The dangers of blowing the whistle

When most people hear the word “whistleblower”, they probably to think of this guy:

In case you don’t know, former CIA employee Edward Snowden made international headlines in 2013 when he leaked confidential documents from the National Security Agency (NSA). What he leaked revealed a number of surveillance and monitoring programs that many US citizens found disturbing. His actions sparked debate about national security, mass surveillance and personal privacy rights.”

According to Whistling While They Work, “whistleblowing is when employees or other members of organisations speak up about wrongdoing within or by the organisation, to people who can – or should – do something about it.” Snowden is arguably the highest profile whistleblower around, but he is certainly not the only one. In Australia, whistleblowers have made a real impact and pushed for serious change.

Dr Benjamin Koh, former Chief Medical Officer at Commonwealth Bank’s insurance division, CommInsure, was dismissed from the bank after discovering that legitimate insurance claims were not being paid. Dr Koh lost his job under what he called “farcical” circumstances, according to the ABC. However, his efforts have caused CBA to publicly respond to the claims and will hopefully lead to longlasting change.

Another former CBA employee, Jeff Morris, reported poor advice was being offered by members of the bank’s financial planning team. Since then, Jeff has repeatedly supported a Royal Commission into Australia’s big banks to investigate unethical behaviour. He will soon appear in a series of advertisements calling for a Royal Commission to finally be conducted, according to The Daily Telegraph.

It’s not hard to see that blowing the whistle puts people in a difficult situation. Snowden, Koh and Morris all faced harsh consequences and criticism for reporting worrying or unethical behaviour. However, it shouldn’t necessarily be that way. A lot of companies are putting measures in place to ensure employees aren’t unfairly punished for reporting inappropriate behaviour. Here are some examples:

Ethics hotline

Companies such as EY, Deloitte, Bank of Queensland and Virgin Australia utilise an “ethics hotline”. This is a website or phone line where employees can anonymously report unethical behaviour. Reports are then investigated by an independent third party to avoid possible conflicts of interest.

Whistleblower policies

Some of Australia’s largest employers including Westpac, Suncorp and Adelaide University employ a whistleblower policy to ensure appropriate protection is offered to those who report problematic information. A well-articulated policy helps employees know their rights and ensures whistleblowers aren’t unfairly penalised.

Ongoing research

“Whistling while they work” is the largest current research project into responses to whistleblowing. It is an initiative of Griffith University, with partners including CPA and the NSW Ombudsman. The project seeks to improve responses to whistleblowers. For more information about the project, visit their website.

Whistleblowing can be a real challenge for employers. It can cause a lot of unwanted negative attention and damage reputations irreparably. However, addressing unethical behaviour is vital, and there are some simple options available to do this more effectively.

Christian Berechree joined Akolade’s production team in May 2016. He has a Bachelor of Media and Music and a Masters in Journalism.

Christian is a musical theatre geek and a new dad, and he’ll happily spend hours telling you about either or both of those things.

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Three things your business can learn from NFPs

Not-for-profit organisations have been quick to learn from their for-profit counterparts. They have learned the importance of effective management and utilising resources strategically but it’s not often the attention is reciprocated- and it’s definitely deserved.

From 2012-13, the not-for-profit sector accounted for $54,796 million of GVA (gross value added). This is 3.8 per cent of GDP, dwarfing the agricultural, forestry and fishing industries which contribute 2.4 per cent.

Whilst most businesses seek to learn from their competitors, they ignore organisations in opposing sectors. As NFP’s work with limited funding and resources, they are forced to develop innovative business models and approaches to employee engagement and customer satisfaction.

Here are three things your business can gain from NFPs:

• Define your organisation’s mission

It’s easy to make ideological, sweeping statements full of good intentions like “We dream to put an end to homelessness.” By focusing on objectives that are clear-cut and goal-oriented, you deliver real world implications. “We aim to reduce homelessness by 30 percent by 2018” is a much stronger statement which promises immediate, tangible outcomes.

• Treat your employees like (paid) volunteers

Your employees have other options. They can and will leave if one of these other options becomes more attractive. It may surprise you that salary is not the biggest motivator. According to Forbes, there is a direct link between employee engagement and revenue. Companies where 90% of employees felt engaged have earnings per share 147% higher than their competitors.

Forbes identifies three factors that keep volunteers (and your staff) dedicated: power, community and recognition. “Volunteers feel empowered to reshape themselves and help others; enjoy the experience of being part of a passionate community unified around a common purpose; and are appreciated and recognised for their work.”

• Treat your customers like donors

NFPs rely on people lightening their wallets and expecting nothing in return. They say ‘thank you’ via letters, phone calls and emails because they know that donors who feel appreciated are more likely to give again. By fostering ongoing relationships with your customers, you increase the likelihood of repeat business. Forbes suggests releasing newsletters with news such as advances in energy efficiency and how they, the customer, made it possible.

Whilst a business can’t be run entirely as an NFP and vice versa, both types of organisation are in a position to ‘pick and choose’ the processes and concepts most suitable for their facility. Alternative ideas are being tried and tested for you- you just need to observe.

Claire Dowler is a Conference Producer with Akolade. She recently graduated with a double degree: a Bachelor of Journalism and a Bachelor of Media and Communications Studies majoring in International Communication. Claire minored in sarcasm and puns.

A ballroom-dancer who collects salt and pepper shakers and volunteers for animal rescue, you might say Claire has eclectic interests. 

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Innovation and Start-Ups: Driving a start-up into a mature business

We're all a little guilty of crossing our fingers and hoping for the best but when it comes to opening a Start-Up we need a little bit more than that.

The Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull is a great fan of “innovation.” It's a great buzzword but for a start-up hungry economy it doesn’t really mean much at all, unless you've got a clear and well researched pathway ahead of you.

Being innovative is all well and good but the eventual realisation is, for a Start Up to become a major player in the economy, your business needs to be around long enough to mature. And with business maturity comes the setting in of innovation killers, or procedures.

Developing procedures, when you’re a start-up, is usually not high on the priority list. Getting in and getting the doors open; your first customers through the door are more important than ‘how the company order stationary’ or ‘how much social media time is too much time, on company time’?

These sort of details are usually left until later. And with the wait comes the complication of developing and enforcing ‘rules’ when the company has always been a bit too cool for them.

The sobering facts about start-ups are; approximately 95% of them fail within the first twelve months of opening. Developing a list of procedures won't prevent your organisation from failing, but they will provide you with a much clearer path to see where danger lies.

"One thing is certain in business. You and everyone around you will make mistakes"

Sir Richard Branson

Developing an app, or opening a funky hipster cereal bar is fine if that is where your passion takes you; but you need to do your homework first.

However, opening a start-up requires careful and considered planning. Given the statistics if you jump in without a safety net, you run the risk of failing before you even start.

Bill Gates, one of the world’s most successful business leaders had this to say regarding failure;

“It’s fine to celebrate success, but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.”

And one of the greatest inventors in the world’s history, Thomas Edison, was famously quoted as saying; ‘I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work,’ when discussing the invention of the light globe.'

Let’s be honest here, procedures are boring. They’re not exciting, they’re not glamourous. They’re the day-to-day, do we really have to, kind of thing. But without them your business has no real foundation. You don’t’ start building a house by buying the carpeting. You start of by laying a strong foundation, and making sure all the walls meet the roof.

Starting a business is no different to any other form of endeavour. If your foundation is uneven (or wobbly) your long-term plans don’t mean anything. It’s much easier to fit the pieces together to begin with than it is to realign an already constructed business.

If the people in your enterprise (whether new hires or just a bunch of friends starting out initially) don’t know what they’re responsible for, nor do they know what needs to be done in a given situation you’re going to find yourselves adrift and making it up as you go along.

No one who really expects their business to have longevity starts their new enterprise without a clear business plan. Knowing where you are heading is of great importance when the initial excitement is replaced by staffing issues, office issues, whether you’ve got enough toilet paper or whose turn is it to supply the coffee.

Taking the time to draft and plan your organisations procedures early on, means ultimately you have a clearer and firmer foundation for your company and staff.

With everyone moving in the same direction you’ve got a much better chance of long-term success and doing better than 95% of organisations who open their doors on the same day you do.

Mike Cullen has recently returned to Akolade after a period as the conference producer for one of Australia's leading economic think tanks. Mike began working in the conference industry in 2007 after looking for a career change from the high pressured world of inbound customer service. Mike has worked for some of the most well-known conference and media companies in the B2B space and in his spare time is working on his first novel in a planned Epic Fantasy trilogy.

Mike’s most recently published story, Seeds of Eden, is featured in the Sproutlings Anthology released in March 2016. 

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Addressing the attitudes towards domestic violence in sections of the Australian Media

During Monday nights Q&A, radio shock jock Steve Price shocked the viewers at home as well as the audience in the studio with his dismissive and cavalier attitude towards domestic violence.

It was a question from audience member Tarang Chawla that brought the night to a heated close.

Mr Chawla, whose 23 year-old sister was stabbed to death with a meat cleaver by her partner in January 2015 asked the panel about the prevailing attitudes towards female violence, highlighting the recent Eddie McGuire and Sam Newman scandal where McGuire joked about drowning a female journalist. Newman, one of the hosts the Victoria Footy Show, came to McGuire’s defense.

“How will politicians and the media play a better role in bringing about long overdue cultural shifts so tragedies like mine are not normalised,” Mr Chawla asked at the end of his question.

Price responded first to the question suggesting the uproar over McGuire’s comments was too much, and that it was simply a case of men laughing at what they shouldn’t be laughing at. Despite various attempts to rebut this conclusion – in which Price constantly cut off, or spoke over commentator Van Badham – Price took umbrage at what he saw as Badham’s ‘hysteria.'

It was a very telling moment in Australian television. The absolute dismissal of a woman’s right to an opinion because it differed from a man’s.

Social media reacted negatively to Mr Price’s comments and drew attention to the gravity of Domestic Violence, while also highlighting the pervading misogynistic attitudes that keep domestic violence an issue where much is said, but little done.

Estimated to cost the Australian economy upwards of $25 billion a year, domestic violence has gone from the secret whispered about behind closed doors, to the front pages of the nation’s newspapers. Funding of frontline services was a key election platform for both the Liberal and Labor parties in the just completed election.

But for Australia to put an end to domestic violence it’s going to take more than some television commercials, or extra funding.

It’s going to take a fundamental shift in the public discussion and the absolute commitment of policy makers to make ending domestic violence a priority.

The main problem, facing both political parties in Australia, is a lack of action. Money provided for frontline services is extremely important but until the judicial system and the laws of the land step up and act as a real deterrent, it’s all just noise.

2 women in Australia are killed every week by their partners or ex-partner. 2 women a week is just the tip of the iceberg. For the victim, it is the end of a tragic and horrifyingly  painful time. For those left behind, their families, friends, co-workers, children, it is the beginning of a living nightmare.

In situations like McGuire’s ‘joke’, you have to stop and ask yourself; “Would it be funny if it was my wife, mother, sister, niece, granddaughter who was the butt of that joke?”

If you answer yes, you need to give your attitudes a good hard review.

If you answered no to that question, you need to step it up and make your voice heard.

To stop domestic violence and families like Mr Chawlas, and hundreds of others each year, from experiencing this sort of tragedy Australia’s media and policy makers need to heed the advice of His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Ret’d), Governor of New South Wales and former Chief of Defence who is quoted by Australian of the Year Lieutenant General David Morrison AO as saying;

The standard you walk past, is the standard you accept.

If this is the standard Australia accepts in relation to violence against women, it’s time to raise the bar and demand a higher standard.

This is just one of many situations that arise on a daily basis and it is imperative that this is addressed now. Akolade's 2nd Breaking the Cycle of Domestic and Family Violence Conference discusses utilising behavioural change programs and reforming perpetrators and the role of men in addressing the issue of domestic and family violence. Attend to further understand how to implement leading-edge perpetrator behavioural change programs. 

Mike Cullen has recently returned to Akolade after a period as the conference producer for one of Australia's leading economic think tanks. Mike began working in the conference industry in 2007 after looking for a career change from the high pressured world of inbound customer service. Mike has worked for some of the most well-known conference and media companies in the B2B space and in his spare time is working on his first novel in a planned Epic Fantasy trilogy.

Mike’s most recently published story, Seeds of Eden, is featured in the Sproutlings Anthology released in March 2016.

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Why Social Cohesion is Necessary for Community Safety

Tadeusz Ibrom / Shutterstock.com

At first, I didn’t quite understand the connection between social cohesion and community safety. I could see how they’re both important, and they’re definitely both good for communities—but I didn’t see the clear link between the two. 

Upon doing some more research, I found a really great scholarly article about the important relationship between social cohesion and community safety. For those of you who don’t have a Jstor account (shout out to my university for giving me free access), allow me to explain the key points:

Social Outcomes:  Social outcomes include the economic, health, and safety of a community. These social outcomes are often distributed differently amongst different social groups within a community. 

For example, the article cites higher socioeconomic class status as being strongly correlated with better social outcomes. Collectively, the social outcomes of all of these groups together combine to make up the overall social outcome of a community.

For local government, this means that there are two things to think about: the social outcomes of particular social groups and the collective social outcomes of the community as a whole.

Social cohesion: Social cohesion is defined as “the willingness of members of a society to cooperate with each other in order to survive and prosper”. There is evidence that increase of social cohesion leads to two things:

1. Better collective social outcomes for the entire community
2. A more equitable distribution of social outcomes among social groups

How? Briefly put, social cohesion increases community investment. Individuals are more likely to invest their time, money, and effort into a community if they believe they’ll benefit from it. This increase in investment can lead to an increase in social outcomes for the entire community.

If you’re economically minded: social cohesion means that your inputs are greater due to increased community investment, which leads to greater outputs as more people are involved in the processing of these inputs.

The studies have also found that increased social cohesion leads to greater respect for institutional rules and norms of behaviour. This makes sense—if people are invested in the creation of the rules and community norms, they’re more likely to follow them. This leads to less crime, as people are more engaged in their communities. As you can see, this process is cyclical—increased social cohesion leads to better social outcomes, which means people further invest in the community, leading to more social cohesion.

To summarize: social cohesion is awesome. However, in order to obtain the benefits from this cycle, local governments have to spark an initial burst of social cohesion in a community.

How do you create that spark? This year’s 3^rd Annual National Community Safety Summit takes a special focus on social cohesion, with industry experts sharing strategies for what has successfully increased social engagement in their communities. 

Sydney is from the United States and is spending her American summer /Australian winter working as a Marketing Intern at Akolade. In a few months she’ll start her third year at the University of Michigan and is working towards a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Women’s Studies. After she graduates, she’s hoping to work in consulting or marketing, but still isn't quite sure what she wants to be when she grows up.  

This is Sydney’s first time in Australia, and she’s been surprised that people haven’t laughed at her name more. So far, she’s adjusting to the slight cultural differences (Australian coffee is better, some words are spelled a tad differently, and “carryout” food is called “takeaway” food). She’s excited to be working with the marketing team at Akolade and continuing her business education outside of the classroom.

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Australia’s Ageing Workforce Revolution

In an address at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday, July 6 2016, The Hon Susan Ryan AO, Age Discrimination Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission delivered a speed entitled, “The ageing revolution is not over.”

Her speech called on policy makers and corporate Australia to embrace the economic potential of older workers, highlighting the demographic revolution had already happened but the response on a national level was still undecided.

With over 3.4 million people aged 65 and over (compared to only 1.5 million people aged 18-24) the 65+ cohort is the fasted growing group in Australia. The Intergenerational Report released by the Abbott Government highlighted the realities of an ageing population with a projected the number of Australians aged over 65 will more than double by 2055 amounted to an approximated 40,000 aged over 100.

In the Human Rights Commissions 2016 Willing to Work: National Inquiry into Employment Discrimination Against Older Australians and Australians with Disability report, the survey found “more than a quarter of Australians aged 50 years and over had experienced age discrimination in the workplace during the last two years. One third were aware of other people in the same age range experiencing discrimination because of their age. Of great concern, a third of those who had experienced age discrimination gave up looking for work.”

The report also showed that international comparisons by the OECD showed Australia lagging behind similar countries in terms of employment opportunities for older people concluding the reality is that labour force participation for older people and those with a disability in Australia has changed little over the past 20 years, creating a negative impact on the individual and the fact such low participation rates is a public policy problem needing to be addressed.

While employing mature-aged workers requires management to upskill and train people into the way of the digital environment, a 7% increase in mature-age labour force participation could raise GDP in 2022 by $25 billion.

Australia’s employers and policy makers are not doing enough to ensure equal opportunities are available for Australia’s ageing (and largest demographic) population. To gain insights and a competitive advantage to your business, attend Akolade’s 2nd Annual National Ageing Workforce Forum, 30thAugust to 1st September 2016 at the Novotel Darling Harbour Sydney.

Exclusive: Hear more about the Human Rights Commissions 2016 Willing to Work: National Inquiry into Employment Discrimination Against Older Australians and Australians with Disabilities with an in-depth analysis from Marlene Krasovitsky, Director, Australian Human Rights Commission.

Mike Cullen has recently returned to Akolade after a period as the conference producer for one of Australia's leading economic think tanks. Mike began working in the conference industry in 2007 after looking for a career change from the high pressured world of inbound customer service. Mike has worked for some of the most well-known conference and media companies in the B2B space and in his spare time is working on his first novel in a planned Epic Fantasy trilogy.

Mike’s most recently published story, Seeds of Eden, is featured in the Sproutlings Anthology released in March 2016.

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Guest Post: Lali Wiratunga - Enterprise and entrepreneurship key to youth workforce success

In the lead up to Akolade's 2nd Annual Youth Employment Forum, National Manager Davidson Institute and Social Sector Segment at Westpac, Lali Wiratunga, shares with us his insights on key enablers of youth workforce success and a few ways how Westpac are helping young people in Australia to unleash their potential.

Australia needs people who are enterprising and entrepreneurial whatever their chosen careers, young people ready for the world of work, including self-employment - those equipped to make an effective transition from education to work and making a contribution to Australian society and our economy.

From the earliest age, children have an ability to be enterprising and it is important for that ability to be nurtured through education and opportunities.

Interested parties operating in the youth employment and training area are numerous and diverse, including industry groups, education establishments, social sector organisations and local community groups. Success in tackling youth unemployment will come from end to end strategies that will arise from partnerships or collaborations between these groups.

For example, not for profit organisation, Aboriginal Employment Strategy (AES), matches young career seekers to the right opportunities, at organisations, like my own, Westpac. Recruitment organisations like AES have formed successful collaborations with mainstream organisations operating at a local level. (See more at http://www.aes.org.au/traineeships/)

With any partnership or program for youth, whether from business or a Social Sector organisation, co-creation of the approaches is recommended, so that the youth beneficiary has a greater level of ownership and more control to ensure that programs are adapted to their needs. The next generation of young leaders are amassing skills and a capabilities to ready them for experiencing a number of careers and organisations over their lifetime.

To create job builders and nurture tomorrow's leaders, the enablers (according to the Foundation of Young Australians) are:

• Boosting digital literacy and infrastructure

With Australia transitioning to a knowledge and ideas economy, we are recognising the increasing importance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills to the jobs of the future.

• Enterprise skills being in the DNA of our young people

Innovation and creativity are critical for success, as they lead to young people with confidence, high aspirations and an ability to add value to society and the economy.

• Creating a spirit of entrepreneurship in our young people

I have personally seen how this can unlock potential. In London as a school student, I was a participant on Young Enterprise, which is the UK's largest charity that empowers young people to harness their personal and business skills.

A great example of how we are helping to build digital literacy, is through our sponsorship of Camp Code, which the Westpac Group announced in May 2016. 

"Code Camp do a terrific job in engaging young people with technology at a young age, giving them extra skills to take back to the classroom and, perhaps, inspiring them for a career in technology" Westpac's Chief Information Officer, Dave Curran, said when launching this partnership.

Code Camp is a provider of school holiday programs and classes that teach Australian students how to code and build iPhone apps. Already, Code Camp has helped more than 4,300 Australian school students learn coding skills and aims to reach 25,000 students by 2018. In a typical one week Code Camp experience, students learn to develop one or more of their own iPhone games, while developing technology, problem solving and other skills in the process. 

In 2017, Westpac will mark 200 years since its foundation as the first Australian bank. The Westpac Bicentennial Foundation is celebrating this anniversary by creating a legacy for future generations. The Westpac Young Technologists Scholarship program is one of five scholarships offered by the Foundation.  Each scholarship valued at $25,000 over 5 years helps undergraduate students with a passion to bring about change through cutting-edge technology. The Westpac Young Technologists Scholarship aims to foster generations of innovators. (For more on the Westpac Bicentennial Foundation, visit www.westpac.com.au/200years)

These are just a couple of ways that we are helping young people in Australia, to unleash their potential.

Want to hear more from Lali Wiratunga? Don’t miss the 2nd Annual Future of Youth EmploymentForum where he speaks more on building workforce capability in young Australians.

Lali Wiratunga, National Manager, Davidson Institute and Social Sector Segment, Westpac has over 16 years’ international experience, in financial and professional services – having had a number of corporate roles at Westpac, worked as a management consultant with Accenture and as a corporate lawyer. Lali is passionate about delivering a great customer experience and partnership development. Lali has been involved with the social sector, as a corporate volunteer, including as a pro bono advisor to a London-based legal aid centre. More recently, Lali has acted as an advisor to a social enterprise on Social Traders’ Crunch Program in Melbourne.

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Retailers in the Age of the Customer

As digital technologies continue to advance, businesses must adapt and stay up-to-date to remain sustainable. This is especially so for retailers, as mobility and technological disruption continue to transform retail experiences – both in store and at home.

In conjunction with digital disruption, we quickly move forward along the timeline into the ‘age of the customer’. As customer fulfilment and digital transformation intersect, retailers are faced with a critical challenge to respond with immediacy to changing customer behaviour and expectation.

Victor Milligan with Forrester states, “Empowered customers and the constant and rapid wave of digital innovation are changing market fundamentals. Leaders are now challenged to respond.”

The experience of buying and receiving goods is no longer the same. Customers now, not only want, but expect to make a purchase easier, friendlier, and faster. Customers want immediate value and will go elsewhere if you cannot provide it.

Retailers must now focus on establishing end-to-end customer experience – taking a customer on a positive journey from the outset when they visit your store or site, purchase a product, to when the product lands in their lap.

To enable and inform this end-to-end shopping experience, marketing, sales, product development, supply chain, and finance must be aligned to ensure company value and relevance.

How do brick and mortar stores stand up to online retail with customer experience?

Forbes article suggests two steps to help the physical, brick and mortar, three-dimensional retail environment distinguish itself from an online experience:

Step One of what’s needed for success in the brick and mortar retail environment is what I call “digital parity”: the absolute necessity for physical stores to create an experience that is every bit as streamlined, well-stocked, seamless, easy to use, and fast as what customers have grown used to on the Web.

Step Two is to figure out how to be better than the web—how to take advantage of what can best be provided by a store existing in a physical environment: theatricality, engagement, and the professional assistance of well trained and inspired human associates.

Retailers main objective now is to enhance their customer experience and invest in what customers want. The continuing rise of the mobile and connected customer, and the retailers’ capacity to keep pace, will anchor success and future growth.

Don’t miss Akolade’s 4^th Annual Online Retail Supply Chain Summit coming February 2017 in Melbourne! Australia’s premier event exploring the latest trends, technologies, and innovations driving the online retail supply chain and examining the transformation and differentiation of fulfilment and customer experience and engagement.

After finishing University with a degree in Business Marketing, I decided to make a big jump across seas for the first time and move from the east coast of America to Sydney, Australia. I landed my first job in a sales position in the event industry and soon thereafter moved into a marketing assistant role – following I had the pleasure of interviewing with Akolade which got me to where I am today.

Akolade is a fun, innovative company that brings together people from different walks of life to implement change. As the Marketing Manager, I have the pleasure of wearing many hats which motivates me to succeed, reach people in an array of avenues, grow our events to their full potential, and raise our story. As for me, I am a kind dedicated woman who loves to work hard, exercise, cook, be social and have some fun.

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