Lisa has been working in the recruitment industry since 1996, working in administration and payroll processing, temporary and permanent recruitment for accounting and finance professionals. In February 2007, Lisa joined onsiite, the RPO subsidiary of people2people, having worked with and known the people2people directors since 2000. Lisa now manages the shared services and administration division for people2people and onsiite.
Lisa Johnson
Shared Services Manager
tel: +61 2 8270 9754
Call Lisa
lisa.johnson@people2people.com.au
About Lisa
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Career Advice Beware the Office Christmas Party
Itโs Christmas next month.ย I just had to say that out loud, so you are all as horrified as I am (three kids, no shopping done โ sigh).ย This also means the annual Office Christmas Party looms.ย Now, your first instinct is to be excited at the prospect of ordering a new gear off The Iconic, but the office party is a serious event and you need to keep your wits about you.ย In fact, navigating the work Christmas party is more fraught than finding yourself stuck in the corner with your great uncle on Christmas Day and having to listen to him bang on about the good old days when you could call people names and nobody went to jail for stealing the office stationery.Here are your tips for getting through the work Christmas party without earning demerit points with HR:Remember itโs a WORK do, so all the codes of conduct from the office will apply.Donโt let alcohol loosen your inhibitions โ whatever you do, donโt get drunk and tell the boss s/heโs an idiot and wouldnโt know how to organise a knees up in a brewery, let alone run the company properly (I have done this, so I speak from experience).Itโs OK if you donโt like everyone you work with.ย You donโt sign anything that says you HAVE to like people โ but you DO have to treat people with respect and not engage in anything that could be classified as bullying or harassment.ย Just so you know, deliberately excluding people from something is a form of bullying, so donโt get together with your buddies from the sales support team and turn your backs on Jane from accounts.ย Gossiping is also a form of harassment/bullying.ย Do not get drunk, take off all your clothes and try to sing karaoke.ย Donโt laugh.ย Itโs happened.Donโt get frisky.ย Even if itโs reciprocated, try very hard not to do it.ย The cold light of day may change peopleโs perceptions of a passionate snog and if there is a power imbalance between you and the other person, there is a risk of harassment accusations.ย Whilst there is rarely a written company policy on it, romance in the office is inherently dangerous.ย So even if you have a mad crush on someone, try not to act on it at the work Christmas do.Remember, you donโt have toย ย to offend someone for them to be offended.ย So, if you are telling colourful jokes or the odd politically incorrect story, you are in danger of making someone uncomfortable and feeling bullied. Yes, I know you think the whole world has gone too PC and people need to drink concrete and harden up, but the truth is โ those jokes haveย ย been offensive and inappropriate, itโs just that now people are going to tell you that they are, and HR is going to be pulling your file out for a wee look.Work Health Safety rules still apply โ and YOU are responsible for ensuring that you behave in a way that does not place you OR anyone else in an unsafe situation.ย Do not think for a second that your employer wonโt use YOUR behaviour to reduce their liability for any workers compensation or Fair Work claims if you acted in an unsafe way or cause injury to someone else.ย And safety is not just physical safety, itโs also psychological safety.ย Right, so now that you are all too scared to move in case you offend someone or cause an injury, you are completely ready to order that new gear online and go off to the work Christmas partyโฆHappy Holidays to you all!
November 26, 2019 -
Job Hunting Tips Looking for a Job Is Hard Work
Applying for the role is the easy bit because from then on in, it gets hard.ย There are telephone interviews, interviews with recruiters, interviews with the employer, sometimes there are psychometric tests or medicals after that, and then there are references, second interviews and in the end you kind of expect for someone to demand your first born child and to sign a contract in blood.ย Itโs exhausting. And THEN you find out that some hiring managers have โrulesโ that they recruit by and base their final decisions based on these.ย Seriously, I once heard of a hiring manager who needed to know the star sign of the candidates to ensure that their planets aligned.ย And just this week, we find out aboutย Jessica Liebmanย who only employs people who write her a thank you note or email after the interview! BUT there is a power imbalance and you need to keep this in mind during your job hunting journey.ย ย The hiring manager holds a lot more power than you do for most of the recruitment process โ they get to dictate the skills, experience and team fit criteria and they get to select WHO they want to meet and from there WHO they want to progress through to hiring.ย Whilst you have the ability to influence the decision-making process, in the end, you have little control over it.ย Donโt think you are totally powerless though โ depending on your skill set and experience, in a market with the low unemployment rates we have been seeing (particularly in NSW and Victoria), you should always keep in mind that there is always another job.ย Itโs like when you are house hunting โ you might fall in love with the idea of a particular house but be outbid and lose it at the last minute (damn those auctions, damn them to hell) and you may lose confidence and hope.ย But donโt, because generally, just like there is another house out there, there will be another job.ย So donโt get worn down or lose hope if you donโt get offered the first job you apply for. Also, when you are interviewing, I know you are focusing on presenting yourself in the best light and giving well thought out, articulate answers to sometimes ridiculous questions, but keep your analytical brain working all the time in that meeting.ย You are absolutely entitled to judge the judger โ if the hiring manager is coming across as rude, arrogant and harsh, itโs a sign that this might be what they are like to work for. Do you want to work for โJudgey McJudgey Pantsโ who asks stupid questions and smirks when you try to answer them professionally?ย There is nothing quite like having the power to turn a job offer down.ย ย And if you are turning it down because you just didnโt like the way the hiring manager interviewed you โ give that feedback to your recruiter.ย We need to know when a hiring manager is being a twat so that we can try and address it โ and if we canโt, then we need to manage that role in a completely different way because believe me, itโs not in our best interests to waste your time on the wrong kind of hiring manager. And a word on thank you notes/emails โ whilst I respect that they are a lovely gesture and will make a good impression on a hiring manager, most employers do not base their final decision on them. Nor do most of them need to know your star sign or to know what your parenthood plans are, for some theoretical day in the future.ย The efforts you put in to go to interviews and all the other recruitment process steps ARE appreciated and valued by most employers!
May 14, 2019 -
Career Advice How to Turn Down a Job
So you have been offered a job, but for whatever reason, you need to decline the offer.ย How do you tell them โNoโ without looking unprofessional? Firstly, you donโt have to accept every job you are offered. But you should handle the situation with care and respect because, well, you donโt want to burn bridges and you never know when a poorly communicated job offer refusal can come back to haunt you. So here are my top tips for saying โThanks, but no thanksโ whilst keeping everyone happy: Always call to decline an offer.ย I know its much less stressful to send an email, or heaven forbid a text message, but you get a lot more respect for picking up the phone and talking to the company / person who offered you the job. Know what you are going to say before you call โ you have turned down the job for a reason.ย It can be a good idea to jot down some bullet points before you pick up the phone, it gives you something to refer to and you will make sure you cover everything off during the call. Always be respectful in your language, remember you are disappointing them, donโt compound their disappointment with rudeness or derision. Start your call by telling the potential employer that you have appreciated the time they have put into meeting with you / talking with you and that you are genuinely appreciative of the job offer โ this is part of being respectful towards them.ย By telling them this, you are acknowledging the time and effort they have gone to in the recruitment process and it ensures that you are not coming across as flippant and unappreciative Then tell them that after a great deal of thought you have regretfully made the decision to not accept the job offer.ย You will be asked why, and this is where you need to show the most tact.ย Whatever your reasons are, just be respectful in your language. Some employers may be upset and occasionally rude when you tell them you are not accepting a job.ย Donโt react to their rudeness with rudeness of your own.ย There is nothing to be gained out of being rude.ย They believed they were making a really good offer to you and you turning it down has offended them on an emotional level.ย You and I both know that itโs not appropriate for them to take out their disappointment on you, and it is uncommon, but the best thing is to thank them again for the opportunity and then hang up the phone. Feel free to comment below and tell me about the worst example you have had with turning down a job offer.
April 18, 2019 -
Career Advice Beware the Social Media Policy
If you are working in a medium to large sized company in Australia, there is a good chance you signed their social media policy documentation somewhere along the way.ย There is also a good chance you didnโt take too much notice of it.ย But you should, because what happens on social mediaย doesnโt always stay on social media and people lose their jobs. How can an employer fire you for something you posted on your personal social media account?ย Often social media policies include a cause that says you cannot bring your employer into disrepute.ย This means if your employer thinks that your social media posts make them look bad in the eyes of their other employees or customers, you can find yourself in a world of pain (and looking for a new job). So what sort of things can get you into trouble? Advocating violence Advocating rape or s*xual harassment Advocating an extremist point of view โ regardless of whether this is right or left Advocating racism /religious persecution P*rnography Trolling/online abuse Saying inappropriate/negative things about your employerโs business or their customers Being offensive (which is always subjective, but if it would make a kind old granny reach for her slippers to give you a slap, then itโs probably offensive to someone) So how can you protect your freedom of speech and protect yourself from being fired for having an opinion?ย The obvious answer is to not be an offensive twat in the first place, but if itโs too late, then you have two choices: Change your profile name to NOT be your real name.ย This makes it harder for people to search for you.ย The downside to this is all your relatives think you are either hiding from the authorities or avoiding child support (which is kind of the same thing, when I think about it) Donโt hook up with workmates on social media โ if they see you posting offensive content, they might just screenshot that meme you thought was hilarious and go running to your boss.ย Keep work and social media separate unless you are like me and just like to spam them all day and night with pictures of your kids. Google yourself โ see what comes up and start cleaning up after yourself if you can.ย Delete old posts, review your privacy settings, NEVER make a post public, review what groups you are a member of on Facebook.ย Check your profile picture history.ย Delete anything that old granny wouldnโt like.ย People go looking at that stuff more than you think. I would like to say that we should all be kind and use our best language on social media, but the reality is too many of us let our worst selves off the leash when we are on the internet.ย But be a grown up about it and regularly review your social media posts/profiles and clean them up.ย Donโt lose a job and worse, NOT get another one because of a stupid meme you shared on Instagram.
March 28, 2019 -
Employer Insights Think someone is throwing a sickie?
Here is a cautionary tale about an employer who had to pay over $20,000 for constructively dismissing a sick employee.ย You can read the details in the link, but here are a couple of points you really need to keep in mind when managing staff and their sick leave: When can you demand a Medical Certificate to verify sick leave? Under NZ law, you are entitled to request a medical certificate after the employee has called in sick for three days in a row.ย If you want a medical certificate before that (ie within that 3 day period) you can request it, but you will be responsible for paying the doctorโs fees. When should your employee let you know they cannot come into work due to sickness? The law is vague and only says โas soon as possibleโ.ย You are allowed to specify rules around calling in sick in the employment contract, so itโs a great idea to ensure that you do this.ย For example, you may require an employee to advise their manager that they are sick and not coming to work within 90 minutes of their normal start time (or from the start of their shift). Do they have to call you, or can they text you instead? The law says they only have to advise you, and a lot of employers accept text messages as advice.ย If you prefer someone to pick up the phone, make sure you specify this in your employment contract with the employee. Are temps entitled to sick leave? Under NZ law, if a casual employee has been working for six months, they have the same entitlements as permanent staff for paid sick leave.ย The employer/employee relationship is actually between the agency and the temp, so the agency needs to manage the request for leave, but you should be aware that you may incur charges if the temp is paid for sick leave. Can you fire someone for being sick? Technically you can.ย If the illness means that they are unable to fulfil the duties of their job, the employer can give notice to terminate the employment.ย But approach this with caution โ make sure that you ask for a medical certificate and if necessary, pay doctorsโ fees to get it.ย When warning employees, be very clear what the warning is in relation to and what the consequences are.ย And, make sure you have rules around sick leave specified in your employment contract so you can refer back to them (for example setting timeframes for calling in sick). What is constructive dismissal? This is where you donโt actually fire someone, but the employee feels their employment is so untenable that they are forced to resign.ย The Employment Relations Authority (ERA) is not fond of employers who have staff who claim constructive dismissal and they generally donโt care if you donโt know how to performance manage staff properly, as their view is, that itโs your responsibility to know what your obligations are.ย If you are at all unsure how to protect your business from constructive dismissal claims, I suggest you get some advice before you start any performance management processes.ย
March 21, 2019 -
Career Advice Not Feeling Good? Hereโs How to Call in Sick
OK, first things first, letโs talk about best practice in alerting your employer that you cannot come to work because you or one of your dependents are sick.ย The rules are: โYou need to tell your employer as soon as possible that you are sick or injured and you want to take sick leave.โ[i]ย โAs soon as possibleโ is actually kind of vague, but your employer may specify a timeframe in your employment contract, so make sure you know if there is.ย If you donโt know, or there isnโt a timeframe outlined in your contract โ stick with this:ย if you wake up and feel unwell, call and leave a voicemail message or send a text as soon as you can.ย Ideally, do this before you are due to start work rather than after a shift has started.ย A call is best, but if you are not up to that, or your boss doesnโt have voicemail โ send a text.ย Unlike Australia, casual staff working in New Zealand are entitled to paid sick leave if they meet the legal requirements.ย These are: You have been working for 6 months continuously with the same employer OR You have been working for at least 10 hours per week for 6 months (for the same employer) If you meet these criteria, you are entitled to 5 sick leave days per year. Do I have to provide a Medical Certificate? If you are sick for three or more consecutive days, your employer can legally ask you to provide a medical certificate to verify your absence from work.ย In some circumstances, an employer can request a medical certificate when you have been sick less than 3 days (so within the 3 consecutive days) but if they do this, they must pay for your doctorโs fees. What if I have run out of sick days? 5 days donโt go very far if you have sick kids, your spouse gets sick and you come down with the gastro that the smallest offspring brought home from daycare.ย So, itโs not unusual for people to run out of 5 days paid sick leave in a bad year.ย If this happens to you, and you are working as a temp, you can ask your employer if you can take paid sick leave in advance, but this may be refused if you are working for a fixed period of time and won't become entitled to more paid sick leave (for example if you are not expected to work 12 months or more in total).ย However, you are entitled to request unpaid leave and your employer is far more likely to agree to this. Can I get fired for being sick? New Zealand employment law allows for an employer to terminate your employment due to medical incapacity โ this is where you are unable to perform your duties due to sickness or injury[ii].ย If you are working as a casual employee, and you are sick for an extended period of time or your absence means that critical work is not completed, the assignment may be required to end early to ensure that deadlines/requirements are met.ย However, we would endeavour to find you more work as soon as you were well enough to work again โ good staff are hard to find! ย [i] https://www.employment.govt.nz/leave-and-holidays/sick-leave/sick-leave-entitlements/ [ii] https://employsure.co.nz/guides/employment-contracts-legislation/ending-employment-contract/
March 19, 2019 -
Employer Insights Everyone Deserves a Response โ Why Itโs Wrong to Only Con...
A major challenge of being a recruiter is handling all of the applications that come in. It all comes to a head when you have to deal with candidates that you arenโt interested in hiring. While you no doubt want to invest most of your time and effort into the candidates that you are interested in, itโs not fair or right to ignore the people that donโt quite fit your needs, no matter how time constrained you get. These are real people that are making a real effort to find a job. They have spent a lot of time and effort of their own putting together their application, as this story from Alan - a commenter on a Daily Telegraph article - highlights. ย Alan sent out over 20 email applications in three months. Each application was individually written to address the job criteria with a CV attached. The CV also had relevant sections highlighted. He had clearly gone through a lot of work to do all this, but he only heard back from one employer who sent him a simple thank you note. Ignoring anyone but shortlisted candidates can be depressing for job seekers. It only takes a few seconds to send a simple, courteous, โthanks but not thanksโ message that would at least tell a jobseeker they arenโt talking to a brick wall. ย This is a problem with recruiters, who have their own systems and processes for dealing with the thousands of applications sent to them. But recruiters arenโt the only ones falling short. Employers also fail to treat their applicants with the proper respect. Really, the whole policy of only contacting shortlisted candidates is terrible. Everyone deserves to get an email that tells them their application has been received and reviewed, but their application has been rejected, at the very least. ย While itโs true generic emails are mostly useless, they do at least tell an applicant that their application was considered. Nobody is perfect, and applications slip through the cracks all the time, but it helps to remember that every candidate, every single, deserves to be treated with some consideration and respect no matter how appropriate they are for the job.ย
February 14, 2019 -
Job Hunting Tips How Can I Get Local Job Experience if I Canโt Get Hired W...
Todayโs post is inspired by a recent comment from an immigrant that was struggling to find work since moving to the country. Heโs a qualified accountant and has plenty of years of experience, and they wanted some advice on what to do about their situation. So here is what I would recommend. I met a candidate a number of years ago that had their own terrible story. They had a great job in India (working in a senior financial position) when they were approached by an Australian company that told him to leave his current job and come work for them instead. ย The company promised him work, and he wanted to give his family the best possible life, so he left his job and home behind and moved to a new country. He arrived in Australia and visited the company only to find that they were a third-party agency that would sponsor him if โ and only if โ he was able to get himself a job. He had just 28 days to get work or be deported back to India. ย The government cracked down on companies like that not long after he moved to Australia, but it was too little too late for him. He was living in a small apartment in Sydney with his family, desperately looking for accounts clerical work as no one would employ him without any local experience or qualifications. He eventually found a job in tax accounting and built his career back up from there. ย The reason I told you that story was to show you some of the difficulties new immigrants have to deal with when moving to Australia and finding work. Our country isnโt so lucky for some people. Here are the main reasons immigrants have trouble finding work; They have qualifications that arenโt recognised locally. This includes degrees and professional qualifications. They donโt have any local work experience. This one is a vicious circle as thereโs no way to get local experience if people wonโt hire you because you donโt have any. They might have poor vocal communication skills They donโt have a resume that fits the kind of work they will likely get They apply for too many jobs. This sounds counterintuitive but it is true; applying for too many jobs on different levels puts recruiters off. ย Unfortunately, thereโs no magical solution to the problem. I canโt guarantee youโll get work by rewording your resume. All I can do is give you the following tips to improve your chances of finding a job; ย Study for a local degree โ or a conversion course โ in order to obtain a CPA qualification Build your communication skills โ assuming they are the problem. If you speak English as a second language, then teach yourself to talk slower and clearer to overcome the language barrier. Speak English as much as you can, including at home, to practice your speaking skills and build your vocabulary Rework your resume and show that you are โhands onโ. If an employer feels that youโve been senior staff for too long, they may assume youโve had everyone else get the work done for you. Showcase your ability to do the work by yourself. Understand that you arenโt likely going to find senior work right away with Australia if you have no recognised experience or qualifications. Send applications out at the appropriate level. If you are studying for a CPA, you should try to find a job on the accountant/assistant accountant level. ย A Word on Finding Work with No Local Experience If you have no local job experience, then temporary work offers the best chances of finding employment. Clients will be more likely to consider an overseas candidate if their consultant is confident in them and their ability to handle the work. It will mean that you likely have to work at a lower level than you are used to. After getting temporary work, ensure you work hard at the job and go above and beyond expectations. That will get more temp work in the future and will build that all important local job experience you need for something more permanent. If your skills with Excel are a little rusty, ask your consult for some online Excel training to boost your skills. ย Be Realistic The accounting world has changed. There was a time only ten years ago when it was next to impossible to find a good accountant. Now there are many university graduates that are having trouble finding work. Companies offshore their clerical accounting roles, or they develop vast shared service functions built in one central location which eliminate chances to work in branches or interstate. It can be tough to find a good role, and clients demand more and more for their money. We see accounting roles get lots of applications these days. Thereโs never been more competition for the best jobs. ย Itโs getting harder to meet client expectations, but they havenโt learned how to compromise yet. They would rather continue to wait for their โperfectโ candidate rather than hire someone who isnโt just right. That makes the recruitment process longer for all involved. The key to succeeding when finding a job with no local experience is to be flexible and be willing to put the hard work in and get dirty โ figuratively speaking.ย
February 12, 2019 -
Employer Insights Think Before You Sack Someone for Theft
This is a really good article from the New Zealand Stuff news website about the perils of firing staff for stealing.ย Whilst this has nothing to do with recruitment, I thought this was a great prompt to help managers and business owners understand their obligations when they would like to terminate employment due to theft. The bottom line isโฆ Donโt get trigger happy and fire someone without having conducted a thorough investigation into the incident!ย Regardless if you have caught someone with their hand in the til, or with company property in their possession, you have to go through an investigation process to establish the facts in the situation, and the employee may have some right of reply to any accusation. This is also a warning for those times when a referee might make accusations against a former employee โ donโt accept what they say on face value!ย If a referee tells you that they let someone go for theft, you should ask some probing questions so you can establish whether the employer conducted a thorough investigation and whether the employee was charged or managed through a proper performance review. An accusation of theft that is unsubstantiated or unproven but that is disclosed in a reference breaches privacy legislation and an employerโs obligation to ensure any information kept (and disclosed) about an employee is accurate. Now I know your first reaction is to throw your hands in the air in exasperation in that it seems like employees have all the rights, but by following proper process, you can avoid a whole of expensive drama further down the track! Need to find out more? A good place to start is:ย Employer and employee must doโs โ for New Zealand and Understanding your legal obligations for employing peopleย - in Australia.
February 05, 2019