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A hard lesson learnt! Many companies who rushed into social media in an attempt to build talent pipelines have now realised it takes more than just a Facebook page or Twitter account to engage candidates online.

Employer Brand International’s (EBI) latest research into engagement on Facebook between employer brands and their followers provides insights into what’s working and what’s wasting precious company time.
EBI Chairman & CEO, Brett Minchington (Australia) will present the key findings of the study and discuss the Key Employer Brand Global Trends and their Implications for Leaders in New Zealand.

Brett will be joined by IBM’s Employer Brand Manager, Michael Holm who will be flying all the way from Denmark to discuss the use of social software and social media as a means to providing a strong employer brand. Delegates will learn from detailed insights of how IBM are leveraging social media both within and outside the corporate firewall including lessons learnt during the journey.

A great line up of International and National presenters!

• Summit Chair – Paul Jacobs, Founder at Jobgram – Pass it on!, Recruitment Asia Pacific and Director at Engage
• Brett Minchington (Australia), Chairman/CEOEmployer Brand International
• Michael Holm (Denmark), Employer Branding Manager, IBM
• Tim Grogan (Australia), Head of Solutions, Asia Pacific, Linkedin
• Sarah Langley, Group Human Resources Director,Frucor Beverages Limited
• Rory Walker, Sales Director, New Zealand,SilkRoad Technology
• Kate Billing, Director, Talent Magnet and Blacksmith
• Una Diver, dsd Consulting
• Rebecca Tansley MA(Hons), Words + Ideas, geyser creative group
• Kath Knight, Talking + Doing, geyser creative group
• Nick Sampson, Strategist, HainesAttract

This is an event not to be missed for leaders in HR, Marketing, Engagement, Branding, Communications, Talent Management, and Recruiting.

Blacksmith is proud to be a partner on this event and is pleased to offer an additional bonus of NZ$100 off the registration fee on bookings made online before 18 May 2012.

To redeem your special offer of NZ$100 off the registration fee please enter the Partner Promotional Code: NZ2012when registering online click here>

But register early as places are limited!

According to “Crunch Time: The Power of Purpose”, “there’s been a big shift in the relationship between employees and the businesses they work for.  This shift is forcing a re-evaluation of many of the assumptions taken for granted about the psychological contract at work.  That driver is Purpose: a deeper role that goes beyond satisfying commercial and operational goals, that helps businesses demonstrate exactly why they are valuable to all their stakeholders.

The new importance placed on Purpose is a significant discovery considering how little attention business leaders have given to it until now. What is also clear from their study is that communicating Purpose is no longer just an HR issue: it is important organization-wide.

The survey (4,202 people were surveyed from larger organizations in the United Kingdom, Germany and United States) also revealed that, on average, 57 percent of respondents said they would favour joining an organization that has a clearly defined Purpose. Moreover, an average of 65 percent of respondents claimed that Purpose would motivate them to go the ‘extra mile’ in their jobs and 64 percent claimed it would engender a greater sense of loyalty towards the organization they work for.

Purpose as a driver of recruitment preference:

The respondents claim that after pay and benefits, ‘deeper purpose’ is the most important factor when considering a new job.

Purpose as a driver of discretionary effort:

If the ‘war for talent’ is the perennial priority for HR teams, the performance of the wider business – and therefore a priority for all leaders – relies greatly on discretionary effort.

At a time when competitors are so finely matched in terms of their offer and the operational efficiency of delivery, it is often this extra commitment and productivity that makes the difference between success and failure in the market.

Purpose as a driver of retention:

The final important result from the survey will be of special interest to those organisations that face heightened risk from the expected flight of talent.  Almost all of the interviewees stressed the disruption caused by high churn or the departure of key personnel; it represents a big cost for the business on many levels. Not only is there the actual expense of finding, interviewing and hiring people; the business loses valuable time and resources bringing new hires up to a productive and useful standard; and then loses much of that intellectual equity when they move on.

So a business where good people stay, even if for just a little longer, gains significant advantage from that retention.

At Blacksmith we have been talking about “Purpose” for some time and it’s encouraging to now start to see research that supports our belief that when you lead with your purpose you engage on a much deeper level with the people that matter most, your employees, suppliers and customers. You give them a reason to get out of bed in the morning, a reason to go the extra mile, a reason to choose you over the competition that nobody can replicate – it becomes your unique competitive advantage and source of emotional commitment.

You can download the full report here

You can also find out more about our Blacksmith offerings with regards to Purpose here

When you read the title of this post, you probably think of some really cool new app that helps you be a better leader. Something that is hosted in the infamous “cloud”. While that would make me appear to be uber-progressive and all, I’m not talking about anything of the sort. I’m actually referring to the voluminous fluffy wafts of water vapor in the sky that capture our imagination with visions of dogs, elephants and other random images.

What does this have to do with leadership, you say? How great is it when the clouds move away and you feel the warm light of the sun on your face. Cloudy days are depressing. Can the same be said about your leadership? When you “disappear” does it brighten the day of those you’re leading? Is your presence depressing for those experiencing it?

Chances are, this is directly related to your expectations of life, other people and the world in general. Cynicism and leadership don’t work very well together. Realism and cynicism aren’t the same. Realism can be approached with a healthy optimism without being a bit of a naive Pollyanna.

Leadership isn’t about finding the problems, it’s about finding the solutions. Of course, as leaders, we have to recognize the problems but we don’t have to let them govern our emotional default setting. Nearly everyone has a story or “reason” that has developed over the past 4 years from the global financial issues that can “logically justify” their frustration. That’s still no excuse for cynical driven leadership.

Leadership drives culture and culture drives engagement. Period. What kind of leadership development will your organization have if the picking grounds are replete with disengaged people? As leaders we peddle in hope and possibilities. We don’t sell rose colored glasses. We remove obstacles and reveal the possible.

Take some time to pay attention how people respond to your leadership. Instead of only focusing on whether they have a bad attitude, consider the possibility that you may be a cloud in a situation where they need a bit of sunshine. The needs of your people dictate your responsibility.

Are you negatively affecting those around you with Cloud Leadership?

Today, just 16 months later, Fisher & Paykel Finance is transforming not only their culture and results, but the mindsets of Leaders in the business and how they think about Human Resources.  Sarah and her team talked us through their journey including key projects around wellness, values and people manager development that have underpinned this remarkable transformation.

Their results include:

• Turnover – tracking at 40% down year on year
• Absenteeism – tracking at 25% down year on year
• Engagement – 11% increase in engagement, 20% increase in participation rates in 12 months
• Understanding expectations – from 91% to 100% - increase of 9%
• Daily opportunities to perform – from 77% to 88.5% - increase of 11.5%
• Receiving regular recognition for good performance- from 48.4% to 74% - increase of 25.6%
• Encouraging development – from 64.8% to 76% - increase of 11.2%
• Regular coaching conversations – from 78.7% to 85.4% - increase of 6.7%
• Opportunities for personal development and growth – from 68% to 84.4% - increase of 16.4%

They also won the 2011 HRINZ Wellness Award and have been featured in the 2012 February issue of Employment Today.

It has been Blacksmith’s privilege and pleasure to work with Sarah and her team on this transformation journey.  We invited them along to a Blacksmith Session to share their story with our community of collaborators, clients and connections including some of the sharpest HR/L&D minds in the country!  Below are the outputs of the group’s conversational debrief after their presentation:

Critical Success Factors

• leadership alignment and support
• common company vision
• measurement
• connection of initiatives
• internal communication and branding
• individual alignment with organisational values
• selling not telling e.g. workshops
• a longterm strategy and commitment
• consistency and connection through Management Matters
• shifting perception and reputation of the HR team
• ownership by Champions – not just the Exec and HR

Shared Values

• FACTS
  • the values program was given its own internal brand identity
  • offered lots of involvement and consultation with FPF people
  • keeping up the momentum
  • created a personal connection
  • engaged an external partner (Blacksmith) to come in and talk with Executive at the beginning
  • the process broke down internal silos
• INSIGHTS
  • different people have differing ‘takes’ on values
  • have to create room for variance
  • leadership and managers walk the talk
  • people really do care about values
  • business strategy needs to underpin values
  • recognised the value of making a personal connection to the values
  • need to take ownership of values

Wellbeing

• FACTS
  • based the program on health risk assessment
  • needs based
  • benchmarked across the organisation
  • measurement was linked to engagement and values
  • health plan took a holistic and demonstrated serious about people
  • on-site cafe transformation (menu, quantities of fats etc)
  • people out in the field included
  • health screening checks used
  • harnessed the power of the team and contagious energy
• INSIGHTS
  • opportunity to brand the initiative
  • brand was linked to internal values brand
  • must have a communication strategy
  • managers able to use tools picked up in Management Matters program for successfully coaching people on wellbeing issues, not just about ‘on the job’ performance
  • holistic approach meant measures weren’t always ‘hard’
  • empowering employees works!
  • telling stories gets people on board

Management Matters

• FACTS
  • survey before and after to benchmark internally and track shifts
  • engagement survey data valuable in assessing opportunities and issues
  • impact on personal development/life, not just about the person at work
  • had Exec buy-in!
  • the value of HR in the business changed
• INSIGHTS
  • created a learning experience that wasn’t just about ticking the box
  • manager engagement around theme (topic) selection – “not just HR telling us what to do”
  • feeding manager feedback into theme selection
  • development potential in managers leading from the front of the room – peer lead
  • flexibility in focus with pick and mix theme management
  • great opportunity to break down silos and connect managers
  • truly transformational for managers and leaders at all levels

If you’d like to learn more about the Fisher & Paykel Finance journey CALL Paul Leacock on +64 (0)9 974 3917.

To hear about future Blacksmith Session events sign up to our newsletter here.

We have been providing Advisory Board support to the Y for Youth Team (Alex Greig, Lara Jane Maloney and Tracy Hanify) since they first raised the idea with us in September 2011.  In that time the team have clearly demonstrated their passion, commitment and ‘we’re serious’ approach to what has the potential to be a world changing initiative in charitable and cause related funding.

Youth need mentors – career pathways – character building opportunities – basic life skills – positive role models:

• New Zealand has the second highest rate of youth suicide in the developed world
• New Zealand was ranked second worst among 37 countries when it comes to bullying in primary schools
• 23% of our youth are unemployed (15 – 24 years)

There are many organisations and programs assisting youth.  Just some of the challenges they face:

• They compete for funding independently of each other
• Restrictions on funds limit the potential to scale-up successful programs
• Often funding is dependent on irregular donations, creating uncertainty
• ‘Donor fatigue’ is an issue affecting all charities

By providing sustained funding, Y for YOUTH will minimise the burden of fundraising and competing for grants, thereby enabling youth organisations to use their resources more effectively and scale capacity to impact a greater number of youth.  In addition, Y for YOUTH will measure and report on the effectiveness of youth organisations to enable them to become more effective while ensuring the most successful use of funding.

Let’s consider a new idea – the power of the marketplace to create change.  People want to ‘make a difference’ and support socially responsible brand and companies.

Brands and companies want cause-marketing opportunities that provide a return while demonstrating they care.
In today’s modern world, to be a great company you have to be a good company. Y for YOUTH presents a turnkey social branding system that:

• Provides a quick and effective method for companies to begin their Corporate Social Responsibility programs
• Empowers consumers to support youth by purchasing from supporting companies
• Increases sales and creates positive publicity for participating companies

Being a Y Company will also offer organisations an additional competitive advantage in the war for talent. Increasingly people are looking for meaning in their work and to know that they are part of making a difference in the world, part of something bigger than themselves – not just trading their time for money.  Drawing a clear and direct line between the work they do, the profitability of the company and the support of youth change initiatives will do just that.  They’ll have a sense of purpose, pride and some great stories to share with the world, including the talent you want to hire!

Y for YOUTH – OBJECTIVES

1. To create ongoing revenue that is not dependent on large one off donations, campaigns and events to provide sustained funding for youth development programs.

2. To provide a philanthropic system that results in a measurable increase in sales, public perception and profitability for all participating Y for YOUTH companies and brands.

3. To provide a system that empowers consumers to make a positive difference and support youth programs through the products and services they purchase.

4. To create a well-known and publicized organization and brand supported by the entire community that fosters long-term relationships that benefit all stakeholders.

5. To provide a documented template of systems and methodology with the intention of being duplicated and scaled internationally.

“We cannot build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.” Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882 – 1945)

If educating, enabling and empowering youth to build a better future for themselves is in line with your personal and organisational purpose and values, then Y for Youth might be just the way you could make a difference.

Find out more about becoming a Founding Angel or Y Company here.

Due to the success of a new and exciting manager development program launched in the last 12 months, we are looking for an experienced learning and development professional to join our team.  The primary purpose of this role is to deliver development programs to groups of managers (10 – 40) within our client environments.  There will also be opportunity to support in other areas of our consulting business along with involvement in product development and marketing initiatives.

We need a “glass half full” person who’s passionate about learning and working with groups.  Our small team (including our French Bulldog receptionist, Micah!) operate out of a New York loft style warehouse space just off colourful K Road.  We believe in ‘eating your own cooking’ so as a Culture Agency, our values are super important to us:

• Challenge the status quo
• Connect people & ideas
• Keep it real – no bull sh*t
• Start a movement
• Tell a story
• Use your powers for good

If this sounds like a bit of you, we’d love the opportunity to have a conversation.

So….what do you need to make this opportunity yours?

• Passion for developing people and an engaging coaching/facilitation style
• Five plus years in a learning and development environment
• Proven experience in customer facing role / ability to interact professionally
• Well organised, confident and able to manage multiple client engagements at once
• A very high standard of written and verbal communication

What’s in it for you when you get the job?

• A competitive annual salary
• Training and investment in furthering your development
• Your own car park
• The opportunity to get in on the ground floor in an exciting and growing business
• To work with Micah – she rocks (and also sleeps a LOT)

If you think you’ve got the experience, knowledge and passion we need…..get in touch!

Call Paul on 974 3917 or apply now here via our ad on Seek

That’s just what we’ve been doing at Blacksmith and it’s given us the opportunity to look at what’s working well, what our clients are asking for and what we can be “best in the world at”.  Conversations have been had and the analysis done – the result?   Refinement and  evolution of our core culture and engagement building offerings for 2012.

Leadership Alignment is new to the mix, as is Social Responsibility – something we are very passionate about.  If you’re interested in any of the offerings below get in touch – we’d welcome the opportunity to have a conversation!

Leadership Alignment

‘Leading from the front’ and ‘walking the talk’ – that’s what’s expected of your Exec or Leadership Team.  Easier said than done sometimes, especially in our ever changing, fast paced and ambiguous times. Success is a process of constant correction, even for these great people…read more

Team Alignment

Truly effective teams are committed to a shared purpose, goals and approach. They are connected to each other and their work with heads and hearts, creating accountability, offering encouragement and celebrating success…read more

Purpose & Values

Connecting meaningful purpose and values to business goals and strategies creates engagement and guides our behaviours with each other, our stakeholders and our customers. No longer a check box exercise, being a truly values based organisation is part of our brave new world…read more

Social Responsibility

We all have the ability to do more good in the world.  At Blacksmith, we believe that every individual and business has significant opportunity to ‘use their powers for good’ and make a positive difference to the world, just by doing what they do in a more conscious and deliberate way. You CAN make a dollar AND a difference…read more

TakeON! Management Matters

People Managers hold the key to unlocking performance potential in your business. They’re the ones that engage, empower and excite your people to join, perform and stay. Management REALLY does matter…read more

Employer Branding & Reputation is still very much on our radar but now sits with our sister company – Talent Magnet.  You can read more about their offering here

ON-Brand CEO Paul Stewart says “The problem with strategy is not in the thinking but the doing” reflecting that the reason why strategy so often fails is not because it is bad strategy but because the people charged with delivering it, don’t know it exists, just don’t get it in context of their role, or it has no meaning to them to warrant giving their best.

But shouldn’t we all just get on and do what we are employed to do regardless of it’s meaning? Do the hours, take the cheque and be satisfied that the mortgage can be paid again this month? I guess that’s what many leaders hope for but, as a recent McKinsey article points out, we are all human with “a constant flow of emotions, motivations and perceptions” that influence how we behave at work and therefore what we achieve. It’s actually very hard for us to ‘do the doing’ well (i.e. execute strategy) if it doesn’t make sense or have real meaning to us. Meaning or a ‘purpose’ in life is critical to all of us – just ask anyone who’s going through their twentieth mid-life crisis. Whether its to make as much money as possible or to make the world a better place in some way – it doesn’t matter – we all seek meaning around that thing we spend most of our life doing – work.

The question of ‘meaning’ is explored in a McKinsey article titled How leaders kill meaning at work which looks at how many leaders actually undermine creativity, productivity and commitment of their staff leaving them wondering why they even bother.

When discussing the outcomes identified in their book ‘The Progress Principle’, the authors say that “of all the events that can deeply engage people in their jobs, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work”

I wrote about this point in my blog A new focus – let’s be brilliant together when it was “reinforced to me not so long back when I saw a client video where a staff member has just realised that he was not just an ‘IT person’ but had a significant role in helping to look after the financial welfare of their six million customers. I’m sure this guy has much more fire in his belly now. We can also look to the story of the cleaner at NASA who, when asked what he did, said he “helped put a man on the moon”. Now thats something meaningful to be proud of and work hard for, way beyond making the floors shiny.”

Connecting all staff into the higher purpose of the organisation is critical, if you want them to give their best. And while all organisations must make a good profit, I’m sure that particular purpose is not the one that most staff buy into. That purpose relates to more emotional dimensions like helping customers, protecting customers, make things easier for customers.

The article investigates the Four Traps that leaders can fall into. I recognised every one of them in leaders I have worked for in the past. The Traps are

• Mediocrity signals – are leaders signalling that mediocrity is OK. If so, that’s what they will get.
• Strategic ‘attention deficit disorder’ – the starting and abandoning of initiatives for little reason. The term flavour of the month comes to mind here.
• Corporate Keystone Cops – Failing to act, lack of coordination contradicting each other, providing ambiguous information. Sound familiar?
• Misbegotten ‘big hairy audacious goals‘ – goals that are so grandiose they have little meaning to those expected to achieve them or so internally focused they forget the all important customer!

All these things prevent people from “believing they can produce something of high quality” - something meaningful. So its up to leaders to lead the way and provide clarity and meaning to staff if they want them to perform. (i.e. How does my role contribute to something of purpose?).  And Amabile and Kramer are so right when they say that Senior Leaders need to be aware that even their “smallest actions pack a wallop because what you say and do is intensely observed by people down the line.” I think all leaders have been ‘down the line’ themselves and know exactly what they mean.

Read the full McKinsey article How leaders kill meaning at work here. To access the full article (and loads of others) you will need to register on their site. It’s free and quick to do.

Join The ON2net™

The ON2net™ is powered by ON-Brand Partners and is a rich and vibrant online community for people who want to create better organisations – organisations with renewed purpose where everyone is engaged, empowered and excited to deliver improved performance. For a small annual subscription you can access a wealth of information and tools designed specifically to tackle common business challenges and deliver immediate improvements in key performance areas.

Click here for more information on the ON2net™

In November 2010, Sarah O’Connor was appointed Chief HR Officer at Fisher & Paykel Finance.  Having worked in senior roles within the business for over 6 years, heading up functions such as Process Improvement, Procurement and Support Services and experienced the transactional nature of HR, Sarah was determined to lift the bar and make an impact.

Today, just 16 months later, Fisher & Paykel Finance is transforming not only their culture and results, but the mindsets of Leaders in the business and how they think about Human Resources.  Sarah and her team will talk you through their journey including key projects around wellness, values and people manager development.

Their results include:

• Turnover – tracking at 40% down year on year
• Absenteeism – tracking at 25% down year on year
• Engagement – 11% increase in engagement, 20% increase in participation rates in 12 months
• Understanding expectations – from 91% to 100% – increase of 9%
• Daily opportunities to perform – from 77% to 88.5% – increase of 11.5%
• Receiving regular recognition for good performance- from 48.4% to 74% – increase of 25.6%
• Encouraging development – from 64.8% to 76% – increase of 11.2%
• Regular coaching conversations – from 78.7% to 85.4% - increase of 6.7%
• Opportunities for personal development and growth – from 68% to 84.4% – increase of 16.4%

They also won the 2011 HRINZ Wellness Award and have been featured in the 2012 February issue of Employment Today.

Investment – $40 (a bargain really)

Refreshments and nibbles provided

About Blacksmith Sessions

Our Sessions are all about connecting people and ideas.  Rather than just getting ‘talked at’, we like to create opportunities for action oriented conversation, connection and collaboration – think of it as a mini-workshop.  Blacksmith Sessions are strictly limited to 20 people and designed to create opportunities for networking without the ‘cringe factor’.  We focus on topical issues, presenting new information in a way that engages, empowers and excites you to go back into your business and have a different conversation.

Parking

Nice and easy in the Auckland City Car Park building right next to us.  Entry is available from Mercury Lane.