Resources
Free E-books To Download
The Essence of Attracting and Retaining the Best People
Through Penny's consultancy and research projects with a wide range of clients it has become clear there is a growing need for better Employer Branding; a need for employers to place as much emphasis on internal branding as they do on external branding. This e-book uses Penny’s wisdom and experience together with purpose built research conducted amongst the various generations to understand what today’s employees want out of their work life, and to help employers focus on the urgent need to build a more engaging workplace brand.
Download your FREE E-Book about attracting and retaining the best people.
The 7 Vital Facts you should know about branding your workplace but don't
The fact is that despite a slowing global forecast, attracting and retraining the best people remains a key issue for CEO's. And one way to help build a committed workforce is to build a more engaging workplace brand. This e-Book outlines the key aspects of workplace branding.
Download your FREE eBook about the 7 Vital Facts you should know about branding your workplace but don't.
The Four Key Factors for Culture Change Programs to be SuccessfulTo find Penny's views on what it takes to successfully make changes to your company culture.
Download your FREE eBook about the 4 Vital Factors for Culture Change Programs.
Penny's Podcast's
Listen to Penny's Podcast - interview with Stewart Cameron from Robert Half International.
Articles
New Ways to Find and Keep The Best - Article by Mark Lawson
Thinking outside the square pays off when it comes to hiring and retaining employees, writes Mark Lawson.
Retaining existing staff and finding new ones is becoming increasingly important as a means of overcoming the skills shortage, but employers are confused about how to go about it.
There is a lot of talk about projecting an internal brand - perhaps by making the corporation a socially responsible citizen - and then there are those who say it's all about recognising and rewarding achievement, as well as offering interesting work.
In fact major companies are doing all of that, plus whatever else they can think of to attract and retain good staff. But one theme to emerge from a check of major organisations is the importance of recognising achievement.
In the Australian end of an international survey undertaken by Accenture on the characteristics job seekers look for in employees, 67 per cent of respondents state they prefer employers who recognise and reward accomplishments. About 61 per cent (more than one response was allowed) nominate challenging and interesting work as an attractive feature in an employer, and 48 per cent nominate financial strength as an attraction. A financially strong employer will not have to retrench staff.
The next two most important factors are being people oriented and offering flexible work arrangements. Corporate social responsibility does not feature as a drawcard on the Australian list, and is well down the rankings in the international survey.
The surveys would seem to indicate that rewarding good performance is paramount, but that does not mean simply handing out money.
The national recruitment leader for Accenture Australia, Miranda Kalinowski, says the consultancy is about to start using a system that recognises performance straight away.
Instead of employees having to wait for their annual performance review for appraisal, the system will award them performance points on recommendations from superiors or co-workers.
Rewards will range from a message congratulating the worker on a job well done, up to holiday packages that can be gained by trading in the reward points. The system will be launched as soon as the consultancy has managed to "nut out" the fringe benefit tax details of the rewards, she says.
Apart from performance rewards, the consultancy offers considerable scope for employees to develop and train. Each employee has a career consultant - someone else in the consultancy - and education facilities include two internal universities, in Malaysia and Chicago.
Another firm that lives by the expertise of its people, Deloitte, also takes considerable trouble to retain them through a range of initiatives, which includes recognition for employees.
People and performance partner Alec Bashinsky, who is mainly concerned with internal staff issues, says the firm has a number of employee aims. These can be summarised by the phrases "aim to be famous", "talk straight", "play to win" and "have fun and celebrate".
Aim to be famous may sound daunting, but Bashinski says that can simply mean gaining recognition from peers or having a good job acknowledged.
In addition, the firm participates in a regular "engagement" survey (this measures the commitment and loyalty of employees), and conducts exit interviews to identify the reasons for an employee leaving.
The behaviour of senior people can be a major factor in persuading employees to stay or leave, so the firm also conducts regular 360- degree performance reviews. Partners can see how they are perceived by the firm's juniors, as well as their peers and seniors.
By those and other measures, Bashinsky says that in two years he has reduced staff turnover from 36 per cent a year to 18 to 20 per cent, and hopes for further reduction.
Another way to preserve human capital by reducing turnover is to have a formal "onboarding process" - an introduction to the company.
The general manager for Recruitment Solutions, Lorraine Christopher, says some form of introductory program should be standard in any company.
Such a program may seem like a big investment, but the cost of losing an employee in the first year of employment is also high. The cost has been estimated at three times the employee's annual salary.
As 47 per cent of staff turnover occurs within the first 90 days of the employee being hired, anything that improves the employee's initial experience in the company will help reduce that turnover.
A key to keeping staff is an introductory program designed to help integrate a new employee into the organisation's culture and develop his or her skills and training needs, Christopher says.
Then there are the consultants who say that, in the fight to keep talent, employers should project an internal brand - just as they project an external one.
Penny Burke, who has self-published a book called Forced Focus, due out in March, says this is not a matter of slogans such as "putting people first", as no one believes them now. "Generation Y employees see right through that sort of thing," she says.
Just what development of an employment brand may mean varies from company to company. Burke points to Virgin Mobile, a corporate employment brand she describes as "funky" and "different". If Virgin Mobile employees want to take a "mental health" day - that is, a day off because they feel like it - then they can. Those touches help differentiate the company from competitors such as Telstra and give it an edge in the employment market place, she says.
Key Points:
· Deloitte participates in a regular 'engagement' survey to measure commitment and loyalty.
· The behaviour of senior people can be a major factor in persuading employees to stay or leave.
· Employers should project an internal brand, just as they project an external one.
AFR Article - Featured 13 March 2007.
Work Space - A million reasons to show your brand
Click the link below to view the article.
March 07 AFR Article
Reviews of Forced Focus
‘When it comes to branding and marketing, there is no one more passionate and knowledgeable than Penny Burke. In this book, Penny brings together her passion and depth of knowledge with great insights, practical tips and humour. If you care about your brand as an employer, then this book is a “must read” – it is simply outstanding!’
Renowned public speaker and winner of the HR Lifetime Achievement Award in Australia, Avril Henry ‘Penny outlines succinctly what she believes talented people want from the workplace... There could be no better time for business to hear and heed this message’
Generation Y Expert Peter Sheahan ‘I am not a fan of many business books. I tend to find them glib and gimmicky and, in the end, of limited practical value. Not so ‘Forced Focus’. This book, with great clarity, tackles the critically important subject of how a company should position and market itself to its own employees. Penny takes the reader step-by-step through the processes involved... At the end of the book there are fascinating case studies from a diverse group of companies... I could give it no stronger recommendation’
David Blackley, Former National Creative Director and Chairman of Clemenger BBDO, Melbourne Forced Focus Book Review
The Age - My Career, Saturday 5 May
The Age Sat 5 May - FF Book Review |
