February 09 Newsletter

Introducing Beaumont Consulting's Accounting Division!

February 2009 sees the launch of Beaumont Consulting's latest venture. We are very excited to announce our new Accounting Division!

This division will now allow Beaumont Consulting to provide total specialist recruitment services to our existing clients as well as affording us the opportunity to expand our portfolio into new market segments, diversifying into areas where demand remains strong.

“For many, 2009 will be marked by greater financial scrutiny than ever before…which will create a myriad of opportunities for the accounting sector,” says Adam Grima, Senior Consultant.

Adam will be working on mid through to senior and executive level accounting positions, while his colleague Russell Teimourian will focus on junior to middle level roles, providing complete market coverage.

You can find out more about both Russell and Adam on our website .

To mark this exciting milestone, we are holding an Accounting Division Launch Party on 5th February. If you are interested in meeting the team and helping us celebrate with a glass of bubbly, please contact Adam Grima on 02 9279 2777.

Laughter in the workplace is a positive sign

There is a growing body of opinion that says happy workplaces are also more productive workplaces.

The Chief Executive of an organisation is making his way to his office when his attention turns to a group of employees laughing uproariously. The CEO, suspecting skylarking and time-wasting, turns toward the group with a frown. The laughter stops abruptly as the employees register his reaction and turn back to their work.

The boss should be happy that his employees are laughing, because it is a healthy sign, not only for their wellbeing but for his company's bottom line. The fact that people are laughing when you walk through the office means they are going to be working better, not worse. It's a sign of an innovative workplace. When people are happy, their cognitive skills are better and they take a broader view of things.

Fostering a happy workplace comes down to good behaviour and good values, treating people fairly and honestly, the way you would want to be treated yourself. Workplace happiness is essential to retaining good staff and good morale.

Leading human resources surveys conclude that there is a correlation between high engagement and high performance. A study of 40 multinationals by a global consultancy has found that companies with high employee-engagement scores had better profits and operating margins than those whose staff were deemed to be less engaged.

The link between engagement and positive business outcomes is a given. Happiness and engagement are not necessarily the same thing but what is of more interest is what constitutes engagement. If individuals say positive things about their organisation, strive to work hard and are happy to stay within the business then they are engaged. Basically, if employees are well treated they will feel engaged and content.

Keys to wellbeing and how to make a happy workplace:

Foster good relationships between workers, starting from the top. Make sure everyone's views are sought and respected.
Positive feedback. In a high-performing workplace the ratio of positive to negative comments is about 6:1.
Identify strengths and allow employees to use them every day. If you can't move an employee to a job that suits them better, at least make sure they are doing something they are good at once a day.
Encourage laughter and humour, but not at anyone's expense.
Give people a say in what is going on. Give them ownership of a job and real influence in how it is done.
Know your employees, their names and what they do. Walk through the office every day and acknowledge them.

int

Interviews

Interviewing is a two way process; It's not just the managers who are doing the selecting, but the employees as well.

Interviews when conducted badly can turn off good candidates, according to HR expert Dr John Sullivan.
His list of problems highlight areas that interviewers can be aware of so as not to make the same mistakes:

Candidates are forced to lie. "Candidates coming to an interview who are currently employed are essentially forced to 'lie' to their current boss as to why they are away from their current job. Forcing them to lie too often can cause them to prematurely drop out of the hiring process. By holding interviews during work hours and requiring candidates to come back for second and third interviews, hiring managers make the problem even worse."
Scheduling is difficult. Sullivan says that when multiple candidates are brought in for interviews, the time taken to schedule them can stretch out the hiring process to the point where top candidates can be lost before a final hiring decision is made.
Managers do ill-advised things during interviews. "Sometimes interviewing managers can be the cause of high offer rejection rates. By taking phone calls during interviews, cancelling and rescheduling interviews, appearing disorganised, or even asking illegal or silly questions, interviewers can easily scare away the top candidates."
Death by repetition. "When candidates are subjected to multiple interviews at the same firm, it is common for different interviewers to ask similar questions in back-to-back interviews." Sullivan says that when interviews by different managers aren't coordinated, not only is it frustrating for candidates, but employers lose the opportunity to gather information across a broad variety of areas.
Being kept in the dark. "Another all-too-common abuse of candidates occurs when managers keep the candidate in the dark about the interview process and what is expected during it." Sullivan says candidates should be told who will be present at the interview and what is being assessed during it. "Failing to educate the candidate may cause them to over-prepare in some unimportant areas and under-prepare in the key ones. Not knowing who will participate in the interview prohibits the candidate from doing research on the background of the interviewers. By telling the candidate more, you can limit their frustration and increase the likelihood that they will provide the information you need to make an accurate hiring decision."
One-way conversation. "Unfortunately, most managers spend more time talking than listening during interviews. Most interviewers don't leave equal time for the candidate to ask questions and to present information that they want to present, which can frustrate them. In addition, many interviewers forget that a significant part of the interview should be devoted to 'selling' the candidate on the firm and the job."
Losing customers. Sullivan says candidates are unlikely to speak kindly about an employer after an "unfriendly" interview, thus hurting the firm's employer brand. "In addition, if they are or were considering becoming customers, treating them poorly during and after the interview might mean that you lose them permanently as customers."

Sullivan says: "Incidentally, if you want to know of a better way to hire, consider how you would hire a chef (or musician or writer). You certainly wouldn't spend a lot of time talking about knife skills; instead, you would put the candidate in the kitchen and then taste their food... nothing is a better predictor of on-the-job performance than 'putting them in the kitchen', even if it's only for a brief period."

If you are interested in learning more about recruitment, selection and/or interviewing techniques, see the article on our client training sessions below, or click here to find out more!

train

Beaumont Consulting Client Events and Training - 2009

As you may be aware, Beaumont Consulting is holding a number of complimentary training sessions and presentations for our clients over the next 6 months. Here is a brief overview of what we have coming up.

Recruitment and Selection Training – ½ day course

Thursday 5th February 2009 – City
Thursday 26th February 2009 – Chatswood
Wednesday 25th March 2009 – City
Thursday 2nd April 2009 – Chatswood
Thursday 23rd April 2009 - City

Beaumont Consulting in partnership with renowned training consultant, Jodi Adams, has developed a comprehensive training program designed to provide you with the necessary tools to make your recruitment activity more efficient, streamlined, and ultimately more successful!

This is an invaluable and comprehensive training program that communicates our philosophy of what components are required to build a ‘best practice’ recruitment and selection strategy. From how to create and develop clear, concise position descriptions through to how to best manage new hires when they start with your company.

Attachment and Onboarding – Evening Presentation

Wednesday 11th Feb 2009 – City
Wednesday 18th Feb 2009 – Chatswood

The new employee ‘Critical Attachment Period’ (CAP) is the window of opportunity an organisation has to establish key perceptions of security, belonging, trust and acceptance with a new employee. Research shows that this window is only open for the first 120 days of employment. The primary influencer on these perceptions during the CAP is the direct manager of the new employee.

Anthony Sork will be presenting this interactive and enjoyable session, where you will be introduced to the New Employee Attachment Framework which consists of 20 core “Drivers”, and you'll be able to explore both your personal and your organisation's impact on these drivers.

Manager as Coach – Evening Presentation

Wednesday 15th April 2009 – City
Wednesday 22nd April 2009 – Chatswood

This coaching skills presentation for managers focuses on both skill and behavioural coaching techniques and tools. This program is essential for any manager who feels they spend much of their day solving problems and putting out fires. This program helps to position the manager as the “coach” rather than the solution provider in their team.

We are also offering some additional training courses such as:

Behavioural Interviewing Training – ¾ day course - $495

Tuesday 17th March 2009 - City

This practical yet flexible program will cover the essentials in structured behavioural interviewing from defining the key behavioural and technical job competencies to selecting appropriate questions. Highlighting techniques to benchmark expectations; this program defines the structure that can be applied to positions at all levels and across all industries.

Learn some new ideas and techniques so that you can access more relevant and accurate information from your candidates and make better and more informed hiring decisions.

If you are interested in ANY of the events we are holding, please contact your Beaumont Consulting Consultant, or click here and Debbie will get back to you with more info!

temp

Temp of the month

We are pleased to announce that this months winner of the Temp of the Month competition goes to the very deserving……Senia Aleksandroff!!

This is what Senia’s current employer had to say about her…….

“We have been nothing but impressed with Senia’s attitude, initiative and personality. She never fails to smile and greet both staff and visitors to our office. Senia has shown the initiative to deal with things independently which has made life so much easier for us. We are just disappointed that at this point we have no full time position to offer her as she has been a pleasure to work with.”

The Temp Team here at Beaumont completely agree with this nomination and would personally like to thank Senia for all her hard work and dedication during the time that she has been temping with us. She has always been happy to leap out of bed in a morning to help us out with urgent assignments and has never received anything but EXCELLENT feedback. You are a star Senia and we are proud to work with you!

In addition to our fabulous Temp of the Month, we would also like to thank Emma Barton who also received a lovely nomination…

“Emma is super reliable, a pleasure to work with and eager to take on new tasks and assist customers. She's a quiet achiever and nothing is ever a problem for her. She's managed to maintain her cheery disposition and meet her targets throughout our busiest time of year when customers are most demanding. Thank you for your efforts Emma.”

feb

What's on

Comedy Court – 30 Jan – 27 Mar
Each week 3 fresh, hot, up and coming stand-up comics, go head to head competing for up to $1,500 in cash. You, the audience will decide on the spot, the nights funniest comic.

Buddy Holly – 31 Jan – 1 Mar
See the Buddy Holly story at Star City

Queens of the Cross – 6 Feb - 7 Mar
Exhibition recognising the contribution of drag queens since 1962

Valentines Day – 14 Feb
Don't forget to treat your loved ones!!

Mardi Gras - 15 Feb – 7 Mar
Mardi Gras is three weeks packed full of culture, entertainment and social events including two of the most famous parties in the world and of course the jewel in our crown - the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade

Tropfest 2009 – 22 Feb
Tropfest is regarded as one of Australia's most iconic cultural events, and the largest short film festival in the world.