When people hear ‘networking’ they usually picture something specific: a name badge on, walking around with a cup of tea or coffee (maybe even a snack if you’re lucky), a couple of awkward introductions before listening to a key note speaker and a stack of business cards nobody follows up on. I was reminded this […]
The Minimum Wage Has Gone Up 4.75% — Can You Afford to Keep Tolerating Poor Performance?
With the new financial year comes another increase in labour costs, with minimum wage and award rates rising by 4.75%. For many small and medium business owners, this increase is more than just another expense. It’s forcing a difficult but necessary question: Can I continue carrying employees who are not performing? Over the years, I’ve […]
Leadership and Friendship – Understanding and Navigating the Murky Waters of Workplace Friendship.
It just so happens that the majority of us are potentially spending more hours each week with our workplace colleagues than our nearest and dearest, or our oldest and newest friends. We see them every morning (whether in person or on screen) and farewell them at the end of the day. People joke about work […]
What Chance Do We Have?
It is my firm belief that none of us turn up to work thinking to ourselves, “Gee, I really want to do a bad job today.” No business owner or manager wakes up and thinks, “Wouldn’t it be great if I really let down or upset a staff member today?” In essence, I choose to […]
Feeling the Pressure of the 4.75% Minimum Wage Increase?
What to consider before the New Financial Year As we approach the new financial year, many small and medium-sized business owners are reviewing budgets with a sense of concern. The Fair Work Commission’s decision to increase the National Minimum Wage and minimum award wages by 4.75% will undoubtedly place additional pressure on payroll costs at […]
The Future of Flexible Work
Not that long ago, “flexible work” in many workplaces meant maybe leaving half an hour early for a dentist appointment without too much fuss. Fast forward a few years, and flexibility has become one of the biggest workplace conversations facing Australian businesses — and it doesn’t look like it’s going away anytime soon. With the […]
The One Thing AI Can’t Replace in Recruitment
Last week, Kara and I had the opportunity to attend the Talent X Recruitment Expo hosted by the RSCA at the Convention Centre in Melbourne. It was an early and chilly start to the day, but after reviewing the packed schedule for the day we were looking forward to a full day of learning and […]
HR Health Check: 8 things every workplace should review each year
As a business owner or manager, HR compliance is often one of those things that sits quietly in the background… until something goes wrong. Then suddenly it becomes urgent. I recommend undertaking a quick annual HR health check that can save a lot of stress, confusion and backtracking later. It doesn’t need to be complicated […]
The Energy We Bring to Work and the Ripple Effect It Creates
Our motivation and energy speak long before our words do. It walks into meetings before we do. It shapes how safe people feel around us. It influences momentum, morale, motivation, and even conflict. Whether we realise it or not, every workplace interaction creates a ripple and the energy we bring often becomes the energy others […]
The “Quiet Quitting” Phenomenon: Addressing Employee Disengagement Before It Slows You Down
If you run a small or medium-sized business, you don’t need a report to tell you when something feels “off” in your team. Energy drops. Motivation fades. People do what’s required—but not much more. That’s what’s often labelled “Quiet Quitting”. And in a small team, the impact is anything but quiet. In a large organisation, […]