HCAMAG.COM ISSUE 17.04
HOT LIST
2019
The HR professionals who are leading change in businesses across Australia
PIONEERING HR TECHNOLOGY
New-tech solutions to enhance efficiency and employee experience
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SALARY AND JOBS GUIDE 2019 A review of the latest trends in hiring and remuneration
AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS FINALISTS See who is in the running for this year’s top HR awards
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CELEBRATE YOUR SUCCESS
IAN TRAL AUS
2019
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AUGUST 2019
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CONTENTS
@HRDAustralia facebook.com/HRDAustralia
UPFRONT 02 Editorial
A lesson in branding
03 Head to head
Do performance reviews have any value?
04 News analysis
HR on the frontline against cyberattacks
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SPECIAL REPORT
06 Statistics
The trend towards enterprises with a human focus
08 Rewards and benefits update
Using employee recognition and rewards to best effect
HR TECHNOLOGY IN FOCUS
HR tech pioneers describe their new solutions to candidate assessment, payroll outsourcing and enhancing the employee experience
10 HR technology update
Reinventing learning and development
12 Opinion
How stronger connections keep people on board
IAN TRAL AUS
2019
17 Expert insight
The power of the probationary period
FEATURES 54 Value of employee benefits
How benefits programs can attract and retain employees in mining and resources
66 Finding the X factor
A unique approach to hiring the right people and creating workplace champions
PEOPLE 71 Career path
Inspired to leave a legacy as a leader of people
FEATURES
42
HR AWARDS FINALISTS
Presenting the industry leaders and game changers who made the shortlist for this year’s Australian HR Awards
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72 Other life
An HR professional bringing stories to the world FEATURES
HR SALARY AND JOB GUIDE 2019 HCAMAG.COM CHECK IT OUT ONLINE
18 SPECIAL REPORT
HOT LIST 2019
HRD highlights the leading HR professionals who are driving forces behind many of the innovations that are raising the profiles of businesses across Australia
PEOPLE
ON THE HUNT FOR TALENT
Emma Hunt, head of talent at Looka, reveals her secrets to recruiting and retaining talent with the skills to help the business compete in a digital age
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An overview of the latest trends in remuneration, and the HR roles in highest demand in Australia’s workplaces today
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8/08/2019 1:55:29 PM
UPFRONT
EDITORIAL www.hcamag.com
A lesson in branding E
arlier this month, Amazon celebrated its much-anticipated ‘Pride Day’, when a wide selection of products were on offer. And while this delighted bargain-hungry customers, it was a different story for stressed-out warehouse workers. Activist employees, union organisers and tech workers came together to voice their opposition to the two-day sales event, which raked in US$6.2bn in sales this year for the online retailer. Speaking to the press, Marc Perrone, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, explained that these protesters were sending a “powerful message to Jeff Bezos” that it was time to “stop putting profits ahead of people”. The day served up a lesson for HR – namely that employer branding is everything. Employees now serve as brand ambassadors to the world – how they act when they leave the office will reflect on your organisation. With social media seeping
Eight-four per cent of candidates say the reputation of a company is essential when making an employment decision into all facets of our daily lives, one wrong foot can derail a business. TalentNow has reported that 84% of job candidates say the reputation of a company is essential when making an employment decision. Furthermore, 50% of candidates say they would never work for a company with a bad reputation. This focus on outward appearances has marked a shift in HR’s role once more. It can no longer just be inwardly focused, dealing with employees and corporate initiatives – now, HRDs have to ensure they maintain the glossy outward branding. A report by LinkedIn highlighted that candidates trust an organisation’s employees three times more than they trust the organisation to provide a true and accurate representation of what it’s like to work there. This shift in focus, this idea that how you deal with problems on the inside will seep through to the general public, is a monumental change to the status quo. While HR may never have been comfortable about brushing internal problems under the carpet, now any wrong move can, and will, be played out in the media to millions. How does HR survive in this new era of glass walls and instant updates? Well, the mantra that should be chanted is: authenticity, authenticity, authenticity. The team at Human Resources Director
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AUGUST 2O19 EDITORIAL Senior writer Emily Douglas
SALES & MARKETING Global Head of Communications Lisa Narroway
Writers Tom Goodwin, John Hilton, Libby Macdonald
Sales Manager Matthew Nutt
Contributor Michelle Sales
CORPORATE
Production Editor Roslyn Meredith
Chief Executive Officer Mike Shipley
ART & PRODUCTION
Chief Operating Officer George Walmsley
Designer Marla Morelos Traffic Coordinator Freya Demegilio
Managing Director Justin Kennedy Chief Information Officer Colin Chan Human Resources Manager Julia Bookallil
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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
Copyright is reserved throughout. No part of this publication can be reproduced in whole or part without the express permission of the editor. Contributions are invited, but copies of work should be kept, as HRD Magazine can accept no responsibility for loss.
8/08/2019 12:49:47 PM
UPFRONT
HEAD TO HEAD
Are performance reviews a waste of time? Do annual employee evaluations motivate, or do more harm than good?
Joydeep Hor
Founder and managing principal People + Culture Strategies “I compare performance appraisals to my schooldays when I would anxiously view my report to see what marks I got. This twice-yearly feedback became the only data point I had around academic self-worth. The process of performance reviews is as stressful for managers as it is for their teams. Unfortunately, managers might be giving feedback that they have been bottling up for a long time. The delayed delivery of critical feedback is hardly conducive to building a good relationship. Platitudes and niceties are more regularly delivered anyway. Performance feedback is essential; performance reviews should be a thing of the past.”
Alana Howe
Greg Smith
Head of people experience Nova Entertainment
Co-founder deliberatepractice
“Yes, they are! They don’t drive high performance or engagement. It’s a subjective process that doesn’t add value to the individual and boxes people’s contributions into one defining label. The time and energy spent conducting them could be better spent on higher-value activity. Quality conversations are crucial, though, as is an agile approach to setting goals across the year. We have quarterly check-ins setting deliverables and focusing on development and feedback. We also ask the questions that can be missed on our busy days, such as: What motivates you? What’s engaging you right now? How can I better support you?”
“All performance feedback is highly valuable for employee growth and development when communicated well and provided on a frequent, continuous and ongoing basis. Reviews shouldn’t be a chore or a ‘tick box’ bureaucratic process. They should be a forum for leaders and employees to have meaningful conversations about achievements, strengths, development areas and aspirations to support career plans and success. They provide an exceptional opportunity for leaders and employees to connect and to understand each other’s changing needs. Career conversations are a critical requisite of any review discussion in which career goals and direction can be understood and agreed.”
MORE HARM THAN GOOD? Performance reviews actually work to produce the opposite of their stated goals, according to Aubrey Daniels, author of Oops! 13 Management Practices That Waste Time and Money, who references a study by the Society for Human Resource Management that says nine out of 10 of such appraisals are “painful and don’t work”. At least 30% of the performance reviews included in a meta-analysis of 607 studies of performance evaluations resulted in a lowering of the employee’s performance – that’s according to the work of psychologists A. Kluger and A. Denisi. In his book Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-truths and Total Nonsense, co-authored by psychologist Jeffrey Pfeffer, Stanford University professor Bob Sutton says doing performance evaluations well is like doing “blood-letting well – it is a bad practice that does more harm than good in all or nearly all cases”.
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8/08/2019 12:51:11 PM
UPFRONT
NEWS ANALYSIS
How can HR help mitigate cyberattacks? Gone are the days of balaclavas – criminals of the modern era are wearing a different type of mask
CYBERATTACKS ARE at an all-time high, and organisations are continually looking for new ways to defeat the scam artists responsible. These cybercriminals are using increasingly intelligent ways and means to steal employee data, attack internal systems and hold companies to ransom. With this new, digitally advanced crime on the rise, surely it falls to HR to help mitigate this prevailing issue? Recently, an IT employee was fired after
And this is just one incident. The spate of cyberattacks has spiked in recent years, leaving worried employers frantically looking for help from experts to put an end to the carnage. One way of mitigating any potential threats, both internal and external, is through a competent and intense recruitment drive. A recent report by Deloitte found that employers are working hard to fill the surplus of much-
“It’s an unfortunate reality that countless employers’ critical IT security needs remain unsolved” Travis O’Rourke, head of talent, Hays Canada Solutions city officials in Lake City, Florida, were forced to fork out a huge ransomware payment. According to local reports, the city’s IT network was infected with malware described as a “triple threat”. Tech news website ZDNet revealed that the employee had opened an email with an attached document, which in turn had infected the city’s network, downloading ransomware as it went. The ultimate ransom demand, which was paid, amounted to almost $500,000.
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needed cybersecurity roles in time for 2020. What’s more, research from Hays found that employers are actually redirecting some raises for existing staff to new candidates in order to close this gap. Travis O’Rourke, Hays Canada Solutions’ head of talent, explained the talent dilemma. “Employers tell us time and again that they don’t know where to look for talent, and they’re consistently coming up short. For example, we know they rely on generic job
boards, but we also know that skilled tech candidates are elsewhere. It’s an unfortunate reality that countless employers’ critical IT security needs remain unsolved because they use resources better suited to students looking for summer jobs,” he said. “I recently spoke to someone who was in a desperate search for a cybersecurity expert. Cybersecurity is often confused with information security, so I asked if his staff knew how to safely store documents or what would happen if someone’s laptop went missing. After a long pause, I explained these types of everyday vulnerabilities can sink a company and suggested refocusing on finding an info security pro.” Acting proactively rather than curatively
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EYE-OPENING CYBERSECURITY STATS
The cybercrime economy is estimated to be worth $1.5trn annually¹
Female employees are estimated to make up 20% of the global cybersecurity workforce²
One ransomware attack happens every 14 seconds²
will give your organisation the edge when it comes to cybersecurity. A report by ESG uncovered a serious lack of talent in this area in many organisations, with 53 leaders reporting a problematic shortage. These are concerning statistics when you consider that 59% of businesses are at a moderate to extreme risk of attacks. One sure-fire way of preventing attacks is by upskilling your people. A report by First Advantage found that while HR leaders are on the ball in prescreening their employees before hiring them, it is essential that they follow up with periodical rescreening. In fact, 61% of businesses fail to rescreen employees, while just 13% claim to conduct follow-up employee screening in the annual
review process. Rescreening is the process by which an employee is reassessed during their employment, in order to both upskill them and ensure that their compliance is up to date. Reports from Cifas, a UK fraud prevention service, show that employee fraud has increased by 45% in the past few years – unsurprising when you consider that 30% of all business failures are down to employee theft. With statistics like this only set to increase thanks to the digital revolution, employers are encouraged to take a proactive approach to rescreening. So, could your organisation do with adopting this trending technique? The following are two primary benefits to introducing the initiative.
Cybercrime damages are forecast to reach $6trn/year² Source: ¹Dr Michael McGuire, Surrey University; ²Cybersecurity Ventures
Background check blunders Mistakes are often made during background screening, whether that’s down to employer oversight or deceitful candidates. Rescreening can therefore pick up on any issues that may have slipped through the net during the recruitment process.
Upskilling employees Often roles and responsibilities change during the employee life cycle, so rescreening offers the opportunity to reassess a worker’s compliance. Any new duties an employee takes on should come with their own screening processes.
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8/08/2019 12:52:09 PM
UPFRONT
STATISTICS
Reinvention with a human focus
BUSINESSES LACK READINESS IN KEY AREAS
The social enterprise has seen accelerated growth – and no wonder, given its positive link to financial performance IN 2019, the pressures that have driven the rise of the social enterprise are even more acute than when the rise of such organisations was noted a year ago in Deloitte’s annual survey of global human capital trends. A social enterprise is defined as an organisation with a mission that combines revenue growth and profit-making with the need to respect and support its environment and stakeholder network. This includes listening to, investing in, and actively managing the trends shaping today’s world. A social enterprise organisation shoulders
34%
86%
of CEOs ranked societal impact as the most important factor in measuring success
of business leaders said they must reinvent their ability to learn
Across all 10 human capital trends studied by Deloitte, the ratings given for importance were consistently higher than for business readiness: the three top-rated categories (learning, human experience and leadership) were all rated higher than 80% in importance, while gaining roughly half that rating for readiness.
its responsibility to be a good citizen both internally, within the organisation, and externally, outside of the organisation. It serves as a role model for its peers and promotes a high degree of collaboration at every level of the organisation. Leading a social enterprise means recognising that, while businesses must generate a profit and deliver shareholder returns, they must do so while improving the lot of workers, customers, and the community. Fulfilling this aim requires reinvention on a broad scale.
85%
of employees around the world are not engaged/are actively disengaged
No. 1
reason people quit jobs: the “inability to learn and grow”
Source: Leading the Social Enterprise: Reinvent with a Human Focus, 2019 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends
SUCCESS DEFINED BY SOCIAL IMPACT
GUIDED BY HUMAN PRINCIPLES
Societal impact was the highest-rated factor used to measure success by business leaders when evaluating annual performance – it was given the highest rank by just over one in three respondents. Societal impact (eg diversity, inequality, environment)
34%
Deloitte describes five human principles that can help guide the social enterprise in reinventing itself with a human focus. These serve as benchmarks against which its actions that affect people can be measured. BENCHMARKS FOR REINVENTION Design principle
21%
18%
Purpose and meaning
21%
20%
18%
Ethics and fairness
21%
21%
20%
Growth and passion
19%
20%
Collaboration and personal relationships
Building and developing teams, focusing on personal relationships, and moving beyond digital to build human connections at work
23%
22%
Transparency and openness
Sharing information openly, discussing challenges and mistakes, and leading and managing with a growth mindset
16%
Employee satisfaction/retention
17%
21%
Financial performance (eg, revenue, profit)
17%
22%
22%
Regulatory adherence
14%
20%
Ranked first Ranked second
21% Ranked third Ranked fourth
Ranked fifth
Source: Leading the Social Enterprise: Reinvent with a Human Focus, 2019 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends
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Giving organisations and individuals a sense of purpose at work; moving beyond profit to a focus on doing good things for individuals, customers and society Using data, technology and systems in an ethical, fair and trusted way; creating jobs and roles to train systems and monitor decisions to make sure they are fair Designing jobs, work and organisational missions to nurture passion and a sense of personal growth; affording people the opportunity to create and add their own personal touch
16%
16%
Customer satisfaction
18%
What it means
Source: Leading the Social Enterprise: Reinvent with a Human Focus, 2019 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends
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Learning
86%
46%
Human experience
84%
43%
Leadership
80%
41%
Talent mobility
76%
40%
HR cloud
74%
41%
Talent access
70%
37%
Rewards
69%
33%
Superjobs
66%
39%
Teams
65%
33%
Alternative workforce
Important or very important
41%
28%
Ready or very ready
Source: Leading the Social Enterprise: Reinvent with a Human Focus, 2019 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends
LEADING SOCIAL ENTERPRISES SHOW FASTEST GROWTH More mature social enterprises are anticipating greater growth in the year to come; those that consider themselves industry leaders are most likely to have experienced growth of more than 10% compared to last year. GROWTH IN BUSINESS RELATIVE TO MATURITY AS SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
SOCIAL VALUES RISING
The social enterprise is becoming more important to organisations over time; more than half of respondents expected that three years from now such an enterprise would have greater significance than it does today. Three years from now compared to today
We’re an industry leader
We’re catching up
We’re in line with our peers
Not a priority
Less than -10% growth compared to 2018 Between -1% and -10% growth compared to 2018 Similar growth compared to 2018 Between 1% and 10% growth compared to 2018 Greater than 10% growth compared to 2018 No response
4%
40%
56%
Today compared to three years ago
We’re behind
Source: Leading the Social Enterprise: Reinvent with a Human Focus, 2019 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends
7%
40%
44%
Less important Same level of importance More important Source: Leading the Social Enterprise: Reinvent with a Human Focus, 2019 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends
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8/08/2019 12:54:01 PM
UPFRONT
REWARDS & BENEFITS UPDATE NEWS BRIEFS Telstra introduces new parental benefits Telstra is offering its employees new parental benefits that aim to give women and men equal opportunity to look after their family. Under the new policy, employees who have worked at Telstra for at least a year are entitled to take up to 16 weeks of paid parental leave, whether they are the primary or secondary caretaker. Paid leave can be taken in one block or flexibly within the first 12 months after a child’s birth or placement in the home. Eligible workers can also use the allotted hours to return to work on a part-time basis.
What Gen Z employees are asking for Gen Z want their employers to support their career aspirations, regularly communicate in person and reward them as they achieve goals, according to a new study by Nintex. The research found that Australia’s Gen Zers are ready to engage and grow in a company, provided they have direct supervisors who invest in their career development and commit to in-person meetings. The study also found that work flexibility is more important than salary for this generation. They also want to be part of an organisation that has automated processes and strong technology in place – or they will not stay for long.
Aussie companies strong supporters of flexible working Australia has emerged as a global leader when it comes to offering flexible work – and it’s one benefit employees say they aren’t willing to compromise on. Indeed, a large majority of employers (87%) in Australia said
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they had started to implement flexible work options or were planning to adopt the policy in the next decade, according to data compiled by the International Workplace Group. It’s also no longer just a fad, since more jobseekers are demanding it. Four in five Aussies (84%) said they would decline a job opportunity that did not offer flexible work as an option.
Air New Zealand lifts ban on visible staff tattoos From 1 September 2019, all new and existing Air New Zealand employees will be able to have Taā Moko and other non-offensive tattoos visible when wearing their uniform or normal business attire. The changes follow five months of extensive research with Air New Zealand customers and employees. Air New Zealand CEO Christopher Luxon said the airline was committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace that truly reflected the make-up of Aotearoa. Research indicates that one in five adult Kiwis has at least one tattoo, with more than 35% of under-30s tattooed.
JP Morgan to offer fertility benefits to LGBTQ+ staff To support LGBTQ+ staff who are planning to build their own families, JP Morgan Chase is set to expand US employee benefits next month to include fertility treatment and surrogacy services. In an internal memo, the bank said it would be extending reproductive benefits to US employees who had not been medically diagnosed as infertile. Those who qualified for coverage would receive up to US$30,000 in fertility services, such as IVF, while those who opted to be surrogates would be reimbursed up to US$30,000 (up from US$10,000) in surrogacy costs.
There’s more to wellbeing than fresh fruit and yoga Roll-it Super’s Jacinta Jones tells HRD how HR can play a more proactive part in supporting the future financial health of employees Employee wellbeing isn’t a new buzzword but an important issue for both employers and employees today, according to Jacinta Jones, chief customer officer at Roll-it Super. It’s about much more than companies simply offering yoga at lunchtime or fresh fruit in the kitchen, Jones tells HRD. “We spend a significant amount of time at work, and being taken care of is critical for business profitability but also for personal prosperity and feeling purpose. When an employer does this well it pays off,” says Jones. “Financial wellness is part and parcel of employee wellbeing, and until now, employers haven’t really had the knowledge or practical tools to help employees with getting hold of their short-term savings and budgeting needs, as well as the long-term financial growth of their net wealth via super.” Jones points out that employers are very much aware that a percentage of their workforce are living from pay cheque to pay cheque, but she says simply increasing their wage isn’t the answer. “Living week in and week out with a feeling of financial scarcity is overwhelming. We have all done it at some point in time,” says Jones. “Over the long term, being overwhelmed financially has a devastating effect on individuals and the health of the family unit, and living with financial scarcity can also pass on poor money habits to children, and the cycle continues.”
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According to Jones, strengthening financial literacy and encouraging full transparency triggers people to engage in their super and make other key decisions regarding their money. “In particular, when empowered in this way, women are no longer afraid and begin to truly value this pot of gold sitting in their super fund accounts,” Jones says. “Statistically, women are often paid less than men, then step out of the workforce to focus on caring for their families, which leaves them over the long term in a dramati-
“Living week in and week out with a feeling of financial scarcity is overwhelming” cally different financial position to their male peers. “Team this with their super invested in an underperforming default fund selected for them by their employer, and their financial position over a long period is suddenly eroded.” So, what tips does Jones have for how HR can take a more proactive role in employees’ future financial health? She suggests researching what tools are easily available to enable staff to make more informed, practical and tactical financial choices. Employees should also encourage employees to look at the wider societal changes that may impact on them and their families financially.
Q&A
Kylie Green SVP of Consultancy REWARD GATEWAY
Fast fact Less than a third of US businesses with 500 or more workers offer some form of reproductive benefits to employees, according to data from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.
How can HR use rewards to engage talent? Your recent recognition survey states that almost half of employees confirmed they’d leave a company that didn’t praise or thank them enough for the work they did. Can you provide some context around this? Our new study of HR workers, employees and managers in Australia found that 63% of employees would rather work for a company that had a culture in which people were praised and thanked regularly for doing good work than a company that paid 10% more but offered no praise or thanks. Despite agreeing that a recognition and reward program would help drive business results and positively impact employee retention, many managers are failing to recognise their employees effectively. Only 30% of managers strongly agreed that their company praised or thanked employees for the good work they did based on their company’s values, and almost a third agreed that they struggled to find the time to give out thanks and praise. With HR leaders knowing there is a gap, recognition and reward programs are on their priority list. Does this mean that HR leaders aren’t maximising the impact of their recognition and reward programs? It’s important to not only implement employee recognition and reward programs but make sure employees and managers are able to deliver them successfully. Our research shows that the top frustrations HR leaders have with their recognition and reward programs are: • They don’t allow for continuous or immediate recognition • They are too generic • There is too much manual processing In our recent webinar we explored how HR leaders were overcoming their challenges and innovating their recognition programs to attract, engage and retain their top talent. We also discussed trends in continuous, multidirectional recognition and its importance for a multigenerational workforce, as well as the must-have components of continuous, multidirectional recognition. .
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8/08/2019 12:54:45 PM
UPFRONT
HR TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
How the future of work could reinvent L&D Digital disruption will compel a ‘radical reinvention’ of how we educate and train workers
workers prefer to learn at work,” says Gallagher. In order to prepare for the rapidly changing workplace of the digital future, learning and work need to converge, he adds. “Digital disruption of work is taking place in the workplace, not in the classroom. In this report, we propose a new approach called ‘learning-integrated work’, where students and workers alike are immersed and learn in disrupted work environments,” Gallagher says.
“We need to lift all workers into the digital economy by providing them basic digital training” The more digital our workplaces become, the more human we need to be as workers, according to the director of Swinburne’s Centre for the New Workforce, Dr Sean Gallagher. “Workers understand that social competencies – such as collaboration, empathy and entrepreneurial skills – are uniquely human and less vulnerable to being displaced by sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) and automation technologies,” he says. Swinburne’s Centre for the New Workforce found that digital disruption of the workplace will “compel a radical reinvention of how we educate and train workers for the future of work”. The report was based on a national survey
NEWS BRIEFS
of 1,000 working Australians, from CEOs to bus drivers, full-time staff and freelance workers. It reveals that workers increasingly value social competencies and learning on the job, suggesting a need to challenge orthodox approaches to learning. Titled Peak Human Potential – Preparing Australia’s Workforce for the Digital Future, the report states that workers recognise the need to capitalise on their human qualities to avoid being displaced by technology. “Our findings also show that, to prepare to work in digital environments, Australian workers prefer learning on the job. The more digitally disrupted their industry, the more
Digital progress depends on employee trust
Organisations are more likely to succeed in digital transformation when their approach includes measures to drive trust, according to a new study by Fujitsu. These measures include long-term perspectives, empathic leadership and initiatives to empower employees. The research found that three in five business leaders (63%) would trust decisions made by AI if substantial reasoning for reaching those decisions was available. The study also found that two thirds (66%) are inclined to trust organisations that publish a code of ethics governing their use of AI. 10
“First, we need to lift all workers into the digital economy by providing them basic digital training. Then, we need to shift learning into future workplaces by trialling new learning partnerships between education institutions and employers.” Craig Robertson, CEO of TAFE Directors Australia, says the vocational education and training (VET) sector is well placed to deliver many of the digital skills needed, especially as part of a more integrated education system. “To build a workforce for the future of work, we need more integration between VET and higher education sectors,” he says. “At the same time, we need to reimagine the traditional relationship of education institutions and employers and bring them closer together.”
Users of Mac say it lifts productivity, survey finds A new survey by software management firm Jamf suggests enterprise adoption of the Apple Mac may spell the difference between a productive and unproductive workplace. Employees who use the Mac reported high levels of satisfaction with their employer’s technology choice: 97% said using the Mac improved their productivity, 95% said it boosted their creativity, 94% said it helped them become more self-sufficient and 91% said it enabled them to collaborate better. Four out of five users (79%) said they would be unable to perform their job effectively using any other device.
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Q&A
Keith Marlow Security architect ELMO Software
Fast fact It pays to think twice before sending a thumbs up to an older colleague, as 42% of those aged 55 plus think it is unprofessional to use emojis at work, according to a 2degrees ‘Good Chat’ Emoji Study conducted in New Zealand.
The rise and rise of cyberattacks How significant is the problem of cyberattacks for Australian employers at the moment? Cyberattacks are more significant to Australian organisations now than they have ever been. This is due to extensive use of the cloud and what that means from a security risk management perspective, in addition to how little businesses really understand about the types of data valued by hackers. In the good old days, data was held in computers onsite with multiple physical and logical controls around access. It was easy to keep secure as there were fewer moving parts and they were all in one place. Nowadays, however, with the extensive use of offsite internetbased solutions and the myriad integrations required to function, businesses have much less direct control over data security. Hackers are well aware of this increased complexity and lack of unified oversight, and use this to gain access to systems over an extended time frame. In fact, it is quite typical for a data breach to be discovered 200 days after it has occurred. Additionally, businesses often have a very limited understanding of the value of their data to a potential hacker. Businesses naturally secure what they consider valuable, which is often the complete opposite to what a hacker values, and this is why we are seeing such large-scale data breaches – the defensive focus is often wrong.
What are some tips you would offer employers to ensure employee data is secure at all times? Firstly, you must ensure that each employee has a
Jobs of the future will rely on people skills
Australia is challenged by a worsening skills shortage that requires an urgent response from business leaders, according to new research from Deloitte Access Economics. The study found that more than 80% of the jobs created between now and 2030 will be for knowledge workers, and two thirds of jobs will be strongly reliant on soft skills. Deloitte partner David Rumbens, lead author of the report, said, contrary to the beliefs of many, we don’t face a “dystopian future of rising unemployment, aimless career paths and empty offices”.
distinct login to any employee data-holding services they use. Shared accounts and passwords should be banned within an organisation because it is critical to know who is doing what, and when an employee leaves you need to be able to cut off their access. Secondly, you must avoid passing around sensitive data by email or via other insecure mechanisms (like a USB thumb drive). The trouble here is that it is very easy for such data to be seen by the wrong person or even misplaced within an organisation, and there is nothing you can do after the fact to get it back. Thirdly, if you must store such data on a shared drive or network, make sure that the drive is encrypted and only those who need to access it can. If the drive is stolen or it is replaced and the old drive goes missing, encryption offers an additional layer of protection. Fourthly, when personal data is no longer needed, delete it. The tendency for businesses is to hang on to data on a ‘just in case’ basis; however, personal data is often forgotten about and left to accumulate on shared drives and employees’ laptops. This is a ticking privacy time bomb that could easily result in a mandatory breach notification if a hacker was to get their hands on such data. Once you have finished with the data, always delete it, and remember you can always ask for it again if it is needed in the future. Alternatively, an organisation can avoid directly storing and manipulating employee data on their systems by enlisting help from an external service provider to manage ongoing security and employee data storage.
Pros and cons of using emojis in the workplace
Emojis can help create a friendlier workplace. That’s according to a 2degrees ‘Good Chat’ Emoji Study of more than 2,000 New Zealanders. However, while one in two of those surveyed used emojis to give a sense of tone and avoid being misunderstood, half had used emojis in the wrong context, with 17% getting into trouble for it. Almost one in three (29%) say their perceptions of their workmates change if they use emojis. But serial users can relax: the majority (59%) warm to you when you use emojis and think you are friendlier than expected.
AI can be a time-saver for recruiters
Given the time-heavy nature of recruitment, and that the cost of a single hire can top $20,000, employers are turning to various forms of artificial intelligence for support. But rather than replacing human involvement, AI should free recruiters to focus on more value-add tasks, says Cathy Doyle, group executive, HR, corporate affairs and workplace, at Rabobank Australia and New Zealand. AI is great at transactional and analytical work such as candidate engagement, screening or interfacing with career and employment sites, Doyle said. www.hcamag.com
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EXPERT INSIGHT
OPINION
Connection is the key to talent retention If you want to drive productivity – and even happiness – connect, communicate and collaborate, writes Michelle Sales THINK OF the last time you had to deal with some kind of performance issue. Maybe an individual had stopped working cooperatively in their team, and was being reported for continuously ‘checking out’. We think these individuals are being uncooperative or unreasonable, which leads to performance management to try to fix the issue. This then spirals out of control: employee engagement continues to decline, performance issues become more challenging, and the divide gets even larger, often leading to employee resignation or, worse, the firing of potential talent. The real issue here is not the individual themselves; it is the lack of connection they feel. Studies show there is a connection deficit in workplaces today. For example, employee research completed by the Pew Research Center and the Ken Blanchard Companies reports that 81% of people say their leaders don’t listen, and 36% rarely or never receive performance feedback, while 67% wish they did. Most people, however, would rather leave a job than have a conversation to address a workplace issue. That’s a real shame – not to mention a real problem!
Digital detox The ability to connect has never been easier – at least online – so often organisations see the solution to strengthening connection as a technology issue. Online tools like Yammer are used to try to make people converse and share more. Online conferences and ‘catch-up’ meetings are held across different time zones. Sure, many technology enablers are helping us to collaborate more effectively and connect differently. In reality, though, these one-on-one meetings with people are really just a mechanism for
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managing work performance rather than really getting to know each other. For example, we prefer to use email to communicate rather than talking face-to-face or even on the phone. Yet research by Google published in a 2019 article in Inc. magazine – “Here’s how Google knows in less than five minutes if someone is a great leader” – confirms that frequent conversations between a leader and their team members result in high performance. Technology is an enabler, but it is never the solution to a human issue. We must learn the art of cultivating real connections in our organisation to truly thrive.
triggering the ‘fight’ stress response. This makes us respond to our environment as if it is hostile, like we’re out of place, which results in the behaviours and impact previously mentioned. It’s a fact that companies voted ‘best places to work’ or ‘employers of choice’ value and foster connection among their teams and organisations. As Sylvia Vorhauser-Smith, senior vice president of research at PageUp People, puts it, these companies are “meeting the more altruistic and basic human needs of feeling connected and being an important part in something bigger”.
Trust us Hence, feeling connected and trusted to be and do our best is the ultimate human condition. Paul Zak compared high and low trust in organisations in his book Trust Factor: The Science of Creating High-performance Companies. Companies with high trust reported employees showing 74% less stress, 50% higher productivity, 76% more engagement and 29% more satisfaction with their lives. Employees feel valued and rewarded for this. They feel understood at an individual level and are clear on the contribution they are making to
The ability to connect has never been easier – at least online – so often organisations see the solution to strengthening connection as a technology issue Cultivate connection Prolific author and researcher Brené Brown describes connection as “the energy that is created between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued – when they can give and receive without judgment”. When we feel a real sense of connection we trigger neurochemicals that make us feel good. Dopamine, oxytocin and endorphins give us a sense of wellbeing; they make us want to engage and work with others; collaboration happens and performance thrives. On the flip side, when we experience disconnection, the reaction is as real as physical pain. Cortisol and adrenaline increase in our body,
the organisation. They love what they do and connect to each other, their customers, leaders and the organisation in a very human way. This is when you start to bring out the very best in people. When employees connect, communicate and collaborate better, this leads to an increase in productivity, not to mention happiness. This, in turn, has a positive impact on company loyalty and, of course, retention. Michelle Sales is a speaker, trainer, coach and author who helps leaders and their teams build confidence and maximise their performance. She is the author of The Connection Deficit. Visit www.michellesales.com.au.
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8/08/2019 10:28:08 12:55:48 AM PM 5/08/2019
PEOPLE
GLOBAL HR LEADER
THE HUNT FOR TALENT The war for talent is an ongoing, not to mention frustrating, challenge as HR leaders strive to seek out candidates with the skills they need to keep ahead of the competition. HRD sat down with Emma Hunt, head of talent at Looka, who offered some compelling advice for ambitious HR professionals HRD: How did you start your career in HR? Emma Hunt: Accidentally! I started off in recruitment after a recruitment agent friend found out I was working a sales job on 100% commission six days a week and thought I’d be great working with clients. Then, seven years later, I started at a company in talent acquisition and accidentally became HR. I had to adapt and learn quickly – but now I can step into both worlds very easily.
HRD: How do you keep such a high retention rate at Looka? EH: We pay attention to our people. Our managers are at the forefront of checking in on their teams, and in the talent function we’re solving any people issues and taking feedback to the founders to help support any changes that need to be made. We’ve also worked very hard to foster an inclusive and diverse environment and team.
one involved having to oversee the whole spectrum of talent and bring that in from scratch. This has included everything from benefits to learning and development, policies, performance reviews, employee relations, recruitment, and the rest in between. I’m not from Canada, so I had to accelerate my knowledge of Canadian law and policies very quickly. Thankfully, publications like HRD,
“Whether you’re recruiting developers or designers, you need to enter those communities in order to find the best talent … just really utilising the internet in a niche way to find these people” HRdownloads, Slack groups, going to HR events, and the trusty Ministry of Labour site equipped me to do so.
HRD: Can you tell me about a time when you faced a challenge and how you overcame it?
HRD: What’s your role at Looka? What does it entail?
EH: There are so many. I’ve been fortunate enough to be presented with many challenges in my roles over the years. A more recent
EH: I’m the head of talent, so I’m basically responsible for all of the above. I brought in an HR and recruitment function from scratch
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in our early days in a co-working space. Now we have 45 employees in a beautiful twostorey office to ourselves. A main focus over the past two years has been recruitment. We’re a funded start-up, and growth in the tech space is competitive, so we have an in-house sourcing and headhunting function. The rest of my time is split across everything in the HR and culture spectrum.
HRD: What’s the secret to a killer recruitment strategy? EH: Having a strong direct sourcing strategy and knowing where to go to find potential candidates is essential. Whether you’re recruiting developers or designers, you need to enter those communities in order to find the best talent. That could be via entering Facebook groups or Twitter forums – just
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PEOPLE
GLOBAL HR LEADER
really utilising the internet in a niche way to find these people. I’d also highly recommend getting yourself to industry events. Social media is great for resourcing. I’m a massive advocate for it, having utilised it a lot over the years. I think in the digital age, when you’ve got everything at your fingertips, there’s no excuse for not having an online presence. Recruiting in this age, you really have to protect your brand. When you think about sites such as Glassdoor, you should never just ignore negative reviews – you should address them. If your company is giving candidates a bad
more diverse ways of learning; for example, platforms that deliver training that doesn’t require a trainer to be there in person and is delivered through interactive video. At Looka we recently tried this format; we connected to the training with our phones as it required answers/audience participation. Additionally, gamification has been around for a while, but there are more learning products coming up in that space. Recently I tried out one for learning how to source hires and another for technical recruiters to learn about development frameworks. People learn in different ways,
“Advocate for your people. You’re in a unique role in which you can actively help make change. This means equal salaries, creating a safe space, moving along progression, etc. That’s what will make you stand out” experience during the recruitment process, people are more likely to talk about that online.
HRD: What HR trends do you see coming to fruition in 2020? EH: As AI continues to be a hot topic in HR tech, I’m sure there will be companies that will be coming out of stealth mode with machine learning or bot solutions across hiring, policies, onboarding and diversity/inclusion/ belonging. We’re starting to see some start-ups now throw in the words AI for their HR tech products; however, not many are truly doing AI, particularly in the deep learning space. As an understanding of AI and deep learning progresses (particularly since last year we’ve seen a lot of investment in AI products), I think we’re going to see some interesting new HR tech solutions pop up in 2020. The other trend I see is the rise of learning and development platforms that are providing
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and HR tech in that area is recognising that. I’m also seeing, particularly in tech, that more and more people we’re approaching are looking for remote work only. This is often discussed as the future of work, and I do think companies will have to adapt. We’re seeing more collaboration tools being launched to make remote work easier for the company and employees. As remote work becomes more popular, we’ll see tech coming out to assist in managing remote employees and having them still contribute to teams and culture.
HRD: What advice would you have for someone looking to be a leader in HR? EH: Advocate for your people. You’re in a unique role in which you can actively help make change. This means equal salaries, creating a safe space, moving along progression, etc. That’s what will make you stand out in the HR space.
RECRUITMENT IN A DIGITAL AGE
70%
of hiring managers have hired successfully using social media1
80%
of employers say social recruiting helps them find passive candidates1
Over 90%
of organisations use social media to hire today2
79%
of candidates are using social media to hunt for new opportunities3
64%
of jobseekers say a poor candidate experience makes them less likely to buy goods from that employer2 Sources: 1 Betterteam, 2 CareerArc, 3 Glassdoor
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EXPERT INSIGHT
Brought to you by
LEGISLATION
The power of probation Reduce risk to your business by using the probationary period wisely, Joe Murphy advises
the employer’s benefit or protection; it is for the benefit of both parties. During the probationary period both parties get to ‘try out’ each other and form a view as to whether they should continue the relationship. The idea is that both parties have agreed that if they don’t consider the relationship worthy of continuing beyond the probationary period they will terminate it during that nominated period by providing the specified period of notice.
Rules of termination during probation WHEN A client calls to discuss concerns about an employee during the probationary period – whether poor performance, behavioural issues or ‘I’m just not sure about this person’ – I have a default piece of advice: terminate the employment while you can during a period of reduced risk for your business. If you have gone to the trouble of calling for legal advice, your concerns are serious enough to pay heed to. I am not suggesting that every time you have doubts about an employee on probation you must move to terminate. However, if you’re calling me, then that is a serious red flag for you. Many are surprised to hear me move so quickly to termination as a starting point for my advice, but that is the very reason we have probationary periods in employment contracts. Too often I have seen an employer persevere, allowing the probation threshold to pass in the hope that performance, conduct or behaviour will right itself. Often I receive a call just after the probation period has passed. In circumstances of doubt like this the ‘fingers crossed’ approach will often end in disappointment for both parties. For the employee, simply allowing the probation threshold date to pass gives them false hope that they have done enough in the way of performance, conduct and ‘fitting in’. Termination in the months post-probation therefore intensifies the bitter experience for the employee and increases the likelihood of legal action.
What’s not a probationary period? Some businesses will still use a three-month probationary period in their contracts. This will not mean that an employee who is terminated outside of the three months will then have the right to bring an action for unfair dismissal. The probationary period in a contract of employment is technically not the reason an
In the past the probationary period was seen as an option by some employers to trial an employee and make it easy to remove them without the need to find a reason for termination. For some time now this has not been considered a satisfactory approach to terminating during the probationary period. This changed with the revamped and reinvented unlawful termination provisions, now forming the ‘General Protections’
In circumstances of doubt about an employee, the ‘fingers crossed’ approach will often end in disappointment for both parties employer is able to terminate without the risk of an unfair dismissal claim. In fact, when it comes to probationary periods and unfair dismissals under the Fair Work Act (FWA) 2009 (Cth), what you write in your contracts or agree to with your employees about a probationary period is entirely irrelevant. The FWA has what is called the ‘minimum employment period’. For businesses with 15 or more employees, this is six months. For businesses with less than 15 employees, this is 12 months. These periods are fixed under the statute and cannot be altered by shortening or lengthening them.
What is a probationary period? It is important to remember that a probationary period is not just an instrument for
(colloquially, ‘adverse action’) and the reverse onus of proof that applies (guilty until proven innocent, but not quite so simplistic). My tip is to give a reason for termination during the probationary period to avoid being sued unnecessarily.
Principles for probation 1. If in doubt about an employee, seriously consider termination during probation. 2. Always seek advice from the experts. 3. Always give a lawful reason for terminating during probation. If this article has made you think twice about what your business does, get in touch with Joe Murphy for guidance at 1300 565 846. Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors Voted #1 Employment Law Firm 2018.
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COVER STORY
HOT LIST 2019
HOT LIST
2019
In 2019, HRD showcases Australia’s high-achieving HR leaders and looks at how they are adding value to their organisations
THOUGH IT’S an easy thing to forget, human resources is fundamentally a job about people. It involves humans dealing with other humans, navigating their way through the oft-murky waters that permeate so much of human interaction. Certainly technology can help with this, removing ambiguity and streamlining cer tain processes. But it is no coincidence that those who rise to the top in this field are exceptional at dealing with people. So with the halfway point of 2019 already behind us, it seems an appropriate time to look back at the talent who are carving out a
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significant mark for themselves in the world of HR. The 2019 Hot List serves as something of a who’s who in Australian HR, highlighting those who have made a recent and valuable contribution to the field. Over the following pages, you’ll see HR professionals of all stripes, both junior and senior, spread across a wide range of industries and sectors. Some are industry veterans; others are still in the process of making their debut. A key uniting factor is their continued emphasis on excellence within the everchanging and ever-expanding world of HR. But perhaps even more importantly, all
of the HR professionals on this year’s list have demonstrated their ability to engage with people and convince others of the value of their ideas and initiatives. Anyone who has worked in HR in any capacity can tell you of the difficulties faced in this process; no matter the brilliance of the initial idea, there are stakeholders who will object, both internal and external. The ability to unite and drive an idea from fruition through to completion is a powerful skill indeed. So read on and discover the personalities who have emerged as important figures in the landscape of Australia HR in 2019.
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HOT LIST 2019 INDEX NAME Atkins, Ryan Blanche, Aubrey Britt, Natalie Campanella, Christian Carroll, Linda Cooke, Simone Crawford, Fiona Derry, Sarah Drakousis, Vicky Gemmell, Lucinda Hanlon, Koni Harris, Julie Ittensohn, Ceri Jankulovski, Snezana Karlinder-Östlundh, Helena Lake, Tracey Lewis, Jane Lithgow, Lucy Lovett, Penny McNair, Catherine Macknish, Tash Morris, Michael Murphy, Luke Nash, Fiona Paine, Matthew Schmidt, Annie Stone, Robert Travis, Martha Ward, Jayne Wood, Chris
COMPANY Philips Electronics Atlassian Broadcast Australia (BAI) Pernod Ricard Affinity Education Group City of Canterbury Bankstown InfoTrack AccorHotels Allianz Virgin Australia Act for Kids VetPartners TAL Cox Automotive MECCA Credit Union Australia Allens BPAY Group Salvation Army QBE Data#3 Employsure CSR Commonwealth Bank ICC Sydney Qantas McCann Australia Martha Travis | People Innovator Australia Post Adelaide Football Club
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KONI HANLON Executive director people, culture and infrastructure ACT FOR KIDS
Act for Kids is an Australian charity that provides free therapy and support services to children and families who have experienced or are at risk of child abuse and neglect. For more than 30 years, the organisation has helped thousands of children and families around Australia, operating more than 26 centres with a team of over 350 staff, ranging from Adelaide to the Cape York Peninsula. The organisation’s services have expanded to include integrated therapy, support for vulnerable families, special workshops to empower kids, and safe houses in remote Aboriginal communities. It’s a challenging HR prospect for even the most experienced person – and at the forefront of this is Koni Hanlon. As a highly experienced HR professional, Hanlon has been at Act for Kids since 2012. She started her career as a graduate of the Australian Defence Force Academy and joined the workforce as a logistics officer in the Royal Australian Air Force, in which she held various roles for more than a decade. Discovering a passion and talent for working with people, Hanlon changed career paths over 16 years ago, moving into HR. She gained extensive HR experience in the public service sector in both defence and health before joining Act for Kids. Her role has since expanded to include the infrastructure and logistics portfolio in recent years, which draws upon the full spectrum of her work experience. Under Hanlon’s leadership, a variety of initiatives have been implemented in the Act for Kids workplace that have led to the organisation being featured in HRD as an Employer of Choice 2019 (Gold).
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COVER STORY
HOT LIST 2019 LUCY LITHGOW General manager people and culture BPAY GROUP
With her career at BPAY now spanning more than a decade, Lucy Lithgow’s time with the company has involved a broad variety of roles – overseeing day-to-day HR operational services; partnering with senior leaders to optimise employee performance; facilitating business objectives; and supporting the CEO and leadership team. Managing the introduction of a new remuneration strategy within the business was a major achievement for Lithgow; the project enhanced BPAY’s competitiveness in the market and resulted in greater transparency, improving leader confidence in how remuneration was managed within the company. Lithgow has held the title of general manager people and culture since 2015. One of her key achievements has been the development of a two-year people strategy. This was designed to drive not just a high-performance culture but also one emphasising high accountability. In practical terms, the program of work involved redesigning and rolling out a new performance management program. This focuses less on the process itself and more on regular, open conversations and performance differentiation so that top performers are appropriately recognised for their contribution. Part of the process meant refreshing the talent management program so that the leadership team were aligned as to who ‘talent’ were within the business and how the company could best support and develop their potential and enable their future success. Additionally, BPAY’s Short Term Incentive program was redesigned in order to more effectively motivate and reward employees, in terms of both individual and overall company performance.
LINDA CARROLL Head of people and culture
HR director
AFFINITY EDUCATION GROUP
PHILIPS ELECTRONICS
Linda Carroll reports to the CEO of Affinity Education Group and manages an HR team that looks after 3,000-plus employees across 166 childcare centres nationally. As a member of Affinity’s senior leadership team, Carroll oversees its people and culture, education and quality functions, which comprise over 30 team members. Many of these team members have been promoted internally from entry-level positions and are long-serving employees. This reflects the mission of the business: to inspire and nurture individuals to reach their full potential. The departments under Carroll’s responsibility consistently record high levels of customer satisfaction. Carroll also implemented an internal communication platform, ‘JAM’, which employees use to share ideas and resources, promote campaigns and recognise achievements. It acts as a company-wide “community of practice” to facilitate learning and engagement across a diverse network of centres Australia-wide. To support its strategies, Carroll championed the introduction of ‘The Affinity Way’, an award-winning culture program that sets Affinity apart as an employer of choice. JAM personifies the Affinity Way culture and brings employees closer together.
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RYAN ATKINS
For Ryan Atkins, working in his chosen field has taken on a new dimension since 2017, with an increased emphasis on staff wellbeing and early intervention. That was the year the Philips team lost a colleague to suicide, and subsequently the organisation committed to providing its people with all the skills and resources necessary to support them in maintaining good mental health. Philips partnered with BlackDog Institute, SleepFit, Benestar and Mercer to help achieve its goal of ensuring its employees were supported no matter who they were or where they worked. The result was ‘Thrive at Philips’, a program combining awareness, prevention, health solutions, lifestyle management and a support structure to empower staff to enhance their health and wellbeing. Ninety-eight per cent of the company’s people managers undertook training at Black Dog in how to achieve a mentally healthy workplace. Prior to this, they were surveyed on how well they understood the signs of mental illness and encouraged behaviours that contributed to a mentally healthy workplace. Forty-two per cent of managers rated themselves as confident in their skills, knowledge and abilities; after training this rose to 95% of managers. Philips’ initiatives in this area led to its recognition as one of HRD’s 2019 Innovative HR Teams.
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SARAH DERRY Vice president, talent and culture (Australia) ACCORHOTELS
Over the past year, Sarah Derry has engineered the integration of the $1.2bn ASX-listed Mantra hotel company into Accor, which added 138 hotels and 6,000 team members in Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and Bali to its network. Accor now comprises over 390 hotels and 21,000 team members in the Pacific. To support the Mantra acquisition, Derry played a central role in introducing and tailoring Accor’s industry-leading cultural transformation strategy called ‘Heartist’ to the Pacific network. Derry had been at Accor for less than a year before taking on these two massive projects that occurred simultaneously, but by the end of 2018 both had been successfully implemented. Her role was to fully analyse both businesses and create a single executive leadership structure, reporting to the CEO, with a new vision for talent and culture. The two organisations were quite different, with Mantra based on the Gold Coast and growing out of a management-rights business, while Accor was a more traditional hotel group with a global HQ in Paris and a Pacific HQ in Sydney. Prior to the purchase, Derry also played a leading role in identifying key talent within Mantra to ensure they were retained, because their specialist skill sets were regarded as fundamental to the future integrated business. For the first six months following the acquisition, the combined group had two individual HR teams, working collaboratively in groups facilitated by Derry and Mantra’s HR leader to integrate the two head offices, using a consensus approach.
FIONA NASH General manager, culture change COMMONWEALTH BANK
No one could ever accuse Fiona Nash of taking on cushy roles. Stepping into the position of general manager, culture change, in July 2018, she’s put herself in the hot seat, particularly in the wake of the royal commission into financial services. With the public fallout that has affected virtually everyone connected to financial services in one form or another, it’s a profoundly challenging role. It’s also a fascinating time to be involved in the banking industry, as so much of its future culture will be dictated by the steps taken now by HR leaders in the field. Yet it’s no real surprise that Nash has taken on such a challenge: she’s had previous roles in many companies that have endured tough times in the spotlight, including NewsCorp, Telstra and Optus. At Commonwealth Bank, she is now is leading a multifaceted transformation program to address capability, mindset and behaviour changes across the organisation to improve risk and customer outcomes. The scope of this planned change is intended to address aspects of the enforceable undertaking related to APRA’s Prudential Inquiry into CBA. The executive team is committed to creating a better bank for customers in the long run, and Nash will be helping to lead the charge.
NATALIE BRITT Head of people BROADCAST AUSTRALIA (BAI COMMUNICATIONS)
With more than a decade of experience in HR, Natalie Britt has steered national organisations within the commercial, government and NFP sectors. Leading and delivering HR performance excellence across a diverse range of industries, she has worked in defence, aviation, media and telecommunications, logistics and government. Her key strengths include industrial relations, performance management, leading large-scale transformation and transition projects, and developing strategic HR initiatives that focus on leadership capability and engagement. Britt took on the role of head of people at Broadcast Australia in December 2018. The company is at the forefront of broadcast transmission in Australia. With one of the world’s most extensive transmission networks, its network operations centre monitors sites in metropolitan, regional and remote locations, supported by the country’s largest in-house broadcasttrained field services team. Britt’s role presents unique challenges but she has rapidly embraced it and made her own. Britt will also be one of the panellists at HRD’s HR Tech Summit on 12 September in Sydney, discussing how cultural change in an organisation can be driven by HR tech.
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COVER STORY
HOT LIST 2019 MARTHA TRAVIS HR consultant/HR contractor MARTHA TRAVIS | PEOPLE INNOVATOR
FIONA CRAWFORD General manager, HR INFOTRACK
InfoTrack is consistently recognised as an Employer of Choice, one of the top 20 Best Places to Work, and among the most innovative companies in Australia. As general manager, HR, Fiona Crawford is responsible for driving the strategic people agenda to keep pace with the growth of the company. A former Olympic softball player, her skill in working with both close-knit and disparate teams made her a natural fit in the world of HR after her playing career came to an end. In FY17 Crawford’s team hired over 130 new staff, facilitated 54 internal transfers and managed four acquisitions. Her focus is on improving HR process and practice rigour, and building employee capability by putting the right people in the right roles, then developing them to their full potential. One of Crawford’s key innovations has been updating InfoTrack’s induction plan for new employees – from a ‘see you soon’ postcard sent two weeks before a new hire starts, to a welcome gift, department inductions and coffee with the CEO. This year, Crawford is one of the finalists for Davidson Australian HR Director of the Year at the Australian HR Awards.
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As a pragmatic, commercially savvy and professional senior manager, Martha Travis specialises in HR, choosing to work with organisations where she can influence their current and future success through operationally aligned contributions to their strategic goals. Her peers see her as a calm, measured and genuine person who directly and proactively addresses issues. A quick glance down her CV reveals an impressive pedigree: with more than 20 years of experience in the field, Travis has marked herself out as a crucial name in Australian HR. She is an experienced senior manager with an array of operational and strategic knowledge from a variety of environments, predominantly within service-related industries. Travis also has a reputation for generating ideas that creatively address complex business challenges and issues, and an ability to foresee market challenges, business risk and human behaviour – all of which is used to best prepare an organisation for staying relevant, developing and maintaining a point of difference, and alleviating risk. The last couple of years have seen Travis lead a team to positively impact strategic outcomes at Assetlink through the smart use of technology and regular reprioritisation. She was also responsible for Assetlink’s overarching people strategy, ensuring it was aligned to the organisation’s strategic goals and priorities. Having an impressive repertoire of competencies and qualities that can contribute at any level of an organisation, Travis is representative of a well-rounded, commercially astute senior business leader working in HR. This year also marks another milestone achievement for Travis, as she is again one of the finalists for the Australian HR Awards.
SIMONE COOKE Director people and performance CITY OF CANTERBURY BANKSTOWN
Simone Cooke is responsible for work health and safety, risk, HR, payroll, culture, learning and development and business improvement at Bankstown City Council. She has spent more than two decades in the local government sector, working in the HR and organisational development space. Cooke’s career within the organisation stretches back to 2005, when she took on a team leader HR role at the then Bankstown City Council. Pre-amalgamation, Cooke and her team focused on transforming Bankstown City Council into a constructive culture through engagement, talent and some outstanding employee initiatives. Post-amalgamation, she has undertaken a number of roles at the now City of Canterbury Bankstown and is today its director people and performance. At the 2014 Australian HR Awards, Cooke was named Australian HR Manager of the Year, and in 2015 Bankstown City Council won the Employer of Choice (Public Sector and NFP) award. In 2016 Cooke received the award for Holding Redlich Australian HR Manager of the Year, while in 2018 she made the inaugural Top 50 Public Sector Women (NSW) list. Recognition like this is testament to the skills she has brought to her role, and how much she has helped enhance the working lives of her associates.
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8/08/2019 12:57:23 PM
CHRIS WOOD General manager people, performance and culture ADELAIDE FOOTBALL CLUB
Since March 2017, Chris Wood has been at the forefront of ensuring a positive culture and best use of HR tech at Adelaide Football Club. With more than 20 years of experience in the field, he’s well equipped for his role at one the most prominent clubs in the AFL. One of Woods’ major projects during this time has been overseeing the rollout of the Teamgage software for the club’s administrative staff, with the aim of ensuring the best working environment for players to prepare for their matches. Using this software, the staff give weekly feedback (in a simple 20-second survey), get follow-up and have regular conversations to ensure that the club’s core values and key drivers are being effectively practised. This has enabled a significant, data-based shift in the club’s ability to focus efforts and move quickly to action. In 2018, Teamgage was also extended to the football department, with metrics selected based on the club’s core values and the key drivers of the team. These included questions such as “Environment – How do you currently rate the environment we are providing for our players in being positive, engaging and challenging?” The department completes its submission each fortnight to complement the weekly cycle of game fixtures. The club continues to work with Teamgage, leveraging its tools to positive effect. Success of the club and the wider business continues to be measured not only by the AFL league table but also by the key stakeholders of players – the club’s members, employees and fans.
CERI ITTENSOHN Chief people and culture officer TAL
Ceri Ittensohn joined TAL in October 2016 as its chief people and culture officer, after more than 25 years in HR in both Australia and Asia. With prior experience in general insurance and the global hospitality sector, Ittensohn also led the HR, quality, customer and communications teams, adding her commercial approach to their business contributions. Committed, informed, and taking a whole-of-business view, Ittensohn creates initiatives that are bespoke to TAL. She isn’t beholden to the latest fads and HR trends but instead has a constant mindset around supporting this business where it’s at, and finding the right solution for TAL. Ittensohn has supported numerous movements of staff within the P&C team, backing her people on capability and enabling team members to cross-skill and build exciting careers. She has also mentored internal senior leaders, resulting in two step-up appointments on the executive team. Ittensohn’s leadership style is collaborative and approachable. She values input from her team, communicates regularly through multiple channels (stand-ups, skip meetings, roadshows) and enjoys creating a team culture of openness, inclusion, fun and wellbeing – every week she sponsors and participates in a team boxing class. Ittensohn is also an executive sponsor of TAL’s Diversity and Inclusion Council and has a strong presence at TAL-wide staff events. The contribution and leadership Ittensohn has brought to TAL in these challenging times has protected and supported the employee experience, ensuring TAL continues to be a great place to work.
CATHERINE MCNAIR Head of diversity and inclusion QBE
For Catherine McNair, creating an inclusive workplace is a way of life. With more than 10 years’ experience in effective and people-centred inclusion strategies, and more than 20 years in broader HR, she’s passionate about getting it right. QBE itself is committed to a workplace culture in which all employees are respected for who they are and can bring their whole selves to work every day. So it was a significant milestone for the organisation – and a testament to McNair’s skill as an HR professional – to be named as one of Australia’s top LGBTI inclusion employers, receiving gold employer status in the 2019 Australian Workplace Equality Index. The ranking sees the general insurer advance from bronze status last year to become the highest-rated insurer on Australia’s benchmarking instrument for LGBTI workplace inclusion. “Our organisation-wide commitment to diversity and LGBTIQ+ inclusion sees us focus on visible leadership, visible role models, and delivering differentiated ways in which we can continue to engage and educate our people on LGBTI inclusion,” McNair said. “This achievement recognises the progress we have made through that focus. ... It would not have been possible without [the Pride Committee’s] dedication and sustained commitment to fostering a supportive and inclusive culture at QBE.”
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COVER STORY
HOT LIST 2019 LUCINDA GEMMELL Group executive, people VIRGIN AUSTRALIA
Virgin’s ongoing success is remarkable by any definition of the word. What began as a small record label in the UK in the 1970s has evolved and spread across the globe, branching out into travel, banking and healthcare. Virgin Australia was formed in 2000, boasting over 130 aircraft and 10,000 employees. At the heart of its day-to-day business operations sits Virgin Australia’s exceptional people-centric plan, with programs and development schemes designed to steer top talent into future leadership roles. In 2018, HRD spoke to Lucinda Gemmell, group executive, people, at Virgin Australia, who revealed her organisation’s important talent, engagement and diversity initiatives and how the ROI on these could be measured. Joining Virgin in 2017, she immediately launched a clear people plan. She said it was essential to explain how the HR team would add value and help the organisation deliver on its core business objectives. “While developing the plan it was clear that to really deliver on it we needed to acquire new capabilities and work differently together, and with the company,” said Gemmell. “We had to rethink our HR operating model, create a shared-service function, and stand-up Centres of Excellence, which enable our function to better align to the strategic priorities of the business and deliver an efficient and effective people advisory service.” The response from the team was positive, which in turn led to a number of proactive talent moves. Other key successes have included the Pilot Cadetship Program, which is designed to increase female representation in the technical areas of aviation – a sector that’s notoriously male-dominated – and Virgin’s commitment to its Indigenous Employee Program.
AUBREY BLANCHE Global head of diversity and belonging ATLASSIAN
Aubrey Blanche works with teams across Atlassian to provide greater opportunities for everyone to do the best work of their lives there. She focuses on the entire talent life cycle, from increasing access to technical education for under-represented minorities through to recruiting, retention and advancement of all Atlassians. She relies heavily on empirical social science in her work and has developed a new team-level paradigm for external diversity reporting. She believes that leading with empathy is the key to driving meaningful, sustainable change and creating highly effective teams. In all areas of her work, Blanche seeks to design effective interventions, programs and talent practices that create equal opportunities for all Atlassians and the global tech industry. She is heavily involved in multiple industry groups seeking to define new standards for company transparency, reporting, and investment in diversity and inclusion. She is an adviser to SheStarts, a Sydney-based accelerator focused exclusively on supporting female founders, and Joonko. Her role as global head of diversity and belonging is an all-encompassing one, and is not too common, especially in technology companies. Speaking to HRD in 2018, Blanche explained that, as a global representative, she’s got her fingers in a lot of pies. “At the highest level, I always define my role as helping Atlassian hire the right people – and then ensuring they can do the best work of their lives here,” she says. “Obviously, this is a nebulous answer. Essentially, my role, because of how we think about belonging here, spans every part of the business. Certainly I deal with the basics, like recruitment and cultural formation, but it really spans all the way over to thinking about how our global brands reflect our global customer base.”
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JULIE HARRIS Chief people officer VETPARTNERS
VetPartners was established in 2016 and today owns and operates 135 veterinary hospitals across Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. With more than 1,400 staff across its sites, having the right HR specialists in place is essential to meeting the needs of its employees around the world. Julie Harris joined VetPartners in December 2017 and oversees its people team of 17 staff across recruitment, HR, payroll and learning and development. With more than 20 years’ experience in the veterinary industry and a master’s in business administration and HR, Harris previously had her own successful business consultancy, Aspire High. With VetPartners having been through an aggressive acquisition growth phase, there were a vast number of legacy issues with each acquisition, related to HR practices, salary levels, career progression, staff attraction and retention, leadership capability and lack of clarity about roles and responsibilities. Harris and her team led an end-to-end review of each hospital, designing a streamlined process and communication program to engage colleagues with the changes and integration into a corporate organisation. The aim was not only to reduce costs but also improve job satisfaction, morale, operational excellence, staff retention and career progression. Harris has been a driving force behind managing and empowering individuals and teams to achieve organisational goals. Her accomplishments include developing her highly regarded team and increasing market share for VetPartners.
TASH MACKNISH Group manager – OD&HR DATA#3
Tash Macknish has been the senior leader of Data#3’s organisational development and HR (OD&HR) team since 2014, initially as national manager then progressing to group manager in 2017. She is responsible for creating, implementing and executing OD&HR strategies and programs that aim to develop and enhance Data#3’s people, culture and core values. Macknish leads a team of 12 employees across Queensland and NSW who provide services, advice and support to the organisation on a national level. She encourages the team to challenge the status quo and continually improve and innovate in their roles, and her support enables them to feel confident in the decisions they make. The transparent nature of Macknish’s communication style informs all of her interactions in the business, whether with leaders, her team members or other employees. Accordingly, she has been highly effective in leading the OD&HR team over the past five years. This has led to recognition for her contribution to an increase in the company’s overall employee satisfaction rating year-on-year, and to the continued rise in staff and manager satisfaction with the OD&HR team’s performance. Her initiatives have also brought Data#3 a variety of external recognition, including HRD’s Employer of Choice award in 2016 (Gold), 2017 (Silver), 2018 (Bronze) and 2019 (Gold).
VICKY DRAKOUSIS Chief HR officer ALLIANZ
In April 2019, Vicky Drakousis joined Allianz as CHRO. In this role, she is responsible for leading all aspects of Allianz’s HR function, including recruitment and talent management, learning and organisational development, compensation and benefits, and business partnering. Drakousis has worked in the financial services sector both locally and internationally for over 25 years and brings to Allianz a wealth of cultural expertise. She spent the last 10 years at Commonwealth Bank in several executive general manager HR roles in the wealth, institutional, business and private banking, and global asset management divisions. Prior to CBA, Drakousis held senior HR positions at State Street, where she gained extensive international experience. Speaking of her new role at Allianz, Drakousis said: “The current environment for financial services companies is both exciting and challenging. Allianz has done a fantastic job of adapting its people and culture to the internal and external changes in the insurance sector. I see this new role as a great opportunity to continue to evolve Allianz’s culture and drive a forward-thinking people agenda. I’m very excited to now be a part of the next phase of Allianz’s growth.”
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COVER STORY
HOT LIST 2019 PENNY LOVETT National chief HR officer SALVATION ARMY
MICHAEL MORRIS Head of talent EMPLOYSURE
In eight short years, Employsure’s string of accolades has illustrated that people and innovation are at the heart of any successful business. This year it was recognised on HRD’s 2019 Innovative HR Teams list, so it’s no wonder the company claims that “Innovation is in our DNA”. For Michael Morris, attraction and retention of the very best talent is the biggest priority for an organisation that has doubled in size year-on-year to over 700 employees. Over the last 12 months, multiple initiatives have been rolled out to maximise its efficiency, including predictive hiring analytics and agile project management upskilling; automated reporting; and its Ambassador’s Club and Enhanced Employee Experience programs. Employsure also partners with flexible work agencies and return-to-work job boards for mothers to target this employee demographic. There’s been a 300%-plus increase in the last year in the number of flexible requests granted by the company, and Employsure is proud to have a 49:51 female-to-male ratio across the business. In 2018 Employsure won the HR Team of the Year award and made the Aon Hewitt Best Employer list.
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Penny Lovett’s role encompasses all aspects of HR – cultural renewal, business partnering, WHS, remuneration and benefits, organisational development, HR services, and volunteer resources. HR at the Salvation Army spans 150 staff servicing 10,000 employees and a volunteer pool of up to 60,000. Lovett came to the role in 2018 with more than 20 years of experience in the sector and having worked as an HR director across health, insurance, aged care and manufacturing sectors for more than 15 years. Past associations include executive roles at McKenzie Aged Care Group, Melbourne Airport, Dulux Group, and Pitcher Partners. For 10 years, Lovett was also the HRD at Bupa in Australia, where she successfully led a range of transformation and people programs, including Bupa’s landmark merger with MBF health insurance. It’s a broad spectrum of roles, which have provided her with national and international experience in providing HR advice, and in contributing to global HR initiatives derived from strategic business imperatives across diverse geographical regions, including Australia, Asia-Pacific, North America and Europe. However, one of her biggest challenges has come in the last couple of years while overseeing the process of merging the two historically separate and operationally different territories of the Salvation Army in Australia into one united organisation. It’s been a significant test of resilience, change management and values-based grit.
JANE LEWIS Chief people officer ALLENS
During her time working in HR, Jane Lewis has emerged as a key strategic HR executive in Australia, thanks to her extensive experience in leading complex change agendas, driving business strategy and building HR teams. She’s passionate about increasing the capacity of individuals and organisations to adapt and thrive in the face of complexity, and today does that at Allens, an international law firm with offices throughout Australia and Asia. As a member of the Firm Executive Committee and Operating Committee, Lewis plays a key role in firm strategy, governance and risk management. She leads all areas of the people and development function to deliver culture, capability and operating models in keeping with the firm’s strategy. She also acts as an adviser to board subcommittees for remuneration, succession and risk management. Lewis has also served as a member of Allens’ Executive Committee, leading the firm’s people strategy and playing a key role in the development of its broader strategy in response to disruption in the legal industry. She was also an adviser to board subcommittees for remuneration, succession and risk management. Her commitment and results have been obvious in all of these roles; Allens was declared one of LinkedIn’s Top Companies to Work for in 2019.
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CHRISTIAN CAMPANELLA HR director PERNOD RICARD
With more than 20 years in the industry, Christian Campanella has established himself as a significant player in the HR industry. Previous jobs in automotive, professional services, local government and rail all served as the training ground for this. Since 2007, Campanella has worked at Pernod Ricard in a variety of HR roles across Australia, New Zealand and China. Today, as global HRD, he is responsible for setting the group’s HR strategy and direction for operations and office-based teams across Australia, New Zealand, Spain and the USA. His performance earned him the HR Director of the Year award at HRD’s HR Awards in 2018. Campanella describes Pernod Ricard’s approach to HR as “multifaceted”. Operating across multiple territories with significant cultural differences means that a one-size-fits-all approach is impractical. “It’s a decentralised organisation, and we are given the latitude to run our own business,” says Campanella. The organisation emphasises the three primary values it wants to see in action – mutual trust, a strong sense of ethics and an entrepreneurial spirit. These are common traits across many companies, but Campanella feels that Pernod Ricard offers a separate approach that elevates it above many of the other organisations he’s worked with. “At Pernod Ricard we talk about our purpose being ‘Creators of Conviviality’ – that’s what we stand for,” says Campanella. “Conviviality is what sets us apart from other organisations.”
ANNIE SCHMIDT Chief people and culture officer, corporate and loyalty QANTAS
Over the past 20 years, Annie Schmidt has established herself as a positive and outcomeoriented leader, with strengths in conceptualising and implementing business improvement through people, thus sustainably contributing to business success. From finance transformation to new business acquisition, to leading 4,000 customer-facing staff and driving higher employee performance and engagement in large and complex environments, Schmidt is known as a leader who gets it done. She also has strong commercial acumen. Since starting at Qantas in 2006, Schmidt’s mission has been to ensure that the airline keeps pace with developments in the wider working world. The Qantas Group is constantly transforming to make sure it’s well positioned for the future, creating value for stakeholders, opportunities for its staff and world-class experiences for its customers. Schmidt has worked to develop a comprehensive plan addressing organisational and personal barriers that women in leadership positions face. She has also helped elevate the importance of L&D at Qantas, demonstrating that when equity is lifted for women, everyone benefits. The plan has already achieved a target of 35% women in senior leadership roles.
JAYNE WARD Group head of performance, remuneration and payroll | benefits | global mobility | bonus and incentives AUSTRALIA POST
Jayne Ward is an international HR executive who has worked with boards and senior executives of global organisations to deliver innovative, disruptive and strategic transformational change programs. She specialises in reimagining the end-to-end employee experience; executive and employee remuneration structures; organisational design and talent management; performance frameworks, and corporate governance. Ward also has extensive consulting and corporate experience in advising boards, senior leadership teams and management of publicly listed organisations, privately owned enterprises, member-led trusts and government business enterprises on a range of remuneration, people and corporate governance-related issues. Two years ago she joined Australia Post, a 200-year-old organisation with an enduring core purpose to serve its communities. All Australians are its customers and, to that end, it is developing its Total Rewards transformation to inspire and motivate its current and future workforces.
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COVER STORY
HOT LIST 2019 SNEZANA JANKULOVSKI Group HR director COX AUTOMOTIVE AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND
When Snezana Jankulovski first arrived at Cox Automotive Australia & New Zealand (CAA), the HR team consisted of only two HR advisers. As the new group HR director, she was tasked with building a new function from the ground up – a holistic people strategy that would foster a winning culture across the companies under the CAA banner. Within two years the team grew to 11 dedicated HR professionals, who implemented contemporary HR solutions and frameworks in an organisation that had not been people-focused for some time. Jankulovski has led the team in laying the foundations of good people practices while also preparing the organisation for the future world of work. With her support and encouragement, the CAA HR team have overhauled and modernised key areas within the HR space. Initiatives have included a brand-new digital performance and development planning process that was previously paper-based, as well as automating the onboarding and induction process. Both have improved company culture and created a better working experience for all CAA team members. Jankulovski is leading further HR initiatives that are strategically focused on promoting an inclusive culture, creating a flexible and empowering workplace and building gender equality for career opportunities. Its Women with Drive initiative is an inclusive network that celebrates the work of women in the automotive industry and was built to support female achievements, aspirations and successes, with a ‘think big’ attitude and a space for every voice.
ROBERT STONE
LUKE MURPHY
National people and talent director
Executive general manager – HR
MCCANN AUSTRALIA
CSR
For a long and successful career in talent management, you need an endless supply of enthusiasm and a gift for understanding people. Robert Stone has both in abundance. Born and raised in Melbourne, he made a name for himself in HR, working in the UK and Europe. Previously, Stone was global talent partner at Adidas, where he oversaw the brand’s largest talent initiative in the history of the business. In 2017 he presented evidence at the House of Lords regarding the benefits of an internationally diverse workforce in the wake of Brexit. Another major achievement for Stone has been the McCann Worldgroup Global Diversity Coalition, of which he was a founding member. The group is made up of Diversity Coalition Champion leaders from various global markets who work together to inspire an open, dynamic and integrated global community with a focus on conscious inclusion. Stone has played a critical part in McCann Australia’s recent success, having helped transform and diversify talent and performance management. His forward-thinking approach to talent has been key to converting global clients.
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Since taking on his current role in 2010, one of Luke Murphy’s greatest achievements has been HR’s transformation of its performance management system in 2018, creating ACHiEVE@CSR. Adopting a customer-led innovation process and agile principles, the team designed and implemented ACHiEVE@CSR with a focus on strategically aligned performance objectives; inspiring more regular performance check-ins; coaching to drive performance and improvement; use of real-time peer-to-peer feedback; a more contemporary and fair approach to assessing and rewarding performance; and supporting the growth of its employees with a robust development tools and career infrastructure ACHiEVE@CSR is a digitised experience that was custom built through a co-design process involving the company’s business leaders and digital and HR teams. The agile principles adopted by the team were instrumental in the change management process. Implementation was thus faster, cheaper and more positive for employees. The HR team delivered over 300 days of training across Australia and New Zealand. Supporting employees and creating the right mindset has been fundamental to the success of ACHiEVE@CSR, which also resulted in CSR being recognised as one HRD’s Innovative HR Teams in 2019.
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HELENA KARLINDER-ÖSTLUNDH HR director MECCA BRANDS
Mecca Cosmetica and Mecca Maxima – the retail arms of MECCA Brands – are powerhouses in the Australian hair and beauty retail industry. Committed to caring for its employees, MECCA offers a wide variety of on-the-job training, ranging from smallerscale webinars to large-scale conferences. For MECCA, 2018 was a landmark year: the company placed fifth in the 2018 Great Place to Work Survey; it was MECCA’s fifth consecutive year on the list. No small part of the credit for this must go to HR director Helena Karlinder-Östlundh. Having taken up the role in January 2017, it’s clear that her initiatives have been successful in maintaining the organisation’s reputation as a desirable place to work. With experience working in London and Sweden before arriving in Australia, Karlinder-Östlundh had already made her mark on the world of HR before taking the position at MECCA. She also has a clear emphasis on personal aspirations as much as professional ones. In practical terms, this translates to a focus on maintaining an excellent workplace culture and providing opportunities to ascend the ranks. Speaking to Inside Retail, Karlinder-Östlundh noted that: “The lines between work and life outside work are so blurry now, so MECCA very much takes the approach that we employ a whole person and it’s our responsibility to engage, support and develop that person not just for work but for life more broadly.”
MATHEW PAINE Director of HR ICC SYDNEY
Mathew Paine is an HR practitioner with over 18 years of senior HR management experience in the private and not-for-profit sectors in both Australia and the UK. His specialties include industrial relations, employee relations, union negotiations, performance management and generalist HR management. As ICC Sydney’s chief human resource officer, Paine has created a world-class and award-winning HR department, attracting and developing the best talent and building a culture of engagement, agility and innovation. Under his leadership, in 2017 ICC Sydney won the Australian HR Team of the Year and Best Recruitment Campaign awards in the highly competitive Australian HR Awards, as well as the Inclusive Workplace award at the Australian HR Institute Awards. Paine holds a master’s in strategic HR management from East London University and a master’s in labour law and relations from Sydney University Law School. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, UK, a certified professional of the Australian Human Resources Institute, and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
TRACEY LAKE Chief people officer CREDIT UNION AUSTRALIA
Tracey Lake joined CUA in March 2017 and is responsible for leading its people and culture strategy to build future capability and drive a high-performing, networked organisation. Her team looks after the delivery of people and culture services and initiatives, including enterprise change, organisational development and capability, performance management, culture and engagement, diversity, talent acquisition, remuneration and benefits, workplace relations, and health, safety and wellbeing. Lake has worked as an HR executive for 12 years, building broad HR and leadership experience at companies such as Allianz Global Assistance, Insurance Australia Group, CGU Insurance and the Consultancy Bureau. This includes both strategic and operational aspects of HR, such as recruitment, talent management, change management, learning and development, employee engagement, OH&S, restructures and integrations. Lake showed her dedication to the community in late 2017 when she completed a three-day charity cycling event in Queensland with Girls Got Heart to raise much-needed funds for critical health screening in remote parts of Australia.
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HR TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL REPORT
With technology for businesses constantly evolving, HR professionals are always looking for new solutions that harness tech to best effect in the workplace. In this special report, you’ll discover some of the new pioneers in HR tech 32 CANDIDATE ASSESSMENT
Revelian’s ‘glass box’ approach to assessing and selecting job candidates gives clarity to the process for both recruiters and applicants
34 PAYROLL OUTSOURCING
Frontier Software explains what businesses need to know about the pros and cons of outsourcing their payroll services
38 EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE
Synchrony Global on how data can be used as a powerful tool to enhance the employee experience – a key contributor to business success
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HR TECHNOLOGY REPORT
CANDIDATE ASSESSMENT
Best practice is crystal clear Employers around the world are using online assessments for faster hiring and deeper candidate insights – but how can they best leverage the data that emerges? Revelian reveals how algorithms can be more effectively leveraged INNOVATIONS IN assessment technology have created more opportunities for richer candidate insights. However, these new technologies are not without risk, notes Dr Matthew Neale, chief psychology officer at Revelian. “How do you make sure you’re taking advantage of new and technologically advanced hiring methods, while still providing a fair, equitable and reliable recruitment process?” says Neale.
Glass box versus black box The key to answering these questions, Neale explains, turns on the difference between black box and glass box algorithms. Black box algorithms use forms of AI and machine learning that have free rein to combine and recombine the data in ever more complex ways to improve the prediction of an outcome, such as turnover or hiring success. “We call these approaches ‘black box’ because the algorithms they produce are so complex that even the assessment designers can’t explain how they work,” says Neale. While this approach can be useful, it also carries significant risk: the algorithms can’t be explained, and the outcomes they produce can’t be defended. This can have legal implications if your organisation’s hiring practices are ever challenged in court. “How can you defend a hiring decision
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if you don’t know what led to that decision being made?” says Neale. It’s also difficult to know if the algorithm has ‘inherited’ biases from the data it was trained on – gender, education or previous experience, for example. Finally, these algorithms can pick up on transitory flukes in the data to produce prediction results that are not sustainable or that decay over time. Without knowing how the algorithms work it’s not possible to gauge the ‘shelf life’ of the algorithm.
for humans to understand and explain how outcomes are predicted. The algorithms summarise key features in the data, rather than amplifying its complexity. This means that glass box approaches can be used to predict an outcome and help your organisation understand why some applicants are better than others. “The key thing, though, that defines a glass box approach is that differences between candidates’ scores or outcomes can be explained by
“The key thing that defines a glass box approach is that differences between candidates’ scores or outcomes can be explained” Dr Matthew Neale, chief psychology officer, Revelian “All of these factors ultimately decrease trust in the algorithm and the utility of the assessments they are based on,” says Neale. “For the employer, the implications of black box assessments can undermine their efforts to build diverse and effective teams.” An alternative path – one used at Revelian – is to follow a glass box approach. Geared at predicting outcomes and providing key insights into applicants, this approach still harnesses the power of machine learning and algorithmic insight but retains the capacity
the people who developed or use the assessment – they’re much more easily defendable,” says Neale. “Day-to-day, it also shows candidates that you’ve used appropriate tools to give everyone an equal opportunity.”
Five traits of quality psychometric test providers Ethical providers will equip you with the information you need to confidently harness psychometric insights. This includes details of validation studies undertaken to ensure
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understand reports and measures so you can confidently back your hiring decisions with reliable tools.
3. Support your legal and ethical integrity AI streamlines recruitment processes, but speed doesn’t always support fairness or accuracy. A poorly designed test with algorithmic bias will skew insights and expose you to ethical, legal and reputational consequences. What to look for: A reliable test produces consistent insights to inform your fair hiring decisions.
4. Create positive candidate experiences
the assessments measure what they should, without unintentional bias. “If you’re considering using psychometric tools to enhance and streamline your recruitment process, there are a few points worth keeping in mind as you look for a reputable provider,” says Neale.
1. Measure the right traits Assessing the right mix of traits and abilities for roles in your organisation is critical; it can only be done based on a deep understanding of what makes you and your business unique. What to look for: Best practice providers
design their tests to produce solid, evidencebased insights. They have advisers with psychometric qualifications who can suggest the right selection of tests for you.
2. Take control of your assessments To harness the power of psychometric insights, it’s critical to understand how the mechanics of tests inform your hiring decisions. Technical support should also be available to you and your candidates whenever you need it so you can get the most out of assessments. What to look for: Quality providers support and train you to use easy-to-
Black box The algorithms that produce the results are so complex that it’s not possible, even for the assessment provider, to precisely explain how results are produced.
Glass box
The algorithms that produce the results can be explained to and understood by a human.
High transparency
Low transparency
GLASS BOX VS BLACK BOX ALGORITHMS
Powerful candidate experiences help your organisation attract and retain the right people. They bring together the best recruitment strategies, processes and tools. Any compromise in quality detracts from your candidates’ experiences. What to look for: Leading providers develop innovative and user-friendly tests that boost your employer brand and hiring practices. They should also uphold stringent data security, privacy and quality requirements to protect and regulate data use.
5. Trust your investment The psychometric tools you use need to be quantifiable and should contribute to your business-critical outcomes. The best assessments are developed by teams of experienced software engineers and psychologists. What to look for: Best-in-class providers develop proprietary assessments that are independently reviewed and validated by experts. Revelian is an Australian-based company specialising in data-driven human behaviour insights. We support and partner with our clients so they can confidently make effective hiring and development decisions. Our assessments are interactive, reliable and flexible. We’re trusted by top employers around the world to deliver powerful HR insights through cutting-edge psychometric assessments. For more information, visit www.revelian.com.
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HR TECHNOLOGY REPORT
PAYROLL OUTSOURCING
Sourcing new payroll solutions Organisations that are considering outsourcing need to weigh the pros and cons before committing, but also to understand just what they’re signing up for. Eugene LaFontaine of Frontier Software explains to HRD what businesses need to know
IN LINE with a global trend, the number of organisations outsourcing their payroll services is increasing year-on-year. The Australian Payroll Association (APA) 2019 Payroll Benchmarking Report supports this trend. “Outsourced payrolls make up 32.5% of survey respondents, which is an increase from 2018 when outsourced payrolls made up 24.7% of survey respondents,” the report says. Dispelling a commonly held notion that
Eugene LaFontaine, national managed services operations manager at Frontier Software, consistently sees three common drivers in this area. “Clients opting to use Frontier Software’s payroll services do so because of concerns about their internal payroll knowledge and capability, a desire to be compliant and an intention to mitigate the associated risks,” says LaFontaine.
“For many businesses, payroll is seen as a necessary function, but not core business” Eugene LaFontaine, national managed services operations manager, Frontier Software outsourced payroll suits organisations with a certain number of employees, the survey showed a consistent outsourced percentage across all ranges of total employee numbers. So, if workforce size is not always a determining factor, what might influence an organisation to outsource its payroll?
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Lack of knowledge Australian payroll is complex. Depending on the industry in which an organisation operates, it can be subject to modern awards, EBAs, taxation, superannuation or reporting obligations. Internal teams require an in-depth understanding of the
payroll landscape they inhabit. “Such knowledge comes at a cost, in terms of both training and lost time, and employees must maintain currency,” says LaFontaine. “For many businesses, payroll is seen as a necessary function, but not core business.”
Risk mitigation Single-point sensitivity is a concern for many organisations that would struggle if they lost the knowledge held by one or two key staff to turnover, retirement or significant illness. Many organisations also seek to segregate payroll duties to help mitigate the potential for fraudulent activity.
Compliance and cost-effectiveness Knowing you can configure your payroll system to accommodate awards or agreements is one thing, but you must also be certain that your payroll practitioner can actually do it. The advent of SuperStream and Single Touch Payroll (STP) required vendors to develop functionality to achieve compliance, but the payroll team also need to know
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how to correctly implement the new functionality. Organisations not using compliant payroll technology risk breaching regulations and suffering both financial penalties and reputational damage. “Organisations considering outsourcing seek to reduce the overall cost of the payroll function,” says LaFontaine. “A common measure is the cost per payslip and takes into account all the direct and indirect costs of producing a payslip, per employee.” According to the APA, the average cost per payslip generated for employers with 50 to 200 employees is about $32. But even that may not take into account all of the associated costs that, when overlooked, can make outsourcing look like an expensive option. These include additional support by internal IT resources, ongoing training costs, payroll department staff turnover, etc.
Weighing the options When investigating outsourcing as an option, businesses must consider both the gains and potential risks involved, notes LaFontaine.
“Managing a payroll in-house requires investment in payroll expertise, payroll technology and training,” he says. “It requires dedicated resources that are a salary and on-cost to the business.” The potential for single-point sensitivity, where the business relies on one or two individuals for their expertise, must also not be overlooked. In contrast, an internal payroll team can act more quickly than an external one that is servicing numerous different clients. They can be more responsive to immediate requirements and are able to generate data insights that inform business strategy. Insight generation has the capacity to add significant value to the payroll function and organisation. Outsourcing reduces the overall cost of the payroll function and makes it a predictable expense. Savings can be realised by not paying for software, staff, maintenance and training. As La Fontaine explains, “Outsourcing payroll mitigates the risk of staff turnover because the payroll services provider has
many team members able to process client payrolls. As vendors, we must ensure compliance with statutory regulations and the fulfilment of award and EBA conditions. Our role is to ensure our clients are not at risk of penalty for non-compliance”. Good outsourcing vendors will have demonstrable experience in implementing complex awards and understand how best to configure their system to meet the terms and requirements of an agreement. However, they may be less responsive than an internal employee in generating insights, mostly because they act on client instructions. An internal employee is more likely to undertake what-if analyses and reporting in order to demonstrate the value of the payroll function. Great outsourcing providers will offer their clients a means to access and report on their own data. Ultimately, the decision to outsource payroll will be driven by the organisation’s appetite for risk and an internal assessment as to the cost versus value of retaining an in-house payroll team over an outsourced one. Crucial to the decision is an understanding
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HR TECHNOLOGY REPORT
PAYROLL OUTSOURCING
WHY CHOOSE TO OUTSOURCE
Reduce operating cost Focus on core business
Redirect resources
Enhance accuracy
Access market capabilities
Reasons to outsource
Improved compliance
Competitive edge
Internal resources unavailable
Accelerate benefits
Segregation of duties
Reduce time Risk mitigation
“Prospective clients must involve their own IT teams in vigorously assessing the capability of any vendor to protect their critical employee data” Eugene LaFontaine, national managed services operations manager, Frontier Software of what outsourcing actually involves. Under an outsourcing agreement, the physical effort of processing your payroll is made by an external provider using its technology platform. Often prospective clients therefore view outsourcing almost as an abdication of their responsibility. However, LaFontaine says, “That is incorrect. Your outsourcing provider may
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offer various levels of service, ranging from very basic support right up to assuming the entire responsibility for your payroll function, but they will only act on the instruction of their client. That means the client is always in control, unless the instruction is somehow illegal, in which case we will not proceed. Clients must realise that the responsibility for payments made
on their behalf resides squarely with them.” One such liability is data security. There is a saying in IT circles that “it is not a matter of if an attempt to breach your data will occur but when”. No vendor can guarantee the security of your data, but there is a great deal they can do to offer it the best possible protection. From ISO accreditations to database protection, firewalls and redundancy plans, much can be done to make the job of breaching data very difficult for nefarious players. “Prospective clients must involve their own IT teams in vigorously assessing the capability of any vendor to protect their critical employee data,” LaFontaine says. “If your payroll is processed offshore, there are other considerations, not the least of which is data sovereignty and the ease by which you may access your own data. Any vendor processing offshore may do so at a lesser cost, but you must check their data security controls to ensure your data is as safe as it would be if processed onshore.” Payroll outsourcing is a viable option for many organisations, big and small. When deciding on outsourcing, consider elements such as cost, your appetite for risk, and your desire to extract insights from payroll data. Most importantly, consider whether the potential vendor can ensure they have proven data security measures, flexible options for client involvement and a capacity to give you unfettered access to your own data. After all, you may have outsourced payroll processing, but not your responsibility. Eugene LaFontaine joined Frontier Software in April 2008 with over 25 years’ experience in HR and industrial relations in the private and public sectors. He has previously worked for Amcor, Linfox, National Foods and, more recently, Tenix as HR shared services manager. In addition to his management roles, LaFontaine has been the HR and payroll project lead for SAP, PeopleSoft and chris21 implementation. He also has experience in the development of shared services groups for HR and payroll. LaFontaine is a member of the Frontier Software management leadership team and is responsible for delivery of the organisation’s managed services solution. To find out more about Frontier Software, visit www.frontiersoftware.com.
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TRUST
Frontier Software with your payroll processing Accurate, secure and reliable
1300 376 684 sales@frontiersoftware.com www.frontiersoftware.com
OFFICES IN AUSTRALIA, INDIA, MALAYSIA, NEW ZEALAND, PHILIPPINES, SINGAPORE AND UNITED KINGDOM 19928_Payroll_New_Advertising_Campaign_Re-Size_210x268_OZ.indd 1 34-37_Frontier Software_SUBBED.indd 37
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HR TECHNOLOGY REPORT
INNOVATIONS IN EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE
Breaking beyond numbers Data is a powerful tool for enhancing the customer experience – but what if it’s also used to enhance the employee experience? HRD talks to Synchrony Global, a Rizing HCM company, to find out more
THE LAST few years have been a wild ride for Synchrony Global, a Rizing HCM company. In that time, the company has built itself into one of Australia’s premier cloud HR and payroll providers for ‘mid-market’ organisations with 100–2,000 employees – in no small part thanks to its association with
more thrilled to bring Synchrony into the Rizing HCM family,” says Luc Hédou, CEO of Rizing HCM. “By leveraging the broader organisation, we can accelerate growth and innovation for our customers, both in the region and globally.” The company’s growth has been rapid,
“By leveraging the broader organisation, we can accelerate growth and innovation for our customers - both in the region and globally” Luc Hédou, CEO, Rizing HCM SAP® SuccessFactors®, and then subsequently its acquisition by Rizing LLC. “As one of the fastest-growing SAP partners and recipient of the SAP SuccessFactors Partner of the Year award for Australia and New Zealand in 2018, we could not be
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as the implementation of cloud HR and payroll has become an increasingly crucial part of many organisations’ HR strategies. Synchrony stands out from the crowd by specialising exclusively in SAP SuccessFactors and SAP HCM product portfolios – to which
it is now adding the experience management solution SAP Qualtrics. “One of our big focuses moving ahead is how both employee experience data and operational data management and analytics fit into the HR process,” says Mike Ellis, executive vice president of sales for Rizing HCM’s APAC region. “Businesses need to be looking at trends both past and future to formulate better strategies. We are now in the position to help HR understand how their people strategy impacts business.”
Enhancing the employee experience Of course, data needs to be applied within a wider context to be effective. Nico Hadj-Blaha, VP of sales for Australia New Zealand at Synchrony Global, says HR departments need to cultivate a “culture of success” within their organisations. “We design our solutions with the understanding that HR technology has an impact beyond just automation and cost reduction,” Hadj-Blaha explains. “Technology should play a strategic role in the company’s growth and enable a culture of success in the process.” Hadj-Blaha points to the fact that a key Synchrony feature is the provision of a central view of employees. In turn, this provides support for organisational data, personal data, time off and payroll, with full employee life cycle support. Synchrony’s solutions also support recruitment, onboarding, employee engagement, learning and development, employee performance management, compensation, and employee succession and development. Hadj-Blaha is also keenly aware of the important role these technologies can play in enhancing the employee experience. While businesses have tended to focus data collection on reaching customers more effectively and improving their experience, Hadj-Blaha notes that many businesses need to see a closer connection between employee experience and customer experience.
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Solutions such as SAP SuccessFactors and SAP Qualtrics can provide key insights. “The real value to data collection tools like this is being able to gather information around employee satisfaction, then engage with dissatisfied employees at the right time to address any issues,” says Hadj-Blaha. When businesses talk about improving their services for customers, there are four key metrics that tend to be assessed, explains Hadj-Blaha – customer experience, brand experience, product experience and employee experience. “When looking to understand the past, current or future success of an organisation,” he says, “it is imperative to be looking at employees’ experience metrics too.” It’s a way of providing touchpoint surveys and analytics for HR, he notes. With the vast bulk of business cases being built on tangible benefits, these forms of data tracking enable more effective KPIs to be created and accordingly help paint a picture of a more
effective return/investment analysis. It’s more agile overall. “When you look at the HR life cycle, there are often facets which, on paper, are more difficult to track,” says Hadj-Blaha. “But tools like SuccessFactors – and the subsequent data analysis from Qualtrics –
the employees working these shifts were also deeply unhappy. Revenue was being negatively impacted, with many passengers choosing to fly other airlines. The technology provided these insights, but the solution, notes Hadj-Blaha, was a relatively simple human one.
“Technology should play a strategic role in the company’s growth and enable a culture of success in the process” Nico Hadj-Blaha, VP of sales for Australia New Zealand, Synchrony Global allow HR departments to measure the realtime impact of the employee experience on customer satisfaction.” He points to a recent example involving a major airline client. Customer satisfaction on the overnight Melbourne–Denpasar flight path was at an all-time low, and a closer scrutiny of the situation revealed that
“Qualtrics helped identify that most of the issues stemmed from the airline charging for a blanket, which passengers and staff alike felt was unfair for an overnight flight,” says Hadj-Blaha. “The airline began providing overnight blankets for free – once this was done, customer complaints went down and employee satisfaction went up.”
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HR TECHNOLOGY REPORT
INNOVATIONS IN EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE
RIZING IN A NUTSHELL
Formed in 2014
850+ employees
It’s situations like these which highlight the importance of the human facet of the employer-employee interaction, notes Hadj-Blaha. “The technology is going to give management a real-time indicator of what is happening on the ground, but you need to have conversations beyond that too,” he says. “Upper management does not always know when to have these conversations, but the output of tech like this can be useful for helping determine when the best time might be.”
open text. Something that was once manual and cumbersome to process outside of the solution can now be automated to reveal previously hidden insights. “We’re looking to add support for this in the near future,” says Ellis. “Thanks to Qualtrics’ machine learning capabilities, it’s something that we think is quite achievable. We expect it to be of significant use to companies who may be looking to better analyse their historic performance data to help predict future outcomes.”
Engagement with employee engagement
Building from the baseline
Ellis is also quick to point out that employee engagement surveys and initiatives aren’t new. 126 SAP SuccessFactors certified consultants – the most in the world*
900+ SAP SuccessFactors customers globally
20+ offices globally
Projects covering 98 countries *SAP Consultant Registry August 2018
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There’s still more innovation on the horizon, too. Rizing is helping Synchrony stay true to its roots, while innovating and expanding
“Businesses need to be looking at trends both past and future to formulate better strategies” Mike Ellis, executive vice president of sales, Rizing HCM APAC However, their ability to gauge trends in real time has frequently been limited – typically, because of the work required to analyse the data. “Realistically, HR needs to go beyond simple analytics – there also need to be expert action plans and advice,” he says. “Tools like this ultimately make HR more relevant as part of the overall business strategy.” He also notes the importance of gaining genuine and honest insights from employees. Issues such as increased absenteeism or general dissatisfaction are not always easily identifiable if employees don’t feel they can be open and honest. “Data acquired through SuccessFactors and Qualtrics can be anonymous or include full staff details,” says Ellis. “It’s really up to the individual employer, and sometimes even the circumstances of employment.” Ellis also explains that the integration of SAP Qualtrics with SuccessFactors facilitates machine learning, allowing for analysis of
its People and Payroll solutions into new territories. “The Synchrony team is looking forward to rebranding to Rizing in October this year,” says Ellis. “As Rizing, we have the global structure and experience to take HCM solutions to the next level. Rizing will allow us to better segment and deliver our products and services to SMB, mid-market and enterprise clients, with simple and cost-effective packaged solutions which are relatively easy to adopt, right though to our industry-leading functional and technical services for largescale implementations.” As part of Rizing, LLC, the Rizing HCM line of business is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Rizing HCM is one of the strongest partners in the SAP SuccessFactors ecosystem through its combined end-to-end experience and leading number of global implementations. With the addition of Synchrony Global, Rizing HCM has over 900 customers, making it one of the largest, and most qualified, SAP SuccessFactors consulting firms in the world.
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IAN L A R T AUS
FRIDAY 6 SEPTEMBER 2019 THE STAR SYDNEY
2019
Twenty award categories; 285 nominations. One great event. Meet the industry leaders and game changers who made the shortlist for the 2019 Australian HR Awards
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www.hrawards.com.au
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IT WAS another year of stellar nominations for the Australian HR Awards – the industry byword for recognising excellence in the HR profession and celebrating those at the forefront of best practice and leadership. And now there’s another top-notch selection of finalists waiting to see who wins in 20 prestigious categories. They represent the teams, leaders and rising stars who stood head and shoulders above the rest with their dedication and hard work in the past year. With competition fiercer than ever, simply making the list in itself is a massive achievement.
The 2019 award winners will be revealed in a gala ceremony at The Star Sydney on 6 September, hosted by MC Tom Williams, alongside great live music from Duke Music and the Luke Zanc Duo, as well as aerobatic troupe Aerialize. Key Media would like to thank all those who submitted nominations this year and all the sponsors who have made the Australian HR Awards the leading independent awards event for the HR profession. For more information and to book your table, visit www.hrawards.com.au.
Award sponsors Event partner
Charity partner
Official publication
Organised by
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IAN TRAL AUS
2019 RANDSTAD AUSTRALIAN HR DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
FINALISTS
• • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • • • •
Linda Carroll, Affinity Education Group Sarah Derry, Accor Julie Harris, VetPartners Ceri Ittensohn, TAL Snezana Jankulovski Penny Lovett, Salvation Army Tash Macknish, Data#3 Martha Travis
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
Randstad is a global leader in the recruitment and HR services industry. The company's Australian business has been supporting people and organisations in realising their true potential, helping find the best permanent and contracting talent across industries. Human connection is at the heart of the business. A personal approach, supported by state-of-the-art technology, is what sets Randstad apart in talent acquisition. Randstad is uniquely Human Forward. Randstad W: randstad.com.au
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BI WORLDWIDE AUSTRALIAN HR MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Rochelle Choyna, Accor Jessica Foo, TSA Group Rita Hudson, Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service Christine Ivankovic, Leap Legal Software Erin Kenny, Accor Farzana Khan, Fink Bonny Rath, Allan Hall Human Resource Services Jason Rogers, Endeavour Foundation Elizabeth Rogic, Assetlink Jason Romano, Northpoint Toyota
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
We inspire the people that matter most to our customers' success - their employees, salespeople, channel partners and customers around the world. We offer a combination of technology, consulting and events to engage and motivate employees, run custom sales incentives and build channel loyalty. Pooja Lal, General Manager BI Worldwide A/NZ P: 04 2930 5021 E: Pooja.Lal@au.biworldwide.com W: www.biworldwide.com.au
www.australasianlawyer.com.au www.hrawards.com.au
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EVENT PARTNER
AUSTRALIAN RISING HR STAR OF THE YEAR
AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS LAWYERS & ADVISORS AUSTRALIAN HR CHAMPION (CEO) OF THE YEAR
FINALISTS
FINALISTS
• • • • •
• • • • • • •
Sarah Alexander, Sanofi Vicki Barry, Assetlink Anna Costanzo, Australian Home Care Jess Edmonds-Saunders, Youi Fiona Henderson, Western Downs Regional Council • Samantha Lynn, Assetlink • Kate McShane, Affinity Education Group • Symeon Leslie, ghd Hair
Craig Bennett, Diabetes Victoria Paul Braico, Boston Scientific John Burns, VetPartners Simon Kirkpatrick, Gateway Motorway Services Timothy Mackinnon, eBay ANZ Holly Masters, McGrath Foundation Ross Musgrove, Western Downs Regional Council • Michael Ward, Raytheon Australia
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors (ABLA) is one of Australia’s leading employment and workplace legal practices. We focus on representing and advocating for business. Our success with clients is founded on the principles of mutual respect, craft, collaboration and communication. Our motto ‘experts make things simple’ sets us apart. Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors P: 1300 565 846 E: info@ablawyers.com.au W: www.ablawyers.com.au
www.australasianlawyer.com.au www.hrawards.com.au
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IAN TRAL AUS
2019 HAYS AUSTRALIAN HR TEAM OF THE YEAR (≤1000 EMPLOYEES) FINALISTS
FINALISTS
• • • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • • •
Alinta Energy Australian Radio Network Cancer Council NSW Liberty Financial MSD Northpoint Toyota Nova Entertainment Queensland Airports Sanofi
Accor Pacific Regional Talent & Culture Team Assetlink People & Culture Team City of Canterbury Bankstown La Trobe University Human Resources Team Tabcorp TAL The Salvation Army VetPartners Virgin Australia
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
Hays understands that HR professionals are critical to the future growth of any company. Its recruiting experts offer a personalised recruitment service to guide you through every stage of the recruitment process, while its HR career advice will ensure that you achieve your work ambitions.
Ironfish plays a key role in the Australian property market as a leading property investment services company with 14 offices across Australia and China. We support our investors in acquiring a diversified property portfolio, backed by the confidence of the latest research, personalised strategies and quality investment opportunities.
Hays Human Resources P: +61 2 8226 9797 E: sydhr@hays.com.au W: www.hays.com.au
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IRONFISH AUSTRALIAN HR TEAM OF THE YEAR (>1000 EMPLOYEES)
Ironfish P: +61 2 9439 6068 E: northsydney@iron-sh.com.au W: www.ironfish.com.au
www.australasianlawyer.com.au www.hrawards.com.au
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EVENT PARTNER
EMPLOYER OF CHOICE (1–99 EMPLOYEES)
REDKITE EMPLOYER OF CHOICE (100–999 EMPLOYEES)
FINALISTS
FINALISTS
• • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • • • •
Carman's Kitchen Corporate Technology Services Edwards Lifesciences Gateway Motorway Services ghd Hair McGrath Foundation QBANK Quinton Anthony
AbbVie Apiam Animal Health Boston Scientific Civica Data#3 Employsure Liberty Financial MSD Nova Entertainment Sanofi
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY Winner 2018 PeopleScout Employer of Choice (100–999 Employees): MSD
Redkite is an Australian charity providing essential, practical support to children and young people with cancer (0–24), and their families. Their corporate partners provide significant and invaluable support for families facing cancer through corporate donations, staff fundraising, workplace giving, events and sponsorship, volunteering and more. Olivia Peters, NSW partnerships manager P: 02 9219 4012 E: opeters@redkite.org.au W: www.redkite.org.au
www.australasianlawyer.com.au www.hrawards.com.au
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IAN TRAL AUS
2019 OC TANNER EMPLOYER OF CHOICE (≥1000 EMPLOYEES)
EMPLOYER OF CHOICE (PUBLIC SECTOR & NFP)
FINALISTS
FINALISTS
• • • • • •
• • • • • •
ALDI Flight Centre Travel Group MSS Security PETstock Schindler Lifts Australia VetPartners
Cancer Council NSW CanTeen Djerriwarrh Health Services McGrath Foundation Special Broadcasting Service The Disability Trust
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY Winner 2018 Employer of Choice (Public Sector & NFP): HomeStart Finance
Formerly operating as Accumulate, we help many of Australia’s largest companies understand how to use recognition and appreciation to influence great work. Now backed by the insights, experience and scale of the O.C. Tanner Company, which serves thousands of clients in 150-plus countries, we are better positioned than ever to help our clients inspire and connect their people, and build great workplace cultures. OC Tanner W: www. octanner.com/au
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EVENT PARTNER
BEST CHANGE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
CONVERGE INTERNATIONAL BEST HEALTH & WELLBEING PROGRAM
FINALISTS
FINALISTS
• • • • • •
• AbbVie • Data#3 • Flight Centre Travel Group – Healthwise Global • Lander & Rogers • Nova Entertainment • Special Broadcasting Service • Tasplan • Tourism Australia • Virgin Australia • Youi
Accor Heartist Program Assetlink Transition Team Beam Suntory ETP Ion Detect FedEx Logistics Peoplecare Health
BEST GRADUATE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
FINALISTS • APP Corporation • Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) • Hewlett Packard Enterprise • Konica Minolta Business Solutions • Level Crossings Removal Project • TAL • ThoughtWorks • TransDev
Converge International is proud of our six decades of leadership in employee wellbeing; we are a pioneer in the delivery of mental health and wellness programs to workplaces in Australia and overseas. Our expertise lies in supporting organisations to manage risk, boost employee engagement and promote positive mental health. Lana Schwartz E: lana.schwartz@convergeintl.com.au P: 02 8264 3126 W: www.convergeinternational.com.au
www.australasianlawyer.com.au www.hrawards.com.au
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IAN TRAL AUS
2019
BEST LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
ACHIEVERS BEST REWARD & RECOGNITION PROGRAM
FINALISTS
FINALISTS
• • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • • •
Beam Suntory Cancer Council NSW CanTeen Coca-Cola Amatil Deloitte Australia Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service Raytheon Australia Leadership Continuum Vicinity Centres
AGL Energy Employsure Flight Centre Travel Group – Global Gathering Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service HCL Australia Services International Convention Centre (ICC Sydney) MSS Security Virgin Australia Youi
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
Winner 2018 Ironfish Australian HR Team of the Year (>1000 Employees): TAL
Achievers is the world’s leading SaaS-based employee recognition and reward platform. “Recognition Amplified'' is how Achievers is helping change the way the world works. By amplifying the frequency of recognition, Achievers helps over 300 global organisations foster meaningful and personalised employee engagement every day, creating measurable business value. Matt Seadon, general manager recognition and incentives E: matt.seadon@bhnetwork.com P: 0401 972 103 W: achievers.com.au
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EVENT PARTNER
BEST RECRUITMENT CAMPAIGN
SUBSCRIBE-HR BEST USE OF TECHNOLOGY
FINALISTS
FINALISTS
• • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • •
ANZ Technology "Thrive Squad" Cerebral Palsy Alliance Claim Central Consolidated Commonwealth Bank of Australia Diabetes Victoria HCL Technologies Serco APAC YMCA NSW
Affinity Education Group Claim Central Consolidated Commonwealth Bank of Australia Eastern Health Employsure Pegasystems Racing & Wagering WA Vodafone
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY Winner 2018 Achievers Best Reward & Recognition Program: Youi
Subscribe-HR delivers Australian cloud HR software to mid-sized enterprises covering: e-Recruitment, Onboarding, Core-HR, Payroll Integration, Self-Service, Surveys, Performance Management, Reporting, Workflow. Subscribe-HR is the most end user configurable HR technology platform in the world, meaning that Subscribe-HR adds more value to enterprises, faster than any other HR technology globally. Mathew French E: mathew.french@subscribe-hr.com.au P: 1300 543 544 W: www.subscribe-hr.com.au
www.australasianlawyer.com.au www.hrawards.com.au
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IAN TRAL AUS
2019
BEST LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
JOB ACCESS AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT BEST WORKPLACE DIVERSITY & INCLUSION PROGRAM
FINALISTS
FINALISTS
• • • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • • •
Accor Academie Affinity Education Group Boston Scientific Corporate Technology Services Datacom ghd Hair International Convention Centre (ICC Sydney) Lindt Australia Vicinity Centres
City of Sydney Council Glen Eira City Council Griffith University Hollard Honeywell International Convention Centre (ICC Sydney) National Rugby League Special Broadcasting Service Virgin Australia
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
Winner 2018 Best Leadership Development Program: Hollard
JobAccess is the national hub for workplace and employment information for people with disability, employers and service providers. JobAccess provides free and confidential information through a comprehensive, easy-to-use website and telephone service. JobAccess P: 1800 464 800 W: www.JobAccess.gov.au
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FEATURES
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
How benefits can build a loyal workforce Attracting and retaining employees is a challenge for most industry sectors. In mining and resources, where demand for skills is growing, a comprehensive employee benefits program can give companies the edge in attracting and retaining talent
FOLLOWING A sharp decline in 2012, the Australian mining and resources (M&R) industry is coming back strong. According to the 2019 KPMG Australian Mining Risk Forecast, two thirds of global mining leaders are feeling confident about growth in the sector. Here in Australia, the number of people working in mining has more than tripled since 2007.1 It’s no wonder the same report includes access to talent among the top 10 concerns of mining leaders.
The retention challenge The pressure of renewed industry growth on a limited skills pool is perhaps one of the greatest challenges for HR leaders in the sector. Securing the head count to meet rising production targets calls for competitive incentives. When a skilled workforce can pick and choose between well-paid options, it is hard to build loyalty if it does not take much of a salary increase for employees to move on. With budget constraints still in place
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following the industry slump of recent years, HR teams are looking for smart and costeffective ways to engage and retain key staff.
of a salary packaged benefit compared with an employer-funded allowance. At face value, salary packaging out-of-pocket expenses
When your employer’s duty of care extends beyond the mining site to helping you buy a home and vehicle you can be proud of, you get bragging rights for being with the best mining company for lifestyle as well as take-home pay Hidden value in employee benefits Employee benefits are not a new concept for HR leaders. However, the financial value of salary packaging, and the range of salary packaging benefits available for different industry sectors, may not be widely understood. What can often be overlooked is the value
may seem less of an incentive for employees and candidates compared with employerfunded cost subsidies. But when you take into account the scope of what can be packaged, plus net savings in income tax, payroll tax and fringe benefits tax, salary packaging can be a clear winner for both employer and employee.
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HOW AUTOMATION COULD TRANSFORM THE M&R WORKFORCE Attracting key talent to the far reaches of Australia is critical for the mining sector and would be a tall order without the standard relocation and remote area housing allowances. But when a comprehensive salary packaging program is in place, including relocation, remote area benefits and novated leasing, employees find they’re able to enjoy a better lifestyle in remote locations as a result of taking up these benefits. These lifestyle extras, along with the financial value that salary packaging brings, can lead to a positive and sustained engagement between M&R companies, their workforce and remote area communities. Take stamp duty, for example. An
In 2019, the majority of the mining workforce is made up of remote area employees. With more automated technology becoming available in the industry, this could lead to a larger proportion of fly-in fly-out (FIFO) employees in the near future. However, with the right incentives in place, a mining employer can encourage and support employees to continue their remote area status. Having a comprehensive salary packaging benefits program offering both FIFO and remote area benefits, along with specialist provider support, can enable mining businesses to offer strong incentives, regardless of employees’ preferred locations and working patterns.
employer-subsidised relocation package might cover flights, removals and the transportation of home contents, but it won’t stretch to the costs of buying a home. For an employee putting down roots in a remote area, paying for stamp duty from their pretax salary can potentially reduce their income
tax liability by thousands of dollars. That substantial saving from salary packaging stamp duty, and mortgage interest over the life of a loan, can become a critical factor in the retention equation. When an employee is salary packaging the full suite of benefits and is approached by a competitor, the potential
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FEATURES
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
FULL SUITE OF AVAILABLE SALARY PACKAGING BENEFITS FOR M&R Financial services Disability/income protection insurance Financial advisory fees Work-related expenses Relocation expenses Tools of trade Portable electronic devices – laptop, iPad/tablet, mobile phones Professional memberships/subscriptions Self-education expenses Remote area benefits Mortgage interest on residential home Rent (employer supplied or private) Electricity or gas bills (where mortgage or rent is packaged) Purchase cost of an established home or land and construction costs Purchase of established home/land and construction costs in a remote area Fly-in fly-out (FIFO) Flights Airport parking Airport lounge Novated leasing Novated motor vehicle lease Associate motor vehicle lease
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That substantial saving from salary packaging stamp duty, and mortgage interest over the life of a loan, can become a critical factor in the retention equation pay rise on offer could be cancelled out by a hike in their tax bill. Their list of reasons to stay put is that little bit longer. By supporting employees in settling down in remote towns, mining companies can also reap benefits with respect to their standing in the local community, and the industry overall. Boosting the numbers in terms of housing stock and the settled population can improve relations between mining businesses and the local councils. When your employer’s duty of care extends beyond the mining site to helping you buy a home and vehicle you can be proud of, you get bragging rights for being with the best mining company for lifestyle as well as take-home pay. Both of these can go towards building a strong and positive
reputation for a mining company among the community and employees.
The education and communication challenge It’s clear that a comprehensive salary packaging program can deliver significant financial value and lifestyle benefits for M&R employees. However, one of the key elements of a successful benefits program is access to onsite education and engagement. A faceto-face conversation with a salary packaging specialist helps employees navigate complex tax rules and the full implications of their choices, which can go a long way towards ensuring there are no unintended negative outcomes from the whole experience.
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This can be challenging in an M&R context when the majority of employees are in remote locations and face-to-face communication opportunities are limited. Sharing information through digital channels isn’t viable when much of the workforce is not sitting at computers or on digital devices. Working with major M&R companies nationally, employee benefits provider Maxxia take a very hands-on approach to getting remote area employees up to speed on benefit choices at a range of mining sites. Given that production targets are of paramount importance to senior leaders and general managers onsite, time available to speak to employees during working hours is limited. Anyone visiting the mine must also be supervised and across all safety protocols. Having frontline staff with deep mining sector expertise based in these remote locations is important to ensure efficient and effective delivery of customer service and engagement programs. For a large mining client looking to launch remote area benefits to their employees, Maxxia’s local frontline staff, who know the mining environment and are fully aware of site constraints, were able to run face-toface benefits advice sessions for 80 eligible employees in just three days. These individual
consultations were highly successful in driving strong uptake of salary packaging for remote housing benefits. With the buzz this created at the site, the number of employees participating has now grown to more than 200.
How a business gets more from employee benefits Effective communication to boost participation is just one way Maxxia can support HR teams in M&R in fully realising financial value from their benefits offerings. As one of Australia’s largest employee benefits providers, Maxxia can deliver in-depth analysis of a mining company’s existing program, including a performance benchmark comparison. Just as it addresses the unique needs of employees and matches these with potential benefits, Maxxia can also identify gaps and opportunities in the financial value of a benefits program to the business itself. That lift in value comes from payroll tax savings driven by higher participation, as well as a more efficient approach to promoting and delivering benefits, with support from Maxxia’s team of specialists. Outsourcing to Maxxia also provides additional risk management, with dedicated
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and experienced professionals managing FBT compliance and end-of-lease liability.
The ripple effect of a benefits boost In terms of engagement within the business, an effective benefits program can deliver wins at many levels. For a start, payroll tax savings make a clear and measurable difference to budget targets. But key leaders also come to appreciate the positive impact benefits can have on the employee value proposition, particularly when they experience it first-hand. General managers at mine sites who enjoy the benefits of salary packaging themselves quickly become ambassadors for the program. Not only does this drive uptake by other employees but it also adds to the importance and influence of the HR team at the site level. By focusing on the quality and value of a benefits offering, an employer can become known for its high level of care for the employee experience, both on and off site. The positive ‘chatter’ this creates, within a company and across the region, can do much to attract skilled employees. But it also becomes an important part of the company’s overall brand story in a high-profile and competitive industry. Source: 1
Australian Financial Review, “Stories of Australia’s mining decline were greatly exaggerated”, Brendan Pearson, 9 January 2017
1/8/19 9:06 am
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FEATURES
HR SALARY AND JOB GUIDE
2019 HR SALARY + JOB GUIDE Money isn’t everything – but it would be a mistake to overlook the importance of remuneration in motivating employees. With this in mind, HRD’s annual salary and job guide presents an overview of the current state of affairs in HR remuneration
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LAST YEAR’S HR Salary and Job Guide (HRD 16.04) reflected a relatively optimistic time when it came to HR salaries. There was an overall trend towards growth in HR departments, and numerous roles saw an upswing in their market value. It was a welcome relief after several years of stagnancy and general misunderstandings around the field as the industry worked to redefine itself for both management and the general public. While it would be unfair to say that there is no good news this year, it’s certainly apparent that there’s a somewhat different story to be told. Numerous roles have seen their average pay decline; whether this is down to a simple market correction or an indicator of a more general downward trend still remains to be seen.
manager – executive and permanent HR sourcing specialist at Frazer Jones. “We’ve seen strong demand for OD/change professionals with expertise in culture change who can measure current state, define where an organisation needs to be, and create a pathway on how to achieve this,” says Sexton. Smaller organisations are also seeing the benefits of working with HR professionals to better leverage their staff and manage the process of expanding their businesses. The smoother this process can be made for SME owners the better.
Generalist HR There are certainly bright spots to be celebrated, too. Generalist HR has emerged as one of the big winners over the last 12 months, with hiring occurring and the market faring well. In general, larger organisations in South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania are recruiting more generalists, whereas specialist roles are more prevalent in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. The royal commission into financial services has also served as something of a spur for many organisations to update their HR practices. Along with the broader changing business landscape, it’s helped highlight culture as an area business leaders need to focus on, notes Roxanne Sexton,
40%
of employees plan to look for a new job this year
41%
cite uncompetitive salaries as a driver of their job searches
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FEATURES
HR SALARY AND JOB GUIDE
DO YOU SEE THE GENERAL OUTLOOK FOR THE ECONOMY IN THE FORTHCOMING 6-12 MONTHS AS… Weakening?
23% 54%
Static?
Strengthening?
23%
IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS, HAS BUSINESS ACTIVITY…
10% Decreased?
22% Remained the same?
68% Increased?
IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS, DO YOU ENVISAGE BUSINESS ACTIVITY…
6% Decreasing?
60
24% Remaining the same?
70% Increasing?
“HR generalists are needed in SMEs to work on a range of issues while supporting rapid head count growth and undertaking change projects,” says Lisa Morris, director of Hays Human Resources. “Traditional coordinators and advisers who can work independently or with limited supervision are sought, as are HR administrators and coordinators with recruitment and onboarding experience.” Adam Oldman, associate director – HR recruitment (NSW) at Michael Page, points to the job title of HR business partner as growing in prominence within the field. There are fewer HR manager roles, he notes, because HR professionals are becoming increasingly focused on specific portfolios. They need to get to know the stakeholders in the business in intimate detail. “There’s more demand than the previous year, due to HR now being more recognised for adding to the bottom line of the business,” says Oldman. Morris echoes the sentiment. “Of course, we’re also seeing high demand for commercially minded and savvy HR business partners who can embed themselves closely within a business unit and become the go-to expert for the organisation’s leadership team,” she says.
Specialist roles As might be expected, the situation is rather more varied on the specialist front. Oldman notes that HR specialists are often in short supply – those with niche skill sets such as in remuneration and benefits, talent acquisition, change management and L&OD, for example. “Job titles in growth are talent acquisition, who are adding more value than just in recruitment, such as in talent pooling, pipelining and working on the EVP,” says Oldman. “This job title has been in demand as the Australian talent acquisition market is in a growth phase, catching up to the US and UK markets.”
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DO YOU THINK SKILL SHORTAGES ARE LIKELY TO IMPACT THE EFFECTIVE OPERATION OF YOUR BUSINESS/DEPARTMENT?
IN YOUR NEXT REVIEW, DO YOU ENVISAGE ASKING FOR A PAY RISE?
28%
30%
42%
28%
No
Yes – in a minor way
Yes – significantly
46%
26% HR analysts are also in demand, Oldman says, in large part due to data becoming so valuable for decision-making in the modern marketplace. Morris points out that the need for specialists is often driven by location and is more prevalent in NSW, Queensland and Victoria. Organisational development specialists, change managers, L&D professionals and workplace HSE advisers are all in demand to varying degrees. Internal recruiters are also still sought after. “Internal recruiters with exposure to large recruitment campaigns and projects remain in demand,” says Morris. “However, the required skills are shifting, with employers now looking for internal recruiters with a strategic focus and deeper talent acquisition expertise who can also present the employee value proposition and engage staff.” Interestingly, Sexton points out that she has seen talent acquisition decline slightly, coming off a peak in 2018. “This may be due to a rise in automation removing the people aspects of the hiring process,” says Sexton.
Senior roles Typically, senior roles in HR are the ones that see the least movement; many at the top are comfortable in their roles and require more than simple finances in order to shift to new
positions. When HRD-level roles are advertised, the quality of response is fiercely competitive, with outstanding talent applying for these jobs. Sexton describes the market at this level as “competitive”, while also noting that there has been a “slight uptick” in movement among senior roles in the last year. With more applicants than CHRO jobs, Morris says some candidates will take a 10–20% pay cut to secure a role. “Strong executive candidates are available in the market,” says Morris. “HR executives continue to move roles to expose themselves to business improvement activities. They look for roles where they can have an impact, and as a result remuneration is not always the key driver of a career move.” That said, the market is shifting. HR isn’t immune to cost-cutting, and Oldman explains that the shortage of such roles is in part due to large corporate restructuring – at time of writing, only around 5% of the vacant roles on Seek were above the $170,000 base level. “The majority of these roles have moved to larger HR functions as part of shared services in the Asia region, usually in Hong Kong,” says Oldman. “Therefore senior candidates are choosing to go off and do their own consulting for businesses and contracting themselves out on daily rates, which is very lucrative.”
Yes
Not sure
No
“We’re also seeing high demand for commercially minded and savvy HR business partners who can embed themselves closely within a business unit”
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FEATURES
HR SALARY AND JOB GUIDE
“With organisations keeping their salary increase budgets tight, you need to provide strong evidence to justify a pay rise, so focus on outcomes”
DOES YOUR COMPANY OFFER FLEXIBLE SALARY PACKAGING?
67%
Building a more diverse workforce
No
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HR business partner – As more industries realise the importance of HR as a visionary asset to the company – rather than simply an outgrowth of hiring and firing – HR business partners are increasingly in demand.
HOT
L&D adviser – The need for high-quality and ongoing upskilling in the workforce has prompted an increasing investment in and demand for L&D professionals.
HOT
Trainer – High-quality educators are increasingly in demand as more HR systems put significance on ongoing learning within the workplace – making up-to-the-minute information accessible to all staff.
HOT
Diversity manager/diversity adviser – Diversity continues to be increasingly important to businesses across the country, and many are investing in experts to help them with the process of diversifying their workforces.
HOT
OF THOSE WHO ANSWERED YES, THE FOLLOWING BENEFITS WERE INDICATED AS BEING COMMONLY OFFERED TO (%)… 19% 8%
46%
27% Car
Yes
33%
HOT ROLES
A quick glance at this year’s comparison chart will immediately make it apparent that there has been an increase in the value placed on diversity and inclusion specialists, along with training and development. Given that the two often operate hand in hand, it’s no real surprise. Diversity and inclusion initiatives are growing immensely in popularity both in Australia and around the world. It must be remembered that HR doesn’t exist in an isolated bubble of its own; it’s as susceptible to market wiles and trends as any other field. Diversity is now a significant driver across many industries, so diversity professionals are much sought after. The HR professional who does not possess at least some core skills in this area is likely to find themselves coming up short on the professional front. But it would be dismissive to refer to it solely as a trend – in truth, it is indicative of the changing nature of our wider culture and a greater emphasis being placed on opportunities for marginalised groups who may not otherwise have had them. Training is essential for organisations to effectively embrace these diversity initiatives. Couple this with the increased emphasis on
13%
37%
33%
Private health insurance
5% 13%
70% Private expenses
68%
20% 4% 8% Other
27%
38%
55% 18%
Bonuses
9% 5% Above mandatory superannuation
5% 6%
63%
21%
12% 49%
26%
27%
39%
11%
Parking
12% 6% Salary sacrifice
All employees
Less than 50%
More than 50%
Few employees
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SALARY COMPARISONS FOR PERMANENT ROLES Role
HOT
Hays ($)
Robert Walters ($)
Frazer Jones ($)
Michael Page ($)
2018 HRD median
2019 HRD median
% change (median)
HR director (large employer)
220,000
295,000
240,000
242,000
287,500
241,000
HR manager (large employer)
200,000
180,000
180,000
178,000
180,000
180,000
n.a.
HR business partner
155,000
150,000
145,000
105,000
139,000
147,500
6.1%
HR adviser
140,000
100,000
105,000
83,000
96,250
102,500
6.4%
HR coordinator/administrator
65,000
65,000
62,500
63,000
65,000
64,000
1.5%
IR manager/ER manager
150,000
177,500
160,000
-
160,000
160,000
n.a.
IR adviser/ER adviser
100,000
-
112,500
-
110,000
106,250
3.4%
L&D director
220,000
-
195,000
-
207,500
207,500
n.a.
115,000
16%
L&D manager
150,000
147,500
130,000
146,250
138,750
5.1%
L&D adviser
100,000
110,000
100,000
115,000
97,500
105,000
7.6%
L&D coordinator
75,000
-
72,500
58,000
72,500
72,500
n.a.
HOT
Trainer
95,000
-
110,000
73,000
85,000
95,000
11.7%
HOT
Diversity manager
155,000
-
-
128,000
150,000
141,500
7.7%
HOT
Diversity adviser
135,000
-
-
-
110,000
135,000
22.7%
Recruitment mgr/Talent acquisition mgr
140,000
152,500
185,000
-
147,500
152,500
3.3%
HOT
Recruitment adviser
75,000
115,000
100,000
-
100,000
100,000
n.a.
Workforce planner
110,000
175,000
-
-
142,500
142,500
n.a.
Change manager
200,000
185,000
212,500
168,000
200,000
192,500
3.7%
L&D instructional designer
150,000
115,000
140,000
-
130,000
140,000
7.6%
Organisational development manager
165,000
155,000
205,000
118,000
155,000
160,000
3.3%
Organisational development advisor
110,000
105,000
130,000
-
110,000
110,000
n.a.
Director of remuneration and benefits
200,000
-
215,000
-
207,500
207,500
n.a.
Remuneration and benefits manager
150,000
180,000
-
98,000
165,000
150,000
9%
Remuneration and benefits adviser
100,000
110,000
135,000
78,000
111,250
105,000
5.6%
HRIS adviser
90,000
-
100,000
93,000
100,000
93,000
7%
WHS director
170,000
-
220,000
-
197,500
195,000
1.2%
Health and wellbeing manager
120,000
-
-
-
120,000
120,000
n.a.
WHS manager
130,000
155,000
165,000
123,000
162,500
142,500
12.3%
WHS adviser
100,000
105,000
107,500
85,000
n.a.
102,500
n.a.
WHS coordinator
85,000
-
-
60,000
n.a.
72,500
n.a.
Injury/RTW manager
130,000
-
125,000
-
127,500
127,500
n.a.
Injury/RTW adviser
90,000
-
-
-
n.a.
90,000
n.a.
RTW coordinator
80,000
-
-
-
n.a.
80,000
n.a.
Hays: Figures are the median from a low and upper range (eg $160–$170k); all figures are Sydney-based for companies with >1,000 employees; all salaries exclude superannuation. Robert Walters: Figures are for NSW permanent roles, taken from the median of a lower and upper range; figures are basic salaries inclusive of superannuation but exclusive of benefits/bonuses unless otherwise specified. Frazer Jones: Figures are inclusive of superannuation and exclusive of incentives and other benefits. Figures are for ‘large’ organisations, based on 17/18 APAC Salary Guide Michael Page: Salary ranges average from a lower and upper range, spanning permanent and temporary roles. While we have taken great care, these salary ranges can only be approximate guides as there are often specific circumstances related to individual companies. Contact your recruitment agency for additional information.
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FEATURES
HR SALARY AND JOB GUIDE
continuous learning within the workplace and it’s easy to see why it’s enjoyed such broad adoption.
Other trends Oldman points to HR contracting as a growing area, in part due to multiple large HR implementations such as new HRIS platforms, change management and recruitment projects. “Candidates also enjoy the flexibility and gain valuable experience in a short space of time,” says Oldman. “Additionally, clients can take their time to find the right permanent candidate while using an interim solution.” Flexible working arrangements have also grown in popularity, with many candidates looking to work from home at least one day a week. Part-time options are becoming more common to attract candidates, particularly in remote areas. There’s also a desire for a clear progression path. “Therefore, standalone HR roles can be very tricky to attract candidates,” says Oldman. He also notes that bonuses are being used to attract top talent. “The majority of HR roles don’t have a bonus component – however, this is beneficial to increase performance and create loyalty,” says Oldman. “Bonus components
IS IT YOUR POLICY TO COUNTER-OFFER STAFF WHEN THEY RESIGN?
No
Sometimes
Yes
64
56% 43% 1%
have started to be implemented into roles above a $130,000 base, usually around the 10% mark.” Morris believes HR professionals should also keep an eye on the increased activity in the mining sector in the year to come. “It will impact Western Australia, since candidates who left the state following the mining downturn are yet to return,” says Morris. “As a result, the supply of suitably skilled and experienced candidates fails to meet demand. This is adding to salary pressure, with significant increases already seen in some cases.”
Pushing for better pay Discussion around remuneration naturally leads to discussion about the potential for pay increases. Wages aren’t as stagnant as they have been in previous years, but there has been a shift in the roles that are attracting top dollars. According to the FY 2019/20 Hays Salary Guide, more HR professionals will receive a pay rise this year than last, but it will be a less significant increase than they may hope for. Ninety per cent of employers say they will increase their staff salaries in their next review – up from 87% who did in their last
OF THOSE YOU COUNTER-OFFERED, ON AVERAGE, DID THEY...
44%
31%
21%
4%
Leave anyway?
Stay longer than 12 months?
Stay 3–12 months?
Stay less than 3 months?
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DOES YOUR ORGANISATION HAVE A DIVERSITY POLICY FOR HIRING NEW STAFF?
IF YES, DO YOU THINK THE PEOPLE WHO HIRE IN YOUR ORGANISATION GENERALLY ADHERE TO THE POLICY?
13%
20% 57%
30%
Yes
No
I don’t know
review. However, the value of these pay increases will fall. Almost two thirds of employers (65%) intend to raise salaries at the lower level of 3% or less, up from 57% who did so in their last review. At the other end of the scale, just 4% of employers, down from 9%, intend to grant pay increases of more than 6%. So how likely does getting a pay rise look in the next year? It’s certainly possible, but HR leaders will need to be able to make their case effectively. Keeping a record of the way your actions have been tied to the success of specific initiatives within the workplace can play a valuable role in securing a sought-after raise. “It’s important to be able to present specific and quantifiable evidence to your CEO to prove the additional value you’re now adding to the organisation since your salary was last reviewed,” says Morris. “With organisations keeping their salary increase budgets tight, you need to provide strong evidence to justify a pay rise, so focus on outcomes.” Knowing your worth is a key factor, says
7% 73%
Yes
No
I don’t know
Sexton. One way to do this is to keep up to date with what’s happening in the market. “Research your market value using remuneration data, salary surveys and industry comparisons,” she says. “Evaluate your performance and be able to articulate clear examples of the results you have achieved, especially if you have gone above and beyond the goals or objectives you were set.” One of the most powerful advantages HR professionals have is the fact that, while the world of business will continue to evolve, there are core functions HR will always need to be able to provide. “In the fast-changing business world, many organisations are on a journey of transformation, and HR professionals need to demonstrate tangible examples of effectively supporting the business through change, embrace ambiguity and consult with internal customers to build and develop leading organisations,” says Sexton. All graphs are taken from the Hays FY2019/20 Salary Guide.
GENERAL HIRING TRENDS 90% of employers will increase their employees’ salaries in their next review; however, the value of those increases will fall, with 65% offering increases of 3% or less 57% of employees say that a pay rise is their most important priority in the year ahead 70% of employers think that skill shortages will affect the effectiveness of their business or department, up from 67% last year 40% of employees plan to look for a new job this year, with 41% citing uncompetitive salaries as a driver of their job searches 56% of employees say they sometimes counter-offer staff when they resign – slightly down from 59% last year However, 44% left anyway and 21% stayed but left within 12 months. Only 31% stayed more than 12 months Flexible work practices are the most important benefit for 76% of employees, with 83% of employers offering them. Companies not offering these arrangements are now in the minority and need to consider the effect this may have on attracting new staff
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FEATURES
WORKPLACE CULTURE
Building new workplace norms Delivering a first-class customer experience begins with providing your employees with a first-class workplace experience. HRD talks to Michael Mai, founder and CEO of MAI Group, about what the organisation has been doing to develop a strong workplace culture
CREATING A successful workplace culture should ideally be the foundation of any business that expects to enjoy a long lifespan in the marketplace. Yet many businesses take the opposite approach, aiming to build success first – whatever that may look like – and company culture later. It’s a misguided approach, one that doesn’t account for the fact that company success is closely tied to company culture. But for Michael Mai, founder and CEO of MAI Group, the approach to developing a positive workplace culture has been integral since day one. With chief culture officer Samantha Pearce at his side, the two work to make MAI Group an environment in which every worker can thrive. The involvement of the HR team has been critical too.
HR support for strategic goals Hiring the right people, Mai and Pearce stress, is crucial to allowing the business to achieve its goals and continue to grow. MAI Group has one HR staff member per 10 employees – an indication of how seriously the company takes its commitment to providing a positive work environment. They work with employees to
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develop their career paths and life goals. “We do this to highlight how important people are,” says Pearce. “We want to implement a positive culture and always be there with an open door so that employees can feel supported.” HR also has a key role to play in supporting MAI’s employees who may have outgrown their roles in the company and are looking
business itself to a new position.” Pearce points to a specific example from last year, when one of the accounting team decided that he was seeking to move in a new direction. “We discovered his passion had changed after seeing our development managers in action,” says Pearce. “We supported him with a career change and an opportunity over three months to show how much he wanted the
“The more we give staff, the more they give back. With our ability to be agile and inclusive, everyone wins” Michael Mai, founder and CEO, MAI Group for new challenges. With so many HR staff in play, opportunities and challenges alike can be spotted easily. “One of the key things is to look at their passions, both inside and outside of work,” says Pearce. “We’re very invested in what makes our staff happy both personally and professionally, and there may even be an opportunity for them to move within the
chance of an assistant development manager role in the business.” Ultimately, his passion shone through and he was offered a permanent role after the usual three months’ probation. In June, he was presented with the MAI Group’s Annual Passion Award. It’s just one example of the wider way that the business seeks to match people’s passions to their workplace roles.
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FEATURES
WORKPLACE CULTURE FOUR KEY VALUES Samantha Pearce, chief culture officer at MAI Group, places emphasis on the organisation’s four key values – Innovation, Collaboration, Passion and Consideration. It’s a process that’s more than simple lip service; all these values must flow through the day-to-day actions of the office. “Everything we do relates back to our values,” says Pearce. “They form the foundation for our performance reviews, rewards and recognition, training, recruitment, vision, goal setting and annual awards. We are firm believers in exercising our values on a daily basis, and hire people who we believe can also live by these values.” Samantha Pearce (left) with Emma Lindell and Michael Mai
Finding the X factor Samantha Pearce emphasises that it’s what makes employees different from other staff – rather than similar to the status quo – that is sought after. “Before we recruit a new team member, we look at the manager, their existing skill set and those of the surrounding team,” says Pearce. “Once we’ve done this, we look at complementary skills that prospective employees might have; we don’t want to have a homogenous organisation.” Pearce uses filters, asking numerous questions to ultimately lead to the desired outcome of getting to know the person and seeing if they are aligned with the business. “These questions can seem endless, but they’re probing,” says Pearce. “We want to find each candidate’s X factor – their unique qualities that they can bring to the organisation.” Mai points to his management team as an example. “At the moment, there are seven of us,” he says. “All of us have different backgrounds and degrees – property, construction, conveyancing and superannuation are just some of the ones that spring to mind.” But the unifying force between these disparate backgrounds, Pearce says, is the passion everyone has for property.
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“We want to create an environment where people can be champions,” she says.
The ‘Donna Model’ Mai echoes Pearce’s sentiments, noting that he doesn’t look for specific talents per se – rather, he wants employees who know who they are and what they want. It’s an approach born out of a curious hybrid of both his own business experience and inspiration from the TV show Suits. He expounds the benefits of what the company refers to as the ‘Donna Model’. “Before starting MAI Group, I had previous EAs that didn’t work out,” Mai explains. “A lot of that was because I didn’t really know who I was, or what I wanted.” Suits, Mai says, provided him with a number of key insights into himself and what he wanted out of both his workplace and life, as well as how a good EA operated. “I didn’t know if it was realistic or not,” he says. “I had no idea if that’s what corporate EAs could really be like, but I knew it’s what I wanted – and that helped me develop clearer goals.” Perhaps the most direct inspiration came from the character of Donna, who serves as an EA within the show’s universe. “She was an amazing character, who would assist the directors and pre-empt tasks to make their lives easier,” says Mai. “I knew
that I had to find my own ‘Donna’, and things would flow from there.” Reaching out to Michael Page Recruitment to help fill this position, the resulting premeetings were far from traditional. Mai says he asked two things: 1. Have you watched the TV show Suits? 2. Can you find me a ‘Donna’? “Michael Page was so intrigued with this unusual way of recruiting that they tasked their MD, David George, to oversee the process,” says Mai. “It was a fun process; recruiters can be dull, so it was great to find someone who was so attuned and committed to what we wanted.” “When going to meet Michael Mai I didn’t know what to expect,” says David George, managing director of PageGroup. “The initial meeting was booked in to discuss how Michael Page could partner with MAI Group and assist with a recruitment assignment. It sounded like a traditional recruitment pitch.” This impression quickly shifted, though. “The moment Michael walked into the room I realised it was anything but a standard recruitment pitch,” says George. “The traditional questions and job brief training quickly went out the window and the meeting was about asking the right questions to truly understand Michael and the type of person who would embrace his energy
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and passion in business and life.” After much searching, the Michael Page team suggested Emma Lindell. Since taking on the position, she has proven herself to be an invaluable member of the team. “Working in recruitment I pride myself on being a world-class connector of people and having the opportunity to change people’s lives. Connecting Emma with Michael at MAI Group is exactly why I do this job,” says George. “This was not a recruitment assignment focused on matching a job description to a CV; this was all about connecting two phenomenal like-minded characters who can achieve more together than they can alone.” It’s a model that has expanded beyond MAI as well; since recruiting Lindell, several other
In practical terms this translates into a variety of workplace perks, including longer leave periods, healthy lunch initiatives, milestone gifts, career counselling, work-fromhome arrangements, employee recognition, and more. Mai also puts great emphasis on the value of inter-office camaraderie. “Obviously, if you like your co-workers you’re going to enjoy your time at work more,” says Mai. “So we do a lot to encourage friendships among staff, and we make sure that people are given the opportunity to socialise.” It’s an approach that the organisation also tries to extend beyond the office. There’s an acknowledgement of the diverse structure of modern families, and that is kept in mind when giving employee rewards.
“We look at complementary skills that prospective employees might have; we don’t want to have a homogenous organisation” Samantha Pearce, chief culture officer, MAI Group companies have reached out to MAI Group to try to replicate the results. “City Tattersalls has been one of them,” says Pearce. “Their CEO wanted to use the ‘Donna Model’ after seeing how this role supported Michael in achieving his daily goals.”
Work-life integration Though conversation tends to revolve around work-life balance in the modern workplace, Mai and Pearce take a bigger-picture view – work-life integration is their goal. The two categories have too often been split into separate arenas, says Pearce, and that’s frequently what’s contributed to employee dissatisfaction in the wider employment sphere. “Your job isn’t really ‘work’, split off separately from the rest of your life,” Pearce says. “It’s actually part of your life. Accordingly, we’d like to make the distinction between the two more seamless, so that you enjoy your life more on the whole.”
“If you have a partner, you might receive a romantic dinner,” says Pearce. “But if you’re single, we might provide a life experience reward instead.” Family days are held regularly so that other family members can feel integrated into the wider family of the organisation. Additionally, Mai places great importance on every family member having access to the management team to encourage greater communication. “Being at the workplace takes up a lot of a person’s time, and we want to make sure that it’s not negatively affecting their home life. “The more we give staff, the more they give back,” says Mai. “With our ability to be agile and inclusive, everyone wins.”
Looking ahead Of course, workplace culture isn’t just about planning for the present; it’s about preparing for the future too. For MAI Group, that means increased growth, while still retaining the
MAI FOUNDATION AND PARTNERS IN CHARITY MAI Foundation is a venture philanthropic foundation committed to supporting the empowerment of young people through investments in social enterprise. Utilising extensive experience in partnerships and joint ventures, MAI Foundation is contributing to the development and expansion of the social enterprise ecosystem in Australia through support for innovative programs for young people. MAI Foundation is the corporate charitable partner of ICD Property, a specialist property development firm based in Melbourne, and MAI Capital, a venture capital firm with a vision to encourage entrepreneurship in Australia. Recognition of ICD Property At the time of printing, ICD Property has been selected as an Employer of Choice in the Australian Business Awards 2019. The Australian Business Award for Employer of Choice recognises organisations that have developed leading workplaces that maximise the full potential of their workforces through practices that demonstrate effective employee recruitment, engagement and retention. Employers of Choice are required to demonstrate their achievements across organisational culture and leadership; employee education, training and development; employee health, safety and satisfaction; performance management; and recognition and remuneration.
familiarity and intimacy of its current culture. Mai sees no contradiction between rapid expansion and culture retention. “Fast growth creates an environment which enables everyone to grow and help each other in a non-competitive and supportive way,” says Mai. “We want everyone to be successful but not directly compete with each other – we can all be successful, and we are all good at different things.” And for any aspiring CEOs or HR specialists in the making, Mai has one last piece of advice. “Follow what you are most passionate about in life – what gets you up in the morning,” he says. “Don’t give up looking for it until you find it, because there is a job out there for everyone.”
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Human Resources Director (HRD) is Australia’s only magazine written exclusively for CHROs, HR Directors and senior decision-makers.
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PEOPLE
CAREER PATH
THE TEAM BUILDER
For Stryker’s HR director, Erin Cramlet, her biggest learning has been about the power of building teams and a legacy A foundational experience for young Erin Cramlet occurs when as a 12-year-old she takes on a babysitting job caring for four boys and later tells her mum about watching TV after the kids went to bed. “My mum said, ‘You need to do anything you can to make the mum’s life easier: fold laundry, do the dishes – you need to go that extra mile.’ And that teaching stuck with me; I took it with me into university and working.”
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GOES THE EXTRA MILE
2004
MOVES OUT COMFORT ZONE After two years at Stryker, Cramlet is charged with building the HR department of a new acquisition in Canada, based in rural Quebec. “It was a small manufacturer in a village of 200 people, and I didn’t know any French. I was completely out of my depth; I realised I couldn’t do it all myself. I had to find a way to win – and it built my confidence knowing that I could get through.”
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HEADS DOWN UNDER Cramlet and her new husband are looking for adventure and the chance to step beyond the borders of the US when an opportunity arises in the Sydney office of Stryker. “Over the time I’ve been here the business has seen tremendous growth; the biggest learning has been about how to build a team and a legacy. We thought we would be here for two or three years, but we fell in love with the culture. and we’re still here.”
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SPREADS WINGS ACROSS THE REGION Cramlet takes on additional responsibility for medical HR as Stryker’s senior director of HR for the South Pacific. As part of her role she works with the franchise she started with. “It feels like I have come full circle from where I began. Some products we helped develop [in the early days of my career] are now launching their fifth generation. Asia-Pacific has been fantastic – I’m fascinated by the differences and synergies of the cultures across the region. I feel like I learn something new every day!”
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MENTORS TEENS At university Cramlet starts the local chapter of an organisation mentoring high school students. “I spent half of my university life in high schools mentoring teenagers. We grew from three kids to 120 kids – the experience instilled in me the power of building teams and the love of leaving a legacy. When I interviewed for Stryker, I was asked if I wanted to do marketing or HR – I was drawn by the legacy and impact I could make in HR.”
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STEPS INTO MARKETING Cramlet returns to her roots when she is appointed marketing product manager at Stryker.
“The marketing role made me a better HR person; I realised you have to be a business leader first” 2011
LEARNS FROM MOTHERHOOD For Cramlet, the experience of becoming a mother involves developing skills in prioritising. “I had to be really comfortable with my career decisions. I had a great mentor who told me that “it’s a marathon, not a sprint”. I’ve watched people who haven’t balanced the two parts of their lives, and I wanted to feel successful as a mum. If family doesn’t work, then nothing else is going to.”
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PEOPLE
OTHER LIFE
TELL US ABOUT YOUR OTHER LIFE Email hrdeditor@keymedia.com
Last su mmer marked a new opportu nity for Pallavi Jain when she was offered a two-hour morning drive-time radio slot. “The excite ment of that ma ny people listening to me was the best experience of my life.”
INSPIRED BY STORIES
HR professional Pallavi Jain puts her listening skills to good use as a radio presenter
RADIO WAS part of family life for Pallavi Jain growing up in India. In fact the HR professional fondly recalls her family tradition of gathering to listen to inspiring stories. So when Jain was offered an on-air slot on Radio Regent in Toronto in 2017, she says it felt like a dream come true. The title of her show – Stories with Pal – was selected not just because of her nickname but as an indication of the friendly nature of her approach; the live show features Jain interviewing such local luminaries as city councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam and the CEO of Toronto’s Yonge Street Mission. “Every single person has their own story; they just need someone to listen. There’s a hunger to be heard; I want to bring those stories to the world,” Jain says. “It’s my journey of self-improvement. I have interviewed inspiring and accomplished people on my show; I always learn something.”
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2 weeks
5 hours
600,000
Time it took Jain to learn to work the radio board
Production time for one hour of Jain’s radio show
Number of people tuned in to Jain’s radio station
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