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As part of our Environmental Support program we sponsor Greenfleet and donate one tree for every recruitment assignment we work on.

Below is the August edition of Greenfleet's eNews.


Welcome to the August 2010 edition of Greenfleet eNews. We always appreciate your stories or feedback, so please send them to: technology@greenfleet.com.au

 
 
The electric car experience

After all the marketing hype (in the month when pricing for the Chevrolet Volt was finally announced), it's nice to get some real human stories from behind the wheel of an electric vehicle. Bernie Hobbs from the ABC Catalyst program provides just such an insight following her purchase of a Blade electric vehicle:
 
Apart from the non-standard petrol cap contents, there are a couple of stand out differences between driving this and a petrol car. First up, the much remarked upon quietness when you turn it on. If it wasn’t for the fans that keep the batteries cool you wouldn’t know it was going. A toggle on the dash lets you choose forwards or backwards, and once the motor kicks in there’s a nice futuristic electric whir. But reverse still gives me a start – this thing beeps at a pitch and volume that wouldn’t be out of place on a road train. Safety first, I guess.

For all the differences, after a while you forget you’re not driving a regular car. It’s got four gears – T, H (town and highway – too cute!) and two overdrives. Disengaging regen to shift gears isn’t much different from using a clutch. And a white hatchback isn’t a standout – although the cheesy clip-art style logo has turned the odd head. (Gotta say I’m starting to love the dagginess of that logo).

I sound like a total revhead, but I’m just really rapt to be investing in a form of transport that is headed in the direction I want to see us go. And when I say investing, I mean it. It's the most expensive thing I’ve ever bought that doesn’t have a kitchen and built-in robes.

The great thing is with an electric motor there’s very little in the way of maintenance, so over five years a hybrid winds up costing more. But the real beauty of the electric beast is that I charge it with 100 per cent green power. It costs me about $3.70 for 100 km worth of charge, and my contribution to climate change from that is the lowest on the road. (If I went with regular coal-fired electricity the CO2 emissions would be about the same as for a petrol hatch, so green power is essential for making this idea work).
 
 
Nissan's fuel saving technologies

 Car Advice, July 8th: Nissan announced today in a report it is developing a range of technologies which will see much lower fuel consumption ratings in their future cars. In the report, Corporate Vice President of Nissan’s Powertrain Engineering Division, Shuichi Nishimura said,

"Nissan is continuously studying ways to reach the ultimate efficiency of its powertrains for further CO2 emission reduction. As a result of that, Nissan will introduce a series of innovative technologies on its 3 and 4-cylinder gasoline engines as well as a new high efficient hybrid system."

The first PURE DRIVE car is the new Micra, to be launched in Japan this month, which incorporates Nissan’s idle stop technology and showcases fuel consumption figures of 3.8L/100km.

There’s also the luxury Fuga Hybrid sedan on its way, which uses a clutch system that separates the petrol engine from the electric motor completely under certain circumstances. This helps to cut friction and loads between the two, and thus reduce fuel consumption.

 
A glass of water a day

Without any changes to their vehicles or anyone else's, Toyota have come up with the best ecodriving concept we have seen:

Lower your consumption: Drive with a glass of water - we at Toyota believe that's all it takes to lower your consumption by 10%. Aggressive acceleration and braking wastes fuel. By planning your driving and driving calmer, you use less fuel and emit less CO2. That’s the simple key to ecodriving.

Am I really supposed to put a glass of water on my dashboard? No, spilling water on your dashboard can of course be unsafe. The important thing is that you apply the principles of driving with a glass of water. You can do this by simply imagining a glass of water on your dashboard while driving.

And there's even an iPhone app for a 'virtual glass of water' on your dashboard:
 
iPhone app – ” A Glass of Water” records your driving distance, time, fuel consumption and water spilled. After each drive you can analyse your results and see on a map where you can improve your driving for the future. The results are automatically uploaded to this website and compared to other participants. You can of course participate in the challenge without the iPhone app as well.

 
 
Brumby goes solar while Gillard targets clunkers

The Age: Up to 10 large-scale solar power plants would be built in regional Victoria under a state government scheme to run a quarter of the state on renewable energy by 2020.

Promising to make Victoria the ''solar capital'' of Australia, Premier John Brumby set a target of 5 per cent of the state's electricity coming from large solar plants within 10 years. The plan won the immediate approval of the Australian Greens, with spokeswoman Christine Milne declaring that Mr Brumby was ''leaving Julia Gillard in his wake''.

The target would be met through the nation's first large solar feed-in-tariff - a subsidy that will pay solar companies a premium rate to make their technology competitive with coal, gas and wind power. The target is additional to the national 20 per cent renewable energy target, which is expected to mainly build wind farms.

Unfortunately, the federal government is compromising its own solar scheme to pay for an Australian version of 'cash for clunkers':
 
The Age: AUSTRALIA’S renewable energy industry was reeling yesterday after discovering a $520 million budget cut to low-emissions technology in the fine print of Julia Gillard’s ‘‘cash-for-clunkers’’ announcement.

Ms Gillard said that owners of pre-1995 vehicles will be able to claim $2,000 from January 1 next year to upgrade to cleaner cars. She estimated that handouts would benefit 200,000 of the 2 million owners of pre-1995 cars in Australia at a cost of $394 million over four years.

But the move will be financed by cutting into existing carbon reduction programs, including $200 million from the flagship solar power incentives and $150 million off the renewable energy scheme that provides rebates to householders for solar hot water and heat pump systems.
..
‘‘We were absolutely shocked and it’s fair to say the solar industry was stunned to learn that $220 million will be pulled from the flagship program,’’ said the Australian Solar Energy Society’s chief executive officer, John Grimes. ‘‘Taking inefficient cars off the road is a great initiative, but why would you rip the heart out of the solar program to do it?’’
..
Environment Victoria’s campaigns director, Mark Wakeham, welcomed the new standards for car emissions but said the government would pay $394 per tonne of carbon dioxide saved from the atmosphere. A basic emissions trading scheme would save a tonne of carbon for $20, he said.
 
Greenfleet welcomes any incentives to reduce transport emissions, but the experience from overseas is that 'cash for clunkers' is really an expensive form of economic stimulus to the automotive industry and is inefficient at reducing emissions. Cutting funding to the solar industry which needs a stable and supportive policy environment is the wrong approach.

 
The BP oil spill: will we miss another opportunity?
 
You might think that the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history would be a time for genuine reflection on habits of over consumption and progressive moves to more sustainable modes of transport.
 
But as we saw in the video last month, U.S. Presidents never 'miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity'. In this case it's the corn ethanol lobby that stands to benefit:
 
Slate: The blowout of BP's Macondo well has given the corn-ethanol industry yet another opportunity to push its fuel adulterant on the American consumer. And unfortunately, the Obama administration appears ready and willing to foist yet more of the corrosive, environmentally destructive, low-heat-energy fuel on motorists.
..
Yes, it's madness. And none of this even considers the effect that the ethanol rip-off is having on food supplies. Earlier this year, the Earth Policy Institute estimated that in 2009, the U.S. ethanol industry consumed 107 million tons of grain, or about 25 percent of total domestic grain production. That amount of grain, said the Institute, "was enough to feed 330 million people for one year at average world consumption levels."

BP's disaster in the Gulf of Mexico will force the offshore oil and gas industry to dramatically improve its safety procedures. That's a good thing. But if it only serves to strengthen the corn-ethanol industry, it will be a squandered opportunity, and another tragedy for the nation.

 
 
Ripping up roads

 
We often take roads for granted, but the enormous costs of building and maintaining them is starting to bite in many areas of the U.S.:
 
Wall Street Journal: Paved roads, historical emblems of American achievement, are being torn up across rural America and replaced with gravel or other rough surfaces as counties struggle with tight budgets and dwindling state and federal revenue. State money for local roads was cut in many places amid budget shortfalls.
..
In Michigan, at least 38 of the 83 counties have converted some asphalt roads to gravel in recent years. Last year, South Dakota turned at least 100 miles of asphalt road surfaces to gravel. Counties in Alabama and Pennsylvania have begun downgrading asphalt roads to cheaper chip-and-seal road, also known as "poor man's pavement." Some counties in Ohio are simply letting roads erode to gravel.
..
Rebuilding an asphalt road today is particularly expensive because the price of asphalt cement, a petroleum-based material mixed with rocks to make asphalt, has more than doubled over the past 10 years. Gravel becomes a cheaper option once an asphalt road has been neglected for so long that major rehabilitation is necessary.

 
 
Solar Impulse flies at night
 
The Australian, July 9th: A Swiss pilot has made aviation history by flying for more than 24 hours on nothing but solar power. The ultra-light Solar Impulse, flown by Andre Borschberg, 57, landed after 26 hours in the air about 4pm yesterday AEST.
 
Mr Borschberg took off from the airfield at Payerne, near Lausanne, into a clear blue sky shortly before 7am on Wednesday, local time, allowing the plane to soak up plenty of sunshine and fly in gentle loops over the Jura mountains west of the Swiss Alps.
 
The plane reached its maximum altitude of 8500m, with full power in its batteries, charged by sunlight through 12,000 cells on its wings and tail. As it grew dark, the plane descended to about 1500m, always staying within gliding range of the airfield so the pilot could land if the plane ran out of energy.

Bertrand Piccard, ballooning pioneer and psychiatrist who thought up the idea of building an aircraft to fly around the world on solar power, said he was thrilled by the flight. Mr Piccard, 52, and Mr Borschberg, a businessman and former military pilot, intend to build a second prototype that will fly the Atlantic and then, in 2013, around the world.

This is a considerable technological achievement but also provides an important lesson. A Boeing 747 carries up to 500 people at 900km/h. The Solar Impulse with a similar wingspan carries one person and cruises at 56km/h. The oil that fuels our cars, trucks and planes and which makes travel so accessible is a fabulously concentrated source of (still cheap) energy with no equivalent alternative. We should value it accordingly and use it wisely.

 
 

Throughout the media we have recently been bombarded with messages on global warming, green house gas emissions, rising ocean levels, carbon offsets and international protocols. Political leaders support various policies, suggest alternatives and try to find compromise solutions. The socio-political landscape is constantly changing and this can overshadow the key issues.

As scientists, working in healthcare, we have a responsibility to understand these issues, to take corrective action and to educate others.

Our industry, through its reliance on large scale manufacturing, complex supply chains, the utilization of vast resources, the generation of significant waste, and the employment of millions of people, consumes a large amount of energy. When this energy is obtained by the burning of fossil fuels high concentrations of carbon are released, and when this carbon reacts with oxygen, CO2 is produced.

The CO2 contributes to global warming by absorbing heat energy from the earth, trapping it and preventing its release into space, thus causing global temperatures to rise.

Industry is responding through the adoption of global environmental policies, and at the local operational level there's a lot that we, as individuals, can be doing to decrease our carbon footprint.

In our own office we have an Environmental Policy with the guiding principles of Educate, Reduce and Offset. We have adopted many initiatives (listed below) recommended by our Environmental Partner, Greenfleet, and continually review and improve our approaches. Through education everyone’s awareness increases and improvements at the local business level are easy to implement.

After the burning of fossil fuels, land clearing is the second greatest human activity that increases the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. Because trees and other plants remove CO2 through photosynthesis, the destruction of forests slows the removal of CO2, resulting in greater concentrations in the environment because there are fewer plants and trees to remove it.

Through our sponsorship of Greenfleet we donate one tree for every recruitment assignment we work on. We chose this on the basis that when candidates visit us to discuss employment opportunities, or when they attend interviews with clients, they will be using transportation (private cars or public transport) which consume fossil fuels and produce pollution and CO2.  The planting of native trees via Greenfleet absorbs this CO2 and offsets the emissions. Since we have commenced this programme we have contributed 1639 trees (http://www.greenfleet.com.au/Greenfleet_supporters/Promotional_offers/index.aspx). In other businesses the performance metrics for deciding how many trees to plant would be different eg plant 1 tree for every patient enrolled in a clinical trial, or 100 trees for every regulatory or reimbursement submission.

Since the Greenfleet program commenced in 1997, they have planted more than six million native trees on behalf of individual and business supporters. These trees are helping to revegetate around 300 degraded sites throughout Australia.

Greenfleet works to create forests in areas of environmental concern, putting back the mix of native species that would have been present in the local area prior to land clearing.  In addition to absorbing greenhouse gases, these biodiverse forests also help to: reduce salinity and erosion, improve water quality in rivers and streams, provide habitat for native wildlife, and provide windbreaks and shelter for crops and livestock.

The facts are that over the years human activity has dramatically changed the environment in which we all live. With the two main human activities increasing the amount of CO2 in the earth's atmosphere being fossil fuel burning and land clearing, adopting policies to Educate, Reduce and Offset will improve the environment in which we all live.

Tips to assist businesses decrease their environmental impact:

(Source: Greenfleet http://www.greenfleet.com.au/Global/Organisations/index.aspx)

Travel:

1. Consider alternatives to face-to-face meetings eg email, phone conversation, video-conferencing, internet-conferencing.

2. Encourage staff to travel via public transportation to work appointments. Purchase tickets in advance and keep them in a central location with timetables.

3. Travel by public transportation in other cities and countries.

4. Catch the airport bus / train between airports and cities where they operate; or share a taxi with someone.

5. Carpool to meetings.

6. Provide preferential car spots for carpoolers.

7. Provide a carpooling section on the Intranet.

8. Counteract the impact of greenhouse emissions by contributing to airline Carbon Offset programmes

9. Locate your offices near public transport hubs.

10. Encourage active forms of commuting to work eg walking, running, cycling.

Staffing and Human Resources:

1. Provide remote access so that staff can work from home.

2. Provide shared hot desks between a number of staff to reduce your physical space requirements (and therefore less lighting, heating and cooling).

3. Recruit locally to reduce the distance that staff need to travel to/from work.

4. Provide facilities (showers, change rooms, lockers) to encourage staff to work/cycle to work.

5. Promote flexible work hours so that staff don’t spend time idling in congested traffic.

6. Develop a green team for your workplace to drive environmental programmes.

7. Offer gift matching for donations to environmental charities

Water:

1. Install water efficient products in workplace kitchens, bathrooms and toilets.

2. Ensure dishwashers are only used with a full load - they use the same amount of water whether full or almost empty of dishes.

3. Analyse water use in operational processes and look for opportunities to reduce consumption or re-use water.

4. Waste hot water from industrial cooling processes can be used as a heating source for another process / workspace, which in turn cools the water.

5. Investigate options to use non-potable water (water that is not treated to drinking quality) for processes that don't need the water (or the resulting product) to be consumed.

6. Consider using the roof for rainwater collection.

Utilities:

1. Change your thermostat for Summer and Winter. Set your thermostat to 18-20°C in Winter and 26°C in Summer - and let people use clothing and fans to regulate temperature to suit their individual preferences.

2. Turn off lights when they're not needed. Install sensors so that lights only operate when needed.

3. Remove excess light bulbs to cut down on energy consumption.

4. LCD screens use less energy than old fashioned monitors.

5. Turn off computers, monitors, printers, and photocopiers overnight and when not in use for long periods during the day. Use the 'standby' settings to minimise power consumption in these items for short periods of inactivity.

6. Move office equipment away from air-conditioning thermostats. Printers, photocopiers, etc., produce heat when operating which can lead to false readings on thermostats, causing air-conditioning to work overtime.

7. Purchase accredited GreenPower. Accredited GreenPower ensures that energy sourced from wind, solar or other renewable sources is fed into the electricity grid on your behalf.

Waste:

1. Cut down. Reducing your consumption reduces both the embedded energy lost and the amount going to waste.

2. Rather than printing can you read the material off the computer screen instead.

3. Can you print on both sides of the paper?

4. Rather than printing lots of glossy brochures can you direct people to your website.

5. Monitor the amount of food you use during meetings and order less next time.

6. Repair, refill and re-use items where possible.  If you do upgrade, your older products may still be useful to a school or community group.

7. Recycle materials instead of sending them to landfill.

8. Buy recycled products - or those with some recycled content.

Buildings:

1. When considering an office relocation look for buildings with awnings, eaves, trees, shade sails to reduce the amount of summer heat and reliance on air conditioning.

2. Open windows if you can.  Natural air flow will help to cool the office and also reduce your reliance on the air conditioner.

3. Take advantage of natural light by placing desks near windows and moving meeting spaces to internal areas of the building where artificial light can be used only as needed.

4. Install timers and / or sensors for heating/lighting and air-conditioning systems, so that they are not operating at night, or over the weekend.

5. Insulate your building to prevent the transferrence of heat and cold between your building and the outside environment, thus reducing the need for artificial heating and lighting.

6. Location - Positioning your office close to the people you work with will reduce the emissions associated with transportation and freight.

Freight and Logistics:

1. Does the parcel really need to be immediately delivered (and hence an additional trip), or can it wait for a regular scheduled delivery.

2. Consider a local bicycle courier for smaller items.

3. Planning your deliveries outside of congested peak periods saves fuel.

4. Develop a multidirectional distribution system to limit empty trucks en-route.

5. Consider rail freight – it offers significant emissions savings over air-freight.

 

Through adopting these initiatives businesses will also enhance their processes, achieve operational efficiencies, reduce costs and reduce their impact on the environment.

So there's a lot we can be doing at the micro-level. We each have a responsibility to understand the issues and to do something about it. As scientists, working in healthcare, we can educate our local organizations to progressively reduce the carbon footprint through waste reduction, the use of renewable energy resources and involvement in carbon-offset programmes.

In this review of a recent Harvard Business Review article (June 2010 p.78) the qualities of high potential managers are examined. In a world-wide study of 45 companies the authors (Douglas Ready, Jay Conger and Linda Hill) found that high potential managers recognise the importance of their behaviour in achieving strong results. Just having strong results isn’t enough to be a ‘high potential’. Results of distinction need to be achieved through effectively working with other people. 

During career progression different types of expertise are required in order to achieve success. Early on, technical expertise will be recognised and rewarded. As managers become responsible for larger teams and are in roles with increasing complexity, rewards and recognition come from how they achieve results, that is, their behaviour. High potentials understand this as they work in areas requiring them to exercise influence with limited formal authority.

Being a high potential manager involves more than achieving results, mastering new areas of expertise, embracing your organisation’s culture and values, working long hours and receiving excellent reviews.

The authors discuss four X factors that differentiate High Potentials:

X Factor 1. A drive to excel:

High potentials are driven to succeed. Good, or even very good, isn’t enough. They will work very hard and they will make sacrifices in their personal lives in order to advance.

X Factor 2. A catalytic learning capability:

High potentials have a ‘catalytic learning capability’ in that they have the capacity to scan for new ideas, the cognitive capability to absorb them and the common sense to translate new learning into productive action.

X Factor 3. An enterprising spirit:

High potentials are explorers. They are always searching for productive new paths to advance their careers (eg by taking on tricky assignments; accepting new challenges; or changing departments to broaden their skill set).

X Factor 4. Dynamic sensors:

High potentials have ‘dynamic sensors’ which enable them to read situations quickly and to explore opportunities. These sensors help them decide when to pursue something or when to pull back.

These somewhat intangible factors are the difference between a high performer and a high potential. A high potential manager is driven to excel, has an enterprising spirit and the urge to find new approaches, and it is their dynamic sensors which keep them on track by ensuring that they are making the right decisions at every step.

High potentials can develop their dynamic sensors and become more attuned to their environment by taking simple measures such as listening to others carefully and observing reactions to what has been said. High potentials with fine-tuned dynamic sensors are able to read the environment and adjust their interpersonal approach accordingly. They thereby achieve results through influence rather than direct control.

As the careers of High Potentials grow they understand that while performance always counts behaviour matters more and more.

 

To be successful in the changing healthcare environment people need to demonstrate business acumen. Business acumen means having an understanding of the broader world of business. It involves being knowledgeable on current and possible future policies, practices, trends, and industry developments affecting the business and organization; having knowledge of the competition and an awareness of how strategies and tactics work in the marketplace.

Without business acumen people are not as effective. They don’t know enough about business issues in general and some of the statements they make don’t pass the business practicality test. Their suggestions are known not to work and they are unaware of that. Their contributions are limited because they don’t see the business issues as others do and do not have the understanding to participate in effective discussions.

Tips to develop business acumen:

1. Read business magazines and newspapers – Harvard Business Review, Financial Review.

2. Read business books – Borders, Co-op bookshop – general business, financial, marketing, sales techniques, customer service, operations.

3. Watch business programmes – Business Sunday, Foxtel business channels – interviews with business leaders, industry reviews.

4. Further education – evening business course at TAFE, MBA. Formal education provides a framework and a vocabulary to discuss business issues.

5. Network within your company – lunch with people in other departments – Finance, Human Resources, Marketing, Sales, Operations – expand your circle of contacts.

6. Join cross-functional teams that include people outside your area of expertise.

7. Attending conferences – Ausbiotech, Medicines Australia, ARCS, APMRG, MTAA, ASMI, ISPE and Business seminars.

I always enjoy reading the case studies in the Harvard Business Review. They’re interesting and insightful and the expert commentators present different opinions to a key question posed. In April’s edition the key question was “Should Liana go back to Orchis?”, and the case study dealt with the situation where an ex-employee was contacted by her previous CEO and asked to return to her old company, within a more senior role.

After reviewing the scenario, one commentator, Claudio Fernandez-Araoz advised that:

1. Money and title are poor reasons for taking any position.
2. A job should have the right content so that the work itself becomes the main motivator.
3. A job should also involve the right people.
4. A job should open up valuable opportunities to acquire new credentials and skills.

Taking into account these points he believes that Liana shouldn’t take the job. Instead she should take the opportunity to clarify her own values, priorities and strengths and generate alternative career options, rather than deciding between her current position and the one being offered at her old company.

Research shows that conducting proactive, thoughtful searches will result in the best jobs (in terms of satisfaction, success, stability and income) rather than jumping at whatever lands in one’s lap.

The other commentator, Rosario Vaina, highlights that when an ex-employee returns to their previous company they bring the advantages of an established network and insider knowledge. They also bring in new ideas and new ways of doing things. Compared with other new hires they understand the culture and the politics and hence have a better understanding of what will work and what won’t.

So, when should ex-employees return to their old company?

Unexpected phone calls and chance encounters at conferences with ex-bosses presenting with attractive jobs can be exciting. Rather than taking the first offer, use it as an opportunity to more fully consider your career options. Look at what else is around and think about what you really want from your next role. Through this process you will be able to consider the attributes of your current role and company, and be able to compare it with your ex-company and their current offer. Careful planning, sound judgment and advice from professionals will ensure you make the best decision.

Staff turnover can be disruptive, expensive and affect team morale. You have spent time recruiting committed and talented employees and your department cannot afford to lose them. So how can you keep them?

Employees leave for many reasons, and it is generally not because they want more money or better benefits. Importantly, employers can control why employees leave, as this article will demonstrate.

Essentially your relationship with your employees is key to their satisfaction and their decisions to stay or leave. A good boss who cares about keeping good people will help them find what they want from their organisation. You can do this by talking with them and listening and by discussing the issues that are most pertinent to them as individuals.

So, what should managers do to keep their staff?

1. Make their jobs interesting

Employees need opportunities for personal challenge and growth. If good workers find out that they are no longer receiving these necessities then they may decide that they have outgrown the company and consider leaving. Their current job may pay well, be enjoyable, provide security and attractive benefits and it may be an excellent department doing important work. However the day-to-day tasks may not provide the stimulation or sense of achievement that make an employee want to stay. The simplest way to enrich jobs for individuals is to ask them questions such as:

• In what ways would you like your job changed?
• In what areas would you like increased responsibility?
• What skills do you have that you are currently not using?

The manager's job is to help employees evaluate their jobs and discover ideas for enrichment. These discussions need to be collaborative with an understanding that the manager doesn't need to have all the answers but can facilitate the process.

Managers therefore need to focus on job enrichment for their employees if they wish to retain their services and this just doesn't mean "fascinating work and more money". This can be achieved through a variety of ways including rotating assignments; having employees visit more customers so that they can obtain first-hand experience and involving employees in the decisions that impact on their work.

A major cause of turnover is workplace boredom. Job enrichment is not difficult, but it does require staying alert to opportunities for all your employees and working with them to enrich their jobs.

2. Support their career goals

Discuss your employee's futures, openly and frequently. Involve them as you discuss their abilities, choices and ideas. Too many managers avoid career conversations. Employee's don't expect you to have all the answers, but they do want you to listen to them and to offer your perspective. They will also benefit from specific feedback with examples of their performance and how it relates to their future goals.

Take time out to have serious and in-depth discussions about how the industry will be changing over the next 2-5 years and what skills your staff will need to compete for roles in the new environment. For instance, should they be doing marketing or business studies, a qualification in health economics, gaining exposure to new therapeutic areas or undertaking overseas assignments. Career development of staff is a responsibility for all managers and should be undertaken in a considered and structured manner.

3. Share information with them

Make your employees feel part of the organisation by telling them what is happening. If you don't tell them what is happening they will make it up together with all the associated inaccuracies. Information sharing is important at all times but critical during periods of change (downsizing, mergers and acquisitions). If employees are worried about events and don't have sufficient information they are likely to worry about their job security and update their resumes.

Managers must give information as early and as honestly as possible and this will make employees feel important and valued. These employees are likely to have insight into the specific problems and may be able to offer solutions.

The role of the manager is also to help employees look into the future, by providing information that helps with the employee's development and career advancement. Employees want to know about the company's direction and goals, the industry's future and the emerging trends that may affect career possibilities. Employees with this information will feel more confident in their future within the company.

4. Get them connected

Employees leave when they don't feel connected with others in the organisation. Employees need groups of colleagues who can support them, offer information or help, or just listen to them. Connections are a major reason why people stay with a company. Managers need to give attention to strengthening the bonds between people in their team and others within the organisation. Employees need to link with others to get their jobs done effectively. Managers need to be asking their staff 'who else in the company do you need to be liaising with to optimise your role?'

Relationships with others will help your employees get their work done and will give them insights to enhance their productivity. As employees are linked to other functions within the company their knowledge and skills will grow and they are more likely to stay.

5. Respect them

Even if employees are well paid and have opportunities to learn and grow, if they don't like their bosses they will leave.
It is unacceptable for managers to exhibit any of the following behaviours: acting in an arrogant or condescending manner; intimidating staff; slamming doors; pounding tables; swearing; behaving rudely; showing disrespect; being sexist, bigoted; using inappropriate humour; humiliating and embarrassing others; deliberately ignoring or isolating some people…and the list goes on.

If you do exhibit any of the above behaviours then think about the implications of your behaviour on your staff. Are you causing good people to leave? What can you do to improve your interpersonal skills?

The same applies to what managers should expect from their staff. To ensure the integrity of the functioning team managers need staff who respect each other and respect the contribution that each can make.

So, is turnover an issue? Employees generally don't want to leave for more money or better benefits. However the other reasons that may make them consider their options are within the control of the organisation. It is not always possible to cater for every individual request, however with frequent and open communication employees are more likely to understand and appreciate the constraints.

2010 has begun and everyone is back at work. They’re talking about how tough 2009 was and how much better 2010 will be. They’re refreshed and motivated, upbeat and optimistic. The challenge now for managers is to maintain this motivation.

That’s why I found an article in the latest Harvard Business Review (“What Really Motivates Workers” HBR Jan-Feb 2010, p.44) highly relevant.

In a research survey 600 managers were asked to rank the impact on employee motivation of five workplace factors: recognition for good work; incentives; interpersonal support; support for making progress and clear goals. These managers rated “recognition for good work” (either given publicly or privately) as number one.

However the managers were wrong.

The authors (Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer) had conducted extensive additional research tracking the day-to-day activities, emotions and motivation levels of hundreds of knowledge workers and found out that the top motivator of performance was ‘progress’. Interestingly this was the factor that survey participants ranked last.

On days when workers feel they’re making progress in their jobs, or when they receive the support to help them overcome obstacles, their emotions are positive and they are motivated to succeed. On days when they’re encountering roadblocks to meaningful accomplishment their moods and motivation are lowest. It was noted that even making incremental progress in one’s work is more frequently associated with positive emotions and high motivation than any other workday event. Therefore the key to motivation is largely within the control of managers.

So, what can you do?

Managers can provide resources; facilitate introductions; offer tips, techniques and training on work flow planning; provide hands-on coaching;  and prevent irrelevant or unreasonable demands – all to ensure that employees are progressing forward in their daily tasks and not encountering obstacles or setbacks. As a manager, make sure that your people’s efforts are properly supported and you will be rewarded with a highly motivated workforce.

2010 is already shaping up to be a very busy year. In 2009 many companies placed roles on-hold, pending a review of business needs and in line with the changing economic conditions. Now that the economy is improving these roles are no longer on-hold and clients are moving very quickly to fill them with top talent. As such, we are experiencing the beginning of a new ‘War for Talent’. We’ve seen this before, about 3 years ago, when there were more jobs than candidates, and we’re now seeing it again as the economy takes off. For business’ today, the most important resource is talent, and this is also the resource that will be in short supply as we move into 2010.

In candidate tight markets some companies try a range of tactics to entice candidates. Some offer inflated salaries and attractive sign-on bonuses to secure the talent. However talented candidates seek a lot more than just money. They know that companies generally offer fair compensation and for them the monetary compensation is not that important. Talented employees seek ‘enrichment’ packages. They want to be professionally, intellectually and emotionally enriched. They seek new positions which will offer them professional development, intellectual stimulation and cultures aligned to their own values so that they can emotionally thrive.

In winning the War for Talent managers need to appreciate the significance of the interview process. For the available candidates there are many roles to choose from. Talented candidates expect a lot from the moment they make first contact. They expect a highly professional encounter. This means that they expect the interviewing manager to be on time, to be courteous, well–prepared and knowledgeable. In this day it seems unusual, however we regularly hear stories where the interviewing manager has left them waiting too long, hasn’t prepared for the interview, asks inappropriate questions, can’t interview properly, takes phone calls, appears distracted, isn’t knowledgeable about the role, uses inappropriate humour …and the list goes on. Talented candidates join companies with talented leaders. If these behaviours are witnessed by top talent they do not go back for another interview nor do they accept any role that may be offered.

Talented candidates expect a lot from the interview. They want a two-way engaging conversation where both parties can explore their mutual interests. The role of the hiring manager is to determine if the candidate is suitable for the role, and equally the candidate needs to ascertain whether this is the company for them. In determining whether the current role is aligned to the candidate’s true strengths and abilities the hiring manager needs to ask a series of probing questions. One particularly effective technique is to ask the candidate about their current role and ask them: “How would they have liked their job to have been changed?”; “What areas would they have sought increased responsibility?” and “What skills do they have that they were not using?”. The answers to these questions will then allow the manager to determine if there is alignment between the candidate’s motivation and ability and what the current role can offer. By taking this approach the interviewing manager can evaluate the candidate’s skill set and to discover ideas for enrichment. This approach also sends out a positive message to the candidate and highlights that the manager is interested in enriching the future employee. Quality candidates are always seeking roles to enrich their skill set.

At the interview stage it is also necessary to discuss the candidate’s future within the company. Again ask probing questions about their abilities and ideas. Too many interviewing managers either avoid career conversations or over-promise and then later under-deliver. Candidates want to have the opportunity to frankly discuss their aspirations so that there is no future mis-match between their goals and the company’s capacity to deliver. Candidates need to clearly understand the career path and the specific competencies required to advance. They benefit from hearing stories of other employees who have been with the company for several years and who have advanced their own careers. In order to secure top talent, it is therefore necessary for interviewing managers to take the time to have an in-depth discussion about how the company will be changing over the next 2-5 years and the skills required to compete for roles in the new environment.

It’s also important to make the candidate already feel part of your company by telling them what is happening, the issues you are facing, and the challenges and opportunities ahead. If you don’t openly discuss these issues and control these messages the candidate will conduct their own research from past employees or unrelated parties and come to their own, often inaccurate, conclusions. Candidates want to know about the company’s direction and goals, and the emerging issues that may affect career possibilities. Candidates with this information will feel more confident in their future within the company.

Top candidates are attracted to companies who clearly differentiate themselves in the marketplace and these top companies clearly communicate their value proposition in order to secure the talent. The messages must convince talented professionals that your jobs represent the best opportunities for them.
In formulating a differentiated position manager’s need to ask themselves:
1. Why would a talented person choose to work here?
2. What is our company’s reputation in the candidate marketplace?
3. What would convince a candidate to join our company if they had a similar offer from another company?
4. Compared to other companies what is the competitive advantage of our company?
5.  What motivates our people?
6.  What values do our people have?

Talent is a critical driver of company performance and competitive advantage.
Quality employees generally don’t join for more money or better benefits. They do join for packages of enrichment and opportunity. Managers therefore need to focus on job enrichment to attract quality candidates in 2010’s War for Talent and these conversations need to start during the interview process.

There’s a lot of research that shows that a nap at work increases productivity (The Simplest Way to Reboot Your Brain by Robert Stickgold, HBR Oct 2009, p 36, http://hbr.harvardbusiness.org/web/2009/health/simplest-way-to-reboot-your-brain)

In our knowledge-based economy which depends on sharp minds, a few minutes of shut-eye can be good for business. It’s known that sleep boosts memory and that a nap with REM sleep improves people’s ability to integrate unassociated information for creative problem solving. Important memory processing occurs as you’re falling asleep. The brain appears to be “tagging” memories of unresolved problems for subsequent processing.

Some organizations have implemented a pro-napping policy. They have nap rooms and nap pods.

So, what do you think? What would you do if you saw a staff members asleep at their desk?

Personally, I won’t be installing sleep pods in my company. I take a more holistic approach regarding work/life balance. I advise people to come to work to work, come refreshed and motivated, sleep well, eat well, exercise, put everything into perspective, seek support, don’t burn out and be consistent and balanced in their approach.

What do you do to encourage your staff to remain refreshed throughout the day?

Following on from the previous article “How do you add value as a leader?” we are going to focus on how a leader should be spending their time.

Leadership is time-intensive. There’s not enough time to do everything and an effective leader must prioritise.

Patrick McKenna and David Maister (First Among Equals. 2002. The Free Press) have listed their top tips.

1. Spend unscheduled, informal time with individual people, serving as coach and helping them develop themselves.
2. Be active in the development of junior people by suggesting new assignments so that they can build their skills.
3. Connect with customers, grow relationships and monitor customer satisfaction.
4. Help team members differentiate themselves in ways that clients recognize and value.
5. Help your people stay current with the trends affecting the industry.
6. Monitor performance and results with group members and discuss results with them.
7. Devise methodologies to capture and share knowledge.
8. Help your group to explore new and innovative ways of using technology to better deliver services and reduce costs.
9. Spend time recruiting, interviewing and attracting new staff members.
10. Spend time following up and actively helping colleagues execute their planned activities..
11. Initiate and plan regular meetings to collectively plan activities and initiatives.
12. Conduct formal performance appraisals with senior people.
13. Conduct counseling sessions with people on the basis of these performance appraisals.
14. Celebrate individual and team achievements – both the minor wins and the major successes.

There are many activities a leader feels that they should be spending time on, however to be truly effective it's important to prioritise and the above list provides guidance.