This year’s top 10 stories included a peek into AustralianSuper’s international equities build out in London, AMP’s move to slash employee benefits, and plenty of hard-hitting analysis of the issues that matter in institutional investment. But the real story is how readers helped shape all of that coverage.
Orbis’ Stuart Place is riding from Melbourne to the Moon and Back to fund a treatment for the “monster of a disease” that his youngest son was born with. The investment industry is rallying behind him.
HR service to stop conflicts becoming complaints
As the national conversation dramatically shifted to include widespread sexist, harassment and bullying behaviours, a spotlight has been shone on the HR capabilities of organisations.
Of course, the conversation has become much broader in recent months, with growing concerns being aired for women’s financial wellbeing, including the role of super, gaining headlines.
But it is within organisations, from government and government bodies, through big business to small-medium sized companies and lowly paid staff and contractors where HR can make a difference.
Against this backdrop, Peitra Moffatt, who has more than 20 years’ experience in HR, both within organisations and as a consultant, has started a new company providing independent HR assistance – Ombpoint.
The new firm aims to ease the growing burden on HR departments by cutting off potential formal complaints and resolving disputes before situations escalate.
Moffatt, a lawyer by training, has received support from several partners in the Australia-wide law firm of Kingston Reid, who’s offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth Ombpoint shares. The individuals have become shareholders in the separate business.
It is Australia’s first “independent workplace ombudsman service”, Moffatt says. “It provides value to organisations by delivering an early intervention service for workplace conflict, based on a proven international model.”
The three main avenues generally available to employees are:
- the organisation’s internal HR department, which is conflicted and not perceived as confidential
- an employee assistance program (EAP) which try to look after an employee’s wellbeing, but do not necessarily resolve a conflict, and
- a whistleblower helpline, which will often be at the stage when lawyers have already become involved.
“Our service is as an independent third party which is paid by the employer and can talk through an issue with an employee in a way that prevents it from escalating to a complaint,” she says.
“It gives people somewhere to go. There will be people for them at the end of the phone line who can understand their problem.”
The discussions are confidential, where there are only reference numbers allotted for file notes and no records of people’s names kept. The employer is given reports in aggregate so it can see trends and possible areas which may require remedial action.
“It is as anonymous as possible,” Moffatt says. “If necessary, we can take the employee through the complaints mechanism and can help with an EAP provider… It appeals to medium-large corporations and government departments as a supplement to the complaints system.”
Moffatt says Ombpoint can reduce the number of complaints, the costs of which have become “ridiculous”. Society is moving to be more complaints focused, she says, and the complaints are becoming a more expensive proposition, including productivity loss, increased staff turnover and management time, as well as the potential costs associated with litigation.
