Tag: staff

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15
Feb

If you don’t know what Gen Y wants … ask!

Written by James Evangelidis

I've worked in and around the Accounting profession for more years than I care to remember. With my headhunting hat on I usually work at the Partner and Director level, across both big and small accounting firms. Amongst other topics of conversation, the subject of "those darn Gen Y staff" comes up on a regular basis. To remove any confusion – Gen Y refers (at least in my mind) to those people born between 1980 to 2000. I'm sure you've heard the usual traits attached to Gen Y: self-absorbed, sense of entitlement, lack of loyalty, poor worth ethic and more. You get the idea.

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09
Feb

Invisible friends

Written by Paul Hassing

‘... you must bill again ...’ We’ve mentioned the need to look bigger than we are to impress prospects and get gigs. Faux staff are one way to do this. And once you’ve invented them, you might as well put ‘em to work! Meeting of minds I love it when my mobile rings while I’m driving Fonnie somewhere.

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18
Jan

4 great reasons why your business wants to win an award

Written by Emma Mulquiney

Awards season is in full swing! While many of us were glued to the online news sites on Monday, eagerly anticipating the winners lists and red carpet arrivals photo gallery from the 69th Annual Golden Globes (me included!), we should also point out that there’s another prestigious awards ceremony that has just kicked off. Now entering its 20th year, the Telstra Business Awards celebrate and recognise the aspirations and successes of Australia’s small to medium businesses. And while you won’t be spotting the likes of George Clooney and Sandra Bullock on this red carpet, these recipients of these awards share in over $500,000 in prizes and receive a unique opportunity to catapult their business onto greater success. Far better than a statue trophy, if you ask me!

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13
Dec

How to Write Perfect Job Ads. Part 1: Briefing

Written by Paul Hassing

Time for a change? I’ve read recently that December is a great time for businesses to secure talent for the year ahead. It therefore seems opportune to continue our occasional series on recruitment ad writing. If you need a quick refresher, read our introduction. Information is power The path to a perfect job ad is littered with obstacles. Spotting and clearing these before you advertise can save you a truckload of time, money and tears. A job ad is only as good as the information from which it derives. Great source materials facilitate killer ads. That’s where briefing comes in. Not my job, darling! Many think all you need to write a job ad is a job description* (JD). This approach is loaded with problems. For a start, many businesses don’t have JDs. Realising they need to hire someone is often the trigger to create one. But because the vacancy’s URGENT!!! they want to do the job ad first, then write the JD during the recruitment process. This too is fraught with danger. Without a JD at its foundation, the job ad will be vague at best and false at worst. Relying on your ‘idea’ of a job, or some generic, cookie-cutter list of tasks is a recipe for mediocrity and failure. If applicants inquire about the job before you’ve done the JD, you look dumb and they get worried. And if you haven’t nailed the JD in time for interviews, you look completely incompetent. And once a top-notch candidate loses faith in you, your business or your hiring process, they’ll never return. Vague descriptions JDs range from five scribbled bullets to 20-page manifestos. Both are hard to work with. Ideal JDs are around two pages. (If you wish, we can discuss these in detail down the track.) But even a great JD tells only half the story. Every job is different. What you may consider the worst job in the world is precisely the opportunity someone, somewhere, is seeking. One of the most common errors people make is that they write a job ad for themselves, rather than their audience. Beyond description The aspects of a vacancy most interesting and relevant to your audience concern the: Organisation. Duties. Benefits. Selection criteria. As no JD covers all these, you must complete the picture by looking at everything around the JD. If someone’s in the job you plan to advertise, talk to them, their boss, their colleagues and their customers. If the incumbent’s gone, and there’s an exit interview, read it. If there are past job ads for the role, examine them and find out if they worked. The more sources you study, the easier it is to write a perfect job ad. After quizzing your way to the heart of the matter, you’ll have all the ammunition you need to differentiate your ad from a sea of competing messages. Stay tuned Next time we’ll talk about the audience for a job ad. It’s a lot smaller than you may think! Meanwhile, what are your thoughts on: Recruiting in December. The use (and abuse) of job descriptions. Do my words resonate, or have you had other experiences? Either way, I’d love you to share. :) * Also called position description, position statement or duty statement. Paul Hassing | Founder & Senior Writer - The Feisty Empire

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30
Nov

Don’t forget to be social this holiday season

Written by Justin Flitter

It's only a hop, skip and jump until Christmas day. End of year parties colour our calendars and employees around the country are booking their leave. Many businesses either shut down or fall back to a skeleton crew over the holidays so it's important to include your social media monitoring and engagement into this roster. If your customers could have operational, service or purchasing issues over this time ensure whoever is on duty is trained up and familiar with your processes to address and answer tweets or Facebook questions.

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24
Nov

IP or not IP?

Written by Paul Hassing

Intellectual property. Is what’s mine yours? LinkedIn is driving one of my clients crazy. His team’s social networking is eroding decades of his personal networking. One employee, nurtured with love, has left to compete with my client, using his LinkedIn contacts. It’s enough to make him weep with rage. Is there anything he can do?

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