We Specialise in Human Resources Training, Project Management and Management Training. Melbourne Australia

I recently attended a meeting that included a large group of HR people and was surprised to find that the very hot topic of conversation was the new Fair work Australia Act. Perhaps this is because many of the new provisions commenced 1 January 2010 even though the Act came into effect on 1 July 2009.

The new law which applies to all corporations introduces major changes which will impact immediately on all employers and employees. This means that the legal obligations of an employer will change and employers and their HR teams really need to be aware of and get their heads around the changes asap or run the risk of falling foul of the legislation.

In a nutshell, there are a few basic points employers and their HR teams need to review right now. They include:

• Existing workplace entitlements vs. New Employment Standards
• Communications to all staff – ‘general protections’
• Termination and performance review guidelines
• Training  – HR staff, managers, supervisors
• Procedures and training for complaint handlers, contact officers

Furthermore, I would suggest employers and their management teams also need to review their complaint handling mechanisms and their records management systems to ensure they develop and maintain accurate HR & payroll related records that incorporates all the additional data now required to be compliant with the Act.

I have asked Michael Meere to provide some thoughts on the implications of the Act and what HR professionals should be doing now to respond to the changes so, lookout for these over the next few weeks.

Helen Sabell

P.S for more information on The Fair Work Act 2009 check out the Australian Government website here http://www.fwa.gov.au/index.cfm?pagename=legislationfwact

My colleague Sarah continues to advocate the benefits of blogging and, at the beginning of each day she encourages and pleads with me to write however, as I sit here determined to get a blogging habit I wonder what I should best talk about. There are so many bloggers out there producing such interesting and worthy information that it seems a bit extraneous for me to contribute yet another bit to the information network that is the web.

So, I wonder do readers want to know more about what works in project management or HRM, do they value tips & short, sharp solution focused contributions or perhaps readers might be interested in more generally valuable information such as the Australian and State governments support of training and the many opportunities and financial subsidies available to individuals and organisations? I have never known a better time for individuals and organisations to access high quality training at subsidised costs. Surely this will bring a new vibrancy to the workplace training arena in Australia!

Or, perhaps readers may be most interested in what our clients – all experienced professionals are telling us?

I know that already this year clients are telling us that time is precious. With the first working week of the New Year just underway we have been inundated with calls from experienced professionals wanting and needing qualifications. In most cases this is because they are either moving into new roles or planning to change jobs. Others have had it identified in a performance review and want to start the year on a positive note addressing their career goals.

Every person I have talked to this year seems to be time poor and extremely busy at work. They are all looking for flexible solutions that they can control and manage as their commitments allow. Even our business improvement clients running their own businesses are requesting after hours coaching and preparing to work through with us until 10pm in the evening. I am also surprised by the number of people wanting to commence their training so early in the New Year. In fact the College had people enrolling in online learning on Christmas Eve as late as 4pm. Each person wanted to use their holiday break to get started.

It is a great time to access VET training in Australia with both the Federal and State Governments providing generous subsidies and the recent move to fund more private providers rather than just the State funded TAFE’s. This expansion of VET will further open up the market to competition which will give consumers much more choice and consequently a much higher quality of education & training which in turn will provide significant benefits to individuals and organisations!  

Cheers,

Helen Sabell

2010 is an auspicious year, in fact, some would say the next 3 years to 2012 are brim full of potential! While I certainly like to believe in the positive energy abounding in the universe, I also like to ground my thinking and positivity in practicality. For example, we know that Australia has weathered the GFC so well that the economy continues to grow with house prices rising and unemployment at low levels. All the economic indicators for the Australian economy are currently positive and business confidence is increasing as is job security and choice. In fact in the week before Christmas I spoke to a number of people changing jobs over the break or in the New Year who were seeking to up-skill and/or update their qualifications accordingly.

In this more buoyant atmosphere it makes sense to review your career aspirations and to take actions towards achieving your career goals. If you are thinking of changing jobs or even careers, it can be valuable to add necessary or desired qualifications to your CV before you change jobs.

 If you are already experienced in the job you currently perform then one way to achieve a relevant qualification is to have the knowledge and skills you have gained in your job formally recognised.  This method of gaining a qualification through current job recognition is frequently overlooked and I often have individuals enquiring about a program of study to achieve a qualification for either a new job or another job as a result of retrenchment even when their last or previous job required use of the same knowledge and skills sets as the program of study they are now enquiring about! Unfortunately and all too often these people have left the job and so are no longer able to demonstrate the knowledge and skills required for the qualification.

Now, in early January is a good time to reflect and act on achieving qualifications. If you are currently working in a professional job role you should consider enrolling in a program and applying for recognition (Recognition of Prior Learning – RPL) and then just studying for the ‘gaps’ in your own learning rather than spending valuable time off the job studying for an entire qualification.   If you are thinking of changing jobs then you should act quickly to achieve recognition before you leave the job.

The College for Adult Learning offers recognition as RPL in a range of qualifications in business & management, HRM and project management.

I recently read a paper analysing Australia’s possible future workplaces and workforce development requirements where 3 potential future scenarios for Australia in 2025 were explored. The paper, builds on the Shell Global Scenarios and focuses on the Australian context and, it makes for very interesting reading. Of course it poses more questions than it answers however; one thing that really stood out for me was the importance and emphasis on trust. In all 3 scenarios put forward for 2025 there is an emphasis on relationships, social networking and a strong and definitive building of and focus on personal and business trust at all levels.

It seems that we are moving towards a ‘Trust Economy’ perhaps fuelled, in part by the blurring of boundaries between work and social networks where relationship are becoming the dominant currency and return of influence is becoming the new ROI. I know my own team constantly move back and forth between work related online networks and their own social networks where the line or boundary between either is definitely blurred or less real. Their communication channels are all open all the time. More and more often I receive work related communications from a team member sent from a club or a bar after midnight!

In preparing for a session on project management, I came across an article written by Michael Aucoin titled ‘How Trust Fuels Agility’ and in it he talks about the importance of trust in project teams and the need to foster an environment that promotes respect and trust. Stephen Covey says about trust: ‘Trust is the highest form of human motivation. It brings out the very best in people.’

There are many articles on trust and its importance in the workplace yet I wonder how we prepare ourselves and coach our people towards this values driven paradigm? How prepared are we to move to a trust based economy and economy built on relationships and integrity? Can we train people or is this part of society values & beliefs inculcated in our children from birth?

Cheers,

Helen Sabell

You can download the above mentioned report “Australia 2025: Three Global Scenarios” here.

As part of its Skills for Growth Program The Victorian State Government is committed to ensuring all Victorians have the skills and knowledge they need to be successful in their job and career. To this end, the government is supporting all Victorians who don’t hold a qualification to gain one. This means that, if you are working in HR but don’t yet have a qualification or perhaps have only a Certificate then the government will assist you to gain your Diploma!

With all the changes currently occuring to vocational training in Victoria, this is an opportunity worth taking advantage of. If you are eligible then all you have to pay is your enrolment fee. This year the College enrolment fee is set at just $595.

It is not unusual to find HR Managers with no HR qualifications.  Often, staff working in Human Resources have come from other fields such as training and development, administration, clerical roles or even general management roles. It seems though that once they move into HR, they do not stop still long enough to study!

It is quite ironic as HR practitioners are most often the ones who support and encourage their employees to attend training and gain qualifications. They certainly know the value of learning and are at the frontline of skills development, yet, it seems, they are often to time poor to (at least in a formal sense) learn themselves.

These assumptions have been gained from statistics and anecdotal evidence gathered over the past 2 years from over 150 HR managers. Statistics gathered from HR programs conducted over the last 2 years  (2007- 2009) indicate  that nearly all the participants of HR Diploma programs run for experienced HR practitioners are women.

86% of these women hold no tertiary or post school qualification and, of the remaining 14% only 8% hold a tertiary qualification  equal to or higher than a Diploma with the remaining 6% holding a Certificate Level qualification at or below a level IV.   These statistics are surprising especially in a field that values learning and understands the benefits of workplace learning, transferable skills and nationally recognised qualifications.

Based on the overwhelming response we have had to ‘fast-track’, ‘intensive study mode’ and RPL options for HRM Diploma programs,  one can only assume that these women are themselves just too busy to gain a qualification in the ‘usual’ manner (i.e. 12-18months of night school classes).

The summer school program commenced with the first day of the Diploma of Human Resources Management last week. This exciting and challenging program is designed for experienced HR practitioners and is not suitable for those new to the field or with limited experience.

There are many benefits in a program such as this one however probably the most significant benefit is the collective wisdom of the group. For example, this most recent group brings to the program a collective wisdom across more than a decade of HR & Management practice.

Each person in the program has been working in HRM for an average of 10 years and so they are able to share with each other the many experiences and knowledge gained over this period. The group is also incredibly diverse with a mix of corporate, local & state government, self employed business owners as well large & small companies. As you can imagine this makes for a richness of experience and the learning that occured between and across the group was enormous in just one workshop day. The group is so committed to ongoing learning from each other and their facilitator that they have already decided to participate in the online forum between workshops and I have no doubt every person in the cohort will be online and contributing within the first week (even allowing for the Melbourne Cup distractions!)