Footing it with the best
Kiwi shoe brand Overland Footwear has expanded considerably, in both staff and store numbers, over recent years. Miriam Bell reports on how it has worked to keep its staff happy even in the midst of change.

Border control
Many New Zealand managers report to someone in an overseas parent company. Karen Spackman and Deborah Jones discuss the challenges and the opportunities that present when doing business on an international scale.

Working with the Aussies
For the past two years Gay Barton, general manager of Drake New Zealand, has also been managing two of Drake’s Australian companies. Here is her perspective on the differences between Kiwis and their trans-Tasman colleagues.

Talent transfer
Earlier this year marketing and communications manager Helen Rong, from ACNielsen in China, swapped roles with her New Zealand counterpart. Here she gives an insight into the company’s international exchange programme and explains how the resultant talent flow across Asia and the Pacific is an essential part of its people development strategy.

The cost of DIY business travel
The ability to book travel online has seen a variety of businesses move their booking process completely in-house, but in many cases this trend is reversing as companies question its cost effectiveness, not to mention the time consuming and impersonal nature of the task. Christian Casbolt explores the argument between searching online and the services of a business travel consultant when booking corporate travel.

The 16-week solution
There are many ways a well-meaning implementation of a balanced scorecard can go wrong and take many more months than necessary, says David Parmenter. He explains how to implement a balanced scorecard in 16 weeks—not 16 months—and avoid any pitfalls along the way.

WORKPLACE DILEMMAS: No surprises please
Dealing with employees who are too busy to take leave and others who aren’t happy with their performance reviews is all part of people management. Karen Boyte has some answers to help.

Work and age—solutions for recruitment and retention
Older people would stay at work longer if they had more control over their working hours and younger people would retire sooner if they could afford to, says a new survey from the EEO Trust. Dr Philippa Reed looks at how employers can make the most of everyone regardless of their age.

Time is on our side
The traditional three-stage model of career progression is a thing of the past, says Donna Andronicos. With a growing number of people beginning new careers midway through their working lives, a fourth dimension has been added as perceptions around retirement change.

RECRUITMENT: Working from home
A recent survey of attitudes to teleworking in the Nelson region found a number of advantages for both employers and employees, say Dr Linda Liddicoat and Artie Robinson.

Making flexibility work
With the Flexible Working Bill on the horizon, businesses need to look at how they will manage the relationship with flexitime and home workers, says Chris Hogg.

HEALTH & SAFETY: Gaining employee buy-in
To ensure observation of health and safety is a living element of an organisation’s culture, it is necessary to get employee buy-in. Rhonda Wilson makes a few suggestions on how to encourage better employee participation in health and safety.

CASE IN POINT: Seeking compensation
Financial remedies for personal grievances generally fall within an accepted range, but, warns Maria Berryman, it is important that employers recognise that varying causes of action now exist which can result in far greater financial ramifications.

LEADERSHIP: Great leaders: great delegators
Giving staff responsibility and authority for a piece of work is a key part of good leadership, says Bronwyn Anderson. She outlines the steps to effective delegation.

WELLNESS: Healthy business
A well-designed workplace health programme can improve worker health and morale, reduce absenteeism and improve retention, and increase productivity, says Jenny Bratty.

LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT: Learning by doing
Staff training is not so hard when a business has a culture of training, says John Gill. He shares his philosophy, and a recipe for Anzac biscuits.

PUBLIC SECTOR: Finding the meaning
A recent ERA decision found that a school board took the wrong approach when reviewing an employee’s grading, says Paul Robertson. It directed the board to focus on the content of the job rather than the job description.

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