4^th edition

HRM Consulting – Newsletter September 2009,

Welcome to the September 2009 HRM Consulting Services Newsletter. In this month’s edition we look at the following issues:-

-         Award Modernisation,

-         National Occupational Health & Safety Legislation,

-         Just a Thought – The Key to Selling is Listening, and

-         Postscript,

Before we get started, I thought it prudent to look at some news of the last couple of weeks…

-         Days lost due to Industrial unrest rose dramatically prior the introduction of the new ‘Fair Work’ legislation;

-         Absenteeism costs are $26m per year with an average of 8.6 days per person being taken (across all sectors). This means approx 3.7 staff are away on any given day;

-         Talented professionals are on the move. A recent poll of [global] corporations shows that 20% of their best and brightest have changed their companies. This is double those being made redundant;

Award Modernisation… as a part of the Federal Governments ‘Fair Work’ legislation/reforms, work is well underway in developing modern awards which become operational from 1 January 2010.

The purpose of the modern awards is to replace the myriad of differing awards and industrial agreements currently operating throughout Australia.   Under a formal Government request, the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) is required to complete the award modernisation process by 31 December 2009.   This means approximately 130 modern industry and occupational awards will be made in readiness for 1 January.

It is important to note that some specific award provisions will not become fully operational until after the first full pay period (on or after) 1 July 2010.   These provisions relate to either increases or reductions to the following matters:-

-         Minimum wages, piecework rates, and applicable industry allowances;

-         Casual and Part Time loadings,

-         Saturday, Sunday, Public Holiday, evening and other penalties;

-         Shift allowances and/or penalties;

…note it is only these provisions that are subject for review, therefore all other award conditions apply from 1 January.

Modern awards will build upon the ‘National Employment Standards’ and may include ten (10) additional minimum conditions of employment, relevant to the needs of the industry/occupation, these conditions include:-

-         Wages,

-         Types of employment,

-         Arrangements for when work is performed,

-         Overtime and penalty rates,

-         Annualized wages and salary,

-         Allowances,

-         Leave related matters,

-         Superannuation, and

-         Employee representation and dispute settlement,

The message from the [Federal] Government is that neither the making of the modern award nor the operation of transitional arrangements is intended to result in a reduction of the take-home pay of employees covered by the award.   Instances where this occurs will be referred to Fair Work Australia.

Further to this, it is also intended that no organization should realise additional costs (to wages, allowances, penalties etc…) following the introduction of modern awards.

However, the AIRC has indicated some employers would face higher costs, and some employees would be disadvantaged by the reforms, even after measures to delay the start of some conditions by six (6) months (and these can be spread over a five (5) year period).

National Health and Safety Legislation… in April of last year the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, the Hon Julia Gillard MP, announced a national review into model Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Laws.

The reasons behind the review stem from the concerns held by all levels of Government who hold the belief that all workers have a right to safe and healthy workplaces.   Suffice to say, all [Governments] have taken a broadly similar approach to regulating safer workplaces.

This approach involves a principle OHS Act identifying common law duty of care, supported by detailed regulations and codes of practice, and a system of education, inspection, advice, compliance activities and, where appropriate, prosecution.

The importance of harmonised OHS laws has been recognised by the Council of Australian Governments (CoAG), the Productivity Commission and the States and Territories.

The legislation will consist of a principal Act supported by regulations and codes of practice that can be easily adopted in each jurisdiction.   By harmonising OHS laws in this way the perceived benefits will be, a reduction in red tape, a boost to business efficiency which will ultimately provide greater certainty and protections for all at work.

The Federal Government has since appointed an advisory panel who is charged with conducting a national review of the current OHS legislation (across all jurisdictions) and recommend the optimal structure and content of the new legislation.   In this review the panel will:-

-         examine the principal OH&S legislation for each state and territory, identifying areas of best practice, common practice and inconsistency;

-         Consider work already undertaken by the Australian Safety and Compensation Council as well as recent reviews commissioned by the Government;

-         Take into account the changing nature or work and employment arrangements;

-         Consult with business, governments, unions and other interested parties on matters relating to the review; and

-         Make recommendations on the optimal structure and content of legislation;

A National OH&S strategy was developed, and it provides the framework to improve the country’s OHS performance.   It sets out the national targets to reduce the incidence of work related fatalities by at least 20% and to reduce workplace injury (including musculoskeletal disorders) by at least 40% by June 2012.

On September 17^th the senate passed the Safe Work Australia Bill which will allow Safe Work Australia to be established and operate as an independent statutory agency that is responsible to improve occupational health & safety and workers compensation arrangements across Australia.

Despite the intention of the National Occupational Health & Safety legislation, resistance is growing amongst state and territory ministers as well as [some] trade Unions.   In one particular case the Trade Unions are urging the Government to include an injured workers right to prosecute employers over OHS breaches.   This is currently available in NSW and the ACT.

So where to from here? At present model legislation regulations and recommendations (from the national review) is available for public comment.  

It is intended the legislation be submitted to the Workplace Relations Ministers’ Council (WRMC) for agreement in November/December this year.   At the same time associated draft regulations will be developed and submitted to the WRMC for decision.

Progressively from late 2009, the model regulations reviews will be conducted on the model regulations with regards to existing national OHS standards.   This review will lead to the development of Codes of Practice which is scheduled for late 2010.  

It is envisaged the legislation and regulations will be implemented by all states and territories by December 2011.

Just a Thought… The Key to Selling is Listening, Today we are all in the business of Sales… yes all of us, even those of us who are behind the scenes and don’t physically see a ‘customer’ face to face.   We no longer have the luxury of hiding at our desks we must realise we all impact on sales.

Given the state of the economy, we cannot ignore the facts, business is too competitive and times are tough, and so we can’t afford to ignore the customer.   Maybe some of us will have difficulty in seeing ourselves as a salesperson, but now, it’s become a life skill.  

Consider this, if you’re normally turned off by the concept of selling, think about all those times/situations where you’ve had to persuade… that is just selling by another name; and more and more these are skills we need to have.

In the work sense, having good sales people is fundamental to its success…for example, it’s amazing that organisations don’t realise the first face shown to the world is the Receptionist.   It’s the Receptionist who lets you know you are welcome and that the company values you as a customer.   The Receptionist may not be seeling a product, but they are selling [promoting] the Company.

For those of us who then sell… and when we say sell, we’re not talking about being manipulative, fast talking, highly scripted and formulaic and only being concerned about the product! No, we’re talking about the human aspect of the concept.

We should think about selling as a partnership.   So if we can stop showing, telling, demonstrating, talking and explaining and do more asking, listening, questioning, observing and discussing, we’d be far better off.

Research shows that 80% of sales calls are taken up with the salesperson talking about themselves/their product, and so, only 20% are listening to the customer.   This means instead of the individual buying the product, they are actually sold on it!

The sales process should really be seen as a process by which you enable the individual to buy their goods/service.  

Consider the last time you went to buy clothes, was the sales person the type who said things like; “you right there?” or “What size are you?” then points to the rack that has what you’re looking for…or did you encounter a person who asked you what you were looking for and for what purpose etc… which person [realistically] will be the one to get your custom?

The sales process should be seen as enabling the buying process by simply applying [your] natural charm and showing interest in the customer.   You should have the knack of making the customer feel as though they are the most important person in the room.

Organisations need to start thinking that at employee induction, this concept of sales must be promoted…it should become a corporate culture and something all employees relate to.   We must remember that we all touch a customer and we need to be conscious of this in our daily tasks.

 “Post Script” to the July Newsletter – Courtesy in the Workplace… Research into the cost of ‘Bad Manners’ has identified that stress to employees affected by this issue, could cost up to as much as $US300 billion ($AU363 billion) in lost productivity. Apparently this type of behaviour includes – texting in meetings; spreading rumours; taking credit for others work; ignoring emails and not saying please or thank you.

If you would like any further information regarding the information contained within this Newsletter and/or any other HR Matter, please don’t hesitate in contacting us at contact@hrmconsulting.com.au or you can call John Cachia direct on 0419 738 735.

Remember at HRM Consulting, we help grow your business through smart solutions for your most valuable resource: your people!