Julie from SmartBiz HQ will be joining Phoebe Kitto to discuss your bookkeeping and payroll requirements for EOFY. This will be the first year that many small businesses have Single Touch Payroll (STP) and there are some end of year processes that you may not be aware of.
Access Recording Here:
Topic: Covid 19 Recovery Group – Webinar (8)
Start Time : Jun 30, 2020 09:56 AM
Meeting Recording:
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/wcx1FpD5qGxLGa_u1xn0eJcvJN3keaa82yga_qAIz07EaDP5s1BzTSDUAeNA01rZ
“People want their cake and want to eat it too”. The somewhat naïve but totally innocent comment made by a family member, regarding business closures and border shutdowns in the state of Queensland sparked a fierce reaction.
Whilst I do not disagree that the Queensland State Government has done an excellent job of containing Coronavirus, especially given the recent events in the state of Victoria, it would be remiss to not understand or to underestimate the impact that closures have had on local businesses’, especially in our local area.
From an economic stance, small businesses account for 35 per cent of Australia’s gross domestic profit and employ 44 per cent of Australia’s workforce.
Recently I was talking to a local accountant, and she aptly described Covid as a cliff, that many are about to fall off once JobKeeper ends.
With Covid, there was no preparation or planning. Everything just stopped, literally overnight. There was no ability to trade out of tough times, there simply was no trade. Taking a wildlife park or reef trip online doesn’t work! Adapting can only go so far if you are a tourism business.
Back to the cake comment. It was this comment made by this family member that made me realise that people do not realise the emotional load that we give our small businesses, and if they fail as we are starting to see as a result of covid, the mental fall out of a business failure is long and arduous.
No one quite realises the amount of blood, sweat and tears that go into a business, or if they do they don’t realise the extent of dreams, concentration, time spent away from family to build it.
Having a business is more than owning it, it’s more than the product or service, it represents the dream, pride and for some it’s an identity.
People who believe that having a small business is about greed and making money, have clearly never had a small business!
For the majority of small businesses owners it is certainly not a pathway to a million dollar mansion! Small business ownership is about realising a dream, and putting everything on the line for it to work. Usually it’s about mortgaging your house, your kids’ education, your superannuation. So, to have someone say it’s about having cake and eating it too is just simply offensive.
Covid restrictions are more than the economic impact, they are for some who have to change their businesses, or reduce their footprint greatly, a loss of identity. A sense of failure (which is not their fault), a loss of many years, sometimes even generations of work.
So many sacrifices made that have not been rewarded by overtime payments, by bonus’ payments, they have been rewarded in the satisfaction of building a dream. Not only that, small business failure is the loss of many jobs that the sector employs.
Be kind to those small business owners, support local. We are all in this together, and whilst we may have differing views on border closures and political policies, none of that changes the fact that Covid has had a rapid impact on our local mum and dad businesses, and to save them we all need to work together.
Watch our webinar on wages and salaries here:
Meeting Recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/9NVQEKrS9FxOa6vL8VucC4kHMLTheaa81SFP-qZZnhufQXUBYm6LbNVdJaB9V8p7
Sooooooo hot off the press the paper is still warm… 1.75% WAGE INCREASE
The Fair Work Commission has just issued its decision on the 2019/2020 wage review with rates increasing by 1.75% but there’s a catch, the wage increases will be staggered with the modern awards being split into three different groups:
So when do you need to increase your pay rates?
The tables above outline what group your modern award/s fall into and when you need to ensure the pays are increased by.
Would you like assistance with your rates and compliance with the award terms? Please contact our senior consultant Teneal Donaldson on (07) 4051 7307 or teneal@hrdynamics.com.au
Covid-19 Recovery Group – Webinar
Click here for the Webinar Recording:
This webinar covers the following topics:
** What does the new Workpac case mean for casual employment in your business?
** Do you need to make changes to your casual employment arrangements?
** The importance of casual conversion
** JobKeeper update
** JobMaker… what does this mean for you?
You have now reached Level 5 of Jumanji!
The workplace and business environment are still dominated by confusion and anxiety – and the with the constant changes it really is starting to feel like we are in a game of Jumanji. Unfortunately, with these changes introduced the industrial relations environment has become even more clouded and uncertain.
We’ve tried to re-cap below the best that we can:
Stand Downs
Are you a business that has decided that the ten-person rule just means that it is uneconomical to re-open at this stage?
ATO Notification Details
JobKeeper Nomination Notices (ATO has amended the form)
Covid Safe Workplace
We needed some new words in our vocabulary – and this week’s catch phrase is a “Covid Safe Workplace”. What is a Covid Safe workplace? It is simply having a workplace plan in place that ensures that you have identified all of the risks of Covid when reopening and protect your customers and staff.
The absolute best website with industry specific details is:
I would also just like to re-cap on my last https://hrdynamics.com.au/2020/05/08/leadership-in-corona-recovery-phase-1/ post where I talked about some of the anger that we are starting to see.
I touched on the fact that we are starting to see employees react with anger and frustration and management is becoming even more difficult and leadership is even more important during these times. The part of our brain that is response for the fight or flight response is also responsible for fear. Fear in turn is then responsible for higher levels of agitation which and very quickly turn unto anger and annoyance and conflict. When dealing with staff, remember that they are feeling a very primary emotion – fear. Bring out your best management skills, pushing your employees into a corner and then making them come out swinging is not going to solve anything at this stage.
Mental health experts are starting to study the fact that our response to the virus may outlast the virus and the ramifications of the virus itself. We are lucky that we have been (to date) able to control the virus as we have, we now need to make sure that we are setting ourselves up mentally to be able to cope with the constant changes and changes in our lives. There is no one size fits all, we just need to ensure that we have times of mindfulness in our days, structure, routine and that we still connect with those close to us to ensure that we maintain a sense of meaning and purpose. Do what works for you.
As a final note, one of the things that we are totally enjoying is watching John Krasinski (of “The Office” fame) SGN… channel on YouTube. SGN stand for Some Good News – Highly recommend this channel as a bit of light relief in these times. YouTube it – you won’t regret it!
Musings of Phoebe Kitto, Director, Human Resource Dynamics
Now we are seeing the next stage, the anger.
We’ve managed to get through the first stage of Corona, the anxiety, the ‘what is going to happen?’ stage – This was the stage where we were watching the virus and it’s devastating rates of infection across Europe and the most that it impacted us was our next trip overseas and some cancellations from international visitors.
Then… Corona caught a ride to our shores and we had border shutdowns, mass shutdowns of all of the things we as humans love – the places we gather, places we socialise. We had new words invented, the #stayathome was plastered everywhere, and we banded together as one – #weareallinthistogether. During this stage we all stood a little taller, paid respect to the Anzacs from our driveways, held our shoulders a little broader and have smiled to each other (well we can’t shake hands or get close enough to pat backs) and have felt good that we are flattening the curve. We’ve all said to each other what a great job Australia has done.
During this phase employees understood that their jobs were going to be impacted and were supportive of the difficult decisions their employer had to make. There were tears shed on both sides and the grief of what was ‘taken’ away/lost was fresh.
Now we are seeing the next stage, the anger.
The anger phase is starting to impact the decision making, mental health issues are spotlighted during isolation and everyone is absolutely fatigued. Wow, Friday rolls around and I feel like crawling under the covers and hibernating. Stuff the 5 visitors’ rule, I’m too tired to see anyone!
It’s a perfect storm in a corona test tube.
So, when you are feeling fatigued and just can’t face another new piece of legislation to understand, another rent negotiation conversation with your landlord, or another decision to make about your business, how do you show leadership?
The irony is that staff are wanting and needing leadership more now than ever. All of the feelings that you have around loss of income and what is going to happen next they are feeling too, and maybe even more so – you have a degree of control over your business and the reopening phase, they don’t.
The key is to not change your style – during a crisis people need familiarity. Now more than ever you just need to be genuine and honest. Listen to your staff, listen to their concerns. You might not have any answers yourself and you can say this to staff. There is nothing wrong with not having all the answers.
Have a plan and engage with your team to help build your new plan. You aren’t an inspiring leader if you are so chaotic you can’t see any path (if you can’t see a path ahead, how will your team?), if you don’t have faith in your product/service. You need to believe what it is that you do, even if you are looking at coming back in a smaller footprint and have used this time to take stock of what is really important. No one trusts a leader that doesn’t believe in their own business or themselves. Be genuine but take time to reassure your staffing body that you will be better than ever after Corona.
One business I spoke to said that they are making less income, but they have less bills, less stock to carry and less staffing worries, less customer complaints. They are the least stressed they have been in five years and loving life. They are using this time to plan their comeback and what their reduced footprint will look like. No longer is their forecast growth, it is about consolidating what they have and working on their core business. They are engaging with staff via meetings and letting them know their plans and thoughts. Staff have had some great ideas – which they have put into place already. Staff feel like they are on the journey with the business and are more committed and excited than they ever were prior to Corona.
My last point is look after yourself. If you are snappy, tired and just plain old fatigued you need to take some stock of what is important and make sure that you are ok. You don’t have to exercise like a maniac, but you do need to have some time out to do an activity that you like. Whether that is hiking, taking long walks along the beach or relaxing yoga – it’s not a ‘nice to do’, it is important that you have some time out. There won’t be a comeback if you are so burnt out that you can’t see straight.
There are some things that should not go back to “normal” and hand-washing is one of them! Let’s all keep up the hand hygiene!
Download our free Toolbox Talk below.
We have discussed previously the importance of having policies in your workplace, however just having a policy is not enough. Even though Covid-19 has taken us into unprecedented times, all of the general workplace legislation, including that of WH&S, still applies. Part of your duty of care under WH&S legislation is to ensure that staff are trained in your workplace policies and an excellent way to do this is through a Toolbox Talk.
Covered in the webinar is:
– What is a JobKeeper Directive?
– What documentation do I need for a JobKeeper Directive?
– What consultation do I need to do for JobKeeper Directives? Ie: changes to rosters and hours of work
– What happens if I need to make staff redundant over this time?
– Safety, social distancing and Covid-19…. You still have WH&S obligations
Listen here for the recording:
In this Webinar, Phoebe Kitto & Deanne Baker discuss the JobKeeper program as well as the JobKeeper Directions.
Click here to join our last Free webinar:
When: May 14, 2020 11:00 AM
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0P-r75jnSwaQRvMo16ir5w
Our program is designed to give employers the Human Resource support and tools to manage their staff through this unprecedented time.
Employers need to know what options they have in areas such as managing staff, reducing hours, changing duties or making redundancies, but most importantly employers want peace of mind that the decisions they are making for their business today are not going to cause Industrial Relations heartache down the track. Our program is designed to educate, support and assist you through the COVIS 19 crisis. Furthermore now is an excellent time to upskill the leadership team on how to effectively manage staff, we will alternative our webinars to include leadership training and COVID -19 recovery topics.
The program will continue until the end of September and you will receive:
Payment
Upfront one off payment of $500 + GST
5 monthly payments of $120 + GST
Contact Phoebe Kitto to sign up! 0438 735 926 or phoebe@hrdynamics.com.au
Conflict in the workplace is a hot topic of conversation in the world of business owners and managers.
Conflict in the workplace can cause an increase in sick leave, lower staff productivity, increased complaints from customers and clients, and an increase in staff turnover – which in turn costs the bottom line and is stressful to manage.
The linked mini workbook outlines workplace conflict in detail, with some mini communication exercises. The workbook also outlines some fantastic tips on how to manage conflict, and tips on improving active listening skills.
I hold a wealth of experience in dealing with workplace conflicts and have assisted many of our clients with mediation and counselling services. Contact me if you are feeling stressed and need some assistance in staff management, conflict or setting up HR processes.
As always, for any HR queries or just to chat about your business worries, give us a call (07 40517307) or drop us an email at hr@hrdynamics.com.au.
