Counter Offers Benefit Nobody!

Posted on February 22, 2018 by Luke Bamkin

Twice in the past few months I have had the pleasure of being the protagonist behind candidates getting their ideal job role, then turning it down. This was as a result of a counter offer with their current employer, which was disappointing for my clients and myself. The disappointing part for the candidate came just weeks later in one instance and months in the other, both coming back expressing their dismay that what was promised was not delivered.

Employers value their staff, that’s what every company espouses, but never more so than when an outstanding performer is looking to move on. In these instances, they are compelled to try and keep them within the business, offering everything including the kitchen sink and offering to change the business or role to suit their requirements. Where the employer is left with a matter of hours to make strategic decisions that would usually take months of thought and planning, it invariably is not in the best interests of the business or the employee.

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What WE would do if Barnaby was one of our Executives.

Posted on February 14, 2018 by Selection Partner

From a human resource perspective dealing with inter office relationships are part and parcel of the breadth of a HR practitioners scope. Our biggest concern of course being the conflict of interest, the perception of favouritism and the emotional safety of all employees. Office relationships and affairs are so common that many major employers have policies and procedures in place to mitigate fall out and reduce the organisational risk from the mind-field of potentially disastrous outcomes to the brand. Those risks include the HR nightmare the Deputy Prime Minister’s offices is now experiencing with repeated frontpage headlines of suggestions of improper conduct and cover ups.

Image Source: The Courier

We all know of and support many happy relationships which began from two people meeting at work, however it is the human resource teams remit to protect the organisation from those instances where the love turns sour. Barnaby’s situation incorporates many of the normal elements we navigate in our roles. Once the relationship is disclosed, we assume the parties signed a conflict of interest disclaimer and the reporting relationship was immediately changed. It would not be unheard of for another department to create a role for a high performing employee that the organisation did not want to lose, as Canavan’s Office did.

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Women can thrive in Construction – so speak up!

Posted on February 9, 2018 by Lee Kerr

One of my early jobs was as a Brickies Labourer in the early 2000′s. This job was given to me by a friend. I could start immediately – thanks to my early mosh pit days I already had steel cap boots! I found the site and crew to be very nice and very funny, there was lots of banter, however, I gave as good as I got.

Whilst it was often risqué, I viewed this as non-sexual banter. My personal favourite was being asked for 3 meters of fallopian tube to which I replied, “you’re a brickie not a plumber”. Banter on site is inevitable. The line however can get blurred and some women aren’t as lucky as I was. Winslow Constructions, for example, have just lost a court case where a woman was harassed on site. I applaud Kate for standing up for herself. You can read more here.

Let me introduce you to a pioneer, Lillian Gilbreth. She paved the way for many to come after her. She became the first female member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1926. She made her mark in the Industry and is still remembered today for her amazing achievements in a time where “jobs” were typically being a “lady” and a wife.

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What makes a good salesperson?

Posted on February 2, 2018 by June Parker

Today’s sales world is so incredibly different than it was ten years ago, or even five. Today’s salesperson works in an extremely complex and fast-paced global environment with tools like the Cloud, laptops, iPad’s, iPhones, social media and apps that allow you to connect anywhere at any time of the day or night. You can easily be in Melbourne working with a client in Brisbane or London.

To be a good sales person you therefore need to embrace technology and use it to your advantage. Further, you need to constantly seek to learn and be curious, ask good questions and be an active listener. Having the ability to listen, genuinely being interested in having your client’s/ customers best interests at heart, understanding their problems or opportunities and being realistic about your ability to add value, is key.

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Handshakes – The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Posted on January 24, 2018 by Selection Partner

When you’re working in an industry where you constantly meet and greet new people, whether they’re clients, suppliers or candidates; the common interaction across all of these meetings is the handshake.

First impressions are often founded on the quality of your handshake; was it too hard, too soft, too cold, clammy, sweaty or just right? The question therefore that comes to my mind is, “What is a good handshake?”. Everyone has their own options and preferences as to what makes a good or I dare say perfect handshake. The common traits of a handshake that most people can however agree on are; ones we don’t like, ones that leave us feeling confused and wondering “what was that?”

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