February 2009 Edition the HR HUB New Year

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Importance of Managing Career Change || Top Tips to Help Your New Employee Succeed

Tasmanian Labour Market Update || Industrial Relations - Keeping You Up to Date

Importance of Managing Career Change

Whether the catalyst is the down-turn in the economy, or new business strategies to create continuous improvement, to ensure changes are implemented successfully in today’s uncertain business climate it is critical to engage employees in the change process.

“When the last of the debris of this economic catastrophe finally comes crashing down, managers will be left to pick up the pieces. Their immediate challenge will be to face the crisis of confidence and breach of trust that will be felt by employees”. Leo D’Angelo Fisher, BRW October 23-29, 2008.

Although D’Angelo Fisher is specifically commenting on the economic hardship, his statement is true for any period of change.

To achieve a successful career transition individuals need to operate from a platform of discovery, hope, self-confidence, purpose and perspective.

When people come out of an organisation, we know that they experience all the normal feelings of loss – there is a sense of loss of direction and orientation, of the protection afforded by former status and organisational structure, as well loss of the predictability and comfort of “the way we do things round here”.

The technical work in change management is necessary, but it is not sufficient. It is the adaptive work that is the determinant of a successful transition. An environment must be created that enables the individual to carry out the adaptive work he/she needs to do, at the very time when work avoidance can be likely.

Embracing a change process can have significant benefits:

To your clients:

Protects the brand and reputation of your business
Retains and protects existing and new business relationships

To your business and employees:

Maintain levels of productivity, morale and motivation with employees during and after the change period
Mitigates retention issues
Reduces the risk of sabotage to product and personal injury
Minimises potential industrial issues
In the event of retrenchment, ensures a dignified and appropriate separation for the individual

To managers:

Minimises stress
Provides support and training to help them deliver difficult messages

An effective change approach includes scoping, collaborative tailoring of services and processes, and an integrated approach to change and restructuring activity.

The key benefits of this approach include:

Proactive identification and early engagement of all stakeholders in the work they need to do. Roles are determined at the outset, as are the responsibilities and expectations of all those who may be impacted
Tracking and monitoring are built into the process enabling us to jointly identify and address issues as they arise
A successful transition means individuals are equipped for ongoing career management. We ensure they have new direction, re-framed protection, new orientation, and new challenges. Most importantly, we will equip them with career resilience which will enable them to cope in the face of any future career setbacks

There are a number of support and education tactics you can use to help employees adjust to a changed environment. These tactics benefit your business in the long run and include:

An Organisational Change and Review Policy states transparently how you will manage change. This can alleviate anxiety and demonstrates to employees how committed the business is to manage change well, with fairness and ethics
Employee Needs Analysis determines the requirements to help select individuals for transfer or redundancy
Career Focus and Professional Development Workshops can assist employees adjust to the change, build career resilience, and constructively plan and action their next steps
Career Transition Programs assist with pre-work and management training, and support the individual needing to be transitioned out of the organisation. The brand of the business is protected and remaining employees maintain motivation
Career Management Programs assist employees on a number of levels such as helping them in career decision (‘do I stay or do I go?’) and helping them align their career with the businesses' objectives

The informed and positive outcomes driven by this approach improve the perceptions of how the change will impact productivity, retention, morale and market reputation - both at the individual and business levels.

Article by Vicki Dodson, Searson Buck Consulting Manager North

For more information on managing career change contact Vicki Dodson or Dianne Underwood on 6223 3055.

Top Tips to Help Your New Employee Succeed

To ensure the success of any new employee, the best thing you can do is support them with an effective induction, orientation and leadership program. Contrary to popular belief, it is not always poor hiring that affects success - in other words, you may have hired the right person but once they started their employment, they did not have what they needed to achieve the desired or expected results.

Below are some tips to help ensure your new employees have what they need to succeed:

Contact your new employee, or invite them for a visit before they start. This is a warm welcome to the new employee as well as cutting back on the time they may need to become comfortable when they officially start
Provide your new employee with an accurate job description and clear expectations to ensure they understand, and accept, what they are expected to do
Ensure the equipment and tools they need to be productive and succeed are available immediately
Introduce your new employee to their colleagues and show them where the employee facilities are located. Giving them time to get to know people and be comfortable in their work space will help them be more productive
A buddy or mentor can guide the new employee through work place processes and politics as well as being there to listen and help, ensuring the new employee can be focused on productivity
Consistent and properly constructed feedback will help your new employee continue doing what they do well, and give them guidance on how to work on areas that can be improved. Try giving feedback in an informal, relaxed environment to ensure the communication is non-threatening and the new employee feels comfortable enough to discuss any concerns and feedback they have
Formal, written performance appraisals/reviews are critical during probation to ensure that there is no misunderstanding about whether progress is below expectations, at expectations or above expectations and to action plan what next steps are required to ensure the success of your new employee
Ensure your new employee is invited to both formal and informal social events. Sometimes informal events are missed because they are impromptu and not necessarily sent to the whole office

For more information on tips to help your new employees succeed contact

Rob Howes or Anna Gledhill on 6223 3055.

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Tasmanian Labour Market Update

Acting Treasurer Lara Giddings today said the latest data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows the Tasmanian labour market remains resilient in the face of the global financial crisis.

Ms Giddings emphasised, however, that Tasmania was not immune from the crisis’ effects.

Tasmania's unemployment rate rose by 0.1 per cent in trend terms to 4.3 per cent in December 2008, but remained below the national rate of 4.4 per cent.

The total number of employed fell by 600 persons in December 2008 but remains at a high level, with 45,000 new jobs created since January 1999.

“In other areas too Tasmania continues to perform well relative to the rest of the nation,” Ms Giddings said.

“Data released yesterday by the ABS was encouraging for Tasmania's housing market.

“There was a noticeable increase in the number of dwellings financed by first home buyers in November 2008, with 238 dwellings financed.

“Tasmanian engineering construction activity was also holding up, with data released yesterday showing that $893.3 million worth of engineering work was done in the year to September 2008.

“And Government projects expected to commence in 2009, such as the Brighton Transport Hub and irrigation works, will provide further stimulus to the economy,” Ms Giddings said.

Source: Tasmanian Government Media Releases Thursday, 15 January 2009
http://www.media.tas.gov.au/release.php?id=25741

For more information on the Tasmanian Labour Market contact Rob Howes or Anna Gledhill on 6223 3055.

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Industrial Relations - Keeping You Up to Date

The Industrial Relations landscape is constantly changing, and with the recent announcement of the Federal Government's Fair Work Bill there are going to be further changes ahead. Searson Buck believes that both the current transition legislation (Forward with Fairness) and the new legislation (Fair Work) will hinder us, and our business partners, in effective Agreement making. It is evident that there has been a shift in flexibility under the No Disadvantage Test; this direction is continued under the proposed Better Off Overall Test (‘BOOT’).

Specifically, we make the following observations:

There is a requirement under section 181(1) of the Fair Work Bill stating that in order to have a vote on a proposed Agreement, the employer may request that the employees employed at the time that are covered by the Agreement approve the Agreement by voting on it. More specifically, given the nature of the casual employment relationship or on-hired employees, these classes of employees may not specifically be employed at the time the vote is taken but may have a level of expectation of being reengaged in the near future.

Further, the Flexible Working Arrangements under the National Employment Standard (NES) provide for the refusal of a request for flexible work arrangements on the basis of reasonable business grounds. We suggest that the NES needs to recognise that employers of on-hired employees are often limited in their capacity to provide such flexible working arrangements due to the nature of the host environment. There needs to be clarification around the relative control, or lack of control, of the employer of labour in these circumstances.

Whilst there is still a number of issues regarding the Fair Work Bill and workplace flexibility that need to be addressed, Searson Buck welcomes the introduction of the Modern Awards in January 2010.

Article by James Graham, Searson Buck Industrial Relations Specialist

If you would like to ensure your business is meeting legislative requirements, or to sign up for our Industrial Relations newsletter, contact James Graham on

6223 3055.

Community, News, and Events

In 2008 Searson Buck's Social Environment and

Community Action (SECA) committee raised

approximately $1,500 to support community and charity

initiatives.

The committee consists of 18 employees state-wide, and is divided into Members and Officers. SECA Members are new to the committee and have chosen to dedicate their own time to help create a culture of environmental and community responsibility. SECA Officers are veterans of the committee who have consistently demonstrated the drive and commitment to go beyond what is required to develop ideas and creative solutions to social, health, community and environmental problems. SECA Members who demonstrate the same commitment will be promoted to SECA Officers in 2010.

This year, Searson Buck will work with local and international charities.

Searson Buck Global Village

The Searson Buck Global Village is a new initiative where monies raised from casual Friday's (staff donate when they wear casual clothes on Friday) will be used to provide livestock or a variety of essential services to families or villages in countries of need. Through a structured, transparent approach we aim to raise $540 by December, which will assist the following countries: Uganda, India, Timor-Leste, Cambodia, Vietnam, Sierra Leone and Sri Lanka.

Zambia Sponsor Child

Staff currently make salary donations to Juana, our Sponsor Child in Zambia.

Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation

Searson Buck's local community focus will continue with salary donations to the Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation.

Victoria Bushfire Appeal

To show our support for the victims of the bushfires Searson Buck donated old clothes to the Salvation Army and raised $202 to support the Victorian Bushfire Underwear Appeal being championed by local parliamentarian Duncan Kerr.

Fridge of Cold Delights

The local focus will depend largely on what our committee members are passionate about. Once ideas are brought to the committee, project groups will be assigned as additional hands to make fundraising activities achievable. SECA raises ongoing funds for these activities by selling cold drinks to staff.

For more information about SECA initiatives contact Searson Buck on

6223 3055.

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Latest Tasmanian Market Trends

Star Candidates

Career Transition and Outplacement

Human Resources

Industrial Relations

Labour Hire

Permanent Recruitment

Temporary Recruitment

Latest Tasmanian Market Trends

November

Employment increased marginally to 240,600
Unemployment rate remained steady at 3.9%
Participation rate remained steady at 62.4%

December

Employment fell marginally to 238,400
Unemployment rate rose to 4.3%
Participation rate fell slightly to 61.9%

Source: Trends (Tasmanian Labour Market Review November and December 2008)

For more information on the latest market trends contact Tony Baker on 6223 3055.

Star Candidates

Our Star Candidates consistently outperform and we like to promote them in every way possible.

We have two Star Candidates in this edition:

Fantastic Personal Assistant/ Admin/ Technical Administration candidate

Recent experience includes working for an oil and gas company in WA. Role involved assisting a team of senior management, senior engineers & engineers by providing a high level of administrative & technical support. Seeking a similar position in Tasmania, our candidate is enthusiastic and highly motivated. Her reference check was exceptional – “an outstanding employee in every way” – and she brings solid administrative skills and a professional attitude to the workplace. This candidate would be a real asset to any team!

Outstanding Accounts/ Bookkeeping/ Payroll candidate

This candidate has over 16 years experience in Payroll, Admin, Accounts and Bookkeeping. She has fantastic attention to detail, excellent time management skills and is highly motivated and a true professional. Working in a variety of busy organisations as a payroll officer/accounts clerk this candidate enjoys the busy nature of her roles and in course has gained extensive experience in the processing of payroll for up to 1600 employees. If you are seeking an experienced Payroll Officer…..this candidate is just what you need!

For more information about our Star Candidates contact Anna Gledhill, Searson Buck Manager Temporary Recruitment on

6223 3055.

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