Effectively inducting and onboarding new employees

When recruiting new employees, whether permanent, temporary, casual, fixed term contracts, full-time or part-time, employers often  do not consider how this new employee is inducted and "onboarded" in the business.  One hopes that the onboarding is not limited to a "here's your desk and PC" on the first day and "you will work out the rest" but is a more considered and strategic approach.

A new employee is like an investment being made of his or her annual salary PLUS direct on-costs PLUS overheads TIMES the expected number of years of employment.  How does an employer accelerate and maximise the "Return on this Investment" whilst also ensuring that a new employee is engaged and satisfied in their new role thus potentialy improving productivity, retention, customer service and morale?

A global guru in onboarding, Michael Watkins of Harvard University, has indicated that a new employee can take up to six months after being hired to add value to a business.  In the initial months, they will ordinarily consume value as they find their way through the company and role before commencing to deliver value in later months.  

However, this assumes that the new employee is the right hire in the first place with the right combination of behaviours, competencies and experience to do the job - and is then provided with an appropriate induction and onboarding in the initial months of employment. 

It is therefore important for an employer to invest sufficient time in job specification, recruitment, induction, onboarding and feedback processes to accelerate the realization of this value. Many employers, particularly in the SME sector, do not invest enough time in any of these stages with the result that new employees sometimes do not deliver their potential value quickly or maybe ever.

To maximize the value to both the employer and employee, best practice is that there are some distinct processes applied:

1.    A clearly defined job specification that sets out the scope, responsibilities, reporting lines,objectives and key performance indicators of the role

2.    A behavioral interview process, rather than just a chat, to ensure the candidate has the  appropriate attitudes, behaviours, competencies and experience to both perform the role and "fit in" 

3.   The use of appropriate personality, values and behavioural assessments to ensure "fit" and an identification of any potential gaps or misalignments for the requirements of the role

4.    A detailed induction process in the initial week and month that covers off company policies, workplace health and safety and  introductions to colleagues, customers and suppliers

5.    An ongoing onboarding process over the probation period and as long thereafter as required.  This requires construction of a plan which could include:

• appropriate online and face to face to training, whether one to one or in groups, and internal or external
• regular meetings, formal and informal, with the employee to discuss progress and dealing with any issues
• documentation and clarification of any updated objectives, understanding of company policies, new people to meet etc

6.    Ongoing feedback including at least by the halfway point and by the end of the probation process 

7.   Continuation of this process after probation has concluded to ensure timely and constructive performance management feedback.

Deliberately and strategically undertaking these steps should assist the employer to gain the most from the time and dollar investment in the the new employee whilst enhancing value and job satisfaction from the new employee.  Not investing the time, effort and dollars may otherwise mean a disengaged,  under performing or   costly hire - or the person leaves and the employer has to start the process all again!


This blog post formed the basis of a radio interview I undertook on the AngBizMix small business radio show on 28 May 2012 through Eaglewaves Small Business Radio - which can be heard here.


PB


Copyright: Peter Black 2012

Should you start a business after being retrenched?

Media reports and anecdotal evidence is indicating both a growth in redundancies as we proceed through 2012 (notwithstanding the reduction in the official Australian unemployment rate this week).  These have started particularly in the financial services sector but with flow on effects to other industries. Many people who were previously looking for work have also stopped searching.

I have previously blogged on what one should do if confronted with a redundancy. One option for people here, as well as those who are tired of their current employment roles, is to start or buy a business. This blog post formed the basis of a radio interview I did with Angela Vithoulkas on AngBizMix on 26 February 2012 which you can listen to here.

The question is should they?  Are they suited to the challenges and demands of a small business? Would they be better off reenergizing their traditional job search even if in a different role or different industry?  And if they do go into a business, what should it be – contracting, consulting, franchise, retail etc?

For the past 5 years, I conducted a Starting Your Own Business course for recently retrenched workers which has provided some useful insights.  I also coach CEO’s of SMEs as a group Chair with The Executive Connection (TEC).

Traditional employment brings many benefits like structure, social contact, regular income and qualified and appropriate resources to do the myriad of tasks required.  It also comes with a range of restrictions like codes of conduct and the terms of the employment contract. But is it secure – and if you have just been retrenched, clearly not!

As  many people will appreciate, being in your own business can potentially bring many benefits of the freedom and flexibility of being your own boss, setting your own rules, financial return for effort expended, work.life balance and being able to master many skills. It may also be a faster path to financial independence.

Or is this just a misguided perception as you are now dictated by your client/customer demands, business regulations, not having enough time to do everything, loneliness, employees who want everything and are protected by the Fair Work Act and low/variable financial returns for risk and effort?  Is it actually a faster path to financial oblivion?

I refer many clients to the work of Michael Gerber and his E-Myth series of books.  Whilst many people may have the Technical skills for a particular business, they also require Managerial and Entrepreneurial skills – as well as attributes like persistence, resilience, strategic thinking, sociability and financial acumen.  They also need to understand and manage the practical risks of a small business.

When I also questioned the financial viability of these proposed businesses, taking into account the effort required, the financial investment and the fact the people were potentially sacrificing their current employment value, many propositions didn’t stack up.  As a result, only between 10 and 20% of people took the next step of proceeding to really investigate a new business.

However, for many people, the impact of the Fair Work Act and the demands by employers/ clients may mean that starting even a contracting or consulting business may have to be a serious option.  Or it may just be that the job search has to be reinvigorated potentially with the support of an independent career coach.

Being in one’s own business is not for everyone.  Some people are just better suited to being in employment roles.  Whatever path is taken, there are risks, rewards, opportunities and threats - and in both cases, a strategic focus, deep self awareness and ongoing diligence will be essential.

PB

Copyright: Peter Black 2012

The business of "Kidults" and their money

Whilst we are so busy running our businesses and personal lives, those of us who have children, particularly teenage and adult children, can sometimes just throw money at them rather than educate them about money and its various products, implications and choices.  This blog post formed the basis of a radio interview I did with Angela Vithoulkas on AngBizMix on 30 April 2012 which you can listen to here.

The term “kidults” has been used to describe the young adults who still want to be children when they want to be – but also want adult privileges but not necessarily responsibilities. Generally, they are still living at home because life is too good!

Children can sometimes perceive that we are “made of money” because we run our own business.  We sometimes are our own worst enemy because we don’t share the realities with them nor take a longer term view of financially educating them

I have had to deal with this issue with a number of the CEO’s of businesses who are members of my group in The Executive Connection (TEC) – where children were becoming demanding and a “drain” – because the members had let them.

Financial literacy is a goal of the Australian Federal Government and supposedly our financial institutions – it should be our short and long term goal too for both us and our children.

Changing economic, business, demographic and political conditions will continue to provide challenges as to how to interact financially with the world.  Education and experience will therefore be important. So, how do we ensure we financially educate our children and teach them about both business generally and their “own business” of living – as well as keep control of the costs of children and ensure financial responsibility and literacy?

Some aspects to consider:

• Selective sharing of the realities of your business whether cash flow, compliance, negotiations, dealing with banks, customers etc – and the choices we have to make every day
• Don’t just give children money – provide an allowance or “salary” for their costs and a responsibility for dealing with their own costs 
• Ensure they have their own bank accounts and access cards, debit/credit cards once 18, savings accounts, superannuation accounts and maybe  exposure to shares
• Use the same concepts of business plans/ budgets for children to run their personal lives
• Remember the importance of part-time jobs – and maybe outside your business – to provide exposure to the real world, other employers and other people as well as opportunities to learn life and work experience skills – on top of providing income.  The other major advantage here is that they build a resume and all that comes with it in terms of employment and life skills
• Watch the big potential costs of cars, mobile telephones, clothes, entertainment that kidults seem to like – and put in place parameters.

I have personally lived through this with my now 3 early adult daughters. My wife and I stopped paying them pocket money when they started high school and instead paid them budget money.  Key aspects of what we did and their learning was:

• They had own bank accounts and we transferred money electronically once per month – simulated a monthly salary payment
• They had responsibility for their own personal clothing, entertainment, gifts, grooming/hair and mobile phone costs - they learned about value and choices
• They also had to transfer first a percentage of their “budget money” to a savings account – this simulated rent or a mortgage
• As parents, we still had responsibility for living costs, school costs, sporting activities, family holidays and birthday/Christmas gifts - we were still loving,caring parents!
• We helped them invest in shares and superannuation as they approached 18 - improved confidence and knowledge around more complex financial products
• we helped and incentivized then to set up First Home Savers accounts once they turned 18 - develop a savings habit and build a first home deposit
• Both superannuation and First Home Savers accounts have government incentives attached to give them a kick start - receive up to $500 co-contribution into their superannuation accounts and 17% government contribution on up to $5,500 of First Home Savers
• Now looking at things like Prepaid Currency cards (CBA Travel Money card, NAB Traveller Card etc) - to help them manage the cost of overseas travel and understand currency fluctuations

The bottom line on all this – we can do our children, particularly our “kidults”, a big favour by teaching them the realities of running their own “Small Business of Living” and financially educating them – as well as controlling our own costs and drains on our own business/lives.

PB

Copyright: Peter Black 2012

Managing the practical risks of a small business

Risk management is often something most small businesses don’t consciously think about until an unexpected crisis arises.  I am not meaning “Black Swan” type events – i.e. those which are beyond the bounds of expectation  - something like 9/11, the Japanese earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster trifecta etc.

And I am not necessarily meaning events where you may have insurance coverage – and even that requires you to meet policy conditions, take all reasonable steps to mitigate risk, and go through the process of making a claim, being assessed, paying the excess before receiving the payment.

This blog post formed the basis of a radio interview I did with Angela Vithoulkas on AngBizMix on 25 March 2012 which you can listen to here. 

I am meaning events in a small or medium business which, upon a reasonable estimation of probabilities, could occur. What types of events then and what mitigation steps can you take?  

All of the following have occurred with members of  The Executive Connection where I chair a think tank of SME CEOs who meet monthly as a group and with me for individual coaching between meetings.  Events such as:

• Severe and unexpected illness of the owner, key staff member or a significant other of these people
• A key customer (maybe accounting for over 10% of your revenue) going into administration, receivership or just having really bad cash flow difficulties because their own customers are not paying
• All of your company data being copied by a key employee who then sets up in business as a competitor
• You or your staff either making, ignoring or not knowing a comment on any social media site about any aspect of your business whether it is your service, your customers/clients or a comment you have made elsewhere
• Any of your IT hardware including mobile and tablet devices being damaged, lost or just stop working
• Your business being in a declining market because of changing demographic, technological, economic or  legislative trends – think newsagents or printers or Nokia phone resellers
• You not attending to compliance obligations whether tax, reporting, WHS, Fair Work or workers compensation

So what sort of mitigation steps should you take.  Some key steps every business should consider:

1. Actually do a risk management plan/matrix and consider both the probability and likely impact/severity of each event – then consciously think about the contingency plans, action steps etc you would take. 
2. Ensure you have an adequate level of insurance as a safety net – but the first responsibility is still with you as the business owner.
3. Ensure all employees and contractors have proper and legal employment contracts that provide not only clear policies which will prevent or minimize key risk events but also provide redress if a breach
4. As  a business owner, particularly if aging beyond say 45, have regular health checks as well as have a conscious personal health management program
5. Look for alliance partners (or maybe family and friends) who can step into your business in the event of you being away
6. Invest in business coaching, business education, reading etc to ensure you stay up to date with current trends
7. Have good professional advisers to help manage your compliance obligations particularly if not your forte
8. Do not ignore social media – educate yourself and then make a conscious decision as to where it fits in your business
9. Invest in IT monitoring tools to ensure that key events like unauthorised access to data, or even copying files to USBs, are reported
10. Have backup hardware and access to your data through things like cloud based services including automated online backup
11. Manage cash flow and payment terms closely and do not be blinded by the big customers – they also can make a big hole in your business

The bottom line on risk  – most of these risks are easily predictable and able to be mitigated – they are not Black Swan type events unless you have not had this risk management focus!

PB

Copyright: Peter Black 2012

New Year - and a redundancy! What now?

You have have just returned to work after the Christmas/New Year break maybe with some personal and career resolutions in mind and all of a sudden, these go out the door as you presented with a redundancy notice. This appears to be happening in the financial services industry as had been flagged towards the end of 2011 (see here) and if some news reports are to be believed, will unfortunately be happening to more people over coming months as companies obtain a better idea of their financial state and forecasts.  What do you do if you are on the receiving end of a redundancy notice - or are concerned this could happen in the short to medium term future?

I saw much of this when I was working as a career transition consultant with global career transition company DBM over recent years and particularly through the Global Financial Crisis.  There are a number of tips that I would advise if this happens to you and these are:

1. Personalise it yet depersonalise it - yes, this is personal - its your job, your income, your colleagues, your routine - and its been or about to be taken away.  It's not fair, a sense of loss, derailed your best laid plans about your career path or your financial/wealth accumulation strategy - and it hurts.  It is personal and you are quite normal and entitled to feel down about it (but I advise not to take it out on your employer or family - see point 2 below about your strategy). At the same time though, you have been subject to a corporate decision that may be based on something over which you have had little control - economic, financial, strategic, change of management, merger/acquisition etc - and thus depersonalising it and accepting this is the corporate reality is just as important.  The one thing that is certain is that a decision has been made - rightly or wrongly - and the strategy to deal with it is now critical.  Remember also that this is a redundancy of your position/role - not of you!


2. Be strategic about you and your personal brand  - accepting the corporate reality is hard but is the situation that you now face.  Like any situation (crisis?), it is important that you work out a strategy as to how to deal with this so that you not only protect but also potentially enhance your Personal Brand.  This starts immediately you walk out of the meeting in which you have been advised of your redundancy, as hard as this may be, given you could have this maelstrom of emotions swirling around. The reason for this is that how you handle yourself from this point on could be quite influential in obtaining your next role because the people you have been working with up to now, including your boss or HR person who has just advised your retrenchment, could be the source of a lead for your next role - and this could include one with the company from which you have just been retrenched.  It is therefore important to "hasten slowly" and work out your values, goals, career assets, personal situation and determining a strategy that you can clearly articulate to recruiters, employers and network contacts - and given you only get one chance to make a good first impression, this needs to be done in a considered way often with an independent career coach.


3. Seek and take all support required/offered - if you are offered career transition or outplacement support, take it - and use it extensively.  If not, consider seeking your own even if you have to pay for it out of your redundancy payment - the investment will be worthwhile to ensure you have someone impartial and experienced to guide, support and motivate you through the process of YOU finding your next position. [To give you a comparison, if we want to learn to dance, swim or play golf - we usually get a coach - our career where we earn our income we tend to let evolve under the control/influence of our employer/family/friends/partners...and we probably spend more on a holiday or piece of entertainment/technology that what a career coach could cost.] As this is a very personal relationship, it is important that you find someone who is experienced yet current,  a future oriented strategic thinker, and who will both support and challenge you.


4. Be positive and treat it as an opportunity - you have a choice here - be down, negative, have a "poor me" attitude, lash out at the world - or be positive, use language like "privileged", "achieved", "great experiences" and see this situation as an opportunity to reconsider your strategy, meet new people through networking, develop new skills or enhance your resume.  Other people are more likely to warm to and want to assist someone who is positive.  [This is not to say that you are not entitled to feel down and frustrated at times - and that's where point 3 above is important].  You now have time to focus on developing the skills, attributes, networks and online brands that you have maybe neglected as you have been too busy working and  living to worry about - and give you a long term career foundation.

You may also be interested in some other relevant blog posts that I have written on related topics such as:

• Lessons from the GFC - Personal and Professional

• One is never too old to get a job - even at 70!

• Should you post your resume on LinkedIn?

• Don't Discard Your Mature Age Workers?


• Should you start a business after being retrenched?

You may also be interested in a blog that is being written by a lady called Lisa Fryar in Sydney, Australia who is currently in this state of transition - please see here.  This blog has many lessons about patience, strategy, recruiters, embracing new social media technologies such as Blogs, LinkedIn and Twitter and being able to present one's brand.

Whatever happens, it has happened - and you now have a choice and an opportunity to approach it strategically and position yourself better for the future.  In my experience (having worked with hundreds of people who had been retrenched over the past five years  - and having been through a redundancy myself), most people do come out the other end of the process in a better place with a greater self awareness, better developed networks, a more professional and focused personal brand including online and most importantly, more control over their career.

Good luck - and please call me on 0419 510 955 if you would like a complimentary chat as to how I could assist you through this process.

PB

Copyright: Peter Black 2012

Should you post your resume on LinkedIn?

The question is often asked as what to do with your traditional  resume on LinkedIn.  Isn't LinkedIn basically your on-line resume anyway?  Or should you just use LinkedIn as an outline of your career, skills and experience and your traditional resume as a more detailed summary of your career and achievements?  And how do you manage this if you are currently employed and don't want to signal to your current employer that you are "on the market"?

Before I address these issues, it is relevant to highlight the recent case in the UK where an employee was supposedly forced out of his job for uploading his resume to LinkedIn.  There may be more to this case than what has been reported and I would argue that there may have been some political naivete on the part of the employee in actually uploading his resume to a public site such as LinkedIn, where one can be connected to colleagues at the current employer, as well as be visible to superiors.  Ticking the box "interested in career opportunities" is pretty much a default choice these days but combined with actually uploading the resume may not have been the smartest move.

That being said, should one load a resume up in the first place?  I have previously blogged on "how important is your resume?" with a view that it is not as important as one thinks - probably not as much as networking and your LinkedIn profile.

My view is that a resume should NOT be loaded up onto LinkedIn for 4 reasons:

1. LinkedIn can basically provide a cut down version of your skills and experience and it is where many employers and recruiters are going first - and then only scanning - and if they are interested, they will reach out to you.


2. Your resume with its detailed achievements often may contain somewhat confidential information about you and your previous employment experience that is better filed in recruiters' databases or employers HR files than in the public domain of LinkedIn.


3. A resume should be tailored and targeted towards an employer and/or role that you are seeking - and thus there may be many versions of your resume each with a slightly different emphasis.  Having a generic version on LinkedIn does not allow you to highlight these points of emphasis for the particular employer/role.


4. Lastly, you want to retain control as best as possible over your personal brand, who has your resume and where it has been sent.  The employment markets can be incredibly small for particular functions and having third parties shopping your resume around - and even worse - making a decision about you without meeting you is not desirable and is at risk of "diluting" your personal brand.

So, my view - keep your resume to yourself and develop a really good LinkedIn  profile, remembering to comply with your employers' codes of conduct/policies in this regard and ensuring not to disclose any corporate confidential information - and be politically smart about it all if you want to keep your current role!

PB

Copyright: Peter Black 2012

Whatever you do - develop your FANS!

For a social media age and whether you work for someone else or run a business, developing your FANS seems most apt.  This could be customers, clients, bosses or subordinates in how we traditionally think of FANS - in other words, people who will sponsor, provide a recommendation for or refer others to you.  But in this post, I use FANS as an acronym for what I consider are important to de-risk your career or business.

In a period of constant and ever increasing change, we cannot afford to rest on our laurels whether running a business or building a career.  There could always be someone else who is perceived as better skilled with  more relevant experience and maybe better connected.

Having worked as a career transition/outplacement consultant/coach for the past five years with hundreds of clients, and reflecting on my personal experience, I have been able to distil a strategy for sustainable success into this simple four letter acronym of FANS being:

F inancial Independence - having a degree of financial independence can provide a buffer and comfort zone from the ravages of an unexpected redundancy, loss of a major customer, unexpected medical issue etc.  No matter what age or stage of life, the classic tenets of financial planning of budgeting,  living within one's means,  paying off non-deductible debt, investing for the future etc can do wonders for confidence and resilience if and when the unexpected strikes.

A chievements - develop a resume, LinkedIn profile or customer proposal these days and its all about achievements and what you have done or achieved - not your responsibilities nor duties.  Attend an interview, networking or pitch meeting - and its about what you have done - recently!   One strategy I suggested to clients either in a job or about to start a new job, after we had developed an impactful resume,  was to write a pro-forma resume 12 or 24 months hence - with a focus on the achievements.  This also became a de-facto goal setting exercise.

N etworks - with the proliferation of self managed online profiling opportunities - whether websites, LinkedIn or other social media - it still comes down frequently to who you know or who knows you.  And it is often about personal contact too where the largest component of communication - body language comprising 55% (compared to words/content 7% and tone/pitch 38%) can be used.  It is also far easier to develop networks - inside and outside of your existing organisation - from a standpoint of strength being in a role with positional authority than from a position of transition when one's confidence and perceived authority (internally or externally) may be reduced.  Networking in Action is described here.

S kills  - I worked with many clients who had 15, 20, 25 or more years experience - but the question in my mind, and sometimes articulated - nicely - was how relevant is it for the next 10?  I would ask them "What's Your 2020 Vision?" - in other words, what will be needed to achieve that vision between now and then?  What skills will you need - and are they different to what you have now?  Examples could be technology, social media, new legislative knowledge, or managing virtual teams.  The only certainty - those skills are probably different skills in addition to the existing cumulative skills and experience you possess. (This is particularly relevant for Mature Age Workers - please read more here).

So, to stay relevant, current, energised, connected, de-risked and somewhat protected (like a client I had last year who got 2 job offers at the age of 70)- what are you doing to develop your FANS? 

PB

Copyright: Peter Black 2012

Don't Discard your Mature Age Workers!

      Having previously written on "A tripartite approach to an aging demographic", it raises the question of what we as a society are going to do with our ever maturing workforce - and we are talking here about people over the age of 45!  It also introduces some challenges as well as opportunities for businesses. (To see a recent Fortune magazine article on how some companies are holding on to their baby boomers, please click here.)

        The 2011 Australian Federal Budget had quite a focus on increasing workforce participation.  Whilst most of the Federal Budget was focused on younger workers including apprentices, there were some changes in relation to enhancing what is known as the Work Bonus and the introduction of further programs for mature age skill development.  And the need for this change of approach will become critical - for instance, currently about 170,000 new workers in the 15-64 age band are added to the workforce each year - BUT in the entire decade from 2020 to 2030, only 125,000 workers will be added.  

        The government defines a mature worker as someone over the age  of 45 - which is very young given our longer life expectancies  (note though that most of their incentive programs apply to people over the age of 50).    There had been previously announced pension changes to increase eligibility for the age pension from 2017 from age 65 to age 67.  The  Government also recognizes there is a societal and economic case for increasing mature age participation particularly with changing demographics and forecast economic growth.

    

        Other Federal Government initiatives in relation to mature workers?

        The Government updated the Intergenerational Report in February 2010 recognizing the demographic dynamics for the next 40 years.  It introduced the  Productive Aging Package in February 2010 which included a number of initiatives to invest in job training for more mature workers and to provide more support for mentoring arrangements. It also had the  Consultative Forum on Mature Age Participation commence in 2010 with representatives of a number of organizations including the Business Council of Australia, the Australian Industry Group, the ACTU and a number of Seniors organisations.  The objective of this group is to improve perceptions of older workers and support the business case for retaining older workers.

        The overall aim of the government is to increase participation rates for the 50-69 age group from 62% to 67% of the workforce by 2050 thus increasing GDP - and reducing reliance on the age pension.  The underlying reason for this is that whereas in 1970 there were 7.5 (taxpaying) workers in Australia for every person over 65, this is predicted to drop to 2.7 by 2050.

        The Government has also published a document called “Investing in Experience” which particularly targets the issues around older workers including various strategies and incentives available for employers and employees alike.  Some of these are detailed below.

        My experience as an Executive Coach dealing with mature workers?

        As a Certified Retirement Coach, I see more mature workers undertaking transition particularly in circumstances of retrenchment - and it is the hardest transition I coach and one where often many people actually wish to continue working.  I encourage them to essentially use their experience PLUS reinvent and retrain to continue to be relevant.  This is particularly around the use of technology including social media.

        In fact, I had a 70 year old worker who I assisted earlier this year to obtain 2 new role offers – much of which was from reframing his experience in a resume and assisting him to get up to speed with things like LinkedIn.  To his credit, this worker had done much training and education from the age of 50 onwards to stay relevant.

        Mature workers enhance their own employment opportunities

        Both pre and post GFC, it should be said that many more mature workers may not be able to financially afford retirement particularly given their life expectancy.   In fact, many mature age workers may have nearly as long to live as they have already been working.  They may also not be able to psychologically afford retirement as they deal with the challenges of loss of identity, purpose, social contact and income that a job brings.  

.       Mature workers can use technology if shown how and if they have a "lifelong learning" approach - and this is powerful if combined with their offline experience and relationships.  I do not consider mature workers can rely just on their experience and “respect” for elders - this now needs to be earned on an ongoing basis.   

        There is a relatively low cost of training now – particularly web based with new delivery mechanisms.  At the same time, all generations need to respect and learn from the different generations – as well as be a mentors/reverse mentors etc .   

   

        Furthermore, more mature workers should also be prepared to explore new ways of working – contracting, part-time, job sharing, flexible - not just the traditional permanent full time job.

        What can employers do to deal with more mature workers?

                        

        Firstly, recognise the business case for employing older workers and that the statistics don’t actually support the negative perceptions of older workers. The over 55 age group has been shown to be the most productive working on average for 7 out of every 8 hours of the normal day.  The costs of recruitment, turnover and training are huge – and the statistics also show that younger workers are 5 times as likely to change roles as older workers.  Also, some of fastest growing groups in adapting to technology are older age groups  and therefore it is important that we don’t make assumptions about older workers.


      Employers should also  consider a variety of strategies for more mature workers such as : 

·        Tailored training and retraining of workers 

·        Accessing a range of potential Government incentives

·        More flexible working conditions

·        Coaching and mentoring – both ways

·        Maternity leave equivalent/gap years/flexible leave to accommodate travel requirements, aging parents and grandchildren - the different life events that occur at a more mature age .

      

        Government Incentives available  

        There are a range of incentives and grants available for mature workers and these are detailed at the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations website.  These include:

·       Investing in Experience - checklists, toolkits, case studies, financial help 

·       Experience+ training -  to provide mentoring and supervisory services

·       Skills Assessment for Mature Workers - recognising prior skills and experience and provides both assessment and training

·      Employee Assistance Fund to provide financial assistance to purchase a range of work related modifications and services for employees with a health condition, injury or disability

·        Indigenous Wage Subsidies

Conclusion  

        The Federal Government has commenced a change of the policy settings to accommodate an aging workforce in Australia between now and 2050.  It is going to up to employees over 45/50 and their current or prospective employers to have a change of attitude and approach to ensure a relevant, well trained  and motivated workforce that will be needed by business and society alike.  

The Business of Change - and Transition

With change seeming to be the only constant in business and life these days, how to we handle the transition to a new state of being?  To be clear on the definitions, change is an event – the transition is what happens afterwards - and may occur over a short or extended period of time.

Change may be from a number of sources, either business, career or personal - for instance, gaining or losing a key customer, gaining or losing a key employee, legislative changes, changes in consumer behaviour/sentiment, higher or lower currency exchange rates,  gaining or losing a job, personal health changes or relationship changes.  

In recent years, the GFC and its aftermath, the explosion in social media, constant changes in technology and political uncertainty have all been enormous changes which have provided challenges, risks and also opportunities.

Dealing with the transition period, whether personally or for others around you (employees, clients, customers, family) is a perennial challenge.    Transition management can be a bit of an emotional roller coaster – and can be similar to the well known Elisabeth Kubler-Ross grief cycle where loss is involved.  John Fisher has also developed a great depiction of the transition curve to assist in understanding the range of emotions we can experience.  Stress management and resilience is important to maintain perspective and a balanced focus for you/your business.

 A structured approach whereby you revisit your values, personal and business goals and the reality of your situation – whether financial, relationships or otherwise can assist to determine strategies and pathways forward.  Whilst many of these aspects may appear obvious, it is sometimes only when we write them down, either individually or with facilitation, that they become clearer.

Managing a transition can also be very lonely unless you have a support network, which may be friends, peers, business networks, business coaches, health professionals, social media connections or what I’m involved in through The Executive Connection with groups of SME CEOs.

 I have also been privileged to see and participate in the AngBizMix community radio program in Sydney and the associated social media support which I consider is a valuable support resource to the Small Business Community in dealing with these perennial changes.

The value of someone who is not emotionally involved nor has a conflict of interest can be important to provide clarity, possible solutions and a sounding board to assist you with the transition.

And just one when you think you are through one transition, another change event arises and there is another period of transition.  Change is constant - so is transition!

10 Point Quick Career Check List

This is a short post that provides a 10 point career check list for anyone to use to assess their current work situation.  It is based on my view, and the lessons from the GFC,  that many people just let their careers evolve and effectively (even if not consciously) allow their employers to control their career path - and this is sometimes when the individual and employer are not actually suited to each other!

The following questions are designed to promote thinking and  hopefully proactive strategies by individuals to  take charge of their career.  Appropriate links are provided to other areas of this blog or my website.

1. Brand - what defines your personal brand?  Do all of your brand point align with your strategic positioning - your dress style, leadership style, resume, online presence, technical skills, telephone manner, work behaviours and ethic etc?
2. Elevator Speech – can you succinctly articulate what you do and your value?  Do you have a permanent "professional discussion points" list in your head?
3. Engagement - how engaged are you in your current role?   Are you in the right role for your personality, skills and values?  Is your role or organisational culture diminishing your mental health and engagement?
4. Financial Independence - what are you doing to develop your financial independence from your employer?  Do you actively manage your finances as if you are a one person business with one client? Do you manage what may be your biggest expense - TAX?
5. Learning and Skills - what learning and skill enhancement have you done in the past year?  Do you just wait for your employer to provide training or do you seek your own learning opportunities?  Are you leveraging the power of social media (blogs, Twitter, YouTube etc) to learn current technologies, topics and trends?  What are your Personal Effectiveness Tools?
6. Networking - how are your professional networks - outside your current employer?  Do you pro-actively connect and manage them? How do you generate connections?  Do you follow up networking contacts through LinkedIn?
7. Resume - do you have a current resume? Is it generic or tailored to the types of positions you are seeking? Do you have an online resume on LinkedIn?
8. Strategic Management - what is your 1, 5, 10 year personal brand development/management plan?  If over 45, do you have a reinvention or retirement plan?  Do you have an internal mentor (other than your direct boss)?  What about an independent external coach to help you achieve your strategy?
9. Value Proposition - what is your employment value proposition? Can you articulate it to demonstrate that your remuneration has a good Return on Investment (ROI) for your current employer or a potential employer? Are you overpaid-or underpaid for the value you deliver?
10. Work-Life Balance - do you balance your work around your life - or vice versa? Is your work technology (Blackberry, iPad, laptop, mobile) always on? When is your down-time?

Whilst the above is not designed to be an exhaustive list, it hopefully provides a starting point to ensure you are actively managing your career.  And if you would like to talk to me about cost effective and career value adding coaching packages, please email me at peter.black@peterblackcoaching.com or call me on +61 419 510 955.

PB

Copyright: Peter Black 2011