http://bluedot.co.nz/ bluedot.co.nz Blog en Sat, 19 May 2012 21:44:54 +1200 http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/yahoo--there-s-cv-fraud-everywhere- http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/yahoo--there-s-cv-fraud-everywhere- Former Yahoo CEO Scott Thomson left the company this week after it was revealed that a qualification listed in his official company bio had never been awarded. It reminded me of the CE of Maori TV, John Davy, back in 2002 whose qualifications were found to be false. And former NZ Immigration Service boss Mary Anne Thompson in 2010. CV fraud is more common than you would think. Even in New Zealand. Many employers are complacent about checking the details listed on candidate CV’s and this is exactly what some candidates are betting on. If certain experience or qualifications... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/the-anchorage-s-wish-list http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/the-anchorage-s-wish-list One of my pro-bono clients is The Anchorage. It is a charitable organization and relies on the goodwill of others to support its mission to meet the needs of people.  If you would like to donate items or your time to help others then please contact Tracey Pomare, Manager, The Anchorage, 132 High Street, Lower Hutt, Ph 586 3255, Email manager@theanchorage.org.nz. I recently asked Tracey for a wish list of donated items and here's what she gave me: Board games – monopoly etc Parking garage – for matchbox cars Pirate ship – for pirate... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/fit-notes-not-sick-notes http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/fit-notes-not-sick-notes This week I am down with the flu :( So my productivity is significantly less than normal but I'm mastering new skills - like the art of checking emails whilst hugging a hot water bottle. Coincidentally I just read an article about fit notes - that is, medical certificates that focus on what work an employee IS able to do whilst recovering from an illness or injury. Apparently these have been on the rise in the UK and Europe. This is long overdue here in my opinion. I am often requesting medical certificates on behalf of employer's who have employees on... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/culture-is-king http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/culture-is-king For the second year running Red Balloon's Employee Engagement Capability research has shown that workplace culture is still king when it comes to creating and maintaining a happy (and productive) workforce. The research found that Training & Development Programs, Paid Parental Leave, Time off for study and flexible working arrangements are now all employee expectations, not extras as they once were. The activities that significantly boost engagement are Coaching & Buddy Programs, Company lunches and nights out and Time off for volunteering. You can download your... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/oops http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/oops It was an accident that could happen in any organisation – one of Britain’s largest insurance companies accidently sent an email sacking all 1300 of their employees! Read article here http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/b1g1-annual-report http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/b1g1-annual-report B1G1 released its annual report for 2011 recently and we love it. The opening statement is exactly what we believe in: Being small doesn't mean you can't make a difference. Blue Dot are proud to be part of the B1G1 programme, making a contribution each time a client does business with us. Our contribution might be small but when you read the report and see the global impact it's a great feeling.     http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/entry-deadline--nz-workplace-health---safety-awards-2012 http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/entry-deadline--nz-workplace-health---safety-awards-2012 Entries to the NZ Workplace Health & safety Awards close on Monday 16 April. But don’t panic – entry is free and simple, so there is still time to put together an entry describing a successful health and safety initiative you’ve been involved in over the last year or so. Also, be sure to nominate your high-performing people who work in the area of health and safety. Information on how to enter is here.   http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/three-words-or-less http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/three-words-or-less I found this video on youtube - the result of Johnson & Johnson asking its employees around the world to describe their company in three words or less.  If you gave the same challenge to your staff what three words do you think they would come up with about your organisation?    http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/retaining-your-new-migrant http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/retaining-your-new-migrant How many employees in your workplace were born overseas? I heard yesterday that one in four employees in the New Zealand workforce are not NZ-born. Sometimes employers report cultural difficulties in hiring migrants yet the contribution that skilled migrants can make usually outweigh these.  Most new migrants go through six stages of settlement over their first 18 months to two years:  1. Forethought - positive as they plan the move to New Zealand  2. Fun - the excitement of new people and new places  3. Fright - something will happen to... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/request-social-media-passwords-at-your-own-risk http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/request-social-media-passwords-at-your-own-risk The media is buzzing this week about reports of candidates being asked for their password to Facebook and other social media sites during employment interviews. Click to read the articles It seems that it's U.S Government agencies doing the asking as part of their extensive background checks. The concern is that this will become common practice and that neither the interviewers nor the candidates will really know the boundaries resulting in worldwide chaos! Social media is a daily form of communication for many people. It allows them to connect with friends and family... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/business-owners-need-a-life-too- http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/business-owners-need-a-life-too- An article in the latest NZ Business newsletter says, according to a survey, Kiwi business owners are giving up their holidays in order to support their businesses during these challenging times. The closing statement was that business owners are working a lot harder for every dollar of profit that they earn. When you ask most small business owners why they went into business for themselves the response often includes work/life balance: being able to spend more time with the family or to travel etc. The "respondent" sometimes lets out a maniacal laugh when the... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/new-employer-hub http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/new-employer-hub There's a new resource for employers on Immigration New Zealand's website. The Employer Hub is a useful resource where you can find out about employing migrants, the visa options available to you, and how to help your new employees settle in New Zealand. The hub is divided into four sections: Employing Migrants -- to help you identify appropriate visa options for the type of position you need to fill, and the steps you need to take as an employer.   Finding & Recruiting Migrants -- to help you connect with potential candidates through a... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/personal-grievance-trends http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/personal-grievance-trends The Employers Chamber of Commerce Central held a Member Briefing in Wellington last week. They presented findings from the annual analysis of the decisions made in 2010 by the Employment Relations Authority.  It was interesting to learn that: The number of personal grievances overall has slightly grown compared to 2009, with a 59% success rate for employees and 41% for employers. The change in average hurt and humiliation award compared to 2009 has increased significantly in Auckland but overall has grown at a moderate rate. On average, it cost an... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/christmas-and-new-year-holidays-transfer http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/christmas-and-new-year-holidays-transfer   This Christmas Day (25 December 2011) and New Year's Day (1 January 2012) both fall on a Sunday. The rules about transferring these days apply, which in this case is to transfer them to Tuesday.  This means that if Sunday is a day an employee would otherwise have worked, those days are observed on Sunday.  If Sunday is otherwise a day that an employee would not work, the day is transferred to and observed on Tuesday. Boxing Day (26 December 2011) and 2 January 2012 both fall on a Monday and therefore no transfer takes place, unless you have... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/hr-advice-from-richard-branson http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/hr-advice-from-richard-branson Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, ended the second day of the Financial Education Summit in Melbourne with a memorable keynote. Here are the “can’t forget” HR highlights from his on-stage interview: Lead with your heart. A business is a group of people … a good leader will motivate, praise not criticize, and inspire to get the best out of them. If you lead this way you’ve got a good chance of being successful. Learn the art of delegation. Spend time to find people better than you to run your business on a day to day basis... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/tackling-problems-head-on http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/tackling-problems-head-on We often find that small business owners are very unsure about how to handle concerns with employee performance, so much so that they tip toe around the issue rather than tackle it head-on. I was speaking recently with an owner that had a casual employee that worked fluctuating hours and submitted a timesheet for payroll. The employer had noticed that the hours on the timesheet had been increasing over time and now were around 25% greater than orginally planned. The employee's workload hadn't increased so in addition to higher wage costs, the business was suffering from... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/helping-employees-achieve-balance http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/helping-employees-achieve-balance Work is a big component of our lives. In fact, many of us will work over 90,000 hours in our lifetime! Woah! But we also have other things that take up our time. It's important to achieve a balance between work and unpaid activities which is why employees value workplaces that allow them to do just that. Add a comment below to share how you help your employees achieve good work/life balance. http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/recruiting-for-the-best-fit http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/recruiting-for-the-best-fit Recruitment advertising needs to communicate what you offer and this has to match what candidates also value. Hays have found that in New Zealand, in determining a company's reputation as an employer, employees value:   work/life balance (47%) the company's vision, values and culture (44%) job security (40%) growth or success (35%) salary and benefits (32%) project-based learning or formal training (28%) and engagement with the work undertaken (22%) Just in case you don't think this stuff is important,... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/i-want-a-payrise- http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/i-want-a-payrise- Most people would like to be paid more and many employees think they deserve more (sometimes regardless of their actual performance). In today's economic climate pay rises may not be at the levels they were but that doesn't mean employers should stop reviewing salaries and communicating the decisions to staff. In tough times it can be tempting for business owners to freeze salaries or withdraw benefits to minimise costs. Before taking this type of action across the board consider the impact this could have on the engagement, productivity and retention of your high performing staff.... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/hr-policies-and-your-organisation-culture http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/hr-policies-and-your-organisation-culture HR policies and procedures describe the way things are done at an organisation. As such, they help staff to convert the organisation’s values into everyday work behaviours. Typically they cover aspects not addressed (at all or in any detail) within the individual employment agreement and answer many of the FAQs employees may have. We often advise clients to develop an Employee Handbook to combine their policies and procedures with organisational information such as history, vision and values. All HR policies and procedures should reflect your workplace culture and... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/july-poll- http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/july-poll- Vote now in this month's poll. http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/beat-burnout http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/beat-burnout Business owners/managers lead busy lives. They are busy juggling more than they should and while they’re concerned about looking after everyone else, they often neglect the most important person – themselves! An article I recently read put this into perspective for me. It was a timely reminder that burnout can happen to anyone. http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/put-it-in-writing http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/put-it-in-writing Employment agreements have been required by law since the introduction of the Employment Relations Act 2000, yet we know that this hasn’t been practice for many employers. From 1 July 2011, employers must keep signed copies of all employment agreements or terms and conditions of employment for all employees. A labour inspector who finds an employer is not complying with the law will give notice, and if the matter is not remedied can seek penalties of up to $10,000 for individuals and $20,000 for bodies corporate. http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/achieve-a-healthy-and-productive-workplace-environment http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/achieve-a-healthy-and-productive-workplace-environment People often forget about the hazards associated with using a computer and the health problems that may develop, until it’s too late. The Guidelines for Using Computers, provide guidance on the use of computers so maximum efficiency, safety and health can be achieved in the workplace. http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/sexual-harassment-in-the-news http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/sexual-harassment-in-the-news Sexual harassment in the workplace has been in the news a lot over the last few weeks. Here's a selection as a reminder of the need to follow correct process when dealing with alleged misconduct: Postie reinstated after alleged sexual harassment Courier firm right to fire worker Sexually harassed truck driver wins $40,000 payout http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/how-useful-are-written-references- http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/how-useful-are-written-references- I read an article over the weekend about a teacher who forged a written reference as part of her application for a full time Principal's job. Luckily in this case the prospective employer discovered the fraud before the appoinment was made. Often candidates provide written references with their CV - while these make for interesting reading and can assist in the shortlisting process, they should never be taken at face-value. Take the opportunity within the interview to quiz the candidate about their prior work history and comments in the reference and of course, follow up... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/our-article-in-business-advisor-nz- http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/our-article-in-business-advisor-nz- Read our article about communicating your vision and strategy to employees from the May-June issue of Business Advisor NZ and leave a comment below to let us know your thoughts. http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/recognition-is-the-x-factor- http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/recognition-is-the-x-factor- Recognition is a key factor in the amount of effort employees will put into their work, according to a recent survey. When people feel that their efforts are noticed and appreciated they become more engaged in their work which in turn leads to higher productivity. In our hectic business lives we tend to focus on the business at hand: making sales, meeting deadlines, fighting fires etc. The challenge for managers is to also find time to actively look for things that are being done well ... the positive efforts that are being made by staff towards achieving business goals. These are... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/information-to-employees-during-restructuring-and-disciplinary-processes http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/information-to-employees-during-restructuring-and-disciplinary-processes A recent employment court judgement has extended the obligations of employers during restructuring and disciplinary processes. Typically, employers have not provided employees with confidential information in the course of consultation. However, the employment court has said employers are obligated to give employees any information that contributes to the decision making process around an employee's continued employment. This includes information necessary to develop alternative restructuring proposals and information about other candidates in a redundancy selection... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/productivity-costs- http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/productivity-costs- Latest statistics show the average worker could be costing their employer $14,000 a year in time spent on personal business. The so-called little things (online purchases, texting, emails, skype, facebook) lead to an average of five-hours productivity lost each week. One way to minimise this cost is to have a reasonable "Use of Internet and Email" Policy. Read more http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/our-five-step-process-to-lifting-performance http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/our-five-step-process-to-lifting-performance At a recent workshop I shared our five step process to addressing performance concerns as soon as they arise. The key to getting a satisfactory resolution is having an open, two-way approach: Explain the concerns that you have being as specific as you can about the impact on the business. Explain why it is important that things are done to standard Really listen to what the employee has to say about the standards, the impact and the causes Discuss appropriate solutions Agree on an action plan – what specific things that will be done to improve the situation. This is... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/creating-a-great-workplace-is-possible- http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/creating-a-great-workplace-is-possible- Many people think the idea of a “great place to work” is just another fluffed up concept. But these organisations really do exist and it is only by believing that it’s possible, according to a recent article. Leigh Branham, author of Re-engage, says the one thing that great places to work have in common is that the boss believes it's possible to have a great place to work and wants to create one. It’s not a matter of needing to be super creative in designing programs or having a big budget for taking care of employees. Rather it is that every decision is... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/work-on-public-holidays http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/work-on-public-holidays This time of year is always a good test on the rules for public holidays! Check out the folowing resources on the Department of Labour website: General entitlements Working on a public holiday Payment for public holidays Days in lieu Shift workers http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/underperforming-managers http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/underperforming-managers A new survey by the Australian Institute of Management revealed that one third of Australian managers admit they are underperforming at work. 34% of the managers agreed that they could be putting more effort and input into their role.   Seriously? What about leading by example? How can under-performing managers expect their employees to perform?      Read more about the survey Read more about leading by example Another interesting finding from the survey is that small businesses are better at engaging employees than their... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/show-me-the-money http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/show-me-the-money One of the changes in the recent amendment to the Holidays Act is cashing up of the fourth week of leave. From 1 April 2011 employees will be able to request that up to a week of ther annual holiday balance is cashed up. The employer will be able to choose whether they agree to a request or not. If you don't want to deal with any requests, you can have a policy that states requests can't be made. http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/checking-entitlement-to-work http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/checking-entitlement-to-work From 29 November 2010 the provision of an IR330 tax declaration form is no longer a reasonable excuse for employing someone who is not entitled to work in New Zealand. Here's what you need to do: If the person is a New Zealand citizen: sight a NZ passport or check a NZ birth certificate online and sight photo I.D or sight a NZ birth certificate and photo ID or sight a NZ citizenship certificate and photo ID  If the person is a non - New Zealander: check their work entitlement online or call the Immigration Contact Centre's employer line on 0508 967 569... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/looks-trump-education http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/looks-trump-education As if the beautiful people didn't already have a good life, new research shows they're also more likely to get hired.   Researchers sent over 5000 CVs in pairs to more than 2600 vacancies. One CV was without a picture, the other had a picture of either an attractive man or woman, or a plain looking man or woman. "Employer callbacks to attractive men are significantly higher than to men with no picture and to plain-looking men, nearly doubling the latter group. Strikingly attractive women do not enjoy the same beauty premium. In fact, women with no picture have a significantly higher... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/know-your-staff http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/know-your-staff The Talent Masters by Bill Conaty and Ram Charan (published November, 2010) reveals that knowing people deeply is the secret sauce of talent management. You can have all the talent reviews and development programmes and competency models you want, but unless you really know the people intimately, you won’t know who to promote, who to deploy to which job, and what development each person needs. Read more here. http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/best-workplaces-2010-announced http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/best-workplaces-2010-announced The finalists and winners of the JRA Best Workplaces Awards 2010 were announced last night at a black tie dinner in Auckland. A record 245 organisations participated in the JRA Best Workplaces Survey 2010, with over 30,000 New Zealanders completing a questionnaire asking them about various aspects of their life at work. Overall Winner: Mars New Zealand Ten-Year League: AMI Insurance Five-Year League: Maven International, Outward Bound Trust of New Zealand, Overland Footwear Best Small Workplace: Redvespa Consultants Most Improved Small Workplace: ACCO New Zealand Best... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/pay-rates-for-skills-up http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/pay-rates-for-skills-up The National Employers Wage and Salary Survey, now in its 17th year, is conducted by EMA on behalf of Employers Chamber of Commerce Central, Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce and the Otago Southland Employers Association. 501 companies participated in 2010 providing data on 39,052 employees across 215 different positions in 18 industry sectors. The patchy nature of the economic recovery is reflected in the wide variation in pay rate changes between sectors: Pay rates overall dropped in 2010 for a quarter of 215 job types surveyed in the Employers National Wage and Salary... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/time-to-review-your-it-policy- http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/time-to-review-your-it-policy- As technology trends alter the way businesses communicate and operate, there is a need to re-evaluate and update IT policies to align with the growing reality of a workforce that is demanding more enablement to be connected anywhere, anytime, with any device and any information in their work and personal lives, according to a recent study by Cisco. Employees are striving to work in a more mobile fashion and use numerous devices, social media and new forms of communication such as video. Yet workplace IT policies seem to be failing to keep up with these technology trends,... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/training-database- http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/training-database- Checked out a great training database today at the HRINZ Expo. Grow Me makes it easy to find and compare training available across the whole of New Zealand. You can search for training courses and book online. If you can't find the type of training you're looking for or want a tailor-made course, you can post up an ad for trainers to respond to. Best of all, it's free!  Check it out: www.grow-me.com http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/administration-customer-service-and-hospitality- http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/administration-customer-service-and-hospitality- Straight 2 Work are pre-employment training programmes that WINZ develops with industry partners for people to gain skills tailored specifically to industry sector requirements. This means that the training provided is relevant to the needs of the employers within that industry. Straight 2 Work aims to provide employers with trained employees and enable people to move towards sustainable employment. Find out more about the Straight 2 Work programme. The Wellington Employers' Chamber of Commerce has a new pool of Straight 2 Work recruits who are looking for employment in administration,... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/government-subsidy-available-for-entry-level-jobs http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/government-subsidy-available-for-entry-level-jobs Work & Income's Job Ops Scheme provides employers with a $5,000 subsidy to provide employment opportunities to young people with low or no skills or work experience. Job Ops is designed to help employers take on young people aged 16-24 who they would not otherwise be able to employ. It’s a chance to give valuable work experience to young people who find themselves out of work. To qualify for Job Ops the position must be: a new position that would not exist if the Job Ops subsidy was not available to the employer a continuous position of six months duration a... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/using-the-90-day-trial-period- http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/using-the-90-day-trial-period- The cost of hiring the wrong person can be difficult to quantify in monetary terms but it is high. So, the introduction of trial period legislation was welcomed by many employers last year. The trial period is designed to encourage small businesses to recruit without fear of legal action if things don't work out. Employers with 19 or less employees can include a 90-day trial period into the employment agreement for a new employee (who has not previously been employed by the employer). It is then possible to dismiss an employee within that period without possibility of a... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/trademe-salary-guide-is-out- http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/trademe-salary-guide-is-out- Trade Me has updated its salary guide. Click here to see national pay rates by category based on the Trade Me Jobs listing data for full time roles in January to June 2010. Pay packets were down overall although Business Analysts and IT Project Managers bucked the trend. source: Trade Me Jobs August 2010 Newsletter. http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/what-to-do-when-your-salesperson-falls-short http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/what-to-do-when-your-salesperson-falls-short Mark Robotham, GM of Escalator Investment Ready Service contributed to another great article by the Two Wise Men in yesterday's DomPost. Read What to do when your salesperson falls short. Read Mark's blog at www.succint.co.nz http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/hospo-industry-pay-survey-results http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/hospo-industry-pay-survey-results The Restaurant Association of New Zealand has published the results of its 2010 Hospitality Industry Remuneration Survey. At a glance of 41 positions surveyed, 28 had an increased hourly rate (for 2009 vs 2010). Kitchen roles appeared to be some of the hardest hit with many showing negligible increases or even decreases. Are you in the Hospitality Industry? How do your pay rates stack up? To view a summary of the results click here. A copy of the full survey results can be ordered through the Restaurant Association (members only). http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/19-percent-of-factory-workers-getting-it-on- http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/19-percent-of-factory-workers-getting-it-on- A recent survey showed that just under one in five factory workers reported they’d gotten frisky on the job. UK HR consultant Reabur asked just under 1,500 workers, “Have you ever had a sexual encounter in the workplace?” Here’s a breakdown of those who answered in the affirmative: factory workers - 19% office workers - 16% bar staff - 15% retail assistants - 13% plumbers - 11% teachers - 10% chefs - 9% postal workers - 9% firefighters - 7%, and cabin crew - 6% Source:... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/social-media-and-work http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/social-media-and-work In today's news we heard about an employee fired for comments posted about a colleague on Facebook - it's a timely reminder about the increasing use of social media and poses the question: At what point does an employee's personal activities collide with the expectations of behaviour in the workplace? It is unfortunate that the employer did not follow the correct disciplinary process when it failed to inform the employee of the investigation and allow her to consider and respond to important findings. Still, it is of some consolation that the compensation awarded to the employee was... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/what-challenges-do-you-have-with-managing-annual-holidays- http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/what-challenges-do-you-have-with-managing-annual-holidays- An entitlement to paid annual holidays (annual leave) is a statutory minimum condition of employment in New Zealand. Current legislation provides each employee with access to four weeks of paid time away from their workplace each year. Effective leave management is important in maintaining staff wellbeing, productivity and the ability to your business to deliver services efficiently and effectively. In addition, actively managing employee's annual holidays can help reduce the financial risks associated with accruing leave entitlements. Most businesses can... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/do-your-employees-understand-the-priorities- http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/do-your-employees-understand-the-priorities- In the book, Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business, we're reminded about a Harris Interactive/Franklin Covey poll of 23,000 employees that found 37% didn't understand their company's priorities. Only one in five was enthusiastic about their organisation's goals and only one in five said they saw a clear connection between their tasks and the organisation's goals. How well do your employees understand your company's vision and goals? Do they know what their tasks are but not how they fit in to the big picture or do they have a clear line of sight? Do you have a business plan and keep it in... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/what-management-lessons-can-we-learn-from-reality-tv- http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/what-management-lessons-can-we-learn-from-reality-tv- There's never many business-related programmes on TV but this season on TV One we've got an American reality TV show called Undercover Boss. The basic plot is that a CEO infiltrates their company pretending to be one of the workers and observes what's really going on. It's the old MBWA (Management By Walking Around) concept in disguise. Last night's episode saw the President and CEO of infamous restaurant chain Hooters going in to their factory and a couple of stores. There's always something kind of funny/satisfying about seeing bosses bumbling along at jobs that the employees can do with... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/delivering-happiness---tony-hsieh http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/delivering-happiness---tony-hsieh I managed to score myself a free preview copy of this book, Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh, through a twitter promotion. Another good reason to get onto twitter! This book, written by the CEO of Zappos, is an account of his journey as an entrepreneur as much as it is about the company that he has become most well known for building. The journey in itself is interesting enough for a book but he goes much further - providing us with the detail behind the company that is recognised around the world for its customer service. One thing that really impressed me is how open Hsieh's... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/incentives-and-the-lifetime-value-of-your-customers http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/incentives-and-the-lifetime-value-of-your-customers Following on from the earlier post about focusing employees on the lifetime value of customers I got to thinking about the part that incentives play. The purpose of incentives is to focus the employee’s attention and efforts onto the things that matter. Yet most incentive programmes (in a retail environment especially) are fairly one-dimensional and short-term in nature by simply rewarding immediate sales. When employees are compensated solely for sales volume (or value) then naturally that’s what they’ll work on … often at the expense of service to existing... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/still-haven-t-found-what-i-m-looking-for http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/still-haven-t-found-what-i-m-looking-for There’s a tendancy to think that because the economy is still recovering from a recession that there’s a never-ending supply of people looking for jobs. Certainly, almost every week we read in the newspaper about people being made redundant. In my experience over the last year or so, the problem has not been the number of potential candidates but rather the quality. The right people with the right skills have not been available at the right time. New Zealand has suffered from skills shortages for years. In fact, the problem is not confined to New Zealand; globally, there are... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/focusing-on-the-lifetime-value-of-your-customers http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/focusing-on-the-lifetime-value-of-your-customers Yesterday, I was at another great Red Hot business coaching workshop. We talked a bit about the importance of understanding the Lifetime Value of your customers. Google “Customer Lifetime Value” to read more about this concept that makes so much sense when you know about it! How can you refocus your employees from single transactions to the lifetime value of your customers? Calculate the average revenue from a single transaction and the lifetime value of your customers and explain the difference to your employees. Communicate your goals around customer acquisition, average... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/the-leadership-code---rule-1--shape-your-future http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/the-leadership-code---rule-1--shape-your-future I’m reading a book called The Leadership Code at the moment. It boils down leadership to five simple rules: 1.Shape the future 2.Make things happen 3.Engage today’s talent 4.Build the next generation 5.Invest in yourself The first rule, Shape the Future, is about being clear about where you want to take your business. Everybody in the organisation should not only understand the direction but they should be excited by it, remember it and know what they need to do to make it happen. How well do your employees know the strategy? Here’s a strategy quick challenge outlined in... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/making-changes-work http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/making-changes-work Peter de Jager is in town. I went to a lunchtime presentation at the HR Institute on Tuesday to hear him speak about change management. He made a lot of sense. He told us that the biggest lie we’ve bought into is that people resist change – but when you think about it people embrace change throughout their lives. According to Peter, what people actually resist about change is bad management. How many times do employers bring employees together to announce a change after the decision is made and wonder why there’s no “buy-in”? Change is not just about... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/developing-your-capability http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/developing-your-capability Management is at the core of business growth and according to a recent article, NZ’s poor productivity record comes down to a lack of management skills among SMEs. The book Changing Gears identified three common Kiwi management traps that limit the growth of businesses: working in the business, rather than on the business continuing to do things the way they have always been done, often relying purely on oneself stifling key employees through a lack of training and development The SME Research Centre at Massey University has now produced a report on SME owner-managers’... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/acc-ladder-exchange http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/acc-ladder-exchange There’s a Ladder Exchange campaign taking place across New Zealand. During the month of April, anyone who brings an old or damaged ladder into a Carters or Mitre 10 Mega store will get a significant discount when they buy a new safe ladder! The aim of the ACC campaign is to: Remove old/damaged ladders from homes and workplaces Increase the number of safer ladders in use in homes and workplaces Improve awareness of safe ladder tips in homes and workplaces Ladder Exchange Flyer View more documents from Blue Dot NZ. http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/when-overtime-goes-wild- http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/when-overtime-goes-wild- The Herald ran an article recently about a workaholic police dispatcher who earned $20,000 in overtime last year. Overtime can be a mutually advantageous way of handling fluctuations in workload. The employer is able to meet demand while the employee gets a top up to their normal pay for the extra hours worked. However, overtime can have its disadvantages: Excessive overtime has health and safety implications. Fatigued employees may pose a risk to themselves or others, particularly if they are driving a vehicle or using dangerous or heavy machinery. You should avoid situations where... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/how-growth-firms-respond-to-the-recession http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/how-growth-firms-respond-to-the-recession This week I attended a research seminar hosted by the NZ Centre for SME Research at Massey University. The Centre has recently conducted some research into how SME businesses have been responding to the recession. One of their findings was that growth performing firms adopt quite different strategies from non-growth performing firms. This wasn’t surprising to Phil O’Reilly, CEO of Business NZ and guest speaker at the seminar who commented that you can’t really reduce your way to success! Many of our clients appear to be investing in their future by paying closer attention... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/create-an-ict-policy-for-free http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/create-an-ict-policy-for-free Netsafe has developed a free tool for creating a policy around staff using communication technology and social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. It’s really user friendly – you answer about 15 questions and based on your responses a draft policy document is developed. You can sign up (for free) at www.thewhatsit.org.nz to get started. Discuss the draft policy with staff to ensure there is common understanding and agreement before finalising it, then formally issue it to each employee as part of their employment agreement getting them to sign a copy of it for the employee file. http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/setting-up-employee-files http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/setting-up-employee-files Businesses should have a file on each employee to hold HR documentation that is specific to that employee. Here’s my suggestion for employee files: Take a heavy duty folder like a codafile and a 5-tab divider. The five tabs will be: 1. Employment Agreement – this section will contain the employment agreement (the contract) and any letters relating to items in the contract such as pay increases, job descriptions and written authorisations for things like secondary employment. 2. Performance – this section will contain notes from performance discussions, review forms,... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/understanding-the-90-day-trial-period http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/understanding-the-90-day-trial-period An employee was awarded $16K in the Employment Court this week after she was unjustifiably dismissed from her job during her 90 day trial period. Read more here. This case highlights the importance of understanding the conditions of the trial period that was introduced through legislation last year. The Department of Labour has previously advised that an employer may give an employee notice of dismissal within the agreed trial period but does not need to give a reason for the dismissal or follow all of the usual dismissal processes. However, as this Employment Court decision demonstrates,... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/will-the-minimum-wage-have-a-spillover-effect-- http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/will-the-minimum-wage-have-a-spillover-effect-- The Minimum Wage Increase is yesterday’s news. Most employers have some kind of pay scale in place whereby more skilled employees receive a higher wage than those less skilled. Those with employees on the minimum wage and employees slightly above the minimum wage will see that gap reduce on 1 April. To maintain internal relativity will employers also increase the hourly wage rate of the employees who are paid slightly higher than the minimum wage? http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/authority-s-decision-fair-enough http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/authority-s-decision-fair-enough A small business down in Christchurch had to fork out $12K to a former employee that they dismissed last March. You can read the article for all the details. I get the business owner’s point of view – trust and confidence in the employee was eroded. But in NZ we have employment laws. The law doesn’t say you can’t fire an employee but is does say you have to follow correct procedure which includes providing the employee with notice of the meeting, allowing the employee time to seek advice or arrange representation and conducting a fair investigation. From what... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/what-can-we-learn-from-a-shoe-store- http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/what-can-we-learn-from-a-shoe-store- In the US there’s a well known online shoe store called Zappos. Actually it started off selling shoes, but now sells clothing, electronics and cookware. It was founded in 1999 and earned $10.8 million net income in 2008, an increase of 500% from net income of $1.8 million in the prior year. In 2009, it was sold to Amazon for something like $850 million. Zappos is pretty extraordinary both in terms of their customer service but also their workplace culture. The employees are highly engaged which has a direct impact on customer engagement. Check out this clip on youtube. Here’s... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/what--another-employment-law-review-- http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/what--another-employment-law-review-- You might have seen the news item about an upcoming employment law review. It will look specifically at the rights and obligations in certain restructuring situations with regard to protected workers in: cleaning services and food catering services in any place of work laundry services for the education, health or age-related residential care sector orderly services for the health or age-related residential care sector caretaking services for the education sector http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/what-are-your-employees-paid-to-do-- http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/what-are-your-employees-paid-to-do-- When I meet with employees to write up job descriptions it can often take some time to identify what it is they are actually being paid to do. What usually happens is we come up with a lengthy list of tasks and then spend a while trying to figure out why the tasks are necessary and what value it adds to the business. New employees often just do the tasks they have been handed without understanding (or questioning) the business outcomes; and established employees seem to get so bogged down in their day to day tasks that they lose sight of the business outcomes (assuming they ever had sight... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/recruitment-in-a-recession---diy-search- http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/recruitment-in-a-recession---diy-search- Recession-affected companies with a need to hire employees reduce their recruitment expenses significantly by adopting an effective DIY approach to search. Online job boards are probably the most common recruitment channel for administrative and professional vacancies. They charge $100- $200 to place an advertisement. Most job seekers have access to email and the internet, so the use of an online job board allows you to advertise and collect applications within a relatively short timeframe. Timeliness is important in recruitment, as great candidates are always in demand. Another... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/water--juice-or-beer- http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/water--juice-or-beer- Yesterday one of my clients shared a great philosophy with me, and now I’m going to share it with you … At their monthly staff meeting the type of drinks provided mirrors the results of the business that month. So, if they make a loss it’s water on the table. If they break-even it’s juice. If they make a profit (yay!) it’s beer. I love it! Such a simple but effective way for employees to understand the impact of their contributions and reap the reward (or not). I wonder what other simple and fun ways there are to communicate progress, encourage effort and... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/the-1-minute-hr-checkup http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/the-1-minute-hr-checkup As with any great art, success in management is a matter of mastering the basics. Here are four simple questions that measure your grasp of the basics of HR: QUESTION #1: Can I describe my expectations for each of my employees? QUESTION #2: Do I spend time with employees discussing their progress? QUESTION #3: Do I reward my employees? QUESTION #4: Do we have an inclusive culture? If the answer to all four questions is an emphatic “YES!” then you’re poised for success! However, if you have the slightest bit of doubt about any one of them, you need to spend time on the... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/the-cellphone-rule-and-your-driving-employees http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/the-cellphone-rule-and-your-driving-employees From November 1 texting or talking on a hand-held cellphone while driving will be illegal. Those caught face $80 fines and the loss of 20 demerit points on their licence. Drivers can still use hands-free devices and two-way radio. The law change could have a significant impact on your business if you have workers constantly on the road. Think now about the implications of the law change and what your expectations will be of employees. Will you: - provide or subsidise hands-free kits for employee cellphones? - instruct employees to pull over before answering a call? - allow employees to... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/how-giving-employees-the-freedom-to-be-themselves-works http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/how-giving-employees-the-freedom-to-be-themselves-works I often say that what works in big corporations does not necessarily work in small businesses, but sometimes there are great ideas that do! Managers in any organisation are tasked with converting the skills, knowledge and talents of their employees into performance. The most efficient way to do this is to define the performance that is required and give the employees the freedom to achieve it in what ever way suits their unique combination of skills, knowledge and talents. Here’s an example: Southwest Airlines is a low-cost airline in the US. It’s huge , doing something like... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/the-carrot-principle http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/the-carrot-principle Chester Elton, author of The Carrot Principle, talks about the amount of control a manager has over the workplace environment (100%) and how to recognise employees for maximum impact. Check out his video on youtube – it has some great clips from his public speaking engagements. http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/informing-employees-about-swine-flu http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/informing-employees-about-swine-flu There’s a lot of confusion about swine flu and employers are wondering what (if anything) they need to tell their staff. Here’s a cut-down summary of the info on the Ministry of Health website that you may like to distribute to your employees: As you are probably aware, on the World Health Organization (WHO) recently raised the worldwide pandemic alert level to Phase 6 which means there is global spread of the virus, but it does not mean the disease is severe. The symptoms people are experiencing when they become ill with Swine Flu are relatively mild with the overwhelming... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/why-do-you-do-team-building-- http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/why-do-you-do-team-building-- Commonly team building is used: to reward hard work to boost morale and/or relieve stress to utilise skills like problem solving, teamwork and communication to achieve a common goal To get the best return on investment you should figure out what your goal is and select the right activity or event to achieve it, considering the personalities and interests of the participants. For example, a day at the races or quad biking is a great reward or social activity, but is unlikely to identify and maximise individual strengths, and apply them to a collective goal in a way that can be... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/no-salary-increase-does-not-mean-no-performance-review http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/no-salary-increase-does-not-mean-no-performance-review Businesses who traditionally link salary increases to performance reviews but are not in a financial position to adjust salaries this year may be wondering if there is any point in doing a performance review at all. Performance reviews serve more than just one purpose. They are often the only time that the employee gets the opportunity to talk to someone about their progress instead of day to day issues. Whether they will admit or not, employees like (and need) to know what is expected of them and if they are any good at their job. In fact, that discussion is even more important when their... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/consider-using-independent-contractors- http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/consider-using-independent-contractors- With the current state of the economy some employers are holding back from hiring permanent employees. A recent survey found that white-collar New Zealanders are preparing to sacrifice the security of 9-to-5 salaries to head out on their own as private contractors – in unprecented numbers. This presents a great opportunity for business owners seeking to control costs and maintain productivity. A lot of talented IT, Finance, HR and Marketing professionals are willing to do short term project work (one day, one week, one month, one year etc) at reasonable rates. Bypassing recruitment... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/time-for-a-shakeup-in-recruitment http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/time-for-a-shakeup-in-recruitment The trademe message board was home to a pretty active thread about recruitment agencies over the last couple of months. Most posts are from the candidate perspective and make for interesting reading. What is concerning though is that just as candidates have poor experiences with some agencies, so do employers. As a former HR Manager, my own experiences of some recruitment agents have left a lot to be desired: little understanding of the job requirements, poor screening and no candidate preparation. I concede that for hard-to-fill specialist positions some agencies can cast their nets far... http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/there-are-alternatives-to-redundancy http://bluedot.co.nz/blog/there-are-alternatives-to-redundancy In a recession reducing operating expenses is an important objective for small business owners. Almost every day we hear news of redundancy plans. The latest estimate is that 50,000 jobs will be lost in the next year in New Zealand. Redundancies may improve things in the short-term but often they have long-term consequences for quality, the customer experience, goodwill and the ability of the business to compete effectively. Business owners sometimes underestimate the reduced morale and engagement of the staff left behind, and return that is yet to come from the investment in employees....