The Latest from Kristy-Lee

We all know the feeling, we’re losing sleep, we’re avoiding the person at work, we’re angry, frustrated and tearing our hair out. We have an employee who is not performing, or not showing up how we want them to at work.

We can’t always quite put our finger on the exact issue, it’s just not quite right, but it’s wrong enough to be consuming our time and attention. Or maybe it is more obvious, but we feel like we’re going over the top if we bring it up – we don’t want them to feel like we are micromanaging them or pulling them up for something that feels petty and insignificant (yet the fact that it’s consuming our time and attention does in fact mean that at some level it is significant to us).

So, we tolerate it, whether it’s behaviour, attendance, performance or something else, we tolerate it. We think maybe it’s not that much of a big deal, or maybe it’ll be short term, or surely they will realise soon and fix it!

Here’s the thing – your employees won’t suddenly realise t...

Did you know that up to 46% of new hires ‘fail’? That’s right – almost half of employees who start a role with a new employer don’t make it through 18 months (Leadership IQ).

Whilst it’s easy to conclude that obviously the applicant has misled us, lied in an interview, is not able to do what they promised or for some other reason the fault lies with them, is that really the case?

There is no doubt that making great hiring decisions is essential to creating the best possible team for your business, a team that is motivated, capable, productive and high functioning, but when we get the hiring decisions wrong, we are so often quick to look to others as the reason for this.

In an era where we are ‘panic hiring’ due to the lack of applicants in the market, a situation which is not likely to change in the short term, hiring the best person for the role can feel difficult, or even impossible, but it’s also why it’s so important to pay attention to the decisions we are making right...

As we grow our teams and our businesses develop, flex and change, we come to realise that what got us where we are, won’t necessarily get us to where we want to go. Sometimes this is true for some of our team as well. It’s completely normal, we fill gaps as we see them, but often without strategically considering how this fits with the future vision of the business.

In time we can feel overwhelmed and like we are spending our days managing people, which is the opposite of what we wanted to do when hiring a team.

At these times of growth, overwhelm and change gaining clarity is critical to being able to move forward and get to where want to be faster and more efficiently.

This is just one of the reasons I really believe in the value of a clean slate, and the clarity this can bring to understanding what you need in your team and how you can go about creating this mix, and potentially making positive change in your business.

Having a solid organisational structure is criti...

Were you like me, and one of those kids who would ask ‘why?’ all… the… time?

My parents must have lost count of the number of times I said ‘but why’ and kept asking and asking and asking until I had a satisfactory answer, and I quite often didn’t.

As young ones we are naturally curious, some more than others, but we all have a natural curiosity, and it seems that as we grow older, wiser, more experienced, we stop leaning into that curiosity. We become quicker to make assumptions, to assume we know the answer, to make educated guesses. That serves us well some of the time, but a lack of curiosity can also have its downside – we miss things, we miss the truth, we make false assumptions, and we make decisions based off half-baked information.

I first witnessed this fading in true curiosity when completing a major research paper for my university studies, when I was studying criminology and forensic psychology. We were looking at the perception of crime in children, and specifi...

Are you hiring right now, or have you tried to hire in the last few months? If you have, it’s likely that you’ve found it pretty tough! Perhaps usually you are inundated with applicants and right now it’s crickets… not even bad applications are coming through.

We are certainly seeing this trend across the board, from every corner of the Country and in every industry.

Business owners and managers alike are frustrated, desperate for help and uncertain how they can continue without more staff. Many are turning away work, re considering their business viability and increasingly working insane hours which will undoubtedly lead to burnout.

So, what’s the answer? Is there a way to actually find anyone right now?

Here’s the thing – what worked before simply won’t work now. Writing an average ad, throwing it on Seek and sharing it on your socials just won’t cut it. You not only won’t get quality applicants, you may very well get absolutely no applicants.

Right now, applicant...

Should You Sack Them or Save Them?

Ever found yourself asking this question?

You have someone on your team who isn’t where you want them to be, but you’re torn. On one hand you really want to make it work, and continue doing more to turn them around. You know how difficult it is to find great staff, and recruitment is time consuming and costly. You want to avoid having to start a hiring process, but is it even possible to turn this person around, no matter how much you like them?

On the other hand, despite feeling like you can’t make it work, you don’t want to fire them! That requires confrontation, and what if you get it wrong? An Unfair Dismissal Claim doesn’t sound like a whole lot of fun.

You end up going around in circles asking yourself whether you should sack them or save them.

So, what’s the answer? How do you really know whether, with a little effort, this person might be your next super star, or whether you are wasting your time and theirs, because there i...

How frustrating is it when you have someone on your team who you know has so much potential, is actually really great at their job and everyone really likes them - but it’s like they are just going through the motions? They get the job done, but only just, they certainly don’t show initiative and you just want to shake them because you know they are capable of so much more, of doing a much better job.

You know they are smart, capable, skilled and you’re frustrated that you’re not seeing their best.

Here's what you’re dealing with when it comes to these people – it’s not that they are lazy – they simply lack motivation.

Why is that your problem you ask? Well, you know how hard it is to find great staff right? So, you don’t want to exit them and have to go through the recruitment process again. Add to that the fact that by proactively working to improve motivation you are actually improving employee engagement – and that can result in a bottom like increase in profits of more...

You know the feeling, you’re frustrated, you feel like you’ve tried everything, there has been training, opportunity to improve, endless meetings – you’re wondering what else you can possibly do.

This staff member is not performing, but should you really be looking to end their employment?

Surely there is another way?

The thought of firing them feels overwhelming, mean and let’s be honest, the thought of recruiting for the role again doesn’t exactly have you jumping with excitement.

So ,you’re looking for a sign, something that will tell you which way you should go. But the reality is if you leave it that long, looking for a blindingly obvious sign, it’s likely you’ve let it go too far.

If you’re waiting for your employee to make the decision for you and exit themselves, there are certainly some signs you can be looking out for.

High absenteeism is the #1 sign the person has ‘checked out’ and if they are not actively looking to exit, they certainly aren’t planni...

As a business owner or manager, it can often be difficult to determine an applicants exact practical skills simply by reading their resume and conducting an interview. All job seekers are determined to make the best impression they can at interview, and that will include how they answer questions and what skills they do and don’t possess.

Whilst in an ideal world we would take everyone’s comments at face value and trust the accuracy of the words that are spoken, the reality we all experience as Managers is that it’s not always this simple.

In addition, the quality and type of work expected at one place of work may vary greatly to the expectations you have of your staff. Workplaces, quality standards, culture and practices in any industry are not created equal, so how else can you determine if this employee is in fact a perfect fit or you will be trying to squeeze a square peg in a round hole?

One method which is not always appropriately utilised are ‘work trials’ where you ...

You’ve done it! You’ve found the PERFECT person for the role. They have all the skills and experience you are looking for, they have accepted the proposed salary, you think they’ll be a great fit, and the team are super excited to have them joining you in a few weeks time.

And then your email ‘dings’. Thinking noting of it you go check your email, see it’s from the new employee, but as you start reading your enthusiasm turns to uncertainty, disappointment, anger or frustration.

Their email is informing you that their current employer has made a counter offer, an offer that is too good to pass up, and they can no longer accept your offer to join your team.

Ever been in that situation? Frustrating is an understatement isn’t it?

Counter offers are one of the trickiest things to navigate, do you go back and offer more? Do you negotiate? Or do you just let them go and decide that it wasn’t meant to be?

Conversely, what do you do when the shoe is on the other foot, when o...