Many organisations have Reconciliation Action Plans in place, a framework towards creating social and economic opportunities for First Nations Australians. But what does this mean in practice? As the Government sets out new frameworks for Closing the Gap, progressive leaders are looking at ways to act. But how do you ensure you’re rolling out a plan that will have desired impact.

I worked within a number of organisations before launching my own company, Yanun Project Services, and saw how many responsible businesses were implementing Plans. As a proud Ngarrindjeri man who mentors a number of young Indigenous people into careers, I know first-hand what is just hot air, and what actually contributes to actionable change. The main things to consider are:

• Longevity
• Mutual benefit
• The bottom line
• Enriching and empowering lives

The most important thing about developing a RAP is to do it for the right reasons. If you’re doing it just to tick a box and appear more attractive externally, it’s doomed to fail.

Here are my tips to making it work:

Ensure that your organisation has a sense for what ‘reconciliation’ means.
Reconciliation Australia refers to it as an ‘ongoing journey’ that at its heart is ‘about strengthening relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous peoples, for the benefit of all Australians’.  Brainstorm how ‘reconciliation’ can be defined in simple terms, and what will demonstrate achievement? Familiarise yourself with the Five dimensions of reconciliation to build an understanding of why all elements are essential for progress.

Consider whether you need a RAP.
In some cases other policies might be better – such as an Aboriginal Employment Strategy or Indigenous Participation Plan. Research why a RAP will make a difference, to your company and the wider community. Then identify what type of plan is most appropriate: Reflect, Innovate, Stretch and Elevate. You can read more about the different types here.

Involve.
Include influential figures from across the business. Approach Indigenous employees first, and then put a call out to the wider group. There needs to be buy-in from a diverse group, so they understand why it is important and how it benefits everyone internally, and externally.

Bear in mind however, that while you should seek input of any Indigenous employees, it is not their responsibility to develop and deliver it. The way I look at it, if somebody burnt your house down on purpose, it would not be you as the house owner responsible for putting a plan in place to reconcile the relationship.

Testing a draft plan on First Nations people inside and outside your organisation is a great idea but do not lean on them to do the legwork.

Challenge yourself to look beyond the ‘easy wins’, and where, for example, you can support Indigenous entrepreneurs by placing trust in them to deliver important business functions.

Find out what base you are coming from
Before you start making a plan to create change, establish where you currently sit. Analyse the proportion of Indigenous staff members, suppliers and contractors you have.

Consider the efforts you are currently undertaking. Running events during NAIDOC week, for example is valuable, yet it’s not just about communicating Reconciliation on awareness days, but continuously. Constantly reinforce how people can get involved. Beyond employment, look at supplier bases, history, financial backing and philanthropic efforts. Explore every facet of your business.

Develop your action plan
A RAP is not a theoretical document, it should be a detailed proposal for what you have decided to do and achieve. It can include a range of things, such as:

• Small, local events to support local Indigenous people
• Mentorship schemes to support First Nations people to progress in your industry
• Contracting Indigenous companies to engage as suppliers.

Be meaningful in your commitment. Indigenous businesses are around 100 times more likely to employ Indigenous people than non-Indigenous enterprises, a staggering statistic. But equality of employment is just one element – it needs to go beyond just staff, and into the heart of everything companies do and stand for. If you outsource to an Aboriginal travel company for example, that’s good, but challenge yourself to look beyond the ‘easy wins’, and where, for example, you can support Indigenous entrepreneurs by placing trust in them to deliver important business functions.

Set SMART goals
(Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time bound), that aspire to demonstrate material change. Ensure accountability for achievement directly lies with strategic leaders in the business, and isn’t just delegated to someone without the authority to execute them.

Constantly reinforce how people can get involved. Beyond employment, look at supplier bases, history, financial backing and philanthropic efforts. Explore every facet of your business.

Refer to Reconciliation Australia.
Ultimately it can only be referred to as a RAP if it has been endorsed by the body. This takes time, so factor this in.

The most important thing about developing a RAP is to do it for the right reasons. If you’re doing it just to tick a box and appear more attractive externally, it’s doomed to fail. Be honest about your organisation’s track record when it comes to Indigenous engagement and realistically consider how change can occur. By reflecting on how all employees, regardless of level or responsibility can make a difference, collectively, we can move forward with meaning and impact.

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2020 has been the year of rapid digital transformation initiatives with businesses taking large steps to achieve greater flexibility for employees and also more agile systems to respond to this change. Research from McKinsey found, 85 per cent of companies have accelerated the digitisation of their business since the beginning of the pandemic.

The idea of the ‘Future Enterprise’ is a key goal of organisations, meaning they need to prove their ability to thrive in their newly acquired digital native culture. One key factor in reaching this goal is developing a strong trust agenda with employees and other stakeholders – and this starts in the (virtual) boardroom.

Every organisation’s culture and workforce is unique, and building an effective security strategy is a personalised task. Many organisations are still building the foundation for economic recovery – and it starts with adopting seamless identity tools to empower the employee experience.

Boardroom discussions need to prioritise security, particularly identity and access management’s (IAM) role in supporting not only the organisation but employees in adjusting to the new digital landscape. With remote working arrangements now becoming the norm, reduced visibility of or accessibility to employees should not compromise trust and security. Building trust upon a strategic approach to IT security is an enabler for better business outcomes as both internal and external stakeholders are invested in its success.

The ripple effect of security
Arguably one of the most important aspects of a company is corporate identity; however, to properly safeguard this, companies must protect the identity of every employee first. The value of security, particularly IAM is often underestimated and under-resourced in organisations – 80 per cent of passwords are caused by old, reused passwords – leading to a crisis of digital trust.

The lack of resources often means the issue of security is left to the already burdened head of IT, which is the case for 80 per cent of organisations according to a report from LastPass. Furthermore, employees are consistently failing to recognise malicious activity – phishing remained the most common method of credential theft in the latest OAIC Notifiable Data Breaches report. In order to properly emphasise the importance of security, dedicated leaders need to have board level conversations about moving the security strategy from being system or device-focused, to new control points of data, application and identity for a more comprehensive approach.

To protect an organisation from the rapid acceleration of threats in this new working environment, identity tools need to be seamlessly integrated into the digital experience. Strategic investment in security will see greater trust built between employees and employers as they will feel protected whilst navigating the digital environment.

Adapting to the digital world
At the height of the pandemic in Australia, working from home quickly became the new normal meaning employees needed easy access to company systems remotely. This placed immense pressure on IT teams to adequately manage levels of access and security at scale, and cyber criminals know this.

The increase of remote working forced lines between personal lives and work to become blurred. By introducing new devices to a company network, constantly switching between personal and work apps or accessing accounts via insecure means, hackers can easily obtain personal passwords that are used to access to an organisation’s systems and proprietary assets.

Strategic investment in security will see greater trust built between employees and employers as they will feel protected whilst navigating the digital environment.

To build digital trust, it is essential that companies invest in proper IT infrastructure to enable seamless remote working and maintain productivity levels. The same research from LastPass found that the banking and financial services industry (BFSI) employees were affected the most, where 72 per cent demanded remote access but only 32 per cent deployed it. Yet there is value in delivering on secure remote connectivity, with 44 per cent of BFSI respondents cited productivity gains (from working remotely) and more than half for the telecommunications / transportation and public sectors.

To uplift an organisation’s IAM posture, IT teams and security leaders need to provide frictionless solutions that help employees access the right information across multiple apps and devices wherever they are. It is far more effective to build a security-first culture than to purchase as many identity management applications as possible. In this case, more is not better. By eliminating any friction that may discourage employees from doing the right thing, employees will experience fewer disruptions switching between applications and become more inspired at work.

Boardroom discussions need to prioritise security, particularly identity and access management’s (IAM) role in supporting not only the organisation but employees in adjusting to the new digital landscape.

Cementing the trust relationship
Stakeholders need to see organisations taking real action to respond to current issues and preparing for potential threats. Developing a strong security strategy which utilises key identity and access management tools is essential to a strong business resiliency plan.

Every organisation’s culture and workforce is unique, and building an effective security strategy is a personalised task. Many organisations are still building the foundation for economic recovery – and it starts with adopting seamless identity tools to empower the employee experience. Organisations who succeed in engendering trust with their employees, internal and external stakeholders will reap benefits of a more favourable perception and more rewarding business engagements.

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In the past few months, COVID-19 has remoulded our lives significantly. There’s been a rise in the number of businesses who have turned homes into offices and Zoom into daily conference rooms. Australians who have had a taste of working from home are keen to maintain this flexibility.

Yet what COVID-19 attests is not only businesses’ short-term responsiveness in the narrow context of an obligatory lockdown nationwide. Ascender’s recent research shows over half (54 per cent) of Aussies are keen to continue working from home, with one in three (37 per cent) willing to give up a small portion of their pay to do so. In the post-COVID era, such a mentality will intensify and manifest in the pursuit of other flexible work arrangements, such as flexible pay, job-sharing, purchased leave and more.

The current spotlight is on businesses’ willingness and ability to build a workforce culture that is flexible and sustainable. The Fair Work Commision (FWC)’s latest draft flexible work clauses, rolled out in September, attests to the nation’s growing desire for a more liberal work environment, allowing employers and employees to work flexibly via a range of methods, such as changing work hours or reducing overall hours via joint agreement.

Now that the door has been opened to greater flexibility, employers should be leveraging all practices possible with the goal of providing long-term, sustainable flexibility to all employees.

When considering all the variables behind flexible working, such as working hours, workforce proximity, employee preference and the nature of their job, it becomes clear that a one-for-all solution no longer works.

Being flexible with flexibility
In the post-COVID era, stringent policies mandating staff to work from home on a full-time basis will no longer work. Businesses hoping to offer flexibility should ask themselves, what do my people want and how can I best address those expectations? Behind the 37 per cent of Aussies that would take a pay cut to remain working from home, we found that 47 per cent of the survey pool are saving more money and over a quarter are living a healthier lifestyle with increased work productivity. Employees’ mental health, financial situation and work-life balance are the key things employers should be looking at when developing flexible arrangements, so that they can best address those work and lifestyle needs.

A hybrid approach to staying connected
Businesses also need to think about how to maintain barrier-free communication to keep employees engaged and business activity running. In communication theory, the Allen Curve reflects that people are four times as likely to interact regularly with someone sitting six feet away from them as with someone 60 feet away. Further, colleagues located on separate floors or in separate buildings are less likely to have unplanned interactions with one another.

Steve Jobs proposed that creativity comes from spontaneous meetings and random discussions. It only takes little mental effort to surmise how indefinite remote working could diminish creativity completely, with employees growing accustomed to the blinding convenience of chatting through a screen, thriving within the limits of informative yet non-imaginative conversations.

As distance-shrinking technology accelerates, physical proximity holds its unique value in gluing the workforce together via spontaneity and surprises. Remote working and digital communication should be a complementary element deployed to support the growth of an existing workplace culture. A well-rounded workplace flexibility plan should recognise and incorporate both online and offline communication tools, so that convenience doesn’t come at the cost of creativity.

Being flexible means having the willingness and ability to adapt and change with time, circumstances, and role responsibilities. Given the unknown variables that surround the COVID-19 crisis, employers hoping to build a flexible workplace need to be ready for a series of conversations with their employees.

Staying nimble to shift with regulation and policies
Legislation and regulation have taken various turns this year. In March, the FWC tightened policies around record keeping and introduced the concept of ‘outer limit’ hours, greatly removing the perceptions of flexibility such as adjusted work hours and remote working.

Now that there is a steady growth in Aussies’ desire for more ‘freedom’, FWC rolled out a draft award flexibility schedule in September, introducing the offering of flexible work hours, compressed and reduced hours upon agreement, and the opportunity to exchange pay for extra annual leave. These rules will come into effect in the coming months, assisting businesses in adopting a more liberal workforce.

While this is good news for Aussies, the legislative changes that took place in a matter of months suggest the volatility of policies that could directly impact how a business is performing. For now, businesses need to start asking themselves – How much flexibility is enough? How to maintain productivity and motivation while offering employees carte blanche? How to calculate time-tracking and pay with accuracy? How to schedule pay cycles for employees who work on flexible hours to support their financial wellness? Finally, how can they build a resilient and agile workforce that can quickly adapt to future uncertainties? Every business’s situation is unique, so it is encouraged that they seek professional, independent advice from experts like The Association for Payroll Specialists to make sure they’re on the right track from both a corporate and legal perspective.

A well-rounded workplace flexibility plan should recognise and incorporate both online and offline communication tools, so that convenience doesn’t come at the cost of creativity.

Working from home is great, but there’s more to that
When considering all the variables behind flexible working, such as working hours, workforce proximity, employee preference and the nature of their job, it becomes clear that a one-for-all solution no longer works. A team member whose work is very individual in nature, such as a journalist, may find the out-of-office environment nurtures better focus to help them beat deadlines. Meanwhile, someone whose job requires collaborative efficiency, such as an engineer or project manager, may derive greater benefit from face-to-face communication to complete projects faster. Not to mention drivers, retail workers and anyone whose role requires an on-site presence at all times, which puts remote working out of the question in the scheme of workplace flexibility.

Being flexible means having the willingness and ability to adapt and change with time, circumstances, and role responsibilities. Given the unknown variables that surround the COVID-19 crisis, employers hoping to build a flexible workplace need to be ready for a series of conversations with their employees. Amid heightened expectations and shifting workplace legislation, those who are flexible with flexibility will eventually be rewarded with high employee engagement, work productivity and great business reputation.

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The brutal reality of COVID-19 has shown us all how critical people leadership and culture is. It has pushed us to elevate our human capacity for care, connection and understanding, as we lead employees through unprecedented change.

How businesses responded during this time will forever make an impression on our most valuable assets – our people. So, how can organisations build an effective health and wellbeing (HWB) strategy that provides the appropriate mental, physical, social and emotional support that current and future employees expect?

To gain insight, Vitality Works conducted research across 13 industry sectors in Australia and New Zealand. The results provided unique understandings into how COVID-19 has impacted businesses and the influence a post-COVID world will have on the future of health and wellbeing. 

Treat employees as people and not just as workers
People are the lifeline of any organisation. Without them, companies don’t exist. And while this has always been a truth, the pandemic has shone a much-needed light on it and prompted organisations to prioritise the health and wellbeing of their employees.

According to the Vitality Works Corporate Wellness in a New Era Survey, in the 12 months pre-pandemic, only 40 per cent of organisations viewed having a HWB strategy as a high priority. Now that number has increased to 82 per cent and is growing.

Depression and anxiety; mental wellbeing; team morale; fatigue/burnout and physical wellbeing are five of the top issues that our research identified as potentially negatively impacting employees over the next six months due to COVID-19.

After what has been a gruelling 2020 for many employees and a blurring of the boundaries between work and home, there is now an expectation that organisations will have a robust HWB strategy if they are to attract and retain talent. From an employee’s perspective, health and wellbeing can no longer remain a box-ticking exercise. It needs to be part of the company ethos.

As people leaders, we must heed this opportunity to look beyond the “worker” and view, understand and support individuals in their totality. Our number one goal now should be to help employees take small steps every day to create a culture of mental safety and openness, both in their work and home lives. 

Safety and mental health challenges are constant
The past year has illustrated the impact that change and uncertainty is having on mental health and safety, and it has reinforced that it’s not just temporary, but ongoing.

As a result, organisations must respond by expanding or redeveloping their HWB strategies to help employees deal not only with the physical, psychological and work-related challenges faced since the pandemic, but also to navigate the change and uncertainty that lie ahead.

The pandemic prompted many employers to integrate new technology quickly to meet the changing needs of remote workers. The exciting opportunity moving forward is to encourage staff to connect virtually and to use technological changes to help deliver more targeted, personalised and innovative health and wellbeing initiatives.

Depression and anxiety; mental wellbeing; team morale; fatigue/burnout and physical wellbeing are five of the top issues that our research identified as potentially negatively impacting employees over the next six months due to COVID-19.

To manage this, it will be critical for people leaders to take a whole-person view of individuals, helping them build their mental, social, physical, financial, vocational and spiritual wellbeing, now and into the future.

For remote workers, re-examining personal safety policies to include family violence protection measures and additional addiction support may be required on an ongoing basis by some organisations. 

Understanding the post COVID work and critical next steps
HR and wellness professionals are not only finding that the HWB needs of employees have changed, but the method of delivery of HWB programs must be adapted to meet the needs of a hybrid workforce.

The pandemic prompted many employers to integrate new technology quickly to meet the changing needs of remote workers. The exciting opportunity moving forward is to encourage staff to connect virtually and to use technological changes to help deliver more targeted, personalised and innovative health and wellbeing initiatives.

Wearable technology, health apps, telemedicine and digital communication offer new, interactive methods of delivering wellness initiatives, allowing businesses to reach employees across multiple locations and working situations.

Central to the success of such initiatives, however, will be people leaders who have the knowledge, tools, and skills to lead on mindfulness strategies and manage mental health issues through proactive and preventative approaches. 

Our number one goal now should be to help employees take small steps every day to create a culture of mental safety and openness, both in their work and home lives. 

Measurement has never been so important
Vitality Works research revealed that more than 30 per cent of organisations don’t measure the effectiveness of their wellness programs. This is despite the significant influence that the health and wellbeing of our workforce has on culture, performance and business success.

Collecting data and measuring the outcomes of your HWB programs not only helps to determine ROI and employee outcomes, but is critical for garnering insights into an employee’s health, their health behaviours, and their readiness for growth and development.

Adopting digital HWB initiatives offers a natural opportunity for data capture. In addition to tracking hard data, it will also be important to regularly survey employees about their perceptions of your organisation’s HWB program and its effectiveness.

As this new frontier of people leadership is upon us and employee HWB becomes a key barometre for success, businesses are encouraged to use these insights to build from or refine their health and wellness strategy for 2021 and beyond.

Key takeaways

• Since the pandemic, there is now an expectation that organisations will have a robust HWB strategy if they are to attract and retain talent.
• Blurred work and home boundaries have pushed organisations to look at HWB support across the whole person, not just the ‘worker’.
• Safety and mental health challenges brought on by the pandemic are ongoing and need to be addressed accordingly by organisations.
• Embracing digital technologies offers the ability to be more targeted, personalised and innovative with health and wellbeing initiatives.
• Data collection from, and evaluation of, HWB initiatives is essential for determining ROI and garnering insights into employee health, health behaviours, and readiness for growth and development.

Download our Free Whitepaper: Corporate Wellness in a new Era – http://bit.ly/VW-Whitepaper

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1. Mission/Vision/Purpose

Ritz-Carlton hotels are famous for their exceptional guest services. When something unusual happens, the ladies and gentlemen who work at Ritz-Carlton swiftly restore order. Like the guest who was battling a sore throat when he ordered room service. Imagine his surprise when his tray arrived including his breakfast and a throat lozenge. (The operator who took the guest’s order tipped off the waiter that the guest sounded hoarse.)

A senior executive once described to me how company leaders became aware that a hotel general manager had violated many company values, including not treating his associates like ladies and gentlemen. The general manager was immediately terminated. “But,” said this senior executive, “what was remarkable was that we had no indication of any problem from the guests who stayed at this hotel during this time. Our associates continued delivering Gold Standard service to our guests even though they were not being treated properly by their general manager.”

What explains such spontaneous associates’ teamwork without any supervision? Their whole-hearted devotion to a phrase in the Ritz-Carlton Credo that states, “(to) fulfill even the unexpressed wishes and needs of our guests.” The Credo is not just an ornament at Ritz-Carlton. It is truly a way of life.  Small wonder the company leads the way with customer engagement scores above 90 percent according to Gallup polls.

2. Solve Problems at the Source

A candidate on a recruiting visit at a Procter & Gamble manufacturing plant described his tour of one of the production modules: “We were walking between two production lines when all of a sudden one of the lines jammed and started spilling product on the floor. Then technicians from both lines swarmed to the area, cleared the jam, checked the equipment, and cleaned up the spillage – all in a matter of a few minutes. Then everybody went back to work on their own lines. In that moment, I knew this was a place where I wanted to work.”

It’s hard to describe the amount of organisational thinking and training that paved the way for such teamwork. To summarise:

• All team members were trained in all operational and problem-solving tasks on the production line.
• Extensive team-building sessions helped team members learn to work well together.
• Team members rotated periodically between their team and support areas like the quality lab, technical workshop, and storeroom. Such teams rarely had to call on central resources for help.
• Experienced team members could volunteer for leadership roles in the team, coordinating key performance areas like safety, operations, maintenance, quality, training, and cost. These coordinators received the same training their managers had received in each area. In time, these teams could operate without direct management supervision – frequently achieving record results.

3. Develop More Complex Skills

Many companies have gained great advantage from organising multifunctional teams for greater strategic unity and faster response to changes.

For example, one product in Europe suffered greatly when natural disasters in the Philippines destroyed 90 per cent of the world’s coconuts. Coconut oil was a major ingredient in the product. Its profit margin went to zero overnight. The product’s multifunctional team met in an emergency session. Team members included a general manager and leaders from all functions (including HR). Here are some examples of the team’s 360º perspective yielding fast, practical decisions:

• Product Development stated there could be no substitutions for coconut oil. However, Supply Chain said, “We have run experimental orders in the plant with various formulas without coconut oil. A few of these formulas have scored very close to the standard.”
• Different countries had different preferences for product packaging, such as the colours and the placement of special stickers on the packages. But consumer research showed these “preferences” were not preferred by consumers.
• The different packages also had cost implications for production runs and storage in the warehouses. Efficient production runs for small markets often led to their products occupying considerable warehouse space for many months.

The team considered these and other issues against the new, urgent priority of profitability. At the end of the one-day meeting, changes were agreed to that would restore the profit margin to its original level in a matter of weeks!

4. Commitment to the Customer

The Shihatsu department store in Tokyo has earned great customer loyalty due to experiences like this one:

While vacationing in Tokyo, a married couple went to Shihatsu to buy a portable music player. A clerk showed them different models and the customers made their purchase.

After arriving at their relatives’ home where they were staying, they pulled out the player, but the machine wouldn’t play! They finally determined this player had nothing inside its shell! They planned to return to the store in the morning.

The next morning before they had a chance to leave, there was a knock at the door. Some visitors were there for them. In the living room were a distinguished-looking man with white hair and the clerk who had sold them the music player! They had some packages in their arms.

The older man introduced himself as a vice president of the Shihatsu department store. He explained to them that after they had left the electronics counter, the clerk realised he had put the player demo shell in their box by mistake. He immediately alerted security to watch all exits for them, but they had already slipped out.

They first contacted every hotel in Tokyo where American business people typically stayed. No luck finding them. Then, in the wee hours of the morning, they had persuaded the credit card company to give them the couple’s home phone number in the United States. They spoke with relatives, who were babysitting their children, who gave them the phone number and address of the relatives in Tokyo.

“We have had some difficulty finding you, ” the vice president smiled. “But we want to correct our mistake.” He then pulled out another player, showed them this one worked, and traded it for the demo model. “Because of the inconvenience we have caused you, we hope you will accept these gifts.” They handed the astonished couple the packages containing lovely bathroom towels. Shaking their hands, they then excused themselves again and left.

5. Sacrifice Self For Others

In 1991 Yuri Kirillov knew he needed help if his machine tool company, Krasny Proletary, was to survive the transition in the Soviet Union from its ultra-authoritarian ways to a free market economy. He took the unusual step of inviting a few westerners to guide him and his associates in the transition.

Yuri was deeply committed to Krasny’s survival. He was willing to try new approaches despite many protests from the veterans of the old system. For example, when traditional customer orders for Krasny came to a standstill. Yuri visited many farmers in his region and arranged a “win-win” deal whereby Krasny associates worked in the farmers’ fields to bring in their harvest. They were paid with the food items they had harvested. Krasny families survived at a time when many others were starving.

This dynamic showed everyone that Yuri’s unorthodox changes were focused on their survival and well-being. Now they, too, were being asked to sacrifice their traditional thinking and their work habits to help the company win in a new economy. Workers, who had done one job their entire career, now were needed to assume new responsibilities customer service, develop new products, do marketing, and focus on earning profit.

Implementing what they learned from their consultants, Krasny leaders structured their operations into 15 self-sufficient profit centres. Each department developed a win-win relationship with its partners. Leadership training helped leaders act consistently in the “New Krasny Way.” For example, Krasny’s leaders employed their recently-acquired brainstorming skills to solicit from the workers some ideas for alternative products that could deliver more profit.

Krasny leaders were stunned when the different work groups supplied nearly 200 product ideas from their brainstorming! The company ultimately developed 12 new products, including such things as a portable, self-contained brick-maker; oil pipeline equipment; steel doors; nails; and consumer lathes. The new products proved to be very profitable.

Bottom line, Krasny survived at a time when 75 per cent of the companies in its industry went out of business.

Common Threads
Do you see any common threads supporting these five pillars? People in organisations resist new strategies, structures, or training all the time. What explains the differences in these five cases?

The foundation supporting all of them is a deep personal connection between their people, their teams, their company and their own personal success. The pillars are not owned by the hierarchy alone; they are owned by everyone because they are rewarding to each one of them. They represent better working experiences, more mutual respect, a greater sense of achievement, and personal security. Everyone wins!

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When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit early this year, it caused chaos for many organisations with many having to quickly rethink the way they operate and manage employees.

For safety reasons, many organisations were forced to pivot to a work from home model. Despite low COVID case numbers in some parts of the world such as in Australia, New Zealand and parts of Asia, the remote work model is set to be the new normal with huge consensus from both employees and employers. According to Deloitte’s Digital Consumer Trends 2020 study, 37 per cent of Australian survey respondents are now working from home – almost five times more than pre-pandemic levels.

2020 has been a year like no other, and has only highlighted the importance of technology and automation. If organisations value a happy employee and one that has access to the right information at their fingertips, anytime, anywhere this will prove a tremendous asset to any organisation in the long term.

As such, organisations need to find innovative and more automated ways that will help businesses rethink the future of work; drive greater efficiency and scale in operations; and relook at customer and employee experiences.

According to Gartner, one of its key 2021 technology trends predicts that the concept of Total Experience (TX), which is a combination of customer, employee and user experiences will be critical amid distributed organisations and those firms that get behind TX will boost satisfaction across the board.

The role of IT in improving employee experience
Despite the seemingly different job functions and roles, IT and HR departments in an organisation are more alike than you think and the two groups do share some important similarities.

Both act as service centres, responding to regular requests from employees, many of which are repetitive and tedious. Through the use of IT service management solutions, IT teams have taken the lead in automating the request and fulfillment process, to help employees serve themselves where possible, while ensuring that tasks requiring assistance are handled quickly and efficiently. The HR department can also benefit from the same streamlining and automating of routine tasks.

Both IT and HR benefit greatly from the automation of systems and processes.

The benefits of automation
Research from Forrester indicates that intelligent automation will advance to support one in four home workers. Three times as many information workers will work from home all or most of the time, while many companies will institute hybrid models.

Below are some areas that we believe automation can help to significantly improve the employee experience:

• Employee empowerment
  Employees are the face of any organisation and more often than not, they’re the ones making decisions about how customers and external stakeholders interact with your organisation. When employees have the ability to do their job quickly and efficiently with access to the right information to solve issues it results in increased customer experience.Automation of manual processes also helps to make employees more efficient and tasks less redundant. A good employee experience will lead to happy employees which equates to happy customers and ultimately repeat business.

• Shared knowledge base
  Today’s digital world means greater communication and collaboration among employees online which has also led to the creation of more digital content. This content is key in connecting and equipping employees with the knowledge, information and expertise they need to be productive in their workplace.Having a real-time automated system within the organisation via a central repository where users can access as needed is a valuable tool that can help eliminate duplication and repetition of information and tasks, thereby increasing efficiency and productivity.

• Ability to access real-time employee information anytime, anywhere
  With more employees working from home in the foreseeable future, a self-service portal that can be used by the employee for a range of things such as requesting time off, changing a mailing address or confirming a super contribution can result in higher employee engagement.It also allows a quicker turnaround from management in responding to these requests.

• Better communication between employees and managers
  Workflow automation can help to improve communication between employees and their managers and help enhance performance reviews and employee updates. These HR functions have become even more important with employees working from home with a strong need for employees and their managers to stay connected and updated.

Organisations need to find innovative and more automated ways that will help businesses rethink the future of work; drive greater efficiency and scale in operations; and relook at customer and employee experiences.

Keeping employees happy
Deloitte’s Digital Consumer Trends 2020 study also found that while over half of Australians who work from home have had an almost seamless experience from a technology perspective, it hasn’t been smooth sailing for all respondents with one in five reporting they lose a productive day a month due to ineffective tech. And without access to the office, technology issues can be hard to remedy.

2020 has been a year like no other, and has only highlighted the importance of technology and automation. If organisations value a happy employee and one that has access to the right information at their fingertips, anytime, anywhere this will prove a tremendous asset to any organisation in the long term. Furthermore, it can immensely help organisations in retaining valuable talent and enhance the workplace environment.

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Does resilience really exist? That was the question weighing on my mind a few years ago when I embarked on my PhD research exploring resilience in palliative care workers. More to the point, is resilience something we are born with, learned, or simply the latest craze in pop-psychobabble?

I’ll cut to the chase. Ultimately, my research led me to conclude that resilience is a set of resources that can be learned or developed over time. We can draw upon these resources in times of stress or adversity to build our psychological armour. I don’t believe we are born “resilient” nor do I believe resilience is a trait we possess across all situations. It is probably more accurate to think of resilience as a vast set of psychological resources we access when encountered with different challenges in our lives.

Leaders who want to provide resources for their employees should know, however, that there is no magic set of “resilience resources.” But taking care of employees and investing in their needs will pay dividends for organizational resilience and the ability to adapt to new and changing market opportunities.

In 2020, resilience has been highlighted as many have battled crises in work and personal lives. In Qualtrics’ 2020 Global Workforce Resilience study, we found that employees’ levels of resilience tended to be associated with  their intention to stay with an organisation. Specifically, we noted that lower resilience resulted in higher turnover intentions. In fact, there was a 20-plus point difference in resilience in those that intend to stay with the organisation over the longer term (over 4-plus years) compared with those that report an intent to depart the organisation in the short term (less than one year).

The study included 1,400 participants in Australia and New Zealand, all of whom were full time employees, from all levels within their organisations. There was broad industry representation, excluding the healthcare industry.

So, if resilience is linked to a fundamental component of engagement such as turnover intention, what can organisations do to help build employees’ psychological armour and contribute positively to  employee resilience?

The power of leaders listening – and acting – on employee feedback can’t be underestimated as a driver of employee resilience. In fact, 92 per cent of those surveyed said employee listening is either important or very important during this crisis.

Listen. Understand. Act.
In our research, we’ve found that employees must measure and emphasise the availability of resources associated with resilience that are available to their employees. These include:

Social support: In the workplace, social support may come in the form of peers, managers, or other organisational support. Access to this support plays a key role in helping employees cope with workplace stressors, avoid withdrawal, and discover better outcomes.

In fact, employees who report manager support are three times more likely to be engaged at work and almost twice as likely to have the ingredients for resilience as those who do not have support from their managers: 89 per cent versus 47 per cent.

In this sense, empowering managers creates a waterfall effect. The more support each person feels from their direct manager, the more resilient and engaged they’ll be.

Listening and acting on feedback: The power of leaders listening – and acting – on employee feedback can’t be underestimated as a driver of employee resilience. In fact, 92 per cent of those surveyed said employee listening is either important or very important during this crisis.

Unfortunately, only half (51 per cent) of employees say they actually get the opportunity to provide feedback to their organisation. Of those who do get the chance to feedback, only eight per cent say their company is “extremely good” at turning that feedback into action.

Action fuels engagement
Resilience may seem like a cloudy concept to many. But the impact it has in the workplace is very real. Organisations that place focus on ensuring their employees have access to the resources that build resilience will be rewarded with higher engagement, less turnover and a stronger organisation for when the next crisis strikes.

This requires us to improve how we listen and support people, ensuring we understand our diverse workforces, and act on the needs of our teams using data.

Leaders who want to provide resources for their employees should know, however, that there is no magic set of “resilience resources.” But taking care of employees and investing in their needs will pay dividends for organizational resilience and the ability to adapt to new and changing market opportunities.

In the workplace, social support may come in the form of peers, managers, or other organisational support. Access to this support plays a key role in helping employees cope with workplace stressors, avoid withdrawal, and discover better outcomes.

5 ways to build resilience
For individuals, here are a few of the different areas that individuals can focus on when thinking about building their resilience resources:

1. Values – Think about how to help employees align values with those of the organisation
2. Social support – Whether it’s one person or many, support is effective when the quality of that support is perceived to be genuine and truly helpful. This is not about being extroverted, rather a matter of accessing genuine social relationship
3. Emotion management – Not letting things overwhelm us is key. We cannot change the world, but we can change our emotions by changing the way we respond to events
4. Persistence – We should trust ourselves to problem solve and persist through issues that arise. Don’t give up when the going gets tough
5. Locus of control – Focus and act on what can be controlled, rather than worrying about things that cannot. The key is to accept what’s out of our control and work like crazy to control the things we can

The ability to adapt to life’s challenges is inherent in us all. The challenge now is to identify and develop the resources that will help us build resiliency — individually and as a team — so that when the next crisis strikes, we are even stronger.

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Despite infection rates falling and many states opening their borders, it would be wise to assume that we’re not out of the woods yet when it comes to COVID-19. At least until we have a guaranteed vaccine. More importantly for businesses, the pandemic has sparked several longer-term behavioural changes, as many of us increasingly interact online. As a result, in order to thrive in the next month, during what is typically a busy season, many industries will have to accordingly shift their approach to recruitment.

Treat candidates as you would your own customers. Remember, even if they don’t land the job, they’ll most likely still be using your services in future, so leave them with a great impression.

Serving consumers online
Firstly, instead of recruiting traditionally in-store or on-site positions, social distancing measures and the shift online, means businesses need to focus on roles that support virtual interactions.

For example, for retailers the $4 billion boom is seeing a pivot away from in-store to ecommerce, meaning retailers need to focus on talent that will help support a healthy ecommerce operation. This will include talent in fulfilment, logistics and contact centres.

Additionally, for larger businesses, it’s likely they will need to hire high volumes in a relatively short period of time, which in itself poses a challenge as hiring managers will potentially have to identify and then assess the skills of thousands of candidates.

The solution, for hiring relatively new positions en masse, is technology that can automate parts of the process. For example, the use of video interviews and online assessments can be used to seamlessly screen talent and narrow down the selection process. In a COVID environment, this also helps to cut down on non-essential in-person meetings.

Wooing talent online
For employers needing to rely more heavily on virtual interviews and assessments, the key is to maintain a human connection. The candidate mustn’t feel as though they’re just one of many on a hiring conveyor belt.

More importantly for businesses, the pandemic has sparked several longer-term behavioural changes, as many of us increasingly interact online. As a result, in order to thrive in the next month, during what is typically a busy season, many industries will have to accordingly shift their approach to recruitment.

Employers need to be as approachable and accessible as possible — therefore, employers should offer a personalised and user-centred experience. This can be achieved by interacting with and sourcing potential candidates in the channels where they are most likely to be, whether that’s via SMS, WhatsApp or LinkedIn. Making full use of these channels, adapting where necessary and using a human-tone can ensure candidates find it easy and even enjoyable to apply for roles.

As a business, with a brand to protect, you also want to deliver an interview process that is enjoyable. This means one that is hassle free and not too long winded. Treat candidates as you would your own customers. Remember, even if they don’t land the job, they’ll most likely still be using your services in future, so leave them with a great impression.

Improving interview-to-offer times is also a critical factor in talent acquisition, no-one likes to feel as though they’re being strung along. Once again, technology can help here, for example, the flexibility of video interviews or games based assessments offers candidates the ability to interview anytime, anywhere. This approach also helps to cut down hours for management who can instead invest their time into more valuable activities, rather than scheduling and attending interviews.

We’ve found that prospective employees are open to this approach, therefore it’s definitely one to consider during the holiday season. Over the past year, we’ve seen globally, virtual interview volumes amongst HireVue’s retail clients increase by 50 per cent from January to September from the prior year.

Also, we’re seeing a huge increase in on-demand video interviews being complete during weekends rising levels of chat based candidate engagement. These factors both show that candidates appreciate a flexible and personalised experience through the hiring phase.

Looking beyond Christmas
The migration to online interactions is nothing new. What we are seeing though is an acceleration of this shift. For example, C-suite executives say COVID-19 has accelerated their digital plans by as much as a decade in a matter of months, according to recent research by McKinsey & Company.

Employers need to be as approachable and accessible as possible — therefore, employers should offer a personalised and user-centred experience.

Therefore, if you are pivoting your hiring approach in the next month, consider that these changes are likely to be long-term, therefore ensure you rollout processes that are sustainable and have the support of the wider businesses. This altered approach to hiring isn’t just for Christmas.

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Financial stress negatively impacts productivity and work performance. Conversely, a financially healthy workforce can have a positive impact on a business’ bottom line. So why aren’t employee financial wellbeing programs more common with Australian employers? And how should employers be investing in employee financial wellbeing in a post pandemic era?

The most inspiring leaders will be those that have, and continue to, put their employers and communities first.

Nick Gower, co-founder at strategic design company, Future Friendly, has worked with some of Australia’s largest employers and corporate regulators designing better ways of working and strongly believes improving and protecting the financial wellbeing of Australians is as important as any other aspect of health and wellbeing; it is a critical and overlooked factor in improving the resilience and productivity of our workforce.

With Australia’s workforce largely relocated to homes across the country during COVID-19, the relationship between employee and employer has changed, boundaries have been pushed and employees are expecting more from their employers.

Playing a proactive role in protecting and improving the financial wellbeing of employees beyond just remuneration is increasingly becoming an expectation of Australian employees and research reveals that it can have a positive impact on everyone’s bottom line.

New starts and younger employees are also likely to have lower levels of financial capability, and therefore, would benefit more from financial wellbeing programs at work.

Financial stress has increased for many Australians, including those lucky enough to still have employment. Despite being more engaged with their finances, financial worry affects most Australian employees and in the last 12 months alone, 73 per cent of Australians experienced financial worry. For 29 per cent of these people, these worries are either daily or weekly.

Increased financial stress in context of a global pandemic is not surprising, but what is not being talked about as much is the impact this worry has on people’s productivity at work, with more than two thirds (62 per cent) of Australian employees admitted to spending an hour a week on personal finances on company time. This is costing Australian businesses a staggering $31.1 billion in lost annual revenue and will continue to negatively affect employee productivity and absenteeism rates, which in turn will impact the businesses bottom line.

Our new ways of working have forced many businesses to adjust how they engage with employees and demanded leaders to communicate on a more personal level, with more empathy, and more regularly than ever before. Engaging with employees to help them to improve their financial literacy and wellbeing is another step forward in this evolution.

Tackling employee financial wellbeing not a one size fits all approach
The incentive for employers to support employees’ financial wellbeing is high, improved financial wellbeing and resilience can mitigate against lost productivity and deliver benefits in the form of more engaged employees and improved connections with colleagues.

Employee appetite for support is high with 70 per cent of workers comfortable receiving information and support from their employer on one or more financial topics according to our research. Australians are most open to receiving information and support from their employer on financial topics associated with the workplace. Information relating to superannuation, understanding tax and planning for retirement are all key focus areas for employees, and there is an opportunity to design workplace financial wellbeing programs that align with these topics.

Young people are more open to and feel they would benefit more from employer support, with 54 per cent of respondents from 18 to 34 citing an interest in a financial wellbeing program, compared to 45 per cent across all ages.

However, it is important for employers to take the time to understand what their employees want and need as financial wellbeing support needs to be flexible to meet different needs depending on the employee’s financial situation.

Some employees want one-on-one support, while others prefer online resources, financial learning that is self-directed or access to workplace seminars. New starts and younger employees are also likely to have lower levels of financial capability, and therefore, would benefit more from financial wellbeing programs at work.

Playing a proactive role in protecting and improving the financial wellbeing of employees beyond just remuneration is increasingly becoming an expectation of Australian employees and research reveals that it can have a positive impact on everyone’s bottom line.

However, an understanding of employees and their needs does not come without first establishing trust, as employees are less likely to share personal financial worries and seek support from their employees and managers without this. Ensuring that frameworks exist to protect the privacy of employees and that the actions and behaviours of workplace leaders build a respectful and trusting culture is key to understanding what support systems employees need.

Conclusion
Now more than ever, businesses and leaders are being increasingly judged on how they have responded to and prioritised their employees and the communities they operate in during this pandemic.

The most inspiring leaders will be those that have, and continue to, put their employers and communities first. There are opportunities to focus on work related topics, building trust and younger staff, but there is still much to explore if we want to rewrite the employer-employee contract of care.

Top tips for employers looking to encourage financial wellbeing:

Be flexible: Understand every employee has different needs and concerns based on their career and life stage, encourage open and honest conversations between managers and employees about what information and support they are looking for and provide information across a mix of channels and formats such as online resources for self-directed learning, workplace seminars, and one-on-one support

Tailor information for employee segments: Support new starters and younger employees – who generally have lower levels of financial capability – by introducing programs in the workplace that build financial capability in these segments.

Establish and engage trust to effectively engage employees: Trust is foundational in all relationships, the employer/employee one being no exception. Employees who have close relationships with their manager or co-workers are more likely to trust them to treat their personal and financial information with respect and care.

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The annual office Christmas party is one of the most anticipated events on the calendar for businesses around the country. But this year, many organisations are rethinking the need for an official event, with social distancing still in place, and budgets being tightened due to COVID-19.

Why Christmas parties will look different this year
In many states, gatherings are dependent on the size of the venue, with group bookings currently capped. People are also not allowed to stand, mingle or dance while out at pubs and bars, meaning it may have to be a sit-down Christmas party this year, and activities like karaoke are off the table.

It’s likely many businesses will opt for a virtual party to be safe or even a hybrid party, with some people in the office or at a venue, while others join virtually. If you’re worried about employees’ kids being at home, Skills and Thrills is working with businesses to curate tailored children’s activities programs to keep them busy while the adults enjoy. There are workshops to suit kids from one to 12 years old, including dance, science, arts, online escape rooms, virtual magicians and more.

Whether you choose to do it virtually or in person, it’s important to throw a great Christmas party this year – here’s why.

Bringing everyone together for one day or night provides an opportunity to step back from the day to day work and look at the big picture.

Shows employee recognition
Organising an end of year celebration is a great way to thank your staff for their hard work over the year and acknowledge everyone’s contributions. Rewarding them with a Christmas party lets them know that they are appreciated for their time and effort, which is especially important this year as it has been one of the toughest years in recent times.

Highlights company values
Hosting social events such as Christmas parties is an important part of organisational culture, so skipping it can cause employees to question the company’s values. Remind your employees what your business is about and your commitment to encouraging good team spirit. A festive atmosphere and providing a positive, fun environment effectively engages staff, which should be a priority as studies show that engaged employees produce better business outcomes.

Encourages team bonding
A major benefit of offsite activities such as Christmas parties is that they promote team building and bonding across the whole organisation. It gives employees across all teams the chance to get to know each other better. With so many of us working remotely this year, there may be new staff members who have not worked with everyone in the office yet – or even had a chance to say hello! Allowing everyone to mingle in an informal setting strengthens relationships and could result in better team dynamics and communication.

Rewarding them with a Christmas party lets them know that they are appreciated for their time and effort, which is especially important this year as it has been one of the toughest years in recent times.

Boosts motivation
Bringing everyone together for one day or night provides an opportunity to step back from the day to day work and look at the big picture. It’s an ideal time to share company results, reflect on all that has been accomplished, and what everyone has had to overcome this year. Celebrating the wins also helps employees envision continued success over the next year and motivates them to maintain and improve their work performance.

Gives everybody a break
This has been a difficult year and everyone needs a reason to celebrate. Getting staff away from their desks will give them time to relax and an excuse to party. Providing employees with a little break will also help them step into the new year with a clear mind.

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