News

Footwear giant Accent Group has acquired Stylerunner, an online activewear retailer that went into voluntary administration three weeks ago, for an undisclosed sum.

Accent Group CEO Daniel Agostinelli said the acquisition would enable the company to reach a new, predominantly female, audience and tap into the booming activewear and wellness categories.

“Activewear is a style trend that isn’t slowing down and we plan to encourage its momentum through strategic moves like this one,” Agostinelli said in a statement released to the ASX on Thursday afternoon.

Until now, Accent Group has played purely in the footwear space. It owns and operates the Hype DC, Platypus, The Athlete’s Foot and The Trybe footwear chains and distributes brands such as Skechers, Vans and Dr Martens.

But Stylerunner presents an opportunity to expand into complementary categories. Roughly 40-50 per cent of the online retailer’s sales are footwear, with the other 50-60 per cent coming from its activewear and wellness products, according to Agostinelli.

“It was more attractive to us that they had a great position with yoga wear and outerwear, and we’ve seen the wellness piece as a big growth market,” he told Inside Retail.

Agostinelli sees an opportunity for Accent Group to start selling these products in standalone, Stylerunner-branded bricks-and-mortar stores in future.

“We think the name resonates with the consumer, and the market position it has is something we feel the market is missing at the moment,” he said.

Agostinelli said he didn’t know how many stores would be opened, or when, but said they’d likely be in A-grade shopping centres and CBD sites.

“We’re literally one day in; we want to strengthen the back end of the business and introduce all the smarts Accent Group has to offer in the tech area,” he said.

500,000 loyal customers

Founded by Julie Stevanja in 2012, Stylerunner sells exclusive and limited-edition sneakers, apparel and accessories from the likes of Nike, Adidas, P.E Nation and Jaggad, as well as various supplements.

The online retailer has a loyal and engaged customer database of well over 500,000, according to Agostinelli, which doesn’t cross over with Accent Group’s existing customers.

To drive efficiencies, Accent Group plans to innovate Stylerunner’s category and customer experience, strengthen its supplier relationships, build on its current digital, CRM and marketing capabilities and grow collaborations with its vertical brands.

The retailer said it would expand the brand by leveraging its supply chain capabilities and economies of scale as well as developing a strategy for bricks-and-mortar stores.

Stevanja has joined Accent Group to lead the Stylerunner business going forward, and will report to Accent Group’s chief digital officer, Mark Teperson.

The deal was structured as an asset sale on a cash-free, debt-free basis and is not expected to have a material impact on Accent Group’s FY20 earnings.

Beauty giant Mecca is locked in a battle to protect its reputation as one of Australia's best workplaces with former and current employees accusing the business of discrimination, bullying, and favouritism.

The popular Australian retailer has been rocked by a stream of allegations published on an anonymous social media account, prompting founder and owner Jo Horgan to pledge reform and review the company's policies and practices.

In an email to staff, Ms Horgan said she was "deeply saddened" to learn of the numerous allegations, and said the company was taking the claims seriously.

"If we are not meeting these standards, we need to acknowledge this, apologise, and make the necessary changes," she said.

The complaints stem from an anonymously-ran Instagram account with the handle @Esteelaundry, which last month began collating and posting employees' accounts of working at the beauty giant.

More than 50 accounts of alleged mistreatment from people claiming to be former Mecca employees were posted to the page, detailing experiences of harassment from managers, racism towards staff, and a "toxic" culture of favouritism and nepotism.

Current and former employees have backed the anonymous complaints, telling The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald their experiences with the company were vastly different to the positive, fun, and "gloss and glamour" way Mecca presents itself.

Mecca is a beauty powerhouse in Australia, owning around 25 per cent of the $2.4 billion top-end cosmetics market, with 100 stores across Australia and New Zealand and over 4000 staff.

In the 2018 calendar year, the company reported revenue of $444.4 million, a 20 per cent increase on the year prior.

The business has been named as one of Australia's top workplaces in the Great Place to Work survey six times in the last six years, most recently taking out the fourth spot for companies with more than 1,000 employees.

Narita Salima, a former retail worker, initially expected her experience would reflect these accolades, believing her time at the company would be "fun and exciting" after landing a casual job at the retailer in 2016.

But, after just a few weeks, the then 22-year-old employee found herself dreading coming to work. She says she was bullied and ridiculed by managers over trivial issues, often on the shop floor in front of customers.

"It was traumatic. That whole Mecca culture, that positive workplace, it's just so fake."

After working for a month and a half, Ms Salima says she raised concerns with her line manager about the bullying she was experiencing. She was fired from the retailer shortly after.

Another former employee who worked in the head office said the environment was "cult-like". She says she was asked to quit simply because she was not "passionate" about her work.

"My manager pulled me into her office and said 'I know you're not passionate about your job, I think it's time for you to give me your resignation'," the employee says. "I'd never had any performance issues in the history of my job there. I was shocked."

Another employee claims Mecca workers weren't regularly paid for overtime at the end of their shifts, with the company having a policy of not closing the store's doors until all shoppers had left.

This would lead to employees staying back as much as an hour overtime, often unpaid, and at other times paid with leftover test products.

Employees say attempts to resolve these issues with HR were futile, with one worker labelling the department "toothless". Others say their time at Mecca significantly affected their mental wellbeing, with one former makeup artist saying the constant "bullying and belittlement" prompted her to visit a psychologist.

"I already had anxiety and [Mecca] made it so much worse," she said.

Following the complaints, Ms Horgan, a former entrepreneur of the year recipient, sent a number of emails to staff recognising and addressing the claims and saying she would take action in both the short and long-term.

In these emails, seen by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, Ms Horgan says she was surprised to hear of the concerns, claiming just 0.2 per cent of Mecca's retail workforce had made a bullying complaint in the last two years.

The messages also disputed the claims of unpaid overtime, saying the company's pay policies were regularly reviewed and were "guard rails" to help build the business' culture. The company says staff are paid overtime in line with legislation and all product benefits are in addition to standard pay.

Mecca has appointed an external culture specialist to commence a "listening tour" around stores and make recommendations to the company on what it can do better. It has also established a new anonymous workplace complaints hotline.

In response to a detailed list of questions from The Age and The Herald, a spokesperson for Mecca said the company did not believe the allegations represented the views of the company's 4000 staff, but was striving to "do better".

“It is our aim to ensure each and every one of our team members has a positive working experience," the spokesperson said.

"To anyone for whom that has not been the case, we are truly sorry. We are listening to and taking seriously any issues raised and I recognise there are always things we can, and will, do better.”

* This article has been updated to include the total number of Mecca staff and additional comment from the company.

Given the right circumstances, job satisfaction among new staff peaks about 3 months in, then it drops. What this means for onboarding is neither simple nor obvious.

The ‘honeymoon’ and the ‘hangover’ dynamic has a lot of explanatory power for a certain emotional journey humans take. 

That journey begins with finding a new thing that we like. Swept up in joy, we feel that it’s perfect. But the feeling can’t be sustained and soon we experience a growing realisation it’s actually quite flawed. Clear-eyed, we can now assess how we truly feel. 

The journey happens in romantic relationships (obviously – it’s called a honeymoon after all), but it turns out it also frequently describes changing feelings about a new job.

The funny thing about the journey is that it’s hard to avoid, even when you’re very aware it’s happening. Just ask anyone who’s been in love more than once.

One of the better research papers on this topic comes from Wendy Boswell, Abbie Shipp and Stephanie Payne from Texas A&M University and Satoris Culberston from Kansas State University. It was published in the Journal of Applied Psychology in 2009.

They checked in with over 132 newcomers in a public sector business in the US (with a budget of US $79 million and 1,500 employees) over a period of a year, and tracked how each individual’s sense of job satisfaction changed.

What made their findings so interesting was what they entailed for onboarding. The type of onboarding HR might call best in class doesn’t seem to have the effect you would think.

Is there a honeymoon?

The quick answer is yes, employees tend to experience a honeymoon period followed by a hangover. 

It’s worth mentioning that the researchers found that 24 per cent of the variance in job satisfaction was accounted for by between-individuals variance. That is, personality differences make a difference.

New horizons

Who has the bigger honeymoon, the person whose last partner jilted them, or the person who did the dumping?

The researchers hypothesised it was the latter – that people who left their last job voluntarily (so quit and looked for new work) would have a stronger honeymoon and a worse hangover. High on their decision to do something for themselves, job leavers would begin a new role with more enthusiasm, only to crash when they realise it is not that much better.

But the research didn’t support this at all. There was no significant difference between those who quit and those who were let go. 

For recruiters, that seems to suggest you a) shouldn’t expect more optimism from people who quit their role to join you, and b) shouldn’t be worried that hiring someone who was made redundant will hurt morale.

Coming out of a bad thing

If your old partner treated you like dirt, it makes sense that you would treasure a new partner who acted decently. You would overvalue being treated adequately, and have a harsher crash when you realise it is just adequate.

This was the theory of the researchers. They speculated that the same pattern (better honeymoon, worse hangover) would be true for people who hated their last job, as compared to those loved their last job.

This hypothesis was only partially supported. People who had high satisfaction with a previous job experienced essentially no honeymoon or hangover, while those who had low satisfaction elsewhere did experience a slight honeymoon in the first three months and a slight hangover afterward.

For onboarding, this suggests it’s a good idea to pay a little extra attention to a new employee who told you they didn’t like their last job. Because chances are that their satisfaction with their new role could diminish within a year.

The power (or lack thereof) of a promise

Just as each relationship is informed by previous relationships – our new partner inevitably gets compared to old partners – we don’t come into a new job as a blank slate. 

Our previous experiences of work, our values system and every step of the recruitment process all inform our assumptions.

The researchers hypothesised that if a job met the expectations of the employee, they would have a better honeymoon and hangover. It’s simple enough. If implicit and explicit promises are kept, the employee will be happier.

So they tested this, asking people whether they subjectively felt commitments (development opportunities, concern for wellbeing, etc) were fulfilled.

Turns out they were dead wrong.

You can see that those who felt promises were kept had a classic honeymoon to hangover journey. Their love for the job bloomed and faded (the solid line). On the dotted line, you can see those who felt promises were broken didn’t really go on a journey at all (the minor movement upwards you see on the chart is not statistically significant). 

And while the researchers stressed caution with the interpretation, it does seem that fulfilling promises resulted in a lower level of job satisfaction one year into the role. Read that last sentence again, because it shows how complex humans are. More on this in a bit.

How well do I know you?

The researchers also tested more classic onboarding stuff around orientation. This is making sure the employee knows the what, where, why and how of their new job. It can be captured with statements like: “I know where to get things”, “I know what I am required to do” and “I understand how my tasks fit into the broader mission of the company”. 

The researchers reckoned that the better an organisation was at “socialisation” – their term for that orientation experience – the higher the peak of the honeymoon, and the less precipitous the hangover.

Again, it didn’t really turn out to be true.

Those who felt they had a better understanding of the organisation had both a honeymoon and hangover (solid line). Those who felt they didn’t, experienced a hangover, but no honeymoon to justify it (dotted line).

According to the report, it seems that positive experiences in terms of both fulfilled commitments and socialisation perhaps serve “as a prerequisite for newcomers to experience the honeymoon and the hangover. Conversely, without these experiences, newcomers are unlikely to experience the high of the new job.”

In other words, good onboarding is a cause of the honeymoon to hangover journey. Lacklustre onboarding means employees never experience higher levels of job satisfaction. But the corollary of that is the higher you go, the more significant your crash.

What does this mean for onboarding?

You might be asking if good onboarding is worth the effort then. The answer is that of course it is. Not only did people who had that experience more job satisfaction, but later research shows they are less likely to quit.

Indeed, the more recent research, published in the Journal of Vocational Behavior in 2017, found that “extremely high social tactics” – specifically high-quality mentoring and encouraging “authentic self-expression” – can make the hangover far less severe.

AHRI offers a one day in-house course to help your company establish a mentoring program.

It’s become a standard at many organisations to have regular check-ins with new employees to track their satisfaction. What the honeymoon/hangover research shows is that those check-ins should take into account the typical emotional journey of employees. A few further points the researchers make are below:

• Around the three to six months mark is a turning point for newcomers.
• Employers shouldn’t be alarmed that job satisfaction decreases in the first year.
• You can mitigate lower satisfaction levels by addressing employee expectations and socialisation. 
• If the employee is not experiencing initial high job satisfaction – if there is no honeymoon at all – chances are they feel you haven’t given them what they expected and/or you haven’t adequately conveyed the nature of their role and the workplace.
• More comprehensive socialisation, such as giving someone a mentor and a sense of where their career with your organisation could go, seems to result in a more significant honeymoon and less severe hangover.

Annual wage growth has slipped to its slowest level in more than a year, falling well short of Reserve Bank and federal Treasury expectations and pointing to a sluggish jobs market.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday reported the wage price index rose by 0.5 per cent in the September quarter, taking annual growth to 2.2 per cent.

It was a step down from the 2.3 per cent annual growth reported to the end of June, and is now the slowest annual rate since the middle of last year.

Private sector wages grew by 0.5 per cent in the quarter, the third successive quarter at that rate. Annual growth is now at 2.1 per cent.

Public sector wages lifted by 0.5 per cent in the quarter for annual growth of 2.5 per cent.

ABS chief economist Bruce Hockman said while wages growth had slowed it was still ahead of price increases.

"The rate of annual wage growth eased slightly in September after being stable over the past year, continuing to grow at a slightly faster rate than consumer prices over the past year," he said.

"The largest contribution to wage growth over the quarter was jobs in the health care and social assistance industry."

Wages in health care, which has enjoyed some of the strongest jobs growth in the country, are the only ones lifting at more than 3 per cent. Several sectors, including retail and manufacturing, are experiencing wage growth below 2 per cent.

Last week, the Reserve Bank downgraded its wage growth forecasts over the next two years, tipping them to stay around 2.3 per cent.

Treasury's forecasts, which underpin the budget, are much more bullish. It expects wages growth to lift to 3.25 per cent next financial year and to 3.5 per cent the year after.

The annual rate was affected by this year's minimum wage case. Low income earners were awarded a 3 per cent lift in wages by the Fair Work Commission, a drop on the 3.5 per cent they received last year.

Wages growth remains strongest in Victoria where over the past year they have grown by 2.8 per cent. The slowest growth is in Western Australia where they have lifted by 1.6 per cent over the year.

The Reserve Bank, which has openly admitted it wants wages growth above 3 per cent, has urged all governments to lift caps on public sector wages to help lift overall incomes. WA's public sector wages growth is the slowest in the country at 1.1 per cent.

HR departments which focus on three HR activities will have a more significant impact on customer and shareholder value than HR departments that focus primarily on HR metrics themselves, writes Wayne Brockbank

A number of leadership and management thinkers and institutional economists have posited that the “enemy of the great is the good”. This has been eloquently stated by Vilfredo Pareto, popularised by the 80/20 rule and formalised through Pareto Analysis. I suggest that an additional dimension might aid us in HR to focus our efforts to create greater value through three particular HR activities. The additional dimension is ease versus difficulty.

Might I suggest both logically and empirically that it is frequently the case that the 20 per cent of value is relatively easy to achieve; whereas the 80 per cent of the value is difficult to achieve albeit through 20 per cent of our efforts. Thus, the easy/good is the enemy of the difficult/best.

Before giving three examples, let me first state that the 20 per cent activities create good value but they are frequently justified because they do create some value. However, I suggest that we may focus on the 20 per cent activities not because they create greatest value but because they are easy to do.

On the other hand, the 80 per cent activities that create greatest value may be overlooked because they are more difficult the achieve. They frequently lie outside the HR comfort zone. The following is an initial checklist of three easy/good activities that may deter our focus from the difficulty/best activities.

First: internal customer focus versus external customer focus
HR has traditionally conceptualised internal leaders and employees as its “customer”. This focus strongly contradicts our other mantra which is to be business partners or partners in the business. Since the customer of the business is the external (i.e. buying customer) then if we are to be a partner in the business then the buying customer should dominate our line of sight as we design and develop our HR practices.

“In the past few years, the HR field has been swept along by the tsunami of the talent agenda”

Our ultimate goal is to create and sustain human and organisational capabilities that enable our firms to meet customer requirements better than the competition. We can only achieve this goal if we have a clear and complete understanding of and focus on the requirements of the eternal, money-paying customer.

Second: talent focus versus organisational focus
In the past few years, the HR field has been swept along by the tsunami of the talent agenda. Ensuring the availability of talent is clearly a good thing.

However, if we overemphasise the talent agenda, we may forget that focusing on individual talent may sub-optimise our contributions. A focus on individual talent will result in the human whole being equal to the sum of the parts. But competitive advantage is found in making the organisational whole greater than the sum of the talent parts. In addition, over time the leading competitors in the same industry will have approximately the same level of raw talent.

Therefore, you must have raw talent, or you lose. But competitive advantage is not found in the raw talent that you have but rather what you do with it after you have it. And that is primarily an organisation challenge. Plus, research at the University of Michigan strongly indicates that individual HR talent will have one-quarter the impact on business value when compared with the impact of the integrated HR organisation.

“A key organisational capability is the orchestration of the total flow of external information about customers, competitors and technology throughout the firm for competitive advantage”

Third: focus on HR information versus business information
Another hot HR topic is HR analytics, that is, the application of information logic to measure and drive HR-related issues. This is clearly a good thing to do. However, in the information age, a key organisational capability is the orchestration of the total flow of external information about customers, competitors and technology throughout the firm for competitive advantage. When the information agenda is appropriately framed as an organisational capability, HR shoulders heavy responsibility for this agenda.

However, conceptualising and implementing a comprehensive information strategy may be extraordinarily difficult. It is a difficult/best activity. Our research at the University of Michigan is clear. HR departments that focus on designing and implementing a comprehensive business information strategy will have twice the impact on customer and shareholder value than HR departments that focus primarily on HR metrics themselves.

What this means for HR
HR professionals should be vigilant in focusing thoughts and actions on the difficult/best activities while maintaining the easy/good activities. We should not allow the easy/good to displace the difficult/best.

3 action steps for HR

• Identify what constitutes the difficult/best HR activities.
• Develop the capabilities to design and deliver the difficult/best HR activities including emphasising line-of-sight to external customers, building organisation capabilities and orchestrating the flow of business information.
• Continually rebalance HR’s focus from easy/good activities to difficult/best.

One million Australians with mental health conditions ranging from anxiety and depression to psychosis and borderline personality disorders are going untreated each year, while the economic cost of mental illness has hit $180bn. 

The Productivity Commission, in a forensic examination of mental illness, finds it is costing the ­nation about $500m a day and recommends sweeping policy changes in the health system, workplaces, housing and the ­justice system.

Calling for "generational changes" to address a problem that is getting worse despite increasing expenditure in the area, the report, to be released on Thursday, estimates there are 3.9 million people with mental illness, but only 2.9 million are accessing support and services.

One in eight visits to the GP is related to mental health issues, and mental health presentations at emergency departments have risen by about 70 per cent over the past 15 years.

The system is not adequately helping many people seeking treatment, the report finds, with one million having symptoms too complex to be adequately treated by a GP and limited government-funded sessions available with mental health providers.

But their condition does not reach the threshold to access state-­funded specialised services, private psychiatrists or private hospitals because of long waiting lists or high out-of-pocket costs.

The report finds many people still avoid treatment because of stigma and, with 75 per cent of people with a mental health issue first experiencing symptoms before the age of 25, calls for a greater focus on early ­intervention.

Social and emotional development checks of Australia’s 1.25 million children aged up to three years are among 25 detailed recommendations.

Productivity Commission chairman Michael Brennan said dealing with mental illness was “one of the biggest policy challenges confronting Australia”.

“Mental ill health has huge impacts on people, communities and our economy, but mental health is treated as an add-on to the physical health system — this has to change,” Mr Brennan said.

He highlighted the need for a greater emphasis on early intervention. “Seventy-five per cent of those who develop mental illness first experience symptoms before they turn 25,” he said.

“Mental ill health in critical schooling and employment years has long-lasting effects for not only your job prospects but many aspects of your life.”

Workplace, housing and education reforms to support people with mental illness are also proposed. “Mental illness is the second largest contributor to years lived in ill health,” the report finds.

“Compared to other developed countries, the prevalence of mental illness in Australia is above the OECD average.’’

The report marks the first time mental health has been examined beyond its clinical context into policy areas such as education, housing, justice and the workplace.

The report, a draft inviting public submissions, notes that one in two Australians will be affected by issues such as anxiety and ­depression during their lifetime.

“The cost to the Australian economy of mental ill health and suicide is, conservatively, in the order of $43bn-$51bn a year. ­Additional to this is an approximately $130bn a year cost associated with diminished health and reduced life expectancy for those living with mental ill health.”

The direct costs are broken down into healthcare support and services ($18bn a year), lower economic participation and lost productivity ($10bn-$18bn) and informal care provided by friends and family ($15bn).

Broader social effects such as the cost of stigma or lower social participation aren’t quantified.

The report notes that while costs have risen, “there has been no clear indication that the ­mental health of the population has improved”.

“Community awareness about mental illness has come a long way, but the mental health system has not kept pace with needs and expectations of how the wellbeing and productive capacity of people should be supported,” the commission says.

“The treatment of, and support for, people with mental illness has been tacked on to a system that has been largely ­designed around the characteristics of physical illness.

“And while service levels have increased in some areas, progress has been patchy. The right services are not available when ­needed, leading to wasted health resources and missed opportunities to improve lives.”

The report says Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders are twice as likely as non-indigenous people to be hospitalised because of mental illness, and twice as likely to die by suicide. 

For those up to 24 years of age, the suicide rate is 14 times higher for Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. 

And services are far from uniform across the nation, with ­people in capital cities nearly twice as likely to access mental health services as those in ­remote areas.

The commission also calls out: thin services in the regions; too clinical an approach to mental health concerns; stigma and discrimination leading to a reluctance to seek support; and a lack of clarity between the tiers of government about roles, responsibilities and funding of services.

Among its recommended reforms, it calls for greater specialist mental health services to be delivered outside acute, expensive, hospital settings.

It also calls for greater investment in “long-term housing solutions for those with severe mental illness who lack stable housing”. “Stable housing for this group would not only improve their mental health and inclusion within the community, but reduce their future need for higher cost mental health in­patient services,” it says.

Workplace reform is also ­proposed.

The commission invites written submissions by January 23 in response to its draft report, and a final report will be provided to the government in May.

The business world is often portrayed as a highly competitive ecosystem in which you need to fight to get ahead.To a good extent, that’s very true. Entrepreneurs need thick skin, drive and intense focus to succeed. But it’s also important for entrepreneurs to remember the value of kindness. 

With World Kindness Day coming up on November 13, take a few minutes to read these 11 quotes. They can all teach us important lessons about business, entrepreneurship and being good human beings. 

1. “Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” -- Scott Adams, Dilbert Creator and Author

Businesses give you the chance to change the world and influence others. Kindness does the same thing, and with a single act you can influence countless others. Pairing kindness with your business can make for a powerful opportunity. 

2. “Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind.” -- Eric Hoffer, Philosopher and Author

Sometimes in life, you have to fake it until you make it. Many of us don’t get up in the morning feeling generous. However, if you concentrate on thinking positively and bringing kindness to each interaction during the day, you might just start to feel the momentum spread to more of your interactions. The truth is, kindness can become a driving force in your business that you can encompass into your mission, story and even branding. 

3. “If you want to be a rebel, be kind.” -- Pancho Ramos Stierle, Activist

In an often jaded world, kindness may be the ultimate act of rebellion. Volunteering for a nonprofit, donating a percentage of your business profits or serving as a mentor to young entrepreneurs can all help you stand out for the right reasons. 

4. “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” -- Mahatma Gandhi

Kindness can be transformative. A volunteer experience might give you new ideas for a business or project. Helping another business owner or pairing up in a partnership may help you to better identify your own future business opportunities. Maybe it won't teach you any of that and you'll simply feel energized by being kind. Regardless, by helping others, you can grow as an individual. 

5. “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the figure of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” -- Franklin D. Roosevelt

A nation doesn’t have to be cruel to be tough, and neither does your business. In designing your company with kindness in mind, customers and clients will recognize and respect both you and your business. 

6. “Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again.” -- Og Mandino, Author

In business and in life, it’s all too easy to put off those things that we really should prioritize. Find a way to make changes in your business, today. Be kind, start that new project and establish a personal connection with your clients. 

7. “You can be rich in spirit, kindness, love and all those things that you can’t put a dollar sign on.” - Dolly Parton

You may have started a business with the goal of becoming rich, but money is only one way to measure a fortune. Be sure to balance your business life with your personal life so that you can enjoy love, kindness and those other elements that can also build your fortune. 

8. “You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Emerson speaks here to the temporary nature of everything in life. Keeping this in mind might make you want to stop and evaluate how you treat people, whether they're competitors or co-workers. How can you make a difference in someone’s life today? 

9. “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” -- Sir Winston Churchill

Just think of how good you feel when you give a little to others. Consider donating a percentage of your business’s profits. It won’t just change your life; it will change others’s lives, too. 

10. “A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees.” -- Amelia Earhart

Your journey as an entrepreneur isn’t just about you, but what you do for others and how you affect their lives. Starting with kindness means you can leave a legacy that’s larger than you. 

11. “Life is an echo. What you send out, comes back. What you sow, you reap. What you give, you get. What you see in others, exists in you.” -- Zig Ziglar, Author and Motivational Speaker

When you’re kind to others, that kindness comes back to you, too. You can make the journey easier for everyone simply by being kind. 

When you’re building a business, it’s easy to become so focused on your own goals and progress that you forget about how you’re treating others. But in a world full of entrepreneurs and new businesses, kindness is one quality that can quickly help you to stand out from everyone else. Work on incorporating kindness into your daily routine, and that routine may soon become a joyful experience.

Data from global job search engine Jobrapido has found the majority of UK salaries (53 per cent) have suffered pay freezes or decreases over the past 12 months. Nearly a quarter of salaries (24 per cent) have frozen whilst nearly three in ten (29 per cent) have decreased. The research examined the salaries of more than 1.2 million jobs across more than 20 different industry sectors across the UK between the period of July 2018 to July 2019.  Those falling victim to stagnant salaries included employees working in sales/personal care and a wide range of management occupations.

Those working in education, training, business and financial operations as well as computing and mathematical occupations have suffered and taken less in their salary over the last year. With an 8 per cent drop (about £4,500 less year over year), ‘computer and mathematical occupations’ is by far the category that suffered the most significant salary reduction, also representing almost 11 per cent of the workers.

Industry sectors which have bucked the trend (47 per cent) and shown salary increases include legal occupations, life and social science occupations, construction, architecture, design and farming and fishing industries.

For more than one in four of these sectors (26 per cent), the increase has been lower than three per cent, while just a few categories had a growth over five per cent. Legal Occupations, representing just 1.5 per cent of salaries, registered the most significant increase, more than 7.5 per cent (about £3,200 more year over year).

“Undoubtedly the climate of political and economic uncertainty in the UK has taken a toll on people’s salaries over the past twelve months,” says Rob Brouwer, CEO of Jobrapido, “and the latest forecasts from the OECD predict no-deal Brexit will slice almost three per cent from the UK economic growth over the next three years compared with just 0.6 per cent from the rest of the EU. But, of course, it remains to still be seen what happens at the final Brexit hurdle.

“That said, nearly half of UK salaries have shown modest increases and there is a growth of new jobs, for example in most of the technological and fast-growing AI related fields, where demand far outweighs supply and those who have the skills are being rewarded with princely salaries,” he added.

“Whilst UK workers may have to brace themselves for a time of salary-stagnancy, current climate presents a good time to re-evaluate career paths and look at acquiring new skills or even re-training in a new occupation. Perhaps it is time for make this happen and seize available opportunities despite adversity,” concludes Brouwer.

Some employees will go to extraordinary lengths to avoid addressing an uncomfortable issue at work, says new research.

Need to tell the new intern that their work isn’t up to scratch? Are you too afraid to tell your work friend Susan that her inability to meet deadlines is hampering your productivity? Struggling to conjure up the courage to tell your colleague Alan about his perpetually bad breath?

Time to quit then.

This is not really a joke, because you wouldn’t be alone if you felt that way. Many of us have to have an awkward conversation that we don’t know how to broach with a colleague and some people are willing to go to extreme lengths to avoid it.

Cat got your tongue

New research from leadership training company VitalSmarts found that one in four people have been putting off an uncomfortable conversation for at least six months, one in 10 have been doing so for a year and another one in 10 have been staying mum on an awkward issue for more than two years.

The findings, which were collected from over 500 US-based respondents, also showed one in five admitted they wouldn’t feel confident that the conversation would go in their favour even if they found the courage to have it. Others felt it could have negative repercussions for others in the business or that the workplace culture doesn’t support people who speak up.

Of course, the definition of an uncomfortable conversation is a chat you’d rather avoid, but the methods people are willing to take in order to avoid being uncomfortable were staggering. The research found that people would:

• Avoid the other person at all costs (50 per cent). This is obviously a hard task if you share a workspace with them.
• Dance around the awkward topic whenever they speak to the person in question (37 per cent)
• Consider quitting their job or taking a different job (37 per cent)
• Quit their job (11 per cent)

VitalSmarts identified three main topics that people were avoiding: 

1. Obnoxious behaviours 
2. Poor performance
3. Broken promises (such as an agreement for a promotion or pay-rise that’s fallen through)

“In these moments, most people run the other way because experience tells them the other person will be angry or defensive. And yet, our research shows the select few who know how to speak up candidly and respectfully – no matter the scary topic – can solve problems while also preserving relationships. As a result, they are considered among the top performers in their organisation,” says Joseph Grenny, one of the researchers.

Addressing the elephant in the room

HRM has previously written about why these difficult conversations matter and has offered some tips from a psychologist about how to get the ball rolling. But it’s also important to create an environment where these conversations are the norm.

In an article for the Harvard Business Review (HBR), Jim Whitehurst, the president and CEO of Red Hat, a multinational software company, shares an anecdote about an organisation he worked for as a consultant. Apparently at this company each staff member could write a long list about all the things they saw the company wasn’t doing well, but when they came together as a company, no one would raise the issues on their list.

As an outsider, Whitehurst said staff were comfortable airing their grievances with him but weren’t willing to point the finger at the causes of their problems – which were often their colleagues. 

You’ve likely heard your own version of this story before. Staff are often too scared to pipe up and therefore HR and leaders are blindsided when the issue finally comes to light. There’s a psychological component to this. When everyone else seems okay with the problems, individuals feel compelled to stay quiet. As the saying goes, the first one through the wall gets bloody.

To create a culture where these conversations aren’t relationship or career ending, Whitehurst suggests creating what he calls “a vibrant feedback loop”.

“Once you establish the practice of sharing regular feedback across the company, it begins to function like a flywheel. It’s hard at first to get it moving. You’ll need to do some substantial pushing and monitoring to get the wheel spinning. But before you know it, you’ll find that the wheel begins to turn all on its own using its own momentum,” he says.

It’s important that this feedback loop is modelled from the top, he says, and there are three main things for leaders to keep in mind:

1. 1. Practice what you preach. As a leader, if you’re open to taking on the feedback, you set the tone for the rest of the organisation and also increase that person’s engagement levels in their own work, says Whitehurst.
   2. Start with recognition. Workplaces need to work on taking the negative connotations out of feedback, he says. One way to do this is to start by offering recognition and appreciation for the person’s work – he suggests a 3:1 ratio of positive to negative comments. 
   3. Include everyone in the feedback. Organisations that are overly siloed can breed mistrust or encourage an “us versus them” mentality, he says. Seek feedback from a variety of departments on smaller issues in order to cultivate an inclusive workplace community that’s built on trust. It also normalises feedback if you’re not only dishing it out when the stakes are high.

Conversation after care

The issue isn’t always done and dusted after the conversation is over. In a different HBR article, talent development leader and former head of global manager development at Google Dolores Bernado suggests returning to the conversation shortly after its ended to acknowledge that it happened.

“There is huge value in appreciating that you were able to come together, identify and discuss a big issue, and even have the conversation in the first place. Thank your colleague for taking the time to engage in the conversation,” she says.

Bernado also suggests practicing the ‘designed alliance conversation’, whereby two colleagues ‘put the past on hold’ and take a long term outlook on how they can use this to benefit their relationship in the future.

“It includes questions like: What does success look like in this partnership? What outcomes are important to both of us? What constraints do we both have that we need to be aware of? What is important to each of us that the other might not be aware of? This gives each party a chance to be honest about how you each prefer to collaborate going forward,” she says.

So if you’ve got something on your mind that you’d like to share with a colleague, don’t put it off. As long as you approach the situation with empathy and keep the long term working relationship in mind, it’s likely to go much smoother than you think. Probably much smoother than trying to quit and find a new job anyway.

There’s something about Dr Catriona Wallace that makes her seem like more like a superhero than a businesswoman. Her brilliant red hair makes her stand out in a crowd and her impeccable clothing and make-up leaves you wondering if she’s just stepped off a catwalk.

Meanwhile, her inviting smile radiates warmth and confidence, immediately putting you at ease. But, what is most engaging about the charismatic entrepreneur is her sheer determination, drive and passion. There’s no doubt that when she sets her mind to something, she makes it happen.

The Australian businesswoman is not only the Founder of artificial intelligence fintech start-up Flamingo Ai, but is also one of the very few female CEOs running ASX-listed companies.

In fact, Flamingo Ai is the second female-led (CEO and Chair) business ever to list on the ASX. “I don’t deal with many women,” Wallace laments.

“There are very few women who are leading ASX companies, and there are very few who are in the investment community that invest in companies.”

Wallace believes the shortage of women in leadership is something that needs to be addressed by the business world. She points out that women working their way up through the ranks often leave large companies between the ages of 30 and 40.

“Perhaps in those years, they choose to start a family or have a career change,” she says. “We see a significant number of women drop off who could potentially make it into leadership roles in ASX-listed companies.”

“We see a significant number of women drop off who potentially could make it into leadership roles in ASX-listed companies,” – Dr Catriona Wallace

While there’s no easy solution to the problem, Wallace believes that with the right mentoring, coaching and guidance, many could be encouraged to stay in the corporate world and eventually break through the so- called glass ceiling.

“I also think there needs to be more profiling of women who have made it into leadership roles and are role models,” she adds.

“Women need to see, read about, meet and experience other women who are in those leadership roles. I believe that women attract women. Women like to go and work with women, so just having that visual presence would certainly help.”

Understandably, many women choose to put their careers on hold while they turn their attention to raising a family.

Those who return to the workforce after having children often seek part-time work, which results in them taking lower positions and stepping aside to let their male counterparts ascend the corporate ladder.

However, Wallace is adamant women shouldn’t have to choose between career and family. “I believe we can have it all,” she declares.

As a mum-of-five, Wallace certainly knows a thing or two about juggling parental responsibilities with a high-flying career. Describing herself as an “un-mother”, she reveals she’s made it work by taking an unconventional approach to parenting.

“My youngest son once said to me, ‘Oh, Mum, you’re an un-mother.’ I said, ‘What is that?’ he said, ‘An un-mother is just super-loving like a mother, but you don’t actually do anything that mothers are supposed to do. You don’t make my lunch, you don’t come to the school, you don’t go on excursions, you don’t know who my teachers are.’ I said, ‘Yeah, actually, all of that is true!’” Wallace laughs.

“He said, ‘But you do show me how to work and how to be an entrepreneur, and you’ve taken me overseas, you’ve taken me into your business and I’ve learned a lot of things that mothers do when they’re working.’ I went, ‘Okay, great, as long as there is some other benefit there.’ I think this unconventional approach to parenting is necessary, and I think if you have that, indeed, you can have it all. You can be a mother and a worker in senior leadership.”

Wallace, who has a PhD in Organisational Behaviour: Human Technology Interaction, is also passionate about encouraging more women to pursue careers in technology.

In 2013, the entrepreneur founded Flamingo Ai, a machine-learning company with headquarters in Sydney and the US that provides cognitive virtual assistance for employees and customers.

She’s since become a world-renowned authority on artificial intelligence (AI), insisting it needs to be a core part of every company’s business strategy.

“It’s the fastest-growing tech sector in the world,” she says.

Concerned about the bias that will arise without diversity, Wallace is urging more women to join her in the field.

“Currently 90% of all AI-type coding is done by males, and with that comes the risk of bias, probably unconsciously, being coded into the way the algorithms work. We’ve already seen that play out in some pretty disastrous situations, where we’ve had machines and technology choosing males above females for recruitment,” she explains.

“We must get more women, and also minorities, into STEM simply so that we can avoid hard-coding society’s existing biases straight into the machines that are going to be running our lives going forward.”

Currently, AI software promises to improve efficiency and facilitate better and faster decision-making. However, in just a few years, the technology will begin taking over many of the tasks traditionally performed by humans.

“Within the next six years, 40% of the jobs in sectors such as finance, retail, hospitality and tourism will be automated by machines,” – Wallace

“Gartner predicts that, within the next two years, 1.8 million jobs will be lost as a result of AI, but 2.3 million jobs will be created. The issue is that the 1.8 million who lose their jobs will not be the 2.3 million who are taking the new jobs. It’s predicted that 90% of the jobs that are going to be automated will be those mainly done by women and minority groups.”

When you listen to Wallace speak about AI, it quickly becomes apparent that she is not only passionate about the topic, but is also extremely knowledgeable.

However, not everyone realises this when they first meet her. “I’m one of the very few females in the AI sector who’s leading a company so, often, when I’m around my counterparts, or even venture capitalists and investors, they assume that I don’t really know about AI and high tech, so I get a lot of mansplaining,” she smiles.

“Many people, for whatever reason, assume that I don’t know about technology, so they’ll start to tell me and teach me about it, and then I say to them, ‘Oh, look, I actually run a company, and we’ve built this from scratch. It’s our own proprietary technology. I have a PhD in the field,’ and then they correct themselves. Initially, they assume that I’m a lady running a company without the significant experience and substantial knowledge that I have.”

Despite having to prove herself along the way, Wallace is proud of everything she’s achieved. “Conceiving an idea of a new technology and successfully bringing that to the market, not only here in Australia but also in the US, and providing great value for our clients – that’s been amazing,” she grins.

“Competitors in our field are all the big technology giants, such as Google, Amazon, IBM and Microsoft and, so far, we’ve been able to hold our own in a highly competitive space. So I’m proud that we, as a young Australian company, have made a mark in the AI field.”