peoplefusion to recruit staff for government

Growing Newcastle recruitment firm peoplefusion is set to forge ahead after being awarded a major State Government contract, supplying temporary and permanent staff to government departments.

peoplefusion says the King Street firm has been appointed to the NSW Government contingent workforce (C100) panel in conjunction with Sydney personnel company Quay Appointments.

peoplefusion Director Ali Kimmorley said it was exciting for the boutique agency to gain the C100. 'This appointment allows us to provide administration, finance and information technology staff state wide' Ali said. 'It means we'll be looking at expanding our temporary division.'

The three-year contract comes under the Department of Commerce's state contracts control board.

This article was taken from the Newcastle Herald in the Hunter Business section written by Greg Wendt (Business Editor) 

Redeploy instead of sacking workers and save millions  

Redeploying workers instead of cutting headcount during tough economic times can save your business millions of dollars in employment costs, according to Human Capital Management Solutions CEO, Trevor Vas.

"Companies that make knee-jerk reactions, such as retrenching staff without considering redeployment first, don't realise that they could actually be increasing their employment costs, rather than slashing them," Vas says.

Redundancies, he notes, cost companies an average of $30,000 to $40,000 per employee, not including sick- and annual-leave payouts.

Employers, therefore, must carefully weigh up the cost of retrenchments against the costs of maintaining headcount and, most likely, keeping or building a happy and engaged workforce, Vas says.

"By redeploying staff, organisations can become more agile and better equipped to respond to changing conditions," he says, "while increasing productivity by redeploying engaged staff that already have knowledge about the company and the work that needs to be done."

Redeployment guises

Redeployment comes in a number of different "guises", says UK-based TPI director, Sarah Seabury.

A "positive redeployment culture", Seabury says, will not only reduce redundancy costs but should increase retention of "expensively recruited and trained staff", reduce future recruitment costs, protect the organisation's brand and minimise the potential for unfair dismissal claims.

One multinational oil-products business saved millions of dollars in "redundancy cost avoidance", she says, by moving 420 employees either into positions previously held by contract staff, transferring them to an outsourced service provider or allowing for natural attrition.

However, Seabury notes that a redeployment strategy can be viewed as a threat by employees (who are wary of involuntary changes to their circumstances) if the "negative connotations" of redeployment aren't mitigated through careful management and communication.

Managers, she says, must always:

• include contractors and temps in their analysis. Contractors can often be replaced with permanent staff. Also, in some jurisdictions temps or contractors may be legally deemed as employees if engaged for a certain period of time. All positions must be considered when analysing headcount or cost savings;
• check corporate policies before embarking on any action. Rules on leave of absence, training allowances or other factors that might limit the flexibility to redeploy can be amended if addressed early enough;
• document relevant meetings, and ensure that documents are signed off by all parties;
• be aware of legal requirements and other factors, such as trade-union agreements that might restrict or facilitate redundancies, retirements or redeployment; and
• listen to any and all advice from employees, employee bodies, consultation groups and executives. "These stakeholders are often the source of very good ideas," Seabury says.

Redeployment specialists key

Vas agrees that communication and consultation on redeployment is vital. "Often this is a very emotive and complex area to work in and it is important that employers and their redeployment teams view staff as assets rather than liabilities and treat them accordingly," he says. "Having a dedicated and trained team of redeployment staff is the key to achieving positive results. It's not something that can be done effectively ad hoc."

Recruitment departments will eventually become recruitment-and-redeployment departments, Vas says, as more and more employers see the value of reshaping their workforce as opposed to letting much of it go. Many employers, he says, are starting to get the balance right. "We are seeing companies within the private and public sectors finding more creative ways of repositioning themselves to bounce back [from the economic downturn]." Some employers, for example, are reducing employees' hours to four days a week, redefining roles and re-training staff to work in different departments.

This article has been taken from www.hrdaily.com.au