September 07 Newsletter

HR Series – Upcoming Hot Topics!

If you haven't confirmed your place for our next HR workshop you need to move quickly!
Our first two sessions have been a great success - offering an informative and interactive environment, in addition to opportunities to network. Workshops run from 8.30am - 11am and also offer a complimentary meeting with our HR Specialist on your business requirements.

Future workshops:

13th September - Managing Employee Performance

Developing a performance review process
Identifying and understanding your responsibilities within the process
Setting goals and standards
Giving effective feedback

20th September - Managing Poor Performance

Identifying poor performance
Valid & invalid reasons for termination
Following procedural fairness
Conducting discussions about performance matters with staff
Good documentation

4th October - Your Statutory & Compliance Requirements

The essentials of the law of employment simplified
Overview of the major compliance areas
Where most employers go wrong

Here are some comments on the sessions we have had so far:

"It was good to compare our current recruitment processes to what was presented. In doing this we found there were quite a few things we could be doing better!!"

"The first session really made me think about some of the things I'm not doing and need to be doing, given the current skills shortage. Eg. Selling top candidates the role rather than just extracting info from them."

"I thought the first session was brilliant. I enjoyed the group work etc. It was good networking."

"I found the first session was really good. It was an overview of everything. The part about engaging and recruiting the best people I found to be really useful. It has changed our perception of how to approach candidates."

As we have a limited number of places available, we recommend you book NOW by contacting your Consultant or Lucy Wells our Office Manager on 02 9279 2777.

If you would like to know more about our HR Consulting services, please contact us as above.

What’s new at Beaumont?

Well, last month saw the arrival of the newest addition to the Beaumont family. The beautiful Madison Ruby Beau Paice was born on 4th August. Needless to say, Mum and Dad are over the moon, and so are we!

Ahhhhhhh........

Miss Motivator……… by Sara Dawson

Most of us have those mornings when we wake up and just want to stay curled up under the covers for the day, (or another half hour at least!). When life is busy and we are burning the candle at both ends; juggling work, social, fitness, family and other commitments, it can be hard to stay on top of things and keep motivated both in our professional lives and in achieving our own personal goals.

Now, with spring around the corner and the long days of winter almost a distant memory what better time to dust off the cobwebs, boost your motivation and give your career an extra push in the right direction.

Thousands of dollars are spent each year on workshops and seminars aimed at achieving greater motivation and direction in our lives. These are largely focused around frame of mind - how it affects our motivation and how we can control it.

Illira Margaritis, MD of VitaliseYou which specialises in life and career direction has listed 7 ways to turbo charge your motivation which the team at Beaumont think are great. We have these stuck up around our offices to get us going whenever we need a boost of enthusiasm – I have a quick read through of my copy every morning, and it really works!

Start each day by being grateful for the good things in your life and about yourself, and pass your gratitude on to others!
Reward yourself for all your achievements and thank others who have offered support or inspired you
Accept that life is a work in progress – forgive yourself for past mistakes, learn from them and move on
Manage your emotions – identify which ones are productive and which aren’t and try to fit your work around them to an extent. ( I can never write a good advert or article when I am not feeling inspired, so I choose times when I am and allocate these tasks to those times)
Look after yourself – your body is your biggest asset so make sure you give it plenty of sleep, exercise, nutritious food and TLC. And, very importantly – make sure you laugh and smile – A LOT!
Clear out negative thoughts – don’t let them control you or restrict your potential. Try to be very aware of your thoughts and how they may be affecting your frame of mind without you necessarily realising it.
Celebrate your successes – start each day by taking stock of your achievements so far and celebrating them. And share your success with others because as the saying goes “Success breeds success.’

September at a Glance…

Comedy

From Lebanon with Love – Part 2
Check out the follow up to the stunning, sold out season of From Lebanon with Love – Part 1 at the Enmore Theatre, Newtown from 7th – 16th September. The wedding is over but the family issues have just begun… (Suitable for families)

Music

Powderfinger/Silverchair take to the stage at Sydney’s ACER arena, tickets are still available for Sunday 9th September. If you can’t make it head to Wollongong for 23 or 24th October.

On a somewhat smaller stage check out Welsh Indie/Rock band Funeral for a Friend at the cosier Metro Theatre on Sunday September 16th

Alternatively go upmarket with Josh Groben on Sunday September 30th at Sydney’s Opera House

Musicals

Grease hits the stage of NSW Central Coast & Hunter from 14th – 23rd September or for something a bit quirkier try Menopause the Musical at Sydney’s Theatre Royal until September 30th. (My colleague asures me it is hilarious!)

Festivals

Breakout ’07 hits Sydney on September 15th and is strictly for underage rockers aged -18, no alcohol obviously

Willoughby takes to the town on September 1st & 30th for the annual Spring Festival. Join in the community fun with street fairs, cultural celebrations, visual arts, music, theatre, bush walks, bike rides and more… (Various locations around Willoughby)

New DIAC legislative changes

As of August 2007 it will be an offence under the Migration Act 1958 for a person to knowingly or recklessly allow an illegal worker to work or refer an illegal worker for work with another business.

Individuals who are convicted of these offences face fines of up to $13 200 and two years imprisonment while companies face fines of up to $66 000 per illegal worker. The penalties are higher where an illegal worker is being exploited through slavery, forced labour or sexual servitude.

The new offences only apply to employers and labour suppliers who engage or refer illegal workers after the offences commence in August 2007. You will not have to check the work rights of existing workers unless their contracts are renewed or extended after August 2007.

Beaumont Consulting have a procedure in place where we check ALL candidates right to work in Australia to ensure we are providing and referring legal workers to our clients. Clients can rest assured that ALL Beaumont Consulting candidates are thoroughly checked.

The DIAC website has plenty of information on how you can check eligibility of workers you may look to employ.

www.dimia.gov.au

Hardest Jobs to Fill - by Paul Swanwick

An article I recently read stated that although NSW boasts a great deal of competition for labour hire and contract workers, some of the most sought after employees are Senior Consultants and Senior Managers – why is this important?

Given the above information and having myself recently experienced a tough time finding quality Team Leaders, Managers and Senior Staff, it occurs to me that these candidates are being well guarded by their current employers.

How do you position yourself in the market when recruiting?

It’s tough when weighing up the cost of a vacant role to the business whilst holding out for the perfect candidate, versus the cost of training someone more junior who doesn’t quite have the level of technical experience required.

Some of my clients have had great success focusing more on the right personality and culture fit rather than experience. This has helped them to find great candidates with masses of potential who are doing exceptionally well in their new roles.

These candidates typically display the ability and aptitude to pick up and develop foreign ideas and concepts quickly which inevitably adds more value to the business.

We find that in some cases, culture fits are less transferable between companies than technical experience!

The Conclusion?

It’s harder to train attitude and personality than technical skill or product knowledge.
Get the right people into your business and the rest is so much easier.

Remember, it generally costs over 3 times as much to re-recruit when someone does not pass their probation!

Useless Information and trvia!

Our regular resident funny girl – Kathryn Young, is due to leave us next week to explore the world, but luckily we have Trevor Robinson to provide us with a bit of light hearted “Trev Trivia”

Totally Useless Trivia

Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.
Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.
The Romans invented the first popsicle.
A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.
Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards, and are on the Australian coat of arms for that reason.
The words “facetious” and “abstemious” contain all the vowels in alphabetical order.
Mel Blanc (the voice of Bugs Bunny) was allergic to carrots.
The only nation whose name begins with an "A" but doesn't end in an "A" is Afghanistan.
Parker Brothers prints more money each year for its Monopoly games than the U.S. Government issues in real currency.

Quote of the Month

You may be on the right track, but if you just sit there you'll get run over. - Paul H. Dunn