Aug 2011 Newsletter

Welcome to our newsletter!

Happy Birthday Beaumont Consulting it’s official we are 10 years old thanks to you! We started off the celebrations with a small surprise party for Nikki’s family and friends and presented her with a ‘This is Your Life’ style book – I can honestly say there wasn’t a dry eye in the house and a few sore heads the next day! In appreciation of your support there will be a number of anniversary celebrations throughout the year, so we hope to see you at one of the events soon!

July has started off with a bang with our Not for Profit team holding their annual candidate night for people wishing to make the switch from working in the corporate world to that of not for profit. We were honoured to have two very experienced leaders from the industry come and help us host the evening. Leanne Warner, CEO of Cure Cancer talked us through her personal journey and gave us a really good insight into the realities of going from a high flying corporate career to the huge challenges but immense satisfaction of working for some of Australia’s top charities. Manisha Amin, who recently resigned from her position of Director of Marketing and Communications at Cancer Council NSW and is now joining Barnardo’s as their Head of Fundraising gave us some invaluable insider tips on applying for a role within this sector. An informative and fun evening was had by all, and most of us stayed around to enjoy some drinks and beautiful nibbles made by the fair hands of our very own Patricia Waller. If you are interested in working for a charity, please email Patricia ( pwaller@beaumontconsulting.com.au ) so that we can update your details. Roles are also posted regularly on our website and Seek.

Also this month saw us hosting another client event, this time we have Anthony Sork of Sork HC presenting the ‘Attachment Evening’, I know that we have all come away with great tips on how to engage our teams better and keep our employee retention high and happy! If you were not been able to attend this event please feel free to contact me or one of the team and we will happily share the information with you.

And finally, do you know what hidden talents your colleagues have?? Neither did I until I heard our very own Michelle Maye is starring in Underbelly Razor – watch out for the trailers!

Have a great month!
Dawn

market

Market News

The Australian dollar jumped nearly half a cent in the wake of stronger-than-expected employment data, as markets took China's latest rate hike in their stride.
The Aussie dollar rose as high as $US1.0762, from $US1.0685 late in New York, after data showed the economy created 23,400 jobs in June, handily beating forecasts for 15,000.

The unemployment rate was steady at 4.9 per cent, a level many economists consider as near full employment for a labour market of 12 million workers.
It closed locally at $US1.0751, with resistance seen at $US1.0790, a seven-week high tested twice recently. Support is pegged at the 55-day moving average around $US1.0670.

"Our view remains that the RBA has a bias to tighten interest rates over time and August could still be live for a rate hike depending upon the Q2 CPI report and more particularly the underlying inflation readings" said Stephen Roberts, chief economist at Nomura

The Aussie also rose on the yen and euro. Its performance this week has been remarkable given a rate hike in China, Australia's largest trading partner, and a less upbeat outlook from the Reserve Bank of Australia, which reinforced expectations it'll stay on the sidelines for longer.

China raised rates for the third time this year on Wednesday, but there is a growing view among analysts that it may be close to, or even at the end, of its tightening cycle.
Reuters

getting

Getting to know you...

Ever wondered what we get up to when we're not at work? This month we are getting to know Janine Hayne .....

1. What is your role in Beaumont Consulting?
Reception/Admin at the Chatswood branch.

2. What was your first job?
Retail Assistant at Best & Less.

3. What was your favourite subject at school?
Drama. When you really enjoy something putting in hard work comes much easier and the hours just fly by.

4. If you were stuck on a desert island, what is the one thing you couldn’t do without?
My fiancé. He loves to watch TED.com videos, which are by informative speakers and experts in their fields. He’s seen one on how to survive a nuclear attack, so ‘surviving on a desert island 101’ should be a breeze!

5. What is the first thing you notice about people?
Probably facial features and emotion.

6. Who is someone that inspires you and why?
Bill Johnson. He’s a brilliant speaker, teacher, and has an amazing impact on people.

7. What do you do in your spare time?
Spend quality time with the people I love, do pilates, enjoy the outdoors, and volunteer at my church.

8. What was the last book you read?
The Marriage Book by Nicky & Sila Lee. A friend gave it to me when I got engaged. I expected it to be a bit dull but it’s actually very good!

9. If you could be famous for anything what would it be?
I have absolutely no desire for fame, but if I got it I would like it to be for making a positive impact on the world.

10. What’s the best decision you have ever made?
One of my best decisions was to say “yes” when my fiancé asked me to marry him. Slightly soppy but it is true!

How to avoid distractions at work

avoid

By Yaacov Cohen

Whether you’re responsible for your own work or you get a task list handed down from management, it’s impossible to know if you’re off track when you don’t have priorities.

1. Start with prioritisation
The simple truth is that there is always enough work to fill the day, so you need to choose what you’re going to accomplish.
Choosing your priorities can be as simple as writing the next three things that you need to accomplish on a sticky note. Most of us do have to leave room in our plans to deal with new tasks as they come up, but it’s usually do-able to choose three or so actions that you’re going to take today, before you get sidetracked by anything else.

2. Set a schedule for your work
Most people have certain times of the day when it’s easier to complete certain tasks. You may have noticed that you can write easily first thing in the morning or brainstorm new ideas better in the afternoon. Pay attention to when you’re most effective at the work you need to do.
Protect that time. You can spend the hours when you don’t work quite as effectively on those tasks that constantly come up but aren’t actually a part of the project you’re working on — sending out emails, updating social networks, taking meetings and so on.

3. Remove distractions from your environment
Sometimes, the only thing you can do is physically take your distractions out of the room you’re working in. Leave your mobile phone in the car, shut the door, even disconnect your computer from the internet, if that’s what it takes. Working offsite is one of the best ways to remove distractions. You may be able to get more creative work done in a morning at the coffee shop than you do in a whole day at the office.
Even spending an hour away from the physical presence of distractions can let you get an incredible amount of work done. Set rules for when people are allowed to interrupt you if you’re concerned about missing out on something. It’s a rare emergency that can’t wait an hour, especially one that’s work-related.

4. Plan for time away from your desk
The number of people that can sit comfortably at a desk and work straight through an eight-hour workday are few and far between. For our own health and well-being, it’s crucial to get up and leave our desks at least a few times over the course of the day. The trick is planning those times, rather than leaving them up to how often you get distracted by something in another part of the office.
Plan a work out or other exercise into your day. Even taking a walk once a day can burn off some of that need to get up and move around. But make a point of getting up and carrying through on your plans every day.

5. Delegate and collaborate where you can
When you work in a larger organisation, there are always people around with different skill sets — people who may be able to handle certain tasks on your to-do list more effectively than you can. It can be tempting to try to do everything yourself — after all, who knows better than you how exactly you want something done? — but either bringing in the right person for some aspect of the task or delegating it entirely can keep some minor issue from distracting you entirely.

6. Disconnect when you’re done
At the end of the day, most of us head home. But even outside of the office, we tend to be distracted: with the right phone, you may still be working on something you should have left at your desk. According to surveys, 82% of employees report that they stay connected when they leave the office in the evenings and 50% are still connected when they go to bed. That means that you’re just as distracted when you’re trying to spend time with friends or family as when you’re at work.
The only way to avoid such distractions is to leave your work in the office. Not all organisations are particularly accommodating to someone who wants to turn off his mobile in the evening or take over steps to disconnect from work, but it comes down to where you should really be focusing when you’re at home.

Avoid the distractions you can
It is impossible to eliminate every possible distraction from your day and, to be frank, you likely don’t want to — business runs on email and the other communications that pop up during your day. But by investing time now to reduce those distractions during the times you need to focus will save you time in the long run. It takes between 10 and 20 minutes to recover and refocus every time someone stops to ask you a question or your email alert buzzes. Even an interruption lasting less than a minute can throw you off for a quarter of an hour. The only way to avoid wasting all that time is to reduce the number of distractions that actually get through to you during those times when you need to focus. You won’t get all of them, but every one that you do eliminate could mean 20 minutes of work time that you’ll get back.

The bottom line is there is a need to create boundaries for using time-saving digital technologies. Being ‘on’ during business trips or while out at customer visits is a godsend for busy people. But cutting back on the deluge of information by setting boundaries and shutting down while at home, on holiday or at your child’s school play will allow you to focus better for the really important tasks.

temp

Temp of the month

This month our $100 Temp of the Month prize goes to ….. Deborah McAuley

This is what the client had to say:

“Deborah has been in our team now for several months and her commitment and dedication to the job are unquestionable. She has taken on everything that is asked of her, and goes well above and beyond all that is asked to ensure the best and most seamless experience is provided for all of our business partners.
Deborah has been exclusively responsible for one portion of our external dealings, and since she has taken this on, we have received more positive feedback than we ever have in the past, to the point where we are asked how we are able to process our work so efficiently and effectively.

Her attendance record and timeliness is, in short, perfect, and well beyond any member of our team, including the full time employees. She takes the initiative to stay back where required to ensure all work is completed on time – all without being asked.

She has contributed to improving the process of the work she is responsible for – improvement which have been recognised both internally and externally, and are resulting in considerable efficiencies which will last long beyond her tenure here.

Despite her assigned work being limited to one major task, she keeps her eyes and ears open for team members who are struggling or need assistance, and always offers to help wherever she is able. This has led to her taking on more, and more diverse work and she is becoming an integral member of our team.
Deborah deserves all the accolades she can get and in my opinion would be a very deserving winner of the temp of the month award. Well done Deb.

Well done Debbie from the team at Beaumont!