Posts by Ross Clennett
Want a high performance team? Then don’t aspire to team harmony
Last Friday I attended a fundraiser for RUOK?. The morning comprised of twenty minute presentations from each of the 8 excellent presenters, skillfully welcomed and thanked by MC, Glenn Capelli. Among the speakers was Rachael Robertson who I was familiar with from her humourous and inspiring closing keynote Leading on the Edge at the 2015 RCSA PEARL Consultant Forum, held at Crown,…
Read MoreYour fee: Don’t be a victim of the unfair, irrational or deluded
I read, with some amusement, on industry news service, ShortList, of the Victorian lawyer,Monica Shamon who used a recruitment agency, Australian Staffing Agency, to hire a candidate (ASA were so good they found a suitable candidate within 24 hours) then attempted to evade responsibility for the placement fee. The amusement comes from the fact that Ms Shamon, a lawyer (!),…
Read MoreClient loyalty is unpredictable and other tips for stars changing jobs
Fifteen years ago I had just celebrated my ten year anniversary at Recruitment Solutions. I was the General Manager for the Sydney office comprising four divisions; Perm Accounting, Temp Accounting, Sales & Marketing and Business Support. Unfortunately my time at the company was drawing to a close. The new Managing Director and I had a…
Read MoreNZ update: Construction recruiters in Auckland driving flash new cars
One of the best indicators of a country’s economic performance is the level of recruitment agency activity. Whether it’s strong organic growth or hot levels of M&A activity, you can be sure that recruitment agency profit levels make new markets attractive for aggressive agency owners with deep pockets or strong credit ratings. I am…
Read MoreWanna-be consultants: Making the right call with your admin staff
One of the most significant influencers in the Australian recruitment industry over the past 60 years, Julia Ross, started her working life as a clerical assistant at British construction company, Taylor Woodrow. Her subsequent ascent to the top of the Australian recruitment industry is a demonstration that it doesn’t matter where you start it’s what…
Read MorePublic sector recruitment: ‘cutting red tape’ is not necessarily an improvement
Late last year the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet made a massive change to its recruitment policies. Out went the traditional ‘selection criteria’ approach to recruitment, including advertising the pay grade of the position, and in came a ‘one page pitch’. The Age reported: The head of PM&C’s corporate services division, Ben Neal, said…
Read MoreLessons from Everest: Back your expertise
Last week I was in California for a conference. As I live in Melbourne, this entailed a 14 hour flight each way to reach LA. My flight time was taken up with watching movies. One of the movies I watched was Everest; the dramatised account of the disaster that occurred on Mt Everest on 10…
Read MoreMothers, families, work and role sharing: what I have learned
A very significant event for my family occurred on Christmas Eve. My wife, Michelle was offered, and she accepted, the position of Head of HR at her current employer of six years, Hallmark Cards Australia. I was thrilled for her as I know how hard she has worked to build her corporate HR skills after…
Read MoreI want my life to count
My father’s death in July this year was not unexpected. His health had been deteriorating for some time and in his final few weeks he was able to do very little for himself. His passing was a release for both him and rest of my family. It’s very hard to watch a person you love…
Read MoreAndrew Banks: Statistics tell you where to look
Two weeks ago I flew to Sydney to listen to industry legend, Andrew Banks, in conversation with MC Andrew Klein at the Think Tank session organised by the RCSA and held at the Swissotel. Andrew Klein managed the, often difficult, balance between probing further on any specific topic and keeping proceedings moving along to fit in…
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