Easter, Transformation and You.

The Easter message is profound, regardless of your religion or belief system. I certainly cannot lay claim to being a theologian but I see that the core of Easter is a story of transformation, of a metamorphosis from one state to another.  This was not an easy transformation with many hurdles along the way including the insistent doubts from the disciples.

Transformation is not easy

This is a key takeaway from the Easter story. It is difficult to make a transition but the end is always worth it. It reminds me of what Martin Seligman, the father of Positive Psychology, wrote about the difference between a meaningful life and a pleasant life. A meaningful life is not always pleasant – its hard at times, difficult at other times, but fundamentally saturated with purpose and meaning.

When is the right time?

Timing is critical for a transition as the correct choice made at the wrong time is no longer a correct choice. Take retirement for example.  This week the media has been abuzz with the rumour that the Australian Government is considering raising the Australian official retirement age to 67 or even 70.   Finances aside, when should we retire? How do we know when we’ve stayed too long…or leave too early?

So at this time of the year, which is all about transformation, have a think about where you are in your career journey. Don’t dwell on the past and similarly don’t get too hung up on the future.  Try to envisage your preferred career direction and identify how your current role and organisation can help you achieve this.  Set short-term, manageable actions.  Once you have achieved a small step it can be very motivating and a great source of energy to keep you moving towards your preferred career goal.

Happy Easter Everyone.

You’re only as good as the last decision you make.

Are your decisions taking you down the right track? Check out our latest video blog to see what Edwin Trevor Roberts has to say about making decisions at work.

Rewarding without Money

“Little hope for career advancement or growth”  was the second most common reason why people left organisations according to a recent Kelly Global Workforce study. Work is such an integral part of our lives that people need to feel a sense of hope and optimism for the future and think that there are opportunities for them in the future. Great organisations and great leaders innately provide this, however, they are few and far between.

The most common reason for this is a gap that I see is an inability of middle managers – team leaders, service managers, regional managers – to have great career conversations with their staff.  These conversations don’t occur for two simple reasons. First, there is a culture of ‘busyness’ that pervades most industries. Yes, there is always too much to do but what could be more important than retaining and motivating your staff? Second, they lack the skill to have great career conversations coupled with an outdated understanding of what a career actually is.

Let me share an example. The first reaction of managers when they hear ‘career conversations’ is that they need to help everyone develop and be promoted. Yet viewing work as a career is just one perspective on work. Amy Wrzesniewski from the University of Michigan and her colleagues, identified three main perspectives: work as a job; work as a career; and work as a calling. Every organisation needs people who view work as a job as they are critical to getting the work done. They still need conversations, albeit not as frequently, to ensure that they are happy in their role and that their work motivations haven’t shifted.

We call career conversations, magnetic conversations, because it is fundamentally about understanding a person’s underlying motivation and then explicitly connecting this to their work.

Over the past month we have run a series of events focussed on this very topic. Each sparked a vibrant, wide ranging conversation about the nature of work. The consensus was that many organisations have made some progress but there is still a long way to go. And with the economy continuing to be tight, the need to reward without money is greater than ever.

Tapping into the Ageing Population

Mature employees will become more of a feature of all our workplaces over the next decade.  Astute employers are working now to develop a strategy for how to be an employer of choice for mature age workers.  Phased retirement, training for new skills and flexible working practices, these are the buzzwords for mature workers and the way to capitalise on the growing presence of this group in all Australian companies over the next 10 years.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that 85% of all workforce growth will be supplied by people aged 45 and over by 2012. In Australia we have a double edged sword to deal with, a skills shortage and also an ageing population. 

Mature age workers (45+) have been proven to have lower absentee levels, higher productivity levels throughout the day and also obviously the benefit of longer term career experience (www.deewr.gov.au/experience).  Getting to know the needs of this highly productive group of employees can be your key to staying ahead of the game.

Did you know that mature age workers are as likely to want new challenges and stimulating projects as are your Gen Y employees?  They may place less value on career advancement, but they are looking for job fulfilment and challenges, not an easy ride at work.

“Contrary to popular opinion, the vast majority of older workers are not seeking an easy transition to retirement, with 75% of our survey respondents preferring a challenging and rewarding role.” (Chandler McLeod White Paper, Coming of Age, The impacts of an ageing workforce on Australian business)

Perhaps your younger managers may feel uncomfortable about managing someone older than them.  However, this is a great learning opportunity for the manager and a chance for them to demonstrate level headed and objective management skills.  A skilled manager has the flexibility to work with employees from many different backgrounds and ages.

You could be finding that mature age workers just don’t apply for roles at your company.  Older applicants are less likely to use online job boards and services than younger workers.  This doesn’t mean they won’t have the skills for the job, however, if you’re phrasing your ads to appeal to a younger market, using terms like career opportunities, then you could be missing out on the benefits of hiring mature age workers into your organisation.

With a worldwide trend occurring of employees planning to delay retirement and work longer, it makes good business sense to get better at retaining these workers and keeping them happier for longer. Mature aged workers value training and new challenges at work, to keep them engaged and stimulated.  Having plans in place to facilitate a phased retirement with flexible working practices can be easier and less expensive than making a new hire. 

At Trevor-Roberts we talk to companies every day about workforce planning.  If you would like a confidential discussion about your people strategies for the next five years, call Deborah Wilson, Thought Leader and Client Services Director at Trevor-Roberts.

Better for longer. Beat the retirement boom.

Better for longer. Beat the retirement boom.

Over the next 5 years, the Baby Boomers will hit retirement age.  Did you know that about 25% of Australia’s population are Baby Boomers?  And they’re reaching retirement age fast.   

According to ABS data anywhere between 15% to 18% of the Australian workforce will be retiring over the next few years.

This will create a new set of pressures on Australian businesses.  The skills gap that we are facing over the next 10 years is well documented, and we’re not the only country dealing with this same issue. These experienced and seasoned workers are proven to be one of the most productive and reliable age groups at work.

Mature age workers are an often underestimated goldmine of productivity:

• Mature age workers are less likely to take days off due to illness or to care for others, and are less likely to experience work related injuries than other workers;
• workers aged over 55 are five times less likely to change jobs compared with workers aged 20–24;
• mature workers can deliver an average net benefit of up to $1956 per year to their employer compared to other workers due to high retention rates, lower rates of absenteeism, decreased recruitment costs and greater return on investment;
• experienced workers have built up knowledge and skills during their time in the workforce;
• A study by Australian Health Management which examined the daily work habits of 4000 employees found that workers aged 55 years and over performed at their best for approximately seven hours out of an eight-hour day—an achievement that other workers in the study were unable to match.

(Source: Experience + Make age an advantage: Investing in Experience Toolkit, 2012, www.deewr.gov.au/experience.)

Consider the exponential and untapped value that baby boomers have. Value that is only discovered once they have left and at times this is lost to the business.

So, the issue for your business is, how are you going to attract and retain these workers?  Do you have a strategy? Do you understand the age breakdown of your workforce, and know the retirement plans of these key employees?

Replacing mature age workers, who understand your business, your goals and do a great job for you every day, may be more costly that you realise.

Providing flexible working opportunities, attractive superannuation arrangements and ongoing training are some of the keys to keeping mature age workers in your business longer.

Other strategies to consider are around knowledge management in your business.  Make sure that your intellectual property and customer relationships don’t retire along with some of your most loyal employees.  Having long term “easing out” strategies in place can help to minimise the impact on customers and day to day productivity in your business when long term employees retire.

Deborah Wilson is a Thought Leader at Trevor Roberts.   She works with companies every day on their people strategies.  If you would like advice on career transition, including retirement, career development, leadership development or recruitment advice, call today for a confidential discussion.  p 1300 876 118

Why Leadership will Make or Break the Community Services and Health Industry

Why Leadership will Make or Break the Community Services and Health Industry

An assumption that staff have the basic skills to change to customer-service focus is a key barrier for the Community Services and Health sector.  This emerged in discussions among senior HR managers at a series of forums that we ran in Sydney and Brisbane.

The ‘new’ world of person-centred care requires a different mindset that many people do not hold innately. Almost twenty years ago, Hugh Gunz from the University of Toronto wrote a great article called Right Strategy, Wrong Managers. His core argument is that if you shift strategy, such as from government funded delivery model to person centred care, then you need managers that think in a different way.

At our breakfast functions, we discussed the leadership behaviours that are the most effective to lead the health and community services organisations into the future. A great leader was described as:

1. Energetic and passionate,
2. who take ownership and drive change,
3. through a style of trust, honesty and support but,
4. are one with the organisation’s vision and,
5. can communicate ‘the why’ to people at all levels.

 There are few industries undergoing as much change as Health and Community Services (here’s a great environmental scan from the Community Services & Health Industry Skills Council).

Strong Authentic leadership will make or break organisations over the years ahead. Organisations that don’t adapt will shut down or be merged into those that do.

Retrenchment reactions reflect sentiment

Retrenchment reactions reflect sentiment

Violent outbursts are rare at retrenchment announcement meetings, in fact I can only recall one chair being thrown in our 19 years of operation. The vast majority of people experience a mix of anger, disappointment and anxiety about the future. These emotions are usually measured and often emerge in the early part of their outplacement program.

Strong emotional outbursts, however, have escalated in the past few months. This worrying trend reflects the negative sentiment in the employment market with people being increasingly concerned about the probability of finding another job. Professionals and middle managers are particularly concerned as many companies are trimming these roles.
 
Unfortunately, there is an inverse relationship between emotions and intelligence: as emotions go up, intelligence goes down. Thus the increase in strong emotional outbursts at retrenchment announcements.

Our team of career development consultants are finding that the intensity of support during outplacement programs has increased, however, people are still finding jobs within a reasonable time frame. The jobs are there, they are just harder to find.

More than ever, now is the time to ensure retrenchment processes are handled as effectively as possible to minimise the negative impact on those effected, and those staying.