Are your Staff Expendable?

Last week I had the privilege of speaking at the NSW Local Government HR Conference and the theme was on how to employ, enthuse and engage staff. Like many industries, the local government sector is facing rapid change. The conference highlighted a number of key impacts upon organisations, which are applicable across all industries. A key focus was how these impacts affect staff and how organisations need to be cognisant of potential fallout when letting staff go.

Expendable – that’s how staff may be viewed in these tough economic times. I’ve written before about the faces and stories behind every person retrenched, but what of the organisations that are undergoing change? They too may suffer negative impacts. For example:

• Damage to brand. In today’s socially adroit media landscape, fingers do the talking. If an organisation doesn’t care for its people, word will get around. Well-articulated and meaningful mission statements and conduct policies are important. More importantly, they mean you must walk the talk.

• Loss of talent resulting in knowledge and experience gaps. Losing good workers is a reality of retrenchments, but remember that losing exceptional staff may impede organisational recovery. Treat your people well: Both those who are leaving and those who are staying. You never know when previous employees’ knowledge and experience may be a valuable addition in future.

• Increased costs when the organisation needs to re-hire. Don’t burn bridges. Respectfully maintain professional relationships with past employees, as you never know when they may be keen to re-join the organisation in future, which reduces your hiring costs.

It’s simple: Look after your people – they are the business, and contribute to its brand, intellectual capital and relationships. When times are tough, think of other ways to tighten the belt as opposed to saving money fast through making positions redundant.

A World Beyond Labels.

I recently read an insightful piece by the Qld and NT Branch of the Australian Institute of Management that focussed on people living with disabilities. There is a necessity to tap into the array of skills and experiences people who live with a disability or mental illness can bring to current and future business opportunities.

Numbered are the days of building relationships with people living with disabilities or mental illness based on compassion. The future is now focussing on tapping into a variety of unique and valuable skills that these cohorts are able to bring to areas such as new technologies and a rapidly ageing population. More on this important topic here.

Australia's CEO Challenge

One of the most enriching parts of my career is having the pleasure of working with people who inspire others to make a difference. Trevor-Roberts’ Executive Director – Client Development Deborah Wilson plays a key role in Australia’s CEO Challenge to help raise awareness through workplaces to end domestic violence in our society.

This year, Deborah is working with business owner of Ultimate Body Transformations David Richter. Dave is passionate about making a positive difference in the world and has teamed up with Australia’s CEO Challenge and Rowena McEvoy to help raise awareness for the issue of domestic violence in Australia.

David is hosting a breakfast with Rowena McEvoy as the key speaker. Australia’s CEO Challenge Executive Director Wendy Reid will also talk about ending domestic violence.

Don’t miss your chance to join the audience of what promises to be a great morning. More details and booking information here.

Supporting those affected by Government redundancies

The word redundancy increasingly resonates with Australians as it continues to feature prominently in the media cycle. You may be experiencing a redundancy personally or, more than likely, know of somebody who is.

Career transition can be a challenging time. Institutions such as the Queensland State Government provide Transition Support Services through their Enhanced Employee Assistance Scheme and the federal government has provided a small amount of funding for job expos.

Trevor-Roberts can also help you, your colleagues, friends and family members by providing career transition support. This may involve identifying their career direction, developing a targeted job search strategy, writing an effective resume or enhancing interview skills.

We have created a Government Redundancies Resource Pod to assist individuals during this challenging time.

Please share this information with anybody you think will benefit from additional support as they experience or are involved at any level with career transition. Feel free to Contact us anytime with questions about how we can support you and others.

Why your brand is as important as a company's brand

First, apologies to all my loyal readers for being quiet for the last few months. If you've been on our website, you'll see that we launched our new brand about two weeks ago. While very time consuming, it was incredibly rewarding to invest the time to analyse what we stand for how we want to position ourselves in the market. Have a look at www.trevor-roberts.com.au.

This process, of course, made me think about our own brand. It has been ten years since we have made conscious decisions about Trevor-Roberts' brand or made any changes. In fact in our 18 year history we have never undergone a formal branding process!

Every company, and every person needs a periodic reassessment of their brand and position in the market. When is the last time you've done this?

Here are a few questions to guide your thinking:

1. Where do you want to be in 5 years?
2. How do you want people to describe you in 5 years?
3. What visual cues do you need to change to achieve this? For example, online profiles such as LinkedIn, resume, associations you belong to
4. How do you need to behave differently?

I read an article last week that one of the top three ways to waste a company's marketing budget is to spend it on pure branding. The argument is that a brand is built by every small interaction with your product or service.

The same applies to us. Your personal brand is the sum total of every interaction you have with people. Make sure they are good!

The 3 ways being an Aussie inhibits your leadership effectiveness

Societal culture is one of the greatest subliminal influences on our behaviour. Whether we like it or not, we are conditioned to think and respond in a way that is aligned with the culture in which we live and were brought up in.

I’m speaking shortly about leading skilled migrants at the Australian Mines and Metals Association’s (AMMA) annual conference on migration. Here are three things that you need to be aware of as a leader in Australia:

1. Cultural Ignorance is a recipe for disaster. Rather than learning every single culture, it might be worth focussing on the 10 clusters of cultures in the world. For example, Australia is part of the Anglo cluster (with UK, USA, NZ, Canada, Ireland) and all the cultures within this cluster display similar beliefs and behaviours.

2. Culture effects leadership effectiveness. For example, displaying a humane orientated style of leadership is critical in Australia. Not so if your employees are from Latin America or the Nordic countries.

3. Don’t stereotype. While culture influences the style of leadership to which we will respond best, we all have had different experiences. You’ll be a great leader if you first understanding a person’s journey, their culture and tailor your style accordingly.

If you’d like a copy of the presentation, please click here to contact me.

Being slow can be good for your career

People today are in too much of a hurry. In a hurry to get promoted; in a hurry to get the next experience; in a hurry to go on the next course.

Contained ambition is noble. Accelerated ambition is a derailer.

Our working lives follow a natural rhythm with periods of growth and periods of consolidation. Without consolidating our knowledge and experience, we can’t successfully maintain the next level.

Time is a critical ally in our career. Perhaps the Kalahari Bushmen of Africa are right - they greet people by saying ‘Hambashla’ which means “Hasten Slowly”.
Perhaps we all need to hasten slowly in our career.

As emotion goes up, intelligence goes down

Our brain kicks into overdrive when we experience intense emotion. Considering it consumes 20% of our energy on a normal day, in overdrive it is really working.

Anxiety, stress and other intense emotions trigger biochemical processes that prevent neurons from talking to one another. This is why it is difficult to think clearly and remember things when experiencing emotional distress.

Unless we calm ourselves we cannot deal effectively with difficult situations.
Some leaders derail because of this very trait. They have not learnt to process their emotions. In fact, as a society we are not good at processing negative emotions. We tend to ignore it (by visiting Mars or a cave if you are male) which leads to suboptimal interpersonal behaviour.

Finding your strategy to process negative emotion is a key skill for successful leaders. Unfortunately, its not all glory and light at the top of the tree. It's where the storm hits most ferociously.

You never know when relationships will reap a reward

Relationships are critical for your career success.

I caught up this morning with Sam, somebody I’ve known for a long time. He’s just started at a large multinational in a contract role and is hoping that it might turn into a full time position down the track. As with all large organisations, it’s bureaucratic with formal interviews required for even an acting role. This was exactly the case as Sam’s boss is off on extended leave for a few months.

As the Chief HR Officer entered the room for the interview he said to Sam, “I know you”.

“Really?” came Sam’s reply.

“Are you the Sam that used to work for Unilever about ten years ago?” he asked.

“Yes, that was me,” Sam said.

“Well, ten years ago I was in-between jobs and was sussing out the market. I called a whole bunch of senior HR managers to have coffee to find out what was going on in the market. You were one of only a handful that gave me the time to meet.”

Sam was stunned. He couldn’t remember him. “I’m sorry, I don’t recollect that meeting but I do hope I was of some use.”

“Absolutely,” came the reply. “You gave me some great insight into the market and soon thereafter I started here, which has been one of the best moves of my career. Anyway, it’s great to reconnect,” he said as he started to walk away.

“Um,” said Sam, “What about the interview for the appointment?”

The CHRO looked back and grinned. “Don’t worry,” he said, “it went really well”.

You just never know.

5 Tips to Navigate the Global Gloom

We live in interesting times: the global economy continues to be pummelled by a debt crisis and $25 billion has been wiped off the Australian sharemarket this week alone. The GFC is still fresh in our memory and while the Government seeks to allay people’s fears by stating our strong economic position, we cannot predict the future.

So how do you best steer your career during these times? Here are 5 tips to enhance your position in a tight job market:

1. Build and maintain your relationships. Stay in touch with people to network inside and outside your organisation. Use social media (like linkedin) as well as the most powerful tools: phone conversation or coffee.

2. Stay professional if your organisation is restructuring. Careers are cyclical so never burn your bridges.

3. Don’t engage with the rumour mill. It doesn’t suit you.

4. Read up understand what’s going on in your sector, so you’re better positioned if change is imminent (plus you won’t get a shock if things do change).

5. Do your job really well (the wisest career advice I’ve received).

These tips will serve to build your resourcefulness and increase your resilience, both which enhances your growth and development. There are positive outcomes to transpire out of difficult circumstances, just keep your eyes open.

The worst professional job in the world

I was at a Super15 rugby union match recently (go the Reds) and decided that referrees have the worst professional job.

Here's my rationale. If a referee has a really good day at the office, at best, only 50% of their stakeholders (players, fans etc) will think they've done a good job. If they have a bad day at the office, not only will 100% of their stakeholders think they've done a lousy job, but the media will also publically berate them.

Referees universally display the one characteristic critical for career success: resilience. To all the referees out there - I applaud you. (But alas I'm human, so I'll applaud louder if my team wins).

Key Points from the CDAA Conference 2012

I had the privilege of recently speaking at the Career Development Association of Australia’s annual conference in Canberra on how they could better guide their clients through the permanent uncertainty in today’s labour market. I took a number of key points away with me, especially some food for thought around Australia’s workforce today and looking into the future.

 

While we all know it’s a multi speed economy, think about these statistics:

• For every 1 job in mining, there are 5 jobs in manufacturing.
• All industries are becoming high-tech. Two-thirds of jobs now require a post-school education, and it’s trending up. If you have a post-school Certificate III or above, you are 3 times more likely to have a job than someone who doesn’t.
• The largest occupation growth over the next 5 years will be Professionals (eg engineers, geologists, nurses, health professionals, agricultural professionals, child care etc). If you are struggling to recruit these professionals now, it will only get harder in the years to come.
• Australia needs 1 million new workers in Aged Care by 2040. Ouch.

What the hare and the tortoise can teach you about your career

I know its after Easter so probably a bit late to be sharing rabbit metaphors, but this cartoon really grabbed my attention (although it probably gives you great insight into my sense of humour!). So here’s the lessons from both the hare and the tortoise:

Lessons from the Hare

1. Speed is good. Failure to take action is the key pitfall I see people fall into time and time again.
2. Energy is better. The hare bounces around like, well, a mad rabbit, but his energy is boundless. Knowing what gives you energy and ensuring you have routines in place to maintain your energy is critical for success.
3. On the downside…speed without a plan is just a roundabout. The Rabbit jumped into the dare with the tortoise without thinking it through. Watchout for this trap.

Lessons from the Tortoise

1. Know your strengths. The strength of the tortoise was his proximity to home and used it to his advantage. Do you?
2. Success and purpose are on the inside. If you want a sense of meaning and purpose in your career then follow the tortoise and look inside yourself. This life lesson is still exercised by too few people.
3. On the downside, nobody likes a smartarse, so exercise your EQ.

How French Anthropology Can Help Your Career

The term Bricoleur was coined in 1962 by the French anthropologist and sociologist Claude Levi-Strauss to describe someone who is adept at many tasks and can use the materials and resources around them to create something.

A Bricoleur is pragmatic, strategic and self-reflective.

I think these terms succinctly describe a successful modern career. Career today is pragmatic – we can’t be off with the fairies. We need to provide the basic necessities to live and take concrete, tangible action.

A successful career, however, is also strategic. Making careful decisions to position our self for the future.

Finally, without self-reflection, we risk becoming irrelevant with skills no longer required in the market place.

So, 50 years after it was first coined, perhaps being a Bricoleur may come back into vogue.

Office Politics: Breaking Down the Barriers to Your Career

Think of your career journey to date. How many times have you heard your inner monologue commenting on day-to-day issues at work that increase your stress and anxiety levels? Or have you ever outwardly engaged others in confrontation over situations you can no longer remain silent about? Even worse, have you ever been the perpetrator of instigating outward negativity in colleagues, bearing the brunt of negativity you may have helped create?

The point is, office politics are real and destructive. They put at risk your ability to effectively manage your work activities, motivation, passion and productivity, whether you’re caught up in other people’s issues or from time-to-time, even create your own office politics. My comments on this issue were recently published in Marie Claire. Think of these themes as somebody who’s at the receiving end, but also remember we can all slip into negative work patterns that perpetrate office politics.

1. Don’t take sides in office conflicts…But don’t appear insensitive. Most of the time people just want to be heard, although they’d love for you to take their side by dragging you into their conflict.

2. It takes two to tango: Don’t engage in office gossip. If gossiping is a favoured daily activity for a colleague, they’ll get bored if you don’t encourage them with adding your morsels of opinion or judgment.

3. Somebody steals your thunder: Stand up for your work. Sometimes others may seek to undermine you by claiming positive outcomes as a result of their own creation.

More here on this issue that affects us all from time-to-time.

A Model of Career Change: Part 3

This week is the final post around the Do-Meet-Be model of career change. The initial discussion looked at taking action (“Do”) to broaden your perspective and increase your knowledge about the huge range of careers that people pursue. Next, I looked at how networking (“Meet”) enables you to generate potential career leads, creating engagement with people and groups you would otherwise not have access to. While these two topics focussed on taking action, the final stage causes you to look within. What occurs within you once you’ve started to take action? And ultimately, what path will you take to actualise your career dreams?

Step 3: Be. Through taking different actions and meeting different people you’ll start to think of yourself differently. You’ll no longer think of yourself just a school teacher but also as a horticulturalist, or interior designer or technical trainer or whatever you may want to become. The shift is tangible. You’ll notice yourself giving a different answer to the ubiquitous BBQ question: “So what do you do..?”

If your chosen career involves up-skilling, then think before enrolling in study including how you best learn, what support you’ll need and a realistic view of employment prospects. Study and skills are integral to life-long learning in a career, but so is possessing insight into why you’re learning it. Addressing these types of questions will help you realise what your end goal is.

I hope this blog series has triggered some valuable introspection, generating ideas for you pursue to ultimately enable you to make informed decisions about your career journey.

Above all, don’t think your career to death. Take action.

A Model of Career Change: Part 2

Last week I discussed a different take on traditional approaches to career planning. Viewing an individual’s career aspirations through the lens of self-understanding, planning and implementation is a tough-ask when you are stuck in a career rut. So, I raised the idea of our Do-Meet-Be model of career planning, which focusses on taking action. The first step looked at the “Do” part of the model. This week, I introduce the second component.

Step 2: Meet. The biggest single hurdle to shifting career is not having any networks in areas outside your past experience. Many people stay in their ‘rut’ because they don’t have the networks - and therefore the information, leads and ideas – that will help them find other opportunities.

By doing different activities you’ll meet different people. These people will expose you to new ideas and new possibilities that you hadn’t previously considered. Attending events or having a one-on-one coffee with someone outside your normal sphere of friends is a great way to meet different people. Think about someone who you’ve met only once or twice through a mutual friend – acquaintances are a great start. Give them a call and ask about their career story or organise a more formalised setting to undertake an informational interview.

Increasing your exposure to new ideas through exploring other people’s ideas and garnering knowledge means you will be more equipped to start formulating your goals. You’ll also get the heads up about possible opportunities.

I’ll discuss next week Step 3: Be in the final part of this blog series.

Do. Meet. Be: A model of career change

Taking action is the secret to a successful career and to getting out of a career rut. This three part blog series looks at how people can shift gears to stop thinking their careers to death when stuck in a rut. Too often we see people dream of possibilities and dream of changing, but don’t take any action.

Traditional career planning doesn’t work if you feel stuck in a rut. The traditional approach is: understand your strengths and interests; make a plan; then implement the plan. The problem is that the shift is too difficult – it’s too much of a leap to go from current rut to utopian goal.

Instead, I recommend a three step approach called the Do-Meet-Be model of career change.

Step 1: Do. Go out and start doing things differently. If you’re interested in shifting to a different profession, go and volunteer in their industry association or get involved at the grassroots level. “Do” is about taking action, like speaking to people to broaden your horizons and becoming inquisitive to find out what careers are out there. Often we don’t know what it is family members or friends actually do, so that’s a great starting point. People get stuck because they don’t know what’s out there or what the possibilities are. At a practical level, get involved with activities outside your normal realms of career focus and related in some way to what you are curious about.

Next week, Step 2: Meet will come into focus.

Why Job Search is Hard

Adaptation occurs in nature when the outcome of something is predictable. For example, take plants of the savannah areas of Northern Australia, where the main source of water is deep underground. The eucalyptus trees and hardy grasses synonymous with these regions adapt because of the predictable nature of the environment where the water table exists in perpetuity. With long tap roots, this predictability allows plant life to survive in the savannah, providing food and shade to its fauna.

But adapting to a job search, that is, becoming comfortable with it, is almost impossible because the process is unpredictable. A typical job search involves waking up in the morning to a phone call asking you to come in for an interview only to receive a rejection email that same afternoon. Adaptation is difficult as we never know what the outcome of our next activity will be. Will that next phone call land an interview? Will the next coffee meeting uncover your dream job? Will the next job from seek.com be a tedious one with selection criteria?

The uncertainty of not knowing what will happen makes it impossible to ever be fully comfortable with the process. It’s not that finding a job is impossible (yes, yours is out there), it's just that the “finding” part isn't always easy.