Employers of Choice

In the past, employers looking to hire the best staff would offer higher salaries than their competitors. Now they are thinking out of the box in a bid to lure staff away from the competition with a range of perks. Some of these perks include paid parental leave and a day off for parents on their child’s first day of school.

A high salary is no longer the most important factor for many workers, many are now desiring a better work/life balance.

An employer who can offer an appealing workplace culture is more likely to attract and retain superior employees. The features of the atmosphere available at an employer of choice support the interests of employees and customers.

Here are some tips for becoming an Employer of Choice;

• Employ people with diverse backgrounds including indigenous and people from other cultures, women, gay and youth.
• Include all staff in management and leadership opportunities.
• Encourage high levels of satisfaction among staff.
• Strive to have a good reputation in the business and the wider community.
• Utilise reward and recognition programs.
• Flexible work practices.
• Career development programs.
• Involve employees in decision making.
• Family-friendly policies.
• Job Security. Employees are better able to concentrate on their goals and work if they are not concerned about losing their job.
• Respect: Your employees should always feel they are respected by their bosses and co-workers.
• Access to Information: Share information about the business with your employees, it will help to make them feel more involved and motivated.
• Work-Life Balance: work-life balance initiatives such as flexible scheduling choices, allow employees to work undistracted by family and life events occurring outside of the workplace.
• A recognisable brand – One which is associated with values that are supported by your company and employees. If a potential employee has not heard of you, they are less likely to consider you  their first choice for work. Ideally you want to attract employees with similar values to your business.
• Honesty and integrity - Treat everyone with the appropriate respect and professionalism that you would expect in return. Employers need to fairly develop and apply policies, treat all employees with the same regard and consideration, and make workplace guidelines clear and enforceable across the board.
• Create a community. Establishing a strong community in your workplace, which is positive and supportive, will provide a sense of belonging that will attract and retain the right people long term.

Unique Recruitment Ideas

If you’re trying to attract your ideal candidates, who already have a job elsewhere, you may have to think outside the box when it comes to your recruitment strategies.

That’s why many companies are embracing creative recruiting.

These recruitment methods can help your business stand out from the crowd and put you in touch with your ideal hires;

•    Handout Recruitment cards: Print out business size cards for your employees with the company name, phone number and website on them and the words “now hiring”.  Ask your employees to keep a stash of these cards on them wherever they go. Whenever they come across someone doing an exceptional job, whether it’s at a café or the cashier at the grocery store, they can hand them a “now hiring “card. Once you have found someone with the right personality or mind set you can teach them the other essential skills that may be needed. You will be bowled over at the great employees you will be able to find from very diverse backgrounds using this approach.

•    Employee Referral Rewards Program: It can be very beneficial to hire someone that has been referred by a current employee. A current employee knows the culture of your company and can sense if a person will be a good fit with your organization and team. Offer incentives to employees to refer others.

•    Billboards: Renting a billboard on a busy road near your location is a great way to inform people that you are currently hiring. Make the imagery fun and memorable to catch people’s attention. Keep the wording to a minimum and make the web address easy to remember so that once people are back at their computer they are able to look up the website.

•    Look for talent in an unlikely places: The Director of Talent Acquisition at Quicken Loans (which is regularly listed in Fortune’s 100 best places to work) believes that the secret to their recruiting success is by looking for great people in unexpected places. For example , the company once organised a ‘blitz’ on local businesses , retail stores and restaurants , asking employees to go out and interact with workers and offer interviews to any that were exceptional or stood out from the crowd. Quicken believes that 'Too many companies focus on industry experience when they recruit... We can teach people about finance. We can't teach passion, urgency and a willingness to go the extra mile.’

Hiring the Best Candidates

Hiring the right candidate is vital for any organisation if they are to thrive. Here are some important tips to help you attract and select the best candidates.

•    Select an appropriate interviewing team.

Senior managers and experienced employers should be involved in the interviewing and hiring process, however it is also good practice to involve the people who will be working alongside the selected candidate .Present employees who are engaged in similar roles within the company will be able to relate to the candidate and encourage them to feel more compatible and involved with the organisation.

•    Prepare fully for the interview.

Relevant questions and criteria should be prepared ahead of time. It is also helpful to determine the interview structure and style before you begin interviewing candidates. You should try to ensure that the candidate talks 70% of the interview and the interviewer only talks for 30% of the time. The interview questions should be based on the job requirements and should not discriminate on grounds of sex or race.

•     Develop an accurate job description.

It is easy to overlook the job description, however in many cases, an applicant can be attracted to a job exclusively because of how the position is communicated. If the job description is not clear enough, it can fail to attract candidates with the right qualifications and abilities.

•    Fully explain the job.

It is important to fully explain the job to the candidate and make sure that they understand what is expected of them. If a candidate is hired into a position they don’t fully understand and their expectations do not match the job, it is likely they will leave soon after being hired. This will mean that you will have to begin the whole recruitment process again.

•     Communicate often.

Make sure to communicate with all applicants frequently throughout the recruitment process. Inform the candidates who are selected, as well as the ones who aren’t, as soon as possible.
When someone applies for a job within your company they are also forming their first impression of you and your organisation and what it may be like to work there.

•      Select a broad range of candidates.

If you shortlist too severely you can end up with only one or two candidates left to interview. You should always have a minimum of three to four candidates left for the final interview. This will ensure that if you do not get your top candidate you will still be left with a few good choices.

•    Follow up.

Once the successful applicant has accepted the position, follow up straight away with the necessary paperwork. Make sure that the salary, probation periods and benefits have been discussed throughout the recruitment process so there are no unexpected surprises for the candidate.

•    Start with a probation period.

Starting a candidate’s position with a probation period allows the manager a chance to test the employee’s skills and talents and gives both parties a way out if the employee is not performing or the job is not what they had expected. Probation periods vary in length but are commonly around 6 months .You may choose to start the employee on a slightly lower pay rate or withhold giving full employee benefits until they have fulfilled their probation period.

Redundancy and Unfair Dismissal

Employees who have been made redundant may still be able to make an unfair dismissal claim against their former employer if the correct procedure has not been followed during the termination process.

Under the Fair Work Act 2009, an employee is unable to make a claim for unfair dismissal in the case of a ‘genuine redundancy’, however what is the difference between a ‘redundancy’ and a ‘genuine redundancy’?

Redundancy occurs when an employer no longer wants a job being done by a specific employee to be carried out by anyone, meaning that the job would no longer exist, or if the employer becomes bankrupt or insolvent.

In order for it to be considered a ‘genuine redundancy’, the employer must follow any consultation requirements in the award or registered agreement before the redundancy takes place. Failure to perform any of these steps may end up in a terminated employee claiming that the redundancy was not genuine and filing an unfair dismissal claim.

If an employer has decided to implement major changes or restructuring that is going to affect employees significantly, the employer must take these steps

1. Notify the affected employee(s) of the proposed changes
2. Discuss the proposed changes with the affected employee(s), including possible measures to reduce the adverse effect on employee(s)
3. Give proper consideration to matters raised by affected employee(s)
4. Provide the affected employee(s) in writing with relevant information about the proposed changes, including the nature of the changes proposed and the expected effect on employees.

Discussions must be held as soon as possible after a decision has been made by the employer to make the intended changes.  Employees are entitled to have trade union representatives present at all discussions and the employers must also confer with the representative.

One unfair dismissal claim involves three employees of BananaCoast credit union Ltd. Their roles were made redundant, but they learned a few months later that their employers had hired workers in very similar positions.

All though they were out of the fourteen day lodgement period, the Fair Work Commission found the employees entitled to make unfair dismissal claims as they were unaware that at the time that their redundancy wasn’t genuine.

Another case in Victoria, Nitro Gym made an employee redundant without following the correct procedures and the employee filed an unfair dismissal claim. Fair Work Act Australia found that the redundancy was not a ‘genuine redundancy ‘and awarded the employee close to $8000 in compensation.

Redundancy and Small Businesses

Redundancy can occur when an employer either:

•    No longer needs an employee’s job done by anyone
•    Becomes bankrupt or insolvent
•    Introduces new technology and an employee’s job is no longer needed (can be done by a machine)
•    Slows down to lower production or sales
•    Relocates either overseas or interstate
•    Restructures or reorganises due to a takeover or merger

A small business is treated differently to other organizations. Defining whether or not your business is categorized as a ‘small business’ is indispensable when figuring out which options are available to you.

The Small Business Fair Dismissal Code came into operation on 1 July 2009 and is a very useful tool for small businesses dealing with redundancy.

A Small Business is defined as having fewer than 15 employees, including casual employees who are employed on a regular basis. Employees of a small business cannot make a claim for unfair dismissal within the first year of their employment. If an employee is dismissed after this initial period and the employer has followed the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code then the dismissal will be deemed to be fair.

Employees who have been dismissed due to business downturn or their position is no longer required cannot bring a claim for unfair dismissal. The redundancy must be genuine though. Hiring a new employee for the position is not a genuine redundancy.

If an employer believes on reasonable grounds that an employee’s behaviour is severe enough to justify immediate dismissal, they can do so without notice or warning. Serious misconduct includes theft, fraud, violence and serious breaches of occupational health and safety procedures. For a dismissal to be deemed fair an allegation of theft, fraud or violence should be reported to the police. The employer must have reasonable grounds for making the report.

In other instances, the small business employer must give an employee a reason why they are at risk of being dismissed. The explanation must be a valid reason based on the employee’s ability to conduct the job. The employee must be warned verbally or ideally in writing, that they are at risk of being dismissed if there is no improvement.

The small business employer must offer the employee an opportunity to respond to the warning and a reasonable chance to rectify the problem. This may involve the employer providing supplementary training and ensuring the employee knows their job description and what is expected of them.
In consultations with an employee where dismissal is possible, the employee can have another person present to assist, the other person however cannot be acting in a professional capacity.


A small business employer will be obligated to provide evidence of compliance with the Code if the employee makes a claim for unfair dismissal, including evidence that a warning has been given (except in cases where the employee has been dismissed due to serious misconduct).

This may include copies of written warnings, a statement of termination or signed witness statements.