The strong demand for accounting professionals will continue for years to come as the Australian job market remains robust with anticipated growth in many businesses, according to Chris Le Coic, CEO of CareerSites
The strong demand for accounting professionals will continue for years to come as the Australian job market remains robust with anticipated growth in many businesses, according to Chris Le Coic, CEO of CareerSites. Major issues of compliance and governance have given accounting’s back office function and image a more significant role in the corporate continuum, Le Coic said. Further, many companies will only employ qualified accountants who are fluent in English, he said, as more analytical and strategic business advisor roles require excellent communication skills. CareerSites is an internet-based job advertising site which houses and links 19 separately branded niche websites, all targeted at specific industries or professions.
The right leader for the right moment
In response to an increasingly complex business environment, Australian organisations need to analyse the capabilities of their leadership team with a view to aligning leaders with key business priorities, according to research from DDI Australia. From the 249 senior HR managers and business leaders surveyed for the report, more than 90 per cent believed that developing and retaining leaders would become more difficult in the next 10–15 years. Additionally, survey respondents indicated a wide variety of diverse leadership competencies and attributes, such as creativity, ethics, global thinking, coaching and industry proficiency, would increase in importance over the next 10–15 years.
Benefits of authentic leadership
MonashUniversity recently launched a research project to identify and measure leader authenticity. More authentic leaders are better able to access their core moral and ethical values, and regulate their attention and emotions, according to Monash. They convert their positive moral intentions into better quality relationships with their employees, peers and customers and deliver better quality transformational leadership. The aim of the research is to develop a tool to measure the key factors contributing to leader authenticity and use it to evaluate common leadership interventions. For more information or to participate in the research project, contact John Read on (03) 9504 2090 or email [email protected].
Workers need to relax
The problems in the modern world are not due to too much work, but arise because people don’t know how to put their responsibilities to one side and relax, according to Ajahn Brahm, a Buddhist Abbot and former theoretical physicist and author. Speaking at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s recent learning and development conference, he said employees would benefit from 15-20 minutes meditation and afterwards they will feel so relaxed they will work more effectively and without stress. It was important for employees to spend time being peaceful and learn how to relax, so that they project a positive attitude working together effectively instead of getting caught up in office politics, he said.
Best practice in addressing skills shortages
The Human Resources 2007: Best practice and strategies for addressing the skills shortage conference, will be held in Perth from 20 to 22 June and in Brisbane from 25 to 27 June 2007. Presented by Human Resourcesmagazine and organised by LexisNexis Professional Development, the conference will look at issues such as combating the ageing workforce, cultural change and developing employee engagement, workforce planning and the latest trends in talent management. For more information call 1800 772 772, email [email protected] or visit the conferences page at www.humanresourcesmagazine.com.au.
EDS opts for SmartSalary
Global technology services firm EDS recently selected SmartSalary as its salary packaging provider. EDS, which employs around 6,000 people in Australia and 118,000 people globally, transferred 500 salary packaging arrangements to SmartSalary on 1 April 2007. “As a global business, we have certain reporting requirements that are not always easy to meet. We needed a provider able to meet challenges as they arise. SmartSalary’s business referees rated them 9/10 on that aspect of their service,” said Nicole Seuret, EDS’s remuneration and benefits manager for Australia. “Reconciling the end of the FBT year and the end of package arrangements is now a much faster and simpler process.”
