HR Breakfast Club

Emotional Intelligence has been discussed amongst psychologists and researchers for decades.  It is a set of skills that can be practiced and improved upon, as opposed to being an inherent or inherited trait.  In this episode, we discuss what emotional intelligence is, why it’s important and how to get more of it. Our guest today is Vicki de Prazer, a registered Practising Psychologist with a Masters in Cognitive Science and one of Australia’s leading Performance Psychologists.  Vicki is the National Chair of the Australian Psychological Society Coaching Psychology Group and the Associate Director of the University of Canberra’s Medical and Counselling Centre.  She joins us today to discuss the topic of Emotional Intelligence, explains what it means for us in our day to day lives and shares some actionable insights to implement in the workplace. For more resources, head to the HR Breakfast Club website. If you have a topic that you would like us to discuss, we would be happy to hear from you.

On today’s episode we work our way through a variety of practical, straightforward and real ideas to maintain wellbeing in the workplace. Our host Genevieve Jacobs takes a look into the growing challenge for HR managers in workplaces, which is helping employees maintain health and wellbeing in these tough times. Our guests are Aaron and Khayt Williams of Mindstar who have a wealth of HR and clinical experience in building mentally healthy corporate cultures. Based on QLD’s Sunshine Coast, Mindstar has provided workplace wellbeing solutions for some of Australia’s key workplaces including Woolworths Group, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, BUPA and more. Mindstar exists to make it easy for employees across Australia to connect with wellbeing resources, taking the approach of upskilling organizational leaders and HR managers in order to affect change. Aaron observes that workplaces are getting much better more recently at understanding the needs of employees and how meeting these needs promotes high performance from a bedrock of wellbeing. Our focus across the HR Breakfast Club podcast series is the intersection of the world of work with an HR twist. For more resources, head to our website www.hrbreakfastclub.com.au.  

  Penguins not only endure, but thrive in, some of the harshest environments on the planet – which is why they have a lot to teach us in terms of resilience at work, particularly in this time of the global coronavirus pandemic. Today our host Genevieve Jacobs is joined by Susan Mann, a speaker, coach and people, strategy and culture consultant who specialises in professional and personal development programs. She has a huge passion for the natural world and she's traveled with her husband to the most remote islands across the globe to see all 18 penguin species in the wild. And he's with us too, Charles Bergman is a writer, photographer and professor of English at the Pacific Lutheran University who pioneered nature literature and study abroad courses. On the HR Breakfast Club podcast series, we look at the intersection of the world of work, often with a legal twist. For more resources, head to our website www.hrbreakfastclub.com.au.  

Traditionally, the ability to work from home has been viewed as something of a luxury, but during the COVID-19 pandemic, reports are emerging of high levels of psychological distress among employees working from home. We are joined today by Dr Melanie Irons, Senior Consultant at Steople (formerly known as Peoplescape), who explains some of the psychological dimensions at play, bringing her knowledge of crisis communication to the situation in which we now - as a global community - find ourselves. Dr Irons explains that rapid change and ambiguity are characteristic of emergency situations.  But how can employers provide certainty, flexibility and transparency within the wash of constant flux? Our focus across the HR Breakfast Club podcast series is the intersection of the world of work and the law. For more resources, head to our website www.hrbreakfastclub.com.au.

In today’s episode we speak with two experts with over 20 years dealing with difficult and complex workplace complaints.  Workplace complaints become complex for several reasons, including the small percentage who behave in ways that are, shall we say, counterproductive to their own interests. In this episode, our host James Judge is joined by Chris Wheeler and Gabrielle Sullivan.  Chris is a former NSW Deputy Ombudsman.  Chris has extensive experience in conducting hearings, formal workplace investigations as well as developing guidelines for complaint handling, whistleblowing and ethical conduct. We are also joined by Gabrielle who is a NSW Accredited Specialist and Director in the Employment Law and Investigations Group at BAL Lawyers. Our focus across the HR Breakfast Club podcast series is the intersection of the world of work and the law. For more resources, head to our website www.hrbreakfastclub.com.au

In this episode we look at understanding and responding to stop bullying applications with Commissioner Peter Hampton from the Fair Work Commission and Rebecca Richardson of BAL Lawyers Employment Law and Investigations Group. Based in Adelaide, Commissioner Peter Hampton has been with the Fair Work Commission since 2010. He has held a range of senior positions within the South Australian business community as well as formerly serving as Director of Policy and Strategy of Safe Work South Australia. Rebecca Richardson is an Associate at BAL Lawyers who deals regularly with workplace bullying matters and sees the real-world impacts upon the lives of workers who go down this legal road in response to unreasonable treatment. Our focus across the HR Breakfast Club podcast series is the intersection of the world of work and the law. For more resources, head to our website www.hrbreakfastclub.com.au

Today’s episode revisits the issue of free speech in the workplace. This follows the recent outcome of the Michaela Banerji case in the High Court, which has made plenty of people question whether they can say what they want without losing their jobs, and under what circumstances they might. The internet age now offers people around the world the opportunity to express their views on issues affecting the world around them at any time. What happens if those views are at odds with their employer? Kieran Pender, journalist and visiting fellow at the ANU College of Law, joins us to discuss the path of this case into the High Court, the legal principles surrounding it and whether we are any closer to understanding the implications of its ruling on future cases. For more resources, head to our website www.hrbreakfastclub.com.au

In this episode, we're discussing non-disclosure agreements, which are now very common when employment ends in contentious circumstances for a variety of reasons but are they fair, and reasonable. Do they prevent us from having discussions about workplace issues that might, in fact, be in everyone's interest, and under what circumstances should you sign one. Our host, Genevieve Jacobs is joined by Bradley Allen Love lawyer, John Wilson and Professor Judith Bessant from the RMIT School of Global Urban and Social Studies. Judith made a submission to the national inquiry into sexual harassment in Australian workplaces, by the Australian Human Rights Commission on this topic. For more resources, head to the HR Breakfast Club website. If you have a topic that you would like us to discuss, we would be happy to hear from you.

Today on the HR Breakfast Club podcast, our guest host James Judge sits down with Gus McLachlan to talk about leadership in the digital age. Gus has recently transitioned from the role as Major General in the Australian Army after 38 years of service. Gus has commanded at all levels including commanding the first brigade and has completed several overseas deployments to Afghanistan, East Timor, and the Solomon Islands. He's also been seconded to the Pentagon and has filled the role of Chief of Staff to the then Chief of the Australian Defense Force, sir Angus Houston. His last role was as head of Forces Command managing 35,000 women and men across a couple of functional areas including the individual training of skills as diverse as tank drivers to carpenters, helicopter pilots, and cyber defenders. With such a diverse scope of leadership responsibilities throughout his career, we are very pleased to be discussing the ways in which leadership has changed over the years. Gus was generous with his time and provided invaluable insight into how to create a positive, supportive work culture. For more resources, head to the HR Breakfast Club website. If you have a topic that you would like us to discuss, we would be happy to hear from you.

On episode 10 of the HR Breakfast Club podcast, Genevieve Jacobs, Janice  Hadgraft and James Judge discuss the intersection between domestic violence and the workplace.  This can present complex and challenging situations for HR practitioners.