The Latest from Kristy-Lee

Hello and welcome to Episode 221 of the People Powered Business Podcast!

Today I am delighted to be joined by guest expert Nicole Turnbull from Neon Shed.

Nicole is the Founder and Chief Courage Officer at Neon Shed, which brings light to the dark sides of work.

She works with businesses to eliminate psychosocial hazards at work and ignite courage in leaders and teams by giving them the tools and options to know HOW to have a safe workplace.

Nicole has over 20 years experience in communications and 15 in the work health and safety industry. She has worked for both NSW safety regulators, the workers compensation insurer and the workers compensation independent review office. Nicole has seen the damage poor communication and psychosocial hazards can do to individuals, teams and organisations.

Nicole is also the Winner of the 2023 Influential Businesswomen Awards for Most Empowering Founder (Australia) and the host of the Under the Rug at Work podcast.

If you’d like to connect with ...

Positive Duty Laws under the Sex Discrimination Act

The Positive Duty guidelines from the Australian Human Rights Commission have been developed to help organisations and businesses eliminate unlawful behaviour as much as possible in their workplaces.

In late 2022, the Respect Work Act was passed into law, marking a significant legislative change in Australia's industrial relations landscape. As part of this comprehensive legislation, a new legal framework was introduced, referred to as 'positive duty.'

This framework places an onus on employers to take reasonable steps to eliminate sexual harassment and sex-based discrimination within their workplaces under the Sex Discrimination Act.

The fundamental shift is that it's no longer adequate for employers to react to complaints as they arise. Instead, they now have a proactive obligation to implement measures that prevent these issues from happening in the first place.   

So, what are the Positive Duty laws?

This legal shift has far...

Hello and welcome to Episode 220 of the People Powered Business Podcast!

Today we’re talking Employment Agreements or Employment Contracts - the all important document that sets out the terms and conditions of the employment relationship.

Why? Well simple, it’s the most popular question I get asked about that continues to daunt and baffle business owners who desperately want to get these documents right.

In this episode we discuss what employment contracts are and why they are so important, and why you absolutely want to have them in place, but we also unpacked what should be included, and what you want to leave out.

An Invitation

Would you like to connect with other like-minded business owners, leaders and managers experiencing similar situations with their team? Join the discussion inside our free Facebook Group – HR Support for Australian -Businesses - https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Understanding the Legislation as a Small Business

For many business owners who find themselves hiring staff and building a team, being compliant and doing things ‘right’ can be of real concern. It can feel overwhelming and like an extra layer of complexity you hadn’t considered when setting out on your business journey.

Understanding the entire ecosystem that is the industrial relations framework in Australia might really assist in demystifying and simplifying the complex legislative environment that underpins the employment relationship.

The Fair Work Act

At the highest level the key piece of legislation is called The Fair Work Act 2009, and this is the core which underpins the employer / employee relationship within Australia. The Fair Work Act, often referred to as simply The Act covers almost all employees around Australia.

In some States and Territories certain employees, such as Local and State Government Employees are not covered by the Act.

Additionally, in very select c...

Hello and welcome to Episode 219 of the People Powered Business Podcast!

Today we are answering a listeners question “does a resignation need to be in writing?”.

To answer this question we are going to look at how an employee can resign, and what a resignation doesn’t look like. We discuss what to do if the employee won’t put the resignation in writing, and I share my strategies for managing resignations when they arise.

Do you have a question for a future episode of the podcast? Simply email your question to [email protected]  or join our Facebook Group and ask your questions there.

An Invitation

Would you like to connect with other like-minded business owners, leaders and managers experiencing similar situations with their team? Join the discussion inside our free Facebook Group – HR Support for Australian -Businesses.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Hello and welcome to Episode 218 of the People Powered Business Podcast!

Today I’m posing the question: non-compete clauses in employment contracts – are they worth the paper they are written on?

These are those clauses, often worded in really complex terms, that aim to prevent an employee from working with a competitor, setting up in competition, or taking customers with them when they leave.

They are complex and complicated, and not all that easy to actually uphold, I know as I have first hand experience!

So when should you use them, and what are the things to consider if you’re planning to include them in your employment contracts?

An Invitation

Would you like to connect with other like-minded business owners, leaders and managers experiencing similar situations with their team? Join the discussion inside our free Facebook Group – HR Support for Australian -Businesses.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Do you know the core principles of effectively onboarding your new hire?

Did you know that onboarding effectively can drastically reduce the speed at which your new hire is functioning at full capacity? 

This timeframe can be reduced down from the typical 12-18 months down to 2-6 months.

According to SHRM, the first 45 days of employment account for up to 20% of worker turnover while Sapling HR credits poor onboarding experiences as doubling the likelihood of the employee finding another position.

Effective onboarding is critical to engaging your new hire in their new role and for your business or organisation. This can increase the likelihood that your staff will stay on longer and be performing their best sooner rather than later.

According to ClickBoarding, interactive employees who engage in a structured onboarding program are 69% more likely to stay for three years.

There are 5 key elements that a business of any size can implement right now to improve their onboarding proc...

Hello and welcome to Episode 217 of the People Powered Business Podcast!

Today I am thrilled to be joined by returning guest, Leanne Faulkner from Fortitude at Work to discuss her findings from her recent PHD research on mental health for micro and small business owners.

About Leanne - small business mental health advocate:

Many people in the business community might know Leanne as “the soap lady” or the “goat lady”.

Her youngest son had suffered with eczema from birth and in an effort to ease his discomfort Leanne learned how to make goat’s milk soap as a gentle protective skin care alternative.

In 2004, Billie Goat Soap began.

It was a humble affair initially and started in her kitchen. By 2010 the business had grown to employ over 20 people and sold the products in over 2000 outlets around the country.

Billie Goat Soap was the NSW Business Chamber Business of the Year in 2010 and the Myer Supplier of the Year (general cosmetics) at around the same time. Billie Goat sold succe...

You can't outrun a bad hire.

There's no doubt that getting the hiring decision right is essential to building an amazing team that's going to do all the right things for your business and really help you have a successful business.

But the reality is hiring well is only one part of the puzzle and it's something I've seen clients alone the hard way over and over again.

The rest of the pathway that an employee takes with your business is equally important to ensuring you have not just a successful hire, but someone who stays with you long term who is loyal, motivated, engaged, productive – all those great things we want our employees to be.

The secret sauce to this is great leadership through a clear framework I call the P.E.O.P.L.E Pathway.

You can’t outrun a bad hire – but what if you hired well and it’s still not working smoothly?

I thought I'd made great hiring choices early on in my business and I took my first holiday away from it. I’d planned everything to perfe...

Hello and welcome to Episode 216 of the People Powered Business Podcast!

Today I am thrilled to be joined by returning guest, Leanne Faulkner from Fortitude at Work to discuss her findings from her recent PHD research on mental health for micro and small business owners.

About Leanne - small business mental health advocate:

Many people in the business community might know Leanne as “the soap lady” or the “goat lady”.

Her youngest son had suffered with eczema from birth and in an effort to ease his discomfort Leanne learned how to make goat’s milk soap as a gentle protective skin care alternative.

In 2004, Billie Goat Soap began.

It was a humble affair initially and started in her kitchen. By 2010 the business had grown to employ over 20 people and sold the products in over 2000 outlets around the country.

Billie Goat Soap was the NSW Business Chamber Business of the Year in 2010 and the Myer Supplier of the Year (general cosmetics) at around the same time. Billie Goat sold succe...