Latest insights

With timelines tight and resources stretched, downtime is something few businesses can afford. Given this, you’d think senior managers would be doing everything they can to ensure new hires are integrated into their team as quickly and smoothly as possible. Sadly, experience often suggests otherwise, with many companies guilty of leaving new staff members to largely fend for...

Why the ideal candidate mightn’t always seem ideal at first. No-one aspires for mediocrity in business. But while it’s great to have high standards, it’s important to stop and ask yourself, how high is too high? Time and again we see employers set the bar so unattainably high that even potentially great job candidates have little hope of clearing it. Baulked by a perception ...

The rise of the digital economy during the past two decades has been accompanied by a parallel rise in the threat of cybercrime and data security breaches. Recent examples can be seen everywhere from multinational organisations like Facebook and shipping conglomerate Maesrk, to small-to-medium sized domestic businesses and even Government departments such as the Bureau of Me...

If the last 12 months have taught the world anything, it’s that every person regardless of their age, ethnicity, sexuality or gender has the right to go to work in a professional and inclusive environment where they can perform their duties free from lewd and suggestive comments, unwanted advances and physical harassment. As more and more high profile cases continue to make ...

Mention the words ‘workplace health’ and most people immediately think of OH&S, or perhaps executive health checks and pre-winter flu shots. Yet true workplace health goes far beyond just the physical safety of you and your team members. In fact, the World Health Organisation defines ‘health’ as a ‘complete state of physical, social and mental wellbeing.’ As more and more bu...

Have you ever considered how much it costs to lose a key team member? Some studies show it can be anything up to 200% of the person’s annual salary. At ELR Executive we actually think that seems rather low, especially if you factor in the associated ‘IP Drain’ – that is, the cost of the knowledge that walks out your door the day they leave. From our experience across many in...

Diversity. It’s typically one of the greatest strengths of a thriving business. Yet while differences in skills, backgrounds and opinions can often be harnessed to great effect, inevitably some issues are so fundamental they can instead create tension and conflict, turning a smooth-running workplace into anything but. There’s arguably no better example than the current debat...

The ‘casualisation’ of the Australian workforce shows no signs of slowing down. ELR Executive’s John Elliott and Debbie Morrison discuss some of the opportunities - and challenges - for employers.

Presidential elections and British referendums aside, the western world has been drifting generally towards the left for some decades. In such an environment you might imagine the argument about carrot or stick management styles would be something of a no contest. Yet closer inspection across a range of businesses and industries suggests otherwise. Whether you’re naturally i...

It can be as devastating as it is intangible. Historically it’s also been shrouded in stigma and misunderstanding. Thankfully, the past decade has seen a significant shift in attitudes towards the issue of mental health in all corners of Australian society, and workplaces are no exception. Increasingly, leading employers understand that managing mental health extends far bey...