Workforce Planning
Employees, Contractors and Registered Business Names
A myth surrounding the employee or contractor decision is that having a registered business name makes a worker a contractor.
David Balwin
CPA | Accountant | Business Advisor
The ATO advise that having a registered business name makes no difference to whether a worker is an employee or contractor for a particular job. You need to examine the details of the working arrangements to check whether your workers are employees or contractors.
A worker who has a business name might be a contractor for one job, and an employee for another. It all depends on the specific terms and conditions under which the work is performed.
The ATO’s online Employee/contractor decision tool will help to correctly determine whether your workers are employees or contractors. By answering some simple questions, the online tool will provide you with an answer you can rely on. It is free, anonymous and easy to use.
Too hard doing it this way, contact Balanix Taxation Services (07 32644783) – we can help.
(Source: ATO – SME Communicator December 2012)
“These comments are general in nature and in no way intended as tax advice as Balanix Solutions is not a tax advisor and it is recommend that you seek the advice of a registered tax agent to ensure your specific needs/requirements are addressed.”
17 Low Cost Staff Retention and Reward Initiatives
Sally Balwin
Recruitment | HR | Business Development
As businesses continue to experience difficulties with staff attraction and retention these 17 simple low cost ways show your people you appreciate and value them.
- Movie Tickets.
- Gift Certificates or vouchers.
- Book of Stamps.
- A framed memento/letter/certificate.
- Inscribe a favourite book as a gift.
- Balloons decorated with appropriate messages.
- Purchase a plant or flower arrangement with appropriate message.
- Buy the person something to use in his/her hobby.
- Lunch-on-me voucher or take the person to lunch as a form of thanks or to mark a special event.
- Doughnuts, bagels, or rolls as an early morning starter.
- If your people are outside during the hot seasons (eg, Real Estate Agents) have Icecreams/blocks in the freezer for them.
- A “funny” trophy that is passed among team members based on “inside” criteria.
- Submit the person’s name for a Wall of Fame.
- Something engraved with the person’s name, such as a pen set, business card holder, plaque, or portfolio.
- Paid subscription to a professional magazine or newsletter.
- A small contribution to their favourite charity in the person’s name.
- Time-off; full day or half-day.
Balanix Solutions HRM Services
Great News for Graduates
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
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
Recruitment Consultants -v- Recruitment Agencies
Recruitment | HR | Business Development
Recruitment consultancy is a viable alternative to recruitment agencies. The key things about recruitment consultants are:
- Consultants don’t manage candidates.
- Consultants work closely with the business owner/manager to understand the job and organisational cultural requirements in great depth.
- Recruitment and selection is targeted to attract to a specific role and requirements.
- Fee structure follows a consultancy model and generally is lower than the agency model.
Recruitment agencies:
- Manage candidates.
- Fees are generally a percentage of the salary offered for the position.
- Attract a broad range of candidates within a work discipline.
- May have a number of masters who they are serving (eg, Government in relation to Job Network, Labor hire clients, as well as specific recruitment assignments).
If you are experiencing high turnover/low retention of staff, recruitment consultants can provide a more strategic and targeted alternative to recruitment.
balanixsolutions.com.au/recruitment-services
