The Latest from Kristy-Lee

As 2025 begins, businesses find themselves navigating a dynamic and ever-evolving workplace landscape. Employee expectations are shifting, market conditions are demanding agility, and technology is opening new doors to innovation.

Amid these changes, one constant remains: the critical importance of building and nurturing a successful team. Here are five practical strategies to set your team up for success this year and beyond.

1. Set Clear Goals and Expectations

The foundation of any successful team lies in clarity. Setting clear goals and expectations ensures that every team member understands their role and how it aligns with the organisation's objectives.

As Brene Brown famously said, "Clear is kind; unclear is unkind."

Action Steps:

• Host Team Goal-Setting Sessions
  Kick off the year with a collaborative planning session. Share the business’s goals for the year—whether they involve revenue targets, product launches, or customer satisfaction metrics—and explain h
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Hello, and welcome to Episode 254 of the People Powered Business Podcast!

In today’s episode I’m joined by Lexi Smith, Founder and Financial Coach with Moneyvine.

Lexi helps individuals and couples gain clarity, create a plan and take confident steps with their money.

In 2020, after a decade as a Financial Adviser, she side-stepped into Financial Coaching.

She has an energetic ENTP personality, which gives her a knack for problem solving and offering fresh perspectives.

Lexi’s team sessions focus on optimising cashflow - boosting income, understanding expenses and finding ways to improve your financial trajectory.

To connect with Lexi:

• https://moneyvine.com.au/
• https://www.instagram.com/moneyvine.au/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexi-smith-moneyvine/

As always, I’d love you to join us inside our free Facebook Group, HR Support for Australian Businesses, so I can learn more about what’s working for you and any challenges you might be having. Join here - https://www.faceb...

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 one of your te...

Hello, and welcome to Episode 253 of the People Powered Business Podcast!

In today’s episode I’m following up on last weeks episode where is shared 5 strategies to help set your team up for success in 2025. Today I am sharing my top predictions for your team for 2025.

My 5 top team predictions are:

1. Job mobility will be on the rise: for a range of reasons, I believe we are heading into a season where more employees will be looking to change employers – this may be good news for you if recruitment has been tough for the last couple of years.
2. Increase in the use of AI and associated technology: we’re already seeing job applicants actively using AI in their application process – so your hiring skills really need to be on point right now. But on the flip side, how can your team leverage these tools to help them at work?
3. The right to disconnect implementation will be closely watched by your team. If you haven’t yet put any thought into the practical implementation of this new legislat
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Resignations are an inevitable part of running a business. Whether they come as a complete surprise or are long anticipated, how you handle them speaks volumes about your organisation's professionalism and culture.

This blog article unpacks key considerations for handling resignations, answers common questions, and offers actionable advice for making the process smooth and constructive for all parties involved. 

What Constitutes a Resignation?

At its core, a resignation is the act of an employee voluntarily terminating their employment.

But not every mention of leaving qualifies as an official resignation. Statements like "I'm thinking of quitting" or "I might leave at the end of the year" don't constitute a resignation.

A resignation is typically clear and unambiguous, communicated with statements like "I quit" or "I'm resigning." The specificity of the language matters more than the medium—whether it’s verbal, via email, or even a text message.

Does a Resignation Need to Be in ...

Hello, and welcome to Episode 252 of the People Powered Business Podcast!

Happy 2025 to you! I’m wishing you all a wonderful start to this year.

In today’s episode I’m sharing 5 strategies to help set your team up for success in 2025.

Specifically, we’re looking at:

• Setting Clear Goals and Expectations – both at a team level and for your individual team members.
• Setting Up Effective Communication Protocols – including having the right meetings, with the right structure and cadence.
• Professional Development and Fostering a Workplace Learning Culture. This includes not only structured training and development programs, but also simper things like knowledge sharing.
• Leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and encouraging your team to use AI tools to improve efficiencies in their roles.
• Implementing Workplace Well-being Initiatives. Business who can do this effectively in 2025 will have the edge when it comes to attracting, engagement and retention of great talent.

So, what ac...

As the new year is almost upon us, ensuring your team feels valued, engaged, and motivated is critical.

Employees often reflect on their careers during the holiday season, considering what they want from the year ahead.

This is why planning retention and motivation strategies before the new year begins can pay dividends in 2025.

Here’s how to craft a plan that resonates with your team, aligns with business objectives, and fosters a positive, productive workplace culture. 

Why Timing Is Everything

December isn’t just the end of the calendar year; it’s a period of reflection for employees.

Whether during festive gatherings or quiet moments of self-assessment, many individuals think about their job satisfaction, career goals, and future ambitions.

This reflection often fuels January and February’s annual resignation surge—a time when employees dissatisfied with their roles make career moves.

By acting now, you can influence how your team feels about their work and workplace when t...

Staying ahead of legislative changes is more critical than ever right now. With the introduction of sweeping updates to workplace laws, compliance is not just a box to tick—it’s a safeguard for your business’s future.

Let’s explore why compliance is essential, unpack the components of a robust protection and compliance plan, and provide actionable steps to create one tailored to your business.

Why Compliance Matters More Than Ever

Over the past few years, Australia’s employment legislation has undergone an unprecedented transformation.

Reforms such as the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Act and the Closing the Loopholes Act have redefined employer obligations, particularly in areas like casual employment, contractors, pay secrecy clauses, and employee rights to disconnect from work, just to name some of the most spoken about changes.

The stakes are higher than ever. From January 2025, intentional underpayment becomes a criminal offence, emphasising the risks of non-compliance....

Hello, and welcome to Episode 250 of the People Powered Business Podcast!

Today we are celebrating 250 Episodes 🥳

To celebrate, I’m recapping our top 10 most listened to episodes, and one takeaway from each. Here is the list:

• # 10 – Why KPI’s are Critical to Team Success (Episode 122)
• # 9 - Why Hiring (and holding onto) the Wrong People Impacts Team Morale (Episode 159)
• # 8 – How To Motivate Disengaged Employees (Episode 116)
• # 7 - Document, Document, Document! (Episode 129)
• #6 - The 2 Types of Motivation (and why you can't have one without the other) (Episode 127)
• #5 - Competing with Sign On Bonuses and Other Hiring Tactics (Episode 126)
• #4 - Engaging a Recruiter - What You Need to Know First (Episode 124)
• #3 - 3 Reasons Your Employees Motivation Might Be MIA (Episode 125)
• #2 - Using Psychometrics in the Recruitment Process with Charissa Lim (Episode 128)
• #1 - The 5 Step Framework to Screening Resumes in a Competitive Market (Episode 130)

As always, I’d love you to...

As 2025 approaches, the right time to plan your team strategy for the new year is right now.

The team that has carried your business to this point might not be what you need for the next stage of your growth. This article walks you through resourcing plans, strategic hiring, and practical tools like the Clean Slate exercise, empowering you to enter the new year with clarity and purpose.

Why Plan Your Team Now?

November is the perfect time for team planning. But for many businesses it’s a busy time, and we end up in December before we have time to breath, and think. Leaving it until you return you’re your break means it’s too far into January and you have missed opportunities. So, whatever the season looks like for your business, quarter four is the time to plan for the new calendar year.

With a solid plan in place before year-end, you’ll hit the ground running when business resumes.

The Clean Slate Exercise: Building Clarity for the Future

The Clean Slate exercise is ...