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Episode 66
125 Plays3 months ago
News for the week beginning 17 June 2024 and Question of the Week "How involved should managers be in non-work issues affecting a team member's performance?"
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Transcript
00:00:09
Speaker
This is the news for the week commencing the 17th of June, 2024. I'm Adele last. Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined 0.1% to 4% as the number of unemployed people dropped below 600,000 when the May labour market data was released last Thursday by the ABS. Total employment rose 0.3% to 14.36 million and the participation rate was steady at 66.7%. Full-time employment increased by 26,200 and part-time employment increased by 12,500. Total employment has increased by 355,000 jobs over the past 12 months.
00:00:52
Speaker
The NSW Government has announced the allocation of $6.3 million dollars in the upcoming NSW Budget to fund a feasibility study into establishing a NSW Health Locom Agency in response to the release of data suggesting recruitment agency commissions and margins cost the NSW Government around $37 million dollars in the previous financial year. The feasibility study will assess how a government-funded health staffing agency would work and how much money could be saved by bringing external recruitment services in-house, especially the most costly form of health recruitment, placing medical locums in regional areas. SEEK's May Job Employment Market Update reported a 0.6% month-on-month and 17.9% year-on-year fall in jobs advertised.
00:01:42
Speaker
By state and territory, Tasmania, up 5.4%, recorded the largest month-on-month rise, followed by the ACT, up 2.8%. New South Wales dropped 1.7%, and Victoria, 0.7%. By sector, the largest job ad volume month-on-month falls were in hospitality and tourism, a 5.5% drop, and manufacturing transport and logistics, a 2.7% decline. The largest sector gain was recorded in education and training at 1%. Applications per job ad recorded a 0.3% month on month rise. Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index recorded a slight increase of 0.2% from April to May in seasonally adjusted terms.
00:02:30
Speaker
Corn Ferry's global fourth quarter revenue fell 5% in constant currency for the three months ended 30 April 2024. The consulting and digital segments rose 3% and 1% respectively, but couldn't offset the 6.5% decline in executive search income and 15% drop in professional search and interim income. By region, Asia Pacific revenue dropped 10.7% and North America declined 7.3%. While revenue slipped, net income jumped 37.3% to US$65.2 million u s dollars on reduced consultant expenses and lower acquisition and integration costs compared to a year ago.
00:03:13
Speaker
Corn Ferry shares set a new 52 week high after the announcement of the Q4 results last Thursday, reaching $70.48. Over the past year, the share price has risen 38%. A first of its kind study of more than 1,000 Australian managers has revealed the vast majority believe there is a growing rift between them and their business leader counterparts, and it could blindside companies if it isn't resolved. An increase in workloads, a profit-first mentality and feelings of inadequacy when it comes to supporting their teams have been cited as the reasons for the rift, according to the study by Global Benefits and Rewards platform, Perkbox Australia. The Perkbox data reveals 63% of Australian managers believe there is a growing disconnect between them and their business leaders, with 69% saying business leaders are too detached from the day-to-day business operations,
00:04:06
Speaker
and 73% voicing that business leaders are more concerned with profit over people. Being asked to do more with fewer resources has become an issue for 77% of the managers with 68% saying that increased role pressure has affected their mental wellbeing and 52% confirming that over the past 12 months, their ability to care for their team has diminished. Cost of living pressures are front of mind for managers with 71% saying their teams need more guidance on non-workplace issues, ah court including the cost of living, and 80% expressing concerns about the current economic climate. Approximately 42% of respondents say they would quit and consider a new role if the conditions in their current position don't improve. Many teachers recruited to the Teach for Australia Mature Graduate Training Program now work at elite schools instead of the disadvantaged ones where they were originally placed. And the whole program is poor value for money.
00:05:04
Speaker
According to the Greens, who scrutinised the program in Senate estimates last week, the federal government has spent $77.5 billion dollars over nine years on the Teach for Australian nonprofit program to educate new teachers, but only 474 are still teaching in schools at a cost of just over $163,000 per teacher. Even on its own terms, Teach for Australia is not delivering Greens education spokesperson Penny Allman Payne told News Service Crikey. The point of the program is to put teachers in high-need schools, but we know that other less than two-thirds of the program graduates who are still teaching fewer than half are still in socio-educationally disadvantaged schools.
00:05:47
Speaker
Figures previously released to the Senate show that of the 754 teachers who completed the program, 37% are no longer teachers. Ullman Payne said 80% of Teach for Australia graduates have been placed in schools considered below average when it comes to socioeconomic advantage. However, only half remain in those schools and a quarter have migrated to more privileged schools. This program is an overpriced band aid and the band aid is falling off, she said.
00:06:18
Speaker
The global market for online job jobs fell 5% to $34.4 billion in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to a new report by staffing industry analyst, SIA. It was the first year the market posed a decrease since SIA began tracking it in 2015. Still, online job advertising revenue grew 151% between 2015 and 2023, according to the report. In comparison, the staffing industry has grown 31%. The online job advertising market is dominated by Microsoft, the owner of LinkedIn and Recruit Holdings, the owner of Indeed, which together accounted for 47% of the global market in 2023.
00:07:04
Speaker
Randstad has announced the acquisition of Torque, a talent platform for engaging remote software developers. Torque has more than 25,000 workers registered worldwide, predominantly in Latin America, the United States and India. Torque CEO and co-founder Michael Morris and his team will join Randstad Digital. PwC Australia must come clean and name the partners and staff who shared drafts of confidential tax laws Leading to the firm's infamous 2023 tax leak scandal, a Senate inquiry into the matter has demanded. The parliamentary probe conducted by the Senate's Finance and Public Administration Committee follows revelations that PwC Australia's former tax partner, Peter Collins, shared confidential information regarding multinational tax measures it was helping Treasury to develop in 2015 with fellow staff members.
00:07:56
Speaker
In the inquiry's final report published on Wednesday, the committee demanded the embattled consulting firm be open and honest with the Australian Parliament and people. The committee recommends that PwC promptly publish accurate and detailed information about the involvement of PwC partners and personnel, including names and positions in the breach of confidential government information, the report said. The report also took aim at the PwC's decision not to release an internal legal report into the matter. prompting accusations from senators that it was withholding the report to prevent further investigation by international authorities. A suite of recommendations designed to enhance oversight of the government's spend on consultants is listed in the report, including establishing a new parliamentary committee to review and approve consultancy contracts, alongside the publication of bi-annual statements on government expenditure on consultants.
00:08:50
Speaker
Total United States non-farm employment reported a higher than expected gain of 272,000 in May, significantly higher than the average monthly gain of 242,000 over the prior 12 months, although the unemployment rate rose by 0.1% to 4%. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported average hourly earnings were up 0.4% month over month and 4.1% year over year in May. Additionally, new tech job postings in May reached their highest level since June 2023, according to data released by CompTIA, a nonprofit association focused on certification and training. New job postings for tech occupations rose to 209,000 in May, up by nearly 27,000 openings.
00:09:41
Speaker
from April. The largest increases by job category were for data scientists up 24%, database administrators up 18%, software developers up 17%, and web developers up 15%. And that's the news for the week beginning the 17th of June 2024. I'm Ross Clennet.
00:10:14
Speaker
Question of the week this week is prompted by the most recent research that we read out in the news today that managers, 71% of managers in fact believe they need more guidance and help in dealing with non-workplace issues that are affecting their team members. Our question of the week therefore is, how involved should managers be in non-workplace issues affecting a team member's performance? Adele? This is a real, it depends question. It depends on so many things. um you know It depends on what the non-work related issue is. It depends on how much it's impacting their work and their ability to perform. yeah It depends on the manager's perception you know of the significance of the issue. We all have different perceptions around what is a serious issue and what's not a serious issue.
00:11:13
Speaker
um what should be affecting work, what might not be affecting work and, you know, and then kind of how impactful, as I said, that is to the job. I mean, I think about an employee that worked for me many years ago and I got very involved in her life. You know, she had several issues that were impacting her work performance and as a manager, I got way too invested and and across way too much of her life and was starting to try to provide the solutions to her to solve that. and In the end, you know she really wasn't going to help herself out of the situation. and so ah you know I had to then switch around and you know become a much harder manager with her and and ended up having to let her go. so
00:11:59
Speaker
So you went from being a softy to a hard ass. Is that basically what you're saying? I did. It probably changed me forever as a manager, that one that one employee situation. but i I actually had the opposite. like I actually had an employee who had an alcohol problem. And and although I knew that or strongly suspected that or probably what he smelled like in the morning probably was a clue. I just didn't even raise it with him. And I just gave him performance, a couple of performance warnings. And when he turned up one day late after a big nod on the source, I just fired him. And I think back now, and I think, wow, wish I had known them what I know now, because I would have had a straight conversation with him and just said, I won't mention his name, but you've got a problem. You've got a problem with alcohol. It's impacting your work.
00:12:53
Speaker
Are you doing anything about it? And just explore the issue with him because I didn't. And I do think back now and I go, I actually wish I'd handled that differently. And that's why this one's a really tricky question because, you know, we're calling it non-work related issue, but we're people, we're humans. Where does the line get drawn that there's one persona at home and there's one persona at work and now with hybrid working, it all blends and So, you know, it is really hard as a manager. This is a really tricky question. Well, and you're also looking at, is it caused by the person or is the person at the effect of something? Like, for example, a woman going through menopause, someone going through a relationship breakdown, someone's got mental health issues, someone's grieving over the loss of a person or loss of a pet.
00:13:53
Speaker
ah Someone's got deep financial problems. Maybe their partner has committed a crime or is going to court and that's impacting them greatly. I mean, it's just so many potential things. that can impact a person's emotional state. And of course, as we know in recruitment, it's it's an emotional job. And so someone's emotional state has a very big role to play in how well they perform on a day to day basis and the impact that that emotional state has on others around them. I think that's an interesting one you just touched on then around um the death of a pet. Again, I think of another scenario where I was perhaps hardened up by then, but
00:14:37
Speaker
you know, had ah a staff member who's, you know, had a beloved pet pass away. and And the person was devastated for weeks, for weeks to, you know, a month at least. And it did affect her performance. And I was probably too harsh around that because I didn't have the same feeling. I certainly have pets and I love my pets. But I don't think, well, I know one has passed in the time I've been working and and it didn't stop me working. You know, I felt sad and I wanted to talk about it. And I still would feel sad talking about that that dog now. But It's not enough to stop me working, but that's, that's the funny thing around this. It's your own personal perception, isn't it? Of the significance of that problem and how it should or shouldn't be affecting the person's performance. So what have you learned Adil now with the benefit of hindsight, not just in being an employee and being a leader, but in being someone who's an external coach, how, how would you now best advise people to navigate this tricky situation?
00:15:37
Speaker
Well, I think, as I said, you have to be aware of the the your own perception around the issue itself and um and the and and the significance of it and whether you're having a you know a bias around it or ah um or an aversion to it, let's say, whether you know you know enough about it. I think it's important to understand the impact to the person's job and what that's likely to be. So from a communication perspective, It's all about focusing your communication with the worker on, you know, empathizing about the situation, but more importantly focusing on the impact to the job. So, okay, I understand you're in the situation. What sort of support do you need? How long is that likely to be? Or how is that going to impact? How many days are you off? Or are you needing some time to have a phone call with a lawyer or something, you know, or medical appointments or whatever it might be? So I think keeping it focused on the impacts to the job
00:16:37
Speaker
is a really clear way to define the line and not get too involved. Like my earlier case study I mentioned where I just got way too invested. I mean, I was you know picking this girl up from you know the boyfriend's place when the boyfriend had thrown her out on the street. and you know like You don't want to get as involved as that. ah It's not a friend situation. But as managers, we sometimes do that. We step over that line. And you know the other thing is, because we are in the office with the person, we are most likely to see them impacted more than most other people in their lives. And so it's kind of natural, I think, to feel empathy for the person.
00:17:19
Speaker
And to, particularly if that person's worked for you for a while and they're a good performer, to really feel like invested in getting them out of the hole and moving towards a solution. And I think for me, you know, one of the critical things to keep yourself on the right side of the line of the issue is to ask a question or questions to satisfy yourself that the person, the team member, has a trusted person in their life that's helping them deal with whatever the issue. It could be a friend, it could be a parent, it could be a lawyer, um I don't know, it could be a mental health professional, but hearing that they do have that external person that they trust, because if they don't,
00:18:12
Speaker
there's a much greater likelihood they're going to lean towards you as the leader, as that trusted external person, and that could make navigating that territory of where to draw the line about your involvement very tricky. Yeah, what are the signs you think that it's gone too far? How do you know if you have gone past that if someone's listening? Because it is hard, like what if they are you know, there is a genuine situation. We've talked about genuine situations here, but what if they're milking it? What if they're actually, you know, using it as an excuse for their lack of poor performance? That's got to be happening out there too.
00:18:48
Speaker
Well, I suppose the the first thing to answer is, ah how do you know it's getting too far? I think there are a couple of things. Firstly, the person keeps coming to you either for advice or they want to check in about a decision that they're going to make, ah or they keep coming to you to download that you're effectively, even if they're not looking for you to help them with the decision, but they see you as a as a sympathetic ear. So I think those are the two things to be to be careful of and then to move to handling it. um
00:19:30
Speaker
Got to be careful because again, to your earlier comment agree ah that I agree with Adele. It depends, but I think you've got to be clear that in the job of a recruiter, if that person is not handling their external issues in a way that's providing only minimal impact on the job. then that's impacting not just that person who's got the issues, but their team members and you. And you may need to say to the person, you will need to take leave. You know, you will need to take sick leave, or you'll need to take annual leave. um Because if their behaviour at work, or taking a lot of personal calls at work, or their emotional state at work,
00:20:17
Speaker
is impacting the general work environment then that's not acceptable and it does need to stop and you do need to draw the line but you do also need to give the person a warning that they're approaching the line ah you know you certainly can't be empathetic one day and then a hard-ass the next you need to be clearly indicating to the person hey You know, things are not really improving and I'm really concerned about the impact at work. So you, you know, you you really need to get this sorted. You know, is there anything else perhaps you want to ask me here? Again, don't nominate yourself to do something, but ask whether there's a question that the person might have for you. Yeah, I think that's really important. Setting those clear boundaries and the limits of what
00:21:06
Speaker
you know, the employer-employee relationship is, and as you said, when they're coming near the line, letting the person know this is now impacting the team, you've got obligations to the rest of your team, to your clients and others as well. So hopefully some good advice in that one. Well, and I think that the thing to say finally, Adele, is this is where employee assistance programs can be great, where if you've got an external helpline that you as the employer fund, then you can give them that, ah sorry, like it's an outsourced service where they can call the number and that issue is then completely outside the work environment, although work is funding
00:21:49
Speaker
the call. And I know clearly for many recruitment agency owners, that might seem like a big expense, but I'd investigate or I'd suggest that people investigate it to see how cost effective that might be, because that can be a very effective way to draw the line between you empathising and you not getting involved. Hey, are you liking listening to our podcast, Recruitment News Australia? If you are, it would really help if you could give Ross Clannan and I a five-star review. On whatever podcast app you listen to it on, please hop onto the review section and give us a review next time you're listening on your favorite episode. And thanks for listening.