually qualify as “serious” enough to deprive an employee of notice. If a common law breach of contract claim is brought, then the common law approach to serious misconduct is relevant. There have been many court decisions expounding on the common law meaning, including a well-known definition set out by the Commonwealth Industrial Court in O’Connor v Palmer and Others (No 1) (1959) 1 FLR 397: “Without attempting to define exhaustively the word ‘misconduct’ it involves something more than mere negligence, error of judgment or innocent mistake.” Employment contracts may actually spell out specific circumstances, although it will be ultimately up to the court to determine whether those circumstances fall within the definition. How does an employer go about dismissing an employee who has engaged in serious misconduct? Thoroughly review the circumstances to ensure that the conduct is serious enough to warrant the summary dismissal. In a recent unfair dismissal case before the Fair Work Commission (Duddington v Mario and Clare Enterprises Pty Ltd and Morgan Trading Pty Ltd [2017] FWC 2958), a manager was summarily dismissed for showing disrespect by asking his employer to leave the premises and also for whistling while he worked. However, while the Commission found that the disrespect constituted a valid reason for dismissal, it did not support a summary dismissal, and said that the employee should have been afforded procedural fairness by being warned his job was in jeopardy because of his attitude. Before moving to summarily dismiss the employee, an objective investigation must first have established that the employee actually did engage in the serious misconduct. In a decision by the NSW Court of Appeal (Bartlett v Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd [2016] NSWCA 30), Mr Bartlett had been summarily dismissed by ANZ for leaking a confidential email. A journalist had given ANZ an envelope with a copy of the email inside. ANZ had conducted a forensic examination on the handwriting on the envelope and concluded it was Mr Bartlett’s handwriting, as he was one of only 10 employees who had been sent the email. Based on the employment contract, which provided “ANZ may terminate your employment at any time, without notice, if, in the opinion of ANZ, you engage in serious misconduct”, ANZ appeared well within its rights to do so as it had formed an opinion that Mr Bartlett was guilty. However, the Court held that ANZ’s opinion alone was not sufficient, but rather, ANZ’s opinion had to be reasonable. In this situation, the Court held that it was not reasonable to conclude from ANZ’s investigation that Mr Bartlett had engaged in the alleged conduct.

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UPFRONT

L&D UPDATE

CAN TRAINING IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH? Untreated mental illness is a mighty weight on workers and their companies. Here’s how HR can help

In Australia, more than six million employees take sick leave every year due to mental illness. What can be done to address this? A world-first study published in Lancet Psychiatry, led by researchers at the Black Dog Institute and UNSW Sydney, suggests that basic mental health training for managers can result in significant benefits for employees. The research looked at the effects of a fourhour mental health training program delivered to Fire & Rescue NSW managers. It found that the training was associated with a return on investment of $9.98 for each dollar spent on training and major reductions in workrelated sickness absence. It is also the first study to show that training managers about mental health issues can have a

NEWS BRIEFS

direct impact on improving occupational outcomes for workers. Lead author associate professor Samuel Harvey, who leads the Workplace Mental Health Research Program at the Black Dog Institute, says that workplaces and managers should have a significant role to play in addressing mental health. “One of the key problems of mental illness is the impact it can have on people’s careers, but this doesn’t have to be the case,” Harvey says. “Having a supportive manager can make a huge difference to a person’s mental wellbeing, and as this study shows, giving basic mental health training to managers can bring significant changes to both confidence and behaviour among staff.” The trial randomly assigned 88 managers responsible for close to 4,000 staff into either

Most important skills needed for the future

A new report, The Future of Talent, by Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) set out to uncover tomorrow’s skills by reaching out to 800 Australian business leaders. Communication skills ranked first with 90% of the vote, while problem-solving ranked second, and adaptability and agility ranked third. Geraldine Magarey of CA ANZ, said the results showed that despite advancements in technology such as AI, business leaders see uniquely human capabilities and skills as being more important than ever. 10

an intervention group – who received the RESPECT mental health training program – or a control group. Six months later, managers were then reassessed along with their employees, with researchers measuring changes in work-related sickness absence. On following up, work-related sick leave decreased by 18% among those whose manager received the RESPECT training. This equated to a reduction of 6.45 hours per employee over six months. Further, in the same period, the control group who did not receive basic manager mental health

“Having a supportive manager can make a huge difference” training saw an increase in work-related sickness absence of 10%. Harvey adds that many managers are reluctant to raise mental health concerns without formal training. “With a large proportion of employees now working longer and more flexibly than in previous generations, these results are a promising sign that managers can take a more active role in assisting their employees to lead mentally healthier lives,” he says. “These findings are relevant for frontline emergency services workers, who face unique stressors throughout their daily duties that can potentially worsen or directly cause mental illness, such as post-traumatic stress disorder.”

Training program to boost women in tech

A new internship program has been introduced to help young women into a technology career. Xero, Cogent, Deepend and August are among the first partners to sign up to the initiative. Code Like A Girl will support the program, providing all interns with a mentor and regular one-on-one coaching sessions, and will facilitate personal and professional development sessions on a range of topics, such as how to overcome impostor syndrome. James O’Reilly, talent acquisition lead, Xero Australia, said the unfortunate reality is that currently there are too few tech workers in Australia to meet demand.

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Q&A

THE COACHING ROOM What is the difference between managing and leading? Jay Hedley Managing partner THE COACHING ROOM

Fast fact According to the 2016 Deloitte Millennial Survey, more than six in 10 millennials (63%) say their “leadership skills are not being fully developed”.

As [Canadian author] Bob Willard said, “Leading is doing the right things, managing is doing things right.” Leading is different from managing as its core concern is about others. Leading is about creating, exploring, and communicating meaning and value with intentionality. Leaders engage others in a future vision of possibility. It starts with dreaming and a focus on mismatching the present and the future. This emphasis on the future versus the present is one of the key differences between managing and leading. Management is about the here and now, while leadership is about the future and the possibility of that future. Leaders do not manage the status quo; they want to disrupt the status quo in service of its future potential.

Why is leadership a disruptive process? A new style of leadership has emerged that is centred on connecting and engaging with people to understand where their potential exists. This goes beyond personalities and differences that seek to maintain the status quo. Leadership is about disruption in service of taking people into a space of discomfort in service of finding out their possibilities. Leaders need to become specialists in human beings as we are shifting out of the phases of knowledge into a phase of development to awaken the potential within people. People are naturally uncomfortable with disruption, which creates a culture based on the status quo. This points to managing culture and a desire for continued

Why do businesses keep losing staff?

The link between offering meaningful career development opportunities and retention has been confirmed by the 2017 Staff Retention Report by the Institute of Managers and Leaders (IML). It found 79% of staff left to seek new challenges and 58% resigned due to limited career advancement. David Pich, CEO of the IML, said helping employees achieve personal and career goals was critical to retention. “Staff stay when their organisations show they value them by investing in their professional development and providing a clear path for career progression,” he said.

Are L&D strategies missing the mark?

circumstances. To create a more purposeful culture within a business is to intentionally disrupt the current culture in service of customers. Organisations exist to serve customers, but when they become complacent, the market moves on and so do their customers. As the needs of customers shift and change, organisations need to be adaptive or they will get left behind.

How does developmental leadership differ from performance leadership? Performance leadership is managing in the third- and fourth-person perspective. It is managing behaviours and actions against set criteria that are observable and changeable with a focus on change. From a fourthperson perspective, systems must also change to create a functional fit that allows people to perform in their roles. Performance leadership facilitates change in performance through actions and behaviours. Developmental leadership is about a first- and second-person perspective. This type of leadership develops the interior of the individual in service of the exterior. It creates a social system that allows teams and people to connect and interact. Developmental leadership involves coaching and developing the collective interior in service of the exterior, which is a translation of the interior. In 2018, we will be offering five-day leadership workshops to help people become enlightened leaders with the ability to lead people to their possibilities. This program is designed for leaders who want to improve their leadership skills and lead more effectively.

L&D in Australia is being used in a way that is “unscientific and largely a waste of time and money”, according to Anthony Mitchell, chief potential officer at strategic advisory firm Bendelta. A survey of 500 senior leaders by Bendelta found that 78% of respondents run development programs with little idea of what world-class in that capability looks like, with only 5% having a very clear view. Moreover, 74% give participants either no feedback on how they are improving over the course of the program, or limit this to sporadic, delayed feedback.

Older Aussies seek new skills

Older Australians believe they are most in need of reskilling, with 76% of those aged 45+ seeking jobrelated skills – a much higher proportion than younger age groups, according to the latest Workmonitor survey from Randstad Australia. Seventy-two per cent of 35-44 year olds say they need reskilling, compared to 59% of 25-34 year olds. “Over the next 10-15 years, 40% of jobs are expected to be replaced by automation. It’s imperative for Australian workers to recognise this and grasp the opportunity by adapting their skills as industries evolve,” said Frank Ribuot, CEO of Randstad Australia. www.hcamag.com

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23/11/2017 3:21:54 PM

UPFRONT

HEAD TO HEAD

Closing the gender gap Are employers doing enough to reduce gender inequality?

Butch Clas

Human resources director ASEAN/ANZ Dow Chemical Pacific

Peter Acheson

President and managing director SAP Australia and New Zealand The fact Australia’s national gender pay gap is 15.3% shows employers still aren’t doing enough to reduce gender inequality. Until this is zero and we are no longer talking about the issue we all have more to do. Through SAP’s commitment to becoming an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality we ensure starting salaries for females and males are on par for similar roles and experience levels; we’ve increased workplace flexibility, and recently signed WGEA’s Pay Equity Pledge. Through our efforts we’ve lowered SAP’s gender pay gap to 2%, and are well on our way to eliminating it entirely.

Gender inequality continues to be a challenge in the general industry. The remedies to reduce inequality lie with leadership and HR working together with clear strategy: gender friendly policies for work time; child care/elder care; equitable pay practices and leadership opportunities; and realising employees may want time off to address family issues. But most importantly, it means being mindful and unbiased. While HR can play an important role as advisor, leadership needs to be a role model to make it reality. We also need to promote greater gender neutrality in education and break the historical cycle of traditional gender roles.

As a Pay Equity Ambassador, my experience is that training is the first step. It is essential to begin by raising awareness of when and where unconscious biases are creeping in. As an example, the Peoplebank staff is trained to pick up on subtle job ad words that can shape a potential applicant’s response. Using masculine language – adjectives like competitive and dynamic – can lead some women to feel they might not fit in with a particular culture. By being aware of what an unconscious bias looks like, the Peoplebank team is better equipped to counter instances of unconscious biases.

Colin Brookes

CEO Peoplebank

87 CENTS TO THE DOLLAR The median full-time working woman in Australia earns 87c to every dollar earned by her male counterpart; that’s according to the OECD’s recent report, The Pursuit of Gender Equality: An Uphill Battle. This figure puts Australia slightly above the average across the OECD, which amounted to 85.7c to the dollar. In Australia’s case, the gender earning gap is attributable to such core causes as women’s greater likelihood of taking career breaks to start or raise a family, as well as employer discrimination. Despite the fact that young women are more likely to have a greater number of years of education under their belts than young men, women are less likely to have paid work. This gap widens with age, as becoming a parent usually has a deleterious effect on women’s remuneration and career trajectory. According to recommendations made in the report, it is incumbent on both public and private sector employers to strengthen policies facilitating parental leave for both genders, including longer periods of paid parental leave, affordable childcare and tax incentives.

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EXPERT INSIGHT

Brought to you by

WORKPLACE RELATIONS

GET THE BEST FROM YOUR STAFF IN 2018 Aiming to create a high-performance culture? 2018 might be the year it happens. Luis Izzo reports FOR MANY employers, performance management is synonymous with performance improvement plans (PIP), past behaviours and warnings. The focus for 2018 for all employers who are striving to achieve a high-performance culture must be on two key areas: 1. Identifying what drives employee engagement 2. Managing good performance If employers address these two areas, underperformance can often be avoided in the first place.

Drivers of employee engagement Most underperforming employees weren’t born to underperform. It may sound obvious, but usually there is a reason for underperformance and often it derives from low employee engagement. That is, the employee’s rational and emotional attachment to their job and career with your businesses may be low. This can be an easy matter to fix, provided you appropriately identify the drivers of employee engagement and which ones might not be working so well in your business. There are generally two drivers of engagement: rational and emotional. The rational drivers are the obvious ones people may think of. For instance, an employee

may work harder if they believe it may result in more remuneration or promotion. They may also work harder if they fear disciplinary consequences for performing poorly. However, rational drivers of engagement are only so effective. Let’s face it – you can only hand out so many pay rises!

management or are expectations not clearly identified? » Are employees appropriately trained for the job? » Are employees being treated consistently? If any of these factors are not properly addressed, employees can become disheartened and underperformance can become inevitable.

Managing good performance The other factor that can significantly affect a team’s performance is failure by managers to appropriately recognise ongoing good performance on an ad-hoc basis. If managers spend all of their time focusing on the one or two underperforming team members, the emotional engagement of those employees performing satisfactorily may be affected. This is when ad-hoc positive performance management becomes so important. It doesn’t cost anything, and it goes directly towards driving emotional engagement. Ad-hoc positive performance management is

Most underperforming employees weren’t born to underperform The reality is that emotional drivers of engagement are often more easily addressed and are, in fact, the more powerful driver of employee performance. This is because emotional engagement equates to passion for a job. Every manager should ask themselves these tough questions if they have a team member performing at sub-optimal levels: » Does the employee understand the importance of their job to the company? » Are they being given ownership over their work? » Does the team have a culture of respecting employees as individuals? » Does the employee’s team pride itself on its work and reputation? » Does the team manager lead by example? » Is there clear communication from

specific, immediate, personal and spontaneous. It needs to be regularly applied but balanced – often enough to be effective, but rare enough to be appreciated. A general rule of thumb is for managers to try to find someone doing something right every day and let them know. So before you reach for your next PIP or warning letter, get your managers to try some of the above and you will create a better performing and engaged workforce. Luis Izzo is director, workplace relations at Australian Business Lawyers (ABLA). Serving business and only business, this legal and advisory firm is trusted by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and is the leading voice for industry in the Fair Work Commission. If you need to review your performance management processes or would like to explore tailored training for your managers, contact Luis on 02 9458 7640 or luis.izzo@ablawyers.com.au.

www.hcamag.com

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23/11/2017 3:24:01 PM

PEOPLE

GLOBAL HR LEADER

A HUMAN-CENTRIC LEADER Liam Hayes suggests human-centric leadership is critical in a globally disrupted marketplace, from design thinking to creating a future-ready workforce

OVER THE past three years, HR professionals have seen elements of employee engagement evolve into something that, although similar, is perhaps even more critical: the employee experience. The employee experience takes into consideration the physical environment in which employees work, the tools and technologies that enable their productivity, and the learning opportunities they have access to – all with the end goal of ensuring employees can achieve their best at work. Redesigning the employee experience is something Aurecon’s global chief people officer, Liam Hayes, has prioritised. To help the global engineering and infrastructure advisory company achieve its ambitions, Hayes recruited an industrial designer with an innovation background to join his leadership team at the start of 2017. Her role is to embed design thinking into Aurecon’s employee experience. “If we tried to do this as an HR team, with our HR knowledge, the danger is we’d probably get a similar outcome to what we have today,” Hayes tells HRD. He adds that his team is challenging itself

to “do things differently” in order to engage with the end users of HR’s services. “We’re working with our senior leaders to look at this from a holistic perspective,” he says. “We’re not looking at the employee experience just from the HR point of view, but taking all elements that impact the employee experience and ensuring they align with and support the type of client

HRD: Can you outline your career to now? Liam Hayes: Technically, I’ve only worked at one company, but it has evolved during the last 15 years. I started my HR career as an intern at the end of my second year of university – it was a six-month work placement with one of Aurecon’s heritage firms, Connell Wagner. At the end of that

“If we tried to do this as an HR team, with our HR knowledge, the danger is we’d probably get a similar outcome to what we have today” experience we want to deliver as a business. It is taking us down a very different path to anything we have done before.” This human-centric approach to leadership has helped shape Hayes’ career – and it has reaped dividends. In July, Hayes won a coveted Australian Financial Review BOSS magazine Young Executive of the Year Award. Hayes chats with HRD about his career challenges and highlights.

six-month period, they offered me a fulltime HR officer role, which I accepted. I subsequently completed my degree part-time over a couple of years. I was in that position for about four years before moving up into a regional HR operations management role that covered Australia, NZ, Asia and the Middle East. Adding to the role, I was lucky enough to be asked by the CEO at the time to lead a culture change program as part of a broader

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PROFILE Name: Liam Hayes Company: Aurecon HR experience: 15 years Qualifications: »»Bachelor of Business, Human Resources Management, Victoria University »»Driving Performance Through Talent Management, Harvard Business School Previous roles: »»Global talent & culture leader, Aurecon »»Human capital leader – ANZ & Asia, Aurecon »»Group manager human capital operations & culture change – ANZ, Asia & Middle East, Connell Wagner »»Human capital advisor – ANZ, Asia & Middle East, Connell Wagner »»Human resources officer – ANZ & Asia, Connell Wagner

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PEOPLE

GLOBAL HR LEADER business transformation program that he was running. After a couple of years handling this function, I was appointed to the regional people leader role for our operations across Australia, New Zealand and Asia. I then moved into a global talent and culture leader capacity for around a year, before moving into my current position as the global chief people officer for Aurecon.

HRD: How did the Young Executive of the Year Award come about? LH: There were 100 nominations that were whittled down to 10 finalists and then six winners. There were two parts to being selected as a finalist. The first involved going through a pretty gruelling ‘CEO for a day’ simulation exercise done in conjunction with DDI. In this, we were assessed not on whatever our core capability was – marketing, finance, HR, etc – but rather on our competencies as a

an ability to take a broader view of a business beyond the people lens. We’re entering a period of dramatic change in which leaders will need to use a very different toolkit of skills in order to thrive in a globally disrupted marketplace. Never before have we seen good people practices being so important, because today organisations need to take people on a journey. We’ve got to embed an understanding of a new vision and changing future; we’ve got to be able to retrain people, to encourage them to adopt new skills.

HRD: What can HR professionals do for themselves to ensure their own skills remain sharp during this time of disruption? LH: I’ll split it into two parts. Growing your technical HR capability is always going to be important, and through this period of rapid change you’ve got to be able to stay up-to-

“What will really differentiate all professionals, not just HR professionals, is their ability to problem-solve and innovate” CEO and our ability to run a business. It was one of the most intense things I’ve ever done, but it was also a great learning experience. The second part was facing a rigorous panel of heavyweight business leaders in an interview. We were quizzed about our backgrounds and our career aspirations.

HRD: The judges said that all finalists showed emotional maturity, resilience and a genuine passion for their business, their teams and community around them. Is there anything else you believe the judges saw in you personally? LH: What I talked to the judges about, and a key part of my nomination, was a focus on human-centric leadership. That came through, I think, in how I simulated running the business and my decision-making as a CEO, not just as an HR professional – but

date with the latest trends. Personally, I do a lot of reading. We’re fortunate in this day and age to have access to a vast amount of tools and research online, and making sure you’re aware and learning from what others are doing is extremely important. I’ve always got a business book I’m reading on my iPad. But I think what will really differentiate all professionals, not just HR professionals, is their ability to problem-solve and innovate. If we look at the rise of AI and machine learning, there is no doubt some of the tasks HR do today will be automated in some way in the future. But it’s much harder to automate someone’s knowledge, their ideas, their ability to ask the right questions, and their ability to work with stakeholders, as well as innovate and develop solutions. From an HR point of view, the whole workforce of the future will look very different. If we can take those problem-solving and innovation

FROM LOCAL TO GLOBAL “I’ve been lucky to have worked in both regional and global roles, and I love the challenges that come with these. A few things have helped me along the way: Be mindful of different cultures. One size

1 doesn’t fit all. That’s the biggest mistake

you can make – to assume that how you might roll out an initiative in Australia is the same as what you’ll do in Asia or Africa. Look at projects to get involved in that

2 might give you exposure to working across geographic boundaries and different cultures. Look for a mentor to help you navigate the

3 challenges you will face. Go in with a

learning mindset; you don’t know everything and it’s OK to ask questions.” skills and work with our client groups, we have a huge opportunity to shape and drive this workforce of the future.

HRD: What are you doing to shape the future workforce of Aurecon? LH: One thing we’re doing as a business and in our people team at Aurecon is building this capability by applying and developing concepts around design thinking. We are using design thinking to re-imagine our employee experience; last year as a people team we went out and asked some of our clients about the attributes they believe Aurecon people will need to have in the future. Based on what we gained from those interviews, we developed what we call the eight Aurecon Attributes. We look for these attributes when we’re recruiting people into the business, and aim to build teams embodying all eight attributes in order to solve client problems. We’ve created a whole new people development framework around those attributes, to help people grow their future capabilities. Hear Liam Hayes speak at the National HR Summit, Sydney, 14-15 March. Visit www.hrsummit.com.au

www.hcamag.com

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24/11/2017 5:46:21 AM

NHRS_

AWARDED AUSTRALIA’S BEST BUSINESS EVENT

14-15 March • Luna Park Sydney

NEW SPEAKERS ANNOUNCED

Saroo Brierley, Best-selling author, A Long Way Home

Libbi Wilson, Group HR Director, Coca-Cola Amatil

Liam Hayes, Chief People Officer, Aurecon

Rachael Powell, Chief People Officer, XERO

Greg Barnier, Chief People Officer, icare NSW

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FEATURES

COVER STORY: HOT LIST

HOT LIST 2017 In a year marked by relentless change and disruption, the HR professionals listed on HRD’s annual Hot List are demonstrating resilience, innovation and can-do attitude

“I BELIEVE that the most important trait [for an HR director] is to be a trusted advisor to the CEO or to the senior management team that the senior manager works for. From a skill perspective, to really make a difference in the business, I believe it is the commercial acumen and the business knowledge that’s important.” Those are the thoughts of one of this year’s Hot List members, Mathew Paine, director of human resources at International Convention Centre Sydney. In just over 50 words, it’s a nice summation of where HR sits at the end of 2017. The HR practitioners featured over the following pages would no doubt agree that it’s a fascinating, if not slightly daunting, time to be in the profession. After years of struggle to be taken seriously at executive and board level, most HR professionals are today acting as trusted advisors to their business. Indeed, it’s remarkable how many people listed on this year’s Hot List specifically mentioned to HRD the importance of being seen not just as HR professionals – and therefore being good at the people stuff – but also being good at business, full stop. HR professionals today must look through a lens that views their role in the context of broader business operations. They must know the key business drivers, while also excelling at all items traditionally viewed as HR’s responsibility. From breakthrough strides in D&I to negotiating with unions, through to ensuring their teams keep up with both technology and changing employee expectations, this year’s Hot List is jam-packed with talented, passionate and successful business leaders.

HOT LIST INDEX NAME

COMPANY

PAGE

Baker, Neil

Cooper Grace Ward Lawyers

Barnier, Greg

icare

Cotroneo, Susie

Dimension Data Australia

Cram, Daniel

News Corp

Crawford, Fiona

InfoTrack

Davis, Gwilym

Brisbane Airport Corporation

Diab, Alex

NSW Business Chamber

Dickson, Kelly

Defence Health

Dooley, Merryl

Tabcorp

Ferrier, Beben

Vertiv

Folkes, Gillian

Insurance Australia Group

Halabut, Laurence

Toyota Finance Australia

Hogan, Marianne

Macquarie Telecom Group

Jenkins, Ingrid

Microsoft Australia

Mann, Elise

Motorola Solutions Australia and New Zealand

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ANJANETTE MURFET HR director Coca-Cola South Pacific

When asked about dealing with disruption, Anjanette Murfet refers to the concept of ‘flip-thinking’ that was taught at a training exercise on innovation at Coca-Cola University. It involves “essentially flipping all of your traditional thinking about a concept on its head and looking at how you can do it differently”. This is just one of many thought leadership breakthroughs Murfet is currently working to apply and impart to the rest of her team. Their goal is to build a strong culture of innovation and to future-proof their people to adapt to industry changes. This year, Murfet has been busy helping to implement a global performance enablement program, which involves replacing traditional performance ratings and bi-annual review processes with more agile performance management practices, such as a monthly feedback based on a two-way feedback system, and team assessments. Coca-Cola has also implemented a professional development program accessible from anywhere in the world.

NAME

COMPANY

PAGE

Marshall, Sara

Canon Australia

McGill, Cherie

Mantra Group

Morris, Elise

Swisse Wellness

Murfet, Anjanette

Coca-Cola South Pacific

Nixon, Kim

NetApp

Paine, Mathew

International Convention Centre Sydney

Powell, Rachael

Xero

Rasmussen, Thomas Hedegaard

National Australia Bank

Reid, Cindy

Konica Minolta

Sheehan, Lisa

Carsales

Thomson, Rose

Travelport

Wandmacher, Randy

Accenture

Watson, Shiona

PepsiCo Australia

York, Carlene

NSW Police Force

INGRID JENKINS Director, HR Microsoft Australia

Recognising the importance of work-life balance and the difficulty of achieving such a balance, Ingrid Jenkins and her team at Microsoft helped roll out an enhancement of their family leave benefits earlier this year. The enhancement involves increasing fully paid maternity leave to 20 weeks and fully paid paternity/parental leave to six weeks for all new parents. The goal is to ensure that parents have time to bond with their new child, whether through birth, adoption or foster placement. Microsoft also introduced a new time away benefit of four weeks, also paid at 100%, for those who need to take care of an immediate family member with a serious health condition. As director, HR for Microsoft, Jenkins has a keen passion for growing the opportunities for the HR function within the fast-paced IT sector. She is motivated by the role of HR to collaborate with leaders to foster a culture of empowerment and continuous achievement.

www.hcamag.com

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FEATURES

COVER STORY: HOT LIST GILLIAN FOLKES Group general manager, people, culture and enterprise Insurance Australia Group

Over the past two years, insurance giant IAG (NRMA Insurance, SGIO, SGIC, et al) has prioritised the use of design thinking to enhance HR processes and systems. Gillian Folkes says this focus has led them to develop a three-phase plan that involves discovering underlying needs and insights, reflecting on the most crucial areas for improvement, and experimenting with ideas and prototypes in order to come up with sustainable solutions. The company as a whole has fully embraced and adopted the use of data analytics and AI, which has led to the creation of customised tools that address the varying needs and wants of external and internal customers. Folkes and her team are ensuring that they follow suit in terms of HR operations, specifically by simplifying processes and managing information for employee empowerment.

RANDY WANDMACHER HR director, Australia and New Zealand Accenture

Randy Wandmacher is a seasoned organisation change leader and a member of Accenture’s HR management committee, responsible for ensuring exceptional employee experiences among the company’s team members in the region. He has a particular interest in helping colleagues determine and align their professional and personal goals with business objectives in order to hit multiple birds with one stone and achieve success all-around. As a leader in HR and organisational change, Wandmacher’s focus is on encouraging “talent practices that deliver hyper-personalised experiences”, recognising that people become more open and adaptive to change as their needs are better met. He was responsible for the design and launch of Accenture’s revamped performance management strategy, which has shifted from a traditional annual approach to an ongoing, fluid feedback process.

ELISE MORRIS Director of people and culture Swisse Wellness

One of the items at the top of Elise Morris’ agenda is fostering wellbeing and work-life balance within the organisation through the practice of mindfulness. A positive psychology practitioner and a disruptor of traditional people management practices, Morris believes that maintaining a continual, guided awareness of self and others can lead to unlocking

ROSE THOMSON CHRO Travelport

Having lived and worked across Asia and Europe in numerous multinational corporations, including Disney and Barclays, Rose Thomson says she’s learned how to recognise the earliest signs of change and disruption. Thomson says her priority is to equip employees to support Travelport’s transformation strategy, and to grow agile leaders. From her own drastic experience with change management in the days of her pre-HR career, when a significant proportion of IBM’s Australian staff were made redundant, Thomson remains convinced of the value and impact of helping people transition successfully into new places and new roles. “Change is always going to happen, but we’ll be judged based on whether we treated people with respect and fairness once the emotion is removed from those decisions,” she told HRD.

of latent potential among people. Through Morris and her team’s efforts, Swisse Wellness has been recognised as a global example of excellence for their work on whole-person wellness – covering everything from mindfulness to movement and nutrition. The company has also been named as an employer of choice for their initiatives on engagement and retention, and is always emphasising their mission to make people healthier and happier – a mission that is the crux of Morris’ work as head of people and culture.

www.hcamag.com

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MERRYL DOOLEY Executive general manager, people, culture and communications Tabcorp

With more than 25 years’ experience in corporate roles, Merryl Dooley has deep expertise in sales and HR. Passionate about gender diversity in her industry, she champions a culture that sees employees, no matter their gender, build long-term, meaningful careers. Over the past four years the number of senior women at Tabcorp has increased from 28% to 39%. In addition, around 140 females have completed Tabcorp’s women’s mentoring program, designed to empower and grow females to fulfil their personal and professional goals. As a result of these initiatives, as well as Dooley’s focus on creating a truly values-driven workplace, Tabcorp has been acknowledged as an employer of choice for gender equality by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency for two consecutive years. “Culture and values are one and the same, and they have to be,” Dooley told HRD. “For me, values provide our social licence to operate. That requires thinking about what the organisation is doing – essentially delivering its products and services – but also how we do that.”

www.hcamag.com

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FEATURES

COVER STORY: HOT LIST CHERIE MCGILL Executive director, HR Mantra Group

Having been with Mantra Group for nearly 13 years, Cherie McGill finds her job more rewarding than ever, especially with Mantra Group receiving the Gold Award for HRD’s Employer of Choice 2017. The focus at Mantra has largely been on training and development, as well as career progression for all employees. To complement these programs, McGill ensures that there is an accompanying focus on empowering employees to take charge of their career paths, by encouraging them to work closely with direct managers and HR partners to draft their own career plan. Having identified communication to a dispersed workforce as their biggest people-related challenge, McGill and her team are always on the lookout for the most effective medium, including traditional newsletters and social media.

CINDY REID Director of people and culture Konica Minolta

When Cindy Reid joined Konica Minolta, she sought to further the company’s CSR program by partnering with charities in an arrangement that frequently involves mentoring roles in both directions. The company prides itself on its ethical and sustainable approach to all business operations. Konica Minolta has been named industry group leader on the Dow Jones Sustainability World and Asia Pacific indices. In November, the company was also named a recipient of an Anti-Slavery Australia Freedom Award, in recognition of its commitment to helping combat exploitation through CSR and ethical sourcing. The Freedom Awards raise awareness of all forms of slavery and human trafficking, and promote the positive difference individuals and organisations can make to the lives of trafficked and enslaved people.

SUSIE COTRONEO Director of people and culture Dimension Data Australia

Susie Cotroneo’s passion project in 2017 has been revamping Dimension Data’s approach to performance management. She believes firmly that one’s salary should be judged on the role you perform, how you conduct yourself and whether you achieve your goals – rather than an arbitrary ratings system conducted once a year – and this is something that should be discussed weekly with managers across the board. Cotroneo took the new approach to a global leader’s meeting in March and stated the case for the new process to be installed across the entire Dimension Data Group. This was accepted, and the next annual review will be the last to take place in its traditional form.

KELLY DICKSON Head of HR Defence Health

Under Kelly Dickson’s leadership, the HR team at Defence Health has designed and successfully deployed a competency framework to identify the skills needed in each role across the organisation, as well as a clear pathway for career progression. While working on the internal framework for employee progress and development, Dickson also steered Defence Health’s HR team towards digitisation through the implementation of a new system designed to help the team identify internal strengths and development needs along with trends and key insights for workforce planning. These efforts remain crucial to talent retention and low turnover – the average tenure of current employees remains at five-plus years. Dickson is a seasoned HR practitioner with over 16 years’ experience in the industry, and has worked in various sectors ranging from finance to private health insurance. Prior to Defence Health, she was manager of leadership and culture and head of people at NAB.

www.hcamag.com

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RACHAEL POWELL Chief people officer Xero

When asked about what fuels success, Rachael Powell says it all begins with pie – the happiness pie, which explains how a sizeable chunk (40%) of our happiness is self-determined, achievable through intentional activities, mindsets and behaviours. This realisation is what led Powell to go back to university to tackle a master’s in positive psychology; today she incorporates these principles into her work on the people experience at Xero. As a practitioner of positive psychology herself, Powell’s own set of happiness habits includes exercise, meditation, random acts of kindness, goal-setting, and practising gratefulness. Powell, who has been recognised as one of LinkedIn’s Power Profiles, is a proponent of strength-based leadership and is incredibly passionate about nurturing talent through sustained positive engagement programs. She and her team have expended a lot of time and energy into embedding positive leadership principles across the three levels of their leadership program – servant leadership, strengths-based approach and the science of wellbeing.

www.hcamag.com

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FEATURES

COVER STORY: HOT LIST KIM NIXON HR manager, Australia and New Zealand NetApp

This year, NetApp celebrated a perfect 10, having been recognised as one Business Review Weekly’s top 10 Best Places to Work for the 10th consecutive year since the inception of the survey in 2008. This is a testament not just to the employees’ dedication, but also to Kim Nixon and her team at NetApp working tirelessly to maintain a work environment

and a culture that helps employees flourish. Nixon attributes this success to their overall “focus on the health of our culture”, which is achieved through authenticity and accountability. Nixon began her career in IT back in 1986, and spent the first decade working in a variety of roles before moving into HR management. For the last 11 years, Nixon has been with NetApp, working closely with the senior management team in an advisory capacity and ensuring they attract and retain the brightest talent and create the best culture possible.

ALEX DIAB Senior HR business partner and general manager, HR NSW Business Chamber

HR Director of the Year finalist Alex Diab says the key to success in HR today is having strong commercial acumen. It’s something Diab applies to all aspects of his role in HR; he always has his eye on the broader picture.“It has brought me into the fold, in terms of discussing and strategising around the business, outside of just HR,” he tells HRD. “I do believe I have a seat at the table, because it’s evident in terms of what we’re doing – our budgeting and planning. It’s not just about staff cost budgets, but it’s about the overall budget, the operational budget of the business.” Diab also sees a need to redefine what leadership means. “We need to move away from the old rank-and-file type of tenure approach to leadership, and apply agile leadership by identifying those people that really have the appetite and skill and natural ability in the leadership space, and help and grow those that struggle in that space.”

BEBEN FERRIER HR director Vertiv

It has been an eventful year for Beben Ferrier at Vertiv, as the company has gone through a major rebrand to come up with a fresh look and more efficient service for their clients. Coming off this major change, Ferrier and her team have focused on bringing in fresh talent to the company. The Vertiv graduate program targets young engineers in Australia and around the world – not as interns or temps, but as actual members of the team. Graduates are assigned real work and exposed to different projects and customer environments; they also take on posts in other countries as part of an all-round experience. Through the program, they receive mentoring from a member of the leadership team in their second year. In the three years since the program was launched, all graduates have stayed with the company following the program, which now serves as a reliable talent pipeline for Ferrier and the HR team at Vertiv.

LISA SHEEHAN Chief people person Carsales

In order to attract the best talent for a company with a rapidly growing global footprint, Lisa Sheehan and her team first revisited their EVP to determine what attracts high-potential candidates across all functions, and conducted a competitor analysis to come up with a new tagline for their employer brand: ‘An ASX 100 company with the heart of a start-up’. The increase in use of social media for employer branding has led to a 4% decline in reliance on traditional recruitment, and a 400% increase in engagement with the online content; furthermore, turnover has decreased from 23% to 14% in less than 12 months. Another focus for Sheehan has been building the D&I strategy, which has led them to achieve WGEA employer of choice status and a White Ribbon accreditation. In the coming year, Sheehan expects to continue the push for gender equality, with an increased focus on LGBTIQ initiatives.

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DANIEL CRAM HR director News Corp

Dan Cram joined News Corp Australia as HR director in September, following a review of the company’s HR function and with the expectation of enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of its HR team, especially in light of the tumultuous state of the media industry. On a positive note, the company acquired the Sky News company last year, resulting in the integration of both businesses, their talent and teams. On a negative note, News Corp made heavy job cuts in its Australian news publishing arm during the year, including culling dozens of photographers in April, in an effort to remove $40m in costs from the business. Cram will need to draw on all his experience in his new role. He is a proven HR executive with demonstrated leadership in people and performance strategy, employee relations, business integration and change management in large and diverse organisations. Prior to this appointment, he was executive general manager for people and culture at AGL, a role he held for 10 years.

FIONA CRAWFORD General manager, HR InfoTrack

Over the past year, former Olympian Fiona Crawford has been busy with the hiring of over 100 new employees and successfully managing four acquisitions – all handled with minimal staff turnover. She has also ensured the company is living up to its EVP of ‘effort over obligation’ by providing targeted development plans and taking a hands-on approach to identifying what motivates people. For Crawford, her best personal work achievement for the year has been facilitating more than 50 internal transfers, which is significant not only given a relatively small employee base, but also because many of the transfers were not necessarily promotions but rather “sideways moves”. “When I find those people it’s my job and almost a duty of care for me to make sure that I ensure those people reach their full potential,” she told HRD. “Employees want to feel that they’re being developed to be effective not only in their roles, but to be more effective as a person.”

MARIANNE HOGAN Senior manager people and culture Macquarie Telecom Group

Marianne Hogan joined the Macquarie Telecom Group in August 2016, and considers herself a “practitioner, not a theorist”. She constantly challenges herself and this is reflected both in her successful career and initiatives to date – not to mention her completion of two Sydney to Hobart yacht races, achieving third place (on handicap) in both. A special focus has been talent acquisition. The

LAURENCE HALABUT CHRO Toyota Finance Australia

As a finalist in the HR Director of the Year category of the Australian HR Awards, Laurence Halabut knows a thing or two about innovation. He says innovation has been required as Toyota Finance Australia has needed to respond to digital, regulatory and market changes. As such, the senior executive team (SET) has been restructured so that it’s guestcentric. The SET is responsible for running the company; it also has a transformation directorate, so that this area is the incubator for an integrated planning, change management and projects stream. Under this approach, an operational area is brought into transformation to be studied and, if needed, then a change plan is developed. When the changes have been implemented, the operational area moves back into business as usual activity. This transformation area has been the catalyst for change in the company.

company’s #SoUnTelco campaign is part of a wider initiative that aims to separate the company from its competitors in areas like hiring and providing outstanding customer service. To help achieve this, Hogan has helped to implement new software-based tools that automate certain tedious recruitment tasks and give the company the right insights about the right prospects. With Board Director Anouk Darling’s support, Hogan is launching the Macquarie Telecom Women’s Leaders Program, an initiative that includes workshops and presentations with high-performing women.

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FEATURES

COVER STORY: HOT LIST THOMAS HEDEGAARD RASMUSSEN GM people analytics, insights and experience National Australia Bank

Dr Thomas Hedegaard Rasmussen is a global thought leader on people analytics, having co-authored with Dave Ulrich a paper called How HR Analytics Avoids Being a Management Fad. In March 2017, he relocated to Australia and joined NAB, and has quickly made data and analytics part of the HR infrastructure, helping HR supplement intuition, experience and beliefs, leading to more impactful people decisions. This includes predictive modelling of attrition, monetising engagement’s impact on sales, and identifying the human factors driving customer satisfaction, among many other projects. He also co-founded the Australian Workforce Analytics Network 2017 (with Deloitte), a no-fee professional network with 25 large Australian organisations, to help companies advance HR’s impact with analytics.

NEIL BAKER Director – people and culture Cooper Grace Ward Lawyers

It has been a gratifying 12 months for Neil Baker and his firm as a whole, with a host of awards, accolades and commendations. Among them has been HRD’s Employer of Choice Awards, voted on by employees, in which the firm took home a gold medal. Cooper Grace Ward also won accolades for its D&I achievements, including being named Large Legal Practice of the Year in the Queensland Law Society’s Equity and Diversity Awards. Elsewhere, Baker has shifted L&D offerings towards real-time and on-the-job models – for example, providing information via an online platform, supported by coaching and group sessions as needed. Leadership development has similarly shifted away from a more formal approach with classroom style training to a far more practical, real-time, on-the-job coaching approach, supplemented by online modules and one-on-one or small group coaching.

SHIONA WATSON Senior HR director PepsiCo Australia

In September, PepsiCo Australia won the prestigious award for Employer of Choice (>1000 Employees) at the Australian HR Awards. Underpinning the company’s aspiration of becoming an employer of choice has been a focus from HR on six key philosophies, including ‘Be a place where people can learn, grow and bring their best to work every day’

SARA MARSHALL Director of human resources, communications and facilities Canon Australia

Canon’s corporate philosophy is Kyosei, meaning living and working together for the common good, and is founded on a responsible approach to working. The HR team tries to ensure each step taken – as individuals and as an organisation – aims to make a real difference. Sara Marshall has embraced the concept and her focus for 2017 has been ensuring the right structure, support, training and people are put in place to lead Canon’s business into the future. She has also focused on the Canon Employee Advocacy Program, an ongoing initiative that encourages employees to share their knowledge of the business and the imaging industry. The events range from courses on photography techniques, product education and product loan programs, as well as sessions on the other areas of the business and their functions.

and ‘Make it easier to do our job, deliver results and improve’. Shiona Watson has also focused her team’s efforts on leadership development, from front-line managers through to executive leaders. It was a remarkable win – not least because the company has undergone a significant transformation over the past two years. The transformation focused on three objectives: deliver productivity savings; transform customer relationships to drive top-line growth; reinvest in culture, capability, the environment and tools to secure the future.

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GREG BARNIER Chief people officer icare

With over 30 years’ experience, Greg Barnier has led the creation of insurance provider icare’s people engagement team and the organisation’s cultural transformation. Barnier says his proudest achievement over the past 12 months has been what his team has done with organisational culture. With icare being less than two years old, and its origins coming from a set of NSW government agencies, the organisation started with just 400 employees and over an 18-month period has doubled that number. Creating a forward-thinking and innovative culture has been a priority. Barnier has led a new-style, contemporary approach to people engagement and leadership in which employees are empowered to make decisions – one example at its simplest level was doing away with a dress code. He has also ensured icare has invested in learning to accelerate the company’s transformation. One example was the launch of icareAcademy, a blended approach to organisational learning: e-learning offering on-demand soft skills, business acumen and management training; and out-of-the-box learning experiences to support icare’s vision of a more collaborative, agile, culture. In addition, Harvard ManageMentor is a world-class development tool that is helping to build personal, leadership and management capabilities at icare.

A TOUGH YEAR FOR… Katie McGrath Group executive, HR Seven West Media In April, Seven West Media announced the appointment of Katie McGrath as group executive of human resources. McGrath joined Seven from Enero Group, where she had been global HR director for the last seven years. The announcement came following Seven’s former HR head, Melanie Allibon, leaving the company in December 2016, shortly after the two-year affair between former executive assistant Amber Harrison and CEO Tim Worner was made public. Numerous other scandals involving Seven West employees gave the impression to outsiders of a toxic culture. To recalibrate and realign that culture, McGrath will no doubt be drawing on her long HR career – not to mention her psychology degree. Lorraine Murphy Chief people officer National Australia Bank In November, National Australia Bank announced the loss of 6,000 jobs over the next three years, due to an increasing number of transactions moving towards digital channels. However, the net job loss would be closer to 4,000, as 2,000 new digitally focused positions will be created. The 6,000 workers represent 18% of the bank’s 33,400 workforce. NAB will also establish a redundancy program for employees leaving the bank, where workers can access support and resources for a period of up to six months after leaving the bank. The bank is expected to announce restructuring costs relating to the redundancies of between $500m and $800m in first-half results early next year.

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FEATURES

COVER STORY: HOT LIST GWILYM DAVIS Head of people performance and culture Brisbane Airport Corporation

Over the last 10 years, Gwilym Davis has personally crafted and driven the uptake of a shared ethos at BAC, titled: ‘Make the most of life’. This ethos recognises that working at BAC is more than just a job, it’s a way of life. This ethos has been embedded into every aspect of the business. In 2017, Davis introduced a new 10-year aspirational goal that provides the platform to disrupt and improve BAC. This strategy aims to make Brisbane the major gateway airport into Australia. Davis facilitated board approval for the strategy, while communicating it to BAC’s people and helping business leaders to embed it in their planning. Davis also implemented a business improvement program centred around Lean Six Sigma, which included training over 95% of staff and supporting over 50 projects.

MATHEW PAINE Director of human resources International Convention Centre Sydney

Mathew Paine has been involved with the $1.5bn ICC Sydney redevelopment project since it began in 2014, with the peak of this project aligning to the opening of ICC Sydney in December 2016. The staffing/recruitment of such a large venue was always going to be challenging, particularly the requirement to identify, attract, recruit and on-board 1,800 team members within 12 months. Some of the significant projects included a full-scale outdoor, digital and printed advertising campaign focused on segmenting and attracting targeted talent. The result was over 44,000 applications in the notoriously tight hospitality and events talent market. Paine’s next goals will focus on sustainably engaging and developing this new workforce.

ELISE MANN Head of HR Motorola Solutions Australia and New Zealand

Elise Mann has been a driver of Motorola’s graduate program, which takes in a handful of engineering graduates from Australian universities every year and grooms them to become full members of the team by providing mentorship and guidance to help them develop their careers. Connected with this goal of creating a pipeline of talent is Motorola’s focus on gender equality. Mann is helping drive the company’s ambition to be an employer of choice for gender equality by 2019, through campaigns such as changing the focus of its job ads, and working with STEM Australia to find out how better to encourage more women into the field of engineering.

ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER CARLENE YORK Commander, Human Resources Command NSW Police Force

It was a banner year for Assistant Commissioner Carlene York. Not only did she receive the Australasian Council of Women and Policing’s highest honour (The Audrey Fagan Memorial Award), but she also took home the HR Director of the Year award at the Australian HR Awards. Central to her HR philosophy has been the simple motto: ‘HR – Live, work, well’. This is most apparent through the implementation of the Workforce Improvement Program across the NSW Police Force for the benefit of serving and former police officers, their families and unsworn colleagues. With the program focusing on wellbeing and resilience, Assistant Commissioner York has led a cultural change program to focus on prevention and early intervention. The program is visionary, shifting the focus from reactive to proactive employee management and support. It has also resulted in positive outcomes in terms of return to work rates.

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2018: FORECASTING SPECIAL REPORT

HRD has stepped into its time machine to take a look ahead at the key trends and what’s likely to shape people management in 2018 31 TECHNOLOGY

38 WHS

34 LEADERSHIP

40 PAYROLL

36 L&D

42 ENGAGEMENT

The user experience – or UX – will be a key trend in tech. HRD outlines what it means for HR

HRD outlines three key people management trends that will impact leaders in 2018

Alongside big data insights, 2018 will bring a greater emphasis on learner preferences

HRD presents five tips for WHS compliance and ensuring a healthy workplace for 2018

With significant legislative changes occurring in 2018, how prepared is your organisation?

Creating employee connections will be critical next year – here’s how to do it well

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FEATURES

2O18 FORECASTING: TECHNOLOGY

EXAMINING THE UX IN HR TECHNOLOGY User experience and design thinking are hot topics in the tech world, but is HR ready to embrace the latest trends?

TECHNOLOGY HAS changed almost every aspect of daily life at such a swift rate that consumer expectations are almost unrecognisable from 15 or even 10 years ago. Expectations around the way we work, shop and interact have all been transformed by

to blend seamlessly with our everyday lives. User experience should be intuitive, but can the same rules apply to HR technology? According to Adam Rogers, chief technology officer of Ultimate Software, the answer is a resounding yes.

“At the heart of great user experience is simplifying people’s lives. The biggest accomplishment is solving a problem before users even realise there’s a problem, and that’s something that today’s HCM solutions are delivering” Adam Rogers, Ultimate Software technology, but it doesn’t end there. Modern consumers now expect the technology that drives all of these changes to itself keep up with the evolving and increasingly digital environment in which we live. As consumers, we expect our technology

“Leading human capital management [HCM] solutions resemble consumer technology with intuitive, easy-to-use interfaces, and the explosion of mobile availability means users can now access their critical HCM data anytime, anywhere,”

Rogers says. “Work isn’t confined to the office anymore, and neither is HCM. At the heart of great user experience is simplifying people’s lives. The biggest accomplishment is solving a problem before users even realise there’s a problem, and that’s something that today’s HCM solutions are delivering.” Committing to a well thought-out research plan is a crucial first step in the life cycle of a user-friendly HR tech solution. Rogers and his team at Ultimate Software spend a lot of time storyboarding and working with user researchers in order to improve and validate the user experience. The team relies on ethnographers, usability engineers and usability researchers – roles that are entirely focused on studying users and figuring out what they want, even if they can’t verbalise it themselves. “Part of this innovation comes from watching how people navigate the software, keeping track of how many steps it takes to accomplish a goal or watching for a redundancy that the customer hasn’t identified yet,” Rogers says. “Many features and functionalities of enterprise software are personalised and userdependent, so it’s important to be aware of the flow of the software and how that affects the user. By building instrumentation directly into the architecture of our software, we have visibility into usage patterns that drive usability refinements.” ‘Design thinking’ is a popular buzzword at the moment, but at its core it has a meaning that is pretty straightforward: putting the customer first. It’s an approach that aims to engender empathy for users and incorporates constant testing and re-testing along the way, with an emphasis on iteration and prototyping, Rogers explains. “The customer-centric approach enables developers to find unique pain points and brainstorm solutions that may not be obvious from a traditional software-design strategy – accelerating the rate of innovation and increasing value for users,” he says. “At Ultimate, we call it ‘service design thinking’,

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FEATURES

2O18 FORECASTING: TECHNOLOGY THE EVOLUTION OF HR SYSTEMS Benefits and compensation

Hiring/ recruiting

E-learning/ talent management

Performance/ cloud HRMS

Maturity of cloud vendors

MARKET GROWTH – ADOPTION

Cloud-based HRMS and talent/workforce management

Integrated talent management

Learning management Recruiting/ sourcing Applicant tracking

Performance management Succession management

Real-time engagement

Social recognition

New recruitment and candidate tools

Analytics tools

Culture and team productivity Work-life balance/ wellness Mobile, anytime learning

Benefits administration

Complete app-based self-service

Compensation

2000

PROGRESSION OVER TIME

HR process automation

Next-gen feedback performance

Network recruiting

Workforce management

Human resource information systems [HRIS]

The new world of HR apps

Integrated talent management

2016

Cloud-based systems of management

Apps that make work-life better

Source: Bersin by Deloitte, 2016

and it’s more than just our framework for software engineering. It’s also the foundation of our service-based culture that nurtures agile decision-making and reinforces our business model of always putting people first.” The goal of service design thinking is equally easy to understand: Develop an experience that’s simple, intuitive and pleasurable for customers. Even if the back end of an application or cloud-based tool is incredibly complex, the user should have no idea that’s the case. Modern users expect to be able to easily navigate new software straight out of the box. By focusing on the user during every stage of development, and observing their behaviour and drawing conclusions about their experience and what they want, Rogers believes that service design thinking

helps deliver the types of HR tech solutions that modern users both want and expect. “The process relies on a constant feedback loop and intimate understanding of the user,” Rogers says. “This ongoing, two-way communication between developer and user is essential to everyone’s success, and it’s a key component of Ultimate’s lifelong partnerships with customers.” By focusing so closely on user experience, software engineers are able to avoid the biases that naturally occur when something is – either consciously or subconsciously – designed with the developer’s experience in mind. One of Rogers’ favourite illustrations of this is to imagine a group of engineers who have been given the task of developing the most comfortable chair possible.

“Now, remove the word ‘chair’ and tell another group of people to find the most comfortable way to keep someone off the ground,” Rogers says. “They’re likely to look at the problem from a different angle and develop a solution that’s much more innovative.” Historically, HR technology solutions have tended to fall into one of two categories, explains David Mennie, VP of product marketing and strategy for Saba Software. Systems have either been easy to administer but not focused on the user experience, or they are completely user-friendly but lack the required depth of functionality or administrative capability required. However, things are starting to change. “Striking a balance between consumer-grade

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THE ROLE OF TECH IN PEOPLE MANAGEMENT Automated talent management

Integrated talent management

Engagement/fit/ culture/analytics

Empowerment/ performance/ leadership

People management

Talent management • Integrated processes and systems • Talent as core to HR and business agenda

Focus on: • Culture • Engagement • Environment

• Leadership • Empowerment • Fit

Automate

Integrate

Engage

Empower

1990s–2000s

2004–2012

2012–2015

2016 and beyond Source: Bersin by Deloitte, 2016

“We do have to be very careful in how we apply these technologies ... because we don’t want to automate the human” David Mennie, Saba Software usability and something that is really easy to administer is a trend we are starting to see in the HR tech space,” Mennie says. Mennie believes emerging technologies that are currently changing the way companies conduct their business have the potential to be used in HR software. Applications like conversational voice interfaces and chatbots give users the ability to interact with software in ways that don’t require a mouse, keyboard or other traditional action related to a device. Voice interface software allows users to have what appear to be normal conversations about tasks and projects with their laptop or cell phone.

The implementation of cutting-edge solutions will enable HR leaders to interact with technology like never before, and the way that work happens will also be impacted. Mennie believes the traditional concept of the flow of work will become more integrated into new technologies, which will become trusted advisors to workers rather than systems they are forced to use in order to draw singular pieces of information. “However, we do have to be very careful in how we apply these technologies, specifically to HR, because we don’t want to automate the human,” he says. “The whole

point of HR is the human interaction. Anything we can do to bring important issues to the front and centre for workers and teams will definitely help to boost efficiency. These technologies have the potential to make conversations richer or more meaningful, which is a really awesome application of some of these new tools.” Rogers envisions a future where service design thinking supports all aspects of HR and HCM technology. As the technology continues to evolve, Rogers believes contacting the services department will become a last resort. “Software designers will aspire to prevent users from needing to take that step,” he says. “Ideally, services departments will be able to focus primarily on providing strategic partnership to customers, bringing increasingly valuable information to the executive table and communicating these insights in the simplest and most intuitive ways.”

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FEATURES

2O18 FORECASTING: LEADERSHIP

NAVIGATING THROUGH CONSTANT CHANGE There are three key trends that all leaders should be aware of as a new year approaches GIVEN THE constant state of flux and disruption most businesses find themselves in, choosing just three emerging trends that leaders will need to be mindful of in 2018 hardly seems sufficient; however, if the task is narrowed to the emerging people-related trends that leaders must be on top of, the task is a little easier. To get a sense of what these trends are, HRD turned to Andrew Warren-Smith, managing director of DDI Australia. He has identified three key areas that will impact how business is undertaken in 2018.

Potential

Traditionally, organisations have used a narrow definition of potential. Warren-Smith suggests that organisations have a pool of maybe 20 people at each level of the company who they consider to be part of a high-potential pool. These Hi-Po heroes would be the ones to come up with the brightest ideas and to execute on those ideas in the best possible ways to keep the organisation successful through murky, challenging times. However, DDI’s studies indicate that while 65% of organisations have a Hi-Po program in place, almost 70% say these programs don’t work or are not effective. “You have many organisations over many years that have put a significant effort into identifying high-potentials and relying and depending on high-potential programs to deliver results, and they’re not delivering the results,” Warren-Smith says. Part of the problem is that the focus has

traditionally only been on senior managers or executives. Warren-Smith suggests organisations should broaden and extend their view of potential. “Those organisations that are doing this more effectively are thinking about potential right through the organisation, at every level. They are also factoring in a mix of time frames, looking at short-term, medium-term and long-term horizons. That means not just looking at senior level roles and their immediate replacements, but going beyond that to look at what sort of talent they will need in the next two to three years, and then also investing significantly in the early stage leaders.” To succeed in this approach, DDI encourages organisations to develop an ecosystem of leadership, not just more leaders. DDI has identified three critical steps that will enable organisations to surface,

activate and accelerate potential. “The ecosystem refers to what must happen not only across the organisation, but also at individual and team levels,” WarrenSmith says. “Then it’s about asking how you go about identifying and developing that leadership talent and, ultimately, produce better outcomes for the business.”

Digital

Technology is impacting how everyone works, so it has obvious ramifications for leaders, says Warren-Smith. For this reason, DDI has taken the broad theme of digital as the second key trend impacting on leaders and the wider workforce in 2018. Every day we see news about the automation of jobs. In October alone, NAB announced it was laying off 6,000 jobs due to digital disruption – but the banking giant also announced it was creating 2,000 digitally

DIGITAL LEADER ARCHETYPES

Digital-savvy leader

Agile-ready leaver

Individual productivity

New business models and competitiveness

Inventivedisruptive leader

Organisational disruption Source: DDI

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focused new jobs. Warren-Smith says any job with a narrow scope will be “up for grabs” sooner rather than later. On a positive note, there is still a lot that machines, computers and robots cannot do. Warren-Smith cites the example of a machine’s inability to show empathy. “You might encounter voice recognition software when you phone the bank,” he says. “You can move through the process by engaging with a computer. However, the computer doesn’t show any empathy if you’ve got a customer issue. People and data will interact, but there will be many roles for people and leaders beyond just the automation part of it. What are the sorts of skills people can take from an existing role and apply to the digital context? Think of problemsolving, decision-making, judgment.” Just as important for leaders, he adds, is the ability to harness the technology that is available. “We come at it from a leadership and people perspective, so for us it’s how you combine both the tech and the people piece. How do you find the balance between what the AI and big data opportunities are and marry that with the human side of things?” DDI sees the role of the leader in the digital world falling into three archetypes. On one end there is the Digital-savvy Leader, who is familiar with the technology and tools to enhance or improve their own individual productivity. At the other end of the spectrum falls the Inventive-disruptive Leader – those such as Steve Jobs, Jack Ma and Mark Zuckerberg – who are the disruptors of organisations and industries. These leaders are rare, and there is very little one can do to develop these skills. In the middle comes the Agile-ready Leader, who is bringing about new business models and executing on the big ideas using their mix of mindset and skill set abilities to achieve business outcomes. A digital leadership mindset means being open to change and growth. In the NAB example, those people who are being upskilled will need to be open to change and prepared to go on that journey of taking on skill sets that were previously outside of their mandate.

THE MINDSET AND SKILL SET OF FUTURE LEADERS • Encourage disruption • Thrive in ambiguity • Resist command and control • Speed is paramount • Envision but don’t plan • Mandate collaboration • Adapt to constant change • Recognise that something is always broken DIGITAL LEADERSHIP MINDSET

• Engage broadly • Empower until it hurts • Demand diversity • Build and activate networks • Manage constant change • Shape culture • Always-on coaching • Mindful problem analysis and crisis management

DIGITAL LEADERSHIP SKILL SET

Source: DDI

“You’ve got to encourage people to disrupt, encourage people to experiment and be somewhat comfortable with uncertainty,” Warren-Smith says. In addition to their mindset, leaders must think about their skill set. Warren-Smith again points to the fintech environment, where the big players are being disrupted by smaller start-ups, and are requiring new skill sets from their employees. “Knowledge sharing is going to be paramount,” he says. “Knowledge used to be power; in tomorrow’s world, I think knowledge will still be powerful but it’ll be about how that knowledge is shared across departments, across organisations and even across industries.”

People analytics

The third trend ties nicely to the second trend: the ability to leverage people analytics to make more informed decisions. WarrenSmith says this presents a golden opportunity for HR professionals. Warren-Smith cites the simple example of engagement surveys, which can today be done at a moment’s notice as a pulse survey. “You don’t have to wait months to get feedback on your culture; you can get it day by day, and then compare and contrast the data,” he says. He also sees opportunities for analytics to be used more widely in the D&I space.

“It’s now possible to make informed decisions about D&I issues based on more than someone’s gender or background, and instead look at people’s effectiveness and the contributions they make,” he says. “HR can utilise their understanding of people – how they think, how they operate and what motivates them – but can now back that up with data. It’s a wonderful combination.”

Key traits for the year ahead What leadership traits will leaders need to demonstrate in the coming year? WarrenSmith says perhaps the most vital will be intellectual curiosity, which he deems “critical” during this time of rapid change. “Leaders need to be curious about everything digital. They need to be curious about the future of their workforce: how people will work, the kind of skills they’ll require and what’s coming down the pipeline.” In addition, Warren-Smith suggests adaptability will be key, in addition to the ability to delegate and empower others. “Leaders will be pulled in all sorts of different directions,” he says. “Unless leaders can empower and coach their teams to be specialists in their particular areas, they will be pulled down into the weeds. They will need to find ways to step away from the technical details and manage their teams.”

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FEATURES

2O18 FORECASTING: L&D

FINDING CLARITY IN A WORLD OF CHANGE What’s in store for L&D? Vicky Bartolacci outlines the key themes of 2017 and looks ahead at what to expect in the new year ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE is the new business norm and feeling the impact as much as anyone are those teams responsible for ensuring that workplace L&D is always hitting the mark. When I look back on this past year, the recurring theme I see is the pressure on these teams to be constantly abreast of new technology and, in some cases, the need

being distracted by something shiny. That is not to say that the shiny thing won’t prove to be useful down the track, but you need time to properly appraise things. And sometimes you need a new skill set, which is one of the big changes we are seeing in the L&D space.

Big data and L&D The same could be said about the growing and

There is a magical combination of asking the right questions, getting answers via the right content at the right time, while being supported by the right people to resist expectations (even demands) that you will use something new just because it is available. It is not uncommon now to be asked to change tack mid-project. A lot of the L&D that I see being well implemented this year has come about because people have stood their ground and stuck to a well thought-out plan, rather than

constant flood of data in 2017. We now have so much information available to us that it can be almost a full-time job trying to understand it – and we all know that analysis can quickly become paralysis. When it comes to L&D, it is more important than ever to focus first on the learning need, then to look for the specific data that will support that need.

Of course, there is also a big upside to all of this data. We can now track and analyse learning activity to the same extent that marketers can keep tabs on consumers. It is possible to measure the outcome of learning designs in a truly meaningful way for the very first time. From my perspective, if everyone involved with L&D can prove measurable performance outcomes on their design and investments then our industry will enter a new world in which solutions that work will be celebrated and those that have clothed the emperor in nothing will be found wanting.

Learning preferences The other big talking point we kept bumping into was the importance of tailoring L&D programs to learner preferences – particularly their desire to aggregate content – and I was delighted to hear that, because it is without a doubt the biggest issue for our industry in

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MAKING THINGS HAPPEN For too long, learning content was just something people visited once a year to sign off their compliance training requirements. Now we are realising that outside the workplace, smartphones, tablets and other devices provide for true anytime, anywhere learning. On-demand, personalised, smart, fit-for-purpose content is what people need. For those of us involved with L&D, 2018 offers an opportunity to: 1. Identify common training topics – every organisation has recurring training themes 2.Identify value-add topics that will keep the business innovative and performing well in the marketplace 3.Define career development topics to help people progress at the rate they need to 4.Widen our perspective on content sources to deliver the impact the business and learner want

the coming year and beyond. We are all working with a modern generation of always-on learners. Learning in the workflow has become the new workplace training, because people simply don’t have the time to spend learning or training as a separate activity; they want and need to learn as they work. To do that, there is a magical combination of asking the right questions, getting answers via the right content at the right time, while being supported by the right people. This mix of people, content and technology can drive and strengthen the talent pool of any organisation. The digital learning revolution affords an efficient way to guide and support everyone’s potential to the max.

Don’t forget core L&D offerings We need to be willing and able to develop systems that provide desired content as efficiently as possible and offer as much support

as possible. But we must not ignore our own L&D knowledge and expertise. Whether working in-house or consulting to external clients, we must trust our ability and accept our responsibility to offer sound and, where necessary, frank advice. Listen to customers’ requests, but also validate them. This may sound odd coming from someone who heads up a digital learning company, but I think technology is one case in point. I have no doubt, for example, that there are training programs being developed with a VR component that really don’t need it, which makes it a pretty poor investment (albeit a lot of fun to use). More important, however, is the need to continue with the core L&D role of providing advice around content and how it is presented. We hear a lot of talk these days about customisation and the ability to make content our own, but when you drill down a little further we find there are conflicting

If we rethink the way we support workplace learning into three clear categories of compliance topics, value-add topics and career support, we immediately start to break down the content mass into manageable and more personalised chunks. ideas about what this actually means. Many people are in fact looking for some degree of personalisation that reflects their organisation and its needs, but not the true customisation that they do not have the time or resources to manage. The reality is that for all the increase in technology, L&D has become even more of a people business, because there is a greater need to talk with all stakeholders about what they are trying to achieve and what is the best way to get there. e3Learning is dedicated to providing corporate eLearning content that drives change, fosters growth and boosts innovation in ways traditional training cannot. Vicky Bartolacci, general manager at e3Learning, also shares her insights through Twitter. Follow her at https://twitter.com/BartolacciVicky

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FEATURES

2O18 FORECASTING: WHS

TOP FIVE TIPS FOR WHS IN 2018 For those looking forward to a happy, successful and most of all healthy 2018, Alan Girle provides his top WHS tips for employers

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WHERE DO you start when you are developing a work health and safety (WHS) system? There is a lot of material provided by both government and associations to help, but what are the top five things to get you going? Below are my top tips for reviewing WHS procedures that will help ensure a safe work environment.

1. Lead from the top Make sure the business has a credible safety policy and have the leaders of the business speak to it frequently. Many hazards and risks can be minimised simply by improving the culture of the business. Endeavour to persuade the workforce that safety is a priority and will not be compromised by other things.

2. Identify hazards that are likely to result in injuries Hazards are everywhere. Focus on a manageable list of hazards that are likely to result in injuries in the workplace. While improvements in culture may be effective in addressing some of these hazards (eg, ladders), go through the hierarchy of controls set out in the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 to ensure that the best control measures are employed.

3. Identify hazards that could cause major injuries Managing frequent exposure to hazards is an important part of any WHS system, but infrequent hazards can also be important if the potential consequences are high. Identify those hazards that could seriously injure a person (eg, amputation or death). While these hazards may not be likely, the cost to the business will be substantial. Sometimes the cost of a serious injury is enough to break a business and, for that reason, they have to be considered separately. High risk hazards that have the potential to cause serious injury cannot always be rectified by a change in culture. These types of hazards may require physical changes to the business (eg, guarding or separation of

personnel from plant). Prioritise these hazards for attention and put in place an annual budget for their attention.

4. Conduct a legal audit Depending upon where a business is located in Australia, there will be a variety of WHS obligations at law. Initially, keep things simple. Identify all the legal WHS obligations that apply to the business and determine whether there is at least one policy, procedure or practice in place that is designed to satisfy that obligation. Where a WHS obligation is identified that is not addressed by the business, then give it priority for action.

5. Conduct a safety audit Often safety audits are built around Australian Standards and they can completely miss legal obligations under a variety of statutes. For this reason, it is best to conduct safety audits after legal audits. The results of the legal audit can be given to the WHS auditor, who can then incorporate any legal compliance gaps into their audit program. Safety audits should be conducted at least annually, so that the business is continually improving. Maintaining a safe and healthy work environment is a demanding obligation and with the abundance of documentation readily available on the internet, it is all too easy to lose focus on what is important. Taking these five steps above will allow the business to focus in on what is important and what needs to be done. Start by leading from the top and focusing on those things that will make an immediate difference. Alan Girle is a director at Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors (ABLA). Serving business and only business, ABLA is trusted by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and is the leading voice for business in the Fair Work Commission. Contact Alan on 1300 565 846 or alan.girle@ablawyers. com.au if you have any questions about Work Health and Safety.

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FEATURES

2O18 FORECASTING: PAYROLL

PAYROLL GOES DIGITAL & SUPERBAD CALLS OUT GAPS Legislation changes will be coming into effect during 2018. Is your business prepared? THERE ARE three key trends that all leaders should be aware of as a new year approaches. Employer obligations, accessorial liability, taxation legislation and superannuation guarantee (SG) non-compliance have received a lot of attention in the last few months – and we’re set to see a continuation of this theme across 2018. So what key changes do employers have to look out for? “New Single Touch Payroll (STP) legislation along with other federal government initiatives such as MyGov and SuperStream, are momentous leaps forward in the Australian government’s Digital by Default agenda,” says Eddie Megas, acting managing director, ADP Australia and New Zealand. “Not since the introduction of PAYG in 2000 have we seen a piece of legislation with this impact for employers and employees.” So let’s explore some of the big questions about STP.

Will your business be STP-ready by 1 July 2018? From 1 July 2018, STP will be mandatory for all substantial employers (those with 20 or more employees). Employers with 19 or fewer employees may be required to report through STP from July 2019, subject to the passage of legislation. All employers will need to do a headcount on 1 April 2018 to determine their obligation to report through STP.

How do employers benefit from STP? There are a number of benefits available when you report your employer obligations through STP in a financial year, including: • The obligation to provide employees and/or the ATO with payment summaries will be fulfilled through STP. This includes individual non-business, foreign employment income and employment termination payments payment summaries. • Activity statement compliance efficiencies will be obtained, such as: »»the removal of statistical labels from the activity statements for large withholders (gross wages and W1); and »»pre-fill of withholding related labels on monthly and/or quarterly activity statements. • The requirement for the employer to lodge a tax file number (TFN) declaration with the ATO will be removed. • Validated employee data will be available to an employee through MyGov and to STP compliant solution providers. • The STP report will be reported as year to date (YTD) balances and will allow employers to make adjustments (even for a prior payroll period) in future period reports. This feature potentially gives employers a lot of flexibility to correct errors and omissions in subsequent pay runs. • The ATO will be able to recognise and

deploy early assistance to employers struggling to meet their employer obligations.

How do employees benefit from STP? The introduction of STP gives employees more control to monitor and actively manage their tax and superannuation balances including: • When using MyGov, both the superannuation choice and TFN declaration can be completed on ATO online. In addition, the ATO will make available to the employee: »»a drop-down list of all the superannuation funds the employee has a balance/account with; »»the default fund(s) of the employer; and »»YTD payroll details, including superannuation balances and a consolidated view of all employers reporting for that employee.

STP and Superbad – what’s the connection? The recent Senate Economics Committee’s review into SG non-compliance resulted in a report titled: Superbad – Wage Theft and Noncompliance of the Superannuation Guarantee. There were a total of 32 recommendations proposed by the committee. Surprisingly, a significant number of the recommendations would involve legislation change and fairly

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fundamental changes to the way the SG system is currently administered. A short while after the report, on 29 August 2017, the government announced a further package of reforms to give the ATO near real-time visibility over SG compliance by employers. The media release from Kelly O’Dwyer, Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, explained that STP will “reduce the regulatory burden on business and transform compliance by aligning payroll functions with regular reporting of taxation and superannuation obligations”. The package includes measures to: • Ensure superannuation funds report contributions received more frequently, at least monthly, to the ATO. This will enable the ATO to identify non-compliance and take prompt action; • Improve the effectiveness of the ATO’s recovery powers, including strengthening director penalty notices and use of security bonds for high-risk employers, to ensure that unpaid superannuation is better collected by the ATO and paid to employees’ super accounts; and • Give the ATO the ability to seek courtordered penalties in the most egregious cases of non-payment, including employers who are repeatedly caught but fail to pay superannuation guarantee liabilities. • Provide the ATO with additional funding for a SG taskforce to crack down on employer non-compliance.

WHAT DOES STP READINESS MEAN FOR EMPLOYERS?

A collaborative effort is required for change in 2018

3. Educate and engage your employees Talk to your employees about the benefits of STP reporting. If they haven’t already, they should look into setting up a MyGov account and linking through to ATO online. Without an account, they will not have the ability to review their balances and/or print their year to date summary. You should also tell your employees what your chosen onboarding solution will be under STP. This includes how they can self-serve from the perspective of TFN declarations, superannuation choice forms and PAYGW variation forms. All the concessions that STP is aimed at achieving for an employer can be lost if employees continue to hand in incomplete and/or inaccurate forms, or if they are chasing you for a copy of their PAYG payment summary around 14 July each year.

2018 will bring significant legislative changes for business to implement. The change management effort required for new legislation compliance should not be underestimated – nor does it fall squarely on the shoulder of one group. “As a payroll solutions provider, ADP recognises that we play an important role in helping our clients better understand their employer obligations,” Megas says. “We all need to address the issue of compliance collectively to achieve a fairer working environment for all.”

To help ease your transition into STP and to reap the full efficiency and savings benefits, ADP has also launched a new service to help you get ready. To learn more visit adppayroll.com.au/stp Here are key activities employers can start to work on now. 1. Review your processes Given that STP is a move into the digital realm, is it time to review your HR and payroll processes? How robust are your delegation processes for who can access, edit and authorise payroll? Is your employee commencement process very manual, with lots of pieces of paper floating around? Are employees still sending you an email with the hours they clocked for each pay period? How do you manage and validate this attendance data – as well as leave requests? Jag Chugha, legal director, ADP Australia and New Zealand explains: “It is important to consider that the person managing the payroll run process may feel new pressure resulting from STP. Every time they run payroll and commit to the disbursements, the sending of the STP PayEvent puts an onus on them to ensure accuracy. As the sender, they are making the declaration that the file is true and correct and they are committing to the liability of the employer in regards to pay as you go withholding [PAYGW] and superannuation guarantee.” STP could be a good trigger to help you streamline your payroll processes and to add some additional checks and balances. 2. Check the accuracy of your data Many businesses manage inaccuracies in their payroll data as part of a big payroll reconciliation and clean-up process at the end of the financial year. Often, they are checking and rechecking their employee totals to ensure accuracy, even just before hitting the submit button on their Payment Summary Annual Report for lodgement with the ATO. Now, however, every STP PayEvent could require this type of checking and correction. How will your business find the time to manage this? Unless you have the right process to prevent payroll errors, your effort and risk could increase. Megas says: “It can be an error that seems very small but it will still be clearly visible. For example, using the wrong algorithm for the tax file number of an employee all year and disclosing an allowance as the wrong type. Now your employee is going to be able to see this error on a regular basis. An emphasis therefore needs to be put on ensuring your payroll data is as clean as possible at all times, as STP adds layers of transparency to your payroll reporting – both from an employee and ATO perspective.”

ADP can help you assess your readiness for STP. Our consulting business can run an STP workshop designed for your business, helping you identify what you need to be ready to fully benefit from STP. To learn more and book an appointment, please visit adppayroll.com.au/stp

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FEATURES

2O18 FORECASTING: ENGAGEMENT

BECOME A TALENT MAGNET IN 2018 It can be difficult to know where to focus engagement efforts, but new research shows the essential areas for HR to concentrate on in 2018 THE O.C. TANNER Institute’s 2017 global study, The Six Essential Aspects of Workplace Culture to Focus on Today, revealed the fundamental building blocks for any successful culture. The study found that the six key aspects most meaningful to employees are purpose, opportunity, success, appreciation, wellbeing and leadership. These talent magnets positively impact recruitment, engagement, tenure, and satisfaction – not to mention business metrics. They are critical for creating an employee’s connection to the company – that is, the

work, where they work – and why they work. Employee connection is similar to the employee experience – that is, ensuring each touchpoint an employee has with their employer is a positive experience – however, Heyward suggests employee connection extends beyond this. For example, it ties closely with the demand for greater personalisation of HR services. “Employees increasingly want to feel they are not just a number that is getting a generic experience; instead, they want a

“Everyone likes to be thanked, everyone likes to be appreciated, but how that is delivered varies across different regions” Alan Heyward, O.C. Tanner | Accumulate employee’s connection with their role, their colleagues, their manager, the workplace as a whole – and just as importantly, their connection to the purpose of the workplace and its connection to the wider community.

Creating a connection On the last item, Alan Heyward, managing director Australasia at O.C. Tanner | Accumulate, says there’s an increasing trend of employees asking: ‘Why am I doing this?’ “People want to know they’re making a difference,” he says. While he’s reluctant to place this trend at the feet of millennials, Heyward does concede this cohort has demanded changes in the way they

tailored experience in terms of the types of development opportunities that are being presented to them, the way their leaders are dealing with them, and how they like to be recognised,” Heyward explains. “It’s part of them feeling valued as employees – getting that sense of, ‘You know me, so you’re tailoring the experience as much as you can.’ ” However, a word of warning: Heyward says the term personalisation is so broad that it’s a bit like the word social. “It means different things to different people,” he says. “Personalisation can mean deep personalisation, in other words talking to you and communicating with you as an

individual. But it can also mean talking to and communicating with a team, which might be different to how you talk to and communicate with another team. So there are different levels of personalisation that are relevant for different purposes.” He cites the example of L&D. It’s unlikely any organisation has the resources to tailor messaging to every single worker in a 30,000 employee organisation. However, at the same time, it’s far from effective to provide a suite of 100 courses to everyone, of which perhaps only two or three are relevant. “You’d approach a team or division and say, ‘Here are the courses that are relevant to you – you might want to consider this.’ ”

Recognition: the state of play Recognition and appreciation are fundamental elements of engagement, and there are changes afoot in this space, too. Over the past 12 months, there has been a trend towards the more sophisticated use of data to shape and hone recognition programs, and to use the data gathered by recognition systems to inform broader business decisions. “This data is being used to help enhance the performance of programs and to help with broader strategic decision-making, but also to identify the hidden hierarchies in organisations,” Heyward says. “It’s helping to identify key influencers or change champions – those people who are so critical to the design, rollout and sustained use of recognition programs.” There has also been a growing understanding

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SIX FOCUS AREAS FOR 2018 Focusing on six key areas – purpose, opportunity, success, appreciation, wellbeing and leadership – yields incredible business results. When O.C. Tanner compared average companies to companies who do better across those areas, the research found that proactive companies are: • 54% more likely to have employees that are promoters on the standard NPS scale • 53% more likely to have highly engaged employees • 29% more likely to have employees innovating and performing great work • 27% more likely to have increased in revenue last year • 22% less likely to have experienced layoffs in the last year • 25% more likely to have teams growing in size, instead of stagnating or decreasing in the last year

that implementing a recognition program requires more than a team of people in HR pulling together a strategy around recognition, obtaining the CEO’s buy-in and launching it. There needs to be engagement of stakeholders up and down the hierarchy as part of the process. “If HR wants to put in place a recognition program and for it to work well, that engagement needs to happen early – in terms of how you design the program and establishing what it’s there for,” Heyward says. “You need to find those champions who will support it, but you also need to get the executives involved. The greater the buy-in and usage from executives, the greater the buy-in and usage from everyone.” Another emerging trend is leaders thinking about the employee experience in broader terms and not restricting it to when a person starts with a company and when they leave the company. “Clients are showing an interest in creating connections pre-start date and also after someone has left an organisation, via alumni recognition programs. An employee

may leave the organisation but still want to stay connected to it. The connection doesn’t have to end the day they leave. Recognition can play a key role. Who says you only need to recognise people in the workplace? You may want them to rejoin down the track. Stay connected to them.” Heyward is also witnessing a greater need for larger organisations operating across different regions to have truly global recognition solutions. O.C. Tanner has that global reach and expertise. “Clients are saying they want to work with one party that can deliver programs across perhaps 30 countries – and they want to be able to do that while also factoring in local nuances. Everyone likes to be thanked, everyone likes to be appreciated, but how that is delivered varies across different regions,” he says. “Having a common framework or platform means you’re also pulling together the consolidated data you have flowing through your organisation, rather than

having separate programs in separate regions run by separate suppliers.”

The human touch One lasting legacy of 2017 will be the increased awareness of job automation – people losing their jobs to machines or AI-driven computers. Does Heyward believe this will ever impact the recognition space? “Technology has a role to play, especially in terms of communication, but recognition and appreciation will always be grounded in personal emotional connections,” he says. “I personally hope we never get to a place where recognition and appreciation becomes fully automated, because that would devalue the role that recognition and appreciation actually plays in helping people feel connected and socially aligned and all those positive things.” For further information and insights on improving workplace culture and engagement, contact us on 1300 733 725 or visit www.octanner.com/au

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FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

DIVERSITY BEYOND A TICK OF THE BOX

While improvements have been made, more needs to be done on gender equality in the top ranks of organisations. It’s time for D&I commitments to move beyond just a tick of the box

LOOKING FOR a damning D&I statistic? You don’t need to look far – here’s a few: there are fewer women CEOs and chairs (19 in total) of ASX200 companies than men named John (32). Further, the number of female executives in those companies actually fell between 2016 and 2017*. And according to research by the Institute of Company Directors, women account for just 25% of board positions within ASX 200

In addition, research from LeanIn.org and McKinsey & Co indicates that for every 100 women who get promoted from an entrylevel position to manager, 130 men advance. The gap is largest at the critical point when they first move into top leadership roles. Despite years of talking about the need for greater diversity, it seems results are slow to come. This incremental progress is grist for the mill for pessimists. However, for Karlie

“We will see the meaningful change when there is a clear correlation drawn between diversity and commercial outcomes” Karlie Cremin, DLPA listed companies – although there is a goal to increase this to 30% by the end of 2018. Gender diversity in the upper reaches of the corporate world is not a problem unique to Australia. Women make up less than 5% of CEO positions in the 500 largest US public companies, according to Catalyst, an advocacy group for female executives.

Cremin, principal at DLPA, it’s important to acknowledge that while there is still a long way to go, it’s also worthwhile applauding how far we have come. “Even the fact you and I are now discussing this as a serious talking point is significant movement from a not too distant past,” she says.

However, a pressing question remains: what is hampering diversity efforts? Cremin believes that most businesses still do not believe diversity is a commercial decision, but rather an ethical or social one. “When there is pressure on the bottom line, of course, focus shifts to the commercial levers,” she says. “I think we will see the meaningful change when there is a clear correlation drawn between diversity and commercial outcomes.”

Support is critical Over many years, HRD has interviewed countless female HR leaders. A recurring theme has been a lack of female mentors at the top – and leadership can be particularly lonely if there is a lack of support. Cremin, who has worked in male-dominated industries her entire working career, and who took her first board position when she was 22, empathises with that viewpoint. However, she does not believe this is a gender-specific issue. “One of the challenges when trying to address inequity, or increase diversity, is that we don’t inadvertently create prejudice through our well-intentioned actions,” she explains. “I think that it is a mistake to point to the cause of that loneliness and isolation as being gender based – ie, I have no female colleagues and therefore don’t have peers. Defining the problem in these terms actually perpetuates the problem.” She adds that senior roles can feel very lonely – for any gender. “I believe that we as individuals will never be so keenly aware of the ways we are different than when we hold those senior roles. Senior roles are terrifying, exciting and exposing, so it is important to have a mentor who can help us to be confident in who we are,” Cremin says. “That said, a unique set of challenges do face most women who try to break through into senior roles. I think support is key, and that needs to come from a diverse range of sources, including men and women. I also

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Brought to you by

BOTTOM LINE IMPACT

think there is a danger in women trying to act like other female leaders they have seen. The most effective leaders find their own style and voice.”

Research from multiple sources indicates that organisations that embrace diversity and inclusion in all aspects of their business statistically outperform their peers. For example: • McKinsey research shows that gender-diverse companies are 15% more likely to outperform their peers and ethnically diverse companies are 35% more likely to do the same. • Catalyst research shows that companies with more women on the board statistically outperform their peers over a long period of time. • Deloitte Australia research shows that inclusive teams outperform their peers by 80% in team-based assessments.

The problem runs deeper… For many people, including Cremin, the hope is that when enough women break into senior roles, it becomes self-perpetuating and junior female employees don’t even consider that moving up the hierarchy might be out of the question. Encouragingly, many of the young women Cremin speaks to actually state they don’t believe there is gender-based prejudice in their workplace, or that any roles would be off limits for them on the basis of being female. However, there’s still a deep-rooted problem. “My concern is that this is actually pointing to a much more insidious form of prejudice, where discrimination is not even recognised as valid,” Cremin says. “This point of view, which so many young women have expressed to me, also concerns me on the grounds that it points

to a very simplistic understanding of how the current under-representation of women in senior roles came to be. It feels like a backwards step in many regards. The realities may not be realised until these women are attempting to get into the more senior roles – at which point the opportunity for change will have passed.” Cremin believes the issue is likely to be more structural than mindset-based for women moving into management roles today. She says workplaces are still “remarkably inflexible – and to be fair so are many workers”. She feels the critical ingredient for achieving higher levels of female participation is for organisations and workers to partner and collaboratively formulate solutions and work constructs that allow women to more comfortably move into senior roles, without

feeling like they have to choose between senior roles and family, for example. “If we want to see sustainable change in our workforce, we need to change the way we work as well,” she says.

The Feminine Leader One of DLPA’s bespoke offerings is called The Feminine Leader, a program uniquely designed to leverage any team’s diversity to generate effective organisational outcomes. Cremin says the course came about through DLPA’s co-principal Lenore Miller and herself discussing everything they wished they’d known at the start of their careers, and realising that they could share those lessons with others. “Women often fall into the trap of

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FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: DIVERSITY & INCLUSION Brought to you by

mimicking the masculine leadership traits they have seen modelled and, in the process, lose their own unique voice,” Cremin says. To combat this, The Feminine Leader focuses on supporting participants to find their unique leadership brand as they seek or come into executive or management roles. The course is structured around identifying how you can be most effective as a leader, and then developing the confidence and skills to communicate that style in way that others will hear and understand. The course also provides a support network for participants to interact with each other, coaches, Miller and Cremin as they progress and encounter new challenges. This helps

WOMEN COMPRISE….

46.2%

of all employees in Australia*

14.2%

of chair positions^

15.4%

of CEO roles ^

27.4%

of key management personnel^

23.4%

of ASX200 director positions^^

While programs like DLPA’s The Feminine Leader can certainly help with D&I outcomes, Cremin says society as a whole must decide that diversity matters beyond just a tick of the box. Does she believe diversity is something that can be taught? “Like any habit, yes it can be taught from a compliance standpoint – that is, we all go through the motions of our diversity checklist and we will see an improvement in the workforce stats. However, this is unlikely to yield meaningful change in my view. Organisations need to get serious about actual diversity in their workforces – where the differences within the group

“If we want to see sustainable change in our workforce, we need to change the way we work as well” Karlie Cremin, DLPA Sources:

*ABS, 2016, Labour Force, Australia ^WGEA, 2015, Australia’s Gender Equality Scorecard ^^ Australian Institute of Company Directors Statistics (2016)

DLPA Dynamic Leadership Programs Australia (DLPA) is a bespoke leadership and business development program provider that drives strategic objectives and unlocks the potential of current and emerging leaders. Corporate strategy is at the heart of DLPA’s programs, and our team works hand in hand with each client to identify key barriers to their success, develop leadership skills, align organisational values, and empower people to reach higher levels of performance. For further information email info@dlpa.com.au

A group effort

ensure that participants have access to the help they need beyond the program as well. Cremin says the course attracts a wide range of participants, some of whom are already in senior roles but may be feeling overwhelmed and ineffective. In other instances, it’s a conflict that prompts people to enroll in the course. Other participants have included young workers who have been earmarked for future management positions, people newly appointed to management positions, and people looking for their first executive role, as well as long-standing executives. The course is run in a small group environment (a maximum of 20 people), which means that DLPA is able to tailor and pitch the content to the people in the room. “The reality is that we all always have more to learn and ways we could further develop, so this flexibility in delivery means the program is relevant to almost anyone,” Cremin says.

are leveraged for competitive advantage not just managed,” she says. Once organisations make this shift then it’s a matter of educating the workgroup about issues such as unconscious bias and celebrating difference. However, more critically, Cremin says ever y individual within an organisation needs to take responsibility for the role they play in the diversity or otherwise of their organisation. “If nothing else, I think it has become clear that we are so far down the exclusion path that diversity and full participation in the workforce, particularly at senior levels, is not going to occur by accident. It will need to be a conscious decision, followed by meaningful, directed action,” she says. *Based on an analysis by economist Conrad Liveris, published in a report titled: To Be Meritorious: Gender Equality at Work in 2017.

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FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: FINANCIAL WELLBEING

STRETCHED, STRESSED AND OVERWHELMED

Financial stress is keeping many Australians awake at night. What can employers do to improve the situation?

AS THE line between work and home continues to blur, it stands to reason that employers are taking more of an interest in the wellbeing of their employees. While this focus has traditionally been on physical and, increasingly, psychological wellbeing, today there’s growing interest in financial wellbeing. Tony Hanly, director of Your Financial Wellness, says employers can play a critical role in plugging the financial literacy gaps that many Australians have – so this

financial education having on Australian workers and their families?” At night many Australians ponder how to make ends meet. They worry over children who are finding it difficult to enter the workforce and friends who have lost jobs. When morning comes, these same Australians take their places in factories and offices where they are expected to do their best to compete across a global economy. But these workers don’t leave their money

“Knowing how to make sound money decisions is a core skill in today’s world, regardless of age” Tony Hanly, Your Financial Wellness newfound interest is well and truly justified. “Knowing how to make sound money decisions is a core skill in today’s world, regardless of age,” Hanly says. “It affects quality of life, opportunities we can pursue, our sense of security and the overall economic health of our society. But we don’t learn about managing our finances in high schools, universities or most workplaces. So what impact is this critical gap in our

worries at home and this impacts workplace performance – their stress becomes the employer’s problem as well. This is of great concern to employers with research revealing that nearly three million working Australians are feeling financially stressed – across all industries, income levels and job roles. That’s one quarter of all Aussie employees. What’s more, employees who suffer from financial stress are less engaged

at work and more likely to underperform – spending an average of seven hours per week trying to solve their financial problems while they’re in the workplace. This is having a significant impact on Australia’s productivity, with financial stress costing employers an estimated $47bn every year. Fortunately, employers are willing – and able – to assist. Indeed, according to MetLife’s 2016 Australia Employee Benefit Trends Study, 68% of employers believe in helping staff make better financial decisions.

Support where and when it’s needed Many employers already provide wellness and employee assistance programs alongside other benefits to support their employees’ overall quality of life. However, those programs don’t always address the complexities of each employee’s financial situation. Hanly has seen that workplace wellness is expanding beyond physical health to include a financial wellness component, helping employees ease economic stress, overcome money challenges and promote financial health. “Multiple studies have shown that offering staff a financial wellness program can result in improved talent outcomes, better business performance, and more engaged employees – a win-win for both the employer and employees,” he says. There are multiple players in the market who can assist employers with financial wellness programs. For example, Yourfinancialwellness.com.au is a low-cost, high-value solution that has been specifically designed to help Australian workers make more confident and informed decisions regarding their financial futures. The platform is a comprehensive knowledge hub that incorporates interactive tutorials and strategy guides that make it easy for the average Australian to get their head around the world of personal finance.

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THE IMPACT ON EMPLOYEES Financial wellness is emerging as a key factor in employees’ wellbeing. • 28% report that issues with personal finances have been a distraction at work

Your Financial Wellness also offers a comprehensive suite of budgeting and financial modeling software covering areas such as repaying loans, income tax, stamp duty and home loan comparisons. In addition, the website is regularly updated with expert commentary, articles, videos and webinars covering a range of topics. Participating employers can also have their existing employee benefits outlined on the site for employees to see whenever they choose. To support the online service, Your Financial Wellness can conduct on-site presentations to employees on a range of financial topics.

A tailored, personalised approach As workplace technology is increasingly being personalised to better match individual circumstances and scenarios, it’s no surprise to learn that Your Financial

• 46% of those distracted by their finances at work say that they spend three hours or more thinking about, or dealing with, issues related to their personal finances • 45% of employees say that financial matters cause them the most stress – nearly as many as those whose top stresses are their jobs, health or relationships combined Source: PwC – Employee Financial Wellness Survey, April 2016

Wellness has also adopted this approach. Hanly explains: “Our experience has guided us to create a platform that provides interaction to the user based on their inputs. For example, some users may experience stress in paying regular bills and the platform will direct them to tutorials and information helping them to create a budget. For others, this may be creating goals for saving and, for others, protecting the family against risk. This personalised journey is important to provide the user with focused content and guidance that suits their personal situation.” Any financial wellbeing or education

initiative must aim towards changing behaviour to address short-term needs and to plan for the future. Therefore, the programs that Your Financial Wellness implements adapt to the life situation of the user based on their inputs to the platform and reflect each employee’s situation. Hanly says his company can confidently take each employee on a “personalised journey to financial wellness” in the form of interactive learning modules. There are also modules on offer relating to aged-care costs, which are particularly useful to people who are faced with the prospect of parents entering a nursing home.

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FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: FINANCIAL WELLBEING Brought to you by

HOW DOES A LACK OF FINANCIAL WELLNESS IMPACT EMPLOYERS? Stressed employees 63.3% Disengaged/distracted employees 43.3% Low morale 30% Unhealthy employees 23.3% Absenteeism 16.7% Other forms of reduced productivity 10% Other 6.7% Source: Workplace Super Specialists Australia: Workplace Financial Wellness Survey, August 2016

YOUR FINANCIAL WELLNESS Australians are not taught about the world of personal finance at school, university or in the workplace. YourFinancialWellness.com.au was created to fill this gap by providing education, content and online tools to help households and individuals make more informed choices regarding their financial futures. Employers sponsoring the program for their employees will benefit from a more productive and engaged workforce. For further information email info@yourfinancialwellness.com.au

Based on the responses and inputs of each employee, Your Financial Wellness delivers content that is relevant to the individual’s situation. For example: • Millennials will likely be focused on lifestyle and ensuring they can balance everything life throws at them. There is a concern about getting into the housing market and having a better understanding of the process for buying their first house, but they also want guidance on how to save and at the same time spend their hard-earned cash responsibly. Credit card debt can easily mount up after that overseas holiday and they need advice on paying that down without enduring a significantly reduced lifestyle.

Gen Xers want to ensure the whole family is on the right path. • Baby boomers – for 65 year olds and three years either side, it’s about making sure they have enough money in super to fund the lifestyle they want into retirement.

Helping – but not overstepping the mark Of course, employers must also tread a fine line between caring enough about employees to offer services that will help with their financial wellbeing, and offering advice on anything relating to personal finance. There are limits and restrictions on the type of advice employers can offer, especially when it comes to superannuation. That line is

Any financial wellbeing or education initiative must aim towards changing behaviour to address short-term needs and to plan for the future • Gen X are generally already in the housing market, so it’s a conversation about investments – be it property or shares. Family planning comes into the equation: how can they drop back to one wage with kids on the horizon? Spending can be a lot tighter, so smart decisions are critical to making ends meet. • Late Gen Xers might be seeking advice on the finances involved in raising a blended family or preparing for retirement; or now being empty nesters, they may be revisiting some of their life goals that have been on hold. People are still taking on significant amounts of debt, so there are also concerns about how long people will be working for. The stability of the kids is important:

crossed as soon as an employer gives an opinion around what someone should do with their finances. It’s advisable to instead guide employees towards where they can get help. Employers are urged to always advise employees to seek the assistance of qualified financial advisors as early as possible. Importantly, through the Your Financial Wellness service, the employer is able to offer employees a secure and private platform for the employees to explore all things financial. While employers may offer employees participation in the program, no private employee information is ever made available to employers. This gives employees confidence that they may use the platform without judgment, while taking advantage of all the features of the service to create their own household finance system.

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FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: NOVATED LEASES

DRIVING REAL BENEFITS

Most HR and finance professionals are aware that a novated lease program can benefit both the employer and its employees – but the full scope of these benefits may not be understood. HRD asks one expert about what to expect

‘NOVATED CAR lease: the last decent tax break for employees.’ That was a headline on The Australian’s website just before the end of the last financial year, on 13 June 2017. While employers investing in flexible work practices, health and life insurance and other perks might disagree, the article raised an undeniable truth: with the tightening of concessional pre-tax super, there are now very few opportunities

How it works A novated lease can benefit both employees and employers, but it’s important to firstly partner with a car leasing specialist who knows the ins and outs of novated leasing. One such specialist is FleetPartners. To gain insights into how a novated lease works, HRD chatted with Marissa Naidoo, National Novated Sales Manager at FleetPartners.

“In today’s competitive market, novated leasing could be one way to attract skilled workers” Marissa Naidoo, FleetPartners for the average salary earner to benefit from a tax break. The one exception, as The Australian’s article revealed, is the novated car lease, an employee benefit that employers may want to consider offering more readily in their salary packaging offerings – not least because it lets employees have a good car that will likely cost them less per annum than the car they’re currently driving.

a personal vehicle compared to traditional finance options. Naidoo says that an employer stands to benefit from offering novated leases in several key ways. For example, if retention and recruitment is a key focus, then offering novated leases is a great incentive for people to stay or join the company. “In today’s competitive market, novated leasing could be one way to attract skilled workers,” she says. “Leasing allows employees flexibility on the type of vehicle they wish to drive that suits their budget and lifestyle needs. Many already use the benefit through current employers – hence potential employees could easily be swayed away from applying for a role if the benefit is not offered by their new employer.” Providing tangible savings on one of an employee’s biggest expenses in life can also help tighten the relationship with existing employees. Additional benefits include reduced costs via possible payroll tax reductions, work cover premiums, reduced administration and the possibility of claiming tax credit inputs. Of course, it’s employees who benefit the most from novated leasing, as it can be a costeffective way to drive a car of their choice. The end result is a vehicle that is financed at a cost typically a few thousand dollars per year lower compared to the employee financing the vehicle for private use with their after-tax wages.

Demystifying novated leases “A novated lease is a three-way agreement between an employee, their employer and FleetPartners,” she says. “This employee benefit allows for the salary sacrificing of the vehicle finance and its running cost.” In such an agreement, the employer takes the repayments out of the employee’s pre- and post-tax salary. As the employee’s taxable income is reduced, novated lease could be a cost-effective method to operate

A new development over the last 5-10 years is the growing popularity of this benefit among medium-sized businesses. “Many companies have definitely realised the benefits of moving away from company cars into offering car allowances in conjunction with a novated lease,” she says. “From an employer perspective, this reduces the admin burden and cost to the business as the assets do not sit on the balance sheet,

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and the employer does not need to worry about end-of-lease disposal. They are also not left with an unwanted vehicle if someone resigns. Small to mid-sized enterprises are embracing novated leasing as the perception of it being an onerous task is slowly being demystified.” Overstretched and under-resourced HR teams may be wary of the potential administration burden of offering novated leases to employees. However, Naidoo says there is minimal time burden and administration involved – it’s the fleet leasing company that manages the admin. There is initial paperwork, but once a novated lease is in operation there is just one monthly invoice to pay, which can be automated. “The initial set-up for an employer requires one document to be completed and then employee approvals can be completed online moving forward,” Naidoo says. Still, there are some niggling myths that deserve to be shattered once and for all. Perhaps the most enduring myth is that a novated lease only serves to benefit higher income executive employees. Not so – most employees looking at a vehicle can benefit from leasing. “The opportunity to reduce your taxable income but also GST savings made on running costs is beyond a doubt beneficial,” Naidoo says. “Most households on average have at least two vehicles and generally one or both are financed. The opportunity to make a mixture of pre- and post-tax deductions for the finance and running costs could appeal to anyone currently employed. Affordability, credit history, employment situation, etc, are all factors that will affect eligibility; however, for the average Australian employed fulltime there are potential savings to be had.”

Delving deeper A car fringe benefit most commonly arises where a car is made available to an employee

COMPARE AND SAVE Novated leasing may be a convenient and cost-effective way for employees to package a car and its running costs. Marissa Naidoo from FleetPartners and her team are often asked about potential savings. Naidoo provides an example of the savings that can potentially be made with a novated lease. Let’s say an employee, Jane, earns $80,000 per year and takes out a three-year novated lease on a new Mazda 3 Touring Hatchback travelling 25,000 annually with 100% private usage. In this example, a novated lease could save her around $10,000 over the three-year term when compared to financing the car with a personal loan. A novated lease is a three-way agreement between an employee, their employer and the financier. The car finance and its running costs are paid from a combination of the employee’s pre- and post-tax salary. FleetPartners can help employees set a budget for the ongoing running costs based on the type of car leased and how far it’s expected to travel each year. The budget can be adjusted at any time if they don’t quite fit the employee’s requirements. When the lease is established, a residual amount is set, and the employee then has the option to purchase the vehicle at the end of the lease term. There is also the option to extend the lease or sell the vehicle and use the funds to pay out the residual.

from an employer, this will give rise to a fringe benefit tax (FBT) liability. FBT is a federal government tax imposed on employers on the value of certain fringe benefits that have been provided to employees. When an employer is involved in a novated lease agreement, FBT is payable. It is common practice for the FBT cost to be passed onto the employee. FBT is calculated using either the statutory formula method or the operating cost method. Statutory formula method: this method applies a single statutory rate (2017: 20%) and does not require an employee to record their business or private use and therefore it is attractive for employees who have little or no business use. Operating cost method: this method

calculates the percentage of private use and business use of a vehicle. A logbook must be completed in a logbook year for a minimum of a 12-week continuous period. A logbook year is commonly every five years or when travel patterns change. Anyone who is using the vehicle primarily for work purposes would benefit from using this method. Under a novated lease the monthly rental, running costs and FBT liability is paid from pre-tax earnings. This is an effective method to reduce employee income tax, as they are taxed on the reduced pre-tax earnings. To mitigate the difference in taxes between the employee marginal tax rate and the FBT rate the employee can make post-tax contributions, this is known as the

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FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: NOVATED LEASES Brought to you by

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS “We encourage a paperless environment so having an online approval system fits into our model. Of all the online fleet systems we have used, by far FleetPartners is the easiest to navigate and use.” People services team at a large Australian bank. “Introduced FleetPartners to my company after I tried it first. I was so impressed I invited them to do a presentation to a few interested staff. The CEO and four others changed over to lease new cars from FleetPartners.” Amanda, a driver from the not-for-profit sector. “I have never had an issue booking my car in, or getting general advice. I always receive excellent support.” Mattie, a driver from a major mining company.

employee contribution method (ECM). It is recommended that an employee contributes an amount equivalent to the taxable value of the vehicle, thereby reducing the FBT liability to zero. For example, by making a post-tax contribution, the FBT rate drops from 47% to the employee’s marginal income tax rate of 37%. This method is generally desirable for anyone earning under $180,000. For HR professionals still wary of offering novated leases to their employees, it’s worth noting that experts in the field such as FleetPartners offer end-toend services. FleetPartners can provide employees with a comprehensive education program, which offers a range of ways to seek additional information and have their questions answered. By providing online, phone and email-based enquiry services for everything from the initial enquiry through to quote, activation, payroll commencement and reconciliation at the end of the lease, HR is further relieved of any admin burden.

New innovations

FLEETPARTNERS FleetPartners is the largest operating subsidiary of Eclipx Group Limited, an established leader in vehicle fleet leasing, fleet management and diversified financial services in Australia and New Zealand. We provide hassle-free employee benefits with our novated lease and salary packaging services to a range of organisations throughout Australia. Employees of small business, not-for-profit, government sector and large corporates are provided with options to meet their vehicle and salary packaging needs, and employers are provided with programs to suit their internal policies.

Like all industries, novated leasing has been impacted by new technology. FleetPartners, for example, now offers end-to-end novated lease management online via its MyCar Dashboard. MyCar is a paperless application and approval portal with benefits for both employers and employees. For employers, it means a significant reduction in the need to print out documents. It also allows for oversight of all leases with a suite of reports accessible whenever they are needed. For employees, MyCar saves the time and hassle of finding the right car at the right price. It allows them to search, obtain quotes and apply for a new novated lease while taking advantage of FleetPartners’ fleet discounts. From there, employees can easily monitor their lease budgets.

A final tip… Thanks to the potential savings available for a novated lease program, it may be worthwhile making novated leases a focal point within a broader employee benefit program. The novated lease program can commonly be supported by other salary packaging items, such as airline lounge memberships, superannuation and laptops/PDAs, which FleetPartners can also assist with. FleetPartners delivers an easy, hassle-free benefit for your employees that is managed end-to-end by FleetPartners on your behalf. Part of partnering with them means they deliver a complimentary tailored marketing/education program, which is co-branded with your business to help build awareness about what’s on offer, making the roll-out and ongoing communication about the benefit easy. Some of the options include: • Onsite product launches • Onsite education seminars • Hosting of a client brand’s specific web page linked to their intranet • One-on-one consultations with a novated lease specialist at client sites • Webinar education sessions with Q&A • Dual-branded collateral As employers vie for top talent in a competitive labour market, offering a diverse suite of benefits that includes novated leases may be one way for your organisation to stay ahead of the pack. Just as critically, novated leases can be implemented without the expensive price and admin burden of many other benefits program components. When viewed holistically, it equates to a rare win-win scenario for both employees and employers. Important: information is current as at 23 November 2017 and subject to change. FleetPartners makes every effort to ensure information provided is correct, however, it does not warrant the accuracy of that information. Information is general in nature and does not constitute financial or tax advice. Independent finance and/or tax advice should be sought.

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INSIDE HR

HILTON

A Hilton Haikou Meilan (China) group photo celebrating the Thrive@Hilton initiative

THE HEART OF HILTON Hilton’s mission is to be the most hospitable company in the world. But it’s what – or who – is at the heart of this mission that is the key to its success WHILE IT’S not uncommon for organisations to claim that “our people are our greatest asset”, often these are empty words. Not so at Hilton, which has a refreshing twist on those words. “Our team members are at the core of our success, so we actually call them the ‘Heart of Hilton’,” explains Brendan Toomey, Hilton’s vice president of HR for Asia Pacific. “And in order for our business to be successful, we need our

team members to have their heads in the right state. So we took a decision to really think: What do we need to do to engage all of our team members? How do we capture their hearts and minds?” He refers in particular to millennials, who are always looking for out-of-the-box benefits and solutions and constantly thinking about how their work can be elevated in

terms of workplace, culture and purpose. “We wanted to create an environment where people thrive, where our team members thrive, our business thrives. And that is now our overarching employee value proposition in the company,” Toomey says. To put this concept of ‘thrive’ in practical terms, Hilton has partnered with Thrive Global, whose mission is “to end the stress and burnout epidemic by offering sustainable, science-based solutions to enhance wellbeing, performance and purpose, and create a healthier relationship with technology”. The belief is that it’s not a zero-sum game. Success does not come only at the price of wellbeing, but it’s in fact the other way around – only by putting wellbeing first can people be properly empowered for success. With this in mind, all of Hilton’s HR strategies and initiatives are now placed under the Thrive umbrella, which is split into three key areas – body, mind, spirit (see boxout).

Back to basics When talking about the body, the first thing that

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often comes to mind is living a healthier lifestyle. But Toomey explains that it goes beyond what happens in the body and also means looking at where the body is situated. He illustrates this point by painting a familiar everyday scenario. “Imagine waking up at six o’clock in the morning and dragging yourself to work. You get to your workplace and it’s very dull and dim, and you’re hardly energetic and motivated to hand the customers a hearty breakfast.” Hilton is keen to overturn this stereotypical image of a dark and dingy behind-the-scenes for hotel staff by ensuring consistency all throughout the hotel in terms of quality of space and service. This can be seen in the Heart of House program, which was designed to provide team members with their own set of basic quality facilities that hotel guests normally have. “If you were to walk behind the scenes in a hotel, and if you were to go dine in one of our team members’ dining rooms, then you would have a similar experience if you were to dine in one of our guest-facing restaurants,” Toomey says. Apart from the healthy meals served, the staff dining rooms are also designed in such a way that’s conducive to learning and leisure, where team members can bring their laptops and connect to Wi-Fi and do their work or unwind – an environment in which they can really thrive. Team members are also encouraged to take a break, go around for a walk when needed, and get enough sleep.

Thrive in 100 days Recognising the influence of the collective in sustaining health and wellness practices, Hilton’s Singapore office introduced a 100-day Thrive Challenge, where team members convene to set goals to ‘Thrive’ together for 100 days. Instead of having a one-size-fits-all program, each department is given the opportunity to create its own set of challenges as a group, to promote better work practices and healthier eating. The idea is to empower the team members to come up with measures that best fit their needs and personalities in line with the Thrive principle, ensuring ownership and sustainability.

THRIVE@HILTON KEY PRINCIPLES Thrive@Hilton is Hilton’s employee value proposition to enable team members to ‘Thrive’ by growing and flourishing in ‘Body, Mind and Spirit’. Body: Building a strong foundation for health and wellbeing »» By encouraging team members to recharge while working, and by sharing tips on simple exercises and mindful eating habits to enable team members to feel more energised »» Hilton also provides team members with a great environment that inspires them and helps them achieve their goals (eg Heart of House) Mind: Seeking lifelong learning and mindful leadership »» By equipping team members with diverse and numerous opportunities for personal and professional growth, while encouraging mindfulness – be it at meetings, in emails, or time spent out of office to recharge Spirit: Daring to dream and connect with purpose »» Hilton launched the new Thrive Sabbatical Program in July to provide the opportunity for team members to enrich the lives of others or accomplish a personal goal, and return to work inspired

“We wanted to create an environment where people thrive, where our team members thrive, our business thrives” Brendan Toomey, Hilton “They are doing things in their own world that make them feel good about themselves and make them feel healthier,” Toomey says. “We don’t mandate anything, we don’t tell anybody they must eat healthily or that they must stop drinking alcohol. We provide guidelines, we give them tips. We help them think about micro steps that they can take to help start their journey.”

Mind over matter Mindful leadership and lifelong learning – these are the two components under the ‘Mind’ pillar, which Toomey considers the most significant component. The first step in mindful leadership is learning to communicate in a mindful way. This can be broken down to the smallest things, such as emails and meetings – when and how they are sent out/set up, the amount of time spent on them – and the flow-on effect from these, especially given a general culture that expects constant

connectivity through technology. Hilton is looking to break away from that tradition and create a new culture with Thrive. “How people use digital, how they use social [media] in such a way that they can pretty much be on all the time – we think that’s very unhealthy. We don’t want that type of behaviour to be the norm,” says Toomey. “We understand that there may be a need for certain roles at certain times to be connected. We’re not saying ‘just disconnect and forget about your job’. What we’re saying to our team members is, ‘At the end of the day, you control when you’re on and when you’re off ’.” The idea of flexible work practices now comes into play. While it might be easy to allow remote work arrangements for certain roles, it’s obviously not feasible for a number of roles within a hotel. So instead of extending the classic work-from-home option, supervisors and managers pay extra attention to the roster and make sure there’s

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INSIDE HR

HILTON

flexibility, and the staff are given more leeway as to how and when they take time off work. Toomey extends the concept of mindfulness to the area of mental health as well, in terms of how the team members are doing and how the leaders respond in turn. “I think we’re in an environment where you may be working long hours – maybe you’re not eating as well, maybe you’re not getting enough rest; you get tired, therefore you’re not as gregarious and happy and lively as you might have been,” he says. “So we’re working hard to get people to connect the dots between the pillars. They don’t stand alone; they’re all linked.”

“We encourage our leaders to connect, provide feedback, try and uncover, without prying and getting too personal, but just to understand what’s happening in that person’s life that we can support them more with. Our responsibility as an employer is, if we find that there is some medical concern, then we would provide guidance and support and help point that person in the right direction.”

Engaging millennials in ‘Spirit’ “Hilton believes it has this great opportunity to contribute more broadly to the community and give back where we can. That is the essence of why we are doing what we are doing,” says Toomey about the rationale behind the Thrive

initiative and the ‘Spirit’ pillar in particular, which involves recognising contributions from within and outside of Hilton. The Spirit pillar also ties in with Hilton’s aim to be more intentional in engaging the millennial generation. “We find the millennial generation clearly wants to know about us as a company and what we’re doing to the community and the environment. Millennials are also keen to be fast-tracked and promoted quickly.” The company has in place an internal promotion process, an 18-month management trainee program that fast-tracks employees from graduation through to a first-level supervisory role, and an elevated program

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HEART OF HOUSE Designed to enhance the team member experience and provide an inspiring environment, the Heart of House initiative has set new standards to improve the back-of-house working environment for on-property team members. • Through the initiative, Hilton creates ownable space for team members, where food, lighting, music, and even wardrobe are carefully considered, in order to drive home the mission to be the world’s most hospitable company. • At Hilton Singapore, team members enjoy meals prepared by the hotel’s chefs in a team member cafe, which has a pool table and views that overlook the lush greenery on Orchard Road. There are also ‘Snooze Rooms’ for team members to recharge, as well as a recently revamped staff gym.

“We provide guidelines, we give them tips. We help them think about micro steps that they can take to help start their journey” Brendan Toomey, Hilton

Hilton teams from Japan, India, China, Singapore and Australia celebrate Thrive@Hilton activities

for general management wherein selected millennial employees go through four key aspects of Hilton’s operations within a couple of years and are eventually led to a head of department role – which traditionally takes eight to 10 years. To date, Thrive@Hilton has been a hit with employees. For example, Michael Slaton, VP of finance at Hilton APAC, outlined to HRD how his team has been actively and enthusiastically engaged in the program. “The Thrive@Hilton initiatives have become a rallying point for our finance team members to come together and flourish as one in ‘Body, Mind and Spirit’,” Slaton said. “We’re doing more together as a team than ever

before, from team outings such as BBQ and karaoke, to setting collective stair-climbing targets that we strive for and share photos of, no matter which part of the world any of us may be in – Singapore, Delhi or Tokyo, just to name a few. We’ve had several team members take on new physical challenges as well – from losing weight to learning how to swim, all the while cheering each other on.”

Looking beyond Hilton Having established what happens within, the focus turns outward. To provide the millennial team members with the meaning and purpose they want from work, Hilton has created a corporate responsibility program called ‘Travel with Purpose’, which provides action grants and resources to create initiatives that are properly tailored to local communities and their needs. The program includes a global week of service that allows team members to fully dedicate all their time and efforts to top causes. But it doesn’t stop at an annual event. The company is quick to respond and give to

community needs as they come up at different times and in different geographies – such as with the recent catastrophes in the US. “In the US, with all the floods they’re having, the typhoons, fires – you can imagine what they’re doing around giving back to the community,” Toomey says. “There are donations set up wherein the company matches dollar for dollar what the team members put forward – things of that nature that build our culture and our mission to be the most hospitable company in the world.” From shaping the mission, vision and values to the Thrive initiative as the overall engagement strategy, through to leadership development and corporate social responsibility, Toomey says HR’s role is to make the embedded practices come to life in order to continuously grow the organisation. “When we’re recruiting team members from outside the company and bringing them in, we’re sharing with them our stories about what we’re doing as a company, and why they should come and join us.”

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FEATURES

SPECIAL REPORT

HR SERVICE PROVIDER AWARDS HRD’s inaugural HR Service Provider Awards aims to recognise the best of the best when it comes to HR’s most valued business partners

TO THE uninitiated, engaging an HR service provider must be a daunting task. Finding the vendor with the reputation, resources, and knowledge required – not to mention the right cost for those services – might be a full-time job in itself. Yet the benefits for seeking out the best of the best are significant. The most sought-after service providers can be HR’s right hand, acting as a seamless extension of the in-house HR team, providing specialist expertise and

having deep knowledge of their sector. There are three basic service provider classifications that HR can leverage: consulting/advisory, information technology and process outsourcing (see table opposite). Most HR professionals would have encountered these organisations either on the client side (ie, the business that is procuring the services) or the supplier side (ie, the business – or vendor – that is providing the service).

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HR VENDOR LANDSCAPE In this report, HRD has identified seven key specialist areas: » Employment law » Executive education » HRIS » Payroll systems » Reward and recognition » Talent management » Recruitment Vendor submissions were vetted and voted upon by an independent panel of eight judges, comprising senior HR professionals from a range of industries (see p.64 for judging panel bios). Gold, Silver and Bronze medals were awarded to those vendors who received the highest number of votes in each category. As HR’s role becomes more and more strategic, it’s likely that service providers will be increasingly called upon to help out with day-to-day transactional work, or to help in-house teams provide specialised services. Read on to see who’s up to the task in 2017.

Type

Consulting/advisory

Information technology

Process outsourcing • Provision of services to execute transactions or activities. This could be one-off or ongoing process outsourcing

• Provision of advice, recommendations or project management services

• Provision of technology services on premises or in the cloud

Service example

• Remuneration benchmarking • Employee engagement advice/ services • Employee relations case advice • Project management support • Recruitment services

• One-off services like medical or • Solutions could be end-to-end background checks on premises (eg, SAP), or in the • Outsourcing and/or offshoring cloud (eg, Workday) of HR processes like payroll, • Solutions could be functionrecruitment, mobility/relocation specific in the cloud (eg, Workable services, workers’ compensation, or Linkedin) etc

Vendor example

• McKinsey, Deloitte, PwC, IBM, Accenture • Korn Ferry, Mercer, Aon Hewitt • Herbert Smith Freehills, Minter Ellison, Holding Redlich

• SAP SuccessFactors, Oracle/ Taleo, Microsoft • Workday, Cornerstone OnDemand, SABA • Google, Apple, Custom Apps • LinkedIn

Description

Impact

Strategic vs tactical Short-term vs long-term

Coverage

Across multiple services Across multiple business units Across multiple geographies

• • • • •

IBM, Infosys, Accenture Manpower, Kelly Recruitment agencies (various) Training providers (various) Corpsec, Kinnect Health

Source: From feature article, A Perfect Partnership by Peter Szilagyi, HRD issue 14.12

EMPLOYMENT LAW

EMPLOYMENT LAW Service Provider Awards 2017

AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS LAWYERS & ADVISORS

EMPLOYMENT LAW Service Provider Awards 2017

HARMERS WORKPLACE LAWYERS

Given Australia’s notoriously complicated employment law system, it’s hardly surprising that most HR professionals would draw on the expertise of specialists in this space. Gold winner Harmers Workplace Lawyers has been a pioneer in this space and has won multiple accolades for exceptional services to clients since its establishment 21 years

EMPLOYMENT LAW Service Provider Awards 2017

LEGAL VISION

ago. The firm’s people and workplace (P&W) team has focused on providing advice that is both innovative and valuable in the face of the rapid transformation they are seeing in the way workplaces function. A unique point of difference to competitors is that they challenge the historical approach of getting employment lawyers involved only at the point of

escalation, instead shifting their client’s focus towards risk management and promoting positive culture in the workplace, as well as anticipating issues and working strategically with a client before matters escalate. One judge noted: “I’m impressed with the depth of knowledge shown by the Harmers team. It’s something I appreciate as an HR director: in-depth knowledge of my business and what we do.” Silver winner Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors drew this comment from a judge: “Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors demonstrates a strong client focus in providing the best advice through access to a variety of legal resources. The ability to advise on a range of employment challenges plus the availability of easy templates is a great combination.” Legal Vision, meanwhile, was applauded for being a disruptor in the market: “A unique model that is invaluable to SME clients – their stats and feedback from clients speak for themselves. Clearly a provider focused on exceptional products and service.”

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FEATURES

SPECIAL REPORT EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

EXECUTIVE EDUCATION Service Provider Awards 2017

GO1 PD TRAINING With executives under immense pressure to guide their organisations through unchartered territory amid constant change, keeping skills up-to-date and sharp has never been more important. Innovation is the key for Gold winner PD Training. For example, the company’s unique bespoke IT system includes custom-designed personality profiling tools and reports to

Few categories are as competitive as HRIS. Judges paid close attention to user experience, compatibility and integration with existing technology and general accessibility – a critical consideration in this ‘anywhere, anytime’ world. Gold winner Mumba enables large organisations with outdated and fragmented IT systems and processes to combine them into a single app with the same look and user interface, making it extremely easy to use without any training. Just as importantly, there is no need to upgrade existing IT systems to improve the user experience or add modern functionality. One judge voiced the frustration that many HR professionals have with their existing systems: “The frustration I have is that we have great tools, but they are not connected. I loved the idea of an app that brings all systems together.” Another judge commented: “As more employees work from home, remotely, and do not all have work computers, it’s a perfect

EXECUTIVE EDUCATION Service Provider Awards 2017

AFTERBURNER AUSTRALIA

ensure the student gets the best learning experience possible. Thanks to these profiling tools, the company’s trainers can better understand each participant’s learning style and tailor the content on the day to ensure the practical skills learned during the training can be applied immediately in the workplace. After completing the profile, students become more

self-aware of their preferred learning style. Capping it all is a mobile app – Orgmenta – which allows students to access the following training support tools: • Pre-course communication with fellow participants and trainer Pre-course Personality Profiling Tool • In-course interactivity with the course materials, polls and live chat • Post-course collaboration with access to private LinkedIn forums, YouTube channel, 12 months e-learning access and email support Meanwhile, Bronze winner Afterburner Australia was complimented by judges for a “unique, focused and engaging program targeting executive-level employees”. One judge commented: “Their Flex Methodology concept is proprietary and is backed up by being the process that fighter pilots have been using for more than 60 years. I was impressed with their average engagement rating of 96% and improving productivity by over 38% in the average workplace.”

HRIS

HRIS Service Provider Awards 2017

SAP FIELDGLASS

HRIS Service Provider Awards 2017

MUMBA CLOUD

tool for them to access payslips, profiles, leave, rosters and communications on the go. It’s a tool I would want to use as an employee, and has potential to communicate and engage with workforces that are dispersed, mobile and transient.”

HRIS Service Provider Awards 2017

FRONTIER SOFTWARE

Frontier’s HRIS solution was meanwhile applauded for covering the full gamut of the employee lifecycle, and having a userfriendly self-service interface. It also offers full integration with payroll systems, which the judges noted is not offered by many systems.

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FEATURES

SPECIAL REPORT PAYROLL SYSTEMS

PAYROLL SYSTEMS Service Provider Awards 2017

TECHNOLOGYONE

AFFINITY FRONTIER SOFTWARE With stories of underpayment of employees breaking almost daily, getting payroll right and remaining compliant with a multitude of regulations has never been more challenging. When asked how it felt to win Gold in this category and Bronze in the HRIS category, Nick Southcombe, Frontier’s CEO, replied: “Firstly, humble; it is a competitive marketplace

with many of our competitors offering quality products and services. But most of all, I am pleased that the staff from all parts of the company will appreciate the wonderful public recognition of their hard work and dedication to Frontier Software.” Southcombe believes what put his company over the line with judges was the fact that it is

“A comprehensive reward offering that creates an exceptional employee experience. The ability to theme and tailor rewards is a great bonus for employers.” Those were the words of one judge, commenting on why Reward Gateway’s offering in the reward and recognition space is so enticing. Reward Gateway’s platform makes recognition a central part of company culture, helping to continuously recognise employees in easy and practical ways. These include social recognition, peer-to-peer recognition in the form of eCards, instant manager awards, and customised milestone awards. This is brought to life through the use of the core products Smarthub and SmartAwards, which facilitate continuous recognition. The judges also liked Career Money Life, labelling them “a provider on the way up”. Their platform gives employees and employers a wide array of choice across employee programs, including career transition, career development, parental leave, health and wellbeing and rewards and recognition.

REWARD & RECOGNITION

REWARD & RECOGNITION Service Provider Awards 2017

CAREER MONEY LIFE

a local player. “We are Australian founded and owned with a great presence here. Our product is developed here in Australia but offers a global, integrated HR and payroll solution.” One judge commented: “Frontier Software has an impressive commitment to reinvesting back into R&D to remain leading edge. They also have a commitment to engaging and listening to customer requirements. The flexibility built into the system and the ease of scalability is unique.” Meanwhile, the judges noted Silver winner Affinity’s strong local expertise, which allows the company to offer valuable advice, and a high degree of security around compliance issues. Affinity’s client testimonials highlighted cost savings and data integrity as being key benefits of Affinity’s offerings. Bronze winner TechnologyOne was lauded by judges for being able to manage rapid growth clients while maintaining a level of service that has resulted in a 99% client retention rate. Their system also focuses on the employee experience as much as payroll’s experience.

REWARD & RECOGNITION Service Provider Awards 2017

UPRISE REWARD GATEWAY

“Making access to the platform easy and free and the individual’s ability to top up their account makes it a compelling, practical offering,” one judge noted. Another said: “Career Money Life looks at the end-to-end proposition based on the individual as a whole person and rewards people beyond just monetary recognition.”

Uprise, meanwhile, was called “a genuinely unique and much-needed proposition”. It is an award-winning new technology portal for finding and supporting employees with mental health issues before they reach crisis point. Uprise is based on the idea that employees who need help are unlikely to ask for it, so Uprise reaches out to them.

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FEATURES

SPECIAL REPORT TALENT MANAGEMENT

TALENT MANAGEMENT Service Provider Awards 2017

HRONBOARD CORNERSTONE ONDEMAND Gold winner Cornerstone OnDemand’s HCM platform features four product suites that support every phase of the employee lifecycle. The suites cover recruitment, learning and performance. Just as critically, the suite allows employers to manage all global

HR Partners is one of Australia’s largest HR specialist recruitment brands and has a wealth of experience and connectivity within the HR community. Examples of the latter are the HR networking opportunities offered by the firm to members of the HR community at all levels, including four public access groups where HR professionals can meet with their peers and learn from senior HR professionals. While the team can draw on over 20 years of experience in the HR field, managing director and founder David Owens told HRD that the company’s leading-edge technology has also been critical to its success. “We’ve led the way in virtual career fairs and the use of video in advertising job opportunities. We’re always looking for new ways to innovate our HR recruitment service,” he says. HR Partners is expanding rapidly. This year the company launched offices in Auckland, Mulgrave and Parramatta. “I have no doubt we will continue to grow as people in the HR industry hear of our good work,” Owens says. “We really appreciate this award as recognition of our hard work and delivery of service to our clients and candidates.”

TALENT MANAGEMENT Service Provider Awards 2017

HUDSON TALENT MANAGEMENT

workforce data in one central location with administration, planning and visualisation capabilities. The four product suites were organically built, which means they seamlessly integrate, taking away much of the data

entry and initial legwork needed with other solutions. They are also configurable to meet the talent strategy, compliance, business and workflow needs of any organisation. One judge commented: “The range of applications and focus on UX makes Cornerstone a very valuable product. The scale on which it is used globally is testament to its robustness and client service focus.” Silver winner HROnboard tackles a niche but extremely important area: onboarding of new employees. The company guarantees two things: an “awesome experience” for new hires; and freedom from HR administrative tasks. To do this, they aim to ensure their software is easy to use, engaging and fun. Our judges agree. “Connecting an employee to the strategy from day one is not an easy task, but HROnboard sounds like they not only do that, but deliver it in an engaging way,” wrote one.

RECRUITMENT

RECRUITMENT Service Provider Awards 2017

PEOPLESCOUT HR PARTNERS – A RANDSTAD COMPANY

Silver winner PeopleScout, founded in 1991, is among the world’s largest RPO providers and has been helping clients make in excess of 300,000 annual hires across 69 countries worldwide for 25 years. The firm takes a deep partnership approach with clients. Each of PeopleScout’s solutions are tailored to meet the specific needs and objectives of clients, with a strong focus on

RECRUITMENT Service Provider Awards 2017

PREDICTIVE HIRE

innovative sourcing and technology. This client-centricity was noted by our judges: “PeopleScout clearly develops a strong synergy with clients and gets to understand their business and supports each client’s unique needs. It’s not just all about saving client money (while this is important). It is also about ensuring the candidate experience is a positive one.”

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FEATURES

SPECIAL REPORT

THE JUDGING PANEL Rebecca Aston, organisation development manager, East Gippsland Shire Council Rebecca Aston is the organisation development manager for East Gippsland Shire Council, the second largest council (in area) in Victoria. Her portfolio includes human resource management, L&D, organisation development, risk management and WHS. Aston’s HR team at East Gippsland Shire Council was recognised by Human Resources Director as one of Australia’s most innovative teams, for the work they have done, and continue to do, in diversity and inclusion practices. Rebecca holds a BA in psychology and a graduate diploma in human resource management and industrial relations, from the University of Melbourne. Fiona Fahey, director of human resources, Cancer Council NSW As director of human resources at Cancer Council NSW, Fiona Fahey is responsible for leading the delivery of human resources and volunteering strategies, programs and services in order to build a diverse and productive workforce in support of the organisation’s vision of a cancer-free future. Fahey and her team recently won the Australian HR Award for Employer of Choice (NFP and government). She holds a bachelor of social science (human resources) and a master of commerce (human resources) from UNSW. She has more than 16 years’ experience in HR, working across a diverse range of industries, including community services, financial services, engineering and education. Fahey has held a number of senior positions in the corporate, NFP and public sectors, including Mission Australia and NSW Trade and Investment. Cherie McGill, executive director human resources, Mantra Group Cherie McGill joined Mantra Group in 2004. As executive director human resources, she is responsible for the human resources practices for all brands across the organisation, including payroll, OH&S, learning and development and corporate social responsibility. She has over 20-plus years’ experience in the HR sector and has held senior HR management positions with both the Saville Hotel Group and P&O Australian Resorts. Jennifer Pangas, founder, HRHack Jennifer Pangas is an HR and design-thinking leader. In 2016, she was acknowledged by HRD Magazine as leading one of the most innovative HR teams in Australia, for her work in leadership at Stockland. She is currently the director of hrhack.com.au that helps HR teams use design-thinking to position themselves for the future.

Steve Reid, HR director, oOh! Media During the last few years, Steve Reid has driven a strategic people and culture agenda, focused on building leadership capability, identifying and developing future talent needs and ensuring oOh! continues to build an exceptional culture that engages its people and delivers on its strategy. Previously, Reid spent 17 years in ICT and financial services, helping build three start-ups in Optus Vision, Orange and 3 Mobile, in Australia, and managing the people and culture streams of the $4.5bn merger between Vodafone and Hutchison. He spent three years as general manager, HR at Vodafone before moving to Bankwest as head of HR and organisation capability. Pip Russell, vice president, human resources, Pacific, Schneider-Electric (Australia) Pip Russell has enjoyed a varied career in human resources spanning more than 25 years in HR generalist and specialist roles in the energy management, pharmaceutical, professional services and IT industries in Asia-Pacific, Europe and the US. While geographies and industries have varied, the constant has been roles and organisations that are about change and transformation. She is currently the vice president for human resources for Schneider Electric’s business in the Pacific, leading a team supporting over 4,000 employees across five business units. Lauren Trethowan, senior strategic people partner to the CIO, Australia Post Lauren Trethowan is a registered psychologist with over 15 years’ experience in people and change, with a focus on designing great workplace cultures, employee experience and developing capability. She is a senior strategic people partner to the CIO at Australia Post and member of the technology senior leadership team. Prior to this, she led the enterprise culture team at Australia Post; and she has over eight years’ consulting experience as a senior manager at PwC. Phil Turner, HR manager – talent, L&D, technology and projects, Lindt Australia Phil Turner is a commercially savvy HR and communications manager with over 15 years’ experience spanning different industries in Australia and the UK. His motivation is to constantly drive innovation and apply best-in-class approaches to enhance the employee experience, improve operational effectiveness, and empower employees to embrace change. His consistent track record includes being a four-time Australian HR Awards winner across multiple categories, and a two-time Australian HR Awards finalist for best use of technology.

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PEOPLE

CAREER PATH

THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE Her strategy of targeting roles or companies to ensure a diverse skill set has served Linda Hamill well

Linda Hamill was the first in her family to attend university, and her ideas about her course of study were indistinct until one specific lecture. “It was impressed on me that education would give me independence. I wanted to study something involving people and business – I didn’t know there was this thing called HR. My first HR class I sat there and thought, ‘This is it; this is what I want to do!’”

1990

2000

BREAKS INTO TECH A desire to be in an innovative field during tech’s emergent days drew Hamill to Tower Technology when she heard about a position through a friend.

“This was when IT was really taking off. I was trying to move into tech, but it was a hard field to get into. I think I fluked the interview because we both played tennis! It was a massive life change. I knew it was the right industry” 2006

STEPS BACK, STRIDES FORWARD A role that started as a step back in the immediate aftermath of having a baby changed shape rapidly. “Three and a half months into my new job, my boss told me she was pregnant and asked if I would like to take on her position during her maternity leave – these things follow me around! That was my first director role, and it was so exciting. It was a smooth transition and a great experience.”

2015

FINDS A HOME

FINDS HR

1993

GETS A GROUNDING Her first professional role in HR came against the backdrop of retail, as an HR coordinator at supermarket giant Franklins. In retrospect, Hamill thinks this was an ideal beginning. “Retail is a good training ground. I look back and realise I had a lot of responsibility. I presented to the board when I was 25. It was very exciting. My whole life revolved around Franklins – I even met my husband there!”

2003

BROADENS HORIZONS Joining McAfee marked the first time Hamill had grappled with an APAC role. Learning became her focus. “I hadn’t even travelled much in my personal life, and there I was negotiating packages in all these different currencies! I had to learn really fast; we called it being ‘consciously incompetent’. I’m naturally curious; I tend to ask a lot of questions. I like to get to the core of a person, and I have a natural curiosity around different cultures.”

2010

MOVES INTERNATIONALLY Hamill had another chance at the opportunity to relocate to Singapore. She was offered – and had to bitterly decline – a similar opportunity years before. “My girlfriend rang me saying she’d seen an ad that sounded like the role I had already – in Singapore. It was my second chance. I cherish those years; I learnt a lot. There’s only so much you can learn within Australia; you have to look to the rest of the world. It was pivotal to my career.”

When she was approached by VMware, Hamill felt she had found a natural match. She is currently HR leader APJ at the company. “I felt the people and company really aligned with my values. I had an intuition that it was the right place to be, and I was right. It’s a very caring organisation. My second day they put me through a course to mentor high-school students, [Making a difference in the community] is embedded in how VMware works. It makes you feel proud.”

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PEOPLE

OTHER LIFE

Number of pairs of running shoes Stafford owns

$15,000 Cost of Stafford’s triathlon bike

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

350km Distance covered by bike during a training week

MADE OF IRON

When HR manager Nerissa Stafford isn’t working, you’re most likely to find her on the run NERISSA STAFFORD’S first fun run was attempted with no training – and to the Melbourne-based HR and talent acquisition specialist’s surprise it resulted in her placing eighth in her age group. The encouragement of the running group she subsequently connected with led to triathlons, half-ironman competitions, and even full-ironman competitions, consisting of a 3.8km swim and a 180km bike race, followed by a full marathon. That

was more than a decade ago, and the years since have seen triathlons become integral to Stafford’s life. Training is a daily activity: twice-daily sessions can consist of two-and-a-halfhour runs and three-hour bike rides. This regime is supplemented by additional training at a camp at Falls Creek over the Christmas vacation, where the combination of altitude and temperature taxes even the fittest competitor.

Today, Stafford has her eyes on the prize, which is the international Ironman event held at Kona, Hawaii. Attendance requires a finish in the top three of the event in Perth, towards which she has dedicated her December training regime. But Stafford is confident she is up to the test. “The thing I love about triathlons is the challenge; I don’t tend to enter a race until I know I’ll be on the podium. I’m very driven around pushing myself to win.”

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