HR Leader Podcast Network

James McIlvena, LHH Australia and New Zealand’s managing director, talked to The HR Leader for this podcast in partnership with LHH. Examining the LHH Global Workforce of the Future Report, the discussion ranged from skills to salary conversations, career development and more. Mr McIlvena spoke about what LHH’s findings revealed regarding skills, employee demand for career progression, and why new tech like AI is driving human workers to maintain relevance. It’s rare for an organisation and its employees to agree that both sides feel salary levels are spot on, but Mr McIlvena shared some of the ways businesses can mitigate this disconnect. Diving into the phenomenon of “quitfluencers”, the podcast also discussed what organisations could do to stem the tide if one employee’s decision to leave sparks others to also consider their options. And the conversation wouldn’t have been complete without delving into worker wellbeing. Mr McIlvena did this through a lens of understanding what businesses can do to encourage their people to take regular breaks. For listeners who’d like to read more about the LHH Global Workforce of the Future Report, please click here: https://info.lhh.com/ANZ/HRL-CTM-global-workforce-of-the-future-2023

The Equinix Foundation is committed to digital inclusion. Sujata Narayan, its director, and Bruce Owen, its president, joined The HR Leader to share what the foundation is all about and examples of some of the great initiatives the team is involved with worldwide. Diversity is a word that comes up a lot when talking about the foundation, and it’s apt with both Equinix employees and people from other organisations supporting the foundation’s work. The foundation is also adamant about being part of the places where they operate, with the focus in each region shifting as required to meet the needs of that area. Ms Narayan shared insight into the work the foundation is doing in India to help women achieve digital parity when it comes to learning, as well as efforts in the US to bridge cultural and racial divides. Mr Owen spoke about a growth area of the foundation, which is to provide more support to ageing workers when it comes to digital inclusion. Any discussion about the foundation’s work would be incomplete without covering the importance of DEI and belonging and why it’s central to what the foundation is doing – a lack of digital inclusion has many knock-on effects for people. Mr Owen concluded that they don’t pretend to have all the answers at the foundation, but they’re committed to being a part of the solution.

Subhashree Das shared with The HR Leader her experience as an HR professional moving from India to Australia, looking for work opportunities. Ms Das is now a client services officer in the contract management team at Konica Minolta, but her journey finding work in Australia was not easy. Ms Das talked through some of the big names she’d worked with in India, organisations that any Australian recruiter would recognise. However, it was still an uphill battle for her to secure a position in Australia due to the common bias for ‘local experience’. Ms Das explained for listeners what recruiters are overlooking when they have a blinkered view valuing ‘local’ above all else. Being more open to a diverse range of backgrounds is an asset for businesses according to Ms Das, pointing out how advantageous it is when organisations have either internal or external (or both) clients from a variety of cultures and countries. She also reminded listeners about all the soft or human skills that overseas applicants bring with them. For anyone new to Australia looking for their first position here, Ms Das shared some tips, including focussing on continual learning, gaining local qualifications where possible. Ms Das was assisted in finding work in Australia by atWork Australia. You can find out more about them here: https://www.atworkaustralia.com.au

Nintex’s vice-president for APAC, Christian Lucarelli, sat down with The HR Leader to share insights into his career that started in HR, moved into HR tech, and up to his current role with Nintex today. He noted that the skills he learnt in HR are now invaluable in managing and leading people. Mr Lucarelli talked about why technology that captures business processes and knowledge is critical for organisations, citing creating ‘centres of excellence’ as one of the ways Nintex helps its customers. Looking at the hurdles HR is facing today and into the future, Mr Lucarelli talked about why HR tech like Nintex needs to be ‘people-centric’, getting people away from spreadsheets and using technology to automate work where possible.

Aaron Goonrey is a partner at Lander & Rogers and specialises in workplace relations and safety. He spoke with The HR Leader on 24 November 2022 about some of the DEI issues Australian workplaces should be aware of. Looking at both current and predicted DEI challenges, Mr Goonrey shared his thoughts on the barriers some organisations face in embracing DEI.  The podcast conversation also covered Australia’s seeming preoccupation with only one area of DEI: gender, with Mr Goonrey stating: “I think in some regards, in Australia that is, we’re a little bit behind what diversity, equity and inclusion means broadly. With that said, I think we get fixated on female representation or gender representation, broadly speaking because women represent 50 per cent of the population, so have greater representation and visibility as compared with other minority groups.” He added: “So when you look at gender and women, their representation is going to be critical in discussions about diversity, equity and inclusion. But we do have that preoccupation I think because we’re a little bit behind the game when it comes to that.” Mr Goonrey also shared what he thinks a “truly inclusive organisation” is and why he’s personally very interested in DEI.  “I’ve got a passion around it because I think that everyone, regardless of who you are, or where you come from ... I have a passion that those people, particularly when we’re talking about our minorities, should feel safe and confident to bring their authentic self to work and to be assured that they will be treated equally among their co-workers and by their managers,” said Mr Goonrey.

From aircraft maintenance engineer to HR professional, Adam Hill brings a unique perspective to HR. Mr Hill joined The HR Leader on 22 November 2022 to discuss how his background in aircraft maintenance engineering has been advantageous to his current HR role. Delving into the skills that have translated from his prior work to HR, Mr Hill’s career change is inspiring for those looking for a door into HR in 2023. His story is also relevant for anyone seeking talent and needing to think differently about who’s appropriate in order to open up talent pools. The podcast conversation culminated in Mr Hill’s insights on the top issues facing HR with an eye on the new year.

The co-founder of The Wellbeing Lab, Dr Michelle McQuaid, joined The HR Leader to talk about workplace wellbeing and positive psychology. Dr McQuaid explained why she has a particular interest in wellbeing at work, what wellbeing champions are, and the connection between data and wellbeing to measure success. She also dived into what the phrase ‘positive psychology’ means to her. The podcast conversation concluded with Dr McQuaid sharing insights into her work with business leaders. Dr McQuaid has kindly provided the below reference for podcast listeners: https://www.michellemcquaid.com/research/

The general manager for TQSolutions, Nadine O’Regan, spoke with The HR Leader this week about talent: what to expect in 2023, industries of concern, ideas for nurturing leadership, and more. Making sure they have the right talent down the track is an important consideration for organisations. Ms O’Regan spoke about what businesses might anticipate in terms of talent next year and her thoughts on what the recent federal budget might mean for workers. It was clear from the discussion that some industries are particularly struggling right now. Ms O’Regan discussed areas where skills are really tight, and the knock-on effect this has for realising goals like achieving more childcare to level up female and male participation in the workforce. Ms O’Regan has kindly provided the following references for this podcast episode: https://www.nationalskillscommission.gov.au/publications/skills-priority-list-key-findings https://www.listcorp.com/asx/edu/edu-holdings-limited/news/ceo-address-to-annual-general-meeting-2706679.html https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-18/aged-care-sector-welcomes-pacific-workers-need-35000-more-a-year/101344072 https://www.ceda.com.au/NewsAndResources/MediaReleases/Health-Ageing/Australias-aged-care-crisis-escalates-staff-short https://dartlindsley.com/ https://joshbersin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/TA-22_04-The-Definitive-Guide-to-Recruiting-ExecSum.pdf

Karen Loon spoke with The HR Leader about cultural diversity and attracting talent to Australia from overseas. Ms Loon shared what it was like for her returning to Australia after working overseas. She talked about her passion for cultural diversity, and ideas for attracting candidates to Australia from other countries. The podcast conversation on 28 October also covered how organisational culture can negatively impact the experience of overseas workers or people with varying cultural backgrounds. Ms Loon kindly shared the following book for reference with The HR Leader listeners: Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling: Career Strategies for Asians, Jane Hyun

Jessica Hickman, the author of The Upstander Leader and founder and director of Bullyology, shared with The HR Leader what it’s been like to move to and work in Orange, NSW. She also shared what she’d like leaders to know about bullying in the workplace and what it means to be an ‘upstander’. Ms Hickman talked about what it’s like to work on business culture in regional NSW, noting: “One of the biggest things I found moving to regional New South Wales, and I do a lot of work across the states regionally now, is there seems to be old-school mindsets and behaviours.” She added that she’s “Working with organisations where people have been leaders for 30, even 40 years, and looking at some of the big picture trends that are affecting leaders and workplace culture at the moment.” Explaining to The HR Leader listeners what the ‘bystander effect’ is, Ms Hickman said that it refers to: “As human beings, when things get hard, challenging or quite toxic and difficult, our natural instinct and desire is to diffuse responsibility.” Ms Hickman then shared her thoughts on ‘upstander cultures’ which people can read about more in her book, The Upstander Leader.  The podcast conversation concludes with Ms Hickman’s vision for her work over the next five years, focusing on what she terms ‘the upstanding generation’. For more information about Ms Hickman’s work around bullying in the workplace, you can visit https://bullyology.com/ Note from the editor: If you’re currently experiencing any of the issues discussed in this podcast episode and would like to reach out for help, you may wish to contact Lifeline: www.lifeline.org.au