Karen Williams: Changing Face of the Australian Workplace

Change Management Specialist and Principal Consultant of Message Stix, Karen Williams (pictured) assists organisations in the private and public sector to identify and assess the impacts of change on a company’s people, processes and systems. Recently, I spoke to Karen about the changing landscape of the Australian workplace and the impact the current skills shortage is having on the way organisations do business.

The current skills shortage in Australia has forced businesses of all sizes to compete for a much smaller pool of talent, placing skilled and experienced employees in the enviable position of being able to name their own price.

Karen Williams says “The other side of this issue is that it actually encourages businesses to be better employers.”

“My advice to employers is that this is the time when you really need to define what we call in change management, your ‘critical essentials’. Be really clear about those little cultural and tangible things that make your firm different from your competitors.”

Employers are indeed becoming more creative in their approach to staff attraction and retention. For example, C & K Kindercraft recently announced it was giving their employees a paid day off for their birthday. Other employers are offering things such as unrestricted access to social networking sites to attract and retain the new generation of talent.

According to Deacons’ Social Networking Survey 2008, “almost half of those who used social networking sites at work said that if given a choice between two jobs equal in all other respects, they would choose an employer which allowed access to these sites over one which did not.”

When I mention this to Karen, she says Facebook and other social networking sites have caused a lot of angst within organisations. “The reality is you have to have some level of trust in your employees that they are going to use these social utilities appropriately. I have seen and heard some horror stories about what people have done with Facebook and should an employee be using social networking inappropriately, then by all means you do remove their access to these sites. But from a staff attraction perspective, social networking is becoming a useful tool for employers.”

People who use social networking should also be aware that employers are using virtual networking sites to see what kind of people they have working for them. Therefore, it wouldn’t be wise to post anything on the Internet you wouldn’t want your employer, or a perspective employer to know.

One of the biggest casualties of the ‘War for Talent’ is the break down in corporate communication. Karen says as a result of the ‘War for Talent’ senior managers and HR teams alike are very careful about the feedback they give their staff. “They are wary of balancing the need for better organisational performance against maintaining a harmonious work environment.”

“Adding to the pressure is the reality that most organisations have staff from three different generations each of which have honed completely unique communication receptors,” she said.

Karen explains:

“Baby Boomers are facing growing pressure from a young, enthusiastic demographic beneath them, so they need reassurance about the value they add to an organisation.”

“The best way to communicate feedback to Generation X is to suggest how they can work smarter, not harder and acknowledge, but not too lavishly, successes and deal directly with areas for improvement.”

“Generation Y have grown up on praise and tend to rely on it from authority figures to know they are on track. As a result, Gen Y can struggle with processing feedback. So reassure them that the feedback is designed to support their career progression.”

Karen says managers have to invest more time and energy into giving feedback, especially as it relates to the employee review process.

“The employee review process has become a tick the box concept within the workplace and it really is a lot more important than that. As part of a retention strategy, getting those performance reviews right is worth the investment in time,” she said.

“People from Generation Y and Generation X as well, do like to be patted on the head if we’ve done a good job. We do like to be reassured by our bosses and for a manager to do that properly, a manager has to be prepared.”

Steps to ensure your feedback is constructive and well-received:

1. Preparation is the key: Put time and thought into the process of preparing your feedback. Collect concrete examples to illustrate points. Balance constructive feedback with praise and positive feedback.
2. Secure a suitable venue: Hold the session in a private place. Turn off your mobile!
3. Adequately brief the reviewee: Make sure the reviewee has clear expectations about the nature of the meeting and ask the reviewee to prepare by setting their own objectives.
4. Ensure a supportive context for the feedback: Frame your communication carefully so that the reviewee understands your perspective. Only use “I” statements.
5. Remain positive: Lead with positive feedback than deliver constructive feedback. Focus on behaviour that can be changed rather than on personality.
6. Ask the reviewee for feedback on how you handled the session: This can be an opportunity to build bridges and show your willingness to learn.
7. Honor any agreements made during the meeting: Confirm anything in writing after the session and always follow through.
8. Ask the reviewee for feedback on how you handled the session: This can be an opportunity to build bridges and show your willingness to learn.

Karen says feedback is a two-ways street and employees also need to be well prepared for the employee review process. She recommends that employees take this opportunity to demonstrate to their employer that they are a valuable member of the work team. “You need to bring to the performance review some examples of exemplarary work that you’ve done and show off a little.”

About Karen Williams
Former high school teacher and professional actor, Karen Williams created Message Stix in 2004 to take advantage of the emerging market need for organisational change management. Given Karen’s unique background and considerable specialised experience, Message Stix was formed to offer a dynamic, new perspective in this field. Karen has assisted the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Multicultural Development Association, Smith & Boyd, Dedicated Bookkeeping and Ergon Energy/ENERGEX and many other private and public organisations.

I would like to thank Karen Williams for speaking with Australian Women Online.