EMAcast

Board Members Talk - Sarah Caunter

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 23:57:59 GMT

In our latest EMACAST, we talk to EMA Board member and People and Culture Director with Corys Electrical Sarah Caunter. We explore how Sarah builds culture in a company with employees spread across the country, what businesses need to do to attract and retain top talent and talk about her working journey from the UK to NZ.

Immigration Talk - Post Accreditation Employer Checks

Mon, 29 May 2023 03:55:54 GMT

In our latest EMACast, Lukas Sousa, Head of Employer Relationships for Malcolm Pacific Immigration, joins Joanna Hall, EMA's Senior Policy Advisor, to discuss the new Post-Accreditation Employer Compliance Checks and explore some of the common themes that members raised during our recent webinar with Immigration New Zealand.

Board Members Talk - Andrew Hunt

Sun, 30 Apr 2023 22:40:36 GMT

In this insightful podcast, we talk to the Chairman of the EMA Board and owner and Managing Director of Kinetics Group, Andrew Hunt.

At fifteen, Andrew developed some software that launched a successful career in IT. We take a look back at his early career, and hear his views on the biggest challenges facing NZ businesses, what the future of work will look like, and how to prepare for it.

Board Members Talk - Alex Zhang

Mon, 01 May 2023 02:58:37 GMT

In this informative podcast we interview Alex Zhang, EMA Board member and CEO and Principal Immigration Adviser at Chance Immigration and Education. Alex shares some of his early working history in China, the challenges he faced when he moved to New Zealand and provides insights into how AI technology will impact businesses in New Zealand. Having completed an MBA, Using his knowledge, experience and skills, Alex now helps other migrants transition into NZ and is Executive President at Canton Chamber of Commerce in New Zealand and an Executive Member of New Zealand China Trade Association (NZCTA).

Board Members Talk - Hannah Young - People Manager & Board Advisor

Mon, 01 May 2023 02:56:37 GMT

In our latest podcast, we talk to EMA Board member Hannah Young and discuss the future of work in New Zealand. With a background in health and her role as HR and Wellbeing Manager with Parallaxx, Hannah offers insights into workplace wellbeing and tips and strategies to keep staff mentally and physically well.

Your duty of care for remote workers

Mon, 17 Apr 2023 20:18:53 GMT

The copy would be: COVID-19 forced companies into embracing remote working with little time to consider their responsibilities as an employer. With some alarming case law emerging overseas, this podcast explores the question of 'what is your duty of care for staff working at home' and how best to safeguard your business against possible related issues. Our guest speaker Paul Jarvie, Manager of Employment Relations & Safety at the EMA, is working with ACC, Worksafe and other key stakeholders to answer this important question.

Taking a Strategic Approach to Wellbeing, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Thu, 20 Jul 2023 20:30:54 GMT

Kate Bukowski – Strategy and Partnerships Southern Cross HealthcareSouthern Cross Healthy Futures 2022 report provides indepth and longitudinal data on the state of New Zealand’s health and Well Being. Kate Bukowski has a background as a practioner and senior manager in the Healthcare and now works alongside the southern Cross Healthcare Human resources team on Well Being and Diversity and Inclusion. Kate takes us through some of the key findings of the report, strategies organisations can adopt to prioritise the most important well being focuses for their employees and practical tips we can all apply in our working life.

Taking a strategic approach to Well Being and Diversity and inclusion

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 05:28:29 GMT

Southern Cross Healthy Futures 2022 report provides indepth and longitudinal data on the state of New Zealand’s health and Well Being. Kate Bukowski has a background as a practioner and senior manager in the Healthcare and now works alongside the southern Cross Healthcare Human resources team on Well Being and Diversity and Inclusion. Kate takes us through some of the key findings of the report, strategies organisations can adopt to prioritise the most important well being focuses for their employees and practical tips we can all apply in our working life.

LM4s HR journey

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 05:28:32 GMT

LM4 is a family business with three subsidiaries based in the Waikato. Abi Turner joined the business at the start of 2022 and has the goal of making it the Number one place to work in the region. To achieve this Abi and the HR team have worked with senior executives to understand better how they can retain and motivate their staff. This has been achieved without any leading edge technology solutions, but proactively seeking staff views, plus the inspiration and perspiration of Abi and the team. This has led to a range of strategies and actions that have meant staff needs have been responded to and the business has a strong development culture that has increased mobility in the group and set the business up for future success.

What is “employee experience” and why is it so important

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 05:28:35 GMT

Samantha Gadd has a long career in HR, starting in a New Zealand law firm, pursuing a coaching career and then starting up “HR Shop” consulting in Wellington. The success of her consulting business and her exposure to the ideas of employee experience led her to refocus her business on employee experience, rebrand it as “Humankind” and then on to setting up Excellent and the Employee Experience Design School. Recently back from South at South west in the United States Samantha is a practical thought leader in all thing's employee experience showing how New Zealand businesses can lead the way.

Trends and new approaches in remuneration and benefits in 2023

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 01:53:29 GMT

Natasha Stone is the Manager of Market information at Strategic Pay. Strategic Pay have the largest data base of New Zealand salary data and Natasha has been working with this for over ten years. As such she is very well placed to advise on current and historical trends in rewards and remuneration. In the podcast we explore some of the key current market trends, how these are similar and different to events in the past and also look at why Strategic pay now supplements its annual benchmark review of salary data with a quarterly pulse check. Natasha gives insight into the big picture in pay and remuneration, and also answers many of those immediate tactical questions to help you make the best decision for your business in this tight labour market.

Perceived Discrimination: The work and well being consequences

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 00:52:16 GMT

Jarrod Harr recently published his research on perceived discrimination of Maori and Pacific employees in Aotearoa/New Zealand. This powerful research found that perceived discrimination has a negative impact on work outcomes and well being outcomes. In this conversation Jarrod discussed the research in depth, giving example of behaviour that has a negative impact in the workplace, explaining his key findings of the impact on different groups, and recommending actions that individuals, leaders and organisations can take. The research is an important step in understanding the significant impact of workplace perceived discrimination and is a call to action for businesses and leaders to make changes in our workplace. On a practical level, addressing these issues will help businesses to better retain and attract key staff and thereby achieve their goals.

Prioritizing Performance Management

Tue, 27 Jun 2023 22:00:20 GMT

Tony McKenna is a skilled, practical and pragmatic Senior Human Resource Manager who has a track record for “getting things done”. This year Tony has been leading the development and implementation of a new performance management process for Mainstream New Zealand. In this episode he helps us understand how performance management helps business to lead on continuous improvement, change its culture to more performance focussed, and enhance management effectiveness and efficiencies. Tony explains why enhancing performance management was a priority for Mainstream and the steps he has taken to ensure that the change to a focus on performance outcomes is effective and what his future plans for how his HR team can best support the business.

Well Being Leadership

Tue, 20 Jun 2023 22:00:10 GMT

Chris Hewitt is the Commercial Partnerships Manager for Revolutionaries of work (ROW). ROW works with business on their Well Being Strategy. They have worked with many New Zealand businesses using an approach based on professional expertise, lived experience, and human-centred design. In particular they help business leaders and People professionals to lead Well Being in their organisation, and to deliver strategies that benefit the business and employees. We discuss with Chris the latest trends in Well Being, what has worked well in NZ businesses and how you can get started on your journey to lead Well Being and embed it in your business’ employee experience.

Tailoring your Well Being Strategy

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 22:00:28 GMT

Dr Toma is a research fellow at the University of Auckland, and Founder/Director of Heart and Brain Works. Georgi brings a data-driven approach and her experience as a workplace mental health researcher to the area of Well Being at work. Georgi is an expert in stress, burnout, mental wellbeing and psychosocial hazards in the workplace.

We discuss the psychosocial hazards audit that helps business understand exactly what are your rates of burnout and stress and which aspects of work negatively impact your people, the Well Being Protocol which is the only scientifically-validated programme in NZ and AU to reduce stress and burnout in the workplace, and some of the bespoke training she provides on topics such as civility at work and psychologically safe performance reviews. In this episode we learn what works in NZ businesses to improve well being and hence business results.

Empowering individuals, leaders and teams to improve workplace wellbeing

Tue, 06 Jun 2023 22:00:12 GMT

Zac is the founder of the Awareness Academy, which provides evidence-based leadership and staff training in mindfulness, wellness and resilience. Zac has spent over 25 years working in the business sector with many leading NZ businesses and was also a buddhist monk for six years. In this episode, we talk about Zac’s unique experiences and his work empowering a new style of leadership in today's challenging times; we delve into how he works with leaders and staff to be more fulfilled at work and be more productive. Zac provides practical tips on how we can enhance our own and others well-being, and gives examples of how organisations and leaders have successfully lifted well-being in their organisations. Finally, Zac covers why it is critical to focus on well-being in today’s competitive labour market, where you need to retain your best staff and attract new talent.

Making KiwiRail a more diverse and inclusive business

Tue, 30 May 2023 22:00:17 GMT

Kim Herrick is KiwiRail’s Diversity and Inclusiveness Business Partner. Prior to working for KiwiRail she had a global award-winning (HRINZ HR person of the year) HR career delivering innovative, strategic and operational HR, Learning, and Organisational Development projects across multiple sectors, countries, and roles. For the last 3 years, she has headed up KiwiRail's mission to become a more diverse and inclusive employer. In this episode, we talk about the reasons why KiwiRail has a strong diversity and inclusion focus, the strategies that have worked to enable the business to be more effective and the grit and support that is needed to keep diversity, equity and inclusion on the business agenda for multiple stakeholders.

Driving business growth and change using data

Thu, 11 May 2023 21:23:40 GMT

Luke was the ANZ Director of a European startup that grew from a tiny team in Europe in 2016 to over 250 employees around the world in 2021 and was acquired by a global business, Workday, for over $1bn NZD.  Luke was employee number 16 in Europe in 2016 and spent the last 6.5 years helping to grow Peakon to a major player in the Employee Experience space globally.  Luke started the APAC business of Peakon from scratch in 2018, based in Auckland, and grew that business to over 15 people and 150 customers across the region before the Workday acquisition 3 years later. As such, we talk to Luke about the way in which businesses can benefit from listening to the employee voice well beyond the scope of the traditional employee engagement survey. Luke provides us with key advice on using insights from employee listening to enable change, talks about his own role in building a business in the tech sector in New Zealand and explores what he thinks are the upcoming trends that NZ businesses need to be ready for. 

Developing a progressive EVP in the utilities industry

Fri, 05 May 2023 00:13:12 GMT

Simon Batters is GM of People and Safety at The Lines company, the Waikato-based utility company. Simon has over 20 years of experience in senior People and CEO roles in NZ businesses. We talk to Simon about his core work goal, “To create healthy workplaces that enable people to do great work” and the work he has led at The Lines Company to engage and retain key staff. We ask Simon about how The Lines Company identified their unique EVP in the utility industry. We find out how the project challenges some myths about the company and how a brave and progressive board have committed to new initiatives.

2023 trends and insights in NZ recruitment

Wed, 26 Apr 2023 22:18:20 GMT

Grant Habgood is the Director of Robert Walters in Auckland. He has worked within the recruitment industry since 2006 in Japan and New Zealand. In this episode, we ask Grant about what trends he has noticed in the New Zealand job market in 2023. We discuss what is similar and different to the trends overseas and what is likely to come next. We explore what businesses can do to ensure that they attract and retain the critical talent they need to be successful.

What we have learnt about the dynamic workplace in 2022

Mon, 12 Dec 2022 21:00:13 GMT

Michael Briggs and John Bradbury, discuss the key themes that have emerged in the dynamic workplace podcasts in 2002 and highlight some of the findings from the discussions and what they mean for New Zealand businesses going into 2023.

Sealink’s Journey to reimagine their Employee Value Proposition

Mon, 05 Dec 2022 21:00:12 GMT

Sealink New zealand has approximately 130 staff and provides ferries for the transportation of passengers, vehicles, and freight to destinations around the Hauraki Gulf. It is a unionised company, and 70% of the workforce perform in the following types of roles on vessels and shore: skippers, deckhands, customer service consultants, truck drivers, and engineers. Following the unusual circumstances of a business with essential workers operating throughout a two-year pandemic Sealink embarked on work on its employee value proposition This project involved working collaboratively with employees throughput the business to develop it’s key 3 focus areas for the EVP. The approach taken has to date helped to lift employee engagement and commitment to the business whilst the EVP will serve the business to recruit, retain and continue to engage staff int 2023.

Improving productivity by moving to a “4 day” working week

Mon, 28 Nov 2022 21:00:15 GMT

Blind Low Vision New Zealand have successfully introduced a four-day workweek. In this episode, we look at why they did this, how they implemented it, and the business outcomes. The focus for introducing the four-day work week was to improve the culture, and throughout the implementation, discussion and buy-in of staff at all levels have been of paramount importance. The organisation was agile in responding to the different needs of the varied workforce and to the challenges that emerged to make the 4-day week a success. The organisation took a very pragmatic approach, having not only a trial but also a pre-trial, trial and over the course of the last year, has built a list of FAQs to guide managers and staff on key issues. Throughout the project, the focus has been on the implementation of the 4-day work week as a productivity tool, and this has been achieved with spin-off benefits of culture and engagement improvements.

Leadership to improve retention, productivity and performance

Mon, 21 Nov 2022 21:00:29 GMT

Dr Ellen Nelson has a unique lens on leadership from her practical army experience helping evacuate Afghan refugees and her research. In the episode, we discuss the lessons learnt and how these can be applied in the workplace to improve firm performance, staff retention and productivity through better leadership and culture. Dr Nelson has worked across a variety of business sectors in the areas of Developing leaders (with a focus on authentic leadership), Improving staff well-being, Increasing the representation of women and structuring work for the future (improving productivity by focusing on outputs and on flexibility such as #workschool hours).

Ellen Joan Nelson - https://www.ellenjoannelson.com/

4 Day Workweek

Fri, 07 Oct 2022 00:19:22 GMT

The 4 day work week is a global initiative to reduce the number of hours people work, but with no loss in pay, or productivity. It takes a 100:80:100 approach, where pay and productivity remain at 100% but hours worked are reduced to 32 per week. In this podcast Jarrod Harr shares the data on the trials to date and we critically examine the initiative to help members understand whether this might work in their business. We look at what can go wrong, and how to mitigate that, with a strong focus on how to ensure that productivity is increased and that the productivity increase is sustained.

Moving the Workforce back to the office

Thu, 29 Sep 2022 03:52:04 GMT

Mike Marr, is the entrepreneur driving the TPT group since 1999 TPT Group owns a number of different businesses and Mike have led 10 successful start-up businesses and completed 13 acquisitions. In 2020, like many businesses, the TPT group moved to more flexible and hybrid working. While this was initially successful, they were concerned about the effects on organisational culture, engagement, and productivity. As such this year they have focussed on bringing staff back to the office and believe this is the best approach across their range of businesses. Mike talks about their experiences and the focus of the TPT group on productivity and how they believe this is best achieved for both the company and employees, other stakeholders and ultimately New Zealand.

What Hybrid Working has meant for office design

Mon, 19 Sep 2022 00:56:32 GMT

Matt Hockey has over twenty years of experience in commercial property in the UK and New Zealand. We talk to Matt about what Dynamic Workplace means for office space and find out that there is a significant move to focus on the quality of office space. Matt tells us how businesses are moving to hot-desking, shared spaces and redesigning the workspace to encourage collaboration between hybrid teams. We look at the financial and people impacts of the choices that businesses have made and try to pick some trends for the future.

New ways of working and new technology

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 02:06:02 GMT

During the lockdown there was a dramatic acceleration in the use of technology to enable people to continue to do their jobs and for businesses to function. Whilst the most common was the use of video technology for meetings, for example, Teams and Zoom, there was a wide range of digital tools whose use exploded during the lockdown. Melissa Crawford has carved a career at the intersection of progressive people practices and digital tools. She is a certified metaverse expert and has a Master of Technology Futures. In the podcast, Melissa shares her work with businesses to make the most of innovative technologies.

How hybrid working and personality interact

Mon, 05 Sep 2022 02:47:33 GMT

Lucy Cennamo Jones is the New Zealand Consulting Director for the global business consulting firm Talogy. Lucy has twenty years experience applying organisational psychology to enable people and organisations to be more productive. Lucy talks about the impacts of the pandemic on individuals and teams and gives guidance on the ways in which managers have supported their teams to overcome the challenges. In particular Lucy sets out the positive and negative effects of more flexible ways of working, and provides practical examples, routed in psychological evidence, to enable people and businesses to be more effective and overcome the challenges of hybrid working and maximise their benefits.

Moving to a four day work week (in manufacturing)

Sun, 28 Aug 2022 23:15:51 GMT

Griffiths Equipment is a manufacturer based in South Auckland. To ensure that the business could operate efficiently and effectively during 2021 the leadership team quickly decided to implement a 4 day working week across a wide range of roles. Gemma Collins takes us through how the leadership team made the decision and got the buy in of employees, what helped them to maintain and increase productivity, and how team members and managers developed and used new skills during the change. We discuss the role of, and impact on, organisational culture and what the businesses longer terms plans are to build on their recent success.

What is the impact of Hybrid work on HR professionals

Sun, 21 Aug 2022 23:04:06 GMT

Andrew Steele, known as “Steelie”, is a practical, executive-level Human Resources professional with 20+ years of experience in business transformations. Steelies has held senior positions in a wide range of industries, including dairy, energy, insurance and IT. We asked Andrew to summarise and comment on the major changes in working patterns he has seen over the last two years, to compare this to his previous experiences of organisational change and to take a view of the future. Andrew introduces us to a number of trends and practices, such as the “boomerang employee” and how you can make job sharing work effectively.

Recruitment challenges in the hybrid environment and trends

Mon, 15 Aug 2022 03:24:52 GMT

Iain MacGibbon is the owner of Farrow Jamieson recruitment and search, he has been in the business for over twenty years. In this episode, we discuss the current challenges for NZ businesses who are trying to recruit in a market where there is a shortage of candidates and more job adverts than ever before. We ask Iain what this has meant for candidate behaviour and what employers need to do to stand out in the marketplace to attract, recruit, and retain effective employees. Iain takes a business perspective to help organizations find and retain the talent that they need.

The Dynamic Workplace

Wed, 03 Aug 2022 01:41:52 GMT

The return to the workplace is taking place against a time of economic challenges with the price of daily goods and services moving upwards, and a shortage of labour that is likely to continue even with the government's actions to open borders, and skills exemptions. For organisations that currently don’t have a clear approach to the new world of work and just use conventional approaches, they run the risk of being less competitive in the labour market, losing candidates and current employees to those organisations that are offering flexibility in work location and time. The Dynamic workplace is about organisations that have put business priorities over a return to the convention. The Podcast series will explore further.