tandempartners

Organisational Development: Back in the Spotlight

Mon, 20 Oct 2025 04:24:56 GMT

Organisational Development: Back in the Spotlight

During the boom recruitment period of 2021 to 2023, we saw a meteoric rise in Organisational Development (OD) roles. Competition for HR talent was fierce, workplaces were shifting through and beyond COVID, and many organisations were wrestling with how to define, develop and stay true to their culture.

By contrast, 2024 became the year of the HR Services leader driven by legislative change, pay equity focus, systems remediation and a renewed emphasis on HR foundations: the engine room of the function.

Now, in 2025, OD has returned to the spotlight. We’ve already seen more senior OD leadership positions this year than in the entirety of 2024, a clear signal that organisations are once again prioritising culture, talent, capability and leadership as critical levers for effective growth, transformation and performance.

Where OD Started and where it is now….

OD has its roots in early psychology and what became known as the Human Relations Movement, a time when organisations first recognised that the social, relational and psychological well-being of workers was important for productivity.

Early studies into leadership, motivation, and team dynamics including Elton Mayo’s Hawthorne Studies and Kurt Lewin’s work on group dynamics revealed what we now take as given: when people feel connected, valued, and part of something bigger, performance improves. Back then, OD was about building workplaces based on a blend of science and human behaviour theory.

Modern OD, whilst still true to these early principles, looks different. It’s no longer a case of developing programs, campaigns or interventions in isolation. Today, OD sits at the intersection of business and people performance, leadership, and culture. It is a strategic, enterprise-wide discipline.

OD leaders work directly with CPO’s, CEOs and executive teams to:

Prioritise the people strategy, often bringing key strategic elements to life.
Shape organisational structures and dynamics that enable agility, resilience and growth.
Build leadership capability and talent pipelines.
Connect talent, strategy, and performance in real time.
Report on culture, engagement measures, solving for potential risk.

This shift isn’t just anecdotal. The Institute for Employment Studies notes that traditional OD was once “rational, linear, top-down, and whole-system” — whereas today’s practice is fluid, adaptive, and iterative, built for environments of constant change.

Gartner’s 2025 research echoes this, showing that organisations are moving away from episodic change toward continuous, people-led transformation, with OD integrating capability, culture, and leadership at the very least, into that process. This is true for many of the organisations we work with across Australia in 2025.

OD’s Role? The Connector….

In simple terms, OD connects the dots.

It’s the function responsible for aligning the strategic people levers, as examples; talent, leadership, succession, DEI, organisational design, engagement and capability and ensuring those levers are pulled at the right time, backed by the right data to create, repair or enhance an organisation’s aspirational culture, individual and business performance.

Increasingly, as we should expect, OD is becoming more data-driven and tech enabled. Gartner’s HR Trends for 2025 highlights how AI-driven workforce analytics are giving OD leaders better visibility into capability gaps, engagement risks and cultural trends. These tools allow more targeted, predictive interventions, freeing OD teams to focus on high-impact, enterprise-level work. Automation if it isn’t already, will take on more of the routine reporting and monitoring, while AI-powered feedback platforms are helping to lift engagement. (By as much as 39%, according to recent research from Qualtrics and Gartner)

In the past, organisations have considered OD interventions as a ‘long game’ believing in outcomes over time. But even this notion is being challenged by the speed of tech adoption and workforce disruption. OD strategies now need to be scalable, agile, and quicker to support evolving business needs. That’s no small task in a world of constant change.

From OD Specialist to Enterprise Architect

OD still operates in many organisations as a ‘centre of excellence’, ensuring all programs and strategies are anchored to frameworks and purpose. In some organisations of scale, this OD COE is deep, specialist and split by domain. In others we are seeing the broad, portfolio OD role evolve beyond the traditional domains, depending on what that particular organisation is experiencing at time. Some OD functions include domains such as wellbeing, talent acquisition, org design as examples and we have witnessed the evolution of OD as the ‘architect of organisational effectiveness’ (with roles adopting that title outright).

Many a model works. What matters is that OD is connected to business outcomes and delivers measurable, impactful results.

What’s Next?

Build integrated ecosystems to support the evolution of work.
Human–AI collaboration: OD will blend human insight with AI tools to make smarter people decisions, enable ethical adoption, and balance technology and humanity.
Culture Custodians: OD is back as the anchor for culture during ongoing change.
Build transparent, diverse pipelines for leadership and succession ( Microsoft's 2025 Workforce Trends report tells us that 36% of leaders expect managing AI systems/agents to be part of their scope within five years.)
Combining deep specialist expertise with commercial acumen (whilst ‘separate’’ from P&C partnering, there is no room to operate separately.)
Partnering with the C-suite to drive effectiveness and transformation: nothing in isolation.
Predictive Foresight: Leveraging data and insights to act faster and build business resilience.

OD is a key enabler of transformation, performance, and culture — shaping how work gets done, how leaders grow, and how organisations thrive. While some may still call it the “softer” side of People & Culture, OD is increasingly dependent on both data and sentiment and OD professionals have the real opportunity to bring a people strategy to life.

I’d love to hear how others are seeing this play out — how is OD positioned in your organisation today?

Tandem Partners manage HR Executive and Senior Specialist HR Leadership search assignments. Reach out today for a confidential discussion.

The Senior HR Market: Stable, Strategic, and Consistently in Demand

Mon, 13 Oct 2025 04:30:23 GMT

The Senior HR Market: Stable, Strategic, and Consistently in Demand

In a world where many job markets are subject to rapid shifts and unpredictable cycles, the senior HR employment market remains remarkably steady. Despite common perceptions of volatility, the demand for high-quality, commercially astute HR leaders—particularly those operating at Chief People Officer (CPO) or equivalent levels—has been a constant and remains so.

This consistency is underpinned by the strategic importance of HR in driving organisational performance, navigating change, and ensuring compliance. As businesses contend with an increasingly complex operating environment—ranging from evolving regulatory and governance requirements to legislative changes, system upgrades, and payroll remediation—senior HR professionals continue to play a pivotal role in shaping and executing responses that are both people-centric and commercially sound.

Moreover, leadership development remains a critical priority. Organisations recognise the need to build and sustain strong internal leadership pipelines, especially in the face of shifting workforce expectations and the ongoing evolution of hybrid and flexible ways of working. Senior HR leaders are instrumental in embedding cultures of learning, agility, and performance.

As we know, the structure of most HR functions reflects a familiar pyramid model: fewer roles at the top, with broader teams at the base. This means that while there may be fewer CPO-level roles in absolute terms, the quality bar is high and the demand for capable leaders remains strong and consistent. Meanwhile, the need for effective, business-aligned HR Business Partners (HRBPs) is ever-present and growing, as organisations seek to ensure that their people strategies are tightly aligned to commercial objectives. The demand for specialist HR roles is always less, but the talent pool smaller.

In over 20 years of working in this field, this pattern has been consistent. While tools, technologies, and terminologies may evolve, the fundamentals remain: businesses will always require trusted, capable HR leaders who can translate people challenges into strategic opportunities.

As a candidate navigating this marketplace, it continues to be competitive (that hasn’t changed). Knowing where best to position yourself, based on skills, strengths and track record will ensure greater success and alignment. Few executive HR roles are advertised hence you need to connect with the firms who work in this space (regularly) and run search processes. Seek feedback and counsel to ensure you are pitching appropriately. And of course, leverage your networks and advocates – they can open doors.

Sarah Van Helden - Orica

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 01:27:06 GMT

This is a subtitle for your new post

The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.

Reset, Don’t Retreat: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in 2025

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 01:00:29 GMT

Reset, Don’t Retreat: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in 2025

As DEI programs come under pressure globally, businesses face a critical choice: retreat in response to resistance or reset with purpose and clarity. Legal firm Littler’s latest C-Suite Survey reveals a challenging new reality for DEI programs in the U.S.:

53% of executives expect a decline in DEI commitments this year
55% report growing fears of lawsuits or enforcement
76% still increased or maintained DEI efforts in 2024, largely due to employee expectations

Following a wave of executive orders in President Trump’s second term, many U.S. companies are retreating from public-facing DEI initiatives, pivoting instead to lower-risk strategies, such as affinity groups and internal community building. Australia's legal, cultural, and regulatory context tells a different story. Although the Everyday Respect report suggests that the number of Australian workers who are ‘opposed’ or ‘strongly opposed’ to DEI is increasing, here DEI remains not just relevant, but necessary.

✅ Australian obligations remain firm

WGEA reporting and the positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act require proactive action
Queensland’s new positive duty applies to all protected attributes, not just sex
Respect@Work and psychosocial safety laws continue to demand active steps from employers

�� Why DEI still matters

Despite formal progress, the underlying drivers for DEI and Respect@Work programs remain entrenched. The business case remains strong — diverse, inclusive teams drive innovation, performance, and wellbeing.

A Diversity Council Australia (DCA) study shows that workers in inclusive teams were:
10x more likely to be very satisfied with their jobs
3x less likely to leave their organisation

�� Time for a review?

DEI, Respect@Work, and psychosocial safety hazard mitigations often overlap. Employers should take a careful and considered approach to any review of their DEI programs to avoid creating a risk of non-compliance in other areas. The rationale for DEI hasn’t changed — but how it’s implemented (or even what it’s called) might need a reset. A review can ensure the approach is fit for purpose: aligned with strategy, law, and culture.

⚠️ Resistance is part of the process

Cultural change can be uncomfortable. Elizabeth Broderick’s Everyday Respect report found that resistance is normal when long-held norms are challenged. But it can be addressed — not by retreating, but through thoughtful, inclusive engagement. Leaders can create space for open dialogue, acknowledge complex feelings, and ensure all workers feel seen. Done well, this builds trust and makes progress sustainable.

��The question isn’t whether DEI still matters — it’s how we evolve it.

Now is the time for Australian organisations to lead with clarity, not caution. By resetting our DEI strategies — not retreating from them — we can build workplaces that are not only compliant but genuinely inclusive, innovative, and successful.

If you are interested in Littler's C-Suite Survey on DEI in the US, you can find the full details here . Another excellent resource, Is DEI really 'dead' from King & Wood Mallesons, looks at what Australian organisations should be aware of.

Inside HR Leadership with Ian Flemington

Tue, 10 Jun 2025 01:53:09 GMT

Inside HR Leadership with Ian Flemington

A global HR Leader on the value of building trust, commerciality and authenticity to drive long term HR impact.

In our HR Leader Insights series, we speak with respected HR leaders across industries to explore their biggest lessons, boldest decisions, and what’s next for the profession.

We’re excited to share this thoughtful and powerful conversation with Ian Flemington, a seasoned HR Executive with over two decades of experience spanning global markets. Ian had led HR strategies for major brands including McDonald’s Australia, Canon Oceania, Craveable Brands and Kimberly-Clark. Below, Ian reflects on navigating geopolitical crises, building credibility from the ground up, and how HR must evolve to stay strategically relevant in a fast-changing world.

This is a really hard thing to pin down as I hope that everything we do has an impact in the context at time, but I’ll reference some action we took in my last role to ensure equity in a very tense geo-political situation.

We had operations and teams in Ukraine and Russia. As Kyiv was significantly impacted, we had multiple programs in place to provide financial support when needed and the establishment of a Ukrainian remote office in Poland amongst other things. As Ukraine began to gain ground on the Russian border, we had Russian team members located in those geographies and so sought to establish similar programs for impacted team members on that side of the border with clear guidelines of when and why that support could be accessed. This was somewhat controversial to establish yet hugely impactful in terms of demonstrating our core organisational value of Care. Recognising that our teams were simply trying to survive and bring their best every day, no matter their political views or country of origin and we had a responsibility to ensure we were equitable in our treatment of those impacted.

There are a number of things that I would say have definitely helped here. Firstly , making time and investing time in connections with your key stakeholders . Whether that is a CEO, Mid-Manager or Production Line operator, building trust takes time. I’ve learned over the years that these connections become so much stronger when you take yourself away from the office environment for a coffee and just chat. You can usually find out everything you need to know about how to support the stakeholders quite informally, still using high gain questioning techniques versus barraging them with a list of questions.

Developing my team is critical. You need the whole function to have credibility for you to personally be credible. This means spending time with your team, understanding their needs and ambitions. Moving roadblocks for them, standing in front of them when needed and cheering from the sides as they excel.

Always being humble enough to admit you need to learn . For example, when I joined my last organisation the P&L structure was different to any I’d seen before and so I asked the CFO to recommend someone in their team who could mentor me in the monthly compilation of the P&L until I was able to explain back the connections between various lines in a given months performance.

Getting to know the pulse of the organisation at all levels. Going out on the road with field-based teams, walking the factory floor if you manufacture, speaking to unions where you might have them to show you hear them and are willing to engage proactively in discussions. Don’t rely on sitting in an office or taking the opinion of a small group of leaders to truly understand.

And finally, giving feedback. This does rely on the trust above, but simply reinforcing existing behaviours versus coaching others to improve means you, the individuals and possibly the organisation stagnate.

I would suggest two areas of opportunity that are intrinsically linked. Firstly, as the nature of work evolves, to advocate for and ensure the reskilling of our workforce to manage with ongoing digitisation and AI. What we are seeing is not a reduction in the number of roles, rather the emergence of new roles and we should seek to reskill and retain organisation knowledge vs restructure and go to market to buy the new skills. There are some interesting new approaches to the traditional Buy, Borrow, Grow model to talent acquisition. For example, Buy, Borrow, Grow and now Break. Break the role and reconstruct it to fit today’s paradigm and then Grow skills from there.

Linked to the above is our responsibility to ensure that increased automation and adoption of AI does not come at the expense of an engaging human interaction. Multiple studies are showing the potential bias that can develop with AI systems, for example the class action in the US against a major HRIS provider. Similarly, we are all hearing anecdotal feedback from friends, colleagues and peers about how AI may for example screen out applicants for a given role and yet when the hiring manager or T/A lead see the resume, they believe the individual to be a fit. None of us have the complete answer to this yet, but we need to stay attuned in the face of increasing automation and the need to ‘humanise’ the processes that we are seeking to streamline.

Commerciality . And I say commerciality vs commercial acumen very intentionally. To me this is more than understanding how the P&L is compiled. It is about truly understanding the business from your customer and consumer lens, how your organisation meets their needs and responses to them. Truly thinking like a business leader.

Digital nativeness. Again, linked to AI, but if we do not keep pace with the possibilities presented by AI, we’re likely to become irrelevant. My challenge here is how we keep an eye on the external environment and listen to the internal dialogue to understand opportunities and implications for the teams we support.

Workforce Planning. As a function, I still feel that there are many who don’t truly understand workforce planning. Often the businesses we support think of it as cost management and tracking. Unless we can clearly articulate what it is and the benefits of effectively planning your workforce capability needs over the medium to long term, we are missing an opportunity to add and create value for the organisation – back to that thinking like a business leader!

There are probably too many differences here to articulate succinctly. From cultures where challenge and confrontation in the room is disrespectful and you need to have the real conversation privately and use the meeting for consensus. To those where saying you cannot deliver something is seen as a failure vs a development opportunity. There are cultures where the people are incredibly warm and open but then incredibly direct in meetings which seems to conflict with your experience outside of the workplace. There are those who think a more laid-back Australian style equates to laziness (which I personally disagree with vehemently by the way). All too often we make incorrect assumptions. For example, that English speaking cultures will be similar but having worked across the US, Australia and the UK, I can attest that the differences in workplace cultures and norms are quite profound.

Ultimately, I would summarise by saying that no matter where you are from or who you work for, you should bring your authentic self and style to your work interactions. But! Also take the time to learn about the cultures you are working with, as those working with you should. Be ready to educate respectfully as well as learn with humility.

Hiring Is Getting Competitive: What Managers & Candidates Need to Know

Tue, 27 May 2025 00:33:29 GMT

Hiring Is Getting Competitive: What Managers and Candidates Need to Know.

The market is picking up for early career HR talent and fast. Great news, right? Yes… but it also means that attracting good talent is more competitive than ever. Being the employer of choice now takes more than just a decent salary package.

Here’s what I’m seeing: candidates are moving through multiple recruitment processes at once. By the time you’ve finished your interviews, there’s a good chance they’ve already got one, maybe even two other offers on the table.

Your hiring process shapes your employer brand. Especially in HR, people talk. It’s a close-knit profession, and candidates will share both the positive and not-so-great parts of their experience. A clunky or cold process doesn’t just risk losing the candidate, it can damage your reputation in the market. On the flip side, a thoughtful, respectful, and engaging process (even when the outcome is a “no”) builds trust and leaves a lasting impression that spreads in all the right ways.

That means every single touchpoint matters, from how warm and engaged you are on the screening call, to how they see you interact with your team when they walk through the office for a second interview. Candidates are paying close attention. These small moments help them weigh up which opportunity feels right when decision time comes.

And to be honest, what a brilliant position to be in as a candidate. But for hiring managers, it begs the question:

How do you stand out and make sure the right person chooses you?

A few things to consider:

Show them how you’ll invest in them. They want to know how you’ll support their growth, not just in onboarding but long term. Make time in the interview to talk about your leadership style, how you coach, and how you’ve supported others in the team to step up.
Talk about real progression, not just buzzwords. Share examples of team members who’ve grown, moved into new roles, or been promoted. Candidates are checking your LinkedIn too, they’re looking for tenure, internal moves, and genuine career stories. Share those success stories with them.
Be transparent about flexibility. Most candidates understand that learning and connection happen in person, especially early on. But they still want to know they’ll be trusted, if they need to duck out to pick up their kids, they’ll make it work. Trust and flexibility go hand in hand.
Get curious about their career goals. Ask them what’s missing in their current role. What do they really want next? The deeper you go, the better you’ll understand if you’re actually the right fit for each other and the more likely they’ll feel understood.
Offer constructive feedback, even if it’s a no. Not every candidate will be the right fit, and that’s okay. But vague feedback like “not the right fit” doesn’t help anyone. Specific, honest feedback is gold to candidates, it shows respect, and it helps them grow. So many times I’ve delivered feedback that’s been genuinely appreciated, even when it wasn’t easy to hear.
Make your offer count. I get it, budget constraints are real. But a compelling offer isn’t just about salary. It’s about making the candidate feel like you see them, value them, and are excited about what they bring to the team. Tell them! Share what stood out in their interview, how you see them growing in the role, and what you’re looking forward to about working together.

And for candidates torn between two offers?

If you’re in the fortunate position of having two offers on the table, firstly, congrats! You’ve clearly made a strong impression. But I get it, the decision can still feel overwhelming. Here’s what I often tell candidates I work with when they’re weighing things up:

Go beyond the salary. Of course pay matters but so does how you’ll be supported, developed, and treated day to day. Ask yourself: Who’s actually going to invest in me long-term?
Think about the people. who made you feel comfortable and heard during the interview process? Did you get a sense of genuine interest and warmth from the team? That’s usually a good indicator of what the culture is really like.
Consider flexibility. What does flexibility really mean to each employer? Is it just a buzzword, or have they shown you how they support work-life balance in a practical way.
Ask the tough questions. It’s okay to ask: What does success in this role look like? How often do you promote from within? What support is in place for learning and development?
Trust your gut. Often, you already know what feels right, it’s just about getting clear on your non-negotiables and long-term goals.

Remember, this decision is about you, your growth, your values, and your career. Don’t be afraid to take the time you need, ask for what’s important to you, and have honest conversations along the way.

Reflecting on International HR Day

Tue, 20 May 2025 00:41:44 GMT

Reflecting on International HR Day

If you’ve been following along over these past few years, you’ll know that International HR Day on May 20th is a date we at Tandem Partners always pause to mark. We've used this day to reflect on how far the HR profession has come—and how much further it’s headed.

In 2023, we spoke about HR professionals as the ‘’North Star” guiding organisations through uncertainty, recovery, and reinvention. In 2024, we embraced the theme “Shaping the New Future”, recognising HR’s growing influence in ethical tech, flexible work, inclusive leadership, and continuous learning.

But in 2025, things have shifted again.

This year’s theme: ''HumanifyAI: Leading Change Together'' is a powerful phrase that captures where the profession now finds itself, not just embracing technology but doing so with intention, enabling organisations to do things quicker, faster, better, differently. AI is no longer the next big thing—it’s already embedded in how we hire, manage performance, deliver learning, drive engagement, and more. And yet, HR’s role has never been more vital: to ensure this transformation activity is human-centred, transparent, and ethical.

As we celebrate #IHRD2025 , here is some food for thought….

HR will:

Be a key voice in the AI conversation: HR is stepping up to shape how AI is introduced and governed, ensuring it’s applied practically, ethically, transparently, and in service of both people and business performance.

Navigate complex change while still championing connection: As transformation continues, HR holds the line on culture—fostering trust, belonging, and purpose through uncertainty.

Balance innovation with care and conscience: HR ensures that AI and technology advancements enhance and enable—not replace—the integrity, equity, and ethics that drive great culture.

Drive organisation wide upskilling: Staying future-fit requires constant investment in learning—for ourselves, our teams, and our organisations.

So today, I’m raising a toast (or perhaps a strong coffee) to every HR professional leading this change—not just adapting to it.

As always, we recognise that HR can be a tough gig—carrying the weight of strategy, compliance, culture, and care plus much more.... But we also see the profound difference it makes when done well. Here’s to leading change together, no matter how AI’d we become.

#InternationalHRDay #IHRD2025 #HumanifyAI #TandemPartners #CreatingGreatWorkplaces

Celebrating International Women's Day

Fri, 07 Mar 2025 00:51:46 GMT

Celebrating International Women's Day

With International Women’s Day upon us, it’s a time to reflect on the achievements, resilience, and impact of women around the world. From breaking barriers to driving change, women continue to shape our communities, workplaces, and industries. While progress has been made, the journey toward true equality is ongoing. This week at Tandem, we asked our team to reflect and answer three different questions:

Why is International Women's Day important to you personally and professionally?
What businesses or charities do you believe genuinely support the International Women's Day mission?
Can you share an example of a woman or movement that has inspired you, particularly in the HR space?

Our team had some incredible insights to share. Here’s what they had to say:

Why is International Women's Day important to you personally and professionally?

Matt Saitta: IWD is a matter of recognition, equity, and progress. Personally, it’s a reminder of the resilience and contributions of women across all walks of life.

Professionally, in recruitment of HR, it highlights the ongoing need for fair hiring practices, equal opportunities, and genuine inclusivity in workplaces. It’s not just about celebrating achievements but also addressing barriers that still exist.

Melanie Barrett: I’m grateful to come from a long line of strong, skilled women and bold women who had access to education, progressive workplaces, and the freedom to pursue a career beyond traditional gender roles. But my own good fortune does not lessen the need for advocacy. Progress for women is neither simple nor guaranteed, and equality remains out of reach for many.

It would be perverse to set International Women’s Day aside as just another event or another DEI moment in time. True progress demands that we continue to stand up for what we believe is right—not just today, but every day.

As Gloria Steinem put it, “The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights.” The responsibility to create lasting change is shared by us all.

The next generation gives me hope—I see in my children and their friends a world that is evolving, but one that still needs to be actively shaped to ensure true equity for all.

Carly Quin: International Women’s Day matters because it highlights the progress made toward gender equality but also reminds us there is a way to go! I always reflect on the opportunities I want my daughter to have throughout her life and love talking about inspirational women that have overcome barriers – for all of us.

Matt Parrish: Personally: As a father of a teenage daughter, International Women's Day holds a deep personal significance. It’s a reminder of the world that you want to help create for your daughter and all women: one that is fair, equal, and full of opportunities. It is a great time to reflect on the positive influence that women have had on my life and to think about how I, as a father and role model, can continue to support my daughter in reaching her full potential.

Professionally: In my role as a Senior People & Culture Leader and business owner, I’m responsible for creating workplaces where all individuals can thrive. International Women's Day underscores the importance of diversity, equality, and inclusion in the workplace. It's a time to celebrate the achievements of women in leadership, and it's also a call to action to ensure that organisational practices are actively removing barriers that impede women’s progress in business and leadership roles.

Rachel Gilzean: Given the Gender pay gap – I feel it is still quite important to recognise women’s experience in the workplace is different to men. It is important to recognise all the professional women who are or have paved the way to improve equality in the workplace.

Georgia Hazell: Personally, as a mother of two, I want my children to grow up in a world where gender equality isn’t just an aspiration but a reality. I want my daughter to have the same opportunities as my son, without bias or limitations placed on her potential.

Professionally, working in HR recruitment in Australia, I see firsthand the barriers women still face in the workplace. This year’s theme, March Forward, is a powerful call to keep pushing for progress. It’s not enough to acknowledge inequality—we need to take active steps to break down barriers, create opportunities, and support women at all stages of their careers.

For me, IWD is not just about celebrating achievements—it’s about moving forward with purpose, challenging biases, and ensuring that change doesn’t stall but continues to gain momentum.

Ben McCormack: IWD presents us with the opportunity to reflect on the progress made with gender equality across all facets of life, but also continue to highlight and focus on the additional work that is needed to close the gap on all fronts.

Emma Ford: Personally, As a mother to a young daughter, I want her to grow up in a world where she feels empowered, valued, and has every equal opportunity to succeed, no matter her gender. It's a day to celebrate the progress we've made and to inspire future generations of women to break barriers.

Professionally, I see the challenges women still face in the workplace—whether it's pay gaps, lack of representation in leadership, or in the never ending challenge of balancing career, future aspirations and family. International Women's Day is a reminder to continue advocating for equality, supporting female talent, and creating workplaces where women can thrive.

What businesses or charities do you believe genuinely support the International Women's Day mission?

Nicole Strickland: One charity that I feel truly resonates with the mission of International Women's Day is Dress for Success. I admire how this organisation goes beyond just providing professional attire; it’s about empowering women with the confidence and tools they need to succeed in the workforce. They offer mentorship, career development, and interview coaching, which makes such a difference in helping women gain economic independence and find their place in the workforce. Dress for Success is all about lifting women up, helping them feel seen, confident, and capable. It’s a cause that aligns perfectly with the spirit of International Women’s Day, and I believe their work has a real, lasting impact on the lives of women worldwide.

Eryn Button: The Women’s Resilience Centre is doing brilliant work, founded by Simone Allan - The Women’s Resilience Centre is a national service dedicated to helping women heal and move forward from domestic abuse, trauma, grief and deep loss through powerful and holistic long term recovery support. Programs are offered to help work and career, finances, parenting, relationships, mental health, joy and community, and resilience, reflecting our core values of safety first, caring to the core, respect, hope, inclusion, and empowerment.

Ellie Stock: Scope, a not-for-profit disability service provider, secured 12 days of reproductive leave as part of their enterprise agreement. This initiative supports staff dealing with reproductive health issues. Medibank has been recognised for its inclusive paid parental leave policies, offering flexible, gender-neutral, label-free policies and return-to-work support for their employees. Organisations that are leading the way are those implementing policies like menopause leave, enhanced parental leave, pregnancy loss leave, domestic violence support, and flexible working arrangements.

Yvette Crawley: International Women’s Day is a time to celebrate progress, but more importantly, it’s a reminder that real change comes from ongoing action. This year’s theme, "Accelerate Action," is all about moving beyond words and making a real, lasting impact.

There are so many incredible organisations doing just that, but three that really stand out to me are:

Fitted for Work – Helping women enter the workforce by providing career coaching, mentoring, and professional workwear.

Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand – Supporting women with financial security, crisis support, and long-term advocacy to drive real change.

Share the Dignity – Tackling period poverty by ensuring women in crisis have access to essential hygiene products.

These charities aren’t just talking about change—they’re making it happen every day.

Can you share an example of a woman or movement that has inspired you, particularly in the HR space?

Mark McOnie: My mum worked in HR, then called personnel. My dad worked away and so it was mum who managed the house, worked full time and cared for my brother and I. She taught us so much from an early age, particularly around being responsible for tasks and pulling our weight around the house and garden. It can't of been easy. She taught me to cook, clean and help our neighbours. She was a driven professional and the balance of life and work would have been hard, but she travelled to work every day, gained extra qualifications at night school, kept fit and was there for us every night without fail. Despite the best efforts of disruptive teenage boys, she became an influential leader who had an enormously positive influence on the people that she worked with. Since retirement, she has continued to immerse herself in family, a lifelong love of learning, her volunteer work at the Foodbank and has the biggest heart for her community. She still goes to Pilates 4 times a week. We talk and she gives me advice every day. I think of and celebrate the inspiration that is my mum every International Women's Day!

Michael Murrie: In my role at Tandem Partners I find this really hard to answer. Honestly, in my line of work I meet so many women every day whether they are clients, candidates, and working colleagues. If I think especially about new candidates that I meet, the inspiration is the story…both professionally and / or family, life challenges. I am highly fortunate to hear the story of women’s lives and how did they get this point. Their backgrounds are all so unique and brings so many great stories but also their life journey.

I especially love hearing about those women who arrive here from overseas, sometimes with very little English, and/ or no support and begin their life here. What are the drivers and what are the motivators? All so different. Inspiration is seeing them go on a journey and try to find happiness with family, then work, in that order. The resilience and motivation is incredible because even in this lucky country the cards are somewhat stacked against them.

Rachel Gilzean: Over the past 5 years, I have seen a huge difference in what companies now offer in their parental leave policy. We have seen this across the HR market at both the macro and micro level; From global policies in multinational firms through to smaller organisations here in the Sydney and Melbourne market, led by many of the exceptional (and often female) HR leaders within our own network. We know these policies significantly improve outcomes for females in particular when it comes to their career and return to work.

Matt Parrish: Not a HR leader a such but growing up as a keen tennis player, I always found Billy Jean King an inspiring leader. She is an advocate for gender equality and has long been a pioneer for equality and social justice. She was the first person to campaign for equal prize money way back in the early 1970’s and as the defending champion, was brave enough to threaten not to play in the 1973 US Open if the tournament didn’t offer equal prize money for men and women, which it did. She is obviously famous for her activism related to tennis and her infamous win in ‘the battle of the sexes’ against Bobby Riggs in 1973 but her influence extended beyond tennis in to other sporting codes and in to the world of business.

HR Contracting Employment Market Update, Nov 2024

Mon, 11 Nov 2024 02:28:30 GMT

The Australian economy, despite global uncertainties, is showing resilience, especially in the labor market.

Although GDP growth is expected to remain below trend for the remainder of 2024 and 2025 due to cost-of-living pressures and higher interest rates, the unemployment rate remains low at around 4%, demonstrating the strength of the labour market. Recent Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data indicates full-time employment increasing with employment growth outpacing population expansion, highlighting the continued demand for labour across multiple sectors.

Seek's employment report reveals year-on-year volumes are down 11.1%, however on a positive note, this is the third consecutive monthly rise in job ads. While demand increased in industries like retail, manufacturing, and logistics, certain sectors, such as ICT and hospitality, saw a decline. Australia's employment landscape is demonstrating notable resilience amidst global headwinds.

Interestingly, some regions like Queensland and New South Wales showed a rise in job ads, while others, like Victoria and Tasmania, experienced declines. Overall, the tightness in the labour market, combined with continued demand in key sectors, suggests that while challenges remain, Australia's employment landscape is demonstrating notable resilience amidst global headwinds.

The HR interim market specifically has two opposing drivers. On the one hand, you have reduced spending on external consulting & projects due to tighter budget constraints. Yet, on the other hand, there’s increased demand for flexibility. Given most HR teams are at capacity there is increased demand on bolting on HR contractors to meet any increased workload. This two-way pressure results in a consistent number of vacancies. The operational HR career remains most buoyant, with the more senior and executive positions remaining a lot softer and more competitive for candidates than hoped.

Given the incremental increase in the number of HR vacancies over the recent months, we are predicting the typical seasonal buoyant spike in contracting, across all career levels for the end of this calendar year. In addition to this, the US election might cause some unexpected swings in the market.

To discuss the HR Contracting Employment market further, you can reach us at contracting@tandempartners.com.au or 02 8045 2920 .

Building a Strong Brand as a People & Culture Professional

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 00:10:14 GMT

In today's competitive job market, a strong professional brand isn't just a nice-to-have—it's essential. Whether you're consciously cultivating it or not, you're building your professional brand every day, especially through social media. Let's face it, we live in a world where your online presence can make or break your career. But don't stress—this is your opportunity to shine and show the world what you're truly made of.

HR professionals who master the art of personal branding don't just advance their own careers—they become industry powerhouses. You can inspire change, lead with impact, and create ripples that extend beyond your organisation. I’ve seen it time and time again; those who own their brand get the recognition they deserve. They build trust, not just within their companies but across the industry. They’re the ones people turn to for advice, the ones who set the trends rather than follow them.

Why your professional brand matters: Your professional brand is more than just a polished LinkedIn profile or a personal website. It's the total package—your reputation, your skills, your values, and how you present yourself to the world. For us in HR, it’s about more than just self-promotion. It’s about adding real value, forging meaningful connections, and leaving a lasting impression that resonates with others. Your brand should scream: “I’m here to make a difference.” Reflect on this: How does your current brand reflect your commitment to ethical practices, your passion for driving talent success, and your ability to influence organisational growth? If it doesn’t, it’s time to tweak it.

Aligning your brand with your values: Here’s where it gets personal. Align your brand with your strengths, values, and career goals. Share your stories—people connect with authenticity, not polished perfection. If you’ve been through struggles in your career, like I have, don’t hide them. Those stories of overcoming challenges resonate because they’re real, and people respect that. When I first started in HR, I was navigating some tough environments, often male-dominated and not always welcoming. I was excluded, underestimated, and had to prove my worth constantly. But those experiences shaped me into the leader I am today—resilient, assertive, and dedicated to supporting others through their own challenges. That’s part of my brand, and it’s something I’m proud to share because it shows that I’m not just talking the talk—I’ve walked the walk.

The HR Brand and the Employer Brand; a close connection: Now, let’s talk about something crucial — how your HR brand is intricately connected to your employer's brand. In many organisations, the employer brand is managed by marketing, but HR plays a pivotal role in shaping and sustaining it. Here’s the thing: As HR professionals, we’re often the first point of contact for potential employees. The way we communicate, the values we uphold, and the culture we promote are all reflections of the broader employer brand. Think of your professional brand as the personal touchpoint that humanises the employer brand. While marketing might craft the message, HR brings it to life. For example, if your employer’s brand is all about innovation and inclusivity, your professional brand should echo those values. When candidates interact with you, they should feel that they’re stepping into a company that truly embodies its public image. I’ve worked in organisations where the disconnect between HR and the marketing-managed employer brand was glaring. It creates confusion, mistrust, and ultimately, a damaged reputation. On the other hand, when HR professionals align their personal brand with the employer brand, it creates a seamless experience for candidates and employees alike. It reinforces the message that the company practices what it preaches, building trust and engagement.

Owning social media: Social media can be a game-changer if used right. At a bare minimum, ensure your LinkedIn profile is not just up to date but a powerful reflection of your journey. Regularly post insights, articles, or updates about HR trends. This isn’t about showing off; it’s about sharing knowledge and positioning yourself as a go-to resource. Consistency across platforms is key—your brand should be a clear, unified story wherever people find you. I’ve found that sharing stories about my experiences, the highs, and the lows, has created more engagement than anything else. People want to know the real you, so let them in.

The power of networking: Never underestimate the power of networking. This isn't just about swapping business cards at conferences—it’s about real, valuable connections. Attend industry events, join webinars, engage in discussions, and don’t just talk—listen. Learn from others, share your insights, and be generous with your knowledge. Remember, networking is a two-way street. It's not just about what you can get but what you can give. Offer support, share resources, and lift others up. That generosity will come back to you tenfold, and it will solidify your reputation as someone who is not just in the game for themselves.

Becoming a thought leader: Thought leadership isn’t just for CEOs. If you’ve got something to say, say it. Write articles, blog posts, or LinkedIn updates on topics you’re passionate about. It’s not as daunting as it sounds—start small, maybe with a post about a challenge you’ve overcome or a trend you’ve noticed. You’ll be surprised how many people will relate. Public speaking is another powerful way to establish your brand. I know, it can be nerve-wracking, but trust me, it’s worth it. I’ve spoken at industry events where I was the only woman on the panel, and let me tell you, it was empowering to share my perspective and see the impact it had.

Commitment to continuous learning: Your brand should scream, "I'm always evolving." The HR world is constantly changing, with new challenges, trends, and technologies emerging all the time. Stay on top of it—get those certifications, attend workshops, and never stop learning. This not only makes you better at your job but shows others that you’re committed to your growth and the growth of those around you.

Embracing growth and change: Your professional brand isn’t set in stone—it’s a living, breathing entity that evolves as you do. Don’t be afraid to take on new challenges or step outside your comfort zone. Each experience, whether a success or a failure, is a chance to refine your brand and show the world that you’re always moving forward.

The journey to a strong brand: Building a strong professional brand as an HR professional isn’t a one-off task—it’s a journey of self-discovery, continuous learning, and strategic networking. It takes time, effort, and commitment, but the rewards are worth it. A powerful brand opens doors, creates connections, and deepens your leadership impact.

So, how are you going to own your brand? What steps will you take today to align your professional presence with the leader you truly are? And how will you ensure that your brand and your employer’s brand work together to create a powerful, unified message?

Monica Watt is a seasoned HR and leadership consultant with over 20 years of experience across diverse industries, including tech, defence, and hospitality. As a former Group CHRO of an ASX-listed company, she brings deep expertise in strategic leadership, agile coaching, and managing complex, high-pressure environments. With over 20 years of experience shaking up industries from tech to defence. She has led with grit, navigating the chaos of corporate landscapes with a strategic edge and a passion for empowering leaders to rise above the noise. Now, she’s on a mission to help organisations cut through the corporate crap, build fearless teams, and drive real results—without the fluff. Monica now offers consultancy services focused on empowering organisations to enhance leadership effectiveness, streamline processes, and foster resilient, high-performing teams.

Leaders Step Up

Tue, 27 Aug 2024 01:06:12 GMT

Leaders Step Up

Like many, my daily routine starts with a download of news from around the world. A keen student of history, my news feed suggests that we haven't learned from our mistakes through the passage of time - we just use more powerful weapons.

Yet, I am reminded that alongside this darker side of human history, there is also a narrative of resilience, creativity, and a relentless pursuit of progress. We have built civilsations, developed art, science, and culture, and sought meaning beyond mere survival. These achievements reflect a capacity for growth, empathy, and the desire to understand our place in the cosmos.

The purpose of life is a deeply personal and subjective question. For some, it might be about seeking happiness, creating meaningful relationships, or contributing to the betterment of society. For others, it could involve spiritual growth, understanding the mysteries of existence, or leaving a legacy for future generations.

The fact that we are capable of asking such profound questions suggests that there is more to humanity than the conflicts that mar our history. We strive for justice, peace, and a better world, even if our efforts are often imperfect. Our ability to reflect on our actions, to feel remorse, and to aspire to do better, shows that we do have the potential to deserve a future in the universe.

Ultimately, whether we deserve that future depends on the choices we make moving forward—whether we learn from our past, embrace compassion and cooperation, and work towards a world where the value of human life is held above all else. The future is not predetermined; it is something we collectively shape through our actions and decisions.

To become better leaders in the context of humanity's history of conflict and the search for meaning, we must embrace a leadership philosophy grounded in empathy, self-awareness, and a commitment to the greater good. Here's how we can evolve as leaders, drawing lessons from the past and focusing on a more constructive and compassionate future:

1. Leading with Empathy

Valuing Human Life: At the heart of becoming a better leader is recognising the intrinsic value of every individual. Empathy allows leaders to see beyond differences—be they cultural, ideological, or geographical—and focus on our shared humanity. This perspective discourages the dehumanisation that has historically fuelled conflict.
Active Listening: Empathetic leaders are active listeners. They take the time to understand the needs, concerns, and aspirations of others, fostering a culture where people feel valued and heard. This not only builds trust but also encourages collaboration and innovation.

2. Cultivating Self-Awareness

Reflecting on History: Leaders must be students of history, not just to avoid repeating its mistakes, but to understand the motivations and consequences of past decisions. By reflecting on humanity’s past, leaders can develop a deeper understanding of their own biases, fears, and motivations.
Personal Growth: Leadership begins with self-leadership. Better leaders continuously seek to understand themselves, including their strengths, weaknesses, and the impact of their actions on others. This self-awareness leads to more informed and thoughtful decision-making.

3. Emphasising Ethical Leadership

Moral Courage: Leaders must possess the moral courage to make decisions that are right, even when they are difficult or unpopular. This involves prioritising human life and dignity over personal or national gain. Ethical leaders inspire trust and respect, setting a standard for others to follow.
Accountability: Better leaders hold themselves accountable for their actions and the actions of those they lead. They do not shy away from admitting mistakes and take responsibility for the consequences of their decisions. This transparency fosters a culture of integrity.

4. Promoting Peace and Collaboration

Building Bridges, Not Walls: In a world still scarred by conflict, leaders must focus on building bridges between different cultures, communities, and nations. This involves fostering dialogue, understanding, and cooperation to resolve conflicts peacefully.
Global Citizenship: Leaders who view themselves as global citizens recognise that the well-being of humanity as a whole is interconnected. They work towards solutions that benefit not just their own people, but humanity as a whole, recognising that our shared future depends on cooperation.

5. Visionary Leadership

Inspiring Hope: In times of despair and conflict, better leaders are those who can inspire hope. They articulate a vision of a better future and motivate others to work towards it, even when the path is difficult.
Sustainable Leadership: Visionary leaders think long-term. They make decisions that ensure the sustainability of resources, the environment, and human relationships. They recognise that their actions today will shape the world for generations to come.

6. Creating Inclusive Environments

Diversity and Inclusion: Leaders must embrace diversity and create inclusive environments where different perspectives are valued. This not only enriches decision-making but also reflects a commitment to justice and equality, principles that are essential for a peaceful and prosperous society.
Empowerment: Better leaders empower others by providing opportunities for growth, encouraging innovation, and fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility among their teams.

7. Learning from Failures

Resilience: History shows that failure is often a precursor to success. Better leaders understand that setbacks and mistakes are opportunities for learning and growth. They cultivate resilience in themselves and their teams, viewing challenges as opportunities to evolve.
Adaptability: In an ever-changing world, adaptability is key. Leaders who are flexible and open to new ideas are better equipped to navigate the complexities of modern challenges and lead their organisations and communities to success.

8. Contributing to the Greater Good

Service-Oriented Leadership: The best leaders see themselves as servants to the people they lead. They prioritise the needs of others and work towards the common good, recognising that leadership is not about power, but about making a positive impact.
Legacy of Positivity: Ultimately, better leaders are those who leave behind a legacy of positive change. They focus on creating a world where future generations can thrive, free from the cycles of violence and destruction that have plagued humanity for so long.

Conclusion

To deserve a future in the universe, humanity must evolve its leadership

By embracing empathy, self-awareness, ethical principles, and a commitment to the greater good, leaders can guide society away from the destructive paths of the past and towards a future where the value of human life is paramount. This evolution is not just about avoiding conflict, but about actively creating a world where peace, justice, and cooperation are the norm. Leaders have the power to shape this future, and it is their responsibility to do so with wisdom, compassion, and integrity.

How To Ace Your Job Interview

Mon, 15 Jul 2024 06:10:52 GMT

The STAR method has long been a staple for assessing a candidate's past behaviour as a predictor of future performance. STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) helps interviewers understand how candidates handle specific situations. But have you heard of the SAIL method?

�� : ��, ��, ��, ��
The SAIL method builds on STAR's foundation but adds a critical component: Learning. Here’s how it works:
1. ��: Describe the context within which you performed a task
or faced a challenge at work
2. ��: Explain the specific actions you took to address the
situation.
3. ��: Highlight the results or impact of your actions. What
difference did you make?
4. ��: Reflect on what you learned from the experience and how
you’ve applied this learning in subsequent situations.

�� :
• Learning Component: While STAR focuses on the immediate outcome (Result), SAIL emphasizes continuous improvement by incorporating Learning. This addition helps interviewers gauge a candidate's ability to adapt and grow from their experiences.

• Deeper Insight: By asking candidates to articulate their learning, SAIL provides a deeper understanding of their problem-solving abilities and how they evolve and grow professionally.

• Future-Oriented: The learning aspect prepares candidates to discuss not only what they have done but also how they’ve applied those lessons to future challenges, making it more forward-looking.

�� :
In today’s ever-changing work environment, adaptability and a growth mindset are crucial. The SAIL method not only helps identify candidates who have achieved great results but also those who continuously strive to learn and improve.

Next time you're preparing for an interview, consider how you can articulate your experiences using the SAIL framework.

Building Resilience During Your Job Search: Strategies for Success

Fri, 05 Jul 2024 06:15:47 GMT

Looking for a new role can be a daunting and emotionally taxing experience, especially in today's competitive market. Rejections, uncertainty and the lack of structure can take a toll on even the most optimistic job seeker. However, resilience—the ability to bounce back from setbacks and maintain a positive outlook—can make a significant difference in your job search journey and your overall mental health. Here are some strategies to build and maintain resilience while searching for your next role.

Develop a Roadmap

Creating a structured plan for your job search is crucial. Identify clear milestones and steps you need to take, such as networking, applying for suitable roles, researching potential employers and preparing for and attending interviews. Having a roadmap helps you stay focused and organised and can help you break down the process into smaller, manageable tasks.

Connect and Network

Networking is a powerful tool in your job search arsenal, but it is also important to build and maintain your support network during this time. Don’t hesitate to reach out to friends, family, or professional networks for support. Sharing your experiences and seeking advice can provide support and a new perspective.

Stay Open-Minded and Positive

Flexibility and adaptability are crucial in a job search. Be open to exploring different roles, industries, or even locations. Remaining open to various opportunities, including temporary or contract roles, can broaden your options. Sometimes the perfect opportunity can come from an unexpected direction.

Celebrate Small Wins

Acknowledging and celebrating small victories can keep you motivated. Each interview, networking event, or positive feedback is a step towards securing your dream role. Celebrating these moments can boost your confidence and help you maintain a positive outlook during the search process.

Set Boundaries Around Your Job Search Activity

Treat your job search like a job but set clear boundaries. Dedicate a specific amount of time each day to job search activities and try to avoid spending the entire day doom scrolling job boards and LinkedIn. Use the remaining time to pursue activities you enjoy and typically wouldn’t have time for, helping you maintain a healthy balance and prevent burnout.

By implementing these strategies, you can build resilience and turn the job search process into an opportunity for personal and professional growth. Your next job opportunity is out there, and with a resilient mindset, you’ll be ready to seize it when it comes. Reach out if you would like a confidential conversation about your job search and the current market.

"I love HR, but not ER!"

Wed, 29 May 2024 05:11:49 GMT

A common catchcry of the many generalist HR practitioners we speak with every day, however the demand for strong employee relations skills within the HR generalist role has surged, essential for effectively resolving conflict, fostering a positive work environment, and ensuring organisational success.

Traditionally, HR generalists were responsible for a wide range of functions including recruitment, onboarding, performance, benefits, and compliance. That scope has expanded significantly, and employee relations skills have become a cornerstone of the HR generalist's toolkit, even where there is the luxury of being supported by an employee/industrial/workplace relations specialist or team.

I'll never forget the first performance management meeting I initiated years ago. I wrote a script for the line manager, she admitted was nervous, but after we had rehearsed it several times, she said she felt ready. We sat down together with her direct report, the line manager announced that "HR has something to talk to you about", then remained tight-lipped! With some coaching, next time she felt empowered to take control of the meeting, which was far more meaningful for her employee, and resulted in a lasting change in behaviour and their ongoing relationship.

Conflict is an inevitable part of any workplace. It can arise from differences in opinion, miscommunications, or competing interests. However, when these conflicts are emotionally charged, navigating them becomes significantly more complex. In such scenarios, advice can be open to interpretation, making resolution even more challenging. Effective conflict resolution skills are crucial for HR generalists to mediate disputes, address grievances, and maintain a harmonious work environment. This not only helps in resolving immediate issues, but also prevents future conflicts.

In addition to supporting the resolution of conflict, today's HR generalists are now expected to:

Facilitate Communication: Serving as a bridge between employees and leaders, ensuring transparent and effective communication, and offering a neutral perspective, which is essential in helping parties navigate emotionally charged situations. Their skills in active listening, empathy, and structured problem solving provide a framework that can transform even the most volatile situations into opportunities for growth and understanding.
Promote Engagement: Fostering a positive work culture that promotes employee engagement, satisfaction, and retention. A strong focus on employee relations helps in building a positive workplace culture. When employees feel heard, valued, and respected, their engagement and loyalty increase. HR generalists play a key role in creating programs and policies that promote job satisfaction and reduce turnover.
Ensure Legal Compliance and Risk Management: Understanding labour laws and regulations is essential for HR generalists. Employee relations skills help them navigate complex legal landscapes, ensuring that the organisation remains compliant and minimising the risk of litigation. In my example above, at first the line manager just wanted to "get rid of" that employee, so I had to explain our obligation to follow procedural fairness, and coach her through the necessary stages.
Support Diversity and Inclusion: Promoting a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace is a key responsibility of HR generalists. Strong employee relations skills enable them to address biases, foster inclusive practices, and ensure that all employees feel welcome and supported.
Navigate Change: In times of organisational change, such as mergers, acquisitions, or restructuring, employee relations skills are vital. HR generalists must manage employee concerns, communicate changes effectively, and provide support to ensure a smooth transition.

Given the growing importance of employee relations, HR generalists must continually develop and refine these skills. At Tandem Partners Pty Ltd. we are increasingly briefed on HR Business Partner or HR leadership roles with a requirement for ER skills and experience, and we are increasingly asked by HR generalists how and/or where can they improve their ER skills. Recognising the critical importance of this, our inaugural Tandem Tuition Series is focused on employee relations, delivered by qualified subject matter experts in the field.

See below and register your interest today with an email to:

supportmelbourne@tandempartners.com.au or please reach out to me directly for a chat.

How do you keep your ER skills fresh? I'd love to hear.

HR Services – Time To Shine

Wed, 22 May 2024 01:45:29 GMT

HR Services – Time To Shine

Noticed a surge in the number of HR Services Leadership roles being recruited in 2024? Tandem has experienced this firsthand, having filled several positions in this domain since January. It’s hard not to miss the increase in HR Services roles being advertised across a range of industries and I’m not sure we have ever seen such a high demand in this space. Whether it be under the banner of People Services, HR Operations or HR Shared Services – the search for talent in this stream is on!

An HR Services remit will vary depending upon organisational context and typically includes HR service delivery (Tiers 0- 3), HR systems, policy ownership, data insights and HR reporting, annual people process management (performance, remuneration etc) benefits administration and in some cases payroll, talent acquisition, mobility and learning administration. Often referred to as the ‘engine room’ of the HR function, the need to get this right has never been more critical. Consider these reasons alone:

- The regulatory landscape – Over the past 12 months and into 2024/25, HR teams have much on their plate with respect to employment law changes, heightened regulatory requirements and tighter industry standards. HR Services teams are at the forefront, driving initiatives and shaping policies to ensure organisational adherence and compliance.

- Pay remediation – Pay remediation projects continue into 2024, also driven by regulatory requirements and the forthcoming criminalisation of wage theft in 2025. Navigating complicated pay frameworks and payroll challenges, systems improvement or transformation remain key problems to solve for.

- Systems implementation and optimisation – The investment in and implementation of HR systems is prevalent and for some, optimising or repairing systems ‘post’ implementation, is the precursor for many an HR project. Of course, an effective HRIS, ‘one source of truth’ is the anchor for all work that HR Services carry out not to mention the platform for which HR teams are likely to seek out efficiencies and operating model gains.

- Employee experience + Manager support – organisations are furthering their employee and manager support offering, improving self-service (Tier 0) and extending their offering to implement Tier 1-3 levels of centralised HR expertise as the complexity of HR issues escalates. All culminating in a faster, more organised, precise and customised experience for all. Implementation of systems or AI tools that personalise and assist interaction and/or manage volume are key opportunities here.

- Data insights and reporting – No need for a great explanation. Data informs people and business decision making and this is the where the engine room really kicks into gear.

There is enough work here for decades!

While working in HR Services may not have always been viewed as glamourous, with most favouring HR Partnering, time spent in this part of the HR function offers valuable experience and career growth, both for early career candidates and beyond. As an HR Services Leader, you will lead and develop sizeable teams, flex your strategic thinking, manage the whole eco-system of HR delivery and project manage a vast array of initiatives impacting the whole enterprise. Your team will engineer processes and HR workflows, provide data insights that enable more effective partnering and feed into the development of a sound and deliverable people strategy, not to mention employee experience. As a result, there is a great opportunity to cultivate talent in this domain, and movement into HR Services, either through secondments, projects or permanent internal moves should be highly encouraged and better yet, planned for.

Ensuring that the HR function is built on strong foundations has never been more important than it is now, and HR organisations are cognisant of this into 2024. Additionally, of course AI, automation and digitisation will allow us to ‘step up’ HR service delivery even more. Indeed, the old adage of ‘what’s old is new again’ (wisdom borrowed from a recent chat with a very experienced CPO) seems to ring true in this context, as the importance of HR Services is being rediscovered and emphasised in today’s dynamic business environment. Time for HR Services teams to shine!

Happy International HR Day!

Mon, 20 May 2024 01:14:37 GMT

Today is National HR Day!

While there may be a "national or international day" for just about everything in our modern world (National Avocado Day anyone?) International HR Day (IHRD) on May 20th is one well worth pausing to recognise. This annual celebration provides an opportunity to reflect on the vital role that Human Resources professionals play in organisations across the globe, reminding us just how far the profession has evolved and transformed over time.

The day’s origins can be traced back to the USA's recognition of such a celebration from 1988 onwards, but it's the more recent initiative of the World Federation of People Management Associations (WFPMA), with the European Association for People Management (EAPM) who have taken a key role in promoting the annual global event since 2019. Each year, the EAPM announces themes for International HR Day, with the 2024 theme “HR shaping the new future” specifying the following four areas of focus:

- Ethical tech integration

- Redefining future workplaces

- Excellence in people leadership

- Continuous investment in skills and education

The themes for 2024 underscore that HR's evolution is far from finished. Emerging technologies, shifting employee expectations, and continual workplace transformation within our dynamic business world, will ensure HR skills continue to stretch, flex and grow. If the past is any indicator, the HR community is well-equipped to rise to the challenge.

So today, we’ll raise a toast to HR professionals around the world, in what can be an incredibly demanding and still strangely misunderstood role at times. If you do choose to do anything in this day’s honour, maybe acknowledge a colleague, commit to exploring the themes above and how they apply within your own organisation or simply at the very least, take a moment to reflect on the invaluable contribution you yourself make. You’ll hear many a cheer from the team at Tandem Partners!

However never fear, if you missed today, you get a second chance on National HR Professionals Day on September 26th. Plenty of time to plan for this one and who doesn’t love a celebration? Take the ball and run with it we say….

#IHRD #InternationalHRDay #TandemPartners #creatinggreatworkplaces

Too Busy To Enjoy Life?

Tue, 14 May 2024 01:37:29 GMT

Pseudo vs. Slow Productivity

Continuing the Japanese theme from my last article, I was fascinated by Dr. Libby Sander PhD 's latest podcast , reporting on her recent study tour to Tokyo, exploring fast retailer UNIQLO 's global HQ, a dream workspace in Tokyo which houses 10,000 employees, beautiful lounge areas, and an incredible Reading Room , all designed to ignite imagination and inspire creativity. In a country synonymous with long hours, significant overwork, and presenteeism, it is refreshing to see an employer investing in creating workspaces which encourage time to think.

Libby shared that The World Health Organisation recently reported that 60% of people say they're too busy to enjoy their life, that the amount of discretionary time we have at our disposal contributes to our stress. Does this resonate with you? Last week I had a lot going on for me outside of work, which set me back professionally for the week, and in turn made me anxious and stressed because I wasn't on top of things at work or on the home front. Normally, in this situation, I would work in the evenings or the weekend to catch up, but even that time was taken up with other things. Being so time poor is my kryptonite. But I also know all too well that working longer hours, consistently, is not sustainable and not the answer, as it ironically leads to negative productivity, along with stress, cognitive fatigue, and burnout.

Think about how often we say to others or even just think to ourselves, "I'm so busy"..."busyness" can be perceived as being important, as somewhat of a badge of honour, but if you're just busy being busy, with a full calendar and endless unproductive meetings, it doesn't necessarily mean you're working on what matters most, or that you're actually achieving anything. That's pseudo-productivity, right there.

Libby introduces Cal Newport's new book, Slow Productivity , a follow up to several others he has written about the intersections of technology, work, and the quest to find depth in an increasingly distracted world (I regularly recommend his 2016 book, Deep Work to people grappling with this). Cal defines pseudo-productivity as being the use of visible activity as the primary means of approximating actual productive effort , but explains instead, we should be valuing quality over quantity. I'm excited to dive in!

So, at the end of today, or this week, instead of thinking about how many hours you worked, consider what you have achieved that you're proud of, what did you do that mattered or made a difference?

Has anyone already read Slow Productivity yet, or any of Cal's other books? Are you guilty of being pseudo-productive? Is your workspace (office or home) conducive to enabling time for thinking or creativity? I'd love to hear.

#productivity #tandempartners

Are we seeing a shift in Reward & Remuneration?

Mon, 29 Apr 2024 02:07:21 GMT

Are we seeing a shift in Reward & Remuneration?

I've been doing a lot of work in the Reward space recently.

By 'Reward' I mean 'Total Reward' as in remuneration (or compensation), employee benefits, bonuses like STIs/LTIs, superannuation, equity schemes etc. It can often include recognition and performance too.

People who work in the Reward/Remuneration area are often called upon to perform the critical thinking and develop solutions for incredibly complex scenarios that are intended to balance budgets, data, and numbers with one of the more emotive areas of organisational dynamics - salaries!

Some sectors, like Fin Services for example, or publicly-listed environments, have further complexity due to the degree of regulatory compliance that needs to be managed on top of the day-to-day.

Reward teams are often run quite lean, or standalone. There is also a fairly common theme of managing all of this complexity without an HRIS or comprehensive tech and therefore relying on the data and tools scratched out of Excel (don't worry, reward people LOVE Excel).

And, as one person described to me, you don't really have peaks and troughs in Reward, you have peaks and then peaks.

So by now you're probably asking yourself, why the heck would you want to work in Reward?!

Well, something interesting has been happening in the reward area over the last few years and there is a definite shift that has not just elevated Reward as an integral and critical people-oriented discipline, but also how organisations are leaning on their Reward functions more heavily than ever before.

Rewind a couple of years when we were coming out of COVID and into a very competitive and super fast-paced market, talent acquisition and, indeed, talent retention, were critical to support many organisations' views of sustainable growth. Reward professionals were the key messengers for many a People and HR Leader as they shifted the dialogue with executive teams and boards on viewing reward not as cost, but as investment. They were the people who had to respond when asked what more could be done to utilise relevant reward solutions to remain commercially competitive and to maintain growth.

More recently, we've seen an ever-increasing scrutiny on reward practice – from employees, potential employees and the general public wanting to gain deeper insights on a business's working culture and environment more than ever before; and also as an outcome of policy change from regulators and government.

With that comes a whole new suite of expectations outside what I'd call traditional reward and remuneration best practice. Areas that may have once been hygiene factors but are now climbing the prioritisation ladder; pay equity (eg gender pay gap), flexibility, mobility, career frameworks and talent development, ESG, market data and benchmarking methodologies that take into consideration broader talent markets, benefits that intentionally target impactful health and wellbeing initiatives.

The list goes on.

If all of this seems complex – it is. Balancing qualitative and quantitative analysis, understanding the yin and the yang of a healthy workforce, is where a Reward Leader in today's market needs to be every day.

The very cool thing that's happening here however is that the reward discipline is truly helping thrust into the limelight the people levers that create the environment necessary to help employees thrive.

So, when you think of it that way, why wouldn't you want to work in Reward?

Hats off to those folks who I know are working hard to make a real difference in this area:

Lessons From Japan: A Brief Reflection

Mon, 22 Apr 2024 00:48:36 GMT

Lessons From Japan: A Brief Reflection

Upon returning last week from an inspiring ten days in Japan with my family, I have been reflecting on the invaluable lessons I've taken from the Japanese culture and way of life. If you've been fortunate enough to have experienced this beautiful country, this will no doubt resonate with you, and if not, I encourage you to include it on your bucket list.

Beyond the picturesque landscapes and vibrant cities, Japan offers a profound insight into the significance of peacefulness, respect, orderliness, and attention to detail - values deeply intertwined with both personal and professional success.

In Japan, respect is a cornerstone of daily life, evident in everything from customary bowing to meticulous social etiquette. I noticed in observing employees in the hospitality, retail, entertainment, transport, and manufacturing sectors across the country that this culture of reverence extends seamlessly into the workplace, where hierarchies are respected, and each individual's contribution is valued. This no doubt fosters trust, collaboration, and a sense of belonging among team members, hence the concept of shūshin koyō , or lifetime employment (with the one employer), which still exists while Japan slowly evolves to meet the changing needs of the modern workforce.

Hand in hand with respect, at the heart of Japanese culture lies a profound sense of peacefulness. It is one of the quietest countries in the world, where causing others inconvenience by making unwarranted noise is very much frowned upon. No car horns, bicycle bells, phones ringing, or people speaking to one another nor on phones on public transport. Even most pedestrian crossings are silent, or you'll hear a mere, adorable "tweet" when it's your time to cross the road. Despite the crowds and bright lights, there's a palpable harmony that brings about a sense of calm amidst the chaos. This peaceful coexistence extends seamlessly into the workplace, where fostering a culture of tranquility can lead to enhanced focus, reduced stress, and improved overall wellbeing among employees. Of course, this isn't practical in all workplaces or roles, but remembering to allow yourself and your team regular space and time for thinking and "deep work" is so important.

Orderliness permeates Japanese culture, from the bustling streets and train stations of Tokyo to the serenity of traditional tea ceremonies in Kyoto. In the workplace, maintaining order is essential for productivity and efficiency, streamlines operations, and minimises disruptions. Just as an orderly home can decrease your stress and improve your happiness, an orderly work environment cultivates a sense of stability and confidence among employees, empowering them to focus on their tasks with clarity and purpose.

Attention to detail is perhaps one of the most revered aspects of Japanese craftsmanship. From exquisite culinary presentations to meticulously crafted arts, every detail is thoughtfully considered and executed with precision. This dedication to perfectionism is not merely a pursuit of excellence but a reflection of a deeper culture that values skill and mastery. In the workplace, attention to detail translates into a commitment to quality and excellence. Whether it's refining a product design, proofreading a report, or fine-tuning a presentation, paying attention to the small and precise details can elevate the overall standard of work and distinguish a brand in a competitive market.

By embracing respect, order, and attention to detail, organisations can create environments where individuals thrive, creativity flourishes, and excellence becomes the norm. As we navigate today's globalised economy, let us continue to draw inspiration from other cultures, integrating their timeless principles to cultivate workplaces where success and fulfilment go hand in hand.

What learnings from experiencing other cultures have you brought into the workplace?

#Japan #culture #LinkedIndiscussion

Commercial Acumen: An Essential Skill in your HR Career

Thu, 07 Mar 2024 00:18:47 GMT

I was recently fortunate to meet with several exceptional senior HR practitioners who in the course of our conversation, demonstrated a high level of commercial understanding of their organisation and how their roles were able to impact the business. It made me think about how commercial acumen is a very desirable trait in an HR professional at all levels. You see it in nearly every job description and on job ads but what exactly is it? How do you develop it as an HR Business Partner? And how can you demonstrate it when looking for a new role or promotion?

Business acumen for HR is much broader than just understanding how an organisation makes money, who its competitors are, and how to read a P&L (although that’s a solid start). It involves being able to analyse data and provide insights, the ability to develop and present a business case. Business acumen is a combination of commercial knowledge, skills, and experience that enables someone to understand key business issues, apply that understanding effectively, make informed decisions, and influence leaders quickly.

The HR practitioners I met with recently had taken the opportunity to step out of their senior HR roles for a period of time to manage a business unit or function in large complex businesses. Opportunities afforded to them because of the relationships and trust they had built with executives in those businesses over time. By being open to the opportunity, although at times a steep learning curve, they have come back into HR roles with an even deeper level of commercial understanding that they have then used to drive HR strategy and demonstrate HR’s importance to the business.

Is it possible to develop commercial acumen without stepping into a different role? Absolutely! Getting involved in projects with cross-functional teams where you are working with different parts of the business is a great way to develop relationships and your understanding of the business. Asking and being inquisitive with leaders further about their role and function. Project management can also build key skills in budgeting and financial literacy, communication skills, reporting, and delivery.

If you are just stepping into a HR Advisor or HR Business Partner role an important way you can build your business knowledge may be to be as visible as possible, especially initially. This may mean being in the office as often as possible, being contactable to your key stakeholders, hearing their conversations, and immersing yourself in the business. Being visible and learning the language and rhythms of the business will go a long way to building the trust and understanding you will need to progress in your role. Study, read, go to industry events, and look for opportunities to partner with different parts of the business.

How do you demonstrate your commercial understanding on your CV or in an interview, especially earlier on in your career? On your CV it is important to highlight details of the business and business unit you support - how big are they? What do they do? Who are your key stakeholders? Can you articulate your impact on the revenue line and/or bottom line? How did you make a difference?

By showcasing your commercial acumen, at any stage of your career you not only position yourself as a partner to the business but also as someone who understands the critical link between HR practices and overall business success.

Taking a Leap of Faith in Your Career Journey

Thu, 29 Feb 2024 01:53:14 GMT

As I celebrate five years with Tandem Partners Pty Ltd. today, I've been reflecting on this article I wrote, six months into the most drastic career change I'd ever made. Four and a half years later...still here! Testament to the fabulous humans I'm lucky enough to call my team, fascinating conversations every single day with HR clients and candidates, and continual learnings along the way.

In the realm of professional (and personal) growth, sometimes we confront the decision to embark on a new path, to dare to make a career change that aligns more closely with our passions, values, needs, or aspirations. It really is a leap of faith - one that requires courage, self-reflection, and a willingness to embrace the unknown. Within the uncertainty lies the potential for profound transformation.

Transitioning careers can be daunting; it challenges us to step outside our comfort zones, to redefine our identities, and to confront the fear of failure. However, it is precisely in these moments of uncertainty that we have the opportunity to discover our true capabilities and pursue paths that resonate with our authentic selves.

The decision to change careers can arise from a desire for greater fulfilment, purpose, and meaning in our lives. Whether it's a long-held passion, unfulfilled ambitions, or shifts in personal circumstances or industry trends, embracing change requires a mindset of adaptability, resilience, and openness to learning.

One of the most valuable lessons you can learn on your career trajectory is the importance of introspection and self-discovery. Pausing and taking the time to reflect on our strengths, interests, and values can provide invaluable insights into the direction we wish to pursue. Whether through self-assessment tools, mentorship, or meaningful conversations with peers and mentors, clarifying our professional aspirations can serve as a guiding light as we navigate our careers.

Making a career change is not merely about finding a new job or title - it involves acquiring new skills, expanding our networks, and embracing the opportunities and challenges that come with venturing into uncharted territory. You need to cultivate a growth mindset, one that thrives on curiosity, resilience, and a willingness to learn from both successes and setbacks.

In the face of uncertainty, it's natural to experience moments of doubt, apprehension, even trepidation. Surrounding ourselves with a supportive community of peers, mentors, and allies can provide encouragement, guidance, and perspective as we navigate the highs and lows.

Embrace change, trust in your abilities, jump into the unknown, and pursue paths that challenge and inspire you. Check out this advice on planning a change , as a starting point, if you're thinking about a change in role type, company, industry, or a complete career flip.

Have you taken a leap of faith? How did it go? What did you learn?

#careerchange #LinkedIndiscussion #tandempartners

Contracting & Interim Salary & Rates

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 01:08:39 GMT

Salary & and rates when working on assignments aren’t everything, but it’s important.

This article is a foundational guide for those considering contracting or interim employment, but perhaps have never done it before.

Converting Annualised Salary into Day/Hourly Rates

Although it’s a lot easier to compare a prorated fixed/max term salary to see the annualised salary equivalent, it’s not as easy, nor a fixed rule when it comes to converting annual salary to a day rate, as they are different employment arrangements.

There is a general calculation as a rough guide that can help as a starting point. To get an initial estimate of a day/hourly rate from an annualised salary, you can use a simple calculation by dividing the per annum salary by 220 working days, which would give you a fair market equivalent.

The 220 days are calculated by starting with total days in the calendar year = 365 days then minus 55 weekends, approx. 10 public holidays, 20 days annual leave, and 10 days personal leave which leaves 220 days (approx.).

Here’s an example below:

Positions around $150,000 p.a. including super, and considering day rate contracts, then:

$150,000 including super divided by 220 days = $681.81 per day including super.

The hourly rate would then be $681.81 divided by 7.6 hours = $89.71 per hour including super.

Bonuses

Some of the obvious differences that you need to consider when applying for contracting and interim work is, given you aren’t a full-time permanent salaried employee, a lot of the time you aren’t on the company’s annual benefit scheme so aren’t entitled to the annual bonus and company benefits. However, some contracts do pay a completion bonus, and some of the time you can negotiate this as part of your package. Completion bonuses are on average between 5 to 20%, with some industries paying more depending on the length of the assignment and seniority of the position. Completion bonuses can be variably calculated with links to performance objectives and/or company performance, or they are fixed. Fixed is designed to ensure candidates complete the contract to date, although even fixed completion bonuses can have clauses in a contract around performance measures, however, this is more a risk management policy protecting companies requiring paying contractors for serious underperformance of the contractor in the term of the contract, rather than variable bonuses which are designed for rewarding measures of performance and completing objectives. If the completion bonus is variable, a good question to ask is if the bonus can pay out more than 100% of the target, especially where the business has a chance for strong financial returns, or if the culture is one that financially rewards high performance.

Working through an ABN

If you're planning an extended career in contracting, consulting, and interim work, you may want to consider setting up an ABN (Australian Business Number) or even a Pty Ltd (proprietary limited) business, as that can provide benefits not possible if you are an employee.

Ensure you gain the necessary financial advice to ensure the contract work is eligible and compliant with tax legislation, and you are covered with the necessary insurance requirements. If choosing this option, you need to factor in the time and effort to independently manage your business administration, invoicing, and taxes. You may want to consider the convenience of outsourcing to a ‘contractor management’ company that can easily cover your insurance and handle all the invoicing, tax, and accounting services that independent contractors require, with a management fee.

If you are using an ABN on an interim assignment through an agency, they will ensure you have the necessary insurance and are tax compliant, however, most agencies also have the option to cover you on their insurance if you don’t have them without changing the agreed rate offered before receiving your contract. This is a good discussion to have before proceeding with the recruitment process for an assignment through an agent.

Negotiation & the Finer Detail

Where possible, ensure you understand the budget for the assignment and rate on offer early in the process before investing too much of your time in interviewing, and not leaving negotiating too late in the process if you want to discuss a higher rate than what’s been proposed. This isn’t always possible to do until offer, but most of the time salary and rate can be found out early in the application process. A degree of flexibility with your salary and rate expectations can minimise outpricing yourself in the market, missing an assignment due to budget constraints, and missing out on getting the offer to a competitive candidate with the same skills and experience who are more flexible. Ensure all the details are correct if any figures are provided in the recruitment process, including is the rate proposed is inclusive or exclusive of superannuation; details of any bonuses if any; perhaps how is salary packaging offered if you are working within a Not-for-Profit that may offer tax exemptions.

Details around notice periods and expenses, like travel between sites, etc. are also necessary to cover, as in certain situations, they may impact you financially.

The Bigger Picture

Salary and rates aside, the bigger picture is that contracting and interim work can accelerate your career at any stage, including those in the early stages of their emerging career who want development opportunities to learn, through to those that are at the executive and leadership level, who are seeking interesting, high-impact work and a chance to utilise and apply their extensive experience.

If you are a HR generalist or specialist professional in Sydney and have any questions or are interested in contracting, or contracting salary or rates, then please don’t hesitate to reach out, or re-contact us if it’s been some time and would like to update us on your availability, experience & circumstances.

Planning to Hire a HR Business Partner in 2024?

Mon, 05 Feb 2024 04:06:49 GMT

Ahhh the precarious usage of the position title Human Resources/ People and Culture Business Partner has plagued the HR market for years. How difficult it is to benchmark this role when there is SUCH variance in HRBP positions, from role requirements through to needed previous experience. Not all HR Business Partner roles were created equal which is why we have such discrepancy in salary and leveling.

What is one organisation’s HRBP is another’s’ HR Advisor and not everyone who wears the title ‘HR Business Partner’ are truly business partnering. Whilst the HR market has slowed down recently, commercial and experienced Business Partners are still in high demand and aligning experience, approach and capability to a business’ needs is becoming increasingly difficult.

Firstly, let’s try to find the common ground…

Whilst HRBP’s need to have extensive technical HR knowledge and experience aligned to their role, there are also universal attributes that every excellent HR Business Partner has. No matter how senior a HRBP role is, or what industry they work within, below are the top 5 attributes needed for HR Business Partners:

Collaborative approach – Particularly the ability to be the conduit between HR COE’s and your client group
Stakeholder management skills – How well one can build relationships, trust and influence others
Commercial/Business acumen – How to translate business strategy into HR related programs and initiatives
Strategic and innovative thinking – Ability to develop solutions to the business to solve problems
Agility and adaptability – Capability to pivot and manage change as well as move quickly to provide a competitive advantage.

SALARY BENCHMARKING

Using Salary Benchmark guides are very difficult to use when building a salary band for a HRBP role as there is such variance in these roles, where salaries can range from $130,000 - $200,000 plus. Below are some elements of a HRBP role that impact the skills/experience, level of seniority and salary of a HRBP role:

- Size of client group and level of seniority of your key stakeholders

- Percentage of operational vs strategic elements of the role

- Maturity of the HR function as well as broader People and culture team size, structure, and support

- Focus of the role (ER/IR, OD, Talent Acquisition etc)

- Organisational culture and appetite for true business partnering

- Strategic goals/priorities of the HR function and broader business

- Industry of organisation

- Commercial impact your client group has

CORE IN DEMAND EXPERIENCE AND KNOLWEDGE FOR A HRBP:

There is often a premium that a business will need to pay for the below in demand skills:

Industrial Relations experience, specifically dealing with unions and EBA negotiation experience.
Ability to design and deliver HR programs and strategies, particularly relating to organisational design and development
Analytical and data driven approach to HR or the ability to make data-driven decisions for HR strategy

BUT WHAT DO HR BUSINESS PARTNERS WANT?

Candidates are being highly cautious in moving and will only do so if the culture and opportunity is highly aligned to what they’re looking for. When looking to attract HRBP’s into your business, below are the main priorities for HRBP candidates in 2024:

Transparency – We often receive calls from candidates not long after commencing a role that they are now looking again as the role was not as it was sold at interview. Giving candidates a realistic overview of a role will set your HRBP up for success and will ensure you have built trust from the beginning. But please remember that transparency also means sharing all of the wonderful things about your company, culture and role!

Increase in salary…of course! - No need to go on about the constant rise in interest rates and cost of living driving demand for higher salaries. Through the significant challenges of recent talent short markets, we’ve seen a good lift in salary ranges for HRBP’s recently so being able to offer an above market rate to attract top talent is becoming increasingly difficult for hiring managers.

Personal development through delivery of interesting work – HRBP’s are wanting to stretch their experience outside of BAU business partnering and gain experience across transformation, OD, and leading the design and delivery of different HR strategies that impact culture.

Collaborative and Inspiring leaders – Business Partners are wanting their leaders to be their advocates and are seeking someone who will coach and inspire them, as well as having strong executive presence.

Flexibility and Hybrid working– It’s great to see that 90% of our clients are continuing to offer a hybrid model. Whilst it is now the norm, it’s still the first question a Business Partner will ask during a career conversation.

Please get in touch with us here at Tandem Partners if you would like us to provide you with some bespoke salary benchmarking guidance or to discuss your hiring needs!

2023 Sydney HR Market Summary

Mon, 05 Feb 2024 03:57:04 GMT

We have certainly experienced a change in the Sydney employment market over the last twelve months. With rising interest rates impacting businesses and consumers, the job market has slowed down considerably. This time last year, candidates were receiving multiple job offers and hiring decisions were being made relatively quickly to able to secure talent. In the last six to twelve months, there has been less choice of roles, and candidates now need to be more proactive to ensure that they are being considered for opportunities.

Equally, organisations are being more cautious in their decision making with hiring processes being pushed out for extended time periods. Organisations are being mindful of their own HR and business budgets and are now less likely to stretch their salaries for the right candidate. Whilst there are less roles available, it is still a talent short market for top-talent, and businesses are holding out for their ‘unicorn’ candidate. Hiring managers are also increasingly scrutinising candidates’ tenure in previous companies to assess the likeliness of candidates’ long-term commitment to an organisation, as they work towards stabilising their teams after turnover and much change over the past few years.

Passive candidates are being extra cautious due to economic uncertainty and are less likely to jump into a new role quickly in the same way they were in 2021 and 2022. Many candidates we are speaking with have also regretted moving to new roles over the past couple of years and will move only if the leadership and culture is strong, but more so if the company is stable and growing.

MOST IN DEMAND HR TALENT

HR Business Partners : A lot of organisations are struggling to attract the right calibre of HR Business Partners, particularly those sitting within the $130,000 - $150,0000 base salary mark. HRBP’S that can demonstrate strong commercial acumen and stakeholder management skills at interview are doing very well during their job searches.

Remuneration & Reward: Specialists who are able influence senior stakeholders have remained in high demand this year. Remuneration and Reward Partners with ASX-listed, Financial Services and Governance experience have been especially difficult to attract.

HR Advisors: At the Junior to mid-level market, the most in demand role have been HR Advisors. HR Leaders are struggling to attract experienced Advisors with a good level of employee relations experience, often due to the need to pay a premium for top talent. Many high performing HR Advisors are focused on moving into HRBP roles for their next role and are now willing to wait until they find a step up in their next role.

IR Specialists: As the industrial relations landscape continues to change, experienced and contemporary Industrial Relations Specialists remain in high demand, particularly those with proven experience effectively partnering with unions and end to end EBA negotiation experience.

COMPETITVE ROLES FOR CANDIDATES

Executive HR Roles: It is most competitive for roles at the senior to executive level. Opportunities that do arise however are less consistent. Most vacant roles at this level are replacement roles rather than newly established opportunities.

Talent Acquisition: We have seen an influx of Talent Acquisition candidates in the market at all levels due to hiring freezes, headcount reductions and overall economic uncertainty. With some excellent Recruiters on the market right now, we view it as a great time to bring forward their hiring of these roles now.

Organisational Development: There has been less movement within the Organisational Development space, particularly at the Partner/Senior Consultant level. That being said, open roles with a strong focus on Talent and Leadership Development has remained steady due to many organisations being focused on building their capability internally.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2024

Overall, due to the significant movement in the HR market in 2021 and 2022, coupled with budgetary headcount restrictions, we are predicting that in early 2024 HR roles will continue to become more specific and aligned to the business. As People and Culture teams continue to be more under resourced than ever, recruiting highly qualified and experienced practitioners to solve their current ongoing people and business challenges are top of mind for hiring managers.

As interest rates in the short term appear to remain flat, as an eternal optimist, we are predicting positivity in the market and hopefully an upswing of opportunities in 2024. Whilst recent years have taught us to be cautious with market predictions, industries where we see the most growth in the next year include Education, as well as Healthcare and Aged Care. With many HR Professionals already commencing their job searches this side of the festive season, we’re predicting a good amount of movement in the market in February 2024.

Retaining Top Talent Through Seamless Onboarding!

Mon, 05 Feb 2024 03:55:18 GMT

Retaining Top Talent Through Seamless Onboarding.

D oes your recruitment process end at a signed offer? With candidates receiving multiple offers & top talent still being in high demand, now is the time to prioritise your onboarding experience.

According to recent Australian statistics, 30% of employees who do not receive proper onboarding before their first day are more likely to drop out within the first six months.

So, how can you enhance your onboarding experience & engage your new starters prior to commencing? ?

�� Create a Warm Welcome: Give your new starter a heartfelt greeting & a welcome phone call after the accepted offer. Set the tone for a positive work culture right from the start. This includes multiple touchpoints, to ensure engagement during notice periods.

�� Personalise the Experience: One size doesn't fit all! Tailor your onboarding to the individual & their role.

�� Leverage Technology: Embrace digital platforms and tools to streamline the onboarding process, making it engaging and efficient.

�� Continuous Support: Don't stop the support after day one! Provide ongoing guidance and mentoring to help new hires seamlessly integrate into the company culture.

A great onboarding experience isn't just about paperwork & definitely doesn't look like simply sending an email with first day details the Friday before they commence – it's about fostering a sense of belonging, connection, and setting your team up for success!

Eryn Button

What Gen Z Wants at Work - Insights for Employers

Thu, 10 Aug 2023 03:47:14 GMT

Nicole Strickland & I have met with hundreds of candidates in the emerging & entry level HR market. We always explore their motivators, drivers and expectations from their next employer. See below, insights into what the upcoming HR professional market is seeking & how to attract and retain Gen Z talent. ⚡

Gen Z, the generation born between 1997 and 2012, is reshaping the modern workplace with their unique preferences and expectations. As the first generation to grow up with smartphones and social media, understanding their values is crucial for employers.

◽ Empathy: Gen Z values empathy from bosses, ranking it as the second most important trait. Surprisingly, bosses rank empathy much lower. Employers should prioritize fostering a culture of empathy and understanding.

◽ Mental Health Support: Gen Z feels they lack mental health support at work. Less than half say their boss helps maintain a healthy workload, and 28% struggle with mental health due to their boss.

◽ Meaningful Work with Autonomy and Flexibility: Gen Z seeks meaningful work with autonomy and flexibility. Create collaborative environments, offer innovation opportunities, and provide flexibility in scheduling.

◽ Competitive Compensation and Pay Transparency: Gen Z prioritizes earning potential over a positive work environment or making a difference. Ensure competitive compensation and embrace pay transparency to build trust and openness.

◽ Work Wellness and Flexibility: Gen Z prioritizes work wellness and expects scheduling flexibility. Implement flexible work policies to meet their expectation and promote work-life integration.

Understanding Gen Z's preferences is crucial for employers. Prioritize empathy, mental health support, meaningful work, competitive compensation, and flexibility. By adapting workplace strategies, organizations can attract and retain top Gen Z talent, fostering a thriving and inclusive environment.

Eryn Button

Wind Of Change

Thu, 03 Aug 2023 09:05:03 GMT

News

We are now 18 months in to what has been the most buoyant recruitment market since…well, ever! Certainly in the last 25 years I have been in the industry. Yes, the period leading up to the global financial crisis in 2007/8 was busy but not like this. We have seen unprecedented volumes of roles across all parts and levels of the HR function. With high demand and limited available talent, opportunities have been limitless for talented HR practitioners, with the added benefit in many instances of significant remuneration increases for those switching jobs. However, nothing last for ever and with interest rates and inflation on the rise, global markets falling sharply and ongoing concern over the war in Ukraine, there are certainly dark clouds on the horizon.

But what does this mean for the HR Recruitment market? Could we be about to see a cooling off? Could things fall off a cliff or will HR’s COVID inspired elevated position of importance in the organisational hierarchy provide some level of protection and security? Will things slow down at all or just continue on the same positive trajectory as the last 18 months? And what does it potentially mean for hiring organisations and job seekers? Is the balance of power between job seekers and hiring organisations about to shift?

A softer market doesn’t necessarily mean that it will become easier to attract talent. In the same way that hiring leaders become more cost conscious, in a softer market job seekers tend to bunker down, adopting a ‘better the devil you know’ mindset. As an employer, the need to have a strong EVP and compelling proposition as to why talent should join your organisation will still exist. Now really is the time to make sure you have your longer term attraction strategy in place. And as a job seeker, yes, you might be in a position of power right now, but it would be prudent to give increased thought and attention as to how you manage your own personal brand in the market. How you conduct yourself through the recruitment process, as well as how you leave your current organisation, will be of heightened importance.
It is certainly going to be interesting to see what transpires over the course of the next 3-6 months but in the meantime, my advice to both hiring managers and job seekers is to make hay whilst the sun still shines!

Would love to hear other people’s views on the current market and prospects for the period ahead! #tandempartners

Matt Parrish

Happy International HR day! You deserve to be recognised

Thu, 03 Aug 2023 08:59:50 GMT

News

You may or may not be aware that Saturday the 20th May was 'International HR Day' – a day we here at Tandem Partners believe is well worth celebrating!

The theme of this year’s International HR Day is “Shaping The New Future” Arguably HR has been contributing to this agenda for some years now, however, the past few years have inevitably seen HR teams work at warp speed to manage a critical time in our history. This, alongside preparing organisations for recovery, re-imagining the way we work and ensuring that organisations lift and shift when it comes to developing talent, enhancing engagement, supporting wellbeing and developing a sustainable inclusive culture for all. No small feat....

We have no doubt that the role of the HR professional is difficult at times, balancing the needs of an organisation with workplace challenges, governance requirements, talent demands, whilst also advocating for change and embracing innovation. You are a resilient bunch and isn’t that just the newest competency required in any HR role these days?!

Times have changed from when contracting was seen as something you did because you couldn’t get a ‘real’ job. If you've engaged in contract work at times in your career, demonstrating your ability and skills to work in diverse industries, there are ways to present contract work effectively on your resume to highlight the benefits it brings to your job search.

Why Include Contract Work on Your Resume?

Contract work offers unique opportunities to gain a variety of skills, such as adaptability and quick learning, that are highly sought after by employers. By listing your contract experiences, you can highlight your expertise and demonstrate your ability to excel in different environments.

The importance of telling a cohesive career story that highlights how past experiences have prepared you for new opportunities. This is where context is important, did you take the contract to gain experience in a different industry or in a larger/smaller firm? What did you achieve in the contract?

Addressing Employment Gaps. One of the significant advantages of including contract work on your resume is its ability to bridge employment gaps. Showcasing these experiences can provide context for periods between full-time jobs, presenting you as a resourceful and dedicated professional.

Key Tips for Listing Contract Work:

Choose a Listing Method: There are various ways to present your contract work, but clarity is paramount. Consider listing individual jobs chronologically to create a cohesive picture of your career journey.

Group by Industry: Grouping jobs by industry is an alternate way of showcasing your experience and helps demonstrate their relevance to the position you're applying for. Consider organizing under a single heading, such as a consulting business or simply ‘Contracting Roles’, to enhance continuity and ease of comprehension.

Be Clear: Clearly specify the types of contract positions you held and the companies you worked for. If you worked through an agency, mention the agency as your employer and the various projects you undertook on their behalf.

Highlight Achievements: Employers are eager to see how you added value to your former workplaces. Use action-oriented language and quantify your successes with measurable achievements. Numbers and metrics provide tangible evidence of your contributions.

Emphasize Relevant Skills: Tailor your resume for the role you are applying for - review the job description's requirements and identify keywords. Then, align your contract work experiences with these keywords to showcase your skills in line with the desired position.

Be confident in the fact that your contract work adds depth and breadth to your resume, making you a well-rounded candidate. Embrace your diverse experiences and demonstrate your adaptability to secure your next role.

If you need advice on how to structure your resume to highlight your contracting work please don’t hesitate to reach out.

The ongoing importance of HR in challenging economic conditions

Wed, 19 Jul 2023 06:18:42 GMT

News

Interesting times to say the least.

There are some companies and sectors who are still doing very well, whilst others are finding it more challenging for a host of reasons i.e. macro related conditions that are out of their control. Companies today are facing very different economic conditions that they have not faced for a very long time characterised by high inflation, interest rate increases, low unemployment, higher minimum wages, and changes to industrial work policies. With the growing importance of employee well-being, the role of Human Resources becomes increasingly vital. HR professionals at all levels are uniquely positioned to work closely with their leadership team, ensuring that the company's culture and employee value proposition align with their aspirations, values, and business strategies.

To attract and retain top talent, even in financially uncertain times, HR must devise innovative recruitment and/or retention strategies as part of their overall business strategy as it is still a very competitive market with unemployment having remained at record lows. Offering competitive compensation packages, flexible benefits (yes to hybrid), and performance-based incentives becomes a crucial element to successfully securing top talent. HR can proactively monitor and adjust compensation and benefits structures to ensure they remain competitive and reflect the changing economic landscape. Conducting market analyses and providing transparent communication on compensation decisions are essential for maintaining employee satisfaction in light of the economic challenges. We can all agree that increasing salaries is not always the answer or in uncertain times not possible, however maintaining transparency and continuous engagement in open communication, and offering certain non-monetary contributions to employees can go a long way to retaining top talent.

As a true business partner, HR has a vital role to play; analysing workload distribution, identifying areas for efficiency improvements, such as more flexible scheduling, automation, outsourcing, part-time and /or remote work options. This approach may enhance productivity but also promote employee well-being, which assumes heightened importance during economically challenging periods. Policies and practices that emphasise flexible working hours, remote work opportunities, and mental health support services can be implemented to support employee well-being and can increase healthy retention.

As part of overall engagement, HR can foster open communication channels to address concerns and keep employees informed. Regular check-ins, surveys, and feedback mechanisms can help gauge the well-being levels of employees, especially across a widely distributed workforce. Investing in the professional growth of employees becomes essential during tougher economic times. HR can facilitate skill development programs, mentorship initiatives to equip employees with the necessary competencies to navigate challenges and contribute to the company's growth.

When working as part of the leadership team, HR professionals can contribute to creating a supportive culture, aligning the EVP with the overall business strategies, and prioritising employee well-being. When HR is contributing as a true strategic business partner and confidant, then the role of HR within an organisation can assist in effectively driving and assisting organisational success, even in the most challenging economic circumstances, enabling their organisation to emerge stronger and more resilient.

Tandem Talks Event

Fri, 14 Jul 2023 09:17:09 GMT

Tandem TV

Supporting Flexible Working Arrangements in Your Workplace

Thu, 13 Jul 2023 06:41:03 GMT

News

As more and more employees are being asked to transition back to the workplace, flexibility remains a key motivator for job seekers when selecting a new employer. The ability to balance work responsibilities with personal commitments has become a priority for many workers. One of several additions to the Fair Work Act, released on June 6th, 2023, is for requests for flexible working arrangements to become part of the National Employment Standards (NES). The NES applies to all employees covered by the national workplace relations system, regardless of any award, agreement, or contract.

Under the changes to the Fair Work Act, certain employees are now entitled to request flexible working arrangements (such as changes in hours of work) from their employer. An employer can only refuse such a request on ‘reasonable business grounds’. This includes permanent employees who have been with the same employer for at least 12 months, as well as regular casual employees with 12 months of service and a reasonable expectation of continued employment, and meet the following criteria:

Parents or caregivers of school-aged or younger children.
Carers under the Carer Recognition Act 2010.
Individuals with disabilities.
Employees aged 55 or older.
Pregnant employees.
Individuals experiencing family and domestic violence.
Those providing care or support to immediate family or household members experiencing family and domestic violence.

Employers must respond to the request in writing within 21 days, indicating approval or refusal. Refusal is permitted only on reasonable business grounds, and once a discussion has been conducted with the employee. Reasonable business grounds for refusal may include significant costs, lack of capacity to accommodate the request, impracticality, inefficiency, or adverse impacts on productivity or customer service.

Employers of choice not only understand the legal requirements concerning flexible working arrangements but are also implementing processes to effectively manage and consider employee requests for flexibility seriously. The benefits of adopting a best practice approach to flexible working arrangements are numerous and include greater job satisfaction, reduced workplace stress, lower absenteeism, increased productivity, and improved ability to attract and retain skilled staff.

Flexible working arrangements come in various forms, catering to different workplaces, job roles, and employee needs. Some common examples of flexible work arrangements include flexible start and finish times, compressed work hours, part-time work, job sharing, working from home, and more.

Employers of choice should go beyond the minimum legal obligations and extend the right to request flexible work arrangements to all employees where deemed possible, regardless of their personal circumstances and tenure. To effectively support flexible working arrangements, employers can consider the following practical approaches to requests:

Recognize Different Needs: Understand that each employee's needs for flexibility may vary. Some may require short-term adjustments, while others may seek long-term arrangements. Adopt an individualized approach that addresses each employee's unique situation.

Have Open Conversations: Encourage open and honest communication between employers and employees. Engaging in dialogues can build trust, manage expectations, and foster a supportive work environment.

Look for Low-Cost Solutions: Not all flexible arrangements have associated costs. Consider options such as flexible start and finish times, which can benefit both employees and the organization without incurring additional expenses.

Trial Periods: For new or untested arrangements, consider implementing trial periods of three to six months. This allows time for evaluation and potential adjustments if necessary.

Above and beyond responding to requests for flexibility, employers of choice work to create a culture that positively supports flexible working arrangements by:

Developing Policies: Create a flexibility policy that outlines who can request flexibility, the types of arrangements available, the request process, decision-making criteria, and record-keeping guidelines.

Training Managers and Employees: Provide training and resources to managers and employees, empowering them to understand and embrace flexible work practices effectively.

Fostering a Supportive Culture: Promote a culture that encourages open discussions about flexible work options and showcases positive examples of employees successfully balancing work and family commitments.

Investing in Technology: Employ technology to enable and support flexible working arrangements, facilitating remote work, secure access to work systems, and virtual collaboration.

As employees navigate the transition back to the workplace, the demand for flexibility in work arrangements continues to be a significant factor in job selection and satisfaction. Recent changes to the Fair Work Act allow certain employees to request flexible working arrangements and outline how employers need to respond. However, by going beyond the legal requirements and implementing simple best practice policies and procedures, employers can enhance job satisfaction, reduce workplace stress, and attract and retain skilled staff, ultimately contributing to a positive and thriving work environment.

For more information on the changes to the Fair Work Act and employer requirements please refer to Fair Work Ombudsman site, www.fairwork.gov.au . To access the information referenced in this blog as well as templates and guides, you can find it at Requests for flexible working arrangements and Best Practice Guides on the same site.

Mapping a HR Career

Wed, 12 Jul 2023 10:32:48 GMT

Tandem TV

Becoming a HR Business Partner

Wed, 12 Jul 2023 10:29:15 GMT

Tandem TV

What is it like to be a HR Director?

Wed, 12 Jul 2023 10:17:30 GMT

Tandem TV

Tips for Perfecting an HR Resume

Fri, 16 Jun 2023 04:56:21 GMT

News

You’ll see and hear a tonne of advice on how to craft a resume, what to include, how to present the resume, how many pages it should and shouldn’t be. You’ll even hear that resumes are on the way out and you’ll no doubt receive a different view depending on who you speak to.

You’ll find plenty of advice online as to how to write a resume, so let’s not cover old ground, but consider these
Tandem tips when writing an HR specific resume that has impact and cut through.

Style and Format

Your resume does need to look smart and visually appealing, however a Hiring
Manager or recruiters’ real interest will be in the content and substance documented.
On style, our advice is to pick a simple, non-cluttered, contemporary resume
template – there are literally hundreds via Google.
There is no need for an abundance of personal information but do add in your
personal contact details and LI profile hyperlink. Ensure the personal email address
you use is appropriate. If you haven’t an email that best reflects the corporate you, it
might be worth setting one up for the purpose of job searching.
Photos on resumes are not necessary but make sure your LinkedIn is the best version of you!

Style and Format

Length - As a guide 2-4 pages but substance is king. If you are somewhat progressed in your career, it will pay to review those early career roles (particularly if there are a few) and what relevance they have. Summaries them, weight them or lose them, whatever makes sense in the context of the front end of your resume because that is where a Hiring Manager will spend more time. How to know when to drop a role? Consider – did you work for a great brand early in your career –that might carry some weight. Did you work in the business, hold an early Team Leadership role – think about the relevance of keeping early roles in or out.
If you have had multiple roles, make sure your journey is easy to follow. If there are gaps or reasons for leaving roles you feel comfortable explaining, explain them briefly.
Role titles – be accurate and be honest. Plenty of people try to 'market normalize' their titles, but, in HR, titles are not used interchangeably in any case. If you are an HR Manager, don’t change the title to HR Business Partner for example, but talk to your partnering approach in the content, if you can back it up.
Organizations – don’t assume everyone knows what the organization you work for does. On your resume, always write a brief couple of sentences covering industry, scale, size, listed/private, revenue – whatever paints an accurate picture.
Work for a big corporate? Let's say you work for Woolworths or Telstra as an example - do you work across the enterprise or with a specific part of the organization? Be specific.
Always sort your experience into responsibilities and achievements. What were you hired to do? What did you do and what are you proud of? How do you quantify your achievements, how can you demonstrate the success you had in your role? Add a bit of color and context – what was the organization going through at the time? Steady state (*doubtful!) or transforming to a digital marketplace? Downsizing? What did this context allow you to achieve?

Key Competencies

Let’s move away from HR clichés and get a little more focused on demonstrating a handful of HR competencies. There are a few, but the ones that stand out right now are: change management, risk and crisis management, commercial acumen, innovation, technology and data interpretation. Does your resume speak to these at all and how would you demonstrate adherence to these competencies at interview?
Likewise, the skills and strengths you bring to a role are critical. Although you don’t need to list your skills – give some brief context. If you have “negotiated multiple EBAs” maybe you “negotiated EBAs that allowed XYZ changes for the business. If you bring strengths in the development/implementation of talent frameworks, of what benefit have these been to the business? Your resume is not a list, think of it as an impact statement.
In HR, it is very common for candidates to focus on relationship building as a success or achievement. Whilst in all reality this might be the case, you are going to need to dig a bit deeper. Given that you built a key stakeholder relationship through the delivery of ABC, this allowed you to present a business case, solving for XYZ

Impact

Differentiate yourself through your achievements. You must expect that to a certain extent, all HR generalists, or HR Business Partners for example, have for the purposes of a resume, very similar responsibilities. So what have you contributed to, led, achieved that stands you out from the rest? It could be a situation or matter/s that you have solved for or a project you have led to outcome. Whether micro or macro, be clear as to the why, what and outcome.
PROOFREAD EVERYTHING!

Credibility

Does your resume line up with your online profile? Both represent the personal brand you are trying to reflect. Your LinkedIn profile shouldn’t be an online version of your resume, of course, but it is an abridged version of the same, so keep that career history consistent in both forms of media.

I hope these tips help you navigate this challenging market and ensure you’re in the best position to secure the right permanent of contract role. For more advice on HR contracting or to find out about the opportunities we currently have available, feel free to reach out .

Looking Ahead: Our Economy and the Future of the HR Market

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:51:03 GMT

News

As we all slowly come to terms with what it means to live and work in Australia amid COVID-19, it’s easy to be weighed down by negativity. So, I thought I’d pen a post to combat some of that, and look forward to where the HR market might stand once we all get through this difficult time.

To do this, I look to the wider Asia-Pacific region, where many countries are some eight or nine weeks ahead of us in their COVID-19 spread and response. Some are now emerging from their lockdown status, and whilst things are by no means back to normal, it’s interesting to see how their HR markets fared, along with which industries were heavily impacted and which ones not only survived, but thrived.

A Model for Our Future?

Whilst it’s true the Asian market has numerous clear differences to Australia, it’s currently the best model we have for where we’re heading.

In this region, many industries bore the brunt of the lockdown, but it was particularly brutal for the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors. On the flip side, others performed extremely well, with the obvious being pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and tech (a great example is Zoom – their share price jumped by 101% in just under two months).

Even though we’re still in the early stages here, the picture appears similar. The big airlines have temporarily stood down almost two-thirds of their workforce, and the situation is uncertain for our restaurant scene. However, some of the key areas where HR and recruitment efforts are redoubling include food retail, with the large grocery chains needing more muscle to handle Australia’s penchant for panic buying, as well as pharmaceuticals, healthcare and the consumer products that are in currently high demand.

Another key takeaway from the Asian market is that many HR roles have been retained. This could be because a large number of firms continued to operate with lean HR numbers post-GFC. As such, they haven’t made any large-scale restructures or redundancies thus far. The Australian HR scene runs in a similar ‘resource-conscious’ vein, so we might see the same outcome, which is positive news.

Next Steps – Personally and Professionally

Whilst it’s difficult to imagine right now, this situation isn’t forever. The HR market will bounce back, and it’s bound to do so quickly and intensely. This is particularly the case here, as many Australian companies operate domestically, and can move forward quickly when it comes to decision making and production. In contrast, some countries in the Asia-Pacific region heavily rely on the green light from global headquarters in the UK or US, where they are still very much at the start of their COVID-19 cycle.

In the interim, it’s important to remember that HR has always been key in leading organisations through change management and restructuring, so the profession will remain critical to business even in turbulent times.

When we all emerge on the other side, it’s likely things may look a little different in the HR market. We might experience a situation similar to the GFC recovery phase, when we saw a big shift towards contracting, with many companies initially reluctant to approve permanent headcount. However, this also meant people remained employed and businesses kept going.

But to get to that stage, we all need to follow the recommended guidelines, which are to stay home and stay safe. I wish you the very best in doing this and encourage you to let me know if I can help with HR-related advice during these uncertain times.

Navigating through COVID- 19 early in your HR career

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:46:02 GMT

News

You’ve heard it all before – it’s an “unprecedented time” and we are in “unchartered waters", but what does this all really mean for you, and for your HR career?

I’m fortunate to recruit early career HR roles and wanted to share with you some of my insights into how you can use this time to enhance your job search, ensuring that you come out stronger on the other side.

Although there is no denying things have slowed down (numerous companies naturally have recruitment freezes in place) by no means have things stopped completely. We’re seeing industries such as FMCG, Logistics, Government, Insurance and essential services in high demand throughout this time. We have been partnering with candidates and clients alike to ensure new starters are successfully remotely inducted and that candidates are both competent and confident enough to begin working in an exclusively online world; both of which are new concepts to most. Fortunately, I have seen many candidates smoothly start their new roles from home. So, if you have been impacted by COVID-19, or would like some assistance in navigating through the current climate, I would love to share with you my five best tips.

1. Be open to opportunities, particularly contract roles

I appreciate that now, more than ever, people are seeking long term stability and longevity. However, by doing so you may be preventing yourself from landing great opportunities. As the market changes, you need to stop, pivot and roll with what the employment market offers. Lots of businesses (such as the industries I mentioned earlier) will be seeking extra support, and in times like these you’ll find the market geared toward contract roles, less so permanent. Bear in mind that contracts don’t necessarily mean short term and we’re seeing varied lengths up to 6- and 12-months. This can be a great time to try a new industry or turn your hand to an exclusive HR project.

2. Know your worth, but also know the value of the role

Feeling challenged, valued, and engaged in your work are factors we all know are critical to enjoying success in the workplace. Moreover, throughout this time finances in particular have become more critical for many of us. However, I would encourage you to look at the value of a role and what you can gain from that experience, with less weight on the remuneration and what your worth ‘should be’ as the leading factor. Perhaps there are exciting projects that form part of the role, the ability to gain access to senior leaders, or the ability to work within a talented HR function. For some, it can be something as small as gaining Workday experience or exposure to working with a unionised workforce. Try to see the value in an opportunity presented, even if perhaps initially it may seem a little left of centre and not at the remuneration level you’d ideally like.

As you consider different types of roles many of you may be wondering “How will this impact my resume?”, and “How will this short-term contract look to a future employer?”. To put it simply, the answer is - everyone is in the same boat. People understand the market has changed and this naturally drives a demand for flexibility. As long as you can clearly explain your path, then it won’t do you any disservice.

3. Use your networks

In my opinion, this is one of the most understated and underutilised channels that each of us have. Living in an online world we have the power to connect with a broad range of HR professionals, bodies and groups. A good starting point can be reaching out to previous colleagues and simply asking if their HR team needs support, or perhaps they may know of someone that does. AHRI and other platforms can be a good way to connect with others, whilst also gaining market insights and sharing knowledge.

4. Consider further studies

If you’ve been considering taking up further qualifications, perhaps now is the time. We’re fortunate to have access to such a broad range of HR courses, from a Diploma through to a Masters degree, and even shorter more targeted courses to hone certain skills. With the majority of courses now online, it’s an excellent opportunity to utilise this time to deepen your knowledge, as a competitive advantage.

5. Work on your personal brand.

Take some time to reflect on how you present and how you are seen as a HR professional within the industry. Your CV and LinkedIn profile can be a great place to begin. On LinkedIn, get back to basics by ensuring you have a professional headshot photo (please no selfies!) and proofread any content you have on your page. Use the platform to interact with others, read and share interesting articles, and build your connections. Another quick and simple tip while job searching is to switch your LinkedIn profile to “Open to Opportunities”. This will show potential employers that you’re looking at roles and can be a great way to gain some traction in your job search.

To summarise, I would encourage you to be flexible, open minded, and to take the opportunity to try something new in these strange and challenging times. It’s so rare in life that we are given the time to stop and reflect, so try to use every interaction to your advantage.

Should you have further enquiries or would like assistance with your search, please don’t hesitate to contact me . I wish you all the best of luck, and we will all get through this together.

HR Contracting During a Crisis – 10 Top Tips!

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:39:44 GMT

News

In a crisis, contracting typically increases, providing immediate flexible and scalable resources to help businesses remain sustainable through turbulent economic times. For candidates, this provides a valuable opportunity to leverage off the project work available and diversify their industry experience while adding to their toolbox of skills.

The environment being created as a result of COVID-19 is a unique (albeit temporary) one. There is no way to know how long this will continue (though we are all hoping the end will come sooner rather than later), but eventually, it will turn around, restraints will be lifted and economies will be thriving again. Given that a lot of businesses are still watching to see what happens and dealing with the crisis, there hasn’t been a significant spike in contracting yet, but once government restraints stabilise (or even better, start to lift), businesses will be better placed to bring on interim consultants across all areas of HR to assist with the restructuring, re-invention and organisational changes they need to make.

As the situation improves, we are likely to see a significant influx of work, not only in the form of contracting and consulting roles , but also in the reopening of roles that were previously put on hold due to uncertainty.

So, if you are looking for new HR contracting opportunities , here is my advice on how to succeed in the current market:

1. Network

Don’t rely on one avenue for job hunting. Use agencies, a variety of job boards and connect with people you know on LinkedIn. Get in touch with past colleagues who may have moved on to other organisations, and contact recruiters that specialise in your space and who are advertising relevant roles.

2. Be targeted

Focus on those industries that are still doing OK or are even stimulated by the economic environment, such as healthcare, logistics & supply chain, medical research & technology, some areas of banking & financial services, government and other essential services. Approach companies that are in that space directly, as a lot of roles haven’t hit the market yet or aren’t being advertised, and they may pipeline you for upcoming work.

3. Update your CV

When it comes to writing a CV , people will give you contradictory advice, however, the main thing is to ensure your front page includes:

Your contact details

Your key skills and experience
The details of your most recent role/s.

Click here for tips on how to perfect an HR resume!

4 Be open-minded

There are many roles out there that you may not have even thought of, so now’s the time to consider moving into something you perhaps hadn’t expected. The shorter the contract, the more experimental you can be!

5. Be flexible

This means be open in terms of rate, location, industry, etc. Obviously, it still has to be worth your while committing to the contract – there has to be something that induces you to accept it. Sometimes it’s a fill-in while looking for a more ideal role, and sometimes there is a non-monetary aspect of the assignment itself that makes it a worthwhile prospect. Just be careful not to move too far below your experience level, as if you drop too low, you start not being competitive enough for the level of role you are applying for.

6. Stay positive and be resilient

There will be lots of efforts that will go unrewarded or will not lead you to an offer, especially in a soft employment market, but every conversation is a connection to build your network. You never know when you may cross paths with those people in the future.

7. Promote any value-add experience and skills you have gained

Through working for companies going through similar change, such as the Global Financial Crisis, you may have gained valuable skills that can be applied to the current environment. For example, you might have experience that involves organisational design, WFH, transforming businesses to digital or even direct COVID-19 experience, that may be relevant to commercial drivers that are in place right now.

8. Practise relaxation techniques, a growth mindset and be solution-focused

It’s natural to be struck with high levels of anxiety, panic or resentment as a result of needing to re-enter the job seeking market, but it’s important to have a positive outlook when you approach each call and interview to ensure you are presenting in the most engaging way.

9. Remember that it’s OK to approach both contract and permanent opportunities

It doesn’t have to be one or the other, and going for both simply keeps you open to more markets.

10. Understand that you don’t need an ABN or be a Pty Ltd company to do contracting

Most companies and agencies can place you in a fixed term contract or day rate. Also, don’t focus too much on the duration, as a lot of the time you will offered an extension or permanent placement, or even a promotion if you are aligned to the team and business and add as much value as you would in a permanent position.

Summary

I hope these tips help you navigate this challenging market and ensure you’re in the best position to secure the right permanent or contract role. For more advice on HR contracting or to find out about the opportunities we currently have available, feel free to reach out .

Top HR Podcasts for Your Morning Routine

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:39:40 GMT

News

The morning commute has long been the setting for HR professionals to listen to their favorite podcasts, helping them get into the right headspace for the day ahead. While COVID-19 is disrupting this routine, it shouldn’t stop you from getting your insight fix before you start work, wherever that may be.

Handpicked by our Tandem Partners team , these pods are not only entertaining but provide a wealth of knowledge on all things HR. Featuring expert guests and focusing on a variety of niche topics, everything you have ever wanted to know about the industry will be found in the resources below. Prepare to get inspired!

Career Advice

Starting Somewhere

If you are just about to enter the world of work or are searching for an internship in your chosen field, this is the podcast for you. Produced and created by students at The University of Melbourne, Starting Somewhere is a must-listen for graduates and entry-level job seekers, offering gives great insights into starting out in your career. Many episodes also feature our lovely Managing Consultant, Rebecca Ashton, who was a speaker on the show. Rebecca’s own successful career in Recruitment and positive attitude to work is a shining example of how the tips in this podcast truly work!

HR Insights

HR Happy Hour

A happy hour like no other – join host Steve Boese and his notable guests on this popular pod to discover a wide range of valuable advice and insights relating to human resources. HR Happy Hour is the top downloaded and longest running HR podcast, and focuses on workplace topics and issues such as talent management, leadership and recruiting, in a fun and lively manner.

DriveThruHR

These bite-sized, 30-minute podcasts are the perfect way to occupy your lunch break. With 300 episodes already available for download, you’ll be spoilt for choice. Each episode features a guest speaker discussing everything from HR technology to organisational culture and strategic HR – that’s 300 experienced HR professionals to learn from!

HR Works

Unfortunately, in today’s society, the workplace is often riddled with pressure and we face an epidemic of increasing stress at work. In addition to episodes on key industry issues, this pod breaks the taboo of mental-health issues and focuses on the importance of well-being at work by covering important topics such as ‘The Importance of Stress Resilience in the Workplace’ and ‘Suicide Prevention—An Overlooked but Crucial Workplace Wellness Initiative.’

Nine to Thrive HR

This fascinating podcast offers a modern and ‘fresh’ perspective on all fields in HR. Guest speakers include top HR professionals and practitioners from Fortune 1000 companies, discussing everything from engagement and talent acquisition to diversity and digital transformation. Whatever human capital issues you face, you’ll find what you need to thrive in your HR career.

Hire Up Podcast

Hire Up features a panel of HR experts that discuss all aspects of HR in a fun and conversational manner. The show’s host, John Beck, leads educational conversations on a wide range of HR topics and explains how to transform the mindsets of both yourself and your teams to be the best you can possibly be.

Best of Breed Group Podcast

Both entertaining and informative, this podcast from Best of Breed Group (BoB) is packed full of great insights covering a diverse array of HR topics, and shares the perspectives of seasoned professionals from across the HR industry. If you’re looking for content that is relatable, completely local, future-oriented and doesn’t take itself too seriously, this podcast is for you.

Recruitment

Hiring on All Cylinders

On the hunt for a podcast that focuses on the world of Recruitment? Look no further. Each weekly episode hosts expert guests who share the lessons and perspectives gained from their own experiences of hiring quality talent.

Small Business

Human Resources for Small Business

This is a specialised podcast that helps small businesses thrive. No episode is the same, with each one exploring a different area of HR, from business strategy to legal updates, and even book reviews! This really is the ‘ultimate resource’ for small business owners and HR professionals.

Overall, podcasts are a great way to get your fix of the latest in HR thinking and learn from the experiences of experts in your industry - especially when facing uncertainties.

For more advice and support with finding your next HR job in Melbourne or Sydney, get in touch with our team.

Tips for Successful Video Interviewing

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:39:36 GMT

News

The Coronavirus is not only changing our daily lives, it’s also compelling businesses to embrace new ways of working. One immediate difference we have already seen is all interviews moving from face-to-face to video. However, whilst video interviewing isn’t new, it’s still not something that a lot of people encounter on a regular basis. To help, we have put together our essential video interview tips for both employers and candidates to keep in mind.

General Video Interviewing Tips

There are several universal video interview best practices that apply to both interviewees and employers. These obvious but often forgotten tips cover all the basics you need to remember when setting up for a video interview.

Doing these checks ahead of time allows you to avoid any hiccups you may encounter and ensure everything is working before the interview begins.

Tips for Employers

As an employer, it is likely you are already familiar with video interviewing. Whilst the following tips may seem self-evident, we still see many of our clients forget them, so we are covering all bases to ensure you’re able to make the most of video interviews.

1. Make sure your video interviews are consistent

Prepare a list of standard questions to ask (just as you would for an in-person interview) so that you’re able to accurately compare candidates.

2. Check if this is the candidate’s first live video interview

Whilst online interviewing is becoming commonplace in the industry, this might be the first time for your particular candidate/s. If it is, you can allay any worries by briefly describing the process and giving them an idea of what to expect. This not only ensures a positive candidate experience but gives them the greatest chance of showcasing their best selves in the interview.

3. Consider your tech

Although Skype was once the most commonly used software, there are many other suitable options you could use, including Facetime, Google Hangouts, Microsoft Teams and Zoom. Some can even be merged into your existing office systems. If you have the time, it might be worth investigating what is available and best suited to your organisation.

4. Do a pre-recorded ‘tester’

Once you have filmed your pre-recorded interview, do a practise run. This will assist you in locating any information gaps, missing steps or repeated processes, ensuring a smoother candidate experience.

Tips for Jobseekers

Just as ‘ahead of the curve’ employers will take the time to really understand video interviews, candidates should too.

We advise candidates to dress as they would for an in-person interview, whilst also considering colour choice (darker or block colours often work better, as lighter tones can make you look washed out and busy patterns can be distracting)

5. Do a few practise runs

Try recording yourself performing a mock interview to practise your eye contact, pick up on any unconscious habits you may have and adjust behaviours that may be perceived as over-the-top on camera, such as excessive hand gestures.

6. Consider video delays when conversing

After replying to a question and when the interviewer has finished speaking, consciously pause to allow for any video delays and ensure you are able to communicate clearly.

Optimise Your Downtime: Get Job Search Ready

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:39:33 GMT

News

The COVID-19 situation does not lend itself easily to thoughts of the future - the safety of ourselves and loved ones, of course, takes precedence over any professional ambitions we might hope to realise in time. It does, however, mean that many of us now have a lot of time to spend at home, so, why not optimise the use of that time to prepare yourself to take on new professional challenges?

From a candidate perspective the period in which we begin to see the green shoots of recovery will see a huge influx of talent hitting the market as HR professionals look to make up for lost time and supercharge a new job search, those who used this downtime effectively, will be ahead of the curve!

Whilst the following tips are unlikely new to most of you, you’d be shocked at how many people forget these job search basics! It’s always good practice to brush up and consider how they can be applied to your current situation. Remember the mantra – prior preparation prevents poor performance.

Doing these checks ahead of time allows you to avoid any hiccups you may encounter and ensure everything is working before the interview begins.

Tips for Employers

1. Make sure your video interviews are consistent

Prepare a list of standard questions to ask (just as you would for an in-person interview) so that you’re able to accurately compare candidates.

2. Check if this is the candidate’s first live video interview

3. Consider your tech

4. Do a pre-recorded ‘tester’

Tips for Jobseekers

Just as ‘ahead of the curve’ employers will take the time to really understand video interviews, candidates should too.

5. Do a few practise runs

6. Consider video delays when conversing

After replying to a question and when the interviewer has finished speaking, consciously pause to allow for any video delays and ensure you are able to communicate clearly.

2020 - The Current State of the Australian HR Industry

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:39:29 GMT

News

Over 1000 HR professionals from a diverse range of industries and geographies responded to our recent HR survey and the results were both interesting and, in some cases, surprising.

Of course, not every HR professional working in Australia responded to our survey, but 1,000 people represents a good cross-section of the profession and so some credence must be given to the result. Where respondents suggested their organisations did have a clear people strategy, it was of no surprise to see what people articulated as the key pillars; namely leadership capability, culture and employee engagement.

It was also interesting that 42% of respondents said that their HR function has a Data & Analytics team,

Our survey results showed that almost three-quarters of respondents believed they were paid at or above market rate (64%) whilst close to half (48%) were satisfied with their performance bonus, indicating that HR professionals are typically satisfied with their remuneration. This is backed up in what HR professionals articulated as their key priority when moving roles, with compensation coming well down the list of priorities at 7% and trumped by workplace culture (32%), work/life balance (24%), leadership (13%) and professional development (13%).

Worryingly, 73% of respondents believed mental health was an issue in their organisations, although, on a more positive note, 65% of respondents said their organisations have a policy or strategy in place to deal with mental health issues. Our own experience in the recruitment of Health & Safety roles backs this up, as there has been a definitive shift from a compliance and legislative focus to a holistic health and wellbeing perspective in recent time.

We hope you found the results of our 2020 HR Survey interesting and thought-provoking. We would welcome any comments or suggestions for our 2021 survey!

For more insights into the latest HR industry trends in Australia, click here to download your copy of the report.

When Opportunity Knocks!

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:39:27 GMT

News

Human Resources has always been a passion of mine and I have devoted my whole career to this amazing and rewarding profession, working in a range of both generalist and specialist roles. About eight years ago, I was working as an HR Manager for a large global company. While on maternity leave with my second baby, I was approached by the CEO of my company. The position of HR General Manager was about to become vacant and they asked me to step into the role.

I had originally only planned to go back to work in a part-time capacity on returning from maternity leave. However, opportunities like this don’t come up often, so although I was nervous about taking on a global HR management role, I decided to take a leap of faith and accepted the position in the interim while we searched for a permanent replacement.

After a few months, I was back at work full time. This meant lots of late nights, travelling away from home, early morning and night-time skype calls. I had to race home to get snippets of time with my kids before they went to bed. This obviously took a major toll on my family life in so many ways, including on my own health and wellbeing. With some self-reflection, it became glaringly obvious that I couldn’t do my job AND parent the way I wanted.

It took eighteen months to find a new General Manager HR, after which I was able to focus on finding myself a new role that would still serve my passion for HR but give me the flexibility to spend quality time with my family. Angela Horkings, one of the Co-Founders and Directors of Tandem Partners and someone I’ve known for years, approached me and asked if I would be interested in joining Tandem Partners as an HR recruiter. This would be a big change from working in HR roles, but a role I could absolutely use my knowledge and expertise in, working with a range of organisations to enable them to access the best talent in the field that I myself had professionally grown up in. Recruitment had been a component of many of my HR roles and something I had always enjoyed, so as far away as this new role seemed, it still played to my strengths.

’ve now been in my role for just over six months; I work with a fantastic team, and I couldn’t be happier! My mental and physical health has never been better, I’ve found that being satisfied in your career is about more than just a certain salary or job title. For the record, HR recruitment isn’t easy, it takes a load of focus, a preparedness to get into the profession from a very different angle and the juggle of managing both client and candidate expectations, but this is energising in many ways.

If you’re thinking about making a similar career move, either minor or major, here’s my advice.

The Career Lattice

One of my previous Managers always spoke about the career “lattice” rather than the “career ladder” – e.g. moving sideways, trying new roles outside your comfort zone, or moving from generalist to specialist roles.

Many people think about changing role type, or more dramatically, changing careers, but are never sure how to take the leap. My advice to anyone who is thinking about making any sort of change – is to make it an educated decision. Always do your research and due diligence, and don’t just jump into any job with the hope that it will just work. This means:

Talking to people who are in the same or similar role – this will help you get an understanding of a typical day or week, challenges, opportunities.
Considering your own personal priorities and strengths – what do you want to get out of this move? Do you prioritise flexibility, your health and work/life balance over an impressive remuneration package? What strengths can you play to?
Before considering a change in both role type and organisation all in one hit, explore the options in your current organisation. Who might champion your move internally? Have you mirrored that role to see whether it really ticks all your boxes?
What additional skills, study or investment will you need to make to ensure your success? Will you have to move backwards or down to gain a certain level of proficiency?
Consider the practical issues – can you afford this step? It may be a good idea to get some financial advice on budgeting and saving. We often live up to our earning standard, so accepting a less junior role, for example, could impact your finances.
Whether a shift in role or a completely different career direction, you’ll need a well thought through transition plan. Spend time planning for various scenarios – sometimes these moves don’t happen overnight!

Final Thoughts

Any moves that you make in your career are your own. You may be afraid of what others will say of your if your career move is deemed less than conventional, however, it is important to keep your own personal end goal in sight, and not worry about what other people think. At the end of the day, it’s your own job satisfaction that matters most. Personally, taking a different path has been the best decision for me and I have no regrets whatsoever.

If you’d like more advice on how to make a change in your career or need help with finding your next HR job, feel free to get in touch with me.

How to Get Workplace Flexibility Right for Your Team

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:39:23 GMT

News

Despite workplace flexibility being a topic on employers’ agendas for the last decade, it’s only recently that we’ve seen a surge in Australian organisations ‘walking the walk’ so to speak – at least in terms of official policies. From conversations we’ve had with HR teams lately, flexibility is increasingly becoming an integral part of the onboarding process, with policies and processes in place to support both new and existing staff, as well as hiring managers through the changes involved with flexible working conditions. However, what does this mean in real terms and how should employers approach it?

What Flexibility Means to Employees

When we talk about flexibility at work what do we actually mean? For some employers, flexibility does prompt a sense of fear that it is entirely about remote working. However, the reality is that it means something different from employee to employee – remote working is just one factor!

While these types of initiatives can easily become focused on working mums and dads, the key here is not to alienate people who don’t have families. Some of the common flexibility options that candidates talk to us about include:

Varied or flexible start/finish times (perhaps to beat the traffic!)
The freedom to attend school events/activities e.g. to see a child’s show
Giving employees the ability to fit study and professional development around work hours
The ability to work out at the gym during the day. A common policy is providing an extra 15/30 minutes for lunch (for
Whatever your flexibility policy look like, something to bear in mind is that people aren’t usually looking to replace their time in the office, but rather restructure it so that their schedule works better. We’re also finding that flexibility is becoming just as important as money. This isn’t to say that offering flexibility on its own is enough to woo potential recruits , but rather that it can be the deciding factor between two offers.

We do find that in the world of HR recruitment, workplace flexibility is an absolute winner in terms of attracting candidates, actually more a deal maker (or breaker, if organisations don’t have flexible practices) than anything else. We also find that it often comes down to the Hiring Manager as to how an organisation’s flexible working policy is applied. We have seen organisations, for example where in the HR function, flexible working practices are fairly non-existent versus other parts of the same business which have very strong flexible working rhythms.

The Importance of Communication

From a management point of view, the same two questions tend to come up regularly when considering its long-term viability: is it working for the organisation and is it working for our staff? Our best advice is to keep communication lines open, and it will soon be obvious whether your flexibility arrangements are the right thing for your employees and your organisation. Regular check-ins to see how new policies and patterns are working, if the technology supporting it is effective and challenges that affect productivity out of the office are a great way of touching base and keeping tabs on what is and isn’t working. A lot of the employers we speak to use performance reviews here – after all, these meetings provide a fantastic environment to talk about work/life balance and how it can be supported further.

It goes without saying that strong internal communication is key for HR teams who have policies in place. After all, it’s much easier to keep track of everything if everyone is on the same page. By ensuring hiring managers have a solid grasp and appreciation of flexible policies, they’ll be more likely to promote flexible working not just to potential hires, but existing team members too.

Leading From the Top

As with a lot of things, your organisation’s leaders need to demonstrate their commitment loudly and proudly – having a good flexibility programme in place is great, but if it isn’t championed from up top, it’s unlikely to have much chance of success.

Leaders should model the behavior they want to see and encourage others around them to do the same as well. Only then, will people feel comfortable coming in late, having that longer lunch break, or working remotely – whether that’s because they have a child’s show to attend, or to meet the plumber at home.

Final Thoughts

With flexibility in the workplace becoming increasingly important, Australian organisations must continue adapting their flexibility policies to these changing demands. How does your organisation approach flexibility working? We would love to hear your thoughts .

Tandem Partners forge partnership with Elliott Scott HR – Asia, Americas & Europe.

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:39:19 GMT

News

We are excited to announce that from March 2019 Tandem Partners and Elliott Scott HR have formalized their global alliance. Having known Elliott Scott HR for the past 8 years, our recently formalized alliance allows both firms the opportunity to offer candidates expert guidance and counsel regards careers within Asia, Europe, the Americas and Australian markets. Additionally, our partnership extends our global network, search capacity and ability to offer our clients the best global insights and talent acquisition solutions.

A specialist HR recruitment and search firm, Elliott Scott HR was set up in 2011 and have grown significantly over the years employing people focusing within the Asia, Europe and Americas markets. Elliott Scott HR and Tandem Partners share strongly aligned values and a similar approach and we believe that clients and candidates alike will benefit from this partnership that extends our reach and market knowledge beyond Australian shores.

Elliott Scott HR and Tandem Partners will remain separate entities but with a focused, mutually beneficial goal to serve the HR community in our respective geographies.

We have added key Elliott Scott HR information to our website and we look forward to further sharing market updates and insights over the course of the year.

Tandem Partners remain committed to ensuring that our clients have premium access to the best HR talent, in addition to the most up to date market information and global trends. Likewise, we strive to ensure that our candidates are well versed as to market conditions, career enhancing opportunities and career guidance.

Should you have any queries, please feel free to contact Angela Horkings at Tandem.

To read the full press release, click here .

Making the Shift from Internal Recruitment to Agency

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:39:17 GMT

News

Have you ever had one of those career-defining moments? You know, those instances where – mixed in with a splash of hesitation and a hint of uncertainty – you have that above-average sense of conviction that the job offer you’ve just received, or the promotion you’ve just discussed, or the project you’ve been asked to lead is just, well, right?

There have probably been two times in my career that I can confidently classify as career-defining. The first was moving to New Zealand from the USA into my first internal recruitment role and the second was moving back into external recruitment over 10 years later.

To be honest, since moving into the internal recruitment world I didn’t ponder too much about how different life would be back in the ‘dark side’ of agency recruitment – to me, the choice had already been made. I mean, there was no going back, right?

Well, as most of us are probably experiencing, the frequency with which career choices need to be made these days and the rapidity of change across the industry landscape means nothing is out of the question. Now, and forever immortalised by Angela Horking’s career-defining words to me “It’s not such a great leap”, I found myself for the first time in a while asking exactly that, “what sort of leap will it take?”

I’m going to cover a few areas I feel differentiate between internal and external recruitment environments. These are – or were – most obvious to me upon making the move to Tandem Partners. There is much more I could discuss of course, however, in a moment you’ll (hopefully) understand why it mostly comes down to personal fit.

Business and Relationship Development

Sure – a focus on business development and picking up the phone to make the dreaded cold calls is absolutely a factor in an agency. Work doesn’t just walk through the door after all and the 10 successful calls you make that actually generate work or, even better, result in a long-term client relationship, are often scattered within another 100 phone calls that result in rejections.

But get this – do we not do the same in an internal environment? Aren’t our internal customers looking for a similar thing – a mutually positive relationship? Added or complementary value? Expertise? Isn’t part of being a valued internal Talent Acquisition Consultant also about getting out there in front of your hiring managers and teams? The fundamental difference is how we spend our time doing it; for an agency recruiter, business development and sales seems to be a more prevalent part of your routine and culture. As an internal recruiter, it can often feel like you build customer relationships on an ‘as needed’ basis – when there is a ‘real’ need to recruit. As always for an internal recruiter, there is a constant battle to find enough time in the day. I mean, between meetings with the Marketing team to develop an EVP strategy and the GM whose global search has reached a critical stage, who has the time?

Nonetheless, the reward for developing a new internal relationship or the feeling of landing a new client as a consultant is the same. We are driven by developing strong relationships and we take pride in these accomplishments. In either case, success can taste that little bit sweeter by it coming as a result of pushing yourself out of a comfort zone.

Market

A clear difference working in an agency is the breadth of exposure you obtain within the market. Working across industries and organisations gives you access to the many market influences and drivers and how they ultimately affect your clients. In any given day, you could be in discussion with a leader of a business who is at the bleeding edge of cultural progressiveness and by the afternoon you could be talking to a similarly levelled leader of another business who is purely on the battleground of implementing foundational work.

In an internal environment the world is your client and you are focussed on the projects at hand. It takes effort and time to be involved in the external market – to stay fresh and aware of the extrinsic implications and the forces that are shaping the place you work.

Closing Thoughts

So, how big a leap is it exactly? Well, not that big apparently.

I rattled my brain trying to note down all the many points of difference between internal and external recruitment – and there many. “What about the politics of a corporate team?” I hear you say. “What about the clunky processes and the ATS that doesn’t 'speak' to the HRIS?”. “What about the money-hungry, car salesmen-like consultants who don’t care about the client beyond the placement fee?”. I thought about these (and more) and then reached the conclusion that they’re mostly symptomatic of a wider cultural or investment factor.

As long as you recognize what sort of culture you need to help you thrive and understand without a shadow of doubt that the company’s investment in you aligns with your investment in them, you’ve already won half the battle. It doesn’t matter if you’re the biggest political beast to walk the Earth, or the slickest salesperson around – find the right culture, find the right fit.

Prior to my decision to join Tandem Partners, I was presented with a couple of offers, but the safe culture, the strong investment and environment that Tandem had created certainly stood out. The recruiters don’t fit a cookie cutter mould – they had different sets of skills and personalities that enabled me to bring yet another dimension to the team. In a market that’s ever evolving, I found this approach refreshing.

Because the thing is – what I believe it all boils down to – whether you’re working in an agency or within an internal HR team, we recruiters are driven by the same thing. We are motivated by making an impact to an individual’s career choice and, in turn, recognising the impact that individuals can bring to your organisation or your client and enabling the steps to make that happen. After all, this is what recruiters do, right?

The Changing Landscape of HR

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:39:13 GMT

News

HR has evolved dramatically over its relatively short lifetime, transforming the historical view of people as expendable and distinguishing employees as one of the modern organisation’s most valuable assets. Despite the many changes HR has undergone, the profession shows no sign of slowing down. In fact, I expect to see HR soon having a greater influence on business performance than ever before, particularly as it begins to shape the future of work. For HR professionals, it’s important to ensure that the leadership team is already discussing these changes, or is willing to embark on the transformation journey.

So, what does the future of HR look like?

A Broader, More Agile and Strategic Focus

HR is becoming more and more strategic; gone are the days where a company’s employees can be considered as one entity, with policies and goals affecting everyone in equal measure. In this sense, the main focus of HR has narrowed somewhat – rather than making broad strokes, it will increasingly work with key leaders to tackle people-based issues. At the end of the day, it’s about managing everyone’s role in the long-term success of an organisation.

This evolution of HR has also resulted in a much more commercial landscape. It looks like the future will see even more awareness around how HR can impact the bottom line of a business with company leaders starting to think about what facets of business should be covered by the department going forward.

Following on from this, companies will have to be more adaptable and agile in the future – not only in business, but the way they employ people. One of the biggest influences on changing work environments is the growing acceptance of flexible hours and non-traditional pay structures. Studies have shown offering more freedom to workers can improve productivity by decreasing the amount of paid leave employees take and increasing overall happiness. Think about what’s right for the company, because what has always been done before may not be what works best now.

In addition to adapting to changing HR trends, we also need to become more aware of government regulations and how they’ll affect current operations. For example, changes to legislation in healthcare and finance may have a significant impact on HR, so it’s vital that companies are up-to-date and prepared to make changes in response.

The Rise of Technology

How has technology changed HR? It’s an important question, but one that’s better answered looking forward, rather than back. The increase in implementation of Artificial Intelligence and other automated systems means businesses are now investing more in smart tech for better reporting and data analysis. This ultimately helps improve company decision making. Plus, delegating smaller tasks to technology will allow HR to spend more time on the tasks that help people succeed.

Remember, as digital HR technology becomes more widespread in the business world, HR will need to step up and lead by example. Whilst it may seem counter-intuitive, the increasing use of technology will actually give a new focus on user experience, as HR software shapes how people interact with and see your company. Taking advantage of that sooner, rather than later, is the key.

A Modern Business Culture

In the future of work, the culture of a business will become more important than ever. Keeping up with changing technologies is one necessary aspect, but company perception needs to be effectively groomed from every angle. It’s up to HR to manage the brand and ensure the business is and remains attractive to internal talent. It can be tempting to think once employees are onboarded, the job is done – but, of course, not only does HR need to be there to support any issues people may have, it also needs to be aware of how the culture lives up to the expectations of those who join. If HR cannot maintain quality and consistency, this will impact overall retention.

One example of a poor work culture is failing to provide internal opportunities for career development. In the past, raising pay and giving recognition were considered suitable motivators, but in today’s world, employees prefer a sense of upward motion. If they aren’t given the chance to grow, they may start looking elsewhere.

In addition, transparency is also a central issue in the current landscape. Businesses face increasing pressure to be more open about their ambitions and views. This openness is beneficial because it ensures everyone is aligned and fully motivated, resulting in a further boost to loyalty.

Summary

Whilst it’s true that no one can be entirely certain what the future holds, it seems clear that HR will continue to become more commercialized, flexible, agile and adaptable in the years to come. Candidates will be looking out for organizations that are actively moving in this direction or open to exploring these kinds of changes.

When it comes to HR, it’s easy to pigeonhole the industry into certain tired frameworks – but in reality, HR exists as a platform for so much more. As the industry continues to evolve, old habits will die out, and people that look forward and seek out new ideas are the ones who will ultimately thrive in the changing landscape.

To discuss your thoughts on this, or if you’re looking for support in navigating your Sydney HR recruitment needs, get in touch with me .

Preparing for Non-Executive Director Roles

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:39:11 GMT

News

HWithin our HR community, there are many senior professionals who look to extend their careers and continue working, even if they’re in a position where they could comfortably retire. In my network, I’m constantly talking to people at this level who say, “I’ve got one more big role in me” or “I’m going to hang on to my position a bit longer, then get a board appointment.” Whilst it’s a great direction to want to go in, a Non-Executive Director (NED) position is never a given, especially for ASX-listed boards. Consequently, if you’re considering a NED role as an option for later in life, you need to start preparing sooner rather than later. So, how do you go about managing your career to ensure you’re ready for a board appointment when the time is right?

It obviously starts with being successful in your corporate life from a technical perspective, but it’s not all just about your successes! Building your credibility means getting the right amount of commercial exposure at the C-Suite level and having the right skill set (particularly related to financials/P&L experience) on your resume. Whilst gaps in knowledge or expertise will naturally appear, it pays to improve any weaknesses as early as possible (i.e. in the middle of your corporate HR career, rather than in your last couple of corporate gigs). Pay attention to where they are for you and focus on addressing them. If you’re looking at your professional development, the Company Directors Course – delivered by The Australian Institute of Company Directors’ (AICD) – is a must for anyone thinking about applying for board appointments.

Networking is also an essential factor. This means that being confident and putting yourself out there (and being ready for knock backs), is still critical to making your move into a NED role.

From the people we’re speaking to, it’s clear that senior HR professionals are looking to stay in the game much longer, and as a community we need to make the most of this expertise. If this is the direction you’re heading, I’d suggest starting small – look out for NED positions with Not-for-Profits or smaller businesses, which can provide you the exposure you need whilst giving you the platform to add genuine value. Above all, remember it’s never too early to start preparing – by the time you get to your last corporate role, it’s often too late.

Have you recently stepped into a NED position? We'd love to hear your thoughts on the transition, and any challenges you’ve faced in the process!

Three Key Reminders for Increasing Success in the HR Contracting Market

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:39:09 GMT

News

Having recruited within the Sydney HR industry since 2002 and specialized in HR contracting, I’ve been part of a significant growth of the HR contracting market. Over the years, I’ve seen candidates capitalizing on the benefits and flexibility of contracting, building their careers through the HR contracting market with immense success. With this in mind, here are some key reminders for HR contracting:

Stay up to Date and Emphasize Your Availability

Updating CVs and social media profiles should be a constant priority for all candidates actively looking for roles, especially those in contracting. This ensures you’re ready to move quickly when applying for new contracts (and contracting moves fast!), reducing the risk of missing out on opportunities.

If you’re able to start a new contract right away, make this obvious to recruiters and hiring managers on your resume, social media profiles and cover letter. Since many hiring managers opt for contract resources because it allows them to quickly secure the support they need, being available immediately will give you an edge over other candidates. Remember to include the end date of your current job on your CV and LinkedIn as well, so that hiring managers and recruiters can move quickly when hiring you.

Keep Networking and Maintain Communication

Whether you have your next assignment lined up or are on the hunt for a new contract role, it’s important to keep in touch with those in your network. Ex-colleagues, stakeholders and recruiters are all contacts with whom you should continuously build relationships in all seasons of your contracting career, not just when setting up as a contractor. In addition to maintaining existing connections, attending meetup groups, workshops and networking forums are effective ways to grow your personal brand within the contracting market. Whilst on a job, be proactive and network inside the organisation as well, as this enables you to form new relationships that could open the door to opportunities in the future.

When you secure a contract position (whether it’s long or short term), immediately advise the other companies you have been interviewing with that you’re off the market. This is not only courteous, but it ensures you leave a good impression for future opportunities. Similarly, keep recruiters in the loop regarding the length of your contract and when you’ll be available next, as this allows them to look out for your next opportunity towards the tail end of your assignment.

Add Value and Deliver Results to Build Your Personal Brand

Add as much value as you can within your contract, even if it’s only a short-term interim assignment. Many contracts are extended or made permanent for those contractors who are dedicated, hit the ground running and really make a positive impact.

It’s important to seriously consider the commitment necessary in a contract, but there’s also a requirement to be open-minded, flexible and adaptable when entering the market and accepting a contract. Although results will be expected, contracting can expose you to a variety of new industries experiences and environments. The deep career learnings and new skills can be acquired quickly, and are highly valuable to potential hiring managers and recruiters.

Closing Thoughts

Whilst becoming a contractor can look daunting when viewed from the security of a permanent role, there are also major rewards to be reaped. By following these tips and channelling your energy in the right direction, contracting can lead your HR career on exciting new paths.

For more advice on contracting in the HR industry or support with navigating the Sydney HR recruitment process, please get in touch with me .

Are You Prepared to Take HR Outside of Your Business?

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:39:08 GMT

News

Human Resources is incredibly dynamic. The last decade alone has seen HR transform from a function that predominantly kept records, determined wages and compensation, and ensured lawful compliance to a business development model that adds value through attracting, recruiting, learning, supporting and retaining the best people in the market. However, the direction we’re seeing HR take today is challenging the traditional fundamentals of the HR role.

HR has spent a considerable amount of time focussed on internal stakeholders but as more ‘outside’ parties look to HR for answers, the focal points for many HR leaders and their teams, needs to change to ensure they continue to deliver value to their business.

What Does the HR of the Future Look Like?

HR has reached a point where the only place left to look for information on how to improve is outside the immediate business.

Many HR professionals will stand by the idea that their internal employees are their customers and whilst this is true, it is not the whole truth. The customer of HR is ultimately any customer of the business. Without people buying your company’s products or using its services, there won’t be any employees for HR to manage or a culture to build.

As Dr David Ulrich explained : “We think the next step in HR is to go outside. Let’s look outside the company to see where we can do our jobs better.”

“When we go outside we go to customers, investors, communities and government agencies, and HR becomes a lever for those external factors.”

Investors, local communities and government agencies are taking an increased interest in a business’s people and its culture. Most investors base decisions on the same tangible data such as a company’s finances, brand or strategy but to get an edge, they’re starting to build an appetite for information on a business’s leadership structure and overarching culture, and this creates a fantastic opportunity for HR to create value.

Local communities and government agencies have strict expectations from businesses around sustainability and accountability, and as a result, want more transparency and openness from organisations. Additionally society today is looking at how organisations are actively addressing social issues such as workplace diversity and the gender pay gap, and the spotlight has fallen on HR.

What Do HR Leaders Need to Focus On?

For years HR leaders have fought to gain a seat at the executive table and now that they have it, they need to ensure it’s being used to accommodate all their customers, internal or otherwise. As Ulrich explained in the above interview, when it comes to providing value to external customers, investors, local communities or government agencies, taking an ‘outside-in’ approach is key. This means connecting every HR practice and strategy to the external stakeholder to ensure what HR is doing is adding real value.

The methodology behind achieving such an approach will slightly differ depending on the stakeholder in play but the first step is to understand what your external stakeholders expect. For example, local communities and governments want to see how your business’s culture and leadership is rising to the challenge and creating better communities for all. Another example is that the growing appetite investors have for less conventional information, creates an excellent opportunity for HR to show how their culture and leadership strategies are helping the business to succeed.

Once you understand your stakeholders, you can then start building a HR function that meets their expectations. Look at your HR practices such as recruiting, learning and development and succession planning to ascertain whether they’re aligned with what your external stakeholders standards and expectations. Are these practices integrated with each other? And finally, analytics is becoming a huge part of the HR role, so should be able you support and justify your recommendations and decisions with the right data and insights.

Summary

The world of HR is changing but it is not too late to get ahead. As HR teams and functions take on more responsibilities, great executive leadership is a necessity as more and more stakeholders need to be considered not just your internal customers. If you’re looking to bring forward-thinking HR executives into your business, get in touch with me today.

What Businesses Are Looking for in Executive HR Leaders

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:39:03 GMT

News

As Dave Ulrich recently said: “There has never been a better time to be in HR.” With excessive business activity, constant change, rapid technological advancements and a heightened focus on employee wellbeing; great HR is now essential.

We see this every day and speak to companies (of all sizes and industry sectors) who are genuinely grappling with how to tackle issues such as mediocre performance, dysfunctional teams, lack of great leadership, and an inability to attract talent and improve poor culture. Whilst intent is high, many businesses are struggling to find strong HR leaders who possess all the qualities and skills sought. Granted, it is a “tall order”, but as an HR professional, taking the time to understand what organisations want from HR can help you to turn this market gap into an opportunity. To find out what traits and skills you can develop to improve your appeal to great employers, read on below.

Businesses Want an HR Professional Who Is…

It’s important to note that what businesses seek from their HR executives will largely depend on that business’s stage of evolution, and sometimes the industries it operates in, as well as its size. As an example, a small but rapidly growing IT business who focuses on innovation, will want someone different compared to a large corporate financial services enterprise. Despite this however, there are still several traits and skills that are frequently asked for by most employers.

Courageous & Commercially Curious

Traditionally, HR has relied on ‘best practice’ approaches based on what other successful organizations were doing at the time, but this isn’t an effective method in today’s HR landscape. Now, the hurdles organizations face can be incredibly unique and these businesses have distinct ways of celebrating success. This has resulted in employers looking for HR executives who have moved beyond best practice to embrace iterative, test practices or a global best-in-class, holistic view. This requires HR leaders with the courage to pull apart problems, speak their mind and give their honest but credible opinion to mitigate risks, or highlight opportunities.

To gain such an acute business awareness, HR professionals need to shift from a process or program focus and take an ‘outside-looking-in’ systems-thinking approach. This means having the commercial interest to dive into the wider industry and the initiative to step outside of native specializations to learn how systems, processes, initiatives, policies and procedures connect together. Possessing this level of understanding can enable HR professionals to look for linkages, understand trends, ask harder questions, and ultimately build a sound business case to champion change or further discussion. Building this understanding is no easy feat, but a great place to start is with industry events, conferences, cross-functional projects and mentors outside of the discipline. Not only do these events open potential networking opportunities, but they also present a fantastic chance to gain exposure to different disciplines and other industries. So, if you work in technology, don’t shy away from attending events related to your businesses’ offerings, even if they’re outside the HR realm, as gaining this familiarity is the first step to building strong commercial acumen.

Credible & Relevant

Whilst having the courage and commercial curiosity to speak your mind is important, so is being able to back it up with substance and fact. Another pressing concern for employers is finding HR professionals who are comfortable with uncertainty, and capable of dealing with ambiguity. Without credibility, it can be immensely difficult to develop influence and challenge the status quo to get better results. A great way to develop credibility is to have statistical data and useful insights to back up your statements, but I don’t mean falling back on one or two data points that HR has traditionally used in the past, such as turnover statistics or the cost of absenteeism. Organisations want HR executives who can use a variety of different data points, such as information on employee productivity and engagement, to better inform decision making across the business, from tackling someone’s leadership style to justifying the development of a new parental leave initiative.

Another key to building credibility is to be seen as someone who is consistently evaluating their own performance and career, determining gaps and taking positive steps to address them. Let’s take communication skills as an example. Possessing strong communication skills is crucial for HR, but it is still an area we frequently receive feedback from employers in. Organizations are looking for HR professionals who can showcase a multipronged approach to verbal and written communication to suit different stakeholders and situations, as opposed to a static approach. Developing such a communication approach can be difficult, but businesses are interested in people who are actively developing themselves. So, start by proactively asking for feedback on your current vulnerabilities and finding ways to improve on them. For example, if you need to work on your ability to influence a room of 50 people, consider improving your presentation skills through practical experience.

Genuine & Humanistic

In HR, there is often a façade that because you must be the moral compass of the business; that you can’t get too close to people or show your real self. However, people respond best when someone is being genuine and they know they’re talking to a real person. With that in mind, don’t let this façade get in the way of your next job. When you’re interviewing with an employer, drop this barrier, and show the best version of yourself.

It’s important to also remember the unique position HR is in: squarely between the commercial interest of the organization and doing the right thing for its people. A key challenge for HR executives is being able to effectively balance commercialism and humanism to protect the interests of both parties. Again, this ties back to having the courage to do the right thing and the facts to call something out and address it.

A Coach

A core responsibility of HR is to make other leaders better, and this is something more businesses are prioritising as today’s multigenerational workforce continues to challenge existing leadership structures. Whilst a lot of HR executives state they have the ability to coach leaders, the evidence to demonstrate this is often weak. To improve your chances of securing a HR executive position, we recommend that you look into completing an accredited coaching qualification (thorough an organisation such as the International Coach Federation ) if you haven’t already, to demonstrate your skills in this area.

Summary

As the business world continues to evolve and AI takes its place, HR executives and leaders also need to change with the times. Regardless of what stage your career is at, it will always pay off to evaluate yourself against the current and future market. If you’d like further help reviewing your career and skills, or would like to connect with fantastic HR opportunities throughout Australia, don’t hesitate to contact me or my team today.

Why Being Your Employer Brand is More Important Than Doing Employment Branding

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:39:01 GMT

News

Over the last few years, employer brand has been one of the key emerging topics when it comes to the workplace. Organizations all around the world are realizing that it takes more than a seductive pay package to lure top talent towards their teams and are starting to undertake initiatives that showcase how great a place it is to work.

The problem starts to present itself when companies who do this aren’t actually great places to work. While companies are now becoming more adept in spreading their message, often using social media to great effect, the basics of having a great employer brand are sometimes being forgotten, which undermines the whole ethos behind it.

The only thing worse than not having a clear employer brand strategy, is having one that doesn’t accurately reflect your organisation. If you’re overdoing it in terms of the way you present your organisation, versus the way it actually is on the inside, then you run the risk of not being able to attract top talent, nor retain the people already in your team.

Figure Out Who Owns It, Have a Strategy in Place

One of the key struggles that many organizations have when it comes to employer brand, is knowing who is in charge of driving it. Not every organization has the resources of a Google or an Amazon. With the breadth of disciplines that employer brand relies upon, there are good arguments for the function being owned by a variety of teams; HR, Talent, and Marketing can all put good cases forward. While all of these can do a great job, it’s worth saying that in my experience, companies who do employer branding well have an internal marketing or communications professional, in addition to tight coordination between marketing and talent teams. Ensuring a balance between having enough people involved to where the message accurately represents your organization, and not too many people so as to convolute it, is crucial here.

Once it’s clear who is actually in charge of your employer branding, it’s important to have a strategy in place. Who are you trying to appeal to? What do they value in their workplace and how do you provide that? What channels do they use? How can you share your message with them? Once these questions are answered, you’ll have a far better idea on the specific ways in which you should connect with potential talent.

However, maintaining self-awareness is key here. If you don’t approach your employer brand in the right way, then you can invite skepticism. For example, if you’re an innovative, leading edge company, you’d be right to portray yourself as such. However, leaning too heavily on that message can be detrimental. Just think about it; if someone kept telling you how good they were at something would you believe them? Or would the message wear off every time they say it? Often, in these situations, it can come off as conceited, and sound like they are trying to convince themselves more than anybody else. This is another one of the delicate balances you need to keep in mind when taking employer branding seriously, and one that can be the difference between attracting great talent or driving them away.

Live and Breathe It

Your employer brand has the potential to be a powerful tool for talent attraction. However, it’s absolutely vital to remember that your employer brand is only as good at attracting as your internal culture is at retaining. Put simply, the proof is in the pudding. If a candidate is wowed by an exciting employer branding activity that doesn’t accurately reflect what it’s like to work there, then you’re going to encounter problems sooner or later.

As mentioned earlier, I’ve encountered more than a few companies who have seriously overcooked their employer branding. All too often, there is so much focus put on crafting tweets and picking out conferences to attend, that the basic element is left by the wayside: making your organization a great place to work.

Style doesn’t count for much if there’s no substance behind your employer branding. if your expectations of what it should be don’t match up with the outcomes of what it is, then you may have a bigger problem internally that needs addressing. Keep an open dialogue with your employees about what they like best about working within your organization, and celebrate these things. Often, you’ll find that bells and whistles like beanbag breakout zones or masseuse visits on a Tuesday (while great!) aren’t the key things that your employees want.

Once you know what this is, embody it. This will inform what your employer brand looks like when you market it externally and help you to attract the kinds of people that would be good cultural fits. Recruitment is a reactive industry by nature, so making sure that your culture is a priority over the branding aspect helps you to get ahead of potential issues, such as a candidate being surprised and disappointed by their new role.

Summary

Although some organizations are doing a great job of both being a great place to work and doing exciting, innovative work, I’m often seeing companies who focus more on what their brand looks like over what their brand is. For those companies, I have one piece of advice: Employer brand isn’t just a series of activities, it’s a constant, moving, changing thing. It’s not something you do, it’s something you are.

If you’re looking to talk more about this, or you’re looking for great talent in the HR space, feel free to get in touch with me today.

How Activity-Based Working Can Attract and Retain Top Talent

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:38:57 GMT

News

As more and more high-caliber candidates look for roles that provide greater flexibility, the concept of flexible working has been drawing a lot of attention within the employment and HR areas. This poses a big problem for many managers, who realistically can’t change their existing culture overnight, or create state-of-the-art workplaces to support extreme flexibility, and hence could find their organizations missing out on great talent. However, Activity-Based Working (ABW) can provide a solution by helping businesses to slowly usher in simple and effective ways for their employees to work flexibly, without harboring substantial expenses. Read on to find out how.

What is Activity-Based Working?

Traditionally, work environments were tailored to people’s role and not the projects or work they were working on. In essence, if you were an executive, you were likely given a private, quiet office. If you weren’t, you would be in an open-plan environment, but open-plan didn’t necessarily mean higher productivity.

Some employers then began to shift their focus to getting the most out of their employees by engaging them with the task at hand. To that end, ABW was designed to enable people to decide how, when, and where they worked depending on the project or task they needed to complete. These could include spaces for hot or stand-up desks, project rooms, and quiet and break out areas, or enabling people to work from home or in any one of your offices. ABW isn’t simply about working from home or a remote location though, it’s about encouraging people to use collaborative strategies and technology, such Trello and Slack , combined with shared workplaces and external locations to deliver the best possible outcomes.

How Can Activity-Based Working Benefit My Business?

There are many benefits to embracing ABW. A report from Samsung on ABW in Australia found that employers that adopted flexibility had better team collaboration, less need for organized meetings, more knowledge sharing and innovation, improved project management, better customer-engagement and less office leasing space and costs. All-in-all, the combination of these benefits will help promote your business as an employer of choice and boost your ability to attract exceptional candidates and retain top performers, all whilst cutting operational costs at the same time.

That being said, the same report also found that the two biggest roadblocks to ABW were staff preferring their own desks, and conflicts with existing company culture or hierarchy. So, if you’re looking to bring flexibility to your workforce in any capacity, it’s important to consider the human element. For any initiative to be successful, a culture of trust and empowerment is crucially needed.

How Can I Bring Flexibility to My Organization?

The first step in bringing ABW to your business is to evaluate your current work environment and identify potential challenges and resistance. ABW requires different working practices and policies so your staff will need guidance through any changes. For example, some employees may require fixed desks and resources to perform at their best. So, if you plan to replace the traditional working style for a more fluid approach by introducing hot-desks, project rooms and quiet areas, these people might become concerned that their desks and resources will be taken away from them. One way around this is to introduce “neighborhoods”, where certain teams or departments are kept together to some degree (however loosely that may be is entirely up to you). This enables a more fluid approach, but ensures that it doesn’t become “too flexible” – a common criticism of ABW – giving people a happy medium between flexibility and consistency.

Successfully introducing flexibility requires buy-in from your people. So, engaging your teams through workshops and surveys can help you to discover what concerns and issues they have with your proposed changes. Addressing those concerns by adapting your plans will help to build trust and empowerment throughout its implementation. Afterwards, using engagement surveys can help to identify how your staff are getting on with the changes and keep that trust and empowerment strong. Finally, constantly reviewing your ABW strategy against your business’s changing needs can ensure it continues to benefit your organization and its people.

Summary

Whilst the world of work is rapidly changing, for many employers, it’s still not feasible to provide flexible working arrangements to their entire workforce without serious amendments to their existing culture. However, if you’re willing to dedicate time and resources to building a better, more fluid working environment, ABW can provide tremendous value to your business, including promoting it as an employer of choice to exceptional talent. If bringing flexibility to your business sounds a little out of reach though, we have fantastic HR practitioners ready to help you through any organisation change on a full-time or contract basis.

I hope you enjoyed reading this article. For more advice on ABW or to get connected to Australia’s fantastic HR professionals, get in touch today.

Is Our Obsession with Metrics Driving Underperformance?

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:38:56 GMT

News

Why do we measure performance so vigorously? It's crucial to tracking organizational success, right? How could we possibly know if the organization is on track to achieve its goals if we don't put each individual under the spotlight and measure their every output? Here's how it works: the organizational objectives are cascaded down, individual objectives are determined along with appropriate performance measures, and then the manager ranks the employee outputs on a numerical rating system. It's simple! If they're not achieving the required ratings, they are under performing…right?

Wait a minute, let's cast the light a little wider to look at the bigger picture...

I'm going to turn the clock back quickly to my high school days, where our head teacher, an educational psychologist, ran a workshop to show us what it might be like to experience severe dyslexia within a high-pressure unsupportive environment. We sat at our desks and the teacher explained that our task was to reproduce a piece of writing. But there was a catch, we realized, as she placed a screen below our chins to hide the papers from our direct view. The only way to read, and to see what we were writing was in the reflection of a mirror sitting in front of us. Everything was upside-down and back-to-front. She paced impatiently behind us breathing down our necks and screaming that we were being measured on speed and accuracy. Needless to say the pressure clouded my focus, crushed my confidence and worsened my performance.

Now these conditions were far from subtle, however you might agree that the objectives were unrealistic given the conditions. Our under-developed skills coupled with the stressful conditions and absence of quality mentoring were a massive hinderance to our chances of success. What better recipe to decrease self esteem, decrease engagement and decrease performance! One might say we were set up to fail. In the workplace, an employee who demonstrates these stereotypical low performance indicators would be of concern to the business and a classic response might be to put them under the spotlight, on a performance improvement plan with closer monitoring. There certainly is a time and place for this mechanism, but is rushing to reactive tactics before we evaluate the bigger picture the best approach? Could the spotlight aggravate the stress for both the employee and the business, who by now has invested resources into hiring, training and integrating the employee?

Are managers setting employees up to succeed from the outset?

Working in recruitment, it's not uncommon for us to hear candidates talk about covering 2 or more people’s workloads, as well as perhaps contributing to additional projects in collaboration with other teams. They explain that their manager didn't comprehend the full scope of their role, yet expected to see results. Some tell us about being thrown in with limited support and struggling to get off to a good start. It’s the perfect concoction for burnout, disengagement and low productivity. If managers don't comprehend the full situation and have neglected to set the employee up for success, are they really in a position to judge the employee's performance? Let’s put the spotlight on the managers now and take a closer look at what they could be doing differently.

First it should be said that measuring performance objectively is no easy task. Sure, some goals and measurements may seem black and white, but with so many contextual factors to consider, we need to be holistic in some of our judgements. The thing is, humans are not naturally wired to make objective judgements. We are fundamentally programmed to draw on our own perspectives, experiences and emotions, and therefore highly prone to making biased judgements. Equally, when it comes to coaching, many leaders instinctively teach in their own learning styles because it makes sense to them that way. However, teaching a creative visual person how to perform a task by chucking a long detailed manual at them to decipher may be highly ineffective and could provoke counterproductive stress and self-doubt, as I experienced in my high school workshop. Tools like NLP , Thrive, HBDI and Clifton StrengthsFinder have been instrumental in teaching leaders how to see the world from the eyes of another and adapt their coaching style to have a meaningful impact.

The NeuroLeadership Institute recently published a thought-provoking article which points out that many businesses, including Deloitte, Accenture, GE and Cigna, have already scrapped the traditional performance appraisal system. They highlight the importance of ditching our obsession with metrics and our tendency to treat humans as numerical rating, and encourage instead an increase in high-quality performance development conversations throughout the year between managers and employees.

If the “Choose Your Own Manager” system seems too complex for now, perhaps a good trial for some businesses would be to offer a formal mentor who can contribute to performance appraisals or performance development conversations. In the grand scheme of organisational development, the goal is to enhance overall business performance, so this should hopefully seem like a feasible systemic solution. After all, why would we deprive employees of conditions under which they will flourish and ultimately deliver better results?

A bit left-field perhaps. I'd love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to get in touch !

Future Proofing Your Performance Reviews

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:38:53 GMT

News

The idea of a performance review strikes fear in the hearts of many employees and evokes groans from managers and leaders across a variety of industries. As HR practitioners, we know better than most that many people dread these formal, annual or bi-annual meetings, which can translate to a cagey, uneasy conversation that makes it hard for both sides to get across what they want. That in turn makes it more difficult for top performers to reach their potential, and for those who need to lift their performance to reach those standards. More than that, however, the annual performance review structure has one glaring limitation: they aren’t frequent enough to assess current performance accurately, instead they focus on positive and negative points that have built up over a long period of time. This leads to them generally rewarding or restricting employees based on past behavior instead of adapting as the person changes and evolves. Sound familiar?

In today’s dynamic, fast changing business environment, the challenges of using an annual/bi-annual formal review process are far more pronounced. If a top performer is unhappy and feels like their performance isn’t recognized, or is unsure of their career path within the business, they can go online and be looking at new roles on a job board in the blink of an eye; often much quicker than booking a time to discuss this with their manager. All of a sudden, once or twice a year to discuss your professional standing doesn’t seem like enough!

The key to ensuring this situation doesn’t occur is to reassess your process and ensure the leaders within the organization have regular, honest, brave conversations with your people. We’re already seeing some organizations move towards this kind of approach, scheduling monthly informal catch ups with employees to communicate on what’s going well, what isn’t and where they may need some development. Sound good? Here are a few ways you can implement this approach at your workplace whether you’re the leader driving the performance conversation or the HR professional driving the process and providing your leadership team with practical tips they can quickly execute.

Check Your Surroundings

Understandably, it can be difficult to move away from structures that have been in place seemingly since the beginning of time. The idea of setting a time once or twice a year, and sitting in an office with a checklist of things to run through, is ingrained in the psyche of so many employees. This can be uncomfortable, especially for employees who might be stressed about the outcome, but the idea is that this is just “how it works.”

We’ve already talked about making these catch ups more regular, but where and how they happen can be just as important as when. Being in an environment that the employee is comfortable with can go a long way to setting the scene for a more productive conversation. When they feel comfortable, they’ll find it easier to be honest and thus, work towards a constructive outcome.

Reconsider the traditional review environment. Instead of the office, take a quick trip out to a local café with a relaxed atmosphere for an informal conversation. Alternatively, you can walk and talk , or maybe you don’t need to change anything, and the office is exactly the right place. It all depends on the preferences of the employee and where they feel at home, as this is crucially important to getting the conversation off on the right foot. Just as important as comfort, is privacy and confidentiality, so always be mindful of the proximity of others who may overhear your conversation.

Clarify Your Pathways

One of the most common frustrations we hear from candidates when discussing their performance review process is the impact that it can have on staff attrition if it’s not done effectively. When analyzing exit data, many departing employees express that the questions they have around the progression of their careers and their individual development were left unanswered, prompting frustration and eventually, resignation – despite many organizations having initiatives in place to cater to these ambitions.

The big issue here is that many employees may not even know that these development or succession programmed exist, especially in large, complex organizations. Your regular catch ups are a great place to make it clear that these avenues are available to your people, and if they identify a specific goal they want to achieve, then pointing out how you can help them accomplish that will create a great deal of goodwill.

Remember, employees aren’t just human capital – they’re seeking both professional and personal understanding, so a personalized approach to their development is key to getting the best out of them. Make the conversation meaningful by asking about where they want to go, and see how you can go about facilitating that.

Frequent Check-Ins

Another great thing about having these regular catch ups is that it opens up the door for more of a two-way discussion. Although the key focus of a performance review is still to appraise performance, conducting regular stay interviews can give you a good idea of what is making your people stick around. This in turn can help you to adjust and tweak strategies internally, making life better for your current team as well as attracting more top talent.

This can do wonders for morale in the office too. As an employee, being able to have your say and discuss how to solve problems within the business can make you feel far more valued by the organisation. That’s why it’s important for these catch ups to be afforded to top performers as well as those who may require extra development. Managers often skip over those who are doing well in favour of those squeaky wheels who need more urgent attention, and understandably so. However, it’s also understandable when those top employees don’t feel valued because of this, and leaders can’t be shocked if they end up wanting to move on.

In Summary

With the world of work changing so rapidly, adjusting the way we conduct performance reviews to create a better experience for everyone involved, and that includes the HR practitioner, is crucial. By catching up with people regularly in an informal setting facilitates more of a two-way dialogue, which enables leaders to have more holistic conversations with their people about their performance, the business, and how they interact.

What do you think? Is the traditional performance review dead, or is there still a place for it in your workplace? Feel free to get in touch if you want to have your say, or if you’re looking for more ideas on how to overhaul your performance review process.

Tandem's own Steve Watton featured on BoB Group podcast!

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:38:47 GMT

News

HOur very own Steve Watton was featured on the Best of Breed Group podcast last year, answering all the recruitment questions HR professionals want to know. What do you need in a CV? How do you impress in an interview? Do you really need a cover letter?

Listen below to find out the answers to all of these questions and more.

Oops, we couldn’t find that track.

Senior HR Executives; How Marketable Are You?

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:38:40 GMT

News

At Tandem Partners my specialist area is partnering with and advising executives within the Human Resources sector. As you’d expect this means I’m regularly meeting with a broad cross section of people from the HR executive community. One emerging trend I’ve observed over the last few years with those in the upper levels of our industry, is an increasing level of job insecurity. To be clear here, I’m referring to professionals that have a vast range of achievements under their belt, have worked with excellent companies and in a number of cases, are already operating at senior executive or even board level.

This insecurity is paralyzing many of these individuals, forcing them to remain with their current employers for a significantly longer period than they would freely choose to, living in fear of redundancy or restructure. .

Sources of Concern

The most pressing issue expressed by HR professionals at this level is the comparatively small number of suitable career opportunities that are available (when compared to earlier in their careers). The reality is that the further up the career ladder they progress, the fewer opportunities exist. This means that many HR executives either remain with their current employer for far longer than they’d prefer, or if they are unlucky enough to find themselves out of work, they struggle to find and secure new opportunities. In addition, whereas in some sectors Interim Management can be a solution to such a problem, in HR, particularly at the very top level, there aren’t large numbers of executive contracting opportunities, rather more ad-hoc low term, consulting opportunities derived through networks.

Somewhat linked to the first point, is the speed at which the HR profession and business in general is transforming, particularly in response to digital disruption. This is both in terms of HR being able to respond to the ever changing demand from their current business and also meeting the key criteria set for most new job opportunities.

With many senior managers having spent a number of years with the same employer and receiving healthy bonuses along the way, remuneration can be an issue when looking at new job opportunities. However, because most are closer to financial independency, the bigger issue is more often the desire to be challenged. This group of people feel it’s too early for them to consider retirement and would jump at the chance to be involved with one or even two more big projects, but due to the reasons mentioned above are rightfully concerned about their chances of securing an opportunity to do so.

Becoming Marketable

If this resonates with you, the great news is that we regularly work with many people who have tackled these concerns and have found they’re not impossible to overcome. Your approach will likely differ depending on whether you’re currently employed or out of work, but the following advice is based on input we receive from HR professionals in both scenarios, who have successfully taken control of the latter stages of their careers.

It’s crucial to focus on what you can control, not what you can’t. It’s not possible to change the volume of good executive HR jobs in the market, so it would be time wasted to worry about this. There may be fewer numbers of permanent and contract opportunities but they do still exist and the reality is that it is the top talent in our industry securing them. The key therefore, is to get to a position where your skills, experience and brand put you into this group, and just because you’ve been in the industry for a many years doesn’t mean this isn’t possible.

The biggest realization most people have when focusing on upskilling their technological awareness and understanding, is that it has nothing to do with how active they are on the latest new mobile app. Instead, technical literacy is understanding how businesses utilize technology to be more agile and customer centric and what you can take from this to influence the people agenda. Most of this information can only be learnt by practical hands-on exposure, meaning that neither Millennials or the younger group from Generation Y, who are traditionally more tech savvy, hold any advantage.

There’s a huge plethora of online courses and whitepapers available, some of which can really help. However, if you’re not getting the exposure to digital transformation you need then there are two great ways to address this. The first is to volunteer to be the lead on major transformational projects within your existing business. The second is active participation in the broader HR industry, whether online or offline. Traditional conferences definitely provide a range of new insights and case studies but smaller community groups and meetups are allowing HR practitioners to work closely with each other, sharing ideas and solutions.

The other way of increasing your worth to an organization is to focus energy on your market perception or brand. For many, having reached the top of their profession, this may be counter-intuitive, but it can make a dramatic positive difference, both to the opportunities that present themselves and your chances of securing them.

Personal branding comes in all shapes and sizes, you might prefer to blog for industry publications, contribute to online forums, actively network with HR peers and key business leaders, or even to present at industry conferences. There is no correct solution, the most important aspect is to broaden your professional network and to showcase your expertise and knowledge.

Summary

Professional insecurity shouldn’t have to be an issue, especially for HR executives who have experienced such successful careers to date. Unfortunately, however, digital disruption is here to stay and for many this has meant it’s now part of everyday life. To address this, we have to adjust what was previously deemed as normal career advice and push the boundaries outside our comfort zones. If we do this, then the future looks a lot more positive with plenty of exciting and challenging projects coming into reach.

Whilst this advice is written for senior and executive HR professionals who are approaching the final stages of their careers, if you are reading this at an earlier stage, it’s never too soon to start implementing some of these ideas! To stay up to date with what’s happening in the HR employment market and for specialist executive HR career advice, please feel free to get in touch .

Are We Facing a New Era of Talent Management? Key Learnings from the National HR Summit

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:38:39 GMT

News

For those of you who don’t know me, my area of speciality at Tandem Partners is emerging talent, which largely consists of a Millennial audience. Recently, I attended the National HR Summit , where I had the privilege of hearing from a number of top HR practitioners from both local and international organizations. The event yielded lots of new insights and thought provoking ideas. I’ve highlighted those that resonated most with me and what we’re currently seeing in the Australian HR sector.

7-Month Tenure: Is This the New Loyalty?

In his keynote speech, Innovative HR: Enabling the Workplace of Tomorrow, David Mallon, Head of Research at Bersin by Deloitte introduced key findings from 2017 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends . Millennials featured a lot throughout his talk, as it did with other speakers, and alongside the multi-generational workforce this will likely be a topic of regular discussion in your HR department.

One of Mallon’s most interesting points when discussing Millennials was that his research showed that this generation views a 7-month tenure as a sign of loyalty! It may sound shocking, but consider the different context Millennials grew up in: an era of constant change, the growth of offshoring, outsourcing, redundancy, restructure, ‘shared service centers,’ siloed role functions and a lack of career growth. An era where the words ‘technological advancements,’ ‘cost savings’ and ‘innovation’ often come hand in hand with job losses. At the same time, they’re the generation that is most likely to list Corporate Social Responsibility and authentic value proposition among their top priorities, as opposed to salary or job title.

For Millennials, dynamic environments represent the world they were born into. Perhaps that’s the reason why they find it normal to leave an employer when they feel they aren’t getting what they need to feel happy and engaged, rather than seeing it as ungrateful.

Stop Doing Leadership, Be the Leaders

A major topic of discussion at the conference was how we can effectively lead this new workforce. Today’s Managers seem to be stuck in an uncomfortable position of ‘jack of all trades’ – they have to provide day to day management but also be people’s aspirational role models.

Maybe we’re asking too much of our Managers to juggle so many responsibilities, leadership (sharing perspectives, knowledge, experience, mentoring or ‘just’ making time to listen to what their colleagues need) doesn’t exclusively have to belong to formally appointed Managers. There are a wealth senior staff in organizations who have significant experience, many insights to share and stories to tell, yet do not have people management responsibilities. These people are often the ‘knowledge custodians’ within the organization.

These ‘non-people leaders’ could be the solution to how we manage knowledge sharing and ensure the legacy and history of an organization are transferred to the new generations coming through. Plus, engaging informal leaders could also take the pressure off formally appointed Managers and facilitate better cross divisional relationships and understanding in multi-generational groups.

The other benefit of these informal mentor programs is that it allows your business to leverage the acquired knowledge of the baby boomer generation, whilst keeping this group of people engaged and feeling valued.

Is it time we stopped trying to ‘do’ leadership, and instead empowered our top performers to ‘be’ the leaders?

Are We Facing a New Era of Talent Management?

Australia’s contingent labour market growth and the lack of available technology (LinkedIn, Facebook, Applicant Tracking Systems) for talent pooling in this sector, was another significant HR trend that was discussed at the HR Summit. Does this lack of technology reflect that organizations are not yet ready to embrace a ‘just-in-time’ (and ‘just-for-a while’) concept of work assignments that would leave the 9-to-5 as one of many ways of getting things done in business, rather than the predominant approach? With the growth of technology and greater freedom at work, this thinking may soon need to change.

However, it’s not just the contingent workforce or technologies that enable us to work from anywhere that suggest we should re-model the way we look at recruitment and employee loyalty. With shorter employment engagement, ‘swap agreements’ may be a future consideration for how we keep people engaged. ‘Swap agreements’ represent a collective pooling of organizations in one industry sector that offer inter-organizational secondments. This way employers give employees the diversified experience they often seek elsewhere, but also increase the probability of them returning.

Reflecting on these trends, it’s easy to see why we are placing more and more value on networking. Whether that be trying to leverage ‘boomerang hires’ via alumni networks or attempting to establish a more effective contingent network, staying socially connected is increasingly important.

Closing Thoughts

With contingent work rising in popularity, generations with different values coming into the workforce and organizations struggling to adjust leadership structures to suit these demands, talent management as we know it is changing. Is your company ready to facilitate a multigenerational creative dialog that promotes change and innovation?

Five Fabulous Years !

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:38:36 GMT

News

We at TP are not shy of a celebration and some things are definitely worth acknowledging, with our fifth year of business as no exception. These five years have far exceeded our expectations in many ways, as they have kept us stretched with some impressive assignments and constantly busy in an ever dynamic market. We are not too proud to say that HR recruitment is difficult at times (this is of course why we exist!) but we do love a challenge.

In celebrating our fifth year, there is one thing we know and that is that we owe a most gratuitous thank you to the HR community, both candidates and clients, who have generously supported and placed trust in the Tandem Partners team and brand, allowing our business to be a valuable contributor to the evolution of HR practice in Australia.

Given the effort that has gone in to the last five very busy years, we need to also publicly thank our team, both past and present. You know who you are! Those now spread across the globe in New York, London and Auckland, as well as Australia.

How busy is busy do you ask? Here are 'five' key milestones – it's a pause and reflect moment, but there is plenty to be proud of;

The Tandem team have placed 1020 HR professionals in to over 400 organizations. This has included roles across the spectrum of the HR lifecycle from HR graduates through to HR Business Partners, Specialist functions to HR Directors and Executives.
We have placed 30 Head of roles, 426 contract roles and even a number of regional and interstate roles.
Our first client was a global manufacturer and since that day (in fact I am sure we hadn't even moved in to our first office then), we have expanded across industries with large transformation projects undertaken in a variety of new sectors including higher education and FMCG.
Our own team has grown from 6 to 19 and as mentioned, those who have left us have moved across the oceans and are 'much missed' alumni.
Moving into our own branded offices in both Sydney and Melbourne last year was a highlight and gave us the opportunity to create a positive and enjoyable environment for our team.

We continue to work with a profession that is focused on lifting the bar, flexing between HR models (Ulrich? Berlin? What is the next generational HR model?) titles and taglines, and a standard of HR practice that is accepted as valuable and impactful. This makes what we do, essentially assisting in the creation of improved and sustainable workplaces, the heart of why we do it!

And so the next five years…. No crystal balls here but key themes include:

Demand for commercially astute, smart HR professionals;
A step up in the coaching capability of HR;
Increased utilisation of workforce data to link to business performance;
Ongoing focus on lifting leadership development;
An appetite to create great workplaces, with a focus on both the customer and employee experience;
All things talent, acquisition, retention, reward and the journey thereafter…

So we remain ever optimistic that the market will remain a positive and growth-oriented one in HR, for as long as there is change, there will be demand, but the agility to respond to this demand and recognize talent is key

How to Combat the Perils of Distance

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:38:23 GMT

News

As the world has become more globally connected over the past decade, we have seen a rise in global immigration. In fact, 18% of the candidates that we have interviewed over the last 12 months are global citizens. Whilst relocating internationally is an incredibly exciting prospect, one thing that no one could have predicted was a global pandemic, and how difficult it would be to navigate our way through this, being so far away from ‘home’.

If you have relocated internationally, or even interstate in recent times, you may have been faced with some quite confronting prospects over the last 8 weeks. “What if I can’t get home to my family if something happens to them?” “What if I can get home but I can’t return to Australia?” “What does COVID mean for my visa?” “How will this impact my career?” All these thoughts are understandably worrying and can certainly become incredibly overwhelming.

With so much information out there regarding your job search and how to remain competitive in the market, I thought I would take a different approach, offering my thoughts as to how to combat the perils of distance.

1. Retaining normality

When experiencing a period of stress, it is very easy to fall into a trap and that might look different for everyone, however, something that I have found incredibly helpful is retaining day to day normality. Psychologist Sabina Read tells us that “creating a plan for each day, with set times for each task can provide stability and comfort at a time of uncertainty”. These plans can be as simple as keeping hold of your morning routine before starting work, ensuring that you eat 3 healthy meals a day, or ensuring that you switch off when your working day has come to an end.

2. Utilizing your support network

We really are all in this together. Everyone is in the same position, maybe not in the same boat, but definitely weathering the same storm,and doing the best we can to ensure measures are taken to reduce the spread of COVID. One of the downsides, is that we are all isolated from loved ones. Yet, we do all need to remain focused on the bigger picture. It is critical to stay connected and we are lucky to live in times in which we can easily communicate and see our loved ones through a range of different technologies. Having regular calls with friends and family certainly reduces the feeling of stress and separation, just simply seeing that they are ok puts our minds at ease. It is also important to remember that they will have the same thoughts as you, they will also be worrying about you being so far away.

If you are still struggling with utilising your own support network, there are so many resources out there to offer additional support. Organisations such as Beyond Blue have a ‘Coronavirus Mental Wellbeing Support Service’ on offer to all.

3. Avoid refreshing COVID updates too regularly

At first, it seemed like the natural thing to do, checking live COVID updates every hour or so in the hope of staying up to date with all things pandemic and across geographies. This in fact, can be counterproductive. The updates themselves can cause concern and this can increase the feeling of distance and separation. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), we should limit checking to once or twice per day, at scheduled times. WHO also suggested that we should seek information directly from the WHO website or local health authority platforms as opposed to the news and media.

4. Accept that your feelings are normal

Not too long ago we celebrated ‘R U OK Day’ and so we should remind ourselves that “it is ok not to be ok” especially whilst going through something so unprecedented and unfamiliar. When feeling like this it is increasingly important to remind yourself of the positives and focus on activities that you enjoy and that can bring you happiness.

As a Scottish national so far away from home, yet genuinely supported here in Australia, my new home, I’d love to check in with you . How are you coping with the distance? Are you doing anything differently?

#team #home #tandempartners #wellbeing

Tips for Uncovering Hidden Talent in Your Team

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:32:47 GMT

News

Quality talent is essential for driving organisational growth, promoting innovation and nurturing the pipeline of future leaders – but these talented team members aren’t always easy to spot. Whilst some people naturally put themselves forward, seek out opportunities for advancement and speak up about their achievements and goals, others are more inclined to fade into the background. So, how can employers identify the quiet go-getters in both their teams and in the pool of candidates, ensuring these key people have what they need to thrive?

To help you out, here are our top tips for how to find hidden talent in your organization.

Start Early

Identifying and developing top talent should start as soon as possible; waiting too long could mean it goes to waste – or worse, key individuals could end up feeling undervalued and look at moving on to new opportunities. Instead, recognising the value in workers early will mean that everyone can reap the benefits.

People want to feel appreciated in their jobs and that they’re being utilised to their full potential, not stuck in the same ‘box’ from day one. As a result, it’s important to start identifying hidden gems as soon as possible – or even better, actively look for potential within candidates during the hiring process. That way, it will be easier to begin nurturing their skillset right from the start.

Foster a Growth Mindset

Although it is important to develop key individuals, the best way to unleash the talent of the team as a whole is to adopt a ‘growth mindset,’ both with existing employees and in the company’s approach to recruitment. Having a strong growth mindset is all about fostering a mentality that every team member (rather than just a select few) has talent and innate skills worthy of development.

This mentality needs to be at the center of the company’s values so that it shapes the thinking and behavior of each individual involved – the way they collaborate, how they respond to change and the attitude they have towards their work in general. Putting this in motion begins with leadership actively investing in the skills of all their employees; identifying what motivates them and working with them to set achievable goals.

Create a Conducive Organizational Culture

One of the biggest barriers to talent development is organisational culture. To make it easier to uncover hidden talent, employers need to create an environment that makes team members feel comfortable to step out. Individuals – especially those that are more reserved – need to be confident that they can take risks and that they will be met with adequate support when accepting more responsibility. On top of that, it’s important that they know they will be recognised for their efforts.

Here are some of the key aspects of creating a culture focussed on identifying and developing talent:

Embracing differences – Outgoing personalities are not the only types of people who can thrive, get the best results or even make good leaders. It’s important to encourage everyone’s individuality and highlight the way a variety of personality traits can contribute to the success of the organization.
Prioritizing communication – Quiet achievers are often less likely to speak up in large team meetings or in day-to-day operations. Prevent them from getting overlooked by giving everyone the opportunity to be heard through regular one-on-one / small group meetings.
Recognizing growth – Taking the time to acknowledge small successes can go a long way towards encouraging people to be more confident and take pride in their work. Whilst it’s not necessary to provide everyone with constant praise, a little recognition can go a long way.

Summary

High potential employee development is all about being proactive, fostering the development of skills and responsibilities, and providing an environment that promotes growth for the unit. The best way to nurture talent is to strike the right balance between individual development and team management; it is the companies who hit this sweet spot that achieve the best outcomes overall.

If you are interested in quality HR recruitment in Australia, get in touch with the friendly team at Tandem Partners .

This is a subtitle for your new post

The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.

Our Top 2020 Australian HR Conferences

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:28:36 GMT

News

With 2020 ramping up, now is the time to review the HR conferences coming up on this year’s calendar. Conferences are a great way to find solutions to challenges, get industry insights and expand your network, but with so many choices, it can be hard to determine which events to focus on. To help you prioritise your professional development, we’ve put together a list of the top Australian HR conferences happening in 2020, selected by the people in the know ̶̶̶ our candidates and clients. Here is what they recommend:

National HR Summit Australia

Luna Park Sydney

March 25th-26th 2020

http://www.hrsummit.com.au/index.php

The National HR Summit is a unique event on the 2020 calendar providing free workshops, networking events and an expansive industry expo. This is an excellent opportunity to actively participate and exchange ideas in the interactive format and get valuable insights applicable to your organisation.

ELMO HR Leadership Summit

If you’re looking to reinvent your current thinking around HR processes and prepare for tomorrow’s demands, the ELMO Leadership conference is for you. Key topics include: the future of work, driving engagement, automation and the changing nature of recruiting. The conference will take place in both Australia and New Zealand, so refer to the list below for upcoming dates:

Australasian Talent Conference 2020 (ATC)

ICC Sydney

24th-25th June

https://atcevent.com/conference/atc2020/

This year’s event is about rethinking talent acquisition, and how talent functions are putting people, purpose, empathy, transparency, trust and reciprocity at the core of their recruitment process design. Join the largest gathering of recruiters and talent acquisition leaders in the southern hemisphere at ICC Sydney this June.

2020 AHRI National Convention & Exhibition

ICC Sydney

14th-17th September

https://www.ahri.com.au/national-convention/home

The AHRI National Convention & Exhibition is driven by HR thought leaders at both a local and international level. The four-day event will look at navigating some of the biggest issues facing today’s HR professionals and businesses through a range of exciting masterclasses, networking events, keynote sessions and a dedicated public sector conference.

HR Innovation & Tech Fest

ICC Sydney

26th-27th October 2020

https://www.techfestconf.com/hr-aus

Join this progressive gathering of HR leaders and disruptors as they celebrate the talent, technology and ideas transforming the future of work. This two-day event covers a range of key topics including HR tech, learning, digital transformation, talent, workforce analytics, recruitment, leadership, diversity & inclusion, wellbeing and employee engagement. Don’t miss this one!

Regular AU HR Meetups

If you’d rather attend something smaller scale than a conference, Meetups can be a great option. Here are a couple of the best:

Sydney Human Resources & Recruitment Meetup

https://www.meetup.com/en-AU/Sydney-Human-Resources-Recruitment-Meetup/

HR Technology Meetup

https://www.meetup.com/en-AU/HR-Technology-meetup/

Online Resources

If you can’t make it to an event this year, online resources are another great way to keep up with the latest HR trends. Here are a few of our top picks:

Disruptive HR
https://disruptivehr.com/

Disrupt
https://disrupthr.co/watch/

TED
https://www.ted.com/playlists/328/talks_on_human_resources

How to Prepare for a Panel Interview

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:05:49 GMT

News

A panel interview is where multiple people interview a candidate for a particular role. There could be as few as two or as many as four or more individuals interviewing you, and they will likely come from varied professional backgrounds – some from the relevant department to the role for which you’re interviewing, others from elsewhere (for instance, senior management).

If you’ve been asked to attend a panel interview for your HR role, chances are the company in question wants to assess you on a variety of measures. Each interviewer is going to have a different opinion on you, and ask different questions – some very specific to HR, some more broadly related to the company as a whole.

But does this mean you should feel more pressure going into the interview room? No! In fact, preparing for an HR panel interview is very similar to preparing for a regular interview, with a few extras things to consider. So, how do you ace your panel interview?

1. Prepare as You Would for a Normal Interview

Everything you’d typically do before interviewing for an HR job you can do here.

Long before your scheduled appointment, make sure you’ve done all of the following:Long before your scheduled appointment, make sure you’ve done all of the following:

Research the company: You must understand what the company does, so you can clearly answer how you will fit into their workplace.
Memorise the job listing: If you applied via a job listing, chances are this will come back up in the interview. Memorise what the job will involve and the key skills required, so you can explain what you bring to the table as a candidate.
Prep for common questions: Every interview is different - especially panel interviews - but common questions are common for a reason. Prepare detailed, clear answers to the most common job interview questions.

When comparing job offers, the work/life balance on offer can often be the deciding factor. Flexible working hours and the option to work from home can be extremely enticing, particularly if you have a young family or other personal commitment.

2. Find Out Who is Joining the Panel

Standing out in a panel interview will be made a lot easier by knowing who is joining you on the day. Politely ask your contact person for the names and job titles of everyone who will be on the panel. This way, you can look them up on LinkedIn (or any other bio that they have) to better understand who they are, what they do, and what their skills are.

What should I do with this knowledge?

First, it can prepare you to field questions from certain panellists. For example, if you’re talking not just to a recruiter but also the company’s HR manager – who has been in HR for decades – you can likely expect some very specific, high-level questions from this person surrounding the HR role.

Second, knowing the names and backgrounds of each panellist will help you formulate your own questions for each of them.

3. Prepare a List of Questions for Each Panellist

In every interview, panel or otherwise, you should walk in with a list of pre-prepared questions. This shows preparedness and an eagerness for the role - both positive traits in a recruiter’s eyes.

The fact that you’re going into a panel interview for your HR role is actually a massive benefit – you will be able to ask much more detailed, specific questions because there is a broader range of people available to you.

Common Questions to Ask

What are the day-to-day responsibilities of the role?
What are your expectations for the role during the first 30, 60 and 365 days?
What is the culture like here at the company?
Where is the company headed in the next 3-5 years?
What is the typical career path at this kind of role at this company?

4. Build a Rapport with Each Panellist

Building a rapport with an interviewer can make the discussion more of a free-flowing conversation, as opposed to a rigid Q&A session. It shows off your people skills and helps prove that you will be a good cultural fit.

Just because this is a panel of people instead of a lone interviewer doesn’t mean rapport is any less important.

During your interview, you’re going to have to remember to talk to everyone, even if they haven’t been asking as many questions. Specifically, remember to:

Shake hands with everyone when you meet them.
Make regular eye contact with everyone in the room, not just whoever you’re speaking to.
Try to remember to use the panellists’ names, as this can build familiarity.
Bring spare CVs in case there aren’t enough to go around. While your panellists are in charge of preparing themselves, some individuals may have been called into the interview fairly last minute, or else not had time to study your background. Offering a CV to everyone that doesn’t have one shows you care what they think, and allows them to ask more specific questions about your skills.

5. Prepare for Fast, Difficult Questions

Each panellist in your interview will have their own objective, and so may have a unique set of questions to ask. This can often lead to interview questions coming thick and fast – with little time to respond to the first before someone is asking for clarification, evidence, or they are moving on to a new subject.

It’s up to you to navigate this conversation as politely and respectfully as possible. For instance, if someone asks you a question before you’ve fully answered the one prior, consider whether the rest of your answer was vital to the role or not – if not, move on. If so, politely mention that you will respond in a moment, but that there is one final thought you’d like to share first.

In Summary

Panel interviews are very similar to typical job interviews. However, you can expect a broader range of personalities at the table and so a broader range of questions being asked.

It’s up to you to learn the identities of each panellist in advance and to prepare to respond clearly no matter what questions are coming your way. This will involve careful study of the company, the role, and your own background.

For more help with your search for an HR job, or to discuss your career, get in touch with the team at Tandem Partners today.

5 Things to Consider When Assessing a Job Offer

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 11:51:11 GMT

News

In the current Australian job market, candidates can often find themselves with several offers on the table. This is particularly true in the booming HR industry, where skilled professionals are in high demand.

If you have the right match of skills and experience to find yourself in this position, or even if you’re simply trying to determine whether a specific role is a good fit for you, it can be a challenge evaluating a job offer.

Here, we explore the factors that will help inform your decision to ensure you’re able to identify the best job opportunity for your future.

The Entire Package

While the salary is obviously an important consideration when choosing a job, you really want to look at the overall package the company is offering. Take your time to look over the contract thoroughly and assess any bonuses on offer for achieving targets and KPIs. Evaluate the achievability of the proposed targets and their potential impact on your yearly salary.

Lastly, look at things that will affect your lifestyle, including paid leave, RDOs and elements not covered by the package, such as daily commute time. Remember that while an attractive salary package is important, it doesn’t need to come at the cost of a healthy work/life balance.

Work/Life Balance

Companies that prioritise work/life balance for their employees generally have increased productivity, reduced levels of workplace stress and a healthy company culture, so job offers that provide this are well worth considering.

Company Culture

Be sure to look at the potential employer’s company culture and whether you will find it an enjoyable, engaging place to work. Company culture is essentially the personality of a company, and like any good relationship, you want to make sure you are a good match.

An employer’s company culture encompasses a variety of elements, including the work environment, company mission and values, and expectations of employees. While some candidates may favour a structured, professional culture, others will prefer a more down-to-earth approach.

Think carefully about whether the culture you see will be one in which you can ultimately thrive. A great place to start is looking at the company’s social media and “ meet the team ” pages as well as read what others have to say on review sites such as Glassdoor and Trust Pilot .

On the day of the interview, try and get a gauge of the workplace culture by observing the office layout, the attitudes of the team members and the dress sense within the office. Remember to ask questions about the management style, level of collaboration between teams and work social events during the interview itself – this is a great way to get more insight into the culture straight from the source.

Will the Role Challenge You?

Determining if the role will challenge you can be a great indicator of whether the career opportunity will have longevity. Jobs that offer you opportunities to learn new skills and methodologies will ultimately keep you engaged, positive and allow you to grow both personally and professionally.

This is particularly important if you are ambitious and wish to grow and progress in your HR career. Companies that encourage upskilling and professional development are more likely to invest in their employees and support their ongoing growth.

Future Prospects

When weighing up various job opportunities, you should reflect upon where you see your career heading in the future. Having room to grow and progress within a role will keep you motivated and engaged, so this should be a key factor.

If you have strong career aspirations, be sure to express this to your potential employers during the interview – this will help you get a gauge of future opportunities and avoid getting stuck in a career rut. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about their internal promotions and hiring practices. Making sure there is space at the company for career progression will increase your likelihood of career satisfaction in the long-term.

Summary

While having several job offers on the table is a fantastic position to find yourself in, deciding on the ‘one’ can be a daunting process. Utilising the above checklist for assessing a job offer will help you make the decision with confidence to pick the right fit job for you.

If you’re a candidate in the HR industry and on the hunt for your next career move, contact one of our recruitment specialists at Tandem Partners today.

SEEK Employment Trends: Industry spotlight on human resources and recruitment

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 11:41:52 GMT

News

In a rapidly-changing business environment, companies are placing greater value on human resources and recruitment professionals to help manage risks and build the capabilities they need to adapt and grow.

The latest data from SEEK Employment Trends shows demand for HR and recruitment talent is on the rise. SEEK job ads for the industry were up by 5% year-on-year in February and the average advertised salary was $82,215.

Angela Horkings, Director, Executive HR Search with specialist HR recruitment firm Tandem Partners, says industry professionals with commercial acumen are in high demand. “Companies are looking for HR talent with a strong understanding of business cycles,” she explains. “They need to be future focussed so they can identify the skills the company needs in the years ahead.”

Planning for the future

The majority of employment categories within HR and recruitment saw year-on-year growth in job ads in February. Remuneration and benefits job ads were up by 27% while organisational development rose by 19%.

“Workforce planning falls into the category of organisational development and we are seeing growing demand in this area,” says Horkings. “A lot of small-to-medium businesses are going through growth phases and larger companies are expanding their markets and finding ways to be more competitive. This means they need to focus on the future capability of the business. If their business is changing, what does their workforce need to look like? HR professionals are expected to be able to identify the resources a company will need.”

Horkings adds that workplace culture is also a focus on organisational development. “Workplace culture is especially important while businesses are growing,” she says. “Some smaller innovative companies want HR talent to find creative ways of building culture and throw away the rule book. Older and larger companies tend to have more complex operations for HR to work within while developing workplace culture.”

Focus on risk management

SEEK job ads for occupational health and safety within the HR profession also increased in February, rising by 15% compared to the same time last year. Horkings explains employers are looking for talent with strong risk management skills.

“In addition to employee relations, employers are looking for HR talent with functional expertise in workplace legislative requirements and an ability respond to risks, such as bullying and harassment.”

Jennifer Rees-Gay, Manager – HR Recruitment at Robert Walters, says employers are placing greater emphasis on mental health within their broader health and safety plans. “We’re seeing a lot of interest in wellbeing specialists,” she says. “More employers are taking a pro-active approach to mental health and are offering support beyond the traditional employee assistance programs. They are promoting wellness throughout the business and are also training their workforce to be aware of signs they can look out for among their colleagues.”

A slip in training and development

SEEK job ads for training and development saw a year-on-year decline of 11% in February, however Rees-Gay says there is still strong demand for these roles.

“Employers need to have effective training programs in place because candidates are constantly thinking ‘what’s next?’,” she explains. “We are seeing demand for people who can create the training content and then train managers so they can train their own teams.”

Horkings adds that data is becoming increasingly important for training and development. “HR talent are now expected to be able to analyse data and use it in areas such as leadership development,” she explains. “They can look at the turnover rates within a particular team, for example, and identify if the manager needs coaching or training to help retain employees.”

Attracting talent

While HR professionals are expected to be at the forefront of employee engagement, Horkings says many companies are falling behind when it comes to engaging candidates.

“This shouldn’t be happening – HR should be leading the way but we find that candidate engagement is slipping,” she says. “Employers need to have a clear process and a clear timeline around recruitment. They can’t afford to drag it out because they risk losing the best candidates who don’t want to wait for weeks to receive an offer.”

Horkings says employers can streamline their recruitment process by focusing on the core requirements of a role. “Take time to clearly define what it is that you need in a role,” she advises. “Rather than just using words like ‘innovative’ and ‘strategic’, think about what you actually need from a practical point of view.”

Rees-Gay adds that competitive salary is also key to attracting talent. “HR professionals are usually familiar with salary benchmarks, so employers need to ensure their own offer is competitive,” she says. “Like all candidates, HR people are also interested in developing their skills, so it helps if an employer has a clear training plan in place.”

This article was originally published as part of Seek's "Industry Spotlight" blog series, focusing on Human Resources and Recruitment. Click here for the original article .

How is Organisational Culture Influenced? - A Tandem Breakfast Event

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 11:11:38 GMT

News

How Organisational Culture is influenced was the topic discussed and delved into at the Tandem breakfast in December.

The word “Culture” and its importance have become crucial to the public and employees more than ever before. Especially in light of the Financial Services Royal Commission, culture has been “blamed” yet employees and consumers rightfully have very high expectations for the right culture to be in place, to ensure business are ethical, sustainable and good places to work.

The breakfast was facilitated by expert and highly experienced HR Director, Denise Hanlon. Speakers included Erin Cramlet, the Senior Director Human Resources APAC Medical at Stryker. Erin has played a key role in a major milestone, with Stryker being recognised as one of Australia's Best Places to Work since 2014. Alongside her we had Gabrielle Pimstone, who is a Director at EY People Advisory Services. Gabrielle is a Senior OD practitioner with a deep focus on culture. Before joining EY in Sydney, she was Head of Organisational Development at Nedbank in South Africa, a company of 32,000 people, where she led a strategic OD function enterprise-wide.

The discussion delved through the journey that Stryker Australia has gone through. Erin discussed the importance of leadership within and holding of values, being commercial, having authentic conversations and yet see-sawing the balance for caring for employees and being in a high performing environment. Gabrielle discussed her time in South Africa as Head of Organisational Development for Nedbank, and the culture journey after more regulations & compliance were bought into the country, similar to what is facing Australia soon.

The depth of questions to our participants from the audience highlighted the interest “culture” had with many organisations. The journey in cultural transformation is a slow one and definitely not an overnight fix. One got a sense even that sometimes it is one step forward and two steps back depending on what is happening in the business and leaders. What was highlighted was that community and employee expectations are certainly heightened now about what culture should resemble and standards some companies are attempting to move to. Additionally, companies that are not meeting these standards are being called out to account and sometimes very publicly.

Interestingly more agile working environments in terms of space and driving a more productive and engaged workforce resonated with people in the room but was certainly not the entire complete answer, but just a lever.

Thank you to everyone who attended, and to our speakers for contributing to such an insightful event.

IT Takes Two to Tandem - Tandem Partners 2nd Birthday !

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 11:00:51 GMT

News

On the 8th August, Tandem Partners hosted an event at Vue De Monde in Melbourne to celebrate our second year of trade. It was a great opportunity to thank those who have provided ongoing support to our business and reconnect with old friends.

As a boutique business, our success is dependent on the strong relationships and partnerships that we have within the industry and it was great to see so many old and new faces out to celebrate with us.

Special thanks to Vue De Monde for ensuring the event was nothing short of spectacular!

Melbourne Team Tandem

Over educated and unappreciative?

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 10:39:22 GMT

News

A study in the US by Gallup found that whilst educational attainment was at an all-time high, employee engagement was in decline. Fast forward to 2018 and we’re still only sitting at 24% of employees classified as “engaged” in Australia .

Historically, gaining a qualification beyond a high school diploma/certificate was deemed a necessity for professional success, and yet individuals with a high school diploma/certificate or less were found on average to be more engaged in the workplace.

These findings raise a number of challenges for the HR profession. Although an increase in formal education provides opportunity for businesses, how do you engage with this workforce to keep them motivated and productive?

Formal education is an expensive venture with a significant investment of both time and money required when attaining University level qualifications, therefore expectations when entering the workforce are often high and, in some cases, unrealistic. HR plays a key role in developing targeted engagement programs that encourage all employees to fully engage in their workplaces.

There are a number of actions you can take to improve engagement in your team – here are a few steps to get you started:

Check in strategies

The days of simply using mid-year and annual reviews for providing feedback are gone – by this stage, it is often too late. Today’s workforce craves regular feedback, which allows you to drive any changes, faster.

Promote engagement within the team

Being transparent in your approach to engagement means talking about it with the team often, holding meetings to discuss engagement and including everyone. Use every opportunity and touchpoint available to reinforce the organisation’s commitment to engagement.

Final thoughts

Engaging employees across the board is key to organisational performance, as well as keeping hold of talent. Together, the actions discussed here can improve employee engagement and drive your staff to perform at their best. If you would like more advice on the employee engagement, or for support with your HR recruitment needs, get in touch with us today.

HR Contracting – Better Than Just Keeping Your Options Open

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 10:22:18 GMT

News

Working in the emerging professional HR space, I am privileged to support future HR leaders, helping them navigate their job search and the opportunities and decisions they face throughout the early stage of their careers. One thing I come across quite frequently, is that many people who are relatively new to HR, don’t fully understand the options that are available to them when they are preparing to find a new job. In fact, working as an HR contractor rarely comes to mind for the HR talent I meet. Yes, securing a permanent role is a great avenue to developing your foundation in HR, but there are numerous benefits gained through HR contracting.

Here’s why considering an HR contract role could be the perfect solution to help you continue building on your HR experience, effectively steering your career in the right direction.

Changing Mindsets Around Contracting

There are a few common reservations regarding HR contract roles that many of the candidates I’ve worked with share with me. For example, they worry about the perceived lack of security, availability of continued work and the gaps between contracts. The lack of annual/sick leave can also feel confronting for some. Another concern is the way working as an HR contractor looks on a resume. Will contracting be perceived as moving from role to role too often? Will employers just see limited tenure? Will employers see me as a strong candidate for permanent roles after a stint in HR contracting?

Although valid concerns, what counts is the experience you gain and what you contribute, then how you articulate this to a new employer. Further to this, I always like to take some time to discuss the benefits of contracting to candidates, especially if they are still finding their place in the industry and need to build on their existing experience. Although it’s natural to have misgivings when applying for roles and deciding what role will inevitably be the best fit, I think it’s important to understand that the paradigm has shifted towards contracting in many ways.

Employers are far more open to HR contractors, and the number of contract opportunities is increasing. Today’s organisations view contractors as assets, bridging talent voids with adaptable candidates that can slot into teams quickly and effectively. As the pace of change continues to increase and organisations all compete for the same skills, talent and capability, contracting has become one of the best ways for organisations to ensure they are able to borrow the right person for the right period of time. Mastering your early HR skills and responsibilities, in addition to your ability to adapt to new organisations and have impact quickly, are all valuable skills. The return for a candidate can be the ability to gain skills in an organisation they otherwise wouldn’t have permanent access to, or the opportunity to work on a specific projects or programs of work.

There are a wide variety of contract roles available, ranging from a few weeks up to 24 months. To give you an idea of the opportunities on the market, below are some of the exciting contract HR jobs I’ve recruited for recently:

HR Advisor for a manufacturing organisation (6-month contract)
Learning & Development Consultant for a financial services organisation (6-month contract)
Talent Acquisition Advisor for an energy organisation (12-month contract)
HR Advisor for a retail organisation (3-month contract)
HR Contractor for a financial services organisation (24-month contract)
Employee Experience Consultants for a global Insurance company (multiple 6 to 12-month contract opportunities for both graduates and candidates starting out in HR)

Key Advantages Of Contracting For HR Career Development

As I have explained above, contracting can be a springboard that launches you into the next phase of your HR journey. Benefits include:

Diverse experience

Working as a contractor offers great exposure to a variety of industry sectors, organisations and HR models/functions and this creates perspective. Perspective can help you identify which direction to take your career, but it will also help you understand what HR competencies you further need to master. Industry variety reduces the chances of being pigeonholed and develops your business acumen. In fact, contracting also opens opportunities to be considered for highly competitive opportunities.

Try before you buy

If you are looking for the ‘ideal role’ that ticks all the boxes, you could be potentially waiting a while. The short-term nature of contracts means are able to move into a role to see if it suits your goals, builds on your experience and could potentially be the role and culture fit you’ve been looking for. Even better, if the HR contract is everything you’ve been looking for, there is a chance it may lead to a permanent position; Managers are reluctant to let high performing contractors move on, but of course HR team structure and budget guide this somewhat.

Networking

Becoming a contractor can open doors to valuable industry contacts that will serve you well in the future. Meeting new people in the HR industry expands your professional network, often helping you to get a foot in the door regarding future opportunities.

Employability

It’s much easier to find a permanent HR job when you’re already in a role and working in the industry. Contracting offers you the opportunity to build your credibility and demonstrate your agility with your next potential employer through your newly gained responsibilities and achievements on contract. Take a risk on a contract role and you may find you have a head start on other candidates who can’t speak to their varied experience, agility and ability to quickly develop effective business relationships.

Summary

There are clear advantages of working as a contractor in the early stages of your HR career. The good news is that working with an HR recruitment consultant can really assist you in determining the best role for you. Keep an open mind about contracting for all the reasons above and remember your HR recruitment consultant will have no problem representing an HR contractor that delivers seamlessly from role to role. Working closely with your consultant and being organised ahead of time will nurture a continuum of opportunities in the majority of cases. A contracting role may just be the ticket to the HR career you’ve always wanted!

If you’d like to find out about the contracting opportunities I have available, or if you’re after some advice to kickstart your HR career, get in touch with me today.

International Women's Day 2019

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 10:08:57 GMT

News

For this year's International Women's Day, we asked our team about the people who inspire them the most and what 'BalanceforBetter' means to them and put together a video of their responses.

Happy International Women's Day from the Tandem team!

We hope you enjoy the video.

Don’t Let Inflexibility Damage Your Business’s Future

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 09:57:00 GMT

News

As Australian businesses continue to adapt to the changing priorities of an expanding, multi-generational workforce, it’s becoming increasingly clear that flexibility is key to success. Yet, the frequency I come across employers who close themselves off to the best HR talent in the market often leaves me scratching my head. There’s a disconnect between what HR professionals and some employers want.

A vast majority of the experienced HR people that I work with are between their early 30’s and 40’s with families and hobbies. At the same time, Australia’s population and workforce is ageing and soon, more working people will need time away from the office to care for older family members. In other words, mid-to-senior level HR professionals are placing an increased focus on flexibility and a lot of employers aren’t meeting them half way. The reality is however, you don’t need to be an incredibly flexible workplace to attract these professionals. In fact, there are plenty of small flexible ideas you can introduce now to make an immediate difference. If you would like to find out how you can create a more flexible workforce for the future, read on.

The Benefits of Flexible Working

For some employers, it’s not always possible to achieve the highest possible level of flexibility. If this is the case then the key is to ask what else you could be doing to help your people live better lives. Flexibility doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing, in fact there are numerous small flexible ideas you can gradually introduce that won’t harm your organisation’s culture, efficiency or workforce planning. To provide you with an overview of the various types of flexibility that exist today, here is a quick breakdown of what you can find both in and outside of the workplace:

Whilst most people would have heard of starting and finishing work earlier or later, which is still a popular choice for HR today because you work full-time hours all the same, other ways of working full-time hours flexibly have started to become more prominent. One example would be compressed working where an employee would work a traditional 35 to 40-hour week in less than five business days so that they have a day off during the week.

Of course, there are alternative approaches to working flexibly that don’t focus on working hours, such as Activity-based Working, which enables employers to build workplaces tailored to people’s roles as opposed to the work or project they’re engaged with. You can learn more about how Activity-based Working can help you attract and retain great HR people in my colleague’s blog here .

How a Recruiter Can Help

If you’re going to offer flexible working arrangements then having the right person in that job will be critical. You’re going to need someone who will return that opportunity for flexibility by taking accountability for their role and giving 110% in return. As a HR recruitment partner, we speak to candidates from all walks of life every single day and we’re in a position where we can really get to know a candidate’s drivers and career orientation. We can pick out the talented HR people who really would give back more than expected for the chance to work four days a week or start at 7.30am.

Summary

As the Australian workforce continues to change, it’s important to ensure your business is leading the charge in creating better workplaces for tomorrow. Flexibility in how, where and when people work will be a key factor in doing that, but having the right people in the right roles is equally as important. To find out how Tandem Partners can help your business to achieve that, speak with one of our specialist recruitment consultants today.

Thank you for reading this article. If you would like more recruitment advice, check out blog or you can follow us on LinkedIn for the latest industry news and more.

The Ethics of Re-Placing Candidates

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 09:51:22 GMT

News

It is (or should be) a moral dilemma for most recruitment agencies… When you focus on building ongoing relationships with candidates and clients, what do you do when a candidate you placed in their last role returns to you for help finding their next role? And how do you ensure that your client knows that you didn't actively pull them out to bill your next placement fee without breaching ethics and privacy laws?

It's a small market and the repercussions of actively targeting past placements can be felt for a long time if word gets out that this is common practice for you. There could be an argument that because candidates receive a free service from agencies while clients pay a fee for successful placement, then agencies should prioritise their relationship with the client and not help the candidate in their next job search.

But what happens when that candidate becomes a potential client and doesn't give the agency work because they hadn't assisted them in their job search? Or when that candidate leaves anyway but maybe not to the best role they could have gone to? It can be a lose/lose situation.

Protecting Your Reputation

As an agency, we have to maintain the privacy of our candidates so of course can't have a conversation with our clients during the candidate's job search. Often the first they hear of our involvement is when the candidate resigns and they ask where they're going to and how they found the job. This is where a candidate can unwittingly damage our reputation in the market. If they don't want to admit to their manager that they were actively job-searching, rather than admit that they submitted an online application or phoned to find out more about the role, they say that they were headhunted. And the next question is “By whom?”

I don't think that the candidate realises that they're potentially damaging our reputation in the market and that this will impact our helping them again in the future. If clients think that we poach people we've placed, they're less likely to give us repeat business so then we have less opportunities to talk to these candidates about in the future. And some clients don't like us placing their employees, even if we didn't place them there.

The Tandem Approach

So putting this into practice, what do we do here at Tandem Partners? If a placed candidate approaches us for work, we delve into their reasons for being back on the market… Is it because their role, the leadership or the structure of the business has changed? Are they moving and the location doesn't suit any more? Once we understand their motivation for wanting to leave, we can coach them on how to have a conversation with their manager, if this is appropriate and the situation can be resolved. But ultimately if they're determined to leave, we ask them to put in writing that they have approached us and ask them to be honest about this.

The best that we can do is assure our clients that we work with integrity and don't actively target people we placed with them, no matter how long ago. Tandem Partners' purpose is to help create better workplaces for the whole of the HR community, candidates and clients alike.

As specialists we will keep working with the profession's reputation in mind, essentially, we will keep 'lifting our bar' too.

What’s All the Buzz About?

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 09:41:50 GMT

News

Every year there are (buzz) words and terms that crop up and catch on like wildfire, some with great purpose and intention and some that were meant to mean so much but inevitably, by the time we have overused them, mean so very little! (read: jargon) These words and terms so quickly become part of the HR vocab and whilst some people lead the way with the actual correct and proper use of them, others use them as a a kind of code either to be easily accepted and understood by peers and HR professionals alike or alternatively to bamboozle the business they work within. Who can forget the word of the year (circa 2010) “Piece.” Add it to any other well-meaning word and it sounded like we had anything nailed! That culture ‘piece’ or that ‘engagement’ piece made something insurmountable sound quite achievable for a minute.

So in jest, but with some explanation for some, we are calling out some of our most commonly heard words and terms of 2017. Think of it as a bit of end of year mirror moment, laced with a touch of healthy cynicism. (Don’t get me wrong, recruiters are as guilty as most, how many job adverts out there have you seen for “Iconic” companies!)

First ‘cab off the rank’;

Delivery; Well and truly adopted deep into this year, read any CEO account, speech etc, and you’ll see it all starts at the top. We are in a delivery era. It is all about what you can deliver against expectations, or for HR folk, the delivery of sustainable People and Culture ‘Solutions’ (ahh, there’s another word…). My bet is we see a shift from delivery through to “Sustainable Impact.” It’s been all about “the why” and “the what” for a while now, but let’s see how this plays out….
Authentic; To think that we ever expected anything else from our people?! Appreciate we’ve probably come a long way here in terms of how culture enables (ahem) authenticity but don’t use it as a differentiating factor in 2018. Please.
Transformation; It’s the way of the world. It is not new, it just is. There are organisations going through significant transformation, e.g. they are literally changing what they did then to what they do now and into the future. Get on board and embrace the ride. There are very few roles that don’t need it.
Cascade; The idea here is that the goals you should set for your organisation should cascade down into goals for employees. Like a beautiful, goal-driven waterfall. In other words, your employees should be driven to help the organisation and vice versa. A novel concept. Please do not cascade anything else.
Best Practice; One of the most commonly asked questions of our team is “which organisations adhere to or are best practice?” This is like comparing apples and tomatoes. Yes of course, it is important to understand the latest thinking and research, but what works for one organisation may not work for another. Have we learned nothing from the importance of tailored strategies?
Disruption; (or: DX or Digital Disruption) Not specifically an HR term but something that needs to be responded to asap by all HR practitioners. Oh, and AI. Does HR need to be disrupted again too? Or are we responding to all the other disruption? Or are we disrupting the way business is done? I’m glad I’m going on holiday next week.
Design Thinking; No jest here, personally I love the concept, but don’t jump on this bandwagon unless you know what it means. As the literature suggests, ‘design thinking’ is catching on as a new term and framework for addressing business challenges. In many ways ‘design thinking’ is a logical extension of the call to innovate. Indeed, ‘innovation’ is the current buzzword in business literature. ‘Innovate or die’ is the stark message for big business.
Empower; According to Forbes, one of the most condescending verbs ever. Need we say more.
Strategic; While we are at it, a round of applause for ‘operational’ Symbiotic words indeed.
Resilience; This one will be on the agenda for a while, as people of all ages need it in spades and I don’t disagree with this new Uber Competency one little bit. But especially those pesky millennials.

Now, granted, many of these words do have a correct and proper meaning, and can be useful to use in-context – but there is always a time and place. There are a couple of hard and fast rules that you should keep in mind:

Don’t use them for no reason. If you can use simpler language, do so. This is the first step to words losing their meaning and making lists like this! Be careful of ‘over inspiring’ through the use of buzz words! Dilution is the enemy here.
Don’t assume people know what you’re talking about. (Particularly in job interviews) Explain what it means and avoid quizzical looks.

Talk about what they mean in the context of your organisation. A word without a relatable meaning is just going to come across as fluff, and if it doesn’t matter to your organisation…then it doesn’t matter.

Feel free to run these up the flagpole with your colleagues! Last but not least here’s to a 2018 where we can ideate, think outside the box and adopt some new verbiage that we can pull to pieces in December 2018!

Managing Your Own Career - The “How to Guide” for Emerging HR Professionals

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 08:33:50 GMT

News

There often comes a time in any role when you start to question how to better progress your career and how to continue challenging your current state of employment. For some, this may come around during your annual or quarterly performance reviews, while others may strive for continuous improvement more frequently. Whatever your motivation may be, it is important to recognise when you’re feeling the need to be challenged and how you can facilitate this to take those next steps and manage your career towards your goals.

Set Your Objective

There are many ways to progress in your career. Succession planning can be a formal way of mapping out a timeline of milestones that you would like to achieve. However, not all companies diligently offer you the benefit of such a road map and as a result you will need to take responsibility for your own career path. To achieve this, it is important to do your research, set clear objectives for yourself and utilise those around you to help achieve your desired result. Often a great starting point for this is with your current Manager. Like any successful relationship, the key to this is communication and transparency. Be open and upfront with your Manager about where you would like to go in your career and present your ideas, plans and goals in a proactive manner. Ask for feedback and take it on with an open mind.

Present Your Business Case

If you’ve decided it’s time to take a step up, then make sure you’ve done your due diligence. Ask for advice and check out realistic options, is it really about “up?” Or, could a step for the better mean looking at secondment opportunities, projects, or time with a different part of the HR function, maybe even further studies? Career progression can occur in your current role if you look for it. If your goal is to move from an HR Advisor position into a HR Business Partner role for example, it’s worth understanding what these roles truly involve. Spend a day or two shadowing an HR Business Partner, reflect on your own gaps and highlight your development areas. Also consider the ‘do it more than once’ principle, that is, practice builds perspective. Develop your expertise by doing things more than once, honing your craft. This in turn affords you credibility which as we know, is the cornerstone of each and every HR role.

Use Your Network

Speak to advocates within the business who can validate and back you as a credible HR professional. Additionally, in demonstrating that you are ready for a change, you will need to illustrate your broader understanding of the business and the value-add nature of your work. As you step up, across or deeper in to the business, your stakeholders will seek to understand your own insights in to what the business is trying to achieve and how your work directly impacts this. Understanding and interpreting metrics, actually reading the annual report (!) and spending time with stakeholders that are willing to entertain your curiosity and questions and better yet, ideas, are all key initiatives you can drive yourself.

Connecting with a mentor is another option that may assist in your role and career planning. This could take the form of a past Manager, or a senior HR professional that can provide you with various and experienced perspectives. A good mentor will challenge your thinking, help you consider your strengths and development needs and ask you questions you may not have asked yourself. Managing your own career doesn’t have to be limited to speaking with those you know. Brave the unknown and ask for introductions where you can. Always take personal responsibility for seeking out the advice you need to get ahead. Being genuinely proactive sets you up well in your career in any case!

In Closing

If your current employer offers development opportunities that is great, but for others, it may mean it’s time to look for a new role. With this in mind, make sure your resume and LinkedIn profile succinctly and accurately represent your current and prior experience and what you have achieved. Once this is done, don’t be afraid of seeking counsel and advice from specialist recruiters. Bear in mind that it can take time to find the right role that will utilise your current skillset and continue to build upon your experience.

All in all, there are many ways to progress your career and no right or wrong way to go about it. Most importantly, it is vital to set relevant, achievable and timely goals for yourself that will aid in your progression and keep you on track to achieve your career goals.

Company Benefits – Attract, Engage and Retain Talent

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 07:33:24 GMT

News

The world of work is changing at a rapid pace. There has never been a greater range of generations, cultures and backgrounds within the workforce than the present day. With all this diversity, are companies fully utilising the broad range of benefits that are now available to attract and retain staff?

In order to keep up with this pace of change, benefit programmes need to be kept current, consistently and effectively communicated and offer something that appeals to the individual. Like any initiatives, return on investment is important, however, the intangible benefits that lead to engaged and retained staff also need to be taken into account.

Most Common Company Benefits

To save you some time, we’ve listed some of the most common benefits that we see companies utilising below. With a little creativity, some can be employed reasonably simply, whilst others may involve change programmes or need to be embedded over a period of time.

Childcare / Parental Leave Policy – Many companies are choosing to offer additional parental leave benefits above and beyond those that are mandatory. One common example is some organisations extending their parental leave programmes to cover men, as well as parents who choose to adopt.

Leave Entitlements – One of the latest global trends, often associated with start-ups in Silicon Valley, is the Unlimited Leave policy. Companies such as Virgin and Netflix are often seen as leading the way in this area, but the idea is quickly spreading to other businesses. If unlimited leave is too much of a leap, then consider providing employees with additional annual leave or the option to purchase additional leave.

Technology – Having access to desirable or in-vogue technology can be a major draw card for some people. Technology policies can also be used to provide your employees with greater freedom; Daimler, for example, has created software that automatically deletes new emails when an employee is away on holiday.

Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) – Offering access to professional help across many areas, including grief counselling, mediation or financial planning can really help to stand your business apart from competitors.

Health & Wellbeing – Benefits here can range from basic elements like discounted gym membership through to flu shots, fully-funded health insurance or even health consultations.

Food/Meals/Staffed kitchen - It’s amazing how well people respond to having basics such as good quality tea and coffee, fruit and other day-to-day items. Depending on your budget, it’s not uncommon for companies to provide fully stocked fridges or on-site, funded cafeterias.

Entertainment & Social Events – Most companies now have annual or bi-annual events, usually centred around Christmas. Outside of these, team or departmental incentives and events can often have a hugely positive effect on morale.

Education / Professional Development – The opportunity for professional development is nearly always cited by employees as one of the biggest draw cards when selecting an employer. This could be in the form of funded further education through to simple internal mentorship programs.

Charity Days – We’re living in a time when people now expect their employers to proactively give back to the community. Whilst company donations and partnerships are good, providing your teams with the opportunities to get involved themselves can be even better. Paid Volunteer Days are on the rise, where team members are given the day off to volunteer with the company’s charity or a charity of their choice.

Summary

The ideas above are by no means a comprehensive list, and some of the these may not be suited to your business, either due to company size, industry or financials. However, if you’re looking to drive your culture to a higher performing, trusting and more productive place, then thinking how you can implement some of these benefits could definitely help to get you on the right track.

If you’d like to discuss the trends we’re observing around employee benefits please fell free to get in touch.

The Australian HR Contracting Market is Growing

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 07:11:51 GMT

News

The contracting sector in Australia is experiencing continuous growth. According to government figures, approximately 40% of the USA workforce is currently made up of contingent workers, and this is predicted to reach 48% by 2020. (By now you will have heard of the Gig economy, a term which refers to the growing number of workers abandoning traditional 9 to 5 employment in favour of working independently on a task-by-task basis for various employers)

Australia’s contingent workforce is predicted to reach 25% over the same period. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics also shows Australia is embracing part-time employment, with over 80% of all new jobs created in the past twelve months being part-time. The HR market is no exception to this trend and as a leader in this sector, we’re beginning to notice that contract and part-time roles are becoming more commonplace. The clear benefits for companies employing people on a contract or interim basis extend beyond the ‘try-before-you-buy’ cliché. Organisations are increasingly finding more reasons to utilise contractors, ranging from the simple need to get talent in the door quickly, to new hiring policies focused on hiring contingent workers.

Source of Demand

Hiring contractors can address the demand for flexibility and agility in rapidly changing business environments and adapting to the need for flexibility can bring about a similar change in the approach to managing resources; scoping or testing new positions, potential plans for growth, pending restructures, or unconfirmed mergers or acquisitions. So, uncertainty isn’t always a negative. It can also stem from positive change, which in turn can result in real career-shaping opportunities for HR professionals, even within short-term assignments.

Organisations and hiring choice aren’t the only reasons for the increased demand in contracting within the HR employment market. HR professionals at all levels are showing a keener interest than ever before in contracting vacancies, as they too are looking for flexibility and career-enhancing moves. As the quality and nature of the work within the contract sphere has become more interesting, these roles are capturing the attention of high calibre talent within the HR industry. Skilled people are now seizing contracting opportunities and agree that roles are progressing their careers through gaining exposure to a variety of different industries and projects. Contracting also gives many professionals a window into different HR models and cultures that they wouldn’t have had the chance to directly experience on a permanent basis.

Debunking Myths

There is a range of commonly accepted myths associated with contracting, the first of which is that contracting always pays more. While it’s true that contracts can sometimes pay more than permanent roles, generally speaking contracts tend to pay a market rate similar to what you would be offered for the same level of role in the permanent market. It’s also not impossible that people find themselves accepting lower rates of pay than a permanent position, especially if it’s a particularly short-term role.

Another incorrect popular belief is that contract roles are easier to obtain than permanent positions. Although the recruitment process for contract roles can be faster when there is a strong alignment between role requirements and available talent, this doesn’t mean that clients are more open-minded to broadening their criteria. The requirements for contracting can often be tighter and more rigid than a permanent hire, as there is no room for any learning gaps. With contractors, there is often a requirement for immediate credibility within the business and expectations to deliver straight away, usually without much support. There may be an unspoken expectation that the contract will be extended or even become permanent, which means a good candidate needs to be aligned to the role long term and at the same time able to deliver in the short term. This can make hiring a suitable contractor a far more challenging process than it might first appear.

Summary

The contract market is maturing and evolving at a rapid pace, and contracting is becoming a highly desirable employment option for organisations and candidates looking for flexibility. The interim and contracting HR market is further embedding itself into the fabric of the Australian workplace, shaping candidates’ careers and changing the very essence of employment as we have traditionally known it.

Why Being a People Person is no Longer Enough to Thrive in HR

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 07:01:57 GMT

News

There’s been a recent trend of CEOs appointing non-HR people into Chief People Officer roles. Is this a short-term fad, or is it emblematic of a systemic issue facing the HR profession? Are businesses lacking confidence and belief in HR as a commercially relevant and strategic business partner? I have worked in the Melbourne HR recruitment market for close to 15 years and for as long as I can remember, business leaders (and senior HR leaders for that matter) have been bemoaning the lack of commerciality within the HR profession. Don’t get me wrong, I have met some incredibly commercial and innovative HR practitioners during my time; just this week I spent an hour with a senior HR professional whose grasp and understanding of her business and HR’s ability to support its strategic business goals blew me away.

Unfortunately, that’s not always the norm however, and the profession still has a way to go to fully establish itself as a truly credible and commercially relevant business partner. Yes, I know that’s a generalization, and of course there are many organisations that don’t want or need a strategic HR function. Equally, there are many HR functions that have rightly earned their seat at the table and are doing great work, but there are many more that are still operating in the same way they were 15 years ago, despite being repeatedly rebadged with the latest phraseology. Again, we have been talking about HR in Australia being an ‘evolving’ profession for as long as I can remember, a phrase regularly rolled out almost as an apology for the function’s lack of cut through.

So, what’s the answer? There’s no silver bullet of course. Changes to HR models and innovation in HR thinking all play a part in elevating the profession, but how do we ensure HR practitioners at all levels are armed with the right skills and competencies to thrive in today’s increasingly unforgiving business world? The Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI) has upped its push for HR certification, following a similar model to the UK, where it is almost a prerequisite to be CIPD qualified to advance your career in the profession. Accreditation is a great idea. You can’t be a lawyer, a doctor or an accountant without the relevant qualifications; why should HR be any different (yes, I know, HR practitioners aren’t saving lives or curing cancer, but they are instrumental in supporting the health and vitality of organisations)?

Recently, we were fortunate to have Lyn Goodear, the CEO of AHRI, come and talk to our team about the benefits of HR certification, and she certainly presents a compelling case for how certification will benefit the profession and its ongoing credibility. Of course, certification is only going to advance the profession if the criteria against which practitioners are accredited are relevant to today’s business world. It also needs the support of senior HR and business leaders to really get traction.

The concept of HR accreditation got me thinking about why people enter the profession in the first place. Conduct a Google search on HR careers and you’ll find no end of references to ‘meeting people’. Indeed, if I could have a dollar for every time an aspiring HR practitioner told me they were a people person, my long-held ambition to retire to the south of France would be much closer! It begs the question, are we attracting the right kind of people in to the profession in the first place and are we painting a realistic picture of what a career in HR is really all about. More than that, are we equipping HR graduates with the right skills and capabilities to thrive in the profession. I don’t know that we aren’t, but I would hazard a guess that there’s room for improvement.

I mentioned earlier that there has been a trend towards non-HR people moving into senior HR leadership roles, and again it got me thinking about how often the reverse is true. How many HR Directors have recently moved into CEO or General Management roles? Of course, such statistics on their own don’t tell the full story. There are senior HR leaders who play highly influential and commercially vital roles within their business, not to mention many HR Directors who wouldn’t want to be their organisation’s next CEO. However, what it does again highlight is that industry knowledge and business acumen are essential for any aspiring HR practitioner hoping to move up in their organisation.

As technology continues to impact careers and the “Future of Work” conversation dominates, HR is faced with both an opportunity and a threat. The HR profession, like all others, is faced with the prospect that increased automation will render many of the roles currently undertaken by HR practitioners obsolete. We have already started to see many modern, progressive organisations implement HR technology, with forward-thinking HR teams investing significantly in data analytics. HR professionals with the commercial insight to interpret critical analytics on talent, capability and performance have a great opportunity to help their businesses gain a competitive advantage and stay ahead of the competition. For the rest, just being a ‘people person’ isn’t going to cut it…

Have you built a wall to maintain the perfect culture?

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 06:49:27 GMT

News

Last year Donald Trump told the world that he would build “the greatest wall you’ve ever seen” to stop the people he deems as threatening or “non fitting” from entering and disrupting his ideal American culture.

In recent years, HR and business leaders have been talking increasingly more about cultural fit in the context of organisations. Perhaps you’re a people leader, perhaps you work in HR, or maybe you're a recruitment partner hunting for talented individuals who will fit into a culture depicted to you by a hiring manager. Either way it’s likely that most of us have made judgements at some point about someone “just not being a cultural fit” for an organisation.

Has our tunnel-vision focus on creating the perfect culture in organisations has been taken so far that it’s actually crippling business growth? Put another way, have we built walls in an attempt to prevent people who have different values, perspectives and approaches from entering our business in case they rock the boat and disrupt our culture too much?

Let’s start with cultural fit...

What is cultural fit anyway? The truth is, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of consensus around the definition. Michael Watkins recently analysed a broad variety of opinions that people held through a discussion on LinkedIn. Some thought of culture as a set of recognisable patterns of behaviour. Others talked of a sense of “shared awareness and understanding” amongst employees. One person’s viewpoint conveyed culture as a conceptualisation that “promotes and reinforces ‘right’ thinking whilst sanctioning ‘wrong’ thinking”. There were some very thought-provoking opinions.

Jumping back to Mr Trump, the newly elected US President appears to have a very strong opinion on how Americans typically behave and how outsiders should, therefore, behave in order to be welcomed into his idealistic culture. To illustrate, Trump recently confessed his disappointment in the communication style of a group of non-Americans in his speech: "When these people walk into the room they don't say, 'Oh hello, how's the weather? It's so beautiful outside. How are the Yankees doing?.' They say, 'We want deal!'". It's safe to assume that Trump did not deem these people as a good cultural fit for America.

So in a business context when we assess a person’s cultural fit, what criteria are we measuring them against? What questions are we asking ourselves about their behaviours, their communication styles, their values? What judgements are we making that lead us to decide that they are “not a fit”? What are we predicting about the impact that they will have on our business objectives? Are we worried that they might threaten the other employees, or that they will create conflict?

Have you built a wall around your business?

With all the recent attention on the cultural-fit phenomenon, business leaders and HR practitioners have at times appeared wary of bringing people into their teams who might disrupt their organisational culture. As a result, have we inadvertently built walls around our businesses? Perhaps we hope that these walls will keep the peace and reduce unwanted conflict. Is it possible however that stifling conflict is partly responsible for stagnating business growth?

Trump's recent campaign tapped into the powerful human emotion of fear. Fear of immigrants from different cultures with different values and different ideals. He persuaded a frighteningly high percentage of Americans that these outsiders would all bring danger and “threaten our very way of life”.

Interestingly more than 10% of the Forbes 400 are in fact immigrants (14 now richer than Mr Trump himself). Goldschein and Feloni recently put a few individuals under the spotlight: Do Won Chang (founder and CEO of retail clothing giant Forever 21) moved to the USA from Korea starting out as a cleaner and petrol station attendant. From these humble beginnings Chang has since established what is now a $4.4B global business. Similarly Jan Koum , (co-founder of messaging platform Whatsapp), migrated to the USA from Ukraine aged 16 with his family who had to get by on government food vouchers when they arrived. Soon Jan’s business idea had grown so successfully that Facebook put in an offer and bought it for $19B. Needless to say it seems there is little to question about the contribution that these newcomers have made to the US economy.

The recruitment business partner’s evolving role...

The role of a recruitment business partner is becoming less about filling vacancies and more about understanding business goals whilst helping to determine the talent that will enable the business to achieve those objectives. If cultural fit comes up high on the hiring manager's list of requirements, perhaps this is a valuable opportunity for the recruitment partner to support manager in unpacking their existing notion of cultural fit thereby further distilling the talent gaps. It's becoming increasingly important for recruitment partners to ask the types of questions mentioned above to ensure that businesses are not missing out on top talent.

Could there be advantages to hiring someone with a completely contrasting way of thinking to achieve a business goal?

A dynamic ever-evolving culture...

Studies have shown that cultural diversity and even conflict can have a very positive impact on team performance. Working with “socially distinct newcomers” could actually drive organisational innovation and success. Steve Denning shows how problem solving can be much more effective when engaging people from a range of cultural backgrounds. He explains how diverse groups bring a rich assortment of differing skill sets, conflicting interpretations, fresh perspectives, paradoxical ideas, and vastly contrasting approaches which can amplify innovation. Perhaps conflict doesn’t have to be a bad thing after all.

Could solving complex business problems in a dynamic ever-evolving culture be the answer to increasing competitive advantage? Perhaps a culture where boundaries are expansively elastic, walls are tumbled down, and contrasting approaches are embraced, could be one of the secrets to accelerating business growth.

The talent pool would certainly expand!

We' d love to hear your thoughts...

Risk and reward - Hiring based on potential

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 06:14:30 GMT

News

In an increasingly volatile economy with a changing HR landscape, there is a trend toward seeking veteran professionals who have ‘proven experience’ and less of an appetite to invest in and grow employees with potential. This creates a number of challenges both for the business and for recruitment.

For recruitment, the challenge is to find someone who has achieved similar results in a ‘comparable industry’ who is willing to try to replicate the same success in a similar environment – limiting their opportunities for career growth and personal development. Restricting a talent pool in this manner often results in an extended time to hire and may require additional remuneration to recruit the preferred candidate, as this may be the only motivating factor - particularly if they are happy in their current role.

For the business, although hiring on potential does pose a risk, with the right leadership and organisational structure, the risk is minimal in comparison to the reward. Developing an employee within the company creates a strong psychological contract and increases the likelihood that the employee will continue to pursue opportunities within the organisation rather than seeking opportunities outside of the organisation.

When hiring on potential the most important factor to consider is cultural fit, although ‘hard skills’ can generally be taught, it is essential that the employee has the ‘soft skills’ to flourish in the environment and the intellectual capacity and motivation to fill the gaps in their skillset. Employees who have a strong alignment with their company’s culture have been found to be more committed and likely to remain with their company in addition to greater job satisfaction and superior performance.

The benefits of hiring for potential are clear. Increased engagement is more important now than ever, and in a market where the talent pool is constantly getting tighter, targeting potential is a great way to find the needle in the haystack that you’ve been looking for.

The case for partnering with recruiters to reach your talent management goals...

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 06:06:33 GMT

News

Talent pipelining and the establishment of an effective talent acquisition system is essential today to meet the ever-changing resourcing needs of organisations. Recruitment can be a costly activity, no more so than when a key role remains empty for a period of time. Not only does this add pressure to the surrounding team, but often means that key strategic objectives are not pursued as everyone bunkers down to compensate for the missing employee.

Looking ahead

Forecasting your talent needs for the future and identifying ‘critical’ roles within your organisation that would be difficult to replace create the backbone to a talent pipeline. Where will this person come from? Is this talent hard to find? Do they exist within the business or would we need to look externally? How long would it take for someone new to operate within the role?

If the talent already exists internally, you can create a succession plan; however, if you need to go to market, often the best choice is to partner with a trusted recruitment firm to help meet your needs and keep you abreast of the talent available.

The benefits of partnering with a specialist

Recruitment agencies, particularly those who are sector specialists, can be excellent partners for talent pipelining. Here’s why this approach can help match you with candidates that meet your needs – higher quality hires that provide you with a competitive advantage.

Market knowledge

With an expert knowledge of market sectors, as well as your competitors' talent, specialist recruiters have their finger on the pulse – understanding available skill sets, where and how to reach candidates, among other hiring complexities. And if you have partnered with them in the past for previous hires, they will have a detailed understanding of your organisation and the challenges you are facing.

Continued candidate relationships

By sharing your talent pipelining goals with a recruitment partner, they will be able to keep you informed of high potential available talent and continue a relationship with those candidates who would be a strong cultural fit. An extended reach ensures you’re connected to passive and hard-to-find candidates, talent you wouldn’t normally see as part of the talent pool.

Time and cost savings

Most importantly, talent pipelining with a trusted recruitment partner reduces hiring time and costs. Without the burden of advertising, candidate attraction and time spent shortlisting suitable individuals, it means you’re spending time where it needs to be.

Whether you're looking ahead to future plans, or have more immediate needs, a specialist recruitment partner can provide genuine talent pipelining support. For more advice, or to get connected to Australia's fantastic HR professionals, get in touch today.

Our Top 2018 Australian HR Conferences

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 05:48:50 GMT

News

We’re almost halfway through 2018 and well into HR Conference season. Whether you’re looking for ways to motivate your HR, Learning and Development or Recruitment team or to gain insights on the industry’s technological challenges and changes, conferences can be a great source of information and a brilliant opportunity to network. However, with so much choice it can be hard to figure out which Australian HR conferences to prioritise. To help, we’ve put together a collection of conferences, based on the favourites of our candidates and clients. Here is what they recommend:

ELMO HR Leadership Summit

If you’re looking to reinvent your current thinking around HR processes and prepare for tomorrow’s demands, the ELMO Leadership conference is a great place to start. Key topics include HR working with technology, creating high-performance culture as well as mentoring and leadership coaching. The conferences are held across Australia offering the flexibility of where and when you can attend. The keynote speakers vary across regions, so refer below for the state and date that best suits you and your team:

Australasian Talent Conference (ATC)
20 - 21st June 2018
http://atcevent.com/conference/australasian-talent-conference-2018/#tickets

This year’s ATC is focused on AI, with a variety of speakers on hand to articulate what AI really is including Talent Acquisition Managers Raquel Lemon (Vicinity Centres) and Bernt Schindler (IBM) who will attempt to cover how AI can be applied to Talent Acquisition.

AHRI National Convention & Exhibition
28-30 August 2018
https://www.ahri.com.au/national-convention/home

Australia’s flagship event for HR practitioners and business leaders, the AHRI conference showcases the latest HR and people management products and services, as well as a fantastic line up of over 50 thought-leaders, covering diverse and current HR and business topics, including Charles Handy, recognised as one of the world’s greatest management visionaries.

HR Tech Summit
The Westin Sydney
19th September 2018
http://sydney.hrtechsummit.com/register-now/

This year’s HR Tech Summit tackles disruption and displacement of office-based jobs as an impact of the advancement of HR technology. From breaking down the use of data to make strategic business decisions, to advice on picking the best HR technology solution for your company.

HR Innovation & Tech Fest
Hyatt Regency Sydney
29 - 30 October 2018
http://techfestconf.com/hr/aus/

Keynote speaker Josh Bersin, founder and principal at Bersin by Deloitte, returns to the Tech Fest conference this year to share his research on redesigning your organisation to be more digital. If you’re looking for a more interactive experience, consider applying to be a part of the Innovation and Tech Fest Round Table Discussions for further opportunities to network.

Aspire HRD Summit

30-31st October 2018
https://www.aspirehrd.com.au/

Aspire HRD brings together a truly unique and unprecedented line-up of speakers including Westpac, Facebook, Coca Cola Amatil, Foxtel, PepsiCo, Medibank, Microsoft, Lendlease, Optus, Campbell Arnott's and Unilever. Over two days the event covers four key topics (culture, technology, leadership, strategy) and it is curated for the HR leaders of tomorrow.

Regular AU HR Meetups:

If you’d rather attend something on a smaller scale than conferences, Meetups can be a great idea. Here are some that our candidates and clients recommend:

Sydney Human Resources Meetup
https://www.meetup.com/Sydney-Human-Resources-Meetup/

Melbourne Meetup
https://www.meetup.com/melbrecmeetup/

If you’re not going to make it to a conference this year, there are plenty of online resources that showcase current thinking and the latest HR trends. Here are a few of our top picks:

Disruptive HR
https://disruptivehr.com/

Disrupt
https://disrupthr.co/watch/

TED
https://www.ted.com/playlists/328/talks_on_human_resources

If you know of any other conferences you think we should add to the list, get in touch . Look out for the TP team at upcoming HR events - if you spot us please say hi!

When Opportunity Knocks….

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 13:36:33 GMT

News

HR professionals travel many paths during their career, many along a linear trajectory whilst others take ‘the road less travelled’. Whether it be moving from consulting to an in-house role, an HR specialist to an HR generalist role (and vice versa), or functional HR to line management, rarely are these well planned, deliberate career moves but rather the result of opportunity calling. In an ideal world (which we are all yet to discover), careers would be neatly mapped with clear intentions, timeframes and progression. In reality (a world we are all much more familiar with), you must be receptive and well positioned to receive those career opportunities when they come knocking.

We are regularly called upon by HR practitioners to provide our perspective on the impact of these career moves. Anxious about making the wrong move, people are often concerned about the impact on their marketability, negatives perceptions of the move (perceived and real), future career progression and ability to “get back in” after changing course. With no crystal ball to lean on, we hope that the following points may help to take the ‘indecision’ out of your decision.

Reflect, Research, Respond

Do you have a clear sense as to where you are heading in your career? Does this new opportunity challenge that in all the right ways? Or are there risks that outweigh the gains?
If you don’t have a clear sense as to where you are heading in your career (this is ok too) consider where this opportunity might take you – always think two roles ahead…
What are the benefits and the opportunities in making this move? Spend as much time focusing on these as the risks and the negatives.
How will you set yourself up for success in this new role (consider a sponsor, a mentor, a great first 90 day plan)? Is the company setting you up for success?
Is the work interesting and inspiring? What does it offer you that very few others might have (think about your proposition to market)? How will this add to your story?
What does this experience add to your resume and how does it play to your strengths (playing to your strengths is important and it often leads to role happiness)?
Consider where the HR model of the future is headed, what are the skills and experiences you need to be successful as the ‘future of (HR) work’ changes e.g. will this role provide you with the commercial acumen that may be lacking in your functional career to date?

Remember, be honest with yourself. You may come to realise that growth begins once your comfort zone ends. If you find it tough to answer these questions yourself without the guidance and input of others, seek out the necessary advice, do your due diligence, and make an informed decision. Ultimately, it is your career though and the decision does need to be yours.

The Value of Analytics in HR

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 13:22:48 GMT

News

When we talk about analytics, it’s not just about numbers but rather creating meaning behind the figures to tell a story that will enable business outcomes. People often measure things thinking they’re “doing analytics”, when in reality, without critical analysis or insight, all they’re doing is measurement. After working in HR management roles for 14 years, I have seen first-hand the effect of using analytics effectively and how it can be used to bring a business perspective to HR. ‘Time to hire’ and ‘staff turnover’ metrics have been around a long time, but there are others that can be used to drive change. How we attract, train and retain staff has a major impact on business performance, but are we doing enough in the way of statistical analysis? Sure, there is no ‘one size fits all’ but HR analytics can definitely help.

How HR Analytics can Help

Setting Up the Function

From my experience in the HR industry, it is essential to not only foster people that are great at deciphering the data, but also involve those who have the influencing skills to drive change. To work towards better outcomes, organisations can set up the analytics function in one of two ways:

Build Capability within the HR Team

Building the analytics function within the HR team itself means having a nimble department, ready to tackle any immediate issues that arise. Although generally, HR leaders will be on hand to influence key decision makers, you’ll need to develop someone internally with an analytical background or mindset to help with the number crunching.

Develop Relationships with Other Departments

It’s also common for HR teams to develop relationships and borrow skills from other departments. It might be working with Finance (who are natural number crunchers!) or building rapport with IT to extract data in an agile way, doing it this way means working collaboratively with the whole organisation to fully realise the benefits of analytics in HR. One drawback here may be time limits on using the resources of other departments, as how much time they can give you will depend on their own capacity (after all, they do have their own tasks). However, if business leaders are on board with the importance of HR analytics, they too will encourage active collaboration.

Summary

Organisations need to build for the future and talent planning is a big part of that. With HR teams having to do analytics more now, taking it to the next level is key, moving beyond the limits of data collection and measurement to make a true impact. I’d love to hear your views on analytics in HR – to discuss it further or for HR recruitment advice, get in touch with me today.

Ten Must-Read Books for HR Professionals in 2018

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 12:52:56 GMT

News

The demand on HR professionals to be across contemporary thinking and philosophies re leadership, culture, performance and engagement (the list goes on…) has never been greater. Reading HR books, blogs and literature is a great way to help build your knowledge, learn from industry leaders and look at things from different perspectives. We asked our team to share their must-read HR books, along with others that have been recommended to them by candidates and clients.

Give and Take

Adam Grant

For a long time, organisations have focused on the individual drivers of success, things like passion, hard work and talent. However, today success is dependent on something else: how we interact with other people. Give and Take takes a look into why sometimes it’s our interactions with others that is the key to our success.

The Happiness Advantage

Shawn Achor

Conventional theory tells us that if we work hard, success will follow, and only then will we be happy. In the field of positive psychology, it has been discovered that in fact, happiness fuels success – not the other way around! If you’re hoping to shine in a world of increasing workloads and stress, then this could be the book for you.

What Got you Here Won’t Get You There

Marshall Goldsmith

Marshall Goldsmith helps leaders all over the world overcome annoying habits and move forward. Whether you’re at the top of your game or are still looking at ways to climb the career ladder, this guide can help you get to where you want to go.

Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness

Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein

Every day, we make decisions. Some are big decisions, others small; however, we are prone to biases which lead to bad choices. Most choices aren’t presented in a neutral way, so knowing how people think can make the whole process easier. Using a whole raft of examples, this is a great book to nudge you in the right direction.

Build It: The Rebel Playbook for World Class Employee Engagement

Glenn Elliott & Debra Corey

Globally, job engagement is falling and in this fast-paced world, organisations need to be doing more. Learn the secrets of the world’s best companies and discover The Engagement Bridge Model, highlighting the key areas to examine in order to build a highly engaged workforce.

Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life, One Conversation at a Time

Susan Scott

This bestselling guide from Susan Scott is all about driving positive change through communication. In this book, she teaches you how to overcome barriers to communication and transform your conversations at work (and at home) through ‘The Seven Principles of Fierce Conversations’.

When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing

Daniel H. Pink

Throughout our lives, we are presented with countless decisions around timing. When should we start this business? When should we start this project? Packed full of research, Daniel Pink unlocks some of the secrets to timing and help you flourish in all areas of life.

Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone

Brene Brown

Challenging everything you think about true belonging (in communities, organisations and culture), this bestseller sparked global conversation about the different things that bring meaning to our lives. With a mix of research, storytelling and honesty, it introduces four practices of true belonging to help you map out a clear path.

HR on Purpose: Developing Deliberate People Passion

Steve Browne

Through various examples, insights and epiphanies, HR leader Steve Browne takes a fresh look at HR. Encouraging people to lose any preconceptions of what HR ‘should be’, this book can help you rekindle your passion for HR and make a positive impact on the people you encounter.

Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing your Humanity

Kim Scott

Former Google and Apple Executive, Kim Scott has earned growing fame with her approach to effective management. Looking at her unique framework of what it takes to be a good boss, it can help you to build better relationships and fulfil your leadership responsibilities.

Closing Thoughts

If you don’t have the time to digest a whole book of HR knowledge, there are other ways to fit learning into your day-to-day life, including listening to HR-specific podcasts or following HR influencers on social media. We’d love to hear about your HR must-reads, so send us your recommendations!

Starting Somewhere

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 12:11:01 GMT

News

In recent months, two of our own, Rebecca Ashton and Hayley Smeding, have been taking part in an initiative alongside the University of Melbourne. Starting Somewhere is a podcast series launched by the University in an effort to demystify the employability landscape and help young people land that all important internship!

Now complete, the 10-episode series is available and features contributions from a range of people in the industry, along with stories from other interns. From finding an internship and what to wear, to juggling responsibilities and compensation, each episode focuses on a specific theme, addressing the world of internships from start to finish.

We’re delighted to have been part of such a valuable exercise that helps our young people find internships and turn them into jobs! If you’d like to have a listen, take a look at the podcast series here .

The Misconceptions of Job Titles in HR

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 12:06:07 GMT

News

In today’s fluid market, job titles can be misleading. It’s not always right to assume what a role entails, purely from a job title, but this is a misconception that I’ve been noticing more and more lately. And it’s coming from both clients and candidates, too.

When interviewing candidates, we find they can often get stuck on labels and what they think their title ‘should be’. It might be people getting worried about what a job title will look like on their resume, or what others will think. Although, by viewing job titles as purely a stepping stone and not looking at the bigger picture, it can really limit your career options.

As Recruiters, we look past the job titles, but unfortunately, this isn’t the case for everyone. There are plenty of organisations who are quick to make judgements on candidates, solely because of the title they currently hold.

The fluidity of job titles in the market means that there are so many variations. For example, we were recently helping an organisation source an HR Advisor (which in a broader sense, was more like an HR Business Partner role). Going through the recruitment process, it was interesting trying to explain to candidates that the title doesn’t matter and that it’s really about the role, the things you’d learn and the brand you’d be joining.

The main message from this is to be open minded and try not to make assumptions about a role. Don’t assume that a candidate can’t perform at HRBP level, just because their previous title indicates that they’re an HR Advisor. Make a judgement too quickly and you might just miss out. Go in with an open mind from the outset, dig a bit deeper and you might just identify the person you were looking for, or find that next big challenge.

For me, attachment to labels should go out the window, but I’d love to hear your thoughts on this – get in touch !

Securing Talent in the Current HR Market

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 12:00:41 GMT

News

“What is the HR market like at the moment?” This is a question that we are constantly asked by candidates and clients alike. We know that the world of HR is evolving at a rapid pace, and with the fluidity of Sydney and Melbourne’s HR markets at the moment, the competition for talent is fiercer than ever. Although we recognise that it’s critical to ensure the right decisions are made, moving quickly and decisively is just as important to securing the talent you need.

A Competitive Market

The fight for talented HR professionals has reached boiling point in recent times, with individuals being recognised and snapped up by employers quickly. A contributing factor to this is Australia’s low unemployment rate, which recently hit its lowest level in six years.

With such competition in today’s market, this means that HR professionals now have more choice and influence over where they work. As a result, we are often seeing excellent candidates receive two, sometimes three offers, in the space of just a few days.

Getting Your Process Right

Although it’s important to ensure that processes and procedures have the appropriate rigour and thoroughness to make the right decision, timing is everything. Take some time to review your recruitment process and assess each step, looking at how each could be streamlined, particularly when it comes to the involvement of stakeholders and interviews.

Remember, the longer the wait to make a decision, the greater the risk of losing candidates to more nimble competitors. So, whether it’s moving too slowly, or there are too many steps in the process, you don’t want to miss out and be forced into starting the hiring process all over again.

Involvement of Key Stakeholders

Although sometimes there is no other way around it, having too many stakeholders involved will inevitably lengthen the recruitment process. Do you have the right people making the decisions to approve the appointment? Instead of two or three executives weighing in on the decision, perhaps the panel could be reduced?

Too often, we see organisations get off to a quick start, only to be delayed by lack of availability in key decision makers. Of course, we understand that there are times when they need to be invested in the decision, so be sure to pre-book time in people’s diaries, even if it’s only a placeholder.

Organisation of interviews

When organising multiple rounds, it’s even more critical to keep it as efficient as possible. Aim to have the first and second interviews completed within a matter of days. Allowing the process to be drawn out over weeks will only increase the chances of top candidates being approached by competitors with more streamlined recruitment processes.

Fast-tracking the hiring process also shows genuine interest in a candidate, communicating to them that you are serious about bringing them onboard.

Summary

With an influx of HR opportunities in the market, the very best talent is being snapped up by those who are moving quickly. In order to recruit the very best talent for your company, it’s critical to stay ahead of the game. Although you don’t want to compromise any recruitment processes, those that move too slowly will see their organisation repeat recruitment efforts, costing time and money.

If you feel that your recruitment process needs improvement or if you’re looking for support in your HR Recruitment, get in touch with me here .

Tandem Talks - The HR Business Partner

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 11:45:23 GMT

News

We are excited to launch " Tandem Talks " a series of informative and thought provoking events to inspire and challenge HR professionals. Drawing upon our vast network of experienced, talented and contemporary HR Leaders, we will offer you access to the best HR thinking, opinions and practices. Join the Tandem Team and guests as we explore opportunities for the HR profession to continue evolving.

HR Business Partnering;
Missed Opportunity or Mission Impossible?

In the first of this series, we aim to challenge the role of HR Business Partner. The HR Business Partner title is widely used and at times misinterpreted by organisations and HR professionals alike. As a result, we question if the role’s impact in organisations has diminished. Did it ever really add the value intended? Are HR Business Partner expectations too high or has capability held us back? Is it time to say goodbye to the Business Partner role altogether?

Join our expert panel who will offer their opinions, insights and experiences. Expect a lively debate! Our panelists include:

• Trish Unwin - General Manager, Organisational Effectiveness, Coles
• Nella Scodella - Senior Executive, Accenture
• Joanne Reed - Executive General Manager, People - Customer Divisions, NAB
• Damian Zahra - General Manager - People & Culture, Vicinity Centres

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE

The Cube @ ACMI

Fed Square, Melbourne

22nd November 2018

7.15am - 9.30am

The Interview Goes Both Ways

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 10:59:22 GMT

News

It’s easy to forget that job interviews are a two-way street and asking questions is certainly something that I’ve found is often overlooked by candidates. After all, it’s not just about an organisation picking you; you need to pick them too!

Not only is asking questions empowering, but it can also help to reduce stress levels during an interview. It’s all about having the confidence to ask purposeful questions about the organisation and the role. They will vary from person to person, depending on what’s most important to you, but thought out questions show a.) you’ve done your research and b.) you’re genuinely interested. Although these examples might seem obvious to you, they can go a long way in the interview, so here are the questions that I would recommend:

What is the employer’s value proposition?
What is their appetite for change and new ideas?
How is HR perceived throughout the organisation?
Are there any challenging projects planned for the next 12 months?
What’s the cultural environment like? How social are the teams?
Gaining an understanding of the strategic direction of the business. And how HR aligns with that?
What will my first three months look like in this role? How would I measure my success?
What are some of the industry or organisational nuances I would need to be aware of?

On top of the above, don’t be afraid to discuss workplace flexibility. With organisations under pressure to be flexible, more agile and open to change, it’s always good to know the kind of environment you might be stepping into.

Asking questions in an interview isn’t just something that happens at the end either. As you navigate your way through an interview, use probing questions to good effect. By asking your interviewer questions like “Is that enough information?” or “Would you like me to discuss that further?” it helps to streamline responses and ensure you stay on track.

All in all, people probably don’t do enough of this in an interview, but it’s so important to remember that the interview goes both ways – it’ll certainly show in your answers! What questions do you ask in interview situations? I’d love to hear your thoughts .

Understanding the Differences Between HR Business Partners and HR Generalists

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 10:44:55 GMT

News

In the constantly changing world of HR, we’re seeing more organisations move towards a centralised model, with a core shared service structure and HR Business Partners (HRBPs). Through this evolution, the term HR Business Partner has emerged as a bit of an industry buzzword, spreading faster than the meaning behind it. Because of this, the definition has become muddled, and what we’re finding is that a lot of organisations are adopting these job titles, without the structure in place to warrant a true HRBP. This misunderstanding, from both employers and candidates alike, has resulted in much confusion. This article will clarify the differences between the two, and how your skill set, or business needs, might fall into one category or the other.

The Differences Between HR Business Partners and HR Generalists

Let’s start by exploring the role of an HRBP in its purest form. As a business-facing and strategic-oriented role, we tend to find true to form HRBPs working within large corporates; organisations that have the scale to implement a COE/shared services HR model. Essentially, they are more of a consultant to the business, acting in an advisory role (working alongside business leaders and managers) to provide the most relevant people solutions.

On the other hand, HR Generalists touch all elements of HR in an end-to-end capacity. Typically found within smaller/medium-sized organisations, they cater to everyone in the organisation, working in more of a hands-on capacity. While an HR generalist can operate at a strategic level like an HRBP would, they are more operations-focused, and handle the day-to-day duties that would usually fall to COEs. For example, if a complex employee situation arose, an HR Generalist would usually complete the investigation and take ownership from start to finish, whilst an HRBP wouldn’t get involved directly, but rely on a specialised Employee Relations team to action.

We’re also seeing more of the emerging ‘hybrid’ model. Whilst still responsible for everything in the operational remit, people in these hybrid roles tend to be provided with much more support than a true HR Generalist. Although we’ll often come across hybrid positions like this labelled as HRBPs, more often than not they’re found in organisations trying to make the shift but are yet to develop the right structure to support an HRBP in its purest form.

What’s Driving the Misunderstanding?

Driving the confusion is miscommunication about the role of a true HRBP. We often have organisations come to us believing they need an HR Business Partner, when in fact what they really need is an HR Generalist, and vice versa. The same goes with candidates approaching us without being familiar with the models.

We suspect this is because the term HRBP has become a bit of an industry buzzword in recent times, so people hear it and want to take it on to make it look like they’re forward thinking; however, if you don’t have the fundamental structure in place (in the way of COEs), it is impossible to create a true HRBP role. The other issue lies with people assuming that an HRBP is the next level up from an HR Generalist. However, this is not always the case. HRBPs are not always paid more than HR Generalists, and HRBPs are not always more senior; they are simply different roles in their own right.

Summary

Having a proper understanding between the two will help to clarify the role that is more applicable to your skill set, or the type of HR professional you need in your organisation. The emergence of the ‘hybrid’ model has certainly created some confusion, which prompts the question: is there a need for change? What is important is that we educate people of the true differences between the two roles, which both serve organisations in equally crucial ways. If you’d like to discuss this further, or for support in all your HR recruitment needs, get in touch with me here .

Building Commercial Awareness as an HR Business Partner

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 10:31:55 GMT

News

A commercial understanding is one of the top skills asked for by employers looking to hire HR Business Partners (HRBPs), however, it is also one of the biggest gaps we’ve noticed in candidates recently. I would estimate that only around 1 in 5 candidates are able to demonstrate this attribute clearly. So, why is a commercially-focussed approach so valuable, and how can HRBPs build their capabilities in this area?

The Untapped Potential of a Commercial Approach

In the past, HR professionals have been focussed primarily on managing processes and the end-to-end employee lifecycle. These types of roles are targeted on more of the day-to-day activities in the business, which is still an important role but neglects an opportunity for Human Resources. HR typically already works across most areas of a business, and because of where it sits structurally, this easily positions people for further collaboration around strategic activities.

Whilst the foundation of HR remains the same, a commercial edge has become essential for today’s HRBPs because it enables them to understand the business strategy in people terms. Top performers will be able to analyse the commercial, strategic and financial aspects of the business, look at how each function operates both singularly and as part of the bigger picture, and then translate that into targeted initiatives that will impact the bottom line. This could involve working closely with leaders across all areas of the business to offer strategic insight, implement new procedures, create employee tools, draw up new policies and provide services that will strengthen the organisation as a whole. However, with roughly 80% of candidates lacking a strong commercial understanding, this represents significant untapped potential for businesses, as well as a great opportunity for candidates to stand out in the market.

Tips for Building a Commercial Focus

One of the biggest challenges around a commercial approach to business partnering is that HRBPs often get caught up in the daily tasks of HR management, which prevents them from realising their full potential on a strategic level and playing a measurable role in a business’ profitability. Sometimes, this comes down to the way some HR functions are set up – not allowing the teams the time to really take on that strategic role and making it more difficult for them to develop this understanding as a result. In response to this, candidates can drastically increase their attractiveness by taking matters into their own hands and actively seeking opportunities to expand the commercial skillset they can offer future employers.

There are a number of ways HRBPs can develop their commercial knowledge to achieve better marketability and business results. The following aspects will help give you that edge:

Additionally, the most important thing any HRBP can do is to spend time in every area of the business so they can develop a practical understanding of how each unit works and the way it contributes to the wider organisational objectives. Where possible, a great way to achieve this is by shadowing different functions and spending “a day in the life” to become familiar with what their role is, how they make a profit and the challenges they face on a day to day basis. For example, working with the finance team helps to build financial acumen and gain a more thorough knowledge of profit and loss. HRBPs can then use this to think about how people initiatives can affect revenue. Likewise, spending time with the sales team to observe their daily activities will foster an understanding of the market, the competitors and existing sales approaches. This knowledge can then be applied to sales objectives and used to find ways for the business can improve people initiatives to achieve company goals.

Final Thoughts

The value of developing a commercial awareness is an opportunity that should not be underestimated, and gives HR Business Partners the tools and freedom they need to make a significant impact on the success of a business. If you’d like more insights or support with your HR career development, don’t hesitate to get in touch today.

Our Top 2019 Australian HR Conferences

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 10:11:21 GMT

News

With 2019 well underway, it’s time to start looking at the HR conferences on the agenda for this year. In addition to being valuable opportunities to expand your professional network, conferences are an excellent source of industry insights, as well as a place to find solutions to today’s most pressing challenges. Yet with so many interesting HR conferences happening around the country, how do you pick which ones to focus on? Based on our clients’ and candidates’ priorities, here are our suggestions for the Australian HR Conferences you shouldn’t miss in 2019:

HR Roundtable: Human Centred Design for Innovative HR Practitioners

Melbourne CBD
6th February 2019

This innovative session, limited to just 40 attendees, provides an opportunity to learn from the best and gain valuable insights into design thinking in HR, with a focus on moving past old processes and developing a human centred approach. A generous percentage of the profits will go to the neo-natal unit at the Royal Women's Hospital.

HR Leaders Forum

InterContinental Sydney
19th & 20th February 2019

Recognised at the most senior gathering of HR professionals in the country, the HR Leaders Forum provides a platform for decision makers from both the public and private sectors to develop strategies for wielding their influence and overcoming future challenges.

ELMO HR Leadership Summit

National HR Summit Australia

Luna Park Sydney
26th & 27th March 2019

Taking place in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Auckland each year, the Nation HR Summit combines three conferences streams, along with free workshops and networking events, to provide public sector HR professionals with insights on how to deal with key industry challenges.

Aspire HR Sydney 2019

The International Convention Centre
March 28 + April 2-3 2019

Aspire HRD brings together a truly unique and unprecedented line-up of speakers including Atlassian, Facebook, Coca Cola Amatil, Foxtel, Medibank, Microsoft, Optus and more. Over three days, the event covers five key topics (employee experience, disruption and innovation, leadership, transformation and talent management) and it is curated for “the HR leaders of tomorrow”.

2019 AHRI National Convention & Exhibition

Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre
16th-19th September 2019

The AHRI National Convention & Exhibition is driven by HR thought leaders at both a local and international level. The event will look at navigating some of the biggest issues facing today’s HR professionals and businesses.

Regular AU HR Meetups

Online Resources

If you’d rather attend something smaller scale than a conference, Meetups can be a great option. Here are a couple of the best ones available:

Mid to Senior Market Update

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 09:37:20 GMT

News

Mid to Senior market update

My colleague Angela Horkings recently wrote a great article on the state of the executive HR market. I have had so many people ask me the same question of the mid to senior market that I thought it was worthwhile sharing my view.

Certainly a lot has changed in the last 6 months. When COVID hit things certainly appeared bleak and we were strapping ourselves in for a tough 12 months. However, once organisations navigated their way through the initial crisis management phase, activity levels quickly started to pick up again, with roles in the workplace relations, safety and payroll space to the fore. Demand has remained strong in each of those areas of the function whilst demand for commercially savvy Business Partners and HR Generalists has also increased in recent weeks. From an industry perspective, the COVID pandemic has clearly impacted some sectors more than others, those organisations with a strong online/digital presence faring well and being at the forefront of current HR demand. As for the future, well of course it’s difficult to predict with any great certainty without the aid of a crystal ball but logic dictates there are number of areas in which we would expect to see heightened demand. As organisations adjust to ÇOVID-normal market conditions, there are a number of key questions which will need to be answered by all businesses, large and small; how do we engage with our customers? What does our workforce need to look like? What’s the ideal operating model to suit market conditions? What are the skills and capabilities required to operate effectively in the post COVID landscape? It’s more than reasonable to expect this will lead to a rise in demand for skills in strategic workforce planning, organisation design and talent & capability. Meanwhile, in the generalist HR business partnering space, we have talked for many years about business acumen and commercial curiosity being essential skills. Expectations on this front will only increase as we move towards a post pandemic world.

So what does this mean for the HR job seeker? Interestingly, when the market started to improve post GFC a decade ago, we saw a noticeable shift from organisations recruiting on capability and potential to recruiting based on experience and tenure. Time will tell if history repeats in this regard but certainly, I would expect many organisations to be more risk averse in their hiring practices than has been the case in recent times. This could potentially lead to more rigorous and longer recruitment process, the greater use of psychometrics and a heightened focus on recruiting from within the industry in which the organisation operates. Ultimately I’m a big believer that good people will always get good jobs regardless of market conditions but certainly in this market job seekers need to be more proactive than ever. As Angela said in her article, job adverts are not an accurate gauge of market conditions as an ever increasing number of organisations ditch traditional sourcing channels in favour of targeted sourcing strategies based around research and market mapping. This has always been the norm for executive level roles but is becoming increasingly prevalent in the mid to senior market too. More than ever, job seekers need to leverage their own networks whilst partnering with trusted recruitment professionals who can proactively market their brand with the right organisations.

2020 has been a year like no other but as the saying goes, ‘from crisis comes opportunity’. COVID has undoubtedly represented a great opportunity for HR to step up, demonstrate leadership and add genuine value. It’s not unreasonable to say that Human Resources has become one of, if not the most important functions for any organisation in these unprecedented times.

Interesting times indeed.

Shazamme System User

Don't Let It Define You...

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 09:29:47 GMT

News

Don't let it define you...

My son, Oli, just graduated from high school. What a year for him and his peers, not to mention the whole family. Although it didn’t dominate, the pressure was always there with comments such as “try to enjoy yourself” and “the mark should never define you”. The stress of the HSC itself and the internal pressure that students put on themselves is worrying. (A discussion for another day.)

As someone who helped the growth of many careers over the past 25 years, I feel well equipped to give Oli, and other recent graduates, my sage advice in the age of COVID.

In a developed economy like Australia, graduates will have choices. For Oli, his choice of tertiary studies will not define who he is or even what his future will bring. We see this where the large accounting firms used to be adamant that you graduate in commerce, economics or accounting; however, the breadth of studies they now consider is more all-encompassing. They accept, strive and espouse for a diversity of thought. So, study what you enjoy and what resonates with you.

Know that you have experienced one of the most unusual and challenging years because of COVID. Striving to focus on your studies, preparing for the end of year exams yet still attempting to enjoy your final year of school with your friends is a balance that your predecessors have not faced. Every challenge brings new learning. You have learnt to be creative, flexible and resilient.

What you choose now does not mean you have to do this forever. We are all different. Some people have clarity in their direction, whereas I believe the majority of us are unsure. Career-minded individuals will have several jobs and career changes. No longer limited to a specific industry or discipline, you can enjoy personal growth as well as a rewarding career. Today, the employment market is so much more fluid. Organisations often welcome diversity in thinking that a more varied career provides.

I see Oli’s enthusiastic optimism and plans for the future as refreshingly innocent. The big wide world awaits whatever that may bring. Could it be a gap year, off to work in some capacity or university?

Whatever his decision, I know that he and his peers will not be defined by that “mark”, that university degree or that first job. People change roles and professions at many ages and stages in their career. In these un-navigated economic times, choices may be limited, however, take courage and enjoy the journey. Those first choices will not define you.

Shazamme System User

“Break a leg!” they said…

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 09:23:59 GMT

News

“Break a leg!” they said…

There is no denying that this year has been more challenging than any of us ever could have imagined. Like you, I started 2020 with high hopes, big aspirations, and the energy to do more, be better and to relish new experiences.

Having started skiing at the age of 5, I knew the risks. On February 12th we packed our bags and flew to Canada for three weeks of skiing in Whistler Blackcomb. Little did we know we snuck this trip into our calendar just in the nick of time! Only, before the pandemic escalated, I found myself enjoying the remainder of my holiday from a hospital bed in Vancouver.

I did not know it at the time, but when I finally finished falling, I had broken my leg. The classic English idiom was my reality! I was rescued from Whistler Bowl’s ironically named Doom & Gloom run by 8 ski patrollers, helicoptered off the mountain, and rushed through the local ED for emergency surgery.

I like to think of myself as inherently optimistic; a trait that has safeguarded me in ways. I never could have imagined the recovery journey that would ensue, nor the fallout of the pandemic. I called Ange from my hospital bed saying I was “okay” and that I anticipated getting back to work as soon as possible! First, however, we needed to navigate our way home - which proved harrowing before, during and after.

It was hard to fathom what lay ahead for me arriving back in Melbourne at the start of March, with the first pandemic lockdown looming. I spent the next 2 weeks using a wheelchair, 5 weeks on sick leave, 16 weeks on crutches and using a walker, 12 weeks before I could shower alone, and 6 and a half months to walk up and down the stairs unaided.

On April 14 th , a month later than originally anticipated, I returned to work with as much energy and optimism as I could muster. Some of you were aware of what was going on behind the Zoom calls, but many were not. I knew I was not alone with my own challenges, yet after the accident and despite the pandemic, I felt a sense of needing to prove myself. To make up for lost time, to be stoic - to succeed (whatever that means!) - I ran myself into the ground both emotionally and physically. I was blindsided by the reality that I needed to rewire the way I viewed myself, the world around me, and what I could achieve given the circumstances.

For a moment in June, I attempted my first “run” and enjoyed my first swim at MSAC. I cried after. Now, 8 months on, my leg is still healing. I still walk with a limp, experience pain daily, and have a second surgery waiting for me in 2021 but I have come so far – we all have in our own way!

I am in awe of how incredible the human body is at coping with, and recovering from, trauma. If I could go back to top of the mountain and do it all again, I would. This experience has challenged me to practice patience, to be kinder to myself and others, to see beauty in the mundane, reframe my own measures of success and to appreciate the little improvements I make every day. These are all works in progress - but progress alone is something to be celebrated!

So, what have I learnt from of all of this? Well… that life is messy, unpredictable, cruel, scary, and unfair at times. Yet there is always a silver lining; an opportunity to learn, something new waiting for us around the corner, and that we are stronger than we ever thought possible!

Shazamme System User

Building Resilience and a Positive Mind-set

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 05:40:58 GMT

News

Wow didn’t see this coming! Coronavirus Crises…global pandemic, unprecedented, recession or depression.

You have heard all the adjectives of COVID -19 and how the world and every country is attempting to deal with it. Every day we wait for the “new case” number and hope that it is coming down. It feels like we are in the eye of the storm. I wanted to share my insights around what I have learned so far during the pandemic and what I have found to be helpful, touching on the topics of stress management and resilience.

These are two great skills to have at the moment. One of my colleagues had a fabulous idea a couple of months ago that couldn’t be more relevant now. Imagine going to the doctors for a ‘resilience shot’- a top-up of resilience to help you through trickier times. How good would that be right now?!

Unfortunately, the ‘resilience shot’ isn’t available just yet that I know of. The stress that we are seeing can be a combination of real issues brought about by these times including financial, domestic, job security and also the reality of the health situation that we are living day by day. This stress can have a substantial impact on our work productivity and our mental wellbeing.

It’s good to talk

We are physically distancing but this doesn’t mean socially disconnecting. Keep connected to your friends and family. We are lucky to have so many options, phone, texting and video calling. Have a buddy that you call to check in with – someone that you can be open and honest with about how you are feeling. It’s encouraging to know you have a support system around you, don’t forget to celebrate successes no matter how big or small they may be.

The cliché that many of the TV networks are running at the moment – “we are all in this together”, is so true. Reaching out to others will not only be beneficial for yourself but also for others. Talking through shared experiences becomes so important. Don’t be afraid to ask someone if they’re OK and if you are under stress, be open and don’t be afraid to open up.

Rituals

Getting into your “new normal” routine, going for a morning walk in nature with your frothy coffee instead of your morning commute to work, treating yourself to screen breaks, getting some fresh air and doing some form of exercise each day are all habits that have been proven to boost productivity.

If at home is working for you and you’re productive great but if it’s not, change it up and change your ritual to make it work for you.

For me, it’s the thought of a margarita on a Friday evening…

Positive Mental Attitude aka PMA

Whenever I’m faced with a challenge whether that be going on a long trek, getting myself out of my comfort zone or trying to stay away from the fridge (!) it’s so important to have a Positive Mental Attitude. Flipping your mindset to a positive one has so many mental benefits and it helps to build resilience levels too. So in these testing times more than ever we need to remain upbeat, remember to be grateful for what we have and keep things in perspective.

Currently each night we talk about something that has made us smile and something that we are grateful for which we find really cathartic.

Be kind to yourself

This year for mental health awareness week the focus is on kindness which comes at a very apt time reminding us to stop and reflect on what has been going on in the last couple of months and how far we have come. Many people have been juggling new responsibilities whether that be; home-schooling children, navigating working from home for the first time, managing a team remotely, creating new HR policies and procedures and some of my clients have even onboarded new employees remotely for the first time which can be a real challenge in itself.

Keep going we are getting there, this will pass and hopefully we will have developed skills, spent more time with loved ones, gained qualifications or even learned to appreciate what we have more.

To summarise, although we can’t control what’s happening with the current climate we can control how we react to it. I hope these tips help you create your new normal whilst remembering to be kind to yourself. For further advice or market insights feel free to reach out .

I’d love to hear how you’re navigating through the changes or what’s helping you with your new normal, have you made any new rituals that you will continue after COVID-19?

#tandemparters #pandemic #kindness #resilience

Tandem Tips for Hiring Success!

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 05:29:40 GMT

News

Tandem Tips for Hiring Success!

I’ve seen lots of posts recently with some great tips and advice for job seekers but what if you are looking to hire talent in the current market? Here’s my top tips:

Have a clear recruitment process and stick to it. This needs to be robust enough for the candidate to feel like they have been thoroughly assessed but not so convoluted that it will risk losing strong talent.
Keep it moving and don’t be afraid to hire quickly. We hear lots of stories of from job seekers about how they have applied for roles, very quickly been invited to interview and then heard nothing for two weeks. Nothing is more likely to disengage strong talent and is damaging for your employment brand in the market!
Make sure your proposition is compelling. Many hiring managers assume there is an abundance of talent to choose from which isn’t necessarily the case. Good candidates will be looking at multiple opportunities, even in this market so you need to be able to clearly articulate how your role and organisation can help them develop in their career.
Communicate your company culture. Company culture is still one of the major deciding factors in whether people decide to take a job or not; virtual interviewing means it is more difficult for potential new hires to absorb the company’s work culture remotely, therefore it is important to be proactive and introduce them to the company’s values and culture early on in the process.
Have a clear onboarding and induction process. Again, we hear lots of concerned comments from candidates about the potential of starting a new role during COVID. It’s no use having a great recruitment process that’s let down by a poor onboarding and induction experience. I read an article recently that suggested 22% of staff turnover occurs within the first 45 days of employment, so clearly it’s crucial that new starters have a positive onboarding experience and that the employee experience is nurtured from day one.
Embrace flexibility! There’s no doubting that flexible working will be the new norm post-COVID. Employers who leverage this in their recruitment strategies now will have a significant competitive advantage in securing the best talent in the market in to the future.

The global pandemic has dramatically altered the employment landscape. As we emerge in to a post-COVID world, those organisations who best adjust their recruitment strategies to suit the new landscape will have a distinct advantage over the competition in the search for the best available talent as the market hots up, which inevitably it will!

Shazamme System User

First and Final Warning

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 05:21:09 GMT

News

First and Final Warning

I am not proud to admit that I have issued a few of these in recent months. Hearty threats along the lines of “If you do that one more time, you’re out of here!” and “You said you’d submitted that paper…. where is it?” Along with the more concerning, “For the last time, keep your hands to yourself!”. My tolerance for poor performance has been at all time low and whilst I have tried to be supportive, my empathy cup has run dry. Why can’t these people just do what they’re supposed to???

But these are empty, hollow threats that I would never act on. These threats, dispensed thick and fast of late, are of course directed to the apples of my eye - my 11 and 12-year-old children, not my team members. Phew you say! (whilst someone else calls DHHS). Let me assure you my children are not in harm’s way but gee, it’s been trying. There have been days when I have just felt pure defeat, soul crushing defeat.

It made me think about how much our tolerance has been tested during this ordeal of WFH and remote learning. I have had to dig in and dust off all my tolerance, empathy, patience, understanding and appreciation of what it is like to learn things for the first time. A mighty good dose of humour has certainly helped…but patience and understanding have been key. And I haven’t always had those in abundance. But giving up on our kids is not an option. We have them for life (not just for Christmas??) and its our job to guide them through the challenges and obstacles life presents. (and apparently that includes long division and improper fractions! Who’d have thought?). So, we dig in and we dig deep. Put on our happy face day after day and chunk away at the curriculum (even when we don’t understand it). And along the way we spy some wins. Achievement on a test, a science assignment handed in on time, a Father’s Day card that lights up (and is then promptly drowned in orange juice) …still a win! We make it work as best we can. Whatever “best” looks like.

Now I appreciate that our team members, employees and colleagues are not necessarily our family…but we spend inordinate amounts of time with these people and in some workplaces (like ours) they become extended families. We see the best of each other, and we see the not so good days as well. If I have learnt anything from this remote learning “experiment” it’s that we can all be a tad more tolerant with others and try to see the world through their lens. Slow down, provide guidance when needed, be available and then sit back and watch with wonder as the penny drops.

Whilst I have to admit I am not even close to mastering home schooling, there have been small wins and I hope I can take this learning with me back into the workplace and do good by it.

Anthea Johnston

What are companies looking for in HR leaders these days?

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 05:19:11 GMT

News

What are companies looking for in HR leaders these days? Anything new?

Good question. If we think about just this year, you could say that everything has changed. HRD’s and CPO’s have tackled a challenge like no other. They have drawn upon all their expertise, skills and knowledge (new and old) to safely guide their organisations through this storm (often with leaky boats and old maps!). It is fair to say that logistics, comms, risk and most importantly employee wellbeing have been front and centre. A massive undertaking and by no means is it over yet but well done to each and every HR leader who has steered their people through it.

But lets put Covid aside for the moment (its’ had more than its fair share of the limelight), and I would suggest that the profile being sought was already shifting. In what way? This may sound obvious, but HR technical depth has never been more important. It wasn’t long ago that some companies were deliberately sourcing outside of the HR discipline for the top HR job. Whilst this had many HR folk scratching their heads and questioning their value, it seemed to satisfy a perceived gap in strategy and/or innovation. I take nothing away from that approach and in some businesses it has been successful. But fast forward and we have had a couple of Royal Commissions, including the Hayne Royal Commission, along with more than our fair share of under payment scandals. There is a heightened focus on governance, compliance and adherence to legislative practices. Risk and HR have never worked more closely together and rightly so. Yes organisations still want to create “great places to work” and rest assured competition for talent will get tougher post Covid, but they want to ensure that the great place they cultivate is also doing the right thing. Fundamental to this is an HR service delivery model that works and systems that can process the complexity of our employment practices and industrial instruments. An HR leader that knows how it all connects from process through to culture will be in high demand.

There is of course continued demand for commercially astute practitioners (yes we are still having that conversation) who complement their functional expertise with genuine business smarts and the ability to get to know the intricacies of the organisation they join. They need to be credible contributing business wide and clearly link the People strategy to broader objectives. Additionally, they need to be skilful in developing leadership capability in others, culture champions, talent spotters/developers and confident to astutely challenge. All whilst leading/contributing to enterprise wide and/or HR related projects, deploying organisational design expertise, crafting workforce plans and using data as an effective and useful business input. Strategic capability, in the true sense is a much sought-after skill but it must be coupled with the ability to execute, deliver and firmly embed.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of requirements and each role will vary the weighting on specific elements ie IR and OD, along with nuances dependent upon industry, size, maturity, complexity and ownership structure. If anything, the list keeps getting longer as the expectations continue to rise for anyone holding a C-suite role. But there does seem to have been a subtle shift towards valuing technical proficiency, so long as it is delivered in a commercially and culturally aligned way.

Shazamme System User

This is a subtitle for your new post

The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.

How to stand out from the crowd

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 13:26:30 GMT

News

How to stand out from the crowd

How do I stand out from the crowd? A question I am often asked by candidates, particularly when their perception is that job application numbers are high and jobs scarce. Of course, in applying for a new role, you need to assume a process is always competitive, but what impact has the pandemic played in all of this?

Firstly, you will be pleased to hear that HR practitioners at all levels have been in steady demand throughout the course of 2020 (with an interrupted few months of March-May as the pandemic hit our shores). Since then, HR teams have been flat out navigating their COVID response, remote working, ‘digital everything’, as well as wellbeing and engagement strategies to list a few priorities. From an HR perspective, there is a huge amount of activity and as a result there have certainly been jobs to apply for. However, some industries have naturally been more challenged than others through the course of the pandemic, notably resulting in a greater volume of applications. This is particularly evident for HR Coordinator, HR Advisor, HR Consultant and HR Business Partner roles, and less so specialist HR roles.

When applying, your resume is often your first opportunity to showcase why a company should interview you (and ultimately hire you). My observation is that task-oriented resumes, that often read somewhat like a position description still seem to be the norm. It may sound obvious but shifting this to highlighting two or three of your most significant achievements within each of your roles, is crucial to differentiating yourself in a crowded market.

Think about where you have gone ‘above and beyond’

Have you worked on Health & Wellbeing initiatives? Rolled out the Employee Engagement Survey? Were you involved in contributing to your organisation’s COVID response? To articulate this in either written form or at interview, think about what you contributed, how you approached it, and the outcome achieved.

Additionally, what have you had exposure to that other candidates at your level may not have?

As an HR Coordinator for example you, unlike others, may have shadowed ER cases with your Manager. Perhaps drafted termination letters? Have you coached Managers through the remuneration review process? What HR Projects have you led? Have you constructed and put forward a business case?

Think about what skills are in demand…….

We have seen an ever-increasing demand for HR Coordinators and HR Advisors who offer experience with an HRIS (HR Information System). It is particularly important to highlight if you have had exposure to one of the more popular systems (such as Workday or SuccessFactors). If you are yet to gain HRIS experience perhaps speak to any alternate systems you have used or how you manage data within your current HR function. As we continue to navigate through remote working, being ‘systems-savvy’ has never been more important.

Industry expertise…

As companies navigate the challenges of an economic crisis, we tend to see transferable industry experience holding more weight than it may have previously. Organisations are seeking confidence that candidates have knowledge of their sector and can hit the ground running. Restructures, lean HR teams, crisis management and ongoing change can sometimes lead to less 1:1 time to train new starters (particularly in a remote world). Consider when applying for roles, whether your industry experience is transferable at some level.

It could be that you have worked in the same or similar industry, or alternatively it could be that you have worked in an industry with similar challenges, a comparable workforce, a similarly structured HR function, or an organisation of similar size and scale. In assessing the best talent for an HR job, we all know there is much more to consider than industry experience alone, but if your aim is to move from one industry to another, you’ll need to demonstrate that you have done your research and thought about how to position your transferable skills and knowledge articulately at interview.

I hope this helps give you guidance and a step in the right direction, and I wish you all the best of luck with your job search. Should you hope to start your search for a new opportunity, please feel free to contact m e .

Shazamme System User

Consultant

Tandem Market Research

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 13:20:07 GMT

News

Featured Employer: Peninsula Health

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 13:16:41 GMT

News

HR Leadership Role

Director People Experience
Director People Operations
Manager, Business Partnering & Change

Looking for a fulfilling and purposeful HR career within the healthcare industry? Look no further than Peninsula Health, a renowned health service located in one of Victoria’s most vibrant beachside and leisure corridors.

An inclusive employer, Peninsula Health is proud to employ a diverse team of over 7,500 staff and 750 volunteers who provide key health services to the community across major sites, including Frankston Hospital, Rosebud Hospital, Frankston Public Surgical Centre, The Mornington Centre and Golf Links Road Rehabilitation Centre.

Peninsula Health is committed to providing exceptional health and community care to the 300,000 people they serve. With well lived core values - Be the Best, Be a Role Model, Be Open and Honest, Be Compassionate and Respectful and Be Collaborative, at the heart of everything they do, the Peninsula Health team are dedicated to having a positive impact on the lives of their patients, their families, and broader community.

This is an exciting time to join the People, Workplace Safety & Wellbeing team, and a phenomenal time of growth for the service, given a $1.1 billion investment in the growth and redevelopment of the new Frankston Hospital. The opportunity to shape, develop and continue to champion People practices to support this growth, will be richly rewarding.

Director People Experience

Reporting to the newly appointed Executive Director, People, Workforce Safety & Wellbeing, this key People leadership role will drive the design and implementation of people programs, experiences and initiatives that contribute to fuelling a positive, highly engaged workforce. Overseeing Leadership Capability, Engagement, Talent Acquisition and Employee Services this role has a broad and varied remit and as a member of the HR Executive team, you will be focused on strategic priorities that enable employee experience and wellbeing, which in turn contributes to exceptional patient experience, health and community outcomes.

With an OD background, you’ll be a pragmatic leader with experience gained ideally in health or services environments. Well used to scaling OD and Employee Experience initiatives and programs, you bring experience in championing Leadership, Organisational Capability and Employee Experience strategies as they relate to enabling and enhancing overall employee engagement. This is a broad role and will require a credible, pragmatic, and commercial approach.

If you are confident that your experience aligns, please apply here , quoting reference number 3626008. For a confidential conversation re this opportunitiy, please reach out to Melanie Barrett on (03) 8560 0610.

Director People Operations

Reporting to the newly appointed Executive Director, People, Workforce Safety & Wellbeing, the Director, People Operations leads a multi-faceted team in the delivery of expert and contemporary solutions for all People Operations. Key responsibilities include HR Business Partnering and Change, Employee Relations and EBA Implementation, HR Advisory, Injury Management and Work, Health and Safety, plus key organisational projects such as the HRIS implementation. This leadership role will ensure that the Peninsula Health People team initiatives are strategically aligned, engaging, effective, collaborative in design and are of a high standard to build the capabilities of Peninsula Health.

With a successful track record as a senior People and Culture leader in a multi- disciplinary role within a health or services related environment, you will demonstrate the ability to develop, lead and implement a broad range of contemporary HR, OHS and organisational development strategies, programs, policies and operational practices to successfully support the strategic objectives of the business. With strong expertise leading change initiatives, managing varied projects and advising on complex Workplace Relations matters, your business acumen, inspiring leadership skills and customer focus will set you apart.

If you are confident that your experience aligns, please apply here , quoting reference number 3626588. For a confidential conversation re this opportunitiy, please reach out to Angela Horkings on (03) 8560 0610.

Manager, Business Partnering & Change

Reporting into the Director People Operations, the Manager, Business Partnering & Change is responsible for leading the HR Business Partnering and the HR Advisory service. This role will work at the strategic level, providing clear direction to the operations function and team, whilst retaining a hands-on approach to deliver an effective HR Service. There will be a key focus on Industrial/Employee Relations and you will work to ensure the team are providing solid advice and guidance to leaders in line with their 11 EBAs and current employment legislation. Further to this, there is a focus on uplifting leadership capability and working to create a standardised process for the management of employee relations issues.

As a HR Generalist, with a keen interest and strength in IR/ER, you will work closely with the Director, People Operations to embed the people strategy and align the people experience programs to organisational goals. You will be an experienced leader, with the ability to coach and mentor staff members and have the knowledge and expertise to act as the escalation point for complex IR/ER matters, this will include representing the organisation at Fair Work Tribunals where necessary. Ideally hailing from a healthcare background, you will understand how to work effectively with union representatives and will be able to oversee the implementation of EBA negotiations and bargaining outcomes. With a contemporary approach you will role model a proactive, solutions oriented partnering to the team and stakeholders alike.

If you are confident that your experience aligns, please apply here , quoting reference number 3626102. For a confidential conversation re this opportunitiy, please reach out to Abbie Marnoch on (03) 8560 0610.

What's the Market Like?

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 13:09:22 GMT

News

What’s the market like?

It’s the burning question on everyone’s lips. In regular times, a recruiter will hear that question multiple times a day. Throw in a global pandemic and people are ten times more curious about the state of play. They are almost fearful asking it as most expect the worst in reply. And with unemployment set to rise to 10% you can understand the trepidation.

Well I am pleased to say that the market in the senior HR space is okay. It’s not as buoyant as pre-Covid days, but it’s not dire. In fact, the market at this level tends to be relatively stable year-round. With our size market, roles at the senior end are never abundant and duly impacted by the pyramid factor i.e. less jobs the more senior you become. Of course, Covid 19 has had an impact. Early on there was an immediate pause on roles whilst businesses dealt with managing the crisis and took stock of the impact on their bottom line. Many businesses have been adversely impacted by the crisis and people have been displaced through no fault of their own. But, the vast majority of organisations are navigating through, adjusting where they need to and getting on with business. Some are even thriving. And it’s important to remember that HR has been front and centre throughout this whole ordeal. Advising, planning and facilitating new ways of working, managing risk, wellbeing and thinking about future workforce impacts. Many HR folk have leaned in, stepped up and as most would say “never worked harder”. But it has also highlighted gaps or lack of capability in the function and leaders have had to make courageous decisions to seek out new talent required. Hence, we are still seeing demand for highly competent, commercial, agile HR professionals.

Whilst the good news is that opportunities still exist out there, it is more competitive than ever. Over time organisations have also gained greater clarity on what they are seeking (or not seeking) so briefs are specific and based on a range of factors: maturity of business; regulatory impacts; nature of organisational change; credibility of existing HR function; perspective of CEO; aspirations of the business – to name but a few. Specialist roles are often seeking deeper expertise in their field but at the same time, increased breadth and the ability to collaborate across disciplines.

The important question should be less about what’s the market like and rather – what do I need to do to be relevant, competitive and stand out in this market? What is my compelling proposition? What can I do that other HR folk can’t or don’t. Where have I really added value in the businesses I have worked? There is nothing wrong with being open and flexible with regards to your preferences, but know your offering. What can you leverage that organisations will want to buy in?

How then to find the jobs that are out there? Don’t base the market buoyancy on advertised jobs . That typically reflects the junior to mid level. You need to align yourself with experts in your field, (like Tandem Partners). Do they have a track record recruiting at your level and in your field? You’ll need to talk to more than one recruiting partner as no single firm owns the space. Leverage that network you have developed over many years. Reach out to any alumni you have as people that know you, trust you and can often recommend you to their network. By all means gather market intel and then ensure you are best placed to compete.

Remember at the end of the day you can’t control the market (none of us can). But you can control how you present yourself in it. That’s worth focusing on!

Anthea Johnston

Hybrid Working & Wellbeing

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 12:30:05 GMT

News

The Changing Face of HR

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 11:27:11 GMT

News

The Changing Face of HR

Tandem Partners celebrates its 10th year of business in 2021, a milestone that got me thinking about the key ways in which HR has changed in the last decade. In no particular order, these are the 5 biggest changes that struck me but I would love to hear other people’s thoughts and opinions, not to mention predictions for the next decade!

The Rise of Social Media - 10 years ago Twitter was in its infancy, Facebook was a distraction and LinkedIn was an optional extra rather than the essential workplace networking tool it is today. 10 years ago most organisations had rules and technology in place to prevent employees accessing social media during work hours. Today, most organisations encourage employees to share company social media messages on their personal accounts to build brand and bring legitimacy. Indeed, social media has become a key part in most progressive organisations’ employment brand and attraction strategy.

Remote Working - The concept of remote working has been around for decades but even 10 years ago few employees could easily work from a remote location, whether that was home, a coffee shop or the local library. When we first set up Tandem Partners, we embraced the Cloud, conscious of how it would help us work from anywhere and enable us to respond to customers more quickly, but it certainly wasn’t the norm at the time. Now, technology makes it easy for employees to perform their jobs from pretty much any place with a Wi-Fi connection. The global COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated this trend and with Future of Work a hot topic, it will be fascinating to see how things evolve on this front.

The Use of HR Analytics to Drive Decision Making – 10 years ago, for all but very few organisations HR Analytics meant not much more than reporting on employee data. Fast forward to today and a high number of organisations are using HR Analytics to make better decisions with data, create compelling business cases for HR interventions and giving the contemporary HR practitioner the opportunity to be involved in decision making at more strategic level. Indeed, when we ran our 2020 HR Survey, 42% of respondents said their organisation had a dedicated Data & Analytics team as part of its HR function, whilst 66% of respondents said they believed Data & Analytics were important in driving conversations with the business.

The Broader Impact of Technology on HR - The last 10 years have seen some incredible advancements in HR related technology and we now have a raft of products out there which automate processes and reduce the administrative burden on the average HR practitioner. Approaches to recruitment, onboarding, payroll, performance management and engagement have all benefited from automation, allowing HR practitioners to spend less time on mundane tasks and more time engaging with the business in meaningful strategic conversations.

The increased importance of Diversity & Inclusion in HR Strategy – D&I has long been a theme in HR but it’s fair to say that over the last 10 years, the dial has shifted significantly, driven by a series of global events and by expectations around social and racial justice. Whereas 10 years ago, for some organisations D&I was an afterthought, most progressive organisations now have Inclusion front and centre as a key pillar of their HR strategy and a critical lever in attracting talent and maintaining an engaged workforce.

Clearly, a lot has changed in HR over the last 10 years and it will be fascinating to look back on our 20 th Anniversary to see how HR has changed over the course of the preceding decade!

Anthea Johnston

"Best" Practice or "Better" Practice?

Fri, 19 Aug 2022 06:51:04 GMT

News

We are often asked who does great things in HR? Which organisations are inspiring, innovative, and contemporary in their HR practice - who stands out? Well, it’s a journey and often an imperfect journey. I’m not sure that any People and Culture nirvana exists but we all need something to aspire to! It’s all about the intent, where an organisation is at and its appetite for improved people practice, not necessarily just ‘best’ or ‘award winning’ practice. We are very proud to work with an array of clients committed to improving the people experience for their employees and what we notice is that our clients are all at very different points on that journey. Whether an organisation is updating their HR practices, driving new ways of working, changing up an HR model to add more value, or focusing on specific programs of work (e.g., D&I, Wellbeing, etc) the most impressive thing in each of these journey’s is the plan for change and progress made. We also play a part in encouraging candidates to consider opportunities based on the role they might play in the ‘journey’ an organisation is on. More and more so, HR professionals are influencers, change agents and in some cases pioneers!

In reflecting on recent assignments, the above is brought to light. We partnered with a 140-year-old privately owned successful business to recruit their first Exec HR leader and not because they had to. With outstanding customer and people engagement already in place, they wanted to further invest in people development, diversity and ensure a safe workplace for all. Their belief that a People and Culture team has a critical role to play in further evolving their people practices for the betterment of all, inclusive of their customers has enabled this journey.

This in comparison with our long-standing partnership with an ASX listed global tech company –a clear market leader - but always striving for better. They are reviewing their whole employee experience journey, the traditional partnering approach and further investing in tech platforms that provide useful people data for improved business and people decisions.

Both these organisations are at very different points of what we could call a P&C maturity scale but are both driving great, sustainable change and programs of work that make sense for both their ‘now’ and their ‘future’. Both organisations are clear as to their intent.

So, rather than ‘award-winning’ practice, ’better’ practice is the focus for many. It’s about meeting an organisation where it is at. As we know, with genuine support from boards and leaders in addition to HR's role in influencing the notion that creating great workplaces is good for business, all sorts of magic is possible!

#TandemPartners #HRrecruitment #HR

Tandem Partners is an Australian, specialist Human Resources recruitment firm, sourcing premium HR talent for organisations. Tandem Partners have unparalleled depth in the HR recruitment space. www.tandempartners.com.au

https://www.tandempartners.com.au/meet-the-team/

tandempartners

Organisational Development: Back in the Spotlight

Organisational Development: Back in the Spotlight

The Senior HR Market: Stable, Strategic, and Consistently in Demand

The Senior HR Market: Stable, Strategic, and Consistently in Demand

Sarah Van Helden - Orica

This is a subtitle for your new post

Reset, Don’t Retreat: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in 2025

Reset, Don’t Retreat: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in 2025

✅ Australian obligations remain firm

�� Why DEI still matters

�� Time for a review?

⚠️ Resistance is part of the process

��The question isn’t whether DEI still matters — it’s how we evolve it.

Inside HR Leadership with Ian Flemington

Inside HR Leadership with Ian Flemington

Hiring Is Getting Competitive: What Managers & Candidates Need to Know

Hiring Is Getting Competitive: What Managers and Candidates Need to Know.

Reflecting on International HR Day

Reflecting on International HR Day

Celebrating International Women's Day

Celebrating International Women's Day

HR Contracting Employment Market Update, Nov 2024

Building a Strong Brand as a People & Culture Professional

Leaders Step Up

Leaders Step Up

How To Ace Your Job Interview

Building Resilience During Your Job Search: Strategies for Success

"I love HR, but not ER!"

HR Services – Time To Shine

HR Services – Time To Shine ﻿

Happy International HR Day!

Today is National HR Day!

Too Busy To Enjoy Life?

Pseudo vs. Slow Productivity

Are we seeing a shift in Reward & Remuneration?

Are we seeing a shift in Reward & Remuneration?

Lessons From Japan: A Brief Reflection

Lessons From Japan: A Brief Reflection

Commercial Acumen: An Essential Skill in your HR Career

Taking a Leap of Faith in Your Career Journey

Contracting & Interim Salary & Rates

Planning to Hire a HR Business Partner in 2024?

2023 Sydney HR Market Summary

Retaining Top Talent Through Seamless Onboarding!

Retaining Top Talent Through Seamless Onboarding.

What Gen Z Wants at Work - Insights for Employers

Wind Of Change

Happy International HR day! You deserve to be recognised

HR Leader Series

HR Leader Series

HR Leader Series

HR Leader Series

HR Leader Series

HR Leader Series

HR Leader Series

Tandem Talks HR Leader Series Teaser

Owning Your Contracting Experience

The ongoing importance of HR in challenging economic conditions

Tandem Talks Event

Supporting Flexible Working Arrangements in Your Workplace

Mapping a HR Career

Becoming a HR Business Partner

What is it like to be a HR Director?

Tips for Perfecting an HR Resume

Style and Format

Style and Format

Key Competencies

Looking Ahead: Our Economy and the Future of the HR Market

Navigating through COVID- 19 early in your HR career

1. Be open to opportunities, particularly contract roles

2. Know your worth, but also know the value of the role

3. Use your networks

4. Consider further studies

5. Work on your personal brand.

HR Contracting During a Crisis – 10 Top Tips!

1. Network

2. Be targeted

3. Update your CV

4 Be open-minded

HR Services – Time To Shine