Wendy Hammonds

What is very important for Interim Executives is undertaking meaningful work.  Meaningful work, in an organisation where values are aligned to the individual executive, is becoming a non-negotiable. One respondent of Watermark’s 2024 Interim Executive Survey said, “My tolerance for misalignment between values and work is lower”. Another respondent is “seeking values-aligned colleagues”, while another is building a career consisting of a “blend of paid work and passion projects”. Meaningful work is the key to longevity as we all live and work longer. To read more about this, please download Watermark’s 2024 Interim Executive Survey here -https://lnkd.in/ewr3FJXg Jacinta Whelan Francesca Conquest Chris Grant Jen D'Arcy-Smith Caroline McAuliffe Alex Brown Pip Westhoff Suzanne Mulvihill Madeleine Stuart-Wright Lizzie Wynter Bronte Pickard David Evans Robert Atkinson Philip Whelan Daniel Nicholls Claire Crawford Jocelyn Santosa #interimexecutive #interim #survey #australiandata #longevity #currency 

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It’s been over 10 years and we are back in the cycle of layoffs. This article is a good reminder of the humanity that is needed as organisations enact changes for cost reduction or capability change. In 2012 as Head of HR Strategy, I oversaw a project with Toyota where we made 300 roles redundant in one day. That’s 300 people whose lives were changed forever. We started the project with respect and dignity in mind. It took 3 months of planning to execute so that every individual had a one on one conversation, time to ask questions, interpreters, psychologists, managers who were trained to handle the reactions and questions that were inevitable. Productivity did improve after that day, but we didn’t do the follow up research to know if that was out of fear or some other motivation. If we need to do layoffs, let’s ensure we keep the human element top of mind. P.S. When talking to employees who are fearful of losing their job I have often counselled that everyday is their chance to build insurance against the impact of such action. Keep learning, keep adding new achievements to your resume, keep building the network, make yourself valued. It makes you less likely to be laid off, but if you are let go, you won’t be as afraid about finding the next role. Often when one door closes, a better one opens. https://lnkd.in/gidzD6WX

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Episode 5 just dropped on our Podcast. This fortnight's topic is: Empathy is a Verb! When people are asked to describe or define the term empathy, a common response is “Looking through someone’s eyes” or “Walking in their Shoes”. Realistically, this is only part of it. The real key is what you do with this new-found understanding to add value to yourself and others. In this podcast, Amanda shares her personal, professional journey and her thoughts on the value that can be created when you begin to understand the people around you, and what drives their behaviour. Listen now at https://hubs.la/Q02v2lwz0

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I've just received a AHRCF Micro-credential through AHRI, verifying my capability in Workforce Effectiveness (Workforce Planning, Industrial Relations, Organisational Design and Work Design). View my verified AHRCF Micro-Credential here.

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With the upcoming implementation of the Worker Protection Act on 26 October 2024, now is the perfect time to conduct a baseline audit of your workplace's sexual harassment policies. Ensuring your organisation is compliant not only protects your workforce but also fosters a safe and inclusive environment.   Many of our clients are already ahead of the curve, utilising external survey providers like us to gain unbiased insights. Meanwhile, it seems that many companies are currently still unaware how this legislation will impact them – so spread the word!   https://lnkd.in/eqaPXfPi   #WorkerProtectionAct #HRCompliance #Leadership

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We hear so much about leadership styles, But what about different facilitation styles? In my role at The Learning Wave, I'm fortunate to work alongside incredibly talented facilitators from across New Zealand and Australia. Watching them create real magic in the room is both inspiring and energising! Each facilitator brings essential skills to the table to create an inclusive environment, like: ✅ Demonstrating open body language ✅ Listening deeply to understand ✅ Giving clear instructions ✅ Managing time effectively But what truly sets them apart is their unique style—or the styles they adapt to fit each group. All styles are effective, yet each one brings its own flavour. Here are a few I frequently see (in my own words for their styles): ⚡ The Energiser Bunny – Injects fun and energy, making the environment infectious 🤗 The Nurturer – Creates a safe space, fostering openness and belonging 🎭 The Humourist – Brings energy and humour, keeping sessions lively and engaging 🤝 The Collaborator – Leverages learners' backgrounds and experiences to guide learning 🔗 The Connector – Ties conversations to core concepts, demystifying ideas for clarity These diverse styles not only make facilitation effective but also bring out the best in every learner. Here’s to celebrating the art of facilitation!

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It was great to work with Jo Knox at HR Daily on this article that encourages employers to take a more strategic approach to enterprise bargaining. With a significant increase in the number of employees covered by enterprise agreements over the past 12 months, employers who take a proactive approach to enterprise bargaining will be much more likely to achieve a positive result. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gV6a84VP #EnterpriseBargaining #EnterpriseAgreement #AustralianEmploymentLaw

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I've just received a AHRCF Micro-credential through AHRI, verifying my capability in Workforce Effectiveness (Workforce Planning, Industrial Relations, Organisational Design and Work Design). View my verified AHRCF Micro-Credential here.

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How are you tackling the challenges of engaging and retaining your highly-skilled workforce? At Connetics, we understand that our success hinges on the dedication and satisfaction of our #people. That's why we are committed to creating an environment where our team feels valued, motivated, and supported. #Engagement and #Retention: we recognize that balancing our workforce to meet the greatest immediate needs - whether in prospecting, winning, or delivering work - is key to maintaining high levels of engagement and retention. By shifting capabilities within the company and leveraging transferable skills, we ensure that our employees are always aligned with the most critical tasks. #Upskilling and #Reskilling: The need to rebalance our workforce in the short term presents a unique opportunity to build capacity for upskilling and reskilling. This is critical for our long-term success, particularly in the face of technological advancements and the evolving requirements of our electricity distribution network in response to the decarbonization of the economy. By investing in cross-skilling and upskilling opportunities now, we prepare our employees to adapt to future challenges and opportunities. #Wellbeing and #MentalHealth: our approach is centered on improving the work environment, as we have more influence over this than external or individual factors. We focus on ensuring our people have a good day at work by providing opportunities to engage in tasks they find rewarding. For us, this means delivering #energysolutions that contribute to building a #cleaner and #brighterfuture for our #communities. By fostering a supportive and inclusive workplace that ensures people have a good day at work, we help our employees by creating a reinforcing loop between lifting individual wellbeing and productivity. At Connetics, we believe that by prioritizing engagement, skills development, and wellbeing, we can build a resilient and motivated workforce ready to tackle the #challenges of the #future. #allwaysconneticing

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Want 40 top tips to Unlock Potential in individuals, teams and organisations? Then get your hands on Edition 3 of Cappfinity's Skills Series. Practical, useable actions you can take TODAY to start unlocking your own and others' potential. Link in the comments!

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King Theoden in LOTR: The Two Towers once said "So it begins"...with this emoji energy 🫡 Fittingly, that is what most HR & Employment Law Professionals will be saying today after Labour's Employment Rights Bill was laid before parliament (minus them then having to fight Saruman's army of Uruk-Hai - I hope 🙏 ) It's hard to get away from this bill being the biggest shake-up of employment law in a generation, and could this just be scratching the surface of what is to come in this parliament? Follow Weightmans for more insight over the coming weeks and months (and beyond!). There is lots to prepare for and consider. The proverbial good news? Weightmans is in your corner (cue Rocky-style montage with motivational 80s music) 🥊 Our cost-effective, retainer-led HR Rely solution (shameless plug no.1: https://lnkd.in/eQARndHX) and wider Employment, Pensions & Immigration services (shameless plug no.2: https://lnkd.in/eSSMpfqT) are on hand to guide you through impending changes and get your business "fighting fit" (Rocky reference again...sorry) to take on this incoming, changing employment landscape. Get in touch to have a chat & natter about how Weightmans can help you 'See the Possibility ✨' no matter what's ahead (hopefully not Saruman's army of Uruk-Hai cos nobody has the time for that rn 👹): ✉ [email protected] #hr #employmentlaw #employmentrightsbill Weightmans

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Taking Risks - Consulting/Coaching/Supervision I wear all three hats, not at the same time and yet I know in my role as a consultant my training as a coach and supervisor will shape how I consult and it does. Quotes from my stakeholder "Never worked or met anyone like you" Quotes from one of my interviews "You sound like a maverick" Yes, I don't work in the usual way and yet I aware of my own shortcomings. I know that I will not be everyone's cup of tea. I share this with those work with in terms of how I can be: - Honest - Reliable - Good quality of work - Excellent communicator - Compassionate/empathetic (to a point) Other ways I can be challenging: - Telling it how it is - Challenging the thinking and ways of working - Holding myself and others accountable - Naming things that others don't want to name. - Balancing the need to focus in the human process as well as the task. Yes I do hesitate, I have doubts and sometimes I hold them to take the risks. Sometimes they land and other times they don't. I do contract for this and how I show up and I can dial it back (though I prefer not to!) #weekendthoughts #reflections #hr #coaching #Consulting #change #organisationdevelopment #orgdesign

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Have you heard there is a cost of living crisis? It's been happening for a few years now but we're now seeing the effects more obviously in our weekly shop and utility bills. Cost of living guides and tools are just one of the useful things that Sorted has to offer. (https://lnkd.in/ggFUbEfK) You can find a curated range of tips and tools to help with Financial Wellbeing in our Wellbeing Toolkit! https://lnkd.in/g89_ZBY6 hashtag #financialwellbeing #budgetingtools #costofliving #wellbeingtoolkit #employeewellbeing

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Catching up for coffee with my friend and former colleague, Andrea Webb-Jolly. We enjoy nutting out challenges and Andrea has a great ability to see both strategic opportunities and practical solutions. Andrea is currently seeking her next challenge in Organisation Development or Strategic HR (contract or permanent). So, if you're looking for someone who can strengthen your HR strategy while keeping people at the heart of change, Andrea should be on your radar. Reach out if you'd like to explore how Andrea's experience could benefit your team. #OrganisationalDevelopment #StrategicHR #PeopleAndCulture #HRStrategy

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Hi David I am a newly appointed HR manager at a disability services and support organisation. We are a modest size with 220 employees. We have been experiencing low engagement, decreased productivity, and persistent turnover. This has been a long-standing issue, and I believe it may be related to two managers who have been here for a long time. 😪 Do you have any advice for how best to navigate this situation personally, as well as how to improve engagement, morale and productivity? Thank you. Lily Dear Lily Thank you for sharing your predicament. This issue may be more common than you think. Here’s what I would suggest. 💡There needs to be more top-down communication from the senior management team to create greater engagement between employer and employees. 💡 Focus your recruitment efforts on hiring managers with a proven track record of strong people management skills.  💡 From a performance management standpoint, you will benefit from implementing both a formal and informal appraisal system. The formal system will provide more structure,  documentation, and development plans, while the informal system allows for relationship building and the flexibility to adapt to individual needs and circumstances. Using both systems allows for a more holistic approach. I like the informal approach particularly because it can boost morale and provide more continuity than the formal one. 💡 Finally, I highly recommend regular town halls and team meetings. While there has been much negative talk about meetings in general, when done well, meetings can open up dialogue and help identify issues as they arise. All the best,  David Wurth #WurthKnowing #WurthHR #PerformanceManagement #recruitment

Introducing our Listening Program, designed to enhance organisational culture and leadership. 👇 ✨ Over the past two years, I’ve facilitated over 500 conversations, tailored to explore challenges and opportunities within various organisations. How Does It Work? 🔸 Facilitating individual and group conversations to address specific needs. 🔸 Exploring key challenges and opportunity areas. What Do You Get? 🔸 Detailed insights and themes developed from these conversations. 🔸 Comprehensive report format to guide your next steps. Find out how our Listening Program can transform your organisation's culture and leadership. Reach out to learn more! 📱

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The best candidates will only join a great team, and open houses excel at revealing why a team is amazing. They sell candidates on the team’s strengths even better than CEO calls and peer interviews. The Primary Goal Is To Sell The Attendees On The Team In today’s competitive talent marketplace, it’s a struggle to close all candidates. However, most find closing exceptional candidates in areas like AI, data security, or quantum computing almost impossible. So, whenever you need to sell a hard-to-convince “must-have” exceptional candidate, it makes sense to use every selling and convincing tool you have. My best recommendation is to use an invited open house (IOH). My research shows IOHs are most effective at convincing candidates that they are about to join an amazing team. Of course, selling the candidate “on the team” is essential. Exceptional candidates simply won’t even consider a job unless they know the team around them will be great. I have been recommending this approach for decades… since I was the Chief Talent Officer at Agilent Technologies. We found the IOH was the most effective selling approach for convincing/selling high-value employed targets who were skeptical about their future team. And to this day, I still recommend this simple but powerful approach without reservation. #recruiting #humanresources #HR #talentacquisition #candidates

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There are many things that change when you move from managing a direct team of experts (individual contributors) to managing managers - for one you are not only managing someone, you are also mentoring them to become a manager themselves.  You have the unique opportunity to lead through them to influence their team culture. Join us on 20th June for the masterclass on how to build and guide your team to build a culture of intentional and productive collaboration in their teams.

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A great read and article, it's a consistent theme across all HR functions regardless the size of the organisation, industry or geo-location. Like all support functions, the reality is, the CEO / MD of a business will measure the success of HR on the big stuff, not the little... #leadership #humanresources #culture #recruiting #talent #business #consulting #innovation #strategy #inspiration #coaching #vision #peopleandculture #skills #resilience #emotionalintelligence #changemanagement #mergersandacquisitions

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