Finding Staff

Superannuation Guarantee Reforms 2013 – What you need to do.

"David Balwin

David Balwin
CPA | Accountant | Business Advisor

You may or may not have heard, the Commonwealth Government has introduced changes to the Superannuation Guarantee which take effect from 1 July 2013.  As a business owner, you have to take action to comply with the new requirements.  The main changes of the reforms are:

  • the superannuation guarantee rate will gradually increase from 9% to 12% between 1 July 2013 and 1 July 2019
  • the superannuation guarantee age limit of 70 will be removed from 1 July 2013, and employers will be required to contribute to complying super funds of eligible mature age employees 70 years old and older.

Therefore, when super payments are made on behalf of your employees based on the minimum 9% super guarantee rate, employers will need to increase this rate on which calculations are based to 9.25% on 1 July 2013.

The super guarantee rate increases to 12% over seven years, as shown in the table below.

Year

Rate

Current rate

9.00%

1 July 2013

9.25%

1 July 2014

9.50%

1 July 2015

10.00%

1 July 2016

10.50%

1 July 2017

11.00%

1 July 2018

11.50%

1 July 2019 and onwards

12.00%

To ensure employers comply with the changes, make sure:

  • Payroll and accounting systems are updated to apply the appropriate increase to the super guarantee rate.
  • From 1 July 2013, the rate used to work out the super guarantee payments for employees is increased from 9% to 9.25%.
  • The rate used to work out the super guarantee payments made for employees continues to increase each year until 1 July 2019.

If you need help to comply with the changes, please call the Balanix Team (3264 4783)  – we can help!

Great News for Graduates

Sally Balwin

Recruitment | HR | Business Development

According to the 2012 Australian Graduate Survey, three-quarters of Bachelor degree graduates find full time work within four months of completing their studies.

A further 15% find part-time or casual work according to new figures shown in the survey.

174,000 graduates for surveyed.

For medicine, pharmacy, mining engineering, surveying and nursing, 92% of graduates were in full-time employment four months after graduation.

More than 94% of bachelor degree graduates were satisfied with their university experiences overall.

This is great news for our education institutions and for the health of our graduate job market.

(Data reported: Sunday Mail 30 December 2012)

For all your recruitment needs – Balanix Solutions (Recruitment)

Who to Employ

"Sally Balwin"

Recruitment | HR | Business Development

I’m not saying anything new when I say that choosing staff is a major critical business decision.  The cost of recruiting (both time and dollars), and, more particularly, the cost of the wrong decisions can make choosing staff a stressful, confusing and expensive exercise.

The evaluation of candidates’ information should focus on two factors:

  • the “can do” factors (ie, knowledge, skills, competency and aptitude or potential for acquiring new knowledge and skills), as well as,
  • the “will do” factors (motivation, interests and other personality characteristics).

In other words, interest is focussed on what a person can and will do.

Both of these factors are essential to successful job performance.  A person who has the ability (ie, “can do”) but not the motivation to use it or to grow (ie, “will not do”) is little better than someone who is willing however unable to do the job.

So, how does the employer make a decision?  Like everything in business, there is no magic answer.  The strategy to making selection decisions for one job may be different from that used for another.  Having said this, here is some things to think about:

  • what is the job all about – will it stay the same over time or will it evolve and grow with the business.
  • what is the future growth of the business – is it better to employ someone with very high skills who can hit the ground running in the job quickly, or is future potential and growth capabilities better, taking a long term approach.
  • should someone be hired according to their potential or according to the immediate needs of the business.
  • what’s in it for the employee – what are they looking for in an employer and employment and does this match what can be offered.
  • on what basis is salary (and other remuneration) determined for the immediate and the future.
  • how will people be employed – full-time, part-time, casual, contract etc.
  • what induction and training would be needed.
  • how long would it be expected the person would stay in the employment (does it matter).
  • will there be opportunities for advancement within the business as an incentive to stay.
  • what probation period would be used.
  • what performance needs to be met to confirm employment.

Getting the right person for the right job at the right time has enormous benefits for a business.  However the decision cannot be taken lightly.

balanixsolutions.com.au/recruitment

Where to find Staff

"Sally Balwin"

Recruitment | HR | Business Development

In my travels as a recruitment consultant I came across a wonderful description of the Perfect Employee –

  • Would not shy away from hard work and could find things that need to be done without the direction of others.
  • Would get to work on time every time and not put at risk the lives of others in an attempt to be the first to leave each day.
  • Would listen carefully when spoken to and ask only enough questions to ensure the accurate undertaking of the work.
  • Would be honest and ethical, telling the truth every time.
  • Would not sulk or complain when emergencies arise requiring extra effort and time.
  • Would be cheerful, courteous and helpful to everyone and determined to make good.
  • Would be enthusiastic and motivated to achieve.
  • Would have the requisite education, skills and experience.
It is interesting that only 1 of the 8 attributes addresses skills experience and qualifications.
Finding the right person for the right job at the right time requires a number of steps in the process.  However, in a competitive market, business owners need to look broadly to try and attract candidates.  Here are some suggestions as to where to look which you may not have thought about  …..
  • Friends / Relatives
  • Existing staff / Previous Staff
  • Network Colleagues / Suppliers
  • Newspaper advertising
  • Internet Advertising (seek.com.au / careerone.com.au)
  • Twitter / Facebook / Linkedin
  • Recruitment Agencies – Job Network/Specialists/Not for Profit
  • Recruitment Consultants – Balanix Solutions
  • University / TAFE / Schools – intranet postings
  • Door signage
  • Industry Organisations – Publications/website
If you have other suggestions, please share through commenting to this blog below.

Recruiting to the Job or the Process

“Get a Job Erika”

"Sally Balwin"

Recruitment | HR | Business Development

I am all for documented procedures and processes being used by business owners.  Knowledge, consistency and compliance equals efficiency, productivity, less errors and reduced rework.  However, like Erika’s job interview, procedures and lack of training can have the opposite effect.

In relation to Job interviews, why have a process?  Well, the answer lies in why do an interview in the first place?

Most interviewing processes include a job interview.  Selectors have read the written application and matched it to the Job Description requirements – this is where a good Job Description comes in handy.  But job applications cannot always reflect the candidate accurately.

Candidates are encouraged to present a Resume or CV to get noticed.  Many invest in Professional Resume and CV Writers or seek other help to ensure the best advantage (can’t blame them).  However, as the recruiter, you need to test and validate what is being claimed in the written application to ensure they are the right person for the job and your business.

And this is where the interview comes in.  The interview process needs to be structured sufficiently to ensure you find out everything you want to know and that you comply with laws and regulations, but not so structured that the only ticks are that you followed the process but don’t really know anything further about the candidate.

Face to face, the recruiter can hear the language the candidate uses, see how they respond to questions and begin to build rapport (or otherwise) with the prospect.  Make sure when you are interviewing you use open questions (not closed questions) to ensure the candidate can talk (remember – you want to know what they know not what you already know).

Examples of Open Questions are:

  • Tell me a time when  …
  • Have you ever experienced  ….  And if so, how did you handle it?
  • You mention in your application you worked on   …  project.  Could you expand on this for me?
  • When you worked in ….  Team, what role specifically did you have and what contributions did you make?

These questions allow the candidate to talk thereby opening up opportunities for the recruiter to explore information further with follow-up questions.

Closed questions are ones that can be answered Yes or No and don’t give the opportunity to really obtain much information.  Examples of these types of questions are:

  • You indicted in your application you have experience in …  is that right?
  • You mention in your application you worked on   …  project.  Did you do things like …… in this project?
  • When you worked in ….  Team was the team successful in its work?

The right questions and the right process can get from the candidates exactly what they know, what their experience is, how they fit with the culture of your business and what type of employee they will be.

www.balanixsolutions.com.au/recruitment