If you’re a woman and want to advance your career, it may surprise you to know that the mining and resources industry is second only to the public and not-for-profit sector for putting gender diversity policies in place, according to research by recruiting experts Hays.

In the survey of almost 6,000 people across all industries, the public and not-for-profit sector was named by 50 per cent of its workers as having formal gender diversity policies and practices in place. This was followed by resources and mining (37 per cent) and financial services (36 per cent). At the other end of the scale, just 17 per cent of employers in the advertising/media industry have formal gender diversity policies and practices in place.

Across all industries, 49 per cent of the entire survey pool said their organisation does not have a gender diversity policy in place, and a further 19 per cent were unsure. Alarmingly, even when policies are in place one in five respondents (19 per cent) say they are not adhered to “at all”.

In positive news, the retail industry was voted by its employees as most likely to adhere to these policies (89 per cent of retail employees said their organisation adheres to their policies “well” or “fairly well”). This was followed by advertising/media (88 per cent), transport/distribution (85 per cent) and professional services (82 per cent).

Interestingly, while the resources and mining industry came in second in terms of having gender diversity policies in place, it was near the bottom in terms of adhering to them. 22 per cent of employees working in this industry say formal gender diversity policies are not adhered to at all well.

“The resources and mining sector has done a lot in terms of developing policies and practices that will enable it to attract and retain talented female employees,” says Nick Deligiannis, Managing Director of Hays in Australia & New Zealand. “But it seems the industry is failing at a practical level to implement these policies. Managers on the ground need to action these policies if they are to have any real impact.

“Employers should take notice of the gender diversity leaders in their industry because there are real benefits to be gained from ensuring your female talent is free from inequality and can progress equally to their male counterparts. Of course their own career benefits, but the organisations they work for also benefit from having the best person in the best job – regardless of gender – and retaining them by rewarding both genders equally.”

For more, please see social.hays.com/diversity.

Hays surveyed 5,949 people across 31 countries during December 2014 and January 2015.

Where relevant these results have been weighted for a gender value of 1:1.

The announcements on the 12th March by the Hon Amy Adams, Minister for Communications in regards to the RBI2 and Mobile Blackspots programmes have been welcomed by the Telecommunications Users Association of New Zealand and the Rural Health Alliance Aotearoa New Zealand. “We support the continued investment in rural infrastructure to ensure that this vitally important part of the New Zealand economy and society is not left behind” said Craig Young, CEO of TUANZ.

To ensure that the voices of rural users of telecommunications services are heard in the process, TUANZ and RHAANZ have entered into an agreement to collaborate on the issue of rural connectivity. “Our organisation represents most of the rural stakeholder groups with our focus on health and we welcome the expertise that TUANZ can bring to our advocacy around the importance of connectivity for the improvement of rural health outcomes.” said Michelle Thompson, CE of RHAANZ.

As a first step, the two organisations are planning to host a Rural Connectivity Symposium in Wellington in late May. The aim of this day will be to develop a joint submission to the RBI2 and Mobile Blackspot requests for information. Ms Thompson says “The ability to gather together a large number of rural stakeholders and to provide a response to the Government's request is a great opportunity for us to provide a strong unified response which reflects the voices of rural users of telecommunications services”

Many of NZ's industries are facing an increasing employee health problem, but what can employers do during the 9-5 period to help? HRM asked Vicki Caisley, Southern Cross Health Society’s Head of People and Talent, just how healthy is the Kiwi workforce?

 

This video originally appeared here.

Keeping businesses relevant in today’s volatile and globally hyper-connected world, where the technology fuelled disruption of entire markets and industries alike, presents a real and ongoing challenge for business leaders.
The simultaneous impacts of factors such as the speed of technology-induced change and globalisation further accelerate these changes.

Established organisations whose business models are predicated on the assumption that a fine tuning of their current strategies, structures and business processes will guarantee future viability may be ill prepared when faced with the inevitability of disruption.

20/20 hindsight is a good thing. The litany of cases where organisations have failed to read the signs of disruption are well known and researched. Kodak and Polaroid are well known such examples.

The question is: What can business leaders do to ensure their organisation thrives and survives in the face of increasing technology-induced volatility?

The inertial organisation meets disruption: Who wins?

All organisations, whether public, private, for-profit, not-for-profit or Government, intrinsically face the same challenges in ensuring their ongoing financial viability and efficiency whilst remaining relevant and valued in the eyes of their stakeholders.

Even though the latest technology offering may be compelling, the acid test is how, if at all, organisations can exploit these technologies and innovations to their advantage with known cost, value and risk. This tests the organisation’s intrinsic ability to truly deliver when it comes to making the necessary changes – not everyone will come out a winner.

Past successes contribute to organisational inertia, and overcoming this inertia presents business owners and executives with a complex set of challenges. For incumbent and mature organisations, the foundations on which the capability for ensuring enterprise-wide resilience and adaptability has often little to do with the latest technology.

This post first appeared on CIO Upfront by Rob Livingstone (CIO New Zealand)

The AuSAE TV platform is jam-packed with interviews of NFP sector leaders and topic experts. The latest episode features Sarah Sladek (Founder & CEO of XYZ University), who joins us all the way from America and shares with us her views of the future of association membership and best ways to engage with Gen Y. She describes in the episode how associations must bridge the generational gap in order to survive, and describes some ways in which to do this [watch now].

AuSAE TV is made possible by Redback Conferencing and is housed within their platform. Click here to watch. Not a member? Visit our membership page to see what else you are missing out on and join today! AuSAE TV is a platform consisting of various insightful interviews and webcasts with sector leaders and topic experts. New episodes are released every month.

(Breaking News) Sam McLean will address the AuSAE Conference & Exhibition (ACE) in an exciting keynote titled "Mobilising members through grassroots campaigns in the NFP landscape." Join us at ACE, to hear Sam share his and GetUp's impressive work in the advocacy field throughout Australia.

Sam McLean is National Director of GetUp, an independent movement of more than 800,000 people working to build a progressive Australia and bring participation back into our democracy. Sam started as a volunteer eight years ago and by 22 had risen to become GetUp's Communications and Campaigns Director. At 24, he succeeded Simon Sheikh as National Director. From his early days as a grassroots campaigner and field manager, including time as international climate change campaigner at Avaaz.org, he has advocated for progressive activism at the local level. He helped to establish CommunityRun, a tool that empowers GetUp members to start and eventually run their own campaigns. Sam is also a Director of Australian Progress and of ControlShift Labs, which provide platforms for local activists to start and run campaigns across the world. Follow Sam on Twitter: @samuelmclean.

To see the full program and more information about ACE please click here.

Recruitment firms are being enlisted not just to find skilled candidates, but to make sure a wider range of people are considered for leadership roles.

Karen Greenbaum knows what it takes to hunt down top talent. For three decades she has been recruiting, advising and managing leaders, in a career that has taken her to the highest echelons of global consulting firm Mercer, top 100 law firm Nixon Peabody and boutique executive search company Pierce Consulting Partners.

But it was recruiting for the head of the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC) that was her toughest assignment - this time she was the one in the hot seat. Before taking the top job at the AESC last year, she was not only shoulder tapped by an executive recruitment firm, but also faced a selection panel made up of leading recruiters.

"It was all search, all the time," she says. It's what you'd expect from the trade organisation that represents the firms that help corporate clients find top-flight talent for executive and boardroom roles.

The Chicago-based Greenbaum says there is a common misconception that by employing an executive search specialist you're getting access to someone with a Rolodex of likely candidates at their fingertips. "That is not at all what we do," she says.

It's about assessing talent, understanding the business environment of the organisation, making sure it will be a good fit for the candidate and helping bring that person successfully into the organisation, she says. "We really do search and it's very specific for the client, for the assignment." Signing on top talent will become increasingly competitive this year, says Greenbaum.

The AESC's annual Executive Job Outlook survey, set for release next week, shows 72 per cent of executives around the world are optimistic about job market opportunities. This is a "huge jump" from 51 per cent last year and 36 per cent in 2013, she says. Greenbaum says as growing economies create more opportunities for those at the top, the war for talent will become a reality for many firms.

"People are also looking around the world to fill top positions, not just locally," she says. New Zealand's quality of life is an advantage in this respect, Greenbaum says, making it an attractive market for local executives and those looking for opportunities in another market. Greenbaum is in New Zealand speaking with government officials and organisations working on board diversity.

Please find full NZ Herald article here.

At the following link, you can find the accounting standards and other pronouncements to be applied by Not-For-Profit public benefit entities (NFPs) in New Zealand for preparing general purpose financial reports for periods beginning on or after 1 April 2015. The Accounting Standards and other pronouncements for periods beginning on or before 31 March 2015 are on a different page found here.

Please find full information about the New Standards here.

Sourced from IRD information hub on non-profit organisations.

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An Employment Court decision could mean a big pay day for 35,000 New Zealand workers. In Wellington’s Employment Court last week, the Service and Food Workers Union won a case against the Ministry of Health and Capital & Coast District Health Board over the pay of one of its employees.

Jane Lowe was being paid a “subsidy” of $75 for a 24 hour shift – ultimately leaving her with just over $3 pay per hour. The judge’s ruling means that Lowe is now eligible to receive the minimum wage plus holiday pay.

John Ryall, the union’s secretary, said the case is exemplary for 35,000 other home care relief workers who are typically paid in “subsidies”. He added that the court had asked the union to come back in a month to discuss how the change in pay should be implemented.

A case on behalf of the thousands of other workers the change might affect is yet to be filed, but there are plans to do so. Ryall said that the issue of back-pay for Lowe and the other workers will also be addressed. “Home care relief workers allow family carers a short break from looking after disabled or ill relatives by stepping into their role,” he said. “Without these workers the family care system would fall over.”

The back pay could be “quite large”, Ryall said. Judge Bruce Corkill said in the legal documents that the Ministry of Health and health board had argued against claims that Lowe was a home worker – the ERA had previously argued that she was not.

However, Corkill found that although Lowe referred to herself as a “friend” of her clients, “she did not provide these services only as a friend” and was indeed a homeworker. “[Lowe] provided a service to the Ministry and C&CDHB required to be undertaken so that their responsibilities could be met,” the judge ruled.

He said that all parties involved should resolve pay issues directly, but would be able to file for court help if this was unsuccessful. The Ministry of Health’s chief legal advisor Phil Knipe said that the Ministry was considering the judge’s decision and working with legal advisors regarding its next steps. A spokesman for the health board said that it was complying with Ministry of Health guidelines in relation to carer support.

Article sourced directly from: http://www.hrmonline.co.nz/news/courts-decision-could-affect-35000-kiwi-workers-197895.aspx