Brene Brown says ” Clear is Kind –Unclear is Unkind”Yet as business owners we often struggle to be clear with our teams.Today We'll uncover the importance of clarity in leadership and how it can positively impact your team's performance and overall success. Let's dive in!Many business owners have a fear of being clear because they feel like that will be perceived as being bossy. As a result, many business owners and leaders avoid being clear because they fear being perceived as bossy or overly controlling.However, it's important to recognize that clarity is not synonymous with being authoritarian. Clear communication fosters transparency, trust, and respect within the team.By providing clear expectations and guidelines, you empower your team members to perform their best and deliver results. Clarity sets the stage for collaboration and effective teamwork, where everyone understands their role and how their work contributes to the bigger picture.The Pitfalls of Unclear Communication:Unclear communication leads to assumptions and misunderstandings: When leaders fail to be clear, it opens the door for assumptions and misunderstandings among team members. This can lead to confusion, mistakes, and unnecessary conflicts.It creates frustration and disengagement: Unclear expectations or directions can leave team members feeling frustrated, as they are unsure about what is expected of them. This ambiguity can also breed disengagement, as individuals may struggle to find purpose or direction in their work.And it results in wasted time and effort: Without clear guidance, team members may spend excessive time and effort trying to decipher what their leader wants, which can result in inefficiencies and decreased productivity.The Power of Clear Communication:Clear communication creates alignment and focus: Clear communication ensures that everyone is on the same page. It aligns the team's efforts toward common goals, ensuring that everyone understands the desired outcomes and priorities.It fosters accountability and ownership: When expectations are clear, team members know what is expected of them and can take ownership of their responsibilities. This clarity enhances individual accountability and fosters a sense of ownership and pride in their work.And it creates ‘Psychological Safety’: Clear communication creates a psychologically safe environment where team members feel comfortable seeking clarification, expressing concerns, and sharing ideas. This fosters open dialogue, innovation, and a culture of continuous improvement.Conclusion:As leaders, it's essential to recognize that being clear is an act of kindness toward our teams. By providing clarity in communication, we can avoid misunderstandings, frustration, and wasted effort. Clear expectations empower team members to excel, align their efforts, and take ownership of their work. So, let's embrace the power of clarity and create an environment where our teams thrive. Remember, clear is kind, and it paves the way for success.

FROM THE VAULT!Hello and welcome to Episode 168 of the People Powered Business Podcast!In today's episode we are talking about revisiting one of the most popular episodes - tackling tough talks with your team.You know the conversations I mean, the one where you get a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach, the ones which give you heart palpitations at the thought of having them, that keep you up at night.Whether it’s a performance management issue, a change in the business, a termination or anything else that is going to be a tough conversation with our team, we’ve all been in a situation where we have to have them, and maybe even try and avoid them!However, avoiding those conversations in bad for business in many ways, which we unpack in this episode, and I also share with you a simple framework to follow next time you need to tackle a tough conversation with a team member.As promised, you can get your free guide to tackling tough conversations here - www.peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/tough

Hello and welcome to Episode 167 of the People Powered Business Podcast.Today I’m covering off the key compliance changes that every business needs to be across right now – given the absolute avalanche of changes that we are seeing, it feels ‘unprecedented’.Starting with the introduction of the ‘Secure Jobs Better Pay Act’ which as the name suggests, is designed to make jobs more secure for workers, and put upwards pressure on wages across the board.The changes here include pay secrecy clauses becoming banned in employment contracts, significant changes to the enterprise bargaining landscape, including the massive expansion of multi enterprise bargaining. Through to the broadening of flexible work requests and limitations on denying them and the new l imitations on fixed term contracts coming into place by December.Then we cover the changes to and introduction of Family and Domestic Violence Leave.And finally the Respect@Work Act which sees a ‘Positive Duty’ places on employers to to eliminate sexual harassment and sex based discrimination in workplaces and an expansion of the capacity to make Sexual Harassment complaints as well as new protected attributes under discrimination law.There is a lot to get your head around, so getting you compliance checklist under control is a must for all employers.If you’d like to continue the conversation on this, please join us in the Facebook Group HR Support for Australia Businesses via this link:https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Ever felt like you can’t make any more decisions in a day? For me it usually comes at dinner time, when I ask my husband or my kids what they want for dinner and I get ‘you decide’ or ‘what do you want?’ The only thing I want is not to have to make the decision!Some sources say that we make 35 000 decisions per day as an adult, if you’re a business owner or manager, you’re making more than most – so decision fatigue is real!What is it? Decision fatigue refers to the mental exhaustion that occurs as a result of making numerous decisions over a period of time. As a business owner or leader, you are often faced with a multitude of choices throughout the day, ranging from small operational decisions to larger strategic ones. The cumulative effect of decision-making can lead to reduced mental energy and impaired decision-making abilities.When we have so many decisions to make and we start to feel overwhelmed, we have decision fatigue which can compromise the quality of your decisions. As your mental energy dwindles, you may experience decision-making biases, such as impulsivity, indecisiveness, or a tendency to stick with the status quo. This can hinder your ability to make well-informed and rational choices, potentially leading to suboptimal outcomes.So what are the signs of decision fatigue? Difficulty concentrating, increased irritability, procrastination, or a desire to avoid decision-making altogether. What can you do when you feel yourself in this spiral?Prioritize and delegate: Identify the most critical decisions that require your direct attention and delegate or automate less important ones. This allows you to focus your energy on high-value decisions. Use decision-making frameworks: Develop decision-making frameworks or guidelines that help streamline the decision-making process. Plan and batch decisions: Set aside specific times of the day or week to make decisions, rather than scattering them throughout the day. Simplify choices: Reduce decision complexity by simplifying options whenever possible.Take a breakAnd just remember, making one decision moves you forward, and it only has to be the right decision for now, you can make another decision later.  

Hello and welcome to Episode 166 of the People Powered Business Podcast. Often here on the podcast I chat about themes or topics that keep showing up –whether with my private coaching clients in the Power BOSS Program, with our People Powered HR members, my consulting clients, in conversations I am having with leaders and experts I am speaking to and generally in the content that seems to randomly show up in my social media feeds - and this weeks no different.I wanted to start today’s episode with a quote from Sheryl Sandberg “we cannot change what we are not aware of, and once we are aware, we cannot help but change”.I think this sums up perfectly the discussion of today, we need to create self awareness in our leadership skills, because without awareness nothing can change, and with awareness change and development is inevitable.So in this episode we look at how aware you are of your current leadership skills, strengths and blind spots.We’ll then discuss how you can create better self awareness, and I share some examples of how I’m using the Disc Assessment with my clients to create this.And finally we discuss what to do with this new found awareness, and how to map this across when it comes to your teams.If you’d like to continue the conversation on this, please join us in the Facebook Group HR Support for Australia Businesses via this link:https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

I have been wanting to discuss this topic for a Power Play for a few weeks now, and throughthe week I was reading “The One Thing” by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan and the principle again came up, so that’s what we’re speaking about today.The principle I am referring to is The Pareto Principle - also known as the 80/20 rule – and the big concept is that 20% of your effort = 80% of your results.We all know how easy it is to get stuck into the ‘busy work’, but this isn’t the work that yields the big results and in fact the book encourages you to effectively put this theory on steroids,However what I see when it comes to the 80/20 rule with teams is this: 20% of team members consume 80% of the manager's time and attention. Essentially, a small number of team members can have a disproportionately high impact on a manager's time and energy.The issue here is that this is never our top performing employees, often these are problem team members, who drain time, require excessive management, and tend to complain, can significantly hinder productivity and morale within the team. They can disrupt workflow, create conflicts, and reduce overall team effectiveness. Moreover, they can divert a manager's attention from high-performing team members who may need support, guidance, or recognition for their contributions.Of course, there are exceptions – such as people on training programs, apprentices and those we are onboarding into our business. These people take up a chunk of our time and they should, it’s an investment.When 80% of our time is spent with the 20% of poor performers, what about the rest of our team? What are our top performers thinking about the fact they get none of our time or attention, despite being responsible for the lions share of the results?What about if we spent 80% of our time nurturing, developing and setting our top 20% of performers up for success? Imagine the impact that could have on your business.Recognizing their contributions, providing growth opportunities, and leveraging their strengths can help maintain their motivation and commitment to the business. Balancing the time and attention spent on both problem team members and high performers is crucial for overall team success. When it comes to your time, which members of your team are taking it up? Could 20% of your time be focused to create 80% of results?

Hello and welcome to Episode 165 of the People Powered Business Podcast.In today's episode we are looking at just one of the latest Industrial Relations updates – this one relates to our ability as employers to direct employees to take annual leave over a close down period – the most common of which for most businesses is over the Christmas and New Year period.Let’s be honest, there is an absolute avalanche of changes rolling through from the Fair Work Commission, the Federal Government and a range of other legislative bodies, and many of the changes are getting a decent amount of media coverage. So changes like this one, which has much less public interest attached to it, can slide by without anyone realising.Closing down our businesses over the Christmas and New Year has been common place in many, if not most, industries in Australia for decades. Sometimes this has been fuelled by industry norms, like the Building and Construction Industry where suppliers tend to shut down, causing a ripple effect across the industry. In other cases it’s the only way for owners of businesses, or families working together to get a true break together.Since the inception of the Fair Work Act in 2009, almost all of the Modern Awards have had provisions in them which stipulate what we can and can’t do when it comes to directing employees to take annual leave during a Christmas shut down period.However, 1 May 2023 saw changes to more than 70 Modern awards when it comes to these rules, and some of them many employers won’t really like.Until now, most of us will have required employees to take accrued annual leave during a Christmas close down, and where they did not have enough leave accrued, they’d be required to take LWOP. As of now, for those 70+ awards, the direction to take LWOP just got a whole lot harder.So in today’s episode we discuss what has always been in place (whether you realised it or not), what the changes are, and what you need to think about and consider now to make sure you’re compliant for your next shut down.If you’d like to continue the conversation on this, please join us in the Facebook Group HR Support for Australia Businesses via this link:https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

So often when I’m working with business owners, leaders and managers, they resists delegating (or even worse take things back), because they can do it faster.For many, if not most things, it’s true – we can do it faster than the team member we are delegating to – but that doesn’t mean we should hold onto it.I think largely we can have unrealistic expectations on our people – that they’ll think like us, act like us, work to our pace, or be ‘clones’ of us – and it think this sets us up for failure as leaders.So whatever time something takes you– especially when you are first delegating it – double the time.Remember this isn’t just about the task getting done, it’s also about:A learning and development opportunity for the team member involved, this extends them rather than keeping them small, it grow their role, their skills and their contribution; When we are learning, things take longer;You’re an expert – in EVERYTHING in  your business – your team aren’t and you shouldn’t expect them to be; You’re the business owner or manager for a reason – you’re driven, highly productive, capable, adaptable and usually no fuss – you can’t expect your team to be; This buys back your time – it gifts you time to do the things that matter most, that move the needle, that fill you up and make your business better – don’t undersell the value of that. So whatever time it takes you – double it!

Hello and welcome to Episode 164 of the People Powered Business Podcast.In today's episode we are discussing how adaptable we are as leaders, and whether we’re displaying adaptive leadership with our teams.We all have a natural or default leadership style that we tend to lean towards, and we all also have blind spots or weak points in our leadership – but how well can we move from one style to another to lead in the best possible way based on the situation, circumstances and people.Today we take a look at what adaptive leadership actually looks like, why it’s important to work on our adaptive leadership skills, and how we can develop a more adaptive leadership approach.I also mention research conducted by Tomoko Yokoi, here is a link to the Harvard Business Review article outlining the work of her and her team:https://hbr.org/2022/01/finding-the-right-balance-and-flexibility-in-your-leadership-styleIf you’d like to continue the conversation on this, please join us in the Facebook Group HR Support for Australia Businesses via this link:https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

The above the line/below the line framework or theory was first introduced by the Conscious Leadership Group, a coaching and consulting company.What are above and below the line behaviors? Above the line behaviors are positive, proactive, and solution-focused behaviors that help individuals and teams achieve their goals. Examples include taking responsibility, being accountable, and seeking solutions. Below the line behaviors, on the other hand, are negative, reactive, and problem-focused behaviors that hinder progress and create conflict. Examples include blaming, denying responsibility, and avoiding difficult conversations. Blame, shame, justify.  Leaders can identify above and below the line behaviors by observing how team members respond to challenges, opportunities, and feedback. For example, if a team member takes responsibility for their mistakes and seeks solutions when faced with a problem, they are exhibiting above the line behavior. If a team member blames others for their mistakes or denies responsibility, they are exhibiting below the line behavior.What about in leadership? Below the line leadership occurs when a leader is closed, defensive, and committed to being right. On the contrary, above the line leadership occurs when a leader is open, curious, and committed to learning.Above the line leadership is critical to business success.So todays suggestion for you to think on is this – how can you be a more consistent, above the line leader for your team?

Hello and welcome to Episode 163 of the People Powered Business Podcast.In today's episode, I’m excited to again be speaking with Brett White of Be Leaders.Brett has worked with hundreds of leaders across not only Australia but the globe, and works with organisations to help them develop their leaders, with a special passion for emerging leaders.Brett is passionate about helping leaders, teams and organisations find their hidden potential. His hope is that as they develop a deeper understanding of themselves and the world around them, they will create meaningful change.Brett has worked with over 50 organisations and 350 leaders and influencers.He is accredited in Life Coaching, Thought Dynamics and Organisational Leadership and has run hundreds of face to face and online training workshops and keynote sessions throughout Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Singapore and Cambodia.In today’s discussion we’re talking about leader behaviour. This is something Brett has been doing a lot of research on recently.Today we talk about key behaviours great leaders should be exhibiting, it’s impact on organisational culture and its connection to employee engagement and organisational success.You can have great leadership skill, technical knowledge, and ability, but without the right behaviour, your success as a leader is limited. The biggest contributor to employee engagement is the relationship employees have with their leaders. It is not just what you do as a leader that is critical, it is the WAY you do it, and WHO you are when you do.Leader behaviour is key to great teams, building trust, creating alignment, healthy culture, thriving organisations and delivering results. If you’d like to connect with Brett, you can do so here:https://beleaders.com.au/https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-white-825b9385/If you’d like to continue the conversation on this, please join us in the Facebook Group HR Support for Australia Businesses via this link:https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

We know we in theory we should lead by example, but we’re human and therefore not always perfect.But the reality is, our team are watching everything we do, every move, every decision, everything we miss – and it’s what they observe, quietly, day to day that shapes their view of us as a leader, that helps them decide how they’ll behave and ultimately influences their performance.A study from Gallup found that leaders and managers account for 70% of the variance in employee engagement. It's not salary, not the work environment, not their peers that matter most to peoples engagement at work –it's their leader.So why is how we behave so important? We know the saying ‘actions speak louder than words’ - it certainly applies here. People do what we do, not what we say. If you say that you value work-life balance but work late every night, your team is likely to prioritize work over their own well-being as well.Your behavior sets the tone for your team: As a boss, your behavior sets the tone for your entire team. If you are consistently positive, focused, and productive, your team is more likely to follow suit. On the other hand, if you are negative, distracted, or disengaged, your team is likely to feel the same way.Values + behaviour = culture Behaviour modelling allows you to build a culture of trust and respect which leads to high performance. Your team are watching inaction just as much as action – so letting someone get away with poor performance, failing to have a conversation that needs to be had, not owning up to a hiring disaster – that’s just as big as what you do.So at each turn check your intention and your action. Take the action that needs to be taken and don’t tell them one thing and do another.

Hello and welcome to Episode 162 of the People Powered Business Podcast.In today's episode, we're going to be talking about a topic that many of us have experienced or even been guilty of ourselves - micromanagement.We'll be discussing what micromanagement is, the common characteristics of icromanaging bosses, and why we tend to do it. We'll also be exploring the negative consequences that micromanagement can have on your team and your business, and sharing some practical strategies to help you stop micromanaging and start trusting your team.First, we'll define what micromanagement is and what it looks like in reality. Micromanagement is a management style where a manager closely observes, controls, and intervenes in the work of their team members. We'll discuss some common characteristics of micromanaging bosses, including being a control freak, lacking trust, having perfectionist tendencies, and struggling to delegate effectively.Next, we'll explore why micromanagement is bad for business. We'll explain how micromanagement can stifle creativity and innovation, teach people not to think for themselves, lower employee morale, decrease productivity, create a toxic work environment, lead to employee burnout, and result in high turnover rates. We'll also explain how micromanagement can make it difficult to attract and retain top talent, which can be especially damaging to small businesses.Finally, we'll share some practical strategies to help you stop micromanaging and start trusting your team. We'll discuss the importance of setting clear expectations, providing constructive feedback, delegating tasks effectively, and fostering a culture of trust and collaboration. We'll also provide some tips for recognizing when you're slipping back into micromanagement habits and how to course-correct.In today’s episode we mentioned Episode 21 of the podcast ‘Mastering the Art of Effective Delegation’ you can listen to that episode right here:https://www.peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/blog/Mastering-DelegationIf you’d like to continue the conversation on this, please join us in the Facebook Group HR Support for Australia Businesses via this link:https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Recently I was interviewing leadership expert Brett White of Be Leaders for a full episode of the podcast that’s coming out really soon – we were discussing leaders behaviours.Now it’s no surprise to most of us that this is an important topic because we know people follow our actions not our words.Brett has developed a framework of 15 core and key leadership behaviours and as we were unpacking some of them the topic of curiosity came up.And it immediately struck a chord with me because, as I’ve discussed in other episodes of the podcast, I think it’s a hidden super power we all have but often don’t use. Remember how curious you were as a kid? I was the ‘but why’ kid. We were all curious, but it fades away over time.And what I see when I’m talking to business owners is that we so often tend to make assumptions, or jump to conclusions or think we know what people are thinking, or why they are behaving a certain way – but that’s all a construct of our minds.Without being curious we miss the clues and ques, the warning signs and red flags, we miss opportunities.So start to have more curious conversations, be more curious in everything you do. You’ll understand your people better, they’ll feel valued and heard, and it will help inform much better decision making when it comes to you team.

Hello and welcome to Episode 161 of the People Powered Business Podcast. Do you avoid being a leader in your business? Are you a "non boss" who struggles to manage Effectively? In this episode, we'll explore what a "non boss" looks like and why people might adopt this mindset. We'll also discuss the downsides and consequences of being a "non boss" and provide strategies for overcoming your fear of leadership and becoming a better boss.Firstly today we will define the "non boss" mindset and unpack what a “non boss" looks like. Specifically we’ll look at symptoms like avoiding conflict, lacking direction, catering to everyone's needs even if it isn't good for the business, making decisions by committee, and failing to make decisions at all. We’ll then turn to some of the consequences and ripple effects being a “non boss” has on your business. Things like a downturn in morale, motivation, and engagement and how a lack of clarity results in a downturn in productivity.Then I’ll share 3 key strategies for overcoming your fear of leadership:Getting clear on a direction and communicating it to the team;Practicing tiny delegation;Building self-awareness of your leadership skills and blind spots and professional Development.If you’d like to continue the conversation on this, please join us in the Facebook Group HR Support for Australia Businesses via this link:https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Welcome to Power Play, the mini-episode series within The People Powered Business Podcast where we focus on the mental game of being a boss. Join us each week as we share leadership tips, insights and advice to help you level up your leadership game and unleash the full potential of your team. These quick and powerful episodes are designed to give you the tools you need to become a more confident and effective leader, so you can create the successful business you deserve.    Today I was going to chat about the power of pause, it’s the Easter weekend after all, and one of the values I hold dear (and that I’ve learnt the hard way) is that self care is not selfish, and that pausing is actually really good for you and your business.Then I realised that would be entirely hypocritical – because I wasn’t doing that this weekend. The truth is the biggest decision I was trying to make on the Thursday before Good Friday was – would my easter long weekend be focused on trying to get through the 157 (and counting) unread and un-responded to emails in my inbox – or on planning a big and important project that I seem unable to get started on when my clients are working.If I wasn't working this long weekend I would be feeling so guilty, and I thought you might relate to that - so that's what I decided to talk about today.

Hello and welcome to Episode 160 of the People Powered Business Podcast. Today we’re discussing why doing performance reviews is more important now than ever before.We’ll start by unpacking what are performance reviews and why do we avoid doing them.As business owners, leaders and managers putting off reviews, or avoiding them completely is more common than we’d like to admit. Whether it’s due to time constraints, fear of negative reactions, and lack of experience with formal evaluation processes – I’ve heard all the excuses under the sun!So I want to make the case for why you should do performance reviews. So I’m diving into the reasons why employers should conduct regular performance reviews. We discuss the benefits of providing feedback and evaluations, such as increased employee performance, accountability, and productivity. We also explore how performance reviews can help identify skill gaps and provide opportunities for employee development.Finally, I wanted to share the risks to your business if you don't do reviews with your team. Specifically, how a lack of feedback and evaluations can lead to decreased employee motivation and increased turnover, as well as difficulties in identifying skill gaps and potential legal issues.If you’d like to continue the conversation on this, please join us in the Facebook Group HR Support for Australia Businesses via this link:https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Welcome to Power Play, the mini-episode series within The People Powered Business Podcast where we focus on the mental game of being a boss. Join us each week as we share leadership tips, insights and advice to help you level up your leadership game and unleash the full potential of your team. These quick and powerful episodes are designed to give you the tools you need to become a more confident and effective leader, so you can create the successful business you deserve. Today I want to share a little secret with you: You Encourage What You Tolerate….Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry is the one I believe to be responsible for the quote ‘you get what you demand, and you encourage what you tolerate’ whether these are his words originally, or he borrowed them from something he heard I’m not sure – but either way it’s the second line that packs the biggest punch.Take a moment to let it sit with you “you encourage what you tolerate.”Whatever you are putting up with, whatever you are tolerating, you are not only just putting up with it, you are literally encouraging it to continue. You are inviting no change, you are requiring no action, you are simply, silently, and subtly saying ‘please keep going with that’.Now cast your mind to your team, are you putting up with anything that you’re not particularly happy with? Are you tolerating something that actually really annoys you, that you don’t at all like, or that just gets under your skin?Maybe it’s a performance issue, but quite often it’s more behaviourally based. Something that perhaps is out of line with your values, or just isn’t how you want things done in your business.Perhaps until now you have ignored it, hoping things would change. Expecting that they’d realise what was happening, figure it out for themselves, or miraculously change.Guess what – that almost never happens!As long as you continue to tolerate it – whatever it is – you are encouraging it to continue.So what next? I hope this Power Play gives you the permission to take the right action, have the conversation, communicate clearly and stop tolerating things that aren’t aligned with your expectations.

Hello and welcome to Episode 159 of the People Powered Business Podcast. Today we’re discussing why Hiring (and holding onto) the Wrong Employee Impacts Team Morale.The truth is, we’ve all made bad hiring choices in the past, it happens, but when we hold onto the wrong people it can have a significant effect on the entire team. It impacts productivity, it impacts momentum, it impacts mood and impacts motivation and morale.So in today’s episode I’m sharing how to identify the early warning signs that you’ve hired the wrong person. We also unpack the reasons we are tempted to hold onto these wrong hires, and why we can be so resistant to do something about it. And then I share 3 key ways holding onto the wrong people impacts team morale.If you’d like to continue the conversation on this, please join us in the Facebook Group HR Support for Australia Businesses via this link:https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Hello and welcome to Episode 158 of the People Powered Business Podcast.Today we’re talking about how you can use AI (yes AI!) to get some things off your HR ‘to do’ list!!Now unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, the likelihood is you’ve heard a little about AI recently, and like everyone else in business that I know, I decided to have a play to see how it could be used to help our People Powered HR members, my consulting clients and my team.And my mind as blown!!I am all about efficiency, productivity and saving time, and AI does that in spades. But like anything there are pros and cons, and some of the technology certainly has its limitations, and we discuss those in this episode as well.Today I share with you 3 ways I have used AI recently and that you can too to get some HR ‘stuff’ of that to do list. I hope you love this chat about leveraging AI to help with your HR tasks.

Hello and welcome to Episode 157 of the People Powered Business Podcast.Today we’re talking about the 3 biggest mistakes I see business owners and managers make when it comes to motivating their teams. These road blocks really do hold back their success when it comes to building a motivated and high performing team, yet they are completely avoidable. #1 – You’re failing to provide clear goals and objectives. When people aren’t clear what’s expected of them they become disengaged very quickly. They can be confused, which leads to frustration, which in turn impacts motivation. Being clear is not mean or bossy, in fact it’s the opposite. As Brene Brown says ‘clear is kind, unclear is unkind’.#2 – You’re micromanaging. At the opposite end of the spectrum is the micromanager. The person that is hovering so closely over every detail of what your employee is doing they feel like they can’ breathe without your permission. Micromanagement erodes trust faster than you can imagine, and who would be motivated if they feel like their manager doesn’t trust them?#3 – you’re focusing solely on monetary rewards. This creates a culture of entitlement, of chasing the next dollar, they might be motivated, but towards the wrong thing. As discussed today, we have unpacked this motivation issue in previous episodes. Take a listen to Episode 155 here to learn more:https://www.peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/blog/motivation-podcast Ultimately, motivating your staff can be a challenge, but avoiding these 3 common mistakes will help ensure your motivation efforts aren’t wasted, and you’re building a highly engaged team.Free Webinar – Transform Your Team from Good to GREAT! 22nd March 2023 unlock the secrets building a motivated team of high performers and uncover the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to motivating their people.https://www.peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/great

Hello and welcome to Episode 156 of the People Powered Business Podcast.Today we’re discussing how you can transform your team from Good to GREAT.Consider this, how would it feel to have a motivated and high performing team? At team who love coming to work, who do amazing quality work, and who you can rely on wholeheartedly.What would it mean for you to have that team? Maybe you could take a day off, do more of what’s important to you, even take a holiday!Maybe it just means less stress, loving your business more or being able to grow.In todays’ episode I share three of the foundation strategies to transforming your team from good to great.Understand the foundations of motivation. Without this knowledge, you’re almost certainly wasting time and money in motivation techniques that simply aren’t working;Problem solve from the bottom up. If you solve all the problems for your people, they never learn to think for themselves, innovate and grow. You are essentially sabotaging your teams success when you do this;Build a culture based on trust, which is values aligned and that creates a sense of belonging.Whilst there are a myriad of other strategies you can put in place in your pursuit to create a motivated and high performing team, these are 3 non negotiables to get you started.An Invitation:As always, if you’d like to connect with other like minded business owners, leaders and managers 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.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Hello and welcome to Episode 155 of the People Powered Business Podcast.Today we’re revisiting one of our most popular and listened to episodes where I chat about the 2 types of motivation our employees need.Many employers focus on what we call extrinsic motivators, in that they try and motivate their staff using a source external from the person. Could be a reward, an incentive, a bonus, a gift, lunch – those kinds of things. These thigs usually cost money, and when they don’t have the effect the employer was hoping for – in that the employee is not more motivated across the board, or more committed to their role, the employer becomes resentful of the motivation process.The truth is, these extrinsic motivation techniques can work effectively, but only when the employee is already intrinsically motivated in the role, and as a result engaged. Without this foundation piece of intrinsic motivation, the extrinsic tactics are a short term win at best.In todays’ episode we discuss the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, and why getting intrinsic right first is imperative to motivating your employees.If you’d like to ask questions or start a discussion about motivating your people, I have an invitation for you.An InvitationWould you like to connect with other like-minded business owners, leaders and managers experiencing similar situations with their team? Join the discussion inside our free Facebook Group – HR Support for Australian Businesses - https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Hello and welcome to Episode 154 of the People Powered Business Podcast.Today we’re talking about mastering the mental game of being the boss.Let’s face it, no one gets into business for the love of people management, and most of us don’t actually know what we should be doing when it comes to leading, how we should manage and what this whole ‘boss’ gg is about.Perhaps you’re always feeling the need to say yes to your team, maybe you’ve struggled with setting boundaries, having difficult conversations, you feel like it’s your job to make your people happy all the time, or you’re pulling your hair out because no matter what you try they just aren’t doing what you want.In today’s episode I discuss why spending some time improving your boss skills is super valuable, I share some of the most common challenges I see other business owners face time and time again, and I share 3 tips to help to start yo master the mental game of being the boss.As mentioned in this episode, I have recently opened up a limited number of places in the Power Boss Program, a 12 month private coaching program aimed to help you master the mental game of being the boss while building the practical skills to manage your team.If you’d like to know more simply email me at [email protected] Invitation:As always, if you’d like to connect with other like minded business owners, leaders and managers 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.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Hello and welcome to Episode 153 of the People Powered Business Podcast.Today we’re chatting about the phenomenon known as ‘the great resignation’ – what is it, are we still in it and if not what’s next?Whilst terms like the great resignation are fun for the media to pick up and run with, what do they really mean for our businesses, and how do we best understand how to navigate the challenges it presents?There are no doubt there are signs in the market that things are shifting, there remains significant challenges when it comes to finding, keeping and motivating staff. In todays’ episode we discuss what I’m seeing and how I think the future is looking.An Invitation:What’s you experience, what are you seeing at the moment when it comes to your business? I’d love to know. 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.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Hello and welcome to Episode 152 of the People Powered Business Podcast.Today we’re looking at a burning question I see so many business owners, leaders and managers asking themselves when they have a problem employee on their hands – is it me or is it them?So often as managers we feel like we are going insane when it comes to our people. we second guess everything we are doing and how it relates to our employees performance – and we always tend to blame ourselves for what’s happening.We think we are over working them have a capacity issue, we see that they are just doing enough, but they aren’t doing anything wrong so we feel we’re over reacting, the issues are subtle, so maybe they aren’t a big deal, or they seem to have an answer for everything, which makes us certain the problem is us.In reality, sometimes we are to blame when we have a problem with one of our team. Perhaps we’ve hired the wrong person for the role, we haven’t onboard effectively, we haven’t communicated clearly or provided clarity. All of these things are our fault – and we need to take ownership of that, and make changes.But the rest of the time, when they have the excuses, when they aren’t getting the job done, when they’ve checked out or have become toxic. In those situations it’s definitely them, and it’s our job as the leader and manager to step up, be the boss and, manage the situation.An Invitation:If you’d like to connect with other business owners and leaders who are also taking a look at their problem employees and what they are tolerating, 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.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Hello and welcome to Episode 151 of the People Powered Business Podcast.Today is a compliance update on one of the Industrial Relations reforms which have recently been announced.Back in Episode 140 we introduced the raft of changes coming as part of this reform, with a key focus on job security, protecting employees rights, removing the gender pay gap and continued wage increases. You can listen to that episode here:https://www.peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/blog/IR-Reform-UpdateToday we looked at one of the changes that is taking effect immediately, as of 1 February 2023, the introduction of Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave into the Fair Work Act and Modern Awards.For all business employing 15 or more employees, including regular casuals, this change is happening right now. For the rest of you the 1 August 2023 is when this commences for you.It sees 10 days of Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave become available to all staff, including full time, part time and casual staff who are experiencing family and domestic violence, or they need to do something to deal with the impact of that violence which can’t reasonably done outside of work hours.For us as employers this means we have an obligation to understand our requirements, and ensure we’re compliant. If you’d like support with that you can book a consultation with me directly right here:https://www.peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/contactAn Invitation:If you’d like to connect with other business owners and leaders, 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.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Hello and welcome to Episode 150 of the People Powered Business Podcast.Today I’m sharing with you 5 tips for running a successful team planning session.Back in Episode 147 we spoke about the importance of having a clear team vision for the year, and one thing I recommended was to articulate this vision to the team via some sort of strategy or planning day.Today I want to unpack why they are so important for our people, how often you should run them, and I’m sharing my 5 tips for running a successful session.Tip 1: Align your planning session with the personality of your culture. If you have a team who loves fun and doesn’t take themselves to seriously, do not kill the vibe with PowerPoint slides filled with boring detail. Conversely, if you have a data driven and analytical culture, you need to make the data sing and be front and centre of the process;Tip 2: Make it about more than business targets. Yes the targets are important to articulate, and the vision is important to share, but what’s in this for them? I love to include some team building activities, games, a dinner afterwards or just something fun. This really amps up the engagement in the process;Tip 3: Be clear on your vision, articulate it and anchor everything to it. If anything you plan in this session does not directly align to the vision you have for the next 12 months, then you’re not going to get to where you want to go;Tip 4: Mix up the format. Having people sitting still in the one spot for hours on end is exhausting! Especially if they are simply listening to you speak. This shouldn’t be about you just presenting for a few hours. Break into small groups, do some individual reflection, have someone else running a section, move to different locations (even if it’s just another part of the building) or even consider an external facilitator to help;Tip 5: Have clear plans of actions and a follow up plan. Nothing undermines the benefits of these sessions faster than your team thinking it was all hot air and no actual action is taken to put the plans into place. Delegate the actions out, make people accountable, and lead by example in ensuring all the great ideas get implemented. An Invitation:If you’d like to connect with other business owners and leaders who are running successful team planning days, 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.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Hello and welcome to Episode 149 of the People Powered Business Podcast!Today is part 2 of a 2 part discussion with Anne Maree Wilshire from Vibrant Voices. Anne Maree kindly joined me live in November 2022 as part of NSW Small Business Month to participate in a Connection Conversation around using our voice to connect with our people to drive business success.In todays conversation we’re focusing on the scenarios where we would want to use our voice to really have impact and influence on our team, and how we can go about doing that.A bit about our guest:Anne Maree helps leaders and speakers whose voice is an integral part of their branding to become more impactful.  To transform their voice style and message and speak with confidence and authority so they are a voice people want to hear.She does this through her Vibrant Voices Framework in individual and group coaching programmes and her Vibrant Voices Studio membership community.Her clients transform their voice and message into a powerful asset that authentically reflects them and makes their message memorable and compelling. She is a recognised expert in the areas of voice and presentation skills, leadership, influence, collaboration, conflict resolution and authenticity.Anne Maree has kindly shared a special gift with our listeners, which is her voice guide, which includes 10 tips to help you learn how to love the sound of your own voice and speak with confidence and credibility. Get your free copy here: https://www.vibrantvoices.com.au/smallbusnovspecialofferAn Invitation:If you’d like to connect with other businesses who are also looking at how to leverage their voice to influence their people, I’d love you to join us inside our free Facebook Group, HR Support for Australian Businesses. Join Here.https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Hello and welcome to Episode 148 of the People Powered Business Podcast!Today is part 1 of a 2 part discussion with Anne Maree Wilshire from Vibrant Voices. Anne Maree kindly joined me live in November 2022 as part of NSW Small Business Month to participate in a Connection Conversation around using our voice to connect with our people to drive business success.In todays conversation we’re focusing on the science of the voice how people hear tone before words and why how we say things matters most.In next weeks episode we will be talking about the different scenarios we want to use our voice to have influence and impact on our teams. A bit about our guest:Anne Maree helps leaders and speakers whose voice is an integral part of their branding to become more impactful.  To transform their voice style and message and speak with confidence and authority so they are a voice people want to hear.She does this through her Vibrant Voices Framework in individual and group coaching programmes and her Vibrant Voices Studio membership community.Her clients transform their voice and message into a powerful asset that authentically reflects them and makes their message memorable and compelling. She is a recognised expert in the areas of voice and presentation skills, leadership, influence, collaboration, conflict resolution and authenticity.Anne Maree has kindly shared a special gift with our listeners, which is her voice guide, which includes 10 tips to help you learn how to love the sound of your own voice and speak with confidence and credibility. Get your free copy here: https://www.vibrantvoices.com.au/smallbusnovspecialofferAn Invitation:If you’d like to connect with other businesses who are also looking at how to leverage their voice to influence their people, I’d love you to join us inside our free Facebook Group, HR Support for Australian Businesses.Join Here.https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Hello and welcome to Episode 147 of the People Powered Business Podcast, and welcome to 2023!Today we’re chatting about your vision for 2023 – for your business and your team.At this time of year it’s so important to our people that we can give them clarity about what’s ahead for the year for their roles in the business. They want to know what the future holds and how their role fits into the bigger picture. They want to feel part of something bigger than themselves, and most importantly they want to know how work can help them with their vision and goals for the year.Last week we spoke about the power of pausing to get the clarity about the future, but having that clarity is no good if we don’t share it with our team. So today we discussed some ways to communicate the vision with the team and getting them engaged with the objectives.In addition today we spoke about capacity planning – do you have the right people on the bus to get you where you want to go?I mentioned the powerful Clean Slate Exercise, and if you’d like to dive deeper into that I highly recommend checking out episode 22 – The Value of a Clean Slate https://www.peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/blog/clean-state An Invitation:If you’d like to connect with other business owners and leaders who are setting their visions for 2023, 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.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Hello and welcome to Episode 146 of the People Powered Business Podcast!Today I want to chat to you about the power of pausing. It’s not something that comes naturally to many of us entrepreneurial types, but after the year that 2022 has been – I feel like it’s more important this year than ever.Let’s be honest – 2022 has been A LOT! And on the back of 2020 and 2021, and all the things that got thrown at us, for many this year has felt like a roller coaster that never ended.Even in the weeks leading up to Christmas there has been no signs of slowing down, it has for many felt relentless.So todays’ episode is a reminder on why pausing, stopping and resetting is important, on so many levels, to ourselves, our businesses and of course our teams.An Invitation:If you’d like to connect with other business owners and leaders, 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.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Hello and welcome to Episode 145 of the People Powered Business Podcast!Today on the podcast I am sharing a compliance update – which will be one of many over the coming months.The ‘Secure Jobs Better Pay Bill’ which is the first of a raft of industrial relations changes anticipated, has passed through parliament and become law. The objectives of the changes are to drive up wages, reduce pay inequity, make work more secure for employees, and essentially get everyone involved in enterprise bargaining. One of the changes that has come into effect immediately is the abolition of pay secrecy clauses in employment contracts and enterprise agreements. From 7th December 2022 these are banned, and employees gained a workplace right to share (or not share) their remuneration details with anyone they like, including their peers.In today’s episode we discuss what these changes actually mean, and what action you need to take to ensure you’re compliant.An Invitation:If you’d like to connect with other businesses who are also navigating the industrial relations changes, 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.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Hello and welcome to Episode 144 of the People Powered Business Podcast!Today is a bit of a follow up episode on our discussion last week, when we looked at how many direct reports any one position can handle. Knowing that you have too many people reporting to you is one thing, knowing how to let go, for some people, is quite another.In today’s episode we’re unpacking why letting go of things is important for our business growth, our teams development and our sanity, we’re looking at why so many of us are so bad at it, and I’m sharing some success strategies to help you start to let go of things on your plate.An Invitation:If you’d like to connect with other businesses who are also navigating growing organisational teams, 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.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Hello and welcome to Episode 143 of the People Powered Business Podcast!Today is we are talking about something that can have such a huge impact on your sanity and your teams success. That is – how many direct reports can any one position handle?I know in small business creating an organisational structure or org chart can feel like ‘overkill’ but without this structure things get messy, and when things are messy – they are ultimately hard!That’s why I today’s episode I recommended everyone go back and listen to Episode 22 – The Value of a Clean Slate, and work through the clean slate exercise for their business.Here is a link to Episode 22:https://www.peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/blog/clean-stateThe reality is, the more people any one role needs to manage, the more positions reporting into any manager – the more time the management of those people takes and the less operational work they can do.The most widely accepted ‘magic’ number is 7 - + or minus 2. Effectively the maximum number of people any manager should manage is 7 – providing they are just managing and not doing other operational or client facing work.This number is influenced though by a range of factors including:The complexity of the work;The experience level of the team;The acceptable error rate;The leadership experience of the manager; andThe dynamic nature of the work environment.All of these factors help us to assess whether the number is 7, or more than 7, or in most cases less than 7.An Invitation:If you’d like to connect with other businesses who are also navigating growing organisational teams, 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.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Hello and welcome to Episode 142 of the People Powered Business Podcast!Today is part 2 of a 2 part discussion with Diversity and Inclusion Consultant Nicci Richman from Audir. Nicci kindly joined me live in November 2022 as part of NSW Small Business Month to participate in a Connection Conversation around connecting with our own and our teams neurodiversity to drive business success.Last week, in Episode 141, we looked at defining neurodiversity and understanding what it means, as well as how to identify and leverage our own neurodiversity as leaders.Today we’re talking about identifying and managing neurodiversity within our team.A bit about our guest:Nicci is a Diversity and Inclusion Consultant with a passion for supporting Neurodivergent individuals in the workplace.Her career had its foundations in social research, working on employee engagement surveys for multi-national organisations. This insight into organisations led to her love of working with businesses to develop and support the strategies that enable a thriving workplace culture.With previous experience across the Professional Services, Manufacturing, Transport, and Hospitality industries; she now works primarily with clients in Allied Health and Community Services, developing person-centred cultures in alignment with the NDIS framework.She holds a Bachelor of Social Science (Sociology and Political Science), and accredited certificates in Narrative Coaching, Mindfulness, Human Resources, Training and Education, and Business. She is an accredited REACH Facilitator, DiSC Facilitator and a member of the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI).If you’d like to reach out to Nicci you can connect with her on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicci-richman-abb5541a/Or visit her website:https://www.audir.com.au/An Invitation:If you’d like to connect with other businesses who are also looking at how they can better understand and lad their neurodivergent team, I’d love you to join us inside our free Facebook Group, HR Support for Australian Businesses.Join Here.https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Hello and welcome to Episode 141 of the People Powered Business Podcast!Today is part 1 of a 2 part discussion with Diversity and Inclusion Consultant Nicci Richman from Audir. Nicci kindly joined me live in November 2022 as part of NSW Small Business Month to participate in a Connection Conversation around connecting with our own and our teams neurodiversity to drive business success.In todays conversation we’re focusing on defining neurodiversity and understanding what it means, as well as how to identify and leverage our own neurodiversity as leaders.In next weeks episode we will be talking about identifying and managing neurodiversity within our team.A bit about our guest:Nicci is a Diversity and Inclusion Consultant with a passion for supporting Neurodivergent individuals in the workplace.Her career had its foundations in social research, working on employee engagement surveys for multi-national organisations. This insight into organisations led to her love of working with businesses to develop and support the strategies that enable a thriving workplace culture.With previous experience across the Professional Services, Manufacturing, Transport, and Hospitality industries; she now works primarily with clients in Allied Health and Community Services, developing person-centred cultures in alignment with the NDIS framework.She holds a Bachelor of Social Science (Sociology and Political Science), and accredited certificates in Narrative Coaching, Mindfulness, Human Resources, Training and Education, and Business. She is an accredited REACH Facilitator, DiSC Facilitator and a member of the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI). If you’d like to reach out to Nicci you can connect with her on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicci-richman-abb5541a/Or visit her website:https://www.audir.com.au/An Invitation:If you’d like to connect with other businesses who are also looking at how they can better understand and lad their neurodivergent team, I’d love you to join us inside our free Facebook Group, HR Support for Australian Businesses.Join Here.https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Hello and welcome to Episode 1409 of the People Powered Business Podcast! Today is a technical update on the Industrial Relations reforms which have recently been announced, and those which are currently before parliament. As there always is when there is a new Government, we can expect change. Industrial relations is one of the areas they often seek to make change, to support election promises and align the legislation with their core values. As part of this reform we are seeing a key focus on job security, protecting employees rights, removing the gender pay gap and continued wage increases. At the time of recording the ‘Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs Better Pay) Bill 2022 is before parliament, so right now there is a whole lot yet to be confirmed. But what we do know is that there have been recent changes to the Paid Parental Leave Scheme and the introduction of Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave. An Invitation:If you’d like to connect with other businesses who are also navigating the industrial relations law changes, 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.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Hello and welcome to Episode 139 of the People Powered Business Podcast!It’s that time of year again….today we are chatting Christmas Close Down Essentials.What are the things you should be doing now, before the Christmas break to set you and our team up for success in 2023.What are the compliance essentials you need to be across when it comes to Christmas close downs.And what are the additional considerations relevant this year that you may want to think about when it comes to managing this period. An Invitation:If you’d like to connect with other businesses who are also juggling the challenges of teams, 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.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Hello and welcome to Episode 138 of the People Powered Business Podcast!I am super excited to be joined by special guest, Elita A’Vard from Elite Edge Accounting on today’s episode.Elita generously shares with us her knowledge when it comes to accounting, bookkeeping and payroll for small business. We discussed things such as when is the right time to outsource to a bookkeeper, what’s the difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant, how do we know if we can afford to hire a new employee, and what are the key numbers we need to be across when it comes to our team.If you’d like to connect with Elita, here is her website:https://eliteedgeaccounting.com.au/An InvitationWould you like to connect with other like-minded business owners, leaders and managers experiencing similar situations with their team? Join the discussion inside our free Facebook Group – HR Support for Australian -Businesses.https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Hello and welcome to Episode 137 of the People Powered Business Podcast!In today's episode we are talking about why hiring well is just the beginning.Making great hiring choices is absolutely essential to team, and ultimately business success, there is no doubt. But if everything beyond that is broken or non existent our great hiring efforts will be a total waste, and we’ll end up with a revolving door of staff.Today I shared the P.E.O.P.L.E Pathway, the exact framework that I assist our People Powered HR members follow and I work with my consulting clients to implement. It is the journey every employee follows in your business. Getting every step right is critical to team success.

Hello and welcome to Episode 136 of the People Powered Business Podcast!In today’s episode of the podcast we are chatting about achieving business success through our teams.The thing I know to be true is this: having the right team is the only way to have success in business, without losing our nights, weekends and sanity. But for so many business owners they feel like their teams are not the key to their success, and may even be holding them back – certainly as though a weekend off is far from reality.Today I encourage you to define what success means to you (because until you know what that is it’s pretty hard to strive to achieve), and the key elements to team success that are critical to building the right team.If you’d like to share some thoughts on this or ask a question, I have an invitation for you.An InvitationWould you like to connect with other like-minded business owners, leaders and managers experiencing similar situations with their team? Join the discussion inside our free Facebook Group – HR Support for Australian -Businesses.https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Hello and welcome to Episode 135 of the People Powered Business Podcast!In today’s episode of the podcast we are chatting about becoming the boss, and the journey I have noticed every business owner goes through in building their business and their team to become a business that is truly people powered.You see this is a journey I notice our People Powered HR members take, it’s one I have taken and it’s one every small business owner makes. It’s not always a straight line, sometimes we bounce between the stages in the journey, but that’s how we learn and create a stronger business for the future.The stages we all go through are:Having an Idea Powered business, where we are a start up, full of enthusiasm and ideas;Being You Powered – where we are starting to build our team and outsource things, but we are in the drivers seat across everything, and involved at every level;Becoming Person Powered where we have a team of key people and roles, who we can rely on and who power our business day to day;Being Team Powered where we have groups of people to get things done, across all areas of the business, but we are still firmly the key leader;And finally we are People Powered – with a leadership team, succession planning and where we can truly step away knowing our business will thrive.If you’d like to share where you are in the journey, ask a question or start a discussion about this, I have an invitation for you.An InvitationWould you like to connect with other like-minded business owners, leaders and managers experiencing similar situations with their team? Join the discussion inside our free Facebook Group – HR Support for Australian -Businesses.https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Hello and welcome to Episode 134 of the People Powered Business Podcast!I am super excited to be joined by special guest, Chantel Gilbert from Bluegum Electrical Solutions on today’s episode.Chantel generously shares with us her business journey, the importance she places on team, and some of the challenges, lessons and wins she has had along the way.As a member of our People Powered HR community, I have seen firsthand how Chantel has really stepped into the role of CEO in her business, and the passion, dedication and commitment she brings to looking after her people, and creating a culture of trust, reliability, impeccable customer service and high performance.As she points out in our discussion, you can’t make money without a good team. Realising this has been key to their business growth and success over the years.If you’d like to reach out to Chantel, you can contact her and find out more about Bluegum Electrical Solutions at https://www.bluegumelectricalsolutions.com.au/As mentioned, if you’d like to connect with people like Chantel, businesses owners leveraging the power of their team to drive their business success, I have an invitation for you.An InvitationWould you like to connect with other like-minded business owners, leaders and managers experiencing similar situations with their team? Join the discussion inside our free Facebook Group – HR Support for Australian -Businesses.https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Hello and welcome to Episode 133 of the People Powered Business Podcast!In today’s episode of the podcast we are discussing the importance of onboarding new employees. For many small businesses they see onboarding as something for big corporates only, and something HR should take care of. Noting could be further from the truth. Effective onboarding is even more important for small businesses, because without it turnover increases and retention is lowered, which has a ripple effect on the entire business. Today I shared with you the 4 core elements of effective onboarding that any business could implement right now. These were designed by Dr Talya Bauer from the SHRM Foundation and include:Compliance;Clarification;Connection; Like building blocks, you need to start at the base, the beginning, with compliance, but stopping there will see you’re your onboarding efforts falling flat. If you’d like to ask questions or start a discussion about effective onboarding, I have an invitation for you. An InvitationWould you like to connect with other like-minded business owners, leaders and managers experiencing similar situations with their team? Join the discussion inside our free Facebook Group – HR Support for Australian -Businesses.https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Hello and welcome to Episode 132 of the People Powered Business Podcast!In today’s episode of the podcast we’re talking about something that I know is top of mind for many small business owners right now – how to keep the great staff they have!The reality is, it is harder than ever to keep great people right now. They are getting offers and opportunities placed in front of them every day of the week, and at some point in time they might start to think the grass does look greener on the other side.The stats support this, with data out of the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing us that resignation rates are at a 10 year high and unemployment is at a 50 year low.So how can we keep great people in this environment? In today’s episode I share with you 3 fundamental concepts you need to be paying attention to when it comes to retaining the best people:Making the right decisions;Harnessing their greatness;Creating complete alignment.All three concepts are big picture ideas that cross over many elements of the employment relationship. But they really are the fundamentals, getting this right will help ensure your A players stay with you long term.If you’d like to ask questions or start a discussion about this issue of retention in a competitive market, I have an invitation for you.An InvitationWould you like to connect with other like-minded business owners, leaders and managers experiencing similar situations with their team? Join the discussion inside our free Facebook Group – HR Support for Australian -Businesses.https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Hello and welcome to Episode 131 of the People Powered Business Podcast!In today’s episode of the podcast we’re talking about the High Risk Pre Start Zone. This is the period of time between an applicant accepting your offer of employment, and them actually starting with you.Right now, you’re probably doing a whole range of things during that period of time to get ready for your new starter, but they know about none of them.Conversely, they have other employers talking to them and other offers being extended to them. They have no more connection with you than any other employer they are interviewing with, so it’s easy for them to take another option during this period.By putting in place the 3 strategies I shared in today’s episode you’ll have the best possible chance that they’ll be there to start their role with you on day 1!If you’d like to ask questions or start a discussion about this dangerous pre start zone, I have an invitation for you. An InvitationWould you like to connect with other like-minded business owners, leaders and managers experiencing similar situations with their team? Join the discussion inside our free Facebook Group – HR Support for Australian -Businesses.https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia

Hello and welcome to Episode 130 of the People Powered Business Podcast!In today’s episode of the podcast, I’m sharing a 5 step framework to screening applications in a competitive market.The thing is, when we are short on applicants for a role, our usual screening methods tend to go out the window, and as a result we don’t shortlist effectively, which means we are at risk of making poor hiring choices. And what I know to be true is that you can’t outrun a bad hire.So whether you have 5 applications or 5000 effective screening is essential, and this 5 step framework is super simple to follow and will keep you on track for great hiring choices.If you’d like to ask questions or start a discussion about note taking, I have an invitation for you.An InvitationWould you like to connect with other like-minded business owners, leaders and managers experiencing similar situations with their team? Join the discussion inside our free Facebook Group – HR Support for Australian Businesses.https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustraliaAlso mentioned in today’s episode was a great clarity creating exercise – The Clean Slate Exercise, you can take a listen to that episode here:https://www.peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/blog/clean-state

Hello and welcome to Episode 129 of the People Powered Business Podcast!In today’s episode of the podcast, I have a warning, I may get a little bossy! Today we are talking about one of the simplest things you can do to protect yourself and your business from employee issues – and that is to take notes!Today I encourage you to document, document, document!I know it never feels like we will need the notes, until we actually do, and we can easily fall into the trap of thinking we will remember the details of the discussion, but the truth is we won’t.In today’s episode I discuss when to take notes and why it’s so important to document these notes in relation to discussions with our employees.If you’d like to ask questions or start a discussion about note taking, I have an invitation for you.An InvitationWould you like to connect with other like-minded business owners, leaders and managers experiencing similar situations with their team? Join the discussion inside our free Facebook Group – HR Support for Australian Businesses.https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia