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May 2012 Newsletter
Welcome to our newsletter!
Another bumper month for us at Beaumont Consulting!
Having merged both teams at the beginning of 2012, gaining a new office layout to make the most of the space we have here in the CBD, we were able to welcome a few new faces in April:
Gemma Onslow – Office Support Consultant
David Kelly – Accounting & Finance Consultant
Sarah Borg - Temporary Division Team Leader
Aoife Byrne -
We also received the fabulous news of the safe arrival of Ari Oliver on the 19th April. A first son to Lucy (Finance Manager) and Guy – congratulations from the team!
The excitement didn’t stop there with the announcement that Beaumont Consulting has been nominated a finalist for the RCSA Corporate Responsibility Award. Nikki Beaumont and the Not For Profit team are all travelling to
If you would like to hear more about our Not For Profit team and it’s unique way of operating please feel free to call our office on 02 9279 2777 or email the team at nfp@beaumontconsulting.com.au.
Don’t forget to look out for news of our Annual Quiz and Auction night being held on the 7th June at Doltone House and how you can reserve your tickets. Get in early though, we had disappointed customers last time!
Have a great month.
Operations Manager
market
MARKET NEWS
Australia’s unemployment rate decreased in April to 5.2 per cent. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported the number of employed people increased by 44,000. This was driven by an increase in both full time and part time employment positions. This also resulted in a decrease in the number of people unemployed by 3200. The ABS is hopeful that these statistics indicate a bright future for the labour markets in 2012 despite Australia’s collaborators such as the UK and USA hitting high unemployment rates in the month of April.
In other news Facebook has beaten LinkedIn as the number one site for organisations looking for job seekers. The BBC has reported “using technology such as Facebook to build closer links with ex-employees and potential customers could also boost productivity, innovation and create a more democratic working environment. Job seekers have also been warned to be more aware as to what they “post” about themselves as it could be a slippery slide from being beneficial to detrimental for ones career.
smart
SMART HIRING - 10 Ways to achieve better outcomes when recruiting new employees
One of the greatest lessons in business that I have learnt is that as a leader your success is pretty much determined by the quality and calibre of the people that surround you, those that you have hired and perhaps those that your people have hired. There are many things you can’t control, the economic climate, the interest rates, the list goes on, but you can control the quality of your hires within your organisation, those that share your values and compliment your culture, and can add real value to your organisation.
Here are some of the lessons I have learnt having worked with a variety of organisations both in Australia and internationally about how you can achieve better outcomes when recruiting your next employee.
1. Be clear about the role – that may seem basic, but taking some time to think clearly about the job that needs doing will make all the difference when it comes to selecting the best candidate. What are the outcomes that you want from the role? How does this role fit in to the rest of the organisation? Always think job brief before you start to think candidate brief. You’ll build the candidate brief once you’ve clearly scoped out the role. Do you need to write a new job description? Spending the time planning carefully at the beginning rather than rushing in to the heart of the recruitment process will increase your chances of making a better hire.
2. Research the market – get some idea of market salary, and what your competitors are advertising and offering in order to attract the best candidates. Where roles are being advertised? Are there a lot of roles? Who else is on the market at the moment? If you decide to work with a recruitment agency, which ones are already hiring in your space?
3. Attract quality candidates – the quality of the candidate that you eventually hire will be determined by the quality of candidates you attract at this early stage. You can ask as many fancy interview questions as you like but it won’t change the quality of applicants. So put the time in here to think about your recruitment strategy and how best to position this role and your business to attract the best candidates. Will the best candidate be looking at your advert right now, or would it be better to actively approach some candidates that you know are great but working for your competitors?
4. Be prepared to be flexible – candidates don’t fit in to square boxes, we all have different needs, wants, desires and expectations, wether it be salary, working hours or flexibility around holidays. What can you compromise on? What would you pay for an exceptional candidate? Do you really need that qualification or can you train that skill? I once scooped up a sensational employee who is still with me 5 years on, all she wanted was to work part time during school holidays but her short sighted previous employer couldn’t accommodate that, really?
5. Recruit for attitude over experience – ever hired someone who’s done the job before but is not a great employee? Ever hired someone who hasn’t done the job before but has turned out to be a loyal and valued employee who outshines the more experienced staff? I have! That doesn’t mean always hire trainees, but hire on attitude and skill over experience alone and this one small tip will increase the quality of your hires 10 fold.
6. Ask quality questions and DIG, DIG, DIG – Once you know what you’re looking for in terms of your new hire, you will need to ask questions that will enable you to determine if they have the skill and competency you need. Don’t take “surface” answers, dig a bit, ask a bit more, really get to know and understand exactly what this candidate has to offer so that you can determine if they can and want to do the job.
7. Make time to find the best – and I don’t mean take 8 weeks over deciding who to hire, I mean take the time to meet the candidates and really get to know them well so you can determine if they really are right for your role and organisation. I like to think of recruiting a bit like dating, and let’s face it you are probably going to be spending more hours with some employees than your partners. Why would you think a 45 minute chat would be enough for you to determine if you should marry…?
8. Keep the process moving – there’s nothing that puts prospective employees off more than a manager who can’t organise their time well enough to keep the process moving along. We live in such a fast paced world right now, communication is so instant that 48 hours seems like a life time in the job search process. If you want to hire great people, keep the process moving and keep communicating.
9. It’s a two way process – you’ve got your part to do which is to determine the fit between the candidate your role and your organisation but of course the candidate has also got to want to work with you. You’re going to need to give them a good experience from their first point of contact with you and your company, right through to the final stages of the recruitment process. You’re also going to need to tell them clearly about all the benefits of working with your company, why should they choose to work with you over your competitors? If you can’t think of anything, perhaps you might think more about how you position your business and what would attract you to your organisation. Don’t forget to ask your existing staff why they chose your business and why they’ve stayed.
10. Give them the tools to succeed – so you hired someone fabulous. Now give them the training and support they need, especially in their first few months. Ensure that they know exactly what is expected of them, they’ve been given the tools to do the job and they are also given regular feedback on how they are doing. You might have hired an awesome candidate, but if you don’t get this bit right, you might as well not have bothered! Shockingly, 90% of attrition that happens within the first 18 months is determined by the new employee.
Finding great people who fit with your company culture, share your vision, and can add real value to your organisation takes a lot of planning and effort and sometimes feels like an unconquerable challenge but the benefits of doing so can’t be understated.
If you would like to join Nikki’s complimentary half day training around Recruitment and Selection please email our events team.
For more details on our upcoming events please visit our website.
important
IMPORTANT ARTICLE - Jobseekers with criminal records protected from discrimination
This came to our attention recently in the regular news received from Shortlist and we felt it was important that we share it with you.
Jobseekers with criminal records protected from discrimination: Human Rights Commission
Many employers are still unaware that discrimination against job seekers on the basis of their criminal history can be unlawful under anti-discrimination laws, warns Australian Human Rights Commission president Catherine Branson.
Branson said a criminal record could be a major obstacle for job seekers, and last year the Commission received 68 complaints of discrimination on this basis.
"What this shows is that while some employers are aware of their responsibilities under the law, they don't always know how to put them into practice," she said.
The Commission released an updated set of guidelines that Branson said would "assist employers and others to prevent discrimination against people with criminal records and help ensure employers meet their obligations under anti-discrimination law".
event
SME EVENT
Beaumont Consulting is a proud Foundation member of the SME Association of Australia, a NFP association to support small and medium enterprises. In June we will be hosting an evening event for the SME Association of Australia.
Event name: SME Association of Australia – Hot Topics Business & Networking Event – sponsored by Beaumont Consulting
Date: Wed 6 June 2012
Venue: Level 6, 50 Margaret Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
Time: 5.30pm to 8.30pm
Speakers and program coming soon
Cost: Free for SMEAA members. (Non member fee $55.00)
Register here
If you have not already joined, please check them out www.smeaustralia.asn.au and join online to support them on http://www.smeaustralia.asn.au/membership/category/smeaa-memberships
quiz
QUIZ NIGHT DETAILS - Help us to make a difference!
Nikki Beaumont is sleeping out for the 4th time this year as part of the CEO Sleepout on 21st June to raise much needed funds and awareness for St. Vinnies.
To support her fundraising Beaumont Consulting is organising a fun filled evening of TRIVIA & PRIZES on Thursday 7th June 2012 at DOLTONE HOUSE and we would value your support.
How can you help?
This can be in any (or all…) of the following ways:
1) Donate a prize for the raffle or auction (anything would be greatly appreciated :))
2) Join us or even better get a team of Trivia Guru’s together & participate in the trivia night itself - $40 per person (including gourmet food) or $400 for a table of 10 - book online
3) Sponsor Nikki for Sleeping out via her online donations page –
If you can offer a raffle or auction prize, please drop Nikki an email or call her 02 9279 2777/ 0411 216 776.
A few facts:
• more than 105,000 Australians sleep out every night
• 34,000 are children or young persons
• 54% of homeless people seeking supported accommodation are turned away
• It costs $50 a night to give a homeless person a bed, change of clothes and some food.
• $1000 will help move a family in to independent housing.
• St Vinnies goal is not just to service the homeless, but to bring about an end to homelessness
Nikki’s goal this year is to raise $10,000 – that would help 10 families out of homelessness…
Here is a short clip on you tube that makes you think…it left most of us in tears!
know
GETTING TO KNOW YOU – Alex Turner
1. What is your role in Beaumont Consulting?
Temporary Division Consultant
2. What was your first job?
Futsal indoor soccer referee
3. What was your favourite subject at school?
Legal Studies
4. If you were stuck on a desert island, what is the one thing you couldn’t do without?
My Laptop
5. What is the first thing you notice about people?
Eyes and posture.
6. Who is someone that inspires you and why
Tony Robbins – An amazing motivator of people who believes that everyone is capable of success.
7. What do you do in your spare time?
Play sport and catch up with friends
8. What was the last book you read?
Hearts in Atlantis – Stephen King
9. If you could be famous for anything what would it be?
Being a famous footballer
10. What’s the best decision you have ever made?
To live and travel throughout Europe for 2 years.
temp
TEMP OF THE MONTH
Congratulations go to David Wharam our Temp of the Month. David is the winner of a $100 Myer voucher with our compliments.
This is the reason that our client voted for David:
"David has become an important part of our team and has stepped up to the challenge. He is a delight to work with and our customers and staff love dealing with him."
Well done David from all of the team!