MEMBER EXCHANGE – Building career satisfaction

If we were to ask you to list all the words that describe how you feel about your career, or how you view it, do you think there would be more positive words than negative?

Often, we get caught in the trap of thinking we have little or no control over our career, that we’re hostage to the current economic climate, employment opportunities and others’ decisions. To a certain degree these elements have an impact, but they don’t need to have complete control over our career satisfaction.

If we understand some of the reasons why we don’t feel satisfied in our career, this can provide the first step to addressing some of the simple issues that have arisen over time that fester into seeds of discontent. The quadrant below can be a useful tool in identifying the specific elements of your current role/or career which give you satisfaction; areas in which you’d like to be developed; those skills that you’re good at but really don’t find interesting or rewarding; and the danger zone of being out of your depth. Once you’ve worked through this you’ll have some specific details on which to focus your energies.

It’s certainly worth considering factors such as:

  • Your own and your employer’s expectations
  • Your relationships with your colleagues
  • Your cultural and values fit within the organisation
  • Your growth and advancement opportunities
  • How you spend the bulk of your day and if you are interested in this aspect of the work and skilled to complete it
  • Whether you have an opportunity to be innovative and actively contribute to the overall outcomes of the organisation
  • How long you’ve been in this role or at this company
  • Whether you can showcase your skills and abilities

You’ll see from this list much of our sense of career satisfaction is subjective and based on our perceptions of the situation.

One of the fundamental challenges of achieving career satisfaction has to do with how long you’ve been in a role. If you’ve worked for the same organisation for several years, earned a promotion, developed new skills and knowledge and are recognised for your contribution; it’s easy to maintain career satisfaction. The difficulty arises when, regardless of how long you’ve been at a company, there are limited opportunities for growth and development, or advancement and reward. Often when we perceive a lack of opportunity, we become complacent and resentful. Our interest in the role is reduced and we become bored and dissatisfied.

However, rather than giving all the power to whatever is happening ‘out there’ we do have control over our actions, behaviours, attitudes, beliefs and choices. This control is no small thing! If our career satisfaction is based on our perceptions of aspects in our careers, we can work at adjusting those perceptions and be proactive in creating opportunities.

Using Kolb’s Action Learning Model as a framework, we’d recommend you work through the following stages in order to have some proactive input into building your career satisfaction.

Step 1: reflect

Reflect upon yourself and ask yourself some focus questions, such as:

  • What are my best skills, and why?
  • What are my worst skills, and why?
  • Personal values?
  • Short term and long term goals?
  • What do I seek and what do I try to avoid? Why?
  • What’s my preferred work style?
  • What’s my preferred management style?
  • What’s my preferred communication style?
  • How do I view teams and my contribution to them?
  • Am I a leader and what type am I or do I want to be?
  • What excites and motivates me?
  • What are my strengths and how can I best use these?

Step 2: explore and interpret

This stage is all about how we perceive and feel our situation. Much of our motivation comes from what drives us to engage in the world the way we do. These motivations include beliefs and values, culture, family, view of others and the world. Much of this relates to the ‘why’ of our lives and interactions. When reflecting, delve a little deeper into why that may be important to you or why you would try to avoid it.

For example:

  • Does your current role in your organisation fit with how you view the world in terms of corporate social responsibility?
  • Do your values around work-life balance and being highly engaged and committed when at match your current role and organisation?
  • What is your company’s environmental footprint and is that important or relevant to you?
  • Do they stand for diversity and how do they live it? Is this something you are conscious of or care about?

These are the type of questions that need to explore at this point. Much of your satisfaction or dissatisfaction may arise based on these subjective elements of your career.

Step 3: create possibilities

View the big picture or blue sky of possibilities and how you might achieve or use them to build your career satisfaction. Your skills might need to be showcased or developed to move to the next stage of your career, but opportunities to develop or exhibit your skills also keeps you engaged and boredom at bay.

Looking for or even requesting to be part of projects, secondments, pilot new initiatives (especially if they are your initiatives) are ways to indicate that you want advancement or growth in your role. Your proactive approach is often seen very positively as many managers believe their staff need to take responsibility for their own development. What courses might you study, what training could you undertake, again from your own initiative, rather than expecting your employer to pay for it? Is there someone at work who you can shadow or who can coach you? Mentees and mentors alike need others who they can learn from.

Step 4: plan

Once you’ve done some blue sky thinking it’s time to focus on one or two possibilities to get things moving. The possibilities need to align with your self-reflection, your perceptions and values that you’ve identified in stage 2. You might also find some synergies between this process and your career goal setting as discussed in a previous article. Now would be a good time to revisit that process too.

The plan based on your possibilities needs to incorporate specifics of long and short term benefits, needs, resources and challenges. It’s best if you document or chart these specifics to help formulate a logical sequence of steps to achieve your plan. You’ll also be able to gauge if your plan and its options are realistic within your current organisation. There can also be some benefit of linking this plan to your performance goals for the year. But most importantly the plan needs to be flexible enough to adapt to new information, new circumstances but sound enough that is has a time frame, is measurable and is progressive.

Step 5: act

Although there is enormous value in the first four stages of this model, if you don’t step out of your current comfort or complacency zone nothing will change. It is up to you to act upon your plan to achieve the career satisfaction you deserve. Do the easiest actions first and build upon these giving yourself time to adjust and reflect upon what difference has occurred and how you feel about your career as a result.

Be mindful of how these actions impact others. If the actions have risks attached, then make sure you’ve considered these risks. Have conversations, ask lots of questions, use your networks to get a range of perspectives, but the key is that you can proactively influence your own career satisfaction. A word of caution, keep the plan flexible, keep your eyes and ears open to change going on around you so you can adapt. Although it’s good to keep your overall goal in mind, do be conscious of others and circumstances.

Remember, focus your energies on what you can control and build opportunities for yourself. Be mindful of what you can influence and create your own career satisfaction.

Managers and leaders of Australia and New Zealand; this is your time to SHINE

By David Pich CMgr FIML

IML ANZ Chief Executive

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Ironically, this saying is a modern iteration of an observation from ancient Greek physician Hippocrates’: ‘for modern diseases, extreme methods of cure are most suitable’. And here we are in 2020, deep into a thoroughly modern crisis that is caused by a thoroughly modern disease. We must – quite rightly – leave the medical response in terms of methods of cure and prevention to the experts (and I pause to give a shout-out those at the frontline of COVID-19 who deserve all honours and awards for their efforts).

Other than fully following the instructions of the medical experts, as managers and leaders, what should our own approach be? What should managers and leaders do in the new normal that is COVID-19? Be the experts at leading well.

I say to all managers and leaders; this is your time. It’s your time to lead. It’s your time to apply the skills that you’ve learnt – those totally misnamed ‘soft skills’ that aren’t actually soft at all but are extremely ‘hard’. These are the skills that you’ve been honing, working on, reading about, watching YouTube clips about and practising. In your time as a manager and leader you haven’t always got things right, but you’ve done your best and you’ve bounced back each time. Now is your time to bring all of these skills together. It’s your time to SHINE as a manager and a leader.

Here’s how you can make your leadership skills SHINE;

Show vulnerability. This is an extraordinary, once in a generation (at least!) situation that is impacting everyone, personally and professionally. As leaders we’re not expected to be superheroes. We have lives and families too and we’re in the same boat right now as our staff. It’s important to share our own stresses and worries as this helps to normalise the stresses and worries that our staff are currently experiencing.  

Hold regular communications sessions. Regular communication across multiple channels is absolutely crucial, especially when staff are working from home or aren’t always in the normal office environment. It’s up to the leaders to set up these communication lines and to walk the talk by ensuring that you are always on the calls, replying to messages and sending emails. Don’t go missing – ensure that you are very visible. At IML ANZ we have set up an All Staff Hump Day Huddle on Zoom. My leadership team has a WhatsApp Group and all teams have set up eChat Sessions and Microsoft Team groups.

Include your team in decision-making (aka, delegate). The sheer number of decisions that leaders need to make right now is incredibly daunting. The very best thing a leader can do is to share the decision-making load. Involve others in the decisions that need to be made, seek opinion and advice, call out for different views so that you can weigh up the pros and cons of things you are considering. At IML we decided to move staff to a working from home model very early in the COVID-19 outbreak. This decision was a leadership team decision that came about after much discussion and consultation. As the leader you need to facilitate the decision-making process, you don’t need to make all the decisions yourself.

Notice things. This is absolutely key during times like this. It’s critical that as a leader you establish ways for you to know what is happening in your business and amongst your staff. Mental health is likely to be significantly impacted and you need to be checking in and making suggestions to assist staff who are impacted. You’re not expected to be a counsellor or a psychologist. That is best left to the professionals. But you need to have your finger on the pulse of your team so that you can point people who need assistance or advice to the correct resources. One way to do this is to contact people regularly and to ask direct questions, such as; Are you OK? Are you feeling lonely or isolated? Are you struggling with anything right now?

Empower your people to make their own decisions about their own situation. One size doesn’t fit all and the current pandemic will impact different people in your team in different ways. A key role as a leader is to recognise this and to allow people to make the right decision for themselves and their families. What makes you comfortable as a leader might make others feel very stressed. It’s time to apply all the emotional intelligence you can muster.

As a leader, as this crisis unfolds this is your time to SHINE. I’ve included below the first all staff email that I sent to my team this week. Feel free to read, comment below or steal the content. See if you spot the SHINE elements in the email. It’s obviously not perfect, but it might be a good start for leading your team or business through the next few weeks and months.

This is an unprecedented time for managers and leaders. It’s undoubtedly a time of crisis and of considerable confusion. But it’s also an opportunity for managers and leaders to show how absolutely critical sound leadership is. It’s your time to shine and to lead well.

– STARTS –


Subject:
CEO Update 1. Please read

 Good morning team

I hope you all had a good weekend. I’m not completely sure what ‘good’ means anymore, but at a very base level – I hope you’re all well and feeling healthy.

First, I want to apologise to the entire team. I was a little quiet last week. I did speak to each of the GMs many times, but I quite literally didn’t have time to write this All-Staff email. On a personal note, Eileen and I are having our house renovated. The entire back of the house has been removed (including the whole kitchen). On Monday last week, the builders accidently cut through the sewer line in the back garden. As a result we’ve been without a kitchen, washing machine and toilet all week. It hasn’t been pretty!

On top of that, many of you will know that I’m the President of my kids’ school Parents & Citizens Association. The P&C employs 25 staff, all on casual contracts. If (when!) the school closes these 25 staff will likely lose their income. I spent much of last week trying to find a solution to this very sticky issue. The announcement yesterday that schools in NSW, VIC and ACT will close from tomorrow makes it more likely that Queensland will follow suit sometime soon. My own kids (Pearl and Olive) are no longer in school from today – this is a personal decision that Eileen and I have made based on our own reading of the situation and the experience of other countries. For example, Germany closed all schools two weeks ago.

That phrase ‘personal decision’ is really key, and other than to say ‘hello’ to you all, it’s the reason for this email. I want to say this …

These are uniquely difficult and different times for everyone at IML. Everyone is impacted by the current situation, but of course different IML staff members are impacted in different ways. Some people have kids, others don’t. Some have medical issues, whilst others don’t. Some staff live alone, others live with family or in shared accommodation. On top of all of this, we all have our own personal concerns, anxieties and responses to the COVID-19 situation. My personal response might be very different to yours. And my decisions and actions based on that response will also be both personal and different.

So, and here’s the point (sorry it took me so long to get to it!), every IML staff member must make a personal decision about what they will do. This includes – but isn’t limited to; childcare arrangements, living with family members, locations etc. All I ask is that you let your manager or GM know what you’re doing. Communication is key in all of this. But, fundamentally, you are empowered to make decisions based on your own personal views and circumstances.

It’s always good to give examples, so here’s a couple to illustrate what I’m talking about.

Example 1. You have kids and you decide to keep them home from school / childcare where normally you would drop the off and then head to work or work from home. IML totally understands this and supports your decision. Family and health comes first. Please let your manager know that you’ll be less available due to the change in circumstances at home.

Example 2. You live alone and you think it would be better if you went to live with your parents during this time. IML totally understands this and supports your decision. Family and health comes first, Please let your manager know where you’ll be and what the change in location might mean to your working from home situation. IML will then assist with any technology issues you might encounter.

As I’ve said, communication is key and I’ve asked all GM’s to ensure that all teams are talking across various channels (email, Zoom, WhatsApp etc). I also want to ensure that no one at IML is any more stressed than they need to be at this time. If anything at all is concerning you, please do get in touch with your GM, with HR or with me personally. My eDoor (yep that’s a thing these days!) is always open.

To emphasise my point again, you must do what’s right for you, your health and your family at the moment. Of course, it’s important to keep the IML business running, albeit in a very different format. We’re all empowered to ‘do our best’ in what are very unusual and difficult circumstances.

As an example, today I’m planning to pop to KMART first thing to buy some games and puzzles for the kids. Then I’m spending an hour reading with Olive. Then I’m writing a couple of IML articles (Yes, it’s happening, Whitney!). Then I’m doing some (very) simple maths with Pearl for an hour. She’s 9 and I’ve realised that Year 3 Maths is way beyond my capability.  

This is how my days are going to look for a few weeks – I and the leadership team fully support however your days will look.

Finally, I do want to say this; if you’re feeling unwell, please let your GM know (as well as following medical procedures). We need to keep an eye on each other and look out for each other, even from afar.

Sam will be setting up an All Staff Huddle later this week. It’ll be great to chat to everyone and see / hear how everyone is doing.

Have a great day 😊

Dave

-ENDS –

Please don’t hesitate to contact me or the Institute of Managers and Leaders Australia and New Zealand if there is anything we can do to assist you or your teams through these tough times.

David Pich

Three Points of View: How to keep your rising stars

How can managers and leaders keep top millennial talent from leaving the organisation? Leadership Matters Editorial Director Andy McLean MIML asks experts for their advice.

 

Sinead Hourigan FIML

Queensland Director, Robert Walters

Sinead HouriganCandidates want to join and remain in businesses that invest in their people, so there are huge benefits if employers can attract millennials.

It is important to train millennials in management and leadership now so that they are ready to fill gaps left by baby boomers who will exit the workforce over the next 10–20 years. Upskilling is essential for millennials and is crucial to their continuous development and lifelong learning. Millennials are keen to access training and development to support their personal and professional growth, so organisations should factor this into their candidate attraction and engagement strategies. In fact, if the company’s values match those of millennial workers – its ethics and coaching, clear progression, flexibility, and feedback – employees are likely to show even more loyalty.

Millennials don’t need to be in a classroom or structured group training session – they’re happy to learn in front of their computers or work with mentors and coaches on the job. However, it’s key for employers to provide a clear roadmap of training opportunities to motivate millennials.

 

Wendy Thompson MIML

CEO and Founder, Start Social NZ, Auckland

Wendy ThompsonA millennial colleague is an awesome asset: proactive, a global thinker and a tech native. But I don’t necessarily think keeping them should be your primary aim.

Millennials often look elsewhere after two or three years so employers need to play a long game and not take it personally when they leave. If handled correctly, you may one day welcome them back wiser and more experienced! One way I do this is by inviting all our ex-Socialites to our annual Valentine’s Party; it’s a great night out and keeps everyone in touch.

Something else I do to help my millennials on their chosen career paths (and get the best out of them for my company) is one-on-one structured mentoring. At the beginning of the year we set personal and career SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timebound) then have monthly progress catch-ups, before celebrating success at the end of the year. Heading into that festive season, where people often reassess their job, my team has a very fresh reminder of how much Socialites has helped them achieve over the past year.

 

Sally Roebuck MIML

Operations Manager, Bulimba Outside School Hours Care, Queensland

Sally RoebuckAs a millennial myself, I understand our generation’s desire to be heard, respected and valued in the workplace. I’m the leader of an almost exclusively millennial team and believe the most important part of attracting and holding on to talented millennials is to create a team culture of mutual respect, where each individual feels their contribution is meaningful and valuable.

Collaboration is vital when managing and leading millennials, as we have been living and breathing collaborative practices since kindergarten. We were taught in school not to accept the status quo, but to question, hypothesise and brainstorm.

We were immersed in the digital revolution, and were educated in resourcing and synthesising differences of opinion and facts for a broader world view. Allowing opportunities for collaboration among team members, especially between colleagues of varied experience and job roles, will ensure millennials feel able to make valued contributions to the organisation’s goals.

Developing this sort of positive growth mindset among your team also gives millennials the opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge while giving them clear pathways for advancement and success.


This article originally appeared in the September 2019 edition of Leadership Matters, IML ANZ’s quarterly magazine. For editorial suggestions and enquiries, please contact karyl.estrella@managersandleaders.com.au.

How remuneration data is enabling success in the disability sector

As markets change and jobs adapt the pressure on HR decision makers increases. You are the ones relied upon with the complex task of designing jobs correctly to ensure they attract, engage and retain the best person for the role.

This is the tough reality for Australia’s disability sector who’ve seen a major employment shake-up following the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). According to the Australian Disability Workforce Report, turnover rates are trending upwards, and recruitment difficulty is forcing many employers to hire unqualified staff. So while 70% of employers filled their vacancies, it might come at the cost of candidate suitability.

It’s an issue that human resources consultancy, PeopleAdvantage, want to solve. Since 2002, they’ve created job design, performance management and remuneration solutions for a wide range of organisations.

One of the tools of their trade: remuneration surveys, such as the National Salary Survey (NSS). As executive director, Dallas Burgess notes, it’s essential to back their services with useful data. “We’ve been using the NSS for many years, and we know that it is as comprehensive as remuneration surveys go.”Burgess shares key ways that good salary data enabled them to help clients, design jobs correctly, boost recruitment and improve employee retention.

Challenge: Human resources shake-up in the disability sector

With the introduction of the NDIS, Burgess observed the increased importance of understanding individual job roles. “There’s been a move to person-centred care and support. What that means for disability service organisations is that they need to grade jobs more accurately and pay accordingly.”

Burgess explains, “A disability service organisation must understand and capture the complexity level on each of the standard roles. At the same time, they must use relevant language to market each of the positions.”

When disability service organisations get this wrong, they not only run the risk of hiring the wrong person for the job but also presenting clients with inaccurate descriptions of the service their people offer. “So the challenge comes with being able to compare apples with apples as far as roles are concerned,” said Burgess.

Solution: Using job level information from remuneration surveys

PeopleAdvantage turned to a tried and tested methodology. Burgess explains, “We designed a capability framework based on sound job design and work value principles for the disability sector in NSW.”

Organisations across the disability sector now use Their role requirements framework. “The framework is based on our role requirements methodology whereby we use standard levels of complexity of work.”

Burgess uses engineering to explain. “The engineers were the first professional discipline back in the 1970s to identify five to six levels of professional work. What we’ve found over the years is those five to six levels apply to all professions.”

“What we do is we standardise the NSS against our job evaluation points. This allows the client organisation to match the survey data to their roles,” explains Burgess.

He adds, “We then use the NSS to build a comprehensive picture of the market, eliminating outliers and statistically smoothing the data. Our use of the NSS provides an opportunity for our clients to compare apples with apples.”

Results: Good job design creates competitive employers

One organisation that PeopleAdvantage has helped is Cerebral Palsy Alliance (CPA), who also contributes regularly to the NSS. CPA’s general manager, people and culture, Frank Sedmak, recognised that the NDIS significantly changed the HR landscape. “Now, the disability sector has so many roles that didn’t exist prior to the NDIS. It’s become even more imperative to really understand – objectively not subjectively – what role we need, what level of competency is it, and what is the market asking. Or else we can’t compete with other employers.”

However, Sedmak believes that these changes reinforced the importance of good job design. “Everything starts and finishes with the client’s needs. Once you understand client needs, you then start to anticipate what roles will meet those needs. Then you need to learn the level of complexity for that role. Only after fully painting this picture should you go out and start recruiting.”

The result is that CPA is one of the most desirable employers in the industry. Sedmak explains, “We needed to dispel the paradigm that working for a not for profit meant a drop in dollars.”

“What surveys like the NSS tells us time and time again, is that CPA is more than competitive when it comes to pay. Job applicants are regularly surprised at how close the remuneration we’re offering is to what they’re expecting. In some cases, we’re paying more than commercial organisations,” Sedmak added.

Remuneration surveys: A vital tool for HR decision makers

When it comes to employment success, Burgess has a simple mantra: get the jobs right. “Retention starts when you have properly designed jobs and therefore pay people correctly. If the jobs are not suitably designed, it leads to conflict around expectations between managers and staff, which leads to frustration and losing good performers.”

That’s why Burgess relies on only the most reliable information sources. “As far as published remuneration surveys go, the NSS is a robust survey, and certainly it should be on the shelf.”

Sedmak agrees, adding, “Some question the ROI on annual remuneration surveys. People shouldn’t disregard it. Some surveys that cost little or nothing. For these I say as always, you get what you pay for.”


If you want to improve the way you design jobs to increase employee retention, order the National Salary Survey now.  

How does organisational culture shape your brand

Brands are much more than a name or symbol of a product. Leadership and people-management specialist and author, Karen Gately, believes that in a highly competitive world with the pressure on many organisations to lift their game intensifying, leaders are wise to define brand more broadly as the reputation that underpins consumer confidence and inspires buying decisions.

So how does organisational culture fit into this definition? Gately defines culture as the way things are done within an organisation. However, she cautions against believing that organisational cultures exist in a vacuum. “It’s entirely possible for an organisation to be confronted with behaviours from within their ranks, that are not reflective of culture. Once off, exceptions to the rule while problematic are not reason alone to ring the culture alarm bell.”

Gately knows that there are many examples of organisations who have failed spectacularly in maintaining trust in their brand because of a profit-centric culture. “Findings of the banking royal commission provides endless examples of a lack of integrity and poor behaviour,” she says.

“It’s evident the issues exposed were far from isolated incidents of poor decision making or selfish actions on the part of random individuals. In many instances, these behaviours were instructed, encouraged and rewarded by the organisations they worked for.”

As we’ve seen post-royal commission, distrust damages brands.

So how can leaders shape a culture that makes a positive influence on your brand? Gately lists three ways:

 

Set clear expectations around employee behaviours

Creating a powerful brand through people starts with being clear about what is expected and needed.  Leaders are wise to invest in ensuring every person on the team understands what successful behaviours look like. In other words, ensure a clear line of sight between how people go about their jobs and the influence that has on brand reputation.

 

Understand the touch points between your business and customers

Build understanding of the touch points between your customers and business, and the opportunities people have to influence trust and loyalty. Create awareness of the ways in which behaviour influences not only what people think, but also their subconscious reactions to your brand in the future.  Reflect on for yourself on when you have held an opinion about an organisations brand but have struggled to identify exactly why you feel the way you do.  Sometimes people don’t even bother to work out the answer. They simply move on to a brand they feel better about.

 

Get your hiring process right

Creating a great culture is unquestionably influenced by the quality of hiring practices. Getting it right from the start requires a disciplined and uncompromising approach to selecting people who are aligned with the organisation’s values. From there what matters most is that people are held accountable for the standard of behaviour they bring, and influence they have on your organisations brand.  Reward and recognise brand ambassadors and take decisive steps to address the attitudes and behaviours of those who are not.

 


Karen Gately, founder of Corporate Dojo, is a leadership and people-management specialist.  Karen works with leaders and HR teams to drive business results through the talent and energy of people. She is the author of The People Manager’s Toolkit: A Practical Guide to Getting the Best From People (Wiley) and The Corporate Dojo: Driving Extraordinary Results Through Spirited People.

There’s no substitute for experience: How to overcome hiring bias against older workers

By Nicola Field

 

At a time when leaders and managers have never been under more pressure to make maximum use of resources, it’s ironic that one of the nation’s strongest resources – our army of highly-skilled and experienced over-50s – are sometimes shunned by employers.

Despite the fact that we are living 25 years longer than our great grandparents, and the age of retirement is steadily creeping upward, Sinead Hourigan FIML, Queensland Director for Robert Walters, admits: “The reality is that ageism in the workforce still exists.”

100 RÉSUMÉS, FOUR INTERVIEWS

Even the most highly-skilled professionals have encountered age bias. Neil Tucker FIML, Principal of NWT Consulting (age 76), is a former Executive Director of the Council on the Ageing (COTA) NSW. With Paul McKeon, he co-authored the 2010 book The Rest of Your Life: How to make it as good as you want, and regularly presents on issues impacting older workers. Yet he knows firsthand how hard it can be to combat ageism in the workplace. In his 50s, he applied for 100 jobs. The response from these employers? A paltry four interviews.

Tucker says the issues surrounding older workers are complex. He suggests a number of reasons behind discrimination against older workers, including “perceived lack of proficiency with technology” and even “possible concerns about an older person’s health and physical capacity to work”.

Tucker also points to what many over-50s believe is a common problem: “We are living in a ‘millennial Facebook age’ – a fast-paced, image age, where older workers are seen as less adaptable than younger people even though studies show the reverse is true.”

This finding certainly correlates with the findings of Robert Walter’s Generation Gaps survey on the prevalence of age discrimination and unconscious bias in the Australian workforce. When 900 hiring managers and 1,500 professionals were surveyed, 84% of baby boomers said they preferred exploring new ways of working over tried and trusted approaches – yet only 5% of hiring managers cited ‘being open to new ideas’ as a key strength of older workers.

While that may be a reality, Hourigan says ageism is not always so explicit. “Those involved in the engagement and recruitment of workers do not overtly prescribe a preferred age for candidates. Everybody is more aware regarding what is acceptable these days.” However, she agrees that employers can have unconscious bias based on ill-founded preconceptions around older workers.

“Workers over the age of 50 are often seen as not having the qualities employers are looking for such as ‘agility’ and being ‘open to change’,” explains Hourigan. “Yet research findings demonstrate that older workers do possess these qualities, and in fact, have a genuine willingness to adapt to new circumstances and try new things in the work environment.” Hourigan points to hardware giant Bunnings, where one in three employees are aged 50-plus, saying, “They have shown that these workers are not just highly engaged, they are also extremely loyal.”

That loyalty is not entirely surprising. Hourigan explains, “We know that workers age 55-plus are reticent to leave an organisation with concerns about being able to secure alternative employment. Because of these concerns, they tend to be more likely to remain with employers than younger generations sometimes do.”

IS IT REALLY AGE-RELATED BIAS?

Dr Shirley Randell AO FIML has enjoyed an eminent career as an educator and expert in the public sector and institutional reform in the Pacific, Asia and Africa. The benefit of global experience has given Dr Randell an international outlook, and she says ageism isn’t something she has observed overseas in developing countries where “age – and the wisdom and experience it brings – is often viewed with respect”.

She notes that here in Australia, some organisations can push out older workers but believes there may be a variety of reasons for age bias. “It does depend on the sector,” she notes, “but for those working in frontline roles, employers may prefer someone younger.”

Neil Tucker acknowledges that there can be genuine structural reasons why an older worker may be unsuitable for a role. He says some older workers may have a short workforce horizon while an employer is looking for someone who will be with the company for up to 10 years. In other instances, “Older workers are often highly skilled, and employers can be reluctant to place them in a role where they are over-skilled.”

Hourigan confirms that hiring managers can be concerned that candidates with too much experience won’t stay in a role for long, but adds, “It is possible to flesh out in an interview how committed a candidate is to a role.” She notes too that these candidates can be a fantastic addition to the workforce and offer significant value for money for employers if they are engaged effectively.

Nonetheless, the problem of ageism can be systemic. Hourigan points to professional services firms, which sometimes mandate that partners need to exit between the ages of 55 and 60. “This may be primarily designed to accommodate new partners entering into what can be a complex partnership structure,” says Hourigan. “But it can inadvertently send a message that older workers are not valued.”

THE MESSAGE TO EMPLOYERS

Our ageing workforce is likely to underpin a massive shortage of skills as the baby boomer generation exits the workforce. This alone should encourage leaders to embrace the skills and experience that older workers bring to a team. But it demands a concerted effort. Organisations don’t just need to be open to hiring older workers, Hourigan says, “They need to be proud about taking this stance and shout it from the rooftops.”

A key starting point for employers is to consider how the organisation will make older workers feel welcome. “Reflect on the language used in recruitment advertising and position overviews,” advises Hourigan. “Expressions such as ‘fresh young faces’, ‘high pressure’ or ‘fast-paced’ can create pre-conceptions in candidates’ minds that may prevent them applying for a particular role or joining an organisation.”

The interview process itself may need an overhaul. Tucker observes that, “Older workers can face barriers if the person on the other side of the interview table is uncomfortable with the idea of an older person telling them what to do.”

Hourigan certainly recommends having older workers sit on an interview panel, saying, “We have a tendency to respond better to a familiar face, and by having broader age representation on a panel, older workers are more likely to form a view that this is an organisation they can identify with.”

Post-interview feedback matters too. When older applicants don’t hear back from a hiring manager Hourigan says they will often presuppose that their age is the reason they didn’t get the job. Most importantly, employers need to focus on a candidate’s ability not their age.

AGE-SYMPATHETIC WORKPLACES

Every generation brings different biases to the workplace, and the role of leaders is to create an environment of mutual respect. Hourigan believes there are a number of steps managers and leaders can take to help older workers not just feel valued, but also be seen as valued. One course of action is to give older workers recognition. “We tend to encourage our up and coming people but it’s worth acknowledging the contribution of older employees too,” notes Hourigan.

Employers also need to consider what motivates older workers, which can be very different from employees in their mid-20s. An organisation’s employee benefits program for instance may include subsidised childcare – a perk that is unlikely to be relevant for many older workers. However, Hourigan points out that allowing time for something like ‘grandparent days’ allows older workers to connect with both family and work.

According to Dr Randell, some employers may be unwilling to invest in the reskilling necessary to keep older workers up to speed with technological advances. Hourigan says this is an area where leaders can be proactive. “Older workers should be encouraged to participate in training and development. Employers often don’t invest as heavily in older workers because of perceptions they won’t stay on.”

WHAT CAN OLDER WORKERS DO?

It’s one thing for employers to shift their way of thinking about older workers. But this will take time and, meanwhile, the struggle to gain employment can be very real for over-50s. So what can older job seekers do now to increase their prospects of landing a role?

Hourigan says that just getting in front of a hirer can make a significant difference. She cautions, “Candidates need to be aware that a younger person may be the first port of call to screen résumés, so it is sensible to take steps to avoid any age bias at this stage.” Leaving your date of birth off a résumé or removing references to the date a degree was completed can create a more level playing field.

Creating a short, sharp list of your career history helps too. According to Hourigan, employers are usually only interested in the past 10-15 years of a candidate’s work experience so it’s enough to share this and leave more distant experience off your résumé altogether.

And if you can’t beat the social media age, then embrace it. Hourigan advises candidates to be active on social media sites like LinkedIn, particularly in a professional context. “If you are aiming to secure employment in a particular industry, focus on engagement with content relevant to the sector rather than taking a scattered approach.”

OUTSIDE THE BOX

Neil Tucker says, “Ageism is really tough” and adds that it calls for “persistence and a decent serve of resilience, which can be hard.” But it can be a case of when the going gets tough, the tough demonstrate the full breadth of their resourcefulness.

Tucker notes that the different options to pursue employment will vary depending on whether or not immediate income is needed to support a professional and their family.

A worthwhile first step is to tap into professional contacts. “Only a small percentage of jobs are advertised,” says Tucker. “And older people who get gigs are often those who know someone. So look around at who you know, no matter how humbling it may be.” As he points out, if you approach 15 people and get 15 “no’s” at least you’ve eliminated your network.

A change of expectations and mindset may be necessary too, including being open to a new career or taking on part-time work. “During my time with COTA, I received an application from one guy aged 56, who had applied for more than 200 jobs,” recalls Tucker. “He was a highly skilled engineer but he eventually found work running a mature workers’ project. He’d written so many applications, his employer was at least confident he could type!”

If you have breathing space in terms of income, raising your hand for voluntary work can widen the scope of possibilities. Tucker says, “It’s about getting a foot on the first step and showing that you’ve got form. It can be hard from a financial perspective but it may lead to meeting someone who offers you a job.”

If you’re prepared to accept a career change, Tucker advises, “Consider what you love doing – and what you’re good at. If you’re good at writing you may be able to pick up part-time editing work. If you love walking, think about becoming a walking postman – so what if you’re an engineer? It all comes down to being adaptable and making the most of your entire skillset.”

A healthy dose of self-reflection can also make a difference. “Older workers need to emphasise their qualities of loyalty and trustworthiness,” says Tucker. “Be honest about yourself. Consider ‘What do people like about me?’ ‘What do people find hard about me?’ If in doubt, ask others.”

Above all, aim to stay positive. Tucker admits, “The strain around finding a role can be prodigious, particularly if you are also dealing with financial responsibilities. But don’t let anger inhibit your approach.”

HOLISTIC APPROACH

There are many steps leaders and managers can take within their organisations to combat ageism but Sinead Hourigan says we are looking ultimately at a “significant societal issue” – one that requires the support of government as well as industry. The Australian Government is investing in a skills checkpoint for older workers, which is a start but more needs to be done.

“As a society we should be talking about diversity of age in the workforce as well as gender and cultural equality,” notes Dr Randell. “The Human Rights Commission is doing good work in this space, and we could see employers set targets for the number of older people in their workplaces.”

Most importantly, as a society, we need to value our older workers. “Experience is a valuable commodity and once lost from our workforce, it will be impossible to replace,” warns Hourigan. “Without our older generation providing mentoring and support to our future leaders and managers we run the risk of missing out on the opportunity to pass knowledge through generations.”

BOOSTING YOUR WILL TO LEAD

Empathy, intuitiveness and the strength to deal with complex situations – all vital skills for leaders. Interestingly, these are also natural abilities that most women possess. It’s surprising therefore that the rise in the number of women who sit at the top levels of organisations isn’t happening quickly enough.

 

Empowering women to lead

According to the latest research by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), there is a need for women to receive support in addressing fears that they lack the skills or experience to make it to the top.

Women need a confidence boost. But that’s not limited to a pat on the back or a novelty reward. They require the skills to tap into their inner strengths.

 

Uncovering barriers to female success

Our brain creates scripts that are used as shorthand to respond to certain situations, once the situation or context changes we often have scripts that no longer serve us and become error scripts.

Often in our own development, our brain hangs on to these error scripts, that become blockers of our own success and we begin to limit ourselves based on these scripts. This often happens subconsciously as these scripts are stored in our amygdala triggering reflexive actions. We often find ourselves after the event wondering why we behaved that way.

To create true change, we must first look to ourselves and make these changes to our own script as this rewrites society’s scripts on gender.

That’s where programs developed specifically to help women overcome these limiting factors, such as the Women in Life and Leadership (WILL) program can help. WILL assists in tapping into your inner strengths, growing your confidence in life and leadership capabilities, by uncovering and overcoming the blockers of your own success.

Theory U

The WILL program is underpinned by the Theory “U” – developed by two professors in the Netherlands, it is currently used extensively by many organisations around the world.

Theory “U” talks about “expanding the inner place in which we operate”. WILL assists individuals to focus on this via self-reflection.

With the support of leadership experts and body therapists, WILL assists you in understanding how to open your mind, heart and will towards performing at your highest desired levels in life.

The approach has helped many professionals – male and female – to unlock their leadership abilities. One such professional is Abbott Pharmaceuticals’ Human Resources Director, Judy Gambin, who said, “I have overcome challenging career objectives while improving personal balance and wellbeing. I’ve grown in my abilities both professionally and personally.”

The difficulty we face in this time of uncertainty and complexity is not in developing new ideas, but releasing the old, no longer useful ideas, from our lives.

 

Time to take a U-turn

Join us in taking a “U” turn at our residential workshop in May.

Book by Friday, 26th April and get A$400 off the program.

Plus, IML ANZ members enjoy a further A$100 discount when you use the code: 9455

Visit www.womeninlifeandleadership.com for more information.

Retain top talent without blowing your budget

By Nicola Field

For more than 50 years, IML ANZ has produced its National Salary Survey to help businesses and managers attract and retain the right talent. It’s the longest running such survey in Australia and Sam Bell FIML, General Manager – Corporate Services and Research at IML ANZ, shared the latest insights from the National Salary Survey, and what it reveals about attracting and retaining top talent without blowing the wages budget.

 

ONE IN 10 WILL RESIGN

The National Salary Survey found a resignation rate of 10% Australia-wide, according to Bell. Many managers express surprise when they see this figure, but it’s a figure that has, broadly speaking, held steady for several years.

Resignation rates do vary according to location and industry, says Bell. In New South Wales, with a strong state economy and abundant jobs, the resignation rate is 10.5%. In Western Australia, where there’s a downturn in the resource sector, the rate is far lower at 6.8 %. The highest rate of resignation – 14.1%, occurs in the banking/finance/insurance sector. At the other end of the scale, the agricultural sector has a resignation rate of just 7%.

A high level of turnover may be tolerated by large organisations with deep pockets. However, Bell points out that every time an employee moves on it costs an organisation around A$22,000 in terms of outplacement, recruitment and onboarding. That’s a significant bill, and it doesn’t include the disruption to teams and loss of productivity – or even morale – that can occur when good people leave.

 

START AT THE BEGINNING

“It’s really important to look closely at a candidate’s résumé so that you’re hiring the right people in the first place,” says Bell. “You really should be looking for a cultural fit because people who mesh with the organisation and its values, are more likely to stay longer and have a positive impact on the team.”

Interestingly, Bell says a high level of turnover in past roles isn’t necessarily a warning flag that a candidate is likely to jump ship prematurely. “In today’s world it’s unrealistic to expect an employee to stay with the same organisation for more than three to five years,” he explains.

That said, Bell believes it is important to use interview time wisely, and ask questions about why a candidate has left roles in the past. “You may get generic responses,” notes Bell. “But it is worth trying to get to the root of the problem.”

 

DITCH PERFORMANCE REVIEWS?

Annual performance reviews are entrenched in many Australian workplaces, but maybe it’s time to rethink the practice. According to Bell, organisations that do not use performance reviews enjoy lower resignation rates.

Bell explains, “Performance reviews can be a way of not addressing employee issues for 12 months. But younger people in particular, need ongoing feedback.” He notes too that it can be challenging to recall what an employee did three months ago, let alone a year ago, and questions how salary rises can be based on somewhat hazy details.

That’s why Bell recommends ditching performance reviews in favour of development plans that focus on regular communication via a weekly or monthly catch-up. “When a manager is prepared to spend time with team members it sends a clear message that the company is investing in its people and, as a result, they feel more valued,” says Bell.

For businesses that opt to ditch performance reviews, salary increases can occur on a rolling basis in line with an employee’s date of initial hiring rather than sticking to a rigid 30 June annual review.

Bell adds that if a team member is performing well, they shouldn’t always have to wait for their hiring anniversary to roll around to be rewarded with pay rise.

 

KEEP IT FLEXIBLE

Employers can send a powerful signal to their people by investing time and energy in their profession without paying for expensive courses. Bell says mentoring is an easy way to create dialogue, encourage people to hone their skills and to see the bigger picture rather than just taking a myopic view of their day-to-day tasks.

Working flexibility, such as working from home, is also highly valued by many employees. Bell points to the changing dynamics of lifestyle and technology that make telecommuting a growing trend – and one that can support staff retention: “The flexibility to spend at least part of the week working from home is a proven way to attract staff without paying any additional salary.”

Bending to employee preferences for a shorter working week can also be a way to hold onto quality talent. “Employees can struggle to find another business where they can work their preferred hours, so if a flexible working week is approved by their current employer, it definitely reduces the likelihood that an employee will move on,” notes Bell.

Offering some flexibility with start and finish times can also help, especially for employees with young children or other carer commitments. Bell says, “As long as staff know the appropriate times to schedule meetings, the system can work well.”

 

HEALTHIER = HAPPIER

A healthy employee is a productive employee – and maybe even a more loyal one. Being proactive about your team’s wellbeing can enhance retention rates.

IML ANZ’s National Salary Survey revealed some innovative practices employers are adopting to keep good people on board. These include ‘walking meetings’ and wellness days, where a masseuse comes into the business for a morning at the company’s expense. Bell notes that IML ANZ recently held a ‘bring your dog to work’ day though he admits some of the pooches did get a little unruly. Nonetheless, what matters is that the organisation is willing to try different things: “It’s about breaking up the routine and relaxing the office culture a little.”

Other wellness innovations include the use of Employee Assistance Programs. Bell explains that these typically involve a phone-based counselling service that employees can use if they are experiencing personal issues – anything from addiction through to a relationship breakdown. The service is confidential but is often costed on a ‘pay per use’ basis, between the employer and counselling service.

Taking a creative approach to annual leave is another strategy but it goes beyond bonus days off, and can include leave for voluntary activities.

A more pressing issue for many small to medium enterprises can be maternity and paternity leave. Bell notes, “They may be able to afford to top up government-funded maternity/paternity leave so that an employee receives close to their regular wage or salary. It’s a way for smaller employers to compete with the big end of town.”

Ultimately, staff retention is all about finding ways to demonstrate that you value your staff – and help them thrive in your workplace. This requires an investment of time and effort. But it’s a lot easier and cheaper than farewelling quality talent and trying to fill the gap they leave behind.


The full version of this article appeared as ‘Let’s Stay Together’ in the December 2018 edition of IML ANZ’s exclusive Member magazine, Leadership Matters.

The onus is on leaders to create safe and respectful workplaces

By David Pich FIML

 

The nature of the workplace has changed. We no longer tie ourselves to a nine-to-five schedule, we work from home – even feel ‘at home’ when we’re at work. It’s not surprising then that in IML ANZ’s 2018 National Salary Survey, we found an increase in the number of workers who left jobs due to a lack of flexibility. It’s now an expectation and simply the way the modern workplace operates.

What that then means is in many cases, the lines that separate the workplace and home become blurred. The home can become a workplace or people may start to see the workplace as a home. Here lies the direct link to safety.

As a leader, we put measures in place to maintain safety in the workplace – physical or psychological. But the changed nature of work means you must go beyond that. Ask the question: “Are the homes of the people in my team a safe environment?” Not to pry, but to know if this requires your attention as their leader.

It matters because if one in five people who’ve experienced harassment say that this is a common occurrence in their workplaces, and they also experience some form of abuse at home, where do they go for respite? We spend a lot of time and invest a lot of effort in the workplace, therefore we all deserve to feel safe there.

Of course, safety isn’t just about the absence of danger but also involves feeling safe enough to speak up if a situation occurs. Robust whistle-blower policies can help in a couple of ways. First, it maps out exactly what actions people can take to combat abuse and harassment in the workplace. More importantly, it sends a strong message of what your organisation considers to be acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. A policy is only as good as the people who implement it. Whilst policies are a must, you need to lift it off the page and live it.

Any form of harassment, whether it occurs at home or at work, is damaging and must be stopped. Organisations must be proactive and take the lead in preventing abuse. Are your managers prepared to act if an incident arises? Do they know how to support victims? Are they role models of the type of behaviour you’d like to see everyone displaying in your organisation?

Our actions as leaders set the tone for all those around us. When I interviewed Alan Joyce for IML ANZ’s book, Leadership Matters: 7 Skills of Very Successful Leaders, he spoke of the fundamental role leaders play in achieving buy-in and influencing the workplace culture: through actions, decisions, and messages we send. However, the culture that I’m talking about here isn’t limited to boosting engagement and results – it’s about a culture that highly values a safe and respectful workforce.

To be clear, abuse is not something the majority of us face daily. Naturally, it’s important to equip ourselves as people leaders on how to handle bullying, harassment and abuse, regardless if it occurs at home or in the workplace. I invite all managers and leaders to seek out ways to understand the reality that abuse, harassment, domestic violence and bullying is real and more common than you might think. Arm yourself with strategies, plans and a deep awareness of how to effectively handle what will most likely be a delicate situation.

Beyond all our other targets, goals and results – we are responsible for people. They give a significant amount of their time, effort and commitment to ensure targets are hit, goals are achieved and results are delivered. We owe it to our teams, as fellow workers – as human beings – to provide an environment where no one must look over their shoulder in fear of abuse. The time to act is now. Waiting until an event occurs is no longer good enough (if it ever was!).


David is the Chief Executive of IML ANZ. Learn what you can do as a leader to create a safe and respectful workplace at IML ANZ’s Leadership Outlook series 2019.