Tips for tough times

RECRUITMENT group Clarius has released practical tips for employees looking for a boost in job negotiations.

RECRUITMENT group Clarius has released practical tips for employees looking for a boost in job negotiations.

Executive general manager Paul Barbaro says times are tough in Australia, pay conditions are sliding, and developing personal strategies may help to get ahead.

Barbaro says it is important to prove your worth by tracking how your performance affects the bottom line, show your future value by contributing to innovation, sharpen your skills to help the business financially — such as project management and leadership skills — and surprise your boss with ideas.

“There simply may not be money in the pot, so try negotiating for additional benefits instead, like even more training, flexible work hours or even ask for a mentor,” he says.

Barbaro says when it comes to pay increase considerations, bosses do not just look at how workers are performing now, they look at future value.

Tech webinar

THE Australian Human Resources Institute is hosting a free webinar on reaching staff, teaching and leadership in the digital age on October 9.

The webinar, featuring author Roger Courville, will discuss converging digital trends that are changing workplaces and strategies to manage them, changing your approach to using technology, actions to adapt to technology and mistakes to avoid. Courville will discuss how professional relationships and technology are a perfect match.

Details: www.ahri.com.au.

School of thought

THE Britain-based director of policy and research at the Education and Employers Taskforce, Anthony Mann, has told an Adelaide conference that the involvement of businesses that start positively connecting with school students leads to more employed young people.

Mann has spent years researching and developing employer engagement programs in schools, colleges and labour market programs, and has found there is a positive connection between employer engagement with students at school and the employability and earning power of a young adult who can recall the early interaction.

Uniting Communities chief executive Simon Schrapel, who hosted the seminar, says preparing young people for the labour market is one of the great challenges for educators and the community. “With persistently high unemployment rates among young people ... it is imperative that we learn from others about how to get the school-employer relationship established early on and create a state of excellence in building pathways to employment,” Schrapel says.

Harness feedback

THE founder of customer review website WOMO, Fiona Adler, says businesses can grow if they harness online reviewing and feedback mechanisms.

Adler says reviews are the best way to build trust in a business because they provide proof of good service. She says customer reviews provide a sales shortcut because people will conduct online research before starting serious discussions about products. Businesses can harness feedback from negative reviews and use them to improve operations, and they can help create a service culture within an organisation.

Bonus for men

RESEARCH from Alliance Recruitment has found men who work in sales and marketing are 50 per cent likelier to earn a bonus than women.

The research found the highest recorded bonus was $130,000, which went to a male marketing general manager working in a large wholesale trade company in Sydney. He had a masters degree and managed 11 to 25 people.

However, men were likelier to earn an average bonus of $15,299, compared to an average of $10,727 for women.

Alliance executive general manager Paul Barbaro says bonuses and benefits are a key part of a company’s arsenal to attract talent and are critical for retaining and rewarding best performers.

“Many businesses have cut staff numbers and without the profits coming in they’re finding more creative ways to reward high performers, whether through bonuses attached to profit or a mix of desirable benefits,” Barbaro says.

He says the 50 per cent disparity in gender bonuses mirrors inequities across other professions where research shows men consistently receive a larger cut, but he says the situation is changing in some professions.