March 8, 2017 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Human Resources, Recruitment

Unconscious bias is keeping women out of senior NFP roles, but we can get around it

Most people would not consciously decide to hire candidates based on whether they remind them of themselves. But one unconscious bias – affinity bias – may lead people to favour candidates who are like themselves, research shows.

If senior managers and NFP boards are made up of mostly men who unconsciously engage in such bias, it stands to reason that more men than women will continue to be hired and promoted – particularly men who share the same background with current managers. This only serves to perpetuate the cycle of men outnumbering women in leadership positions.

So what can be done?

February 6, 2017 Health & Wellbeing, Human Resources

The last taboo: is your organisation’s approach to mental health in the workplace failing your staff?

What if we told you that even if you have a mental health policy at your organisation, it’s likely to be woefully outdated and could be costing you dearly in reduced staff well-being, engagement and performance?

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?

December 5, 2016 Human Resources

Eight ways to improve your organisation’s HR practices

‘Human resources’ – what does that even mean? Regardless of what name you go by, here are eight pieces of advice to be the best you can, and get the ‘human’ back in HR.

October 5, 2016 Change Management, Health & Wellbeing, Human Resources, Organisational Strategy

Six steps to ensure your staff are ready when natural disasters strike

Just this week, we’ve had floods in Victoria, NSW and Tasmania and cyclonic storms in South Australia. Natural disasters – whether floods, droughts, heatwaves or bushfires – are rarely far from the headlines in Australia. Which makes it all the more shocking that 25 percent of community organisations say they might need to close permanently after an extreme weather event, while half think they’d be out of action for at least a week.

That’s why the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) suggests that community organisations are generally ill-prepared for disasters and emergencies. To help address this, ACOSS has developed a toolkit to help community organisations measure and improve their resilience in such circumstances.

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.

June 15, 2016 Human Resources, Interviewing, Recruitment

Does anyone in your organisation work with children? Here’s five steps to improve your recruitment practices

Everyone cares about the safety of kids. But making your organisation safe for children starts long before you bring on new staff or volunteers. From advertising and conducting interviews to performing background and reference checks, the safety of the children starts with your organisation’s core recruitment practices.

June 6, 2016 Human Resources

Five principles for raising HR standards in your NFP

Does HR battle to be taken seriously in your organisation?

While professions like finance, legal and operations are almost always present at the leadership table, HR often fights to be treated in the same way in many organisations. Why?

June 1, 2016 Human Resources, Organisational Strategy

Great organisations tell great stories: how to harness the power of stories to engage and retain your staff

A simple survey will tell you how staff feel about your organisation. But how do you want them to feel? And what can you do to create that change?

Over breakfast on 15 June in Brisbane and on 17 June in Sydney, EthicalJobs.com.au is proudly presenting ‘story activist’ Moya Sayer-Jones, who’ll be discussing how your organisation can identify and use stories to engage, inspire and retain your best people.

April 20, 2016 Human Resources, Interviewing, Recruitment

Three questions to ask when interviewing and assessing serial job-hoppers

Restarting the recruitment process sooner than anticipated can be a real drain on resources, so it’s natural to respond by avoiding candidates whose CVs reveal a track record of job-hopping. But what things should you look out for to ensure you don’t miss out on a star recruit?