June 09 Newsletter

People investment - should you cut or continue?

Following on from our recent Anthony Sork events on “New Employee Attachment” and “Manager as Coach”, Anthony has published an article in the Recruitment Journal for Australia & New Zealand that looks at the arguments both “for and against” people investment during tough times.

In part the article addresses the challenges organisations will face should there be an increase in Directive/Coercive behaviours by managers in the coming months, or a reduction in Engagement related initiatives by organisations. This is a timely and insighful article which we hope you find useful.

http://www.sorkhc.com.au/pdf/RecruitmentJournalArticleMarch2009.pdf

Please visit our events page to see what other events we have coming up.

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Top ten best places to work in Australia

Corporate success is clearly linked to staff satisfaction - and internet search company Google is the proof.

After its outstandingly successful parent company topped a 100 Best Places To Work survey conducted by the US magazine Fortune, Google Australia has claimed the No.1 spot in a similar Australian poll.

BRW, which conducted the study, said Google had created a legendary corporate culture of perks, fun, appreciation and reward for its staff.

The facilities and conditions that make Google Australia the nation's best place to work include beanbag-filled meeting rooms, ping-pong tables and a free cafeteria. The company, whose name has achieved such status that "to Google" has passed into the vernacular, is part of what is apparently the most popular industry sector for employees, information technology.

BRW's Top 50 Great Places to Work list was based on research conducted by the Great Place to Work Institute, Australia which surveyed more than 15,000 employees.

The magazine said there was a common theme at all the Top 50 companies - perks.

Benefits vary from free iPods, Krispy Kreme doughnuts and the opportunity for international travel.

The popular firms also offer such benefits as education subsidies, on-site fitness centres or subsidised gym memberships, flexible work arrangements including telecommuting, health insurance plans, senior management opportunities for women and child care.

Of BRW's top 50 list, 29 are local firms, two are home-grown multinationals and 19 are Australian branches of multinational companies.

The best-represented sector is information technology with 12, followed by marketing (7), financial services (5) and legal firms (4).

The top 10 great places to work: (By rank, company, number of employees, industry sector, location of head office)

Google Australia (312 / Internet Services / Sydney)
NetApp Australia (146 / Information Technology / Sydney)
Russell Investments (241 / Financial Services / Sydney)
Diageo (553 / Manufacturing (food, beverages) / Sydney)
Dynamic Property Services (41 / Business services (property management) / Sydney)
ETM Group (73 (55 full-time) / Business services (Travel, events management) / Melbourne)
BMD Group (1194 / Construction / Brisbane)
MRWED Training & Assessment (20 (11 fulltime) / Education services / Sunshine Coast)
Red Balloon (46 (38 full-time) / Retail, speciality / Sydney)
OBS (102 (98 full-time) / Information technology / Melbourne

Article from The Australian

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Fair Work Act 2009

From 1 July 2009, there will be a new workplace relations system in Australia. The new system is designed to balance the needs of employees and employers

The Fair Work Act 2009, will put in place a new workplace relations system built on:

a fair and comprehensive safety net of minimum employment conditions
a system that has at its heart bargaining in good faith at the enterprise level
protections from unfair dismissal for all employees
protection for the low-paid
a balance between work and family life, and
the right to be represented in the workplace.

The award covers many industries and can be complex but its somehting all employers need to be aware of. You can find more information and factsheets here.

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Doing some good

Nikki Beaumont is taking part in the St Vincents CEO Sleep Out on 18th June to raise funds and awareness for the 105,000 homeless men, women and children of Australia.

She will get to experience spending a night on the streets… with no food or shelter, whatever the weather.

Nikki is aiming to raise $1000 which will enable a survivor of domestic violence, and their children to make the supported transition from a St Vincent de Paul Society refuge into independent housing. But just $50 provides a homeless person with a bed, a meal and a fresh change of clothes for a night.

If you would like to sponsor Nikki and support a great cause you can do so here .

Maybe you can pass on the idea to your CEO?

Also in the true spirit of the new Beaumont not-for-profit division, we thought this was a very good idea and well worth sharing. Guide Dogs Australia have an online shop with all proceeds going back to training of the dogs and supporting the services they provide. Its got some really good products and gifts, take a look when you get the chance.

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Temp of the Month

We have a fantastic team of temps currently working on behalf of Beaumont and the feedback we have had for this month has been absolutely brilliant! However, there can only be one Temp of the Month and the award for this month goes to… Helen Campbell-Cann!

Helen is currently in her second assignment for Beaumont and has excelled in both roles she has undertaken for us. Here is some feedback from Helen’s current employer – "Helen is the one of the best temps I have ever come across. She is professional and an excellent worker and just gets on and does the job. She started with us in our Inbound Call Centre and was doing such a great job we moved her into our Recoveries area. Recoveries is our hardest team to work in as most accounts are very old and hard to recover the debt. Helen excels in whatever she does and really deserves to be recognised. Her commitment to the company and her colleagues is fantastic, she is always helping others and will do whatever is required to get the job done. She has a friendly happy nature and gets on very well with her team mates." Helen – we are so proud of you – congratulations!

We would also like to give a special mention to Tiffany Liao, Tiffany’s employer thinks very highly of her and had some lovely things to say - "Tiffany is always efficient, accurate and pleasant in the performance of her work. She is punctual and has a great helpful way with all employees." Thanks for doing such great work Tiffany, keep it up!

And finally…A HUGE thank you must go to Leonie McCarthy, Mary McGrath and India Thornton for their hard work, dedication, willingness, flexibility and great attitudes. You are absolute stars - THANK YOU!

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Whats On in June

Sydney Film Festival - 3rd – 14th June

World Envionment Day Cycling Breakfast - 5th June

Jazz and Blues Festival – 6th – 8th June

Public Holiday – Queens Birthday – 8th June

Fire Water – 12th – 14th June

National Climate Emergency Rally – 13th June