“You can’t legislate intelligence and common sense into people” Will Rogers
And isn’t that the truth!!
Compliance with legislation is important. In fact it is a foundation stone to a sustainable, well-run business. But when it comes to managing your people, we call it a ‘foundation’ for a reason – it is crucial to have in place, you build the rest of your relationship on top of it, but it is often unseen and unnoticed when it is done well. If it isn’t done well, things start to crumble.
Unfortunately, because of the legal framework in which we operate in Australia, businesses often perceive that the complex (and seemingly skewed) legislation framework that we are bound to makes it impossible to obtain true win:win outcomes with their people.
Business owners also often make the mistake of thinking that they can’t be expected to know the legislation or are too small to practice good HR, so they take a gamble, don’t put anything in writing and hope for the best but expect the worst. As a result they miss the opportunity to set clear expectations and obligations, or reinforce their values and culture through the way that they attract, onboard and manage their team throughout the lifecycle of each employee.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Having solid HR systems and tools that give clarity around what you expect of your team and what they can expect of you; explaining what your business does and how you do it (your ‘way’); and documenting as simply and as clearly as possible all the foundations of the relationship. All of this means clarity and transparency for both parties to the relationship. And yes, this needs to be underpinned by compliance to the legislation.
And so for those business owners out there, the legislation isn’t always going to feel like common sense, and it’s not always going to appear logical; but we can help you to navigate that and put it into practical speak that you can understand.
You can access the slides from our recent 1 July 2022 Fair Work Legislation update hosted with the Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce here. And if you have further questions, please reach out to our team.
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