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Creating Flexible Workplaces

Wed, 26/03/2008 - 11:02 — Site Administrator

Fallon Horgan KerrySmart companies are getting staff by getting flexible, according to Kerry Fallon Horgan.

Current skills shortages, combined with globalization, technological advances, an ageing workforce, new workplace values of Gen X and Y's and diversity in the workplace have all "upped the stakes" as employers scramble for an increasingly scarce resource: people.

The key for many lies in becoming "Employers of Choice", organisations that are able to attract and retain skilled staff often because they have established a workplace culture that supports flexible work practices.

There are real bottom-line incentives to do so including increased productivity, better customer service, enhanced legal compliance, improved morale, reduced absenteeism, greater overall effectiveness, and an ability to adapt readily to market changes.

There's also that very profitable, but less concise notion of "discretionary effort" - where workers go that extra mile because they believe that employers are doing the right thing by them.

So what flexible practices do employees want?

National Policy for Innovation

Fri, 23/11/2007 - 10:38 — Site Administrator
Open Forum would like to hear your thoughts on the recently proposed National Innovation Policy (NIP), the national agenda for a more innovative Australia. Your responses will help formulate future steps and activities the Society for Knolwedge Economics (SKE) will be undertaking in furthering Australia’s Innovation Agenda. 

Maternity challenges in Australia

Tue, 05/02/2008 - 14:15 — Site Administrator

Does Australia need paid maternity leave? What would a national overhaul of the childcare system look like? How can we encourage a better corporate understanding of motherhood issues? We invite you to participate in an Australia-wide attempt to create a collaborative, coherent and informed proposal for a unified, national response to the most pressuring issues facing motherhood today.

Being a mother in a society which emphasises economic performance over all other values is a challenge. Yet, the economic realities of motherhood are closely connected to Australia's falling birth rate. They extend beyond the debate of whether the nation should support working mothers through paid maternity leave entitlements.

Turning Spatial Data into Dollars

Thu, 27/03/2008 - 09:37 — Site Administrator

Peter WoodgateSpatial information contributes between $6.4 billion and $12.6 billion to the Australian economy in 2007, and we're only just scratching the surface, says Peter Woodgate.

How many times a day do you access spatial information?

Everytime you look at a weather forecast, log onto Google Earth, use an in-car or hand-held navigation system. Industries such as commercial fishing, real estate and mining are increasingly dependent on such systems for doing everything from detecting schools of fish and mineral deposits to locating lost truck drivers.

The everyday use of spatial data is becoming truly ubiquitous. Indeed over 60 countries have satellite systems that take pictures of the earth, manage positioning systems or handle telecommunications.

Economic consultants ACIL Tasman has just published a study of the economic impact of spatial information on the Australian economy, and the results will surprise some.

The study, commissioned by the Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information (CRCSI), found the spatial information industry made between a $6.4 billion to $12.6 billion contribution to Australia's gross domestic product in 2006/07 and had a positive impact on the trade balance by generating exports valued at between $1.3 billion and $2.3 billion.

Impact of Board Diversity on Productivity and Competitiveness

Tue, 18/03/2008 - 12:40 — Site Administrator

Ruth MeddIf companies are serious about remaining competitive, they need to start at the board level, explains Ruth Medd.

There are two major arguments for increased diversity and more women on the boards of Australian companies. Firstly the civil society argument that boards, like other institutions, should be reflective of the society in which they operate. And secondly there's the business case.

There is ample evidence that board diversity is good for productivity and competitiveness, and that injecting diversity into boards and senior management improves overall performance.

Take recruitment and retention as a case in point.

One of the greatest challenges for business in Australia today is the attraction and retention of talent in their organisations.  In a tightening labour market, retention of female talent, in particular, is a challenge that business is now more interested in addressing. 

eHealth Records – Where Are They?

Malcolm Crompton's picture
Wed, 05/12/2007 - 12:41 — Malcolm Crompton

We have been talking eHealth records for years.  Almost worldwide, the topic is treated by many in the health informatics arena as a self‑evident necessity, by some health service providers as an investment and re‑training imposition with little direct return to their practices and by health consumers with suspicion. There appear to be countless reasons for this impasse, in Australia as elsewhere.