HR Leader Podcast Network

Dr Dominic McLoughlin is a people management specialist with a keen interest in trust in organisations. He spoke with The HR Leader about his transition from industrial relations to HR, his academic research, and knowledge sharing in the workplace. Dr McLoughlin shared how his experience working in industrial relations revealed the reactive side of HR, and that his later work ‘on the other side’ has been more proactive HR. He explained how trust and knowledge sharing intersect, with trust being essential to employees feeling like they can try things, learn from them, and grow – even if those things aren’t always a success. The conversation covered some ideas that HR leaders can use to promote both trust and knowledge sharing in their workplaces, as well as tips for those wanting to make virtual working a success.  Dr McLoughlin highlighted some of the pitfalls of virtual work environments, including missing out on casual ‘over the desk’ conversations and a lack of human connection when people don’t use the video function for team video calls. He explained that being mindful of only inviting those who need to be at a meeting might help improve meeting engagement and success, musing that the virtual meeting of the future might well include the use of holograms. Dr McLoughlin kindly provided the following references: Dirks and Ferrin (2002): https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2002-15406-001 Mcloughlin (2014): https://www.amazon.com/Knowledge-Worker-Trust-Within-Organisations-ebook/dp/B00TQE7WMA  McLoughlin (2022): https://www.amazon.com.au/Better-Manager-Five-Minutes-Day-ebook/dp/B0BHBW589B/

Justine Figo is an HR director, author and executive coach. She spoke with The HR Leader about how HR has changed over her career, the exciting network of senior HR professionals that she’s created, and what she’d love to see from HR in the future. Ms Figo related anecdotes about being part of the family business as a child and how she learnt very early about the important role people play in an organisation’s success. Sharing her experience as a law graduate and then moving into the HR field, Ms Figo commented on how important those early career experiences were. As an HR director working with a variety of clients, Ms Figo discussed some of the common concerns she’s seeing in the market, with talent shortages top of the list. The conversation also delved into the role of tech in modern HR and how she’d like to see HR progress in the workplace transformation arena. Ms Figo shared with The HR Leader information about the HR network she started pre-COVID-19, how everyone was able to support each other as the pandemic changed how people work, and why the network has been a success. To find out if you're eligible for membership of the network, you can email hello@justinefigo.com And you can find Ms Figo’s books at: https://justinefigo.com/books/

Kellie-Ann McDade, partner at Baker McKenzie, spoke with The HR Leader about what employers should be mindful of following the return to work after COVID-19 lockdowns, including considerations around letting employees work out of the employer's home state.  Ms McDade touched on some of the WH&S concerns that employers should be aware of, including obligations they still need to fulfil, regardless of where the worker ‘works’, and why psychological safety is top of the priority list. The conversation also delved into work/life balance and some of the biggest challenges right now regarding written and unwritten reward obligations. For example, misuse of annualised salaries and the risks involved in not paying enough to avoid minimum award requirements. Note from the editor: Please note that this article and podcast has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not to be construed as advice (legal or otherwise).

From high school teacher to positive psychology coach, Michelle Falzon shared her unique insights around the trauma that workforces have undergone due to COVID-19. She also spoke about why caution should be exercised regarding hybrid working and the challenges she’s seeing in the HR market right now. Whether the impact of COVID-19 has been profound or minimal for an individual, everyone has experienced the negative repercussions of the pandemic to one degree or another. Ms Falzon spoke to The HR Leader about what businesses should be mindful of around COVID-19 trauma. Hybrid working has been a key trend to emerge from the COVID-19 lockdowns. Ms Falzon shared her concerns about a lack of social interaction resulting from working from home, noting that the convenience of being at home might come with some unwanted consequences as a result of not being in the office mixing with people. Ms Falzon kindly provided the following link for listeners who’d like to learn more about the ‘heliotropic effect’: https://leadchangegroup.com/positively-energizing-leaders-are-heliotropic/ Note from the editor: if you’re currently experiencing any of the issues we’ve discussed in this podcast and would like to reach out for help, you may wish to contact Lifeline: www.lifeline.org.au

The CEO and MD for auticon in Australia and New Zealand, Bodo Mann, joined The HR Leader to share auticon’s story – a business with 70 per cent of its workforce on the autism spectrum. Mr Mann explained that auticon isn’t a charity, even though its mission might be similar to charities that support neurodiverse workers. He shared what he feels Australia can learn from auticon’s work overseas, as well as how their approach to hiring supports people with autism. A vital part of auticon’s work is helping their people find success in their current and future work, and Mr Mann explained how they facilitate this. Businesses and candidates can find out more about working with auticon here (https://auticon.com.au/). auticon kindly shared the below references following the podcast: Autism and employment in Australia (https://www.amaze.org.au/creating-change/research/employment/#:~:text=In%20Australia%2C%20the%20unemployment%20rate,rate%20of%20people%20without%20disability) 4430.0 - Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings, 2015 (https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4430.0Main%20Features752015) states: “The unemployment rate for people with autism spectrum disorders was 31.6%, more than three times the rate for people with disability (10.0%) and almost six times the rate of people without disability (5.3%).” Employment program doubles employment for autistic youth (https://www.autismspeaks.org/science-news/employment-program-doubles-employment-autistic-youth) Auticon impact report 2021 (https://auticon.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/auticon-Impact-Report-2021-English-1.pdf) Note from the editor: Please note that some statistics may have been slightly misquoted in the podcast recording.

Founder and CEO of Enboarder, Brent Pearson, joined The HR Leader to talk about why they’re putting human connection at the heart of how they work as a business, as well as incorporating this into their product offering. Mr Pearson shared the origin story of Enboarder, relating the research he discovered that evidenced how critical onboarding is to employee retention. He shared this video for podcast listeners: Professor Dan Cable explains the Wipro research. Explaining his views on human connection as both a CEO and people leader as well as via his role as a product leader, Mr Pearson spoke about the challenges businesses face in creating human connections in a new hybrid-working world.  He revealed insights into Enboarder’s upcoming product features that will allow employees to better connect with each other, as well as how Enboarder will enhance workplace learning via the same principles. Mr Pearson concluded by sharing his thoughts on where the working world is heading, musing that if a recession occurs, the struggle finding talent following that is only going to increase. He divulged what he thinks will be the key attribute of organisations that thrive in a post-recession talent war.

AVL Wines people and culture director, Tash Cahill, joined The HR Leader to talk about how she has achieved a senior HR role so quickly in her career, the support she’s received to help her achieve success, and how she’s crafted her role so HR at AVL Wines can have the most impact. Ms Cahill knew that she wanted a career in HR, rather than falling into it like many in the profession. This gave her a bit of a head start in the industry. She also credits the support AVL Wines has given her in stepping up into a senior role as integral to her success. As a younger leader, Ms Cahill shared her perspective with The HR Leader on why it’s advantageous for a business to have both older and younger professionals in leadership roles, with the different perspectives of both benefiting a business.

Leroy Wilkinson-Maher, the managing director and founder of Dhiira, sat down with The HR Leader to discuss what organisations can do to increase inclusion and equitability for Aboriginal people. In this second part of the conversation, Mr Wilkinson-Maher provided some insights for organisations looking to better understand the history of Aboriginal people, what positive changes businesses can support, and the role of HR in driving change that helps Aboriginal people.

The head of HR at Haleon ANZ, Abby Krause, joined The HR Leader to talk about the organisation’s rebrand, how they’ve designed their offices to reflect the changing needs of their workforce, and how DEI has been considered throughout that journey. Haleon ANZ includes well-known brands from Sensodyne and Voltaren through to Panadol, Centrum, and ChapStick. Ms Krause shared how they were able to draw on insights from their extensive leadership team to shape the culture for Haleon ANZ. She also spoke about her interest in creating inclusive spaces for people, citing examples of how their new offices accommodate accessibility, parental, and religious needs. Ms Krause concluded the podcast discussion with tips and insights that other organisations can consider to make their workspaces hybrid-working friendly. She shared that their approach is to follow a philosophy rather than a policy, enabling them to be flexible around different people’s needs.

Niall O’Rourke, partner at Sharp and Carter, spoke with The HR Leader about what the recruitment firm does to keep wellbeing front and centre. Sharp and Carter’s website calls out their ‘culture of uncommon care’. Mr O’Rourke described how this is reflected in the business, including assigning a founding member of their firm to look after the wellbeing of employees. Mr O’Rourke shared with The HR Leader why the firm rewards all of their employees, understanding that every role contributes to the commercial success of the business.  He also spoke about what being an ‘ethical recruiter’ entails, relating that if you wouldn’t place your family member in a position, why place a candidate in that role? As Mr O’Rourke summed up, they treat both clients and candidates as customers – a candidate sees first hand the level of detail they go into to make a placement, which helps inform them as a client what the process looks like client-side.