Are You Really Saving By Cutting Back?

Recession, tighten our belts, cut backs, retrenchment and ‘batten down the hatches’. This is what we constantly hear and read in the media about businesses and the year ahead.

Does this mean we should all live in fear of loosing our jobs, expect prices to sky rocket and escape somewhere else? Does it mean we need to stop living the great Australian way of life and start sacrificing our leisure activities, cut back on the kids after school activities and save every spare cent? All this, whilst we work extra hours so our employer sees us as dedicated and for no extra remuneration.

Hang on a minute – we all deserve more respect than this in our jobs. Remember good people are hard to come by in any economic time. Isn’t the company’s best asset its employees? If businesses start loosing key people in their business where are we really heading?

Have we forgotten the investment that has already been made into the staff - recruiting, training, empowering and nurturing them? Our employees have years of knowledge and understanding of the business that can’t be documented and passed onto the next person. Now that the times are getting tougher is it not always the right decision to retrench or cut back on company benefits?

What should we be doing?
Michele and Silvana are the directors from LifeStyle Refocus; a Melbourne based Lifestyle Management Company. They recommend that we should still be looking after our employees so they don’t become disgruntled due to company cut backs. Investing in staff and looking after them is crucial in any economic time.

LifeStyle Refocus works with businesses in Melbourne helping give employees real work/life balance while still getting maximum productivity from staff. Silvana quotes “it is usually the small things we do for an employee that keeps them happy and content in their jobs – it is not always about monitory rewards”

We all appreciate being acknowledged and thanked for our efforts. Whilst at Christmas time our tradition is to do this on an individual basis, it is important to thank staff for their contributions on an on-going basis and as a team. Although economic times are tougher, employees still need to be acknowledged in some way so they don’t feel the need to move on once the market eases up.

LifeStyle Refocus can help businesses look after their staff by offering incentives and rewards. They also offer team building activities which brings employees together for a shared experience which is not only fun, but builds morale and team spirit. All the rewards and incentives are tailored to your business structure and culture.

Michele and Silvana from LifeStyle Refocus are proud of their business which offers staff incentives and rewards. Find out more about Lifestyle Refocus at www.lifestylerefocus.com.au or contact Michele on 0437 311 802 or Silvana 0417 595 744.

Fatigue and Road Safety

As the holiday season approaches it is timely to remind us all about the hazards of driving at this time of year. There is a significant increase in the risk of you being involved in a crash if you are becoming tired when driving. When you are starting to become tired you can’t concentrate properly on your driving and so you can’t respond as quickly and safely as you should.

What causes fatigue?
Fatigue can be caused by:
§ Driving at times you are normally asleep or in the afternoon lull, when our biological time clock makes most of us feel sleepy
§ Having a sleep disorder such as sleep apnoea
§ Lack of quality sleep
Research has shown that going without sleep for 17 hours has the same effect on driving ability as a Blood Alcohol Concentration [BAC] of 0.05 which is over the legal limit. Going without sleep for 24 hours has the same effect as a BAC of 0.1 which is double the legal limit.

Signs of fatigue
If you are tired, pull over and have a powernap. Otherwise you may experience dangerous micro sleeps and other signs of fatigue including:
§ Constant yawning
§ Drifting in the lane
§ Sore or heavy eyes
§ Trouble keeping your head up
§ Delayed reactions
§ Daydreaming
§ Difficulty remembering the last few kilometers
§ Variations in driving speed

When you are driving:
§ Take a powernap if tired
§ Cool the car interior
§ Don’t drink alcohol
§ Take regular rest breaks
§ Eat proper well balanced meals
§ Remember, that once you are fatigued the only cure is sleep!

Take from Neighbourhood Watch Newsletter Dec 2008

LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based personal assistant, corporate concierge and lifestyle management consultancy. They are all about saving you TIME. By taking care of your “to do or wish list” so you can spend time doing the things that are truly important to you. For more information go to www.lifestylerefocus.com.au or contact Silvana on 0417 595 744 or Michele on 0437 311 802.

Give Yourself TIME to work!

To be productive at work sometimes we actually need time to work! What I mean is interruption FREE TIME. Time at our desk without the phone ringing; responding to emails or speaking to drop in’s. If you build this into your weekly or daily routine colleagues will begin to respect your work TIME.

Interruptions can be costly to both your personally and the business in general. You lose your focus and thoughts with each interruption and have to begin again. Reports have said that “unnecessary interruptions consume about 28 percent of the office based worker’s day” which does make a significant impact on our productivity.

Solutions

Simple solutions such as closing the door and allowing the phone to go to voicemail can be effective. If your office design means it is difficult to stop interruptions when you need a quiet space for your concentration timeslots, try to find other places to work. Perhaps negotiating to have some time working from home or in the general office meeting / board room may be the solution.

It is important for you and the organization you work for to have uninterrupted work time when you need to. Block a time in your diary or electronic calendar and advise everyone relevant that this is your productive / thinking time. If possible close the door, take the phone off the hook, turn off your mobile, and remove email alerts. Maintain this practice and you will benefit by being more productive than ever before, people will begin to acknowledge this is your TIME and work around you so that you achieve what you need to.

Benefits
This is not just relevant to senior management but to all levels of staff to focus and concentrate and in turn increase their productivity. Increased productivity leads to better work / life balance for you and increased profits for the organization. It is a win / win for both the individual and the organisation.

Perhaps with the more focused work time you will end up with more FREE TIME to live the life you enjoy.

LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based personal assistant, corporate concierge and lifestyle management consultancy. They are all about saving you TIME. By taking care of your “to do or wish list” so you can spend time doing the things that are truly important to you. For more information go to www.lifestylerefocus.com.au or contact Silvana on 0417 595 744 or Michele on 0437 311 802.

Make TIME for the important things in your life!

The past few blogs have focused on employment and keeping staff engaged. This article is all about you and maximizing your life. Enjoying your down TIME. Here are some ways to enjoy this weekend!

Go on a picnic
Pack a lunch, afternoon tea or early dinner, don’t forget the picnic rug. Enjoy time by yourself with a book or with family and friends.

Give yourself some pampering
It is getting close to sandal season so give your feet some attention whether by a professional or do it yourself.

Find some sun
Set up some space in your backyard for relaxation, hook up a hammock [great Christmas present idea], a daybed or a chair and pillow. Enjoy a few minutes and the time for yourself.

Host a potluck brunch
Invite friends over and ask everyone to bring a dish. Suggestions include – a seasonal fruit platter; hard-boiled eggs; blueberry pancakes; croissants with ham and cheese or salmon, dill and cream cheese; freshly squeezed orange juice

Visit a botanic or open garden
Admire the hard work to a truly inspirational garden, enjoy the fresh air, colours and textures.

Get gardening
Spend time dedicated to your own space. Tackle one area at a time rather than seeing a lot of work to fix at once.

Go hiking
I know and agree, we all have this on our “must do” list but really don’t make the time to do it. Explore a national park go to www.environment.gov.au/parks/index.html for more information

Get out of town
Take a day trip somewhere, we are so lucky that just an hour from our door are many lovely places where we could enjoy some time exploring.

Call a friend
Make contact with an old friend, one you have been meaning to call for such a long time. It will make you really feel like you have achieved something over the weekend.

Extracts for this article were taken from the Sunday Herald Sun, Body and Soul, October 12, 2008 By Nicole Conville.

"You will never find TIME for anything. If you want TIME, you must make it".
Charles Bixton

LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based personal assistant, corporate concierge and lifestyle management consultancy. They are all about saving you TIME. By taking care of your “to do or wish list” so you can spend time doing the things that are truly important to you. For more information go to www.lifestylerefocus.com.au or contact Silvana on 0417 595 744 or Michele on 0437 311 802.

Recruitment vs. Retention

The costs of replacing departing staff can be massive. Companies should be focusing their attention on how to keep their existing staff.

It is an exhaustive process to hire new staff and not one that an organisation wants to do often. So don’t let the recruitment take over, change your focus from recruitment to retention.

Why should I focus on retention?
The cost to replace a single employee is between 25 per cent and 150 per cent of their annual salary[1]. Once you start multiplying those replacement costs out across the number of employees lost each you, the cost of attrition can be crippling.

What is the true cost of losing a member of staff?

• Recruiter's fee




• Advertising costs




• Exit interview costs




• Psych testing




• Interim staff costs [casuals, overtime, contractors]




• Training costs




• Protective clothing , uniform




• IT and systems set up costs
  

These costs are only the beginning, other costs include:

• Lost productivity for the exited person in the lead up to their final day




• Lost peer and manager time to retrain the replacement




• Lost manager time to sift through CVs and conduct interviews




• Lost HR time to sift through CVs, shortlist, interview, briefing and re-briefing and managing agencies, taking calls from candidates




• The de-motivation on your current employees from overwork or changed team dynamics




• Dissatisfied customers, reduced quality, slow service, poor reputation and




• The additional costs of reference checks, farewell parties, induction programs, welcome morning teas, lost team productivity during transition, it goes on and on[2].

Change the focus
We have all read about positive people bring positive outcomes and negative people bring negative outcomes. So don’t focus on recruitment, allocate some of the budget to staff retention. Recognise that staff do work hard, that they do go above and beyond for your business that they do give 100% or more, that they are committed to the vision and goals of the organisation. Recognise that the staff care about the business and let them know you care about them.

What would you consider in a retention plan? It is important to focus on each individual wherever you can, rather than make sweeping changes you hope will pick up most people.

Silvana from LifeStyle Refocus provided insight into what they can do for a company to aid retention of staff. Silvana commented that “we discuss with the management the outcomes they are looking for, find out what they know about their staff, then meet with the staff members that have been targeted. We can then assist them in their personal or business lives to ease the pressure. Personally for them we can organise a family member’s birthday celebrations, arrange for the lawn to be mowed, garden weeded, fridge stocked, book the family holiday, load the iPod, tidy their wardrobe, de-clutter the study. This allows the employee to be fully focused on work yet enjoy their down time with family and friends.

Using the above information as a basis, and steering the engagement planning around what the employee needs, will bring the engagement and retention result that benefits both the employee and business.

The philosophy at LifeStyle Refocus is “Don’t give your employees reasons to leave – give them every reason to stay”.

LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based personal assistant, corporate concierge and life style management organisation. If you wish to engage your staff contact LifeStyle Refocus directly [Silvana] 0417 595 744 or Michele on [0437 311 802] or www.lifestylerefocus.com.au

[1] My Business Magazine. Managing your business section; “Dearly Departed” by Caroline Herman and Lisa Halloran
[2] My Business Magazine. Managing your business section; “Dearly Departed” by Caroline Herman and Lisa Halloran