Why performance management is ‘back in fashion’

The commencement of the Fair Work Act (FWA) in 2009 brought with it the expansion of unfair dismissal rights to all employees, regardless of the size of the employer’s workforce. As a result, employers have to ensure that if they are considering dismissing an employee for non-performance, that they have appropriate performance management systems in place. This is just one of the reasons why performance management is back in fashion.

Employers need to constantly audit the performance of their employees to ensure the business is running as effectively as possible. Such performance management will also assist employers who have to counsel or dismiss an employee for non-performance.

Feedback should be an ongoing task. Ben Thompson, CEO, The EI Group said, “When employees hear it is time for appraisal or feedback, they often get defensive. The stigma is that generally appraisals only occur once a year and are used to measure an employee’s performance over the previous year – which has probably already been forgotten. This is an ineffective technique. Once a year reviews don’t provide enough opportunities or challenges for either party.”

“Performance appraisals are traditionally used as a process of judging past performance. Managers should measure performance against clear objectives and goals set out to the employee on an ongoing basis,” Thompson said.

“An effective manager needs to be conscious of addressing the developmental needs of employees. Ongoing performance management is also about motivating, rewarding and recognising employees. Performance management is now ‘back in fashion’ and I encourage business managers to ditch the traditional annual appraisal system, and adopt performance management techniques that are implemented on an ongoing basis providing feedback and developmental opportunities closely linked to the employees and employers goals – not just once a year. This provides real growth platforms for both the employees and the business, and opens up a lot of opportunities,” Thompson said.

One of the biggest issues facing managers moving forward is managing ‘Gen Y’ employees, who represent the up-and-coming pool of talent. They have a different set of values and attitudes towards life and working habits. They have never known a world without instant communication due to technology, mobiles, and of course social media. Ben Thompson believes this is one of the reasons managers need to shift to an updated approach to performance management.

“One effective way companies are now catering to Gen Y is adopting a rewards and recognition strategy. Putting effort into rewarding and recognising your staff on an ongoing basis will boost company morale and profits,” Thompson said.

Ben Thompson highlights the three key benefits of adapting updated techniques for performance management:

1. Financial gain. Employees will be more motivated and enthusiastic. Recognising employees will decrease the amount of time spent on operational changes, which in turn, will help the execution of business strategies.

2. Improved managementcontrol. People feel empowered, loyal and interested when they know their leadership team is making an effort to keep them up-to-date. It reduces gossip, increases morale and improves productivity. Managers are better placed to manage issues immediately and effectively.

3. Motivated and fresh employees. Ongoing performance management improves employee engagement because everyone understands their mulberry sale contribution to the company. Employees will actively work towards company goals and objectives. It will set a better tone other than ‘business as usual’ – it will be more of a ‘let’s get pumped team’ tone.

“Ongoing performance management is a win-win opportunity for managers as it reinforces the goals of the business while motivating and invigorating employees as well as ensuring the employer’s processes will assist them if action is taken by an employee after dismissal,” Ben Thompson, CEO, The EI Group.

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It is important for employers to develop effective performance management systems and policies. And if in doubt, obtain legal and HR advice.

About Ben Thompson
Ben Thompson is CEO of The EI Group – Australia's leading provider of workplace relations, HR and performance improvement services. Ben is known throughout the industry as ‘the ideas man’. Ben’s ability to think outside the square, combining incentive/reward structures, employment law and IT solutions, allows mulberry handbag clients to be far more competitive and prevail over the challenges faced by modern employment every day.

About The EI Group
The EI Group are leaders in integrated and innovative human resource management solutions, The EI Group creates peace of mind by giving clients the HR consulting expertise they need. From human resources systems to workplace law and even reward and recognition solutions, it brings human resources solutions together Mulberry Bag so you can bring the best out in your business.

The EI Group comprises of EI Legal, Power2Motivate and OneStopHR.

Ryan and Isabella Top the List of Most Popular Baby Names in Mass

Kindergarten teachers in Massachusetts will be welcoming a lot of Ryans and Isabelles in five years time. Those names topped the list of baby names in 2010, according to the data released recently by the Social Security Administration (SAA).

Bay State parents who had boys had a different mindset from moms and dads nationwide. The top boy's name in America was Jacob, while Ryan did not even make the top 10, nationally. Neither did Benjamin, the second most popular name for boys in Massachusetts.

Parents who welcomed little girls, Mulberry bags sale however, almost mirrored the rest of the country, almost exactly. The top five names were the same, just in a different order. Emma and Olivia, both top five in Mass. and the U.S., have been popular for years. They make it in the top five for the first decade of the 21st century. The top two names for the decade, however, were Emily and Madison (neither of which cracked the top five this year).

Across the country, Jacob has been a popular boys name for the whole 2000s, ranking No. 1 over the past decade. Michael also had many takers, while new popular names this year were Jayden and Ethan.

Matthew made the top mulberry handbag five nationally for the last 10 years, but not this year.

China may be a perfect fit for Cardin

As fashion shows go, it was a runway with a difference. For designer Pierre Cardin, the deck of a decommissioned Soviet aircraft carrier tied up in the mainland was as good a place as any for a fashion statement.
The French designer, Mulberry bags sale who says he wants to sell his fashion empire, unveiled a romantic 2011 collection on the former warship Kiev at the Tianjin Binhai Aircraft Carrier Theme Park in an ode to peace - and perhaps to attract mainland investors. In a 30-minute show, dozens of models strutted down a catwalk lined with fighter jets.

Earlier this month, Cardin said he is ready to sell his label, as long as he retains artistic control - and gets the 1 billion euros (HK$11 billion) he insists the company is worth. "If they don't have the means, they don't have the right to buy it. Simple as that," he said.
Cardin, 88, said he has Mulberry Bag received several offers for his label, including from Chinese buyers, but declined to offer any specifics on who may be in the running. Asked if he would be keen to see his company fall into the hands of a Chinese firm, he replied: "China - why not?"

Jon Stewart's popular U.S. TV show mocks Quebec town of Asbestos

The town of Asbestos, Que., was the object of ridicule on one of the world's most popular comedy programs Thursday night.
''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'' produced a segment that began with Mulberry bags sale lighthearted mockery and ended with moral indignation over the town's attachment to the asbestos industry.
It interviewed local officials who said chrysotile asbestos is perfectly safe if handled properly — then spoke with a Canadian Medical Association doctor who called the industry a national embarrassment.
The piece saved its most scathing bits for last.
It reminded people that asbestos is blamed for 100,000 deaths a year and that there's little evidence the product is handled safely in India, the prime market for Quebec asbestos.
It ran CBC images of Indian workers tossing around the substance without any precautions.
That's when the comedian-reporter on the story toughened his tone.
Reporter Aasif Mandvi, who was born in Mumbai, asked the president of an asbestos mine: "Have you ever been to India? . . . Do you think in India people are following the regulations?"
He then lures the asbestos executive, Bernard Coulombe, into a tongue-in-cheek conversation about Indians. Coulombe quips that Indian workers can handle a lot: "Maybe they're used to the pollution. . . It's like antibiotics. They have natural antibodies," the businessman says.
Mandvi plays along for a bit — smiling and joking that Indians must be tougher than westerners.
Then he tears into the businessman.
"That's really fucked up, man,'' Mandvi says. ''I mean, selling them things that are going to kill them. I mean, that's my family over there."
He adds: "What's the French word for douchebag?"
As the segment ended, Stewart chuckled as he cut to commercial.
Quebec holds the last of Canada's remaining asbestos mines. Jean Charest's government recently announced a $58-million loan guarantee to keep one of them, the Jeffrey Mine, open. Coulombe is president of that operation.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has painted the Conservatives as the only champion of Canada's asbestos industry among political parties. The NDP and Liberals have condemned it.
During a campaign stop in the region last month, Harper said only the Tories would defend the jobs of hundreds of asbestos miners, while the positions of the other parties would ensure they ended up unemployed.
It's wasn't the first time the mulberry handbag town was fodder for foreign comedians. An Australian TV show once held a contest for advertising professionals to try making tourists want to visit the place.
The segment on Stewart's show began with a similarly light tone.
The studio audience laughed as Mandvi poked fun at the town's name at the start of the five-minute piece.
His first exchange with Coulombe played on linguistic misunderstandings.
"Does Asbestos mean something different in French than it does in English?" he asked Coulombe.
"Because in English it means slow, hacking death."
A wide-eyed Coulombe replies: "Yeah? It means that?"
The "Daily Show" attracts well over one million TV viewers per night and its segments regularly go viral on the Internet, as well.
Neither town nor mine officials were immediately available to comment on the segment.
However, the Quebec government said it believed safety precautions were constantly improving.
Economic Development Minister Clement Gignac noted that India's Supreme Court has demanded that the country's government better regulate the industry.
He says he has travelled to India with representatives of the provincial workplace-safety board to share best practices with India's minister responsible for mining.
"It's just like chemical products — we don't pretend they have no risk at all," Gignac told a news conference in Quebec City.
"They have risks. But if we go in a safe way, with the best practices, Mulberry Bag we can minimize risks. . .
"One death is one death too many — whether it's in Quebec, India or Indonesia."

Not so super for fashion trendsetters

ULTRA-TRENDY fashion group SuperGroup yesterday admitted that it had missed the mulberry handbag spring sunshine boost reported by other retailers.
The firm said that it did not get its full range of summer stock into stores in time to catch the recent hot spell.

It opened only one store in the past quarter compared with six this time last year, which also had an impact.

The group, which is best known for its fashionable Superdry and SurfCo California brands, still increased sales by 61 per cent to £66 million in the quarter to 1 May, but this is well below the 87 per cent rise seen in the previous three months. Wholesale trade grew by 89 per cent to £34m, but retail sales growth was just 39 per cent at £32m, compared to a 92 per cent rise in the three months to January.

SuperGroup opened 65 stores worldwide during the year and for the 12 months to May total sales rose to £238m from £139m. mulberry bag Both wholesale and retail arms saw sales rise by 71 per cent.

Chief executive Julian Dunkerton said the supply issues have now been addressed and the group is ready for an accelerated roll-out of the franchise.

Recycling payday for shoppers

Shoppers across the Capital could soon be rewarded for shunning plastic bags in favour of re-usable ones.
Councillors have agreed to carry out a feasibility study into a city-wide bonus bag scheme, where anyone with a re-usable bag would get a mulberry handbag discount, freebie or voucher in local shops.

Green councillor Alison Johnstone put the proposal to the council's transport infrastructure and environment committee, based on a successful scheme already operated by Greener Leith.

If it is given the go-ahead, the initiative would see bags - probably organic cotton carriers emblazoned with the message "We Love Edinburgh" - given or sold to shoppers.

Cllr Johnstone said: "Rolling out the Greener Leith bonus bag scheme would show that the city really does want to support its smaller, independent traders and at the same time it will reduce plastic waste. The 'Edinburgh Bag' would work like a club or discount card, so no bag, no discount."

Councillor Johnstone, who represents Meadows and Morningside, said there was growing support for measures to make Edinburgh plastic bag-free. She said the drive against plastic bags would also reduce the money which the council has to pay for dumping waste in the ground. "The landfill tax costs the Edinburgh council tax-payer £7 million a year. This cash could be better spent."

Environmental campaigner Gordon Millar, of Ban Plastic Bags Edinburgh, said he was delighted with the council move. He said: "Around the world, lots of countries are putting taxes on plastic bags, which generates revenue but taxes are not popular. This is more positive - providing bags to retailers, which they then give or sell to customers and when the customer returns with the bag they get a bonus, which could be a discount or a freebie or a voucher.

"Most of us have these kinds of bag nowadays, but we forget to take them with us. The bonus acts as a reminder to customers to take their re-usable bag to the shops. It's a win-win for customers and retailers."

Mr Millar said plastic bags produced huge CO2 emissions during production and littered the landscape after use.

"Our ultimate goal is to ban plastic bags completely," he said. "Mayor Boris Johnson has already said he wants to make London plastic bag-free by the 2012 Olympics."

Environment leader Councillor Robert Aldridge said: "The council fully recognises its role in supporting these worthwhile and environmentally-friendly initiatives and we have supported a number of these bonus bag schemes in the past.

"These types of projects are very much rooted within local communities, Mulberry Bag and it is such schemes that have most chance of changing people's attitudes towards waste and recycling."

The Fashion File: Eco Chic

International fashion designer Dita Sandico Ong, known for transforming banana bark fibers into a fashion art form, was in Salt Lake to share her vision with the students at SLCC’s Fashion Institute.

Students got to try their hand at mulberry bags sale molding, twisting, knotting and tying Dita’s abaca clothing (made from banana fiber, which has a natural, sculptural form) into rolled collar jackets, bubble skirts, wrap dresses and various avant-garde shaped attire.

Discovering that banana fiber can be shaped, Dita developed her signature wraps while playing and experimenting with the drape of the fabric. The abaca textile does not have the texture or feel of standard fabrics, as it is heavier and stiffer. She says that it has the ability to sculpt mulberry alexa itself and has its own character. The wearer can form and shape the wrap into their own unique design each time it is worn; styled the way you want it whether it’s simple or as Dita says, “va va voom!”

The abaca collection has redefined and modernized Philippine fashion and features the versatile wraps as well as belts, hats, handbags, brooches and even slippers. Colors are bright and vivid yet maintain the translucency of the natural fibers.

Working in the fashion industry for 25 years, Dita has a reputation for being one of the Philippines most culturally aware designers involved in ethical and contemporary fashion. She is recognized for unique collections made from eco-friendly handmade textiles and also for her humanitarian efforts.

As an advocate of environmental sustainability and cultural heritage, Dita supports traditional methods of production from natural materials woven into indigenous Filipino fabrics produced by local craftswomen. All of her products are 100 percent made in the Philippines. By employing native women from small villages and communities, Dita is able to greatly improve their quality of life and standard of living.

She hopes to bring more of what the Philippines has to offer over to the U.S. Dita says the banana fiber is the best and strongest fiber in the world. “With this abaca-inspired fashion, we are getting back to basics in promoting environmental awareness, and we are further raising the bar in terms of high-end fashion which will encourage other countries to have a more acute appreciation for Philippine culture.”

Fresh from presenting her green perspective of fashion at an exhibit in New York, she showcased her collection in Salt Lake at a stylish tea party/trunk show with more shows planned in California.

Dita has a message, “reach out – there is more to fashion – simply making a better world out of simple things.” And simply fabulous things.