It is 2001. My boss, Julia Ross, was CEO of the ASX-listed global company Ross Human Directions. The important detail about this story is that my CEO, as you may have picked up, was a ‘she’. At this stage of my career, I had worked my way up and proudly...

Around 1440, the first moveable-type printing press was invented.  Before that, books were handwritten by scribes and accessed only by the elite and educated, who really were the same people. Gratefully, the printing press revolutionised education and our human evolution. Imagine relying on the limited elite for the universe’s progress....

If your business is suffering from a lack of skilled workers, you are not alone. It is a pandemic, an arterial gift from COVID-19. As a small business owner and Managing Director of a recruitment firm, I am well accustomed to our hiring agony. Small businesses feel the magnitude of...

We are always on. In today’s digital everything world, is there ever a time we are not reachable? In the morning, is the phone the recipient of your first physical contact and engagement? My bet, for most of us, the answer is yes. It continues, with incremental, gradual creeping insertions;...

Pre-COVID-19 and workplace perks were different. In essence, perks were a benefit or bonus of employment, directly connected to the business or industry and intrinsically linked to employee motivations. Work in a hair salon and receive haircuts, and if you have a passion for foreign countries and cultures, a job...

The search for talent has become a hen's teeth exercise. The process is exhausting and costly. Is it any wonder our hopes run high when presented with a slither of skills and a thimble of talent? Our mind's cry is, 'yes, that can work!'. The exhilaration of finally filling the...

Loyalty is the fly-under-the-radar virtue and is frequently usurped for its more glamourous comraderies like generosity, fairness, or the new kid on the block - resilience. Whilst veritable qualities with deserved standing, they don't come close to the laurels of loyalty. Loyalty is your best buddy from school- the formative...

It is 2023, and to our chagrin, men still achieve better economic results in negotiations than women. The research shows this, but as a career advisor, I also know it to be true. It is evident when coaching women on salary negotiations and career advancements, and sadly, despite knowing better,...

Shūshin koyō: the Japanese term for lifetime employment. With strong links to company pride, security, family, and loyalty, it is a legacy of the post-war era. As Japan tried to rebuild its devastated economy, the demand for labour skyrocketed. Sound familiar? Whilst lifetime employment is not an overly Western concept,...

If growing your business right now, my guess is staffing issues are delivering you a world of pain. Time and our precious human resources are in scarce supply. Every organisation is deprived of talent. As for time, that is the consequence and paid handsomely for, in lieu of human capital....