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AWAre! March
2004 |
AWAre! is the occasional e-newsletter of Adrian
Walsh & Associates. We offer comprehensive training and consulting
services in human resources management, organisational development, planning
and business development. For more information visit our website at http://www.adrianwalsh.com.au/. Readers are welcome to use material
contained in this e-newsletter (with attribution and courtesy advice of use)
and to forward the e-newsletter to others who may be interested. |
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Thought for
this Issue “Efficiency is
intelligent laziness.”
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IN THIS ISSUE We Told You
So – Australia’s Aging Workforce Open
Enrolment (Public) Courses |
When I got home on January 1
from the Murray Marathon (mentioned below) I immediately headed off for ten
days to participate in the Scout Jamboree, held in the Adelaide hills. A
great event, involving about 11,000 scouts and leaders from all over the
world. But for me, the strangest
experience while I was there involved some “real” work. Since our office was
closed, a brand new potential client contacted me by mobile phone, wanting to
know whether we were able to offer his company a service to provide BelBin
Team Role profiles, and if so, could he get one done today? At the time I was
surrounded by a group of about 40 noisy, boisterous Scouts and was a little
thrown. But I then realised that I had taken a laptop computer to the
Jamboree (today, even the Scouts can’t cope in the bush without some hi tech
support!). On the laptop I had the BelBin software, and so yes, I was able to
provide the service that day! I located a convenient fax
machine and printer, received the necessary forms and, sitting under the gum
trees, I produced, processed and faxed the relevant reports. And this
potential new customer was satisfied – after I pointed out that this work was
being done at our Branch office at the Scout Jamboree. Like the Scouts,
Adrian Walsh and Associates really can claim to “Be Prepared” for all
contingencies! Thanks to Gerhard Van Biljon
of Perth-based Kailis and France Foods for tolerating this rather
unorthodox way of doing business! Adrian
Walsh |
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Open Enrolment Courses Introduction to Supervision Monday 29 March
(Echuca) Advanced Supervision Monday 17 to
Wednesday 19 May (Blackburn) |
We Told You So – Australia’s Aging
Workforce
When Treasurer Peter Costello started the debate about
Australia’s aging population in earnest just a couple of weeks ago, we had a
distinct feeling of déjà vu.
We have, for some time now, been pointing out
that in the final years of the 20th Century, Australia’s working age population
grew by an average of 170,000 a year. However,
from 2020 the working age population will grow by only 125,000 for the
entire decade. This is not speculation, but cold fact. The implications
for business are profound. While the discussion swirls
about retirement incomes, superannuation, whether people want to give up
their goal of retiring at age 55 and whether you die earlier if you keep
working longer, the simple fact is that the only way in which a growing
workforce can be maintained over the next few decades is for older people to
continue in some form of work. Regular readers
know that we have been actively working in this fascinating area. Our
publication Australia’s Aging Workforce has been well-received and
copies are still available. To read a synopsis of the book and/or to order a
copy, check this link
on our website. |
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Introduction to BelBin Wednesday 14 April
(Warrnambool) Quality Customer Service Monday 26 April
(Warrnambool) Basic Marketing for Small Business Friday 7 May
(Warrnambool) |
We don’t regard ourselves as a conventional recruitment agency but we
actually do quite a lot of recruitment-related work. Designed to bring professional recruitment services within
the reach of small to medium sized organisations, our work-based charging system means that clients pay far less
than they would have through traditional “fixed fee” agencies. We encourage clients to determine the extent of external recruitment
professional involvement that they want or need. We can offer a full suite of recruitment services (from
developing position specifications and selection criteria, to reference
checking and negotiating remuneration packages and conditions of employment).
But depending on client preferences, we might limit our involvement to
determining a short list of candidates for interview or conduct interviews on
the client’s behalf with candidates on their own shortlist. This approach means that our clients get
greater value for their recruiting dollar. They can afford to use experts
resulting in a more competitive, searching and objective approach to
recruitment. A recent example proves the point. Our fee for
finding an Executive for a listed company (package $120k) was well under
$5,000, which included the generation of a job advertisement, listing on the
web, resume analysis, short listing and interviewing selected candidates, and
client briefing. Most organisations would expect to pay a lot more for this
range of services. |
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Over recent months
we have had numerous requests for information about our various “standard”
training programs. As a result we have revised our range of Course Facts
Sheets and these are now available at our website. Course details are now
available for the following program:
To obtain copies of
any of the Sheets, just follow the link below and select the Facts Sheet
you’d like – or if you prefer, just give us a call direct and we’ll be glad
to send you a hard copy version. And of course, if you’re interested in some
training that isn’t included in the list above, please call us. There’s a
good chance that we can assist you. Download Course
Facts Sheets here. |
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Open Enrolment (Public)
Courses In response to a
number of requests, we are again extending our offerings of open-enrolment
courses. Programs currently scheduled for the first half of 2004 are detailed in the sidebar above. These are priced to be
affordable for the small- and medium-sized organisation (you’ll be pleasantly
surprised), without cutting any corners in quality of content or venue. For more information
on any of these programs, contact us by phone, fax or email. |
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Red Cross and Scouts Say “Thank You” Adrian
Walsh has previously mentioned his involvement with Scouting and his Scout
Group’s commitment to participation in the Murray River Marathon, a major
fund raiser for the Red Cross. Once again, 1st Maroondah Scout Group entered
two Relay Teams in the event, involving some 20 paddlers and about the same
number of Land Crew. A number of organisations that receive this newsletter
assisted the effort with sponsorship, their generous support again helping
the Scouts to contribute over $6000 to Red Cross. Adrian - and the Scouts and
Red Cross of course – want to thank all those contributors. A special thanks
to Renown Services Pty Ltd, air conditioning contractors, who generously
purchased a new boat for the team (on top of substantial support in 2002).
But smaller supporters are critical also and we want to acknowledge, with
thanks: Alan Spooner
Painting Services Betta Sweep Box Hill Senior
College Claire Edmanson Duo Interiors E.B Mawson and Sons Eieio Farm
Enterprises Souter Locksmiths Luther College Ml & DR Tremewan O’Brien Signs Renown Services Parkwood Secondary
College S & P Murray Sankey Glass Vic Wide Security Wall-T-Wall
Furnishing The Group will be committed to entering again in December
2004. The Scout Group will enter two Relay Teams. This time Adrian, with a
couple of others, is committed to paddling the full distance. Sponsorship is
therefore again needed, this time with some options to support either or both
of the relay or full distance paddlers. And Adrian has his eye on a sea-kayak crossing of Bass
Strait in early 2006! Those who know him acknowledge an underlying basic
strand of stupidity – but this could be an exciting and high profile
sponsorship opportunity for those interested. |
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Adrian has developed a fun presentation, using the Scout’s
Murray Marathon experience (from twinkle in the eye to an exciting real-life
adventure) as a focus for some powerful lessons on team work, planning,
leadership and the importance of dreaming. He has already delivered the
presentation – at no cost – to some sponsoring companies and is keen to visit
others as a practical “Thank You”. Other organisations will also find presentation a very
worthwhile addition to a conference or dinner. For more details, please get
in touch. |
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… And Other Speaking Opportunities Many community groups such as Rotary, Apex and
similar, often have difficulties in finding a suitable quality speaker for
their various occasions. This is especially true in Regional locations. Over the last couple of years Adrian Walsh has
spoken at several of these occasions on an honorary (ie no-cost!) basis,
subject only to the location and timing fitting his program. If you are
associated with such a group and are seeking an entertaining and engaging
speaker with a strong message, get in touch with us. Adrian will assist if he
can, especially if the occasion fits one of our programmed courses in a
Regional Centre. |
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CONTACT US? ADRIAN WALSH & ASSOCIATES PTY LTD PO Box 539 Croydon Vic 3136 Australia Tel: +613 9870 1378 Fax: +613 9870 1037 Email: enquiries@adrianwalsh.com.au Website: http://www.adrianwalsh.com.au |
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