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Note – This article is from the website www.hrdaily.com.au
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Providing certain “perks” – like parental leave, L&D opportunities and flexible work – is unlikely to improve an organisation’s engagement levels because employees now expect them as the norm, according to a new report.

The law of diminishing returns sets in quickly with many activities that employers believe contribute to their engagement scores, says the Employee Engagement Capabilities Report 2012, from RedBalloon and coaching firm AltusQ.

“What was once a generous extra for an employee quickly becomes an expectation and stops to deliver ever-increasing engagement returns that perhaps the investment requires,” it says.

Nonetheless, organisations that fail to include these offerings as part of their engagement mix “stand little chance of breaking past average levels of engagement”.

The “core” tools for improving engagement, according to the report, are:

• training and development programs;
• recognition programs;
• non-cash rewards and incentives;
• parental leave;
• time off for study; and
• flexible working arrangements.

Organisations that don’t invest in training and development are highly unlikely to have employee engagement scores over 40 per cent, the report says.

But while the last three initiatives have little effect on engagement levels, not investing in them or taking them away, “would definitely have a negative effect”.

The research involved more than 900 organisations in Australia and New Zealand, assessing their engagement efforts and results in terms of activities, investment and capability. (Read our previous article on “engagement capability” here.

It found the engagement activities that make the biggest difference are:

• time off for volunteering;
• coaching;
• buddy programs; and
• company lunches and nights out.

“It’s interesting to note that these activities are often the cheapest to deliver from a dollar perspective but the most time-consuming to manage and set up. Specifically, the combination of coaching and buddying in an organisation results in an 82 per cent chance of having an engagement score of 80 per cent or higher.”

Ideal spend

An investment of somewhere between $2000 and $3000 per year per employee will result in the highest likelihood of obtaining optimal engagement levels (80%+), the study found.

(Some 73 per cent of organisations with engagement scores above 80 per cent spend at least $2000 per employee on engagement programs.)

“In fact there is a 59 per cent chance that you’d achieve an 80-per-cent-plus engagement score if you invest $2000-3000,” it says.

But increasing spend on engagement activities “only delivers to a point”.

“Investing more than $3000 a year only gives you a 29 per cent chance of achieving an 80-per-cent-plus score and a 50 per cent chance of a 60-80 per cent score,” the report says.

Closing the gap

The biggest gaps between the skills of the most engaged organisations, and those scoring 40-60 per cent, are in the capabilities of expectation management, communication, effective meetings, managing capacity and workload, and coaching.

For organisations scoring less than 40 per cent, the biggest opportunities for improvement lie in increasing their capability in the areas of brand, expectation management, coaching, reward and recognition, and effective meetings.

For the second year running, the study found culture is the biggest predictor of a high engagement score. Organisations with highly engaged workers have the highest capability scores in this area, meaning they “manage and bring alive” what is important to people in the business and what guides their behaviour.

Further, the highly engaged organisations were up to 20 times as likely to see increases or improvements in customer satisfaction, attraction of key talent, productivity, turnover and profit, than those with engagement scores under 60 per cent.

Note – This article is from the website www.hrdaily.com.au
Here is a link to the article is here

Your resume is the most important document in any job search. But what if you’re submitting resume after resume and receiving no results at all — not even a call? Your resume may be fatally flawed.

How can a resume betray a job seeker? It’s not just typos or poor formatting. “The biggest flaw for a resume is when it fails to showcase a person’s accomplishments, contributions and results, and instead spouts a job description of each position he’s held,” says Lauren Milligan, founder of ResuMayDay, a resume-writing and career-coaching firm based near Chicago

Use these three tips to make sure your resume doesn’t betray you.

1. Think Big

Whatever jobs you’ve held — be it as an assistant or a CEO — think beyond the everyday tasks of your position. ”People get bogged down in the day-to-day details of their jobs, but when it comes to your resume, you’ve got to get out of the clutter and ask yourself, ‘What does this work mean?’” Milligan says.

If a manager is hiring for an administrative assistant, he already knows what an admin does and doesn’t want to see a resume that says an applicant can type and answer a phone. “You have to go beyond that to point out your specific strengths,” Milligan says.

Start by having big-picture conversations about what you do and how it serves the organization as a whole. “If you’re in a support position, consider how successful the person you support is and how you help her do her job better,” Milligan says. “What role do you have in her successes? Those are your accomplishments.”

2. Be Clear

Focusing on your accomplishments rather than your specific responsibilities will help keep your resume concise. “There’s a huge difference between a resume and the Great American Novel,” says Milligan. “The resumes I’m most proud of summed up a 25-year career in a single page.”

She urges job seekers to remember that resumes are typically skimmed for a mere six to eight seconds. “Make sure you’re identifying the companies you worked for, how long you were there and if you earned a promotion,” she says. “Those are things that people look for immediately.” Also, if your job title is long and vague, tighten it up so that people immediately understand what you’ve done. For example, “Marketing Manager” is much more accessible than “Global Identity Architect.”

Given the time you have to catch a recruiter’s eye, a focused, accomplishment-driven resume is the way to go. “If you are loaded up on peripheral stuff, it’s too hard for a hiring manager to find your story,” Milligan says.

3. Get Real

What if you come up blank when trying to think about how you’ve helped build the big picture for your employer?

“A couple of times I’ve talked to people who insisted they just did their jobs and there’s nothing special about them that jumps out,” Milligan says. She’s asked them outright if they’re in the right position. “It’s a difficult question to ask, but these people may be chasing the wrong job,” she says.

She counsels clients that if they cannot speak about what they’ve done in terms of enhancing the position or the company, “You may be just punching a clock — and you and your employer deserve more.”

Look for other opportunities in which you can contribute and grow professionally. You’ll enjoy a more rewarding career and have a more successful resume.

*Article written by Caroline M.L. Potter and posted by Quay Appointments.

The Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) harmonisation laws are to be implemented by 1 January 2012, a mere three months away.

The concept of uniform OH&S laws across the country has gained support as it became evident that the lack of consistency has been problematic for both employers and employees. Some states initially expressed hesitation; however, once Queensland initiated acceptance of the new OH&S laws, other states, including NSW, moved to pass the set of laws as well.

On 5 May 2011, the recently elected NSW Liberal Government tabled two Bills which not only introduced the model Work Health and Safety Act (“WHS Act”) but also expedited many of the changes by proposing amendments to the current Occupational Health and Safety Act (NSW) 2000 (“OHS Act”).

The Occupational Health And Safety Amendment Act 2011 (“OHSA Act”), introduced to immediately amend the current NSW OHS Act:

• removes the reverse onus of proof;
• makes directors and officers no longer automatically liable for any breaches by the corporation; and
• retains the unions’ power to prosecute. (A provision of the Bill which would have immediately removed unions’ right to prosecute was dropped under amendments proposed by the cross benchers on 27 May 2011.)

Below are a few of the changes the new laws bring in.

Change in onus of proof

Under the old OHS Act, employers had a duty to ensure health and safety in the workplace subject to a limited defence of reasonable practicability, a “reverse onus” duty. This reverse onus of proof has now been removed from the harmonised legislation which restores the presumption of innocence.

Under the new OHSA Act, the onus moves to the prosecution to establish the employer did not take all reasonably practicable measures to prevent the risk to health and safety occurring. ^[1] The prosecution will now be required to set out what the employer could “reasonably” have done to prevent the risk to health and safety.

This change has been made as a transitional amendment in preparation for the harmonised WHS Act where the prosecution must prove that an employer has not “so far as reasonably practicable” ensured the health and safety of its employees and that they are not put under any risk from work carried out.^[2]

Directors and officers

Under the old OHS Act, a director or a person concerned in the management of the company is prima facie liable for any contravention of the Act unless due diligence was used to prevent the contravention.

Under the transitional OHSA Act, section 26 has been amended to impose a duty on “officers of a corporation” to exercise due diligence to ensure that the corporation complies with its occupational health and safety duties.^[3] This creates a positive obligation on the part of the “officers of a corporation” to ensure due diligence has been conducted.

Officers of a corporation are those defined by section 9 of the Corporations Act, which include:

• a director or secretary of a corporation;
• administrators and liquidators of a corporation;
• partners in a partnership; and
• officeholders in a unincorporated association.

The transitional changes made under the OHSA Act mirror the changes that will be made on 1 January 2012 under the WHS Act.

The WHS Act also imposes a duty of care beyond the traditional employer-employee/ contractor relationship to capture a variety of working arrangements. Duties under the WHS Act are imposed on any “person conducting a business or undertaking”. The duty is broad and is owed not only to employees, but to contractors, labour hire workers, apprentices, trainees and work experience students.

Due diligence

Indications of the requirements of due diligence by officers are provided in a non-exhaustive list of steps under section 26(3). Due diligence requires an officer to take reasonable steps:

• to acquire and keep up-to-date knowledge of OH&S matters;
• to understand the nature and operations of the trade, business or other undertaking of the corporation and the associated risks;
• to ensure that appropriate resources to eliminate or minimise hazards from such operations are available and utilised by the corporation;
• to ensure the corporation has processes for receiving and considering information about incidents and hazards and responding in a timely manner; and
• to ensure the corporation has, and implements, appropriate processes for complying with its relevant duties and obligations under the legislation, for example, reporting, consultations, training.

A consequence of this duty is that officers may be liable for failing to exercise the requisite due diligence despite the fact that the corporation itself is complying with its obligations, or without an incident or accident in the workplace even occurring. There is now a positive duty on company officers to enquire and monitor their company’s safety performance and assist company officers to better understand their safety obligations.

Under the new amendments, under either the OHSA Act or the WHS Act, an officer of the corporation may commit an offence by failing to exercise the required due diligence, despite the corporation itself complying with its requirements.

Changes in the offences

The WHS Act groups offences into three categories, with penalties scaled according to each category. Category 1 offences are the most serious breaches involving recklessness and exposing an individual (to whom a duty is owed) to the risk of death or serious illness or injury. Category 2 offences occur where a person is exposed to a high level of risk of death or serious illness or injury, but without recklessness. Category 3 offences are breaches without a high risk of serious harm and without recklessness.

The WHS Act significantly increases penalties for breaches, with maximum penalties scaled according to the offences. The maximum penalty for a body corporate ranges from $500,000 (category 3 offence) to $3,000,000 (category 1 offence). Under the old OHS Act, reckless conduct by corporations causing death attracted a penalty of $1,650,000, while breach of general duties attracted $550,000 for a first offence and $825,000 for second and subsequent offences.

The legislation also grants courts a wider variety of sentencing orders. Under the old OHS Act, orders could be imposed on defendants to take steps to remedy any matter the offence caused, pay WorkCover’s investigation costs, publicise the offence, or undertake projects for general improvement of OHS.

Where a court convicts a person or finds a person guilty of an offence against the WHS Act, sentencing options include enforceable undertakings, remedial orders, adverse publicity orders, training orders, injunctions, compensation orders and community service orders, in addition to any penalty.

Jurisdictional changes

The WHS Act takes the jurisdiction for OHS offences away from the NSW Industrial Relations Commission and prosecutions will now be instituted for summary offences in the Local Court (which will have the jurisdiction to order fines of up to $50,000) or the District Court.

Difference in consultation

The WHS Act imposes a broader obligation on the person conducting the business or undertaking regarding consultation. Persons conducting the business or undertaking must consult with “workers”, not just “employees”, as far as reasonably practicable, about OH&S matters.

In addition to this, for instances of specific circumstances, consultation is required when for example, identifying hazards and assessing risks.

There are no transitional arrangements from the old OHS to the new WHS Act as this area was not addressed in the OHSA Act. Every employer, or adviser to an employer, should acquaint themselves with these important new developments.

*Article provided by Clayton Utz and posted by Quay Appointments.

How do you sell yourself and show your potential employer how valuable you can be to their company? You want to make them hire you TODAY and not even THINK about other applicants. You know you’re the right person for the job, so how do you make THEM see that? Here are seven easy steps you can take to really make yourself shine during the interview process.

1. First, find out everything you can about the company you’d be working for. Who are its customers? What is its mission statement? How does the job you’d be performing relate to the company’s goals? Finding out this type of information gives you great insights on what kinds of questions to ask your interviewer and shows them that you’ve done your research and already have some background in the company’s business and objectives.

2. Read over the job description carefully. Analyze your own strengths and see how you can tie the two together. If you have previous experience, make note of those times where you helped achieve a specific result. Employers give more serious consideration to applicants who have a background and a track record in their industry than those who do not.

3. First impressions count. It should go without saying that you should arrive 15 minutes prior to the interview, dress appropriately (if not above) the position you’re applying for, greet your interviewer with a firm handshake and maintain eye contact throughout the discussion process. Be enthusiastic, personable and outgoing. Show a sincere interest in the people you meet and the work you’d be doing. Interviewers can tell if you’re desperate!

4. Show that you can solve problems and work well under pressure, since nearly every job will require both skills. If you can identify a particular problem in your industry or that you may face when doing this job, give the interviewer some ideas of how you would solve it. Be calm, relaxed and confident. Some nervousness is expected, but your overall mannerisms (such as fidgeting, nail-biting, slumping in your chair) will be an instant giveaway on how well you REALLY work under stress. Likewise, if you project confidence and security in how you carry yourself, the interviewer will definitely notice.

5. If your mind goes blank when asked if you have any questions (and you should ALWAYS have a couple of questions ready), consider asking why this position is open. What’s the company’s track record and turnover rate? Are they performing well and keeping employees on board? Remember, you’re not just selling yourself on how you’d be a great fit for this company, but finding out how this company could also be a great fit for you.

6. If an interviewer asks a question that makes you feel uncomfortable, smile politely and ask, “Why would you like to know?” Remember, your employer is prohibited from asking you personal questions, including references to your race, gender, sexual preference, marital status and child care situations. Your interview should be focused on how well you can perform the job, not your home and family life.

7. After the interview, be sure to follow up with a thank-you note. Recount your strengths in the letter and highlight your qualifications. Touch on specific discussions or conversations you had with the interviewer to help them remember that polished, professional, enthusiastic candidate (you). Close the note by letting the interviewer know of your sincere interest in the position and your confidence in doing it well.

If you keep all of these suggestions in mind, you’ll not only have seriously impressed your potential employer, but you’ll come away from it feeling like a winner too! Good luck!

*Article written by Careers Online and posted by Quay Appointments.

Everyday there are an unlimited number of networking breakfasts, lunches, dinners, seminars, workshops to attend. Your budget probably determines how many of these you can afford to attend. More often than not your positive mindset determines the outcomes in attending these functions.

Many people arrive at these events stressed, angry, basically not wanting to be there. What they don’t realise is they do themselves a disservice being there because all they will attract is negative people like themselves. They are almost guaranteed to have a miserable time. So how can you maximise your attendance at these events?

1.    Decide why you are attending this event. What do you want to get out of it? Is there a specific person you want to meet? Are you looking for a certain service provider?

The clearer you are on why you are going, the more chance you have of achieving it.

2.    Remember to take your business cards. A business card that clearly states your name, what you do and your contact details is imperative for effective networking.

In Singapore business cards are called name cards. Give your business card to the person you are meeting as part of your introduction, “Hi, I’m Robyn Henderson, I’m a global networking specialist.”. That is as much as you are going to say about yourself, unless they ask.

3.    Don’t sell your product or services at the event. Rather if the person expresses interest, suggest that you phone them to discuss further. You cannot control the situation and you may find “dinner is served” is announced mid pitch and you have lost a great opportunity to make a sale. No one wants to be sold to.

4.    Have quality conversations rather than quantity. If there are 50 people at the event, don’t expect to speak to all fifty. Be content with a quality conversation with 5-7 people who the next day will look at your card and remember you and what you spoke about, and more importantly remember you the next time they see you.

5.    The best networkers are the best listeners. Anyone will speak to you for ten minutes if you are not speaking about yourself.

6.    Listen to the latest news or talk back radio on your way to the event, so that you have a couple of interesting current topics to talk about.

7.    Avoid talking about work. 80% of the population don’t get recognition on the job and don’t want to speak about their job at all.

8.    Always make eye contact when you are speaking to someone.

Robyn Henderson is the author of best sellers Networking Magic & How To Master Networking. 

For a complimentary copy of her newsletter fax 61 2 9369.1053 or phone 61 2 9369.1053

Article written by Robin Henderson and posted by Quay Appointments Recruitment Agency.

As a job seeker it is likely at some stage you have been ‘romanced’ to apply for various job opportunities that were not necessarily in line with where you saw your career path going.   It is common for job seekers to become distracted, particularly when searching jobs online or being approached or headhunted about jobs.

As a professional or executive, having a clear career plan and strategy becomes increasingly important. Being clear and focused on the jobs that are going to get you where you want and the industries you want to be building your career within are important.   Too often I see job seekers not sticking to their plan and wasting time applying for jobs that are off their career track and are not going to get them where they want, or that they are unlikely to get an interview for.

A few things you can to do to assist keep you focused are:
- Have a career goal and strategy to support it (short and long term)
- List the job types and industry/s you want to develop your career within and keep it handy to refer to when job seeking
- When applying for jobs remain focused – if you do find yourself being distracted by great sounding jobs that are out of your focus, revisit your strategy and list of jobs and industries
- Likewise when approached or headhunted about jobs, revisit your list – if it does not add up walk away

While there is nothing wrong with being spontaneous and carefree, when it comes to your career it is certainly something that requires more considered thinking and a strategic approach.

Article written by Six Figures and posted by Quay Appointments.

If you are one of the many women thinking about returning to the workforce after taking time out to start a family, you might feel a bit lost.

Technology has changed, your field may have shifted, and your priorities may be different now that you have little ones at home. The corporate job that excited you before having kids, for example, might appear too demanding.

How do you sort it all out? Many women are working on it. It used to be once you were a stay-at-home-mom you would likely always be one. But more and more modern moms choose to return to work after taking time off to have children. The path from mummy hood back to work is different for every woman and can sometime be hard to navigate.

The good news is you don’t have to do it all at once. Returning to the workforce can be broken into small, manageable steps. Just because you’ve decided to go back to work doesn’t mean it needs to happen tomorrow. Break the process down and get started!

Research – What type of work are you interested in? Do you want to go back to your old job? If so, are there any skills you need to brush up on before going back? If you want to do something drastically different, what is it? If you used to work for a bank, but now you want to start a dog daycare, for example, take a close look at how the work will affect your day-to-day life. Evaluate what kind of a lifestyle this new work would offer and how much you could expect to make.

Find a mentor – Nothing can help prepare you for returning to work like an enthusiastic mentor. They’ve already had success in the job you’re looking into and can warn you of the pitfalls as well as encourage you.

Test It Out – Consider taking the time to test-drive your dream job. Spending a few days with a mentor, observing their work, will teach you volumes about whether this is the right path for you. Listen to your gut. If actually doing the work makes you realize it wouldn’t be a practical job with young kids at home, better to know that now then after leaping into the career in real life. Ask yourself, what did I love about this job? What did I not like? What surprised me the most? Could I do this job day in, day out?

Create an action plan – Now that you know what you need to do, set out incremental steps you need to take. Should you go back to school or get certified in a field? If you are starting your own business, do you need to get a loan or find space to rent? Establish a network of supporters, including your mentor, and rely on them for encouragement.

Involve your family – Going back to work will be a big change for your spouse and your children. Be sure they feel included in this process and let them know their support is important to you. If your spouse or kids have reservations about you returning to work, talk through the fears and try to address them specifically. If your children are afraid they won’t have any quality time with you, for example, agree on a sacred time like bedtime or Saturday mornings that you’ll always be available to them.

Returning to work after spending years raising children holds many unknowns. Are you ready to return to work? What kind of work will be the right fit for raising kids? How will the family react? These questions and more can be answered with good research, the guidance of a good mentor and the real-life experience of test-driving your dream job.

Article written by Brian Kurth and posted by Quay Appointments.

It’s so very easy to make mistakes while job seeking. Even seasoned professionals can struggle some when in the midst of a job search. Don’t be discouraged if you think you’ve made some mistakes along the way. Job seeking is like working a job; you’re always fine-tuning your skills. But before you start searching again, consider the following seven job seeking errors you want to avoid:

1. Searching without organization: It’s a great idea to organize your search so you know which companies you want to apply to, why you’re choosing them, and why they should choose you. Having this type of organization helps you write great resumes and helps you to choose companies and positions that suit you best.

2. Forgetting to check your references: Some hiring managers find candidates list references without ensuring the person actually would recommend them for the job—not good, since some references may not have great feedback to offer.

3. Choosing to close off job options: It’s always a good idea to apply for multiple positions. Just because you think you’re perfect for a job doesn’t mean a manager will think so. To play it safe, keep your options open.

4. Avoiding temporary jobs: Many professionals have acquired great permanent positions from temporary jobs. In fact, some employers prefer to hire from within—even from their contractor pool—so don’t overlook this option.

5. Using your work e-mail on your resume: Employers don’t like to see a candidate readily willing to use company resources when fulfilling personal objectives. So if you don’t already have a professional e-mail address, set one up that either uses your full name only (e.g. JohnDoe@emailaddress.com) or some variation with a title (e.g. JohnDoeAccountant@emailaddress.com).

6. Not utilizing networking resources: If you don’t have a networking pool to turn to—both online and offline—then you’re not fully utilizing your resources. Your friends, family, former co-workers, and strangers in your field are there to help. So keep up with networking associates and grant them favors when asked. Also join social networking clubs and organizations to acquire more buddies.

7. Failing to send out a thank you note: To most job seekers, a thank-you note is the last thing on their minds. This is exactly why it’s a mistake to not send one! Get it done by e-mail or snail mail. And don’t forget to thank everyone—hiring managers, non-hiring managers, secretaries—everyone.

There is no doubt that conducting a job search is like working a job itself; you have a lot of work to do to get hired. Minimizing minor errors along the way works wonders in making your job easier. So keep working hard on your search—and don’t give up—because your next great job is just around the corner!

Article written by Jessica Holbrook Hernandez and posted by Quay Appointments.