The Latest from Kristy-Lee

Hello and welcome to Episode 231 of the People Powered Business Podcast!

Today I am delighted to be joined by guest expert Ange Fragiacomo from Conscious Living Hub to talk Workplace Wellbeing.

Ange has over 20 years of experience in the wellbeing space, and is dedicated to supporting workplaces in enhancing their organisational wellbeing. Ange’s wholistic program offers an opportunity to assess current workplace practices, identify business needs, and evaluate team functionality. By fostering honest conversations and empowering organisations to find immediate solutions, Ange facilitates meaningful change at all levels.

If you’d like to connect with Ange you can visit her website here: https://consciouslivinghub.com.au/

An Invitation

Would 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...

We all know the feeling, we’re losing sleep, we’re avoiding the person at work, we’re angry, frustrated and tearing our hair out. We have an employee who is not performing, not showing up how we want them to at work or behaving in a negative way, a way that isn’t sitting right with you.

We can’t always quite put our finger on the exact issue, it’s just not quite right, but it’s wrong enough to be consuming our time and attention. Or maybe it is more obvious, but we feel like we’re going over the top if we bring it up – we don’t want them to feel like we are micromanaging them or pulling them up for something that feels petty and insignificant (yet the fact that it’s consuming our time and attention does in fact mean that at some level it is significant to us).

So, we tolerate it, whether it’s behaviour, attendance, performance or something else, we tolerate it. We think maybe it’s not that...

Hello and welcome to Episode 230 of the People Powered Business Podcast.

Today we are taking a look at yet another legislative change that is upon us – this time relating to casual employees.

We start by discussing what these key changes are including:

• The new definition of a casual employee;
• The fact that the contract is no longer king;
• The need to consider the totality of the employment relationship;
• The obligation of employers to get the engagement right from the outset;
• The new casual conversion pathway;
• Updates to the provision of a new Casual Employment Information Statement.

We then take a look at the risks, and incredible fines, that employers may face if they get this wrong.

Finally we discuss how these changes impact your current casual team members.

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

Join Here...

What is micromanagement at work?

Micromanagement at work refers to a management style that is typically excessive and controlling and usually exercised by a supervisor or manager. This management style focuses heavily on task-specific elements while often neglecting the bigger picture, such as overall outcomes, staff development, and collaborative teamwork.

Micromanagement can impede team efficiency and arise from several underlying factors. These factors usually encompass a lack of confidence in team members' competencies, a tendency to seek control due to apprehension or self-doubt, and a need to maintain close oversight to ensure tasks meet personal expectations.

Micromanagement frequently emerges when leaders encounter challenges in effectively delegating tasks, motivating their team, and fostering a culture of accountability. Although the motivations behind micromanagement might be rooted in aspirations for success, the approach inadvertently restricts autonomy,...

Hello and welcome to Episode 229 of the People Powered Business Podcast.

Today we are answering another listeners question which is: what can I do when an employee is taking sick leave but I know they are not actually sick?

Sick and Carers Leave can be one of the trickiest types of leave to manage, and because it is a protected workplace right, there is often little an employer can do if they think an employee is using sick leave for other purposes.

In this episode we unpack what Sick and Carers leave is, and what the entitlement each employee has to this sort of leave. 

We discuss an employers rights if they feel sick leave is being used inappropriately.

And finally we look at what we can do to protect our businesses around excessive and inappropriate sick leave usage.

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

Join...

Policies that support your business and team

If you run a business or an organisation, the Code of Conduct is one policy you want to invest in.

Creating policies for your business might not be the most exciting task, we get it – but some guidelines are essential, and this is one of them.

 Having a code underpins and informs almost everything your business does, from communication best practices to acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. In this blog post, we explore what a Code of Conduct is, where and why it's useful, and how it can significantly benefit your business.

What is a Code of Conduct?

A Code of Conduct is a formal document that outlines the guiding principles, standards, and behavioural expectations for all team members within your organisation. It serves as a set of rules and guidelines that govern interactions, communications, and behaviour between employees, management, and other stakeholders.

A well-designed Code of Conduct promotes ethical...

Hello and welcome to Episode 228 of the People Powered Business Podcast.

Today we’re chatting about something that I can’t quite believe we have never discussed on the podcast – whether an employee should work through their notice period.

Today I discuss what notice period might apply and when notice needs to be provided, I share some thoughts on what your notice periods should look like and we cover off whether employees get to make their own decisions on their notice period and what should happen during this time.

Then we shift focus to whether you should have an employee work through their notice period, or pay them out in lieu. I share my considerations when making decisions about this, and that it’s something to very much consider on a case by case basis.

As always, I’d love you to join us inside our free Facebook Group, HR Support for Australian Businesses, so I can learn more about what’s working for you and any challenges you might be...

Understanding Motivation:

Understanding how to motivate your team can be one of the biggest challenges business owners, managers and leaders face. Finding the right people for your business is just the first step, once you have the players in place, getting the most out of them, motivating them and pushing for greater productivity and motivation is an ongoing pain point which can often feel like some sort of secret witchcraft.

Our Usual Default:

For many managers, when thinking of ways to motivate staff, our automatic default is to entice them with some form of incentive, or show them recognition with some sort of gift, reward or show of gratitude. Some people even think that the bigger the gesture, the more expensive the gift or reward, the higher the motivation should be.

Then, after outlaying the money, expecting a huge return on their investment by achieving high motivation across the team, they are disappointed, frustrated and resentful that their efforts have had...

Hello and welcome to Episode 227 of the People Powered Business Podcast.

Today I am sharing with you a conversation that Juliet Robinson (Big Goals) and I had over on the Grow Your Influence podcast a little while back.

Dealing with toxic employees, and navigating a workplace culture that has become toxic is something I get asked about often – and it can be incredibly stressful and challenging as a leader and business owner.

But there are things you can do to change a toxic culture, and that’s what we share in this discussion.

I’d love to hear from you, and how you have navigated challenges with toxic team members in the past. 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

Time to Pause

As we kick off a brand new financial year, it can be a perfect time to pause, and take a look at how we are tracking with our vision, goals and objectives for the year.

For many businesses the plans, goals, strategies and projects they put in place at the beginning of the year may be just gradually moving along, or in some cases things may have been switched direction, or upended more than once.

The New Year Shine

At the beginning of the year, we are typically all bright eyed and bushy tailed. We are refreshed from our traditional Christmas close down and break, we are motivated by our vision for the year ahead and excited to share it with our team.

For many of you that may have looked like a team planning and strategy day, where you got the whole team together, virtually or in person, to share the vision, get them excited and communicate clearly their role in making that happen.

That results in a great spike in engagement, as our teams all want to be part of...