Trending Blogs

Fridays at Project Resource Partners: Empowering Teams Through Enhanced Communication

By Shae Demetriou • 13 Nov, 2023
Unleashing Communication Skills with a Deck of Cards

Generational Games ​– building a great cross-generational team.

31 Oct, 2023
​In today's diverse workforce, success often hinges on the ability to adapt and evolve. This was the focus in a recent discussion hosted by Wendy Born from Business Value Partners, to members of the National Electrical Communications Authority. Wendy was joined by our Directo r, Andrew Bath an d Senior Con sultant, Ella O’Connell . Collectively, Andrew and Ella bring over 25 years of experience in recruiting across diverse industries and successfully working with millennials and Gen Zs. ​During the discussion, they explored recruitment strategies, steps to creating thriving cross-generational teams, and the benefits Millennials and Gen Zs bring to the workplace. Below we have compiled three key takeaways from the discussion for your perusal. Dive in below! ​ ​What are the benefits of employing millennials and Gen Zs? There are a multitude of benefits that come along with employing millennials and Gen Zs within your business. Andrew and Ella discussed how younger generations are not just committed employees but also drivers of change. They challenge process, modernise business, and bring a fresh perspective that’s vital to stay relevant in today’s world. ​In Andrew’s words, “having the younger generation in our team brings diversity of thought and fresh knowledge. I get to learn different things and new technologies, and how they can add value to the business”.​

A Recruitment Internship: More than meets the eye at Project Resource Partners

By Austin Swamy and Sara Matar • 13 Jul, 2023
From a fancy office building to a simple phone call, the world of recruitment brings new experiences every day. Thanks to our internship, we were able to experience an industry that we were unaware of, but so glad we did! The recruitment industry is a niche yet important field, running to help organisations find the right person for the right job or vice versa. Specialist recruitment companies bridge the gap between client and candidate, building meaningful relationships to make sure everyone benefits. As interns, we had the privilege of experiencing this unique industry and understanding its ins and outs, which are built upon human connections. Recently, both of us were placed as interns at Project Resource Partners (PRP) and this was an interesting and eye-opening experience that allowed us both to learn and expand our understanding of the real workforce. Working almost behind the scenes, PRP are specialists in the recruitment industry focusing on business and technology transformation as well as change management. Putting the big words aside, PRP displayed their ability to act as the middleman between client and candidate and develop relations to ensure the right role finds the right person. The process of recruitment changes a business for the better, across various fields. Even though we had many preconceptions and initially felt anxious, these thoughts disappeared on our first day as we were welcomed with open arms. Being treated as real employees, we completed many of the same daily tasks our colleagues were carrying out, from candidate calling, meeting candidates and sorting through resumes! Speaking with candidates for certain active roles really allowed us to develop our communication skills in a professional setting, to build caring relationships. To add on, our technological skills improved by using certain software, and then assisting in the transfer of data to improved software which was a really exciting process. We applied our intern tasks into our own lives, by fixing up our CVs to be more eye-catching and straight to the point, and better understanding LinkedIn and Seek to use to our advantage. These responsibilities and tasks gave us tertiary students insight into what careers after our studies may entail. From this internship, our hands-on experience broadened our employability skills to make ourselves better employees for our own careers. Our placement was definitely a positive highlight, all thanks to the amazing team at PRP. They gave us the opportunity to learn and grow in a positive working environment, pushing us to improve and obtain skills which are more foreign to university students. However, we can definitely walk away feeling more accomplished and ready for the real working world. Thanks to PRP, we discovered that there is more to recruitment than meets the eye! By Sara Matar and Austin Swamy (Biomedical Science Students at Monash University)

HOW DO WE DISCONNECT THE DISCONNECT

Lydia Mc Williams • Jun 17, 2019

LAST MONTH, I WROTE A BLOG TITLED “CONNECTING THE DISCONNECT IN THE AGED CARE SECTOR” WHERE I DISCUSSED VARIOUS CHALLENGES AGED CARE COMPANIES IN AUSTRALIA ARE CURRENTLY FACING. THESE CHALLENGES HAVE BEEN THE FOCUS OF MOST OF MY CONVERSATIONS WITH MY CLIENTS ACROSS THE SECTOR THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THE LAST FEW WEEKS. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN READING MORE ABOUT THIS, FEEL FREE TO GRAB A COFFEE, SIT OUTSIDE UNDER THE WINTER SUN FOR A BIT OF VITAMIN D AND CLICK HERE. 


As a follow up to this blog, this month I would like to explore how we can disconnect this disconnect. This ‘how’ is based upon my own observations only (hence not gold) and from ideas which were sparked during my conversations with candidates and clients working in this sector. If you have any thoughts / ideas which you would like to share with me, I would love to hear from you (yes you!). 


Let’s start with five ways we can disconnect the disconnect: 


1) Senior executives can look to spend more time on the ground in the facilities to understand their daily operations and proceedings. This would increase their understanding and awareness from a ground level perspective and would also build rapport and deepen relationships with their staff. A win-win!


 2) I have observed that some aged care companies are moving away from the model where nurses and health care practitioners manage the facilities and are beginning to transition towards a new model where business people from the corporate world head up the facilities. When I say business people I am referring to those who have experience running branches in other sectors such as retail stores or banks. 


To effectively manage an aged care facility, do you really require a health care background? Do you need to know how to treat a patient? I guess the answer is no given that all the staff under the ‘branch manager’ would have these clinical skills, while the branch manager would be knowledgeable in P&L, workforce planning and most importantly running profitable businesses which provide outstanding customer service. Food for thought!


3) It seems crucial that strong internal communication remains consistent with regards to changes which come about. By this I mean communicating the why, how and when to staff to ensure that they are abreast of these changes to ensure that they feel like they are part of this journey and valued staff members, not just a number in the chain. If you have any queries regarding communications roles across the aged care sector, my colleague Jaquelina is your person to speak to. You can catch her at jiselli@projectresourcepartners.com.au. 


4) A word of advice to hiring managers in the sector (given the multiple hat wearing and lean team structures), would be to hire project managers who have strong change management skills and experience. This is advantageous from a cost perspective as well as benefiting the organisation in terms of effectively and concurrently managing the change piece, which sometimes can be left as an afterthought. 


A word of advice to all the project managers out there who want to break into the ever-evolving aged care sector, would be to gain hands on experience in change management to complement your project skills. 


5) In terms of project management team structures, some organisations are fixated on hiring project managers with health care / aged care / NFP experience. While others are fixated on hiring staff from outside of the fast-paced corporate world. Why not meet in the middle and aim to have a blended mix of project staff, some with corporate backgrounds, others with health care or NFP backgrounds. After all, variety is the spice of life right!?

Share by: