20 Feb 2024

In the realm of management, the question of what traits contribute to success is a perennial one. Among these traits, extraversion stands out as a key contender. Research has delved into the relevance of extraversion in managerial roles, seeking to unravel its impact on leadership effectiveness and organisational outcomes. This article explores the findings of such research, shedding lig...

04 Jun 2018

Personality Assessment
In the world of personality assessment there are numerous tools that are used to measure and understand personality. A trait approach to personality has been in existence since the early 1900's, and it has been the aim of many researchers to identify which are the most useful underlying factors to consider - with numerous studies dedicated to this topic. Many of the largest and most r...

16 Oct 2013

Time Management
The importance of effective time management skills in the workplace has been highlighted by issues including increasing workloads, less funding and greater diversity in the client base. A situation has been created where health professionals need to achieve more in less time, making good time management skills essential. The importance of these skills has been endorsed by graduates, supe...

21 Aug 2013

Employee Engagement
The importance of employee engagement has been discussed in previous posts. Recent research indicates that nowhere is employee engagement more important than in professional services firms. While these firms are necessarily primarily client focused, ultimately the success of professional services firms relies on the success of their employees' work. And the most successful employees are ...

03 Dec 2012

Report Reveals
Skills are specific competencies (such as knowledge of MS Excel) that enable performance of job tasks or functions (such as accounting tasks). While often thought of as 'less than' a qualification such as a degree, skills are essential in the workforce. While being intelligent and having a degree, diploma or the like provide the necessary foundation to perform well in many roles, it's...

12 Nov 2012

Research
A meta-analysis conducted in the United Kingdom (Bertua, Anderson & Salgado, 2005) has found that intelligence tests and tests of  specific cognitive abilities are strong, reliable and valid predictors of both job performance  and response to training.  Operational validities are in the range of .5-.6, meaning that these  cognitive tests can account for approximately 30% of the varia...

15 Oct 2012

Survey
Recent research has found that up to 80% of staff turnover can be better controlled by organisations by improving their understanding of employee needs, employee-organisational fit and workplace culture.  The research, which included over 11,000 employees from 40 Australian organisations, was based on exit survey responses from employees who left their organisations between January 2011 ...

03 Sep 2012

Legal Issues
When hiring senior executives, a lot of time and attention tends to be given to perfecting the remuneration package.  A leading workplace law and strategy firm warns that it is important to give equal attention to exit strategies, to avoid costly legal battles if the relationship sours. One aspect of the exit/departure process that is often disputed when senior executives move on is t...

20 Jul 2012

Scale
A large survey of Australian businesses conducted by the National Institute of Labour Studies at Flinders University and the National Centre for Vocational Education Research reveals some interesting findings about the significant ways in which employment patterns have changed in the last 20 years. They found that since 1992: There has been a significant shift away from full-time, ...

20 Jul 2012

Office
As seen recently in a leading Australian Human Resources magazine, the importance of 'soft skills', including creativity, flexibility, diplomacy and original thought in the modern workplace is gaining momentum.  In an increasingly complex business environment these skills can help organisation's develop new and better solutions to problems, as traditional ways of interacting with clients...