We’ve been helping organisations across Australia with HR and Recruitment for well over a decade now, and if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that not only are no two businesses the same, where they operate matters too. While a lot of our clients have been Sydney and Melbourne based, we have local teams across […]
In the face of current economic challenges, it’s critical that business owners and people leaders invest in their employees and their people management. Watch this online session to learn how taking an employee-centred approach to your budget is vital to surviving & thriving in FY25, including: How to restructure – not fracture – your business […]
Job interviews can be among the most nerve-wracking human experiences. From the overthinking of potential questions and anxiety over stumbling on words, they’re rarely particularly enjoyable for the interviewee. The interviewer, however, has a considerably calmer experience, walking in with knowledge of what they’re looking for and what they’re about to ask. To make things […]
IF you frequent any local cafe, it’s likely you’ve seen job vacancies advertised on the business’ front window. Hospitality is just one of many industries across the region, and country, experiencing the strain of a large-scale worker shortage. Employee Matters employment specialist and author of From Hire to Fire & Everything in Between, Natasha Hawker, […]
Listen to Natasha Hawker’s answer as Bec & Soda of SA FM Adelaide ask: Is it right or wrong to lie on your CV or resume?
With a talent shortage looming around the world, and potential hires becoming more demanding about what they expect from a future employer, the pressure is on HR to not only attract the right people through enticing job advertising, but to also ensure the interview process is as thorough as possible. For complete HRD article, please […]
Natasha Hawker talks to Jane Jackson on this episode of the Your Career podcast In this conversation with CEO of Employee Matters, Natasha Hawker, we learn how she handles change and challenge and how she made a successful transition from a career in the corporate sector to running her own human resources consulting firm. Employee […]
As we contemplate the employment landscape and the seismic shifts that have occurred over the past months, it is somewhat sobering to review the headlines and consider what this means beyond the labour market turbulence of the past weeks, as the dust begins to settle. With news of massive job losses, widespread stand downs and […]
There’s no doubt that advances in technology are changing the way we work. SEEK research reveals that while 2 in 3 (64%) Australians believe their job will exist in 10 years’ time, more than half (56%) believe they’ll need to learn new skills as a result of technological advances. So, how can you equip your […]
The workplace is changing! It is more demanding, complex, competitive, creative and collaborative making it more diverse than ever. My job as a Recruitment Expert is to find my client’s next ‘Star’ performer with the right balance of hard and soft skills. So what exactly are ‘Soft Skills’? Soft skills are a combination of people […]
ABC Radio’s Sarah Macdonald talks to Natasha Hawker about first jobs, and how the ‘first job landscape’ has changed in recent times, particularly in the retail sector. some handy tips for your keen teenager and a blast from the past regarding your own first job as a teen. Listen in below
You’re a growing business offering a competitive package with flexible working conditions and all the latest benefits, but you still find those good people, who really make a difference, hard to find. So where are they? Well, there’s no simple answer to this question, but one area that can offer some insight is the significant […]
When you search for a job, you’re often asked to provide a lot of personal information. But how do you know that information ends up in safe hands? We asked cyber safety and HR experts to explain what information employers can ask you for, and steps you can take to keep it safe. Personal information […]
Most Startups begin with and are driven by Big Dreams with a sweeping vision and lots of risk for failure thrown in for good measure. The statistics are confronting, more than 60% of businesses fail within the first 3 years. The reason for this is that it’s tough, really tough. Cash flow is a constant […]
Natasha Hawker talks with Mark Fennell on ABC Radio about job references: when should should get them; what you should ask; what to say as a referee and a whole lot more.
Employee Matters director Natasha Hawker provides employee support to businesses and individuals around Australia. She said she often heard stories of people who had trouble finding work later in life — but the struggle for the younger generation was also a national issue. “You get that knockback that says, ‘Everybody who I go for a […]
Published by Bowen Eldridge – When it comes to recruitment, consider your CV as an advert about you. Now think, would you be interested in a product that advertised itself in a sloppy way, with spelling errors and left you guessing about what it did? No, no you wouldn’t. Therefore, make sure your advert is presented […]
Advisers don’t start a financial planning business purely to take on and manage employees. But growth often requires more people, so how do you master the hiring, managing and firing of staff within your business? Enter Natasha Hawker (@NatashaHawker) of Employee Matters (www.employeematters.com.au). The proof that Natasha is a HR guru is seen in the […]
By Natasha Hawker – Published in FBAA Broker Magazine May 2018 Recently a client of ours, in his excitement and against our instructions, offered a job to the candidate during the actual interview. The offer was based on little more than ‘gut feel’ and he didn’t complete any reference checks. Guess what happened ? The […]
By Kate Renton Facebook and LinkedIn are out – Snapchat and Instagram are in. And I’m not talking about where to post your latest selfies, I’m talking about the social media channels you’ll need to use for recruitment if you are trying to attract Gen Z. Here are the 8 most important things to consider […]
Back in April 2017, the Government announced that they would be replacing the Temporary Work (Skilled) 457 visa with the completely new Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa from March 2018. Since the announcement there has been over 200 occupations removed from the occupation lists used for skilled migration visas, including the 457 and 407 (training) […]
Natasha Hawker talked with Richard Glover on ABC Radio Drive Sydney on Tuesday, 27 February 2018. They discussed unconventional interview questions – listen in below
You may have been teeing up employee contracts for some time now – or perhaps you’re completely new to it – but taking a step back and identifying best contract practice is a must for anyone in the hiring game. In this post, I cover off some important areas to consider when offering a contract […]
The research takes a look into recruitment in Australia and detailed below is an overview of the industry’s outlook for 2018 – from top priorities to persistent challenges and main messages. Top priorities for the recruitment industry: Candidate acquisition/sourcing Engaging candidates/improving the candidate experience Employment brand development and marketing Improving management of client relationships Automating […]
Getting a detailed job brief is critical to the recruitment process. To ensure I know exactly what my clients are looking for, I ask detailed questions to build a picture of the right match and this can often be a 45 minute conversation. It is evident from these conversations that many of the important factors […]
Natasha Hawker speaks at the FBAA Annual Conference on the Gold Coast, November 2016
Broker Magazine is published by the Finance Brokers Association of Australia Limited (FBAA) and distributed to more than 8,000 FBAA Members and Finance Industry Professionals in Australia. This online publication includes the very latest Association and Industry news, including the issues affecting Brokers in Australia. Natasha Hawker is featured on page 42 – Click Here […]
I once worked for a company where the attrition rate was over 50% company-wide and the majority of new hires were not successful beyond the 6 month probationary period. Managers would regularly sit around wondering why the fantastic person they recently hired was now behaving so differently – and then they left! I was one […]
Most managers have had to do it at some point in their career but most have never been taught how and they bumble through doing the best they can. Make no mistake, it is still a ‘war for talent’ in the market and to improve the productivity levels of your business and beat your competition […]
Natasha Hawker has a simple message to start-ups on hiring – get it right the first time to save yourself a bundle of money in the long run. With skill shortages now biting in a number of industries including tech and IT, Hawker, who helps small businesses manage their HR, says firms are having to […]
You are finally there – you think you are ready to hire your first employee – this is an exciting and scary time. Can you afford it? Do you have enough work for them? What if they can’t do the job? You might be frightened that you don’t know how to interview. You are starting […]
Recently, a client shared with me something that was happening with one of her valued team members that just seemed so unfair and my client was at a loss as to how she could help. Her employee had recently lost her mother to a heart attack, after three weeks on life-support and she was commuting […]
In this HerBusiness podcast interview with the Australian Businesswomen’s Network, Natasha Hawker discusses how businesses that build high performing teams have increased profit, increased customer satisfaction, increased customer loyalty and an increased ability to attract employees. Natasha emphasises the importance of employees: they are a lever for your business, with the potential to make your […]
The other day my burgeoning grey hairs sent me on a much overdue trip to the hairdresser for some TLC. As usual, I engaged in a bit of chit chat with my hairdresser, a lady in her mid-twenties. We were chatting about part-time work for teenagers as my very motivated 13 year old is already […]
It’s the worst job a boss has to do, but if you can’t do it, you probably shouldn’t be running the show. For full article click Here
So you now have your first employee or employees – congratulations! But now what? – A point to note – within the first 12 months new hires are a high risk for resignation as this is when they have limited loyalty to your business and if it is not working for them they will walk. […]
Virtually every business I have met to date are extremely cost conscious, and rightly so. Yet many are unaware of one of their greatest costs – their employees and I am not just talking about weekly payroll costs. Let me share an example. What is the current turnover of your business as a percentage of […]
The old cliché ‘it’s not what you know but who you know’ rang true for me this past week. A candidate that had performed in a contract role in the past for us (and had done an exceptional job) contacted me to say she had applied for a role that she was really interested in […]
Recently, we have been struggling to attract candidates for job opportunities that would ordinarily be grabbed with both hands by eager applicants. The task at hand would typically be evaluating the resumes of a multitude of candidates, politely declining a good number of them and then making the difficult decision on which worthy candidates we […]
If you knew what I am about to share with you, before you started your business, you would probably never have started one in Australia. It is a legal minefield, fraught with significant risk of breaching several laws and fines of potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars. I promise, I’m not exaggerating. Then there are […]
Most start-ups start on the ‘smell of an oily rag’. Businesses are built on blood, sweat tears and hours and hours of unpaid labour or on Mum or Dad helping you out because they love and believe in you. So how do you know when you are a ‘real’ business and it is time to […]
Optimise Business Success: Mastering Effective Employee Management Starting and successfully running a business is undeniably challenging. The sheer volume of tasks, coupled with ambitious goals and limited resources, particularly in terms of finances, can make the journey daunting. Effectively utilizing available resources is crucial, and yet, one frequently overlooked area in many small businesses is […]
Recently, everyone has been talking about Andrew Flanagan and his appointment at Myer as a senior executive. That wasn’t the news though, it was where he was terminated on his first day! This was after it was discovered that he had not worked as the Managing Director of Inditex as he had claimed on his […]
Now – let me start by saying that we are not a Recruitment Agency – far from it! We recruit for our clients for about a half the cost that an agency would charge you and there is no success fee. We get paid for the work that we do and the result. To you […]
As a business owner, you’re likely to have found yourself in the position of hiring staff without a clear idea of what their responsibilities or KPIs should be. Hey, I’ve done it. Maybe you did a few Google searches and looked at the sort of responsibilities and experience other companies typically look for. While it’s […]
Are you giving your business the best shot? Maybe, but maybe not – I had a client the other day ‘interview’ a candidate and it went a bit like this: Candidate arrived – Owner seemed flustered and distracted – the interview was on the couch in front of the rest of the team…Question one (and […]
I thought it is about time I let you into a secret – we can save you over 66% of your current recruitment agency costs or, if you currently do it yourself, probably 33%. We have a client – a Technology Protection start up that has a massive presence in the US and is expanding […]
It hurts doesn’t it? When someone in your team decides to leave you after you have invested significant time and money in them. Just think about it – there was the recruitment drive, recruitment fees, onboarding, induction, on the job training, external training and the time it took until they were a fully functional member […]