Workout: The Boardroom offers a monthly mentor

The Boardroom is a business advisory and support service focusing on mentoring, networking and collaboration.

The Boardroom co-founder Martin Martinez.

Entrepreneurs Martin Martinez and Ross McCreath have created a business advisory and support service focusing on mentoring, networking and collaboration.

The Boardroom will see groups of up to 12 meet monthly to discuss innovation and form groups, with team members picked on a criteria of similar interests, needs and objectives.

The program is designed to maximise performance and meet outcomes, based on the success of fellowship environments where business leaders share knowledge and expertise.

Bank on equality

The Commonwealth Bank aims to employ women in 40 per cent of positions for executive managers and above by 2020.

Chief executive Ian Narev says women comprise nearly 60 per cent of the bank’s workforce. “We have a business and moral imperative to build an inclusive culture, and gender equality is a key focus for us,” Narev says.

“To focus our efforts and create accountability we have set a new target of 40 per cent for women in senior leadership positions by 2020. To achieve this, one in every two new appointments at these levels will be female.”

Last week the bank was among 90 businesses awarded the Workplace Gender Equality Agency employer of choice for gender equality citation.

Skills in demand

International recruitment agency Hays has found that with increased demand for architectural and engineering skills and a shortage of workers, highly regarded professionals are requesting more flexible working hours.

Hays Architecture and Engineering senior regional director Adam Shapley says flexible working options were once rare in these industries, but are becoming common.

He says another positive change resulting from the skill shortage is the increasing number of internships on offer.

Shapley says civil and structural engineers are among the most highly sought professionals nationally, and design and project engineers are in demand in NSW. In Queensland electrical, mechanical and hydraulic engineers are in short supply, while Victoria needs transport engineers, inroad designers and registered building practitioners.

British kudos

Recruitment agency FuturePeople has been named Australia’s most innovative recruiter by British industry magazine Corporate Vision.

FuturePeople was recognised for lifting the standards of the sector and challenging the traditional view of recruitment agencies and in its work with specialist partners.

Chief executive Linda Simonsen says the recognition is testament to the innovation FuturePeople has employed to challenge traditional recruitment ideas.

IT job swaps

Information technology recruiter Greythorn says more than half the IT professionals working in the digital and mobile sector intend to change jobs in the next 12 months.

Greythorn’s survey of 3112 jobseekers found the huge number reflected skilled professionals’ ambition to seek jobs with high pay and benefits.

Consultant Michael Boyd says the figure is alarming for employers looking to embark on digital projects during the next year. He says the survey found only a third of hiring managers believe remuneration and benefits are important, and employers need to act quickly to better understand employee motivators.