Inspire Success

Inspire Success proud sponsor of Jobs on the Coast

Wed, 16 May 2012 12:03:00 GMT

JobsOnTheCoast.com.au is a focused job board, committed to employment and career opportunities on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. This site provides local employers with the opportunity to advertise their vacancies for free and connect with skilled and experienced candidates, who want to work in this spectacular region. Inspire Success have proudly joined as the third main sponsor of JobsOnTheCoast.com.au.

JobsOnTheCoast.com.au is excited to have the support of Inspire Success, which is a recent recipient of a Central Coast Business Excellence Award. Similarly to JobsOnTheCoast.com.au, Inspire Success is dedicated to assisting business on the Central Coast and we are eager to form a partnership with a likeminded, local organisation.

Inspire Success are award winning Central Coast Human Resources specialists, who help business to implement effective people practices.

With Job Centre Australia, TAFE Central Coast Campuses and Inspire Success all on board, the website now has main sponsor representation in Employment Services, Training/Education and Human Resources.

“As a Central Coast business with a track record of helping local businesses to manage their people processes and employment-related matters, Inspire Success are thrilled to partner with Jobs On The Coast. We recognise the benefits that Central Coast employers can offer and welcome the opportunity to support the continued growth of our business community through this initiative.” Rae Phillips Director - Inspire Success

Need help with your recruitment? Inspire Success can assist you from the beginning stages right through to making the offer to your new employee.....

Is this something that could be an issue at your place? Inspire Success is all about implementing practical solutions that help create high performing workplaces which are customer focussed and free of conflict - no matter what size your business is. Contact Inspire Success for further information raephillips@inspire-success.com

7 Key Elements to Measuring Performance and Setting Targets

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:57:00 GMT

As your business grows, the number of people you employ is likely to increase. To keep on top of how your employees are doing, you will need to find some formal ways of measuring their performance and setting the targets they have……

Informal meetings and more formal appraisals provide a very practical and direct way of monitoring and encouraging the progress of your individual employees. Annual or bi-annual employee appraisals will allow you to monitor employees’ development and get their feedback, set targets and plan their development needs. Appraisals can assist in driving up productivity and performance through setting employee targets and measuring progress towards achieving them. Regular staff meetings can also be a very useful way of keeping tabs on wider developments across your business. These meetings often give an early indicator of important concerns or developments that might otherwise take some time to come to your attention.

Here are the Seven Tips to remember when setting performance targets with employees;

1. Goals must align with your organization’s mission and strategy
2. They must be clear and easy to understand
3. They must be accepted and recognized as important by everyone who will have to implement them
4. Progress towards goals must be measurable
5. Goals must be framed in time, with clear beginning and ending points
6. They should be supported by rewards
7. They should be challenging, but achievable.

Progress. By evaluating an employee’s progress in terms of performance and development you are able to set new objectives and plan tasks effectively. First, examine the employee’s job description to ascertain whether roles or responsibilities have changed since the last appraisal. If you are making changes, ensure that these are in the best interests of the company and not just the employee.

Praise Successful Employees
Try to pick out aspects of an employee’s performance that are worthy of praise. Encourage the employee to keep up their high standards and check that the employee has been rewarded or praised for carrying out tasks successfully. If an employee’s performance has fallen short of what is expected, consider the possible reasons for this. Negative feedback may be necessary but check if it is a minor issue, particularly if good results have been achieved in other areas.

Development
The next step in performance management is to check whether staff have the time to focus on development. It is important to ensure continuous development, so it may be worth shuffling resources if necessary. If development targets set at the last appraisal have been met, it can demonstrate to management that the time and money spent developing staff is worthwhile.
Its very important to ensure that the goals you set for your employees align with those of your Company. And you must make sure that your employees understand, accept and commit to those goals. The more you can involve your employees in setting goals for themselves and the group, the more committed to those goals they are likely to be. You should write down the goals for your employees, and then revisit those goals on a regular basis – perhaps every six months, or at least once a year. The key to success is ensuring your employees recognize that achievement of their individual objectives advance the company’s overall objectives.

Are your employees happy? How can you find out……

Wed, 16 May 2012 04:31:00 GMT

Employee Opinion Surveys (EOS) have great potential to improve workplace environments and are often used to measure the success of organisational change. They can also assist to reduce absenteeism, prevent harassment and bullying and identify other work environment problem areas.

At Inspire Success we are often asked to help clients with their EOS, to find out if their employees are satisfied in their work, their environment, with organisational changes, with their remuneration etc What better way to hear from your employees by having an external party manage the process and allow employees keep their names confidential in their responses?

We have discussed many times in the newsletter that happy employees are more productive. To attract and keep the real stars, you need to create a work environment that makes employees want to give their best effort and perform at the highest levels. To do that, you need to keep your finger on the pulse of your team.

A satisfaction survey is a series of questions that you can ask your employees to answer which will inform you how they feel about or how they experience their work environment and culture. The questionnaire usually offers both questions that ask your employees to rate a particular aspect of the work environment and open ended questions that allow them to give their opinions. The majority of times the survey can be completed on line. Companies that take the time to really listen to their employees and understand their attitudes and opinions are typically far more successful in obtaining an engaged and motivated workforce.

In formulating your employee survey, you may want to consider the following high level topics:

Self-awareness and Motivation
Company Culture and Spirit
Management
Cooperation and Communication
Learning and Development Opportunities
Recognition and Reward
Overall perceptions of the Company for Improvement.

While it’s true that people need to feel as if they are fairly compensated; they also want to feel like they are a part of the company and that their ideas and suggestions are important. They also like to feel that they add value and assist in the growth of the company. Many management experts believe that the single greatest key to productivity is employee happiness. Happy employees are usually energetic and motivated. But, determining what makes workers happy can be tricky.

The belief that money is the source of employee happiness and retention is not true. While there is no question that money is important, management studies show that it does not buy employee satisfaction. While employees want to be fairly compensated for their efforts, they also want to be challenged and treated with respect. Findings from Aon Hewitt’s Employee Pay Perception study (over 37,500 employees were surveyed from 110 companies in Australia and New Zealand and workers were asked 40 questions) show that employers don’t have to increase pay to achieve a higher level of job satisfaction.

http://www.aon.com/thought-leadership/asiaconnect/Attachments/leadership-and-talent/Leadership-Talent_2010Nov_Money_Talks.pdf)

If you decide to use an EOS, you must be committed to making changes in your work environment based on employee responses to the survey.

Our Top 6 Tips when running an EOS:-

1. Commitment to the Process – If you use an EOS you must have the support and commitment of your management team. If management try and understand the results and act on them the process can be extremely rewarding.

2. Communication – Employee surveys are, by nature, perceived by managers as a threat, in that they ask questions about the quality of supervision. This makes it imperative that you establish and communicate clearly, from the beginning, why you’re doing the survey, what will happen to the results, and what you hope to gain from the EOS.

3. The Survey Itself – Don’t ask too many questions (or too little). Ensure your questions are relevant and can be understood or interpreted how you want them to be. Why not link it to another well known, national survey so that you can benchmark your results? Try the Mercer What’s Working Survey or Red Balloon’s Dream Employers.

4. Survey Administration - Face-to-face administration does yield a high participation level and the ability to answer any questions people may have about the survey. Administration via the Internet is faster and cheaper and can be done anonymously so employees may feel more comfortable. Whichever mode you choose, it is vital to ensure that everyone gets a consistent message about why the survey is being conducted.

5. Survey Data - When collating the results and deciding what to present to employees two things are important: (a) The data is relevant to who it is being shared with and is easy to understand (b) Sharing the results with your employees should be no longer than a month after completion of survey

6. Survey Frequency - Given that one of the major benefits of a survey process is the opportunity to measure results over time, you should periodically resurvey your employees.

Is this something that could be an issue at your place? Inspire Success is all about implementing practical solutions that help create high performing workplaces which are customer focussed and free of conflict - no matter what size your business is. Contact Rae Phillips at Inspire Success for further information raephillips@inspire-success.com

Risk Management Strategies

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:46:00 GMT

In March 2012, one-third of NSW's communities were declared natural disaster zones as the worst flooding in decades threatened parts of the state. A large majority of New South Wales’ towns and cities are located on floodplains, both inland and coastal, that contain businesses both big and small. These are an integral part of the economy, providing employment, incomes, goods and services to their communities. The direct and indirect costs of flooding on commercial and industrial properties are significant for some businesses and can end in closure. In areas where businesses struggle to recover from floods, jobs and incomes can be lost, leading to social problems and reduced commercial viability. The average annual costs of flooding in NSW amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars. The improvement of business preparedness for floods is hugely important and with flood insurance generally unavailable HR and Business Managers/Owners have a big responsibility in having a disaster management plan ready and to have their risk management strategies up to date.

It is critical to have an effective emergency response plan. Emergencies may arise at anytime. They can develop from a number of causes including fire, chemical spills, gas leaks, bomb threats, structural faults, natural disasters and civil disturbances. Keeping your employees up to date with training and information so they know what to do when a crisis strikes is essential. Employees should know what to expect when a crisis/disaster hits and what steps to take. This should include remote working, relocating the business temporarily, reduced hours etc.

Your employees must understand

What the crisis being faced is
What steps to take
Who to contact in the company

For businesses operating in disaster-prone regions it should be a priority to develop business continuity and emergency response plans so they are prepared to act quickly when a crisis or disaster occurs.

The plan should include:-

Strategies for business being disrupted and planning around disruptions to staff resources, services provided and buildings
Safety procedures, such as shut-downs and evacuations
Infrastructure to work remotely if the need arises
A crisis management team and safety officers who are up to date on the company’s policies and procedures and are able to clearly communicate steps to employees
An emergency contact system for employees to report their status and whereabouts • A series of evacuation exercises should be conducted in order to test the procedures.

Getting policies and procedures right is crucial when it comes to employee safety in a crisis and requires time, commitment and investment. Being prepared is the only way to reduce the impact of disasters / crisis. At least once a year your plan should be evaluated – contact information updated if necessary, first aid certificates/fire wardens certs checked, equipment checked, improvements made etc. Having your policies and procedures up to date will ensure resources are maximised and losses minimised if struck with a disaster or crisis.

"The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it." ~ Thucydides

IT Security in the workplace - Our Top 8 tips to help keep your servers secure

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:01:00 GMT

The final article on our IT security topics this month is around keeping your servers secure. While cloud computing is becoming more and more popular and replacing servers for some businesses, network servers still play a very valuable role in securing data and managing IT systems. The following are our top eight tips to keep your IT server secure:-

Restrict Access – Nobody should have access to your IT server without authorisation. Therefore servers should either be locked away or in a secure area where they can only be seen by your staff
Log in Security – Every server should have its own password and details should not be shared. Passwords should not be kept in same area as the server
Firewalls – an internet firewall is essential – it can be a basic router or more sophisticated. Your server should sit behind the protection of the firewall
Updating – This should be frequent – things are constantly changing and updating eg Microsoft have a regular update schedule where they release new security patches. Although having fully patched software does not mean your server is fully secure, it is very important to update your operating system and any other software running on it with the latest security patches. Hacking incidents still occur because hackers take advantage of un-patched servers and software.
Backup - backup frequently to ensure data is kept in case of a failure or problem
Log everything – every virus or breach of security should be logged to ensure everything happening on the network is being controlled
Remote access – although not always practical when possible server administrators should login to web servers locally. If remote access is needed, you must make sure that the remote connection is secured properly. Using security tokens and other single sign on equipment and software is smart. Remote access should also be restricted to a specific number of IP’s and to specific accounts only. It is also very important not to use public computers or public networks to access corporate servers remotely, such as in internet café’s or public wireless networks.
Help and Support - If you are running a server, you need competent IT support staff that understand security risks and how to alleviate them on servers and networks

And remember, a great way to keep your IT secure is to keep informed. Information and tips on software and operating systems being used can be found freely on the internet and can help you learn about new attacks and tools. Good luck…

The Staff/Employee Handbook

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:19:00 GMT

Starting a new job in a new company can be daunting for any employee. The induction / onboarding process ensures the detailed introduction of a new employee to their new work environment and job and is a very important process. Good induction/onboarding processes can result in staff retention, job satisfaction, productivity and a reduction of any costs of staff turnover. A good induction process means that new employees understand how your business works and start to feel welcome and comfortable early on in their new job which will result in them becoming a productive employee sooner. A lot of information can and should be provided during the new employee’s induction. This can be a little overwhelming and therefore a comprehensive and well-structured employee handbook is an excellent idea. It is particularly important for small and medium businesses, who may not have a human resources department to handle queries. An employee handbook is also a good way of helping new employees understand the values, key policies, benefits and expectations of your business.

What is an employee/staff handbook

The handbook is a great way to communicate to your new employees and inform them about the policies within your business. It can then be used by employees as a reference (encourage employees to keep their handbook at their desk). Of course, any updated policies will need to be distributed to staff. The handbook will help your employee on a number of topics - in knowing the conditions of their employment, what is expected of them, where to find things, and who to ask if they have any further questions. A good employee handbook should contain the following:-

Introduction and welcome note
Company background
Information on your corporate culture and approach to business
Hours and conditions of work
Training
Expectations around dress code, email/internet/mobile phone etc usage
HR policies around sexual harassment, health, safety and the environment; holidays and leave; performance management; privacy; disciplinary procedures

Why have one?

The policies of your organisation/business should be discussed and distributed widely throughout the company and your employees well informed of them. Having policies discussed in your induction training and written in your handbook ensure employees understand the policies of your business. It is an excellent way of documenting the expectations and obligations of management and staff. Not only is the handbook used to spread the policies and information of the company it is a great way to advise on information your business is legally obligated to provide. This results in the boundaries, rules, expectations, rights and responsibilities of your company being known and understood by your team.

Finally….. When you give a new employee a copy of the handbook ensure they sign an employee handbook receipt and acknowledgement form. This receipt should acknowledge that the employee has read and understands the policies and guidelines presented in the handbook. This statement should contain a disclaimer that the employee understands that the contents are policies and guidelines, not a contract or implied contract with employees. An employee induction program and employee handbook can have long-lasting benefits for both your employees and your business and is a great method of communication with your employees.

Is this something that could be an issue at your place? Inspire Success is all about implementing practical solutions that help create high performing workplaces which are customer focussed and free of conflict - no matter what size your business is. Contact Rae Phillips at Inspire Success for further information raephillips@inspire-success.com

IT Security in the workplace -Our Top 7 tips to help keep your tablet computer secure

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 12:06:00 GMT

Tablet computers or tablets as they are often called, are becoming more and more popular as the top choice for portable computers. Given most tablets connect to corporate and cloud servers, they are particularly dangerous if someone gets unauthorised access. The good news is that manufacturers use a lot of security features in their design of tablet computers and the use of locked own apps makes them less prone to viruses. A tablet is bigger than a smartphone but typically much smaller and lighter than a laptop. Both smartphones and tablets are easily lost or stolen, with theft a particular concern when it comes to tablets due to their current "it" status. Here are our Top 7 Tips to keep your tablet computer secure:-

Turn on passkeys – all tablet devices have passkeys so you can have a PIN number before logging on. On most of the systems you can set the tablet to wipe itself if the wrong pin is used too many times;
Encryption – encryption is very important and on tablet computers its either set up automatically (on the Apple iPad for example) or is easy to enable on Windows and Google Android devices;
Tracking and wiping – most mobile devices now come with built in tracking services that let you monitor where the tablet computer is. Many will allow you to wipe the tablet remotely if it has been lost or stolen;
Keep the tablet close at hand at all times - Don't leave your tablet computer even for a minute;
Invest in a security cable - most portable computers come with a universal security slot that allows a reinforced steel security cable to be fitted. Whenever you sit down with the tablet computer for an extended period you can secure it to a table leg or similar that makes it difficult for a thief to steal it;
Use a Smart Card - your tablet device may have come with a Smart Card, or you can buy one that fits into a card slot. Smart Card technology ensures that if somebody tries to turn on your tablet device and doesn't insert the card, the device won't complete the boot sequence;
Communicate Employee Responsibility for the Tablet - a clearly written and communicated policy that states the employee's responsibility for the tablet computer can significantly reduce the risk of theft, if only by increasing the employee's risk awareness. While the details of employee responsibility and liability will vary greatly from company to company you should have a policy in place that spells out the risks of tablet computer theft, the responsibility of the user and the liability of the user.

Recruitment and Selection

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 11:51:00 GMT

Recruitment can be expensive and time consuming but choosing the right employees for your organisation is essential for your success. Recruiting the wrong people for your organisation can lead to increased staff turnover, increased costs for the organisation, and lowering of morale in your existing workforce. Therefore, your recruitment and selection processes need to be efficient and well managed. Here, we look at recruitment and selection from the beginning stages of choosing the recruitment criteria through the advertising, interview questions and finally selection through evaluation forms.
The stages in recruitment involve identifying the key recruitment criteria, using your position descriptions to create the advert used, having your interview questions prepared and having an interview process to include reference checking and evaluation forms. Let’s look at each of these in a little more detail.

Identifying the key recruitment criteria:- These are the steps that happen prior to selecting candidates. This is the planning of the recruitment and selection processes and analysing the open job to determine the recruitment and selection criteria and then developing the key selection criteria. In this stage you evaluate the need for the position, finalise the key selection criteria (essential and desirable), decide on the skills, knowledge, attitudes and aptitudes needed for the position, prepare the position description and plan the recruitment process (in house, external agency, referrals, headhunting, advertising etc). Often organisations use a standard set of questions that may have been used for some time and for several different positions. This can be both helpful and also constraining when recruiting for a position. While it is important to have standardised questions to assess a candidate’s fit with the team and/or the business, it is also important to ensure that some questions are targeted specifically to the requirements of the position. Developing a set of Key Recruiting Criteria and incorporating these criteria into your recruitment process can assist you greatly in this process.

Creating a position description for the role:- This involves reviewing the Key Result Areas (KRAs) for the role and these forming the basis of your recruitment criteria which then can be used in your advert. For example, if an administration role has the following 5 KRAs:

a. Time management
b. Intermediate MS Office suite skills
c. Customer service orientation
d. Business management support for senior managers
e. Diary management

Then the 5 recruitment criteria may look like this:

Ability to manage own time without close supervision
Intermediate MS Office suite skills
Capable of managing customer enquiries and complaints
Previous experience supporting a minimum of 2 senior managers, including generating reports
Ability to manage a diary in line with managers business priorities

These 5 recruitment criteria then form the basis of your assessment items. Your first interview would include some questions that enable the candidate to demonstrate (or not demonstrate!) their skills and experience in each of these recruitment criteria. Behaviourally based questions are the best way to make this assessment (Tell me about a time when…). The second interview would include questions that enable you to explore these areas further.

Evaluation forms and reference check forms:- These should also be developed around the recruitment criteria to ensure that you are getting feedback from the interviewers and referees that is consistent with the areas that are most important to you in the role. For example, if technical skills are important these can be verified through interview questions, reference checking, and/or through skill testing. Psychometric testing is another option that you may choose to use and have aligned with your key recruiting criteria. The beauty of this approach is that once the candidate is employed, they can see the relevance of the selection process to the position they now hold, as evidenced by the position description that they will receive. It closes the loop on the recruitment life cycle and then sets up the performance management process for the employee as they progress in their new role.

Is this something that could be an issue at your place? Inspire Success is all about implementing practical solutions that help create high performing workplaces which are customer focussed and free of conflict - no matter what size your business is. Contact Rae Phillips at Inspire Success for further information raephillips@inspire-success.com

Pay increase for employees in SACS sector by FWA February 2012

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 11:50:00 GMT

On February 1st 2012 Fair Work Australia announced their decision to increase pay for private sector employees in social and community services. Pay rates of employees in the social, disability and community services (SACS) sector will be increased in order to achieve pay equity for the female employees. But, what does this mean for employers.

As a result of the FWA decision, up to 150,000 social and community service workers will receive pay increases of between 19% and 41% over eight years, which is the length of time of the transitional phasing arrangement. For a Level 2 graded employee the increase to the rate in the SACS Award will be 19%. This works out to be an extra $6324 per annum. A Level 8 graded employee will be entitled to a wage rate rise of 41%. This will mean a wage increase of $24,346 per annum. This decision is being estimated as costing the NSW State Government up to $1 billion over the next five years in funding.

While FWA’s decision affects those employees covered by the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award (the SACS Award) in the social and community services sector and the crisis assistance and supported housing sector it is also likely to affect other industries in the future. In particular, other female dominated industries such as clerical, cleaning and nursing industries could be next to look for similar pay increases on the basis of historical industrial inequities.

The concerns are that the impact of these pay increases will be felt most heavily by non-government funded organisations who would then have to bear the brunt of the cost. This would then have some knock on effects such as a decrease in job security and result in retrenchment or reduction of available services despite the phasing in period. For example, the NSW Government has warned that having to fully fund the pay rise could lead to cuts to other government services and higher taxes.

Given Fair Work Australia's approach in this matter, it is expected that similar applications by unions will be made in respect of pay rates in other modern awards. In particular, other female dominated industries such as the clerical, cleaning and nursing industries will be likely union targets. The Australian Nursing Federation has already commented that the pay rises awarded could pave the way for aged-care nurses and staff to achieve pay equity.

The real impact of this FWA decision and action on employers and the economy remains to be seen but there can be little doubt that pay equity is now high on the industrial relations agenda and will likely remain there for quite some time to come.

For more information see Fair Work Australia’s website - http://www.fwa.gov.au/index.cfm?pagename=aboutbriefs&year=2012#010212

Key Processes for Employee Exit:

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:08:00 GMT

Having a clear process to follow during Employee Exits will ensure you protect your business and its assets, and help the Employee leave with dignity. It is also a great time to get feedback from them about their time at your place.

Have a clear exit policy

The purpose of an employee exit policy is to have a process in place when an employee is leaving your employment (resignation, retirement, end of contract etc) When an employee resigns from their position, they should submit a written letter of resignation to their immediate supervisor based on what their notice period is. This could be stated in the employee’s letter of engagement or (if no letter exists) be linked to the National Employment Standards notice table.... During the employee's notice period; they must continue to assume their normal responsibilities and should assist with a handover to the existing team or their replacement if in place.
Conduct and Exit Interview

An exit interview is often overlooked but is an extremely valuable organizational effectiveness tool. The purpose of exit interviews is to understand the employee’s perceptions and experiences and get feedback about the job the employee held, their work environment, and your place. A good exit interview system can help reduce turnover and increase employee satisfaction and commitment by addressing some of the things that people are leaving because of.
Follow an Exit Checklist

It is important to have a process in place and a set of steps to follow and ensure the list is completed when each employee finishes. This is extremely handy to ensure you don’t forget anything when the employee leaves. The best person to complete the checklist is usually the employee’s supervisor and should be done on the day they leave. The checklist can include the following (but is not limited to these items below):

Arrange for the employee to do a formal handover to someone within the business or at least document the procedures of their role explaining any complicated/important elements
Conduct an exit interview
Notify other employees that they are leaving
Collect any company property including their company laptop, Smartphone, company credit card, keys, security passes, parking pass, name badges and business identification, a uniform if the business owns it, any tools, electronic devices or other business property they have
Ask them to clean out their desk
Process all outstanding payroll, leave accrued and expenses. If they had a mobile phone account ensure this account is reconciled
Delete their computer access, have their files in network folders copied to the network, cancel their accounts. Remove them from the company intranet
Disable their building or property access
Remind them of confidentiality clauses in their letter of engagement
Ensure you have their current address and phone number is on file in case the they need to be contacted after they leave
Make sure they and their supervisor sign off on the checklist when it is done.

In the end, it is always nice to part on good terms, and you never know the person leaving your employment may become a client or refer business to you in the future.

We always say that it is best to help a departing employee leave with dignity – regardless of the reason they are leaving.

Is this something that could be an issue at your place? Inspire Success is all about implementing practical solutions that help create high performing workplaces which are customer focussed and free of conflict - no matter what size your business is. Contact Rae Phillips at Inspire Success for further information raephillips@inspire-success.com

Code of Conduct – what is the benefit to the business?

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:12:00 GMT

The code of conduct includes detail on compliance with laws and regulations (such as harassment and discrimination on the workplace), conflicts of interest, confidentiality and security matters, fairness and equity, contact with the public and media, values of the business and guidelines on general behaviour.

The benefits of a code of conduct include:-

Creating an agreed way of behaving and operating for the entire company;
Improved company performance when linked to the company’s business and strategic objectives;
Good company culture – employees know what is expected of them in terms of behaviour;
Good communication with employees having a framework to look up when faced with difficult decisions;
Having a set of values – having a sense of what the company values are and what the company stands for.

It also can enable your company to stand out from similar companies and show what your company values and believes in. The code of conduct applies to all employees, permanent and casual, and contractors. When someone joins your company they should review and understand and sign off on the code of conduct and therefore agree to comply with your guidelines.

If you have decided to implement a code of conduct in your company you will need to communicate the guidelines to all your team and provide them with training so they understand the expectations. The code should be practised and promoted by management to lead the way for your employees. Once set up the code of conduct should be part of the induction process and discussed with all new employees on joining. The code of conduct is part of your employee handbook and also very useful to keep on the company intranet so employees can access it any time they need to.

It is important to keep your code up to date and therefore it should be reviewed regularly (usually once or twice a year), adding any new policies that have been introduced to the company. Also if your company has grown or changed since the last review you may need to add a section e.g. selling products online, social media – you made need to add detail on acceptable behaviour around new changes.

TOP 8 tips to help keep your company laptops secure

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:39:00 GMT

Laptops have the ability to store lots of data, email records and retain network settings like password and login details and so present some security concerns for companies. Unfortunately, the mobility, technology and information that make laptops so useful to employees and organizations also make them very valuable for thieves. If your laptop computer is stolen, or if someone gains access to your files while your back is turned, your company information, personal and financial data can be exposed.

Here are our TOP 8 tips to help keep your company laptops secure ........

Enable start-up passwords so that the laptop won’t start unless the correct details are typed in. Use strong passwords and don’t write them down on a piece of paper and leave in your laptop bag
Encrypt your data - If someone should get your laptop and gain access to your files, encryption can give you another layer of protection. You can choose to encrypt files and folders. Then, even if someone gains access to an important file, they can't decrypt it and see your information.
Avoid conspicuous laptop bags -Laptop bags give away exactly what you're carrying. Try to avoid obvious carriers and use backpacks, briefcases or holdalls that are functional but don't make it obvious that you're carrying a computer. Usually these are more convenient for documents and other accessories when travelling
Keep the laptop close at hand at all times - Don't leave your laptop even for a minute
Invest in a security cable:- Most portable computers come with a universal security slot that allows a reinforced steel security cable to be fitted. Whenever you sit down with the laptop for an extended period you can secure the laptop to a table leg or similar that makes it difficult for a thief to steal it
Don't carry important disks or booklets - Keeping backup drives, recovery disks and system manuals in the bag with the laptop makes it easier for thieves to sell and hackers to break into the system. Don't keep these items with the system and if you have to carry them, put them in another bag
Disable password saving - it is very handy to have your computer saving website login details but this makes life easier for someone who steals it, turn off password saving so that sites don't automatically access your data
Communicate Employee Responsibility for the Laptop - A clearly written and communicated policy that states the employee's responsibility for the laptop can significantly reduce the risk of theft, if only by increasing the employee's risk awareness. While the details of employee responsibility and liability will vary greatly from company to company you should have a policy in place that spells out the risks of laptop theft, the responsibility of the user and the liability of the user.

Legislation Update - The status of the Work Health and Safety Act in each state

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:50:00 GMT

The harmonisation of OHS laws across Australia is in process and is being introduced in order to standardise the state/territory based system we have in place at present. The Commonwealth and each state and territory government have agreed to harmonise their work health and safety laws, including Regulations and Codes of Practice, so that they are similar in each jurisdiction.

As you may have heard, the implementation of the new WHS Act is not going smoothly with some regions deciding to implement the new laws at different times rather than the date of 01/01/12 as had been planned for. This will make life difficult for some Australian businesses, in particular those who cross state borders who will be faced with complying with current OHS legislation and then the new legislation.

Update on status of WHS Act in States
ACT - Model law passed and expected to commence 1/1/12
NSW - Model law passed and expected to commence 1/1/12
VIC - No law before the parliament. VIC Government has confirmed that it will defer to 1/1/13
Tasmania – Have introduced model legislation to Parliament but date of commencement not confirmed
SA – WHS will be delayed
NT – Model law passed and expected to commence 1/1/2012
QLD – Model law passed and expected to commence 1/1/2012
WA - WHS will be delayed

NSW has confirmed a 1 January 2012 commencement date for the WHS Act, and has approved $550,000 in training grants to get businesses up to speed with the new legislation. Queensland will continue with the 1 January 2012 commencement and has enacted 11 of the new Codes of Practice while amending 24 of its existing State codes. Commonwealth parliament passed the Work Health and Safety Bill 2011, which will cover employers under the Comcare scheme. The Commonwealth legislation will come into effect on 1 January 2012.

While harmonisation is delayed in some states it will happen and will affect your business. However, some businesses can delay the new laws by twelve months. Federal Workplace Relations, Minister Chris Evans, announced in November 2011 that Safe Work Australia has arrangements to help businesses move to the new system from January 1. "The transitional arrangements will apply to the model occupational health and safety regulations and provide delayed commencement of up to 12 months or more where the new laws result in a new or significantly different set of duties," Senator Evans said.

For more information on WHS legislation http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx Contact Inspire Success if you would like to discuss how this affects your business.

IT Security in the Workplace – our TOP 12 Tips

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:48:00 GMT

For the next few months we will discuss a different safety topic for IT within your company. This month we look at the office desktop and the security issues to be mindful of.

We all know that IT security is extremely important, it is essential to protect your business from a data breach. Here are our TOP 12 tips to help keep your confidential information secure on office desktops.

Every employee should have their own profile set up and all logins should be protected with strong passwords which need to be changed every 4-6 weeks;
Every time employees leave their desk, they should log off. Screen savers should also be set to log users off after a few minutes of inactivity;
Login details and passwords should not be written on pieces of paper and never written on a post it and stuck to computer screens;
Educate staff about your IT security, keep up to date with what scams are happening currently in the computer world and let staff know what to be careful of and monitor this;
All information on a business network should be saved to a central location to reduce risk;
Have a good privacy policy and make protecting sensitive data a part of the company culture;
Use a good firewall and a secure wireless connection;
Keep anti-virus and anti-spy ware software up to date. Most small businesses have anti-virus and anti-spy ware software in place, but forget or neglect to make sure they have the latest versions or the latest updates, which can open the business up to all sorts of data security breaches;
Keeping computers up-to-date individually is time consuming and can create inconsistencies in the business. Having a network server centralising the rollout of software patches and updates makes managing a network far easier;
Make sure you and your employees only download applications that come from reliable sources. Because applications (e.g., games, mobile apps) may contain viruses, spy ware etc, it's important to know and trust the source of an application before downloading it;
If you outsource any critical functions or store information offsite, ensure you vet third-party security practices such as cloud providers or ISPs. You are still responsible for that data and should ensure the third party is secure.;
Have very specific policy developed around this area of your business. Set standards with new employees, check often and ensure that you follow your policy to the T.

Is this something that could be an issue at your place? Inspire Success is all about implementing practical solutions that help create high performing workplaces which are customer focussed and free of conflict - no matter what size your business is. Contact Rae Phillips at Inspire Success for further information raephillips@inspire-success.com

Employees working from home - Is it a good idea any more?

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:46:00 GMT

Last year, a Telstra employee made a successful workers' compensation claim against Telstra because she fell twice while working from home and claimed her injuries occurred in the course of her employment. Telstra were found liable to pay her workers compensation.

As a result of this and other similar cases, many employers have had concerns about allowing their employees work from home. Working from home arrangements don’t have to be to be feared but the risks do need to be managed carefully.

Under NSW OH&S laws, the employer is expected to maintain a working environment, equipment and systems of work that are ‘safe and without risks to health’. That includes your employees working at home. The employees working from home should have the equipment they need just as if they were in the office – a chair, desk, computer, adequate lighting, clear access to exits, a first aid kit and knowledge of safe working procedures.

What do your responsibilities include?
• provide or maintain a working environment that is a safe and without risks to health
• provide or maintain equipment and systems of work that are safe and without risks to health
• provide the information, instruction, training and supervision necessary to ensure the health and safety at work of workers
• make arrangements for ensuring the safe use, handling, storage and transport of equipment and substances.

It is important to put in writing agreed procedures regarding working arrangements particularly regarding hours of work and access (eg. to check that the workplace is safe and that safe systems of work are in place, or to review systems and procedures following an accident).

A workplace assessment / risk assessment of the home environment is another step in identifying health and safety hazards, and deal with them. The person doing the assessment should focus on the part of the home which is used as a workplace - or you can give employees a checklist for self-audit rather than send someone in to tick the boxes.

This checklist – which confirms there is an appropriate desk, chair and lamp, for example, and that electrical cords have been tagged and tested – must be completed and handed back. The idea is that employees who want to work from home would need to complete a self-assessment form and sign up a document that frees you, the employer, from liability in the event of an OH&S issue.

Under NSW OH&S laws the following are some steps to follow when an employee requests working from home:-

Establish whether the duties are suitable for work from home – if special equipment needs to be used or work procedures followed that are not appropriate for home then the job may not be suitable for being done at home;
Establish what equipment will be necessary for the employee to safely work from home – ensure employee’s desk, chair and computer are suitable. Check if any other equipment is needed by the employee. NSW Regulations require that all places of work have a first aid kit. A basic (type C) kit is sufficient for most home-based work situations;
Establish that the home working environment is healthy and safe – ensure there is sufficient lighting, exits are clear, there is a smoke detector, sufficient power points (ensure power points are not overloaded) and if an earth leakage protect device is required;
Establish that the employee who will be working from home has the information and training necessary to do the work safely – ensure they have been trained on safe working procedures to prevent the occurrence of injuries;
Establish agreed hours of work and communication procedures -Establish the days and hours on which work from home can be done and agree on procedures for recording work hours, including actual starting and finishing times (this is important for workers compensation purposes). It is also useful to establish the way in which performance will be monitored and assessed and to establish communication procedures to ensure that appropriate information is passed between the person working from home and his or her co-workers and management;
Revise your workplace rehabilitation program – you may want to include a commitment to provision of suitable duties at the main workplace when this is necessary as a rehabilitation strategy, and to clarify arrangements for monitoring work from home rehabilitation programs.

It is important to monitor your employees working from home arrangements – things change, standards may drop so ensure there is open communication with these employees and a clear procedure where the employee reports any health and safety concerns or any incidents to you.

The Fair Work and Anti-Discrimination legislation allows employees to request flexible working arrangements in certain situations, so as an employer you need to have reasonable business grounds to refuse a request. If you do refuse a request inform your employee of the reasons and document these, keeping all records around this.

At Inspire Success, all our people work from home and we use a home based work agreement to outline who is responsible for what and get the expectations clear from the start.

Is this something that could be an issue at your place? Inspire Success is all about implementing practical solutions that help create high performing workplaces which are customer focussed and free of conflict - no matter what size your business is. Contact Rae Phillips at Inspire Success for further information raephillips@inspire-success.com