In the current labour market, finding a job can be difficult. Employers are becoming more specific and demanding in their labour needs, wanting the best employees for every position. This presents a challenge to job seekers. However, there are a few strategies you can use to increase the likelihood of success for your job search.

1. Know your strengths

This sounds basic, but understanding the value you can create for a company makes it much more likely that you can communicate that value effectively. People often fill out the ‘Skills’ sections of their resumes with nothing more than keywords, catchphrases and clichés, without looking at the bigger picture. It’s one thing to say you have excellent communication skills, but it’s another to be able to demonstrate how and where you developed them, and how they could be useful.

2. Cater your application to each individual job

Not all jobs are the same. While some may be similar, there will be different criteria for each position and company. Make sure to tailor your resume and cover letter to suit the job you are applying for. Generic resumes and cover letters show a lack of effort or genuine interest in the position – and recruiters will be able to pick up on that vibe. Match your skills and experiences to those presented in the job advertisement – how do you stack up to what the company wants? This doesn’t mean saying you are something you aren’t. It just means understanding how you would fit in that job.

3. Enter the hidden job market

The hidden job market is the creation of jobs that don’t exist, until you go looking. You’d be surprised at how many opportunities there are in organisations that are not available until the right candidate is presented. Contacting employers who may not be actively searching demonstrates initiative and passion for a position & company. It creates a good first impression that you are willing to take the lead and seek out opportunities. Businesses are more likely to notice you if you give them a reason to be noticed.

While there are dozens of tips, tricks and hints that could be given, the ones provided here are a solid foundation to improve your job search strategy.

Now that you are all ready to start searching, go to www.synergypeople.com.au to find what you’re looking for.

Most people think they know how to perform well in an interview. Most people are wrong. Being a good interviewee is a difficult skill to master, and preparation is important to be successful (and avoiding situations like the one pictured). Here are some of the basics of preparing for an interview.

1. Know the position and company you are applying for

Having a sound understanding of the job you are applying for will make it easier for you to illustrate how your skills match what the company is looking for. It also allows you to ask more questions and show your understanding of the job and what they do. Do your research and the interview will flow much more smoothly.

2. Be comfortable talking to another person

Talking directly to another person one-on-one in a formal setting can feel unnatural. Practice talking to yourself in the mirror, to friends, to relatives or even your pets, making sure to maintain eye contact. Being comfortable will allow you and the interviewer to be more engaged, get through more conversation (allowing the interviewer to make a better decision), and make the experience less stressful.

A good technique to use is the SOLER model – sit Square, Open your posture, Lean forward (slightly), make Eye contact (without staring), and Relax. This is a comfortable, yet formal presentation which encourages an open conversation - the key to any successful interview.

3. Be organised

Being organised is the best way to reduce much of the stress involved with an interview. Pack everything you need to take with you the day before – maybe even going as far as laying out your clothes on your bed. Plan ahead, know where you’re going and what you need to do when you get there, and give yourself plenty of extra time in case of traffic or travel delays. Reducing these other stresses will allow you to think much more clearly, and focus on being yourself in the interview.

4. Reflect

The company would not be interviewing you unless they were serious about hiring you. Reflect on why they would want you to work for them – be positive, yet realistic. Knowing your value is important so that you can show your full potential and what you could bring to their workplace. Be ready to talk about your experiences.

A good framework to use is STAR – Situation, Task, Actions and Results. Be clear and specific when using this model to answer behavioural & situational questions. The best indicator of future performance is past performance, so focusing on what you have achieved previously gives a prospective employer confidence that you would be the right person for the job.

Interviews are never easy, but with the right preparation and enough practice, it can be the difference between securing your dream job, and making the same mistakes at another interview a month later.

If you’re the type of employee we are looking for, go to www.synergypeople.com.au/job-search to find out what we have for you.

For many people, putting in their best effort day-in, day-out can be tiring and difficult. Even in the most exciting of jobs, repeating the same tasks can be demotivating. It is important to stay motivated to continue performing at your best, and get the most out of your work day both professionally and personally. Here are some tactics that may increase your motivation to work harder every day.

1. Break down your day into small, achievable goals

Sometimes laying out a ‘to-do’ list can be stressful. Knowing you have an enormous amount of work to get through can actually prevent you from ever getting started. However, by breaking down your work into smaller chunks, it can be easier to manage the workload. Once you’ve completed one of your mini-goals, your sense of achievement will inspire you to achieve your next goal. Instead of thinking about what needs to be done by the end of the day, think about what you need to do right now, and it will seem much less daunting.

2. Remember the big picture

Why did you get into your line of work in the first place? Do you enjoy it? Are you good at it? Are you putting food on the table for your young family? When we lose sight of why we are doing something, it makes it that much more difficult to accomplish. Remembering why you were motivated originally can bring you back to a happy, energised state of mind.

3. Be optimistic and realistic

Not every day will be your best. Nobody loves every single aspect of the job they do. However, bringing an enthusiastic mindset to work will allow you to more easily overcome whatever obstacles are in your way. This may seem simple, but don’t underestimate the power of a positive attitude. Bad days happen, but it’s what makes the good days so much more satisfying.

Staying motivated at work can be challenging. We all feel defeated sometimes, but making a conscious effort can help us to embrace each day as it comes. In the long run, bringing a positive approach to the workplace will inspire yourself, and possibly inspire others to be happier and more productive.

Looking for work that motivates you? Find the job that gets you out of bed in the morning at www.synergypeople.com.au.

A cover letter can be a very effective tool in separating you from other candidates. It should be used as a snapshot of who you are and why you should get the job. It acts as a precursor to you resume, and should give the recruiter another reason to read it.

So how do you design an effective cover letter? The experience of our expert consultants shows that there a few rules to abide by to make sure you are maximising the impact of your cover letter.

1. Be brief

A cover letter should always be less than one page. Anywhere from half to three-quarters of a page should be enough. It should not repeat your resume or LinkedIn profile; it should boost it, and make the recruiter more excited to read your resume.

2. Tailor your cover letter

Generic cover letters are useful to make sure you have a solid base and understanding of your personal strengths. However, it is much more advantageous to litter your cover letter with keywords specific to the job advertisement. These small changes will mean you resonate highly with the recruiter – they wrote the ad, so those words will strike a chord in their brain that you are what they’re looking for.

3. Use it to make a good first impression

Make sure your cover letter has accurate contact details, and that there are no spelling or grammatical errors. A cover letter is typically your first online impression on a recruiter. Mistakes show a lack of attention to detail, and even a lack of interest in the position. Also ensure that your name and contact details are at both the top and bottom of your cover letter. This will increase the likelihood that the recruiter will remember who you are, making this a powerful retention tool.

4. Highlight your qualifications and experiences

Using keywords to describe your strengths is useful, but unless it is being matched with how you acquired those skills and why this makes you right for the job, it is largely ineffective. Make sure to associate your strengths with qualifications and experiences to create a more complete picture of WHY you’re the best candidate for this particular role.

If you’ve got a cover letter prepared and are ready to job hunt, make sure to contact us via www.synergypeople.com.au.

Very few people are taught how to write a resume. It is a skill we are all assumed to be able to do. However, an effective resume can make you the standout applicant in a large, competitive job market. We suggest a few strategies to help improve the effectiveness of your resume.

1. Organise it according to the job

What does the job advertisement prioritise? If there is an emphasis on experience, it makes sense to put your employment history at the forefront of your resume, making sure to detail your job responsibilities and achievements. In entry-level and graduate roles, skills and qualifications are usually highly sought. Make sure to adjust your resume appropriately for each job, instead of using a generic resume. A base template resume is a useful tool, but don’t rely on your earlier preparation – each job is different and you should treat it as such.

2. Think about how your resume appears from the reader’s perspective

Certain positions receive hundreds, if not thousands of applications. If you were a recruiter, what type of resumes would you rather read? Poor formatting, long-winded & convoluted sentences, and ‘silly’ fonts make the process much more difficult and tedious for the person on the other end. Keep it simple, to-the-point and easy to read. This will allow the reader to identify the key points of your resume much more easily, increasing your chance of success in getting the job. If possible, one to two pages is best.

3. Use it your advantage – paint a picture of who you are

The purpose of a resume is to create a profile of yourself, and communicate how your abilities, experiences and qualifications align, allowing you to succeed in a certain job. Focus on trying to communicate to the reader HOW you will be valuable for their company. This means demonstrating how your skills could be useful in their business context – a Technical Customer Service Officer could successfully become a Business Development Manager if they can prove that their communication and rapport-building skills would be beneficial to that job, even without prior experience.

Writing a resume can be a difficult process, but creating a meaningful picture of who you are as an employee is vital to securing the job you are seeking. Design your resume with purpose in mind, and this will become much more achievable.

Think your resume is up to scratch? Visit www.synergypeople.com.au/job-search to test it out.

Work place safety is something you should take seriously. In order to achieve it, you need to open up some dialogue with members of your management team. Just like you’d have an open discussion on which recruitment agencies you should be using, you’d also want to touch on the ways you can help to improve the safety of your business. This should be done by using the three important things.

The first is the quickest approach to rolling out a safety plan. Think about what changes you can make today. These are the items you can improve now that will boost the safety in your company. It might be changing lightbulbs so they are brighter, having immediate safety training, and clearing pathways and exits as needed. The goal is to ensure that by the time you are done, you’ve quickly boosted the safety in the business.

Next is to find a cheap and affordable solution to take it to the next level. You want to look at temporary solutions that won’t drain the budget, while boosting the safety of your staff. This is an important balance and you’ll need to put some thought into the process. If you’re spending $150 on a safety item and in 6 months you’ll need to spend $200 to improve the level of safety on a device again, it makes financial sense to just go with the more advanced option available. The thing is, cheaper doesn’t mean least expensive. It’s the smartest approach to saving money, while still meeting the minimum safety needs of your team.

From here, you move on to the more effective safety measures. This is the improvement of items in place with better solutions. It ensures that you’ve further advanced the safety of your team.

Remember, your staff is only as safe as the environment you provide for them. That means you are ultimately responsible for their safety too. Make sure you’re doing all you can to effectively introduce new safety standards into your business.

For more information on how to recruit people who take workplace safety as seriously as you do, please click.

Most of us know Six Sigma as this statistical process that improves the quality of our business. Companies who use it have seen a noticeable improvement in their execution of processes and ultimately the overall success they have in their industry. While it isn’t generally viewed as a safety measure, that doesn’t mean that Six Sigma couldn’t give you a possible solution for safety in your company.

Truthfully, you can introduce the measures of Six Sigma and turn them into safety measures for your company. You can even monitor the improvement over where you previously stood in terms of safety and use this as a powerful statistical tool that ensures you have everything you need. It just requires you to define, measure, analyse, improve and control.

First, we define the safety. We look at where the process is failing us. Is it a lack of safety training in your company? Are there processes in other departments that are leading to an increased number of accidents in one particular department?

Next, we need to measure the data we have. Based on accidents in the company, is the information an accurate reading? If you are judging on two months and one month had a mechanical failure that led to industry, it isn’t the typical norm for your business. A better choice is to go over a few years. Remember, that you need to identify problems, and that means something that is ongoing.

Now you analyse and determine the root cause of the accidents in the company. You can base this on the information you’ve compiled. You’ll want to focus on actual root causes. If a machine broke down as mentioned in the previous example, is the maintenance team ignoring their routine repairs of the machinery?

From here, you need to have corrective measures in place. These measures are designed to ensure that safety improves in the company. These plans should be clear enough that an established employee will understand the measures and someone who comes as a new day labour hire Sydney companies use can fully understand the information at hand.

Finally, you make it sustainable. A corrective action plan and routinely visiting the information ensures that your business continues to evaluate and move forward is essential.

This entire process will take some time on your part. Fortunately, once you’ve completed it, you’ll have a safer business at hand, thanks to Six Sigma.

For more information on recruiting people that are able to use Six Sigma in your business, please click.

No one wants to admit their company has internal dangers. But in manufacturing, there are hazards that every company faces. While most of us are able to limit the number of annual incidents, occasionally something may happen. That’s where knowing the common safety hazards in manufacturing comes into play. With the right approach, you can spot these problems and address them as needed. That way you have a facility that is safe for every temporary labour hire firms send into your facility and it remains safe for those already on your payroll.

With some effort, you and your team can help to maintain the safety of your manufacturing plant. You may even want to consider bring on board a safety inspector that you can hire through any professional recruitment agency.

For more information on employing people who are proactive in their approach to workplace safety, please click.

There are common safety hazards in warehouses that employers often overlook. Many feel like people who come in to work will avoid injury or death. Unfortunately, accidents are never planned and it is up to the employer to address the safety hazards to ensure employees can safely do their job. An action plan also needs to be in place so that an establish employee or a temporary labour hire Sydney based company sends in are in no danger as they work for you.

Finally, don’t overlook the importance of safety training. Every few months you should brush up safety protocol with your current staff. At the same time, each time you bring in a new recruit from any recruitment agency, you’ll want to ensure they are also brought up to date on the safety plans for your warehouse.

For more details about recruiting safety-oriented employees, please click.

Unless you want to constantly look for new employees frequently at the leading recruitment agency, managers will want to take a look at the common hazards in the office. These 10 hazards are easy to address and with a sensible approach, you can avoid most of these concerns.

These are just some of the hazards you’ll find in the office. Make sure you quickly address them and create a safe space for your employees to work in.

For more information on recruiting safety conscious employees, please click.

Your visual management board is a place that will ultimately become the go to spot for your team. In every warehouse, there should be this board to ensure that your staff has access to the most current information and scores as they pertain to your business. While the board seems confusing at times and even a little overwhelming, there are five simple things you can do to handle the creation of these boards so they help, not hinder your business.

Tip 1:

This begins by letting everyone know this board is a team collaboration. Everyone comes to the board and puts the information they have on it. When an established employee or a labour hire temp looks at the board, they should know what is going on. Once a month, the team should spend the time reviewing the information and discussion it.

When information goes on the board, think of this as a topic of conversation that pertains to work. Open up the floor with everyone to discuss it. Don’t allow the board to become a piece of wall décor that becomes underutilized and ultimately collects dust.

Tip 2:

This means the positioning of the board is also important. It should be close to the workplace of the team. It makes no sense to have this board in the break room or in the employee locker room where it won’t be interacted with frequently. Find a secure spot in your area of the company and post the visual management board there.

Tip 3:

While creating the board, remember they don’t have to be breathtaking, or flawless. These boards are for passing along information. You won’t be judged by how straight the lines are, or if it is a visually stunning piece of artwork. Take the time to post information and don’t spend hours passing it along. Just make sure that anything that goes on the board is legible enough that your staff can review it.

Tip 4:

Above all, don’t standardize the board and limit who can post on it. This kills the concept of the board and can deter workers from feeling like they can use it for its purposes. While you might need to give a little guidance, allow some leeway with it so that everyone becomes comfortable using the board. When new staff comes on board either internally or from the best recruitment agency Sydney has to offer, they are ready to go. With that, your board ultimately becomes a great success.

For more information on recruiting people who can effectively interact with your visual management board, please click.

While dealing with a recruitment agency, businesses are often asked what they do for their employee engagement. While some businesses have a few tried and true techniques in place, others need to boost their efforts. One of these approaches is with a lean program. While more of a philosophy, this approach can help a business to better engage their employees and to set themselves up for success.

With a structured approach, you are able to implement changes in the organization that help to boost engagement. This can translate to more profitability, a better focus on the customers, and having employees who look forward to coming into work.

With the lean program, managers trust their employees, and that trust is returned. Instead of policing the staff, there are team-building exercises that promote teams working together, which ultimately have people take on individual leadership roles, self-managing themselves and handling their own compliance.

Employees also feel like they have made a difference in this approach. They can see the value of their jobs and don’t feel like they have wasted 8 hours and have nothing to show for it. This leaves them feeling empowered and driven to come back in the next day.

That means when you incorporate the lean program, you are reducing the amount of cycle time your business has. That means employees are engaged faster and there is a faster improvement in morale. This carries over to the building of trust between the general workforce in the company and those in management roles. Above all, you’ll have a committed team that you can always turn to.

For more information on recruiting people that will be more engaged from the outset, please clickhere.

Six Sigma is a program that has helped to improve the operations of manufacturing firms around the globe. When seeking out labour hire, businesses are now requesting individuals who have a deeper understanding of Six Sigma. After all, there are proven improvements to productivity, profitability, and customer satisfaction when properly implemented.

In order for Six Sigma to effectively work, there are a few key areas that need proper attention. By focusing on these areas, and avoiding the common pitfalls associated with them, you can overcome some of the toughest challenges that most people face when dealing with the process.

Make Sure Management is All On Board

One of the toughest challenges is getting your management team to come on board in deploying this program. Make sure you have this team working with you and providing you with the team and resources that are essential for the initial program roll out. This means there is a dedication of time, talent, and money from each department so that you can succeed with the Six Sigma program.

Train Staff So They Understand the Methodology of Six Sigma

Before unleashing the power of Six Sigma on the company, it’s critical that those affected by it understand what the program is. There’s a need to have shareholders on board with the understanding, and to make sure when key items come up, your team knows how to handle them according to the program. For new staff, it is also best to find a recruitment agency that can locate top tier talent with a foundation in Six Sigma.

Plan the Execution Out and Follow Those Plans

You can have a dozen project champions and master black belts on hand, and still stifle your success. When dealing with Six Sigma, it is important to plan out the execution process and to ensure that everything is laid out accordingly. This is the best way to avoid many of the common problems that you’ll face, and ensure that the transition is smooth for everyone in the company.

If you keep these three critical areas in mind, you’ll find that you are able to avoid the toughest challenges that come up when implementing the Six Sigma program for your business.

For more information on how to recruit Six Sigma-trained, high performance employees, please click.

Once you’ve used the best option for labour hire, businesses can put a few changes in place in their warehouse. These changes will ensure that you are operating at peak efficiency, while you are also reducing the overall costs of the company.

The first thing to do is to better manage your freight. Watch the inbound and outbound options and bid wisely on these options. While you might think something makes logical sense, if it ends up affecting your overall service levels, it isn’t a good choice.

With that is the pay that you give to your staff. With labour hire services, you can put people quickly into a warehouse position. But if you aren’t paying them well, you are more likely to experience a high turnover rate. This takes away time from the floor as your team has to continuously go through staffing changes. Instead, pay based on performance to boost productivity. The more they pick and pack, the more they end up getting paid. This is a great way to get real results.

Processes can also be simplified. When someone comes in from a recruitment agency will they understand how you process orders? If it is over the top complicated and there is no rhyme or reason, add some order with fewer steps. You’ll notice that you end up with better results along the way.

Consider having managers operate more effectively on the floor also. Yes, these individuals are the eyes and ears of upper management. But they should also make sure things are flowing well. They need to process feedback from customers and vendors and keep track of inventory and the shipping times from start to finish. The faster this goes, the better it is for your customers. Make sure your managers push for the best from everyone and make the order processing through the warehouse operate more seamlessly.

If things become too complicated for you, you can branch out. You can either expand your staff with some permanent recruitment, or use a third party source for the items you ship the most often. That way, you cut down the strain on your staff and you don’t have to worry about expanding staff or facilities. You just pay a small percentage on each item that is shipped and sold through the third part fulfillment option.

Just remember, no matter what approach you take to increasing warehousing performance, you’ll need to constantly evaluate and make changes as needed. By doing that, you improve the results you have. That will mean you end up handling orders faster and reduce your overhead.

If you are currently seeking high performing warehouse staff, please click.

In order to succeed in business, you’ll discover that having an attention to detail is important. This is an area that can cost you customers, employees, and even increase your risk of fines and other penalties. It’s important that before you fill a permanent position, that you put a great deal of value on this key skill.

Attention to detail seems like something every person should have to a degree. If you’ve been in business long enough, you know you triple check forms before you send them out. Typos and information in the wrong section actually results in errors that can carry over into other areas of the business. A wrong order number or quantity can cause you to ship the wrong items out and then you’re paying for return shipping or eating a loss. This means there is a waste of resources and unwanted costs that could be avoided.

Information entered into databases may also end up being wrong. That means that graphs, charts, and other information you’re basing the future of your business on is incorrect. In these cases, you’ll have to begin reviewing all the information in the database and correcting the errors in order to move forward again. This wastes time and resources, plus you have to pay staff to devote their time and attention to these databases. Had the first person had a little attention to detail, you could have otherwise avoided this.

So what is an attention to detail? It is the accuracy and thoroughness that is part of working through a task. Those who have it will provide consistent and accurate information on all paperwork and tasks that are presented to them. As a permanent recruit, you can count on this individual to continuously bring a level of accuracy that helps you to avoid fines, penalties, and missed opportunities that stem from a lack of attention to detail.

In order to ensure that you end up with those who have mastered attention to detail, have your recruitment agency test attention to detail. Then, have potential candidates go through a series of steps that has them enter information accurately and to proactively spot any errors that are found in the selection. That way, you increase the chances of hiring someone who can help you to avoid a headache when it comes to a project that requires absolute accuracy.

To find staff who are highly attentive to detail, please click .

Is your biggest obstacle winning people over? If this is the case, feel free to take a step back and realize that you won’t win anyone overnight. But if you work at it, you’ll start to win people over piece-by-piece, and increase both morale and loyalty in the company.

It’s a good idea anytime you meet with a prospective employee to plant that first seed. Seek out shared experiences and find that common ground. If this is a permanent recruitment opportunity, understand that adding the human factor now will open the doors for long term success.

Next, understand that it is okay to showcase that you are human to your employees. Those who are overly polished, precise, and act like they are free of errors intimidate employees and cause a separation to take place. A great example is former Australian Cricket captain Michael Clarke. Clarke was too perfect to endear himself to his team mates and the public. A better choice is to be natural and build trust with your group. You’ll ultimately find that you can be successful if you do this.

A little compassion goes a long way. People want to know they are dealing with someone who has a heart and they can trust. That doesn’t mean you need to take an interest in every little detail of someone’s life. But you should show that you have a personality and have the proper amount of human compassion that one should show in the workplace.

Above all, don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. Make sure you aren’t delegating all the work for your team and playing on the internet the rest of the day. It’s important to be there on the sidelines and to work through projects with the staff. While some tasks are rightfully delegated, as the boss you should have some of the responsibility too. After all, the goal of everyone on your team is to ultimately find success.

Finally, make sure you constantly engage with the others on your team. Regardless of how distant you think they are, or how much you believe they avoid you, know these individuals you can engage with them on a personable level and build a degree of trust with them.

Winning your team over won’t happen overnight. It’s a process that takes time and requires you to work on building trust. But once you do, you’ll find that you have a loyal group who will stand by your side, no matter how the deck is stacked.

For more information on recruiting people that can support you and your organisation, please click .

Motivation is often viewed as being purely psychological. It’s the motivation of the mind to drive us to succeed, or provide us with a will to survive. Motivation as a whole can be broken down into different sections. First you have the psychological motivation. These are perhaps the ones that most people relate to:

Motivation of hunger – A need to digest food for nutritional value.Motivation of thirst – A need to drink and take in life necessary fluids.Motivation of oxygen – The need to breathe and to bring oxygen into the blood.Motivation of sleep – Essential for rejuvenation of energy and to promote healing.

Next, there are social motivations we have. These are unique traits to humans and impact the effort we place into the things we accomplish in life, such as:

Motivation of achievement – To desire to reach a goal we have.Motivation of aggression – Usually attached to another person preventing us from reaching a goal.Motivation of power – The motivation to use influence and reputation to achieve a goal.Motivation of acquisition – The motivation to receive something in exchange for our time. In business, this is the motivation to be paid to do a job. Motivation of curiosity – The motivation to learn, one commonly found in the school setting.

What we find is that biological needs impact the motivation we have in the workplace. We have a biological need to eat and drink, so we are driven to maintain employment that allows us to do both. There is a physical need for a roof over our heads and our psychological need to care for our families all play an important role in the process.

When recruiting for our clients we need to take into account the motivations of any potential permanent recruitment candidates we look at. What are their motivations to work and what would drive them to remain loyal to your business? Every new hire you look at needs to be explored on several levels. That way you avoid investing your time and resources into a new hire that ultimately will cost you more than they bring back into their position.

If you are interested in recruiting highly self-motivated staff, please click.

When you verbally present information in the office, the person you are speaking to will only comprehend about 20% of the instructions that are given to them. This means that 80% of your instructions will not be followed.

The human brain has to process a large number of items at any given time. This prevents the full attention you need to be directed to processing what is said to an employee, so they will begin to pick up pieces of what is being told to them and associating it with an approach that they know and understand. That’s the case, even if it is the polar opposite of what you need accomplished.

This means you need to put some systems in place to help increase the level of understanding an individual may have. One way to do this is to create a step-by-step instructional manual that will guide a person through a process at work. Instead of picking out areas that they are familiar with from verbal instructions, this comprehensive guide leaves little to interpretation. That means when your labour hire or new permanent recruit comes in and begins a task, they are doing it precisely as you want it done.

You also reduce the risk of injury, death, and potential lawsuits by laying out the process. If you tell someone to use a piece of heavy machinery and simply tell them what to do and go, you increase their risk of injury. When you go through the safety mechanisms showing them one by one, have a list of how to operate the machine, and take measures to increase their understanding, your staff is less likely to become injured. That means giving several avenues to help the employee understand is essential.

Finally, the systems in place help you to ensure the company is operating at peak levels at all times. With detailed directions in place that go beyond the verbalization, you are able to better guide results. That means when you’re working with a staff member in one department, you can ensure sections of a report that is essential to another department to do their job has a high level of importance. That way, you don’t end up with any surprises along the way and you are able to help your business grow.

Of course you still need the right labour hire personnel or permanent staff to comprehend written and verbal instructions. To find out how to recruit highly competent staff, please click .

It’s been common to link remuneration and bonuses to the performance reviews in a company. There is a belief that this delivers better performance when there is a monetary incentive available to your staff. But this can cause a culture cancer, rather than actually improving the results in your company. As the negativity grows, you’ll find that you’ll frequently need to turn to a recruitment agency.

The problem is that while performance reviews are tied to a form of compensation, they change the dynamics of the company. People begin to undermine their coworkers and they cause deception in departments, and turn the company into an 'every man for themselves' attitude. Some Fortune 500 companies have discovered the problems associated with the link and have separated the bonuses and raises from these reviews, and have started to determine them based on other factors.

Some companies have decided a better route to go is to pay staff a fair market price for their position. Each time a local market changes, a cost of living bonus is applied to everyone’s salary. This discourages the negative cancerous environment from developing. That way, there are better alliances formed in the company. This also offsets the frequency you need to locate new staff with any recruitment agency has to offer.

Another approach is doing universal increase or bonus percentage, as long as the company as a whole meets the goals that are set for it. This encourages everyone in the company to give their very best and help to offer better camaraderie than if they are only worried about their career in the company.

That doesn’t mean performance reviews should be removed. On the contrary, these reviews are essential for proving justifiable terminations, and addressing the problems that may occur. In these cases, you use them simply to evaluate where an individual stands for the course of the year. If there are problems, you can still address them at this time. But there aren’t any unrealistic expectations that are associated with these reviews and they become more honest snapshots, since everyone presents them like they should.

With this new approach, you remove the potential for a cancer culture to form at work. You won’t have employees trying to undermine each other in order to appear like they’ve shown some new potential. You also avoid individuals who show improvement just before it is time for their review in order to appear like they’ve made significant growth to boost their compensation, only to return to old habits as soon as their bonus hits the system. Instead, you are left with everyone on the same playing field. That means you have a team that works together and focuses on working as a team for the greater good of the company. This will also mean a lower turnover rate, which will translate to less time focusing on recruitment and labour hire and more time on advancing your business. Moreover, your business should grow.

For more information on how to employ great people to support your business growth, please click.

There was a time when Human Resource professionals would focus on performance reviews to point out the areas that staff needed to improve. These reports were designed to give guidance to staff on areas to improve over a period of time. The lower the score, the more improvement needed.

Human Resources Management magazine did a study that explored the effectiveness of performance listed numerically on reports. 23% felt that the company was average in the way they handled their performance reviews. Furthermore, managers who were using this approach were polled and 95% stated this caused more disdain in the company and 90% of the HR Heads believed this type of reporting doesn’t offer accurate information. In many cases, it was stressed that the majority of staff would become counterproductive in low scored areas. So these reports caused more damage than good to the performance in the company. Often it resulted in high staff turnover which meant companies would have to turn to their permanent recruitment agency more than they budgeted for.

Why does a numerical ranking system deliver such negative results? For one, you’re pointing out the fact you’ve spotted problems with the employees performance. This causes the fight or flight response to go into effect and employees make rash decisions, because it is misinterpreted. Most don’t see it as a way to show them how to improve their performance, rather to pinpoint their problems. Instead, many seek out their local recruitment agency to find them an alternative employment solution.

Disengagement is also a possibility. Some reviews consist of a three point system. A 1 means improvement is needed, 2 is meeting expectations, and a 3 means that expectations are exceeded. While theoretically, there is nothing wrong with a 2, it causes the employee to become disengaged, because even if they are feeling like they’ve given their all, their supervisor is suggesting more can be done.

There are other viewpoints on the ranking system that suggest other problems it contains. This includes:

· Numerical labeling dehumanizes and demoralizes subordinates and places them in a lower status in the company.

· Human resources department often create confusing and misrepresenting performance reviews with numbers that provide nothing of value to the employee they are intended to motivate.

· Poor grades don’t lead to people in the workplace to decide on a path to improvement, because no clear option is available. That means that the individual can become demotivated, disgruntled, and disengaged at work.

· When employees become pitted against each other in a numerical system, they will begin to undermine each other in order to place higher in ranking.

While performance reviews may have their place and a degree of value in your company, you do need to be sensible with your approach using them. Find a way to provide feedback that focuses on the strength of your direct reports and help to strengthen those areas, rather than point on everything they are doing wrong, or ranking and rating them numerically. You’ll find a positive statement goes further than a simple number.

For assistance in finding staff with strengths in the right areas, please click.

Gallup Research has studied the effects on human behavior in the workplace in regards to engagement on the job. When employers focused on using the strengths of the employee, they accelerated performance and this benefited the company, more than trying to improve on the perceived weaknesses.

When the focus remained on their strengths, the talent would continue to deliver near perfect performance. This further strengthened these skills sets also and helped to keep employees motivated. This causes employees to remain engaged at work, reduce turnover, and to provide their best performance in their position. After all, the goal is to keep the people you bring in through your recruitment efforts, rather than having to constantly engage your recruitment agency.

In order to ensure employees are constantly focusing on their strengths, there are four key essential items to focus on:

Set goals and expectations based on the strengths of the employees.Maintain a list of the strengths of each team member and match assignments based on this information.Have in-depth and meaningful conversations with each employee to cover their areas of strength. These conversations can begin as soon as you bring them into the company as part of your permanent recruitment efforts.Build on the strengths that each staff member has and avoid demotivating him or her by trying to focus on weaknesses.

It seems odd for an employer to overlook the weaknesses and focus on the strengths of their team instead. But as Gallup discovered among 1,003 employers in the United States, the engagement of the staff jumped dramatically. In fact, in instances where employers changed their focus the number of engaged employees in a company changed from 2% to 61%, while the number of actively disengaged employees dropped from 40% to 1%.

Staff also found they felt a better sense of well-being when the focus changed. This means a reduction in stress levels and an overall improvement in the perceived quality of an employee’s life. This means fewer sick days are used, chronic disease risk is lowered, and employees band together to work towards the bottom line. It’s important to find the strengths of each team member and use those strengths in order to achieve a common goal in a group.

As you can see, it is possible to improve your results when you focus on the strengths, rather than the weaknesses of your employees. To find the perfect team of employees with the skills your business needs, use the services of a professional recruitment agency such as Synergy People today.

A question that often comes up is whether or not workers compensation is abused. Whilst most workers will not go out of there way to injure themselves, it is often thought that when they do have an injury the symptoms and recovery times are exaggerated.

I often wonder would the number of cases decrease if workers had to pay for their own insurance? The answer is possibly. While businesses are getting hit hard with claims against their worker compensation insurance, the entire scenario is becoming more complex. Not only are there employees who are abusing the system, but some employers have also stopped paying their premiums and causing a rise for other honest employers.

The total amount associated with workers compensation fraud is in the tens of millions of each year. This includes time that is paid off for work, medical bills, and over exaggerated injuries. In some cases an established injury or one that is suffered at home is brought up and then malingering causes the extension of the payments to go to the maximum time frame possible.

While it is believed that this is a victimless crime, it actually impacts a lot of people. Higher premiums take away from expansion and profits of employers. These higher prices also take away from pay increases and hiring additional staff. That means a loss of jobs. Workers are then endangered by the antics of those who force the injury and those who are left behind are forced to pick up the slack.

If workers were required to pay their own workers compensation insurance, it would likely cause a decrease in injuries and the amount of time they take off. If an employee knows that their claims and antics are impacting how much they have to pay, especially if it continues to be taken out of their compensation payments, they are less likely to prolong and to create fake ailments. While some fraud might still happen, the occurrence could dramatically decrease. Especially if there are cases where individual workers compensation insurance premiums increased after so many claims being filed by a single individual, as they would stand out as a potential liability.

I look forward to your comments.

On the 4th November I was pleased to contact our existing clients, candidates and business contacts and let them know we are now Synergy People. As a part of our new look we wanted to not just look different but take advantage of the perfect opportunity to be different.

I asked everyone what they wanted to hear about more from us. The results were a fantastic insight to what everyone is interested in. The stand out response, 78% of our clients want to hear about Performance Management.

So with these survey results fresh in my mind, here are 6 Essential Things I have Learnt about Performance Management.

1. Vision.Clear and easily understood.

What an organization would like to achieve or accomplish in the mid-term or long-term future. What will our company look like in the medium to long term. The more precise you can make it the more focussed the team will be in achieving it.

2. Purpose.Business, Division, Departments and individuals must have and understand their purpose.

A purpose gives us meaning and a sense of contribution. With no purpose we are just going through the motions.

3. Alignment.Purpose to be aligned with the Vision

If our goals, purpose and vision are in alignment, we should have no problem working with each other without any conflict and will we realise a synergistic effect.

4. Targets/goals.Clearly defined, agreed upon and aligned with Purpose and Vision.

Such strategic goals should be achievable and should reflect a realistic assessment of the current and projected business environment.

5. Measurement.Improvement comes from measurement.

Everything can be measured. If we know our results it is easier to deduce what we need to do to reach our goals.

6. Recognition.Might be as simple as a pat on the back. If it is genuine it's meaningful.

Recognition is all about driving and reinforcing behaviour aligned with the Company Culture and Vision. It is the encouragement to repeat the behaviour that has borne the desired results over and over again. I know this is obvious but it is rarely done well.

I am available to discuss my ideas on performance management and how we can help your business. Call me on 96186277. Or join the conversation on LinkedIn

Synergy Recruitment Solutions was established in 2004. Over the past 12 years it has established itself as a trusted source of talent for both on hire and permanent recruitment.

I'm proud to take the opportunity to introduce to you a new phase for the business. Synergy Recruitment Solutions is now being known as Synergy People.

We have taken this step after talking to our clients and asking them how we can help them better. Synegy People encompasses what our pupose is, that is to provide the best talent quickly to your business. This is more than just recruitment. It is ensuring we pre-qualify, interview, have on call and deliver who you need, when you need them.

We are focused on building talent pools for your business. Talent On Call for temporary and labour hire and Talent Connect for permanent recruitment have been established to coonect you with the best talent.

Proudly based in Ingleburn, NSW, Talent On Call services all the major Industrial and Commercial Areas of South West Sydney and Western Sydney.

Talent Connect is a specialist service we provide for Permanent Recruitment Solutions. Through our contacts and extended network we can find and source the right solutions for you locally and globally.

Synergy People is more than just changing the name. Our new look and feel will be appearing in more places as the new phase of our business develops. I look forward to sharing more with you in the coming weeks. If you have any feed back or questions, I would like to hear from you. Please clickhereto contact me.