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Employer Insights Should We All Fear the Walking Dead?
โAs part of people2peopleโs โexpert seriesโ, we have invited debt management specialist Angela McDonald as a guest blogger to provide some advice on how best to manage the concerning rise in โZombie Businessesโ.ย Angela is the Managing Director of Optimum Recoveries, a multi award-winning Australian-based company that specialises in B2B commercial debt prevention, management and recovery.ย Should we all fear the walking dead?Australia is known as โthe small business nationโ. In fact, our economy relies on the success of SMEs which make up around 80% of all Australian businesses. Itโs no surprise that when COVID hit, the Government injected considerable financial assistance to keep small businesses operational and employing staff. While these temporary cash-stimulus measures have been a lifesaver in many cases, theyโve also caused the rise of โzombie companiesโ โ businesses that arenโt viable long-term and are only solvent because of this government financial assistance.ย Now that weโre in October, the Government has announced it is extending these temporary measures until the end of December 2020, and in some instances until March 2021. This may delay the inevitable business closures even further, placing creditors under a very real risk of trading with organisations that are technically insolvent.ย How many small businesses are at risk of insolvency?The Reserve Bank of Australia recently reported that up to 25% of small businesses would be at risk of insolvency if those cash subsidies ceased today. And Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has declared that small businesses are a particularly vulnerable group, admitting that some will not survive COVID-19. If youโre trading with customers or suppliers who are being falsely propped up by government stimulus packages, now is the time to swing into action and protect yourself from the โWalking Deadโ.ย Unlike the popular Zombie series, weโll never advocate the use of crossbows or firearms to be your weapons of choice! When it comes to business, prevention is always better than a cure, and there are some clever, simple prevention strategies you can implement now to protect your business. ย Optimum Recoveriesโ Zombie Prevention Hitlist1.ย ย ย ย Be extra vigilant in all your dealings Donโt rush into agreeing to payment plans with your debtors without fact-checking their financial situation first. Register with a credit bureau and ask them to conduct a review of every one of your customers. Theyโll send you automatic alerts of any worrying signs so you can act fast. Let us know if you need help.Keep talking to those you do business with โ both your suppliers and customers. Regular and open communication can help you uncover any concerning issues before itโs too late.ย 2.ย ย ย ย Ensure your internal processes and terms are watertight Get expert assistance to review your current T&Cs, credit management processes and internal policies to make sure they give your business adequate protection in todayโs economic climate.Optimum Recoveries can conduct a health check and identify any gaps that may leave you susceptible to hard-to-recover debt. ย What the latest Government proposed legislation means for SMEs?The Federal budget handed down on October 6 2020 seems geared to provide some much-needed tax relief to both businesses and individuals. This will hopefully encourage Australians to have the confidence to spend in the coming months, providing the financial support that businesses need to keep trading. ย Here are some key points impacting SMEs: Immediate asset purchases write-off: Any new asset acquired until 30 June 2020 will be eligible for a full tax deduction. The same will apply to second-hand assets, up to 30 June 2021. There is no dollar value limit to the deductions. Loss carry back: Businesses that have incurred tax losses in either FY2020/2021 or FY2021/2022, but have paid tax in FY2018/2019, can carry back the tax losses and be eligible for a refund of the tax paid in the earlier years. JobKeeper and JobMaker: JobKeeper payments look set to wind up at the end of March 2021. The new JobMaker system offers employees a subsidy for hiring new employees from 7 October 2020 to 6 October 2021, provided the new employees have previously received JobKeeper or similar. This is excellent news for P2P and any clients who have been holding off recruiting new team members! More stimulus measures: Spending initiatives are set to be introduced to kick start spending in a range of industries, particularly manufacturing, infrastructure, construction and research. ย In the current business environment thatโs both challenging and changing, Optimum Recoveries can help your business remain viable and thriving. Talk to Angela via the details below, about how she can assist by tailoring robust systems and processes to keep the Zombies away from your door!Contact Angela McDonald and the team from Optimum RecoveriesP: 1300 556 937E: amcdonald@optimumrecoveries.com.auW: www.optimumrecoveries.com.au
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Career Advice Letโs get LinkedIn Official
โKnown as the virtual CV, LinkedIn can play a vital part in your professional life.โListed below are some tips to ensure that you are showcasing your abilities online for all the right reasons.Position Title: This needs to match your CV โ if there are discrepancies it may raise some questions. Always ensure this is in line with what your resume states and remembering down the line at reference stage your title needs to be accurate.Employment Dates: Crucial for credibility. Always double-check your dates, if a timeline is not matching up, recruiters, hiring managers and employers will have some doubt at the very beginning of the process.City: Your headline should include where you are based e.g. Paralegal Brisbane, Legal Secretary Sydney. This is for searchable purposes. Also, if you are in the market looking for work and someone in your network shares your profile in a different city / state/ country it is easily seen from the outset where you are based.Skills: Keep these updated, donโt forget about this section and expect your employment history to do the talking. This is important when employers are matching a job vacancy to a profile. If you want to be matched for a role in the very initial stages, trying to get as many skills aligned as possible will be valuable. If you only have e.g. 3 out of the 10 skills this may not be lucrative for your job application.Recommendations: Ask a colleague, a previous supervisor, a peer at University to write some words on your behalf โ donโt be shy. Rate and review are so common now in all aspects of life, why not benefit from this in your career. It is seen as a form of a reference already on your profile โ we all know how powerful a reference can be!Grow, grow, grow: The more people in your network, the more people you will essentially โLink Inโ with!ย After all, we are only ever a mutual connection away!Articles: Utilise the articles option if you are fond of writing blogs, this will demonstrate your interests, your passions, the industry you specialise in and may generate a talking point.Content: Sharing is caring! This may be in the form of industry news, business updates, interesting reads. Let your personality shine through. LinkedIn now even has interactive polls โ to generate a healthy debate, give kudos to a team-mate, celebrate, and spread some positivity online.Interact: Use your platform to engage, a LinkedIn profile that is essentially dormant is of no use to you or your potential employer. Respond to comments, reply to contacts, have that online conversation, you never know where it may take you.App: If you havenโt already โ download the App. (As if we donโt already have enough to scroll through!) However, this will mean it is accessible for you to see updates as they are happening in real time. You donโt want to miss out any InMailโs, job postings, industry updates.Photo: Last but certainly not least โ your photo, this is your professional headshot. This will be the image that your potential employer, recruitment consultant, hiring manager sees before you see them, make it a positive solid first impression!โWhen you are applying to a role attaching your CV and Cover Letter โ you cannot come to life on a piece of paper, LinkedIn gives you that opportunity to demonstrate you are not just an โapplicantโ or a statistic. You are a human being, who is worth hiring. Do not waste the opportunity of LinkedIn and the power of this platform. Lastly, letโs become LinkedIn Official, and add me as a connection - Colleen Deere.โ
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Employer Insights Adopting an โexcuse freeโ mindset to get through Covid-19
Let us begin by stating the obvious.Covid 19 has been an incredibly difficult period, itโs been disruptive, itโs been deadly and without a doubt, it has had a profound effect on billions of people worldwide, some much worse than others.ย Recruitment has been no different, there have been sweeping redundancies, a plethora of budget cuts, and many projects put on hold or cancelled completely - some of the figures are startling. It has been incredibly challenging, however like in any time of challenge, the way you will be defined is how you face it.ย The โexcuse freeโ mindset will continually allow you to see things with perspective, thus allowing you to take control of, and make the most of any situation however good, bad or ugly it may be. I, like anyone, have days where it waivers, we are all human, but below are two reasons why it has had a great effect on me personally and may just help you through this unprecedented period, and then beyond.1 โ Goal Setting- set daily, weekly goals on what you want to achieve. Be this at work, looking for work from a recent redundancy or simply in day to day life. It is important to hold yourself accountable so you know, you did your best and can sign off โexcuse freeโ with a positive mindset. What you put in is what you get out. If you are out of work, set a goal of applying for a certain number of roles, add connections on LinkedIn within your industry and expand your network, write a blog! Be visible, be proactive and most importantly, persistence pays off. Eventually! As a Recruiter in a time of an uncertain job market, goal setting enables me to focus and end the day knowing I controlled what I can control and feel accountable for achieving my daily goals. It is the small wins that keep you going.2 โ It makes your success repeatable โ When you donโt use excuses as to why things arenโt going your way, you will be able to identify root causes or indicators as to why you are succeeding โ KPIโs almost. Chances are if a certain process has worked once, then it will work again. There is no better feeling than knowing exactly what you have to do and being in complete control to get something done, it is a very empowering position to be in.If you are reading this, and it resonates with you, then take action and set a goal. Think about processes and steps you can implement which will help you to be โexcuse freeโ, embrace and enjoy the process, and see If having zero excuses helps you become more successful and accountable.โ
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Employer Insights What is Humble Leadership? How Can It Take Your Business ...
James launched his mid size, Perth furniture business in 2015.ย The first three years saw a rapid increase in sales and profitability, but something wasnโt quite right in the last two years.ย There had been an increase in the number of customer complaints. ย Late deliveries, unfriendly customer service reps, lost sales opportunities and lost customers started to become a trend. Simply stated, Jamesโย business was in trouble.So, James called his managers into a claustrophobic conference room, he wanted answers. "I depend on you people to make this business work!" he barked. ย "Sales are dropping like a rock, which obviously means someone's not doing their job.ย We're not leaving this room until I find out who it is!"No one speaks up.ย Everyone wants to crawl under their chair.ย Jamesโย not getting answers, but what he doesn't know, is that the answer is right in front of him.What is humble leadership?Jamesโย dictatorial leadership style might have worked when workers had few options and even fewer rights, but it clearly doesn't work now.ย The simple fact is that in the current employment landscape, workers who report to the "I know more than any of you" manager become resentful.ย They're less likely to be creative, resourceful or innovativeโbecause in John's world, a mistake isn't a learning experience.That's why an increasing number of business leaders are adopting a new approach, ย called โHumble Leadership.โย Humble leaders recognise their own limitations.ย They understand that everyone, irrespective of their position within an organisation, have something to contribute.In How Humble Leadership Really Works, Harvard Business Review (HBR) explains how humble leaders (which they call "servant-leaders") develop their businesses by bringing out the best in their employees:"The key, then, is to help people feel purposeful, motivated, and energized so they can bring their best selves to workโฆTo put it bluntly, servant-leaders have the humility, courage, and insight to admit that they can benefit from the expertise of others who have less power than them. They actively seek the ideas and unique contributions of the employees that they serve. This is how servant leaders create a culture of learning, and an atmosphere that encourages followers to become the very best they can."Why Does it Matter?It would be easy to dismiss Jamesโย lack of leadership skills as little more than a source of discomfort for his workers, not something that fundamentally affects the bottom line.ย The fact is, almost half of employees who work for leaders like James (according to Forbes) are actively considering quitting. This โon averageโ costs a business anywhere from 50% to 200% of an employeeโs annual salary to replace them.ย What are the principal traits of Humble Leaders?Adopting a humble (ie, inspiring) leadership style, typically means higher employee engagement and increased productivity and profitability.ย For that reason, it's critically important to understand which traits characterise humble leaders.ย Although every business and every leader s different, generally, humble leaders share the following 5 traits:They recognise their own limitations: one of the main reasons for start up business failures, is leaders who think they can "do it all."ย From finances to IT to marketing, these leaders assume their leadership position makes them โal things to all peopleโ.ย As a result, they tend to make costly mistakes that place their businesses in jeopardy.ย Humble leaders have the courage and self awareness to understand when and where they need guidance and advice, and they're not afraid to ask for it.They seek out talent in their workers: because humble leaders know what they don't know, they make a conscious effort to seek those skill sets in their employees.ย They're more likely to carefully assess employee skills at the time of hiring, and through ongoing performance evaluations.ย For this reason, they know to whom they can turn when they need help solving problems.They inspire their employees: workers want to perform at their optimal level when their manager acknowledges the contributions they have made.ย Humble leaders have no problem โsharing the spotlightโ.ย This inspires employees to work collaboratively and give their very best to a team effort.They promote a culture of learning: because humble leaders can admit their own shortcomings, their employees are more likely to acknowledge gaps in their own skill sets.ย This inspires them to seek out training opportunities to advance their knowledge and their careers.ย Humble leaders are more likely to make those training and career opportunities available to their staff, promoting a culture of continual learning and improvement.They listen: the best leaders listen more than they talk.ย Their role in meetings, for example, tends to be that of a facilitator who articulates the nature of a problem, actively listens to attendees' solutions and guides the discussion to consensus.ย This ensures not only the best solution, but also the buy in necessary to implement change.ConclusionA humble leadership style could be argued, is about โdoing the right thing,โ looking after workers and respecting their contributions.ย Effectively leveraged and implemented, humble leadership can be a game changer for your business, reducing employee attrition, while increasing productivity and profitability.ย ย
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