Workplace chatterboxes driving two thirds of Aussie workers to distraction

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It’s what water-coolers convos and office kitchen catch-ups are made of – office banter and a little gossip makes all the hours you put in at work just that little bit easier.

But a recent poll from recruitment marketing company Employment Office has revealed that for 63% of employees, an office chatterbox has taken an occasional natter a step too far, impacting on productivity and causing co-workers to resent them.

In scenes resembling the hit US television show, The Office, it seems over half of Australian workplaces are suffering in silence as their very own Kelly Kapoor carries on oblivious.

Employment Office Managing Director Tudor Marsden-Huggins says it’s important for workplace morale for employees to develop social relationships with colleagues, however there must be boundaries.

“Friendly banter is great to build workplace culture, however there is a point where there is too much talking and not enough working.

“If it becomes apparent that there is a distinct workplace chatterbox, steps should be taken to curtail the behaviour, while still maintaining a friendly and relaxed work atmosphere, where employees feel free to share a joke and a laugh, providing them with much-needed short breaks throughout the day.  Sometimes it can be difficult to find the balance, but it is absolutely essential.

According to a study in the Journal of Business Psychology, employees reported higher job satisfaction when they felt that there was an opportunity for friendships to exist at work. Furthermore, a recent survey by the Australian Financial Review found that most people would stay in their current job if they have a good relationship with their co-workers.

Though workplace chatter can prove to be beneficial, there is a line where workplace chatter crosses into a work-limiting time-waster. Marsden-Huggins says that workplace chatter can be costly for productivity, but we can’t cut out chatter altogether.

“We don’t want employees to be working in a non-speaking environment, as this can also be counterproductive. Every situation is different, and the subjectivity of it makes it difficult, but a manager needs to be in touch with their team, knowing just the point at which chat stops being something the energises the team, and turns into something that actually drains workers,” he said.

The Employment Office poll also found 66% of respondents said they handled a workplace chatterbox by tactfully asking the colleague to stop interrupting them. Fourteen per cent ignored the person, 12% asked a manager to handle the situation, while 4% of situations went unresolved and another 4% ended in an angry confrontation.

“If you feel that the chatter is impacting your work, you should try to assertively address the issue, remembering that you spend a majority of your week with your colleagues.  By not resolving or aggressively confronting the issue, it can impact the quality of your work and the enjoyment you get out of it, not to mention the impact on the organisation,” Marsden Huggins said.

Here are Employment Office’s top tips to manage the office chatterbox:

  1. Excuse yourself from the conversation and explain you’re expecting a phone call, or need to send an important email.
  2. Enlist the help of another colleague and work in tag teams.  Whenever one of you is stuck in conversation with the chatterbox, make advance plans to bail one another out.
  3. Tell the chatterbox you’ve got to use the bathroom and you’ll catch up with them later.
  4. Stay un-engaged. If you work in an office, stay focussed on your computer screen to send a clear message that you aren’t interested.
  5. If all else fails, approach your supervisor about the situation.  Add the number of times the chatterbox interrupts you throughout the day and note the length of each visit. When the boss sees the chatterbox is interfering with productivity, it issue is sure to be raised.  Remember to stay professional and discreet.
  6. For managers – Create an outlet/activity for employees to socialise outside of work so they don’t always do it in the office.

The Dark Side of the Boom

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The Dark Side of the Boom – Leveraging the mining slump to attract skilled labour

Here at Employment Office, we often hear our clients lament that they ‘just can’t compete with the mines’.   We’ve heard the legends of entry level workers earning in excess of $100,000 whose only responsibility is keeping dust moist with a water hose but, even the mining companies, with their outrageous salaries and impressive benefits packages, have shown that they are not impervious to labour market conditions.

If your business has found itself in direct competition with the mines and come up short in the past, maybe it’s time to have another go.  Global commodity prices have dropped significantly as China’s hunger for raw materials has dwindled.  The current resource market conditions mean that even Mining behemoths such as Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton are being forced to restructure their workforce and rethink their remuneration structures and benefits packages.

These factors, coupled with the upcoming Federal election (which has created significant uncertainty for mining expansion plans), signify to prospective candidates that mining work may not be as lucrative and secure as they once thought.

Now is your chance to advertise and fill those vacancies that have proved to be so difficult in the past.

How should you go about framing your advertising to attract the candidates that you might have lost to mining companies in the past?  First of all, you’ll need to decide what advantages working for your business has over working for a mining company.  These might include things such as going home every night, access to better amenities and facilities, job security, more time with your family, workplace safety etc.

These are tangible benefits that candidates who have previously been on mine sites will take very seriously and they don’t affect your bottom line in any way.  Additionally, your remuneration package will be more competitive and may potentially even exceed what a mining company is willing or able to offer.

It’s no longer the Wild West for the Australian mining companies and now, with a playing field that is starting to level out, you can successfully recruit the skilled workers you need to grow your business.  If you would like to discuss how Employment Office can assist you with attracting skilled workers, call 1300 366 573 and speak with your Account Manager today.

Is the resume going the way of the dinosaur?

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With the rise of technology and the inevitable decline of paper and pen, long gone are the days of hand written applications. The resume has always been a staple source of information for employers when it comes to hiring, but it is possible that this once vital tool is now going the way of the dinosaur and becoming extinct?

Over the last few years, the continued growth of social media and increasingly tech savvy applicants has seen employers starting to look at other mediums to gain this same information. While still looking for the standard experience and education that is found in a resume, employers have started searching for a process that offers a little more insight into the candidates personality which is not easily translated in a traditional resume.

First seen in the introduction of the cover letter, employers are now digging deeper still, asking tailored questions to really get to the point of an application at the very beginning of the process so as to save both candidate and employers from interviewing people who are completely the wrong fit for a role.

e-Recruitment software such as Scout, offers employers the ability to take full control of their application process. With a suite of full customisable application questions taking the place of the standard cover letter, employers are easily able to not only get answers to the questions that really matter to them up front, it also allows for easy screening of applicants. Feedback from both employers and candidates alike for this revolutionary way to recruit is overwhelmingly positive, with applicants knowing exactly what they need to address instead of hoping they hit the mark in a cover letter, and employers having access to all the information they need at their fingertips.

Another trend that is seeing an increase is the rise of YouTube videos and the use of social networking for recruitment (such as Twitter and the resulting ‘Twesume’) where candidates pitch their talents to prospective employers. Fueled by an ever-competitive labour market, job seekers are searching out ways to stand out in the crowd.

Recruitment marketing expert and Employment Office Managing Director Tudor Marsden-Huggins has weighed in on the topic of online videos as a legitimate recruitment tool, saying, “It’s an approach that’s seeing a lot of take-up for frontline jobs in the more personality-based industries at the moment – hospitality, retail, marketing and customer service – but it’s got far more potential than that.”

One of the highest profile recruitment campaigns in recent years utilized video recruitment to the highest level, proving that it’s a method suited to anyone who owns a digital camera. Queensland’s Best Job In The World received thousands of applications from a broad cross-selection of people, of all ages.

“A written application will always serve a vital purpose, but in just a few moments a video can show an employer about a candidate’s presentation, communication style, creativity and potential cultural fit,” Marsden-Huggins said.

Despite all of this though, perhaps it’s not quite time to throw the resume away for good. Employers will still continue to rely on them as a quick reference guide for some time yet, however used in conjunction with these emerging and rapidly growing technologies, programs and ideas, it’s certainly a more cost effective and efficient way to recruit.