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.

Gain a competitive edge with candidate feedback

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One of the most commonly asked questions when it comes to recruitment is “Why are unsuccessful candidates never provided with feedback?”  For some organisations, or for certain roles, providing feedback as to why a candidate wasn’t successful in a role is almost non-existent – even though giving feedback to suppliers and employees is a widely accepted practice in business.

There are many reasons – dare we go as far to say as ‘excuses’ – as to why feedback is not provided to unsuccessful candidates, such as cost, time and effort, however perhaps now is the time to revisit this controversial issue before the war for talent returns.

The recruitment black hole

Candidates who are unsuccessful all too often fall into the recruitment ‘black hole;’ receiving neither an acknowledgement of their application nor an unsuccessful notice.

As HR and Hiring Managers, we need to understand the thought and effort serious applicants put into the process of applying for a job. If we don’t, it could seriously hurt our Employer Brand. In a social media world, failing to provide what is expected during the employment process may generate negative comments that will be shared with friends and colleagues.  Any negative messaging resulting from a lack of feedback will likely hurt brand image and both the quantity and quality of future applications.

Recruitment is all about building relationships and getting to know the candidates, their passions and motivations. It’s also about giving applicants who apply for jobs the respect they deserve  so provide feedback at all stages of the recruitment process – even if delivering bad news – and in turn you will build your Employer Brand and gain a competitive edge.

Our Top 4 Tips for Providing Feedback throughout the Recruitment Process

It doesn’t have to be a recruitment burden or an additional expense – Employment Office has four top tips to providing candidate feedback in a simple and cost-effective way:

  1. Notify the candidate that their application has been received – at the very least a simple email acknowledgement that an application has been received should be sent to all candidates. An effective candidate management system (e.g. SCOUT) will do this for you automatically.
  2. Provide upfront information on the hiring process – you can help eliminate confusion by providing an overview of your hiring process. Information such as what you are looking for, interview dates, who will be involved and how long it should take could be included. You may wish to include this information on your SCOUT careers portal and/or application forms.
  3. Provide summary feedback – after a position closes consider providing summary information to all applicants disclosing the factors that resulted in most applications being rejected. You could even post this information on your website to educate potential applicants.
  4. Create a feedback toolkit – provide managers and recruiters with a ‘feedback toolkit’ which includes the Do’s and Don’ts of feedback. This will also help to align the recruitment process across departments.

How to Identify Great Talent

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How to Identify Great Talent – Why you Can’t Only Rely on Your Gut Instincts When Hiring

Have you ever met an extremely likeable person you were naturally drawn to in a job interview? Did you think to yourself what an excellent hire they would make without even checking his/her qualifications? Or worse yet, have you even made that important hiring decision solely based on an overall impression of someone?

If so, you wouldn’t be the first. This is a common occurrence with hiring managers and is a guilty temptation indeed! Believe it or not, this situation has been dubbed “The Halo Effect.”

The Halo Effect is defined as a type of cognitive bias in which our overall impression of a person influences how we feel and think about his or her character. Essentially, your overall impression of a person can impact your evaluation of that individual’s other skills or traits.

A simple example would be bringing in “Jared” for an interview. Jared is extremely personable, funny, and engaging, and you immediately have a positive overall impression of him. Because your overall impression is positive (“Jared is nice!”), your evaluation of his other traits becomes biased (“Jared must also be intelligent!”).

This is a trap that many hiring managers can fall into. But there are many ways you can avoid relying on your gut instinct when hiring. While you should still trust your gut instincts, as you will be working with this person, validate your gut instincts through a tailored and all-encompasing screening process.

Here are four tips to help overcome your personal biases when making hiring decisions:

  1. Devise a methodical approach to the hiring process. Make a checklist of the required behaviours and stick to it during the interview process. Rate them on a scale so you have something quantifiable to look back on when making your decision. Ask them questions surrounding specific behaviours required for candidate to be successful on the job.
  2. Have candidates complete skill-testing evaluations. There are numerous tests in the HR world that will provide a standardized method to compare individuals. Employment Office is an avid user of tests such as McQuaig and ProveIt which measure behavioural and skill abilities respectively.
  3. Be aware of your personal biases. It’s important to be self-aware when hiring. If you have specific biases, recognizing them and actively putting a stop to them is the first road to recovery.
  4. Always perform reference checks. No matter what, always perform reference checks. If the candidate has a winning personality but doesn’t have the skills to back it up, you can be sure his/her previous employer will have something valuable to share. Going back to tip #1, fall back on your checklist. These are the questions you want to ask when reference checking. If the candidate is applying for a sales job, ask the previous employer sales-oriented behavioural questions. If applying for a managerial position, ask questions surrounding their leadership abilities. It’s as easy as that.

Good luck with your hiring efforts, and give us a call if you would like to discuss recruiting!

67% Say Money Doesn’t Matter

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With 47% of Australians considering looking for a new job this year, and 39% percent considering a total career change within the next five years, it may come as a surprise to employers that it’s not money that is the major driver behind this change. (Pulse Panel Entertainment Study, Jan 2013)

According to a survey of 1,000 professionals across Australia and New Zealand, 67% of candidates surveyed were willing to take a paycut of up to $5,000 to change into a role they enjoyed more. The idea of job satisfaction is the biggest motivator for a career change at the moment, with 17% willing to take on an entry level position, retrain and work their way back up the ladder. A further 5% have stated that they would be willing to take on a traineeship to gain that first foot in the door for a job that they love. (Robert Walters, 2012)

“Our research consistently shows that remuneration ranks highly in what the average professional wants, but is rarely first on the list. Most professionals are willing to sacrifice pay to be in a role they enjoy and are engaged in. Organisations should keep this in mind when searching for new talent and retaining their current teams. To keep your best professionals you must offer attractive benefits, progression and projects that will keep employees engaged.” Rob Bryson (Robert Walters, 2012)

So what does this mean for employers?

  • Staff that feel fulfilled in their role result in a productive and efficient workplace;
  • The roles and industries that offer that ultimate level of job satisfaction are the most attractive when searching for new roles;
  • You don’t have to be offering salaries beyond your means to attract that perfect candidate.

Tudor Marsden-Huggins, Managing Director of Employment Office, said “Highlighting things like company culture and engagement in advertising and employer branding means that organisations don’t necessarily need to compete in regards to remuneration to attract the best candidates”.

Many candidates are passive in their approach to looking for a new role, especially when it is a position that is a major change. 60% of people interviewed in the Pulse Panel Entertainment Survey earlier this year agreed that even though they are not actively looking for work, they will still look through the job ads that appear in areas that they usually read, and 48% said that they still read the employment section of papers and websites even though they are not actively seeking a new role. (Pulse Panel Entertainment Study, Jan 2013)

This trend of passive job seeking reflects the idea that while making a career change that requires retraining and sometimes an entire shift in work experience can be daunting, it is still subconsciously driving their desire to see what their career options are.

Employment Office recommends that employers advertise vacancies across a wide variety of mediums including print, larger job boards such as Seek and CareerOne, as well as niche advertising that targets specific industries, ensuring that the maximum number of candidates have exposure to the role and that the passive audience is also captured.

Poor personal hygiene driving colleagues to distraction

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Could bad breath be stopping your team from reaching its targets?  Or is that persistent cough driving your co-workers nuts?  A new survey has revealed that poor personal hygiene and offensive bodily habits are resulting in a loss of productivity for Australian businesses.

The recent poll from Employment Office has revealed three quarters of Australian workers have been impacted by the poor personal hygiene and distracting bodily habits of their co-workers, causing them to lose concentration.  One in five employees said it negatively impacted on their productivity at work.

75% of respondents reported finding it difficult to work alongside someone with offensive body odour, while 64% have struggled working with a colleague with bad breath.

A further 60% have had trouble concentrating due to a co-worker’s persistent coughing and 48% have had to put up with a colleague with excessive flatulence.

While the subject of personal hygiene can be a sensitive one, it is best for employers to manage such issues in a timely manner, for the comfort of all employees, and to protect the employee in question from continued embarrassment.

“As soon as you become aware of the problem, it’s best to address it privately as soon as possible.  Be considerate, but direct, making sure the employee understands you are not personally attacking them, but rather suggesting changes for the comfort of everyone in the workplace.

“It is important for an employer to resolve any personal hygiene issues before other staff members do it in a non-tactful way.  If this happens the problem can easily escalate and become a bullying issue,” Tudor Marsden- Huggins, Managing Director of Employment Office.

The survey also revealed that despite concerns about the bodily habits of co-workers, 85% of employees are in favour of open plan workspaces. Whilst workers are not desperate enough to go back into secular offices and cubicles, it is still a concern that one in five employees believe the poor personal hygiene of others is affecting their work.

It is important that businesses create an open environment where one-on-one communication is encouraged between employee and manager. This will go some way to dealing with delicate topics.

Where have all the good sales people gone?

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With new financial year rapidly approaching, growth plans and sales revenue are high on everyone’s agenda. In order to grow sales and meet new financial goals, many organisations are focused on hiring and developing new sales staff for the new financial year.

Organisations report a multitude of challenges when recruiting new sales people, and with a typically higher turnover in the sales department than elsewhere in the business, managers and business owners can find it tough to build and maintain a strong sales presence.

In most organisations, 80% of the sales seems to come from 20% – 30% of the sales force, and while its seems like the answer is to simply recruit more top performing sales people, smaller to medium sized organisations often have difficulties attracting and targeting their marketing efforts towards high calibre candidates.

So how can your organisation attract the best sales talent in your industry?

  1. Financial rewards are only a small part of an attraction strategy. Often organisations report that they can’t compete with the salaries that are being offered by the big players in their industry. While we all know that the typical sales profile shows that financial incentives are a high motivating factor for sales individuals, other factors such as company wide recognition, company culture and flexible working hours/work life balance can be used to assist in the attraction and retention of high performing sales people.
  2. Broaden your advertising and talent pool. Placing an advert on a generalist job board like Seek or a local print ad, won’t necessarily reach your target candidates. Employment Office advises our clients to think outside of the box when recruiting for top sales talent. Our campaigns regularly consist of generalist advertising, social media strategy including LinkedIn, print advertising and industry niche advertising to get in front of the right market for your position.
  3. Ask yourself – are you hiring on experience or behaviour? We all know the personality elements that can help identify a strong sales person, buzz words like driven, hungry and competitive always spring to mind. However, often times when making the hiring decision, experience is weighted more favourably than behaviour factors, even though it’s an individual’s attitude and motivation that ultimately leads to their success. The use of recruitment assessment tools like behavioural tests, group assessment days, role plays and more, can help you identify individuals with the right behavioural skills

Healthier, fitter and happier employees

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Like many developed nations, Australia is currently witnessing a significant increase in the burden of chronic disease. A 2010 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report found that 96% of working-age Australians had at least one chronic disease risk factor and 72% had multiple risk factors.

With most Australians spending about one third of their lives at work, health bodies such as the World Health Organisation have recognised the workplace as a priority setting for promoting health and wellbeing. Workplace health and wellbeing programs not only have real potential to positively influence the health of our workforce, they also make good business sense – increasing employee engagement and team cohesiveness in the short-term, and leading to reduced absenteeism, increased productivity and improved corporate image in the longer term.

The business advantages of having fitter, healthier and happier employees on the payroll are many and varied, including:

  • Increased productivity
  • Better staff decision making
  • Reduced sick leave and absenteeism
  • Reduced long-term health problems
  • Reduced worker turnover
  • Increased ability to attract and retain new employees

Tour de Office

In 10 weeks time a number of Australian companies are promoting a healthy workplace by taking part in Tour de Office. Tour de Office is an office- based cycling challenge that enables companies all around Australia to raise funds for their chosen charity. This unique event focuses on not only making a significant contribution to a worthy cause, but also promoting a healthy and active attitude in the workplace.

After two fantastic events, Tour de Office is now in its third year and we’re continuing to spread the word, inviting other organisations to get involved and promote a healthy and active lifestyle in their workplace. Tour de Office has proven it’s not a traditional fundraising event but instead offers an alternative way to get employees moving, promote physically activity, and increase donations for beneficiaries.

It’s not too late to sign up and get involved, as Tour De Office is a ready-made initiative that can be implemented in virtually any organisation with minimum fuss.

Get your employees pedalling

Anyone can participate in this fun and exciting event. A number of stationary bikes will be set up in offices across Australia and the entire event will be streamed live via webcam to www.tourdeoffice.com so friends, family, colleagues and sponsors can watch.

With just 10 weeks to go until Tour de Office 2013 this is your opportunity to sign up and get your employees in shape!

For a single payment of $5000 you will be supplied with: 

  • A medium sized road bike valued at $1500
  • 1 x laptop – so you have a single resource dedicated to maintaining your online presence
  • 1 x wind trainer and data capture equipment – to track how far your team rides
  • 1 x high quality webcam – so everyone can watch the event online
  • Your unique webpage to host your live video feed, publish your fundraising total and riding distance stats, and give information about your organisation and riders.
  • Full IT support for the set up and duration of the event
  • Promotional, communications and marketing activities and support for the pre-event, event duration and post event stages.

The return of the Baby Boomer

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The return of the Baby Boomer – Why organisations are tapping into this booming resource.

It’s no secret that an aging population means that there are skill shortages becoming increasingly prevalent across most industries, with the community and health sectors the hardest hit. While there has been a demonstrated effort to recruit and train the next generation into these areas, it leaves a large gap in experience that needs to be filled right now.

The obvious answer to this shortage is to continue to hire and to keep older and more experienced staff on for longer. Organisations are starting to see the reward of attracting these older staff members who not only have their years of experience to offer, but also provide stability and maturity to a role.

The demographic balance of people coming into the workforce verses people reaching what is traditionally considered retirement age is shifting, and at a drastic rate. The amount of people just in Australia who are now in the over 65 bracket is growing by about 130,000 people a year, compared to an annual growth of 50,000 in the past 20 years. (Adelaide Now, Feb 2013)

Baby Boomers are the first generation who have a new “third age”, with a much longer and healthier life expectancy than ever before. They have worked tirelessly to generate a body of knowledge to continue to educate the younger generations, and although some may be ready to ease into retirement, there are plenty more out there who want to keep working, be it for financial reasons, or even just wanting to stay active and involved for longer.

Ian Yates, Chief Executive of the Council on the Aging (COTA), said, “The cultural mythology of workers and employers mutually agreeing to a retirement in their 60s should be abandoned. The employee doesn’t realise what they are giving up, and the employer doesn’t realise what they are going to miss as that experienced worker walks out that door”. (COTA, May 2013)

While employers may not be able to offer lucrative salaries, it is becoming clear that what the Baby Boomers really want is flexibility. Having dedicated their lives to their jobs for so long, they now want to spend some of their time with their family, their grandchildren, seeing the world – all the things they didn’t do before they began their careers.

“At present, too many well qualified people find it difficult to find or retain work as they get older. We’ll likely see this situation reverse in the coming years – with clever employers recruiting mature workers on a flexible hours basis to ensure they have the skilled workforce they need.” Ian Yates (COTA, Feb 2013)

So what can employers do to attract these staff that can already do the job while bringing a wealth of knowledge? The key to is offering flexible working hours, maybe that means finishing at 3pm so they can pick up their grandchildren from school, maybe it means offering the role in a part time capacity. If you can be flexible to the needs of this generation, you will be vastly rewarded with experience, maturity and loyalty.