The New IT Era – BYO IT Device

A supportive and innovative internal IT Team or external consultancy adds value across many aspects of a well performing business; without them we would be lacking the applications and tools required to service the changing needs of our customers.  What is considered less often is that how they manage the internal systems and desktop environment directly impacts employee’s feelings around a company’s culture.  Most of us have sat at our desk at some stage without the correct or updated tools required to do our jobs efficiently and questioned our usefulness.  While the last few years have seen new challenges for our IT cousins with the likes of managing employee internet access to online trading sites and personal social media pages there is a new change in the wind... the BYO IT device.

In the US alone there were 26 million iPhones opened on Christmas day and this count does not include iPad's, iTouch’s or similar devices from other manufacturers.  In NZ terms, we could see over 50,000 more internet capable devices being brought into the workplace as the New Year commences.  The key question is “is this to the benefit or detriment of employee and business productivity?”.  The more I consider this question that more I believe that it is one of those things (like social media), that unless employers embrace it, they will be the ones that are left behind.

Two solutions we have seen successfully implemented involve allowing employees more choice and freedom, both adopting the same methodology that became popular a few years ago with car allowances:

• One company gave their employee’s a monthly phone allowance to cover both their calls and data usage, thus giving the employee their own choice of phone and plan without having to carry two mobiles and whilst having ready access to the internet.  From the business’ point of view it reduced the management and headache of reviewing and managing staff mobile bills and productivity was gained by the employees having remote access to email and their sales CRM application.  A similar solution could also work well for tablets and other devices.

• An Australian based company went all out and for all new employees they offered a one-off payment of $3000 to cover the purchase of a selected range of laptops, mobile phone and home printers.  As these items became personal to the user they found that after the initial setup by their IT team was complete, the on-going support was minimal.

Obviously it depends on the type of role and business and this needs to be carefully considered when reviewing your IT policy, however wherever possible and practical, by supporting and empowering employees to choose communication solutions to fill the companies need and work for them personally, surely the end result will be a positive impact on company culture? Food for thought.

^DB

The Honest Verbal Reference

Verbal references can be seen as just a tick in a box by many employers.  We have all been called by recruitment agents (or worse still, their junior!) where they are so keen to get off the phone during a reference call it barely lasts two minutes.  It could appear that the less time spent on the phone reduces the chances of them hearing something that may put their commission at risk.  Sometimes this approach also works really well for the referee as they get to avoid answering any in-depth questions that they may find embarrassing.

On the other hand, thorough verbal referencing with good technique usually puts the last piece in the jigsaw puzzle of the recruitment process, providing certainty around the candidate’s strengths, weakness and opportunities for development, and above all, the true fit for their new role and working environment.  Without this final piece, all the effort in gaining a new employee can be quickly lost; we’ve all heard the old adage “people are employed for what they know, but sacked for who they are”.  How many times have we seen this to be true if the recruitment process and referencing is not thorough and honest?

At Sonata the verbal reference process is fully documented and as a minimum takes 30 minutes to complete just the phone portion.  Great care is taken to ensure the reference has the time and privacy required to complete the call.  Along with standard questions, the reference is customised to probe further into any particular areas which the recruitment process has revealed may require further information to build a fuller picture of the candidate.  All verbatim comments along with any other notes and impressions are then forwarded to the prospective employer for review (with their approval of course!) and then a discussion takes place with the client to debrief what the reference has shown.  Only taking the required time, actively listening to the feedback and any hesitations, and probing deeper ensures the best results; there are no shortcuts to be had in this area.

In terms of being a referee, the reverse is also true and when giving a reference, a past employer is obligated to provide a balanced and fair view of a past employees ability and fit.  If this is not comfortable, then the fair thing to do is to turn down the invitation of being a referee in the first place.  It’s also important to remember that any issues or short comings you may have experienced with the employee may not necessarily be a factor in the new role, or if they are, it allows the new prospective employer to assess the candidate against the role and gives them access the options and the ability to go into the employment relationship with eyes wide open and provide the learning and development or support required.

As they say what goes around comes around.

^DB & JY

Is The Grass Always Greener In Oz?

There are two reasons why I would not want to live in Australia.  Firstly we hold the Rugby World Cup and secondly, they are trapped in the 1970’s.  Air New Zealand and Gary Toomey (from his pacific hideaway) must be watching Qantas’ actions with great interest and a wry smile.  While Ansett did have many problems of its own (including being the only airline in the world to have to fly 767’s with a three person flight crew including an engineer to meet union requirements!), many successful New Zealand businesses have crossed the ditch and failed or struggled.  To a greater or lesser degree, the difficulties have not been due to poor products or business models, but the differences in labour law and the general work force psyche around job security becoming strong barriers to change and in some cases proving too much.

I was working for a New Zealand based company located in Australia when Individual Employment Agreements came in during the late 90’s.  The local Australian’s could not comprehend that I may be doing the same role as the person next to me without knowing that we were paid the same rate.  Imagine tomorrow bringing your team into one room and telling them that from Monday they will all be paid the same hourly rate?  Fortunately this is far from the employment environment that we operate in today in New Zealand.

Sometimes I think we take for granted some of the advantages that we have living and working in New Zealand.  We do face endless debates on employee protection whilst trying to balance this with providing a flexible enough environment to allow employers to shape and grow their businesses.  Have we got the balance right?  Possibly, however the laws are too complicated and the cost of compliance is too high.  Let’s hope some changes in November bring about some simplicity and that we continue to ride ahead of the wave in becoming a growth economy.

 ^DB

Election Year Shuffle – What are the true business impacts?

Election year generally brings a shuffling of the labour and employment laws within New Zealand and this year has been no different with National introducing changes to both the Holidays and Employment Relations acts during April and July.  The left see these as “eroding workers rights” and the right see these changes as “restoring more balance between the employer and employee”.  While these changes are both in their early days, there is no queue of employees wanting to cash in leave or employers held to task for enforcing this as a policy, nor do we see companies exiting employees into the street at a whim under the 90 day trial period.  The only employment stories to hit the media have been Sonny Bill Williams contract negations with the All Blacks and the handling of the non-disclosure by one of the contestants in NZ Next Top Model; so I guess the changes have been broadly accepted by all parties.

Like all changes in government legislations there is an onus on employers to update all existing documentation and ensure that new job descriptions are brought into line.  One thing that the Department of Labour does well on their website is provide easy access to any updates with associated cheat sheets for ease of understanding.  An overview of the latest changes can be found here:  http://dol.govt.nz/er/actchanges/index.asp.  Keys areas that have recently changed include:

• The ability for employees to cash in leave
• Transferring of public holidays 
• The extending of the 90 day trial period to larger organisations
• Changes to the personal grievance provisions
• Consent for union access to a workplace
• Retention of employment agreements

If you have any concerns around your compliance in any of these areas or have not updated your position descriptions or employment contracts to reflect the changes, give us a call at Sonata and we would be only too happy to help. 

^DB