Human Resources Director 13.11

HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR

HOT LIST

HCAMAG.COM ISSUE 13.11

THE WHO’S WHO OF HR 2015

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EDITORIAL www.hcamag.com NOVEMBER 2015 EDITORIAL

SALES & MARKETING

Editor Iain Hopkins

Marketing & Communications Manager Lisa Narroway

Journalists Chloe Taylor Miklos Bolza Production Editor Roslyn Meredith

ART & PRODUCTION

Business Development Managers James Francis Steven McDonald Lisa Tyras

CORPORATE

Design Manager Daniel Williams

Chief Executive Officer Mike Shipley

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Traffic Coordinator Lou Gonzales

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

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Variety is the spice of life I’VE SPOKEN to one seasoned HR veteran and read one report this month, and both said essentially the same thing: the days of the ‘career HR professional’ – that is, someone who has spent their entire career in the HR function – are coming to an end.

According to the report from Aon Hewitt (see infographic on page 4), over half of surveyed CHROs are not career HR professionals.

Of these, approximately one third had no background in HR prior to assuming their current CHRO positions. Clearly, variety is the spice of life. But there’s more at stake here than just career diversity. The future viability of the profession might also be on the line.

The HR veteran I interviewed suggested that until HR professionals spend time in other parts of the business, they will not be respected.

“They call themselves ‘business partners’, but they’re the only ones calling themselves that. Everyone else in the business calls them HR business partners – and there is a difference,” she said.

It’s also interesting to note that new roles within HR may also be

New roles within HR may also be forcing the hand of aspiring HR professionals and those who lead the function forcing the hand of aspiring HR professionals and those who lead the function. Increasingly, those undertaking the roles of, for example, HR data analysts, have no background in HR but are instead being drawn from IT and science backgrounds. The HR veteran summed up the problem: “What has always been called into question for HR has been their STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths] capabilities, or the lack thereof. It’s acting like a ball and chain around the profession as they are unable to apply advanced business intelligence to the HR function.”

It’s a generalisation to be sure, but certainly a thought-provoking one. Who knows where the next generation of HR leaders – and indeed, HR professionals – will come from? The advice to aspiring CHROs is clear: don’t stop thinking about tomorrow – and grow your business acumen. It seems certain that those with diverse business backgrounds will excel.

Iain Hopkins, editor

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NOVEMBER 2015

CONNECT WITH US Got a story, suggestion or just want to find out some more information?

HRDirector_au

CONTENTS

HOT LIST 2015 COVER STORY

HOT LIST 2015

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+Hcamag HumanResourcesDirector

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01 Editorial

Are the days of the ‘career HR professional’ coming to an end? Some would say yes

04 The data

What’s the most common route to the CHRO position, and how can current HR leaders groom the next generation?

06 News analysis

The building and construction industry has made moves to introduce mandatory drug and alcohol testing.

Where do employers in other sectors stand on this matter?

FEATURES

LIVING THE LIFE: HOLDING ON TO EXPATS A new report indicates that HRDs must become more adept at identifying levers other than compensation to ensure expat employees stay engaged

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Who has made the grade in HRD’s annual who’s who list?

Who is blazing the trail for others to follow? Our 2015 Hot List reveals all

PEOPLE

PEOPLE 56 Head to head

Should large organisations publish information on their gender pay gaps?

FEATURES 32 20:20 vision for 2020

How far does your team plan ahead?

One year? Two years? How about until 2020? That’s the plan in place for sportswear giant adidas. HRD chats to one of the company’s global HR leaders

44 Learning at the top

TRUDIE HARRIMAN

Far from petering out the further up the corporate ladder they progress, executives need continuous learning to cope with the ever-evolving challenges they face. Karen Gately outlines some development options

HRD chats to Trudie Harriman, head of HR – customer and commercial relationships at Qantas

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UPFRONT

46 The end of hero leadership in Australia?

FEATURES

21ST CENTURY TALENT MANAGEMENT Is your talent management strategy sustainable?

New prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has promised a new type of leadership. What might that entail and what can corporate leaders take from his example? Jane Hayman offers her opinion

HCAMAG.COM CHECK IT OUT ONLINE

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THE DATA

NOVEMBER 2015

HR CAREER PATHS

MUST-HAVE SKILLS FOR CHROS When participants were asked about some of the emerging capabilities that future CHROs will need to be successful, six key themes emerged:

With more than half of CHROs not deemed ‘career HR professionals’, is it time to rethink HR career paths?

ARE THE days of career HR professionals gone? How do most HR professionals land the top job? These were the questions Aon Hewitt sought answers to when it surveyed CHROs from leading global organisations based in the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific. The results reveal what it takes to gain entry to the top HR positions, and the likely skills that will be required for upcoming HR professionals who aspire to these roles.

A recurring theme emerged from the study:

33%

of CHROs had no background in HR prior to assuming their current CHRO position

66%

of CHROs indicated they had prior Board exposure

the days of HR people being considered ‘just’ HR people are fading. CHROs have become critical stakeholders in defining the strategy of a firm. “Those well-equipped to achieve the greatest success will have diverse skill sets, be adaptable and agile, and gain hands-on learning from working through real-life situations and acquiring knowledge across disciplines and industries,” said Madeline Avedon, associate partner, HR effectiveness, Aon Hewitt.

27.5

the number of work experience years those who had never changed their industry had on their CV

24%

of CHROs took a rotation or assignment in a line role (outside of HR) to build their business and commercial acumen

DATA AND ANALYTICS-BASED DECISION MAKING Don’t focus on giving the right answers, but on asking the right questions.

BEING THE ARCHITECT AND ASSESSOR OF SHIFTS IN ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE Make sure a company’s culture is moving in the right direction by ensuring leaders’ styles align with the cultural goals.

CHRO INSIGHTS CHROs spoke about the need for developing a ‘global mindset’. The most practical and tangible way to attain this is to gain global exposure by living and working abroad. But there are other methods as well, such as working with and leading global teams and initiatives.

67% of CHROs have lived and worked abroad, and/or led global teams and initiatives

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65% indicated ‘business knowledge’ as a key competency they required, but it was also listed as one of the competencies for which they felt least prepared

73% have changed their industry at least once in their career

Aon believes a change in industry leads to an increase in the velocity with which a CHRO aspirant progresses in their career. For example: Those who have never changed their industry had an average work experience of 27.5 years and an average tenure of just four years as CHRO. Those who have changed their industry more than three times had the highest average tenure as a CHRO, with seven years, and the lowest work experience (23.3 years).

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PLAYING THE ROLE OF AN INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL TALENT SCOUT Build the critical ability of spotting pools of talent, using a mix of intuition and data and assessment backed insight.

PROACTIVELY MAPPING ORGANISATION CAPABILITY NEEDS TO BE THE FUTURE STRATEGY OF THE COMPANY Examine the gap between existing capabilities and ones needed in the future.

UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY Be cognizant of the rapid progress in HR technology, particularly SaaS solutions, to improve HR processes and analytic capabilities.

ASKING ORGANISATION-SPECIFIC QUESTIONS RATHER THAN FOLLOWING THE HERD Realise how different practices can be best applied to their own organisational contexts.

BACKGROUND OF CHROS Fewer than half of the CHROs surveyed came from a pure HR (‘career HR’) background. Those who did took up multiple roles in HR in a planned manner, or sought out opportunities to work in firms that are ‘incubators’ for future CHROs (early career job roles)

mix

24% 47%

career HR

7%

staff

13%

consultant

0

10

20

30

40

50

NUMBER OF TIMES CHROS CHANGED INDUSTRIES

(number of industries worked in)

Changing industries has an important role to play in expanding horizons. Aon data showed that CHROs who changed their industries were better prepared for their roles, and rose to the CHRO position more quickly than their industry peers who did not.

3+

42% 27%

2 1

4% 27%

0

0

10

20

30

40

How can HR help groom the next generation of CHROs? Identify high-potential HR leaders (including those outside the function)

9%

line

NEXT GEN CHROS

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Look for possibilities for these leaders to get Board exposure Make a menu of rotational, crossfunctional, and global opportunities and map individual’s career aspirations to developmental opportunities Plan for HR skills required 3–5 years from now, and work backwards Source: Research taken from Aon Hewitt’s report, Developing the Next Generation of CHROs

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UPFRONT

NEWS ANALYSIS

UNDER THE INFLUENCE The building and construction industry has made moves to introduce mandatory drug and alcohol testing. Where do employers in other sectors stand on this matter?

NEW AMENDMENTS to the Building Code 2013 require contractors on publicly funded construction sites to have a policy in place for mandatory drug and alcohol testing, effective 16 October.

Announcing the changes, former employment minister Eric Abetz said: “Safety is a paramount consideration on construction sites. It is simply an unacceptable risk to the health and safety of employees and the public to have workers affected by drugs or alcohol on construction sites.”

HRD talks to Claire Brattey, associate director at People + Culture Strategies, about what employers in all sectors should take on board from the legislative change.

Will other industries follow suit?

“Compulsory testing has been added to the Building Code because it has long been recognised that there is illicit drug and alcohol use within the construction industry that causes problems and needs to be addressed,” says Brattey. “It has taken so long to come to fruition because of the disagreement between employers and unions as to how best to implement and manage such a policy.”

According to the Victorian Police, the trucking industry is one in which drug use has become a particularly significant problem – in the past year, 156 truck drivers tested positive for drugs on Victoria’s roads alone.

Brattey speculates that the trucking industry could therefore “come under

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pressure to implement something similar [to the Building Code]”.

“However, drug and alcohol issues are becoming increasingly prevalent outside of blue-collar work,” she continues. “The Australian Drug Foundation has reported that one in five employees have performed duties while under the influence of alcohol, with a similar proportion chucking sickies due to the effects of alcohol.”

She also tells HRD that the Australian Drug Foundation has estimated that drug and alcohol use costs Australian businesses around $6bn per annum in lost productivity and absenteeism.

“Compulsory testing is used more so in heavy-industry, high-risk workplaces,” she elaborates. “It could also be present where

“Drug and alcohol issues are becoming increasingly prevalent outside of blue-collar work” Claire Brattey Should every employer use drug testing in the workplace?

“For any organisation, determining where to draw the line on drug and alcohol use will always depend on a number of factors,” says Brattey.

She tells HRD that testing is “certainly good practice” for employers in industries where people are working with heavy equipment that exposes workers to health and safety risks.

you would expect to find a drug and alcohol policy in use, usually due to the nature of an industry.”

Brattey also reminds employers that regardless of their sector they have a duty of care to everyone they employ.

According to Brattey, the biggest difference in relation to drug and alcohol control between industries is the types of policies around it.

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POLICIES: KEY CONSIDERATIONS

“Most white-collar industries will have some form of drug and alcohol policy in place, but you will tend to find that they are addressed within ‘behaviour at work’ type policies, rather than expressly drawing attention to them,” she says.

“This is particularly evident in industries where work can include entertainment; for example, taking clients out to dinner or participating in work-related drink functions.

“These policies tend to acknowledge that alcohol will be consumed, and advise staff of the company’s expectations of behaviour when it is.”

Know your legal obligations Brattey suggests that if employers choose to begin using drug testing, they must balance their legal rights and obligations with achieving an outcome on drugs and alcohol that: • maximises organisational productivity • is appropriate for their industry

• aligns employees with the organisation’s culture and values “Ensuring that employees aren’t hampered by the effects or after-effects of drug and alcohol use is an important part of this. But further, most organisations genuinely want to be, and be seen to be, organisations that care for the wellbeing of their employees.”

Responding to positive test results “Employees also need to be aware of what the consequences are if the policy is breached, and employers need to ensure that they have in place a robust and fair investigation and disciplinary process,” Brattey says.

She also emphasises that the possibility of offering employees help with drug and alcohol use also needs to be explored – particularly if an investigation reveals that there may be an underlying issue that is work-related.

“Drugs are particularly difficult, as

When drawing up drug and alcohol management policies, employers should consider the following: • What type of policy is appropriate? Will your company use a zero tolerance approach, or is there a cut-off level? For example, is it acceptable to come to work hungover?

• What type of testing is appropriate? Saliva, urine or blood testing? While the employer may have discretion, the nature of the industry should be considered. In a recent decision, it was held that because of the high-risk environment, safety overruled any concerns about privacy.

• Privacy obligations: In collecting information about an employee’s drug or alcohol use, employers must bear in mind their obligations under privacy legislation. For example, test results will only fall under the employee records exemption to the Australian Privacy principles if it can be said that those results are related to the employee’s employment, with regard to the employee’s role and duties.

• Do you have a workplace policy? If so, do your staff know about it and is it consistent with what actually happens in the workplace?

• What does your contract of employment/ enterprise agreement say about the use of drugs and alcohol? The way contracts of employment frame workplace policies – and whether they create binding obligations on employees and employers – will be significant to aspects such as determining what disciplinary action an employer can take in response to employees who fail drug and alcohol tests.

• Personal considerations: When enforcing the policy, you may need to consider whether an employee’s drug or alcohol use is the result of, for example, a disability. prescription medication can trigger a positive test – again, you need to investigate that and as part of your policy you might need to ask employees to disclose information about any medication they are taking prior to taking the test,” Brattey says. “If an employee is on prescribed medication, the employer needs to investigate why they are taking it and whether it would make them unfit for duty.”

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EXPERT INSIGHT

LEGAL

ALLEGATIONS OF MISCONDUCT: THE ROLE OF EXTERNAL INVESTIGATORS It could be time to re-evaluate the role of internal HR management-led investigations when certain claims are made, writes Clayton Payne

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HR PROFESSIONALS are frequently called upon to investigate allegations of inappropriate workplace conduct. The exact process these investigations follow has become a topical point, and it is clear from the decisions of various courts and tribunals that businesses should ideally have procedures in place that detail the relevant investigative processes when certain claims or complaints are made.

The fundamentals of any robust investigation are well established. For example, procedural fairness should be observed and impartiality maintained. To the fullest extent possible, confidentiality in relation to a relevant complaint or claim and the evidence obtained should also be maintained.

Beyond this, it may be relevant for HR management teams to consider the possibility of engaging a third party (ie a person external to the organisation) to conduct the investigation. The legitimacy of this method was confirmed by the Fair Work Commission last year.1 Using a thirdparty investigator has the twin benefits of conserving the HR team’s time and resources and addressing the inevitable problem of bias and the perception of bias.

Doubtlessly, HR management teams are capable of carrying out an investigation in an impartial manner. However, HR management-conducted investigations may be subjected to scrutiny in instances where a matter reaches the courts. A line of attack brought by the employee litigant might be that internal HR staff were colluding with the business or failing to discharge their duties in an objective manner. Such complaints, even when shown to be groundless, have the effect of adding to the cost and complexity of defending the proceedings.

Where the third-party appointee is a lawyer, two more important benefits ensue.

Firstly, the business that has commissioned the investigation may be in a position to claim legal professional privilege over any resulting report, 2 which may also have the effect of limiting reputation damage to the organisation. Secondly, appointing

IN OR OUT? When assessing whether an investigation should be conducted internally or not, consultancy company iHR suggests that HR should consider the following factors: 1. OBJECTIVITY It might be difficult for an internal investigator to remain unbiased throughout an investigation, as they may know one or more of the parties involved either directly or indirectly. If there is risk that the investigation might be challenged as not having been objectively handled due to a real or perceived conflict of interest, then utilising an independent investigator can go a long way towards demonstrating that those involved have been treated fairly and without prejudice.

2. THE SENIORITY OF THE PARTIES INVOLVED How senior are the parties involved? Internal investigators might feel uncomfortable or unwilling to conduct an investigation where the complainant or respondent is more senior within the organisation than themselves. Furthermore, if required, it may be difficult for an internal investigator to critically assess senior management, organisational culture or operating frameworks. The ability to recognise issues is often enhanced by an independent person with a ‘fresh set of eyes’.

3. AVAILABILITY OF RESOURCES (INCLUDING CAPABILITY AND TIME) Do the internal resources have the capability, skill and time required to conduct a thorough investigation?

Rushed or poorly planned and executed workplace investigations pose significant risk to organisations.

Complex investigations can involve 30 to 60 hours of an investigator’s time. It is important to ensure that assigned resources have an appropriate amount of time to dedicate to the investigation, keeping in mind that the scope of an investigation can expand as the investigation progresses.

When assessing the likely timeframe for an investigation, the number of allegations, people involved and the geographical location of parties should be taken into consideration. The timely handling of an investigation is essential to avoid the undermining of workplace morale and damage to organisational reputation.

4. THIRD-PARTY INVOLVEMENT AND/OR POTENTIAL FOR LITIGATION Where the investigation potentially includes allegations of adverse action, workers’ compensation claims and/or involves industrial negotiation, this may influence a decision to involve an independent investigator.

Organisations should also consider circumstances in which a third party such as a union is likely to be involved, and whether they would consider an internal investigation to be appropriate in all the circumstances. If not, this may present a higher risk of the findings being subsequently challenged externally.

an investigator with the relevant legal experience will hopefully ensure that the evidence obtained is of a standard that could prove to be not only useful but crucial in any ensuing litigation.

Clearly, the appropriateness of making a third-party appointment will vary according to the seriousness of the claim or complaint, and the business will need to balance the cost against the strategic benefits. That said, an early investment in this process could be extremely useful in saving costs later on, particularly if litigation ensues.

Formal workplace investigations may be crucial in certain circumstances. The

challenge for businesses is to determine when and if they have the capacity to properly conduct them, or whether that should be the function of someone external to the business, with particular expertise. The decision could have far-reaching consequences.

1 2

[2014] FWC 2104

This may also of course be the case when a lawyer engaged by a business instructs someone else to conduct the investigation, in order that they can provide the business with advice, for example.

Clayton Payne is a special counsel in the workplace relations team at Mills Oakley Lawyers.

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22/10/2015 10:19:43 AM

PEOPLE

IN PERSON

TRUDIE HARRIMAN HRD chats to Trudie Harriman, head of human resources – customer and commercial relationships at Qantas, about the organisation’s remarkable transformation, change fatigue, and the role of L&D in driving change HRD: What initially attracted you to a career in HR? Trudie Harriman: As a teenager, I enjoyed my economics class more than any other, and my astute teacher suggested that the HR aspect of a workplace may be suited to my interest in people. The IR landscape of the 1990s was a very interesting time, and I was very passionate about the idea of workplaces driving greater engagement and fairness from within.

HRD: Can you outline your current role at Qantas?

TH: I’m lucky enough to partner with a team at Qantas who are at the forefront of change within the business. The focus in our Commercial space is to build a great team who develop world-class relationships in order to deliver value for Qantas and our customers. My role is to enable this vision by leading the people agenda to drive a high-performance culture with a real commitment to a strong performance and capability framework. My team is committed to achieving high engagement through a focus on coaching, feedback, development and a positive employee relations environment.

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HRD: Qantas has had a remarkable turnaround in the last 12 months or so, both financially and also in terms of reputation. As an ‘insider’, what do you put that turnaround down to?

TH: A strong, consistent commitment to the vision and strategies for the Qantas group from our senior leadership team, and strong support for all initiatives in alignment with the vision. The Group Management Committee has steadfastly supported the change we needed to make, despite the many challenges we face in the aviation industry. I might be cheeky and say I think Qantas’ people have seen us achieve record NPS [net promoter score] levels throughout the last 18 months of transformational change and have consistently maintained a strong reputation in the market.

HRD: The company’s HR team was recently named ‘HR Team of the Year’ at the Australian HR Awards (CHRO for Qantas International James Allan represented the team at the awards), so clearly others are noticing this turnaround, and HR’s role in it.

How critical has HR been in this transformation?

TH: We’ve been fortunate to participate in change at all levels of the transformation plan

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22/10/2015 10:20:54 AM

PEOPLE

IN PERSON ‘HALFWAY THROUGH THE BIGGEST AND FASTEST TRANSFORMATION IN OUR HISTORY’ Those were the words of Qantas CEO Alan Joyce in August.

The Qantas Group is in the middle of a massive restructure but is well on track to paying down debt, cutting costs and jobs, and increasing revenue. In August, the airline posted a $975m underlying profit for 2014/15, reversing last year’s record $2.2bn loss.

“No other company in Australia has people with more pride, more belief and more commitment than those who go to work for Qantas each day,” Joyce told the media. “Everyone at Qantas made sacrifices as we worked through changes across our business. Our people should take great satisfaction in what we are achieving together.” and were given quite a broad scope to do things differently. We’ve invested a considerable amount of energy in partnering with the business to support the overall change design and planning as well as supporting the critical culture change we were looking for. We supported leveraging what has been a wonderful tradition and

that really stands out would be a program we have consistently supported over the last couple of years called ‘The Next Step’. For us this program is about connecting to our strategy, a deeper understanding of where our business is at and, most importantly, a reconnection to why we joined Qantas in the first place, and bringing the passion so many of us have for Qantas to the fore. It has also supported the incredible customer-centricity throughout our organisation and allowed us to remember why we are here. At the end of the day, planes don’t connect people from one destination to another; it’s our people connecting Australians to destinations all over the world.

HRD: What role has staff training and L&D played in this transformation?

TH: We have a very clear and well-understood change management approach at Qantas, and at the very heart of that approach is a commitment to understanding the impact of change on people and how we can develop people to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. In the commercial teams, we are re-examining how we develop people and ensuring that all development is supported by a strong learning culture, clear capability and performance frameworks at all levels. We are investing

“Planes don’t connect people from one destination to another; it’s our people connecting Australians to destinations all over the world” commitment to the organisation with a new energy and commitment to becoming a more efficient and dynamic Qantas through engagement initiatives, a focus on communicating honestly with our people, and continuing to support important development initiatives for our leaders and teams.

HRD: Changing structure and process is one thing, but changing mindsets and culture is another. How has Qantas handled this?

TH: I can call out many critical initiatives that have supported our culture change, but one

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in developing our leaders as coaches and supporting far more constructive adult learning opportunities. We are finding formal training is being asked for less often than ever, as people increasingly value on-the-job development, coaching and feedback from their leaders.

HRD: How about change fatigue? How do you handle that and keep the process of change fresh?

TH: That’s an interesting question and the subject of many debates at the moment! I believe change is the new black now … we

TRUDIE HARRIMAN’S CAREER TIMELINE

1998–2001 HR management trainee and consultant roles at OEA, BATA and CBA

Qualifications 1997–1999 Bachelor of Economics, Industrial Relations and HRM, University of Sydney 2001–2012 HR consultant, manager and national manager roles, Coca-Cola Amatil

June 2012–present Head of HR – Qantas loyalty and corporate groups Head of HR – customer and commercial relationships, Qantas Airways

are looking at the language used in regard to change and starting to position this more as part of our ongoing culture: a real commitment to ongoing improvement, engagement and agility around doing things better. Continuing to link any change back to a vision or purpose is critical – we all need to know we are part of something bigger, and understand the impact our contribution can have.

Hear Trudie Harriman talk about successful change management through training at the Learning & Development Masterclass, 1–2 December, Radisson Blu Hotel, Sydney. For further information, visit hcamag.com/ld-masterclass/.

lea

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22/10/2015 12:08:32 PM

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COVER STORY

2O15 HR HOT LIST

HOT LIST 2015 Who has made the grade in HRD’s annual who’s who list?

Who is blazing the trail for others to follow? Our 2015 Hot List reveals all

ONE THING we can all agree on is this: HR is never boring. Whether it’s dealing with significant transformations, handling downsizing or rapid growth, developing strategies to deal with gender imbalance and other diversity issues, or dealing with copious amounts of compliance, for HR professionals each and every day is different. While some may baulk at the challenges, others will excel. It’s those we’re interested in.

Over the following pages, HR Director has identified over 30 of the hottest HR

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professionals in the country. Some of these professionals are well known; they have appeared in this magazine over the past 12 months or spoken at industry-leading events such as the HR Summit. Alternatively, they have won accolades from the likes of the Australian HR Awards, Aon Hewitt and the Great Place to Work Institute.

They say that life is all about timing: sometimes your timing is perfect and you’re in a successful, high-growth company and industry; at other times you’re in

a struggling industry with a company suffering from a declining market share.

Rest assured: HR takes on a hot-seat position regardless of company growth – or decline – as these profiles reveal. All of those featured are undertaking initiatives that advance the standing of HR in business.

You might disagree with our choices or you might endorse them – whichever is the case, feel free to let us know, or make your own suggestions for next year, at hrd_editor@keymedia.com.au

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22/10/2015 12:09:32 PM

ASHLEY WINNETT

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR HR GM HOLDEN Few HR roles are as tough as those in the embattled manufacturing sector, and fewer of those again are as tough as those in the car manufacturing sector.

Ashley Winnett and his team have the unenviable task of transitioning the Aussie icon from a production and manufacturing company to a national sales and full-time importer company.

This transition is set to be completed by the end of 2017. Holden estimates it will cut 2,900 jobs by that date, although one study indicates the number of jobs lost could reach 65,400 within the GM supply chain. Winnett’s team is working tirelessly behind the scenes by keeping employees involved in the change through “reaction, interaction, and internal and external communications”. Winnett told HRD there were three key aspects to managing this particular change: “There are three different messages ongoing simultaneously. You have to be respectful of the past, mindful of the present and aim for the future.”

CATHY DOYLE

CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER MCDONALD’S At a time when recruitment was generally subdued, the announcement from McDonald’s in May that it was creating 15,000 new jobs in its Australian restaurants came as a surprise. McDonald’s has transformed its customer service approach through the launch of a new service platform called ‘Create Your Taste’, resulting in the need for an increase in crew numbers in restaurants. The job creation will enable McDonald’s to hit the 100,000th employee milestone in Australia for the first time. In September, McDonald’s was recognised for its commitment to training with an Employer of Choice award at the 2015 Victorian Training Awards. The fast-food giant invests $40m annually into its training initiatives, which cover retail, business, operations and technology. The award caps a fortuitous time for Cathy Doyle, who joined the company in July following senior HR roles at Qantas, BNP Paribas and CBA.

BEST OF THE BEST The Australian HR Awards ‘HR Director of the Year’ award is one of the most hotly contested. This year the finalists included: • Wayne Gobert, Assetlink • Lee Norman, Beca • Deborah Lowe, ClearView Wealth • May Yuan, Eli Lilly • Rob Phipps, KFC Australia • Cindy Reid, Konica Minolta • Alex Diab, NSW Business Chamber The independent panel of judges gave the accolade to Amanda Towe of pharmaceuticals giant Johnson & Johnson.

DEBBIE RIGGER HR DIRECTOR ANZ EMC

Debbie Rigger spearheads an HR function that has helped EMC gain a ‘Best Place to Work’ accolade. Based on one of the world’s most comprehensive studies of workplace culture by Great Place to Work Australia, the study ranks companies based on five key dimensions of workplace culture: credibility, respect, fairness, pride and camaraderie. EMC’s wide range of culture initiatives helped the company gain the accolade on its first attempt. EMC’s ‘Leadership in the Fast Lane’ is a program that connects high-potential women to those already in senior leadership roles and offers an accelerated program of career development. Meanwhile, ‘You Define EMC’ is a worldwide initiative that aims to highlight how each employee contributes to EMC’s success. This program shrinks the distance between the company’s global locations and strengthens dialogue and connections between employees around the world.

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22/10/2015 12:16:01 PM

COVER STORY

2O15 HR HOT LIST THE FLEXIBLE WORK ADVOCATE

AMANDA REVIS GROUP EXECUTIVE HR SUNCORP GROUP A significant 84% of Suncorp Group’s 14,500 employees are working flexibly in some way.

Alongside standard flexible work practices, the standout program is the W@H model, designed to support contact centre employees by enabling them to conduct the majority of their work from home.

People typically live within a 30-minute commute of a W@H Hub – a connection and collaboration point for training and team meetings. Employees are able to nominate the times and hours in a week they wish to work. To date, 460 employees have opted for these working patterns, a number the company is hoping to increase to 850 over the next two to three years. Significantly, in 2015 the engagement of Hub employees was 10 points higher than the Suncorp average – one of the reasons why Suncorp picked up an Australian HR Award for Best Workplace Flexibility Program.

MEAHAN CALLAGHAN GROUP HR DIRECTOR SEEK

Since launching 17 years ago as a company of just three staff, SEEK has grown to a workforce of more than 6,000 spanning 23 international markets. Over the past two years alone, the business has recruited more than 350 people. Hiring needs have become more complex. Meahan Callaghan has spent the last 12 months redefining the company values and expected behaviours. There has also been a focus on performance. ‘This is SEEK’ codifies what it means to be a high performer; every employee can now see exactly what is required to be a high performer. To put these beliefs and attributes into play, every employee participated in a full-day workshop. Half-yearly performance reviews are being phased out, and instead ‘This is SEEK’ promotes ongoing, honest conversations around the performance of employees.

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MICHAEL VAVAKIS GROUP HEAD OF HR LENDLEASE

As employers get more and more creative about their employee benefits, it’s heartening to know that Lendlease has introduced a benefit that is just that: a real personal benefit to staff. In 2015, Lendlease became one of the first international organisations to introduce wellbeing leave to employees. In Australia and New Zealand the wellbeing leave, which is in addition to standard leave entitlements, equates to one wellbeing day every four months and can be used for a range of activities, such as a yoga retreat, a meditation course, a preventative health check-up or carer’s respite. “Wellbeing leave provides employees with time out to focus specifically on their physical and mental wellbeing rather than using sick or recreational leave,” Vavakis told HRD. Australian employees already enjoy a generous parental leave policy, with 18 weeks’ paid plus 34 weeks’ unpaid leave for an employee who is a primary carer and two weeks’ paid plus six weeks’ unpaid leave for an employee who is a partner.

EILEEN BURNETT-KANT

EXECUTIVE GLOBAL HEAD OF HR ORICA Explosives business Orica is an ASX Top 30 company that employs 12,700 people globally (some 80% of whom are based outside of Australia). Before joining the HR profession in 2008, Burnett-Kant followed a broader business career spanning operational, supply and strategy consulting roles in Asia-Pacific and Europe, including tenures at McKinsey & Company, Coles and Jetstar. Despite a decline in Australia’s mining industry, Orica positions itself wherever its clients want to mine, quarry or tunnel. The company has diversified into Africa and the CIS [former Soviet Union republics]. Burnett-Kant has been central to ensuring HR keeps up with these changes by introducing global centres of expertise, deploying a global HRIS, and leveraging scale and consistency in support functions.

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22/10/2015 11:20:24 AM

JANE THOMAS

EXECUTIVE GENERAL MANAGER HR AND COMMUNICATIONS NEWCREST MINING Jane Thomas, who joined Newcrest Mining in January 2015 after seven years at AGL, stepped into an executive team that had only recently been shaken up. In July 2014, new CEO Sandeep Biswas cut the size of his executive team, which saw both the external affairs and COO positions go. Fortunately, company-wide performance has not been affected: in August the gold-mining giant returned a $546m profit compared to last year’s disastrous $2.22bn loss. With an ongoing remit to make Newcrest the ‘miner of choice’ for the company’s 18,000 employees, Thomas will be looking to build upon the achievements of her predecessor, Debra Stirling, under whose guidance the company was twice consecutively voted Australia’s Most Attractive Employer in the annual Randstad Awards in 2012–13.

However, the nature of mining work, with multiple projects on the go, means that Thomas will not have an easy task: in October came news of two workplace fatalities, while in April it was announced that some 300 workers at the Cadia Valley Operations in NSW would lose their jobs over the next 15 months as the site’s construction phase comes a close.

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22/10/2015 11:20:28 AM

COVER STORY

2O15 HR HOT LIST AMANDA FRACARO

HR DIRECTOR ASPEN MEDICAL

A ‘CSR culture’ lies at the heart of Aspen Medical’s operations.

Workplace giving and matching programs and a focus on helping those with disabilities is weaved into the fabric of the company. In addition, the Aspen Foundation was set up to help significantly reduce or eradicate key illnesses in the Australian Indigenous community; a percentage of the company’s profits go to the Foundation. Aspen employees are also involved in projects that are saving lives, such as helping to stop the spread of Ebola in West Africa and placing health professionals in remote Indigenous communities in the NT to help close the gap in health outcomes. Recently, Aspen’s mobile surgery unit was sent to Queensland, and in the first few days three babies were born. “We have a low turnover rate and we know it is because of what we do and how we go about that,” Amanda Fracaro says. “This is a culture that people want to be a part of.”

PETER HARTNETT

HEAD OF PEOPLE & CULTURE SANITARIUM The Gold winner of the 1,000+ employee category in HRD’s own Employer of Choice awards, Sanitarium excelled in several categories, including quality of work, culture & engagement and health & wellbeing. Peter Hartnett and his team have also played a critical role in building company-wide innovation.

A gluten-free Weet-Bix, launched in 2014, was a world-first product launch that required a dramatic rethink by the company and significant involvement of employees. From developing the recipe to piloting the product and retrofitting a factory to create gluten-free products, Hartnett says this one project – which came together in a tight six-month timeframe – speaks volumes about how the company listens to the voice of its people. And those people are rewarded: Life Matter and Better U are multifaceted programs designed to enhance both the ‘personal journey’ and health and wellness of employees.

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SUSIE BABANI

GROUP CHRO ANZ

LinkedIn’s 2015 Australian Power Profiles listing had among its ranks Susie Babani. Besides garnering the highest profile views on LinkedIn, these Power Profiles “want to influence change by voicing their opinions on topics that they are passionate about”, LinkedIn stated. What is Babani passionate about? All aspects of diversity in the workplace, but particularly supporting women to fulfil their potential in the corporate world. “No plans to stop on this quest until 50:50 gender balance becomes a reality,” Babani states. She shares ANZ CEO Mike Smith’s vision that all roles should be flexible, rather than dependent on a ‘leadership lottery’ decided by leaders who either ‘get’ or don’t get flexible work. She admits she’s “never short of an opinion” and enjoys sharing them on BlueNotes (bluenotes.anz. com) and via Twitter – @SusieBabani.

MICHELLE COOPER

NATIONAL MANAGER – PEOPLE & PERFORMANCE PEOPLEBANK PeopleBank achieved the significant landmark of four consecutive years on Aon Hewitt’s Best Employer list in 2015 – the only recruitment company to be accredited four years running. Michelle Cooper tells HRD the company’s focus on engagement is simple to understand: employee engagement leads to client engagement, which in turn leads to shareholder return. “Simply, employee engagement can be directly translated to high performance,” she says, adding that PeopleBank’s gross profit figures for the last four years bear this out. Perhaps even more importantly, PeopleBank is willing to share the secrets of its success. Cooper receives unsolicited requests for consultation on employee engagement from other organisations, as well as for presentations at industry conferences; like it or not, she has become an acknowledged expert in the field of engagement.

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22/10/2015 12:18:12 PM

PHIL TAYLOR

HEAD OF PEOPLE & PERFORMANCE THE GPT GROUP

Property specialists the GPT Group unveiled a new diversity strategy in 2015, focusing on parental leave, childcare support and flexible working.

The key initiatives include: 16 weeks’ paid parental leave for all employees with at least 12 months’ service who are the primary carers for their babies; up to $5,000 (net) towards the cost of childcare for the first 12 months back at work for primary carers; and to help close the significant retirement savings gap for females, continuation of superannuation contributions during periods of unpaid parental leave. GPT has a target to reach 40% female representation in senior management positions by the end of 2015. “GPT has made significant progress lifting female representation in senior management, which is now 36%, up 9% over the past 18 months,” said Phil Taylor in May. He added that he was hopeful the policy would set a new benchmark and continue to push the property industry, as it seeks to attract the top female talent in Australian business.

AMANDA TOWE DIRECTOR OF HR JOHNSON & JOHNSON FAMILY OF COMPANIES 2015 has been a landmark year for Amanda Towe, following a challenging 12 months during which she was responsible for leading the implementation of a new OneHR operating model at J&J. This was a significant change journey involving people and team changes, establishing HR’s credibility with the board, and aligning people strategies to multiple business strategies. Towe also introduced innovative and impactful people investments to drive the J&J strategy. The most significant of these included an Enterprise Talent Strategy, with broadened opportunities for talent pathways within ANZ, building diversity of expertise and strengthening the J&J EVP, and a Diversity Strategy to build an inclusive, credo-led culture that supports J&J’s goal for innovation and growth. Towe’s efforts were recognised with the esteemed HR Director of the Year award at the Australian HR Awards.

THE L&D CHAMPION

ALLA KEOGH HEAD OF PEOPLE & PERFORMANCE MYOB Alla Keogh and her team have been instrumental in setting up MYOB’s Learning Lab, available to all MYOB employees. There are four labs: Managers Lab, which helps managers develop the skills to “smash” their team leadership goals and get the best out of their people; Trade Lab, which helps all team members be better at their jobs and includes courses like Sales Training and Agile Development Training; Leaders Lab, which helps team leaders take their leadership skills from good to great; and the Life Lab, which offers personal and life learning focusing on how to live wisely and well. In addition, a concept called ‘Share the Love’ has team members teaching each other about the topics they are passionate about. All labs include face-to-face workshops or e-learning, online resources and internally accredited coaches to enhance the experience and sustain the learning.

WHO HAS THE MOST ENGAGED WORKERS? The above question is eternally debated, but if accolades count for anything, Bristol-Myers Squibb Australia achieved Aon Hewitt Best Employer accreditation status for the third year running in 2015. Aon Hewitt noted that Bristol-Myers Squibb was effective in embedding a unified purpose in its organisational culture. The company was also applauded for its standout health and benefits programs for its employees.

In addition to benefits like salary continuance insurance and an Employee Assistance Program, the organisation delivers a range of tailored health and wellbeing initiatives, such as the Living Well program. “We want to find ways to increase productivity, satisfaction and engagement. Whether it’s providing gym equipment, massages, games consoles or fitness classes, it’s important to provide health and wellbeing activities that support employees to do and be their best,” said Sara Giesen, HR director at Bristol Myers Squibb Australia & New Zealand.

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22/10/2015 11:20:39 AM

COVER STORY

2O15 HR HOT LIST THE RISING STAR

LEE NORMAN

GENERAL MANAGER – PEOPLE AND CULTURE BECA

A finalist in the Australian HR Awards category for HR Director of the Year, Lee Norman is responsible for delivering people development and talent management services to professional services firm Beca. Norman is also a member of Beca’s Global P&C Leadership Team, responsible for leading a range of transformative projects across the globe. The most significant has been the development of Beca’s global Competency and Career Framework, which underpins all of Beca’s people processes globally. The goal was to ensure consistency in terms of competencies and expectations for any role across the global company. This was a key priority for people who were technically strong but did not want to move into management roles. The framework allows employees to move from one role to another – sideways, or up the ladder – and be recognised for technical excellence.

BOB BARBOUR

PEOPLE & CULTURE DIRECTOR LION Bob Barbour, a veteran of the Lion business, has seen a lot in his 23 years with the company – but perhaps never more so than in the past two years.

The senior leadership team, which had remained largely intact for 10 years, changed, and so too did the CEO. Walking the talk, Barbour and his team have worked hard to build change skills into each employee. “The biggest challenge is change fatigue,” Barbour told HRD. “We need to help people cope emotionally, cognitively, physically, mentally – it’s about pace and constant information, at work and outside of work. The key is developing personal resources to help you adapt and adapt proactively rather than reactively. That all adds up to resilience in one way or another.” Lion’s ‘Fuel in the Tank’ program combines initiatives to tackle physical and mental wellbeing, and preaches ‘realistic optimism’, which brings elements of mindfulness and neuroscience to change.

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JOSH CASS

SENIOR HR BUSINESS PARTNER AECOM Engineering/design firm AECOM is a global Fortune 500 company which has within its ranks an acknowledged rising star. Josh Cass took out the ‘Rising Star’ accolade at the 2015 Australian HR Awards. For someone so young, Cass has worked on a wide range of HR projects, including significant organisational change initiatives and largescale cost reduction programs. He has also negotiated enterprise agreements in unionised environments and been involved in complex case management, including general protections and unfair dismissals. Cass continues to provide ongoing formal mentoring to young professionals and has received a grant to study at Copenhagen Business School, Denmark.

ISADORE PAYNE

HR DIRECTOR BAYER AUSTRALIA-NEW ZEALAND Bayer has driven innovation and, by extension, culture change by implementing its ‘community’ concept.

While sharing some fundamentals with traditional project management teams, these communities are different; they are organic in that they form and disband once a specific objective or project is created, and they involve all employees in ideas generation. Five communities have formed, which tie directly to the company’s strategic objectives: customer, innovation, brands, business excellence, and people. One example from the people community came out of awareness that employees were time-poor and feeling overloaded. ‘Me Days’ were created, which is five additional annual leave days for people to take during the year; they are free to re-energise in any way they like. “This is based on passion. Passion to innovate, power to change – that’s part of our employer brand,” says Isadore Payne.

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22/10/2015 11:20:43 AM

SUSAN FERRIER

NATIONAL MANAGING PARTNER OF PEOPLE PERFORMANCE & CULTURE, KPMG

KPMG is undertaking an entity-wide culture shift, which involves a move from a risk-averse, compliance-oriented business towards a more collaborative, innovative business. The firm is focused on creating a collaborative and innovative environment in which it’s safe to fail, experimentation is encouraged, and where diverse thinking is fostered. The issue is so important to the executive team that innovation has been tied to the company’s brand. A national partner for brand and innovation has spearheaded many of the innovative initiatives now in place at the firm, while strategic alliances with start-up firms and KPMG’s leadership program, called Magellan, aim to reinforce the idea that it’s ‘safe to fail’ and that experimentation is good for business.

There is physical evidence of this shift as well: the firm’s Sydney office has embraced activity-based working and agile working, whereby talent is pulled together from different parts of the consulting or advisory practice for a particular piece of work or to resolve a client issue.

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22/10/2015 11:20:48 AM

COVER STORY

2O15 HR HOT LIST

KELLIE EGAN

HR DIRECTOR AUSTRALIA AND APAC ATLASSIAN 2015 has been Atlassian’s year in terms of HR accolades. Not only did the Australian IT juggernaut pick up three awards at the Australian HR Awards (including Employer of Choice <1000 employees), but it also took out the number one spot as Australia’s Best Place to Work, for the second year running, in the 2015 BRW Best Place to Work list. The Sydney office has expanded from 100 to 650 employees in the last five years alone, and global expansion continues apace. Atlassian is renowned for its innovative recruitment methods – including a European recruitment bus tour – and a monthlong ‘bootcamp’ for new graduates (40 new grads joined in 2015), so industry observers will be keen to track the company’s next move: Atlassian has filed for an initial public offering in the US in a crucial step toward a $3bn-plus listing.

MELISSA DAVIDSON

HR DIRECTOR BOEING DEFENCE AUSTRALIA After 18 years in IR roles in significant companies, Melissa Davidson made the move into HR, and eventually found her way to Boeing Defence Australia.

BDA employs 1,300 people – a small proportion of the 175,000 employed

by Boeing globally – but this means Davidson and her team are able to tap into the company’s world-leading HR initiatives. Indeed, Boeing is consistently ranked among the top 10 companies for leaders (Chief Executive Magazine). Key to this success is consistency: across the 65 countries in which the company operates, all leaders are assessed twice a year against the same six Boeing leadership attributes – but Davidson also notes the importance of “the X factor” for future leaders. In addition, the Boeing Leadership Centre in St Louis is an L&D hub for the company’s best leaders. Closer to home, Davidson is working on strategies to bolster female engineers in the company above the industry average of 14%. “We don’t want to run just at the average.

We want to be the place where the limited number of female engineers choose us over everyone else,” says Davidson.

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SYLVIA BURBERY

GENERAL MANAGER MARS PETCARE AUSTRALIA From dynamic office floor plans that encourage collaboration, to team cooking classes and – naturally – the opportunity to bring pets to the workplace, a strong company culture has been the lynchpin of Mars Australia’s success over the past 60 years. For the fourth year running, the company was recognised as one of Australia’s best workplaces by the BRW Great Place to Work Awards, being ranked as the 15th best place to work in the country. Burbery says Mars makes a conscious effort to create a “collaborative and energetic” culture. The company, which has also been credited for its wellness programs as well as local and global volunteering opportunities, has a long-term commitment to manufacturing and investment in Australia’s regional areas.

IT’S BEEN A TOUGH YEAR FOR… Samantha Liston, director of people and learning, ABC A $254m budget cut meant the ABC recorded a spate of redundancies throughout the 2015 financial year. The media reported that the redundancy process was nicknamed ‘The Hunger Games’ because it pitted staff against each other. The tough times will continue: the ABC’s industrial agreement is due for renewal in 2016.

Penny Cervetto, national HR manager, 7-Eleven Between July and August, a review found payroll compliance issues in over two thirds of the company’s 225 stores. The hearing was part of an enquiry into Australia’s temporary work visa program, which found the franchise chain had underpayed staff over an extended period. Senior management have made a promise to fully refund underpaid staff, apologising “unreservedly” to the company’s exploited workers.

Harriet Mihalopoulos, general manager – HR and industrial relations, Hutchison Ports Australia A media and union firestorm erupted in August when Hutchison Ports made almost 100 employees redundant via text message.

Hutchison Ports claimed that “severe financial pressures” forced it to make “hard decisions”. Mihalopoulos told the media that extensive consultation with staff and unions had taken place prior to the messages being sent, and that an EBA negotiated by the company and the Maritime Union of Australia had made text message and email an agreed means of communication between the company and staff.

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22/10/2015 11:20:52 AM

THE CHANGE AGENT

HELEN O’REILLY

CHRO TEACHERS MUTUAL BANK Helen O’Reilly has made support of mature-age workers the centrepiece of Teachers Mutual Bank’s diversity initiatives. Identifying that more than 31% of the bank’s workforce was over 50 years of age and extremely loyal (with the average length of service for that age group being 11 years), O’Reilly established a program with SageCo called Envisage – a holistic framework for engaging mature-age workers. Instead of just talking about retirement from a financial angle, it looks at six different areas: money, identity, health, career, relationships, and the future. The bank complemented that program by offering nutrition seminars called Keeping Nifty Over 50. They also partnered with one of the superannuation funds in order to run wealth creation workshops. As a result of this program, Teachers Mutual Bank has been recognised by the Federal Government as a Corporate Champion of the mature-age worker.

ANNE PAREDES

DIRECTOR, PEOPLE & PERFORMANCE ROYAL INSTITUTE FOR DEAF AND BLIND CHILDREN Anne Paredes is working hard to reverse some commonly held misconceptions about the not-for-profit sector.

Historically, the perception has been that NFPs don’t follow leading business practices and that somehow the use of the term ‘business’ within the walls of an NFP is unpalatable. However, Paredes says, if anything, there is an expectation of more rigour; organisations like RIDBC must lead the way in being sustainable and responsible to significant donor bases. RIDBC is focusing on upskilling front-line employees with commercial know-how.

Without the luxury of big budgets, NFPs must balance the passion of their employees with commercial realities. “We have to respond to the external impacts of a changing funding landscape – requiring us to focus on the capabilities and commercial skills of our staff,” Paredes says. It’s also a myth that people come to NFPs with the expectation that they’ll be able to slow down: “I’ve never been busier in my entire career,” she says.

BRONWYN CARMAN

HEAD OF HR IMPERIAL TOBACCO AUSTRALIA The focus of Imperial Tobacco’s HR team in Australia has been on ‘redesign’ for the past three years.

The goal is not just to improve processes internally but to create a centralised ‘one HR’ team globally.

No mean feat for a company with operations in 150 markets around the world. With the global footprint having been built on acquisitions over the past four years, the focus now is on consolidating and taking stock. With 600 employees locally (and 38,000 globally), the Australian operations may seem small, but Bronwyn Carman says the company encourages input from everyone. Add to this mix the complexity of a heavily regulated and legislated local industry and it might be tempting to think the change initiative is too overwhelming. Not so. Carman tells HRD she makes decisions with both her global and local hat on: she calls it ‘glocalisation’. She must work towards the ‘one HR’ goal, but she must also continue to deliver on her local performance objectives.

KELLY MCKENZIE GROUP HR MANAGER CBH GROUP

CBH Group is the largest cooperative in Australia. Based in Western Australia and owned and controlled by more than 4,500 grain growers, CBH Group’s core purpose is to create and return value to growers. Over the past five years, a key achievement has been the recruitment and management of a significant casual workforce of some 1,800 employees, who are scattered across 197 sites in WA. To streamline HR operations, Kelly McKenzie introduced a paperless recruitment and onboarding technology system, linking the Applicant Tracking System to the payroll system without manual entry. This initiative has saved the organisation over $320,000 in the first two years after implementation. McKenzie is now working with her team to bolster the employer brand of CBH outside of rural areas by making smarter use of social media and getting in front of students at universities.

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22/10/2015 11:20:55 AM

COVER STORY

2O15 HR HOT LIST JACQUI CURTIS

FIRST ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER, PEOPLE AUSTRALIAN TAX OFFICE

The ATO is currently undergoing a significant cultural transformation project, named the Reinventing the ATO 2020 Change Program, which has the end goal of positioning the organisation for the future. Having joined the ATO in September 2013, Jacqui Curtis is responsible for leading the Reinvention Program Management Office, which is driving this key reform.

Just one example of this culture change is the ATO’s approach to absenteeism. Like most APS agencies, the ATO has an ongoing problem with high levels of workplace absence.

In response, in May the ATO put a new initiative in place to tackle this problem, namely reminding employees regularly of their absenteeism via email. Every one of its 20,000 employees will receive a regular email reminding them of their recent absence record. Although only a trial at this stage, the goal is to obtain a better understanding of voluntary and avoidable absences.

ROB PHIPPS

CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER, SOPC KFC The days of fast-food chains only being employers of young people working their way through university are over. KFC and its competitors will always be large employers of casual workers, including young people, but today there’s greater focus on creating careers, not just jobs. Under his stewardship, Rob Phipps has introduced the Graduate Leadership Program, which provides a structured career path for tertiary qualified restaurant general managers. The program involves rotational roles in fields such as finance, HR and operations within the company’s Restaurant Support Centre (a onestop training centre) with a goal of training suitable employees even before there are roles available. The KFC People Promise sums up the approach: if employees want a career with KFC they can absolutely have one. This promise extends to all staff, even those who view their employment there as only short-term.

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MICHAEL STANLEY HR DIRECTOR VODAFONE AUSTRALIA

Since 2009, Vodafone has been on a remarkable change journey, one that has seen several major challenges along the way. A merger between Hutchison 3 and Vodafone Australia went as smoothly as any major merger could, but it was the unexpected fallout from a significant network failure not long afterwards that almost crippled the telecoms giant. More than two million customers left the network between 2010 and 2013. Calls dropped out, data was slow, and ‘Vodafail’ became a common punchline to countless jokes around Australia. Stanley, a 10-year veteran of the company, says a strong culture, openness and transparency around everything that was happening, and a deep commitment to treating people with respect and fairness – not to mention massive network infrastructure spending and a renewed commitment to customer service – helped turn the company around.

KATE MCCORMACK

GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PEOPLE, LEARNING AND CULTURE, MERCY HEALTH Mercy Health’s top HR initiative during the past 12 months has been the successful attainment of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s Employer of Choice for Gender Equality citation. The citation is listed as a priority item in the Mercy Health Strategic Plan 2013/17 and the company is committed to ensuring equity across pay, performance and decision-making. McCormack tells HRD another major achievement over the past 12 months has been on the recruitment front. Mercy has streamlined its recruitment process through the use of various technologies, such as Sonru, an online interview tool that greatly reduces first-round screening time.

In early 2015, the HR team were required to fill 120 roles at a newly opened residential aged care home. HR used Sonru for every role, from housekeeping and carer roles right up to senior nursing and management positions.

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22/10/2015 11:20:58 AM

CHRIS BLAKE EXECUTIVE GENERAL MANAGER, CORPORATE AFFAIRS & PEOPLE AUSTRALIA POST There’s no doubt that Chris Blake has been in the hot seat since he joined Australia Post in July 2010. Sadly, it’s been a hot seat for unfortunate reasons. In 2014, Australia Post announced 900 redundancies; this was followed in June 2015 by the announcement that it would cut almost 2,000 jobs over the next three years. With fewer letters being sent, Australia Post has reportedly lost almost $500m during the last financial year, prompting the voluntary redundancy program. The organisation has established a fund to retrain and redeploy staff as a part of its “commitment to protect our employees, our post offices, and the community”. This is set to include a provisional budget of $190m for voluntary redundancies. Blake will be drawing on his wealth of experience in overseeing complex organisation-wide change programs in banking and at PwC in order to guide the HR operations of the troubled government-owned entity.

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22/10/2015 11:21:02 AM

FEATURES

RELOCATION

LIVING THE LIFE: HOLDING ON TO EXPATS Providing international assignments to employees can be a strong retention tool, especially for high performers. However, HR professionals must become more adept at identifying levers other than compensation to ensure these employees remain engaged IF IMAGES of plush accommodation, maids, childcare and top schooling for kids spring to mind when the word ‘expat’ is mentioned, it may be time for a rethink.

The financial frugality that has hit many employers means that, unfortunately, the “landscape has changed” for expats who may be expecting extremely generous packages as reward for their overseas stints.

That’s the view of Lorraine Jennings, a global mobility, organisational and cultural diversity specialist who works for Mercer.

However, it’s a view backed by solid research.

Mercer’s 2015 Worldwide Survey of International Assignment Policies and Practices suggests that the number of international assignees continues to increase.

Of the Top 10 countries where employers expect to see the highest increase in assignees, the highest is the US at 41%. China is at 38%, followed by Singapore at 18%, and India is at 10%, while Australia sits at the lowest end of the Top 10 at 8%.

However, the research reveals the key obstacles to the success of expat assignments.

The composition of benefits on offer to expats is also changing (see tables and graphs).

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Not only are many companies now taking a more restrained approach to the financial packages being offered to expats, but they are probing deeper into the reasons why people are being sent on these assignments.

There is also greater cross-departmental coordination occurring: the links between the mobility, reward and talent teams are becoming stronger.

“When you think about a traditional

TRENDS WORLDWIDE Which of these factors have been responsible for assignment failure in the last two years?

Poor candidate selection

43.6%

Difficulty adjusting to the host country

41.4%

Poor job performance

41.4%

Spouse or partner unhappiness

40.8%

Other family concerns

23.2%

Assignee offered a better job in a different company

22.5%

Job did not meet assignee’s expectations

19.5%

Poor management of international assignees

17.4%

Not applicable – we had no such cases

6.8%

Other

4.0%

Number of respondents: 672 Source: Mercer’s 2015 Worldwide Survey of International Assignment Policies and Practices

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approach to mobility, it was always about logistics: sending an employee from point A to point B,” says Jennings. “Today there’s more analysis being done about the strategic reasons why such moves are taking place. It’s about sending the right talent to the right place at the right time with the right packages.”

This ‘segmented approach’ is slowly replacing the common misconception that one size package fits all kinds of assignments. That approach doesn’t work today, says Jennings. “Some of the reasons or categories for sending people overseas are career management or talent management,” she says. “A lot of emphasis is being placed on development – new hires and young graduates are being sent on developmental training assignments. Then there are permanent one-way transfers. There are rotations, and particularly there are many locally hired foreigners in the mix as well. So the make-up of salary and benefits has had to change.”

Local Plus packages Organising the right package remains an ongoing challenge for employers. A growing

worldwide trend, led by Asia-Pacific, has been the growth in ‘Expat Lite’ or ‘Local Plus’ packages, especially when sending employees to locations like Singapore, Hong Kong and even Shanghai. “This localised approach puts employees on a local peer salary, with benefits

do you get them off that? That’s the question companies are posing to us – what can we do? There’s no easy answer,” says Jennings.* And for those wondering, today it’s unusual to have location hardship percentages added to a remuneration package. “This is only usually

“Don’t just talk to assignees about the salary and benefits. Talk to them about the support they’ll receive” Lorraine Jennings like housing and education on top of that,” says Jennings.

In addition, many companies are also transitioning many of the more generous benefits out of the package within two to three years (some do it at five), but many are reducing the transition period.

It’s possible this last development has come about due to the growing number of long-tenured employees who have lived on expat packages for years. Jennings cites one client who had an employee on such a package in Hong Kong for 25 years. “How

paid to employees based in really difficult locations – second- or third-tier countries,” says Jennings. “Singapore, Hong Kong and even Shanghai are considered to have infrastructure that is on par with Western locations.”

Creative benefits Other employers are getting more creative – rather than more financially generous – with the benefits they are offering to expats.

Mercer has identified a trend in employers offering specialist end-to-end financial advice prior to departure; while working

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FEATURES

RELOCATION

PREVALENCE PROVISION OF POLICY ELEMENTS Summary of benefits – Traditional vs Local Plus packages in Australia and Singapore Policy elements

Any home/host combination

Australia

Singapore

Traditional

Local Plus

Local Plus

Mobility allowance Cost of living allowance Hardship allowance (hardship locations only) Incidental allowance Housing Utilities Dependants’ education Transportation Medicinal benefit Pension plan Immigration assistance Tax equalisation Tax and social security assistance Home leave support Relocation services Cross-cultural training Language training Transportation of household goods

Common

Traditional: Home-based balance-sheet, tax equalised approach Local Plus: Local peer salary with ‘Plus’ elements transitioned over 2–3 years

Less common/limited

Never or rarely provided

Source: Mercer’s 2014 Location Specific Local Plus Survey and 2015 Worldwide Survey of International Assignment Policies and Practices

overseas; and upon their return. For George Mileski of Mercer Financial Advice, this presents new opportunities for employers to protect their valuable human assets.

“It all starts off with awareness – raising awareness of the issues and challenges faced by expats. What we’ve seen is a lack of awareness of these issues and challenges.

There are good reasons for this. Expats can be time-poor and they may not be entirely sure what they’re facing in a move overseas.

They also usually don’t have the expertise or inclination to organise themselves financially,” he says.

There are, in fact, myriad issues facing expats regarding their personal finances.

They’ll be facing multiple jurisdictions as well as financial and legal loopholes.

Taking care of issues related to retirement

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savings, insurances, investments and tax considerations can be a complex but vitally important process.

“One thing expats are telling us is that a big source of frustration is the lack of access to specialist support to help them understand the key issues and key decisions that they need to make,” Mileski says.

While Mileski says some employers do provide tax briefings before an employee goes on assignment, “it tends to be more about tax filing and tax preparation rather than broader financial issues”.

He notes that this support is important prior to an assignment but also while they’re away, and on their return to Australia as well.

Employers can consider how they can ease some of this expat stress by looking at the types of questions Australians who are about

to embark on a global assignment are asking.

Most Australians who leave our local shores to progress their careers and experience new cultures will eventually repatriate back to Australia. They might be asking: • Will my current insurances cover me and my family while away?

• How do I manage tax on investments?

• How will my superannuation be impacted on?

• What’s going to happen to my self-managed super fund?

The last two items in particular are critical. “Super will be the biggest asset for most Aussies, alongside their family home.

Clearly, it’s not one-time set and forget,” Mileski says.

The last few years are a case in point.

Many expats have been on assignments for a number of years, yet during that time there has been a significant amount of legislative change within retirement planning policy.

Mileski cites one large Mercer client with many Australians abroad. The local HR team was being asked questions about these changes. “We provided a briefing to the Aussies based abroad and the feedback has been immense,” he says. “A lot of people started re-engaging with their super and retirement planning.”

What else might expats need to be aware of ?

“The main reason why people go abroad is to not only enhance their career but also to improve their financial position, so the most important thing is to manage their cash flow and make investments for their superannuation,” says Mileski. “You cannot allow your super to remain stagnant.”

Questions employees might be asking about their super might be: • How and where should I continue contributing while I’m away?

• How about the investment options within my super fund – do I leave it where it is or should I adjust it?

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BIGGEST OBSTACLES TO MOBILITY Percentage of companies with two highest scores DUAL CAREER/FAMILY-RELATED ISSUES

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CURRENT CONDITIONS ARE TOO COSTLY

31

25

CAREER MANAGEMENT ISSUES

27 30

23 18

PACKAGE NOT ATTRACTIVE ENOUGH 14

25

20

11

NEGATIVE RETURNEE FEEDBACK 13

30

12

POLICIES NOT REFLECTING NEEDS

16

35

35

HARDSHIP/REMOTE LOCATIONS

31

40

37

15

8

LACK OF POLICY FLEXIBILITY 10

5

0

0

5

ASIA-PACIFIC

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

WORLDWIDE Source: Mercer’s 2015 Worldwide Survey of International Assignment Policies and Practices

Any superannuation decisions should also be factored into a broader retirement savings plan. It should be noted that many employees might be unaware of the ‘preservation age’. The preservation age is the earliest date they can access their super.

“We’ve had many expats express surprise when they learn that, if you’re born after 1 July 1964, you cannot access your super until age 60. So they’ll need to incorporate strategies to give them an amount of capital before they can use their super,” says Mileski.

He suggests another consideration is the insurances within the fund. “Most Australians will hold the bulk of their insurance via their superannuation, but we’ve seen a number of funds where a person becomes a non-resident and the cover that the expat thought they had didn’t exist due to that non-residency status. Some careful thought and planning needs to be done.”

Mileski adds that most Aussies are underinsured, and going abroad provides some additional financial risks and challenges. For example, most longer-term assignees will bring the family across, so it’s important to consider that in the overall planning strategy.

A word of warning: employers should not be providing financial advice to employees.

“We believe employers should understand the challenges expats face but also be able to communicate that awareness to expats themselves – providing them with financial briefings and access to specialist advice to let the employee decide where and when and how they make these decisions,” says Mileski.

difference between one employee package and another might be the support the employee receives.

“Don’t just talk to assignees about the salary and benefits,” Jennings suggests. “Talk to them about the support they’ll receive: financial planning assistance, cross-cultural training support, assistance with settling in and home and school search. You can’t just say, ‘Here’s your package’, and dump them in a new location.”

Mileski echoes this and adds that the next innovation in expat benefits is helping families with their finances, helping them understand the issues they’ll face, and providing support around these issues – “building a holistic endto-end service”, he says.

A holistic approach Today employers are very aware of the ‘value proposition’ they present to employees, and this is no different for expats. And today, the value proposition comes down to a holistic approach. Jennings suggests a key point of

*In this particular case Jennings noted that as much as the CEO wanted to reduce the benefits on offer to this long-tenured employee, he was unable to. “The employee was very senior and only had a few years until retirement. He was very experienced and they needed his expertise. The problem emerged because this had not been written into his employment contract. The employer was unable to pare back his benefits or transition him to a different benefits package. Our advice would be to include this clause in the employment contract, otherwise it’s difficult to make the change.”

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EXPERT INSIGHT

MIGRATION

KNOW YOUR EMPLOYEES’ WORK RIGHTS Sarah Thapa outlines what you need to know about the Department of Immigration’s crackdown on non-compliance with immigration laws ON 1 JULY 2015, a new enforcement arm of the Department of Immigration, called Australia Border Force, came into being.

Since July and the establishment of the Australia Border Force, we have seen a rise in the number of investigations, and enforcement action being taken against businesses that have failed to provide pay and work conditions in accordance with immigration and workplace laws.

Employer’s obligations Australian businesses are obliged to only employ staff authorised to work in Australia and to employ those workers in conditions as permitted by their visas.

The Migration Amendment (Reform of Employer Sanctions) Act 2013 creates a strict liability offence for any business that employs a person, allows a person to be employed, or refers a person for work without work rights in Australia. This includes both employees and contractors.

Employers must take “reasonable steps” to verify that a person is authorised to work in Australia. Failing to do so is a breach of these laws.

Consequences of non-compliance Under the legislation, Fair Work Inspectors are empowered to check that employers are compliant, and the onus is on the employer to be able to produce records or otherwise

SIX SIMPLE STEPS FOR EMPLOYERS We recommend some simple guidelines to help employers manage the risks of non-compliance: 1. Maintain personal records for all new and existing employees, detailing: » Australian citizenship, permanent residency, or New Zealand citizenship; » Each temporary visa holder’s work rights and conditions; 2. Conduct regular checks of work rights for each temporary visa holder, using the Department of Immigration and Border Patrol’s Visa Entitlement Verification Online System. A good rule of thumb is to refresh these records every three months for the duration of their employment.

3. Monitor the tasks and duties performed by sponsored temporary visa holders to ensure they are consistent with the occupation for which the visa holder was granted their visa.

4. Ensure that procedures and training provided to relevant persons to maintain compliance with immigration laws are documented.

5. Keep documentation related to verification of individual workers.

6. Regularly review your employment contracts to ensure they comply with current immigration law and policy, and contain appropriate provisions.

It can also be helpful to centralise your business’s compliance program by appointing a compliance manager to oversee the company’s immigration program and compliance efforts. demonstrate that steps to verify a person’s work rights were taken.

Employers that fail to comply with these laws can incur significant penalties. In addition, where an employer is “knowingly or recklessly” in breach of the law, the executive officers of the business can be fined or sentenced to a period of imprisonment of up to two years.

Next steps The new, proactive approach to investigation

and prosecution of non-compliant businesses is a timely reminder for businesses to check that they are meeting their responsibilities under immigration and Fair Work laws.

Compliance and reputational risks to business can be significantly reduced if some of these simple recommendations are implemented in your business.

Sarah Thapa is managing director of The Migration Agency. For further information, phone (02) 8896 6056 or visit themigrationagency.com.au.

pr 30

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22/10/2015 10:22:39 AM

PROFILE

INTERNATIONAL HR

20:20 VISION FOR 2020 How far does your team plan ahead? One year?

Two years? How about until 2020? That’s the plan in place for sportswear giant adidas Group. HRD chats to one of the company’s global HR leaders

The adidas Group’s headquarters campus offers sporting facilities, including the Adi Dassler Stadium

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WITH SHORT-TERMISM rife in most businesses, whereby the focus is solely on the next quarter or perhaps the next year, it’s unusual to find a company focusing as heavily on long-term plans as they do at global sportswear company adidas Group – and even more unusual that HR at adidas should have its own dedicated but complementary long-term plans.

The company is currently closing off its multiyear HR strategy known as ‘New Way of Working’ (NWoW), which was built around five key factors that influence the organisation’s environment and culture.

The focus is now shifting towards a new ‘People Strategy’ as part of a new strategic business plan, ‘Creating the New’, which will run until 2020.

“NWoW plays a kind of foundational role as we now evolve into a more precise and dedicated People Strategy, designed to help us ensure our overall business objectives continue

OVERARCHING, COMPANY-WIDE DRIVERS Tate explains that the key elements of the People Strategy are four pillars derived from: a) Megatrends that adidas sees in the world: VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity); multiple generations simultaneously in the workplace; talent having won the War for Talent and now choosing their workplace; a constantly changing competitor landscape; a need for agility and choice; and the knowledge that one must be the one to disrupt, lest they be disrupted. b) The adidas view that employees are consumers too and therefore need to be treated like consumers. adidas brands provide consumers with experiences and an ecosystem of touchpoints – similarly, the company as an employer needs to provide employees with a holistic experience.

to be met and exceeded,” explains Gregg Tate, adidas Group’s senior vice president, HR: sales/markets/affiliates. “It’s not only an objective of HR but of each and every leader within the company, and is one of the four pillars of the five-year business plan.”

The Creating the New business plan is built around three major strategic objectives: speed, cities and open source.

“With the launch of Creating the New, we have also, for the first time, launched a People Strategy,” says Tate. “This People Strategy, with its four pillars [detailed below], provides a framework for global and functional initiatives that enable our people to implement the company strategy and better achieve, and exceed, our objectives.”

The People Strategy aims for maximum alignment of all people-related efforts and resources across the group and is a constant reminder to business leaders that people are the key enablers of adidas’ strategy.

Innovation in focus The fourth pillar of the People Strategy, ‘fostering a creative climate’, is emerging as a key differentiator for business success. adidas Group is no different to other organisations seeking to unlock the creative ideas – and by extension the innovation – of their people.

“We are innovation and design leaders, full stop,” says Tate. “We seek to help athletes of all skill levels achieve peak performance with every product we bring to market. Our employees are creators.”

One goal of the People Strategy is to create an environment in which employees can thrive as individuals and have everything they need to execute against company goals – this includes providing them not just with the tools they require to do their jobs but also with benefits and physical workspaces that reinforce collaboration and innovation.

“We are putting a lot of focus on the

FOUR PILLARS: 1) Meaningful reasons to join and stay: adidas offers a portfolio of personalised choices and opportunities that differentiate the company as an employer.

2) Role models who inspire us: adidas brands work with key assets – similarly, the company finds internal role models that personify, live and breathe the culture.

3) Bring forward fresh and diverse perspectives: adidas believes in the power of diverse teams. Diversity is a key to innovation. The adidas consumer base is diverse, and so the employee base must also be diverse, in order to provide a better focus on that consumer.

4) Creative climate to make a difference: the adidas leadership knows that an attractive work environment is important in order for people to develop themselves personally and professionally. That’s why the company is constantly striving to create a work environment that stimulates innovation, collaboration and engagement. “With ‘My Arena’, the workplace of the future of the adidas Group, we make sure that we provide creators with a creative climate to inspire them and motivate them to make a difference,” Tate says. “This new workplace concept is one that provides maximum flexibility, activity-based working, mobility, choice, personalisation, and spaces where creative energy can flow.”

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PROFILE

INTERNATIONAL HR ADIDAS GROUP AT A GLANCE

adidas ‘Laces’, Herzogenaurach, Germany, opened in 2011 and provides space for 1,700 employees

Headquarters: Herzogenaurach, Germany Founded: 1920 Brands: adidas, Reebok, Rockport, TaylorMade Employees: 53,781 globally; 425 in Australia Source: IBIS World

Interior of the adidas ‘Laces’ building, Herzogenaurach, Germany

future of work. What type of work environments and places inspire people to do their best work? We look at how the environment we create can express and nurture our culture – examples include benefits such as our world-class gym, running tracks, climbing walls, on-site daycares.”

The company has also trialled a new office facility with a flexible workspace format in an effort to improve the culture of collaboration and creativity.

“We know an attractive and inspiring work environment is an important contributor for people to develop themselves personally and professionally,” says Tate.

“That’s why we are constantly striving to create a work environment that stimulates innovation, collaboration and engagement.

With ‘My Arena’, we make sure that we provide creators with a creative climate in which they can ensure they make a difference.”

All elements of the People Strategy will be

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INNOVATION IS A TEAM SPORT adidas works towards the notion that innovation is a skill, not just a talent. And just like any other skill, it can and should be developed. To do just that, the company has launched the adidas Group Innovation Academy (aGIA) pilot program in North America.

The aGIA is a 10-week course, using video lectures, exercises and assignments to challenge employees’ assumptions and inspire creativity. Although only in a trial phase, if successful the Academy will be rolled out globally.

rolled out globally across all locations and brands within the adidas Group. HR has naturally been a part of this strategy from the beginning.

“From an HR vantage point, people are at the heart of everything we do,” says Tate. “We want to create an ecosystem that creates value

Recreation room in the ‘pitch’ building, where employees pitch new ideas

for our people at every touchpoint, something we call ‘Moments That Matter’: when they join the company; when they make career moves; when they become parents; when they go on sabbatical, etc. In a nutshell, it means that HR becomes more proactive and professional in servicing the needs of our people – looking at them as our consumers.”

Future challenges Tate is himself a veteran of the company, having joined in 1988. His tenure has led to HR roles in the US, Europe and Asia. “adidas has afforded me many professional and personal opportunities through the years and a chance to greatly expand my own personal horizons through international assignments. It is a tremendous company,” he says.

Tate has also seen his profession progress from being called ‘personnel’ to ‘human

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resources’. He says it was not just the appeal of HR – connecting people – that initially attracted him, but also helping people to fulfil their potential, helping to motivate them and to perform at their best, “all of which gets me up in the morning”, he says.

Today, HR mirrors adidas Group’s business structure, with HR partners within each of the four main business segments: commercial, brands, operations and finance/ corporate services, in addition to talent and rewards teams. Tate’s current role sees him providing HR partnership and leadership for the adidas global sales team, plus the company’s nine geographic markets around the world, and its affiliate brands.

Looking ahead, the greatest HR challenge facing Tate and his team would come as no surprise to other HRDs: it’s about ensuring

the company has the right talent, at the right time, to fulfil the needs of its businesses and to be successful and continue to grow.

creating the right work environment and engagement initiatives.

“All this happens in a rapidly changing

“We are innovation and design leaders, full stop. We seek to help athletes of all skill levels achieve peak performance with every product we bring to market. Our employees are creators” Gregg Tate , adidas Group Tate adds that this covers a myriad of elements, from recruiting, onboarding, training and developing, to providing challenging opportunities to employees, to

world where the speed of technology often outpaces the ability to utilise it,” he says. “So, making sure we stay on the leading edge of the curve, that’s what keeps me up at night.”

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FEATURES

HIGH PERFORMANCE

THE FOUR MINDSETS OF LEADERS There are no silver bullets for motivating and leading a high-performance team, yet your mindset as a leader can play a crucial role. Anna-Lucia Mackay outlines how and why some leaders are more successful than others

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OVER THE last few years, the concept of mindsets has been a topic of increasing interest, perhaps due to the growing realisation in business today that there is a direct correlation between an employee’s mindset and their performance. In fact, evidence regularly suggests that mindsets can often deliver more in terms of employee performance than qualifications, education and, at times, even experience. So if mindsets are so powerful we need to understand more about them.

A good place to start is to analyse the mindsets of employees and managers and

time that the line manager plays a critical role in influencing high performance, but exactly how they influence high levels of performance has been less clear and often confusing. The management rulebooks have significantly changed in the last 20 years, and so too have the people we manage.

behaviours that will trigger high performance, and these behaviours can be categorised into four different mindsets. Let’s take a closer look at these four mindsets and the starting point for each.

First things first. What is a mindset?

The manager who displays the emotionally intelligent mindset is a conscious role model who understands that how they go about their work on a day-to-day basis will significantly impact on and influence the performance levels of their people. This manager is constantly and consciously looking for cues and signals from their team through their actions, responses, body language and tone of voice, all of which provide critical information on how to manage each person more effectively.

For some managers, this is second nature; for most, it is a choice they must actively make. Many managers who are caught up in the busyness of their days do not necessarily pick up on this information and therefore miss out on the opportunity to make use of it later on, particularly in situations related to performance and feedback. The first place to start to develop this mindset is to teach managers to be self-aware. It is this ability that typically distinguishes those who are highly emotionally intelligent from those who are not.

Self-awareness is about having a clear perception of your own personality, motivations, needs, drivers, beliefs, hot and cold buttons and so on. It is only once you are self-aware that you can start to understand more accurately the behaviour of others. As a manager, once you are able to read and interpret clues in others, you are then able to predict their likely response in situations and to pre-prepare your response to them. This mindset helps a manager avoid potentially regretful situations as a result of knee-jerk responses.

A simple definition is ‘a way of thinking that determines a person’s behaviour, outlook and attitude’. How your people think and feel will determine how they go about their work, how

The first place to start to develop this mindset is to teach managers to be self-aware. It is this ability that typically distinguishes those who are highly emotionally intelligent from those who are not how they interrelate and correlate. By doing this we start to understand more about what makes people tick and to start to clearly identify the links between how people think and feel – and the impact this has on how they act, behave and perform.

Unfortunately this is an area few understand and most avoid, despite the fact that it holds the potential to dramatically increase results and performance. It’s also probably exactly why it has attracted the attention of Wall Street analysts. From more than 5,000 surveys, performance assessments, one-on-one interviews and 12-month case studies, research has found that there are a set of triggers that directly link to sustained high performance in an individual.

These triggers point to four management mindsets responsible for generating a set of positive feelings, thoughts, observations, assumptions, perceptions and beliefs about the person who leads them: the line manager. We have all known for some

engaged they are and how committed they are to you, the organisation and their goals.

So, managing an employee’s mindset from the moment they join your team or organisation becomes imperative.

MINDSETS: MUST-KNOW FACTS The important things to understand about mindsets: 1. They are generated over time.

2. They can be conscious.

3. They can be unconscious (that is, they can build up over time).

4. Likewise, they can change in an instant, eg through a defining moment.

5. They are influenced by a person’s beliefs, assumptions and perceptions (which may not always conform to reality).

The Four Mindsets The research shows that high-performance managers consciously choose a set of

1

The Emotional Intelligence Mindset

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FEATURES

HIGH PERFORMANCE 2

The Connection Mindset

Research continually shows that high-performing employees typically feel connected. How this is achieved is usually through the line manager consciously connecting their people on many levels.

The reason this is often not achieved is that managers typically misunderstand the difference between communication and connection. In simple terms, communication is sharing information, whereas connection is more about communicating in such a way that some sort of emotional bond is achieved.

The act of connecting goes far deeper than communication and takes more effort, time, and skill. It also requires a deeper understanding of others to be able to achieve it. There are many areas to consider when looking at connection, but one of the best places to start is to look at the strength of connection between manager and employee. This crucial connection is driven by many things, but in my view the most important factor is the often-misunderstood ‘psychological contract’.

The psychological contract is in play every minute of every day at work. It can be under threat with every conversation and every action that occurs. It fuels the

HOW COMPETENT ARE YOU? These competencies apply to all businesses and should be measured and assessed through the probation period and beyond, until competence is deemed to be achieved: • Product awareness: How well you know the products and services and can articulate them.

• Process awareness: How well you apply processes and procedures and understand the impact of each component.

• Personal awareness: How well you understand how others perceive you.

• People awareness: How well you interact and work with others.

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connection between manager and employee and subjectively measures perceptions of fairness, trust, loyalty and delivery on expectations (both ways). Every manager must understand this concept as it has the ability to make or break a connection in an instant – and the willingness and motivation to perform, or not!

3

The Growth Mindset

One of the most important roles of a manager is to coach, train and develop their people to enhance their skills and knowledge. The Growth Mindset is more than this, though. The manager who adopts this mindset is focused on increasing confidence in their people, as confidence is often a precursor to high performance and unlocking potential. Our experience shows that the best managers see qualities in individuals that the individual sometimes cannot see for themselves. These managers identify hidden potential and actively work towards building confidence in that person to help them realise it.

Contrary to what many people think, confidence is a teachable skill. There is a specific pathway to building confidence in a person, and a manager should know this and work to develop it in others every day.

The starting point here is to consider four key competencies. Each competency is equally important and each competency will either fuel or undermine the confidence people have in themselves – or the confidence others have in them.

Only once competence is achieved does the magic start to happen. Competence will drive confidence and this will facilitate people stepping out of their comfort zone, taking calculated risks – and step out on the road to high performance and high potential.

4

The Performance Mindset

As a manager, accountability, focus and the performance of your team should be your top priority. This mindset will

determine your team’s level of success as well as yours. It will also directly impact on whether or not people consider you to be an accountable, focused and performancedriven manager.

Accountable managers with focused minds consistently outperform others.

Having clarity about what needs to be achieved and a commitment to the tasks typically gets the job done. Managers with high levels of control (not to be mistaken for micro-management, which is quite different) usually have greater self-control and focus. They also stay composed and positive, even in testing situations, think clearly under pressure and can anticipate problems and potential bottlenecks.

Basic human behaviour indicates that when control is lost, fear typically rises and emotions are triggered. As a consequence, there is an undermining of performance and relationships. The high-performing manager is able to anticipate problems and does not let this happen. The number one place to start is to set the right expectations early on, and this fairly straightforward action will save so much emotional energy and time in the long run.

In our experience, most negative conversations link back to unclear and unrealistic expectations and/or inconsistent follow-up. Ensure that managers qualify and validate expectations using objective data and do not base their expectations on hopes, ideals and unfair comparisons. This, together with consistent follow-up, will ensure that people know what is expected of them – which for most people today is actually more reassuring than undermining.

Anna-Lucia Mackay is an educator, speaker and writer in the fields of emotional intelligence and management. She is the author of The Four Mindsets – How to Influence, Motivate and Lead a High Performance Team (Wiley) and in 2012 was a finalist for the Telstra Business Women’s Awards in recognition of her work in these fields. For more information, visit hcmglobal.biz.

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13/10/2015 11:33 22/10/2015 10:24:16 AM

FEATURES

E-LEARNING

EDUCATING MINDS, CHANGING BEHAVIOURS Staying on top of Australia’s complicated employment laws has never been easy, but e-learning may provide a cost-effective solution for both employees and managers ‘MINISTER RESIGNS following employee bullying allegations’; ‘AFP to pay compensation over bullying and sexual harassment’; ‘Public servants’ mental stress claims spiralling’ – these are just three headlines from the last month of news stories on HC Online. They point to a spate of ongoing inappropriate behaviour in workplaces across Australia.

Australian organisations have both the obligation and responsibility to protect their employees from unlawful conduct in the workplace, yet the approach thus far for dealing with inappropriate employee behaviour – including bullying and harassment – has fallen short. It’s time for a rethink.

She adds that a strong compliance strategy that delivers contextualised training to support comprehensive policies is a critical component in meeting these challenges.

To that end, Learning Seat, in partnership with law firm Lander & Rogers, has developed the Law at Work e-learning compliance suite, which includes:

The focus group identified the need for a product with widespread appeal and ease of use; ideally, it had to be suitable for everyone, from senior-level roles to frontline workers.

“Balancing narrative-based content with traditional text-based screens was highlighted as a priority to meet the needs of diverse workforces,” says Edge. “Learning Seat already

In order to create engaging learning experiences, the legal content is contextualised; the learners are placed at the centre of workplace scenarios

A different approach If knowledge is power, then appropriate training could provide a solution – but until now providing that training to both employees and managers has been prohibitively expensive.

“Balancing risk against the cost of a sound safety and appropriate workplace behaviour strategy is critical to achieving business success,” says Learning Seat’s Georgia Edge, product manager – content library.

“Above all, those responsible must protect their organisation and their people from unlawful behaviour, maintain an ethical work environment, and instil a safe work culture.”

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yy contextualised content that suits all levels of an organisation yy clear messaging that fosters a safety culture and ethical behaviour yy legally compliant content that supports your workplace policies yy trackable online training that provides evidence of participation The suite builds on Learning Seat’s 15 years of e-learning and compliance experience, as well as consultation with a focus group of HR directors, people & culture managers and legal counsel from a diverse range of industries.

offers a diverse range of courses covering the topic of bullying, for example, but clients with large workforces were looking for choice.

The market has outgrown a ‘one size fits all’ content model.”

While compliance will probably never be the favourite subject of choice for most employees (and managers), e-learning has helped enliven this traditionally grey area.

Learning Seat presented a range of content concepts to the compliance focus group.

As the hoped-for end goal is not just ‘tick the box’ compliance but also behavioural change, Law at Work encourages behavioural

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translated into educative material,” says Edge.

The end result is a suite of nine courses on: yy bullying yy sexual harassment yy equal opportunity in employment yy health & safety yy electronic communication & social media yy privacy yy misleading and deceptive conduct yy competition law yy consumer law All Law at Work courses support compliance obligations across all Australian states and territories. Any state-specific information is delivered via resources accessible in the online course. Courses are relevant to all employees, contractors, volunteers, management and board members, in all industries.

No more ‘tick and flick’ training change through a combination of immersive pictorial storytelling, established learning theories, and traditional audio, video and textbased knowledge building.

“We consistently hear from our clients that storytelling in training works, and therefore we’ve carried this technique through to our latest product,” says Edge.

To create engaging learning experiences, the legal content is contextualised; learners are placed at the centre of workplace scenarios via: yy emotional connections to human stories yy real-world scenarios based on case law yy character point-of-view insights yy interactive decision points

Legal foundations Just as important as the learning options – if not more so given Australia’s complicated and ever-changing employment laws – is the content. Importantly, Learning Seat’s 11 in-house e-learning experts collaborated with 16 of Lander & Rogers’ lawyers.

This is not the first time such a collaboration has occurred. In 2012, Learning Seat partnered with Lander & Rogers to deliver online compliance training that aimed to achieve

strong compliance outcomes for businesses, and a strong engagement response from learners. The S.A.F.E. Files became Learning Seat’s compliance solution.

The S.A.F.E. Files compliance suite uses storytelling to effectively engage its audience, as well as a range of other techniques to increase information retention and assist learners to align with positive safety messaging.

Many of the same learning concepts applied in The S.A.F.E Files have been broadened and built upon in the Law at Work suite. The S.A.F.E Files aimed to: yy use popular culture to connect with audiences yy recognise language and literacy barriers, and devise communication methods to overcome these hurdles yy produce a product that was reflective of high-quality digital content found across the internet “The planning and design process [for Law at Work] saw our instructional designers work closely with members of the various legal teams to ensure the key legal principles that underpin the training are being accurately

For employers still sitting on the fence about taking a more proactive approach to enhancing their duty of care towards employee wellbeing and safety, consider this: the public service’s annual Comcare bill for bullying, harassment and ‘occupational violence’ is approaching $80m, and ‘mental harm’ claims have increased by 88% since 2009. Trauma arising from workplace bullying or violence now makes up the largest proportion of mental stress compensation claims among public servants. These claims are reportedly costing, on average, $342,000 each – but there have been almost 500 mental stress claims by public servants over the past five years with a price tag of $500,000 or more.

Clearly it’s time for a more proactive approach from employers.

“Effective compliance training should incite behaviour change and positively impact our client’s safety culture. Tick-and-flick training is not enough,” Edge concludes.

Learning Seat is an e-learning solutions provider with 15 years of experience building online compliance training that helps businesses create safe, reputable and high-performance workplaces. Get more information at learningseat.com.au or by calling 1300 133 151.

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22/10/2015 10:24:55 AM

FEATURES

TECHNOLOGY

HRIS AND GLOBALISATION It’s critical that your HR technology should be a facilitator of international business expansion rather than an impediment to it. HRD presents some essential steps to ensure your technology keeps up with global growth IT’S A problem facing any HR professional heading up an organisation that has grown internationally. Whether it’s expanding into Asia-Pacific or further afield there’s a swathe of ‘behind the scenes’ practical considerations for HR professionals to consider. Perhaps top of the list is the technology infrastructure that will keep things ticking over regardless of geographic location. At this juncture, many HRDs will consider consolidating all human capital management data into one solution. What should they be looking for to enable a global HRIS?

The common ground and the needs analysis The first step is to identify common business goals and common process design so everyone understands that the global business will need to consolidate, and how their particular roles contribute to common outcomes.

“Many companies need to change strategic direction, and for some countries more than others, alignment and strategic communication and performance-sharing is important in this situation,” says Kevin Brooks, Frontier Software’s national sales and marketing manager.

Evaluating the needs of your stakeholders in each location, along with local compliance and strategic business requirements, is also an essential early step. HRDs should: allocate a project manager perform a needs analysis collate and document all requirements

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Implementing global systems across multiple countries and entities takes time.

Never underestimate the need analysis stage as it will ensure the system you select is able to meet your needs today and into the future. Depending on the size of the organisation, the needs-gathering phase

may take weeks or even months.

Your HRIS system needs the ability to grow with you and the changing pace of your business. A documented needs analysis will be your blueprint and checklist for your ideal global HRIS system. If you don’t have the resources to dedicate to this important step,

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you may consider utilising an independent third-party consultant who has experience in implementing global solutions.

“Make sure all administrative and legal processes related to employing people are covered,” suggests Brooks. “This includes paying employees, health benefits, and legislative compliance. Without effective personnel management tailored to local compliance, an organisation can’t function effectively.”

Key considerations Reporting on a global basis is one of the key benefits you will achieve by consolidating your HR information. In order to effectively harness the benefits of your HR global hub you should aim for: a single database solution an easy-to-use reporting tool effective and flexible security multilanguage and currency capability localised support services localised forms and system views user customisation by location dashboard capability for metrics and analytics

TOP TIPS FOR GLOBAL HRIS DEPLOYMENT 1. Target common business processes for all regions, engage all people involved, confirm regional resources availability, and obtain local work practices. The implementation of a system in one region does not guarantee the success of the implementation in another region. Each new roll-out should always address local issues to make the system compatible with the local language, experience using software, etc. Consult the local managers and get buy-in and, importantly, obtain their feedback on any issues that could affect the roll-out.

2. Users should always get advance warning of the new planned system, with regular reminders, right up until roll-out day. Give users specific details on the timing and format of the implementation so there are no surprises for them, and have people available to answer any questions about the new global HRIS system. Advance notification allows users to prepare any work or necessary documentation beforehand.

3. Phase the roll-out country by country or region by region. The supplier of the HRIS software system will be well aware of any issues that other companies or departments have experienced, and they are the most qualified to help ensure a smooth roll-out. Instead of struggling to deal with the change in-house, take advantage of the vendor knowledge, and involve them at each stage, taking their advice on how best to handle the roll-out globally.

Leveraging global technology

needs to be fast, easy and seamless across a variety of platforms. The HRIS technology that you choose plays an important role in building your virtual HR office. Important functionality to aim for includes: internet and intranet capability user-friendly interface suitable for: »» strategic HR and executive teams »» operational HR and payroll »» employee and manager self-service »» dashboard analytics mobile technology continuous improvement

Of course, global operations also mean that employees will be on the go, all the time – including HR staff.

A global HR system that provides a corporate skills framework will allow the business to utilise the skills of employees in multiple locations that understand your product and business when needed. This provides opportunities for both the enterprise and your workforce: allowing employees to share their skills and knowledge with counterparts in other countries may introduce greater efficiencies. Furthermore, employee resources can be shared when one location is experiencing quiet times and another is busy.

To facilitate this level of cross-border collaboration, deployment of HR information

While all the elements above are important, Brooks hones in on mobile technology.

“Mobility technology can enable any mobile workforce with adequate talent management tools to know exactly where your employees are at any given time,” he says. “In-built GPS maps and business knowledge to ensure employees are in the right place at the right time ensure work commitments can be met and management are kept informed.”

Next-generation global HRIS solutions should make life easier for your HR and payroll management team by enabling the team to operate beyond transactional roles.

Employees need a level of visibility to assist in this process and reduce the administrative

An additional tip: Having the ability to assign specific business rules for each location and country with common terminology allows consistent reporting of key information.

burden through an easy-to-use self-service HR portal.

Your managers also need tools to improve staff management and provide visibility from a cash flow perspective to ensure all available information is at hand to support the strategic planning and goals of the business. Managers should have a one-stop shop that can be viewed anywhere for all staff information.

Dashboard analytics ensures managers can view accurate information at a glance, monitor trends and collaborate as necessary.

In addition, dashboards make monitoring and reporting visible and easy across group, entity and country.

Regional or global expansion is an exciting if stressful time for all employees. When HR’s back-end support keeps up with this growth it can represent an enormous opportunity for HR practitioners to collaborate in order to harness the benefits the transforming workplace provides. Such a global perspective of HR management can potentially reduce costs, maximise workforce potential and deliver competitive advantage.

Frontier Software was founded in Melbourne in 1983 and is a global leader in payroll, HR and talent management solutions.

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22/10/2015 10:25:24 AM

FEATURES

EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT

LEARNING AT THE TOP Far from petering out the further up the corporate ladder they progress, executives need continuous learning to cope with the ever-evolving challenges they face. Karen Gately outlines some development options HOW WELL does your organisation approach the development of senior leaders?

Do the people at the top end of your business strive to grow their careers and capabilities?

Many organisations invest in the development of aspiring leaders and those in the early stages of their management careers. All too often, however, senior leaders are overlooked and little is done to deliberately influence their development. There’s a reason why so many organisations lack a clear succession plan for the CEO position.

Even CEOs must keep raising their game if they are to keep pace with the demands of their role. Leading any organisation into the future requires agility and learning.

Changing and evolving demands require new talents and ways of thinking. How does the CEO of your organisation have their thinking challenged, how do they learn and adapt, or develop their ability to make decisions concerning matters they haven’t faced before?

Stanford’s 2014 Report on Senior Executive Succession Planning and Talent Development found that fewer than half of the organisations surveyed had a formal process for developing successor candidates for key executive positions. Only 25% believed there was an adequate pool of ready successor candidates for the CEO position at their companies.

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Growing critical capabilities Much like for any other group, identifying the most relevant and appropriate development strategies for senior executives begins by understanding how each person and the team needs to improve and grow. Begin by reflecting on the effectiveness of the senior leadership team and each person on it. Reflect broadly on the technical, interpersonal and professional capabilities required.

Recognise the extent to which executives have the ability to effectively apply their capabilities to get the job done and contribute to the team’s success. Identify ways in which the team works effectively to drive outcomes and opportunities to improve. Take a balanced approach to prioritising the development initiatives deployed, in order to have the greatest impact on the organisation’s success.

Harvard Business School, together with leading executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles, looked at the demand of executive leadership roles and reported: “One strikingly consistent finding: once people reach the C-suite, technical and functional expertise matters less than leadership skills and a strong grasp of business fundamentals.”

Critically understand the context within which senior leaders operate, and target those competencies most likely to enable success.

For example, are the leaders of your business required to excel in a rapidly growing or changing environment, or is their primary focus on maturing an established business?

While the capabilities a senior leader brings may serve them well in one scenario, a shift in circumstances can dramatically impact upon their ability to deliver.

Development strategies Attending industry events or conferences and networking are common examples senior leaders provide when asked how they keep learning. While unquestionably valuable, these forums typically provide limited opportunities for real learning reflected in behavioural and capability change. Great for building awareness, providing fresh ideas and making new contacts, relevant conferences should form part of a broader and targeted development program for CEOs and their direct-report teams.

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Leadership circles

2

Executive development programs

Bring groups of senior leaders together to share their experiences and learn from one another. Whether provided by a third-party organisation or facilitated internally, leadership groups that meet regularly can provide powerful learning opportunities. When leaders feel connected to the group and are willing to be open and engaged, the impact on their development can be immense.

The most effective forums are those that provide the opportunity for participants to seek input on the challenges and opportunities they face. As relationships and knowledge of each other’s teams or businesses grow, leaders are able to provide valuable insights, ideas and moral support.

The role of the facilitator is to create an open environment, encourage contributions, and guide and prompt discussions.

Encourage and support leaders to undertake development programs that advance their

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THE 70:20:10 MODEL Although developed in the mid-1990s, the 70:20:10 model is still the most effective way to create positive learning outcomes for executives.

70%

of L&D comes from real-life and on-the-job experiences. For example, the real learning from a skill acquired in a training program, or from feedback, takes place back on the job when the skill or feedback is applied

20% 10%

credentials but more importantly grow their capabilities. Invest in those programs that provide far more than theoretical perspectives. Look for institutions and courses that offer executives the opportunity to apply lessons to their roles and organisations.

While distance learning is a preferred and more accessible option for many busy executives, the value of ‘contact time’ shouldn’t be underestimated. Encourage programs that provide some element of faceto-face interaction with other students and academic staff. Even periodic attendance ‘on campus’ and time away from the workplace can provide invaluable opportunities to realise value from the program.

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Mentoring

Connect senior leaders with other experienced people who are either more advanced in their careers or able to offer specialist expertise. For a successful mentoring relationship to form, mutual trust and respect is essential. The ideal mentor is someone able, through inspiration and suggestion, to influence the thoughts,

feelings, actions and ultimately the success of each executive.

While at times it is possible to orchestrate a connection that works, success is most likely to come from the executive identifying his or her own mentor. Create networking opportunities, make introductions and guide executives on how to find the right mentor for them. Actively encourage mentoring relationships and check in with senior leaders to see how these relationships are working for them.

“Mentors are role models who have ‘been there and done that’. They can offer timely, context-specific counsel drawn from experience; wisdom; and networks that are highly relevant to the problems to be solved.”

–Harvard Business Review: ‘CEOs need Mentors Too’

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Build diverse careers

Experience is the greatest teacher of all. No matter how well constructed and delivered, no academic program can compete with the learning that comes from assuming a ‘hands-on’ role. Provide leaders

comes from feedback and from observing and working with role models of L&D comes from formal training Source: Center for Creative Leadership

with the opportunity to broaden or change their portfolio of responsibilities. Develop the future CEO from among your ranks by growing not only the depth but also the breadth of your leadership team’s talents and experience.

While specialist expertise is important, with the right team and the support of the organisation a talented executive can be successful in a senior role outside of their areas of experience. Look for options aligned to the career aspirations of each executive. A desire to not only succeed but thrive in the role is essential to their ability to maintain the level of energy and focus inevitably required to grow into the role over time.

A move into another senior role in the business is a great way to create stretch moments that expose leaders to excellent learning opportunities. Simply changing roles, however, is not enough in itself. A welldeveloped approach to growing senior leaders should be a tailored combination of job assignments, coaching, mentoring, and other regular targeted development initiatives.

Karen Gately is a leadership and people management specialist and founder of Ryan Gately. She is author of The People Manager’s Toolkit: A Practical Guide to Getting the Best from People (Wiley) and The Corporate Dojo: Driving Extraordinary Results Through Spirited People. For more information, visit karengately.com.au or contact info@ ryangately.com.au.

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22/10/2015 10:25:53 AM

FEATURES

LEADERSHIP

THE END OF HERO LEADERSHIP IN AUSTRALIA? The demise of the Tony Abbott leadership marks Australia’s fifth change of prime minister in five years and the third time since 2011 that a sitting PM has been ousted by their own party. Irrespective of political policies, where did it all go wrong for Abbott? And what can Malcolm Turnbull do to create positive change? Jane Hayman offers her opinion TONY ABBOTT positioned himself as a sole hero – a rescuer and a strongman who could single-handedly stave off disaster. He regularly kept up commitments as a volunteer firefighter and surf lifesaver, participated in Army bootcamps, and famously threatened to ‘shirtfront’ Vladimir Putin. This individual, heroic style unfortunately translated into what he termed “captain’s picks” – solo decisions that were seen by the electorate and often his own colleagues as absurd and indefensible. Examples included reinstating knighthoods in order to award one to Prince Philip (a surprising move in an inchingtowards-a-republic Australia), the design of a gold-plated maternity leave scheme for high earners (so lavish that even some feminists felt obliged to disagree with it), and a declaration that coal was “good for humanity”.

Yes, there’s no doubt that Abbott’s leadership style was a very individual one.

His lack of connection to his own team, and to the wider electorate, made his leadership unsustainable. Abbott is left to absorb the lesson that the determination he showed in putting out fires, threatening Russians, running up hills, and rescuing surfers

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was just not enough to engage the people around him and create sustainable success.

A new driver at the wheel What about his successor, Malcolm Turnbull? The former journalist, lawyer, investment banker and venture capitalist has been notable for using contemporary corporate language, calling for agility, innovation, disruption, and a government for the 21st century. He has said we need a

only that but the change is more likely to have a lasting impact because it has been co-created and has a high degree of buy-in from others.

As Turnbull also said, “to be a successful leader in 2015, perhaps at any time, you have to be able to bring people with you by respecting their intelligence and the manner you explain things”.

Those of us with a professional interest in leadership are watching with interest

There’s no doubt that Abbott’s leadership style was a very individual one. His lack of connection to his own team, and to the wider electorate, made his leadership unsustainable different style of leadership.

So, just what could this different style of leadership look like? The indications are that Turnbull is no ‘hero’ leader, and that’s a good thing. The type of ‘hero’ leadership that Abbott personified simply does not work in a world that is increasingly complex, unpredictable and tightly networked. Change happens quickly and constantly. Our leaders need to be more agile in order to respond to this continual change. They also need to be more collaborative. And, very importantly, at a time when trust in political leaders is at an all-time low, they need to be authentic and to have very clear values.

The connected leader This style of ‘connected’ leadership is the opposite of hero leadership. As Turnbull himself said, we need a style of leadership that can explain challenges and opportunities.

Leaders also need to know how to seize opportunities. Connected leaders can understand this. They collaborate to create effective solutions. They value the skills and abilities of others and share decisionmaking responsibility. They cut through hierarchy and bureaucracy. This combination can help introduce change with speed. Not

and anticipation. Business leaders who enthusiastically welcomed Turnbull’s appointment are hoping his leadership will result in increased investment, political stability and economic reform. Can he fulfil our expectations? Quite a few observers think he can.

Telstra chief executive Andy Penn said he expected Turnbull to deliver a “welcome focus on innovation, technology and economic reform”.

And Catherine Livingstone, president of the Business Council of Australia, said Turnbull could build “lasting prosperity through a more agile, innovative and creative nation”.

Turnbull’s cabinet reshuffle saw the removal of older ministers and the promotion of a number of young MPs. He also appointed five women to his cabinet – five times as many as Abbott had in his initial line-up. Announcing his cabinet, Turnbull commented that it was hard to let people go, but that turnover and renewal were essential. He also said he would create “a culture of engagement, consultation and collaboration. The Australia of the future needs to be a nation that is agile, that is innovative, that is creative”.

TRUST ME – I’M THE BOSS We know that trust in politicians is at an all-time low, but do employees trust their leaders? Unfortunately not, at least according to the Building Workplace Trust 2014/15 survey by Interaction Associates. The survey polled 500 people employed at companies worldwide, including Australia. When asked to rate the statement ‘Employees have a high level of trust in management and the organisation’, just four out of 10 agreed that it described their organisation well.

The majority (58%) found their organisation lacking.

Some 26% of those surveyed said they trusted their boss less this year than in 2013.

Other findings from the survey: • 54% of workers said they felt safe communicating their ideas and opinions with colleagues and peers. Only 38% said the same about communicating with their leadership.

• 82% of all respondents said trusting their boss was essential for them to be effective in their job.

• Companies that are ‘trust leaders’ are more than 2.5 times more likely than ‘trust laggards’ to also be leaders in revenue growth.

• Trust leaders prioritise innovation and are more likely than trust laggards to be innovative (65% vs 14%).

The top five actions employees urge leaders to take in order to build trust are: 1 Ask for input into decisions that affect me.

2 Give me background information so I can

understand decisions.

3 Set me up for success with learning and

resources.

4 Admit your mistakes.

5 Don’t punish people for raising issues. (Don’t

shoot the messenger!)

Will Turnbull’s actions continue to live up to these bold words? We’ll be watching with interest.

Jane Hayman is lead consultant, Cirrus. Jane welcomes your views on this article and can be contacted at jane.hayman@ cirrus-connect.com.

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22/10/2015 10:26:29 AM

OPINION

INTERIM MANAGERS

INTERIM MANAGERS: YOUR NEXT CRITICAL LINK? Their use is growing in other parts of the world, but in Australia there’s still a hesitance to take on interim managers. Gary Taylor investigates IT IS interesting that some countries seem to make frequent use of interim managers, while others do not see the value. In the boom years, staffing was more generous, with more fat in the system to absorb big projects or medium-term absences of key staff.

The workplace of today has been de-layered extensively, and executives have workloads that prevent them from stretching sufficiently to absorb another full-time position without something giving. The

current workplace has to face rapid change, using staff that it customarily takes a long time to recruit or train, so why not consider the flexibility of an interim person?

All about interims Interim managers can be well qualified and bring skills and experience to a role at short notice, without all the constraints of full-time employment. They arrive and remain free of company politics so can give you objectivity

MORE THAN MERE STOPGAPS Research from Australian executive search firm 1st Executive indicates: Eighty per cent of interim managers are between the ages of 40 and 60, and 60% have previously served as CEO or COO. These managers have expertise in niche areas, and have often successfully completed similar projects and assignments to what the hiring company requires.

When factoring in speed of deliverability and the value of an interim specialty, ROI ranges from four to 18 times the cost of hire.

Although interim managers may charge $800–$3,500 per day, they often save money when the costs of permanent employment, such as recruitment, bonus, annual leave, payroll tax, etc, are taken into consideration.

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and honesty. While consultants just offer advice, interims can take decisions and deliver, and then leave when you are ready.

The practice was started as far back as the 3rd century BC with the ancient Roman publicans. In contemporary times, it emerged in the 1970s in Europe and has been documented by academics such as Kallenberg (2000), Bosch (2004) and others. Recruiter Michael Page has reported a 68% increase in Spain, where there is an IM association, as there is in other countries, from the UK to Nigeria.

How best should an interim be used?

Example A: An executive leaves for whatever reason, and you face several months before you will have the right replacement on board and settled. The portfolio is important, and just passing it over to a colleague does not give you the expertise or dedication needed. Appointing a subordinate in an ‘acting’ position has implications you would rather not deal with, so you need an experienced person who has already acted at that level.

Example B: You face the next few months of intensive activity that needs extra clout, but only for a period of time – an impending

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The workplace of today has been de-layered extensively, and executives have workloads that prevent them from stretching sufficiently to absorb another full-time position merger, a turnaround, a significant change management exercise, or a new business line start-up that requires skills not yet entrenched in your organisation. It could also be a combination of consultancy with implementation, but this will allow your other executives to get on with their jobs while the interim handles the spike and then moves on.

You might need to take one of your top people out of their regular job, and want an available ‘safe pair of hands’ to free them up so they can dedicate themselves to the task.

Alternatively, you might hire the interim person to handle the project (preparation, implementation and close-out) while leaving your permanent people in place to lead their respective units.

Crisis managers

From short-term to long-term?

It has been interesting to see how companies deal with crises: a downed plane, a big oil spill, a major recall exercise, or an attack causing significant loss of life. Their impact can cripple the balance sheet and/or the company’s reputation. Bringing in someone from the outside gives you the advantage of perceived objectivity, or added skills in dealing with the press or difficult external stakeholders.

Because of the interim nature of the assignment, it is helpful to free yourself from the mindset that the interim manager will need three months and an extensive induction to settle. “How will they appreciate our business or our culture?” you ask. Well, in cases such as these, you should be willing to allow the interim to rely on their skills and general business sense to guide them.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS Some other tips are worth factoring in: • Give responsibility and control.

Such people are not low-level contractors so should be given budget authority and be allowed to manage staff.

• Meet with them regularly but briefly, and also give them a trusted go-to person they can rely on. This person should be astute enough to protect the interim from causing harm or embarrassment.

• Empower them to address sensitive issues and relationships. Here is a great opportunity to deal with problems and possibly free an old logjam.

Although it should not be uppermost in your mind, an interim manager may well impress you enough to make you want to keep them, or call on them again in the future.

Maintain the relationship well, and benefit from a situation that suits both parties.

Gary Taylor is an HR director who has worked for Australian, South African and British multinationals on two continents, including the Middle East. He is registered as a Master HR Practitioner with the South African Board for People Practice, and served as vice president of the Institute of People Management.

www.hcamag.com

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FEATURES

TALENT MANAGEMENT

21ST CENTURY TALENT MANAGEMENT Today’s talent management approaches are on shaky ground and unlikely to cater to the business needs of tomorrow, writes Wendy Montague AUSTRALIAN HR DIRECTORS and business leaders are facing an imminent talent challenge. Most acknowledge that today’s talent approach won’t stand up to tomorrow’s workforce challenges, but they’re struggling to understand what skills their company will require or how they’ll identify talent with those skills.

This was one of the primary insights to come out of Hay Group’s State of Talent and Assessment in Australia and New Zealand study, which surveyed more than 200 HR directors and business leaders to examine how well equipped local companies are to make talent decisions in this rapidly changing work environment.

The study reveals a lack of strategies for assessing, recruiting and developing future talent, with only 30% of surveyed companies believing their current approach will assist with future workforce needs.

Of equal concern is the lack of clarity around what talent attributes will guarantee future success. The research findings show that 60% of organisations do not have a plan for identifying the roles that are critical to delivering their future business plans.

This is compounded by the fact that there is little consensus as to which behaviours and capabilities will be required.

To meet future business challenges,

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companies must consider new ways of identifying, developing and retaining talent and tracking the success of these efforts.

Cause for confusion Why are organisations having such trouble bringing future talent needs into focus?

For one, the business environment has become increasingly unstable. Disruptors include megatrends such as social change and digitisation, as well as industry and sector-specific trends like rapid changes

rated their businesses as a ‘highly regarded employer brand’ felt they were not exempt from having to work hard at attracting and keeping the right talent.

Additionally, the continuing impact of digitisation and other technology breakthroughs is making some jobs obsolete while creating entirely new roles – and we

Sixty per cent of organisations do not have a plan for identifying the roles that are critical to delivering their future business plans in customer demand or sudden shifts in economic conditions.

For another, over the past few years the local labour market has been tipped in favour of the employee rather than the company. Job-hopping is becoming more common for skilled workers, with some 20% of employees lasting less than 12 months in a new role, according to the RBA. Not even employers of choice are immune.

Some 58% of survey respondents that

cannot even predict what some of these roles will be.

Rethinking your assessment strategy In light of so much uncertainty, it is critical that HR directors and business leaders adopt a strategy for making better talent decisions.

The study reveals that most companies still have considerable work to do in this area.

Surveyed businesses overwhelmingly favour talent assessment tools that screen

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for behavioural traits rather than skill set.

For example, around 80% of organisations use personality testing when evaluating employees, while only 35% of assessments

are being used to evaluate job-specific skills.

This may mean that they are screening more for current cultural fit than for the behaviours and skills that will be required in the future.

TOP TIPS Consider these steps to help implement a flexible approach to talent in your organisation:

1 2 3

4 5

Define your talent strategy in light of your company’s business strategy: Consult with business leaders to align your assessment approach with the organisation’s business strategy for the future.

Review your employee assessment tools: Your future business and talent strategy should clearly outline what you are assessing for, especially in your critical roles – looking at every aspect of the key success factors for a role, as well as finding and attracting people with the breadth of skills and competencies to perform well in the new roles.

Apply assessment insights past the selection process: Use the information you’ve collected during the assessment process – it can help predict success and identify areas for growth. Predictive analytics is a trend we see migrating to HR from industries like tech. Organisations like Google have long been using complex algorithms to project whether candidates will be a good fit, whether they will stay, and how far they will go. This approach to deep analytics will help the industry get much better at betting on who will succeed and who won’t, and enable HR to tweak their assessment process to meet changing business priorities. Firms using such recruitment and selection processes will have the competitive advantage in predicting successful performers.

Report on and measure the effectiveness of your talent management strategy: Use assessment more broadly to identify high-potential employees and inform long-term development programs to create a strong pipeline for mission-critical roles.

Re-evaluate: Only by continuously reviewing and adjusting their approach to talent can organisations create a strong talent pipeline and ensure their talent becomes a true competitive advantage. Revisit your strategy often to keep your talent approach working in tandem with the company’s goals.

In addition, one-third of organisations have just one person responsible for choosing and implementing their talent selection process. And only 10% of companies involve more than three people in the process.

Companies need to think more critically about the screening tools they’re using and the people involved in related decisionmaking. It’s not about using as many assessment tools and decision-makers as possible, but rather choosing the tools and teams that lead to uncovering the skills, behaviours and competencies that employees need to be successful in their roles now and into the future.

A crucial first step is for HR directors and business leaders to consider which competencies have contributed to their success thus far and which skills will be critical to their success in the future. Then, a company’s assessment process can be adjusted to better identify those with the relevant skills.

More than ever, HR directors will need to work closely with business leaders to foster a more holistic approach to talent assessment – one that does not rely on assessment tools in isolation, but rather works as one part of an overall workforce strategy.

Creating a flexible future Despite their uncertainty about what the future talent pool will look like, HR directors and business leaders identified flexibility and adaptability as the two traits that will be key capabilities for future employees.

Businesses need to ensure that their talent strategies are designed with these same principles in mind. By aligning its talent approach to its overall business strategy, culture and employee and client needs, an organisation will remain adaptable enough to meet the ever-changing needs of both the business and employees.

Wendy Montague is talent and development expertise leader at Hay Group. The State of Talent and Assessment in Australia and New Zealand report can be downloaded from haygroup.com.au.

www.hcamag.com

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FEATURES

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

HELPING THOSE WHO NEED IT MOST Spurred on by tragic global events, one organisation has focused its CSR initiatives on an unexpected but critical area: support for refugees. Chloe Taylor reports 52

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ACCORDING TO to the 2014 World Giving Index (published by the Charities Aid Foundation), Australia ranked sixth in the world last year in terms of giving, based on helping a stranger, giving charitable donations and volunteering time.

Clearly, Australian citizens – and organisations – are generous in terms of helping those who need it most.

Unfortunately, there’s always a need for generous people giving time, money and resources. A prime example over the past few months has been the millions of refugees fleeing war-torn Syria.

The ongoing crisis has certainly struck a chord with employees at Verizon Enterprise Solutions, where the CSR program involves employees acting as mentors to children from refugee backgrounds.

Verizon is a communications services provider with operations in multiple countries around the globe. As a complete enterprise, the company has around 176,000 employees, 300 of whom are based in Australia.

The nature of Verizon’s work meant that when it began to discuss developing a new CSR program, innovation was essential.

“As a technology corporation, we have a number of different product areas, including networking, security and cloud products,” says Amanda Barnard, senior consultant of human resources at Verizon. “As a result of this, we’re always on the lookout for new innovations.”

The need for a new direction in the company’s CSR space also came down to previous CSR initiatives being “inconsistent”.

involved educating 23 Verizon employees – including executives – on typical refugee experiences and pathways to settlement in Australia. This was followed by a weekly one-on-one online mentoring session with three Western Sydney high schools in need of refugee community support.

The aim was to spend two school terms encouraging vulnerable students to stay in school and strengthen their sense of harmony with the Australian community.

“We were looking to partner with an organisation that focused on STEM [Science,

‘Show Me the Way’

Securing support

‘Show Me the Way’ is part of Verizon’s global CSR program led by the Verizon Foundation, the company’s ‘philanthropic arm’. The foundation partners with Verizon’s various international workforces to ensure that the company has a positive impact on the communities in which it operates.

Introduced by the Australian Literacy & Numeracy Foundation, the program

“The main thing that underpins our organisational culture is that we have a very strong objective of communicating our guiding values – these are articulated in a document called the ‘Verizon Credo’,” says Barnard.

“It’s something that our workforce takes very seriously.”

Barnard adds that past CSR initiatives have been inconsistent with the company’s

values, which include concepts such as ‘respect’, ‘integrity’, ‘performance excellence’ and ‘accountability’. “We were looking to do something new,” Barnard says.

She explains that it was not difficult for HR to gain the support it needed from Verizon’s senior executives in order to launch the program.

“Business leaders saw the program as an opportunity to engage staff in a different aspect,” she says.

“We’re very fortunate that we have strong leadership in Australia who have been

“I was a little cautious about how many people would put their hands up – but the objective was easily achieved” Amanda Barnard , Verizon Technology, Engineering, Mathematics] education in Australia,” Barnard tells HRD. “The company wanted to provide an opportunity for employees to be hands-on, rather than just making a donation and then forgetting about the initiative. We were looking for our CSR program to double as an investment in employee engagement as well as a development opportunity.”

According to Barnard, the program also provided a way to increase employees’ understanding of issues such as diversity and inclusion and overcoming unconscious bias.

“We feel that the program has helped us to achieve those objectives, and so far we’ve been pleased with the participation rates from Verizon and the students.”

supportive of having the program in place.

It makes it easier from an HR perspective to create and pursue initiatives like these.”

In terms of employee support, Barnard claims that the company’s “strong organisational culture” was fundamental to success.

“One of the strengths of the organisation is the collaborative relationships we have within the business,” she tells HRD. “We opened the program up to employees as a volunteer opportunity; we didn’t handpick staff members. Before launching, we sent out an email that included some information about the project and explained

DID YOU KNOW? Forbes conducted a survey in May 2013, which reported that 89% of companies found their CSR activities led to happier employees and 76% believed they had better, more engaged employees as a result of their CSR programs

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FEATURES

AU

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY that we were seeking expressions of interest.

We were overwhelmingly inundated with people wanting to take part and take the opportunity to feel proud working for Verizon.”

In the first year of the program, Verizon was looking for 16 employees to participate.

“I was a little cautious about how many people would put their hands up – but the objective was easily achieved,” Barnard says.

“We’ve had a very strong sense of support from our staff.”

Key considerations Perhaps the most important consideration for Verizon before launching the program was the need to ensure the safety of the students who would be participating.

“As a business that is a leader in cyber security, we wanted to make sure that the system was secure and that our participating employees had the right clearances,” Barnard says. “We did our due diligence of making sure that participating schools and the Department of Education knew Verizon takes safety seriously.”

This was achieved in several ways, one of which involved spending time making sure participating employees were comfortable with what the program involved.

The company also had the Department of Education and Communications visit their premises to give staff a background briefing around the issues that affect students from a refugee background.

“It was important to us to ensure that employees were prepared, that the technology and equipment worked, and that it was secure,” Barnard says. “Our preparations revolved around minimising risks from a student safety perspective.”

‘Overwhelmingly positive’ Barnard says the most encouraging aspect of the program’s implementation was that participants came from various different functions and backgrounds.

“It wasn’t just people from IT, or females, for example; we had participants from all

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areas of the business. This brought the workforce together and helped to break down functional barriers as employees represented Verizon together as one company.”

Verizon has since conducted a post-program survey, which indicated that Show Me the Way has improved engagement levels and helped employees build relationships with colleagues.

“On an individual level, participation has led to positive self-reflection; for example, many employees didn’t realise that they had the capability to be mentors,” Barnard adds.

She also tells HRD that the program has driven Verizon to new outcomes that have stemmed from employees engaging with young people from different cultural backgrounds.

“Employees who took part were proud that they were able to make a difference in young people’s lives,” Barnard says.

She adds that the program uncovered high-potential talent within employees who previously “just showed up” to work.

Advice for HRDs When selecting a program, values alignment is vital, Barnard says.

“Different industries will obviously have different business needs, but companies also need to consider the skills of their workforce, their position in the market, and their reputation,” she elaborates.

“Considering what’s important to their company is a good place to start, as this will make it easier to fund an organisation that has shared values.

“We were very fortunate that education, communication and literacy have been shared values that are at the core of our CSR program.”

She also advises employers not to underestimate the exponential value of CSR programs in terms of talent as well as engagement.

“We’ve really been blown away by the response from our employees.”

P

DEVELOPING SKILLS 1. Addressing unconscious bias Barnard says the most noticeable outcome in terms of skill development has been the ability to overcome unconscious bias.

“A big thing would be unconscious bias, particularly in overcoming preconceived ideas of who a refugee is,” she explains. “This has been transferable to the workplace by improving participants’ abilities around creating an inclusive workplace culture.”

Barnard adds that participants have all commented on how working with people they wouldn’t ordinarily cross paths with has led them to realise what their own biases are – and how these have the potential to hinder workplace relationships and their own productivity.

“Being faced with trying to extract a conversation from a 16-year-old from a different gender or culture has given participants some insight into how we do come with biases, and need to overcome them.”

E

2. Communication skills “The program has helped teach employees how to coach and lead others to see different perspectives,” Barnard tells HRD. “Mentors learned to guide conversations in order to work towards specific outcomes.”

3. Leadership skills Verizon’s senior leadership team also reported noticeable leadership and collaborative learning skills that had not been apparent in the office prior to participation in the program.

“Many of those who took part have not had experience of being people managers, so Show Me the Way has provided an opportunity for them to get a glimpse of what being in a leadership position involves,” Barnard says.

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19/10/2015 2:24:31 PMAM 22/10/2015 10:56:52

PEOPLE

HEAD TO HEAD

GOT AN OPINION THAT COUNTS? Email hrd_editor@keymedia.com.au

Should large organisations publish information on their gender pay gaps?

Lisa Annese CEO Diversity Council Australia

Deb Eckersley Human capital partner PwC

Absolutely. At 18.8%, the current gender pay gap means women are earning just over 82 cents for every dollar their male colleagues earn, down from an average of 85 cents 11 years ago. It’s pretty depressing that we still find ourselves in this position in 2015.

Pay inequity has many causes, but we know discrimination and occupational and industry segregation are major contributors – and so too is the impact that bearing and raising children has on women’s wages.

Organisations must look closely to identify and fix any pay gaps in their own businesses.

Being transparent about the gap serves two purposes: not only does it send a message to the world that you acknowledge the gap is an issue that needs to be addressed, but it also encourages greater internal accountability for achieving change.

To tackle pay equity, corporate Australia needs to move the conversation from a ‘women’s issue’ to a broader conversation about the role of merit in recruitment, promotions, pay and workplace culture more generally. Transparency is one of the most powerful ways to do this because it brings the problems with merit out into the open and highlights the way unconscious bias is embedded in our organisational structures and practices. Lip service will not suffice.

We have to walk the talk and hold ourselves accountable, and one of the ways companies can do this is by disclosing their results.

That’s why we made the decision a couple of months ago to publicly disclose the gender pay gap that exists for our 6,300 employees.

We hope that by sharing our results, others will follow, and we will start to close the gap.

Allison Salmon HR director Kimberly-Clark I do, like many others, believe that gender parity is our generation’s issue to solve. In the workplace, this looks like many things, including pay. We should approach this in a holistic way, looking not only at the outcome – the pay gap in this instance – but the causal factors that got us here. At K-C we debated for many years whether we should have metrics in place for diversity. We’ve had them now for several years. I’m proud to say we are making a difference in this space.

We know that numbers and data drive awareness, and awareness drives action.

This is a great opportunity for HR to lead this space and influence with their leadership team. We need to be clear on the right questions to ask and to whom, and then importantly put in place strategies and timelines to do something about it.

GENDER PAY EQUITY A slow but steady stream of CEOs are taking action to understand and correct pay imbalances between women and men, according to new data released by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. The Agency’s 2015 Report Card on Employer Action on Pay Equity found that 1,229 organisations in 2015 had conducted a gender pay gap analysis, compared to 1,045 in 2014 – a 17.6% increase. Perhaps more significantly, 51% of organisations that conducted a gender pay gap analysis took action to address pay imbalances, up from 46% last year. With significant firms like KPMG and PwC now reporting on gender pay gaps, is corporate Australia at a turning point?

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