A report published on 11 November 2011 by the major global private sector HR consultancy organisation SHLhighlights the way team members see their managers can significantly affect their attitude to work and indeed their willingness to come to work.
Essentially about 60 per cent of the workers who responded to the research questionnaires indicatedthey took “sickies” when they were not sick. In addition, 42 per cent of employees with what they believe are good managers indicated they believe it’s not right to take sick leave when you’re not sick compared to 30% with poor managers. The reasons given for ‘sickies’ included:
33% worked too many hours and burnt out / too much responsibility and not comping
27% had family problems to deal with
12% wanted to do other personal things- shopping and so on
9% were bored with work and needed a break
7% can’t stand their manager and wanted to get wanted to get away from him or her
4% had been going well at work and deserved a break
4% couldn’t face the commute in bad weather
Of even more interest, 11 per cent of respondents indicated that they believed the allocated sick days were part of their ‘wages’.
From this limited and possibly not rigorous survey, the spokesperson at SHL suggested that the quality and ability of managers and team leaders was a critical factor in people taking sickies.
Stephanie Christopher, national director for SHL, Australia and New Zealand, said the results were not surprising given the rise of under-skilled managers.
“Organisations that continued to promote staff into management positions, despite scaling-back career development programs in recent years, are now feeling the effects of under-skilled managers,” Christopher said.
She added that not all managers have the skills or training required to effectively manage team dynamics and individual performance; as a result, employees are taking mental health days because they’re not coping with their workload.
A key element of good management is to understand each individual’s preferred way of working, such as increasing flexibility, Christopher said.
SHL’s research finding supported the notion of ‘adaptable management’, as 74% of employees who said they have a good manager also said their superior knows when to step in to boost productivity, and when to allow team members to ‘just get on with the job’
Comments – the rule of three
The general rule about any study or information is that there should be three sources before you really accept and act on the information. The SHL study is interesting and completed in good faith. However, it is of limited depth and did not undertake follow-up questions. The recommendations from the National Director of SHL were probably correct in pointing thefinger at poor managers as the cause of some sickies but again it also may be argued that the managers might have a different opinion of the ‘sickie’ worker. Maybe workers who take sickies look for justification and blame the manager, who knows?
Reports such as the SHL one on sickies are useful in raising issues but need to be put into context.
9th November 2011: Growth of the Community Sector Workforce
A recently released report on Australia’s labour markets identifies that employment in the Community Sector continues to grow – especially in the aged care, disability and, to a lesser extent, mental health area – at two to three times the national average. With an ageing population and an increasing demand for community oriented services, the health and community services sector continues to grow at a rate well ahead of the overall average.
The following is an extract from the media release, but the full report can be seen here.
"All of the states, except South Australia (-1.9 per cent) are experiencing strong jobs growth in this sector with Victoria leading at 8.4 per cent, followed by Queensland on 7.7 per cent and Western Australia at 5.8 percent. New South Wales recorded the lowest positive growth reaching 5.3 per cent. A problem continuing to face all states is finding suitably qualified staff to work in rural and remote areas".
Michael Emerson, Head Researcher of the MyCareer Employment Forecast said,“Jobs in hospitals continue to grow at 4.6 per cent as demand for better health care continues. The ageing population is also helping boost residential care sector jobs with a 2.9 per cent increase. Community services jobs are growing at 4.3 per cent, highlighting that many in the community are doing it tough as the cost of living pressures continue to intensify." Salariesin this sector have been growing moderately at 4.3 per cent, however growth is restricted as the majority of positions are in the government sector which limits salary growth.
Despite very strong growth figures for the health and community services sector, the level of vacancies has softened and is down 23 per cent from the 2010 peak. With skill shortages still apparent in some areas and a reasonable level of vacancies, the job outlook in this sector remains positive. By May 2012 jobs are expected to be growing at an annual rate of 3.2 per cent.”
The rate of growth is still going to be positive in the next twelve months, particularly aged care, but will slow from the 2010-2011 situation. The major issue will, of course, be how to get and retain the really good workers.
28 October 2011: Leadership, earlobes and the symmetry of your face
There is almost nothing that an academic or research consultant will not try to link to leadership. In the latest Harvard Business Review ( Senior C, Martin R, Thomas G, Topakas A, West MA & Yeats R ‘How can earlobes signal leadership potential?’ Harvard Business Review, October 2011) there is an articleon theconnection between appearance and leadership.
“The research and experiments the writers undertook indicated that there is quite a strong correlation between physical appearance and leadership.” (page 32)
While the idea that people with symmetrical faces seem to “be healthier, more intelligent and more dominant than others” has shown up in other research, these academics have added the view that the asymmetry between earlobes and other matching body parts is an additional benefit for leadership.
Thus an imbalance in the positioning of the two earlobes of a team leader seems to indicate a 20 per cent better outcome for team leaders who have more symmetrical bodies. The article presents the theory that the difference between people based on facial appearance (symmetry provides for stronger leader) and body (asymmetry is better for a team leader) is important.The view is put that the importance of appearance in determining leadership and other important behaviours is probably the result of how this affects our perception of ourselves and how others react to us.
Time to throw away all the interview questions and techniques, just measure the candidate’s facial and body symmetry!
27th September 2011:Client-directed funding for disability services – a report
The Victorian Government has just released (20 September) a very timely report into Individualised Funding for Community Services. It comes at a time when disability organisations, and indeed the rest of the Community Service Sector, are considering how individual client-directed funding will affect their services.
The Australian Productivity Commission Report into the provision of support to people with disabilities in Australia – Disability Care and Support – was a significant shift toward what can be termed client-directed care whereby the users of services will have a greater say in who provides their services than under the current government grant approach.
As both the Government and Opposition appear to fully accept the report, there will be, in one form or another, a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) that provides insurance cover for all Australians in the event of significant disability. The NDIS would fund long-term high quality care and support.
People with disabilities will have much more choice in who provides their service. Based on their needs assessment and their individualised support package, they would be able to choose their own service providers; ask a disability support organisation (an intermediary) to assemble the best package on their behalf; cash out their funding allocation and direct the funding to the areas of need they think are most important. A separate scheme would be developed for a no-fault National Injury Insurance Scheme (NIIS) for people who have a major disability as a result of an accident or trauma. The scheme would provide for lifetime care and support.
The Victorian Report
The Individualised Funding report from the Auditor General Victoria provides solid support for the ISP (Individualised Support Packages) in that State. The report pointsout Victoria is the leading State in this form of funding and it gives morechoice, flexibility, dignity and opportunities to people with disabilities, their carers and families. A major problem with accessing and then using ISP has been the advice given to people with disabilities and the quality of facilitators has been varied.
Thus the report says “by giving funds and control to people with disabilities DHS (Department of Human Services) has created a market place”. (Page ix) It is taking some time for mechanisms to be put in place to make sure the market works equitably and effectively. This report also highlights additional risk and problems such as the following.
·Some people with complex disabilities are not getting the care and support they might have in the past.
·Some service providers are reporting financial problems through lower demand, more demanding clients and the need to sometimes provide services at or belowcost. It was not really certain if this was the result of inefficiencies or just market pressures – or both.
“Thus while provider numbers were relatively static over the last decade shifts have occurred with mergers, closures and new providers altering the sector”. (Page x)
A disability service market will provide opportunities and risks (page 32). Opportunities will allow new providers to enter the market and disability services can be provided without being on the Register of Disability Service providers. Risksinclude that non-registered providers, while expanding choices, may leave vulnerable people without services (for example, refusing access to clients who may cause a financial loss). There are many issues which need further understanding and management.
Conclusion
The regulated market is going to be a growing element in the funding of just about all government community services. All providers need to realise there will be increased competition and, hopefully, greater control by welfare services and thus plan for it. This report should help in understating how the market for services might work.
7th September 2011: Preventable deaths in Group Homes
A report by the NSW Ombudsman makes sober reading for any community service responsible for the care and support of people with disabilities, older people or indeed any one in accommodation or day centres. An article by Adele Horin in the Sydney Morning Herald on 7 September 2011summarises the report which examined nearly 200 deaths in government and non-government-run large institutions and group homes and came to the conclusion much more needs to be done to provide medical support to the clients and knowledge about health risks and specific medical conditions to the staff. Indeed the Ombudsmen took further action in relation to 36 deaths because of concerns about the adequacy of the care and support provided.
The Ombudsman, Bruce Barbour, said “many people in disability accommodation and licensed boarding houses faced serious health and safety risks” … and … ''Our reviews indicate that the work of services and staff to identify and address the risks is often inadequate''.
The report goes on to comment on the inadequacy of risk management, medical support and chronic disease management in too many organisations.
''It is important that, at a minimum, people with disabilities have the same access to health services and programs as everyone else,'' he said.
While the reported cases were only a very small number compared to the thousands of people with disabilities in group homes in NSW, the implications of the report are clear. The identification of health risk needs, access to medical care and the training of staff in health risks and how to manage them need to be a priority.
1st September 2011: Social and Affordable Housing
Mission Australia opened its Camperdown Sydney Social and Affordable Housing project on 31 August 2011. The Common Ground apartment complex, built in partnership with Mission Australia (MA Housing) and Grocon and significantly funded by Federal and State Governments at a cost of around $38 million will be a model for many similar developments across Australia. It contains units for housing homeless people – Social Housing and for low income people struggling to meet high rents. The idea is based on the successful Common Grounds project in New York and ensures counseling and other medical and social support will be available on site or by referral from an onsite social worker. The partnership between government, community services and businesses is also a model for Not for Profits to consider.
More details about Mission Australia’s Social and Affordable Housing MA Housingcan be seen on their website.
21st August 2011:Managing Brokerage and Third Parties
The case of Life Without Barriers comes as a timely reminder to all community services to review the agreements, controls and working relationships they have with other organisations that work with their clients and staff. According to aSydney Morning Herald report, Life Without Barriers is pursuing a rigorous program of changing the way it manages children referred to it by Government Departments for foster care placement after admitting their system of outsourcing the selection of foster carers and their general control was significantly inadequate and put children at risk.
Many community not-for-profit orgnisations use other not-for-profit or even for- profit organisations to provide staff, sometimes operate part of a program or even undertake specialist activities with clients. Almost one hundred percent of the time the system works - but there is always the chance it may not. Any outsourcing or use of third parties to perform client or staff activities on your behalf, or even recommendation, should be appropriately established, managed and monitored. This means the following should be in place
·A clear contract specifying the performance expected and the outcomes.
·A regular audit /review by your organisation of the third parties’ performance.
·Clear policies about mandatory reporting by the other organisation of any variations form the specified services, problems or issues.
·Regular reports.
·Regular on-site visits and meetings.
·Regular reports to the Board.
The extent of the control your organisation imposes over its outsourced or contracted work will depend on the risk – but it has to be reasonable and defensible if things go wrong.
7th August 2011:Ageing is about all of us
One of the most important research laboratories in the world is located at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston. An article in the August 5th edition of the Financial Times magazine on the work of MIT on ageingshould make all government policy makers and indeed individual aged care providers think carefully about the approach they are advocating and the actions they are taking.
James Coughlin, the head of the MIT Age Lab, not only argues that technology can make a major contribution to living in our own home as we age but that without a major ‘reinvention’ of our transport, housing and other institutions society is going to be really struggling to cope with the ‘silver tsunami’ of an ageing society.
Technology can help monitor older people, reduce the stress of using everyday products or even check on our food intake and guard against risk behavior, butunless society as a whole changes to suit the physical limitation of age the older person will simply become housebound and rely on the occasionalvisit from a relative or paid carer to take them out.
Coughlin is quoted as saying:
“What we’re left with is a crisis, where we’re using yesterday’s social and policy models to address today’s new ageing population. It is a fundamental disconnect.” (Page 1)
and
“We spend billions of dollars trying to live longer, but no one puts any thought or any investment into how to live longer, better.” (Page 1)
The message in this article is for Australian aged care providers to keep in touch with innovations in the way we support older Australians and continue to advocate for a more age-friendly environment in the neighborhood.
19 July 2011: Coming second is not so bad
The idea of the dominant leader imposing not only his (inevitably it’s a him) will and personality on the organisation is well identified in management literature and case studies. Indeed it was originally argued that high achievers pass stress on to subordinates and employees who have little or no power. Now an interesting study of the research that underpins the idea of the alpha and beta males seems to be saying it’s ok not to have workplace power.
“From the wild to Wall Street, as everyone knows, the alpha male runs the show, enjoying power over other males and, as a field biologist might put it, the best access to mating opportunities.
The beta is No. 2 in the wolf pack or the baboon troop, not such a bad position. But conversationally, the term has become an almost derisive label for the nice guy, the good boy all grown up, the husband women look for after the fling with Russell Crowe.” (Page 1)
Now it appears alpha males have as high or higher stress levels than the other baboons they dominate. Indeed the lack of control can mean lower anxiety levels. It is also significant to note an alpha baboon does not stay at the top for too long and probably the beta males hang around and do reasonably well for a long time, rather than very well for a short period of time.
Interestingly:
“Behavioral researchers have not ignored the female baboons: other studies have shown that the females have a whole different system of rank, which is inherited from the mother and rarely subject to challenge, so that is one kind of stress they do not have.”
A recent judgment in the Federal Court by Justice Middleton serves as a timely reminder to all board members and directors of the importance of understanding and properly evaluating an organisation’s accounts. While the specific case of Centro Directors picking up there was a $4 billion debt due for maturity, when signing off on the accounts, refers to the duty of care of a board responsible for a major for-profit company, it has some relevance for a not-for-profit board.
Clearly the duty of care of a voluntary board may not be as rigorous as a for-profit paid board but it is still important. In the Centro case there was uncertainty as to whether the CEO and Chief Finance Officer had or had not signed the account as a true and fair record. As a minimum, boards ought to ensure this happens every month and certainly this must happen for the annual budget report. In addition, it would be wise to give all new board members a guide to the accounts and an induction session with the external auditor or the finance manager.
Bullying
A recent book Don't Peak at High School:From Bullied to A-List by Fiona Scott Norman tells the story of a number of well-known and not-so-well-known people who were bullied at school or work and went on to overcome the adverse impact and become successful. Those interviewed included Penny Wong, Wendy Harmer, singer song writer Paul Capsis and comedian Tim Ferguson. The major form of bullying of those interviewed was bullying by exclusion, by being left out of school and work social activities and interaction. It seems the presence of a manipulative colleague and perhaps low self-esteem are the two critical factors for effective and hurtful bullying. While most people who were bullied seem to recover, for too many there was a lasting problem.
Last year multitasking was out of fashion;now articles are appearing again supporting it. This particular article points out that, like it or hate it, in today’s world there is not much that can be done to stop it. The article lists ‘10 Truths about Multitasking’ including the important concept of prioritising.
The concept of switching between tasks or interrupting one task in favour of another is a necessary and important task for all managers. Being able to do this effectively is an important technique for efficiency (and sanity).
Everyone needs to multitask, it’s part of management and should not be confused with single-task performance, distractions, lack of concentration or communication overload. It is a very useful skill and one that all managers and staff should be encouraged to use well.
The sector's campaigners need to adapt, says charity campaigning expert Brian Lamb
An article in the Guardian in the UK points out that whilst community sector campaigns have been very successful in the last decade or so, times could be changing. The GFC has led to a reduction in enthusiasm for addressing social issues, and this calls for a change in campaigns. Added to this is, of course, the change in social media.
Brian Lamb, the author of The Good Guide to Campaigning and Influencing stresses the importance of:
·Measuring the impact of change to demonstrate that change is indeed achieved from campaigns and showing where campaigners make a difference.
·Demonstrating how campaigns increase the capacity of communities to take their future into their own hands.
·Good practice across the sector ‘as campaigning has moved away from intuition and gathered a bit of political nous and clarity around what constitutes professional practice’.
·Not just demonstrating professionalism, but also attacking the causes of social and economic issues and ‘getting local communities to ameliorate the consequences of some of their effects’, which is often cheaper for the public purse in the long run.
This article is worth reading as a background to fundraising.
22nd February 2011:This is an article about CEOs who ‘are in a bubble’. While this does not apply to all CEOs, especially in the Community Sector, there could well be parts of this article of relevance. The article emphasises that a CEO can be doing almost everything to a text-book standard, but simply doesn’t realise that their employees are telling them what they think they want to hear. Thus CEOs need to ‘create a system’ to always challenge their assumptions and be very aware that they are often two to four-times more optimistic than their employees! The article goes on to discuss a survey by The Economic Intelligence Unitabout C-Suite executives and provides useful advice to assist CEOs to form a realistic view of their actions and image in the eyes of their employees.
PS. What Does C-Suite Mean? This is a widely-used term to collectively refer to a corporation's most important senior executives. C-Suite gets its name because top senior executives' titles tend to start with the letter C, for chief, as in chief executive officer, chief operating officer and chief information officer.
11 February 2011: To back up our most recent subscriber article, BNET discusses lack of sleep and its effect on work performance.
The article points out that the effects of lack of sleep include a less well functioning brain, with the higher order brain activity the first to go! Also, the brain's energy goes on keeping awake rather than solving hard problems. So even though we can stay awake for long periods, our ability to think is adversely affected. The culture of 'sleepless machismo' should not be universally glorified, although some individuals do appear to need less sleep than others.
21 January 2011: There are mixed opinions on the draft Aged Care Report released by the Productivity Commission today.
Somereportspraised the changes saying they give the aged more say in their careand the system is in much need of an overhaul. Other articles emphasise the increase in private payments to fund aged care and the means-tested approach. One criticism is the lack of emphasis on quality care.
Over the next few days we will bring you any new analyses of the draft report.
Saba Salman, from The Guardian online, points out that social enterprises have grown ‘gradually and organically, over many years, with hard graft and failures on the way’. She emphasises that social enterprises should not be viewed as the solution to government funding cuts, nor should the government be allowed to distort the conversation on social enterprise. The article is well worth reading, even though it is UK-based, and has relevance for Australia.
20th October 2010:An interview with Charles Pozen from Harvard University, The One Priority Leaders Need to Spend Time On (But Don't), discusses an important issue that he claims CEOs (and other managers) get wrong. It is to ask the wrong question. Usually, Charles Pozen claims, CEOs prioritise important actions then determine who is the best person in the organisation to carry them through. This, he says, is usually the CEO because ‘they get there by being good at getting things done themselves’. However, the question should be not who’s best but what can only the CEO do, and the rest of the priorities should be delegated to the next-best person in the organisation. This is advice for all managers and coordinators as well as CEOs.
This article from Bridgestar emphasises the importance of having a strategic approach to hiring, especially in the not-for-profit sector ‘where organisations tend to be smaller and a single person can have a very large impact—positive or negative’.
A ‘talent pipeline’ means each position in the organisation aligns with the organisation’s strategic priorities. "So think about where you will need to be on the people side, and what skills you will need to be successful two to three years out."
A talent pipeline shouldn’t just be for senior roles, instead, the article suggests, it’s important to look at the ‘functions and roles that really drive the organisation’s mission’ (“high-impact” roles) and to determine what is above-average performance in these roles—in terms of ‘behaviors, mindsets, skills, and experience’ and then ensure that recruitment differentiates between ‘a candidate who will perform in the role adequately and one who will perform at an exemplary level’. The organisation must be aware of the crucial positions where differences in performance will have a ‘meaningful, i.e., strategic, benefit for the organisation’.
The article then articulates the ways that this can be achieved, through recruitment; building ‘channels’ to create a pool of possible future candidates both within and outside the organisation; focusing on diversity; networking; and encouraging managers at every level to keep a constant eye out for future talent. ‘Hiring should not be a function solely of the HR department’.
It can be difficult for not-for-profit managers to devote time to building a ‘talent pipeline’, but the article argues that ‘even small organisations should make this activity an explicit part of every manager’s job’. This article is worth reading.
Disconnect. A situation in which you wanted jelly, but someone gave you peanut butter. Example: “There is a disconnect between what the consumer wants and what we intend to provide.”
Two examples from the more recent list are:
End of the day. Formerly 5 to 5:30 p.m., now defined as an uncertain point in the future when everything magically turns out okay. Example. “At the end of the day, the pollution in the groundwater may just drain into the earth’s core and become unnoticeable.”
Transparent. Open about the facts, but not to be confused with honest. Example: “We’ve been totally transparent about the 15% fee; we disclosed it on page 37.”
For a different, more amusing, look at jargon, there is the MBA Jargon Watch
For example,
At the end of the day: Based on the frequency with which they use the phrase, it would seem that members of senior management are required by law to begin every third sentence with "at the end of the day," a phrase similar in meaning to "when all is said and done." For instance, your favourite CEO might say, "At the end of the day, it's our people that make the difference." Insert platitude here.