Race discrimination commissioner to open diversity conference

Race discrimination commissioner Tim Soutphommasane will be a ley speaker at the AHRI’s Inclusion and Diversity conference.

Race discrimination commissioner Tim Soutphommasane.

Race Discrimination Commissioner Tim Soutphommasane will head a diverse range of speakers at this year’s Australian Human Resources Institute Inclusion and Diversity conference in Sydney on May 18.

The program will focus on building inclusion and diversity management practices in organisations, with presentations from specialists on how to support human resources staff and those responsible for ensuring their company is inclusive.

Speakers include the Australian Red Cross director of human resources Chris Steinfort, Attitude Foundation chairman Graeme Innes and Lend Lease Australia diversity and inclusion manager Gina De George.

Discussions will include cultural and age diversity, innovation, indigenous employment and workplace flexibility.

Details: www.ahri.com.au

Job numbers static

The Australian Institute of Management says almost half of Australian organisations — 49 per cent — expect permanent employee numbers to remain the same during the coming year, increasing from 36.4 last year.

The AIM National Salary Survey, in its 51st year, has found that three in five employees leaving an organisation are moving sideways into a similar role while more than 40 per cent leave because of pay.

The survey is based on the responses of more than 557 organisations covering more than 25,000 employees and 282 job roles.

In this year’s survey the average salary is up 3.4 per cent, which is lower than the 3.6 per cent recorded last year and the lowest since 2003.

It increased in information technology and business and professional services.

The survey has found employers do not expect the situation to improve.

It forecasts the average salary to drop a further 0.2 percentage points next year.

Social media

Research by recruitment specialists Randstad has found jobseekers are turning to Facebook instead of LinkedIn.

Randstad says one in three Australian jobseekers are using social media to find work, with 61 per cent using Facebook, 45 per cent using LinkedIn and 34 per cent used Google+.

As more people and companies across the world turn to social media for recruitment, Hungarians have been found to use social media the most — at 75 per cent — while Australians lag behind on 49 per cent. Japanese people used social media to find jobs the least, at just 26 per cent.

Randstad chief executive Frank Ribuot says while people use a range of methods to find and apply for jobs, the most successful way to secure work is to use personal networks.

Award winner

Melbourne-based consultant Steve Simpson has won the Educator Award of Excellence at the National Speakers Association of Australia’s Convention Awards.

The award is given to a speaker who continues to reach diverse groups through diverse methodology in keynote presentations, large and small group training and one-on-one work.

An international speaker, author and consultant on corporate culture and customer service, Simpson has created the concept of unwritten ground rules in the workplace, educating people about improving workplace culture through understanding what needs to be said and what happens when issues are not raised.