The increasingly competitive environment to deliver value means that IT organisations must have the right people with the right skills and competencies to fulfil the needs of the business and drive new projects, according to Gartner Executive Programs (EXP), a unit of Gartner Inc
The increasingly competitive environment to deliver value means that IT organisations must have the right people with the right skills and competencies to fulfil the needs of the business and drive new projects, according to Gartner Executive Programs (EXP), a unit of Gartner Inc. To accomplish this, they need effective reward programs in place to keep employees highly engaged and satisfied in performing and delivering desired results. “Although monetary rewards are very important, they are no longer the only important reward factor when it comes to developing a compelling employer value proposition,”said Lily Mok, research director for Gartner EXP’s human capital management content development group.
Recruitment industry leaders confident but cautious
Leaders in the recruitment and on-hire industry were bullish about 2007 but sounded a note of caution about protecting margins in the face of growing procurement practices, the impact of a possible change of government and a shortage of high calibre managers, at a recent breakfast seminar in NSW. At the RCSA (Recruitment and Consulting Services Association) breakfast, PeopleBank’s managing director Leon Lau said 2007 is going to be bigger and better than 2006, while Paul Lyons, managing director of Ambition, said that in an overall strong year in 2006, there were some particular ‘sweet spots’ in IT and accounting.
4 in 5 people think age affects the hiring manager's decision
Four out of five people believe a mature candidate's age affects the hiring manager's decision making, according to a survey of over 3,000 people across a broad demographic by Hays. Eighty per cent of respondents said a mature candidate's age affects the hiring manager's decision making while 7 per cent of respondents were unsure. “Clearly job seekers believe age bias exists in the current workplace,” said Catherine Foley, regional director of Hays Age Advantage. “Often mature candidates in particular are seen as ‘set in their ways’ or ‘outdated’. However, given the current skills shortage, ageing workforce and decreased fertility rates, mature candidates are a valuable resource and an attractive candidate pool.”
Addressing drug and alcohol issues reveals OHS flaws
Drug and alcohol use in the workplace is one of the key contemporary challenges employers face in creating safer, more productive workplaces, according to Peter Hendy, chief executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI). Many employers struggle to deal with this issue and do not have a supportive regulatory or human resource framework to do so, he said. Within limits, employers can help, but what is primarily a responsibility of individuals and also a wider social problem, cannot be made the responsibility of employers. “Changing patterns of drug and alcohol use in the Australian community are a serious risk to health, safety and productivity in workplaces,” he said.
