Author: HRwisdom (Page 9 of 11)

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Worrying Workplace Law Statistics Affecting Australian Employers

December 4, 2012 / HRwisdom

Today’s HRwisdom Blog post contains some very concerning workplace law statistics for any Australian business.

We also share advice on how to prevent these problems from happening to you.

The President of Fair Work Australia (FWA) is required by the Fair Work Act to provide regular updates to the Minister for Workplace Relations.

Worplace Law Report

The latest quarterly report covers July 2012 to September 2012 and, even though it was only a short time period, there are some concerning things to note.

Unfair Dismissal Concerns Affecting All Australian Employers

Has employing people become any less risky?

There were 3521 claims for unfair dismissal under s.394. Click to tweet this statistic.
On average, the unfair dismissal process took 162 days to resolve. Click to tweet this statistic.
Furthermore, there were 545 separate applications that related to small business employers.

How many claims were dismissed because the dismissal was a case of genuine redundancy? Three.

How many claims were dismissed because the dismissal was consistent with the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code? One.

How many unfair dismissal cases were settled without a decision being made? 3307.

Much as we hate it, the majority of employers know that unfair dismissal claims are usually settled ‘on the steps’ before it goes to court – even if the employee was terrible and the business did the right thing and followed due process. Unfortunately, it is purely a commercial decision,

That’s one big reason why you need to already know and trust good employment lawyers before something goes wrong.

Industrial Action (Strikes)

In the area of Protected Action and Industrial Action, there were 476 applications for protected ballot orders and 31 applications to get the protected industrial action period extended.

Union Right of Entry Into The Workplace

In the area of Union Right of Entry into the workplace, there were 489 applications for right of entry permits and 498 were actually issued.

Flexible Working Arrangements Disputes

On six occasions, Fair Work Australia was asked to deal with disputes between an employer and the organisation regarding the use of flexible working arrangements.

Enterprise Agreements

There were 2108 applications for the approval of enterprise agreements.

However, there were 93 applications for FWA to deal with bargaining disputes made under section 240.
In the area of General Protections – Compliance, there were 543 applications for FWA to deal with disputes made under section 365.
There were also 134 applications for FWA to deal with disputes made under section372.

Confused?

It’s a good reason to work out a game plan before these sorts of issues arise.

We recommend being proactive and making contact with good employment lawyers early.

By being proactive and having your legal advisors in place before anything goes wrong, you can often significantly reduce your risks.

By being proactive, you can quickly audit your current position on workplace law compliance.

You can then identify clear strategies and action plans to fill any gaps.

Workplace Law Recommendations

You can see our legal advice recommendations here:

Workplace Law Video

HRwisdom

How To Avoid The Nasty Side Of Employee Relations

November 30, 2012 / HRwisdom

Most people have seen the nasty side of employee relations gone wrong at work.

Examples include:

Being caught out by government inspectors for using an incorrect pay formula after misinterpreting an industrial pay award or agreement.
Underperforming staff members claiming “harassment” or “bullying” by their manager or supervisor who has been clumsy in their attempts to apply the company’s performance management policy.
Employees leaving the company and then poaching key staff.
Facing backpay claims by not being clear enough on the Employee vs Contractor issue.
Not having solid employment contracts in place.
Botching staff terminations and redundancies (creating a terrible working atmosphere for those who remain).
Not knowing how to handle unions in the workplace.
Discrimination claims made and eventually costing the business time and money.
Strikes or threatened industrial action poisoning a previously positive workplace relationship with the employees.

What Proactive Organisations Do

To save themselves the headache, proactive organisations tend to tick the following four items off the To Do list as soon as possible:

Have all employment law documentation (including HR policies, procedures, letters and forms) in place.
Train all staff in the existence and the proper use of these human resources documents.
Provide good employee relations training to all supervisors and managers.
Have independent legal advice assess the documentation, processes, training before, not after, things go wrong.

Smart businesses add a 5th item to their list . .

The 5th item is to keep up to date with good workplace legal advisors so the business is ready for any problem that may arise.

Download Free HR & Staff Management Documents

You can download free staff management documents and details of legal advisors on a regional basis here:

Click here: Employment law advice

HRwisdom

How To Motivate Staff | The Key Elements

November 29, 2012 / HRwisdom

How To Motivate Staff – The Key Elements

The question of how to motivate staff is very important and is one we like to help answer here at HRwisdom.

Today we are sharing a very useful presentation sent to us on the key elements of staff motivation.

We think you’ll enjoy the presentation (slides only, no sound) as it reveals some very interesting results from studies conducted on employee motivation in very different work situations.

Furthermore, the slides reference some interesting information from a Return On Investment study conducted in Australia which looked at the fine balance between cash rewards and other methods of motivating your staff.

[box size=”medium” border=”full”]You may also wish to take a look at our previous HRwisdom Blog update where we shared an example of excellence in the field of employee attraction and retention. In particular, we shared one small example of excellent leadership which ticked all the boxes: 1) Make people want to join the business. 2) Make people want to stay in the business. 3) Inspire people to give their all for the business. 4) And most impressively, impresses potential clients of the business.[/box]

Of course, we always recommend having a browse through the HRwisdom Blog for more great information and ideas on employee motivation, employee engagement and similar issues (and make sure you’re part of the free HRwisdom Community via the sign-in form on the right-hand side of this page).

But, in the meantime, take a look at this presentation and have a think about how it applies in your organisation:

Motivating And Engaging Your Employees: The Comprehensive Approach For Success from clarkee1974

HRwisdom

Good Interview Question 7

Q7. Tell us about a time you had to break a safety rule. What were the circumstances and consequences and what would you do differently next time?

On first reading, you might think that this question is designed to trap candidates but it isn’t.

Preferred Interview Answer – What You Want To Hear

You don’t really need to write down answers that are incriminating or anything like that.

What you’re really trying to do is find out if they have a sense of what safety is all about and if they come in to a situation where a rule needs to have been broken, then what did they do about it?

Did they go back to their safety committee or their supervisor and bring about changes in the way that the work was being done?

That’s what you’re listening for.

This is an internal attitude to safety and a bias towards trying to improve systems so that they’re safe for other people.

Want More Good Interview Questions Right Now?

Stay tuned for the next question in our Top 10 Interview Questions With Answers series.

Can’t wait to see the rest of the questions and answers?
Like to know Robert’s thinking behind these questions and how they fit into the overall interview process?

You can download the full document via our HRwisdom Facebook page right now.

Just sign-in or join using the Free HR Resources tab – it’s free and available now at: www.Facebook.com/HRwisdom

By the way, we’d love it if you Like, Share or Tweet this blog post.

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HR Advice, Employment Law Discussion, Staff Management Tips and Information

Good Interview Question 6

Q6. Have you ever lost your job and, if so, what did you learn from that experience?

When you ask people about how they lost their job, listen carefully for the answers.

A simple answer of I was made redundant, perhaps with a shrug of the shoulders doesn’t really tell you much about the person at all. But some people will say, “I was made redundant because they were competing products and we just couldn’t cope as a business” or “We lost a few big orders” something like that. At least that reveals to you that they understand the reasons behind their retrenchment and of course at the other end of the scale, you might have someone who is really bitter about the company sacking them and they will start to give their answer through gritted teeth.

Now, you need to be careful to other people who are holding a grudge for a long time. I’m not saying that that’s necessarily bad. I mean people get affected by emotions and they can have a very big impact on their lives. However, the candidate who picks themselves up quickly and says, “Well I know what happened and why it happened and I’m getting on with my life.” That’s the sort of candidate that will make the better employee for you..

Want More Good Interview Questions Right Now?

Stay tuned for the next question in our Top 10 Interview Questions With Answers series.

Can’t wait to see the rest of the questions and answers?
Like to know Robert’s thinking behind these questions and how they fit into the overall interview process?

You can download the full document via our HRwisdom Facebook page right now.

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By the way, we’d love it if you Like, Share or Tweet this blog post.

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HR Advice, Employment Law Discussion, Staff Management Tips and Information

Employee Attraction and Retention | An Example of Excellence

November 22, 2012 / HRwisdom

When people talk of corporate values and culture, most us think of that age-old cliché: ‘Our People Are Our Greatest Asset.‘

Today, however, we are sharing an example of excellence in the field of employee attraction and retention.

In particular, we are sharing one small example of excellent leadership which ticks all the boxes:

Make people want to join the business.
Make people want to stay in the business.
Inspire people to give their all for the business.
And most impressively, impresses potential clients of the business.

In its own words, “The Physio Co exists for a very simple purpose: we love to help oldies stay mobile, safe & happy.”

The Physio Co provides physiotherapy services for the aged care industry and has been listed as one of Australia’s 50 ‘Best Companies to Work’ and featured in BRW magazine for half their business life.

As an overall description, their opening line of their value statement says the right things:

We are a values-driven organisation – our values are what set us apart from others and provide guidance for making decisions every day. The Physio Co will achieve our goals by consistently living by our values. Any decision, problem or issue will be answered by referring to our values.

You can read the whole value statement here and you’ll see how they’ve put a whole new twist to the boring old mission statements espoused by so many corporate videos.

However, what has impressed us at HRwisdom has been their development of use of a powerful device they call the Physio Co Culture Book.

The Culture Book is a beautifully-presented guide to what it means to work at the Physio Co and, more importantly, how it benefits their clients. It is also a powerful employment branding tool which you should take a look at now if you are looking for some fresh ideas.

You can download the book here: Physio Co Culture Book.

If you are impressed with the this employee attraction and retention book, why not share it? Use the sharing options below.

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New Free HR Templates Added To HRwisdom

November 21, 2012 / HRwisdom

New Free HR Templates Added To HRwisdom

HRwisdom has updated its resources and added more free HR templates and resources.

The documents are stored in State/Territory sections.

The free HR templates and resources come from a variety of sources including HR experts and government departments.

The free HR templates and management resources include:

Employee Attraction & Retention Guide
Employee Warning Letters
Unfair Dismissal Guide
Recruitment & Selection Guides
Employee Probation Letters
Employment Contract & Employment Letters
Employee Dismissal Letters
Redundancy Information & Documentation
Information on Discrimination, Bullying & Harassment
Parental Leave Information & Documents
How To Make An Enterprise Agreement
Flexible Work Information & Documents
Unions & Industrial Action Information
Best Interview Questions & Answers
Managing Generation Y Guide
And much more . . .

Get started now by using the login form on the right-hand side →
[hr]

Get Your Free HR Templates & Reports

Here are some examples of some of the additional free HRwisdom HR resources:

Employee Attraction & Retention Guide
15 Ways To Manage Staff In Uncertain Times
Sample HR Letters To Employees
How To Find & Keep Good Employees
Employee Contract of Employment Templates
How To Manage Redundancies Without Destroying All Employee Goodwill
The Changing Labour Market
Train The Trainer Course Guide

Already a free member? Login here.

Good Interview Question 4

Q4. We all make mistakes. Tell us about a time when you made a mistake – what did you do about it and what did you learn from that?

Asking people about mistakes they made is very good to tease out people who are resilient and interested in continually improving things.

It’s pretty true to say that everyone makes mistakes, but the person who makes mistakes and covers it up or won’t admit it or keeps making the same mistakes over and over really isn’t the sort of person that you want in your business.

Preferred Interview Answer – What You Want To Hear

In this one, we are asking them to tell us about a mistake that they made and, in particular, we want to find out how they recognize that they made a mistake and what they did to learn from that so that it wouldn’t happen again.

If they give you an example from their home life, that’s okay.

A work example would be better.

Sometimes I call this future proofing so the person that has the attitude that “it’s okay if I stop that once, it’s okay because I’m going to fool-proof the system so that it never happens again. Someone like that is the sort of person you want.

I don’t think you’ll ever find a candidate who will say “Well, I never make mistakes,” but it’s possible they might claim it.

Want More Good Interview Questions Right Now?

Stay tuned for the next question in our Top 10 Interview Questions With Answers series.

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Like to know Robert’s thinking behind these questions and how they fit into the overall interview process?

You can download the full document via our HRwisdom Facebook page right now.

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By the way, we’d love it if you Like, Share or Tweet this blog post.

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Good Interview Question 5

Q5. Tell us about some training you’ve done recently.

When you ask the question about training, what you’re trying to find out is the attitude that the person has towards training and improvement in general. I wouldn’t expect that any candidate would ever say to you “We did some training and it was great to have a day away from the work place.” However, some people might say that and if they do tell you that then you can easily see what their attitude is no matter how jovially they might present it.

Preferred Interview Answer – What You Want To Hear

A really good answer that a candidate would give you would be ‘”Yes, we regularly undergo training. The equipment at the work place changed and so we were sent away for four hours of training and it’s really good of the company to make sure that we know exactly how to operate the equipment, the peak of its efficiency.” Something like that so there’s a connection between what the person learned in the business, some sort of a connection.

Then the question that has equal relevance to someone who might have been out of the work force for a period of time. Most of us might think that people out of the work force just sit around with him doing nothing or they might be applying for jobs and things like that. But it’s always good to hear that someone has used their time gainfully even if it’s not necessarily work related.

For instance, I do recall a candidate that I interviewed once who had been out of the work force for six months and he went along to do a homebrewing course. But the way that he went about that was he went around to two or three regional shows in his area where people had submitted homebrew samples and won prizes and he asked the winners how they have learned how to brew and so he gathered data and worked out the best equipment to get and the best course to do. You can imagine that when we employed that guy, he was just fully on about training. You know, ‘Let’s go out there. Let’s learn something. Let’s learn something new. Let’s improve the process.’ So with people like that, you don’t have to force them to go along to training. They expect training to happen all of the time and for all of the right reasons..

Want More Good Interview Questions Right Now?

Stay tuned for the next question in our Top 10 Interview Questions With Answers series.

Can’t wait to see the rest of the questions and answers?
Like to know Robert’s thinking behind these questions and how they fit into the overall interview process?

You can download the full document via our HRwisdom Facebook page right now.

Just sign-in or join using the Free HR Resources tab – it’s free and available now at: www.Facebook.com/HRwisdom

By the way, we’d love it if you Like, Share or Tweet this blog post.

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HR Advice, Employment Law Discussion, Staff Management Tips and Information

Download Your Employee Retention Masterclass Workbook Now

November 14, 2012 / HRwisdom

Regardless of whether an economy is in trouble or if times are booming, every organisation benefits when they can retain their best people and have them motivated to perform at their usual high standards.

Proactive organisations realise that if they can continue to give great service outcomes whilst their competitors flounder with people-related issues then they will be more attractive to customers and clients and to the market at large.

Organisations that don’t plan for employee retention should be prepared to manage excessive employee absenteeism, poor quality, attitude problems, key staff walking out at crucial moments, low morale, bad customer service, workplace injuries, cost blowouts and more.

The Employee Retention Masterclass is an excellent resource for any business.

The Masterclass comes to you from guest HRwisdom contributor and internationally best-selling author, Les McKeown.

Not only has Les consulted to fortune 500 companies around the world, he has successfully started and grown dozens of companies in his own right, so Les knows what he is talking about.

In this comprehensive report, you will discover:

Powerful new approaches to attracting the right types of people to your business.
The key to developing your employer brand.
How to manage, develop and retain the right type of people for your organisation.

Download the free Employee Retention Masterclass Workbook:

Click here: Employee Retention Masterclass

HRwisdom

Author: HRwisdom (Page 9 of 11)

Worrying Workplace Law Statistics Affecting Australian Employers

Worplace Law Report

Unfair Dismissal Concerns Affecting All Australian Employers

Industrial Action (Strikes)

Union Right of Entry Into The Workplace

Flexible Working Arrangements Disputes

Enterprise Agreements

Confused?

Workplace Law Recommendations

Workplace Law Video

How To Motivate Staff | The Key Elements

How To Motivate Staff – The Key Elements

Top 10 Interview Questions With Answers – Q7

Good Interview Question 7

Preferred Interview Answer – What You Want To Hear

Want More Good Interview Questions Right Now?

Top 10 Interview Questions With Answers – Q6

Good Interview Question 6

Want More Good Interview Questions Right Now?

Employee Attraction and Retention | An Example of Excellence

Top 10 Interview Questions With Answers – Q4

Good Interview Question 4

Preferred Interview Answer – What You Want To Hear

Want More Good Interview Questions Right Now?

Top 10 Interview Questions With Answers – Q5

Good Interview Question 5

Preferred Interview Answer – What You Want To Hear

Want More Good Interview Questions Right Now?

Download Your Employee Retention Masterclass Workbook Now