February 8, 2024 Change Management, Human Resources, Leadership

4 myths about redundancies – and how to ease a difficult transition for your staff

4 layoff myths – and how to ease a difficult transition for your staff

“Trust is built in drops and lost in buckets.”

These are the words of Didier Elzinga, CEO of Melbourne-based software firm Culture Amp, reflecting on his experience of navigating a difficult transition. Making staff layoffs can be a shock for any company, but the impact can be more profound in highly collaborative environments like the company Elzinga had built.

Here, Elzinga dispels some of the myths surrounding staff layoffs and shares his learnings on managing change, dealing with fear and more.

February 15, 2013 Human Resources, Recruitment

Nine essential steps for creating a great position description

PDs are too often hastily thrown together using out-dated elements from old job descriptions, limited (or too wordy) information about the position’s real responsibilities and uninspiring, cliché-ridden corporate-speak.

By contrast, the perfect position description is neither too descriptive nor too vague, uses clear, simple language and unmistakably represents the ethos of your organisation in such a way that potential candidates feel immediately excited about the prospect of working with you.

December 4, 2018 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Human Resources, Managing People Well

How to help an employee who is transitioning genders

Transitioning genders isn’t easy. But navigating the process in the workplace can feel even harder.

January 16, 2019 Health & Wellbeing, Human Resources

Four new year’s resolutions you can actually keep

The new year is always a great time to start afresh, reevaluate the way you do things and set yourself up for success at work. That’s especially true when you work in the NFP sector, where (given the seriousness of what can go wrong) process and paperwork can be a particular burden.

But by February, a whopping 80 percent of resolutions will have failed. So what are you likely doing wrong – and, more importantly, how can you actually achieve your work goals this year?

February 24, 2016 Human Resources, Leadership, Managing People Well, Organisational Strategy

The best things your NFP can do to boost staff retention

Did you know median staff turnover for NFPs in Victoria is as low as 16 percent per year? That means half of all NFPs record turnover of 15 percent or less. How does your organisation measure up?

February 1, 2016 Human Resources, Organisational Strategy, Recruitment

Six reasons your NFP needs an Employee Value Proposition

It’s fair to say that most people working in the NFP sector aren’t primarily motivated by money. So what do staff get out of working at your organisation? Enter the Employee Value Proposition, or EVP – recognised as an effective way to answer this question.

October 21, 2015 Conference, Human Resources, Managing People Well, Organisational Strategy

100 percent staff engagement, is it possible? Starlight Children’s Foundation’s Susan Henry says yes

Since Susan Henry joined Starlight Children’s Foundation in 2001, they’ve twice been accredited as an Aon Hewitt Best Employer. With staff engagement currently sitting at a phenomenal 89%, we had a chat with her to try and find out what the secret is.

January 25, 2017 Human Resources, Managing People Well

Five principles to begin designing a great employee experience at your NFP

Traditionally, not-for-profit organisations have focused their energies on the needs of their clients or issues, since they’re ultimately the reason for the organisation’s very existence.

But how can you be more deliberate about the ever-important staff experience – and boost engagement and productivity in the process?

January 4, 2021 Human Resources

4 lessons from Facebook to manage remote workers effectively and fairly

What experts are saying about productivity has ebbed and flowed over the last several months as everyone adjusted to the impact of remote work. What was initially reported as a strong uptick in productivity at the onset of the pandemic—be it because people were clinging to their jobs for dear life, or because they were looking for something to distract them from the newfound chaos—has since slid into a noticeable decline for employees in certain roles.

September 26, 2016 Human Resources, Managing People Well, Organisational Strategy

Five ways that Facebook works to stop office politics

Office Politics: in most organisations they’re probably unavoidable. But when manoeuvring for power or influence becomes more important to staff or volunteers than your NFP’s purpose or mission, then organisational dysfunction is probably just around the corner.

When a group of people come together in a work context, the strategies and schemes they might employ to their own advantage can be difficult to stamp out. So what can you do as an NFP leader or HR professional to stop office politics taking hold?

With almost 15,000 employees, Facebook has some serious experience with office politics – and they’ve come up with five tactics that they’ve found useful in preventing politics taking hold and keeping their organisational culture healthy.