Don’t ignore your impact

You probably know or should know that 1 in 5 Australians are disabled.

Living, like all Australians; you and me with a vision 4 life; with very ordinary needs and high expectations for the future.

1000 people from across Australia will be at the forthcoming Disability Care Conference in Melbourne on Sunday 23 and Monday 24 June; taking risks; sharing; to create a better future for the 4 million living with a disability in Aus.

Inspiring people creating more than better ways of working Kate; better ways of living for an important and diverse group. In awe and privileged to be there in just 4 days.

Who said that…? Lots of people know;

Measuring what costs you most will save you $.

Reducing staff turnover will save you $ in recruitment costs, people’s time and we all know the consequential benefits of continuity for the customer

Taking annual leave makes sense for everybody

Implementing graduate management programs to reduce average cost per hire will both deliver you a unique talent pipeline and save you money in the long run.

Prevent injuries.

They’re boring but they matter; policies in the use of overtime, effective use of casuals and rostering guidelines

What is most important; talent or hard work?  Well isn’t it just like Fish & Chips, Charlie & Lola and Posh n’ Becks?

You can’t have one without the other surely?

Stop, pause and think. Some might say that everybody has a talent; you know that thing you find yourself doing naturally and often.

Some might say that unfulfilled talent just needs more practice.  Does that mean that this person needs to work harder?

What in your experience gets your vote?

This better be good Kate was once upon a time feedback from an underwhelming manager. No pressure.  Clearly my intention was never to do a good job, and certainly my enthusiasm and ideas should be curbed, dare it be different or contagious.  Culminating in a piece of well-intentioned but marvellously unhelpful work weary advice from a more established team player; don’t be yourself Kate!

Sound familiar?  Leave yourself at the door and get on with more, just do more, don’t really stop to think and those deep connections with colleagues can actually harm rather than help. And emails, plenty of them telling you what to do, what not to do, what you should do, what you shouldn’t do and please can you do. It seemingly never stops and the list goes on.

And what about initiative fatigue, lots of people across different functions in silos developing, redeveloping, reengineering and updating processes and programs, when simplification and less, clarity of who does what with meaningful targets and recognition would go a long way to improving the experience at work.

Heck HR is the worst offender in many instances yet can add value in so many other ways; enabling implementation of strategy in engaging ways, a champion for lobbying others ideas and a cultural daredevil daring organisations to permit their people to think and be themselves.

The good news is that the world of work did get better but the everyday experience of corporate life in my 20 years of working has left me with a quest to help others create better experiences for their people at work.

Ever heard the phrase see everything, ignore some of it and focus on one? It can happen and it can contribute to achieving things you wouldn’t think possible. What made one of my bosses really great was his stunning ability to be focused on what’s important, an obsession with measurement to improve for his customers, moving at pace and creating excitement with his people and enabling us to be ourselves at all times.

The good news is that a better way does exist and every business can make experiences at working better than today.