Human Resources: Reflecting on 2021 and trends for 2022

, , ,

2021 certainly for business owners, managers and people leaders has been tough to navigate with ongoing restrictions and lockdowns, vaccine mandates, keeping staff engaged and morale high, adapting to remote work models and recruiting and onboarding virtually. The ‘future of work’ has definitely been accelerated by the pandemic.

On a positive note, we have seen shifts in businesses prioritising mental health and wellbeing, not just from an organisation level but through to a team level, fully embracing flexible work and finding ways to improve retention and communications with their employees.

For Catie Paterson HR Business Consulting we have enjoyed helping businesses build a solid foundation of HR processes, systems and culture to allow their people the opportunity to grow and contribute to the achievement of overall business goals. Through the Human Resources Success Audit Webinar Series’ with the Better Business for Good Company, the new resources library and Recruit Right online program (more online programs to come!) we can further support businesses to create better workplaces.

Human Resources trends expected in 2022

2022 will see a need for businesses to really focus on increasing engagement with their staff with a focus on regular communication, in particular, one to one checkins to discuss and make sure employees are progressing to achieve their career goals and training and development plans and to provide Managers an understanding if they need further support in certain areas.  Engagement will only continue to increase if people are provided clarity, certainty and a clear direction on where the company is headed.

2022 will also see workplaces fully implement their hybrid work model as a long-term approach rather than just for the needs of the pandemic. There isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ model and each business will need to update their policies and adjust their model that fits around their employees and customer needs.

Mental health and wellbeing will also need to be a top priority for 2022 with the need for businesses to look at wellbeing more from a team level and not just from an organisational perspective. Clear and consistent communication of mental health and wellness support programs and resources and the people involved is crucial, whether this is to employees working remotely, in an office or on a large worksite.

Businesses will need remain flexible with their plans with some potential external changes to occur unexpectedly.

At Catie Paterson HR Business Consulting we are here to help with all your people management needs. If you would like to know more, book a free 30-minute consultation with me here.

/by

9 steps to a successful recruitment process

The pandemic has changed Australia’s job market with many businesses finding it difficult to attract staff as well as keep existing ones across all industries. Skill shortages from lack of migration to remote work is allowing for more opportunities being available for job seekers, increasing the challenges of hiring talent.

As reported in The Age and according to SEEK, ‘job ad volumes in October were 63 per cent higher than a year ago and 44 per cent above where they were in October 2019.’ These are astonishing figures. At the same time, applications for jobs are also down.

With such a competitive market, businesses need to make sure they have a solid recruitment process that showcases and communicates their employee value proposition and provides a positive candidate experience in the selection process.

Attracting and finding the right talent can be time-consuming and a costly process especially if you need to re-hire and retrain due to hiring the incorrect person. Adopting a more structured approach to the recruitment process will help minimise the risk of choosing the wrong candidate the first time, a slow screening/interview process and a negative candidate experience.

For a recruitment process to be effective and efficient there are key steps that need to be in place and followed by everyone who might be involved in recruiting team members.

Is it time to create a solid recruitment process for your business?

Here are the 9 simple steps you need for a successful recruitment process:

1.Background work

Background work is the first step in the recruitment process that can help you save time and money in the long run if it’s done correctly. However, this step is often not completed entirely by businesses.

It is taking the time to look at the role you are trying to fill and considering how it fits into the current, mid-term and long-term needs and business goals/objectives. It is also important to define the types of skills, experience and behaviours you are after for the role before working through the selection process, increasing the likelihood of finding and retaining the right candidate.

2. Write the position description and the advertisement

Before any advertising can occur for the role you should have a Position Description (PD) which is up to date. The information in the PD forms the basis of any advertising and is the critical step to understand what the requirements of the role are. It outlines the required duties, responsibilities, skills, qualifications, and type of employment. It also should detail a behaviour profile for what success looks like in that role and your organisation’s values.

The next step is to write the job advertisement and think about what channels/where is best to advertise the role. More than one channel should be chosen and some of these, for example, could be internal advertising, seek and/or LinkedIn, other social media, recruitment agencies and networking events.

3. Assess and shortlist candidates

Depending on the role, the assessing and shortlisting process may be a shared responsibility. If the role has been advertised and there are several applicants to go through, you may like to consider conducting telephone screening to develop a short list of candidates. Before starting this process make sure to have a template of questions you would like to ask each candidate to help with the screening process.

4. Interview preparation

The interview is the most common selection method to recruit team members. The success of the interview will have a lot to do with how you prepare and structure it.

In the current market with competition for good applicants so strong, it is important the interview is a positive experience which sells the benefits of your business and the role.

Prepare for the interview by:

-Scheduling interviews – confirm interview times and location and make sure to choose your location well. Make sure interviews are scheduled not too long after the phone screening.

-Develop and design interview questions/guide. The most common questions used are target questions or behavioural based structured questions around a candidate’s past behaviour in similar situations to what will happen in the role they have applied for. These types of questions generally go beyond determining whether a person can do the job.

-Read resumes and prepare specific questions from their resumes.

-Re-familiarise yourself with the Position Description – you should also know the role inside and out.

5. Conduct interviews

If you are conducting a number of different interviews you need to have a structure to them, so they are effective and a positive experience for both you and the candidate. Here are seven stages which helps structure the interview:

-Start with a welcome and introduction

-Review their resume with them to get them talking

-Start using your target questions

-Business overview – what do they know about your business?

-Position overview

-Time for the candidate to ask any further questions

-Close the interview and inform them of the next steps.

When conducting interviews, did you know that there are some questions you cannot ask an interviewee and are illegal? It’s important to understand what some of these unlawful questions are when preparing your interview questions. My checklist on ‘Interview Questions You Can’t Ask’ provides some examples of unlawful questions. You can find this here.

6. Check final candidates against hiring criteria and make final selection

In making your final candidate selection you need to gather all your notes from the interviews and review them and if there were others involved in the interview you need to collect their feedback. It is also useful to rate the candidates against a set of ‘clarifying questions’ to help you compare.

7. Reference check the selected candidate

Reference checking can be a really useful tool to aid in making a final decision, yet we don’t use it as much we should. You can find out if the candidate has truthfully represented themselves by reference checking. Use the information, thoughts and opinions you came up with during the interview to clarify anything e.g. ‘this is what I found, would you agree’? You can only conduct a reference check once you have gained authorisation from the candidate to talk to that person.

8. Make the successful candidate an offer

Once the decision has been made you have the privilege of making the successful candidate an offer to join the business. Keep in mind they may have other offers so make sure you have all the final details of the role i.e., salary, ideal start date etc ready and make the offer as attractive as you can.

9. Communicate with all the unsuccessful candidates

It’s an important part of the process to ensure you take the time to communicate with all the unsuccessful candidates. Be prepared to provide these candidates reasons why they were unsuccessful.

A good recruitment process helps you both attract and find that right team member for your business. As a business owner or Manager, finding a team member that has the right skills you need, someone you can rely on to do the work and is excited/motivated to work with you is critical for any business to be successful.

Is it time to put these steps into action and create your very own recruitment process? My Recruit Right program will take you through each of the nine steps and all the tips and tricks on what to do and what to avoid. Register for my program here.

Or, just wanting to get started? Then grab a copy of my free recruitment and selection checklist here.

/by

How leaders and business owners in construction can support the mental health of workers

,

Supporting the mental health and wellbeing of every worker is essential. There are many things that can affect mental health, including work as it plays a significant role in our everyday life. Over time there has been a stigma around mental health illness and no more so than in the construction industry.

Now with the increased awareness, education and support services available and organisations, big and small in the industry making it a priority, this stigma is slowly being removed and more and more workers know it’s okay now to ask for help and are reaching out for the help they need.

The awareness and promotion of mental health illness needs to continue in the industry and organisations have a vital role in this. The continuation of the uncertainty in the world from the pandemic and other social and environmental factors makes mental health awareness an even greater priority.

If you are leading a team of people, in the office, remotely or on a building site, there are ways you can support and promote mental health and wellbeing in the workplace.

Here are some tips for you to take action:

Providing awareness, training and support

Communicating and providing awareness to your workers on why we need to discuss mental health, the problems it can cause people and warning signs to look out for if someone they know is struggling is important. Workers need to know that it’s okay to talk about mental health and seek support if they need it, who in the organisation they can go to if they need someone to talk to or how they can access the organisation’s support programs such as an employee assistance program (EAP).

Training certain individuals to be a person someone can turn to if they are in need of help is critical but also shows to all workers how serious the organisation is in supporting mental health and wellbeing. There are a number of organisations who run training sessions for people/workers who volunteer to be support person such as Mates in Construction and Beyond Blue.

Clear and consistent communication of your mental health and wellness support programs and resources and the people involved is crucial, especially on large worksites, so people know what is available to them. Promoting programs and resources through your organisation’s website or staff portal/hub, in breakout/tea rooms, email signatures, social media, when onboarding new workers, participating in charitable mental health events such as RU Ok? day, bringing in someone that is willing to share their personal experience with mental health, setting up information and training sessions and allowing workers time to attend them will create awareness of your mental health and wellness support programs.

What is an Employee Assistance program?

According to the Employee Assistance Professional Association of Australaisa (EAPAA), an EAP ‘is a work-based intervention program designed to enhance the emotional, mental and general psychological wellbeing of all employees and includes services for immediate family members.’ Having an EAP can help with early prevention and interventions of any issues related to work or personal that might be affecting a person’s ability to perform/reach their full potential at work and life in general.

Some large organisations may provide their EAP programs in-house but generally these are outsourced to a provider who have experienced counsellors, referral partners for different services that might be needed, and they understand the compliance and reporting required.

If your organisation has not created an EAP then it might be a good time to start. It’s critical with all the uncertainty around the pandemic and the effects of snap shutdowns in Victoria, reduced numbers on construction sites and increases in COVID-19 cases, workers of all ages need to be supported.

There are some critical elements that need to be considered when putting together an EAP such as the goals and needs of the EAP, if it will be outsourced, training staff, how the EAP will be communicated and tracked, development of policies, procedures and guidelines and compliance/legal and confidentiality requirements. An experienced Human Resources consultant like, Catie Paterson HR Business Consulting can help you and your team put together an EAP that is the right fit for your organisation and your onsite workers.

Not only are EAP’s there to help your workers, they can also help an organisation with less employee absenteeism reducing costs, increases in engagement and retention, to mitigate risks and health and safety concerns and improve productivity levels.

Learn to be a good listener and attuned to how your workers are really feeling

A strong leader is able to engage their people to maximise their people’s potential to be better, communicate effectively, regularly solicit feedback and new ideas and have the ability to problem solve and react quickly to the changing environment.

Whether you are managing one worksite or multiple sites or a small business owner with apprentices, being a good listener and building that human connection that develops trust and loyalty with your workers is essential for a good working relationship and for them to feel they can be open with you. It can also help you, as a leader, to gain knowledge and even new ideas.

To further encourage open communication, it’s important to consistently make time and space for each of your workers to be able to speak with you and for you to check in with them. This will help you get to know and understand their individual circumstances from both a personal and work point of view. The check ins are not only important for collecting feedback from your worker but allow for uninterrupted time to discuss any problems they might be experiencing, work in progress, professional development and performance. Having conversations like these will also help you align the needs of the team with the business.

With immense time pressures on building sites and trades, finding the time to meet with each worker during the week can be difficult. It’s important that these check ins are not rushed or continuously rescheduled.

To make the most of your one-to-one check ins:

  1. Set re-occurring check ins at a frequency that suits you, your workers and the business and limit the time to 30 minutes.
  2. Keep them as formal or casual as you like or what suits your business. However, it can be useful to structure them or have an agenda in mind to ensure what needs to be discussed is and to keep to time.
  3. Take some time before the meeting to collect your thoughts and remove any distractions so you are fully present.
  4. To encourage a flow of conversation and to ‘break the ice’, start with a non-work-related simple question to relieve any tension and to start off positive i.e. How was your weekend? If you know of an activity they like or involved in, ‘Did you play football this weekend?’ You could also start off with something around well-being ‘How are you feeling this week?’
  5. Ask questions with intent and really show you are listening and interested with what they have to say.

It is especially important leaders are communicating and checking in on their workers. At the same time, leaders also need to be checked on, as they are working extra hard to protect the wellbeing and safety of their workers and steer their business through economic uncertainty. As such, there needs to be a process or system in place to make sure leaders and the business owners are also being checked on regularly. This could be a colleague or someone outside the organisation.

The role of a leader is significant in creating a safe work environment and inspiring others to do so. Not only enforcing the legal obligations of safe work but having a workplace where their people are able to effectively do their work to their full potential. During these times of uncertainty, it’s essential to keep people well-informed of current situations and how they might be affected. This can alleviate some stress and anxiety.

If you or someone you know is suffering with their mental health, contact Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636. 

If you’re currently experiencing an increase in difficult, sensitive and overwhelming issues with your workers and need help finding an engaging approach for you or your leaders, please don’t hesitate to contact Catie Paterson HR Business Consulting today on 0409 545 634 or catie@catiepaterson.com.au.

/by

How to modify your recruitment process virtually

Recruiting virtually was something many businesses were exploring even before the pandemic hit last year. With the increase in remote work, businesses are now having to adapt their recruitment strategies and processes to suit virtually.

Virtual recruiting is conducting a complete or partial recruitment process with a candidate online without meeting them in person. Virtual recruiting can have many benefits such as saving time and money with video interviews with no commutes, scheduling interviews more easily and the ability to record the interview. Virtual recruiting can also incorporate more virtual recruiting tools and, if candidates have the option to work remotely, a wider pool of talent.

A consistent recruitment process is essential whether it’s being done virtually or face-to-face. An effective recruitment process will help you hire the right person, for the right position the first time round, keep control of hiring costs, ensure a positive candidate experience and make sure the screening/interview process isn’t too long.

Before recruiting virtually, you still need the foundation of a good recruitment process. If you already have a good process, thankfully, with good technology it can be easily adapted to the online world.

Here are some tips to successfully recruiting virtually:

Be prepared

Virtual recruitment may allow access to a wider talent pool but it’s important to understand what you are looking for:

-How does the role fit into the current, mid-term and long-term needs and business plans?

-Is it an opportunity to review the team/the role?

-Develop a job/position description and profile to identify skills, attributes, experience and behaviours for a person to be successful in the role.

-With hiring virtually, certain aspects of culture need to be considered. This should still be the case when hiring in person, however, it’s even more essential in virtual recruiting. It’s important to make sure position descriptions detail your values and are included in the recruitment/ advertising process. By including these it can help you attract candidates that align with not just the role but the company.

-Determine if the role can be done remotely or needs to be onsite.

-What are the employee benefits you are offering to attract candidates and are they relevant if the role can be performed remotely?

Profiling the role and the successful person provides you with the reason and the purpose of the hiring process.

Understand your technology requirements

Map out the technology requirements you will need to conduct your recruitment process virtually. There are several great tools you can use to help with video interviews such as zoom, skype and Microsoft teams. There are other tools to help optimise and automate some of the process such as applicant tracking systems, skill testing tools, communications to candidates, screening and selection software, posting job ads and collecting candidate feedback.

Recruitment processes can be different in each business, so any technology or automation needs to suit the business requirements. It’s also important to make sure when choosing to automate a particular part of the process, such as emails to candidates, that they are still personalised and well written. If not, this could have a negative effect on the candidate experience.

Video interviews

The interview is the most common selection method to recruit team members. The success of the interview will have a lot to do with how you prepare and structure it. In the current market with competition for good applicants being so strong, it is important the interview is a positive experience which sells the benefits of your company and the role.

Video interviews still require the same structure and preparation as an in-person interview. However, they can be a convenient way to save time for both the candidate and employer. In a guide by LinkedIn Talent Solutions, ‘Companies that conduct video interviews report up to a 95% reduction in recruitment costs.’

With remote work here to stay, video interviews offer a suitable alternative to be able to still build that connection and determine if the candidate is the right person for the role. Many businesses are now incorporating both real-time and one-way video interviewing. One-way video interviewing is where a candidate can record and answer questions. These can be reviewed at a time that suits in the recruitment process. Both real-time and one-way video interviewing offer the benefit of recording.

Promote your employee value proposition, company culture and values

In a normal office-based interview, candidates have more of an opportunity to experience a company’s culture. With virtual recruiting this is harder to give them this experience. It’s important to look at promoting your company culture, values and employee value proposition consistently across social media platforms and your website. You could look to host virtual events that provides candidates the opportunity to get to know the company more, meet managers and team members, and ask questions about the company.

Stick to your good recruitment process

Running a professional recruitment and selection process is vital to successfully building a great team. When deciding to use virtual recruiting, you can still utilise the good recruitment processes you have in place, you will just be adding virtual tools to enhance the process when hiring remote workers or at times where the process cannot be done face to face.

Would you like further guidance on how you can improve your recruitment process so you can attract the right talent for your business? Contact Catie Paterson HR Business Consulting today. 

/by

Being a volunteer mentor with Gettin’ Ready 4 Life Inc.

,

A good education is so important in life and something that should be supported in the youth of today.

One of my goals for 2021 was to find a way I could support a young person by offering my time, skills and experience. Through a business connection, an opportunity presented to be part of a mentoring program for high school students with an organisation called Gettin’ Ready 4 Life Inc.

Greg Blake, co-founder of Gettin’ Ready 4 Life Inc., runs a school mentor program for year 12 VCAL classes at Braybrook College and next term Year 11 classes will also be included.  Volunteer mentors, like myself, are matched with two students and we meet once a week for 1.5 hours to discuss anything, but mostly their path for the future after school. As their mentor, I share information about my own experiences as well as provide them support and guidance for when they finish school at the end of the year.

These students have so much to offer, they just don’t know it yet. This program allows me to contribute to their life experience and mentor them in a constructive way so they can take positive steps forward into the world that awaits them.

A little bit about Gettin’ Ready 4 Life Inc.

Greg Blake has been a Youth Worker for two decades and a significant part of his career has been running school mentor programs. The program has run continuously at Braybrook College for 18 years, a testament to the difference it makes for students. Having the support of a mentor with life experience, willing to be there and support them, building a relationship each week that can’t be built with a parent or teacher, sees incremental shifts in a student with their confidence and motivation to achieve their goals.

What it means to me as a mentor

I was fortunate enough to have amazing opportunities growing up including attending a really good high school which included non-academic endeavours as well as study. Although, money was never abundant growing up, my parents always found a way to ensure that we had as many life experiences as possible as well as a great education. Given those privileges, I have a fundamental belief (a responsibility) that we should be able to support those who are less fortunate, to share those experiences and give them a helping hand. The Gettin’ Ready 4 Life Inc mentoring program gives me the opportunity to make a difference in a young person’s life now and in their future. Every student has something amazing to share in this world. They may just need some help to find it.

I have really enjoyed being part of the program. Both Greg and his partner Paige do amazing work supporting these students. I love Greg’s belief that ‘we are creating the runway for young people to help them ‘take off’’. Thank you to both Greg and Paige for providing me the opportunity to be involved.

Interested in being involved?

Gettin’ Ready 4 Life Inc. need more mentors for Year 11 VCAL classes starting in Term 3 on Wednesdays, from 11:20am to around 12:45pm. These students are exiting the school system this year and need all the support they can get. If you or someone you know would love to make a difference in the life of a young person, contact Greg on 0478 484 424 or Paige at runway@gr4life.org.au.

/by

Media: Interview for The Better Business for Good Company on effectively managing redundancies

,

Recently, Catie had the privilege of being invited to appear on an episode of Small Business Matters with The Better Business for Good (BB4G) TV. Co-founder Brenda Thomson and Catie discuss the IF, WHEN and HOW of effectively managing redundancies, in particular:

– Why would you consider redundancy?

– Can you make any role redundant?

– What are the legal implications?

– Do you have to follow a process?

– What are the alternatives to redundancy?

Catch up on Catie’s episode now on the Better Business for Good Company website. Click the link below to watch the full episode.

https://bit.ly/3oFiKWJ

If you are needing guidance on how to effectively manage redundancies, get in touch with me today.

/by

How to manage teams and culture in a hybrid work model

,

The pandemic certainly accelerated the change for businesses to adopt more flexible work arrangements. This giant world-wide experiment has led employers to see, if managed correctly, their employees can be just as productive working remotely as in the office. Employers have also found other benefits such as improved retention, attraction of talent and employees having more of a balanced work and home life.

With flexible and remote working being part of a ‘post-covid’ normal, many workplaces are putting in place a hybrid work model which allows their people to work both remotely and in the workplace on certain days. There are a range of these models emerging and being tested, especially in the technology industry such as Google, Facebook and Amazon. However, there isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ model and each business needs to update their policies and choose a model that fits around their employees and customer needs.

Although there are many advantages to a hybrid work model, there can be many challenges for managing teams. For some employees, they may feel disconnected, missing opportunities to understand the full picture of what is happening in the office as Managers may (not realising it) communicate with the onsite employees more often. It can also be difficult for those working remotely to build those important social relationships with their team members.

Many of these challenges can be overcome if preparation and planning is done to understand what might be the best hybrid work model and hybrid work teams are managed effectively.

Managing hybrid teams

It is essential for leaders to prepare their teams to work productively together in a hybrid work model and be proactively finding ways for the team to build positive working relationships ensuring fairness and equality for all employees. How can you do this? Here are some tips to consider when managing a hybrid work team:

– Change/update policy and procedures to support a hybrid work model. This will help with consistency and fairness.

– Agree a set of principles for how the team want to communicate with each other. The remote workers need to feel like they are being included. This might be a series of virtual meetings set up at the same time each week. There are also plenty of good communication tools such as Slack and Microsoft teams for internal group chats.

– Make sure each team member, no matter if they are in the office or working remotely, receive the same amount of support from their Manager. Offer regular one-on-one catch ups with both remote and onsite workers.

– All team members need to be clear on when each team member is working. A good way to do this is by a shared work calendar. You may also like to establish key hours for when everyone seems to be in the office together, to allow for some face-to-face interaction.

– From the start, set expectations and a process so the team know who is doing what tasks and by when. You may like to implement a weekly team meeting at the start of each week or a frequency that suits the team.

– Find ways to bring the whole team together face-to-face to allow them time to build the social relationships with their team members. This can also help increase morale.

– Ensure performance is managed fairly and measured more by the output rather than strictly by the hours someone is working. Any rewards and other benefits need to have options for remote workers.

– Make sure remote workers have access to the technology and support they need to effectively perform their role remotely.

If you are hiring new employees, you need to adjust your onboarding program to make sure it provides a positive experience for employees onsite or working from home. For example, you may choose to have a mix of onsite and offsite training or a virtual meet and greet their first day so they can meet all team members. Information and documents such as procedures and policies may also need to be able to be accessed and shared digitally.

Culture in hybrid work models

 

Many workplaces have seen culture shifts due to new flexible working arrangements, in particular, hybrid work models. Some of these shifts have been positive and others, with the sudden shift to remote work last year, have impacted even the strongest workplace cultures.

If you are planning on making flexible working arrangements permanent, leaders will need to work on strategies to build or maintain a positive workplace culture. With the right approach, a positive culture can still thrive in a hybrid work model.

It’s important to:

– Collect and be open to receiving feedback from your employees so you can look to improve the employee experience and why someone has chosen to still work remotely.

– Be sure to have channels for open communication and ensuring all team members are up to date with latest business decisions.

– Be proactive in making sure leaders are accessible and visible and your employees feel connected and engaged with their team as well as the company purpose.

– Continue to provide individual learning and development for each of your employees and adjust these to suit the individual’s flexible working arrangements.

– Provide training to Managers on how to engage and facilitate in a hybrid work model.

– Allow for opportunities for your employees to connect socially with their team and people in other areas of the business.

Maintaining culture isn’t easy. However, putting frameworks and measures in place will keep you on track to building a positive culture now and for the future.

It’s time to accept flexible working

2020 really showed businesses the possibility of offering more flexible working arrangements, where appropriate, which previously for some businesses was never going to happen.

There are so many ways businesses can make flexible work happen and there are many benefits to it. With many now facing hybrid workforces and some employees preferring to work from home, now is the time to review remote work policies with a new approach.

Are your flexible working policies up to date? At Catie Paterson HR Business Consulting, we can help you set up new flexible working policies and strategies for effectively managing hybrid work teams. Get in touch with us today!

/by

Case Study: Managing an unfair dismissal as a result of COVID-19 slowdown

Businesses are always having to adapt to changes from the economic and social environment, technological advancements and their customer’s needs. Many of these changes can be planned for and implemented when the business is ready. The pandemic changed a lot of these plans and some businesses were forced to pivot their operations and priorities or even temporarily close, no more so then in the building industry.

Significant events like COVID-19, have impacts on employee roles, responsibilities and conditions, however, at the same time, it hasn’t changed employer obligations no matter the severity of business issues.

In a recent case, a client in the building industry had an employee file an unfair dismissal claim citing constructive dismissal and redundancy. Due to the complexity of the dispute and changes to the business as a result of COVID-19 at that point in time, Catie Paterson HR Business Consulting was brought in to manage the unfair dismissal case to help the employer and employee resolve the dispute that was both fair and reasonable for both parties.

The lead up to the dispute

The employer owns and operates two business entities in the building industry. Before taking twelve months maternity leave the employee was engaged in a role, working three days per week and no weekends. When the employee was due to return to work from maternity leave, COVID-19 restrictions meant some of the builder’s operations were closed. There was a decline in sales which resulted in the employee not being able to return to their previous role.

The employer offered the employee an alternate role in their other ‘business entity’ for a period of four to six months until sales increased. The role offered was similar in status and the pay remained that same as the previous role with the other business entity. The hours of work would this time include working one weekend day.

The employee did not agree that the alternate role was of similar status and requested a further six-month extension of maternity leave in order to return to the original role. The employer did not agree to the maternity leave extension but agreed to the employee working three days per week and no weekends. The employee did not accept this and resigned from her role and filed an unfair dismissal citing constructive dismissal and redundancy.

The approach to the Unfair Dismissal Conciliation

According to Fair Work, a constructive dismissal is a forced resignation, meaning an employee has no real choice but to resign. A genuine redundancy is when an “employer no longer required the person’s job to be performed by anyone because of changes in the operational requirements of the employer’s enterprise.”

Catie Paterson HR Business Consulting approached the dispute by first reviewing and understanding the facts of the case by utilising prior knowledge and experience from other similar disputes, to determine if it was constructive dismissal and a genuine redundancy. With this concise process of review and consultation, Catie Paterson HR Business Consulting were able to gather the necessary documentation to justify the decisions that were made and that procedures were followed in compliance with Fair Work. This meant the client was well prepared for the unfair dismissal conciliation with the Fair Work Commission (FWC) and an agreed settlement could be reached, avoiding a full FWC hearing or conference.

The Result

During the conciliation it was found the situation was not constructive dismissal as the employee resigned on their own accord as a result of not wanting to accept/work in the alternate role offered with the other business entity. It was deemed that the employer did offer flexibility with changing the roster to working three days per week and no weekends.  Also, the original role was not made redundant as the employer required someone in the role for the future and within six months.

The importance of Human Resources (HR) policies, procedures and documentation

FWC conciliations and hearings can be very stressful for all parties involved and can be a very long, drawn out process if procedures, documentation and consultation requirements are not followed or complied with. As this case demonstrates it’s important to have workplace policies and procedures in place to help manage legal risk, provide that support framework for when decisions need to be made and required documentation.

It also shows how the complexity of the pandemic can affect a business and their employee’s roles, responsibilities and conditions but employer obligations still remain the same as before the pandemic.

Businesses going through significant changes should seek guidance from a Human Resources Consultant on any decisions that need to be made around their workforce to hopefully avoid FWC conciliations and hearings.

/by

Business update: Beginning my learning journey in Positive Psychology and Wellbeing

People are the backbone to any business and I have made it my life’s mission to empower organisations to create a positive workplace culture and an environment for their people to thrive.

In the world of Human Resources (HR), each new year comes with a new innovation or trend and I’m always excited to welcome positive change if it’s going to improve the employee experience. One of my personal goals is to always keep learning and an area that is becoming extremely important is positive psychology and wellbeing. In March, I will embark on completing a Diploma of Positive Psychology and Wellbeing with the Langley Group Institute.

What is positive psychology and how does it benefit a workplace?

 According to Psychology Today Australia, “positive psychology is a branch of psychology focused on the character strengths and behaviours that allow individuals to build a life of meaning and purpose—to move beyond surviving to flourishing.”

One thing that became clear to me as we all went through the difficulties and challenges of the pandemic and workplace stress continues to increase, focusing on the positives for both an individual and business wellbeing is essential. According to a recent study, ‘Resetting Normal: Defining the New Era of Work,’ by The Adecco Group, found, “28% of respondents said their mental wellbeing had worsened due to the pandemic, with only 1 in 10 rating their managers highly on their ability to support their emotional health.”

To increase individual, business and collective wellbeing

By completing this course, I will be able to support my clients with a range of positive psychology activities, tools, and strategies to help their people and business flourish.

Workplaces that look for ways to maximise and apply an individual employee’s key strengths and abilities will see higher rates of retention and productivity. Leaders who invest time in getting to know their people, value their contribution and their overall wellbeing will foster a culture of innovation and engagement.

Work plays a significant role in our everyday life and our overall wellbeing. We want our people to feel like they want to come to work. Making work purposeful and meaningful and they feel satisfied they are accomplishing something, will build teams that are highly motivated and driven to achieve positive outcomes for not only themselves but for the business.

My learning journey begins

Over the next few weeks, I’m incredibly excited about taking these next steps in my learning journey and hearing about the latest research of positive psychology, wellbeing and neuroscience. Creating workplaces for people to grow, ensuring diversity and fairness and an overall positive workplace culture is something I’m passionate about and I’m looking forward to sharing with you some of the key learnings.

My aim is for leaders to see their employees as ‘people’ who all have their own strengths and abilities and interests.

Over the coming weeks, I look forward to sharing with you more of my key learnings from my course.

/0 Comments/by

Case Study: Why no Employment Agreement cost a small business thousands

Here’s why a small business had to pay a redundancy based on full time hours and not part time hours which resulted in a difference of tens of thousands of dollars.

The impacts of the pandemic can be felt across many industries far and wide. One of the biggest industries that has really been hit hard is the events industry. Due to heavy Government restrictions of gatherings, all events where no longer able to go ahead which forced many small event businesses to temporary close or completely close with no longer being able to sustain the extended restrictions of Melbourne’s lockdown.

A small event-based business, who had been decimated by the pandemic and no longer in operation had to make redundancies. As a result of one employee not having an Employment Agreement and the process not being followed the business had to pay a redundancy based on full time hours and not part time hours which resulted in a significant difference of more than tens of thousands of dollars for the pay-out.

The lesson for other businesses is to make sure all your employees have written documentation, that it’s up to date with their current position and employment and signed by the employee.

Background

The employee was originally employed by the event-based business on a full-time basis and also received a significant salary increase over the past twelve months. During this time, the employee went on maternity leave and returned on a part-time basis.

Throughout their employment there was no signed Employment Agreement in place for either their full time or part time employment and no regular hours were discussed and confirmed in writing. The only form of documentation was a letter provided to the employee regarding their increase in salary.

With the unfortunate closure of the business, the business had to make redundancies which the relevant consultation requirements set out by the Fair Work Ombudsman were also not followed correctly.

The result

As there was no signed Employment Agreement in place, the administrative processes not correctly followed internally and the relevant consultation requirements set out by the Fair Work Ombudsman not followed, the business were required to pay the employee’s redundancy based on full time hours and not part time hours. This resulted in a significant pay-out to the employee at a substantial difference of more than tens of thousands of dollars.

Tips to prevent this happening to your business

  • No matter how big or small the business, it’s critical to have a good and solid administrative procedure that makes sure Employment Agreements are followed up on and signed. A signed Employment Agreement needs to be in place regardless of your relationship or if they are a ‘nice person.’
  • Any updates to the Employment Agreement should be made in writing and confirmed by employee by counter-signing the Employee Agreement.
  • The signed Employee Agreement must also be for your employee’s current employment and position.
  • It’s important to follow the Fair Work Ombudsman employment processes, procedures, policies and the law.
  • Seek professional advice if you are unsure about the redundancy process or need help to set up administrative processes and procedures for managing Employee Agreements.

 

These minor administrative tasks of signed Employment Agreements can seem insignificant and can be put to the side and sometimes forgotten about. As this case shows not following up and updating Employment Agreements when current employment and positions have changed can have significant consequences down the track. This case also emphasised the importance of understanding your obligations to consult with your employees when there have been substantial business changes.

 

/0 Comments/by