Human Resources

One of the great benefits of being the chair of The Executive Connection is the opportunity to hear great speakers and to continue the learning journey of life.

This week I attended the annual TEC conference in Sydney. As usual there were some great speakers, but I was particularly struck by the presentation by Colin James, who has given me permission to paraphrase his message.

Colin’s message about leadership was powerful, not just because of the content but also because of the manner in which it was delivered. I strongly recommend you view his presentation.

From 1 July 2007, new rules will apply to superannuation.  Briefly, those new rules are:

The Government has announced changes to the way we calculate the 9% super guarantee for employees.  Very briefly, from 1 July 2008, employers must use "Ordinary Times Earnings" to calculate the 9% super guarantee for their employees.

"Ordinary Times Earnings" ("OTE") is generally what an employee earns for their ordinary hours of work and includes, amongst others,:

Self-employed people are eligible to receive the Federal Government’s super co-contribution if they make their contribution this financial year. The government has expanded the number of taxpayers eligible to receive the co-contribution.

Previously only employees were eligible, but now people who are self-employed and contribute up to $1,000 of their after tax income to superannuation can also qualify.

Changes to the Superannuation Guarantee Contribution legislation, which take effect from next month will change the way in which SGC contributions are to be calculated by employers.

Currently employers are required to make minimum SGC contributions of 9% of each employee's 'notional earnings base', for example as defined under an applicable industrial award.

Hi everyone

The Government's superannuation co-contribution's eligibility criteria has changed from 1 July 2007, with the major change being that the self-employed are now eligible.  Changes as follows:

• the lower income threshold has been increased to $28,980
• the higher income threshold has been increased to $58,980
• self-employed individuals are now able to access the co-contribution (provided the new 10% rule is satisfied)

Just a reminder that only non-concessional contributions will be eligible for the Government co-contribution

The Federal Government has released details of the minimum employment conditions that will take effect as from the 2010 and which will affect the majority of employees.

The paper, released by Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Julia Gillard, covers the hours of work, flexible working arrangements, increased parental leave, annual leave and compassionate and carers leave, public holidays, annual leave, redundancy and termination.

Sales men and women tend to get a bad rap from most of the public. From selling insurance, to used cars and “cold-calling”, sales personnel tend to be caught up in a stigma of bad suits, flashy lines and undelivered promises.

For most people in business, we know this is not the truth and that without a strong sales force your business is flawed. However, getting the right sales team is a real challenge and relies on the manager to have a clear understanding of some key facets of the business.
The manager must have intricate knowledge of the following:

A the end of the year, if you’re smart, you’ll take a look back at the year just gone and evaluate how you and your business has performed. if you are extremely smart, you will not just look at the bottom line of your company, you will examine the inner workings of your business, how it is run, and how your business has affected your quality of life.

Every year two resolutions come to the fore among workers, particularly those that own their own business: improve work-life balance and better manage my stress levels, and those of my employees.

One of the greatest challenges when making a presentation to a group is overcoming anxiety; dealing with fear. In fact, research shows that many people fear speaking in front of a group more than death! How can that be possible?
Download this article below and take the PRESENTATION ANXIETY QUESTIONNAIRE.

Results
If you scored 11-12 – you are doing well and you are unlikely to have the fear.
If you scored 0-6 – you have a fear that needs to be conquered!
And 7-10 – you can improve and make life easier when it comes to presentations.