HR In Focus - Issue 36

Dear Readers,

This is the final newsletter of the year and what a year it was – full of challenging and eventful times and in many ways I’m pleased most of the year is now behind us. Rather than reflect on what has been, I prefer to cast my sights to what lies ahead in the coming year which I’m looking forward to greeting with much gusto!

No matter which way you look at it HR Partners has had a tremendous year in 2011 and I want to thank you for your support, trust and your ongoing referrals and involvement. We look forward to your continued support as we will be here, ready to assist you with all your recruitment needs throughout 2012.

I hope you find this newsletter interesting reading – we’ve included an update on the growing Middle East market, a hot topic piece on Social Media and we hear from Serge Sardo, CEO and Managing Director of AHRI about the recently launched AHRI ProCover, professional indemnity for HR professionals.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very merry Christmas. For me it’s a time for giving and sharing in the company of family and friends - those who are dearest bringing much laughter, joy and happiness.

My best wishes to you, enjoy the festivities of the season and travel safely.

Best wishes everyone,

David Owens
Managing Director

Social Media - Overanalysed...but Underutilised?

Social media is being lauded as a tool with which HR Professionals can engage with past, current and future employees, and is simultaneously being derided as a waste of employees’ productive time. At times it has become an uncontrollable outlet for the debate of issues we would rather have kept out of the spotlight. But it is these very conversations, rather than who controls the social media platform, which we should be addressing.

HR has aspired for a long time to move beyond the role of people-focussed politeness and procedure-focussed policing and into a strategic business partnering role. A paper by Dave Ulrich and Dick Beatty published in 2001 discussed how Human Resources could become a strategic asset in business, and their discussion parallels how individuals can approach their own HR career development strategy. To paraphrase, HR practitioners need to know the business of HR, become an expert in the basics, and become proficient in using HR tools and concepts to achieve strategic outcomes.

Social media can provide HR practitioners with a forum to keep up-to-date with the concepts and practicalities of HR as well as being a sounding board for your own ideas, knowledge and questions. The question is how to balance your approach to social media tools, with managing your personal brand, as well as using it as a professional development tool.

But before we consider how best to use social media as a personal HR career development enabler, a word of caution: social media is a broadcast medium in the sense that it is capable of being transmitted to and read by a wide audience. However, as it is not subject to dispassionate editing like other mass media, messages of sometimes a very personal nature are not flagged until it is too late. It is easy to forget this dynamic, and unwittingly end up in damage control. The woman who wrote inappropriately about her employer on Facebook, forgetting her employer was one of her Facebook friends, comes to mind.

Sharing bad stories on social media need not be completely negative however. Consider HalogenSoftware’s YouTube channel: their series on HR practitioners sharing their horror stories could be a festival of dark clouds. Instead, it is in the positive light of finding the lessons available in those otherwise hidden everyday problems. In one of their videos for example, Tammy Erikson spoke about how one company’s orientation process showed how the recruitment process raised candidates’ expectations that did not match the realities of the organisation. The ‘horror story’ instead became one of a shared lesson in the importance of maintaining consistency throughout a recruitment process.

For upcoming HR professionals such as Ben Eubanks, social media has provided a creative outlet to discuss his career building in HR. His blog, upstartHR.com focuses on various types of career advice from certifications to conferences, and personal insights into everyday life in HR. In an interview with Monster.com, he said of the value in engaging in social media “One of the things is making connections with people. I’ve met so many amazing professionals that I would have had no other way of knowing if not for my involvement with social media.”

Social media may have a viable future in being readily able to be used by HR Professionals to communicate with and engage with our employees. Speaking at the Future of Social Media 2009 Conference, social media commentator Michael Van Devort said “The next evolution is probably going to be: how do you reach inside to communicate using social media to talk to your associates and employees inside your company?”

Well by 2011 that moment has arrived. Take for example Zoey Pindar, an HR Coordinator with a Sydney-based business, who uses a social networking platform to communicate with employees about amendments to shift patterns and selected policy updates. Zoey felt very confident that the message would reach the employee in a timely manner - it was she said “a reliable medium to use” - and she added that the employee was more likely to be checking messages in this medium than through any other, and therefore it had the edge.

This ability to share, connect and test knowledge may be where the future of social media lies for HR: social media is a term which describes a range of tools which can provide opportunities to improve knowledge, understanding and engagement. How you decide to use those tools will determine your social media strategy and what you need to do to prepare yourselves to use it regularly. The conversation about whether social media is a fad is over, it’s here to stay. Your brand is being discussed on social media platforms, whether you’re involved in that discussion or not. HR has a great opportunity to move beyond questions of whether to act, and instead focus on how it can enhance HR’s operational and strategic effectiveness.

2011 Dave Ulrich HR Rising Star Award

David Owens presenting Reanna Browne with the 2011 Dave Ulrich Rising Star Award

Recently returned from the Australian Human Resources Institute’s Annual Awards in Melbourne, I was moved to write this short piece about what I discovered having sponsored our first AHRI Awards event. Firstly our congratulations must go to Reanna Browne - the deserving winner of the 2011 Dave Ulrich HR Rising Star Award. Reanna is an HR Advisor with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment in the Northern Territory.

As a judge on the panel for this Award I was immensely impressed by the submissions of each of the shortlisted folk – the contenders were all incredibly high achievers, they all had great referees from within the business and enjoyed the attention of great HR mentors. For us, the judges, the challenge was definitely on!

In my letter to the runners-up of the Award I stated that they were separated from the top prize by mere molecules, competition was fierce and I think Dave Ulrich must have used a devious scoring system to separate the top award winner, Reanna, from the field.

But, separate her he did, her submission was judged to be the best and her achievements outstanding. I admire her talent and she is surely one to watch for future awards at these highly prestigious AHRI Awards.

Good luck Reanna we are watching out for you.

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Dubai Update

by Julie Nicol, Managing Consultant, Digby Morgan, Dubai Julie Nicol

Digby Morgan continues to attract global HR talent to the Gulf region.

I moved to our Dubai office in September, having spent 3 years working in our London office and in the short time I’ve been here can already see the massive potential for both Digby Morgan, HR professionals and the industry in general across the MENA region.

Our team has built an excellent reputation in the Middle East, having learnt to adapt to both regional and cultural change whilst maintaining our values and promoting best practice in the recruitment and HR industry. As the new Managing Consultant, I am excited to continue this expansion and there are still many reasons for ex-pats to move to the Gulf.

Over the last 4 months, I have managed to meet many HR professionals from the UK and Australia in particular, who have been in the region for up to 10 years, and this has changed my initial perception of why people relocate here. There are real long term HR opportunities here and the region has much more to offer than just tax-free status. In addition, HR functions have come a long way in the Middle East, especially in the UAE and Kuwait and can be favorably compared to the western counterparts. HR continues to grow in value in many sectors, and as such the caliber of HR talent is increasing. Other countries such as KSA and Qatar are beginning to follow suit, which is a positive move considering the growth in their cash-rich economies.

Localization is still a key focus for many local and multinational companies, and we can advise our clients on the challenges of attracting and developing local talent too. At the same time, it is important for companies based in the region to continue to benefit from international expatriate experience, especially in senior specialist roles such as Reward and Learning & Development.

The good thing is that most sectors are growing here, with the exception of Financial Services which has been hit in the same way globally. Commerce sectors and Local Government are key areas of growth in the job market and the ability to move sectors here is easier than in Western countries.

If you are interested in a move to the Gulf, the Digby Morgan team in Dubai are able to advise you on the reality of a move to the region and where the best opportunities can be found. In addition, we can advise clients who are ready to set up HR on the ground here, which is becoming a necessity for growing global organizations. For further information please contact Julie Nicol at JulieNicol@digby-morgan.ae.

HR Network Group 2012

We are launching our 2012 schedule of HR Network Group events right now and to help get things off to a flying start we are offering discounted early bird rates.

If you are able to sign up before the end of January 2012 you will be able to enjoy great discounts on single and multiple membership prices.

For more details visit www.hrnetworkgroup.com.au

Welcome to our newest team members

We extend a warm welcome to Donna Baxter who recently joined our Brisbane office as the specialist recruiter of HR contracting roles. Donna has completed tertiary studies in Human Resources and is currently completing a post graduate degree in HR and Organisational Development.

Donna has several years work experience in Human Resource management positions within the hospitality industry. With her strong background in human resources, Donna has an excellent understanding of HR functions and is looking forward to applying her superior knowledge and relationship building to recruit exceptional HR people into some of the best HR roles in Brisbane and across Queensland. Donna can be contacted on 07 3009 3800.

The Melbourne team are pleased to welcome Andrew Paatsch to their team. Andrew recently returned to Australia after two and a half years in London. He is a dedicated and forward thinking recruitment professional with over 6 years experience in both the Australian and European markets. Andrew has the ability to draw upon his exposure to a number of different industries and markets, think outside the box and deliver innovative staffing solutions that regularly exceed clients’ expectations. Specialising in the placement of permanent HR professionals, Andrew can be contacted on 03 8621 5700.

Protection for HR practitioners in the firing line

Recent legislative changes and court decisions have increased the likelihood of cases leading to the personal liability of individual HR practitioners found to have breached the law.

In response, the Australian Human Resources Institute has launched AHRI ProCover, a professional indemnity master policy for professional members. AHRI has partnered with CGU Insurance via Austbrokers Countrywide to bring members a policy that keeps them covered when they need it.

Professional members are automatically covered by AHRI ProCover as part of their membership benefits. For more details or to become an AHRI member see the website or contact ahriprocover@ahri.com.au.

Thank you to our trusted contributors.

If you would like to contribute to future issues or have any recruitment enquiries, please contact your local state representative:

Sydney - Jeanette White - jwhite@hrpartners.com.au
Brisbane - Tim Newham - tnewham@hrpartners.com.au
Melbourne - Sue Ritchie - sritchie@hrpartners.com.au

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