The use of technologies such as (Human resource management software), LMS solutions (Learning management systems), employee engagement & feedback tools and performance management solutions can be powerful tools in reducing employee turnover and creating a more positive work environment. Let’s take a look at how these technologies can help improve employee retention.

Using Technology to Improve Job Satisfaction
One of the main reasons why people leave their jobs is because they are unhappy or unfulfilled in some way. To combat this, businesses should consider implementing technologies that will make their employees’ lives easier.

This includes tools like automation software that can assist with tedious tasks such as data entry, or communication platforms that allow teams to stay connected even when they are working remotely. By leveraging technology, businesses can free up their employees’ time so that they can focus on more meaningful tasks that give them job satisfaction.

Walmart, a well known retail brand has been , resulting in improved efficiency and reduced costs across the board. The company uses robots to automate tasks such as inventory management, reducing the need for manual labour and reducing the risk of errors.

Similarly, DHL, a global logistics company, has been using automation technology to . The company uses robots to sort packages, reducing the need for manual labour, and increasing speed and efficiency.

In addition to this, using solutions that allow organisations to gather employee feedback and track employee engagement levels in real-time can help them get a pulse of their workforce in an ongoing manner. This information can be used to identify areas of improvement and make changes that can help to reduce employee turnover.

Technology for Professional Development
Another factor that contributes to employee turnover is the lack of professional development opportunities. Employees want to feel like they have room to grow within the organisation and reach their career goals.

Businesses should consider investing in technologies such as online learning platforms or mentorship programs that provide employees with access to training opportunities and resources for developing their skill sets.

This will help ensure that employees have the necessary skills for the current job market, which will increase job satisfaction and reduce turnover rates.

The Body Shop, which is a well-known global retail chain in the cosmetics and beauty business, has used an LMS platform to to help them serve their customers better by equipping their employees with the latest and greatest in the beauty industry.

Communication Platforms
Finally, it is important for businesses to invest in communication platforms so that all team members can stay connected regardless of where they are located or what time zone they are in.

This will allow teams to build better relationships with one another and collaborate on projects more effectively without having to worry about geographic barriers or time differences getting in the way. Having access to communication platforms also encourages open dialogue amongst team members which can lead to improved morale and motivation levels among employees, resulting in reduced turnover rates.

Several major tech companies have reported increased productivity & efficiency and improved collaboration & communication within teams and the company overall as a result of adopting the use of online communication platforms.

Employee retention is an important issue for any business; having high turnover rates can be costly and disruptive to productivity levels within an organisation.

Fortunately, businesses now have access to various types of technology that can help reduce employee turnover rates by improving job satisfaction levels, providing professional development opportunities, and encouraging open communication between team members regardless of location or time zone difference.

Investing in these technologies will help create a more positive work environment which should result in improved employee retention levels over time.

The post Leveraging Technology to Reduce Employee Turnover appeared first on 51����Australia & New Zealand News Center.

We live in an age awash with , mental health days, and modern benefits like which all revolve around the idea that it is important to recognise employee well-being for a variety of reasons. But what does Robotics Automation have to do with employee well-being? In some ways it seems like organisations are interested in the well-being of robots more than people. And aren’t these BOTS just here to take away our jobs?

“its is about enhancing the experience and putting people where it matters, so automation is highly used”

In a nutshell RPA, when done correctly, can remove the need for some employees to engage in tasks that are largely repetitive but perhaps high value. By doing this, these employees can instead focus on other, higher value tasks that more fully use their skill set. I was very privileged recently to meet with Tammy Ryder, General Manager of People and Culture Central for Coles and discuss this topic with her.

I was interested in her view on this topic as she runs Coles HR Shared Services as well as People and Culture Digital Transformation. She was deeply involved in the rollout of , integrated with for Talent Acquisition where much of the RPA solutions implemented were used. As part of that project Tammy implemented RPA in the form of several BOTS to close some gaps and bring greater efficiency to the whole process. In discussing this topic, she said that one of her team’s key learnings was “… it is about enhancing the experience and putting people where it matters, so automation is highly used”.

Tammy mentioned that early on there was a misconception at Coles that RPA automation would take away jobs or replace people. Tammy and her team were careful to select automated tasks that were important to the business because they are related to critical processes like pay or hiring but were also highly repetitive.

These choices meant that these workers could use the time that automation frees up to instead train team members, interact with customers and other higher value tasks for example, however the BOTs were also providing a valuable service. She said “[Coles employees] want to do worthwhile work, they want to do work that makes them feel that it has real purpose and meaning behind it.”

“83% [of Australian consumers] are prepared to pay more money for products or services that enhance their feelings of well-being”

While well-being itself as a concept is a hot topic in HR circles these days, trying to quantify the business benefits of well-being can be challenging for HR professionals. Tammy mentioned that when meeting with the executive board, they were, not surprisingly, interested in facts and figures more than feelings.

So how does an HR executive get funding or support for programs like this that support well-being?

We discussed what metric could be used when proposing one of the benefits of RPA as being related to employee well-being. At present there isn’t any such industry metric and it is challenging to articulate the benefits in numbers, but she was optimistic that over time this kind of metric could be developed and socialised, especially given the strong support for well-being and well-being programs at Coles like . A recent Australian showed that “83% are prepared to pay more money for products or services that enhance their feelings of well-being”, so the desire for support of well-being programs is real.

I asked Tammy what were some of the challenges in implementing effective RPA? She said there were challenges around understanding how the technology works of course, but an unexpected challenge was the misperception and stigmatism among employees that “BOTS are going to take over the world” and people would lose their jobs.

Therefore, being clear that, in reality, the aim was to have “people where it matters” so that employees could instead focus on high value work was key for success. Tammy’s advice was to carefully examine if the proposed RPA solution had any measurable benefit, not just automation for the sake of automation. She said that in the end her team got very proficient at looking for tasks that had a clear decision tree, and minimal human centric intervention.

In conclusion, RPA can be a strong contributor to employee well-being by , allowing employees to focus on high value work and potentially reducing employee turnover, which is a useful metric to justify such a program. The key, as always, is not to assume that any given automation is a benefit just because it automates something. Additionally, leaders need to be sensitive to employee’s perception that BOTS are here to take away their jobs.

With the right discussions, and communication, RPA can be a benefit to the organisation, to employees and even to customer’s well-being. I, for one, embrace the arrival of our robot friends and look forward to less drudgery.

The post What does Robotics have to do with Employee Well-Being? appeared first on 51����Australia & New Zealand News Center.

However, the role of the people manager and the competencies required to effectively lead others in a hybrid workplace is emerging as a critical topic that businesses must address to ensure organisational success in the future.

According to Gartner the changing role of the manager is one of the top that greatly impacts the employee experience post Covid-19 and ‘Enabling managers to manage a hybrid workforce’ and ‘Upskilling leaders to lead in a hybrid environment’ are top challenges when setting strategy for a hybrid workforce.

What’s changed and what’s the big deal?
analysis of HR business press trends shows the awareness of a new viewpoint on the competencies required. Noting the pandemic has extended both the organisations and leaders’ roles to be more emotionally supportive of their employees, with managers expected to support their team members as whole people with passions, aspirations, and preferences, rather than just workers with a set of skills.

As a result, people managers must balance being an advocate for their team members’ needs while also meeting the expectations of executive leadership and upper management, with this balancing act more pronounced in a remote or hybrid environments.

When you consider that Management can be viewed as ‘managing the work’ – controlling a group or a set of entities to accomplish a goal and not necessarily about the people, you being to realise the potential magnitude of the task. Leadership in comparison is characterised as an individual’s ability to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward organisational success.

In a hybrid environment with fewer opportunities for spontaneous in-person interactions, a workers’ connection to their manager may be stronger than their connection to the organisation as a whole, it follows that the manager-employee relationship is critical in shaping the employee experience and connection to the organisation.

How can you support your managers to make the transition?
The 51����SuccessFactors analysis provides a perspective and fledgling insights on the skills required and the role HR Practitioners and HR Technology can play in assisting both existing managers of people in making this transition to be holistically supportive of team members’ work and non-work experiences and in the selection of future managers of people.

HR needs to come to the fore
Analysis of how leadership and management roles have changed in the organisation should be undertaken by HR and reflected in updated job descriptions, performance management criteria, and succession-planning practices.

For example, rethinking the role of management in the employee journey not as a necessary step in the career ladder recognising that not everyone should or wants to be a people manager, but rather organisations that focus more on identifying and developing the most effective and supportive people managers will create better teams and a better culture. Proactively addressing people manager burnout from having to quickly learn new and complex management skills is also identified as a well-being action item for HR.

Technology can be your friend and your foe
While it would seem obvious that the effective use of to support processes virtually which have historically been in person, such as performance and succession planning roundtable discussions is a must; As is ‘freeing up’ People managers time to be more supportive of employees by automating administrative tasks, increasing automation also places more emphasis on certain “human-centered” skills, such as empathy which remain central to leader’s role and arguably even increase in importance in a hybrid workplace.

Human Centred Skills are a must
People Managers can no longer manage just for performance they must also manage for experience. The Human-centric skills that are generally associated with impacting workforce health and operations include empathy, agility, creativity, persuasion, collaboration, adaptability and emotional intelligence. Gartner suggests that equipping leaders for the Hybrid workplace is a key area of opportunity for organisations to evolve their approach towards Human Leadership, where leaders are:

Authentic – Act with purpose and enable true self-expression, for both themselves and their teams.

Empathetic – Show genuine care, respect and concern for employees’ well-being.

Adaptive – Enable flexibility and support that fit team members’ unique needs.

Recruiting, promoting, and managing employees with human centred skills which reflect personal characteristics in addition to experience, however, raises further challenges to ensure these processes do not promote inequity.

It is clear that in a Hybrid workplace all people manager roles need to be more emotionally supportive of their employees. The transition to Human Leadership should be part of your company’s strategy to support long term hybrid working. Although this change was borne of the pandemic, an evolution to Human Leadership is a change that will benefit us all, employees, managers, and leaders and above all humanity.

Interested in sharing your company’s perspective on the Transformation of People Management? Our is looking for Customers to participate in our research study. Or continue the discussion by joining us at in on 30 August and on 6 September or on 30 August.

The post Are Your Managers Ready for the Hybrid Workplace? appeared first on 51����Australia & New Zealand News Center.

These insights have been revealed in new SMB research study released today, Transformational Talent: The impact of the Great Resignation on Digital Transformation in APJ’s SMBs’, which explores the impact of the Great Resignation on Australia’s SMBs and their growth plans.����

Optimism abounds as SMBs move from resilience to focus on growth��

Having managed significant challenges over the past two years, SMBs in Australia are looking beyond a focus on resilience.����

Two-thirds (66%) of Australian SMBs say their organisation is highly or fully resilient in weathering the pandemic’s impact. Not one respondent said they are not resilient at all. That confidence has resulted in a feeling of optimism about their growth prospects.����

That mindset can only be a positive thing for Australia, according to Sofiane Ainine, SMB Segment Lead, 51����Australia.��

“Our small and medium-sized businesses are a bellwether for the wider economy, as the nation’s biggest employer. I firmly believe that when SMBs thrive, economies grow, and Australia prospers”, said Ainine. “By harnessing this optimism and putting it together with great innovation, a commitment to talent, and a strong partner ecosystem we can chart a course to the next decade of SMB success in Australia.”����

The impact of the Great Resignation on SME digital transformation in Australia��

Despite this optimism, businesses now face another challenge – the ‘Great Resignation’. Coined in 2021, the phrase refers to a worldwide trend of millions of employees across the world leaving their jobs.��

SAP’s research found the Great Resignation is real and impacting SMBs in Australia today. Almost half (48%) of respondents agreed that more employees are resigning now compared to just 12 months ago, while 57 percent of SMBs said they are not finding it easy to cope with the impact of the Great Resignation. This is critical, given 94 percent of SMBs say digital transformation is very important to their organisation’s survival over the next year.��

The talent crunch is impacting organisation’s ability to digitally transform their businesses. In fact, lack of skilled talent trails only understanding of available digital solutions as challenges to achieving successful transformation for Australian SMBs, ahead of traditional obstacles like cyber security or lack of budgets.��

“This study reveals how the Great Resignation can be seen as an existential threat to many organisations,” said Mr Ainine. “Digital transformation is a fundamental way SMBs not only build resilience, but how they create agile, innovative paths to growth. But without the right people, any transformation will struggle. Investment in talent must match investment in innovation to ensure SMBs in Australia both survive – and thrive.”��

Investing in talent and training to mitigate the Great Resignation��

SMBs in Australia are investing in their workforce to mitigate the effects of the Great Resignation and to bolster their organisations’ ability to deliver digital transformation.����

Survey respondents said they were focusing on introducing flexible working arrangements (45%) and improving financial incentives (39%) to boost talent retention over the next 12 months. Yet, beyond those strategies, SMBs are also focusing on training. Over a third (36%) of SMEs said they would provide upskilling opportunities to retain key talent in the next 12 months.��

The focus on training can’t come too soon. Over half (55%) of SMBs say upskilling to support digital transformation is urgent, leading to 82 percent of Australian SMBs who will focus on digital training throughout this year.����

“The Great Resignation has often been misconstrued as employees leaving to pursue their purpose. That’s not the whole story,” said Mr Ainine. “Talent requires the right remuneration, flexibility, and a clearly communicated progression journey. Prioritising upskilling and career progression, and supporting it with access to the right technology and partners is proven to be a win-win for employees and for SMBs here in Australia.”��

The full report of Transformational Talent study is available for download .��

The post 84% of Australian SMBs confident about their growth despite workforce volatility, reveals new report commissioned by SAP appeared first on 51����Australia & New Zealand News Center.

I think the much more interesting, and perhaps impactful change is the organisational shift towards ‘dynamic teams.’

The introduction of employment marketplaces, essentially internal job boards where employees sign up to be a part of temporary opportunities or ‘gigs’, is the next great evolution of the workplace. The standard “top-down”, work in hierarchical teams approach is being sidelined by a much more efficient, and flexible model. This seismic shift in global work culture should not be overlooked.

Perhaps the and its elements have also been around for a long time too. However, technology in the HRIS space has only recently started to support the idea of providing employees access to work experience outside their standard job hierarchy. It is perhaps not surprising that only technology could facilitate such an arrangement.

Cataloguing thousands of opportunities varying in type, then matching them to the thousands of skills associated to hundreds of potential employees requires technology to realistically manage. Once employees are matched to an opportunity, the organisation now has a dynamic team. But how to manage this new, dynamic beast?

There is a valid concern that these opportunities offered to non-hierarchical teams distract employees from formal KPI’s, or the goals established by a direct supervisor. However, has been around for a long time. Companies and leaders can do two things at once and track the success and relative value of both activities using software.

Another . However, if the COVID restrictions, including restrictions on travel and ‘in person’ meetings, have taught us anything, it is that software can overcome these limitations also. Microsoft Teams, Zoom or whatever flavour of collaboration software is the prevailing favourite has proven very effective in connecting teams across the globe and allowing for remote work to keep productivity going, even soaring.

Achieving business outcomes vs. championing job roles
Organisations benefit from this evolution in several ways. For one thing dynamic teams by their very nature emphasize achieving business outcomes rather championing job roles. Rather than having leaders assigning work based on group hierarches, employees can be part of cross-functional teams based on what needs to get done and who is able to do it. The outcome is served by assigning people with the right skills and motivation to the task, rather than to a team who might be ‘traditionally’ responsible for a similar task.

Workers can participate in activities based on the skills and aspirations they have. This leads to and in increased desire to stay with the organisation providing these opportunities. Because skills and experience are targeted at the opportunity specifically, rather than merely pulling people from a pool designated as the ‘official’ source, the outcome of the project or gig will likely be of higher quality and more successful. Employees participating in dynamic teams not only get the opportunity to flex skills not found in their formal jobs, but they also gain exposure to other leaders, teams and projects that could also be career enhancing.

Many organisations have the tools necessary to facilitate the next great industrial revolution and dynamic teams will be a core part of the change. COVID and its related impact on how we work, on the economy and on our psychology has ushered in a change that has long been needed in the modern workplace – flexibility. Employees and employers can and will benefit from this change facilitated in part with modern technology and fortunately for me, good use of sophisticated software.

This article was originally featured on .

The post Say Goodbye To The Great Resignation And Hello To Dynamic Teams appeared first on 51����Australia & New Zealand News Center.

By Nick Quin, Director, Public Sector 51����NZ

Enabling Healthcare Reform and Digitalisation��

Aotearoa’s health system is facing its most significant reform in a decade, seeing strategic change across organisational and workforce structures, health-outcome definitions, and patient and community engagement under the Hira initiative. All this will be enabled with digital transformation, supporting organisations to create new patient and workforce experiences while elevating operational efficiency.

51����understand the importance of healthcare reform, the complexity of its planning and execution. Our vision is to offer insights and assistance to all health-sector stakeholders, highlighting the benefits of corporate shared services, staff self-service applications, and experience management supported through an omnichannel and community strategy for citizen health and engagement.

We believe there are 3 critical areas where we can help:

• Improving staff experience
• Overcoming the supply chain crisis
• Giving all patients and communities a voice

A Whole-of-Industry View to Workforce��

Digital transformation will also drive reforms in how the industry manages it people, processes, and supplies. By incorporate a total workforce management approach, staff can operate with greater speed and agility, able to respond more rapidly to emergencies or significant change.

By supporting the wide and varied section of New Zealand Health Sectors workers, including employees, agencies, and community volunteers – there will be more options for whānau to access Kaupapa, Māori, and other appropriate services. This ensures that patient and health-sector workers have access to the right support and resources to ensure their wellbeing while providing exceptional and diverse experiences.

Taking a holistic view to Aotearoa’s health sector means considering the complete workforce, their skills, and the capabilities of the industry. This Total Workforce Management approach will reduce workforce shortages and skill gaps by upskilling staff to adapt to healthcare industry changes, allowing for streamlined experience from recruitment through to training, and retention at scale.

The digitalisation of workforce experience will improve the way organisations connect and engage with employees, regardless of whether they’re full time or contingent staff. Simplifying staff admin and using the right technologies and processes to support workforces will reduce turnover rates while fostering a culture of continuous learning, collaboration, and innovation.

Intelligent Management of Inventory��

The outbreak of the global pandemic highlighted the importance of robust and resilient procurement supported by dynamic and diverse supply networks that can quickly respond to demand spikes and supply shortages.

Healthcare will need to encourage further collaboration between procurement and clinical leaders to define clinical spend policies that improve patient outcomes and service-cost efficiency. Using a central strategy, shared services, automation, and accessible purchasing applications – procurement processes can become more streamlined, resilient, and responsive.

51����remains a market leader for enterprise platforms in the pharmaceutical and medical product sector. During the COVID-19 outbreak, we assisted Singapore Health in finding a new national supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) through 51����Ariba network, which allowed them to rapidly understand and predict PPE consumption, modify standard procurement processes, and collaborate with new suppliers.

Newer techniques will also bring more agility and safety to the supply chain, such as supplier collaboration, lean healthcare, and mobile intelligence. Providers across the globe have been using SAP’s business network and planning technologies to collaborate with supplier networks on both demand and supply of medical product. Lean healthcare has been adopted to reduce both product stockouts and product hoarding in the wards, requiring interoperability between supplier, distributor, warehouse, hospital, and ward. And allowing inventory and assets to be identified, counted, and reported for maintenance on mobile has ensured hospitals can run better under strain.

Unrivalled Engagement and Experiences��

Experience is becoming more important to various industries as digitalisation improves the way people access products, services, and support – healthcare is no different.��, private practices in the US are moving toward value-based care, whereby patient experience can impact on up to 60 per cent of healthcare funding.

Here in New Zealand, the focus on experience management is to improve patient outcomes, reduce costs, and prepare workforces to deal with a rapidly ageing population. People’s involvement will be encouraged under the new Maori Health Authority to help designing health and wellbeing services that suit them, through participation in local planning and the opportunity to engage in national-consumer forums.

Currently, Patient Experience and Outcome Surveys (PRM’s) and workforce surveys have been the main vehicle in experience management. 51����Qualtrics is the market leader in this space, changing the healthcare experience across New Zealand (Auckland DHB) and Australia (Healthscope’s net promoter score increased from 77 to 87 in 12 months). St John of God Australia similarly compares the patient experience between hospitals monthly to find issues in the clinical workflow, and to share effective practises.

In providing patients greater choice and accessibility for services through online, text, and email – the health sector can improve patient outcomes, communication, and engagement. Through a connected and multichannel view, healthcare teams can be better informed and equipped to provide more personalised care to patients, thereby driving up efficiency and value while reducing operational costs.

To understand more about how 51����solutions can help Aotearoa’s health system run smarter, better, and faster – check out our latest report��.

The post Enabling Healthcare Reform and Digitalisation in Aotearoa appeared first on 51����Australia & New Zealand News Center.

Unlike traditional software development with complex training and code writing requirements, low and no code tools mean that people can create software with minimal or no code writing required. With smart user interfaces, people can develop software processes without having any programming knowledge, typically using drag and drop style methods.

Moving beyond simple websites and apps, these tools have also become available for enterprise software, enabling rapid development of solutions such as document handling automations. Following the lead of IT functions, which rapidly adopted these tools, teams company-wide are now using them to quickly respond to business needs in a low cost manner.

For example, organisations worldwide are already using SAP’s low and no code tools including available via 51����. Feedback from citizen developers has been overwhelmingly positive about how these tools are helping their companies become intelligent enterprises. For example, business process owners at any APJ-based utility company can create and introduce dynamic forms for inspection processes on an as-needed basis. Producing the forms themselves has eliminated redevelopment work from IT, reducing deployment time from months to days.

Low and no code drives rapid innovation

Whether disruptive or evolutionary, successful software innovation demands speed, meaning the ability to prototype and gain real world and user feedback quickly. Rather than relying on the availability (and associated cost) of dedicated software developers, teams using low and no code platforms can rapidly develop and iterate their ideas, gathering feedback and prototyping new concepts to run faster innovation cycles.

Traditional software development projects often require a substantial time investment to discover the practical implications of different processes or market needs. Software architects and developers spend hours, days, and weeks or more in workshops and other discussions to fully explore and understand potential use cases and solve specific business problems. With low and no code tools, subject matter experts, be they process owners or market strategists, can embed their knowledge across the software development process – from ideation through prototype iteration, solution delivery, and beyond.

Improving the employee experience

Employees are often asked to provide their insights on a given topic as part of a software solutioning exercise, but their involvement ends there – until the final system is implemented and scaled. By using low and no code technologies, employees can experience the satisfaction of developing a solution from idea to implementation, providing input and guidance to the design and implementation, which in turn provides a sense of accomplishment and boosts productivity.

Low and no code tools are proving even more valuable productivity-wise as more employees work remotely during the pandemic. Rather than waiting for IT resources to become available, citizen developers – wherever they’re located – can solve business process and customer problems as they arise, quickly accessing low and no code tools through cloud computing platforms.

More strategically, as companies continue their digital transformation journeys, more people have access to the tools necessary to transforms all aspects of a business through software. Rather than relying on only large, top-down transformation programs, they can take a grassroots approach, with employees developing and implementing solutions as required based on the processes, customers and legacy technology that they know best. Organisations can address governance and security by embedding policies into the low and no code platform, guiding employees as they design new software.

Low and no code tools support digital government services

The opportunity provided by low and no code to pivot from technology interaction to technology innovation also applies to the public sector. Citizen developers can create new solutions in their respective area of expertise or interest, while also meeting quality and security standards. The public sector can develop more useful apps faster. When people with the greatest amount of experience and understanding of processes design and develop software, the organization ends up with systems that address the most important challenges.

Coupled with initiatives such as open data sharing, citizens can quickly bring about the change they’d like to see in government digital services, combining previously hidden information sources and community needs to develop scalable solutions. For example, citizen developers can plug no code tools into SAP’s to model different trends and correlations across private and public data sources.

In democratising software development beyond dedicated, specialised resources, low and no code tools are modernising not only how organisations operate daily, but also how industries will innovate for a stronger, more resilient future.

This article originally published on

The post How Low And No Code Platforms Democratise Software Development For Fast Innovation appeared first on 51����Australia & New Zealand News Center.

Under the new policy,��which will be effective on 1 December 2021,��SAP��has increased its��entitlement��to offer��employees��22��weeks of��paid parental leave for primary carers and��12��weeks paid parental leave for secondary carers.����

The new policy includes:��

• No minimum��tenure/service��requirement��to access parental leave for��SAP��employees��who have passed probation��

• Twenty-two weeks paid parental leave��for primary carers��and twelve weeks leave for secondary carers��(minimum two weeks at a time).��
• Flexibility on��the timing of��leave,��with the option to take paid leave within two years of welcoming a child, instead of one year��
• Inclusion of special parental leave��where if stillbirth occurs and/or miscarriage after twenty weeks, employees are eligible for full entitlement. If under twenty weeks, employees are eligible for up to three��weeks leave.��
• Eight weeks transition��back to fulltime work with flexibility on how many days employees work dependant on agreement with manager. Employees must work minimum two days for four weeks and then increase thereafter.��

“We are a people-focused��business��and our��people��are at the heart of our success.��We��are committed to driving an inclusive and flexible culture at 51����and��to��do that��effectively, being proactive��about��reviewing and updating��our policies is important.��We made changes��a few years ago to��ensure superannuation was contributed to��over��the��unpaid period��and that our parental leave policy��reflected��all families, including��those with��same-sex��parents.��And this year��we��did another review to ensure��our policies��supported and celebrated��our parents as they embark on their wonderful and��life changing��event,” says��Debbie Rigger,��Head of Human Resources��at 51����Australia and New Zealand.����

“How you approach your parental leave policy reflects how you feel about your employees and their families.��We listened��to what our��people��wanted,��sought external counsel��and thought hard about how we could best support��our families��through��all the highs and lows that come with��these��moments that matter.��One important��change for us, was to ensure for��any pregnancies where a miscarriage or stillbirth occurs after 20 weeks, 51����employees are entitled to the full parental leave period to take the time they need for themselves before returning to the workforce. We want to help our staff navigate major transitions in their work life, while understanding that professional and personal lives overlap.”��

Sameer Aimandi, Solution Architect at 51����Australia says, “Life throws curveballs and opportunities at you all the time.��My wife, who also works at SAP,��had the��chance��to apply��for a promotion while she was on maternity leave. When she was successful, I jumped into the role of primary carer for��my daughter a couple of months earlier than my wife and I had planned.����

“The way 51����supported��me and my wife��throughout our combined parental leave periods��taught me the importance of having the ability,��and��feeling professionally supported,��to��make decisions that are right for you and your family.��The increased flexibility��and support offered by��SAP’s updated��parental leave policy��is another step in ensuring that parents don’t feel like they need to sacrifice professionally to��benefit personally.”��

Under the new parental leave policy, SAP��has��also��partnered with��purpose-led��social enterprise,��, to deliver each new 51����parent in Australia and New Zealand, a bespoke newborn gift set with all profits going to vulnerable children, providing family homes, education, healthcare and support to overcome trauma. ��

You can��learn more about��SAP’s approach to diversity and inclusion,��best workplace awards, early talent certifications��and more at the����of sap.com.��You can also read more about Sameer’s parental leave story��.��

��

The post 51����Introduces New Parental Leave Policy appeared first on 51����Australia & New Zealand News Center.

A recent EY found that nine out of ten respondents worldwide, including workers from ANZ, wanted flexibility in their working hours and location. Fifty-four percent of employees were prepared to quit if they weren’t offered some form of flexibility. According to Thomas Barlow, head of 51����Fieldglass Centre of Excellence, Australia and New Zealand, the talent challenge is acute when it comes to tech employees.

“Technology permeates every part of an organisation, requiring people with new skills in areas like data science, AI, machine learning, blockchain, robotics, and IoT. Organisations need to build a global workforce that meets digitalised business demands,” said Barlow. “Workers with specialised expertise typically operate in a highly flexible, agile way. They’re likelier to be more mobile, in charge of managing their own learning experiences and careers. They also may not be located nearby.”

Complete talent pool data creates business resilience

The latest data from the revealed how pandemic lockdowns have accelerated the skills shortage. reported one in four Australian businesses were struggling to find suitable staff to fill job vacancies. In a recent Covid Resilience Ranking from , Australia dropped 21 points compared to over 50 other major economies worldwide. To meet this workforce challenge, leaders are turning to connected data.

“As companies build more flexible, cross-border workforces, they need full transparency of all employees, including permanent and external workers,” said Barlow. “With complete workforce data, companies are better prepared to identify and deploy the right people with the right skills to support growth forecasts, or pivot quickly in case of unexpected disruptions like the pandemic.”

AI-based talent pools like have emerged to help organizations quickly match open positions with pre-qualified candidates from the global external labor pool. Integrated with and available on the , WillHire curates emerging talent who have the niche skills that support digital transformation.

Global people strategy is core to business execution

Historical talent strategies distinguished between permanent full-time employees and external workers who were typically hired to pitch in as a short-term business fix. With the advent of global marketplaces, talent strategies have transformed to flex with changing business demands.

“Companies need to embrace fluidity, looking at talent from the perspective of business results, as opposed to permanent versus contract workers,” said Marc Havercroft, global chief customer officer at . “For example, organizations using 51����SuccessFactors and 51����Fieldglass can easily see how many people work for the company irrespective of an end date on their contract. Data reveals where people are, what skills they have, and their work quality over time. Organisations can quickly identify gaps and find the additional specialists with the latest skills anywhere in the world.”

One 51����customer, an established ANZ-based financial services organization, needed to digitally transform to attract the next generation of customers. Using both 51����SuccessFactors and 51����Fieldglass, leaders sourced external tech experts to build digital services, pairing them with existing employees who shared their business knowledge while gaining new skills.

At the other end of the spectrum, a native digital banking start-up in ANZ relied on both 51����solutions to guide talent investments in business specialists with go-to-market and customer upselling and engagement capabilities. These experts rounded out the existing team’s tech-centric skills.

Employee experience attracts global talent pool

The same EY study found that worldwide, 72 percent of respondents believed remotely working would likely have a negative impact on their career opportunities. That percentage was higher (82 percent) among employees in Asia-Pacific. With greater visibility across the entire workforce, companies can create a strong employee experience in a hybrid ‘work from anywhere’ world.

“Full transparency into an organisation’s workforce capabilities and recruitment needs allows leaders to adopt a continuous learning culture with benefits to the business and employees,” said Havercroft. “People want to learn, making their work enjoyable and career secure. They want to be valued globally for their skills and knowledge, which is probably the biggest benefit of a global talent marketplace.”

Business resiliency demands new talent management strategies to match recruitment programs with forecasted growth opportunities, factoring in skills and roles that might not exist yet, but are surely on the horizon. For example, SAP’s recent acquisition of SwoopTalent’s IP, an AI-based talent data platform, will allow companies to explore ‘what if’ scenarios, combining real-world total workforce data to improve ROI on talent investments and other decisions as businesses evolve. Massive growth from digitalisation is all well and good. Just make sure you have the business and tech experts on hand to power it.

This article originally appeared on

The post 54% Of Workers Plan To Quit Without More Flexible Hours And Locations appeared first on 51����Australia & New Zealand News Center.

The company’s COVID-19 crisis response team in Australia and New Zealand began using Qualtrics pulse surveys this past year to stay connected with workers and address their challenges.

“It’s critical that we constantly communicate with employees to understand their challenges, and act quickly to address their needs,” said Alexandre Moreau, chief people and safety officer at Veolia ANZ. “We needed a quick and easy solution to keep people connected, whether it was managers and their teams, or customers. Qualtrics helped us make sure that our people were okay, and receiving the support they needed.”

Sustainability is in Veolia’s DNA. The company’s business portfolio includes providing environmental solutions across water, waste management and energy. With operations and treatment facilities nationwide, they serve customers of all sizes – from local cafes and food chains to industrial facilities. One of their business units helps municipal water customers provide safe drinking water for their communities and industrial clients to more sustainably manage water in their operations, while their energy division helps companies build energy resilience and become carbon neutral.

Listening translates employee feedback into engagement

As a designated essential service during the pandemic, Veolia ANZ provided the same level of support for customers despite significant challenges, including social distancing, schedule disruptions, and lockdowns. During the height of the crisis, they needed even more flexibility to respond to highly changeable situations. For example, workloads increased in the health sector because of pandemic-related activities. Meantime, some employees were working remotely, while others had to be in the field. The company used Qualtrics to stay in touch with employees.

Kate Moonen, head of marketing and digital experience at Veolia ANZ, was part of the company’s pandemic response team. Speaking during a recent , she discussed how short, but targeted surveys helped the company stay in touch with its diverse workforce that includes truck drivers, machine operators, engineers, lawyers, and sustainability experts in urban and remote locations.

“We really wanted to understand that our people, particularly essential workers, were feeling supported,” she said. “Did they have enough PPE equipment to do their jobs safely? What were their concerns about their mental health and well-being…Based on that feedback, it helped our team formulate…what we were going to communicate…and what actions we needed to take to continue to support our people.”

Initially, the team was surprised at the high employee engagement levels with the surveys. Over time, the company rolled out new activities based on the feedback. These included regularly scheduled anywhere, any device communications with senior leadership through live webinars and question and answer sessions. In response to employee requests, executives also sent short video messages that employees could watch on their mobile phones, with personalized stories from company leaders about their lives outside of work, and how they adapted to the changed working environment.

“People felt they wanted to take the opportunity to be heard,” said Moonen. “We would often share regular communications with them about what came out of the latest pulse, and what we were going to do about it. If you’re asking people for their time, it’s critical to demonstrate what you’re doing with that feedback to meet their needs.”

Continuous dialogue through employee surveys

Just like any aspect of sustainable business, employee engagement is not a one and done effort.

“We’re seeing strong employee engagement every time we roll out a new survey,” said Moreau. “Instead of waiting a year to connect with employees, Qualtrics has given us a more agile response tool with a quick pulse check that our people appreciate, and we can rely on for updated feedback to make better decisions. We want to know how people are feeling in a fast-changing business environment.”

Go digital for fast action

Moreau said companies should be explicit about what employees have shared and how it’s taking action. Even if there isn’t an immediate answer, people appreciate the transparency.

Moonen also advised employers not to overthink the survey process.

“Sustainable business is all about agility,” she said. “Collecting the feedback and acting quickly is far more valuable than spending months iterating questions. Digital technology gives us the ability to constantly evolve and adapt as customer expectations, market conditions, and employee experiences shift.”

Future of work is in employee experience

In the wake of the pandemic, many employees yearn for a greater sense of belonging. They want more help with their individual career goals, and to have pride in their workplace. Getting the employee experience right is part of every organization’s transformational journey to sustainable business.

This article also featured on

The post Sustainable Business At Veolia ANZ: We Make Sure Our People Are Okay appeared first on 51����Australia & New Zealand News Center.