Human Resources Director 14.10

Exclusive

Winners revealed

HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR HCAMAG.COM ISSUE 14.10

HR's next generation

A CAREER ENHANCER? External board positions in focus

HRD14.10_Cover+spine_SUBBED.indd 2

PROGRESS REPORT Tracking the national gender wage gap

GIVE & TAKE Mastering the art of EA negotiations

29/09/2016 12:47:11 PM

IFC.indd 1

26/09/2016 11:47:21 AM

EDITORIAL www.hcamag.com OCTOBER 2O16 EDITORIAL

SALES & MARKETING

Editor Iain Hopkins

Marketing & Communications Manager Lisa Narroway

Journalist Miklos Bolza Editorial Assistant Hannah Go Production Editor Roslyn Meredith

ART & PRODUCTION Design Manager Daniel Williams Designer Marla Morelos Traffic Coordinator Freya Demegilio

Business Development Managers James Francis Steven McDonald Dale Ashworth

CORPORATE Chief Executive Officer Mike Shipley Chief Operating Officer George Walmsley Managing Director Justin Kennedy Chief Information Officer Colin Chan Human Resources Manager Julia Bookallil

EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES iain.hopkins@keymedia.com.au

SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES tel: +61 2 8011 4992 subscriptions@keymedia.com.au

AN ACCOLADE TO CAP A YEAR OF RADICAL CHANGE THE WINNERS of this year’s Australian HR Awards are a remarkable group of individuals and teams, but the one that stands out for me is Lindt & Sprüngli Australia. The chocolatiers took out Best Change Management Strategy, and few could argue they don’t deserve it. After the harrowing events of the Martin Place siege on 15 December 2014, the company faced an equally challenging year in 2015 – for totally different reasons. HR was front and centre to lead a number of key business strategies.

The first was relocating the workforce from three geographical locations to a new purpose-built facility to drive efficiencies and better serve the Australian market. Secondly, the company embarked on an ‘insourcing’ strategy whereby third party operations such as packing were brought in-house. Thirdly, the company opted to relocate a manufacturing line from Germany to Sydney in order to manufacture chocolate on Australian

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES james.francis@keymedia.com.au steven.mcdonald@keymedia.com.au dale.ashworth@keymedia.com.au

Key Media Regional head office, Level 10, 1–9 Chandos St, St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia tel: +61 2 8437 4700 • fax: +61 2 9439 4599 www.keymedia.com Offices in Sydney, Auckland, Denver, London, Toronto, Manila, Singapore

Human Resources Director is part of an international family of B2B publications and websites for the human resources industry HRD MAGAZINE CANADA iain.hopkins@keymedia.com.au T +61 2 8437 4703 HRD MAGAZINE SINGAPORE hrdmag.com.sg HC AUSTRALIA ONLINE hcamag.com HRM NEW ZEALAND hrmonline.co.nz

Copyright is reserved throughout. No part of this publication can be reproduced in whole or part without the express permission of the editor. Contributions are invited, but copies of work should be kept, as HRD Magazine can accept no responsibility for loss.

01_Editorial_SUBBED.indd 1

HR mapped out who would be impacted by the changes, and the complexities of each change shores for the first time. Finally, the company launched 150 new products onto the market.

The starting point was detailed planning. HR mapped out who would be impacted by the changes, and the complexities of each change.

Eventually, the BEYOND 2015 plan was launched. This was a series of 24 people initiatives that would create employee engagement and bolster retention – with the overarching aim of building internal capability to increase the workforce by 39%.

The end result? All targets were met in the timeframes set. Most importantly, both the organisation and its employees continued with ‘business as usual’ during the enormous change efforts. In fact, the business achieved a 19.1% growth in sales in 2015.

If there are any lingering doubts that HR can and does add tangible value to business outcomes, the efforts of Lindt & Sprüngli Australia’s HR team put these to rest.

Iain Hopkins, editor

www.hcamag.com

1

29/09/2016 10:24:05 AM

OCTOBER 2016

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

CONTENTS

HRDirector_au +Hcamag HumanResourcesDirector

UPFRONT 01 Editorial

30

FEATURES

EXTERNAL BOARD POSITIONS

Should HR encourage executive directors to hold external board director positions? Kylie Hammond investigates

14 COVER STORY

RISING STARS

Who made the grade in HRD’s 2016 Rising Stars list?

FEATURES

2016 AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS

Find out who won on the industry’s night of nights

2

Gender pay equity in the spotlight

06 News analysis

How to negotiate an enterprise agreement

08 Upfront: L&D

Why ‘bite-sized’ learning is the way of the future

10 Rewards & benefits

FEATURES

36

FEATURES

MAXIMISING TALENT POTENTIAL

32 From cost centre to value generator

A sustainable, fresh benefits program will not just keep employees happy but your CFO as well

PEOPLE 12 Head to head

What are employers doing to decrease the likelihood of ‘psychological injury’?

56 Career path

IAN

44

04 The data

Do financial incentives actually boost performance?

HRD reveals how the demand for more flexible work options from employees is shaping the workforce of tomorrow – and how HR can prepare TRAL AUS

Lindt & Sprüngli Australia has an HR-driven transformation story for the ages – and the accolades prove it

Throughout her career, Barb Hyman has found that what lies on the other side of risk is not normally failure but experience

40

FEATURES

GETTING ONBOARDING ON TRACK HRD looks at onboarding best practice in 2016

HCAMAG.COM CHECK IT OUT ONLINE

www.hcamag.com

02-03_Contents_SUBBED.indd 2

29/09/2016 10:25:54 AM

02-03_Contents_SUBBED.indd 3

29/09/2016 10:25:25 AM

STATISTICS

OCTOBER 2016 GENDER PAY GAP: A NATIONAL OVERVIEW

MIND THE GAP:

GENDER WAGE INEQUALITY How far have Australian businesses advanced towards gender parity in today’s pay packages?

WHEN EQUAL Pay Day arrived on 8 September, Australian businesses had an opportunity to reflect on how far the nation had come in closing the national gender wage gap over the past two decades. According to a new report by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, however, the trends have been fairly mixed.

A key statistic is that, from May 1995 until May 2016, the overall gender pay gap has

Western Australia

only decreased from 16.5% to 16.2%.

Of course, certain categories have fared better than others during this time. For example, female workers in the public sector and those aged 18–20 benefit from some of the lowest pay gaps in the nation. In this new report, information about the pay gap has been examined based on a host of demographics, including by state, industry, occupation and workplace agreement.

25.8%

23.9% -1.9%

May 2015

May 2016 Difference

South Australia

11.0%

$261.10

Difference between full-time average earnings of men and women each week

19.6%

Gender pay gap in the private sector in May 2016

12.0%

Gender pay gap in the public sector in May 2016

29.0%

GENDER PAY EQUITY BY INDUSTRY

27.7% 23.7%

24.4% 23.5%

Healthcare and social assistance

Professional, scientific and technical services

19.5%

19.3%

Arts and recreation services

18.6%

15.5%

Manufacturing

4

Wage gap (May 2016)

19.6%

18.7%

Mining

12.1%

12.2%

Education and training

30.5% 30.2%

25.9% 24.6%

Financial and insurance services

Rental, hiring and real estate services

21.3%

19.5%

Information media and telecommunications

15.4%

17.9%

Wholesale trade

8.9%

12.0%

Electricity, gas, water and waste services

0.0%

May 2016 Difference

Gender pay gap among key management personnel in 2015 based on total remuneration

As of May 2016, the three worst-offending industries with the largest increase in gender pay gap were electricity, gas, water and waste services (+3.1%), accommodation and food services (+3.1%), and transport, postal and warehousing (+3.0%).

Wage gap (May 2015)

May 2015

11.0%

18.0%

16.3%

Transport, postal and warehousing

7.0%

When looking at how remuneration was set in the workplace, the distribution of pay between men and women was more equal when conditions were set down by either federal or state industrial authorities.

Method of setting pay

Women1

Men1

Pay gap

Award only

$1,011

$1,113

9.2%

Collective agreement

$1,481

$1,774

16.5%

Individual arrangement

$1,395

$1,782

21.7%

19.3%

Construction

13.3%

ARE AWARDS FAIRER THAN NON-AWARDS?

10.1%

Accommodation and food services

1

Full-time average weekly total cash earnings Note: Rounded to the nearest dollar

www.hcamag.com

04-05_Stats_SUBBED.indd 4

29/09/2016 10:26:36 AM

Northern Territory

18.4% May 2015

20.9%

Queensland

2.5%

May 2016 Difference

18.3%

16.5% -1.8%

May 2015

May 2016 Difference

Australian Capital Territory

11.6%

10.7% -0.9%

May 2015

May 2016 Difference

New South Wales Victoria Queensland South Australia Western Australia Tasmania Northern Territory Australian Capital Territory

Average weekly earnings (males)1 $1,653 $1,520 $1,558 $1,473 $1,844 $1,400 $1,718

Average weekly earnings (females)1 $1,368 $1,336 $1,303 $1,306 $1,401 $1,218 $1,359

$1,812

$1,616

1

Based on full-time adult average weekly ordinary time earnings as of May 2016 Note: All figures rounded to nearest dollar

New South Wales

19.0% May 2015

17.1%

-1.9%

May 2016 Difference

Tasmania

12.1% May 2015

13.2%

Victoria

1.1%

May 2016 Difference

13.8%

12.4% -1.4%

May 2015

May 2016 Difference Note: Based on full-time adult average weekly ordinary time earnings

DOES AGE AFFECT THE WAGE GAP? While the average gender pay gap tends to increase with age for men and women working full-time, this starts to narrow past 55 years of age due to an individual’s reduced income around retirement.

25 21.0%

20

18.5% 16.8%

17.9%

14.8%

15

In the 2014/15 reporting period, only 26.3% of organisations had conducted a gender pay gap analysis, while 5.1% said one was currently under development. Broken down by methodology, these were the top five actions taken to address the gender pay gap in 2015: Identified cause/s of the gaps

27.7%

12.5%

11.8%

COMBATING THE GENDER PAY GAP

Reviewed remuneration decision-making processes

20.5%

10

Reported pay equity metrics to the executive

19.4% 5.9%

5 0

17 and under

18 to 20

Analysed performance pay to ensure there was no gender bias

21 to 24

25 to 34

35 to 44

45 to 54

55 to 64

65 and over

Source: ABS (2015), Employee Earnings and Hours, Australia, May 2014

15.6% Analysed performance ratings to ensure there was no gender bias

15.6%

*All figures sourced from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s August 2016 Gender Pay Gap Statistics unless otherwise stated

www.hcamag.com

04-05_Stats_SUBBED.indd 5

5

29/09/2016 12:59:38 PM

UPFRONT

NEWS ANALYSIS

EA NEGOTIATIONS IN FOCUS Negotiating new enterprise agreements is one of the most technically challenging tasks for HR professionals. What is the best way to proceed?

Miklos Bolza outlines the key steps to follow IN SEPTEMBER alone, the list of applications filed under the Fair Work Act 2009 for the approval of an enterprise agreement was lengthy and diverse, with organisations such as IKEA, Bundaberg Sugar, Baxters Foods, Serco Australia and Thales Australia all filing applications. In Australia’s complicated industrial relations framework, EA negotiations are a fact of life for many HR professionals.

Yet when employers and unions face

step guide to negotiations using a project management approach.

Preparing your negotiation team The first step is to ensure that the organisation’s negotiation team contains the right mix of skills, experience and expertise, Tansley says.

Useful people to have on your team include: • An expert in industrial relations environments and legislation

“If you manage the negotiations as professionally as possible, it can actually help improve the relationship between the organisation and union” Rachael McGann each other head-on, EA negotiations can be extremely stressful for all parties. One reason for this is the lack of practical information on how to proceed, says Rachael McGann, international HR expert and founder of Gerlan Consulting.

In their new book, Enterprise Agreements – Made Easy, McGann and Tammy Tansley, HR specialist and founder of her own consulting firm, provide a step-by-

6

• Someone familiar with sites and operational areas under the agreement • An individual who is competent and capable of being a lead negotiator • A specialist in drafting clauses for the new agreement “The next part is making sure the team are skilled up. This might mean introducing them to negotiating skills and ensuring that

they understand the industrial relations environment,” says McGann.

Doing your research There are three important aspects of the research you need to do prior to negotiations.

To start with, “really look at your current agreement and the existing organisation to determine what worked and what didn’t”, Tansley says.

It is also critical to look externally, examining, in particular, what the union you will be dealing with has been trying to achieve in other enterprise agreements.

Lastly, look at agreements that have recently been approved in your industry and/or geographical area, she says. “Talk to other organisations as much as you can, particularly those in your industry. It’s amazing how cooperative HR people will be even with competitor organisations.”

Planning your approach It will then be time to determine how you

www.hcamag.com

06-07_NewsAnalysis_SUBBED.indd 6

29/09/2016 5:50:25 AM

ESSENTIAL REFERENCE MATERIAL FOR THE FIRST MEETING 1. Copies of your current enterprise agreement 2. Copies of relevant agreements from your industry 3. Fair Work guidelines for the enterprise agreement negotiation process 4. A list of ground rules to keep all future meetings professional The first meeting

“We say be creative – don’t get fixed to having one means to an outcome” Tammy Tansley are going to approach the negotiation, says McGann. “Are you going in with a heavyhanded or a cooperative spirit?” The approach taken can vary from item to item too, depending on how flexible you are with each, she adds.

The employer’s relationship with the union will also affect how you move forward through the negotiation, McGann says. “If you negotiate well and if you manage the negotiations as professionally as possible, it can actually help improve the relationship between the organisation and union.”

Preparing the negotiation leaders Since it’s usual for negotiation leaders to be selected from outside the executive team, it is important to ensure they are aligned with the business goals and are on board with the overall negotiation plan, Tansley says.

“This is where the rubber hits the road,” McGann says. When organising the first meeting, it’s important to ensure you cover off practical issues. For example, does the venue have enough parking? On the day, remember to bring all the appropriate reference material and lay down some ground rules with all parties.

“Typically, the first meeting isn’t a negotiation. Normally what happens is that each party will go through their claim items in detail. What you want each party to do is explain exactly what they’re looking for and why.”

Ongoing negotiations “Before you go into negotiations, you need to determine what you’re negotiating and how you’re negotiating. The leadership team will need to endorse that so that the negotiations aren’t acting outside of what the organisation would approve.”

Contingency planning At this stage, employers should look at the risk of the proposed negotiation approach, particularly the likelihood of industrial action.

Understanding the organisation’s tolerance for these risks will allow employers to develop contingency plans to be implemented if things go awry.

“What you see if things go wrong is a real fear, a knee-jerk reaction in an organisation. If you acknowledge that risk up front and plan for it, you can have a much more effective response.”

One practical tip for the main negotiation stage is to keep a log of the progress made with each claim, Tansley says. In this way, everyone knows where the negotiations are up to when the next meeting begins.

“We say be creative – don’t get fixed to having one means to an outcome. With a claim item, if you understand what’s behind that claim, there can be more than one way to reach a satisfactory agreement or provide a satisfactory outcome for the other parties.”

Finally, it is important for employers to keep up two-way communications throughout the negotiation process, Tansley says. “After each meeting, provide updates and get feedback from your employees about how they feel about the progress and any issues that may have come up during the negotiation discussion.”

www.hcamag.com

06-07_NewsAnalysis_SUBBED.indd 7

7

29/09/2016 5:50:32 AM

UPFRONT

L&D UPDATE NEWS BRIEFS ‘Bizarre’ mismatch found between training and retention A recent Hudson report has uncovered a disconnect between L&D and retention that, according to the firm’s head of talent management, Simon Moylan, is “bizarre”.

While 76% of professionals surveyed were either actively or passively seeking work, one in two felt their firms did not have a definite training strategy in place, while one in three felt they didn’t have the right skills.

“It’s this conundrum which seems like it has a pretty clear answer,” Moylan said.

“It’s really around organisations taking action quickly to stop them having any sort of major retention problems.”

Govt announces L&D initiatives to combat the wage gap On Equal Pay Day, Minister for Employment Michaelia Cash spoke on a number of government strategies to help narrow the pay gap through workplace training and development.

This includes making sure women gain skills and support in growth industries by investing $13m in the National Innovation and Science Agenda.

The government is also currently developing partnerships with the Australian Mines and Metals Association and the Australian Institute of Company Directors to develop scholarships and mentoring opportunities.

Young workers being left behind by L&D Young Australians are in need of greater levels of support, according to new research by the ManpowerGroup. Not only did 56% of those surveyed receive no workplace training but 64% said they

8

had no kind of career progression.

With 93% of millennials seeing ongoing skill development as important, the report suggested looking at the ‘learnability’ of each employee – the desire and ability to grow one’s skill set.

Rewarding and recognising this capability is essential to avoid missing out on crucial skills in the workforce, the report said.

Want to learn faster?

Take on a language The more foreign languages a person learns, the more effectively the brain reacts and processes information during learning, say scientists from the Higher School of Economics and the University of Helsinki.

The brain’s electrical activity was measured via electrodes placed on participants’ heads as they listened to different words in their native language and foreign languages, both known and unknown by the subjects.

Results showed that the electrical activity of the brains of those participants who already knew some foreign languages was higher than those with no knowledge.

Virtually the best training experience on offer?

Software giant MYOB is making huge strides in staff development and onboarding by using virtual reality in its corporate induction process.

The firm’s welcome video is a 360-degree VR experience explaining why MYOB exists, what it’s like to work there and how the company operates.

“It turns a passive experience into an active one, and this has a strong impact on the individual who has had that experience. It really is a powerful way to get some of our key messages across,” said Alla Keogh, head of people and performance.

FILL YOUR BRAIN WITH BITE-SIZED LEARNING Giving your staff regular snippets of training can actually be more powerful than any full-length study program A combination of technological disruption and changing global conditions presents a great deal of challenges in the L&D space, says Laura Goodrich, co-founder of GWT Next and international keynote speaker.

This is especially true as firms become leaner since employees may not have time to sit through lengthy training courses. The solution to this, she says, is using ‘mind triggers’ or short video courses to facilitate L&D within the organisation.

“Let’s imagine that you start your day.

You have three meetings but you also get an email that says that there’s a mind trigger available for you.

“You can go to those meetings and focus on them since they’re critical, but afterwards you can find a quiet space where you can really focus your energies on that learning.”

While the video itself may only be a few minutes in duration, the methodology actually encourages participants to think on what they have learned afterwards through a number of self-reflection questions. These can be anything from what the lesson means to their work, to ways in which they can apply this new knowledge, Goodrich says.

“It’s kind of like taking an exit ramp off the interstate. You pause and reflect for a bit, but then you get right back on with what you were doing.”

One of the aims of these lessons is to stimulate conversations in the workplace, she adds. Once a group goes through the same

www.hcamag.com

08-09_Update - L&D_SUBBED.indd 8

29/09/2016 1:01:52 PM

training and has watched these mind triggers, they then have a shared experience and can commence dialogues with each other.

“That shared learning experience makes it a lot easier to walk down the hallway, bump into a colleague, and ask for their thoughts on the lesson.”

“People just don’t have the time for longer learning and prefer to be able to have choice” With the right learning road map, Goodrich says, participants can be prompted to have conversations with both leaders and colleagues about the different topics covered.

“People just don’t have the time for longer learning and prefer to be able to have choice.

The consumer or employee expectations for learning are changing.

“We appreciate bite-sized learning rather than that firehose type of learning. It’s not about giving people the answers but helping them come to their own answer.”

This method leverages the power of the 10/20/70 learning framework – defined as 10% formal, 20% coaching/collaboration and 70% experiential – as it creates a space where employees can conduct dialogue and take action within the workplace itself, Goodrich says.

Q&A

Keith Ayers Founder & CEO INTÉGRO LEARNING COMPANY AUSTRALIA

Fast fact In terms of demographics, when Everything DiSC® profiles are analysed, women tend to score higher on I and S scales while men tend to score higher on D and C scales. On the other hand, ethnicity has practically no effect on the final outcome.

REDISCOVER YOUR WORKPLACE CULTURE How should Everything DiSC® assessments be incorporated into workplace L&D? The purpose of these assessments is to improve relationships and communication. As far as L&D is concerned, those in the L&D area use them to help people understand themselves and what their behavioural style is, what motivates them, what stresses them, how they tend to communicate, and what their priorities are. When people better understand that, they understand why they do what they do. They can also then recognise that, in some situations, being yourself is going to work really well. They also understand when they need to adapt and use different behaviours. Secondly, people also learn to recognise the behavioural styles of their co-workers – understanding why they do what they do and how to adapt to the way they communicate to get their attention.

What are the underlying principles behind these DiSC assessments?

The simplest way of explaining the underlying principles is to draw from the interpersonal circumplex. There are two dimensions to that. One is affiliation – the need to be with people – and the second is the need for control. With those two continuums at right angles to each other, you have the four basic styles: high need for control with low need for affiliation (Dominance or D style); high need for control with high need for affiliation (Influence or I style); high need for affiliation and low need for control (Steadiness or S style); and low need for affiliation with a low need for control (Conscientious or C style). All people have a primary style, the one they are most inclined to use. Some people are strong in two styles – and that is not better than having one strong style. All people have a little of all four styles – and there is nowhere on the DiSC Map that is better than any other.

What can HR do with the data gained from these tests with regard to L&D? One benefit of Everything DiSC® is that when teams have done an assessment we can run a Group Culture Report. If there’s a really strong leaning towards one of the four styles in the team, then that could dominate the culture. For example, if you’ve got a D culture, then you’ve got a team that rewards direct, outspoken, resultsoriented behaviour. It also criticises people who don’t make quick decisions, who are (in their minds) indecisive, or who are concerned about other people’s feelings. So if you were an S style working in a D culture, your needs may get completely overlooked and your behaviour may be criticised just for being yourself. The purpose of the Group Culture Report is to help teams understand what their team’s DiSC culture is and ensure that they’re using a balance of all four styles to be more effective, particularly when the team is a little bit overbalanced in one direction.

www.hcamag.com

08-09_Update - L&D_SUBBED.indd 9

9

12/10/2016 6:37:53 AM

UPFRONT

REWARDS/BENEFITS UPDATE

MYTHBUSTING: FINANCIAL INCENTIVES One academic has questioned the common use of financial incentives in business, saying they actually worsen employee output

“It has also been shown through lab studies, field studies and meta-analytic findings that incentives only work for very simple – and boring – tasks.

“When tasks are genuinely interesting … so they require complex problem-solving [and/or] lots of creativity, you can actually worsen that type of performance through the use of incentives.”

Simple tasks that were shown to be strengthened by financial incentives included

“You wonder with the type of work that we do today … how appropriate it actually is to use financial incentives” In a recent lecture, Professor Marylène Gagné, head of management and organisations at the University of Western Australia (UWA) Business School, questioned the use of financial incentives to promote work motivation.

Despite compensation being a “major policy lever” that businesses use for staff motivation, attraction and retention, this structure could often promote the wrong type of behaviour, she said at a UWA Research Tasting Night.

“If you look at economic studies from the perspective of the organisation level, you do see increases in organisational performance in the range of 4% to 9% when organisations

NEWS BRIEFS

provide incentives paid to employees.

“But this effect is quite limited. For example, incentives have an effect on performance quantity but not so much on performance quality.”

To highlight the apparent failure of financial incentives, Gagné discussed their effects in the manufacturing and services sectors.

“In manufacturing settings, incentive systems have been shown to have the same effect as goal setting … and providing them with positive feedback when they perform well.”

In a service setting the results were even less inspiring, with financial incentives shown to worsen staff performance, Gagné added.

Merit may cause gender biases, study finds

Appointments by merit can result in a host of unconscious biases that hinder women’s progress within organisations, a new report has found. The paper, In the Eye of the Beholder: Avoiding the Merit Trap, says issues arise because evaluating merit is highly subjective. Four key biases that impact on decision-making are affinity bias (favouring those similar to you), confirmation bias (seeking to confirm beliefs and preferences), the halo effect (thinking someone is good because we like them), and social/group think bias (agreeing with the majority or seniority).

10

fruit picking and rat catching – tasks that are not typically given to office employees today.

“So you wonder with the type of work that we do today which is much more knowledge based and much more complex, how appropriate it actually is to use financial incentives.”

These types of incentives have also been shown to have other side effects, she told the audience, including decreasing people’s enjoyment of their work and decreasing work effort.

Finally, offering employees a compensation package that was heavily based on incentives increased the chance of them leaving the organisation earlier, Gagné said.

Wells Fargo revises pay system after fraud

Embattled financial giant Wells Fargo has announced that it will eliminate product sales goals in its retail banking division since a bogus accounts scandal rocked the firm. After firing 5,300 employees linked to the illegal conduct, the bank cut financial incentives which it saw as stimulating the unscrupulous behaviour in the first place.

“Unfortunately, it’s not surprising that numerous employees took advantage of an incentive system designed to spur cross-selling,” said Jim Sinegal, senior equity analyst at investment research firm Morningstar.

www.hcamag.com

10-11_Update - R&B_SUBBED.indd 10

29/09/2016 1:02:31 PM

Q&A

Colin Wong Director, operations and sales REFFIND

Fast fact Based on Glassdoor’s Benefits Reviews, 20 companies were identified as having truly unique benefits.

To cite one example, Google provides the surviving spouse or partner of a deceased employee with 50% of their salary for the next 10 years.

R&R BEYOND THE HONEYMOON How do you maintain interest in a rewards and recognition program past the honeymoon stage?

When it comes to launching recognition programs, they often start with a bang. What we’ve discovered is that it’s really critical to make sure that the recognition program becomes embedded in the company. If you have certain structures, it’s important to put them in place and stick with them. If you have weekly shout-outs or have monthly prizes for top performers, it’s important to keep with that routine and celebrate that with consistency.

What can also help is tying the recognition program to company values so it has that additional structure to it. Then when people think about recognition, they are recognising people for things that are aligned with company values. That way, not only are you promoting recognition but you’re encouraging people to think about the company values and look out for people who are tracking to those values.

At what stage should you take stock and adjust the program to improve its effectiveness?

One of the important things with any peer recognition program is that it’s really important to ensure that it’s widespread and there’s participation across the entire company. Otherwise you’ll have these winners that don’t reflect the best performers in the company; they’ll just reflect the handful of people who decided to participate that month. So it’s important to really incentivise

Thousands of Qantas staff given $3k bonus

After posting one of its biggest yearly profits, Qantas has given a hefty bonus to around 25,000 employees, with full-time staff receiving $3,000 and part-time staff $2,500. “This result belongs to the Qantas Group’s amazing people,” said CEO Alan Joyce.

“Not only have they helped deliver a record performance; they’ve also earned record satisfaction from our customers.”

Employees were ultimately only eligible to receive the bonus if covered by an EBA that included an 18-month pay freeze which was part of a $2bn transformation program launched in 2014.

widespread, frequent participation in the program so that for any given time period you can look back and confidently say that one particular person was the most deserving of recognition. It makes it more meaningful when you’ve got more of those data points. If you’ve launched a recognition program and you’re not receiving many nominations or there’s not that much engagement with the program itself, that would be a time to reassess.

What metrics do you look at to test the program’s success, especially in these early stages?

There are a lot of different metrics that you can track across a recognition program. First, there’s uptake rate and you want to make sure that there’s a high percentage of the company adopting the platform.

You also want to monitor the number of active users per week; again you’d want a high percentage of users to be coming back regularly. Finally, there’s also the average actions per week.

The other metric to track is company values. The interesting thing that a lot of companies see when they put in their company values is you’ll get one or two values that get a lot of traction – that people are really comfortable with and live each day – and then there’ll be a couple of company values that don’t really get much traction. So it can be a really good diagnostic tool for companies to take a bird’s eye view of the company culture.

Australia’s top employers showcase R&R creativity

Great Place to Work Australia has unveiled its Best Places to Work for 2016. Of companies with over 100 employees, those in the top 10 had some truly innovative rewards and recognition programs. As well as giving on-the-spot bonuses to its employees for special accomplishments, Adobe Systems offers a ‘You Rock’ award, recognising outstanding achievements across its Asia-Pacific team.

Financial services firm Optiver uses an initiative called Gamify that lets staff publicly thank their colleagues by offering points.

These are displayed on a wiki page which also highlights quiet achievers in the company.

Top fund manager scraps staff bonuses

Neil Woodford, one of the UK’s leading fund managers, is eliminating staff bonuses at his firm, Woodford Investment Management.

Instead, all employees will be put on to a flat salary. The controversial move was sparked by senior management who saw bonuses as largely ineffective and possibly leading to improper workplace behaviours. To soften the blow, the organisation will give staff a pay rise this financial year. By offering this flat salary, it is hoped staff performance will improve in a work environment free from distractions. www.hcamag.com

10-11_Update - R&B_SUBBED.indd 11

11

29/09/2016 1:02:35 PM

PEOPLE

HEAD TO HEAD

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

How are employers reducing the risk of ‘psychological injury’?

With HR on the frontline of managing mental health in the workplace, how are employers combating this very real threat?

Rachel Wells

General manager – people & performance Certus Solutions ANZ We have an obligation to minimise psychological injury at Certus, but it’s so complex that I’ll focus on the impact caused by change.

Change leads to uncertainty and if managed and communicated poorly can create unnecessary stress for employees; impacting on their productivity and engagement, resulting in illness, increased turnover and slumps in employee engagement.

Building a resilient workforce that is ‘change ready’ results from utilising a people-centric systems approach to manage and lead change. At Certus we use tools such as ‘change resistance mapping’, a technique using personas to anticipate potential concerns and minimising their impact head-on. Creating a thriving culture with exceptional leadership where people feel comfortable to ask for help is the essential first step.

Aaron Anderson

Sue Horlin

Partner Norton Rose Fulbright

Managing partner, human capital PwC Australia

While the traditional approach of offering mental health support through employee assistance programs is still common, employers are moving towards a more riskbased approach to managing the likelihood of psychological injury. This involves gaining an understanding of what workplace factors may give rise to the risk of psychological injury and implementing preventative measures to seek to manage the risks.

The types of preventative measures that employers are adopting include fostering a culture of understanding about mental health through education and leadership support, training mental health first aid officers who can assist in early intervention, adopting a zero tolerance approach to workplace bullying and readjusting patterns of work to provide a flexible and adaptive work environment for the individual.

The important and active role that workplaces play in maintaining the mental health and wellbeing of their workers is an increasingly important topic for employers.

More and more companies across Australia are investing in the mental health of employees and implementing strategies to create mentally healthy workplaces.

At PwC, some initiatives we’re undertaking include sharing personal stories to reduce stigma and create a psychologically safe culture; educating our people on signs, symptoms and early recognition and intervention for psychological conditions; promoting mindfulness as a tool to manage stress and anxiety; leveraging the tools and resources available through Heads Up, an initiative of the Mentally Healthy Workplace Alliance; and promoting inclusive leadership and teams.

A SNAPSHOT OF MENTAL HEALTH AT WORK Managing employee mental health is of increasing concern for employers, according to a study on mental health in the workplace released by MinterEllison. Not only did 56% of organisations surveyed report a year-to-year increase in the number of mental health cases at work but there was also a 44% increase in the reported incidents of suicide or attempted suicide. To combat these workplace health issues, 70.5% of organisations surveyed recommended HR/ER training on practical case management, 70.5% suggested manager training on practical case management, and 68.5% said HR/ER training about associated legal issues was vital.

12

www.hcamag.com

12-13_HeadtoHead_SUBBED.indd 12

29/09/2016 1:04:05 PM

FOR RECOGNITION PROGRAMS

THAT BLOW YOUR MIND

NOT YOUR BUDGET

TALK TO US We don’t just talk business, We mean business.

Power2Motivate is used by many of the world’s most recognised brands like ANZ, Colgate-Palmolive, Aristocrat and Sofitel. These companies trust Power2Motivate to provide world-class employee recognition programs that drive behavioural change and improve performance right across their business.

Talk to us today on 1300 366 768

www.power2motivate.com.au

12-13_HeadtoHead_SUBBED.indd 13

29/09/2016 1:04:07 PM

COVER STORY

RISING STARS 2O16

Who made the grade in HRD’s 2016 Rising Stars list?

14

www.hcamag.com

14-29_RisingStars_SUBBED.indd 14

29/09/2016 5:53:57 AM

WELCOME TO HRD’s inaugural Rising Stars list. We asked you, our readers, to nominate HR professionals who you believe are doing outstanding work. You responded with enthusiasm – the HRD team received over 60 nominees. The final list of 40 professionals profiled over the following pages is a stellar group of upcoming superstars – all of whom have less than 10 years of experience in the industry. From tackling complicated

IR/ER challenges to advocating ground-breaking D&I initiatives and being the ‘go to’ expert for their respective CEOs and other senior executives, these professionals are adding value to their workplaces and the industry as a whole. They are all demonstrating clear career progression and are enviously high achievers. Rest assured that, if this list is any guide, the future of the HR profession is in capable hands.

RISING STARS INDEX NAME

ORGANISATION

NAME

PAGE

ORGANISATION

Appleby, Jarrod

PAGE

20

Minor DKL Food Group

Johnson, Sam

26

Vantage Group

Baxendale, Hayley

20

McDonald's Australia

Kilby, Maddison

28

Benetas

Begg, Nicola

25

Corrs Chambers Westgarth

Kotkiewicz, Vicky

27

Consec Group

Bell, Jennifer

20

RSPCA Qld

Liotta, Shereen

26

Schweppes Australia

Budd, Michelle

28

Menzies Aviation (Australia) Pty Ltd

Lloyd, Kristi

24

Kirana

Coombs Marr, Alicia

16

Endeavour Foundation

Lyden, Grace

23

Brother International (Aust) Pty Ltd

Copeland, Joanna

23

Citadel Group

Lynch, Jonathon

23

Wrest Point

Cordingley, Lori

25

Australian Unity

Normand, Ashleigh

17

R/GA Media Group Pty Ltd

Dickson, Ryan

25

Canterbury Hurlstone Park RSL Club Page, Ashleigh

22

Star Entertainment Group

Dillon, Kerryn

24

TLC Healthcare

Dobbelstein, Stephany

27

RoZetta Technology

Perrin, Abbey

21

Merivale

Dykes, Kerrie

28

Sugar Australia Pty Ltd

Ponce, TJ

27

ABB Australia Pty Ltd

Ewing, Fiona

19

Super Retail Group

Potter, Sonia

26

Ikon Communications

Ferraro, Kimberley

24

Crown Melbourne

Pusenjak, Alex

16

Revel Systems

Findlay, Jamie

20

Australian Country Choice

Smith, Anchana

16

Simplot

Gladwell, Emma

19

Fusion Graduate Consultancy

Vukcevic, Dani

19

AECOM

Goode, Kaeli

24

Department of Education and Training, Queensland Government

Wellings, Brad

18

Ertech Pty Ltd

Wong, Jessica

23

Hollard Insurance

Green, Carly

18

InterContinental Sanctuary Cove Resort

Woodcroft-Letham, Louise

25

Amadeus IT Pacific

Hassan, Laila

28

Lyreco Pty Ltd

Young, Meredith

28

PACCAR Australia

Jacobs, Daisy

18

CouriersPlease Pty Ltd

Zalm, Jake

26

Virgin Australia

www.hcamag.com

14-29_RisingStars_SUBBED.indd 15

15

29/09/2016 5:53:55 AM

COVER STORY

RISING STARS 2O16 ALICIA COOMBS MARR People experience partner, Endeavour Foundation

“What impresses me the most about Alicia is the ability to translate ideas into action, take a concept [and let it] evolve collaboratively with the business, and execute something we can all be proud of,” says one of Alicia Coombs Marr’s colleagues. Coombs Marr helps keep the not-for-profit Endeavour Foundation’s newly adapted ‘people experience model’ real, particularly with the work she has done in revamping the organisation’s performance management. This includes introducing a new approach to the informal performance coaching process that has significantly reduced cases escalated to management, and initiating a ‘performance conversation’ culture that encourages frequent and quality feedback exchanges between management and staff. She has also single-handedly executed the peoplecentred elements of a business exit, which involved designing an in-house career transition program for the 45 impacted staff.

ALEX PUSENJAK HR manager – APAC, Revel Systems

“Ambitious” and “incredibly talented” – these are words befitting Alex Pusenjak, who has worked his way up from an entry-level internal recruiter to a regional HR manager role in a span of five years.

As a standalone HR business partner prior to this at SIRCA, Pusenjak contributed to a seamless company transition to a new entity, RoZetta Technology. During this time, he helped develop a strong corporate culture and other initiatives for the new entity, which resulted in the company receiving finalist nods at the 2015 Australian HR Awards for its remuneration & benefits and health & wellbeing offerings. His current (and again) standalone role as HR manager for Asia-Pacific at Revel Systems requires extensive coordination with the company’s global HR team to create and implement effective HR strategies and processes.

16

ANCHANA SMITH

HR team leader – APAC, Simplot

It might seem an unusual mix – accounting and HR – but Anchana Smith has proven what a powerful combination of skills this can be, having moved from an auditor role into the HR sphere. A colleague says Smith is able to “get into the detail, but also has the ability to see the bigger picture”.

In her four years at Simplot, Smith has worked her way up from a HR graduate to an adviser, and now to team leader for Asia-Pacific. During this time, she has worked on and led multiple projects, including a large-scale organisational restructure and streamlining of the performance management and development planning process. Smith has also worked with senior HR business partners and shown herself to be capable of stepping up during their absences. Smith’s colleagues say her ability to directly express work concerns to her superiors while remaining empathic towards employees demonstrates a maturity beyond her age and experience, and makes her both a high-potential employee and a rising star.

www.hcamag.com

14-29_RisingStars_SUBBED.indd 16

29/09/2016 5:53:32 AM

ASHLEIGH NORMAND HR business partner, R/GA Media Group

Ashleigh Normand has experienced steady growth in her career as an HR practitioner, having worked with different organisations and having been promoted five times in six years. She started out on a 12-month contract with R/GA Media Group, became permanent after 10 months and was promoted to HR lead with a team of her own. As part of her career development, Normand was assigned to help the company’s Shanghai office set up its HR policies and practices, and attended the global HR executive leadership conference in New York. Now part of the executive team, she has a full HR remit and provides ad hoc support to offices in Singapore, Shanghai and Tokyo. She has also played a pivotal role in revamping R/GA Media Group’s performance processes by replacing standardised ratings with quarterly conversations.

www.hcamag.com

14-29_RisingStars_SUBBED.indd 17

17

29/09/2016 5:53:39 AM

COVER STORY

RISING STARS 2O16 BRAD WELLINGS HR business partner, Ertech

Working for an engineering construction solutions provider, Brad Wellings places the HR function at the same level as cost accounting, showing just how complex the field can be. His contributions to costefficiency and effectiveness have changed management’s perception of HR from a merely transactional function to one that significantly impacts on business performance. Wellings works closely with the company’s estimating and operations teams in calculating labour costs and forecasting labour needs, which is crucial not only for the sake of profit, but also for the long-term sustainability of the company and the multiple projects it handles. Commending Wellings, one colleague says: “I believe Brad’s approach to HR – melding strong business analytics with effective interpersonal and EQ skills – represents what the future of the HR profession should look like.”

CARLY GREEN HR manager, InterContinental Sanctuary Cove Resort

Even before she had finished her university degree, Carly Green started working as an HR coordinator. She has been in the industry for nine years and now holds the position of HR manager at the InterContinental Sanctuary Cove Resort, following a break to start a family. Two years into this role, she has worked to improve employee engagement and has been tracking recruitment and training costs, with the latter shared as best practice across the Australasia region.

As an HR practitioner, Green knows the value of training and development, and has worked to maximise her own learning opportunities within the organisation. She participates in the company’s global leadership forum by sharing thought leadership and leading action groups for women and young leaders. She also sees the value of mentorship and continues to seek mentoring opportunities from leaders within and outside of the country.

18

DAISY JACOBS

National HR manager, CouriersPlease

In five years’ time, Daisy Jacobs has worked her way from being an HR administrator to a national HR manager, having collaborated with top management executives and now CEOs; for her, working with these leaders empowers her to take risks and pushes her to be even more innovative.

Her most recent achievements include setting the vision and values of the organisation, creating awareness within the company through informative internal newsletters, and promoting peer recognition online. Jacobs continues to keep herself updated on best practice and the latest developments in HR by attending private and governmentsponsored events and maintaining a network of HR professionals.

www.hcamag.com

14-29_RisingStars_SUBBED.indd 18

29/09/2016 5:53:41 AM

EMMA GLADWELL Graduate programs manager, Fusion Graduate Consultancy

DANI VUKCEVIC Senior HR business partner, AECOM

The ability to build strong relationships kept Dani Vukcevic afloat amid a regional market collapse that resulted in organisational restructures and redundancies.

Indeed, her exceptional performance at AECOM has given her the opportunity to level up and manage 300 employees in the Melbourne office and 120 in Adelaide as HR business partner. One of Vukcevic’s major contributions last year was helping the company with the structural and cultural integration of an acquired business unit.

In addition to helping preserve the organisational culture, Vukcevic’s other focus is diversity and inclusion.

She has led a program that advances gender diversity through group mentoring, skill development, and career self-management. Even outside the company, she continues this advocacy by participating in Deakin University’s Women in Engineering workshop and collaborating with the Geelong Regional Vocational Education Council on presenting career options in the engineering industry to female high schoolers.

Everyone knows how anxious new graduates are about finding good jobs and starting their careers right, but Emma Gladwell takes this knowledge to a new level. As graduate programs manager at specialist recruiter Fusion, her work is twofold: helping graduates find work through assessments and development workshops, and helping companies find employees that will fit their organisational values, culture and competencies. Gladwell’s collaboration with major companies and the local government has resulted in growth in the graduate program application numbers, with many happy graduates writing to thank her “for her support and assistance and for making them ‘feel at ease’ in an often scary recruitment process!”

Gladwell’s other educationrelated work includes contributions to a published educational manual for graduate managers and published research on the behavioural preferences of graduates, a panel presentation at the 2015 Australian Association of Graduate Employers Conference, as well as other events and informal coaching sessions with students.

FIONA EWING

Recruitment officer, Super Retail Group

Another rising star who started her HR career even before she graduated, Fiona Ewing shows how employers want more than just a degree. Not long after she started working in stores under the Super Retail Group umbrella (which includes brands like Amart Sports, BCF Boating Camping Fishing, Rebel and Supercheap Auto), Ewing applied to be a recruitment administrator. Taking on this role then gave her the chance to develop management skills by handling transfers and contracts for around 12,000 team members. Her exposure to the inner workings of stores enabled Ewing to provide invaluable insights to management, making her a key contact for line managers throughout the business.

Six months later, she applied for her current role, and in two months’ time managed to get a good number of positions on her job board and a high NPS. Other than recruitment, Ewing is also part of the company’s Support Office Safety Committee, thus helping the company manage one of its KPIs.

www.hcamag.com

14-29_RisingStars_SUBBED.indd 19

19

29/09/2016 5:53:44 AM

COVER STORY

RISING STARS 2016 JAMIE FINDLAY

HR officer, Australian Country Choice

Being HR officer at Australian Country Choice – a supply chain company in the meat industry and an acknowledged Employer of Choice – automatically gives Jamie Findlay a head start. Findlay holds responsibility for 1,500 employees across all aspects of HR. As a key contributor to the leadership team’s operational roll-out, he has led initiatives on employee engagement and performance development, as well as on multiculturalism, which includes increasing the company’s migrant workforce.

At age 25, Findlay has already served as stand-in group HR manager, and received the Brisbane Pride of Workmanship Award for 2016. Commending Findlay, his manager says: “Jamie has shown a high-level maturity and his composure and attributes go far beyond other contemporary HR officers. [His work] requires decisiveness and purpose … an inherent ability to engage people … a tremendous amount of resilience and true-grit.”

HAYLEY BAXENDALE

Director of people & culture, McDonald’s Australia

Having such a senior role at a relatively young age is testimony to Hayley Baxendale’s professionalism – a fact she has proven time and time again in her eight-year career with the company.

Baxendale graduated with a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Social Science from Western Sydney University. While working as a solicitor, McDonald’s became one of her (favourite) clients, and she eagerly jumped at the chance to join the company in late 2008 as legal counsel.

One of Baxendale’s major projects was on workplace safety, and this gave her the opportunity to lead the workplace safety department. She then became the national work health and safety manager in 2011.

Baxendale worked hard with her team and managed to halve the injury rate in two years, and established a strong safety culture from that point onward. In 2013, she won the Outstanding Safety & Security Manager of the Year Award at the Global Safety Conference in Chicago. Her success then led to another promotion in 2014 as director of employee relations, which eventually expanded to her current role.

Now, Baxendale continues to manage the company’s industrial relations strategy and its team of HR business partners, not to mention overseeing HR, customer service and corporate services for McDonald’s four corporate offices and 950 restaurants throughout the country.

20

JARROD APPLEBY HR manager – operations, Minor DKL Food Group

People normally think of branding as work for the marketing department, not HR. But Jarrod Appleby’s work has shown how HR can help build the product brand by developing people and building the company’s image as an employer. As HR manager, he ensures that the HR strategy supports the overall business plan and strategic direction of the parent company’s brands – The Coffee Club and Ribs and Rumps. This includes managing franchise systems across the country, with 320-plus sites and over 6,000 employees.

Appleby has made the following major contributions to “brand HR”: led the restructure of underperforming departments across brands to improve performance and profitability (while retaining 100% of new managers recruited during a restructure); provided training programs for franchise partners to ensure compliance; developed the online recruitment platform; and created employment programs for unemployed and underemployed youth, resulting in a further boost in employer brand recognition.

JENNIFER BELL HR advisor, RSPCA Queensland

In a charity organisation composed of paid staff and volunteers, having a solid organisational culture and keeping to a consistent set of values is important, and this is one of Jennifer Bell’s key contributions as HR advisor at RSPCA Queensland. She oversees the implementation of the RSPCA Leadership Code that outlines the mindset required of staff and volunteers for them to be successful in their work at the organisation. In terms of leadership, Bell has also helped implement a pay-for-performance model for the CEO and leadership team, and has developed and implemented programs for identifying and training high-potential talent within the company, to help leaders increase talent awareness and mobility.

In 2015, Bell and her HR team made the list of HRD’s Innovative HR Teams.

www.hcamag.com

14-29_RisingStars_SUBBED.indd 20

29/09/2016 5:53:50 AM

ABBEY PERRIN HR advisor, Merivale

Abbey Perrin has developed her HR career within a range of industries, having worked at Red Bull Australia and Sonoma Bakeries. She started out as an HR coordinator and now serves as HR advisor at Merivale, home to iconic bars such as the Ivy and Establishment in Sydney. Perrin’s work in the HR department requires her presence for all aspects of people management. One of her colleagues says: “Abbey is an end-to-end HR generalist and takes care of all aspects of the employment life cycle, from recruitment to performance management to training and succession planning … she has handled difficult staff separation situations and given sound advice to all levels of managers.”

Perrin’s major contribution to the company is her focus on training and development, improving the training pathway by partnering with RTOs as well as helping tailor-specific programs to address the skill gaps and needs of employees.

www.hcamag.com

14-29_RisingStars_SUBBED.indd 21

21

29/09/2016 5:53:55 AM

COVER STORY

RISING STARS 2016

ASHLEIGH PAGE Recruitment advisor, Star Entertainment Group

From working behind the scenes in an administrative support role in the HR team, Ashleigh Page quickly moved to the frontline as a recruitment consultant. “Ashleigh has an eye for talent, which is reflected in her success with shortlisting and profiling the best possible people for the business,” her colleague says. At Star Entertainment Group, she works with the Queensland Talent Acquisition team, which is responsible for 3,600-plus employees. She has also worked with Star Sydney’s recruitment team and has received accolades from its leadership team for her exceedingly effective and efficient recruitment skills. Page also serves as the company representative for Queensland TAFE and is a spokesperson during the company’s regional roadshows, which aim to promote sustainable employment opportunities.

22

www.hcamag.com

14-29_RisingStars_SUBBED.indd 22

29/09/2016 5:54:00 AM

JOANNA COPELAND HR manager, Citadel Group

JESSICA WONG

HR business partner, Hollard Insurance

Remuneration is definitely one of the top concerns of employees and employers alike, and Jessica Wong is doing it right by focusing on this particular aspect of HR. When she started working as an HR coordinator, Wong managed two payroll systems along with the company’s remuneration and bonus review. She has since streamlined these processes, which has significantly improved efficiency and transparency. She was then appointed as project lead for a new system, which she managed adeptly despite minimal experience. Other than managing payroll systems, she has also contributed to other initiatives, such as the company’s graduate program and career pathways.

On top of performing her regular duties, Wong further demonstrated her initiative when she volunteered to help the claims department in the aftermath of a recent insurance catastrophe. It’s no wonder she received a ‘Hoscar’, the highest accolade given by the company.

Jo Copeland has been in the HR field for nine years and now has a strong generalist background and consulting and management experience in various industries. She has been actively involved in major organisational restructures, offering creative ideas to improve cost-effectiveness as well as flexibility and adaptability of management. Copeland demonstrates a strong understanding of Fair Work Australia, the Work Health and Safety Act, and employment and industrial relations, and she has proven her ability by advising on legislative/award interpretation and handling complex compensation issues.

Outside the office, Copeland is actively involved in the Australian Human Resource Institute’s various groups and programs, such as serving as a member of the NSW Council and an associate on the ACT Council, and taking part in the mentoring program and working with NSW Young Professionals.

JONATHON LYNCH Senior consultant, Wrest Point

After finishing a combined business/law degree, majoring in human resource management, Jonathon Lynch joined Wrest Point, Hobart’s casino hotel, in 2013. He was quickly promoted to senior consultant for employee relations and injury management, with the latter built from scratch. He has worked on a number of fit-for-purpose training programs for managers, and is currently handling the negotiation of two enterprise agreements. In all of his work, Lynch continues to prove his capability and maturity, leading complex discussions with senior executives and external consultants, providing care and support for frontline employees, and coaching his peers across the other businesses within the Federal Group. A colleague states: “With his knowledge, common sense and business acumen there is no reason why Jonathon can’t be a future head of HR.”

GRACE LYDEN

Senior HR advisor, Brother International (Australia)

Nothing says rising star like being identified as a potential successor by your manager, and that is exactly what Grace Lyden has been pegged as: “… it is likely she will once again take on my role … she consistently demonstrates her capacity and willingness to learn, grow, and in turn, provide a high degree of professional integrity, which has generated high levels of trust and respect with all levels of staff,” writes her current manager.

After working for a year at the company, Lyden was promoted to her current position. All of her work has been geared toward upgrading and improving the company’s HR systems, support and infrastructure, ensuring that staff receive what they need in a timely fashion. Her competence and hard work has earned her credibility among staff, making her an excellent candidate for HR leadership.

www.hcamag.com

14-29_RisingStars_SUBBED.indd 23

23

29/09/2016 5:54:00 AM

COVER STORY

RISING STARS 2O16

KAELI GOODE

KERRYN DILLON

Kaeli Goode has been with the Department of Education and Training since 2011, and has leapt up through the ranks for the past five years. Her work has expanded from managing payroll services to overseeing the executive performance and development process, allowing her to engage with senior executives. Goode has also managed projects and events promoting diversity and cultural capability, as well as programs addressing domestic and family violence – she has represented the department at seminars and workshops related to the latter issue. With these initiatives, Goode ably demonstrates what is most ‘human(e)’ about working in human resources, proving that HR is truly about the people.

At TLC Healthcare, Kerryn Dillon has revamped the HR department, starting with redeveloping and launching the organisation’s mission and values.

While managing everything from online recruitment to professional development, she also addresses the staff’s need for affirmation and communication through the Values and Service Awards and implementation of the internal newsletter. Dillon also introduced an award-winning cross-functional health and wellbeing program, which is aimed at improving health as well as organisational engagement. All these programs have resulted in a reduction in absenteeism and staff turnover and have significantly improved engagement, leading to the HR team being recognised as one of HRD’s Innovative HR Teams for 2016.

HR consultant, Department of Education and Training, Queensland Government

Chief human resources and industrial relations officer, TLC Healthcare

KRISTI LLOYD HR manager, Kirana

Kristi Lloyd has been working in the HR industry since 2007, building her generalist skill set and gaining experience in both the public and private sectors. She has been with registered training organisation Kirana for two years, and was in fact appointed to the first HR position within the company. During this period, Lloyd has built the HR function from scratch with the support and mentoring of the CEO, and has helped the business grow by doubling its employees in a year. She also started the Health and Wellness Program for employees, which included setting up an Employee Assistance Program and arranging various health and wellness activities. She is also working on her personal development as a graduate student of HR and OD and a scholarship participant in an Advanced Leadership Program.

24

KIMBERLEY FERRARO HR manager – industrial relations & HR support, Crown Melbourne

Noting the continuing trend of few female leaders in organisations, Kimberley Ferraro has decided to make her work count for this particular cause. One of her major contributions is ensuring continued compliance with the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s recommendations, which she achieves by maintaining at least 45% female participation in leadership and development programs and creating monthly reports to track progress.

Ferraro also helped create the Women of Crown management program, to develop high-potential women into leaders and increase the number of females in positions of general manager and above.

Ferraro’s eagerness and determination have been apparent since early in her career. For example, she became the key project manager for renegotiation of the company’s largest enterprise agreements while managing a newly formed HR Support Centre.

www.hcamag.com

14-29_RisingStars_SUBBED.indd 24

29/09/2016 5:54:02 AM

LORI CORDINGLEY Organisational development manager, Australian Unity

As part of a healthcare organisation, Lori Cordingley knows how important it is for the company to be consistent in showing how much it values health, and she has helped accomplish this by assessing and redefining the notions of health and wellbeing among employees. When she joined the company in 2011, Cordingley set out to revamp the measurement for engagement, linking it to two ideas – enablement and wellbeing.

She then proceeded to trace how extensive the effects of health are on wellbeing, performance/productivity and engagement by assessing a select group of employees and enrolling those with health risks in a health coaching program. The whole initiative amply demonstrated how effective the company’s overall engagement program was, resulting in business opportunities and positive publicity. Internally, it led to improvements in retention and productivity, as well as a positive shift in engagement.

NICOLA BEGG People & performance consultant, Corrs Chambers Westgarth

LOUISE WOODCROFTLETHAM HR advisor – learning & development, Amadeus IT Pacific

Louise Woodcroft-Letham started her HR career in a recruitment company and quickly progressed through various positions before a new role – delivery consultant – was created for her based on her skills in stakeholder management, candidate engagement, and unique sourcing and behavioural interviewing. She went on to design training programs for other recruitment consultants.

Having joined Amadeus IT Pacific this year, Woodcroft-Letham has already produced results, increasing uptake of a new gamified learning initiative. She has regular exchanges with colleagues in other countries that help the company maintain a consistent learning experience across offices.

Diversity and inclusion is Nicola Begg’s primary HR focus at present. As a founding member of the LGBTI steering committee, Begg works to ensure that her firm’s policies properly reflect its commitment to LGBTI inclusion. Of particular note for the law industry, this includes addressing policies on parental leave, breastfeeding and flexibility.

Begg also helped roll out LGBTI-specific training for Equal Employment Opportunity contact officers, which yielded a positive response from staff nationally. As a result of these initiatives, the company achieved Gold status in Policy and Practice in the Australian Workplace Equality Index for 2016. Begg continues to play an integral role in the company’s HR team while pursuing personal development by working on her master’s in HR management.

RYAN DICKSON

HR coordinator, Canterbury Hurlstone Park RSL Club

Ryan Dickson started out as duty manager at the company before moving to the HR function. However, this previous role gave him the insights needed to come up with relevant HR initiatives for frontline employees. He has introduced a new points-based rewards system for frontline team members, which has led to enhanced performance. He has also helped improve the employee benefits scheme by conducting focus group discussions with staff and arranging for certain benefits, such as discounts with private health funds and financial advice from ANZ. Dickson also works with his L&D colleagues to introduce mentoring for duty managers and club supervisors.

www.hcamag.com

14-29_RisingStars_SUBBED.indd 25

25

29/09/2016 1:07:03 PM

COVER STORY

RISING STARS 2O16 JAKE ZALM

Senior HR business partner, Virgin Australia

At 25, Jake Zalm has already accomplished a good number of things in his career as an HR practitioner at Virgin Australia. He started out as workers’ compensation coordinator and went on to become recruitment advisor and people advisor, all while working on his master’s degree. In July 2013, he was promoted to senior HR business partner.

Zalm’s major achievements include a role as the HR lead on a major project last year that involved streamlining the airline’s New Zealand operations. He also supported the Group Flight Operations Division, which includes over 1,400 pilots. He has also partnered with UQ Business School to implement a leadership development program, and has led the airline’s involvement in the Women in Aviation & Aerospace Association to help promote diversity in the industry.

SAM JOHNSON HR consultant (recruitment), Vantage Group

Sam Johnson is indeed one fast-rising star.

In the space of two years, he has progressed from being a fresh graduate to a consultant and soon-to-be HR manager of over 400 employees. During this time, he has accomplished a number of HR career goals, gaining experience in various areas, not to mention stepping up on two occasions as acting HR manager, which happened after only seven months of working at the company. In this capacity, he has proven himself capable of handling multiple projects and functions, from the opening and acquisition of new bottle shops to coordinating fundraising and managing cases related to workers’ compensation, termination, and medical-related underperformance.

26

SHEREEN LIOTTA National employee relations consultant Schweppes Australia

At age 26, Shereen Liotta has had six years’ experience in workplace relations and workers’ compensation, has worked for institutions such as the Fair Work Ombudsman and the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, finished a Master’s of Workplace and Employment Law, and is now working towards a Juris Doctor while working full-time. For the past 12–18 months, Liotta has achieved the following: introduced an enterprise agreement framework; and implemented an aged workforce strategy. Outside the company, Liotta spends time volunteering as member of the board of directors of the Southern Migrant and Refuge Centre in Melbourne.

SONIA POTTER

National head of people & culture, Ikon Communications

Sonia Potter started out as a people and culture department assistant at age 21, and after almost seven years she has become the national head of people and culture and the youngest member of the leadership team at Ikon Communications. To help her manage at the national level, she has placed P&C representatives in each of the states, who are tasked to ensure that all initiatives are aligned with the P&C fundamentals. In just the last 18 months, Potter has introduced over 10 new benefits, including anniversary celebrations, personalised welcome packs, and quarterly staff awards. Today, 82% of staff feel that their efforts are recognised. She has also simplified the performance review process, introduced e-learning training modules, and arranged for an annual increase of 10% in the training budget, all of which have contributed to 25% of the staff receiving a promotion in the past 12 months.

www.hcamag.com

14-29_RisingStars_SUBBED.indd 26

29/09/2016 5:54:08 AM

STEPHANY DOBBELSTEIN HR business partner, RoZetta Technology

While finishing her undergraduate degree in business, Stephany Dobbelstein started out as a language specialist/bilingual customer support officer, then landed a position as HR coordinator because the hiring manager saw potential in “her thirst to learn”. She went on to do her master’s degree and work as an employment relations adviser, gaining practical knowledge on industrial relations and employment legislation. Starting at RoZetta Technology coincided with the company’s change in direction and challenges with talent recruitment. A member of the executive management says: “Stephany was able to quickly hit the ground, assess our existing HR processes and procedures and make rapid improvements, including refreshing and formalising key areas … she brings a huge amount of energy and enthusiasm to the job and is seen as a key member of the company’s leadership team.”

TJ PONCE HR business partner, ABB Australia

What makes TJ Ponce a rising star is her newness to the scene, having only migrated to Australia in 2010, a time that was also particularly tough for the manufacturing sector.

She quickly realised that ABB – a power and automation engineering company – required a significant change in its operating model, which she helped implement by training the line managers in a methodical and structured way, with one-on-one conversations, weekly blogs, toolbox meetings and quarterly results briefings.

From starting out as HR manager for the company’s site in Moorebank, Sydney, Ponce now has an added role as HR business partner for the largest business unit. Being new to the IR landscape has not kept her from leading union bargaining in different states and introducing direct employee engagement bargaining strategies and other initiatives.

VICKY KOTKIEWICZ HR manager, Consec Group

Vicky Kotkiewicz has been at Consec Group for only a little over a year, and already she has a number of key achievements under her belt. With the addition of a new company to the Consec Group, she has helped extensively with the communications aspect, providing support for employee disciplinary proceedings through teleconferencing. She has also worked towards improving transparency by establishing a business management system, which outlines the company’s practices along with the needs of internal and external clients. Kotkiewicz has also implemented strategies for reward and remuneration, which have resulted in an improved attrition rate (2%) and turnover rate (7%) for early 2016. Moreover, her focus on providing flexible work arrangements, especially for the women in the company, has not only helped address work-life balance but also improved diversity and inclusion.

www.hcamag.com

14-29_RisingStars_SUBBED.indd 27

27

29/09/2016 5:54:11 AM

COVER STORY

RISING STARS 2O16

KERRIE DYKES

LAILA HASSAN

HR manager, Sugar Australia

HR manager, Lyreco

MADDISON KILBY

As an all-round star in her field, Kerrie Dykes has led significant and high-profile change initiatives, mentored talent, and provided considerable support in times of need. Despite having an HR team of only two people at one point, Dykes was still able to carry on supporting all parts of the business. She also helped rebuild the team and the HR brand in less than six months. In addition, Dykes established the company’s talent management and mentoring program.

Her former manager says: “Kerrie’s track record is on point. She enables her senior stakeholders to achieve their objectives while maintaining a high level of compliance and values.”

Laila Hassan is quite a VIP at Lyreco, having won the company’s VLP (Very Lyreco People) International award, which is based on nominations and votes from staff. She has also won the Agility award for her various achievements, from establishing the employer brand to managing a key restructure. These initiatives have led to a boost in the reputation and image of the HR department and a shift in the business culture. Working alongside the leadership team, Hassan helped establish the leadership development program, ensuring that it was accompanied by a culture that was conducive to developing the best leaders and managers.

Maddison Kilby’s work as HR business partner demonstrates how leadership does not always have to come from the top, as one colleague states. “Maddison is a natural leader and an excellent ‘reverse mentor’; senior leaders have said that Maddison’s support empowered them to lead difficult change, while maintaining high levels of engagement.” She also led two restructures that involved designing new roles and developing capable thirdand fourth-tier leaders, all of which have led to more client contact hours per month and a $500,000 improvement to the bottom line. Kilby also pushes for the use of new HR technology, such as e-contracts, online forms and video recruitment.

MICHELLE BUDD

HR manager – Queensland & Northern Territory, Menzies Aviation (Australia)

Despite not having had the chance to obtain a college degree, and experiencing other setbacks, Michelle Budd’s sheer hard work and determination eventually saw her move into an HR manager role. Michelle Budd specialises in recruitment, L&D and OHS/Return to Work, and has worked in various industries, from aviation to construction. By the end of 2014, she was appointed to her current role, and now manages the investigations, communication, consulting and engagement processes involving 450 staff across four locations in Queensland and the Northern Territory. She was also tasked to establish the local and regional presence of HR for the first time within the business, which meant managing everything from recruitment to performance management and workforce planning.

28

HR business partner, Benetas

MEREDITH YOUNG Production supervisor, PACCAR Australia

Meredith Young does not have a traditional ‘HR’ title, yet her work shows how HR can be embedded in operations such as the production line and can thus contribute directly to the business. She has the numbers to prove it. Her list of achievements includes implementation of an employee engagement survey with a record 85% participation rate; coordinating the delivery of 11,000 hours of training; and introducing electronic performance appraisals. While in the HR services department, she recruited over 70 professional staff, helped upgrade the company’s enterprise system, and consolidated the e-recruitment system. Over the past 18 months she has applied her HR skills to help improve productivity (reducing production hours by 9%), work quality (reducing defects by 64%), and resource management (reducing waste to landfill by 32%).

www.hcamag.com

14-29_RisingStars_SUBBED.indd 28

29/09/2016 5:54:16 AM

14-29_RisingStars_SUBBED.indd 29

29/09/2016 5:54:18 AM

FEATURES

EXECUTIVE CAREERS

A CAREER ENHANCER?

EXTERNAL BOARD POSITIONS IN FOCUS Should HR encourage executive directors to hold external board director positions? Kylie Hammond investigates MANY EXECUTIVES are beginning their board careers while they are still working in corporate roles. They are proactively seeking opportunities to serve on company boards, including non-executive director and advisory board appointments.

Executive directors are often restricted contractually from holding external employment engagements, and will need to seek permission to serve on an external company board. But with the growing emergence of ‘portfolio careers’ and the demand for next-generation board directors, HR professionals are now faced with an increasing number of requests from executives wishing to serve on external company boards.

Should HR try to accommodate executive directors who want to commence their board careers and hold external company board appointments? Is there an opportunity to widen the horizons of a company by encouraging executive directors to take on these types of engagements, provided conflicts of interest are correctly managed?

The answers are not simple and will be dependent on a range of factors, which include the type of board appointment involved, the goals of the company, the performance of the executive director in

30

www.hcamag.com

30-31_HRonboards_SUBBED.indd 30

29/09/2016 1:08:29 PM

question, the sustainability of the board in terms of direction, and what the expected benefits to the company and individual might be. Such factors will ultimately influence whether it is a good decision for HR to encourage some executive directors to hold a board director position that is external to the company.

Enhance CSR programs In many cases, the executive director who is starting out in their board career will initially be invited to join a not-for-profit or community board. This is where many board directors earn their stripes and gain their early board experience. Board service may provide an opportunity to gain experience that cannot be achieved within the current executive’s role and allow them to gain insight into other areas of how a business operates, such as corporate finance, strategy, sales and marketing.

Executives may also learn how to run and contribute to a board meeting.

Many executives who have had a successful corporate career express a desire to make a difference, give back and serve in the notfor-profit community. This may complement an established CSR program and assist the executive in developing valuable board director experience at the same time.

Board appointments to a charity, sports, arts or community-based organisation usually boost the individual’s public profile. Provided the time commitments are manageable, it can create a good outcome for all parties. There are several well-known examples in the market of companies such as the Big Four professional services firms actively encouraging senior executives to serve on not-for-profit boards in order to contribute their skills, expertise and capability at board level.

Tap into emerging business and technology trends The second most common request from executive directors is to have permission to

join an advisory board in a start-up or earlystage company.

These companies need specialist skills, experience and expertise around them and will often reach out to high-profile successful corporate executives to assist them in their business strategy and growth plans.

Harnessing the capabilities of these executives in developing a business strategy is of great advantage to an early-stage

specific contacts that have increased their credibility or provided better opportunities.

As an external member of a board, such an individual can tap into their network to fast-forward their company’s positioning in the market and reach out to new market segments swiftly. New connections can greatly expand the influence of a company and make a difference in its long-term success.

Senior executives are increasingly aware

In many cases, the executive director who is starting out in their board career will initially be invited to join a not-for-profit or community board business. It is also a potential benefit when an executive director gains external experience in areas that are pertinent to developing their company’s future impact and strategy.

Start-ups and early-stage businesses have the potential to become disruptors in the market in which they operate. By serving on these boards, executives can tap into emerging technology trends and synergistic business opportunities.

There are many examples in the market of high-profile corporate businesses that are encouraging executive directors to sit on the advisory boards of disruptive technology businesses as part of an overarching strategy to monitor, assess and even acquire emerging technology that could enhance their companies’ position in the market.

Access a wide professional network Accessing new influential connections for the benefit of their company is one of the key opportunities for an executive who is seeking to serve as a board member.

Executive directors have built their specialised skill sets with the help of

of the need to seek out opportunities to build their business reputation and develop the foundations for a board career as early as possible. Executive directors who serve on external company boards may develop experience and business networks, enhance their public profile, and gain business and technology insights that could be beneficial to their employers while creating a mechanism for developing valuable board director experience.

Provided that conflicts of interest and time commitments are managed, HR may play a pivotal role in encouraging these types of appointments through skilful alignment of the goals of the business and the executive director’s personal career aspirations.

Kylie Hammond, CEO of Director Institute, is a leading board and executive search and board talent management consultant and Australia’s foremost CEO business mentor. She is passionate about helping executives create portfolio careers. For further information, visit directorinstitute.com.au.

www.hcamag.com

30-31_HRonboards_SUBBED.indd 31

31

29/09/2016 1:08:32 PM

FEATURES

BENEFITS

TAKING BENEFITS FROM A COST CENTRE TO A VALUE GENERATOR A sustainable, fresh benefits program will keep not just employees happy but your CFO as well.

HRD explores how to create a cost-effective and engaging benefits program IT HAPPENS time and time again: a benefits program is launched amid much fanfare and genuine interest from managers and employees. Six months on, the dust has settled, the buzz has gone, and engagement with the benefits program has dipped. Worse still, the CFO has started questioning the value of such a program.

see their utilisation of benefits skyrocket as they create a plan to ensure their teams know what’s available,” she says. “One-off emails telling people where things are on the ‘dusty intranet’ don’t work. What’s needed is an ongoing and comprehensive approach to communication. And you’re not finished there, because if you source your own ‘deals’

“Who wants to have five different passwords and search on different parts of an intranet that they have to be in the office to log on to?”

Tracy Mellor This needn’t be the case. Indeed, Tracy Mellor, managing director for Australia and New Zealand and group people director at Reward Gateway, says keeping benefits offerings ‘alive’ for clients is something she enjoys most about her current role.

“It’s been rewarding helping businesses

32

with gyms or car companies, for instance, they need to be up to date and obtain a great deal too – actually, the best!”

Mellor knows this first-hand. Prior to joining Reward Gateway – she was in fact one of their first customers – she was general manager, people and culture, at Rebel Group.

“I was so fed up of negotiating with suppliers, particularly gyms, only to find that there was a better deal for those that just walked in off the street. It was so frustrating – and the employees let me know too, which was even more frustrating,” she explains.

Mellor also knows that sometimes it’s the internal communication systems – the aforementioned ‘dusty intranets’ – that leave a lot to be desired.

Conversely, Mellor has also seen userfriendly benefit platforms operating through company intranets. The reason for their success is that they have evolved to be more in line with how online technology looks and feels outside of the workplace, so from an employee experience perspective it looks and feels very natural to them.

For example, the Reward Gateway employee discounts platform has many features and steps that resemble how employees would shop on the internet, so when they go into this benefit it feels natural, creating a positive and easy user experience.

“The more providers can stay connected with the outside world, the better chance we have of making it easy and accessible for our employees,” Mellor says.

It’s just as important for benefits programs to be easy for HR to administer. Some HR professionals that Reward Gateway works with want to leave all the ‘heavy lifting’ work to their employee engagement partner.

Reward Gateway will therefore help clients create a centralised and branded hub for their benefits, and work closely to drive adoption of the benefits from day one. Other employers, of course, want more hands-on control.

“In that case any solution they use should have the same consumer-like feel as the product the employees are experiencing, and can easily be a place they can manage all their benefits, reward and recognition solutions, and employee communications,” Mellor says.

www.hcamag.com

32-35_Ad Led - RewardGateway_SUBBED.indd 32

29/09/2016 8:14:30 AM

Brought to you by

TRACY MELLOR’S TIPS FOR WINNING OVER SCEPTICAL CFOS HRD outlined the importance of segmented communications in Issue 14.9, and Mellor reiterates the central question to ask. “If we want HR communications to stand out and stick, we need to address the WIIFM factor – what’s in it for me,” she says. “So give them something which appeals to them as individuals. Segmentation is the perfect tool to do this, helping us target the answer to this question for our various employee groups.”

To answer the WIIFM question, employers need to offer a wide breadth of benefits. Key elements of a comprehensive benefits package are benefits that increase the disposable income of employees, says Mellor.

The technology factor Staying fresh also means being across constantly evolving technology – for example,

“Balance, whether it’s with a balanced benefits offering or a balanced benefits budget, is key to creating robust and sustainable benefits. Benefits, such as those providing savings to employees, can be extremely helpful in achieving this balance, as they are low cost and low effort but provide high engagement. This means that each dollar goes further to deliver an ROI to the business. Compare this to a benefit which costs two or three times more and has significantly lower utilisation, meaning each dollar has a lower ROI. “Also, remember that the most expensive thing you can give your employees is cash – a pay rise; you pay payroll tax and super and they pay income tax. So instead of giving them a 3% pay rise, which means significantly less to them and costs you more, you can give them discounts as a benefit, which costs you less than 0.1% of payroll and they’re going to save around 5% of their salaries – saving money on things they would be buying anyway, like groceries, petrol, holidays and insurance. If this doesn’t put a smile on your CFO’s face, then nothing will!”

providing real-time access to discount benefits. Mellor recalls a recent conversation with Helen O’Reilly, chief HR officer at Teachers Mutual Bank: “Helen described it perfectly – people don’t want to plan to buy something. Whether it’s the weekly shop

at Woolworths or Coles, a fashion frenzy at David Jones or Myer, or a one-off big purchase in Good Guys or JB Hi-Fi, they want it now. In fact, they want it whilst they’re in the store, after they’ve chosen what it is they want to buy – and they want it on

www.hcamag.com

32-35_Ad Led - RewardGateway_SUBBED.indd 33

33

29/09/2016 8:14:38 AM

FEATURES

BENEFITS Brought to you by

DEBRA COREY’S TOP BENEFITS TIPS 1. Start with a purpose Determine and agree with your business the purpose and objectives of your benefits program, collectively and individually. Take the time to answer the question of ‘why’ first, and you will not only have direction but know what success looks like.

2. Make it right for your company and your employees Each company will have different objectives as well as different employee demographics. For this reason, make sure that the benefits you put in place are right for your company, achieving your objectives, and your employees.

3. Communicate, communicate, communicate Effective communication ensures your employees understand, use and appreciate each and every benefit. My tip is to work with your benefits provider to come up with a robust and comprehensive communications plan, communicating the key messages over and over again in many different ways and at different times.

their phone with a great user experience.”

Mellor adds that employees also want to see how much they’ve saved and how far their salary has been stretched. “It makes them feel good and feel loved by their employer,” she says.

With discount benefits sorted, all other benefits must be located somewhere that’s easy to access on a smartphone, so that people commuting on a bus or train, or sitting on the sofa at home, can find all the precious things that HR has spent hours sourcing or spent money on funding. “If they can single sign-on that’s even better,” says

“Some say that you should shake off ROI and embrace VOI, but I believe they both have an important and significant part to play” Tracy Mellor Mellor. “Who wants to have five different passwords and search on different parts of an intranet that they have to be in the office to log on to?”

Proving a program’s value

REWARD GATEWAY Reward Gateway provides employee engagement technology to the world’s leading companies. Over 1,200 clients, including Optus, KPMG and McDonald’s, use the company’s products to attract, engage and retain the best employees. The company’s products power employee communications, employee recognition, and employee benefits through a single employer-branded hub called SmartHub®.

34

of ‘why’,” says Mellor. “Your board, your CEO and your ‘unconvinced’ CFO or COO will take your programs more seriously as a result, and you’ll have the flexibility to expand upon your great ideas. You’ll also be able to pinpoint – without emotion – what’s working, and what isn’t. And that’s key to implementing any HR program.”

What’s the difference between these measures, and which is better? Mellor says the simple way of explaining them is that ROI focuses on tangible measures (eg sales, revenue) and VOI focuses on intangible measures (eg engagement, turnover).

A final tip is to ensure your benefits program is cost-effective. Reward Gateway’s group reward director, Debra Corey, says HR should be using data to help create and present an ROI (return on investment) and VOI (value on investment) to the board. Whether it’s for a new benefit, a recognition program, an HRIS system or a communications portal, presenting these can help you get your board on board. They answer the key ‘why’, as in, why spend the money, time and effort on this new HR program?

“By paying attention to the ROI and VOI of your programs, you’ll ultimately be able to answer that all-important question

“I believe that in order to answer the question ‘why’ you need to present both.

Some say that you should shake off ROI and embrace VOI, but I believe they both have an important and significant part to play,” she adds.

In theory, calculating the ROI and VOI for an HR program is pretty straightforward.

It requires looking at the cost of the program and comparing it to the savings (either tangible or intangible) that the program would return, thus showing the return/value on the investment. The cost is usually quite easy to calculate, but the savings, especially intangible savings, can sometimes be a challenge.

If you would like further information on employee benefits solutions you can talk to Tracy Mellor, Reward Gateway group people director, on 0434 336 830, or Kylie Green, Reward Gateway sales director, on 0407 944 289; rewardgateway.com.

www.hcamag.com

32-35_Ad Led - RewardGateway_SUBBED.indd 34

29/09/2016 8:14:38 AM

NHRS 20

29-30 March 2017 • Luna Park Sydney

SAVE THE DATE Workshop sponsors

Exhibitors

www.hrsummit.com.au NHRS 2017_FP 1 32-35_Ad Led ad.indd - RewardGateway_SUBBED.indd 35

AUSTRALIA’S BEST BUSINESS EVENT

Official publications

Organised by

#HRSummitAU 29/09/2016 AMAM 29/09/20168:12:07 8:14:42

FEATURES

WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT

MAXIMISING TALENT POTENTIAL

The composition of the workforce is changing.

HRD reveals how the demand from employees for more flexible work options is shaping the workforce of tomorrow – and how HR can prepare

IF BUSINESS leaders were asked to pick just one pressing issue that has featured highly on their agenda over the past five years, labour productivity would feature prominently. As far back as 2012, Chandler Macleod’s white paper, The Five Faces of Productivity, found that many organisations were not focusing on the right productivity initiatives. For example, while organisations concentrated on people management, training and process innovation, this was often at the expense of increased employee mobilisation (across sites, teams, projects and countries), workforce planning, product innovation and skills utilisation – the

things that will truly drive productivity.

Australia is not alone in this push for greater labour productivity – every business across the globe needs to review the productivity and efficiencies of their talent.

However, due to the significant cost of labour in Australia, the need is more acute.

“As a workforce we need to be focused and strategic around talent decisions,” says Steve Bennetts, GM Innovation and Client Services, Chandler Macleod People Insights. “What this means is that Australia is the epicentre for leading the world in the most productive and efficient talent models,

COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE What impact will the rise of contingent workers likely have on team performance?

Chandler Macleod refers to a team’s dynamics and composition as “collective intelligence”. For a team’s potential to be achieved it needs to be leader-driven, the team composition needs to be considered, and the environment needs to encourage a culture of collaboration. “By understanding the collective intelligence of your workforce, and specific teams, you can have a greater chance to achieve the desired outcome,” says Bennetts. “In this day and age, to have a high-performing workforce you need to have a focus on the team, not just the individual – it’s the sum of parts.”

To tap into collective intelligence, HR must know how to source, assess and build a workforce of highly engaged and productive individuals, and support the collective intelligence of teams and the company as a whole.

36

to create and maintain a productive and engaged workforce.”

Engaging rather than acquiring talent Talent strategies are not static; they must move with the times. “It’s imperative that talent strategies are agile and future driven,” says Bennetts. “In reality, the high-potential employees of today want mobility; they want to move project to project and focus on outcomes.

As a result, our conceptualisation of talent and how to retain it is changing at rapid pace.”

Jamie Devitt, GM Client Development at Chandler Macleod Staffing Services, says this focus on productivity has another far-reaching impact on talent management. Instead of acquiring talent, organisations must become more adept at ‘engaging talent’ to get the job done in the most efficient manner possible.

“This is challenging how and where they source talent and ultimately the model of engaging talent,” he says. “The traditional model of full-time, permanent employment that is restricted to an office or workplace is shifting and changing the workforce dynamics.”

He adds that this has major repercussions not just for employers but for the Australian government and the community as a whole as they adapt to this rising contingent labour market.

What do employees want?

Coinciding with the changing business definition of talent is a new view of work from employees. Contrary to popular belief, it is not so much the different demographic groups in the workplace that are shifting their conceptualisation of work; instead it’s technology that is opening up the opportunity to think differently about workplaces.

“We should no longer be thinking of flexible work at an individual level, but at the organisational level,” says Bennetts. “We’re seeing the shifts from all age groups. They

www.hcamag.com

36-39_Ad led - ChandlerMacleod_SUBBED.indd 36

29/09/2016 1:10:34 PM

Brought to you by

are moving away from full-time, permanent roles being 9am–5pm.”

Bennetts cites 2014 research from the University of South Australia, which found that just 15% of respondents (of a sample of nearly 3,000) said flexible arrangements were not available or possible in their current position. “We are no longer being anchored to a physical location, which enables individuals to create the most productive environment to work in,” he says.

The composition of the flexible workforce is also changing, and Bennetts says the idea of the “blended workforce” is already a reality: part-time working arrangements have increased by a factor of three; full-time jobs are down by 10%; and one in three people are working casually.

“We observe leading organisations as truly embracing flexible work practices and

“In reality, the high-potential employees of today want mobility; they want to move project to project and focus on outcomes” Steve Bennetts improving how they define high performance from ‘doing their hours’ to ‘delivering an outcome’, which is opening up a variety of possibilities as to how to get the job done,” says Devitt.

A helping hand Fortunately, there is help at hand. Outsource talent providers can help with developing and engaging the flexible workforce of the future, thus enabling the focus to be on outcomes

and productivity, which in turn allows the mitigation of risk and reduction in costs.

For this to happen, it’s critical to ensure that, from a culture perspective, all workers are still seen as part of the organisation.

A disengaged group will have an impact on productivity, performance and then indirect costs for the organisation. Bennetts cites an example of embedded outsourced workers: most people would not know that the many housekeepers working in hotels

www.hcamag.com

36-39_Ad led - ChandlerMacleod_SUBBED.indd 37

37

29/09/2016 1:10:39 PM

FEATURES

WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT Brought to you by

BEFORE YOU ENGAGE… Thinking of using an outsource provider for talent? Here are Chandler Macleod’s top tips: • Take the time to ensure culture and values alignment with your company and the sourcing company; ‘go slow to go fast’.

• Focus on the outcomes and the human aspects first and then the costs second.

• Have a vision and strategy to support integration with an outsourcing provider.

• Engage with your prospective partners and seek out a truly trusted partnership. Like any partnership, you will get out of it what you put in.

• It’s important that HR has a louder voice in an organisation where contract decisions are Procurement or Supply led, so involve yourself in the decisionmaking process.

• Challenge your providers to propose ideas to help improve your organisation in areas important to your business: culture, quality, diversity, cost, and risk.

CHANDLER MACLEOD GROUP Chandler Macleod Group is a comprehensive suite of human resources services and product offerings that address complex workforce challenges. With more than five decades of providing talent solutions that are the BestFit™ with Australian organisations, they are uniquely positioned to manage flexible and skilled workforces to deliver operational excellence, improve productivity, minimise risk, and develop opportunities for revenue generation.

38

around Australia have been sourced from AHS Hospitality (part of Chandler Macleod), because they are embedded within the culture of their workplace. “This is the ultimate aim for outsourcing companies,” he says.

There are other benefits to employers.

For example, CM People Insights (CMPI) consultants partner with businesses to ensure that talent decisions are informed and support the company through various aspects of the employee experience. From the candidate’s perspective, they see CMPI consultants as a part of the business that they may work for in the future (recruitment) or may already work for (development). “From our research, the outsourcing model works the best when the

trends, and the ability to advise employers on general market trends. That includes insights around where to source talent and at what cost or salary level.

“Where organisations need the flexibility to scale back or ramp up quickly, outsourced organisations are well placed to deliver to that and the strategic outcomes,” says Devitt. “We have one recent example where a particularly large project involved a number of strategic imperatives in the diversity space.

Through a targeted and relationship-based sourcing approach, we were able to source over 160 Indigenous workers and deliver a workforce with over a 20% Indigenous representation.”

“The traditional model of full-time, permanent employment that is restricted to an office or workplace is shifting and changing the workforce dynamics” Jamie Devitt two companies are aligned on their cultures, values and beliefs,” Bennetts says.

Specialist outsource providers typically manage large networks or pools of talent, which enables them to access that talent quickly, identify the best-matched talent in the market to the job to be done, and go further to evaluate the best mode of engagement in order to meet the risk, cost and efficiency objectives of an organisation.

Indeed, as workforce management is their stock in trade, this translates into benefits to the host employer, such as more effective and efficient management in the areas of safety, risk, legal, Industrial and Employee Relations, rostering, and performance management.

Specialist providers typically also have access to best-in-market technology application,

Redefining traditional HR processes With the opportunity for day-to-day management to be handled by the expert outsourcing company, HR is able to look more strategically at shaping company culture, using predictive workforce planning and working with technology to determine the best workforce for the future.

“Ultimately, HR teams need to redefine their definition of what the future workforce will look like, and adapt accordingly. Our classic processes of succession planning, development, and engagement – to name a few – will need to be adapted to a new shared definition,” says Bennetts.

“For many years, HR leaders have fought for a seat at the strategic table; this is the time to fight to keep the seat.”

www.hcamag.com

36-39_Ad led - ChandlerMacleod_SUBBED.indd 38

29/09/2016 1:10:42 PM

36-39_Ad led - ChandlerMacleod_SUBBED.indd 39

29/09/2016 1:10:45 PM

FEATURES

ONBOARDING

GETTING ONBOARDING ON TRACK

Onboarding is about eliminating any early doubts a new hire may have about their choice of employer, accelerating their impact, and setting the stage for a great first three months at a company. HRD looks at onboarding best practice in 2016 HUMANS ARE notoriously quick judges of character – we make decisions about whether or not we like someone in the first 30 seconds of meeting them. First impressions really do matter on a one-on-one, interpersonal basis.

How about on a company-to-candidate or company-to-employee basis? While the

comes down to successful onboarding. This critical function is too often dismissed as an afterthought at best, and a time-draining compliance task at worst. There are of course certain box-ticking essentials that must be carried out during onboarding. Core HR processes like the completion of necessary

“With no structured onboarding process, it’s impossible to manage or even improve the experience” Riges Younan timeframe may be extended – research from Bersin by Deloitte indicates that 90% of employees decide whether to stay with a company within the first six months of starting a new job – the ‘first impression’ theory still holds true.

Getting a new hire up and running, productive and settled into a role often

40

forms related to tax/banking details, personal details, superannuation selection, training schedules and other critical policies are simply part of HR’s remit.

However, the 2016 best practice view of onboarding is to consider it as an extension of the candidate experience, which intersects between core HR functions (payroll, benefits,

time and attendance, employee self-service) and strategic HR processes like talent acquisition and talent management.

“We believe onboarding is a strategic process due to the impact it has on a company’s performance by increasing employee engagement and reducing time to productivity,” says Riges Younan, Avature’s vice president – APAC. “It can have a tremendously positive impact on your employment brand.”

What’s going wrong?

Unfortunately, many organisations are still struggling with an ad hoc approach to onboarding, marred by outmoded systems and a lack of consistency and cohesion between – and sometimes inside – departments.

“With no structured onboarding process, it’s impossible to manage or even improve the experience,” says Younan. “Organisations may well be losing a lot of people for subtleties they may not even know about.”

These ‘subtleties’ may seem small, but they make a significant impression on someone new to a company. They might include things like a missing laptop on their first day, a welcome meeting cancelled by their hiring manager, or missing out on an invitation to an after-work activity.

Younan adds that if employers are not tracking the process and the interactions, or don’t have a system that allows them to take the pulse of new-hire engagement and happiness, they will never know what happened, at what point, with whom, and so on.

“It’s relatively simple really. Make onboarding easier to manage by structuring the process – and, importantly, make it more human, more employee-focused. It’s not a big idea; it’s more common sense,” he says.

Younan concedes that it’s hard to implement common sense when you have 100,000 employees, especially when everything has to be done electronically for compliance and ease.

“It’s very easy to fall into company-focused

www.hcamag.com

40-43_Ad led - Avature_SUBBED.indd 40

29/09/2016 5:59:39 AM

Brought to you by

A ‘SOCIAL EXPERIENCE’ processes rather than human-orientated approaches,” he says.

Indeed, bad service delivery at this stage of the process gives the candidate many opportunities to ask themselves, “Am I making the right decision?”

“Losing candidates at this stage in the process is not only costly financially but has a negative effect on brand, employee perception, and future hiring ability – for example, when people turn to Glassdoor to share their experiences,” Younan says.

A service delivery approach Younan believes a change in mindset is required. Despite the hype around the ‘candidate experience’, he feels this discussion too often focuses on the company’s career site – how easy it is to apply for a job, etc. This is too narrow a view of the candidate experience.

“If HR organisations shift their thinking to a more ‘service delivery’ approach, then

Onboarding should be about more than just compliance box-ticking. One of HR’s primary goals should be to assist employees in finding purpose in what they do – after all, an engaged workforce is created by aligning the company’s business objectives with the individual’s purpose for doing their job.

Acknowledging that humans are social beings, Avature has utilised social technology to transform traditional onboarding.

“Internal social networks give the HR organisation the tools to deliver a more personalised experience,” Younan says. “New hires can now connect with their teammates to accelerate their learning, contact their manager, get answers to questions they may have about services they may need – like childcare, fitness, local eateries. They can consume content about the company or their business unit that speeds up their ability to be productive on day one in the pre-boarding phase.”

the candidate experience has many more touchpoints,” he says. “This means you have many more opportunities to delight the candidate but, similarly, many more opportunities to let them down.”

Younan likens onboarding, which sits at the tail end of the recruitment process, to a dessert at a fine dining establishment. “As the chef, you want the meal to end well and leave the customer with a good impression,” he says.

“Continuing the CRM [Candidate Relationship Management] methodology

to keep the candidate warm and engaged is a great way to enhance the onboarding experience,” Younan says.

The role of technology Technology has indeed changed the onboarding game – and it’s not before time.

Younan says legacy systems have been rigid and compliance-focused and were developed primarily to automate the process and allow people to complete forms electronically.

In addition, organisations would often use

www.hcamag.com

40-43_Ad led - Avature_SUBBED.indd 41

41

29/09/2016 5:59:44 AM

FEATURES

ONBOARDING Brought to you by

ONBOARDING

BY NUMBERS ÎÎ 90% of new hires decide whether to stay at a company within the first six months of starting a new job* ÎÎ 33% actively start to look for a new job within the first six months. Among millennials the percentage is even higher** ÎÎ 32% are less likely to quit if they participate in an employee-centred onboarding process rather than a companyfocused one^ ÎÎ 66% of new hires are likely to stay longer than three years with a well-structured onboarding program^^

multiple tools rather than a single platform.

A single platform eliminates integration bottlenecks, and, importantly, makes it easier for the HR professional to see the bigger picture and understand how everything they do works together.

“Too many systems mean that there are too many things to learn, and it’s very easy for critical information to be stored in silos, making it difficult to combine and follow the life cycle of that data,” Younan says.

“These systems were developed for HR, not the candidate, because onboarding was seen as a core HR process rather than a strategic one.”

For example, new hires would move from an ATS (Applicant Tracking System) to an onboarding system, most likely from a different vendor. These systems did not leverage social networks and were not optimised for a mobile

the world,” says Younan. “Just look at the onboarding period in Australia compared to Germany. In Australia, you assume it lasts about three months, but in Germany it’s usually considered six months. Suddenly your engagement strategy has to change. But can it?”

The right platform puts HR in the driving seat for the entire journey; it allows them to service all areas of the business, while taking into consideration regional cultures, languages, regulatory needs, etc.

With the right platform and tools, an organisation can structure the onboarding process to enable all stakeholders – new hire, hiring manager, recruiter, buddy, HR professional – to engage and manage their part effectively in the process, without having to constantly remind themselves of what they need to do. For example, it can set reminders

Sources: *Bersin by Deloitte *The Impact Instruction Group ^Wall Street Journal ^^US Department of Labor

“There is no way you can onboard people the same way in every country or region in the world” Riges Younan

AVATURE Avature is a highly configurable enterprise SaaS platform for Talent Acquisition and Talent Management, and the leading provider of CRM technology for recruiting. Avature has 72 of the Fortune 500 as customers and is used in 67 countries and 16 languages. Avature has offices in Buenos Aires, London, Madrid, Melbourne, New York, Shenzhen and Singapore.

42

experience via portals or mobile apps. This had a huge impact on the candidate experience as there was no consistency in how the new hire interacted with the organisation.

“It all seemed very disjointed – not the best impression you want to make,” Younan says.

What’s the answer? The key is for HR to have full visibility. They should be able to manage, understand, track and focus on what’s important. They should be able to see what works, tweak processes, and share best practice among departments, which is imperative from a service delivery standpoint.

They also need the flexibility to customise their processes, particularly for international organisations with multiple office locations.

“There is no way you can onboard people the same way in every country or region in

for managers to write welcome emails, book time in their calendars for intro meetings, send invitations to lunch, give a welcome gift. You can pre-populate a new hire’s calendar with training sessions, meet-and-greet moments, or provide them with a training schedule that they can sign up for at convenient times. Also, it’s important to extend that beyond the initial first day or week, and pre-schedule feedback sessions. That way the hiring manager and employee know when they are coming up and can prepare.

As an employer, you have one chance to make a good impression; it takes five times the effort to reverse a bad one. A good onboarding experience can maintain the ‘happy vibe’ and open up many new doors for sourcing future talent.

www.hcamag.com

40-43_Ad led - Avature_SUBBED.indd 42

29/09/2016 5:59:44 AM

40-43_Ad led - Avature_SUBBED.indd 43

30/09/2016 9:11:01 AM

N A I L A R T S AU

A record 760 HR professionals attended this year’s annual Australian HR Awards at The Star Sydney on 9 September. The event, sponsored by AustralianSuper for the second consecutive year, saw a high-quality field of contenders battle it out for 19 awards.

As the event MC, Australian comedian Claire Hooper kept the crowd entertained throughout the night, while Raymond Crowe – the self-styled ‘unusualist’ – wowed guests during the dinner break with his showcase of magic and illusions. Musical entertainment was provided by Kylie Jane, who shot to fame on this year’s season of The Voice. The multi-instrumental outfit SSJ rounded off the night with some classic tunes.

HRD and AustralianSuper congratulate all of the 2016 winners. See who they are over the following pages.

44

www.hcamag.com

44

www.hcamag.com

44-55_HRAwards_v2_SUBBED.indd 44

29/09/2016 12:25:35 PM

Event partner

44-55_HRAwards_v2_SUBBED.indd 45

www.hcamag.com

45

www.hcamag.com

45

29/09/2016 12:25:37 PM

AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS WINNERS 2O16 AUSTRALIAN HR RISING STAR OF THE YEAR

ACCUMULATE EMPLOYER OF CHOICE (> 1,000 EMPLOYEES)

KELLY WATSON

JOHNSON & JOHNSON FAMILY OF COMPANIES ANZ

GRADUATING WITH a double bachelor’s degree in psychology and business in 2013, Kelly Watson quickly secured an HR graduate role at St Ives.

Since then, she has enjoyed numerous opportunities for development and growth, including a restructure which has left her as the sole HR practitioner in her part of the business. Now, she is one semester away from graduating with a master’s degree in HRM from Edith Cowan University and has recently been appointed HR manager in a standalone business. reporting to the CEO as part of the leadership team. When asked for her thoughts on the future of HR, Kelly was full of optimism.

“I think HR is moving away from being a transactional function and more senior leaders are seeing HR as a strategic or competitive advantage because people really are everything in any type of business. At St Ives there are so many opportunities for positive change for our staff – and that to me is very exciting.”

JOHNSON & JOHNSON’S Talent Philosophy delivers business value by developing a robust and diverse pipeline of leaders locally and globally. The key to this philosophy is using innovative ideas and products and services to advance the health and wellbeing of people.

The company’s values and credo are essential to the people and communities it serves, as well as to Johnson & Johnson employees and all other stakeholders.

The company has a strong commitment to diversity and to health and wellbeing throughout the communities in which it operates.

A key focus is on building an inclusive environment in which employees feel supported and empowered to perform at their best.

On the night, Helen Perkins, HR director at Johnson & Johnson ANZ, commented on the importance of the company’s long-standing credo: “Our credo is central to everything we do. A lot of companies have missions, values or statements of intent; for us the credo is how we live and what we do as an organisation. For us it’s how we work, not what we do.”

ST IVES

46

AWARD SPONSOR

www.hcamag.com

44-55_HRAwards_v2_SUBBED.indd 46

29/09/2016 12:25:36 PM

Event partner

AUSTRALIANSUPER EMPLOYER OF CHOICE (<1,000 EMPLOYEES)

DEFENCE BANK LTD

DEFENCE BANK is an organisation that has achieved over 13% annual growth over the last six years, outperforming the majority of its industry peers. This has been achieved by a team of passionate and dedicated employees, supported by a collaborative culture, a strong moral purpose and a committed HR team.

The HR team partners with its stakeholders to deliver excellence in service and continuous improvement.

Over the next 12 months HR will be critical in the successful delivery of an accelerated sales transformation program. This transformation includes the development of a sales-focused capability framework that will be embedded into the business culture, systems and processes.

AWARD SPONSOR

www.hcamag.com

44-55_HRAwards_v2_SUBBED.indd 47

47

29/09/2016 12:25:42 PM

AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS WINNERS 2O16 LEASEPLAN EMPLOYER OF CHOICE (PUBLIC SECTOR AND NFP)

SGCH

SGCH, A COMMUNITY housing provider, recognises that its people and culture are its greatest strength and the unifying trait of all employees is a passion and commitment to customers.

SGCH’s values of support, accountability, respect and integrity (SARI) are at the heart of everything they do.

High engagement leads to excellent customer outcomes, so SGCH invests significantly in leadership, values and culture, building capability and alignment, increasing awareness, strengthening conversations, and embracing change. In 2015, SGCH achieved its highest overall staff satisfaction rating of 86% and an engagement score of 80%. These reflect the intangible strengths of a team that makes SGCH a great place to work.

“This is wonderful; we’re all so excited,” said Suellen McCaffrey, general manager people & group services at SGCH. “We were so surprised to win – we were happy just to be finalists. We’ve got about 150 staff and every one of them is passionate and committed to our purpose. We provide homes to people on low to moderate incomes and we build communities. Everyone is very passionate about that, and that is what unites us as an organisation.”

AWARD SPONSOR

48

www.hcamag.com

44-55_HRAwards_v2_SUBBED.indd 48

29/09/2016 12:25:53 PM

Event partner

HRD MAGAZINE BEST LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

SOLTERBECK BEST REWARD & RECOGNITION PROGRAM

SIMPLOT AUSTRALIA

CHEP AUSTRALIA

AS A LEADING food manufacturer, Simplot Australia is seeing real value from its investment in its leadership development program.

The Simplot Capability Framework and Leadership Program has delivered outstanding outcomes, such as a measureable 15% uplift in leadership capability and significant returns to the business of 272%.

“We’ve been developing these leadership programs for three years and we’ve seen such a significant change in our leaders and their capabilities over that period of time,” said Allison Shevlin, director of HR at Simplot Australia.

“We’ve had over 300 leaders go through the program, and along the way we’ve reviewed the program and constantly asked: what do we really want to see in terms of business capabilities?”

CHEP AUSTRALIA has built a culture in which great work is recognised and employees who exemplify their company values and have a positive impact on the business, customers and their peers are rewarded and recognised in a meaningful way.

The company’s reward and recognition program celebrates outstanding performance, leadership, commitment and services to the community through formal and informal initiatives, including monetary and non-monetary incentives.

CHEP Australia has continued to experience year-on-year success with its reward and recognition program – it has seen improved company engagement scores, positive employee feedback and ongoing leadership support.

Sonja Ankucic, senior manager human resources at CHEP, outlined one key element of the company’s R&R offerings.

“We do a lot of amazing things in our business and we want to recognise people that make a significant impact on our business overall. Our Achieving Together Award recognises those who change our business every day. We recognise on a monthly basis, we have a big gala dinner, and we generally make a big fuss over the people who change the lives of our customers and our people.”

AWARD SPONSOR

AWARD SPONSOR

www.hcamag.com

44-55_HRAwards_v2_SUBBED.indd 49

49

29/09/2016 12:26:00 PM

AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS WINNERS 2O16 BEST RECRUITMENT CAMPAIGN

WSP | PARSONS BRINCKERHOFF

THE 2 STEPS AHEAD campaign has been WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff ’s opportunity to position itself in the market. It has shared with its clients and the engineering industry at large the technical capability and breadth of skills that it now has available as a combined business.

The campaign has also enabled the company to attract more talented professionals to the business based on the stories and experiences of its people.

The response to this campaign significantly exceeded the company’s expectations, in markets where there is considerable competition for talent.

The campaign allowed it to differentiate itself from its competitors and convey to the market that its business represents the future of engineering.

50

BEST GRADUATE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

DELOITTE

WITH A focus on self-development and self-discovery, Deloitte’s D.Academy is designed to provide graduates with valuable learning opportunities and the chance to gain work experience. Building exceptional client service, time management, communication, teamwork and strategic problem-solving capability, graduates foster strong community partnerships by applying their skills to benefit not-for-profit organisations’ fundraising campaigns.

Throughout the curriculum, graduates are exposed to senior leaders for support, coaching and guidance and have the opportunity to network with one another as a large cohort. The curriculum provides a solid foundation for further growth beyond the graduate role.

www.hcamag.com

44-55_HRAwards_v2_SUBBED.indd 50

29/09/2016 12:26:12 PM

Event partner

CEB BEST CHANGE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

SAGECO BEST WORKPLACE DIVERSITY & INCLUSION PROGRAM

LINDT & SPRÜNGLI

TOXFREE

ON THE 170th anniversary of the

AS AN Australian-owned and

company, Lindt & Sprüngli Australia embarked on a major transformational program and came through it with outstanding results. The ‘Beyond 2015’ change plan launched a series of 24 people initiatives delivering excellence in employee engagement, retention, performance, and talent acquisition.

A unified change program resulted in the relocation of employees from three locations to one new 65,000sqm facility; a 39% expansion in workforce numbers; the introduction of chocolate manufacturing in Australia; and record 19.1% sales growth.

operated company founded in WA, Toxfree has in place an Indigenous Traineeship Program dedicated to achieving positive outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

With assistance from Aboriginal Elders, Toxfree was able to develop a traineeship program that is culturally relevant, safety focused and able to provide economic improvement for young Indigenous adults. The aim of the program is to create opportunities for long-term growth, with higher incomes, lower reliance on income support, increased home ownership, and higher rates of full-time and professional employment.

AWARD SPONSOR

AWARD SPONSOR

www.hcamag.com

44-55_HRAwards_v2_SUBBED.indd 51

51

29/09/2016 12:26:07 PM

AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS WINNERS 2O16 ACHIEVEFORUM AUSTRALIAN HR CHAMPION (CEO) OF THE YEAR

DAVIDSON AUSTRALIAN HR DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

AUSTRALIAN HR MANAGER OF THE YEAR

TRICIA VELTHUIZEN

PETER HARTNETT

ALANA PENNY

CHURCHILL EDUCATION

52

SANITARIUM HEALTH AND WELLBEING

ACCORHOTELS

TRICIA VELTHUIZEN takes a world-class approach to people management. She both empowers and draws immense value from her team.

The key to her success is open, transparent communication, including the art of storytelling. She takes ‘open door’ leadership to the next level – in fact, she asks all team members to have a 30-minute cup of tea with her whenever they want to discuss anything on their minds.

When asked what her secret was to a successful HR/CEO relationship, the key was simple. “We both have to be authentic. We both have to be exactly who we are and willing to come together and listen to each other’s story,” she told HRD.

PETER HARTNETT has made quite a name for himself in the HR profession – capped this year by winning the HR Director of the Year award. He attributes several of the key skills he holds as an HR professional to his early career in the police force – especially in terms of resolving conflict and building bridges between people.

When asked about his personal leadership style he cited three key elements: inclusiveness, empowerment and candour. He was also quick to praise his colleagues.

“I truly value my team and know that without their efforts, passion and skills the achievements that we’ve had would not be possible,” he told HRD.

AWARD SPONSOR

AWARD SPONSOR

ALANA PENNY has demonstrated outstanding ability to understand and meet the needs of both the business and employees by introducing pioneering work arrangements that address work-life balance, while promoting greater engagement and productivity.

Her commitment to understanding departments and individuals across the business has led to significant increases in employee satisfaction and retention.

In particular, she has championed Indigenous employment by not only working closely with individual employees but also creating a supportive culture within the hotel. “This is something I’m really proud of,” she told HRD on the night. “To give someone that opportunity that no one else has given them, no matter how hard they’ve tried, and then to see the results they’ve achieved thanks to that one opportunity, that’s amazing to me.”

www.hcamag.com

44-55_HRAwards_v2_SUBBED.indd 52

29/09/2016 12:26:07 PM

Event partner

FRAZER JONES AUSTRALIAN HR TEAM OF THE YEAR (<1,000 EMPLOYEES)

FRAZER JONES AUSTRALIAN HR TEAM OF THE YEAR (>1,000 EMPLOYEES)

CHALLENGER LTD

DELOITTE

CHALLENGER’S HR team has developed a reputation for

THE ROLE of Deloitte’s people & performance team is not just

outstanding delivery of HR advice, service and strategic initiatives.

The team prioritises action and efforts based on business impact, and maintains deep expertise and intelligence across a range of HR portfolios.

In 2015/16 the team made a number of significant business contributions, including playing a pivotal role in the acquisition and integration of a UK business; driving increased engagement and capability of mid-level leaders; continuing to deliver efficient and effective HR processes; and being a key contributor to employees enjoying challenging and fulfilling work, which is reflected in Challenger’s high employee engagement.

“The team knows from the internal feedback we’ve received just what our hard work has meant, but it’s fantastic to have external validation of it as well, so this means a lot to us,” said Angela Murphy, executive general manager, human resources, at Challenger. “I think the key to a great HR team is everybody pushing themselves, stretching themselves to do what you might have initially thought was not quite possible, and pulling it off.”

to influence, coach and support the business but to shape the agenda by anticipating future business challenges and sensing impending trends.

Guided by the firm’s Talent 2020 Strategy, which promises to create “an extraordinary talent experience” for employees, some of the highlights over the past 12 months have been: redefining performance processes and introducing StandOut – a more agile approach to performance management; tackling gender pay equity; taking action on domestic and family abuse as a workplace issue; and redefining flexibility as ‘Workagility’.

“This award is recognition of the collective capability of the HR team,” said Connie Hanson, director people & performance at Deloitte. “Over the past year we’ve evolved by being more innovative – really driving the HR initiatives around wellness, diversity and graduate recruitment. We’ve also blown up our performance management systems and reinvented how we handle performance at Deloitte.”

AWARD SPONSOR

AWARD SPONSOR

GLOBAL HR SEARCH & RECRUITMENT

GLOBAL HR SEARCH & RECRUITMENT

www.hcamag.com

44-55_HRAwards_v2_SUBBED.indd 53

53

29/09/2016 12:26:13 PM

AUSTRALIAN HR AWARDS WINNERS 2O16 BEST USE OF TECHNOLOGY

FITNESS FIRST

WITH 67 sites across the country and only 15% of its teams having access to work email, a key challenge for Fitness First was engaging its people through communications and providing access to meaningful L&D. Its solution is Inspire, a multipurpose L&D and communication system that provides the experience of an app while remaining compatible on different devices, such as desktops and tablets.

Regardless of whether employees are in an office, club or on the go, Inspire provides a single point of access to register for, complete and track L&D modules, and a central newsfeed that delivers announcements and real-time updates straight to the palms of their hands.

“We wanted to combine education and communication into an app to be delivered on mobile devices. We wanted people to embrace learning but also take a really positive spin on communicating with each other – and make it easy to do so,” said Peter Madden, L&D manager at Fitness First.

54

BEST LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

SANITARIUM HEALTH AND WELLBEING

SANITARIUM USES its L&D programs to bring its company values to life. An impressive array of programs includes on-the-job training, off-site training, workshops, retreats, e-learning, peer learning, coaching, 360-degree feedback on skills and behaviours, and webinars. Key components include: • An e-learning module (all staff ) • On Board with Sanitarium – a one-day program for all staff • An in-house half-day program (all staff ). Content focuses on values and behaviours and what they look like in everyday interactions • Leaders’ one-on-one development.

All people leaders/influencers participate in a 360-degree feedback tool. This provides feedback on leadership behaviours. Participants are given a one-on-one debrief over several hours, with a number of follow-up sessions for action planning and development

SIRVA BEST WORKPLACE FLEXIBILITY PROGRAM

PERPETUAL

PERPETUAL’S FLEXIBILITY program is based on the belief that all roles can be performed flexibly. This has been brought to life thanks to a strong culture built on trust and focused on performance.

Leaders at Perpetual are committed to flexibility. They are advocates, champions and role models, and their interest is solely in the outcomes rather than time spent at the office.

With a growing number of people taking advantage of formal flexibility arrangements, and all team members able to access informal flexibility, Perpetual’s employee engagement score saw a lift this year, increasing five points to 71%, with flexibility a key driver. A number of leave entitlement innovations have also proven to be popular with employees.

AWARD SPONSOR

www.hcamag.com

44-55_HRAwards_v2_SUBBED.indd 54

29/09/2016 12:26:14 PM

Event partner

BEST HEALTH & WELLBEING PROGRAM

MAURICE BLACKBURN LAWYERS

ARE YOUR HR STRATEGIES AWARD-WINNING? MANY OF Maurice Blackburn’s 1,000-plus employees regularly interact with clients who are suffering extreme emotional distress. Vicarious trauma (VT) is a psychological condition resulting from repeated empathic encounters with people suffering trauma.

The company has launched a psychological wellbeing initiative called the VT Program. This program includes: • procedures and work practices for dealing with distressed and suicidal clients • extensive training by a trauma specialist • VT psychological support for high-risk teams

Involvement in the Australian HR Awards is a tremendously rewarding experience for the individuals and companies that participate, generating valuable recognition of the hard work and achievements of HR departments nationwide.

Make sure you get involved next year and it could be your HR team featured on these pages.

To receive updates regarding nominations for 2017, sign up to the HC Online newsletter today at www.hcamag.com.

Today, 90% of employees feel the Maurice Blackburn culture supports talking openly about, coping with and proactively managing VT, and these initiatives were listed as one of the top three factors driving engagement at the firm.

www.hcamag.com

44-55_HRAwards_v2_SUBBED.indd 55

55

29/09/2016 12:26:21 PM

PEOPLE

CAREER PATH

EXPANDING HER UNIVERSE Throughout her career, Barb Hyman has found that what lies on the other side of risk is not normally failure but experience

1980

ARRIVES IN AUSTRALIA An idyllic childhood in Zimbabwe in a small town where her family ran the general store comes to an end with a sudden move to Perth. The second-youngest of four, Hyman’s memories of her early life are of being outside pursuing activities that included tennis, swimming, camping, and bike riding.

“It was idyllic; I feel very blessed to have been bought up in Africa; we had a lot of freedom. Culturally, [moving to Perth] was a massive shock”

1997

BEGINS NEW CAREER MBA in hand, Hyman starts at Boston Consulting Group. It is a time when she has to draw on her inner reserves.

“Consulting is a fairly intense existence; you have to move seamlessly between one client, one conversation, one industry, and the next. The resilience and confidence is really critical; you ride the confidence curve. I had a strong streak of independence; I wanted to be self-sufficient, and that gave me the grit to get through the highs and lows”

2009

HIRED BACK BY BOSTON After two earlier stints at the company, Hyman is sought out again by Boston Consulting Group as head of HR & marketing, a position she holds for almost six years.

“The thing that inspired me and drew me back was the people, and the fact it’s valuesdriven. BCG hires for values and trains for skills, and you see that reflected in the people and the culture. They want you to be successful beyond working for them. I feel lucky to have had such a long tenure there” 56

1989

STRIKES OUT BEYOND PERTH

A first year of university in Perth prompts a move to Melbourne to continue the study of law.

“I had outgrown Perth; I wanted to move somewhere with more diversity, more opportunity. Melbourne is a really rich cultural city; it is very multicultural, and that was reflected in the student population. I felt like I was meeting people from all parts of the world and I was enriched by that”

1994

WINS PRESTIGIOUS SCHOLARSHIP Working as a solicitor and finding the practice of law lacking, Hyman starts an MBA. Winning the prestigious Rupert Murdoch Fellowship allows the pursuit of full-time study.

“As a lawyer you execute someone else’s ideas – I had ideas; I wanted to be heard. Doing an MBA was a way of fast-tracking. It was a big risk; I went into it blind. But it gave me an opportunity to be in those frontline conversations and be part of that ideation”

2006

MELDS LOVE OF ART AND WORK A head of marketing & sponsorship position at the Museum of Contemporary Art at Sydney Harbour ties in with Hyman’s ongoing love of the arts, presenting as it does the opportunity to be immersed in a creative role in a creative space.

“I was inspired by being around artistic talent; I’m drawn to being surrounded by creative people as a way of enriching my own universe. They think differently; they see the world differently”

2015

JOINS REA GROUP Drawn to REA by the learning potential, Hyman scales up to a role heading the HR department for 1,500 people globally in the listed company – one that looks forward to building its global footprint, mindset and capabilities.

“REA is a company on the cusp of tremendous opportunity and growth. The culture is quite special; there’s a strong love for fellow employees. There’s nothing transactional about the culture; it’s entirely relationship-based. It’s purpose-driven, and they love the purpose”

www.hcamag.com

56_CareerPath_SUBBED.indd 56

29/09/2016 1:25:23 PM

IBC.indd 57

26/09/2016 11:46:20 AM

OBC.indd 1

26/09/2016 11:44:52 AM