The construction industry on the other hand has not been so lucky still struggling and it doesn’t look like it will be picking up for a while. Commercial, Mining, Financial Services are also on a steady rise.

Cairns has recorded 8.9% unemployment for June and should be dropping further in the next few months.

Employers have been challenged with new legislations coming into the 2011 Financial Year.

Federal wage increase has been fairly confusing for most SME due to number of Modern Awards being in the transition period. ATO has made a new ruling with regards to the Salary Sacrifice being recorded on the payment summaries for last financial year. And not to mention Modern Awards are still is a state of confusion for most employers.

WHSQ is slowly getting through auditing all medium size business, so if you are a business and declared over one million but less then ten million in workcover for the financial year 2009 your turn is coming.

Here are couple of useful links:

FWA: http://bit.ly/c4NnqS

Pay Rate Calculator: http://bit.ly/arG2J7

If you’re finding it just too much to take in and would like some assistance we are offering Employer Coaching Program.

Covering the following:

• Recruitment Process
• Employment Process
• Employment Procedures and Policies

To find out more please contact Vlasta Eriksson on 07 4050 3888 or vlasta.eriksson@signaturestaff.com.au

Writing a professional add is best left with professionals, however there are a few basic rules to make your advert attract good candidates. Using the WIIFM method (What Is It For Me) is simple and will give a better than average chance to capture the right candidate.

Who is your target – Identify who is the right candidate to fit your vacancy not just by the skills you are searching for but also the culture they need to fit into. Use language that your ideal candidate uses. For example if you wanted to make sure to reach Generation Y, you could include SMS abbreviations. Probably no one else will understand it, but that’s exactly the point!

Innovating Headline – You need to have a catchy headline, people look at job vacancies that will stand out from the rest. By displaying the right catch-line you will have people wanting to read more. Most online job boards also include a teaser text. A job position is not always enticing hence a few more innovative words could catch people’s attention

Interest and desire – Emphasize what’s unique about the position/company. People want to work for great employers and are generally not motivated to get employed with ordinary and boring organisations. All job seeker wants to know “what is in it for me”. This is the time to shine and let them know of the rewards, benefits and the culture they will have by joining your company.  Consider saying ‘imagine yourself’…. However, make sure your statements are credible. Positions that sound too good to be true will only attract dreamers.

Forth Coming – Make it an urgent call to action so people apply to your vacancy before they apply somewhere else. After building information in an interesting way and creating Desire, you must prompt an urgent call to action. Your job advert should follow this step by step format to be effective. Consider saying, ‘Apply now before your dream job disappears’. ‘Call or SMS now for more info’  ‘Go to our website and apply now’. Also consider making it easy for jobseekers using a phrase like, ‘All you need to do’
If you don’t have a sense of urgency, why should they?

Move to your target audience –Place your vacancy where you are going to attract your audience. Imagine yourself being the candidate. For example, if you’re running an ad for a sales manager for an IT company, your audience may look under ’sales’ not IT. Also think on what job boards you would be most likely to find your ideal candidate and utilise other way of advertising such as local papers and social media.

So think before you advertise and place your add where your audience is.

Author: Vlasta Eriksson

As a hiring manager or a recruiter your first point of doing background checking is to assure that the information on the CV is true. Being deceitful or bending the truth on a CV is quite a common occurrence. These flouts mostly appearing in the employment history especially with regards to the duration of each employment and the duties preformed.

As a crude example of this, I recall a candidate applying to us recently. The candidate noted amongst the work history, 6 months employment duration as a temporary with our company. Upon checking this, we indeed found an employment record, but only over 3 days. I thought it a pretty brave move, but I was not too surprised as this kind of gross exaggeration is quite common and used to cover gaps in employment history or to replace another employment that may not have worked out that great.

Cross referencing of dates and duties should be first port of call in the background checking process. Referees that are supplied by your candidates should be the first call, but ensure that these referees have professional / reporting links to the candidate and not personal or a co-worker.

Other types of checks that may be preformed are criminal checks, character profiling, psychological and value checks as well as technical skill checks.

Part of Wiki’s interpretation of background checking says:

These checks are often used by employers as a means of objectively evaluating a job candidate’s qualifications, character, fitness, and to identify potential hiring risks for safety and security reasons, which sums up why you should do this pretty well.

When it comes to character checks and to be able to identify whether the candidate will culturally fit into the workplace can be quite difficult. Social Media is being used more frequently to identify the character and cultural fit.

It is legal to use Social Media as part of the recruitment process; however it needs to comply with the Commonwealth and State Discrimination and Privacy laws. As recruiter or a hiring manager you need to understand the laws of Australia to avoid any possible lawsuits. The best and safest way to use Social Media for background checking is to ask your candidate for the permission to do so. If you do not ask your candidate for permission, you should ensure that your decision is not influenced by information specified under the Anti-discrimination Act, Australian Human Rights Commission or the Privacy Act.

There haven’t been many discrimination claims of this kind simple because the candidates are not able to prove who is checking what on the web. In the future this might change as Social Media such as Facebook start upgrading their privacy, so be careful when you enter this space.

Note: If you are a candidate, you are able to create a professional profile on sites such as LinkedIn. If you mention this on your CV (and/or create a electronic hyperlink) as part of your personal details, you will direct the recruiter or the hiring manager to the right profile in the Social Media space.

The Centrelink Jobs Expo is part of the Australian Government’s Keep Australia working strategy to support Australian industry and jobs, connecting employment and training opportunities to job seekers. The main aim is to provide real job opportunities for local people.

The Jobs Expo will bring together employers, industry groups, recruitment providers, government and community organisations, as well as training and education providers. There will also be special guests and other activities to entertain and engage visitors. Local job seekers are being personally invited to attend the Expo. Special announcements, advertising and promotion will ensure a huge turnout on the day.  Entry is free for jobseekers and there is no charge for exhibitors.

Cairns’ employment coordinator, Peter Doutre is confident that this expo will be even more successful than the last one. “The last expo was a much needed shot of adrenaline for the region and resulted in a number of employment outcomes” Mr Doutre said. “By involving additional industry sectors, such as Aviation, Logistics, Marine, Mining and Resources, we are looking to have 150 exhibitors displaying more than 400 jobs this time around. The Cairns expo is run by the people of Cairns, which just prove that the Cairns community is taking ownership of its own destination”

If you want to get involved with the expo, you’ll be provided with all the essentials to make your exhibit a success, including:
• Exhibition stand including a backboard, table and chairs
• A sign featuring your company name
• Access to people looking for employment and training opportunities
• Promotion of your job vacancies and job pathways on the Centrelink Jobs Expo ‘Jobs Board’
• Promotion of your business or organisation on the day
• Light refreshments.

All this will be provided at no cost.

If you are an employer and would like more information, you are welcome to call Peter Doutre direct on 0411 671 672

Link below info on 2009 Job Expo including a video

http://www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/individuals/jobs_expos_09.htm

Click on link to view Jan 10 issue: http://bit.ly/cZiuWF

Queensland has recently changed the criteria for Job Assist with regards to the customer eligibility and the outcome in both of the stages.

The following are the inclusions:

Customer Eligibility:

The eligibility criteria under this activity are that the business must:

be experiencing one of the following:

1. the variation in working capital is negative and has declined by more than 25% between the two points in time i.e. 30 June 2009 and the most recent reporting period, or
2. the business begins the two point period with negative working capital and remains in that position at the end of the two point period.

Outcomes for the Customer

Stage 1

A business assessment is undertaken by an experienced consultant to:

• identify deficiencies in the working capital

Stage 2

Proposed outcomes include:

• improved working capital position

Please read our article for the full criteria  http://bit.ly/c4L17l

Additional Information as per QLD Government Information Sheet:

Consultant Acceptance and Engagement Process

Suitably qualified consultants who can provide the services outlined in Stage 1and/or 2 can make application to the Department to be included on the Consultant Database.  Applications must be submitted for each individual Key Person who will deliver the service.

Applications will undergo a due diligence process and will be included on the database at the Department’s sole and absolute discretion based on their qualifications and suitability.  When accepted, applicants details are placed on the Consultant Database that will be made available to eligible customers within the region.

How do I apply

1. Complete an Application Form and return it to the local Regional Centre.
2. Internal governance checks will be undertaken by the Department. The consultant will receive confirmation of acceptance or decline after a review and determination of your suitability. Should the application be accepted, your details will be placed on to the Consultant Database for selection by customers.
3. Where you are selected by a customer, you will receive a Letter of Engagement.
4. Provide a current Certificate of Currency for Public Liability insurance and Public Indemnity insurance prior to commencement of any service provided to the customer.
5. You will commence contact with the customer and provide the services under the respective stage within the nominated timeline.
6. Upon completion of the contracted service, you are to provide a report and invoice to the Regional Centre.
7. Your invoice will be assessed against the costings provided in your application form for the services provided and payment arranged.

Additional Consultant Services

Where the costs for the provision of services for stages 1 and 2 exceed the amount specified for each stage, the amount in excess of the specified amount is to be paid by the customer.  Any additional arrangement between the consultant and the customer is not part of the support offered by the Department and the Department accepts no responsibility for any such arrangement.

For any further information please contact your local Regional Centre of the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI) on 1300 363 711.

Signature Staff delivers solutions for your business through building business partnerships with our clients. Our ultimate goal is to provide our clients with an employee who will enhance their workplace environment and giving their business the advantage it deserves.

The benefits to our clients are within our points of difference in our values, our business ethics and our systems:

• Giving you freedom to utilise your time on your business through tapping into our inimitable 360 recruitment process
• Putting you in contact with over 1.2 mil candidates at a finger tip
• Connecting you to a unique network structure
• Making your decisions easy by offering candidate profiling, skills and psych testing
• Advantage in utilising our consultants knowledge of varied industry background offering you effective solutions
• Putting you in a strong position and giving you quality choice of talent pool by our marketing and advertising power doubled up with our revolutionary database search capabilities.
• Your needs and requirements are matched by our dedication offering you 24/7 service, delivery time, superior guarantee structure and post placement support.

Signature Staff has an outstanding success rate by matching the right talent to the right workplace and position. Our transparent and thorough recruitment processes are modelled to the unique nature of our clients and candidates.

Did you know that our services are only billed at the acceptance of our candidate and the services to jobseekers are absolutely free?

For sound and professional advice please contact our dedicated consultants.

A strengthening economy means many of our clients have an increasing workload and new projects, but with fewer admin or specialist support staff. Then you also need to think about leave periods and seasonal peaks etc.

Signature Staff can provide you with staffing flexibility, with high quality, cost-effective Temps and Contractors across all specialist work-types and locations. These may be short-term admin temps, or more specialist contractors. Time-frames and pay rates are very flexible, so please contact us for an obligation-free quote.

The benefits of temp employees remain consistent for employers in both buoyant and challenging economies:

• Reduce your salary bill, overheads and employment risks
• Adjust your business more easily and quickly to workload fluctuations eg. projects, leave periods or your seasonal peaks
• Maintain staffing flexibility in uncertain economic times
• Specialised skills for all industries and work-types
• No permanent commitment while you evaluate the performance and ‘fit’ of potential employees
• Transition high-quality temps and contractors to permanent status, with ease and certainty

Did you know we also offer a discounted Payrolling Only service? This means if YOU source and secure a temp, you can place them on Signature Staff’s payroll – and simply be charged a modest, hourly flat fee for the service and convenience.

However, in today’s market and in some companies one of the top priorities is the wellness, job satisfaction and general health and happiness of their employees.

Google being number 1 employer of choice in Australia and number 4 in US for 2010. Well wow, who would not want to work in the Googleplex? What an amazing work environment!!! SAS was number 1 on the list for 2010 in US and offers high quality child care and a 90% of health insurance amongst other things.

It has been proven over and over again that by having a healthy working environment any company will gain enormous benefits, such as:

• High performance team
• Greater commitment and accountability
• Customer satisfaction
• Reduced absenteeism
• Attracting right candidates to the business
• Staff retention
• Increase in job satisfaction
• Improve staff morale
• Reduction in injuries
• Increase in bottom line

Any boss, head honcho or company director would like to surround themselves with a thriving, happy and vibrant team that fill the work environment with laughter and motivation.

SME (Small and Medium Enterprises) which is Australian’s largest employer-group cannot compete with Google’s relaxing areas and the mini golf or by giving private health insurance covers for all their employees simply because they just cannot afford it.

However, there are so many ways in how you can achieve the same results with minimal or no cost associated to it.

• Involve all staff in decision making – everyone wants to be part of a successful team. Employees involved in decision making feel empowered that they are an essential link with the day to day running of the business.
• Suggestion box – Get the creative juices flowing. Creative teams make great leaders.

• Get behind a community project or fund-raising for a charity –Help the local school with their playground project, volunteer to help out in a aged care facility or do the “Light the Night”- “The World’s Greatest Shave” for the Leukemia foundation.
• Plant a tree day – You can pick up trees from your local council find out where you can plant them. Make it a day of it; finish it off with a barbeque.
• Have a daily motivational, inspiring quotes or a joke – Nothing better then starting work with a smile on your face.
• Praise and encourage employees – Say thank you, great job, do the high fives or the woo-hoo sounds.
• Have an open door policy – Let the staff feel comfortable to come to you and discuss what is on their mind.
• Pay for the yearly Flu injections – Not expensive, no sick days and healthy environment all year through.
• Health Funds – Contact Health Funds and look into Corporate Cover that the employees can have a reduced package for themselves or families that is then deducted from their wages and does not affect the Company cash flow, but offers a substantially reduced amount to the employees.
• Close the office and take staff out on special days – Do it for special occasions such as Companies Birthday, Secretaries Day or Melbourne Cup day.
• Get your clients to suggest an employee of the month – by having your clients voting and not yourself will ensure the trust and honesty in your team. You might find that your clients would want to participate simply because they are contributing to something positive.
• Flexible working hours – If the business can sustain the flexibility of work, well let your staff work the hours they can to fit with their personal circumstances.
• Health and fitness check – Run a seminar for your employees or get them into a health practitioner for general health checks.
• Organise 10 min shoulder massage for your employees – Nothing better than having your employees de-stress in their working environment.
• Get to know your employees – Listen and observe your staff. Know where they at; what are their desires and goals; what do they what to achieve in life. Observe the body language and tune into your employees to observe any signs of concerns.
• Make a Birthday paid day off – It is only one day a year.
• Recognitions on their Birthdays – If you can’t afford a birthday gift a simple birthday card with a scratchie, a lotto ticket or a simple birthday cake will certainly bring a smile to anyone.
• Barbeque lunch – Do a sausage sizzle for your team. As a boss cooking for your staff, will gain you respect just because you have done something for your staff and have expected nothing in return.
• Bring a plate of food day – If possible have a communal lunch discussing the foods that everyone brought along – make it an International food day where everyone draws a nationality out of a hat and bring something from that country for everyone to sample.

Having a healthy, vibrant and happy working environment is a key to any business success.

“If you want results you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done.”

Western Australia has not joined the national system. Some employers (essentially incorporated entities) and their employees are covered by the national system, but sole traders, partnerships, other unincorporated entities and non-trading corporations and their employees will continue to operate under the WA state system (though some of these may be covered by transitional awards until 27 March 2011).

The transition of getting over 2000 awards into 122 has proven to be very confusing for most businesses. 77.6% of Queensland businesses are requesting further information kits and 69.5% businesses want further seminars, according to CCIQ recent survey. So, if you feel uncertain with our new national systems, don’t be alarmed, you are not alone.

In March 2008, Julia Gillard asked the Australian Industrial Relations Commission to simplify and consolidate our award system and to create new modern awards which would not disadvantage employees or increase cost to employers. The end result has proven to be quite different…..

Some award conditions have increased, including allowances, whilst other conditions are potentially leading to disadvantaging the employees.

Some awards extended their coverage to sectors such as call centres, IT, financial planners and insurance providers to name a few. People working in some of these sectors will be covered by awards for the first time.

Some sectors such as retail and hospitality have changed the casual loading from 20% to 25%. These industries both rely on casual employees to a large degree, so this change will have a substantial impact on costs.

Superannuation threshold in some awards has been decreased from $450.00 per month to $350.00 per month.

The changes have significantly added to the cost and complexity to being an employer and have subsequently increased the overall level of red tape impacting business, without any additional benefits being realised yet.

Due to the complexities of the new awards we advise businesses of the need to identify what modern award covers their employees, and thoroughly read through their award to ensure that they comply.

Some of the points to especially look out for are:

• Allowances
• Casual loading
• Superannuation threshold
• Overtime and penalty rates
• Flexibility on part time hours
• Personal/Carer’s Leave
• Community service leaves
• Know NES (go to our Jan newsletter to learn more)

Transitional arrangements in most modern awards mean that rates of pay and certain other conditions do not come into force until 1 July 2010 and may be phased in over time. However, not all modern awards contain these transitional arrangements. Employers should check their modern award to determine if these arrangements apply.
If a modern award contains transitional arrangements, any increases or decreases in wages, loadings and penalty rates may be phased in from 1 July 2010.

This includes:

• minimum wages
• casual and part-time loadings
• Saturday, Sunday and public holiday penalty rates
• evening and other penalty rates
• shift allowances.

For further information on your rights and obligations under Commonwealth workplace laws, please contact the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94.

Alternatively, for information on the award modernisation process, contact Fair Work Australia on

1300 799 675.

Click here for list of all modern awards and scroll down. http://www.airc.gov.au/awardmod/fullbench/awards.htm

Fair Work online for employers http://www.fairwork.gov.au/Pages/employers.aspx?role=employers

CCIQ has identified the chaos that these new modern awards and Fair Work Act has brought to the business community and are running courses. You can contact them on 1300 138 470 to make a booking.

There is a lot of information out there with regard to ‘Closing the Gap’, which is basically about improving the Lives and life expectancy of Indigenous Australians.  For many people it has been deemed as a positive and long awaited acknowledgement and change and for others, it’s more about ‘haven’t we done enough already?’.  Australia is a multi-cultural nation and we’re proud of that label, however, there is one outstanding truth in all this – Traditional Owners are sadly lacking in so many ways, still.  One of the initiatives set up by our Governments has been more assistance in employing Indigenous Australians in jobs to assist with the feeling of inclusion, self-esteem and better financial conditions, however, is it really working?

In Cairns, we have a large percentage of Indigenous people and for those already Employed, it is a good feeling to be working with others and enjoying a better quality of life than the unemployed.  So I asked myself why so many Indigenous People are still battling to find ‘The Perfect Job’ or just a good job and one thing that is stands out is that there are some definite barriers that stand in the way.

• Education – Although there is a lot of focus being placed on retention rates in schools and higher outcomes, for those that completed school around 15-20 years ago, it is a case of being too late.  Many Indigenous people were lucky to complete Grade 10.  Over the years we have seen $100,000’s put towards Indigenous training, a lot of people weren’t able to gain employment following the training and some of the skills and knowledge were lost over time.  Now the Governments are working closer together to stop the cross-over and double dipping of funding, we are seeing a more cohesive approach to training with employment outcomes.
• Employer Prejudice – Many employers have had a bad experience, or heard of others that have had bad experiences employing Indigenous people and this affects their decision to employ Indigenous people again, for fear of lost time and money.  This can happen with any employee regardless of Race, Religion or Sex .  For example, Indigenous people who live ‘On Country’, will experience times where they will need to attend more funerals that most other employees as their Aged Elders start to pass away.  Attending any Family event is an important part of the Indigenous way of life and can sometimes cause friction with an employer.  This can be perceived that Indigenous people are unreliable.
• Experience – For many Indigenous women, in particular, previous work experience can be minimal or non-existent, since as soon as our children are born, we dedicate our lives to raising them at home.  Some women will have their children close together and will be out of the workforce for many years, so they do find it difficult to enter later in life with so many young people with experience and formal qualifications.
• Lack of Jobs – For those Indigenous People living in the Remote Communities of Australia, the lack of positions in their home community is the biggest barrier faced by them and their families.  There are only limited jobs in these communities and since for many leaving the community is not an option, there just isn’t enough sustainable employment for everybody.  The higher level jobs are usually filled by Non-Indigenous people from outside the community.  Starting up businesses would be an alternative, however, due to the remoteness, it could also be impossible to keep the business viable.

It is now strongly recognised that Employers and their employees do some kind of Cross Cultural Training, in order to make the workplace a comfortable and understanding environment for the retention of Indigenous Employees.  There are also many Work Readiness Courses for Indigenous people to do before entering into employment to educate and assist them with their journey into sustainable and life long employment.  Mentoring is also available for Indigenous men and women, to help when things get tough or when confusion sets in due to misunderstandings that happen in workplaces all the time.  There are many great organisations that are committed to assisting the Traditional Owners of Australia to gain employment and stay employed.

Written by Jenny Joyce – Mamu People

Training and Development Officer – Employment Projects

Signature Staff – People Plus