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| 16 March 2005 |
| Changing Work |
| Find out about a major problem facing businesses today, and hear about some ways that Australian workplaces are changing. |
GEOFF HUTCHISON: The way we work is changing. The notion of a job for life has gone. And most of us are toiling longer and harder. But there are also more jobs to choose from and many professionals are discovering - to the dismay of their employers - that there are other options. DAVID JONES, ROBERT HALF INTERNATIONAL: Employees are more confident today than they were two years ago. GEOFF HUTCHISON: Today, it's employers who are worried. How do they stem the flow of talent walking away? There's little doubt staff retention is one of the biggest issues facing corporate Australia. GEOFF HUTCHISON: When key employees walk out the door, replacing them can cost a company up to five times that person's salary. Gone is the expertise and the investment in it with no guarantee of a smooth transition. Ann Sherry has been widely acknowledged as a key figure in the reinvigoration of Westpac, a bank which for years had been leaking talent. ANN SHERRY, CEO WESTPAC NZ: We thought about what would make us different in the marketplace. How could we differentiate ourselves, and what really would give staff a sense that we were serious about it, I guess. So, that's one of the reasons we led on paid maternity leave, it's one of the reasons we led on childcare. It's one of the reasons we led on a whole lot of work on flexible hours for all staff so that we could send the right signals. GEOFF HUTCHISON: At Vodaphone Melbourne office staff are getting massages, chill rooms and the opportunity to drive very fast cars. Gimmicks, perhaps. But according to human resources manager Deb Howcroft three years ago Vodaphone was a very political bureaucratic workplace where one in three staff members wanted out. Shoulder massages and racing cars are just part of a positive cultural shift which has stabilised and energised the company. ANDREW STAITE: We're certainly moving into an environment where the employee will call more of the shots than perhaps has been the case for the last 10, 20, 30 years. GEOFF HUTCHISON: The way we work is changing but it seems for those with particular skills there has seldom been a better time to peddle them. The great challenge today for corporate Australia is not just to find and nurture talent, but to motivate it to stay on your side. ANN SHERRY: You can't face the labour market now as though it's homogenous. You've actually got to think about for what segment for which job for which part of the bank and if you get that right then you can tap into different parts of the labour market in a way that we've just never thought of before. |
story notes |
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gone The past participle of the irregular verb go. more information: go employees / employers Notice that employees are people who are employed. Employers are the people who employ. Employees are the staff, employers are the companies. The suffix 'ee' can be added to some verbs to form nouns. These nouns refer to the person who is the object of the action, the person to whom the action is being done. Example: An interviewee is someone who is being interviewed by an interviewer. more information: -ee suffix stem the flow stop the increase staff retention Retention means the ability to retain or keep something. So staff retention is the ability to keep staff, the people who work for a business. issues problems corporate Australia Corporate Australia means large Australian businesses. key important salary amount a person gets paid expertise Expertise is all the knowledge and skills a person has. smooth transition A transition is a period of change from one thing to another. Here, it means the change from one staff member to a new one. A smooth transition means that it's a change that happens without difficulties or problems. thought The past tense of the irregular verb think. more information: think led The past tense of the irregular verb lead. more information: lead maternity leave Maternity leave is the time off work after women have a baby. Some companies offer paid maternity leave so mothers can still get paid while they stay home looking after their babies.  Paternity leave is the time off work that fathers get to look after their babies, but not many companies offer that!  childcare Childcare is a place where very young children are looked after. flexible hours Flexible means able to be bent or changed. Rather than always working from 9 to 5, people can change their work hours and can come in early and go home early. massages Someone comes to their desk and rubs their neck and shoulders.  chill rooms They have comfortable rooms to relax in.  drive very fast cars They have car racing games for staff to play.  call more of the shots To call the shots is to be in control.
Example: I'm not the one who calls the shots around here. |