Most people have heard a version of the saying ‘good leaders ask good questions’. It’s less common, however, to think about asking a good mix of different types of questions.

“When you read about this in management literature, you get insights like, ‘Good questions are follow-up questions or open-questions, but [leaders need] a little more guidance than that,”  says Arnaud Chevallier, strategy professor at IMD Business School in Switzerland.

Particularly for first-time leaders, the tendency to jump into solution mode before letting curiosity play out can put many organisational elements at risk, such as innovation (if we don’t ask questions to surface everyone’s ideas), psychological safety (if people don’t feel they can push back on an idea) and wasting time or resources (if we put all our energy into solving the wrong challenge).

That’s why Chevallier has spent years determining five types of questions that he and his co-researchers believe will help leaders and organisations to operate on a deeper, more strategic level.

“I think all executives and professionals should develop a mindful set of questions that they’re constantly updating to serve them better in the decisions they’re making,” says Chevallier.

5 types of questions

Over three years, Chevallier and his co-authors Frédéric Dalsace and Jean-Louis Barsoux, also professors at IMD, conducted interviews with hundreds of top-performing executives to learn about their favourite types of questions.

“Then we refined them using the Delphi method and organised the questions into general buckets.”

They also conducted a robust literature review.

“Management executives aren’t trained to ask questions, but other professions are – physicians, psychologists, journalists, lawyers. We wanted to learn as much as we could from those other fields [whose workforces] have thought long and hard about the meaning of questions.”

From this research, they first determined four types of question, which are as follows:

1. Investigative questions

These types of questions follow a similar line of thinking to Toyota’s ‘five whys’, says Chevallier.

“This is epitomised by the ‘what’s known?’ type of question. Investigative questions help you probe the root causes of the problem, and help you to go deeper into the decision you need to make.”

Examples:

• What is and isn’t working?
• What are the causes of the problem?
• How feasible and desirable is each option?
• What evidence supports our proposed plan?

2. Speculative questions

Going deep with investigative questions is important, but not sufficient, says Chevallier. 

It’s also useful to go broader with your line of questioning. This is where speculative questioning comes into play.

“We epitomised speculative questions within ‘what if?’ For example, ‘What if we didn’t care about costs?’ or ‘What if we could relax these other constraints?’

“[These questions] foster innovation by challenging the implicit or the explicit assumptions we come to in our decisions.

“For HR professionals, who are addressing the human component of [work], you really need to develop your subjective question mix so you’re always asking yourself ‘what’s the actual meaning that’s going on behind the words?’”

Examples:

• What other scenarios might exist?
• Could we approach this differently?
• What else might we propose?
• What can we simplify, modify, combine or eliminate?
• What potential solutions have we not considered?

“All executives and professionals should develop a mindful set of questions that they’re constantly updating to serve them better in the decisions they’re making.” – Arnaud Chevallier, strategy professor, IMD Business School

3. Productive questions

It’s also important to have a set of questions that are designed to move processes along, says Chevallier. He refers to these as the ‘Now what?’ questions.

“They’re here to help us adjust the pace of the decision making – sometimes accelerating it because the deadline is coming, or sometimes slowing down because we’ve come to a decision with a preconceived mindset or there might be cognitive biases that are crowding our judgement.”

Examples:

• What do we need to achieve before we advance to the next stage?
• Do we know enough to move forward?
• Do we have the resources to move forward?
• Are we ready to make a decision?
  

4. Interpretative questions

Interpretative, or sense-making, questions help us take what we’ve learned from our investigative, speculative and productive questions and turn them into insights.

“[These questions] are epitomised by the ‘So what?’ Okay, we’ve figured out this one thing, what is that telling us about our overarching goal?'”

Examples:

• What did we learn from this new information?
• What could this mean for our present and future actions?
• How does this fit in with our overarching goal?
• What are we trying to achieve?

Chevallier and his colleagues were originally happy with these four types of questions, but after analysing the insights gleaned from their discovery sessions with the executives, they realised something was missing. 

They needed a question type that surfaced the many things that are often left unsaid, which led to the addition of a fifth type of question.

5. Subjective questions

“We’re not dealing with robots. We’re dealing with people. In every conversation, there are hidden emotional or possibly political sets of insights. [In these cases], it’s [important] to figure out the meaning behind the words,” says Chevallier.

For people managers, this is where you might uncover people’s frustrations, tensions or hidden agendas. People’s answers to these types of questions can often lead you down a completely unexpected (and often critical) pathway.

From an organisational perspective, subjective questions can protect a business from risks such as wasted budgets, reputational damage and causing dissent or disengagement to brew in teams.

Examples:

• How do you feel about this decision?
• What aspect of this most concerns you?
• Are there any differences between what was said, what was heard and what was meant?
• Are all stakeholders genuinely aligned?
• Have we consulted all the right people?

Learn how to hone your leadership and management skills with this short course from AHRI.

Curious cultures

While Chevallier and his colleague’s research didn’t go into detail about the cultural environments that are required to allow for these types of questions, his opinion is that trust and psychological safety are key to making these types of questions effective.

In an article for Harvard Business Review, they wrote: “Team members may be reluctant to explore emotional issues unless the leader provides encouragement and a safe space for discussion. 

“They may fail to share misgivings simply because no one else is doing so – a social dynamic known as pluralistic ignorance. Leaders must invite dissenting views and encourage doubters to share their concerns.”

You also need to choose your timing wisely when asking certain questions, says Chevallier.

“If you come into a new position and start asking a bunch of speculative questions, it might be too early. You might first need to establish those relationships with people.”

Read HRM’s article about how to build social capital in the workplace.

Auditing your question default

Chevallier and his colleagues have created an interactive tool – which will launch later this year – to help leaders assess which type of questions they default to. For example, you might complete the assessment and discover you have very few points allocated to speculative questions.

“[In that case], you could make a list of 10 speculative questions and, ahead of a meeting, highlight a couple that you’d like to ask,” he says.

There’s no specific mix of questions to ask, he adds. The research isn’t suggesting every situation calls for one of each type of question.

“You might ask five different investigative questions. It depends on the specific situation. 

“The five types of questions, hopefully, help people realise that there are various ways to look at a problem or a decision. Before we follow our muscle memory into one direction or another, we should periodically step back and ask, ‘Are we still going in a productive direction?’

“The world of today is not like the world of yesterday. We absolutely need to update the way we make sense of it or we’re at risk of not being able to decipher it.”

Example questions listed in this article sourced from Dalsace, Barsoux and Chevallier’s article on their research in Harvard Business Review print edition (May-June 2024). You can read the online version here.

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As of 26 August this year, a new Right to Disconnect entitlement will be added to the Fair Work Act. 

For small businesses (those with less than 15 employees), the legislation will come into effect in August 2025.

However, for all other businesses, there are just a few months left to ensure your processes are compliant and in line with the new legislation.

Below, HRM speaks with expert Dr Gabrielle Golding, Senior Lecturer at Adelaide Law School, about some common myths about this new legislation and easy steps employers can take to prepare.

Myth #1: Employers can no longer contact employees after official work hours

In some instances, the narrative around the Right to Disconnect legislation has been that employers will no longer be able to contact employees out of hours, but that’s not necessarily true.

While it’s certainly best practice for employers to avoid sending a barrage of emails at 10pm, this new rule doesn’t mean employers will be penalised for accidentally hitting ‘send’ instead of ‘schedule’ on an email.

“It’s not like there’s a penalty for someone who sends an email out of normal working hours. It just means the employee carries the right not to respond. And if they exercise that right, they can’t be penalised for it,” says Dr Golding.

Employers will still be able to exercise “managerial prerogative”, she says, meaning there will be instances where it’s reasonable for them to contact employees out of hours and expect a response.

For example, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) may deem it ‘reasonable’ to expect a response from the employee if they’re on call or have a specific provision in their employment contract that extends their employment hours.

“Provided they are compensated appropriately for that,” she says.

Employers may also contact employees out of hours to discuss changes to shift times or any other operational notices that can’t wait until the following work day, such as notice of an office closure. The Right to Disconnect legislation itself sets out matters to be taken into account when determining reasonableness.

Myth #2: This rule only extends to employers

The Right to Disconnect not only encompasses communication between an employer and employee – it also includes communication from third parties.

“That could be a client or customer of the business in which the employee is working. Essentially, it’s the exact same right for the employee to be able to disconnect or not respond to that communication outside their normal working hours,” says Dr Golding.

This will be important to note for employers who provide services to clients and customers. It might be wise to consider communicating with  these third parties ahead of the legislation taking effect so they know what to expect. 

This may be especially important for those working with global clients or customers who may not be across legislative changes in Australia.

Myth #3: Only employees can raise a dispute

A dispute can be raised by either an employee or an employer, says Dr Golding.

“It could be something like the employee raising concern that perhaps they haven’t been afforded the Right to Disconnect or they’ve been treated adversely because of exercising [that right].

“An employer could similarly raise a dispute. They might say something like, ‘You’ve been incorrectly exercising a Right to Disconnect when, in actual fact, you’re required to respond to these kinds of communications because you’re on call,’ for example.”

The resolution process will look similar to any other workplace dispute, says Dr Golding.

“The first step happens at a workplace level with a conversation between the employer and the employee. The Act mandates that this happens first and I would hope the dispute is resolved [at this level].”

If it’s not resolved, one of the parties can bring an application for a stop order to the FWC, such as would happen in the case of a stop bullying order.

“That could be either that the employer stops engaging in contact or conduct that potentially infringes the Right to Disconnect or, on the flip side, that the employee ceases engaging in activity that’s not akin to the Right to Disconnect. Perhaps that’s ignoring calls when they shouldn’t be. And then, at that point, the FWC will have to decide whether or not to grant a stop order.”

If an order is granted, and the behaviour is continued from either party, that’s when civil penalties could come into effect for employers or disciplinary actions for employees. 

“It’s not like there’s a penalty for someone who sends an email out of normal working hours. It just means the employee carries the right not to respond.” –  Dr Gabrielle Golding, Senior Lecturer, Adelaide Law School

The maximum penalty for employers who breach a stop order is $18,784 for an individual per contravention and $93,900 per contravention for a company or employer.

“So, if there are a few employees with a few stop orders, the potential penalty amounts are quite high. That should be quite a significant deterrent for employers.”

Importantly, even when a stop order is in place, that doesn’t mean employees can’t file another application under the Work Health and Safety legislation, says Dr Golding.

“There’s a lot more being written about now in terms of codes of practice around psychosocial hazards at work. And so an employee could, alongside an application like this, make an application for a breach of the Work Health and Safety Act to say that in continually contacting them or expecting responses, the employer has breached their duty of care.”

Another thing to consider is the discrimination legislation that protects employees from being treated differently should they exercise their Right to Disconnect.

“Any infringement of that could result in an adverse action claim,” she says.

Myth #4: It will mean the end of flexibility

Since the Right to Disconnect legislation was first floated, many groups claimed it was too prescriptive and could mean a step back for flexible work practices. 

Instead, some want to see disconnection agreements made at an organisational level to account for the unique nature of different work environments.

In fact, AHRI’s December Quarter 2023 Work Outlook report found that four in 10 employers have already implemented such policies in their workplaces.

Read a case study about how Victoria Police implemented a Right to Disconnect.

However, Dr Golding believes this legislation can co-exist with our steps towards a more flexible working future.

“One doesn’t cancel out the other; the two need to operate alongside one another.

“What I’ve found in my research is that working flexibly is great up until a particular point, at which you might then be infringing on the ability to disconnect because of the flexibility that’s been afforded to you. So there’s got to be a limit on it.

“There has been a bit said… about the fact that this will set women back if they’re in caring roles, for example.”

But this legislation isn’t restricting anyone who chooses to work in the evening or on weekends to account for flexibility afforded elsewhere in their week to, say, pick up children or care for elderly parents. It simply means utilising the ‘schedule message’ function so their preferred working hours don’t interrupt someone’s preferred down time.

“I have read some articles in the media that suggest allowing employees to disconnect means they’ll become less productive – that they won’t be punching out as many outputs, for example, and KPIs will start to drop. But [some] research suggests that just simply isn’t true. That in fact, you get more efficiency out of people.

“For us here at the law school, we’ve got a Right to Disconnect guideline that we work by and we’ve got a lot of people who work flexibly. We just have agreed-on communication hours, so we will email between ourselves as staff, and with our students, between the hours of 8:30am and 5:30pm on weekdays, excluding public holidays, and that has worked fine.”

How can your business prepare?

Dr Golding suggests employers start by doing an audit of current work hours and communication needs.

“For example, do you have employees working overseas or remotely who work at odd hours? Underpinning that, it’s important to understand what the normal working hours of your employees are. Be clear on that and then generate a policy document around the Right to Disconnect. 

“That would be very helpful to get on the front foot, so employees are clear on what it means to exercise their Right to Disconnect, and also what it doesn’t mean. [This way] they don’t risk potential recourse from their employer for exercising a right as they see it, but it isn’t actually in reality.”

Other steps she suggests considering include:

• Creating a process for on-call allowances and overtime pay for the instances that require employees to be contacted out of hours.
• Identifying what might constitute reasonable out-of-hours communications, such as needing to change shift times or communicate about work locations, for example.
• Making sure managers lead by example. They need to model the right behaviours in their own habits around emails and phone calls out of hours and outline communication guidelines to clients and customers.

“[Out-of-hours-communication] has become part and parcel of the way work has been done, especially since the pandemic. So to break those habits, it’s going to take some time and reflection on how communication practices occur.”

Want to take your employment law skills to the next level? AHRI’s Advanced HR Law short course is grounded in practical, expert insights to help you navigate Australia’s complex employment law landscape.

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Meeting for the sake of meeting? Turns out that for many workers, that answer is an unequivocal ‘yes’. Research from Asana has found that the average employee wastes up to 129 hours each year in unnecessary meetings. And this isn’t a new challenge.

Microsoft found that since February 2020, time spent in meetings has increased by a whopping 252 per cent. The average meeting time increased from 35 to 45 minutes. 

“After the pandemic hit, the volume of meetings skyrocketed because everything that was once a hallway interaction became a meeting,” says Amy Bonsall, former IDEO executive and founder and CEO of Collective, a platform that helps distributed and hybrid organisations flourish.  

“We’re now out of practice at identifying who belongs in the conversation and how to communicate with people who need to know, but don’t necessarily need to be there.” 

Read HRM’s article on the psychology behind why we find it so hard to stop attending unnecessary meetings.

Why are meetings turning into such time-suckers? First of all, they all look identical to each other – no matter how you’re participating, the conversations, rooms and outcomes are often similar.  

We need to get better at making sure meetings are purposeful and driving projects forward. To do this, Bonsall says we need to understand the different types of gatherings taking place across meeting rooms and computer screens around the world. 

Bonsall has identified three kinds of meetings, a concept that she first unpacked in an article for Harvard Business Review. Here’s how HR can make them more productive.

1. Transactional gatherings

These types of meetings have a clear intention – to progress work. They include stand-ups, status updates or presentations. 

To make them more productive, Bonsall advises being intentional about why you’re meeting and creating structure with an agenda and clear roles and responsibilities.

Amazon has a great approach to this. As HRM has previously reported, the company runs silent meetings which rely on a physical document that structures the meeting. Attendees have 10-15 minutes to digest the meeting memo in silence, which outlines relevant context, data and intentions, and then they launch into discussion. 

Liz Jamieson CPHR, Recruitment Manager at Amazon’s APAC Operations, previously told HRM, “[I recall at previous organisations] meetings where you’d jump in and expect people to have some level of understanding of the topic you’re about to discuss. But if the team isn’t up to date, they ask questions like, ‘Can you start from the start and explain the project?’ By the time you get to the ‘ask’, there’s no time left and you have to schedule another meeting.”

By baking reading time into meetings, Amazon can ensure everyone is on the same page from the get-go.

“There’s no wasted time on questions that half the people already know the answer to,” says Jamieson.

2. Relational gatherings 

This is time dedicated to creating connections and relationships between employees, says Bonsall. These could include off-sites or team building. 

“Relational gatherings were broken before the pandemic,” she says. “They suffer from the ‘let’s get everyone together’ mentality – whereby we throw everyone into a room, a party or a pub and expect them to foster connections,” she says.

“Humans go where they’re comfortable. So they’ll hang out with the people they already know instead of creating connections with colleagues they don’t know.” 

To create a successful relational gathering, you need a structure that allows people to mix up who they connect with. 

For example, Bonsall has organised remote team-building sessions where everyone can create a Google slide outlining the best career advice they’ve ever heard. Attendees can present advice to the group. Then, she divided them into smaller groups where they can discuss the stories around the advice. 

“This provides a safe way for colleagues to get to know each other better. The activity has enough structure to make the team feel comfortable and they can decide how vulnerable they want to be,” says Bonsall.

3. Adaptive gatherings 

These are sessions where an outcome is uncertain, like brainstorms or strategic planning meetings. 

To be effective, you need to structure the environment for fluidity while also articulating the end goal. A change of scene is also more likely to stimulate creativity and innovation. 

For example, if it’s an in-person meeting, you might want to use a different space, or move furniture around in the room. Or, if your guests are dialling in, you might encourage them to change rooms or go for a walk. 

“Humans go where they’re comfortable. So they’ll hang out with the people they already know instead of creating connections with colleagues they don’t know.” – Amy Bonsall, founder and CEO, Collective.

“Digital gatherings are harder to run, but they can add an element of safety. For instance, for online brainstorms, I like to use Google Slides for these kinds of meetings, but set it to public edit access so everyone can edit anonymously,” says Bonsall. 

“These meetings are often longer to allow space for reflecting and processing. I encourage hosts to add in healthy amount of breaks, which create transition moments that allow people to reset.” 

Making meetings more efficient

The most important thing to consider when sending out a meeting invite is knowing and communicating the why to the attendees. 

“Ask yourself, ‘Why are we having this gathering?’ If the answer is surface-level, it might be time to consider if you truly need it,” says Bonsall. 

She also advises being intentional about who you invite. Not everyone needs to be there at every stage. You could split up attendance based on who is in the working team, who is advising and who needs to be across it. 

Bonsall also suggests letting attendees know what’s needed from them. If it’s an early brainstorming session, you can tell them you need their big ideas. Or if you’re about to present something to a client, you can ask meeting attendees to identify small things that need to be fixed. 

Another problem is that often no one is assigned to keep a meeting on track and ensure equitable participation. 

“There’s a need for an engagement role in meetings. In a small meeting, that could be the host, but in a larger meeting I’d advise having different people to take on host and engagement lead,” says Bonsall. 

“An engagement lead makes sure all voices are heard. Whether in person or online, an engagement lead is looking out for subtle or direct cues that someone might want to contribute, like them going off mute.” 

And finally, at the end of the meeting, ask people to weigh in on how effective they found the gathering by asking, “Do we feel closer to achieving our goal?” 

“We have the opportunity to reinvent work the way we never will be able to again in our lifetimes. It’s a good moment to look at the meetings born of the past few years and consider what’s not working.” 

Ultimately, if you’re taking up time in someone’s calendar, you need to be accountable for keeping everyone on track and accomplishing a goal. 

“We’re all time-starved. So be thoughtful about how you approach a meeting. It’s a kindness to protect people’s personal time.” 

A version of this article was first published in the February 2023 edition of HRM Magazine.

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Kemi Nekvapil describes herself as a “multi-passionate” person. When you look at her career history, it’s easy to see why. She spent years working as a baker, chef, yoga teacher, business owner, film and television actor, author, podcaster, and soon she’ll add flower farmer to her list of pursuits.

“When I find something that lights me up, I dive deep into it,” says Nekvapil, who is also a member of AHRI’s Future of Work Advisory Panel. 

Her broad range of experiences lead her to the work she does now as an executive coach. She has also trained with Dr Brené Brown in Texas and is now a Dare to Lead coach.

Nekvapil is passionate about helping support people, especially women, discover their power. This motivator comes off the back of a childhood often laden with a sense of powerlessness and an inclination to make herself smaller. 

In 1970s England, Nekvapil was born into a society in which it was common for those with a Nigerian background, like her, to be fostered to white families for the chance to have “the best opportunities in life”.

By her 14th birthday, she had lived with five different foster families, some of which made her question her place, not only in their homes, but in the broader community. As she writes in her book, Power: “As a young child, my belief was that if I upset one white family, I would be moved on to another one… I was constantly threatened that I would be ‘sent back to Nigeria’ by some of my foster parents, so I never felt secure or that I belonged anywhere.”

All of this set the scene for the coach Nekvapil would go on to become – someone whose mission was to find her own space in the world, and help others do the same. 

That’s where her coaching career stemmed from. And while it may have been a meandering path to get there, Nekvapil says the lessons were critical in forming the type of coach she’d go on to become.

“Coaching can be very goal-oriented. But human beings are more than the goal. Sometimes we work out more about who we are on the journey towards the goal,” she says.

“I believe we’re not meant to do life on our own. Coaching is incredibly important for people in leadership, which can sometimes feel quite lonely. Leaders need to feel they have a safe place to land.”

Discovering your POWER

While Nekvapil was no stranger to feeling powerless, it was only after she started speaking with clients that she realised the universal nature of women’s struggle to grasp or yield their power at work. 

Not all women feel this – that’s important to call out. There are, of course, plenty of women who are perfectly comfortable occupying space and voicing their opinions at work, but Nekvapil’s professional mission is to help the many women who don’t feel that way.

“My experience as a coach is that, regardless of the woman’s title, her internal narrative doesn’t always allow her to own her power. Then I started thinking about my experiences as a woman, and as a Black woman navigating white spaces, I began thinking about the things I’ve done to build my power, as well as how my clients have done so.”

This landed Nekvapil on the POWER acronym:

P for presence – “We need to be present to what’s working and not working in our lives, work and leadership style.”

O for ownership – “It’s about taking ownership of our stories and asking, ‘What are the stories and narratives I’ve been told that aren’t useful? What are the stories I want to create for myself moving into the future?”

W for wisdom – “There’s nothing wrong with having people in our lives who guide, coach and mentor us, but ultimately we should gather that information and tap into our own wisdom to work out our next steps.”

E for equality – “This is about knowing that regardless of your resources – whether you have the most or the least – our humanity is equal. That’s non-negotiable. If we go into a situation and say to ourselves, ‘I am an equal here,’ that completely changes how we contribute. There’s a reason women are in those rooms.”

R for responsibility – “When we take full responsibility for our lives and careers, that includes taking responsibility for what’s going wrong, what we need to change and where we need to grow. It also means taking responsibility for, and celebrating, our successes.”

Different parts of the acronym will speak to different people. You might struggle with presence, but feel completely confident in your sense of equality and responsibility, for example. This isn’t meant to be a catch-all framework. It’s designed to prompt self-reflection and, as Nekvapil puts it, “self-coaching”.

“Not everyone has access to coaches, but we can always ask ourselves questions.”

The power of words

Another key part of owning your power is being aware of the language you use in a professional setting, says Nekvapil.

“Words are powerful. As women, we often diminish ourselves and others with our words, especially in emails. We’ll say, ‘I just wanted to check in’ or ‘I’m sorry to bother you.’

“I’m working with someone at the moment who sent me an email and I had to say to her, ‘There’s more apology in this than there is information.’ We know each other well. It was only when I pointed this out that she realised.”

Writing an email sans fluff and apology takes less time and clarifies communication.

“Manners are still important. I am English after all,” says Nekvapil. “You need to figure out what sits comfortably for you. For example, I like to focus on giving people the information they need. I’d write something like, ‘This is what I know: A,B,C and D. Let me know if you have questions.’ I don’t say, ‘Does this make sense?’ Assume it does. If it doesn’t, people will ask for clarification.

“This constant diminishing of our skills, communication and expertise doesn’t serve us, and it doesn’t serve the person we’re trying to communicate with.”

“Words are powerful. As women we often diminish ourselves and others with our words, especially in emails. We’ll say, ‘I just wanted to check in’ or ‘Sorry to bother you.’” – Kemi Nekvapil

People can also be overly collaborative with our communication style, she says. While this can be important in certain circumstances, it can hamstring you in other instances, like when you’re trying to move forward on a project.

“I had a client who came to me and said, ‘My manager is causing a bottleneck. She used to have my role, so I’m going to her for approval on things, but she’s not getting back to me in time.’ 

“When we unpacked it, it was about ownership. My client wasn’t taking ownership of her new role. Her manager didn’t care about those processes; that’s why she handed them off in the first place. I asked her to reflect on what it would look like if she took ownership of her role and she said, ‘I wouldn’t be asking for permission. I’d just be doing it.’”

Create clear boundaries

It’s a slow process of unsubscribing to the views that, for many, have been programmed into us since childhood – that women often feel they need to be constantly available for others; that to be confident is to be arrogant; that to ask for what you want is selfish. But learning how to put these boundaries in place – with the support of managers and mentors – can make all the difference.

Nekvapil uses the example of another client she worked with who was nearing burnout in 2020 during a period when many people across the world were taking on increased workloads and feeling stressed.

“Her narrative was, ‘They keep giving me so much work. I feel like I’m drowning.’ And I said, ‘Have you asked if you need to do the work? Have you checked to see what’s a priority and if it’s you that explicitly needs to do that work?’ And she was like, ‘I’ve never thought to ask.’

“Coaching is incredibly important for people in leadership, which can sometimes feel quite lonely. Leaders need to feel they have a safe place to land.” – Kemi Nekvapil

“There were 10 different things she was asked to do. There were three things that were big projects that she had to do herself, but the other seven had nothing to do with her job description. But because she was so busy, she hadn’t given herself the space or time to put boundaries in place. They kept giving her work because she kept saying yes.”

It’s not always easy to say ‘no’ to things in a professional context, no matter what your gender or tenure is. Instead, you could let others know you’re willing to help out, but you can’t absorb a never-ending list of tasks.

“One of the things you hear people suggest is saying, ‘I’m happy to take on these things. What do you want me to drop to fit that in?’

That approach has helped Nekvapil’s clients put boundaries in place in a non-confrontational way, to allow themselves more space to execute on the work that actually needs to be done.

Read HRM’s article ‘How to say ‘no’ to taking on more work (and when to say ‘yes).

Figure out who you are

One of the most impactful pieces of advice Nekvapil has received from her own mentors and coaches throughout her career is to define your own set of values.

“Sometimes we don’t choose the values we want, but ones that society would deem ‘worthy,’” she says. 

“For example, someone might feel like they can’t value money, but when you dig deeper, the reason they value money is because they value freedom or security, but they might not feel they can state that as a value because they’re worried they’ll be seen as greedy.”

One of Nekvapil’s core values is growth. This, she says, means being comfortable with not knowing things and adopting a beginner’s mindset. This value is likely why she’s been able to jump into so many creative pursuits and use them as building blocks to inform the next step she takes.

“Take the time to work out who you are, and everything will come from that. Be very clear on your core values – that takes work. It’s about asking yourself, ‘Who am I?’” 

A longer version of this article first appeared in the November 2022 edition of HRM Magazine.

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Every workplace is made up of different personalities working side-by-side to tackle problems and create solutions. Every individual has their different quirks, habits and communication styles they bring to the workplace or computer screen each day.  

And even if we don’t realise it, employees waste a lot of time trying to decode these behaviours and preferences, or become easily annoyed if they don’t understand their colleague’s approach. This is where a personal operating manual can prove to be a helpful resource. 

“A personal operating manual is a short document outlining how you like to work, collaborate, communicate and receive feedback,” says Anne-Laure Le Cunff, psychology and neuroscience researcher and founder of Ness Labs, a neuroscience-based content and community platform. 

A personal operating manual will shorten that inevitable learning curve that comes with developing  team cohesion. By encouraging all your employees to be explicit about their work styles, preferences and even annoying habits, you can strengthen team collaboration faster. 

Why do you need a personal operating manual?

A benefit of a personal operating manual is that it quickly and effectively builds team trust and can accelerate a sense of psychological safety, says Le Cunff. 

“Personal operating manuals help foster psychological safety by helping team members know each other and the way they work. This can increase role clarity, peer support, positive leader relations, interdependence and lead to a celebration of learning within the team,” she says. 

Psychological safety also has a potential innovation benefit.  

“Psychological safety creates a virtuous circle where people are comfortable admitting their mistakes and learning from their failures. As a result, everyone openly shares their ideas and experiments, cultivating an innovative environment,” says Le Cunff. 

On the other side of the coin, low levels of psychological safety could halt innovation and might even stop employees from pointing out errors they come across for fear of being admonished. 

In the best-case scenario, it could mean missing out on a revenue-generating idea. In the worst-case scenario, your company could end up overlooking a design or security flaw that could have long-term ramifications. 

Personal operating manuals could help employees become more self-aware and authentic. It’s an opportunity to reflect on your habits, triggers or weaknesses, and even acknowledge less-than-ideal behaviours you’re working to improve.   

Get a free personal operating manual template here 

What to include in a personal operating manual

The key to creating a great personal operating manual is specificity. No one will gain any insights about you from something vague like “I am a team player.” Instead, you could outline what your approach to teamwork could mean for your colleagues by writing “Before making a decision, I like to hear different perspectives and even dissent. Even if I don’t use your ideas or input, it helps me to reach a conclusion.” 

But before you put pen to paper, start with some self-reflection. 

In The New York Times Higher Ed Leaders Forum, Adam Bryant, a leadership expert shared some thought-starters. 

• What are some honest, unfiltered things about you? 
• What drives you nuts? What are your quirks? 
• How can people earn an extra gold star with you? 
• What qualities do you value in people who work with you? 
• What are some things people might misunderstand about you that you should clarify? 
• How do you coach people to do their best work and develop their talents? 
• What’s the best way to communicate with you? 
• What’s the best way to convince you of something? 
• How do you like to give and get feedback?
  

Once your employees have done some self-reflection, you can begin filling out your manual. Here are some sections Le Cunff recommends: 

• An introduction: Start with the basics. Employees could include their roles, departments, working location and working hours.
• Something fun: Think of this as an icebreaker – employees could list their favourite books, podcasts or blogs, or a fun fact their colleagues might not know.   

• Your ideal working environment: Identify when and where they work, and the factors that help them focus or learn.
  

• The best ways to communicate with you: Prefer a quick message over a meeting? This is where they’d add your preference. They could also include information about how they communicate with others or even some things people misunderstand about their communication style. 

• How you like to receive feedback: Feedback is a necessary part of any job, so this is your opportunity for your employees to guide others on how it will land most effectively.
  
• How people can help you grow: What do you want to learn or achieve? You can also look at the inverse of this by outlining any specialities you can share with others. 

However, there’s a fine line between authenticity and oversharing. Encourage employees to keep it as work-related as possible. The personal operating manual shouldn’t be an excuse for bad behaviour. For example, if someone includes that they are always late on their manual, they are essentially telling their employees to get used to it – which is not professional or helpful to getting work done. And while specificity is good, you should advise employees to avoid making it too long or rambling . This should be a resource that managers and team mates can reference quickly. 

“Personal operating manuals help foster psychological safety by helping team members know each other and the way they work. This can increase role clarity, peer support, positive leader relations, interdependence and lead to a celebration of learning within the team.” – Anne-Laure Le Cunff, Psychology and Neuroscience researcher and founder of Ness Labs.

How can you create one and get employees to use them? 

We’ve created an editable template that you can adapt for your workplace.

To socialise the document, you could host a session where you run through the manual and encourage people to ask questions to start the process of self-reflection. Personal operating manuals are also a great onboarding tool that will help new starters understand their team members better.   

Once an employee has created their own manual, you can encourage employees to share the online document on your company’s shared workspace. 

Another important piece of advice is to regularly revisit and update your manual regularly, says Le Cunff. 

“But not too often, especially in larger teams where it would take lots of time for people to re-read everyone’s manual. Once a year after your annual review can be a good time to update,” says Le Cunff. 

And finally, encourage your employees to have a little bit of fun with it! The manual is a helpful way for all team members, especially those working remotely, to understand who they’re collaborating with each day. Get a free personal operating manual template here 

Develop the necessary skills to build and sustain a high performing work team and tap into the full potential of team members with this short course from AHRI.

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Will we see a recession in Australia this year or won’t we? It’s a question that has economists and business leaders divided. However, something we can all agree upon is that we’ll face economically challenging times in the year ahead.

Whether or not we experience an official recession this year, business will likely be tightening purse strings and, in some instances, cutting headcount in order to weather the storm. We’ve already seen this occurring overseas, with Amazon announcing that it’s slashing six per cent of its workforce.

With all this in mind, it’s important for HR professionals to start preparing leaders and teams for how the business might respond to a downturn. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

1. Forefront communication

Communication during good times in business is nice to have, but during a downturn it is absolutely vital to get it right, says Wayne Cascio, a Distinguished Professor  Emeritus at the University of Colorado, and the Robert H. Reynolds Chair in Global Leadership at its Denver campus.

People are more concerned than ever about losing their jobs during these times, so engagement, or at least a sense that we’re all in this together, can only be created by consistent communication from leadership teams.

“It’s essential to have good communication from the top, with the leaders willing to be transparent and having a strong game plan,” says Cascio. “That’s the way they give people hope. Leaders must be very transparent about their plans, so everybody understands there aren’t going to be any surprises.”

Read HRM’s guide for how leaders should communicate about job insecurity during challenging times.

2. Involve employees in the solution

Downsizing should only be considered a last resort in anything but the direst of economic circumstances, says Cascio.

Businesses that performed well during the recent US recession, he says, were those that saw their people as part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

For example, the CEO of DuPont, one of the world’s largest producers of chemicals and science-based products, required every manager to meet with their direct reports and come up with at least three suggestions for cost-saving. These ideas were then further developed and finessed by a screening committee. 

“They needed about US$35 million in cost savings to avoid any layoffs, and they wound up generating about US$60 million in cost savings because they saw their people as part of the solution,” says Cascio. “Any company could do that, but it takes leadership and communication from the top.”

Another case study is Lincoln Electric, which makes arc welding equipment. 

“It’s pretty unglamorous work,” says Cascio. “But the company has never had a layoff since the 1930s. One thing it did during the [2007-2008] recession was create what it called ‘Leopard teams.'”

Leopard teams means employees are required to “change their spots”, to get off the factory floor and go out and find opportunities in the marketplace.

“One team identified a market for home welding equipment, and nobody was tapping into it. So they started working with big-box retailers and ultimately generated a US$800 million per year line of business.”

“They needed about US$35 million in cost savings to avoid any layoffs, and they wound up generating about US$60 million in cost savings because they saw their people as part of the solution.” – Wayne Cascio, Distinguished Professor  Emeritus at the University of Colorado

A third example Cascio shares is Southwest Airlines, which put a freeze on hiring during the 2007-2008 recession. This left its 80-strong team of recruiters wondering how long they’d hold onto their jobs.

However, instead of downsizing, the airline introduced a corporate redeployment program. Recruiters naturally boasted excellent interpersonal skills, so they were retrained into customer service roles. As the economy recovered, they were gradually brought back into their previous roles, with a renewed sense of loyalty to the business. 

“The best thing a company can do during a downturn is to practise something called environmental scanning,” he says. “It works around the acronym PESTLE because it involves identifying trends in the political, economic, social, technical, legal and environmental arenas.

“The key to success is to identify trends that are likely to affect your business and where opportunity or threat can reveal itself. Some companies set up small groups of staff to be responsible for each area, but why not establish broader networks during a downturn, bringing all staff on board to help solve problems? HR can take the lead in this.”

Of course, no matter what a business does, the last resort of downsizing can always become a reality.  But even then, as long as leaders have communicated well and done all they can to avoid layoffs, staff will feel gratified that the company at least made an effort, says Cascio.

Certified HR practitioners can help to build the cultures needed to survive during tough times. Find your certification pathway.

3. Create agile leaders

During a downturn, a different type of leadership is required at all levels of business, says Tina Shah Paikeday, Global Head, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Capability of Russell Reynolds Associates Global D&I Consulting Services. 

Leaders need to be agile enough to navigate difficult and constantly changing circumstances by shifting strategy.

At the same time, HR officers need to have tough conversations with their business leaders around talent within the workforce, and about ensuring great resilience.

“That’s going to be the skill set that will enable you to weather the storm during the downturn. What you want to look for are leaders who are able to change from being pragmatic to disruptive, depending on the circumstances, in terms of their strategic approach,” says Shah Paikeday. 

“As we anticipate the economic downturn, we’re going to see hiring slow down. So in that case, identifying the people who do have that agility is something I’d recommend. In addition to that, as we think about talent in the downturn, the emphasis from leadership advisory firms like ours will be on development.” 

Most important, she says, is identifying those in the organisation at all levels who already have agile leadership skills. Develop those people and then focus on others. If a large gap is identified, if the organisation does not have enough agile and resilient people available in the current workforce, now is the time to hire for those traits.

“Organisations able to harness the power of diversity are able to get to higher levels of innovation, which is important when you’re trying to navigate highly ambiguous situations.” – Tina Shah Paikeday, Global Head, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Capability, Russell Reynolds Associates Global D&I Consulting Services. 

What about diversity and inclusion? Is that put on hold when times are tough? Actually, that’s when it becomes even more important, says Shah Paikeday.

“The perspective on this is that organisations able to harness the power of diversity are able to get to higher levels of innovation, which is important when you’re trying to navigate highly ambiguous situations,” she says. 

“You have novel problems to solve in a recession, and the research shows that when you have those diverse perspectives at the table… you’re better able to navigate the circumstances in the same way that I was talking about leadership agility.”

Cascio agrees. If a company is serious about diversity and inclusion at any time, he says, then the best time to demonstrate that is when diversity and inclusion matter most – during the hard times. It says something about culture, and culture backed up by communication is what’s most important during a downturn. 

The reality of a recession is that budgets are cut across the board. Training and development is often brought in-house and recruitment slows or stops. Technology may be utilised to increase efficiencies in HR and other functions. But Cascio points out that new technology has the best chance of being implemented successfully if it is a cost-saving suggestion by those closest to the action, rather than a staff-cutting strategy by management. 

“People like the idea of a shared fate,” says Cascio. “They’re most comfortable when it’s clear that we’re all in this thing together. You’ve got to demonstrate that with your actions.”

Excerpts of this article were first published in the December 2020 edition of HRM Magazine. This has been republished with the permission of the interviewees. You can view the original here.

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Ever sat in the interviewee chair while a hiring manager waxes lyrical about all the amazing things a company will offer you, only to face a different reality when you start? Sorry to tell you, but you’ve been job-washed.

Job-washing takes inspiration from the term greenwashing, which describes companies that make bold claims around sustainability and environmental consciousness but fail to back them up. In the case of HR, job-washing is when companies overpromise on the employee value proposition (EVP) during recruitment but underdeliver in practice. 

Why does job-washing happen? 

It’s important to note that most employers are not intentionally setting out to mislead candidates. Quite often, job-washing happens due to miscommunication or misunderstanding of policies. 

“Job-washing is an interesting new phenomenon that’s become more common during this critical labour shortage,” says Angela Anasis, Executive General Manager at Randstad ANZ. 

“There’s a risk in a hyper-competitive environment that employers may overpromise and that the employee experience won’t be what was promised during the recruitment process.”

Recent data around Australia’s skills shortage illustrates why some employers might be over-emphasising elements of their EVP. Between 2021 and 2022, there’s been a 42 per cent increase in occupations seeing shortages, according to the 2022 Skills Priority List. The release found shortages in 286 occupations, compared with 153 in 2021. 

Behind these numbers, we’re seeing talent poaching on the rise, with research showing that 98 per cent of employers target candidates who aren’t actively seeking a new role. 

Alongside this, employee confidence has risen, especially for younger generations. Randstad’s 2022 workmonitor report found that 61 per cent per cent of Gen Z respondents felt confident they could find a new job quickly, followed by 54 per cent of younger Millennials (aged 25-34 years) and 50 per cent of older Millennials (aged 35-44 years).

For hiring managers, this amounts to a pressure cooker situation. They have roles to fill, which can lead to ‘panic hiring‘ or overpaying talent. However, more often than not, the ball is in the candidate’s court. Your organisation is likely one of many trying to lock them in.

Knock-on effects of job-washing 

Overpromising and underdelivering on the employee experience or EVP will likely have dire consequences for your business. 

The majority of employees won’t put up with feeling misled, with 67 per cent of respondents actively open to new job opportunities, showing no hesitancy to move on if a role doesn’t match their expectations. 

Notably, younger employees indicate they’d rather be unemployed than unhappy in a job. The Randstad report also found that 50 per cent of Gen Z and 42 per cent of younger Millennials are open to leaving if they don’t feel happy. 

But it’s not just attrition you’re risking, says Anasis. Turnover includes costs of retraining, recruitment and lost productivity, with research finding that the cost to hire an employee more than doubled in 2021, rising from $10,500 in 2020 to $23,860 per worker. 

“Employees aren’t expecting the job or company to be perfect. They want it to be authentic.” – Angela Anasis, Executive General Manager at Randstad ANZ

But what about an employee who feels misled yet still sticks around? 

“If someone does stay, they’re just not as engaged. And we know how important engagement is for driving productivity,” says Anasis.

“Doing that extra bit doesn’t necessarily mean extra hours. It’s about thinking and engaging with the business and feeling like they’re really contributing.” 

Job-washing can also negatively impact your employer brand and EVP. 

With the rise of tools like Glassdoor and the ability to contact existing employees at a company using tools like LinkedIn, it’s easier than ever for employees to gain the inside scoop on an organisation’s practices. If you’ve overplayed certain elements of your culture or work, candidates have tools at their fingertips to find out. 

“Employer branding is so critical in attracting great people. If you’re insincere, it will come out.” 

Expectations versus reality

So what might job-washing look like in practice? 

There are a number of ways your company may accidentally (or even intentionally) mislead a candidate during the recruitment process. 

For example, you might emphasise flexible work policies during the recruitment stages but gloss over the details of what it would look like in reality. 

“That employee would start their role thinking they can work from home five days a week, or choose when they come in, only to be told they must come in on certain days and work certain hours,” says Anasis.  

Another example could be training and development. During recruitment, the hiring manager may discuss a culture of coaching and development, but when an employee starts they have a poor onboarding experience and no clear development path. Or worse still, they start and feel like they have to stay in their lane and can’t learn new skills.  

Another way job-washing might manifest is when a hiring manager only focuses on the  exciting or fun elements of a job. 

“It’s important to manage their expectations. This means not only covering the company vision, but also the downsides.” 

According to EVP specialist Mark Puncher, part of being upfront means articulating the more challenging elements of the job. He suggests that employers could add a line to a job ad that says “Here’s why we hope you’ll love working for us, and here’s why we fear you may not.” 

“When you do that, candidates are more likely to trust you on the good stuff,” says Puncher. “More importantly, they are more prepared for what they’re getting themselves into. So you can reduce the number of times someone says, ‘This wasn’t what I was sold.’  

“Let’s say you’re advertising a role for a telco. Why would you have career videos with satellites and galaxies if their days will be spent in a call centre or a van? Show the vans, the call centres and the people in them,” he says. 

Culture, values and equity also need to be factored in, says Anasis. Randstad’s report found that 55 per cent of Gen Z and 47 per cent of younger Millennials won’t work for a business that’s not making a proactive effort to improve its diversity and equity, compared to 28 per cent of their older counterparts. 

“Particularly for Gen Z, it’s important they feel connected to a company’s values. And even if things aren’t perfect, they want to know that you’ve got steps in place and are working towards your values and equity”  

How to avoid selling a dream

You may not even realise that you’ve misled an employee. So the first thing you should do is ask them, says Anasis. 

Start by checking internally to gauge whether your employees actually feel misled. If your company conducts regular internal engagement surveys, you could include a question like: “Is the job what you expected?”

From there you can glean whether your employees feel like they’ve been job-washed.  

Next, review what your brand says externally. Some of the elements you want to check off include: 

• What messages are you presenting? 
• What do your hiring managers or recruiters say about the company? 
• How are they articulating the company’s benefit? 

For example, what are your job ads telling the world? Are your job ads full of slick actors drinking coffee in pristine workplaces? Or are you featuring real people doing the work?  

Employees are clocking how your company presents in marketing, and the less authentic it is in practice, the poorer it will present on your brand. 

Anasis gives the example of a company that went all out on a recruitment marketing campaign where it espoused how great it was to work there and the flexibility it offers. Afterwards, the CEO put out a directive that every employee had to return to the office.  

“The brand saw huge backlash. It was such a 180-degree switch and people voted with their feet.” 

Authenticity above all else  

It’s a common adage: job interviews are a two-way conversation and an employee’s opportunity to interview you right back. To avoid misleading them, you also need to make sure hiring managers are answering tricky interview questions authentically. 

“The danger with job-washing is that you will skim through the narrative and nuances, instead of being upfront about the challenges the company is facing.” 

For example, if you’re striving for equal representation in leadership but aren’t quite there yet, be open about that but always show that you care and are working towards a solution.  

“You could say, ‘We’re not quite there yet and there’s more work to be done. Here’s the progress we’ve made so far, and here are some of the ways you could contribute,” says Anasis.  

“You want to be open and realistic about what that looks like and where you are on that journey.” 

“Employees aren’t expecting the job or company to be perfect. They want it to be authentic.” 

Want to learn how to elevate your talent management processes? Sign up for AHRI’s short course to understand the needs of your current and future workforce.

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Mention the metaverse to a group of people and you’re bound to get mixed responses. The gamers and tech-lovers will likely light up with excitement about the possibilities the metaverse could offer. The other portion will range between feelings of caution or disinterest to absolute fear.

Wherever you sit on that scale, it’s probably not until recently that you considered the metaverse to be something HR needed to be across. It always felt like a far-flung, futuristic world that would only be frequented by a select few people – those who readily dive headfirst into the latest tech advancements.

But then, as HRM reported earlier in the year, Gartner released a report that brought this issue closer to home. It predicted that by 2026 – yes, just three years from now – at least a quarter of the world’s population will spend up to an hour each day in the metaverse to shop, play games, attend events and work. And this is just the emerging stage.

By 2030, Gartner predicts we’ll have reached the ‘mature phase’ where most of the physical world will be mapped and indexed via spatial computing.

“The changes that are coming with the metaverse in the next three to five years are going to blow away everything we’ve known and seen before,” says Duncan Wardle, former Head of Creativity and Innovation at Disney and recent speaker at AHRI’s convention.  “Unless we learn to do things differently, we’re gone.”

You only have to look at how we’ve embraced new platforms in recent years to get a sense for what lies ahead, says Wardle.

“We used to go to restaurants, now they come to us. We used to go to supermarkets, now the supermarket comes to us. We used to go to the gym, now Peloton comes to us.”

Just as we’ve quickly acclimatised to a stranger dropping a bag of (almost) hot food at our doorstep, we could soon feel totally comfortable with a digital replication of our workspace in our living room. 

Don’t fear the metaverse

If you’re concerned about Gartner’s prediction of a world where almost everything we interact with has a metaverse component, try not to worry. Even though the technology is advancing quickly, a layman’s life becoming totally consumed by the virtual world will be a slow process, says Maia Gould, Strategic Services Lead at the School of Cybernetics, part of the Australian National University.

“The vision of the metaverse as a digital place where you jack in as your avatar and have access to everyone in the world is very far off,” says Gould. 

“For example, think about the development of autonomous cars. We have the capability for cars to be largely autonomous now. In some environments, such as mine sites, fully autonomous vehicles are already driving around interacting with human operated vehicles. 

“The changes that are coming with the metaverse in the next three to five years are going to blow away everything we’ve known and seen before.”  –Duncan Wardle, former Head of Creativity and Innovation, Disney

“That works because it’s a closed system. But if you think about autonomous vehicles out on the road, they’d have to interact with wildlife, poor road infrastructure, the weather and unpredictable people. So even though we have the capabilities, it’s not ready yet. It will be the exact same for the metaverse.”

Before we embrace virtual workplaces, there’s a huge knowledge gap that needs to be addressed. Earlier this year, Gartner found that 35 per cent of people hadn’t even heard of the metaverse before, and 38 per cent had heard the term but didn’t know what it entailed. Only six per cent said they were “very familiar” with the metaverse and could describe it to someone else.

Making the metaverse work

So if interaction with the metaverse is inevitable, what does that look like from a work perspective? Meetings, training and team gatherings will be where companies first step into the metaverse, McQueen predicts.

“The thing that’s likely to make the metaverse go mainstream will be conferences or meetings. It’s more likely to be the latter. From an HR perspective, that’s significant. If you’re developing a team and thinking, ‘What does collaboration look like over the next five to 10 years?’ the metaverse will have to be a part of that discussion.”

And even though you’ll be an avatar, it won’t feel like a passive experience, says McQueen.

“It will be immersive. If people speak to you from a certain part of the room, you’ll hear them from that direction. It will mirror your body language, your vocal inflections and how that all affects your facial expression.

“[People] say that within about four minutes, you forget it’s virtual reality. It feels like you’re together.”

Gould says there are still some teething issues to get through at this stage.

“A colleague said to me, ‘I had a meeting in the metaverse the other day and I couldn’t take away the actions because you can’t write anything down. I didn’t have a pen and paper because everything was done wearing these big goggles.’ 

“I think the way it’s being used at the moment is slightly gimmicky; it’s almost just a showcase of the technology.”

However, she’s fascinated by the ways this technology will become more advanced, tending to more than just our visual senses.

“I know of an artist who created a virtual underwater world that you could move around in as a diver. You inflate your lungs with air to rise and deflate them to go down. The VR experience included a chest band with sensors, so you moved around with your breathing,” she says.

Risks to keep in mind

It would be remiss of us to write an article about the metaverse without acknowledging the potential risks it could pose for not only employees but the next generation.

“As a parent, what makes me nervous is the idea of my six-year-old son being more interested in the virtual world than the real one,” says McQueen.  “The virtual world is hyper-personalised. That’s always going to be more engaging than the real world because the real world isn’t designed to be the way you want it to be.

“You have to work, share, wait and cooperate. And that requires character development. I’m mindful of how this could shape the way young people see themselves as part of society,” he says.

There’s also a risk this could perpetuate existing issues, such as ‘echo chambers’ and ‘filter bubbles’ that prevent us from being exposed to views different from our own.

“You can just see how this can start to build on some of those more dangerous and dark tendencies toward tribalism and polarisation. We need to be mindful of that.”

It’s also important we don’t view the metaverse through rose-coloured goggles.

The anonymous nature of avatars is currently causing controversy in terms of the bullying, harassment and, in some instances, virtual assaults that are occurring.

“HR professionals are already systems thinkers because they’re managing people with complex personal and work lives. So they just need to ask, ‘Will this technology make us more productive?” – Maia Gould, Strategic Services Lead at the School of Cybernetics

However, with the right interventions, it can be a driver of empathy, says Gould.

“If you can put someone in an immersive situation, you can evoke empathy for the situation they’re viewing.

“I have a colleague who created a VR exhibition called Postcards from a Disaster. You put on a VR headset and go into a village that has been destroyed by a hurricane and floods. You walk down the street and people talk to you. It’s a full experience and it has been shown to increase empathy.

“If we are working from home a lot more, we need an embodied experience to prompt that empathy.”

Another thing for HR to keep in mind is the ways in which this could cause a further class divide between employees, as a seamless experience of the metaverse requires the funds and equipment to make it work.

“In the pandemic, when we tried to create online experiences for what had previously been amazing in-person concerts and conferences, everyone’s experience was dictated by the hardware, software and internet connectivity they had in their own homes, rather than what the conference organiser could manufacture,” says Gould.

Those things are unlikely to be consistent across all employees when you consider that a 2020 report commissioned by Telstra found that 2.5 million Australians don’t even have access to the internet.

Valuing HR’s voice in tech

Whatever your take on the metaverse is, it’s not to be ignored.

“You want to be ahead of the technology, but it can be incredibly daunting to say, ‘I understand the people side of the business completely. But now you’re telling me I have to learn all of this technology as well,'” says Gould. 

“But HR professionals absolutely have to explore the metaverse.”

She cautions against making technology such as the metaverse “the villain”. You just need to be mindful of how you use it.

“If you apply a technology layer over something that’s not quite working, it’s not going to fix anything. It might actually make it worse. So rather than fixating on the technology, we need to go back to the principles of what makes work great.

“In that sense, the technology is almost irrelevant. What you really need to do is make sure you’re asking the right questions.

Select the technology solutions that are going to help you meet your goals. 

“HR professionals are already systems thinkers because they’re managing people with complex personal and work lives. So they just need to ask, ‘Will this technology make us more productive? Will it make us happier? And if so, show me the evidence.’

“HR professionals are allowed into this conversation even if they are not tech experts. In fact, we need them in this conversation. We need a diversity of voices in the technology conversation.” 

A longer version of this article first appeared in the August 2022 edition of HRM Magazine.

Give your HR team the skills to lead through change with this one-day course from AHRI. This course is suitable for groups of 6-20 people.

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In-person events are an opportunity to immerse yourself in a rich learning experience. It’s dedicated, uninterrupted time for soaking in the expertise of fascinating speakers and facilitators. 

You’re not half-listening to a webinar while also tending to an overflowing inbox. You’re in a physical space with your peers, who are equally engaged with the speaker on stage.

An equally important element of a physical event is the opportunity to broaden your network. Getting a group of people together – outside the confines of a laptop screen – has come to feel like a novel experience. So it’s time to remind ourselves of the value of face-to-face interactions once again.

Getting back into the swing of networking

Networking may feel awkward at first. Do we shake hands? How close should we stand to each other? Should we talk about COVID or not? But we shouldn’t underestimate the importance of these in-person connections.

Microsoft’s recent Work Trends Index found that 59 per cent of hybrid workers feel they have fewer friends since working remotely, and 55 per cent feel lonely as a result of this. That’s a significant portion of the global workforce that’s experiencing a lack of connection.  

In-person events, such as AHRI’s convention, which kicks off today, are crucial to helping create connections and building relationships.

Some people reading this may feel they’re out of practice when it comes to networking. After years of being stuck at home, or being told not to approach people in public, there may be apprehension to confidently navigate a space predominantly filled with strangers. If you’re someone who sits in this camp, here are a few strategies that may help.

First, remind yourself that most people in the room have the same goal: to meet new, interesting peers. It’s important to remember that networking is a mutually beneficial experience. 

Make the interaction personal so it doesn’t feel transactional. Avoid handing over your business card and launching into your elevator pitch as soon as you introduce yourself. This could cause the person on the receiving end to feel like you’re not interested in getting to know them.

Questions to ask of your peers

Don’t think that you need to demonstrate your HR expertise while having a casual conversation at a networking event. Part of what we’re hoping AHRI’s convention will do is further build a sense of community in our profession and industry. And that means developing genuine relationships.

 A lot of virtual interactions are task or topic focused, but when you ask questions of someone’s interests beyond work, your interactions will start to have more authenticity.

“Make the interaction personal so it doesn’t feel transactional. Avoid handing over your business card and launching into your elevator pitch as soon as you introduce yourself.”  – Michael Rosmarin FCPHR, AHRI Chair

Also, in a virtual environment people often feel it’s wrong to deviate off-topic to ask a tangential question. In person, that concern evaporates. In fact, you’re more likely to bounce off what people are saying. The discussions that emerge from this are often where the best conversations lie.

However, it can also be helpful to have a few go-to questions up your sleeve that go beyond ‘So, what do you do?’ For example, ask them: 

• ‘What’s something interesting you’ve learned today?’
•  ‘Who has been your favourite speaker so far?’
• ‘What are you hoping to get out of the event?’ 
• ‘What do you love about your job?’
• ‘How is your organisation responding to the hybrid work challenges that have emerged?’
• ‘What’s an interesting book or podcast that you’ve listened to recently?’

These should help you to spark rich and meaningful conversations. 

Speak with passion

While you might avoid asking the ‘What do you do?’ question, it’s inevitable that it will be asked of you. So have a think about how you can answer in an interesting way.

Don’t downplay your role. Speak with passion and give the person a sense of what you love about your work. 

In the future, if they’re filing through their mental Rolodex looking for someone to connect with, who are they more likely to reach out to: the person who said “I’m just an HR associate” or the person who said “I’ve taken on an exciting role as an HR associate and I’m really enjoying learning about how to help our business transform for the future”?

Networking is about building relationships and broadening your professional connections. So be present, demonstrate authenticity and curiosity, and enjoy it.

A version of this column first appeared in the August 2022 edition of HRM Magazine.

Want to learn more about building relationships with stakeholders? AHRI’s short course on internal HR consulting skills is a great place to start.

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If your organisation is introducing any major workplace changes that are likely to impact your workforce, chances are you will have a legal obligation to consult with all affected workers before making the change, under your relevant modern award or enterprise agreement.

If you ignore the obligation, you could face legal exposure for unfair dismissal claims, as well as a potential fine. For example, in August 2021, an aviation organisation was ordered to pay a $72,500 penalty for failing to consult air traffic controllers about roster changes, which was in breach of its enterprise agreement consultation obligation.

Consultation is not simply informing employees of a decision. Rather, it requires giving employees an opportunity to consider and influence a decision that has been proposed, especially if it would affect their employment in any way. 

What counts as major workplace changes?

Any change that will likely have a significant impact on more than one employee – on their job security or promotion opportunities, for example – will usually require consultation. However, it is now fairly accepted that one-off redundancies will not usually require consultation.

Whether a workplace change is ‘major’ is not determined simply by the workforce proportion that is affected. A change that has an adverse impact on a small number of senior or critical employees may be considered a major change, for example.

Learn best-practice models for workplace changes, plus how to determine and measure success factors, with this short course from AHRI.
Sign up to the next course on 8 February.

Modern awards also require employers to consult about changes to regular rosters or ordinary hours of work. Under the Fair Work Act, obligations to consult also arise when an employer makes a decision that will have a significant effect on the status, pay or location of a parental leave employee’s pre-parental leave position.  

A dismissal on redundancy grounds will only be exempt from unfair dismissal laws if the employer complied with all its obligations under a modern award or EBA that required it to consult about the redundancy (provided the number of redundancies is, generally, greater than one).

How to maintain compliance

To give you a simple run down of the consultation process, it usually involves three stages: 

1) Informing employees about the change

 2) Giving employees the opportunity for input 

3) Considering this feedback before making any decisions 

The information needs to be provided to staff in writing and it should explain the nature of the change, the expected impact on employees and any other matters likely to affect the employees.  

You don’t have to provide confidential or commercially sensitive information, but you do have to recognise that employees are entitled to be represented by unions or other parties in the consultation process.

The opportunity for input is usually facilitated by face-to-face or online discussions. 

It’s important that you keep an open mind in these meetings. You might have a view as to what is likely to happen, but you need to afford employees a genuine opportunity to change your mind.

Importantly, consultation does not mean giving employees or unions a right to veto. It’s a means to ensure those employees who bear the brunt of the change have a genuine opportunity to raise any concerns they may have. Provided you take this feedback into account, you can proceed to implement the required change. 

For more information, refer to the consultation and dispute resolution clause set out in your award or registered agreement. This is usually found in Part 2 of an award. You can also use the Fair Work Ombudsman’s ‘Find my award’ tool to see which applies to you.

This article first appeared in the December/January 2021 edition of HRM magazine. The advice in this article is general in nature. Legal advice should be sought for your specific circumstances.

Charles Power is a Partner and Stefania Silvestro is a lawyer at Holding Redlich lawyers.

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