Investing in your employees is critical to your business. Bill Gates said “take away my top 20 employees and overnight Microsoft becomes a mediocre company.”  The cost of replacing staff far outweighs the benefit and cost of retaining your current loyal staff.  An employer who invests in recruiting the right people, developing and retaining the best employees will be rewarded time and time again. 

The two key points when recruiting employees is to think outside the square and hire employees that share your values.  The best way to also ensure that you have the right person is to select the person based on a set of skills, capability, culture fit, motivation and personality. 

So how do you ensure that you retain the best employees?  The following are the keys for effectively retaining your employees according to the NSW government small business website:

• create clear job descriptions and a regular performance and remuneration appraisal system
• explain the reporting structure and clearly communicate expectations
• invest in training and development
• provide a positive, supportive and creative working environment
• be approachable and reward staff with financial and other benefits
• provide a clear career path

It is important to have a good training plan for your business that covers a range of areas and demonstrates a focus on professional standards and commitment to your team and your clients. Businesses must also develop mentoring or cross training programs which will enable the sharing of skills at a one to one level and reduce the need for employees to move on to a competitor business to gain new experience.

Employees who receive regular training gain the following attributes:

• Good Team Spirit 
• Are Happier and Committed to the organisation
• Stable and Interested
• Efficient , Knowledgeable and Accurate

Employees need to remember that the environment that the employer works in will determine how productive, creative and happy they are. An open, friendly, supportive atmosphere is a must.  Overall this will create a sense of empowerment within the employee which will create a loyal and productive employee.

According to Peter Veruki author of his Business Week bestseller, “The 250 Job Interview Questions you’ll most likely be asked“,

“There are twelve types of information recruiters seek in a typical job interview. Knowing what these points are, and being able to discuss readily how each point relates to you, will make you better prepared and more in control of the interviewing process. Think of your twelve themes as sales messages.”

Veruki says that employers are looking for the candidates who demonstrate the following characteristics:

1. Passion for the Business
2. Motivation and Purpose
3. Skills & Experience
4. Diligence & Professionalism
5. Creativity & Leadership
6. Compatibility with the Job
7. Personality & Cultural Compatibility
8. Management Style & Interpersonal Skills
9. Problem-Solving Ability
10. Accomplishments
11. Career Aspirations
12. Personal Interest & Hobbies

A new a website called ALLinterview.com is a community created to help you prepare for interviews.  You can browse through questions asked at similar job openings and get feedback on technique and what you should generally expect from an interview at your dream company.  This website is updated by user generated content and submissions. It really helps when you are unsure of the type of questions likely to be answered at a job interview.  Just remember that studying interview questions isn’t an all encompassing approach.  It’s important to have a set of questions prepared with your own questions about the opportunity, show your job’s skill set and of course, with a positive attitude!

According to a Florida recruitment agency, the following are the solid tips that will lock the deal and get you your dream job.

Tip #1: You only get one chance for a first impression. Make it a good one.
Tip #2: Be properly prepared for the interview.
Tip #3: Learn about the company and do your research in advance
Tip #4: Be interactive, positive and confident
Tip #5: Dress for success.
Tip #6: Treat your interviewer the way you would like to be treated. Courtesy, positive & engaging.
Tip #7: Interview the interviewer. Ask questions.
Tip #8: Take every precaution to control your environment during a phone interview.
Tip #9: Be confident.

Generation Gen Y , Generation Next, iGeneration, the Millennials, the Peter Pan Generation and also negatively referred to as the  Me Generation and the Trophy Generation (meaning even if you came second you still get a prize generation).  Who is the Generation Y?

They are the ones born between years 1980 and 1994, they have survived they first Global Financial Crises with barely a scratch.  According to an article by the Age “They are far better educated and more globally aware and technologically savvy than any generation before them, and they are about to turn 30 this year. The oldest members of this privileged generation are poised to grab the management reins and revolutionise the workplace to suit themselves”.

In Australia, they number a fifth of the population but its not all good news for Generation Y.  Employers rank this generation as the ones that need the most maintenance as employees.  They are overindulged, disloyal, not prepared to work long hours to achieve their ambitions and do not like criticism.  Generation Y believes in work-life balance and really what is wrong with that.  Why work when you don’t have to.  Generation Y is amongst the happiest Generation as they believe that life is meant to be enjoyed.   

However Generation Yers will face great economic challenges mostly involving supporting financially the retiring baby boomers.  Economist Dr Nicholas Gruen ”A lot of baby boomers will go on the pension, whereas the gen Yers will all have saved 9 per cent or more of their salaries for 30 or 40 years before they hit retirement,” he says.  Other challenges that Generation Yers will face in the next 10 years will be face increased costs of living for energy, university debts and lifestyle bills (mobile and internet).

All generations face challenges and whose to say that the Generation Yers will not rise to meet the challenges as they are more educated and are more adaptable to change.  What should be the concern is the Generation Yers talent for spending and not thinking of the consequences.   This is probably a result of baby boomers allowing children to live at home until adulthood without the benefit of teaching them to be responsible.  When Generation Yers starts thinking about the future instead of the “I want it now” mentally they will probably be our most successful generation.

A report by Melbourne Institute Wages confirms a 3.2% increase in total pay growth in the 12 months to Feb, 2010.  Dr Edda Claus, a research fellow said similar outcomes for total pay and hourly wage rates suggest “some weakness remains in the labour market”.  A very moderate 2.2 per cent rise in pay over the next 12 months is expected by the respondents that took part in the survey.  Which means good news to inflationary pressures rising from wages.  

According to the Australian Institute of Management’s (AIM) National Salary Survey 2009 large companies are still forecasting wage increases of 3.5 per cent for 2009/2010 – albeit less than the 4.3 per cent actual increase reported in 2008/2009 – with the biggest winners likely to be senior executives and the biggest losers salaried staff, according to the nation’s leading survey of salaries and human resources.  The state that recorded the highest salary rise for 2008/2009 was Western Australia at 5.1per cent, while Victoria/Tasmania recorded the lowest (4.0 per cent). When compared to salary movements recorded in last year’s (2008) AIM Survey, Western Australia and Queensland recorded the greatest fall (down 1.3 per cent and 0.9 per cent respectively).

The report further on went to say that the highest annual salary movement by job level was recorded for Senior Executives and Professional Technical staff (both 4.4 per cent) while Salaried Staff had the lowest average salary rise (4.1 per cent). On an industry-basis, the highest salary increases were recorded for the Mining & Quarrying and Electronics/IT industries (5.3 per cent and 5.2 per cent respectively). The lowest increases were reported within all of the various Manufacturing sub-groups (between 3.8per cent and 4.0 per cent).

According to the Age the Unions are set to launch the most aggressive minimum wages push with an expected increase in wages of $30 a week.  This follows a decision by the Howard-era Fair Pay Commission to freeze the wages of up to 1.3 million workers during the Global Financial Crises. The ACTU claims the Fair Pay Commission’s four decisions resulted in 1.3 million award-reliant workers having their real wages fall by $15 to $29 a week by June 2010.

Inflation is expected to rise to 2.25 per cent for next financial year, which could add a further $12 a week to the claim. This means that ACTU’s claim will far exceed last year’s $21 a week claim and is most likely to be in a range from nearly $30 to $40 a week.

ACTU secretary Jeff Lawrence in an interview with the Age said the process under the Fair Pay Commission lacked transparency and its former chairman, Professor Ian Harper, had ”essentially prejudged” last year’s freeze after he gave interviews before the decision in which he warned about the need to protect jobs. ”It was totally unacceptable,” Mr Lawrence said.

According the research done by OneTest Opinion Survey for Australian Graduates in 2009.  The most important incentives for most graduates when looking for graduate positions were as follows:

• Competitive salary and benefit package
• good employer reputation
• job security and stability
• be the quality of the training and the quality of the mentoring
• permanent position at the company at the end of the graduate program

Some graduates have become more creative in the tight graduate job market and have decided to further their studies to get more skills and knowledge to impress prospective employers.

The research also showed the following results

• 73% believed that there was more opportunity to travel overseas with a private company than government
• 62% thought private companies offer more competitive salary and benefits packages
• 60% plan on working outside of Australia during their career
• 48% believe a salary between $46,000 and $55,000 is a fair and reasonable starting salary
• 35% plan on staying with their employer three-five years after their graduate program has completed – up 30% on last year
• 27% would still accept another job opportunity even if they had previously signed an employment contract or accepted another offer
• 23% expect to be in a managerial position four-five years after entering the workforce
• 20% have applied for more than 20 graduate positions

Graduates should also do research on the best companies to work for in order to find the right company to work for.   According to the Great Place to Work Institute Australia the following companies made it to the Top 10 – 2009 Great Companies to Work.

1. Google Australia
2. NetApp Australia
3. Russell Investments
4. Diageo Australia Pty Ltd
5. Dynamic Property Services Pty Ltd
6. Etm Group of Companies
7. BMD Group
8. MRWED Training and Development
9. RedBallon
10. 0BS

15, 000 employees participated in the research and the results were based on the relationship between employees and management, the relationship between employees and their jobs/company and the relationship between employees and employees.   Of  the top 50 companies that made the list, 29 were local firms, two are home-grown multinationals and 19 are Australian branches of multinational companies.

We found that the companies who made the cut for 2009 Great Companies to Work offered a number of exciting perks ranging from free iPods, Krispy Kreme doughnuts and international travel. Other less exciting but more important perks ranged from education subsidies, on-site fitness centres or subsidised gym memberships, flexible work arrangements including telecommuting, health insurance plans, and senior management opportunities for women and child care.

On this mornings’ radio station – Fox the latest Hot Topic –

Gorgon Gas Project was discussed, seems Salaries for the

Project are set to tip the scales at $150,000 p.a.

Just like the rest of us the radio DJ’s felt rather sceptical at

the massive salary promises, especially as it is for LOW to

UNSKILLED labour, so took calls in to verify or discredit

these claims.

After the 6^th caller in it was clear that although the expected

workload is enormous and the job itself gruelling, the benefits

would far outweigh the cons with one caller saying he would

have his houses (that’s plural) paid off in the next 2 years!

The minimum salary reported was $120,000.

Other benefits mentioned;

• All your meals included (most saying the food was really good),
• Wet and Dry-mess’ (for those of you who like to socialise),
• Up to 5 weeks annual leave a year, and
• A community atmosphere.

But you will need to put in the hard-yards, this is not easy work and the hours are endless so this type of work is not suited to the feint-hearted.

What you can expect;

• 10 – 12 hour days for 2 weeks straight,
• 9 days off,
• Gruelling non-stop work,
• Tight working conditions – no snorkelling or roaming around the island,
• Possibly off-island accommodation (on board a mother ship)

An article from a Local Newspaper Reports:

The union movement has won significant pay rises for thousands of low-skilled workers and tradesmen at the Gorgon gas project in the Pilbara.

The head of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, Kevin Reynolds, says the contractor Thiess has agreed to pay labourers and semi-skilled tradesmen up to $150,000-a-year for a 70 hour week.

Mr Reynolds says the workers will get a nine day break every 26 days and up to five weeks annual leave.

“I wouldn’t say they’re massive pay rises, but it’s a reasonable settlement for an agreement for workers who have got to work in some of the harshest conditions in the bloody country and work 70 hours a week to achieve that sort of money.”

The Master Builders Association says the pay rises will lead to another skills shortage in the housing industry.

The association’s Kim Richardson warns it will suck construction workers out of the city.

“Our biggest concern is that we continue to lose skilled labour to these mega resource projects paying top dollar, but the resource sector doesn’t pay its freight in assisting our industry, that’s the building industry, to train the skilled workers to build our homes, hospitals, schools and police stations,” he said.

Now we know that job seeking is never ever easy and although posting a profile here will take half of that work away from you due to employers doing the seeking, you still need to make sure you’re in tip-top shape! And don’t think just because your profile can last you a lifetime that you never need to look at it again…well you can think that, if you want the same job for the rest of your life…

For those of you “corporate ladder climbers” who are always on the look-out for better opportunities; firstly we recommend posting a profile so that our employers can actually see you and then read the below article aptly titled “Rebranding yourself” to ensure you keep attracting the kind of new opportunities you want.

For more helpful hints and tips on;

• Interview questions,
• What to wear to a job interview,
• Resume templates,
• Creating the perfect resume and many more, click here.

By Rhymer Rigby , Financial Times, 15 Nov 2009

The insecurity created by the downturn has prompted many people to reassess whether they are projecting the right image in the workplace. For some, the conclusion is that they need to rebrand themselves.

Is Re-branding just like a makeover?

Far from it. Like businesses, individuals often need to rebrand themselves when perceptions do not accurately reflect the underlying reality. “You might have joined a business very young and grown up,” says Wally Olins, chairman of Saffron Brand Consultants, “but people still perceive you as the office junior.”

Equally, it could be that part of who you are is having a disproportionately negative impact on your overall image – for example, a messy desk could cast you as disorganised or a tendency to raise your voice could lead to the perception that you are unreasonable.

Are there any easy wins?

There are plenty of little, cosmetic things that can tarnish your brand, says Kim Fletcher, managing director of Trinity Management Communications. “I used to cycle in and instead of changing immediately, I’d answer a call and before I knew it, I’d been working for an hour in scruffy old clothes,” he says. “Looking like that at your desk does belittle you in other people’s eyes.”

Addressing areas such as this is a quick way to brush up your workplace image. “Try and see yourself through your colleagues’ eyes and write down a list of things you need to work on,” he says.

What if my brand has more fundamental problems?

In this case, you may need to dig deeper. “The key is discovering what people find compelling about you and building on that foundation,” says Louise Mowbray, a personal branding consultant. She suggests you go to your “market” or “audience” – colleagues, senior managers or suppliers – and ask them how they perceive you, what irritates them and what they like. Then work on the bad points and deliver on the good ones. “It’s about adding value and giving people what they want consistently,” she says. “Consistency builds trust in a personal brand.”

You need to find your niche, then get your name out as the person to go to for whatever it is. Ms Mowbray adds that this should be subtle: “Arrange for a speaker to come in who’s an expert in your area and do the organising; some of their brand will rub off on you. Blog. Write articles. Show people how great you are – don’t tell them.”

How long does it take?

Just as it takes a long time to create bad perceptions, erasing them can’t be done overnight.

What if there are failings from your past that are not so easy to consign to history?

Mr Olins says you can’t deal with problems by ignoring them – if you worked for a failed bank, being upfront about it may help your brand recover but pretending it never happened won’t. But there are limits to what a rebranding can achieve. There is the so-called “career-limiting move” – a mistake so egregious, you never recover. “Some events are so strong you can’t dissociate yourself from them,” says Mr Fletcher. “In this case, you need to move jobs. That’s the best rebranding opportunity of all.”

We stumbled upon this article in news.com.au today, seems that our prediction of a labour-short market is upon us, currently it is more so to do with skill shortage but word is that this will spread as the economy strengthens and more jobs open up.

Good news for all of us, especially as we are noticing an increase in our employers requests for managers and other similar positions which were all but made redundant when the GFC hit.

But don’t forget that in order for our employers to find you, you will need to have your profile here up to date and exactly what you’re looking for.

Excerpt from news.com.au: A predicted tug of war for skilled workers this year was likely to push up wages, potentially fuelling inflation, experts warned.

In its 2008 forecast, the recruitment firm Hays suggested cut-throat competition to fill skilled positions would put increasing pressure on employers to sweeten the deal.

Hays Queensland director Darren Buchanan said the “war for talent” had been building in the Australian jobs market for several years.

“The head-hunting, the staff turnover, the retention difficulties have been more extreme in the last couple of years than they’ve ever been before,” he said.

“Every candidate now has two, three, four, five plus job offers on the table.

“So I think we’ll see a lot more companies this year thinking about how to not just get staff through the door, but keep them. And to do that … I think we’re going to see more pressure on salaries.”

The warning was echoed yesterday by ANZ’s chief economist Saul Eslake, after the release of the bank’s monthly job ads survey.

It found the number of jobs advertised in major metropolitan newspapers and on the internet grew by 7.1 per cent last month, with an average of 274,653 jobs advertised each week in December.

It was the strongest monthly increase since May last year.

The ANZ data was supported by the Seek Employment Index, also released yesterday, which found new job ads grew by 35.5 per cent in 2007 with the strongest growth in the last six months.

Mr Eslake said while the continued high demand for labour was good for job seekers, it could lead to a blow out in wages.

“With skill shortages persisting, employers could be tempted to bid wages up in order to compete with one another to attract the little skilled labour that is available,” he said.

Commerce Queensland President Beatrice Booth also predicted “significant” wages growth this year, with labour shortages now extending beyond skilled positions.

“We’re already seeing strong wages growth at the upper level and I expect that that wages growth will build up at the lower levels of employment as well this year,” she said.

Along with improved wages, recruiters also predicted sought-after workers would benefit from a continued staff incentives bidding war among companies this year.

As we’ve been reporting it would seem that the employment slump is starting to cease (see blog articles below). The common expectation is that we will once again see a labour short market which will be a welcomed relief to most.

If you want to make sure you’re putting yourself “out there” without having to search yourself make sure you post a profile here so that potential employers can find you and offer you that ideal opportunity.

Article obtained from ninemsn.com.au

Demand for new workers rose sharply last month in a vote of confidence in the economic recovery from the business community.

While this won’t stop the jobless rate rising further in the near term, the recent strength of job advertising does suggest the peak will probably be shy of the 6.75 per cent predicted by the government, economists say.

However, the construction sector – a major employer – remains fragile and won’t be helped by recent interest rate rises.

The ANZ job advertisement series – a key pointer to future employment growth – rose 5.2 per cent in November compared to the previous month, and now stands 12.3 per cent higher than the low recorded in July.

ANZ acting chief economist Warren Hogan said the improvement in job advertising would eventually translate into higher employment growth.

“The recent strength in job advertising is consistent with the positive trends seen in many other indicators across the Australian economy,” Mr Hogan said releasing the report on Monday.

“Taken together, these… imply that Australia’s recovery from the recent downturn is gathering pace.”

Newspaper job ads surged 8.3 per cent in November while internet job ads were up five per cent.

Official labour force data is November are due to be published on Thursday.

Economists expect the data to show a modest rise in employment, but not by enough to stop the unemployment rate ticking up to 5.9 per cent, which would be the highest level in over six years.

The jobless rate has been ranging between 5.5 per cent and 5.8 per cent since March of this year.

Still, National Australia Bank senior economist David de Garis said the jobs ads data was consistent with the economic growth momentum that had been seen during the September quarter carrying over to the final three months of this year.

“With employers looking to increase payroll numbers, that’s a big vote of confidence in the outlook for business into the first half of next year,” Mr de Garis said.

However, other data released on Monday showed the construction industry remains fragile, highlighted by a drop in new orders and a fall in employment.

The Australian Industry Group (Ai Group)-Housing Industry Association (HIA) performance of construction index was down 3.3 points at 47.6 in November.

This was below the critical 50 point level that separates expansion from contraction, although well above the lows seen earlier this year.

“The second straight month of falling new orders across the construction industry suggest the current soft market conditions are likely to persist, at least into the early part of next year,” Ai Group director of public policy Peter Burn said releasing the data.

While he was encouraged that the housing sector had continued to grow, the rate of improvement appeared to have slowed over the past two months due to a weakening in first home buyer activity.

“Recent interest rate rises are likely to further dampen growth over coming months,” he said.

HIA senior economist Ben Phillips said the new homes and apartments market was simply “treading water” while Australia’s population was growing at record levels.

“A much needed new homes recovery is being muted by higher interest rates and the removal of the first home buyers grant boost,” he said.

In 2009, An Australian-based international office space provider Servcorp, did a survey on “Most Offensive Workplace behaviours” and come up with the top five most offensive workplace behaviours;

1. Not saying hello or good morning
2. Not offering office guests a beverage
3. Speaking loudly  across the room
4. Using swear words
5. Taking calls on mobile phones.

The survey found United States and Britain to be the most sensitive nations in the world and 60 percent of the respondents thought Japan had the strictest work etiquette.

Nearly 25 percent of Australians considered swearing acceptable in the office.  However Japanese and Middle Easterners thought it the height of insensitivity.

This year a British company – Opinium Research has surveyed 1,836 people and found that the most offensive and irritating office behaviors are;

1. Grumpy or moody colleagues
2. Slow computers
3. Small talk /gossip in the office
4. Use of office jargon or management speak
5. People speaking too loudly on the phone
6. Too much health and safety in the workplace
7. Poor toilet etiquette
8. People not turning up for meeting on time or at all
9. People not tidying up after themselves in the kitchen
10. Too cold/cold air conditioning

This list could be endless.  Lets face it people are annoyed by the smallest things on any one given day.  Personally I feel some of my personal irritations in the office came from the following behaviours;

1. Reality fail chat – who did not make the list on American Idol, Dancing with the Stars ect
2. Email information overload – sending trivial requests over email
3. Cutting nails at your desk
4. Eating smelly food at your desk
5. Talking to me when you can see I am busy
6. Hovering at my desk
7. Sneaking up from behind and scaring people
8. Passing wind
9. Telling me every detail about your life
10. Clock watchers  – people who tell you what time you got in, had lunch and went home