Firstly, there is no miracle cure to turn all your staff into Apple’s design team or ExxonMobil’s executive team. Sorry!

There are, however, five key areas that all leaders or managers of successful teams can implement to reach a higher level of performance.

I will guide you through these five key areas, explaining their benefits, and how you can implement them in your team.

1. THE VISION:
Establishing a vision or team goal is imperative.

If you include your staff when determining a vision or goal they will instantly have more buy-in and emotional involvement, and therefore will work harder in trying to achieve it.

How do you involve them? I would suggest a team strategy session. You lay down the guidelines and lead the discussions, and from there agree on a vision or goal.

In order to establish a vision or team goal you need to determine the WHY?

We all know what we do and how we do it but if you concentrate on the WHY your vision or goal will be clearer. Get your staff to think about their own motivations and how they contribute to the bigger picture, and to realise they have an impact.

Why do we want to reduce the DSO to 1 day? Why do we want to be the best collections team in our company? Why do we want to eradicate all our debtors above 90 days?

All these WHY questions can be turned into a vision or team goal.

Now you have your vision or your team goal, what happens next?

Delivery and roll out is essential.

You deliver it, make visual aids, make someone an activity champion – divide tasks, have monthly meetings to see how you are tracking, and give individuals clear objectives on how they can contribute. There is no point having a goal if you don’t revisit it and make a big deal about it.

2. CLEAR OBJECTIVES:
Helping your team to understand where they fit in and what it takes to succeed.

Helping your staff understand where they fit in regards to career development and where they can go links in nicely to the vision, it inspires people and gives them another reason to go that extra mile. Depending on where they are in their career you can use it to test people before promotion.

PDP’s (Personal Development Plans) are a great way to give clear objectives and discuss career goals with each of your team members. 90% of candidates who come to us at AccountAbility put career development at the top of their list of why they are looking for a new role.

Clear objectives are vital. Cast your minds back to previous managers you’ve had who have given you vague objectives – how did you feel?

Uninspired, unmotivated, and unclear on what you were doing?

I had a manager whose main objective in our rare catch-ups was for me to simply make more calls. It was uninspiring, unclear, and showed that he didn’t care about my development, nor in turn our team goal.

So set clear objectives and individual goals to enable your staff to focus on an end result. Once you have done that the really good staff go at it and smash it, the good staff get it and the not so good staff stand out. Which is what you want. If you do not give clear objectives, people can use it as an excuse and average performers blend in.

3. MOTIVATION:
Understanding what motivates your staff and how to motivate them.

People are motivated by different things. In such a diverse working environment, with different cultures and generations, it is important not to adopt a ‘one size fits all’ policy. Some people like to be number one, some like helping, some want career advancement, and some like to learn new things – all of them will be motivated by seeing you being motivated. As soon as you establish this you are armed with personalised tools you can use in any environment.

Some staff are simply not motivated. So what do you do with them?

You have set your clear objectives and goals and you are in a catch up with one of the underachievers. Getting to the root of the reason or motivation behind why they didn’t achieve it is superb information. This will determine if the motivation behind it is will or skill.

Skill can be taught, coached and directed, will cannot.

4. COACHING, FEEDBACK, AND PRAISE:
This is where YOU can really make a difference.

This is the most challenging yet rewarding area, and if done right can turn a good team into a great team.

Coaching is essential, whether at their desk, in the boardroom or in a catch up, and helps continually improve someone’s skills and abilities. You do however need to be careful of when and how you do it. Some people respond well to you discussing a phone call immediately after they have made it, but others do not. From the earliest stage it is a great tool to ask your staff how they liked to be coached so you avoid any embarrassment for them.

Feedback can be seen as a dangerous word; it conjures up negative connotations and can put a lot of people on the defensive.

But done in the right setting feedback can be very powerful and rewarding. I suggest to first let the individual or team know they will be given feedback on a certain area and ask if there is another area they wish to have feedback on. This prepares them and helps them get over the fact that they will be confronted with feedback.

Praise and celebrating success is obvious yet can be overlooked. When delivering feedback, make sure you give positive as well as constructive feedback, whilst ensuring you give specific examples and instances. People cannot learn unless they know exactly what you are talking about.

5. ENGAGEMENT:
A sense of belonging and assessing if the person is engaged.

How you engage with people is massively important. We all label people, we sometimes assign a certain label to someone that is way off the mark, and this will have a negative impact on them.

If you treat someone as an underachiever, they will feel like an underachiever and therefore ultimately underachieve. Very rarely do people turn it around when you treat them in a negative light.

However, if you treat people as a high achiever they will feel like a high achiever, and will try and live up to that label.

A sense of belonging and engagement is vitally important. Potentially the most important factor of all. You get the most out of humans when they feel they are part of something, e.g. a social committee, a football team.

So… You have been through the vision and the objectives, you have motivated, coached and given your staff feedback, but they are still not engaged?!

You can go back to the WHY and give them new objectives, which can lend itself to performance management if you feel a resolution cannot be achieved.

It is sad but it is a reality that not everybody will work out and want the same things as you and the team.

I hope that this has been helpful. If you apply some careful thought into the five areas I have highlighted then you can potentially make a difference and have a positive impact on your team and staff.

Good luck!

If you would like to discuss anything in the article then do not hesitate to contact me.

Eddie Taylor is the Divisional Manager of AccountAbility Melbourne. Contact Eddie on 03 8629 1301 or email eddie.taylor@accountability.com.au

View Eddie’s LinkedIn profile.

The Brisbane team have had much success over the past eight years, seeing growth in the past few years. The traditionally all female team now have a brave Irish lad and a brand new office fit-out to add to their recruitment viper skills.  Here’s more about them….

Claire Williamson – State Manager
Claire manages the Brisbane AA team and is closing in on five years within the Ambition Group.  Hailing from sunny Canberra, Claire is known for her infectious laugh (she has been told it can sound like a dolphin being chain sawed), her ‘dad jokes’ and tanning rituals.

Emma Fitzalan – Senior Consultant – CBD – Perm & Contract
Emma recently joined AccountAbility and recruits for Temp and Perm roles in the Brisbane CBD.  Emma brings 6 years’ experience and is passionate about recruitment. Previously working for Hays and Davidson’s, Emma has seen the light and joined AccountAbility.  Emma, a self-confessed health nut, is enjoying poached eggs for brekkie with the team and looking forward to her first game of OzTag.  

Sophia Philippou – Brisbane North – Contract
Sophia joined AA Brisbane in early 2012. She has been coined the AccountAbility cheer leader and is known for her incessant questions. She is passionate about her candidates and clients but mostly her passion is olive oil.

Lauren Parsons – Brisbane South – Permanent
Lauren joined AccountAbility in July 2012 and recruits for Perm roles in the Southside. Having joined AccountAbility as a Rookie Lauren has learned all the tricks of the recruitment trade from her lovely teammates and is loving it!  Born and bred in Sydney but now a true Queenslander through and through. Lauren loves boxing and music and describes herself as ‘ just pretty awesome’.. (just kidding!)

Stacy Johnston – Brisbane South – Contract
Stacy waved goodbye to the rainy city of Glasgow in 2009 in search of the QLD sunshine.  She joined the AccountAbility team in December 2012  and looks after temporary recruitment on the south side of Brisbane.  Stacy is passionate about recruitment and has 10 years experience in the industry – she has recruited in the accounting support, manufacturing and trades sectors.  Stacy recently made her Oztag début with the TagAbility team, and local talent scouts predict a fruitful career in the sport!

Paul Darling –  Brisbane North – Permanent
Paul joined the Brisbane AA team in January 2013, he has previously worked for a Dublin based recruiter since graduating college. Being the only male in the team, he has learned a lot about the female of the species and gotten a true insight into ‘what women want’ ! He is called ‘the devil’ on a daily basis for being able to eat chocolate whenever he wants!

Lucie Bell – Office Everything
Lucie has been with the AccountAbility since mid – 2011 and has come from a customer service background. She is the welcoming face to candidates and clients alike and makes sure the office runs like a well-oiled machine. While lovely nearly all of the time, the dishwasher truly cops the full extent of her wrath.

The AccountAbility Perth office opened in August 2012 and we have been whole-heartedly delighted by its warm reception from the local market. Not surprisingly, there has been a genuine need for a true accounting support specialist in WA for a number of years now and this has been reflected by our immediate success. Every single week since we opened we have been proudly placing quality individuals within  the resources sector,  NFP’s, Property, Retail & Fashion, Local Government, Manufacturing, Utilities, Logistics and  Engineering sectors and we are looking forward to expanding in to new sectors this year. The AccountAbility brand has certainly stamped a valuable mark on Perth.

We are so proud of the difference we have made to the hundreds of individuals we have advised and it many cases, found employment for. We don’t like rules at AccountAbility, however we do have one and that is to add value to everyone we come into contact with, whether it’s interview feedback for our candidates or advice to clients about their market. We have enjoyed tremendous feedback from our clients and candidates and have also received physical hugs after registration interviews – that has to be a good sign!

We are covering all areas of accounting support in Perth, we have had success within payroll, accounts payable, credit and assistant accountants and will continue to service all areas to the very best of our ability. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my incredible team for their passion and professionalism from day one and our already loyal candidates and clients – may this experience continue to be as rewarding in all ways possible for you.

Angela Goodall

We have recently released our latest Market Trends report. From workplace happiness to company growth forecasts, our report offers an overview of 2012’s accounting and business support trends – as well as a glimpse of what 2013 holds in store.

It is based on a survey of over 1500 employers and employees across Australia as well as an analysis of our own work in 2012. If you would like us to come and discuss our findings with you as well as give you an insight into our market predictions for 2013 please click here to organise a meeting with one of our consultants.

OUR KEY FINDINGS:

• 42% of employees would like to move jobs in the next six months.
• 62% of employees believe it would be competitive to find a new job in the current market.

HIGHS AND LOWS OF 2012 AND WHAT’S IN STORE FOR 2013

There’s no doubt that 2012 has been a turbulent time for business, and along with the rest of the world, Australia has felt the effects. However, it’s not all doom and gloom. Top talent remains highly prized, and with cash flow a priority in tough times, accounting and business support teams have been thrust firmly into the limelight. There may have been a slowdown in growth hiring, but there is still strong demand for replacement roles, especially in firms with a lean accounting support contingent – a reflection of just how vital these teams are.

 TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT PLEASE CLICK HERE.

Some vital rules to succeeding in the competitive and fast paced temping world!

A common mindset to fall into is ‘it’s only a temp job’.  This is a big mistake!  Being a temp is just as important as being in a permanent role, but for different reasons. Not only are you an ambassador of the agency you are working for, but most of the time you are there because you are filling in for a permanent person, or because there is an additional work load.  You are there because you are needed and because you are IMPORTANT!

Here are some tips you get you that first temp job, and to ensure you are at the top of the list for new temp roles.  Don’t miss out!

• Be available
  Many temporary roles are called in because of an urgent requirement, and sometimes this needs filling immediately.  If you are seriously looking for temp work, make sure your phone is close to hand, so you don’t miss out on an opportunity, and call us back straight away!

• Presentation is key
  Wherever you are going, be polished and well presented.  As an ambassador of AccountAbility, make sure you represent us well by looking like you’ve made an effort.  Thongs and beachwear are not office attire!

• Make sure you know where you’re going
  We will always give you the exact location of where you need to be, and we will give you as much info as we can on how you can get there.  However, it’s worth you checking as well, to make sure you’re there on time and are not frazzled when you arrive.

• Don’t be late
  Please, please make sure you allow plenty of time for your journey in the morning.  Better to be early than a few minutes late.  Being reliable and punctual are key to keeping in the temp game!

• Be helpful and happy!
  OK, so perhaps you would rather be on the beach or having a lie in, but you don’t get paid for that, so be helpful, be happy, and be interested. The chances are if people like having you around, they will have you back. And it goes without saying, if you do us proud, we are going to do all we can to keep you in work.

• Texting
  Whether you are on reception, in administration, or in customer service, please keep texting, personal emailing, internet surfing and anything else for your lunch break!  Even if it seems like you aren’t doing a lot, you are there for a reason and you are in the workplace, so keep the personal stuff for later!

Last but not least……be honest
If you don’t like a role, you have something else in the pipeline, need time off for an interview or anything else, please let us know.  We will do all we can to accommodate you, and will respect you for keeping us in the loop.  It can take a long time to build relations with our client and we are putting you in a position of trust, so please respect us and we will do the same with you.

We are always here to help and don’t bite, so if there is something you’re not sure of, ask!

Richard Arthur is a Senior Consultant in our Business Support division, Sydney. Contact Richard on 02 8296 5326 or email richard.arthur@accountability.com.au 
View Richard’s LinkedIn profile.

“Every young Australian can develop an independent will to achieve personal success for themselves and their community”.

AccountAbility and our sister company Ambition are proudly committed to building better futures for our communities and we are excited to have partnered with the Beacon Foundation to support the children of our future.

The Beacon Foundation has an established track record of helping inspire and motivate students to either stay in school and increase their educational engagement and attainment or choose a positive pathway that enables successful transition to employment, further education or training.

In 2013 AccountAbility employees will be actively involved in providing career advice and support to children through ‘Ambition Uncovered’ on-site workshops and Beacon’s Speed Careering and Business Blackboards training programs.

Beacon is a national non-profit organisation working in around 130 secondary schools across all Australian states and territories in 2012, believes every young Australian can develop an independent will to achieve personal success for themselves and their community.

Since 2001, Beacon has had an impact on over 87,000 young people in more than 160 schools in communities in every Australian state and territory. This includes over 14,000 young people in around 130 schools currently completing the program in 2012.

Learn more about Beacon here.

AccountAbility’s chosen charity in 2012 was Guide Dogs. To raise funds for our sponsored puppy in training Skye, we’ve shaken tins down at the beach, enlisted the help of the Bondi rescue crew, run from the city to the surf, competed in the Sydney Urbanathlon, taken part in football competitions, held trivia nights, casino nights and held a client day at the races!

In total consultants raised over $8,000.

Details of our 2013 charity partner to follow.

Click below for the latest Pup Date from Skye.

Meet our Business Support team, what makes them tick?

Our Business Support Division is led by Hannah Guy with her team, Domonique Delgado and Richard Arthur.  Between them, they have over 12 years’ experience working within the business support space.  The roles the division specialise in are; Executive Assistants, Personal Assistants, Receptionists, Customer Service Officers, Data Entry, Administration Assistants and Office Managers.  Their capability stretches from providing a large volume recruitment solution to more specific searches that include a specialist and very-well defined recruitment process.

Hannah Guy – Divisional Manager. Hannah crossed paths with AccountAbility in 2010, whilst travelling around the world, and soon afterwards hung up her rucksack/backpack and joined the team recruiting for accounting support roles. After nearly 2 years in the business, she moved across to head up and launch the Business Support division, and now looks after both temporary and permanent roles across the CBD and South Sydney.

Richard Arthur – Senior Consultant. With several years’ experience in Business Support recruitment under his belt, Richard has found his Sydney recruitment home in AccountAbility, focussing on filling contact roles across a broad range of organisations in North Shore. Richard used to DJ at the Ministry of Sound, (when it was cool apparently!) Now preferring a quieter life, he is always as fresh as a daisy Monday morning!

Domonique Delgado – Consultant. Domonique joined AccountAbility’s Business Support division in August 2012 with previous business support recruitment experience and over 6 years Executive Assistance gained from working in the legal field in London. When Domonique isn’t busy filling permanent roles for the North Shore she can be mostly be found on Bondi Beach with her fellow Poms.

Domonique Delgado, Business Support Consultant, gives us her top tips for making that ‘permanent job’ permanent!

So after months of applying and interviewing for jobs you’ve now secured your dream role. That’s great news, but you’d be amazed how many people fail to pass their probationary period due to a number of workplace faux pas.

Make sure your dream job doesn’t become a nightmare by following these simple steps to ensure that, not only will you pass your probation, but you will also be regarded by your manager and peers as a valued and respected member of your team. Who knows, there might even be a promotion in it for you one day.

1. Be punctual and reliable

A common reason why many people fail to pass their probation is because they are regularly late for work or have a lot of sick days. Now of course there are going to be times when public transport is a nightmare and things happen that are out of your control, which is fine. However, if you are late for reasons such as this, make sure you call your employer to let them know the reasons you’re going to be late and give them a rough estimate as to how long you are likely to be. Generally as rule, you should ensure that you time your journey so that you are at least 5 minutes early for work.

Similarly, it doesn’t look good if you call in sick a lot, especially on a Monday or a Friday. Of course if you are genuinely ill most employers will be compassionate but you will be expected to provide a Doctor’s note for your absence.

Being repeatedly late for work and/or calling in sick is frowned upon.

2. Don’t be scared to ask questions

It’s scary starting a new role. You don’t know anyone, you’re working with a new team and manager, and you may be asked to do things you’ve never done before. That’s ok; don’t panic! It’s fine to ask questions if you’re not 100% certain of what is expected of you. Most employers want you to show your eagerness to learn and to generally get things right so be sure to speak up if you’re not sure.

A common reason why many people fail to pass their probationary period is because they haven’t been able to meet deadlines or there are a number of errors in their work. This is often down to employees not being confident enough to admit they are struggling to come to grips with what is expected of them in the role because they haven’t asked the right questions.

3. Be proactive

There may be times when there are quiet periods at work. If this happens you should always find out if your manager or colleagues need any additional assistance. A common complaint made by employers who have decided to not extend a probationary period is that many candidates take/make personal calls send a lot of personal emails or are constantly surfing the internet during ‘quiet’ spells, and as such show little initiative or pro activity.

It’s important to remember that you are being paid to work and even if you aren’t busy there probably is someone else within your organisation that is and who could do with an extra pair of hands!

4. Wear appropriate clothing

Most work places will have a dress code policy. This doesn’t necessarily mean you are expected to wear a suit to work every day, however, ‘smart dress’ is almost always expected. This normally means smart trousers, a knee length skirt for women and a smart shirt/top. Singlets, thongs, hoodies and shorts are definitely a big no-no!

5. Last but not least… be careful when it comes to social media

Now we all love a bit of Facebook and Twitter but you really do need to be sensible here. If you have a social media account you definitely should keep this page private. Does your boss or colleagues really need to see photos of your antics from last weekend?

Many companies now use social media, Facebook especially, to market their business. If your organisation has a social media group which you choose to join, again be smart and make sure that you mark your personal profile as private. If you don’t, every member of that group will have access to the content of your page and there may be things on there that you do not want the whole world to see!

Although you may have a private social media account, it is important to understand that personal information can be shared fairly easily amongst people. If you have any inappropriate photos, status updates or have joined any offensive groups it is absolutely essential that you remove these from your account as there have been many occasions where an employees’ contract has been terminated by their employer.

This may seem like common sense but following these simple steps will undoubtedly increase your chances of a long and prosperous career.

Domonique Delgado is a permanent consultant in our Business Support division in Sydney, contact Domonique on 02 8296 5306 or email domonique.delgado@accountability.com.au

View Domonique’s LinkedIn profile.

After much success over the last two years, the Melbourne team has seen exponential growth from a team of two to currently five consultants. This is due to a great deal of hard work, exceptional candidate care and partnerships with Melbourne’s most attractive companies.

Here’s a little bit about the team…

Eddie Taylor – State Manager.
Eddie manages the Melbourne AA Team with five years’ experience, four of which have been with AccountAbility. Hailing from England, his two favourite pastimes are moaning about the weather and watching Neighbours.

Greg Kouwiloyan - Contract and permanent roles in the CBD and West Melbourne.
You know you are a denizen of the future when you find yourself committing to one single recruitment firm that offers you the opportunity to progress and develop your abilities. After spending three years in AccountAbility Melbourne recruiting in the contracting market and progressing to a Senior Consultant, Greg enjoys talking to strangers during the nightly hours and donning his tight Speedo’s on St Kilda beach during the weekend. He looks forward to many more years under the AA Melbourne roof.

Amy Campbell – Contract roles in the CBD and Eastern city fringe and suburbs.
Amy comes with a wealth of professional experience and is fresh and new to the recruitment industry. Her only downfall is that she’s recently fallen victim to an addiction to “The Voice” TV program.

Nathan Forde – Permanent roles in the CBD fringe and South Eastern suburbs.
Nathan is the south eastern perm specialist for AA and has been with us since 2010. Born and bred in the outer eastern suburbs of Scoresby, his favourite pastimes include throwing rocks at bigger rocks.

Peta Scott – Contract roles in the CBD fringe and South Eastern suburbs.
Peta has recently joined the team with a total of five years’ experience, both here in Melbourne and within her native UK. Being an honorary Aussie, nowadays her favourite things to do are to kick back with mates over a barbie and a beer or two, and finally get to enjoy that elusive work-life balance us Poms can only dream of back home!