Workout: PageUp talent lab

Software provider PageUp has announced the launch of a leadership initiative bringing together human resources leaders.

Software provider PageUp has announced the launch of a program called Talent Lab, a leadership initiative bringing together human resources leaders to address and prepare for future workforce challenges.

PageUp global head of research Sylvia Vorhauser-Smith says local and international industry experts will cover topics addressing the day-to-day and long-term obstacles faced by HR.

Talent Lab will hear HR directors from Australian and international organisations, such as the Australian Red Cross, Commonwealth Bank, World Vision Australia, Transdev, Transpacific Industries and the Just Group, on how the world’s working environment affects and challenges their organisations, along with measures to overcome obstacles.

Work benefits

Specialist finance recruiter Marks Sattin has found one in five employees does not know what benefits their company offers, and fails to take advantage of travel and car allowances, as well as gym memberships and other perks.

The study of more than 600 jobseekers highlights the gap in communication between companies and staff.

Marks Sattin found training to be the No 1 benefit finance professionals want; 21 per cent say they have not had any training for at least two years, despite 75 per cent of managers saying they offered training.

Eye on the future

PD Training wants to motivate business leaders to future-proof their workforce, after it found businesses have not been preparing staff for increasingly mobile and cross-cultural opportunities.

Global operations director Karen Winfield says skills such as interpersonal communication between generations, managing virtual teams and cross-cultural communication are being overlooked.

The company has developed a range of courses for companies and workers to bridge those gaps.

“Training is a good retention strategy but it’s also a smart strategy for companies looking at their revenue pipelines and future stars,” Winfield says.

Courses will include virtual team operations, intercultural communications, managing diversity and leadership programs.

Leave management

Software company WFS says managing employee leave requests can become a time-consuming and labour-intensive task, often being pushed to the bottom of the priority list.

Marketing director James Kissell says leave requests can come at any time and can throw managers into disarray as they struggle to keep the business running smoothly while trying to cover labour gaps.

He says managers need to be prepared to be able to manage business disruption, including using automated leave-management systems.

WFS says managers can benefit from five key leave-management suggestions, including being aware of trends and patterns of leave requests and approvals, educating managers about worker entitlements, responding respectfully to requests, and carefully managing return-to-work schedules following illness or injury.

Kissell says managers should be educated in medical leave guidelines or use software that identifies the recommended return timeline for a given medical condition or incident.

WFS also advises managers to respond quickly to requests, and says advanced planning is often overlooked by managers but can assure staff that productivity will not be compromised during popular holiday times.