Australians are a busy lot.

Majority (69%) admit to leading busy professional lives (second only to Americans).

As advances in technology continues unabated, the ‘always on’ lifestyle becomes more and more entrenched in our every day lives. Which, one would thought, would be viewed as a negative development. Surprisingly, a study by Frost & Sullivan found Australians professionals do not mind the 24/7 lifestyle. In fact, tools which rendered them to be always connected are credited for enhancing work-life balance, freedom, time-management and getting things done.  Read more...

The graph below from the latest ABS data highlighted two things:

a) We have come a long way in reducing the pay disparity between men and women. Since Nov 1983, average national weekly earnings almost tripled, increasing from $312.60 to $923.40 in May 2009.

b) We have a long way to go before gender pay equality exists. In May 2009, men earn $1115.80 compared to women who average $733.40.

 Read more...

Stefan Sagmeister closes his New York studio every seven years to take a year long sabbatical.

For a whole year, he pursued other interests that were not possible in a normal working environment. Refreshed and rejuvenated, on his return, Sagmeister found that his job became a calling again, is more enjoyable and financially more rewarding.  Read more...

Do you offer monetary incentives to motivate staff?  Think again.

Dan Pink believes traditional reward practice like increasing pay aren’t always effective in motivating and improving staff performance. He argues that there is a huge mismatch between the science behind motivating people and what companies practice. To illustrate his point Dan quoted two riveting studies:

“In eight of the nine tasks we examined across the three experiments, higher incentives led to worse performance” ( Federal Reserve of Boston, Paper No. 05-11)  Read more...

It is highly likely that one will come across someone with a disability. According to the ABS one in five Australians (3,958,300 or 20% of the population) have a disability of some sort.  

Of course, it is not hard to imagine, those with disability are likely to encounter discrimination at some point in their life or on a daily basis. Unemployment and underemployment are rife amongst the disabled. ABS reported that those with disability had a much lower labour force participation rate (15%) than people without a disability (81%).  Read more...

Compared to other developed economies, the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) has been kinder to Australia.

Nevertheless, it seems the GFC has profoundly affected HR practices and talent management in organisations across Australia. A new study by AHRI sheds new light on how companies are coping. Downsizing is popular, even though it’s a difficult decision for most companies. Not surprisingly maximising value from the current workforce is top priority with 69.67% of respondents using performance review and providing extra support to top performers. 45% are still hiring top talent.  Read more...

Staff disengagement is a big problem in organisations across Australia.  The truth is, it doesn’t need to be a big problem. Here’s proof.  PMC invested on engaging staff  and in the process reduce turnover, cut costs and improved its employment brand, all in the midst of a recession.

“What’s most surprising about PMC’s approach to this looming crisis: The facility moved downsizing to the bottom of its list of responses. PMC is the only local hospital that hasn’t cut staff and has publicly stated that layoffs will be its "last strategy."  Read more...

Can you imagine a work environment where only 18% of the staff are interested in the jobs they are doing? And yet, according to Gallup this is the prevailing trend in workplaces across Australia.

New data has been released by Gallup since I last wrote on employee engagement.  It appears that (see chart below – employee engagement index) more and more Australians are not engaged in the work they do. Only a small minority work with passion. The vast majority of Australian workers (82%) are not engaged with their work.  Read more...

Only 26% of Australian workers are actively engaged in their work, according to a report by BlessingWhite (lengthy registration required).  A Gallup survey estimated the lost to the nation, as a result of disengaged employees, at around $31.5 billion.

McDaniel Partners brilliantly illustrates below that the key to engaging customer is to first engage employees. Tough economic times adds new meaning to the importance of an engaged workforce.

Australian HR Award 2008 winners
            Employer of Choice (more than 1000 employees) – Accenture
            Employer of Choice (fewer than 1000 employees) – Teachers Credit Union and Sparke Helmore
            Employer of Choice (public sector) – Glen Eira City Council
            Best Talent Management Strategy – Janssen-Cilag
            Innovation in Recruitment and Retention – Deloitte
            Best Employer branding Strategy – Vodafone

View other category winners.

Anthill Cool Company Awards 2008
Four talent solutions providers recognised  Read more...