Last year we talked about the pros and cons of office romances. New research out of the US suggests ‘Promances’ or work relationships are linked with higher job satisfaction.
Apparently those who enjoy spending time with their colleagues at work are more likely to be more motivated to participate in company goals than those who have no ‘promantic” partners according to People Centric –a large US HR firm.
Their research indicates that, whilst there is a risk of employees who are in a romantic relationship of both moving jobs at some stage in their employment, overall people who are in a romantic relationship with a work colleague are less likely to leave than those who are not. Indeed it is suggested relationships between colleagues should not only be tolerated but encouraged!! Equally they believe there is a growing linkage to lower levels of absenteeism and turnover with work related relationships. Maybe this is just because if you are miserable at work at least you might as well be miserable together?
Despite this new research we believe there are some dangers in work relationships which manifest in allegations of favouritism and nepotism…clearly care is required and protocols need to be established to avoid incidences like this.
Marital relationships at work are of course more prevalent in family owned businesses. Family businesses have their fair share of difficulties from time to time resolving conflicts of interest and keeping clear separation between personal and professional interests. Keeping a distinction between personal and professional or business life is not easy but it is vital that this separation is made. Indeed I have heard of some family owned businesses that have established a family creed to ensure difficult work decisions do not spill over into family relationships.
I have a wonderful story where the clear separation between work and home was made in our own family… My dear late Mother-in-law ran a pretty big business and had employed my father-in-law (in his 70s) to do the routine banking and other administration errands for one afternoon (usually a Tuesday) per week. Being a retired General Manager of a large bank before he retired he felt he had just the skills and experience to do this job in his retirement years.
He was gobsmacked one day when my Mother in Law sat him down and told him that she had made the decision that she would have ‘to let him go!’ Protesting the unjust reasons for him being fired she stated that he was ‘just not flexible enough’. His sin was that he wasn't prepared to give up his usual Wednesday golf afternoon on the odd occasion when he was required on that day!
The good in this is that it gave him another afternoon at golf and the chance to reduce his handicap.!!
by Paul Bell
I was watching Campbell Live just over a week ago and John Campbell and Peter Dunne were outside a Naenae store that was selling synthetic cannabis. It was 9am and John interviewed a customer who had just purchased his “legal high.” He asked him when he planned to smoke it. The customer replied that he usually smokes it after work, using it instead of marijuana so that he can pass his drug test at work. Clearly his employer has a drug testing regime which does not cover synthetics.
Last week Peter Dunne announced the introduction of legislation that will remove legal highs from shelves, now due within a couple of days. The response to this announcement from users has a common theme; they are now ‘threatening’ to smoke cannabis instead. Whether or not users make good on their threats, the banning of synthetics is likely to have a huge effect on businesses nationwide including:
In order to be equipped to cope with these possible outcomes, employers may need to ask themselves the following:
The government has since admitted that they made a mistake with this legislation; make sure you don’t make the same mistake by ignoring the issue!
Health & Safety isn't exactly a topic that people are normally excited about! So often we see companies who think they have H&S processes in place, or don’t need to worry about that ‘rubbish’. They are of the “if it’s bigger than you, get out of its way” school of thought.
Unfortunately this can’t be the case any more.
To protect your employees and your company, you need a robust H&S Management System.
This covers the processes to follow should an accident, or just as importantly, a Safety Incident occur. Safety Incidents (some people call them near misses) should be reported to enable remedial action to be taken to prevent possible injury in the future. This is where most companies fall over – staff don’t see the “Hell!.. that was close….” situation as being important to report.
But that precariously stacked box, which almost landed on your toe today, could be the box which causes a serious head injury to your not so fortunate colleague tomorrow.
Once a Health and Safety Management System has been developed and implemented, companies are then eligible to apply for accreditation through ACC’s Workplace Safety Management Practices (WSMP) programme. The process isn't too scary – it usually involves an auditor checking the H&S Management System currently in place, and rating your performance according to three levels. If you meet the required standards, you’ll be eligible for a substantial discount to your ACC levies! The levels and discounts range from Primary (10%), Secondary (15%) and Tertiary (20%). There are no fixed rules regarding who can apply, however, this programme is more suited to larger businesses that have:
Alternatively there is an ACC Safety Discounts Programme available to smaller business or self-employed people. Successful organisations could receive a 10% discount on ACC levies.
Think of your workplace and employees as an extension of your family – you need to put safety measures in place to protect them! You wouldn't let your children sleep in a house without working smoke detectors, or drive around in a car that doesn't have a warrant of fitness…would you?
by Kay Bradley
Last week our blog focused on the best way to attract top talent. We know how much value they can add to your business, so once you have reeled them in, you want to make sure you keep them! Too many employers lose their best talent because they don't invest in the time to understand what really motivates them to be their best in the job.
It WILL cost you – it may cost you time or money, or both. But investing up front will save you in the long run. Have you ever considered the cost of replacing an employee? You might think it doesn’t cost you very much at all – maybe you just think about the cost of advertising in the local paper, or of taking a few hours out to attend some interviews. Well think again. The cost of replacing an employee is significant and shocking – we’re talking exit costs, advertising costs, interviewing time and travel costs, orientation, training, lost productivity while the new employee comes up to speed, customer dissatisfaction, reduced or lost business, administrative costs, temporary workers, paying double wages while the old and new employee cross over…the list goes on!
Of course it is hard to say exactly what these expenses amount to, but some more conservative studies have estimated that the cost of replacing an employee for a mid level role is around 20 percent of that employee’s annual salary. Some experts have estimated it as being as much 1.5 times their annual salary! No small sum no matter which way you look at it!
So before you tighten the purse strings for the sake of ‘saving’ a few pennies, consider some things you can do to motivate and retain your current employees:
Thinking ahead and being willing to invest a little time, effort or money into making your current employees feel valued and worthwhile will save you a lot of heartache and stress further down the road.
by Susan Toynbee
With the economy picking up, job vacancies are increasing and top performing candidates now have greater freedom to be choosy about who they work for. Gone are the days when the market was tight and candidates were grateful to even be granted an interview.
Yes, you still need to clearly identify the key competencies that will allow someone to succeed in the role. And yes, you still need to understand the attitude, culture and dynamics of the team that the candidate will be placed within. But you also need to understand what the candidate is looking for, and what is important to them. And you might be surprised to learn that isn’t always salary!
Candidates in today’s job market will be interviewing you as much as you will be interviewing them. You should be prepared to answer any questions they have confidently and honestly.
Candidates want to be proud of the company they work for, and they want to be confident that they will enjoy the culture, and the people they work with.
You may initially feel a bit put out that you have to ‘prove’ yourself to a prospective candidate, but there is a real upshot to this process. Let’s face it, you don’t want to hire a candidate who is willing to say and do almost anything to be ‘the chosen one.’ It will quickly become apparent if they have lied about their abilities, wants and needs in order to secure the role and you may find yourself back at square one, trying to recruit the right person for the role.
So the next time you go to market in search of that elusive top performing candidate, take the time to put yourself in their shoes and think about what is in it for them.
Looking for a top performing candidate to join your team? Our recruitment team can help - contact us here.
Boring paperwork? Maybe, but it can save your bacon!
If one of your employees does something like take a personal grievance or make a complaint to MoBIE (Department of Labour (DOL) in another life) one of the first things that will be examined is any employment agreement that is in place.
If there’s no agreement in place, then, as an employer you are in breach of section 64 of the Act and the other party is likely to go ‘aha – gotcha!’ ...Potentially very costly!!
Apart from this, the best reason to have an employment agreement is so that there is clear evidence of what was agreed when the worker started. Issues that are sometimes unclear and get challenged later can include:
Notwithstanding all this, doesn't it make a good impression with your new employee that you do things properly and follow the rules?
If you don’t - why should your employees?
by Marianne Wilkinson
Mental Illness in the Workplace- What can HR do about it?
Last week in our blog we talked about how we need to speak up about mental illness. Read it Here
As HR professionals we are frequently exposed to how mental illness can affect performance in our workplace. Whether its anxiety, depression, medical disorders or other issues like sleep deprivation, alcoholism, financial stress we as support staff need to be ready to handle the situation.
It’s important to be empathetic and not to judge the situation – there is inevitably more going on behind the scenes you don’t know about.
Realise that unless you (or the line Manager) are a trained psychologist you are probably not the right person to fix the problem.
Depending on the situation you need a suite of resources you can call on to refer people on to:
As mentioned last week it’s very hard to get people to talk about mental illness – especially in the workplace. You may first notice issues around the following behaviours:
Always have relevant brochures at the ready, tissues on your desk and work through options with the line manager as to how to handle this best for the staff member and then the business.
Here once again are some websites that may help you:
www.eapservices.co.nz
www.vitae.co.nz
www.mentalhealth.org.nz
www.depression.org.nz
www.thelowdown.co.nz
by Emma Worseldine
With the tragic passing of Charlotte Dawson over the weekend it seems appropriate that we raise the subject of Mental illness in the workplace.
Talk about Mental Illness
While media campaigns such as the John Kirwan series on depression have done a wonderful job of breaking down some of the stigma that was once attached to Mental illness, it is still not always an easy subject to broach for many Kiwi’s. The reality is that 1 in 5 New Zealanders are affected by mental illness each year, but how often do we talk about it?
Over my career I have had several personal experiences dealing with mental illness in the workplace with employees and or situations where family members of employees are suffering with mental illness which in turn has had a knock on effect to that person’s performance with the increased stress.
Much like physical illness every situation is different but the first step is always to talk about it, the second is to seek the appropriate medical or professional support.
Work Stress
With the right support and quick intervention most people can be back on track and performing again in no time.
Below are some links to website that are able to provide information, tools and resources for dealing with Mental Illness in NZ
www.mentalhealth.org.nz
www.depression.org.nz
www.thelowdown.co.nz
by Michelle Connor
Did your smartphone eat your manners?
A survey carried out by One Poll in the UK among 1,000 people found that 77 per cent think social skills now are worse than they were 20 years ago, and 72 per cent think mobiles have encouraged rudeness.
Do you ...
• Leave your phone on the table when dining? (note- if you’re alone that’s okay!)
• Keep your mobile on your lap in meetings and read/send surreptitiously?
• Read emails or send texts overtly during meetings?
• Read emails or send texts during social occasions, such as when out to dinner with friends, or having a drink at a bar?
• Interrupt conversations to take calls during meetings or social events?
Think about the message your behaviour is sending to the people that you are with
- you’re not important
- your meeting is keeping me from other matters,
-anything else is more interesting/important than you are!!
Recommendation – turn it off, or (if something particular is going on) explain to people prior. “I just need to keep an eye on my phone in case the babysitter calls” or “I need to take the call if my lawyer rings about the court case”.
Let’s change those stats above!
by Marianne Wilkinson
These days there is a rapidly increasing overlap between personal and professional use of social media. Most people still feel they are perfectly entitled to use their personal Facebook, Twitter or other social networking site in exactly the way they choose, perhaps not thinking about the potential overflow into their professional lives. This could include publishing an unsavoury description of their manager on Facebook, posting pictures of yourself at a Waka Ama championship when you are supposed to be in bed sick with the flu, or even leaving your Facebook page open at work, displaying to the entire company your intention to set up in competition (all true stories, and all people who were dismissed after these absentminded blunders).
I was recently involved in a situation with a client where an employee had posted derogatory and confidential comments about their employer on Facebook. The thoughtless employee had neglected to consider the fact that many of his Facebook friends were also colleagues. Luckily this employer had a robust internet policy in place under which they took immediate disciplinary action and were able to limit the damage caused by this incident.
In another example of someone who just didn’t consider the effect their personal social media status could have on their professional prospects, not long ago, I interviewed a candidate (who we will name ‘Boy Racer’) on behalf of a client. ‘Boy Racer’ impressed us at interview and we were keen to shortlist him. The first pre-employment check I undertook was a social media check. Uh oh. ‘Boy Racer’s’ Facebook page proudly described how got away with writing off his car at 100km/hr in a residential area while he was completely ‘wasted’. Needless to say, this wasn’t a good look for a prospective employer with a rigorous Drug and Alcohol policy!
Some US companies are even asking prospective candidates to log in to their private social media sites so that they can have full access to their personal profiles! While I hope that no NZ candidates have been put in this overly intrusive position, it does highlight just how much useful information can be gleaned from social media and the importance of using it as part of the recruitment process.
In addition, companies need to ensure that they have computer, email and internet policies in place, which outline clearly the appropriate and acceptable use of social media. Employees need to be made aware of these policies so that if anything does happen, employers have something to fall back on to guide them through these sticky situations as quickly and smoothly as possible.
by Nicky Dowling
