Ex bankers, high profile politicians and the business elite are eyeing off Australia’s social care sector as a soft landing place for their last pre-retirement job. I’ve had a chat to a few new entrants and they all say one thing “I want to give back”. I don’t buy it. “Giving back” could be a sizeable donation or volunteering. Securing a senor paid job in a not for profit is more than giving back. It is a strategic move where Boards are saying the skills this sector needs mor

Just when you thought you had it all under control, something changes. Most organisations are aware of the ‘’hyper-connected consumer’’ … we have been told that people are now connected 24 hours a day; if they don’t like something there is a website they can criticise you on; if you don’t have multiple social media channels, no-one knows who you are, etc. – the reality is that is true and with the advent of a more ‘’open market’’, many organisations in the social care sector

With so much talk about change, NDIS, person-centred planning, strategy, planning and the like, one of the core concepts that has been overlooked is that of risk. By risk, we are not talking about operational risk, but strategic risk and very specifically, risk appetite. It is not a concept frequently discussed or dealt with by Boards yet will soon become a very significant issue as organisations grapple with the impending changes and opportunities. At its simplest, risk appe

The McKinsey Global Institute released an excellent report in 2012 entitled, The Social Economy. Unlocking Value and Productivity through Social Technologies which whilst some three years old, make compelling reading. The report found (amongst other things) that: The speed and scale of adoption of social technologies by customers far exceeded any previous technologies but businesses and organisations were far from being able to harness their value. Social technologies had dis

We hear a lot about how managers and leaders in the sector need to be innovative, yet many have done this all their lives. So, why is it that we often don’t acknowledge innovation in the workplace? There are reasons for this but the most common one is that for innovation to be effective, it should be embedded into what you do – not a separate part or unit or program. You don’t need an innovations team, but a team of innovative people. Here are five simple things you can do (a