The art of communication is the language of leadership – James Humes

​Without doubt, we’ve all experienced a time (or many times) when we have had to sit through a presentation, a meeting or just a one on one conversation where the thought of poking your eye out held more appeal.  Poor communicators can make the experience excruciating for those on the receiving end.   As to the message that the orator is trying to deliver - there is no possible way it’s making its way through!   If the audience hasn’t simply zoned out, they will be checking their Facebook pages or plotting their escape route.


​We all want to make sure our message is heard, so we have 5 quick tips that will improve your communication skills.....

​My employee is within their probation period – I can just terminate, right?

Terminating within an employee’s probation period should be a simple and pain-free exercise. After all, that’s what probation periods are for, right?
Well…. yes. And no. 

“When you speak, you repeat what you know. When you listen, you learn something new.”
 – Dalai Lama

​How do you develop your skills and move from being an average manager to a great leader?   One simple area to consider working on as it will deliver incredible results is active listening — a skill that can facilitate a leader’s ability to connect with employees.

​Although we first began talking about flexibility in the workplace  in the 1980’s as a way to offer more people access to the elusive work/life balance, it has taken a while to get the legislation to catch up!  Over the years there have been major and minor adjustments to the legislation that have helped define and then redefine how business owners address the importance of flexible working arrangements. 

​So how does it work when you need to balance the needs of your business and the requests of employees?  

What kind of Manager are you? 
Are you a Micromanager who rules with an iron fist, hoards all the power and controls decisions?  

It’s Monday morning and your employee arrives at work with an injury they sustained while playing in a local football match.  You have a huge week ahead but they tell you they are fine to work and you think, well the injury didn’t occur at work, so it's not a problem, right?  Wrong!  Your business could be at risk and the health and safety of your employee could be in jeopardy. It sounds dramatic but if your employee further aggravates a non-work-related injury while undertaking their normal duties, the business could be liable for a partial WorkCover claim. 

​So how do you protect your business and ensure the health and safety your injured employee?

If there is one thing that employers dread it is that knock on the door from an employee eager to talk about their salary. Does that sound familiar? 

Sometimes the business cannot afford to increase employee salaries which is absolutely okay!  Sometimes you may have a small amount you can afford to spend, but you simply can’t increase your overall wages bill. In fact, you don’t actually have to increase the salary of your employees every year. The only obligation an employer MUST MEET is to ensure their employees’ hourly rate is at least the minimum requirements under the relevant Modern Award.

​There are plenty of other ways to reward employees, keep them engaged with the business and keep them motivated in their roles. We have listed a few creative options below that we know work! 

​As employers we know – or should know - how to keep our employees safe.  We know to keep paths clear for forklifts, to ensure our workers use the correct lifting technique, that we install safety barriers where required, tripping hazards are removed and so on. 

​But what about the mental health of our teams?  

On 1 November 2018, the Victorian Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic) will come in to effect.  It repeals the current Act that has been in effect since 1992. 
But what does it all mean and how will it affect your business?  Well, lucky for you, we’ve got a quick summary of the key changes to ensure you are on top of this important update impacting Victorian businesses.

There are very few of us who want our efforts to go unnoticed.  Sometimes it is as simple as someone saying "thank you" or "great work" that keeps us motivated and engaged.  But as a leader, recognition is a really simple thing that we sometimes forget to do and it can have a really detrimental effect on our business!  Recognising and rewarding the efforts of our teams is an important aspect of the role of a leader so here are 10 points to ponder on the how and why of Positive Recognition.

We know we bang on about it a lot at HR Staff n' Stuff but there is no underestimating the value that good leadership and management brings to your business.  How is it possible to reach your business goals if you don't have have an engaged team?  It's simple - you can't.  But if you can be a good manager who is able to engage your people then you are more likely to deliver on some of your P's - productivity, performance , profitability and people.

There are 10 things that good bosses do.......
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Communication is the exchange of understanding.  What this really means is that what you’ve communicated to an employee has been received in the way that you intended, and that you’ve gotten a response back to let you know that that’s the case. 

Anything less isn’t communication.   It’s just making noises with your mouth.

There are three  major mistakes managers make when communicating: 

As followers of our Facebook page know, we are a pooch friendly office here at HR Staff n’ Stuff, but we understand that not everyone is a dog fan,  and not every work environment is suitable for furry visitors - sometimes you just have to say no to canine guests.  But this is pets we are talking about – what about a working dog?  Is it OK for one of your employees to bring a Guide Dog in training to your workplace?  Are you allowed to say no to one of your employees? 

Without doubt, a key management tool is effective communication.  Communicating effectively prevents misunderstandings & mistakes and ensures your employees know what is expected of them and sets the tone for your business.

Deborah Peppard - HR Director

Leading and engaging employees is a key focus of the advice we provide at HR Staff n’ Stuff, but it’s been a while since we’ve talked about keeping them.  Staff attrition is really important because it’s getting harder and harder to find quality employees, and we know there’s always another talent shortage on the horizon.  So…