The ‘I Love Food Awards’ are Australia’s biggest people’s food choice awards and by voting for your favourite restaurant could win you $10,000.

If Coco Cubano, Spiedo, The Sugarmill or Winery by Gazebo are among your favourite places to eat out, show your support by voting now! You can vote for your favourite restaurant here.

Make sure you check out the Awards’ website for terms and conditions.

2011 was a year marked by rapid technological change, a growing consciousness of the aging population and generation Y’s increasing prevalence in the workforce.

How would you capture the essence of Generation Y in the workforce in three words? Think: Tech-Savvy, Achievement-Orientated and Attention-Craving.

To motivate, retain and engage employees from a generation that grew up with Nintendo and Play Station rather than Monopoly and table tennis, employers are having to adopt a new solution. This solution is known as ‘gamification’.

Gamification refers to adding the mechanics of gaming to non-game activities to adjust people’s behaviour and to make the activities more fun and engaging.

Gamification has been adopted by corporations for utilisation by both clients and employees. One consumer focused example of gamification is Nike Plus. With Nike Plus, consumers are encouraged to purchase a pair of Nike running shoes and add a Nike Plus chip. This chip then integrates with an iPod/iPhone app. The app logs running details and synchronizes with the chip.

Runners can personalise their iTunes music playlist and the app can automatically select and play the runners’ favourite song in order to provide the runner with an extra boost to go the distance! Nike Plus also links exercise to social competition, where friends enter themselves into a game of ‘tag.’ With this game of tag, the goal is to avoid being “it”, which involves being the person who has run the smallest amount! It’s motivating, fun and gets results.

Within the workplace, gamification can drive almost any kind of participation and can be used to achieve a variety of business goals. These goals can include product learning/training, customer service activities, on time performance, accuracy, providing feedback, sales, safety, activity completion and the list goes on.

One example of gamification in the workplace is an Australian pharmacy group where employees are encouraged to read online learning modules about issues that customers may enquire about in the pharmacy. These issues can be simple things like cold and flu symptoms, to more complex enquires like ear conditions and bed bugs. After reading the online learning module, the employee is encouraged to complete an online quiz. If they score 80% and above they are rewarded with points. The more learning modules they complete with the required accuracy, the higher their point score. Employees at this pharmacy chain are then able to redeem the points on a selection of over 35,000 items ranging from vouchers to electronics to fragrances and more! Good for the customers, good for the employer, good for the employees.

Power2Motivate recently launched Phase 1 of its Gamification platform, this includes some simple metrics based games. Combined with our developmental roadmap for the next six months, Phase 2 will introduce even more comprehensive gamification solutions to enhance any organisation.

Finally, David Carr in his article, Gamification: 75% Psychology, 25% Technology best sums up the essence of gamification where he states that “if you can make something more fun, and include the notions of play, you can get people to do things they otherwise might not want to do.”

• National Vehicle Repair & Maintenance Campaign 2011-2012;

At State level:

• Queensland Accommodation Industry Campaign 2011-2012;
• NSW/ACT Restaurant Industry Audit Program;
• NT Hair & Beauty Follow Up Campaign 2011;
• Vic- Hairdressing Apprenticeship Program 2011;
• SA Private Hospitals, Aged Care Centres and Nursing Hire Agencies Audit Program ; and
• WA Apprentices, trainees and juniors audit program.

The New Year is a good time to review your businesses compliance. Start by completing the 2 Minute Fair Work Health Check in the Compliance section of EI Advantage.

You may have seen media coverage earlier this month concerning a report on the retail industry compliance campaign conducted by the Fair Work Ombudsman and finalised this month.

The compliance audit that targeted 2000 random employers across Australia found that 26% of retail employers are not complying with the terms and conditions of Modern Awards and the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (“The Act”). The report identified numerous breaches, including the underpayment of over 750 staff members and the subsequent back payment of over $500,000 in wages.

As a whole, the Ombudsman states that this is due to a wide misunderstanding of employer obligations and most employers were not intentionally breaching the Retail Industry Award 2010 and the Act. It admitted that the complexity and difficulties surrounding the transition from the old industrial relations system to the Modern Awards has lead to confusion and poor advice on behalf of the Ombudsman, with their current advice system often leading to such underpayments.

Fair Work Ombudsman Nick Wilson states that “many employers underpay as a result of a lack of information or they made mistakes interpreting the information they have”. This has certainly been seen in the transitioning of penalty rates, where complexities in the transitioning process have seen employers pay higher base rates instead of penalty rates but does not cover what is required under law.

Other breaches however, were through practices such as making employees buy goods within the company and deducting it from their pay, or requiring employees to open or close the store without payment. This was due to outdated or ill advised practices, which were identified through the audit process.

It appears in the report that small to medium businesses were affected the most, in contrast to large businesses, such as the 97.5% of large department stores who were compliant. This was certainly due to issues pertaining to access to HR specialists and legal advice which can help to make sense of the complex system. This was certainly seen, for example, through the case of a small florist in NSW who due to the audit, is required to pay $10,000 in back pay after incorrectly paying 4 casual staff members.

This is a reminder for those employers in the retail sector, and beyond, to be watchful of any changes in workplace laws, and ensure that they remain compliant. Taking advantage of compliance services including wage audits and annual wage updates can help get and keep employers on the right track. An EI Advantage membership can provide ongoing support for any employment related queries or questions that might arise throughout the year, and identify any practices which are in breach of obligations arising under the Act, or relevant Modern Award. This is better than the alternative, of suddenly finding $10000 in back payment or being prosecuted for breaches.

The Act provides long service leave entitlements for most Tasmanian private sector workers. Under the current Act, workers must complete 15 years of continuous employment to qualify for long service leave entitlements.

Current long service leave entitlements under the Act are as follows:

• 13 weeks long service leave in respect of the first 15 years of continuous employment; and
• 8.66 weeks long service leave in respect of each additional 10 years of continuous employment.

The new long service leave entitlements are:

• 8.66 weeks long service leave in respect of the first 10 years of continuous employment; and
• 4.33 weeks long service leave in respect of each additional 5 years of continuous employment.

The Act includes transitional arrangements to provide some staggering of the taking of long service leave. Under these arrangements:

• Workers who have completed 12 or more years of continuous employment as at 1 July 2012 will immediately be able to take their long service leave entitlement if they wish, subject to the needs of their employers’ establishments.
• Workers who, as at 1 July 2012, have completed 9 or more years but less than 12 years of continuous employment will have to wait until 1 July 2013 before they can take their leave (subject to the needs of their employers’ establishments).

This does not prevent a worker with 10 or more years of continuous employment (or their personal representatives) from receiving their long service leave entitlements in the event that the worker leaves their employment or dies during the period 1 July 2012 to 1 July 2013.

The creation of part day public holidays will require amendments to the Holidays Act 1910 (SA) and the Government intends to introduce a Bill into Parliament early in 2012 to make the necessary amendments.

In Western Australia, changes to shop trading hours to extend Sunday trading are also under discussion.

The panel will report its findings by 31 May 2012 and we will keep subscribers updated.

If you would like to be part of EI’s submission, please contact one of our workplace lawyers.

While NSW, Queensland, NT and ACT introduced the new harmonised laws from 1 January 2012, Western Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia have delayed implementation. The current timetable is:

South Australia: the Upper House of the South Australian Parliament deferred debate on the Work Health and Safety Bill 2011 (SA) until 14 February 2012.

Tasmania: on 2 December 2011, Tasmania’s Legislative Council amended the start date of the Work Health and Safety Bill 2011 to 1 January 2013. The Bill will be returned to the House of Assembly for consideration of the change when Parliament resumes in March 2012.

Western Australia: a public consultation period into a local Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) for the model WHS regulations will be started around February 2012.

Victoria: the Government is continuing with a more detailed analysis of the impacts and benefits of the proposed laws with no definitive date set.

After the initial pat on the back, the quiet thanks and assessments, our memories begin to fade and we move on to the next big project or focus, that is after all, human nature. We forget about the struggles undergone, those last ditch efforts to find those extra employees when you were short staffed or those moments where your team pulled off what seemed impossible. We write it off as the worries of ‘last year’, a problem we don’t have to deal with or even think about for a good 10 months. Whilst we can’t predict the future, we can take away the lesson we learn every holiday period – your staff matter and more importantly, your staffing choices matter. So what are the right choices?

If you were to take a snap shot of your workforce, what would you see? Maybe you only hire casuals, but have been left out in the cold or maybe you prefer a solid and reliable team but you have a growing need for flexibility? Have you really given a thought to Christmas casuals or is it just something that has become a market expectation? Have you considered the benefits of permanent staff or written it off entirely as unnecessarily and overly complex? Whatever your workforce, now may be a great time to re-evaluate. So let’s break it down.

A good workforce is a bit like an animal. You have the bones, you have the heart and then you have the muscles and skin. They must all work together to be truly effective. Naturally, depending on the environmental circumstances things can change. Naturally we wouldn’t find a lion under the sea just like we wouldn’t find a fish in the Amazon jungle. So what are your choices?

The backbone to any workforce are the permanent full timers which may include the business owner together with employees. This group forms the reliable support structure that reinforces everything and everyone else. They work the same days and hours week to week and keep the wheels perpetually moving forward. Naturally this dependability comes at a slight trade off, they have a greater number of entitlements and they don’t make the most flexible or dynamic group as defined by their type of employment. In an industry that requires considerable responsiveness, having only full time staff can be quite limiting as well as costly, especially when you may not have enough work/hours to offer people week to week.

Like full timers, part time employees also have a greater number of entitlements which you must uphold. However, unlike full time employees there is no obligation to provide them with the full 38 hour week. Instead, they must be offered regular and consistent hours week to week and ongoing employment in line with the applicable instrument. Like full time staff they must be provided with notice of any changes to the roster, significantly limiting your ability to make those drastic or last minute changes. Again this calls into question their flexibility and responsiveness, however this must also be weighed up against the fact that they may be a far more economical alternative than a full workforce of casuals. Part-time employment can also be a great strategy to retain those key employees, that is of course, if job security is something that they hold as more important than a higher rate of pay that includes a casual loading. Hiring part time employees can also open you up to a larger talent pool, as it attracts those who may balance other obligations and/or provides those who are returning to the job market a stepping stone in which to (re)enter. It is with all this in mind that part timers can truly be seen as the network, the heart, that acts as the intermediaries between those that are always there and those that come and go.

An alternative to the option of permanent staff as discussed above, and something a great number of businesses look towards is casual employment. By definition, casual employees have no expectation that the employment relationship will continue in future. It is geared entirely around the business requirements, flexibility and being able to be more responsive. The most common example of this is the ability for businesses to quickly increase/decrease their workforce in line with seasonal fluctuations. In saying this however, it must be considered against the fact that it is typically a more expensive option due to them being provided with compensation within their hourly rate for not having any annual leave or sick leave accruals. Regardless of this fact, it is interesting to note that this is still a growing part of the Australian workforce (ABS, 2010). This could be attributed to the fact that it can be a more attractive type of employment for those that have other obligations and/or those who are looking for short term work or training opportunities. All in all, casual employees make up the ‘surface’; they fill the skill and needs gaps and by nature are continually changing.

So you have the back bone, the heart and muscle and then the skin that covers all the gaps. Given the specific needs of your company only you would know which requires a greater emphasis or which combination is best. So – what are the right choices – for you?

Here is an excerpt of the Inc. article with ten tips to help ensure that workers are delighted in their workspace day-in and day-out.

1. Stay organized.
Productivity and motivation can suffer when people don’t know where to find important information, tools, and supplies. Organize 5 key areas: paper, general stuff such as office supplies, your space and furniture layout, electronic information, and time management.

2. Make it comfy.
Designing a comfortable office environment is about more than aesthetics; careful attention to design can give a boost to employee happiness. Be sure to incorporate quality lighting, good ventilation, and a quality heating-and-cooling system.

3. Give everyone a say.
The Inc. article cites an example of Tasty Catering, which formed two councils, based on Jim Collins’s Good to Great book. Employees were drawn from across the company and invited to join the councils for a month and assist in making all the strategic decisions for the company.

4. Consider openness.
The trend today is to support collaboration, in all its forms. Create more open spaces in the office but ensure that employees have access to areas where they can go to focus on a specific task when required.

5. Make the workplace a community.
In this year’s Top Small Company Workplaces, Leigh Buchanan interviewed Bill Witherspoon at Sky Factory. His employees not only love the clear and open communication structure, but also love helping each other.

6. Focus on utility.
Look to maximize the flexibility of the space, such as wiring to support Wi-Fi. Ensure the basics of a functional office work flawlessly. Remedy complaints regarding technology and equipment malfunctions quickly.

7. Make the office optional.
Well, sometimes. A flexible workweek came into vogue during the recession, when plenty of companies – and even municipalities – looking to cut down on office expenses implemented four-day workweeks. A firm in Michigan implemented a four-day workweek from the get-go to help reduce employee burn out and create a place where people enjoyed coming to work.

8. Make education a priority.
McDonald’s has its own Hamburger University. Now top small workplaces are adopting the university metaphor for their education efforts, which often cover not just business and technology but also non-work subjects: ceramics, wine tasting, and more.

9. Consider mixing uses in a great space.
An office can make you money, not just cost you money. Consider staging an educational event or workshop in your space and charging people to attend.

10. Add some perks.
Certain perks can make employees feel like a million bucks – and perform like they’re worth it. The Inc. staff compiled 10 perks they love, from free dinner to being able to bring kids to the office.

Your employees spend more time at work than almost anywhere else. What are you doing to make it a cool place to be?

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Written by Leslee Vivian
Leslee Vivian is a professional writer specializing in employee recognition. She blogs for Power2Motivate®, the On-Demand service that helps companies recognize, motivate, train and reward their employees.