Take Two – A Firm Guiding Hand

Solicitor Brooke Reardon MIML can’t thank mentor Chris Blair FIML enough for helping her pluck up the courage to start her own business

 

Brooke Reardon MIML, principal practitioner at Your Law Firm Horsham, joined AIM’s mentor program to help steer her through a life-changing career move. She was teamed up with Chris Blair FIML, Enterprise Manager at legal documentation company Topdocs, and credits his guidance with helping her take a leap forward.

 

Why did you join AIM’s mentor program?

BROOKE REARDON: I was at a crossroads in my career. I was working as a solicitor at a law firm and decided to join the mentoring program because I felt like I needed guidance to help make some big decisions. Chris was instrumental in building my confidence to not only start my own business early this year but also to join the Your Law Firm franchise.

CHRIS BLAIR: I’ve been involved in mentoring one way or another for a long time. The first experience was at least 20 years ago when I was working for big global company and they introduced a mentoring program. I loved it. I always had mentors earlier in my career, not that they were probably called mentors in those days!

 

What did you get out of the experience?

BR:  Have you read the book Who Moved My Cheese? It’s an oldie but a goodie. I think Chris was a partner on the journey of looking for the new cheese for me! He helped me explore different options and put me in contact with people who could also help. He never made the choices for me but he helped me uncover different options that may or may not have been suitable for me.

CB: Brooke is a really smart lawyer and a really nice person. I’m a helper by nature and I like coaching and encouraging. Mentoring provides a total support system and it’s the kind of trusted relationship that I thrive on.

 

What did you learn from each other?

BR: Chris was very approachable, very considerate, very knowledgeable and very quickly understood my position and where I was seeking to go. I don’t think I would be where I am now without having Chris’ guidance along the way. He was woven into my career story from the minute he became my mentor, so when I tell people about my journey of how I became a practitioner, the AIM mentoring program and Chris himself are a key part of that story.

CB:  Brooke was really stuck in a difficult position. It was inspiring to see her make a decision for her career that will have life-long positive impacts. It’s not just, “Hey, I got this little promotion”. What Brooke did will change her life forever, and that’s really powerful.

 

Would you recommend the mentor program to others?

BR: Absolutely. Without a mentor, you can live a bit in a vacuum because you’ve got no one to bounce things off. It also increases your confidence when you’ve got someone else giving you feedback on your ideas. The whole experience was exceptionally valuable to me. It was life-changing.

CB:  Definitely. If somebody needs to have an external second opinion, coach, mentor, or whatever you want to call it, so long as they’re matched up well, it can provide a real helping hand. You may also gain a lifelong friend at the end of the day.

 

Millennials in the workplace

A quick Google search of ‘millennials in the workplace’ brings up results such as:

  • How to understand Millennials in the workplace;
  • What Do Millennials Really Want at Work?;
  • 11 tips For Managing Millennials

These results speak to a wider trend throughout the workforce – that many workplaces struggle to lead and retain millennial workers.

There is some debate over exactly what demographic millennials are, but generally the term is understood to mean anyone born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s. They are the first generation to come of age in the new millennium. This same demographic is also referred to as Generation Y.

Unsurprisingly, this generation is more technologically savvy than any of the preceding generations. Broadly speaking, they are more politically liberal than other generations, with a strong focus on social awareness and individual responsibility. And they have brought to the workforce skills that many organisations struggle to utilise and expectations that they fail to meet.

Millennials place a high value on work-life balance and often expect an employer to provide them with ongoing learning and development, career progression and mentoring and strong leadership. Only 2% of millennials view a career as a job for life, compared with 12% of other generations in the workforce. On average, Generation Y anticipate staying with an employer for roughly two to four years, while the average for the remainder of the workforce is over six years.

In turn they are accused by older generations of being entitled, narcissistic and unfocused, sometimes referred to as “Generation Me”.

Leadership expert, author and speaker, Simon Sinek, received a lot of attention for an interview he did in 2016 addressing millennials in the workplace. Sinek spoke about how he is regularly asked why millennials are un-leadable and why so many organisations struggle to meet their needs and hold on to them. Sinek outlined four main reasons why he thinks this is happening.

The first is the style of parenting many millennials were raised in. Sinek argues many of that generation were raised with the attitude “you are special and you can have whatever you want just because you want it”. Their self-esteem was massaged through “participation awards”, which ultimately devalued the effort more worthy award-winners and only made the kids who do poorly feel embarrassed.

Sinek suggests that this inflated sense of self-worth is shattered upon entering the workforce which then fosters low self-confidence and self-doubt.

Sinek’s second explanation is millennial’s unique relationship with technology. For many millennials their use of social media and mobile phones is a source of dopamine, a naturally-occurring neurotransmitter that helps control the brain’s reward and pleasure centers. Dopamine elevation is typically associated with alcohol and drug addiction. The pleasure sensation that the brain gets when dopamine levels are elevated creates the motivation for us to proactively perform actions that can recreate the sensation. Over time, by artificially raising the amount of dopamine the brain perceives is “normal,” the drugs – or social media – create a need that only they can meet. Sinek proposes that because many millennials have no restrictions set on social media use they are learning to seek validation and support from devices, not people. This can lead them to feel very isolated in the workplace, unable to form the type of relationships with their peers that would otherwise help support them.

Sinek’s third explanation is impatience. Millennials have grown up in a world of instant gratification. They’ve never had to learn to wait. They then apply this desire for instant gratification to jobs and relationships.

And then millennials’ relationships with self-esteem, social media and instant gratification are all put into play with Sinek’s fourth reason – the corporate environment. Millennials, without the skills to cope with stress and form connections, and in constant search for immediate results, are placed in corporate environments where their well-being is valued less than profit-making.

He argues it is the responsibility of the current leaders to help millennials by changing the corporate environment. “They blame themselves… but it’s not them. It’s the total lack of good leadership in our world today that is making them feel the way they do.”

Below are some methods for shifting your workplace environment to best welcome millennials, and make the most of their unique skills.

Enable training and career development

Highly-educated millennials have the opportunity to make their jobs a source of personal pride and fulfilment – they are more inclined to view their job as a method of “making an impact” on the world and providing meaning, rather than merely a means to make money. They want to grow, and react poorly to any sense of staticity or stagnancy. Rather than managers and leaders seeing this as a burden, it can be approached as an indication of millennials’ commitment to – and genuine investment – in the role.

Develop a welcoming workplace culture

Snide and petty comments about millennials’ perceived laziness and lack of focus does not create an environment millennials will particularly enjoy. Remember that every generation has had gripes about the generation that comes after it. Instead, take advantage of the millennials’ comfort and ease with working in teams. Make the most of their tech-savviness and ability multi-task. Millennials potential short-comings are usually paired with a skill other generations don’t have – don’t miss out what these skills can offer you workplace.

Adapt your management style

Much is made of millennials’ delicate egos and over-dependence on praise. But it is worth recognising the value of regular recognition of good work – for all your staff members, not just millennials. Rather than dismiss millennials’ needs as childish and unsupportable in the corporate world, look to what aspects of their upbringing and experience could have value. Don’t resist change simply on the grounds that it is unknown – instead make use of what’s now available to you.

Finally, it is important to note that any broad generalisations about an entire generation of people are inevitably going to paint only the broadest brush strokes, and for many these characterisations of millennials will be far from the truth. Indeed this portrait has been regularly criticised for only really encapsulating the traits of largely white, affluent millennials in the Western world. It’s therefore crucial that this commentary be taken with a grain of salt.

Creating the right culture for your workplace

All workplaces have a culture – sometimes more than one – that colours employees’ interactions and behaviour, as well as what is considered appropriate or acceptable conduct. The abstract, nebulous nature of culture often means organisations write it off as outside of their control. Nonetheless, the right culture is a crucial to a business’s success.

Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb, when asked about the importance of workplace culture in business replied:

“The stronger the culture, the less corporate process a company needs. When the culture is strong, you can trust everyone to do the right thing. People can be independent and autonomous. They can be entrepreneurial…Ever notice how families or tribes don’t require much process? That is because there is such a strong trust and culture that it supersedes any process. In organisations (or even in a society) where culture is weak, you need an abundance of heavy, precise rules and processes.”

A workplace’s culture is the product of each individual, their communication with one another, and the organisation and environment in which they work. No two cultures will be exactly the same, and what is a desirable culture for one workplace may not work for another. Below are some ideas for developing the culture you want for your workplace, whatever that may be.

Hire the right people

At the heart of a workplace’s culture are its people, which means creating the right culture for your workplace must inform your hiring practices. There will be many talented people with the education, experience and skills to match a role, but that won’t make them a good fit for the culture of the broader organisation. During the hiring process be explicit: ask prospective employees to describe the type of culture they have come from and what type of workplace culture they are hoping to move into. Include questions about their broader motivations, passions and values. This will enable you to make hiring choices that will actively contribute to the culture you want to create.

Create the right space

The physical environment that your employees work in will also inform the culture that develops. Substantial structural decisions such as whether the office is open plan and which departments are close to each other play a part, as do smaller decisions such as decor and seating arrangements. Also relevant to the environment’s impact on a workplace’s culture is how the space is used day-to-day: meeting locations and where lunch is eaten for example can all play a part in determining a workplace culture.

Have a clear vision

An organisation’s vision is the foundation of its culture. Although vision is determined at the top of an organisation, it lays the groundwork for determining the type of culture that will develop within the workplace. It will play a role in who applies for jobs within your organisation, who stays for the long-term, and how each employee will understand their role. So make sure that vision is clear, precise and accessible. Ensure every employee knows it, and lets it inform every action they take at work.

Measure it

Culture may seem an impossible concept to measure or quantify, and there will certainly be limits on how it can be presented in a spreadsheet. But with the right metrics and feedback loops, even something as intangible as culture can be measured. Having established the culture you want to facilitate, identify how this might manifest amongst the individual employees. Create surveys that directly address workplace culture and regularly collate the results. Even if you can’t put it into a graph, you will have some empirical data on the type of culture within your workplace.

Recognition and Reward

If you can measure it, you can reward it. Often workplaces will have a mismatch between what is desired behaviour and what is actually rewarded. Make sure you are providing clear and consistent indicators of the type of culture you want to foster and then reward those who follow suit by recognising and celebrating behaviour that creates the desired culture. Furthermore, ensure that instances where behaviour and interactions undermine a positive workplace culture are dealt with promptly.

Lastly, remember that a positive workplace culture needs to be reinforced from the top. As always, leadership is crucial in establishing the type of workplace that you want, so set the example who want to see mirrored by your employees. And never underestimate the value of a strong and positive workplace culture. As Chesky says, “If you break the culture, you break the machine that creates your products.”

 

 

Encouraging diversity in your workplace

Many organisations now recognise that a diverse workplace is not only something to aim for on equity grounds, it is also strength that enriches and expands the skill sets and understanding of an organisation. A workplace that values diversity can increase employee job satisfaction, in turn reducing staff turnover, as well as harness perspectives and insights it might not otherwise consider – a crucial step to understanding different customers and markets. At a time when Australia is facing a skills shortage and an ageing population, workplace diversity is more important than ever.

However, actually ensuring people of diverse backgrounds are hired in your organisation and are then made to feel welcome is something that many workplaces struggle with. Here are five steps you can take to encourage workplace diversity.

 

  1. Ensure your HR team recognises the importance of diversity

    There is no point espousing the importance of a diverse workplace if the people responsible for hiring are not on board. An HR team needs to do more than pay lip service to the value of diversity – it needs to truly appreciate that a homogenous workplace is one that is missing out on crucial perspectives and skills. Ensure your HR team has done rigorous diversity training, and, critically, ensure your HR team itself is diverse.

  2. Invest in diversity training

    There will be limitations to what an organisation can learn through in-house measures. Organise for an external body to run diversity training for your workplace and ensure that all employees attend – even (maybe, especially) senior staff. Get feedback on what the workplace thought of the training – have debriefs with staff members who may have specific concerns or questions. These will not be trainings that you can organise as a one-off occasion. They will need to be ongoing, firstly to cater to new employees and secondly because diversity is not a static or fixed issue – it is constantly changing and being re-assessed as Australia’s wider diversity changes. What’s more, if the aim of the training is to educate the workplace, a commitment to reinforcing the lessons is important.

  1. Implement diversity-friendly policies

    Providing alternative working arrangements, such as a compressed work week, job-sharing, part-time roles and modified start and end times to the working day will make your workplace more accessible to those with children and caring responsibilities. Accommodating cultural and religious holidays will make your workplace more welcoming to employees from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, as will permitting diversity-friendly clothing choices in the office. Lastly, but most importantly, make sure that your wages are fair and equal – not only within your organisation but across the workforce more broadly.

  1. Mentoring

    While facilitating diversity in junior and middle management positions is often very achievable, ensuring that diversity reaches the senior levels of an organisation will often involve further steps. Mentoring is one way to encourage diversity in executive positions. Match underrepresented employees with senior members of staff and encourage membership with relevant external professional organisations to support diversity in your workplace.

  1. Recognise your own limitations

    Any individual will have a limited experience of the world and will subsequently have limited perspectives on a given issue. Acknowledge that there may not always be an objective way of seeing something and if someone else in your office has a different perspective, stop talking and listen. Everyone has unconscious biases. Don’t be defensive if you are called out on them – acknowledge it is okay to be wrong and treat it as a learning experience.

The Proactive Approach To Retention

Kate Jones outlines how a multi-pronged approach to managing staff can reap significant dividends in terms of staff retention.

Put your workers first, your customers second and your shareholders third, says Richard Branson, and the rest will take care of itself.

Prioritising staff ahead of customers bucks the “customer comes first” mantra corporations have held dear for decades. Yet a gradual power shift has seen employee well-being, remuneration and physical health become more vital than ever before.

Research shows better staff retention is better for business. Fostering a workforce of happy and engaged employees lifts productivity levels and drives business growth.

What’s more, an effective retention strategy saves companies time and money. It also means organisations avoid the expenses involved in engaging recruitment firms and the time spent interviewing and training new staff.

A high turnover of employees can place pressure on workers forced to pick up the slack, resulting in a drop in staff morale. It can also expose businesses to a loss of corporate intelligence, which can leave them vulnerable in a competitive marketplace.

Why are employees leaving?

IML has identified the chief reasons for taking on another job role.

New challenge – 81.9%
Limited career advancement opportunities – 56.5%
Insufficient financial reward – 44.4%
Conflict with Staff/Manager – 29.6%
Logistically difficult – 21.8%
Lack of development/training -18.5%
Lack of recognition – 16.7%
Feeling unsupported/overworked – 12.0%
Insufficient non-financial reward – 8.8%
Underutilised – 8.8%
Lack of flexible start-finish times – 4.6%
Unrealistic goals being set – 4.2%
Lack of flexible working arrangements – 3.2%
Other – 11.1%

Source: 2016 National Salary Survey

 

Retention Strategies

 

The latest research into staff retention reveals the smartest strategies are multi-pronged, proactive and sustained.

The 2016 Staff Retention Report by the the Institute of Managers and Leaders shows 54.6% of Australian organisations are concerned about how to keep their employees, compared to 48.8% the previous year. However, an increased focus on ways to improve engagement of in-house talent may be responsible for a falling resignation rate.

Since 2012, resignations have fallen by 13.4% to 10.3%.

To reduce resignation rates businesses used a range of methods including exit interviews, reviewing or updating staff remuneration and conducting job satisfaction surveys.

Local Government Association Queensland (LGAQ) HR manager, Angie Gibson says job satisfaction surveys have helped her keep a pulse on employee engagement. For the past three years the LGAQ has recorded job satisfaction scores of 93%, 85% and 92%.

“If you look after your staff, they will look after you and that’s reflected in our survey, and I’m really proud of that,” Gibson says.

The LGAQ uses various methods to ensure staff retention and chief among them is a program called Well At Work. The program is steered by an eight-person Wellness Committee, which assesses the effectiveness of current practices. The program has been recognised by the Queensland Government’s Happier. Healthier. Workplaces initiative and with an Australian Human Resources Institute award.

Gibson says it includes everything from pedometer challenges to family social days.

“We look after emotional, physical, mental, social and occupational areas of an employee,” she explains. “Some people think its all airy-fairy, but its very physical, emotional, social – all those sort of things. We really support people.”

A new 12-program will be launched at the LGAQ this month to check and encourage employee health and promote inclusion through social activities.

“We’ll do things like ergonomic assessments, healthy heart checks in May, flu vaccinations, our social day at Simpson Falls, Mount Coot-tha, on a weekend so all families can get together,” Gibson says.

“We’ll do a Walk to Work day and have a breakfast here, we’ll have end-of-year functions, a Melbourne Cup function, mental health days. There’s something every month and every second Wednesday is Wellness Wednesday where we have massages and meditation in our rooms.”

In addition to the wellness program, the organisation also has a reward and recognition scheme that acknowledges outstanding work in the form of a presentation and a gift voucher.

As all-encompassing as these initiatives are, they mean little without measurement and assessment. Throughout the year, Gibson conducts job satisfaction surveys that quiz staff on everything from healthy eating at work to the issue of bonuses.

Gibson also performs a thorough remuneration check to ensure they are not falling behind industry rates.

“I do a remuneration benchmarking report every year, so I use the National Salary Survey which is one of my main things for the corporate side of the business,” she says.

“I look through all the State Government public sector wages and federal and always request reviews from the larger agencies like our Hays, Robert Walters and I research particular jobs on Seek. And every three or four years I’ll go out to a specialist company like Mercer who survey say the top six roles in the organisation to make sure their work value’s there, to make sure we’re not getting too far behind the ball.”

 

The Pay Factor

So what’s more important – pay or job satisfaction?

The  2016 National Salary Survey shows the top three reasons for employees taking on another job role are: seeking a new challenge at 81.9%, limited career advancement opportunities at 56.5% and insufficient financial reward at 44.4%.

Charles Go, Research Product Manager at IML, says remuneration should be a top priority for those developing retention strategies.

“No matter how cool your office is, how many benefits they have or how supported they feel at work, at the end of the day, people still need to pay their bills, save for holidays and afford to live the lives they want,” he says.

“At the very least, review and benchmark your employees’ salaries on a yearly basis and provide increases that are in line with inflation.”

Sales staff traditionally receives salary bonuses, but Go says it’s now becoming common for support, technical and finance staff to receive bonuses. He recommends clearly defining expectations, checking performance to make sure that they are on track and ensuring the bonuses are based on the company’s overall targets so the company doesn’t pay them if it is not making any money.

“Go one step further by encouraging and supporting them to reach those stretch targets to get their bonus,” he says.

“You’ll be surprised at the increased level of engagement when people truly feel like they are closer and closer to the finish line.”

Not every company can offer cash incentives or raises. Instead, they should consider giving better benefits, says Go.

“It could translate to long run savings for the employee,” he says.

“For example, if a staff member can work from home one day a week that will save them $100 a week on day care expenses, which will be about $4,800 a year.”

 

Other Benefits

 

Flexible benefits can have a surprising affect. Organisations offering time in lieu to reimburse overtime had resignation rates of just 9.8% compared to 10.9% for those who didn’t compensate staff for extra hours worked.

Additional super contributions also make a difference. Organisations that made extra super contributions had a lower than average resignation rate at 9.5% compared to 10.5%.

Developing a supportive learning environment is key to keeping workers challenged. More than 18% of employees report resigning because of a lack of professional development and training.

Research shows personal interviews are the most effective way of evaluating training, followed by pre and post training surveys and training feedback forms.

Building an effective staff retention plan is about more than just meeting an employee’s needs. It’s about surpassing them.

In today’s disruptive market, staff retention strategies need to take a holistic approach to give employees the support they need to do their job well. A continual, proactive strategy creates a happier, more engaged workforce and safeguards organisations against the eroding effects of continual resignations.

Visit  National Salary Survey and find out how we can help your organisation to attract and retain top talent.

Thumbs Up: One company pays working mothers an extra $10,000 a year

Thumbs up for good leadership go to two STEM-industry employers who have implemented gender-inclusive policies to support working mothers.

Thumbs down goes to two businesses exploiting migrant workers and another guilty of maintaining an unsafe workplace.

THUMBS UP: QIMR BERGHOFER

This Queensland medical research institute is trying to retain and boost its number of women scientists by paying those with at least one child below high school age an extra $10,000 a year. It also has a breastfeeding room and reserved places at a nearby childcare centre. Women currently fill 36 per cent of QIMR Berghofer’s scientific leadership roles.

THUMBS UP: AMAZON

The online retailing colossus Amazon is ditching its ‘stack-ranking’ system – a review process where staff were pitted against each other instead of being rated against their own job requirements. (The lowest ranked employees used to be ‘let go’ in an effort to retain a highly productive workforce.)

THUMBS UP: SAP ASIA-PACIFIC-JAPAN

The enterprise software giant is encouraging women who have had a career break to get back into work by offering flexible part-time and full-time project work. SAP told HC Online the Back-To-Work program is a chance to draw on the experience of an “untapped pool of talent”.

THUMBS DOWN: BIJAL GIRISH SHETH

Queensland businessman Bijal Girish Sheth is in hot water with the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) for underpaying four migrant workers at his Brisclean business, and saying they were contractors when they should have been employees. He copped the highest ever penalty secured by the FWO against an individual ($126,540) and has been ordered to backpay the workers nearly $60,000.

THUMBS DOWN: COVINO FARMS

ABC’s Four Corners uncovered gross underpayment of 100 migrant workers by Covino Farms, which supplies major supermarkets and fast food chains. Covino has subsequently ended its agreement with the labour hire businesses that provided the workers. State government grants of $1.5 million have been suspended until Covino makes good on its promise to provide 60 local full-time jobs.

THUMBS DOWN: RESOURCE RECOVERY SOLUTIONS

The Perth waste recycling company was fined $85,000 after pleading guilty to failing to maintain a safe working environment. In 2013, a labour hire worker died when the roof of a picking station collapsed under 709kg of rubbish – more than five times the Safe Working Load. The rubbish had fallen from two overhead conveyor belts above the picking station.

 

How drones can save lives, money and the environment

Dr Catherine Ball says drones suffer from a bad reputation. “People think a drone is a little toy or something that delivers a bomb,” she says. “You’ll hear about people flying them illegally and crashing into things, or using them to take photos of their cheating spouses and stuff like that. And that’s what bothers me. This technology is so powerful, so egalitarian, so capable of doing so much good.”

A world leader in drone research, UK-born Ball has delivered a number of firsts by using these unmanned flying machines in environmental and infrastructure surveying. Her drones have monitored bushfires, coral reefs, turtle activity and even pest species, and gathered a range of data to assist in effective ecological and engineering processes.

She explains that it’s not so much drones but rather the data they collect that interests her. “I don’t really geek out on the next big, shiny, hybrid things,” she says with a laugh. “What I love is the idea that something is able to get you information or deliver something that you’ve not been able to do before.

“This technology is so powerful, so egalitarian, so capable of doing so much good.”

“Drones are a great way of translating patterns in nature and enabling us to see them from the place that we would never get to, because it’s either too expensive or the satellites aren’t good enough with resolution, or it’s just far offshore, or it’s just far inland, or it’s just too dangerous to go there. We can go there now and that’s what excites me.”

Ball is currently exploring how drones can be used in humanitarian work, such as delivering blood to remote locations in Africa, assisting people in the aftermath of a cyclone and sending food supplies into conflict zones. She cites the bombing of a UN aid convoy that was delivering food to a rebel-held area near Aleppo in Syria, and adds: “I sit here so frustrated because I know we have the technology already and these people do not need to die.

“You can deliver food using unmanned helicopters that can carry two tonnes. To me, it’s an absolute no-brainer and I’m still shocked that we take so long to actually have that pathway from a realisation that technology can do something, to actually allowing it to do it.”

“It’s just scaremongering to say the robots are coming to take our jobs.”

Ball has a PhD in spatial ecology and is keen to see more women in science and technology fields. She works with groups such as She Flies to promote gender equality in science, technology, engineering, the arts and maths (STEAM) careers. And as managing director of the Elemental Strategy consultancy in Brisbane, she helps clients develop both innovative business strategies and the skills needed to deliver them.

In 2015, she was named Telstra National Business Woman of the Year for her groundbreaking work using drones for marine fauna surveys. The data they collected was used to create 3D-walkthroughs of remote islands, so scientists could assess turtle rookeries without leaving the office.

For Ball, technology is not a threat but a tool. She believes drones will make our working lives more efficient, rather than take jobs away.

“Our agricultural economy is set to increase exponentially over the next 10 years,” she points out. “These technologies are going to enable us to work much more efficiently and look for pests and weeds and manage our crops much more effectively. It’s just scaremongering to say the robots are coming to take our jobs. The robots are coming to make things more effective and more safe, which means we can do more.”

How to resolve a workplace bullying claim

Claims of workplace bullying are a disturbingly familiar story. An employee has a performance problem and their manager decides to do something to fix it. The manager gives the employee some critical feedback, which the recipient feels is unwarranted. The employee makes a careless mistake and the manager berates them in the lunch room. Finally, the manager decides to put the employee on a performance improvement plan, only for the employee to take an extended absence on sick leave, and bring a bullying complaint against the manager.

Resolving a bullying complaint inevitably involves strong emotions on both sides. The employee making a complaint may genuinely feel they have been unfairly targeted, while the person complained against commonly reacts with shock and disbelief.

In 2014, for the first time, Australian workers were given a legal avenue to address workplace bullying while it was going on. Before that, they could claim compensation for mental stress caused by bullying, but only after the damage was done.

Changes made to the Fair Work Act mean workers can apply for a “stop bullying order” against an organisation, an individual, or a group of individuals. If an application is successful, the Fair Work Commission can make any order it considers appropriate to protect a worker from the risk of further bullying, short of requiring payment of money or imposing a financial penalty. These amendments provided, for the first time, a legal definition of bullying as “repeated unreasonable behaviour”. Importantly, the definition specifically excludes “reasonable management action carried out in a reasonable manner”.

Despite initial fears the changes would spark an avalanche of applications for “stop bullying orders”, in the 2015-2016 financial year the Fair Work Commission received just 734 applications. Less than 8 per cent of these proceeded to a decision being issued by the Commission, and a “stop bullying order” was issued by the Commission in only seven cases.

The Commission appears to take a pragmatic approach in determining if bullying has occurred. In the recent case of Edwards v E&S Trading Co, Rebecka Edwards, a sales consultant at the E&S kitchen and bathroom store in Moorabbin, claimed she’d been bullied due to incidents that included:

  • a colleague accusing her of spilling coffee beans in the kitchen and yelling at her to clean it up
  • other employees arguing in the company’s reception area in front of customers
  • rumours among other staff that Edwards had “egged” a colleague’s car
  • allegations that a colleague was “stealing” Edwards’ sales
  • management ignoring her complaints, thereby perpetuating these behaviours.

As is often seen in bullying matters, the complainant was also subject to performance management, and had received a final warning for her own conduct.

The Commission accepted that Edwards was anxious and distressed and genuinely believed she’d been bullied. They also noted that the E&S managers could have handled the performance management process in a better way.

But in light of how the evidence from other witnesses sharply contrasted with Edwards’ own, the Commission decided it could not objectively conclude Edwards’ colleagues had “repeatedly behaved unreasonably” and bullied her. The performance management process, although not perfect, was deemed “reasonable management action”.

In another 2016 case, Western Australian truck driver Bevan Gillies claimed he was the victim of a sustained campaign of bullying and intimidation by his depot manager at HPS Transport, including:

  •  giving the driver a warning letter after he refused to complete an afternoon run
  • singling out the driver for failing to complete and sign the employer’s uniform policy
  • giving the driver a warning when he turned up four hours late to work [his start time was 3am], and subsequently standing him down with no pay.

However, the Commission considered that all these incidents were consequences that flowed on from Gillies’ own actions, and that the manager had taken reasonable actions in a reasonable manner. Importantly, it concluded that as the depot manager no longer had any direct dealing with Gillies, there was no risk of him being further bullied, so the “stop bullying order” application was dismissed.

4 TIPS TO MINIMISE THE DAMAGE CAUSED BY WORKPLACE BULLYING CLAIMS

  1. Be prepared, but not panicked, about bullying complaints
  2. Have a policy that outlines expectations of employee behaviour in the workplace
  3. Investigate any bullying allegations that are raised, and take action if necessary
  4. Be especially careful to follow due process when dealing with performance management.

Elizabeth Ticehurst is Special Counsel – Employment at KPMG.

How to use buy-in to build strong and productive teams

Welcome to the age of buy-in. Any company serious about keeping pace with a market that’s evolving faster than ever must create an environment where ideas can truly thrive. They must let go of slow and cumbersome models of leadership born in the industrial age. Managers must loosen the reins and ask people to think for themselves, generate ideas and find ways of bringing them to life, without waiting for someone higher up to tell them what to do.

This means exiting the world of leading by decree (top-down managing) and entering the world of ‘win me’ (using a collaborative approach), where people collaborate across teams and influence without authority.

Aside from its strategic importance, the emphasis on generating buy-in is something employees expect. Companies are asking more than ever of their people: more of their creative genius, more hours, more ownership, more initiative, more flexibility, more tolerance of ambiguity, change and chaos. In return, employees in this creative economy need and expect more – and that doesn’t just mean money. It means more autonomy and more freedom.

People who give more expect to have a voice. They expect to be heard and to be able to shape decisions about their work. They expect leaders to earn their support, not take it as a given. We want to work in organisations that match our own values; we want to be part of, and to initiate, company projects and initiatives.

We’re seeing a generation of people who are making decisions about where to work based on how their personal values map to company values.

David Noël, who heads internal communications at audio sharing service SoundCloud, sums it up perfectly: “We’re seeing a generation of people who are making decisions about where to work based on how their personal values map to company values. Today, more than twice as many employees are motivated by work passion than career ambition.”

It’s one thing to talk about the importance of getting people’s buy-in; it’s another to achieve it. In my own work, I regularly come across managers who are struggling to let go and give their team members the space to experiment, create and even (gasp!) fail. Often, these practices are at odds with the diet of management on which they themselves have been raised. It makes them feel uncomfortable. It seems chaotic and risky. At the same time, managers still need to manage, so how do they do that without managing by decree?

Some teams also struggle to embrace the degree of autonomy and entrepreneurship that is offered to them. Suddenly faced with a multitude of people they need to work with, and without a clear instruction manual from management, their mindset and skills are put to the test.

This is where teams and organisations can easily fall over: by failing to create a culture where people are able to influence and lead others, even when they’re not in a position of authority, and by failing to equip them with the skills to do so.

Well, there’s a new kind of power in town. It’s the power that comes to those who are able to cut through all of these challenges by engaging others and building buy-in. This is a skill that comes more naturally to some than others, but the good news is: it can be learned.

The gentle art of buy-in

To master the gentle art of buy-in you need a blend of the right skills, attributes and mindset. I use the term ‘gentle art’ because it requires patience, empathy and careful thinking. You need to know when to yield control in order to maintain it. You need a healthy dose of emotional intelligence. You need to be willing to go slow in order to go fast.

But even the best ideas in the world can languish in the hands of someone who doesn’t know how to engage and influence others – or worse, someone who simply puts people off.

Equally, buy-in shouldn’t equate to paralysis. Many of us have worked in a team or a company where there was so much consultation and committee-style decision-making that nothing ever happened. If that’s the case, your relationship with the idea of building buy-in might be a tad strained.

You need to know when buy-in is a function of gentle persuasion and dialogue, and when it’s a function of getting your train moving and asking others to jump on board.

The culture you’ve grown up in has a big part to play in whether you relate more to the ‘decree’ or ‘win me’ approach. For example, certain countries operate to a very formal, hierarchical norm, while others have a far more informal, egalitarian norm. Cultural norms can also come from your family upbringing, or your previous workplaces. All will shape your assumptions about the roles of authority and autonomy in the workplace.