Marc Freedman, founder of the not-for-profit organisation Encore.org, has dubbed these ‘the encore years’, and believes they’re when people can use their experience make some of their most important contributions to society.

“We are in the position to make a monument from what used to be the leftover years, a second chance for people of all stripes to ascend the ladder of contribution and fulfilment, and an opportunity for society to grow up along with its population,” Freedman wrote in his book The Big Shift: Navigating the new stage beyond midlife.

“It’s time for a shift – a shift in thinking and in culture, in social institutions and public policies, a shift from what worked in the past to what can carry us into the future.”

Freedman will be visiting Australia in June to talk about the phenomenon of ‘encore careers’ and the potential they hold for Australian business.

A key initiative of Freedman’s organisation is the Encore Fellowships program, which matches professionals at their end of their midlife careers to social and charity organisations.

These fellowships, which are paid, allow professionals to begin ‘encore careers’, which combine personal meaning with social impact, all while ensuring the fellows are still earning an income.

Doug Jacquier, former CEO of Australian not-for-profit Connecting Up, has teamed up with Encore to look at the possibility of establishing fellowship programs in Australia.

“Australia has an abundance of mature experience and knowledge in its workforce and Australia’s not-for-profits and charities increasingly need high level skills to grow their capability to address pressing social needs,” says Jacquier.

“We need to find a way to help that mature workforce transition to a second or encore career, and at the same time, build the capacity of the not-for-profit sector to do what it does even better.”

Find out more about Encore.org here.

Although your management may be aware of the need for innovation, it can be difficult to communicate this to employees, and some organisations resort to recruiting new staff members, rather than trying to encourage their existing employees to think more innovatively.

If your employees are struggling with innovation, they may not be to blame. When was the last time you looked at your business governance framework, and evaluated how innovation friendly it is? Your employees can’t become more innovative if they don’t have the resources or the authority to implement more innovative practices. Rather than looking outside your business for more innovative employees, you may want to think about redeveloping your policies and business processes to encourage, measure and reward more innovative thinking among your existing staff members.

There are three angles your business can focus on to successfully become more innovative. These are people, processes and technology. Providing your employees with the training, management and guidelines to help them be more innovative, and to challenge common assumptions, and implementing the right processes, can help them be more engaged. Your business processes can help them use their skills in the right direction, rather than wasting time and money on unproductive areas of the business. The right management frameworks give them the means to implement their ideas, and measure the results.

If you are interested in making your business more innovative, a good first step is to measure the current innovation capacity of your business. Do your employees have the authority and accountability to innovate? Do they have enough support from management and enough resources to do a good job? What about your processes? Finding out whether your innovation weak points are, is the first step to addressing these weaknesses and improving the future performance of your business.

It is not enough for you and your management to understand the importance of innovation, to be truly successful, your business needs to innovate on every level. This means that your employees need to be encouraged to think more innovatively, and be rewarded for their ideas. Simply telling them to innovate without providing them with the tools and resources to support their efforts is not likely to produce a long-lasting, sustainable result.

With the business world changing as rapidly as it is, if you aren’t innovating, there is a strong likelihood your business will be left behind.

There are times when employees, to their detriment, respond to an overbearing boss with aggression or passive aggression.

Passive-aggressive workers tend to express negative feelings indirectly – for instance, by putting minimal effort into assigned tasks, showing up late for work, and taking up more sick days.

Aggressive workers, on the other hand, respond to difficult circumstances by communicating in a rude, stubborn or hostile manner, often believing it’s the only way to be heard.

But both approaches are ineffective in that they only increase tension in the office, create unnecessary enemies, and overall, worsen an ambiguous situation.

Whereas those who practice assertive communication, end up negotiating their way through a difficult situation and ultimately get what they want.

It is important to understand that being assertive does not equate to being passive. Rather, it allows people to stand up for themselves in a respectable manner, and be heard. When done properly, their views generate positive results.

Some of the benefits of being assertive include:

• Open and honest communication in the workplace
• Healthier work environment
• Effective negotiation where all parties get what they want
• Greater respect and recognition
• Self-confidence

Now that we know why we should be assertive, here are 5 tips on how to be assertive:

1. Learn to control your emotions and not take things personally

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by frustration, anger and disappointment, excuse yourself from the office and let yourself calm down before returning. Lack of emotional control is seen as a sign of weakness and can have serious negative consequences, including being sacked. While you’re calming down, think carefully about how you can express your view in a respectful manner.

2. Pick the right battles

Hold your tongue unless you are absolutely sure it is an issue worth pursuing. For instance, if your boss is having a bad day and is being short-tempered, don’t bother reacting at all. The situation will pass. Only if there is a serious issue where you feel you are being taken advantage of, or you have a serious disagreement with a decision that has been made, should you address it.

3. Use positive body language

There’s no point in trying to be assertive if your body language communicates otherwise. Slumping your shoulders and lack of eye contact looks like you don’t care about what anyone else has to say. Sticking out your chest and putting your hands on your hips looks like you’re trying communicate your superiority. Your facial expressions also say a lot about what you really think, so relax your face and try to be positive or neutral.

4. Don’t gossip – be direct and honest about an issue

Complaining about an issue behind a person’s back will not change the problem. Remember the game Chinese Whispers? There is a good chance people will spread the information around and it will reach the ear of the boss, and it will sound quite different to what you originally said.

So rather than gossiping about an issue, address it directly with the boss or colleague in question. Prepare your argument and express it as clearly as possible with an even toned voice.

5. Set clear boundaries

Setting clear boundaries will impact the way the boss or your colleagues behave around you. Find opportunities to make sure people know what you like and dislike, so they can abide by your expectations. If you feel you have been clear, but boundaries are still crossed, it’s time to be direct and assertive about the problem.

Your company culture – its philosophy, values, behavior, dress codes, and unique style and policies as a company – governs how each person works, makes decisions, and behaves within your office on a daily basis. This culture can be either a benefit to your business or a detriment to its success.

Does your company culture,  and the ways that your current employees express that culture, function as an obstacle to your workplace’s productivity?

Defining Your Culture

Your office culture is defined, in part, by your company’s mission, goals, and values – the type of work you do, how you do it, how the organisation is structured, etc.

What do you do best? What is your mission? What kind of people are you recruiting to join your company? Why do they want to work for you?

Once you have determined what you want your office culture to look like, compare that image to the reality. Take an honest assessment of your culture by way of interviews, anonymous surveys, and research. Are your employees living and working according to your company’s mission and goals?

Effects of Poor Office Culture

Nearly 29 percent of company time is unproductive – the equivalent of 33.5 days per worker per year. The estimated cost of this lack of productivity tops out at nearly $600 billion per year in the US (Proudfood Consulting). Symptoms of an unproductive workplace culture can include high turnover rates, low employee satisfaction, and lower-than-expected revenues.

A bad culture in your business decreases productivity by making it acceptable for employees to work at less-than-optimal levels.

Poor quality of work, slow work speeds, and missed deadlines are reflective of a culture that does not emphasise accountability, transparency, and comprehensive managerial oversight.

Short-term effects of poor office culture can include:

• Poor daily sales performance
• Unmet deadlines
• Distraction of coworkers
• Stress for coworkers and team members

Long-term effects include:

• Poor long-term sales performance
• Failure of group projects
• Inter-office conflict
• Overall employee dissatisfaction
• Loss of good employees to your competitors

Changing Your Culture

Although all of your employees participate in and act out your company culture, that culture is created through the decisions of managers – who they hire, how they manage employees, and how closely their actions coincide with the goals of the company.

Some of the barriers to productivity in a company can include inefficient management planning of work and organisation structure, as well as poor leadership.

Hence, the way to change a company culture that harms productivity starts with management:

• Your management structure should be strong enough to effectively monitor and engage all of your employees – from assigning them work and monitoring progress to tracking their time and attendance.
• There should be clear guidelines for what is and is not considered acceptable behaviour within your company.
• You should also have a process in place for recognising employees who are productive and identifying employees who are not. Essentially, there should be rewards and recognition for good work as well as clear, actionable consequences for unproductive work.

Management must follow through with the guidelines and rules you have put in place to improve your work culture.

The biggest detriment to a company’s environment is when the culture set down on paper paper does not coincide with the real life culture of the office.

It is up to management to emphasise the importance of high-quality work within your office. Replacing managers who are incapable of monitoring and communicating with their subordinates may be necessary to effectively change your culture to one that values productivity.

We’re a nation dependent on coffee. We love the taste, the aroma, and the alertness that it provides us. We rush to work looking forward to that heavenly moccha or cappuccino that will make the long, hellish working day ahead more bearable.

But new research conducted on behalf of Aussie-owned organic Fairtrade coffee brand, República, revealed that coffee breaks are costing businesses over $11.4billion every year, with 65 percent of office workers spending 10 minutes per day taking a coffee break in the office, and the average trip to the local coffee shop taking 14.12 minutes.

“Australians are obsessed with coffee and won’t compromise on the taste. The trip to the coffee shop is a daily ritual and more than one third of business meetings are now held over a coffee in a café at least once a week,” said Jacqueline Arias, CEO of República.

While $11.4billion may seem excessive, Australian psychologist and founder of The Positivity Institute, Dr. Suzy Green, says the benefits outweigh the price – as coffee increases productivity and efficiency in the office.

She also advises employers to provide top quality coffee in the office to save the time it takes to walk to the local coffee shop, and still provide a catalyst for an enjoyable social exchange.

Most office employees (86 percent) say they firmly believe drinking coffee makes them more productive, and almost half (47 percent) say coffee boosts their energy levels, helping them concentrate better on their tasks. A further 43 percent say they can’t start their working day without a coffee boost.

In light of these results, Dr. Green believes the daily coffee break is a positive ritual that contributes to the mental well-being of employees, and therefore, should be mandatory in the workplace.

“The workplace should embrace the positive effects of coffee breaks. The physical benefits include giving the mind a rest and having time to refuel. Many creative ideas and solutions to problems also come in down-time,” he said.

“Australians work on average 40 hours a week so it’s important for companies to invest in creating a positive work environment which includes encouraging coffee breaks.”

República’s full coffee range is available to purchase online and in major supermarkets, Coles and Woolworths.

Arming yourself with knowledge and a fair approach will ensure smooth redundancy management.

1. Ensure genuine redundancy

A redundancy must be a genuine redundancy. That is, termination of employment must occur for the reason that an employee is no longer required for work because the position or job is no longer required to be performed by anyone.

If your reasons for redundancy termination are not ‘genuine’ in this sense, you leave yourself open to unfair dismissal claims.

2. Comply with terms of any standing agreement.

When selecting employees for retrenchment or termination, and in dealing with the termination, make sure you check the provisions of any applicable Award or Enterprise Agreement for specific requirements that might apply to selection for retrenchment, and consultation regarding retrenchment. Make sure you abide by the terms of any relevant agreement.

3. Fair and ethical practice: Consultation is key.

Even if there is no Award that expressly requires consultation with employees affected by redundancies in a particular form, best practice is to consult and adopt procedurally fair processes. Redundancies can have detrimental effects on productivity and morale. Engaging in a fair consultation process will assist to minimise disruption and disputes.

The standard Modern Award consultation clause requires employers to:

1. Notify employees and their union when they have made a definite decision to introduce major changes in the workplace that are likely to have significant effects on employees (and provide them with all relevant information, except any confidential information, in writing)

2. Discuss with the employees and their unions as early as practicable after a definitive decision has been made to introduce the changes, the likely effects of the changes on the employees as well as any measures to revert or mitigate these effect.

3. Give prompt consideration to the matters raised by the employees and/or their unions in relation to the changes.

Under Section 389(1)(b) of the Fair Work Act, a dismissal will only be regarded as a ‘genuine redundancy’ and so exempted from unfair dismissal protection if the employer had complied with any obligations set out in an applicable industrial instrument to consult about the redundancy.

4. Employee entitlements: Redundancy pay and notice period

Employees who are retrenched as a result of redundancy are entitled to redundancy pay under the National Employment Standards if:

1. The employer is not a small business (a business with less than 15 employees is considered a small business for the purposes of the Fair Work Act); and

2. The employee has served a period of continuous service of not less than 1 year.

In addition to redundancy pay, employees who are to be terminated by reason of redundancy must be given the period of notice required by the contract of employment or if no period is specified, by the National Employment Standards. An employer can make payment in lieu of giving notice.

5. Employee entitlements: Termination.

Employees whose employment is terminated are entitled to receive payment for all work done up to termination, accrued but untaken annual leave and annual leave loading.

Having worked in both open plan and closed office situations, I have mixed views about what is and isn’t right for a small business.  Having just moved the Next Marketing team into a very open plan office, it’s a decision that I thought about a lot and wasn’t taken lightly.

Open plan offices were originally designed to help improve team cohesion, allow for easy communication between staff members, and increase camaraderie, however studies from the Queensland University of Technology indicate that open plan offices can potentially cause additional stress, due to lack of privacy and increased distractions, and contribute to increased tension and conflict from lack of personal space between employees.

The general design of open plan offices means that employees may feel a reduced sense of privacy and may be uncomfortable knowing that everyone can see what is on their computer screen, and the fact that their conversations are audible to everyone in the surrounding area.

On the flip side, open plan offices are created to allow the easy flow of ideas between team members and in my opinion, the idea of open plan offices makes a lot of sense for occupations such as marketing, which depend on the quick exchange of information.

An open plan office can facilitate communication within the team, and also between other departments, particularly sales, which they may work closely with. From a marketing perspective, to be effective, your company’s brand identity needs to be maintained by all staff, and being directly exposed to marketing-based conversations may be helpful in keeping other staff members aware of the overall message.

I have also noticed that alcoves, or even booths, are being constructed in open plan spaces to provide for quiet conversation and to give employees somewhere to go when they need privacy on the phone, or with someone else.  Also, paying attention to acoustics means that noise levels can be reduced and unnecessary distractions minimised.

If your business has an open plan workspace, you may not be able to completely restructure the physical layout of your office, but is there anything you can do to help improve interpersonal communication your between your employees? Consider creating some private office-type spaces, or providing a lunchroom or other common area with tables, seating and perhaps a coffee or vending machine. Providing staff members a place to interact and relax can help reduce stress levels, improve communication between team members, and increase employee productivity.

The new Next Marketing space is an experiment and over time will no doubt need to be modified to suit our changing needs.

What workspace works best for your business?  Open plan or closed offices?

MySuper

The new MySuper product is a single standardised default super product that can be offered by different superannuation funds. It is designed to modernise and streamline the superannuation process, and make it easier for employees who don’t nominate a specific super fund to their employer.

There are a number of standards that funds, offering a MySuper product will have to abide by. These include a ban on hidden fees, standardised reporting policies, and removal of commissions in relation to group insurance, as well as a number of additional changes and features.

Under the new legislation, employees who don’t nominate a superannuation fund will have to have their superannuation contributions automatically paid into a MySuper product and therefore it is the employers responsibility to ensure the businesses default fund is part of MySuper. Employees will still have the same options to nominate alternative superannuation funds, including self-managed super if they wish.

Director’s responsibilities

As part of the new legislation, company directors are to be held more accountable for any lack of compliance on the part of their business, especially in making payments to superannuation funds. Where previously there were limitations on the responsibility of directors in certain circumstances, these have now been addressed and accountability has been increased.

As the director of a company, you are personally responsible for any non-compliance with the new superannuation legislation. This means that you can personally face fines if your business does not follow the new superannuation rules. The amount you will need to pay if you have failed to make sufficient contributions will be the same as the amount of the outstanding contribution.

The fines for non-compliance with procedural and documentary legislation are $510 per contravention for an individual, and $2,550 per contravention for a body corporate. If your business or company pays the fine on your behalf, you will no longer be considered liable. Your personal liability is also removed if your company appoints an administrator or begins liquidation proceedings before being issued with a penalty notice, or within 21 days of its issue.

The planned superannuation changes are going to affect all businesses that have employees.

Make sure you are prepared and know what your business needs to do to comply with the new legislation, and that your employees are informed of how the changes will affect them, particularly in regards to remuneration and pay increases.

Planning now means that you have a greater chance of a smooth transition when the changes come into effect in July 2013, and reduces the likelihood of your business being disadvantaged financially as a result of the changes.

It is commonly thought that the key to generating raving fans is to give them an amazing customer experience.

There are two challenges here:

1. What constitutes a great customer experience; and

2. How do we give our staff some clear guidelines to follow rather than the vague message of “be nice to them”

Lucky this challenge has been made much easier by some research that uncovers how people judge an experience. Psychologist Daniel Kahneman is the founder of Peak End Theory. This theory proves that when people reflect on an experience they remember the peak moments (either good or bad) and how it ended.

What they do not do is look at the experience as a whole and average it out. We don’t measure pleasure or pain by how long it lasts, rather by the most intense feeling experienced and the impression left by the final moments. Your decision to go through an experience again or buy a product associated with it is controlled by whether there were any peak moments and how it ended.

This theory has been applied to all types of experiences. Sitting through a lecture, being sold to, watching a movie, and even going through a medical procedure. What we are looking for is peak moments of pleasure or pain and how the experience ended.

University lecturers got a far higher rating if they inserted one or two fun interactive moments for their students over the semester. Whether someone agreed to return for an uncomfortable medical procedure was also controlled by this theory.

The duration of the procedure did not feature in their decision. People who had a long drawn out procedure were more willing to return than people who had a short procedure peppered by painful moments and an uncomfortable end.

In business we often get this wrong. Our primary focus is on the first impression, how they are greeted. In contrast we need to focus on giving people a couple of wow moments and a knock out ending.

Hotels only focus on the first impression. Your bags magically appear in your room, the TV has your name on it and chocolates are waiting for you to devour them. But on check out you have to schlepp your own bags, line up with the hordes of other people, correct the bill and find your own taxi. Imagine if they made the exit as amazing as the entry.

I recently bought a car and when I picked it up I was told the car was being “detailed”. Three hours later the car turned up. The guy got out left it running and said, “Here you go.” They were much nicer to me before I signed the dotted line.

What that car yard failed to realise was that the peak moment for me was the pick up. In contrast their peak moment is when they get my money. But for me that sucks. They don’t care about the delivery of the car, but I do. If they want to create a raving fan they need to make the delivery process exceptional.

BMW have this nailed when you take delivery of a car from them, they take you into a beautiful room and unveil the car for you. To top it off they call you a week later to see how it is going.

How to use it to have more satisfied employees

It works with our employees too.

The University of Brunel showed that employees judge how satisfied they are at work by peak moments, good and bad and the most recent interaction. They do not average out the good or bad experiences over the entire time of employment. The study showed that peak moments of satisfaction were twice as powerful as any other variable in the persons decision to stay at their job.

In every interaction you have start to explore how Peak End Theory can get you a better outcome.

Ensure that you peak well and end well.

However, do you know exactly what they are, and how they will affect your business?

Some changes were implemented last year, and there are further changes that will take effect from 1 July this year. In this three-part series, I will provide an overview of what the changes are and help you understand what it means for you and your employees.

Increase in compulsory super contributions

As an employer, you are required to make minimum superannuation contributions on behalf of your employees. The amount you contribute is calculated as a percentage of your employee’s salary and is currently set to a minimum of 9%, which is paid into a nominated superannuation fund.

The main change to super arrangements is that compulsory employer contributions will rise from 9% to 12% incrementally over the next seven years. As an employer, this means that you need to start planning now.

What does this mean for your business?

Employers are going to be faced with increased superannuation costs, which they will either have to pay on top of normal salaries or mitigate via reduced remuneration and the restructuring of an employee’s overall package.

Although you might be tempted to reduce your employees’ remuneration to make up for the extra superannuation contributions, please be aware that this may not be as simple as it sounds.  A change in package might breach the employment contract and your employees will need to agree to any changes or new clauses, before you can legally implement them. If they don’t agree, you may need to pay the extra amount.

Another thing to be aware of is that reducing your employees’ remuneration might lead to them dropping below their minimum award entitlements which is a breach of the Fair Work Act.

One way that you might approach these changes, and keep your costs under control, is by keeping the increase in mind when conducting annual pay reviews. Additional superannuation costs can be factored in there rather than by reducing overall employee remuneration.

Planning for the superannuation changes now, rather than later, means that you can avoid any unexpected surprises, and help prevent your business struggling as a result of the new legislation.

While the biggest change to superannuation is the increase to compulsory contributions, there are other changes that include alterations to how contributions are recorded on pay slips and group certificates, the removal of the upper age limit, and new compliance responsibilities for company directors which are also important to be aware of.

We’ll explore these other changes in more depth as part of our three-part series on super.

Should you get into a problem with an employee or if your attention is diverted from the operations of the business itself, this can be very costly in both time and money.

It is surely more cost effective to put some time into HR planning and processes than it is to make a mistake and have a fallout with an employee or union, or suffer punitive measures from the authorities.

We have all seen examples of HR gone awry in stories on TV where arguments between employers, employees and unions have gone completely out of control.

Like so many problems, HR problems can to a large extent be avoided by following the correct procedures and planning.  There are numerous dates that must be met by employers to comply with the various bits of legislation that control the employment of staff.

Whilst the various rules for the deduction of tax payments and superannuation have been around for a number of years,  the growing area for consideration in HR is ensuring that an employer has the various documentation and simple processes in place that will protect their position in the event of a dispute.

Letters or memos to your staff advise them of what is expected of them in their employment.  In the event of any dispute with an employee, it is the letters that explain what the employer expects that are critical to the employer’s case.

Of course the trick for small business is to have enough documentation regarding your employees.  No small business needs to build up documentation that is surplus to their needs.

If you would like to learn more about HR Planning, come along to the upcoming workshop hosted by Abby Practice.  HR small business expert, Samantha Baker from The People Department and Sid Edwards of Abby Practice will cover off administrative, accounting and other HR matters that need to be appropriately maintained by a small business.

Seats are limited so reserve your place on 02 9476 0399 or click here to register online.  The workshop will be held on Tuesday 9 April from 12-2pm at Suite 702, 90 George St, Hornsby.

Regardless of who is providing the support to your team, there is a significant difference between a strategic HR and operational HR team.

The impact to your business can be very different.

A strategic HR function is measured like any other part of your business, increasing sales revenue, decreasing costs and ensuring you are legally compliant. A strategic HR team will still need to ensure the day-to-day HR activities are completed. However they have a broader and longer-term focus.

An operational HR team in contrast, focuses on the day-to-day activities (which are important, however they may have less of an impact on the successful growth of your business).

A good overall HR strategy will make a big difference to the success of your business. I often hear from business owners that there are times when they find HR more of a hindrance than help. Here are three reasons why:

1. When your HR is reactive rather than proactive

If your HR team are only there to respond to employee issues and crises, they are performing a very small part of their function. As well as responding to issues, as and when they arise, HR departments also need to ensure they are dedicating time to planning and strategy.

By having a proactive HR team, you are able to ensure your business has the right skills, people, structure and processes to maximise the potential of your business through your capable employees. You will also be able to ward off many employee issues before they arise with the correct HR practises in place.

Business owners may find HR a hindrance if the HR team is not ahead of or keeping up with strategic planning.

2. When your HR adds unnecessary red tape to your business

Commonly we see businesses whose HR area have created forms demonstrating how to complete a form that populates another form for an approval process. Then HR wonders why business managers dread getting HR involved in business decisions.

In good HR practices, there is no doubt a time and place for solid, compliance documentation and processes. However, HR need to be careful not to make systems overly complicated or time consuming for managers and staff. HR should be focusing (like all other parts of the business) on how to ensure their processes and systems are using effective and efficient systems, and provide the tools to make people’s jobs easier, not harder.

HR should also ensure that every activity they undertake has a commercial focus and makes a positive (or achieves the most favourable) outcome for the business.

3. When HR activities are costing your business a fortune with no regard to Return on Investment (ROI)

Good HR practices require adequate investment (time and dollars) to get results like any other part of your business. There are times when HR practices are introduced into businesses with little consideration to the commercial need or ROI.

There are so many amazing people initiatives that companies can introduce to their business to increase productivity, engagement and morale. However, some HR functions and individuals can get carried away introducing initiatives because “they look great” even though they make no or little impact to the output or engagement within the business.

It is really important that HR is held accountable for what they introduce into a business and that they are adding value, not introducing cost and process for little return.

Make sure your HR department, person or consultancy is working to enhance your business and make life easier for you and your employees. Good HR can provide your staff with the tools and support to reach their full potential.

Poorly managed or careless HR can leave them stifled and frustrated. They can even drive your best employees away. HR should at all times have the same vision and focus as that of the overall business strategy.

We’ve all been overwhelmed by stress and negativity in the workplace – with reasons ranging from heavy workloads, extensive work hours, bad management, budget cuts and office politics.

But what you may not know is that the lack of plants in our work environment can also have a significant impact on our mood and productivity.

Inspired by a study conducted  in the UK, Dr. Fraser Torpy from the University of Technology Sydney conducted his own research which revealed that indoor plants can reduce stress and negativity by up to 60 percent and improve productivity by up to 30 percent.

According to Australian interior plantscaping specialist, Ambius, we all have an innate desire to be connected with nature – a condition called ‘biophilia’. But with many of us working long hours in closed environments, surrounded by synthetic materials found in furniture and computing technologies, we lose that connection and this can negatively impact our health.

As Dr. Torpy explained, “Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) emitted from synthetic materials in office furniture, fittings and computers can cause headaches, loss of concentration and eye, nose and throat problems. Carbon dioxide (CO2) has also been linked to drowsiness.”

“Our research proves that plants can reduce potentially harmful VOCs by 80 percent and CO2 by up to 25 percent, so the health benefits are significant.”

Ambius encourages employers to adopt biophilic design and incorporate plants into the workplace to promote greater productivity, calmness and efficiency.

During March and April, the Ambius team will give away more than 10,000 plants to office workers throughout Australia and challenge them to assess how connected they are to nature in their workplaces. For more information, visit the Ambius website.

Give-aways are from 11am – 3pm at the following locations:

• 13-14 March, Brisbane, Queen Street Mall, Corner Queen & Albert Street, QLD 4000
• 20-21 March, Sydney, Wynyard Park, York Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
• 26 – 27 March, Sydney, Chatswood Mall, Westfield Entrance, Victoria Street, Chatswood
• 3 -4 April, Sydney, Centre Court, Macquarie Centre, Waterloo Road, Macquarie Park

CEO of Boost Mobile, Paul O’Neile said users should expect greater coverage, speed and accessibility with the 3G Telstra network.

“Big news for customers purchasing Boost Mobile branded products is they’ll have access to the 3G Telstra Mobile Network, providing even better value for money and coverage of approximately 99.3 percent of the Australian population,” said O’Neile.

Small and medium business owners, especially those in the mobile sales sector will be able to control their mobile costs with Boost’s $40 monthly plan.

According to O’Neile, there is no risk of an employee running over their $40 monthly allowance and if employees choose to use their work phone for overseas calls or premium services, they can simply purchase credit themselves and top up.

Boost Mobile launched in 2000 and was powered by the Optus Network until January 2013. They provide a range of UNLTD contractless pre-paid offers, products and services, which can be purchased online or at JB Hi-Fi, Big W & FONEZONE.

In the coming days, they will appear in Woolworths Supermarkets, Officeworks, The Good Guys, Harvey Norman, Betta Electrical®, NewsLink and a majority of petrol stations.

For further information click here.

The treatment of interns has become a hot topic in the media. While many interns come out of their internships having established career contacts, and having learned a range of vital skills and strategies that will benefit them in the future, not all interns end up with something to boast about on their resumes.

There are cases where interns felt the overall experience was unpleasant, having spent most their time slaving away at menial tasks such as folding tax invoices and tucking them into envelopes.

They’ve come out of internships feeling under-appreciated, and perhaps even a little empty, having gained very little from it.

So, if you’re thinking of taking on an intern, here are some useful points:

1. View the internship process as an important and intrinsic part of your practice and of the profession.

Internships should be a process that is mutually beneficial for staff members and for the intern. For the intern, the process should serve as a valuable steppingstone that helps them land future jobs.

But this does not mean that interns are the only ones to gain from working at a company. They play an integral role within a company, sharing many of the responsibilities that other staff members have, and contributing to the overall function of it.

While interns may lack industry experience, they are usually receiving the latest education in their field, so rather than dismissing them, be open to what they have to say and contribute.

Another useful thing to remember is that the intern is essentially the outsider-looking-in. This means that they are able to see the company and its operations from a fresh angle and as such, may be able to bring valuable insight on how to improve it.

2. Try to integrate your interns into all aspects of your practice.

Assigning them a diverse range of tasks helps the intern gain skills in multiple areas; and this way they can also contribute to many of the operations a company undertakes.

3. Respect interns as people and productive members of your staff.

They may be at the bottom of a company’s professional food chain, but there’s no need to look down on them and treat them as inferior. They deserve respect just like anyone else.

4. Don’t make interns do work that is not directly related to the professional experience they signed up for.

Remember interns are not there to run your personal errands. Many interns often end up with non-educational menial work such as coffee rounds, cleaning and tidying, folding letters, photocopying and even heavy lifting. So don’t exploit them! Get them working on projects that need more focus, energy and enthusiasm.

5. Make yourself open to communication and provide your interns with guidance.

It’s important that you supervise your interns in an educational capacity, but that doesn’t mean you need to watch them like a hawk. An internship is a learning process, and it’s difficult to learn without any guidance. It may take you away from your usual tasks, but you need dedicate some time to listening to your interns when they are struggling with a task and teaching them on how best to do it.

6. Interns should not be used for free labour. They are not there to displace regular workers.

Whether they are willing to admit it or not, many companies are using interns for free labour. Pretty sneaky isn’t it? Students often need to do internships as part of their course requirement, and companies need workers. It’s cost-effective for a company to take on interns as opposed to paid workers. So if that’s what you’re up to, please follow tips one to five.

BonusTree is a community platform where members are provided with fixed perks starting from a fee of $149 per year. There is currently close to 100 benefits available to redeem and they include a large collection of business services such as Eventbrite, 99designs, Optimizely and Zirtual.

Luke Ryan, co-founder of BonusTree said he formed this concept in 2012 after he realised small businesses were unable to offer their employees with the same benefits afforded to employees in large corporations. This is due to the high costs for benefit packages in the market, which effectively rules out the opportunity for small businesses to participate. He found one well-established program charges a minimum of $15,000 per annum. Ryan said “affordability for small businesses and bootstrapping entrepreneurs is a core value of BonusTree.”

“With the amount of independent workers such as freelancers, consultants and entrepreneurs predicted to become a majority of employees by 2020 we are building BonusTree to serve this growing community by providing them with the incentives to discover exclusive offers from business and lifestyle brands that will benefit both business owners and their employees,” he continued.

Ryan spent the past four months forming partnerships with brand partners and building out the platform. He also plans later in the year to expand by connecting Australian micro, small business communities in BonusTree’s networking events to share knowledge and provide mentoring opportunities.

After signing up, users can simply browse through a vertical list of benefits and with just a click, you can claim offers or use a code to activate an offer.

For more information visit the site.

Bad communication in the workplace seems to be an epidemic but what most leaders may not know is that by understanding the different communication styles of individuals this outbreak of bad communication can be eradicated.

With this in mind, we’ve listed five bad communicators that you will find in every office. By understanding these repeat offenders, it will assist you in working towards a more collaborative and transparent workplace.

The Dominator

This offender often comes across as very direct and someone who says exactly what they think. They are very good at asserting their own opinions and have a habit of speaking over other people.  The Dominator is typically results-oriented and has a very clear idea of what the outcome should be and how to achieve it.

When communicating with a Dominator it is best to keep it simple, be direct and get straight to the point. Remove emotions from your communication and don’t take the Dominators approach personally.

The Storyteller

This bunch needs you to feel, believe and engage with their story and will explain things in such a way to draw in their audience without placing a lot of importance on the facts. This type of communication can lead to confusion and misunderstandings, not to mention frustration about the time the Storyteller takes to communicate information.

When communicating with a Storyteller try to schedule additional time for the conversation. Show emotion (excitement, empathy etc.) and allow them to do the same. Ensure that at the end of the conversation the outcomes or requirements are clearly defined and understood by all parties. This may require some direct and specific questioning from you.

The Withholder

Communication from the Withholder will typically lack important details and information which can leave others unsure of specific outcomes or requirements. When others ask further questions or request information the Withholder tends to get frustrated and defensive as they find it hard to understand why others need in-depth information.

Working with a Withholder can be seen as inefficient as there is often a need for rework because not all information is provided in the first instance.

If you are engaged with a Withholder, ask questions but ensure they are targeted and specific. Explain why you require further clarification or information and make sure both parties are clear of what the expected outcome or process is.

The Dilly-Dallier

This style leaves communication to the last minute but expects their late requests be actioned in a flash. They can sometimes appear flustered and rushed and can often leave out details because there isn’t enough time to be specific. Dilly-Dalliers aren’t concerned with the process they just need something done.

They can’t always see why other people get frustrated with being thrown in at the last minute because they themselves wouldn’t bat an eyelash in the same situation.

Confirm deadlines with Dilly-Dalliers and don’t be afraid to check in to see what progress has been made. Help eliminate fearful thinking and avoidant behaviours in order to shift their focus to achieving a required outcome through reiterating the need for process.

The Antagonist

This type is often very defensive and aggressive in communication. The Antagonist will snap quickly at others when questioned and will quite often be very negative in their communication, offending others with their statements like “I have to redo this because you clearly didn’t understand what needed to be done” or “she never seems to get it right, why is she here”.

Antagonists have a need to elevate their status by putting others down.

When communicating with an Antagonist stay focused on the facts and the outcomes. The Antagonist will flourish in environments where others buy into their behaviour. It’s important to remind the Antagonist that we are all here to achieve the same goal – working against each other will only hinder that.

So next time you feel that you are dealing with one of these communicators in the workplace, try one of these strategies to get the most out of your conversation and become a business that thrives on great communication.

Small gestures and kind words can go a long way. Pay attention the next time you give a compliment. Watch the look on the person’s face when you genuinely show your appreciation and give thanks or praise. I’m not sure that the need for reinforcement changes as we get older, we are generally just expected to get accustomed to hearing less of it.

Most organisations will have some sort of performance reward system in place from generous bonuses, weeks away somewhere exotic and gift vouchers. If you are a businesses that can’t afford these expensive gestures, there are small thoughts that can have a similar effect. Here are a few inexpensive things you can do to show thanks to your employees:

Take your team out

Food is one of the best perks a company can give its employees. Sharing a meal is a great way to build a relationship and get to know your team on another level. If you are not lucky enough to have onsite catering (most start-up tech companies have been catering lunches, desserts and snacks since creation) a regular breakfast or lunch catch up might be in order.

Buy coffees for a regularly scheduled meeting, hold a surprise team lunch or take them out for a few drinks. Considering the substantial cost of an unengaged employee, this small gesture would end up benefiting the company in the long run.

Time off

People value their time, if someone has been working hard and pulling in some great results, give them an early mark. An extra hour away from the office at the end of a particularly long work week or project might be the difference between someone feeling appreciated, recognised and refreshed, rather than burnt out. Time off is the most cost effective and usually the most positively responded to perk.

Face time

Email and conference calls have made conducting business much easier, but less personal. Without regular face-to-face interaction/feedback, employees may feel removed from the corporate identity. Schedule in time to reconnect with your staff. They may not know how much you value their opinion and their work. Let them know by setting aside this time.

Group Recognition

As a general rule, people like public praise. Email the office highlighting a stand out performer or even better, mention it in the next meeting. We frequently talk about what has gone wrong – not the successes or small wins. Be conscious you are not highlighting the same top performers time and time again, don’t forget about the consistent performers!

Making your employees happy doesn’t have to cost a lot of money, people want to feel valued. By understanding little things can make a big difference, you’ll be giving your teams a gentle push they need to stay motivated – and when you have a happy and productive workforce, your company will reap the rewards.

Mayer potentially opened the floodgates for employers to revoke work-from-home privileges for employees by introducing an onsite work policy.

The decision may seem harsh given Yahoo’s digital nature, so we’re interested in seeing the arguments for and against working from home:

Pros

1. Flexibility

It is close to impossible for those living in remote areas to get to work on time and have the energy to work for the next eight hours, or be back in time for dinner with the family. You could be relaxing in your couch, watching the TV or baking a cake, but that time would instead be mostly spent on public transport or in your car.

2. Opportunities

If working from home was banned, parents of young children are left to choose between spending a lot of money leaving their children in day care or being a full time parent. Why choose between the two when you can be both a parent and work? Also for some businesses, the people with the required skills may not necessarily be found locally.

3. Financial savings

Employees can save considerably from travelling costs, business wear and buying lunches.

Cons

1. Colleagues

When working from home, it’s difficult to find time to meet up with your team for lunch or drinks after work. Some of the best decisions and ideas come from interactions with your colleagues. In a statement to their employees, Yahoo believed that insights “come from hallway and cafeteria discussion, meeting new people, and impromptu team meetings.”

2. Managing a balance between work and private life

The lines between work and private life are often blurred when working from home. With the technology today, people will be tempted to reply to a work email late at night. There is the flexibility in the hours you can work while at home, but without a proper guideline, people can also find themselves overworking.

3. Anonymous

This depends on the industry you work in. Some customers will feel comfortable when they can see the actual products in a store front at a convenient location. Working from home can pose issues of trust, safety and accessibility.

Let us know what you think about banning employees from working at home.

By all accounts the Australian economy pulled up reasonably well after the GFC. Regardless, it’s been a nervous time with cost-cutting across the board and job losses across most big companies. In many instances teams of people have been carved in half. And here’s the rub – remaining staff have picked up the workload!

This week consumer sentiment reached a two-year high and that’s great news. It should provide stimulus for businesses to start ‘doing business’ again. And when that happens, employees who have pretty much stayed put, will polish their CVs and head for the door.

Australia has lost a bit of culture post GFC – that’s business culture – as all eyes have been on the bottom line. But lose your culture today and you’ll lose your people tomorrow, and bosses who’ve not handled the tough times well will be most exposed to staff churn.

Managing culture in tough times is tricky. It takes time, effort and it’s terribly confronting to tell someone they’ve lost their job. From an employee’s perspective it’s upsetting to see a workmate laid off, particularly in a close-knit office, and the natural thought process is to wonder when the axe will fall in their direction.

Smoothing the way

There’s a few concepts that can smooth the way: respect, support, fairness and collective responsibility. More than words, it’s about action. If these concepts are well harnessed by a business then staff may be more inclined to stick around when opportunity knocks.

Take, for example, cutting back staff. If a boss doesn’t handle it well and with dignity, then that tells a powerful story to the remaining employees about how they may be treated in the future.

Offering support to the person let go – because invariably they will speak about their experience to others – is key. For example, short term job hunting support could be provided including paying for their CV to be professionally updated. Recommending them for other jobs or providing contacts for a new job will be well received.

Remaining staff also need support in the new structure and will require the right tools and training to fulfil any new responsibilities they’ve been shouldered with.

It’s also about being fair and valuing staff whether through recognition or reward, financial or in kind, like offering them more flexibility.

Consult with staff

Businesses that go through massive change in better shape have positioned the change as a collective responsibility. They also consult staff and communicate regularly.

Generally people are change averse, particularly if they don’t understand the reasons why.

So it’s about communicating the big picture, the reasons behind any changes, and any upcoming milestones the business is trying to meet.

Group meetings are great to explain the collective responsibility as are casual one-on-one meetings with individual staff where they have can ask questions and delve more deeply into what the changes mean for them.

The old adage ‘look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves’ is really applicable here. If you take the time to look after the day-to-day issues facing staff, and to work with them to find a collective solution, you’ll get a lot back in return.

They may even stick around with you through the better times too.