The Sportspeople KnowledgeBase...The Sportspeople KnowledgeBase , aquatics SPORTSPEOPLE – Best People. Best Jobs. Since 1996. Australia and New Zealand’s leading

The Sportspeople

KnowledgeBase

, aquatics

SPORTSPEOPLE – Best People. Best Jobs. Since 1996.

Australia and New Zealand’s leading online community for sport, fitness, aquatics, coaching, venues, events,

leisure and lifestyle.

Page | 2

Introduction

Since 1995 the Sportspeople team has regularly contributed articles to the sport, fitness and aquatic community providing insightful information across a range of topics. Many of these articles have been published or used as primary references for other published research while others have appeared in the Sportspeople e-news distributed to our community.

We have compiled a selection of these articles to create The Sportspeople KnowledgeBase. We hope job seekers, employers and others contributing to the sport, fitness and aquatic sector find the topics and information of interest. Naturally, we will continue to grow the content as stories or features capture our attention.

Please feel free to use these articles, however if you are quoting, referencing or re-publishing excerpts, we ask that you simply acknowledge the author and/or Sportspeople accordingly. Kind Regards, The Sportspeople Team

Page | 3

Table of Contents

(Click to be directed to the article)

Capture More Candidates By Stating Salary In Your Job Advertisement ...................................... 5

Tips For Writing An Effective Job Advertisement ...................................................................... 7

The Benefits of Stating Salary In Your Job Advertisements ....................................................... 9

Salary Plus Super; The Importance Of Clarity When Stating Salary ......................................... 10

Trends in Job Advertisements ............................................................................................. 11

What’s in a name? The confusion surrounding position titles ................................................... 13

The importance of acknowledging unsuccessful applications ................................................... 15

Acknowledging unsuccessful applications a simple courtesy .................................................... 17

Managing Candidates in an Over-Supplied Market ................................................................. 18

Does Easter have an impact on the sport, fitness and aquatic sector job cycle? ........................ 20

Plan Before Applying For Your Next Job................................................................................ 22

New Talent A Key To Future Success ................................................................................... 24

Salary Survey Results; 'How Much Is Your Job Worth?' .......................................................... 25

US Athletics Directors Top Earners ...................................................................................... 27

Kristina Keneally's Appointment - CEO, Basketball Australia ................................................... 28

Mandatory Gender Quotas .................................................................................................. 29

Women Wanted - Please Apply Now! ................................................................................... 30

He’s gay - does it matter? Equality in the recruitment process ................................................ 31

Time To Thank The People Behind The Athletes .................................................................... 33

Thinking about moving to Australia or New Zealand? ............................................................. 34

Employers choose Facebook for Screening Candidates ........................................................... 35

Kicking the 24/7 online habit .............................................................................................. 36

An Effective Resume: Where Facts Replace A Good Story ....................................................... 38

The Top Ten Interview Questions ........................................................................................ 41

Winning Interview Techniques ............................................................................................ 44

The Order Of Candidates In Shortlist Interviews; Does It Have An Impact? .............................. 47

A good appointment needs a good shortlist .......................................................................... 48

Applying for a job - too quick and too easy in 2013 ............................................................... 50

40 Applications a Month - Too Many? ................................................................................... 51

Is the number of applications a valid measure of success? ..................................................... 52

Moving from Talk to Action –

How Your Business Culture Can Engage and Retain Great Employees ...................................... 54

Succession planning in sport - a reality for some and a myth for most ..................................... 56

The Importance of Honest References ................................................................................. 57

Page | 4

Media fails the public interest test in naming names .............................................................. 58

Keeping Candidate Confidentiality During the Recruitment Process .......................................... 60

Psychometric Assessments - Value Add or Obstacle? ............................................................. 61

If Men Are From Mars And Women Are From Venus, Get Set For Gen Y To Rule The Universe ..... 62

Is One University Better Than Another? ............................................................................... 64

Are Double Degrees Better In This Economic Climate? ........................................................... 65

Graduates need hard office skills to prepare them for their first job ......................................... 66

Work/Life Balance ............................................................................................................. 68

Finding Balance in Your Career ........................................................................................... 70

Does Parenthood Disadvantage your Career?........................................................................ 72

Happiness At Work ............................................................................................................ 74

Satisfaction in the Workplace Translated .............................................................................. 76

How happy is your staff, really? .......................................................................................... 77

Life Begins Just Outside Your Comfort Zone ......................................................................... 78

No Place For Discrimination In Recruitment .......................................................................... 80

Health & Fitness Sector Facing A Skill Shortage .................................................................... 82

Skill And Labour Shortages And The Impact On Attraction & Retention Strategies In The Health

And Fitness Sector ............................................................................................................ 85

Fitness Sector Weak In Business Skills ................................................................................. 96

What Downturn in the Job Market? ...................................................................................... 97

Labour demand data signals growing opportunity for Part Timers ............................................ 99

Say say two thousand zero zero party over, oops, out of time.... .......................................... 101

Sportspeople puts into action its global search credentials ................................................... 104

October, 20 years on.... ................................................................................................... 106

Sportspeople Tips ........................................................................................................... 108

Page | 5

Sportspeople Library Article ©2007

Capture More Candidates By Stating Salary In Your Job Advertisement

In a tight candidate market, and more people now searching for jobs via the internet rather than using a newspaper, employers need to find ways to maximise the impact of their job advertisements. In September 2006 Sportspeople took a quick look at the benefit of stating the salary in the job advertisement. Our survey found there was a tangible benefit where salary was stated demonstrated by views of the job and total applications received.

Some five months later we decided to take another look at the statistics, particularly if there was any change to the views trend where salary is stated in the job advertisement.

At the client request Sportspeople Recruitment often advertise roles without a specific salary range. In these cases we typically use words such as “Attractive package” or “senior executive package, designed to attract high quality candidates”.

Positions where Sportspeople Recruitment states the salary continue to receive a significantly higher number of applications. Additionally, where salary was stated candidates were deemed more appropriate to the level of the role, effectively reducing the flow-on screening requirements and recruitment turnaround.

By analysing the Sportspeople Jobs Market advertisements in January 2007 we found 45% (44% Sept ‘06) of all jobs specified the salary range or specific salary level. Importantly the number of views for advertisements where salary was stated was 40% more (26% Sept ‘06) than those advertisements where salary was not stated.

To again test whether the remuneration level has an impact on the number of views we then broke down these advertisements into two broad groups: jobs with a salary of $50,000 and over and jobs with a salary below $50,000. Sportspeople provided an estimate of likely remuneration where the salary was not stated.

For those jobs with a salary of $50,000 or above, the number of views was 58% more (30% Sept ‘06) when salary was stated. For those jobs with a salary below $50,000, the number of views was 31% more (12% Sept ’06) when salary was stated.

According to Sportspeople’s Operations Manager, Angelique Lele the survey again reinforces benefit of stating salary when advertising a role, and the significant benefit when recruiting senior positions.

Page | 6

Capture More Candidates By Stating Salary In Your Job Advertisement Cont.

“When recruiting at any level the aim is to attract qualified, experienced and highly skilled candidates. As remuneration is one of a number of key elements for most job seekers it continues to make good sense to provide an indicative range when advertising the role.”

“The information collected from the Sportspeople Jobs Market is consistent with the advice we have been providing for the past decade. Candidates self-screen and therefore are more likely to view advertisements and express an interest in jobs where the salary is stated. This trend has increased substantially between the period September 2007 and January 2007. For almost any role, but in particular those roles above $50,000, stating the salary continues to assist the recruitment effort.” she concluded.

Table One – Sportspeople Jobs Market – January 2007

All positions $50K > Salary Salary < $50K

Views when salary was stated 40% more 58% more 31% more

Job ads with salary stated 45% 43% 46%

Robert McMurtrie Managing Director - Sportspeople

Page | 7


Tips For Writing An Effective Job Advertisement

Sportspeople regularly audits the Sportspeople Jobs Market measuring and

testing features to improve the reach and overall effectiveness of job

advertisements. What makes an advertisement appealing to candidates

underpins our design and layout, including the content required for the

searchable fields. Traditionally, job seekers focus on five core elements of a job:

1. Salary 2. Job Title 3. Location 4. Nature of the role – Part-Time, Full-Time etc. and 5. Information “About” the employer

While all the other information in the job advertisement is important, nothing is more important to a job seeker than these five core elements. While job title, location and the nature of the role are always mentioned, too often salary and information about the employer is overlooked as not being a critical element in the job advertisement.

Around 33% of the jobs in the fitness sector include salary information. Where salary is stated the number of views of the advertisement can be

up to 30% higher.

Additionally there is a direct relationship between the number of views, the number of applications and the amount of information about the employer and/or the job contained within the advertisement. The general exception to this response is where the employer is a highly recognised, large Health & Fitness network (e.g. Virgin Active or Fit’N’Fast), demonstrating brand is also important to job seekers. The predominantly casual nature of jobs in the Australian health & fitness sector has created an itinerant workforce, with a relatively low number of permanent roles and a narrow career path for those seeking or engaged in full-time work. The sector is happy to embrace and encourage development and expansion of health & fitness facilities, pushed along by unprecedented consumer demand; however across Australia it is already evident that the pool of available and skilled candidates does not meet the current needs, let alone the needs of the future.

So what can you do to make your job advertisement more effective? Here are some quick tips:

1. Remember you are in a competitive open market where there is generally a

shortage of highly skilled workers. You are competing directly against other Health & fitness employers for this limited supply of candidates.

Page | 8

Tips For Writing An Effective Job Advertisement Cont.

2. Clearly state salary and package details in your job advertisement. Where

possible avoid using vague references such as “attractive package” or “package negotiable”.

3. Pay market rate - Do some research to see what others are paying and make sure you are competitive. If there are 40 Personal Trainer jobs on a Job Board, you certainly don’t want to be the one with the lowest salary.

4. Provide background on your business or organisation in the job advertisement, including such things as work culture, hours of work, career prospects, staff benefits, staff training etc.

5. Upload a Position Overview or as a minimum, provide a clear, concise explanation of the job.

6. Outline the nature of the role. Is it Full-Time, Part-Time, Casual or Contract? Provide an indication of the typical hours to be worked, including whether weekends or evenings are part of the role.

7. Clearly articulate what you are seeking in an employee, what the job entails and what opportunities exist with your business or organisation.

8. Make sure the contact person is available to candidates during the recruitment period. One of the most common complaints from candidates is that the contact person for the job is not available or gone away on leave! Provide a couple of contact numbers as well as an email address.

9. Include a link to your website. 10. Include “essential” as well as “preferable” qualifications to ensure you are

attracting suitably skilled candidates. 11. Clearly list the “How to Apply” details and the closing date. 12. Invite potential staff to your facility to meet other staff and to “get a feel”

for the work environment. 13. When advertising for Membership or Sales staff, avoid excessively low base

and high commission packages. Staff need to pay bills just like everyone else, so they need a reasonable base wage to live.

14. Consider Industry Traineeships for school leavers, providing on the job training and work opportunity as well as taking on candidates with less experience and up-skill through on the job training.

Federal and state legislation prohibit discrimination in recruitment advertising so you need to be aware of anti-discrimination laws and their effect on advertising. Importantly, your wording should avoid the use of stereotypical or discriminatory language or discriminatory requirements. There is no point adding - "We are an equal opportunity employer" then proceeding to appoint employees in accordance with rules that have 'always' been applied.

A well constructed, information rich job advertisement will certainly help you attract candidates that match your requirements. Your job advertisement says a lot about who you are, positions your brand within the health & fitness marketplace and is designed to make the job seeker want to find out more about working for you. Robert McMurtrie Managing Director – Sportspeople

Page | 9


The Benefits of Stating Salary In Your Job Advertisements

With more people now searching for jobs via the internet rather than any other method, employers need to find ways to maximise the impact of their advertisement. Traditionally, job seekers focus on three core elements of a job:

Salary Job Title, and Location

While all the other information in the job advertisement is important, nothing is more important to a job seeker than these three core elements. While Job Title and Location are always mentioned, too often Salary is overlooked by employers as not being a critical element in the job advertisement.

Sportspeople last looked at this issue back in January, 2007. Our survey at the time found there was an increase in the number of views of the job and the total applications received where salary was stated. At the time we found 43% of all jobs listed at the Sportspeople Jobs Market specified the salary range or specific salary level. We also found the number of views for advertisements where salary was stated was 19% more than those advertisements where salary was not stated.

Using the current advertisements at the Sportspeople Jobs Market (May 2010) we found that 41% of jobs listed salary. Where salary was listed the number of views was 28% more than those advertisements where salary was not stated. So, what does this tell us and how can employers get a better result from their job advertisements?

According to Sportspeople’s Managing Director, Robert McMurtrie the survey again demonstrates the benefit of stating salary when advertising a role. "When recruiting at any level the aim is to attract qualified, experienced and highly skilled candidates. As remuneration is one of a number of key elements for most job seekers it makes good sense to provide an indicative range when advertising the role. Some of the mega-Job Boards, such as SEEK, make salary a mandatory field, although advertisers can elect to make the salary public or keep it "secret". Sportspeople has this option and I would encourage advertisers to always list salary and then elect whether or not making it public."

"The information collected from the Sportspeople Jobs Market is consistent with the advice we have provided in the past. Candidates self-screen and therefore are more likely to view advertisements and express an interest in jobs where the salary is stated. For almost any role stating the salary continues to assist the recruitment effort." he concluded. Robert McMurtrie Managing Director- Sportspeople

Page | 10


Salary Plus Super; The Importance Of Clarity When Stating Salary Sportspeople has previously conducted research to look at the benefits of stating

salary in job advertisements. In 2006, 2007 and again in 2011 we found the

number of views for advertisements where salary was stated was up to 40%

more than those advertisements where salary was not stated.

Recently I came across an article from the Employment Office Australia that

stated 95% of Australian workers believe salary figures should not be inclusive

of superannuation. The survey also reinforces the notion that workers would

instead prefer to see base salary and superannuation as separate figures.

In light of this figure we created a survey (April 12’), that posed the question,

“Would you prefer Salary Figures be; Inclusive of Superannuation or Base +

Superannuation? Not surprisingly, 100% of our respondents chose

Base+Superannuation. So what drives this need to separate the two?

According to the research performed by The Employment Office, 31% of people

perceive superannuation as an “obligatory payment that is the responsibility of

their employer rather than part of their salary package.” Interestingly, it seems

as though this particular attitude resonates more towards Gen Y who often

forget that superannuation is a part of their total salary package. Research also

shows that 41% of younger generations view superannuation as a means of

achieving financial goals, with less concern placed on goals such as purchasing a

home or car.

The challenge employers now face is how to attract younger candidates who are

professional, skilled and reliable yet whose priorities are very much focused

around how much money they will be earning.

Therefore, as the jobs market becomes further saturated with younger

candidates and Gen Y move up through the ranks, it is important that employers

attempt to meet these needs when advertising a job. One way to do this is by

avoiding using references such as “attractive package” or “package negotiable”

which in the eyes of the reader, only creates ambiguity.

Alessia Calvi

Customer Service, Marketing and Online Coordinator - Sportspeople

http://www.facebook.com/questions/10150738991607229/

Page | 11


Trends in Job Advertisements

Sportspeople has been in the recruitment business since 1996 and a Job Board Operator since 1999. In fact, Sportspeople registered our domain name – www.sportspeople.com.au only 12 months after SEEK was first registered in Australia and we’ve seen the market change substantially over the past decade. One of the most significant shifts has been that more people now use the internet than newspapers to search for jobs.

We are often asked whether there’s any seasonal variation in the number of jobs and particularly, whether there’s more jobs in some months compared to others. The best way to answer this is to take a look at our Sportspeople Jobs Market average seasonal variation line for the past 4 1/2 years. The graphs below shows the average seasonal variation of over 14,000 jobs advertised at the Sportspeople Jobs Market July, 2006 to October, 2010.

Graph 1. Average Jobs Market Advertisements (by week), July 2006 to October 2010.

Graph 2. Average Jobs Market Advertisements (by month), July 2006 to October 2010.

Page | 12

Trends in Job Advertisements Cont.

School holidays impact on the number of jobs advertised, with a downturn clearly evident at the end of term 1 (including Easter), terms 2 and 3 and the largest drop in activity over the late December-early January period. There is a traditional increase in the number of positions vacant in spring, including a spike in the number of aquatic jobs.

So, for jobs in the sport, fitness and aquatic sector in Australia and New Zealand, most of the year presents good opportunity for Job Seekers with the biggest downward shift over the Xmas/New Year period. Angelique Lele Operations Manager - Sportspeople

Page | 13

Sportspeople Library Article ©2013 What’s in a name? The confusion surrounding position titles

After working in the recruitment industry for close to a decade, I thought I’d heard it all. That was until a colleague recently suggested we change a position

title from “Coordinator” to “Administrator” in order to attract someone more senior. When I started my training back in 2004 I was provided with organisation charts that read something like this: (lowest to highest ranking)

Administrator, Officer, Coordinator, Team Leader, Manager. Therefore when being presented with the idea that an Administrator position was more senior, it truly blew my mind!

I then took this idea to facebook with a quick poll asking respondents to rank the position titles. The only consistency here was the inconsistency in answers. Many respondents insisted that Coordinator was the most junior position title and

others disagreed. Some even noted they have had all these position titles in various organisations with practically the same level of responsibility.

When recruiting at any level the aim is to attract qualified, experienced and

highly skilled candidates. The issue here is as employers become more creative with position titles in order to attract the best candidates, (I’ve even seen Receptionist positions titled “Director of First Impressions”) the end result is

candidate confusion. So how do candidates know when an advertised position matches their desired level of responsibility? The answer is most often remuneration.

While all the other information in the job advertisement is important, nothing is

more important to a job seeker than position title, location and remuneration. While position title and location are always mentioned, too often remuneration is

overlooked by employers as not being a critical element in the job advertisement. Analysis of positions listed at the Sportspeople Jobs Market over the years has consistently shown advertisements specifying the remuneration level receive more views as well as applications from more relevant candidates.

As remuneration is a key element for most job seekers it makes good sense to provide an indicative range when advertising a position. The Sportspeople Jobs

Market, like many other job-boards, requires salary as a mandatory field, although advertisers can elect to make the salary public or keep it "secret". It is recommended to display the salary whenever you can and check out other

similar positions currently being advertised to determine whether your salary is at an appropriate market level. For example, if you have a Personal Trainer

position paying $20 per hour and there’s another ten Personal Trainer positions paying $50 per hour, you may need to shift your expectations. Importantly as the minimum superannuation guarantee increases over the next 6 years, we

also suggest the base amount is provided separate of the superannuation component.

Page | 14

What’s in a name? The confusion surrounding position titles cont.

The information collected from the Sportspeople Jobs Market is consistent with

the advice Sportspeople has provided in the past. Candidates self-screen and therefore are more likely to view advertisements and express an interest in jobs where the remuneration is stated. Although an exciting position title may seem

the way to attract the best candidates, for almost any position clearly stating the remuneration level continues to assist the recruitment effort.

Angelique Lele Operations Manager - Sportspeople

Page | 15


The importance of acknowledging unsuccessful applications

When advertising a role, you need to think of yourself as a brand selling a

product. What makes you different from other fitness centers’, swim schools or sporting organisations? A well constructed, information rich job advertisement will not only increase your chances in attracting candidates that match your

requirements but gives you the opportunity to sell and position your brand within the marketplace, encouraging the job seeker to want to find out more

about working for you. It is important to note that many other aspects of the recruitment

process also have an impact on your brand as an employer.

We recently ran a poll on social media asking what the biggest frustration is as a job seeker. The vast majority of respondents replied that lack of communication and follow up regarding their applications causes the most angst.

Sometimes recruitment processes take longer than anticipated for a number of

reasons (selection panel availability, getting in contact with referees etc…). In these instances it is important to keep in touch with candidates to let them know they are still under consideration, to keep them from losing interest and looking

elsewhere. Ensure that every candidate is kept informed of his or her progress from the time of the initial application through to the appointment. Remember:

Telling the candidate there is no news, is news to the candidate. We have all been there; invested time and emotions into preparing an

application for what may seem as the ‘perfect opportunity’ for us. Then we never hear a thing from the employer and are left wondering “did they even receive

my application?” and “what could I have done better?”. If you as an employer value the emotional investment of each candidate as he

or she applies for a position, a few small steps can ensure you treat each candidate with care and respect. Firstly, acknowledging receipt of the application

(even via a simple auto-responder) can give the candidate piece of mind that their application has been received, and also saves them from a follow up phone

call to check. Secondly, ensure you remove any advertising for roles once they've been filled to save candidates from unnecessarily applying.

Thirdly, notify candidates as quickly as possible when his or her candidature is unsuccessful, ensuring you thank the candidate for taking the time to apply and

for their interest in the role. Job seekers have also expressed their disappointment at the statement “only successful candidates will be contacted” seen in some job advertisements, which is often perceived as discourteous and

lazy. Finally, if a candidate asks for specific feedback, be honest as to where they were lacking compared to the successful candidate and what you feel they

can do to improve their chances of securing a similar role in the future.

Page | 16

The importance of acknowledging unsuccessful applications cont.

Regardless of the outcome of his or her application, these small steps will ensure each candidate can take away a positive image of both the employer and the

recruitment process. We are all pressed for time, but the investment of responding to each and every applicant will make a world of difference in terms of your brand as an employer.

Angelique Lele Operations Manager - Sportspeople

Page | 17

Sportspeople Library Article ©2014 Acknowledging unsuccessful applications a simple courtesy

In our September 2013 e-news our article “The importance of acknowledging

unsuccessful applications” generated a significant amount of discussion from job seekers and employers alike.

What was clearly evident from this banter is the frustration a job seeker faces when their application is either not acknowledged or they are simply are not

advised of the outcome. Job seekers have also expressed their disappointment at the statement “only successful candidates will be contacted” seen in some job advertisements, which in our view at least, is both discourteous and lazy.

A few small steps can ensure you treat each candidate with care and respect.

Firstly, acknowledging receipt of the application (even via a simple auto-responder) can give the candidate piece of mind their application has been received, and also saves them from a follow up

phone call to check.

Secondly, ensure you remove any advertising for roles once they've

been filled to save candidates from unnecessarily applying.

Thirdly, notify candidates as quickly as possible when his or her application is unsuccessful, ensuring you thank the candidate for

taking the time to apply and for their interest in the role.

Finally, if a candidate asks for specific feedback, be honest as to

where they were lacking compared to the successful candidate and what you feel they can do to improve their chances of securing a similar role in the future.

Regardless of the outcome of his or her application, these small steps will ensure

each candidate can take away a positive image of both the employer and the recruitment process.

That’s why, when our Recruitment team received the following email from an unsuccessful candidate, we know we must be doing something right...

“I would like to say how nice it is to actually receive a ’Thanks but no thanks’ note … a rarity these days … and all the more special to have one so nicely

phrased !!! If I am to receive more of these in the weeks to follow, long may they all share the same message. So, thanks again.”

We are all pressed for time; however the investment of responding to each and

every applicant will make a world of difference in terms of your brand as an employer.

Angelique Lele

Operations Manager – Sportspeople

Page | 18


Managing Candidates in an Over-Supplied Market

Over the past 6 months Sportspeople Recruitment has seen a big increase in the

number of applications for roles, in particular, candidates vying for entry to

middle level positions. These market conditions – commonly referred to as an

Employer’s Market – means it is a good time to consider your recruitment

options. In particular, there is a strong and available talent base and for many

jobs in such a competitive market, a downward pressure on salaries.

I was contacted recently by a candidate who had gone through a recruitment

process directly with an employer. After waiting nearly 8 weeks for a response

she resorted to a last minute telephone call only to be told she had been

unsuccessful but they’d been too busy to advise her. Similar stories have been

posted at the Job Seekers Rant at Sportspeople Forum, including the trend

where an acknowledgement will only be sent to shortlisted candidates.

This particular story, however, is a timely reminder on the importance of

respecting the emotional investment made by each candidate as they apply for a

role and why it is vital to keep in touch with them as they progress through the

recruitment process.

Here are a few tips if you are an employer considering a recruitment process:

Before advertising the role, make sure your appointed contact person will be

available throughout the entire recruitment period. There is nothing worse than

ringing an employer only to be told the contact person is away on leave and

won’t return until after the close date.

Develop a recruitment timeline, showing indicative dates for key decisions,

including advising unsuccessful candidates and finalisation of the shortlist group.

Advise unsuccessful candidates as soon as they are no longer under

consideration. There is no value in delaying telling a candidate they have been

unsuccessful. Most candidates will respect your decision and are frustrated by

long delays or no communication from an employer.

If you can’t acknowledge all applications upon receipt, as a minimum you should

advise all unsuccessful candidates in writing. Most applications are managed

online, so tools such as the Outlook mail merge program can manage this

process.

When applying for a role a candidate has signaled they want to work for your

organisation and believe they have the skills and experiences to fulfil the role.

Page | 19

Managing Candidates in an Over-Supplied Market cont.

One of the tougher elements of recruitment involves reducing a very capable

group of people down to a shortlist and then making a choice of just one for the

role on offer. With more candidates than jobs, it is inevitable that good people

will miss out.

Above all else, remember it is vital you treat each candidate in a way that you

would expect to be treated.

Robert McMurtrie Managing Director, Sportspeople

Page | 20


Does Easter have an impact on the sport, fitness and aquatic sector job cycle?

In the past we’ve taken a look at the average seasonal variation of jobs

advertised at the Sportspeople Jobs Market. The graph below shows this average

seasonal variation for 14,400+ jobs advertised at the Sportspeople Jobs Market

between January 2008 to December 2012. Not surprisingly, the most significant

decrease in jobs is evident over the December to early January period while the

greatest increase occurs towards the end of Winter and Early Spring, including a

‘spike’ in the number of aquatic jobs.

Graph 1. Average seasonal variation for jobs market advertisements, January 2008 to

December 2012

With the 2013 Easter break behind us we thought we’d take a quick look back at

the last 6 Easter periods (2008-2013) to see if there were any particular trends

in the job cycle. This is what we found:

Three weeks prior to Good Friday, there is an increase (against the rolling

average) in the number of positions vacant. Employers seem to be focused on completing their recruitment schedule before the Easter break.

Two weeks prior to Good Friday there is relatively no change (against the

rolling average) in the number of positions vacant. Given most recruitment cycles allow for a 3 week “open period” it is likely the close

date is post-Easter. For the week leading into Good Friday there is a decrease (against the

rolling average) in the number of positions vacant. Employers appear to

deliberately stall their recruitment schedule to post-Easter. Job numbers decrease by 36% (against the rolling average) for the week leading into

Good Friday.

Page | 21

Does Easter have an impact on the sport, fitness and aquatic sector job cycle cont.

If you are an employer you need to factor in candidate availability whenever you

are recruiting. As many jobs seekers take a break around Easter and the school

holidays they may be too busy eating Easter Eggs and enjoying some family

time to think about that new job!

Alessia Calvi

Customer Service, Marketing and Online Coordinator

Page | 22


Plan Before Applying For Your Next Job Compared to say a decade ago, it is pretty easy these days to pull a CV and a cover letter together and apply for a job. Spending time thinking about whether the job is the right opportunity for you and whether you are what the employer is looking for are two of the important considerations in a job application process, best done before you hit the "Send" button.

In the 2009 Sportspeople Workplace Survey we found that the majority (85.1%) of respondents were either satisfied or very satisfied with their current job, while 20.6% were in what they described as their “dream job”. The majority of respondents were likely to be open to other opportunities, either passively or actively seeking a new job. The popularity of the Sportspeople Jobs Market, with over 5,000 people visiting every day, is a clear demonstration of the strong job seeker activity in this market. Before you start applying for jobs do some planning:

Develop a list defining specific organisations you would like to work for. This keeps you from wasting time and energy on unproductive job applications.

What kind of work do you want to do? Where do you want to work? City, anywhere in Australia or New

Zealand or are you looking to work overseas? Are you prepared to accept a temporary role until something comes

along that fits your longer term goals? Can you transition from the sport, fitness or aquatic sector to another

sector that is of interest to you? The sport, fitness and aquatics sector is a very small drop in a very big ocean.

When do you want to start work? What remuneration will you be seeking?

The next step is setting your Professional Objective, giving some direction to your search. Think about what you have done in your career so far and ask yourself:

What are my interests? What do I really enjoy doing? What type of activity or environment attracts me?

What do I do best? What are the 3-6 of my strongest skills or competencies? What differentiates me from others seeking similar work?

What are my values and priorities? What is important to me? How does work fit in with other aspects of my life?

What would my ideal job look like? What do I want my life and work to look like 5 years from now?

All things considered, is my professional objective realistic?

Once you have done some basic planning and thought about your professional objective, you should apply for roles that you really want and roles which you are suitably skilled and experienced.

Page | 23

Plan Before Applying For Your Next Job Cont.

The more you find out about a job the more likely it is that you’ll make a decision on whether or not you are right for it and it is right for you BEFORE you apply. Understand that once you apply you are one of many candidates under consideration.

If you are unsuccessful in your application it doesn’t mean you are not a great candidate or indeed, a valuable person; it just means the employer felt someone else was better suited to the role. Understand and accept rejection as part of the process.

If you are successful, make sure you are happy with the offer that comes your way and the job satisfies your professional objective before accepting.

Importantly, try to avoid applying for a job on a whim. Outside of your family, friends and your health, your job is likely to be one of the most important aspects of your life, so spend time thinking about your next step.

Robert McMurtrie Managing Director- Sportspeople

Page | 24


New Talent A Key To Future Success

Sportspeople is well established as the leading recruiter across the sport, leisure, fitness, events, coaching and aquatic sector in Australia and New Zealand. When you take a look at our client list you'll see it's the breadth of experience that really stands us apart from other recruitment agencies operating in the sector. And for those people who judge success by volume, Sportspeople also happens to fill more jobs in the sport, leisure, fitness, events, coaching and aquatic sector than any other recruitment agency. We're pleased to say, considerably more.

A key to this success is the emphasis we place on finding the right candidate for the job, rather than simply filling the job. One of our basic recruitment rules is to ensure our client does not compromise in their staffing decisions. In fact in those rare circumstances where we can’t immediately find the right candidate, we prefer to extend the search until we get the right result for the employer.

One of the recruitment challenges for our sector is avoiding a "musical chairs" approach to the candidate search & selection process. A candidate selection policy which focuses only on those people already working in the sector can be both restrictive and unproductive. It is important therefore, to broaden the search & selection process to attract highly suitable candidates from outside our sector.

Recent New Zealand appointments through Sportspeople Executive provide some good examples of how an open recruitment practice can attract the best new talent from outside the sport in a relatively small market. Bryn McGoldrick (CEO, Basketball New Zealand) has a substantial career in the fields of tourism, stadium management and local government; Dr. Justin Vaughan (CEO, New Zealand Cricket) was a CEO of a publicly listed Company (Brainz) for the past three years and Dale Stephens (CEO, Touch New Zealand) had worked in corporate events & marketing as well as a being an Inspector with NZ Police.

Not only did these candidates fulfill the key experience and skill requirements of the role, they also demonstrated a strong empathy with the sport and a shared vision on the strategic goals.

Naturally there will be circumstances where a candidate working in another sport presents as the strongest contender for the role, but avoiding a primary reliance on a "musical chairs" recruitment solution is vital if we are to grow as a sector. Robert McMurtrie Managing Director- Sportspeople

Page | 25


Salary Survey Results; 'How Much Is Your Job Worth?' Salaries in the Australian fitness sector remained steady over the last 12 months, decreasing less than 0.2%, compared with an decrease of 3.5% overall for the combined sport, fitness and aquatic sector and a 4.9% increase in the ABS national average weekly earnings data for the corresponding period. While salaries in the fitness sector overall has remained steady, the gender gap has widened significantly. In 2010 males in the fitness sector earned on average 10.6% more than females, whereas in 2011 this has increased to males earning a massive 23.7% more. As has been the case in earlier Surveys, more males (22.8%) than females (11.1%) earned salaries in excess of $80,000. 55% of employment is full-time, down from 69% from 2010 while 52.7% of part-time employees work more than 1 job, down from 59.1% recorded in 2010. While full-time salaries remained steady, part-time hourly rates increased 6.8%. Key findings of the 2011 Sportspeople Salary Survey include:

Sydney (23.6%) and Melbourne (20.9%) lead the nation as the hot spots

for jobs in fitness. 55% of respondents were employed on a permanent full-time basis in

2011 down from 69% in 2010. 52.7% of part-time employees work more than one job, down from

59.1% in 2010, with some working as many as seven different employers. The average number of jobs held by all part-time employees was 2.1, up from 1.8 in 2010.

More than half (57.9%) of female respondents work part-time down from almost two-thirds (63%) of females in 2010. Only 28.4% of male respondents worked part-time, similar to the 29% of males in 2010. This is a significant contrast to the sport sector where only 17% of females and 8% of males work part time.

The mean full-time salary for males was $62,275, up 4.4% from 2010. For females the mean full-time salary was $50,325, down 7% from 2010 (this follows a decrease of 11% for females from 2009).

The mean hourly rate of pay for both males and females is between $32-$34, up 10% for females and 5.4% for males. 51% of females working part time earn more than $30 per hour compared to males (38.9%).

The mean full-time salary for the fitness sector is $56,959, a decrease of 0.2% from 2010.

The mean full-time salary in the sport sector was $70,897 and for aquatics $65,932. The mean full-time salary for the sport, fitness and aquatic sectors (combined) is $67,266.

According to Sportspeople’s General Manager, Angelique Lele these results may indicate the fitness sector may still be struggling to recover from the economic downturn of 2009 or possibly approaching a full supply of candidates. “Given the nature of our recruitment and service activities, our surveys generally include the combined sub-sectors of sport, fitness and aquatics. Most of the data from our past surveys has indicated salary levels in sport, fitness and aquatics are reasonably aligned to the national wage growth trends.

Page | 26

Salary Survey Results; 'How Much Is Your Job Worth?’ Cont.

However in the past three years we have seen this sector increasingly fall behind in the recovery from the economic downturn in 2009.”

“In 2010 we saw salaries in the fitness sector fall 9%, and in the past twelve months we’ve seen the sport and aquatic sector follow suit with the first overall decrease in wages since we first started surveying the sector in 2003. While the national average weekly earnings grew 4.9% in 2011, we saw earnings in the sport, fitness and aquatic sector actually fall 3.5%.”

“The reasons for this might be many; however salaries usually decline in an oversupplied market where employers have increased choice and therefore less pressure on wages. Anecdotally, we understand Fitness Training Providers have adopted more mainstream advertising methods, possibly resulting in improved supply of trained, qualified candidates. Overall, this supply is a good thing for the sector and of course the paying customer, with wage growth inevitable and senior, experienced staff still in demand.”

“If you accept the notion that salaries need to grow at least equal to or more than the CPI, it can be argued that for many people working in the fitness sector the last twelve months has been tough going. With wages remaining steady in the fitness sector, this is a vast contrast to the published 4.9% increase in the CPI weighted average (all groups) for the corresponding period. If we look at the 2009, 2010 and 2011 data, the sport, fitness and aquatic sector has now fallen behind national wage growth for three consecutive years.” “The 2003, 2008, 2009 Sportspeople Workplace Surveys and the 2010, 2011 Sportspeople Salary Surveys provided us with a snap shot of the sector against which we were able to measure and report changes to each of the survey areas. We plan to continue to undertake specific wage and occupation surveys and are scheduled to conduct the next Sportspeople Salary Survey in 2013 and the Sportspeople Workplace Survey in 2012.” she said. Angelique Lele Operations Manager - Sportspeople

About the 2011 Sportspeople Salary Survey: 1,108 respondents participated in the 2011 Sportspeople Salary Survey. The 2011 Sportspeople Salary Survey is managed by job board operator and recruitment agency Sportspeople and is part of a Series of Sportspeople Surveys undertaken since 2003. A full copy of the 2011 Sportspeople Salary Survey is now available at the Library section of Sportspeople’s website – www.sportspeople.com.au

http://www.sportspeople.com.au/

Page | 27


US Athletics Directors Top Earners

The average salary for an Athletics Director at the National Collegiate Athletics Association’s (NCAA) top tier schools is $450,000 with at least six making more than $1 million, according to a recent USA TODAY analysis. Since August 2010

at least 10 public schools have rewarded their Athletics Directors with pay raises above $75,000 or more.

The USA TODAY analysis notes these Athletics Directors at the top NCAA schools

are responsible for $100 million budgets as well as licencing and media deals several times that and manage multibillion dollar facilities.

Interestingly some “A-List” CEOs have been attracted to Athletic Director roles, including one former multinational CEO, Dave Brandon who previously worked at

Domino’s Pizza overseeing a $6billion budget and 180,000 worldwide employees. His pay as Domino’s Pizza CEO was reportedly $4.2 million, including stock,

options and incentives. As Athletics Director at the University of Michigan, Brandon’s pay is $700,454, less than some of his employees including Michigan’s defensive coordinator, Greg Mattison, who earns $750,000. And just in case you

may have been feeling sorry for Brandon having accepted a lower salary, he still receives $350,000 a year in cash and stock as Domino’s non-executive chairman

and several hundred thousand more for serving on the boards of three other companies.

Louisville Athletics Director, Tom Jurich is guaranteed $1.4 million during his 2011-12 contract year as part of his current deal that runs through to July 26,

2023. The 16 year deal is the longest term in the NCAA system for a program aided by the university’s contractually mandated financial support. The Louisville

athletic program, according to USA TODAY, received more than $8.5 million in direct support, indirect facilities administration support and student fees in 2009-10 while generating more than $54.9 million.

While these salary levels make interesting reading, they are dwarfed by the

salary levels of some of the basketball coaches, like Tom Izzo (Michigan State Coach) who reportedly earns $3 million a year.

You get what you pay for is best summed up in Dave Brandon’s comment, “People who have talent and bring something significant to the party expect to

be paid fairly. I have no problem stepping up and paying talent for what they deserve.”

Wise words indeed.


Source – USA TODAY, International Edition Friday October 7, 2011 “Athletics Directors cashing in, too” By Jodi Upton and Steve Berkowitz.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/story/2011-athletics-director-salaries-database/50669958/1

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/story/2011-athletics-director-salaries-database/50669958/1

Page | 28


Kristina Keneally's Appointment - CEO, Basketball Australia

There has been solid online comment since the announcement of Kristina’s

appointment over the weekend. While Sportspeople was not involved in the

recruitment process we were following the appointment with some interest as

the Basketball Australia role was one of a number of key sport management

roles on the market.

While I can’t comment specifically on the quality of the candidate group I know

that if Kristina Keneally’s CV came across my desk it would certainly have my

attention.

Having been involved in the recruitment process for over 120 CEO roles in sport

in NZ and Australia, I have seen my fair share of aspiring CEOs and have a

strong view on what are the core qualities of a successful CEO. Leadership is

high on this list. Leaders create trust ... facilitate strategy ... drive change ...

build teams... and simply get things done. Sure, there are all the other qualities

such as management – financial, policy and strategic and being able to

represent and drive the organisation; but for my money everything else comes

in behind having a strong, effective leader out front responsible for the future of

an organisation.

So, while Kristina may not have a pedigree as a sport management professional

she certainly has some impressive credentials that should come in handy for her

and Basketball in the future.

And, in a profession where women are so poorly represented at CEO level,

another woman in the corridors of power in sport is not a bad thing either!

Robert McMurtrie

Managing Director – Sportspeople

Page | 29


Mandatory Gender Quotas

Over the past month I've had two very in-depth discussions regarding the merit

of mandatory gender quotas aimed at growing the number of women in senior executive and Board roles in sport.

The first discussion was with a candidate who had decided to pursue a Directorship with a National Sporting Organisation offered to females only under

a gender diversity policy; while the other was with an academic, highly respected for her views on weak preferential selection as an outcome of

affirmative action policies. Having worked in sport for over 35 years, including 17 years as an administrator

and the past 18 years as a recruiter, I'm confident I can offer an informed opinion on what's changed in the gender landscape over this time.

And the answer is, regrettably, not much. What I've always found intriguing is that we wouldn't accept the under utilisation

of a large chunk of the available work force based on something as irrelevant as eye colour, so why is gender even an issue in 2014? And for those of you still

living in blissful denial, ask yourself whether men and women really secure the jobs they deserve.

One of the measurable benefits through the introduction of gender quotas in other countries appears to be the positive shift in men's perception of women's

leadership qualities. These quotas have had the desired bump-on effects including positive changes to women's preparedness to stand for positions and more importantly, clear generational changes to perceptions, opportunities and

outcomes regardless of gender.

Most reasonable people want to see a better balance of women in leadership positions. But to bring about real change we first need to disrupt the status quo, if nothing more to allow the opportunity for those misguided assumptions or

perceptions on female leadership to be challenged. If that means using gender quotas as a short term measure to bring about this change, then I'm all for it.

Robert McMurtrie

Managing Director, Sportspeople

Page | 30


Women Wanted - Please Apply Now!

Anyone that has worked with Sportspeople will know if you can measure it, Sportspeople usually does! This includes the number of jobs we recruit, the

number of candidates we screen, the number of views for each job, the number of candidates we target and those converting to an application, where the

candidates are geographically based and, well, virtually everything and anything that helps us understand trending in our business.

One of the more important measurements recorded by Sportspeople Recruitment includes the gender mix of applicants, along with flow-on from the employer referral point through to the actual appointment.

Over the past decade for roles where Sportspeople Recruitment was responsible for the search, development and referral of a shortlist, 57.6% of final appointments have been male and 42.4% female. This includes roles across the

full spectrum of responsibility, from entry-level to Chief Executive and virtually everything in between.

2012 has been a record year for Sportspeople Recruitment, managing our highest ever number of global executive search assignments, including Chief

Executives and High Performance Directors for clients in Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, Auckland and Wellington.

While the number of applications received for all these jobs has increased, it is

disappointing to see the relatively low number of females applying for some of these senior roles. The same trend is not evident for entry level to middle management roles, where men and women are equally represented in the candidate pool.

We know the number of females on our database and generally within our entire network, are at an all-time high; while our targeted approach for all recruitment

assignments includes contacting female candidates within this network and of course, others identified as strong prospects for the role. Naturally our merit approach to all our recruitment work ensures we have the same practices for male candidates.

Sportspeople’s commitment to each and every candidate is that we will consider you on factors of merit and factors of merit alone. We have well defined and clearly articulated recruitment standards, including a policy that we never accept

work where the employer has a stated gender preference for the final appointment.

So, if you are the best at what you do, regardless of whether you are male or

female, please apply for roles you believe fit your career goals. Find the time to register with one of our networks (facebook, twitter, LinkedIn or Register as a Sportspeople Job Seeker) so we can keep in touch and alert you to new opportunities as they arise.

And remember that old saying.... if you’re not in it, you can’t win it! Don’t hesitate applying if the only concern you have is that you may be unsuccessful.

Robert McMurtrie Managing Director – Sportspeople Pty Ltd

Page | 31


He’s gay - does it matter? Equality in the recruitment process

The amount of editorial given to Jason Collins, the NBA player who recently announced he was gay, demonstrates to me at least not how far we have come in accepting an individual’s sexuality, but how far we really have to go in this

regard.

In Australia Ian Roberts (Rugby League), Matthew Mitcham (Diving) and Daniel

Kowalski (Swimming) are a few of the prominent Australian sportspeople who, like Collins, have had the courage to declare their sexuality publicly.

But in 2013 why should this even matter?

Not so long ago I had the pleasure of assisting a National Sporting Organisation with the search and selection of their Chief Executive Officer. Among the three

shortlisted candidates was a candidate known to me for some time, he was of particularly high quality and a very close fit to the key experiences and skills outlined in the job profile. Based on factors of merit, I had invited him to apply

for the role and he was subsequently recommended for shortlist interview. The client agreed with our shortlist recommendations and, as is always our practice,

I contacted each of the shortlisted candidates to advise them of the good news and answer any additional questions they may have pre-interview.

When I contacted this particular candidate and after completing the briefing and details of the interview, he asked whether I could do him a "small" favour before

he met the Selection Panel. He specifically requested I advise the Selection Panel he is gay and that he wanted them to be aware of this if they proceeded with

the interview and/or appointment. He went on to say that he’d understand if they did not wish to continue to consider him if his sexuality was an issue for them; but he’d rather get this out of the way early and before any further progress was made.

My initial response was that it simply wasn’t necessary to alert the Selection Panel to his sexuality, just as I wouldn’t ring them to tell them a candidate was heterosexual, Catholic or had blue eyes. Why did this even matter and how

could this have any bearing on the outcome of the selection process I asked? His response was enlightening including examples of clear discrimination in the

workplace and earlier application processes that he’d simply accepted as the norm, but not forgotten. While I continued to protest he simply asserted that unless I told the Selection Panel before the interview he would withdraw as a candidate.

Reluctantly, given this ultimatum combined with the fact he was an outstanding candidate and his withdrawal would be a loss to our client, I agreed and called

the President and Chair of the Selection Panel. His response was ... “Well, that won’t be an issue given half our Board is either gay or lesbian! We’ll make sure we don’t actively discriminate against the others if they are heterosexual.”

I still reflect on this issue whenever recruiting. That is, it shouldn’t matter

whether a person is gay or lesbian just as religion, age and gender equally have no bearing on a person’s capacity to perform the job. That’s the golden rule we should all apply whenever we are considering candidates for a job.

Page | 32

He’s gay - does it matter? Equality in the recruitment process cont.

Factors of merit and fit against the salary bands are the primary ways to determine whether a candidate is right for a job.

Every employer should test themselves every time they are engaged in a recruitment process checking they are not basing their shortlist and final decisions on factors outside of merit and fit against the job profile. Don’t give

this lip service and simply talk the talk. Discrimination means you short change your organisation and exclude talented candidates who can do the job.

And, in case you’re wondering, yes, he got the job and fulfilled all our expectations plus more.

Robert McMurtrie Managing Director

Page | 33


Time To Thank The People Behind The Athletes

With the Opening Ceremony for London 2012 only hours away I thought it timely to offer our best wishes to all our athletes. As Sportspeople recruits

across the Tasman, it is appropriate I extend our best wishes to the Australian and New Zealand Olympic and Paralympic teams.

We already have a TV set up in the office to watch all the action and I am sure we’ll all be a little bleary eyed until 12 August, taking a short break before the

Paralympics get under way 29 August.

Sportspeople has an active customer base of over 2,500 employers across the combined services of the Sportspeople Jobs Market and Sportspeople Recruitment. While each and every customer is important to us we are

particularly proud to have assisted nearly all of the National Sport Organisations responsible for the preparation of the athletes competing at the 2012 Olympic

and Paralympic Games. In fact, of the 35 sports being contested by Australian athletes at the 2012 London Olympic Games, Sportspeople has assisted 34 as

they filled staff vacancies over the past 4 years. And, while the Olympic and Paralympic Games are all about the athletes, I’d like

to acknowledge the enormous contribution made by the people behind these teams and sport organisations. From the Chief Executive, National Coach and

High Performance Directors, the finance teams, marketing and communications staff, the front-office staff and everyone else that works tirelessly each and every day to create the opportunities for our athletes to compete on the world

stage, your efforts are also worth a medal.


Page | 34


Thinking about moving to Australia or New Zealand?

Job seekers often ask Sportspeople for tips on finding work when relocating to

Australia or New Zealand. When posting a role with Sportspeople the employer

has the option of selecting the “... legally entitled to work in Australia / New

Zealand” footnote. This is open for some interpretation as a person with a Work

Visa (e.g. a UK citizen visiting Australia with a Visa) is of course, legally entitled

to work in Australia or New Zealand.

As a rule of thumb you will find the vast majority of roles advertised in Sport,

Fitness and Aquatics will generally require the person to be a permanent

resident of Australia or New Zealand to work on a permanent full-time/part-time

basis. This means that having a Work / Holiday Visa (which generally allows you

to work for the one employer for a maximum period of six months) probably will

not be sufficient to make you eligible to work for these employers. Additionally,

Australia and New Zealand have an over-supply of job candidates in this sector,

making it difficult for the employer to present a “legitimate workforce / skilled

labour shortage” argument.

The more senior the role the more possibilities exist for Visa sponsorship by the

employer. So, if you are applying say for a Pool Lifeguard or Fitness Instructor or Coordinator level in the sport sector, the chances are there will be plenty of

candidates in Australia for the employer to recruit. On the other hand, if you are at the CEO level, High Performance Director and so on, there are much better prospects for you to be considered and for some sponsorship of your Visa.

It is also worthwhile to visit the Australian Immigration and Citizenship website

or the New Zealand Immigration and Citizenship website, which provide all sorts of information for people moving permanently or returning from overseas and wish to work or study in Australia or New Zealand.

Angelique Lele Operations Manager – Sportspeople

http://http/www.immi.gov.au/skilled/skilled-workers/

http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/

Page | 35


Employers choose Facebook for Screening Candidates

More than a quarter of employers use social media to check out potential new hires, and Facebook is the site of choice, according to new survey findings from Telstra.

The poll of 1,255 employers found that one in four respondents screened candidates' profiles on social networking sites.

The most popular tool for background-checking candidates was Facebook (41%), followed by LinkedIn (31%) and Twitter (14%).

Some 44% of employers said an applicant who posted derogatory comments about their current workplace was unlikely to be hired, followed by discriminatory comments (37%) and posts with confidential information (32%). Sportspeople raised this issue last year after I was talking to a group of students at a University and was surprised about the lack of awareness they had around what their online footprint can say about them.

It may sound a bit egocentric; however searching for yourself on Google can be a wise career move. Your facebook profile may be set to "private", however that drunken profile picture may still be visible to potential employers who are increasingly utilising the internet to do background checks on potential employees. Of course this could also work in your favour if you have appealing and professional results. Here are some tips to improve your online profile:

Set your Social Networking profiles (Facebook, MySpace etc.) to "private"

and remove any incriminating photos Create and manage a blog, or a professional LinkedIn profile, as search

engines rank those extremely highly, which helps guarantee your site ends up on the first page of search results

Remember that many posts online are permanent or very difficult to remove, so be thoughtful when you decide to post online (e.g. comment in an online forum)

Be prepared to answer to any incriminating information that can be found Search your name in combinations. Your profile may disappear amongst

all the other John Smiths', however if searched with the name of a previous employer/school/hobby then you might become more visible

Angelique Lele Operations Manager – Sportspeople

Page | 36


Kicking the 24/7 online habit

The last four months has been the busiest ever for Sportspeople. More jobs

placed at the Sportspeople Jobs Market along with more recruitment

assignments commissioned, started and successfully completed. Pretty much,

more of everything. So much so, there have been times when all of us have

been running at capacity including throughout the day, evenings and weekends.

And, that’s after adding two new Recruitment Consultants to the Sportspeople

team.

All of this is good news of course for a business that celebrates its 18th year in 2014; but it is also a timely reminder of the challenges we face in the 21st century as work blends with our leisure time.

The 2013 Sportspeople Workplace Survey shows 51.4% of all respondents

working full-time (to include sport, fitness & aquatics) worked more than 40 hours a week with 16.9% working in excess of 50 hours a week. For those people working in sport 53.2% worked more than 40 hours a week.

What constitutes “work” is blurred in 2014. That is, a person doesn’t need to be physically sitting at a desk to be at work these days as they are accessible and online pretty much 24/7. Emails are received and replied to via handheld

devises, calls and texts are made as the need arises while social media provides an organic and constantly changing communications stream.

For example, I can access my computer from any location in the world as if I

have never even left my office, giving me the luxury of not having to deal with a mountain of emails upon my return or simply to stay in touch with what’s going in and around Sportspeople.

But, at a personal level I have also fallen into the habit of checking emails in the

evenings and weekends. Looking back I think this started as our global, executive search activities gained traction given we are constantly screening and speaking with candidates in different time zones including candidates living in

Europe, UK, USA/ Canada, South Africa and Asia. As Sportspeople now has six Recruitment Consultants I know they all face the same issues in managing this communication and inevitably, conducting interviews outside “normal hours”.

As a matter of interest new laws introduced recently in France make it illegal for workers in the digital and consultancy sectors to respond to emails or phone calls after 6pm. Under these new laws staff will be ordered to switch off their

work phones, and companies must ensure that their employees come under no pressure to look at work-related emails or documents on their devices after this

curfew. Among other things, online banter dubbed the French “lazy” given they already enjoy a 35 hour week.

But I’m not sure we should be so quick to criticise the French for stepping in and doing something about a practice that adversely impacts on the bulk of their

workforce. What’s actually wrong with a policy that encourages a separation of work from leisure? When did we accept that it’s OK to be available 24/7?

Page | 37


Two weeks ago I decided to turn off the email manager on my iPhone. Over the Easter break I was tempted to turn it back on or maybe just take a “quick look”

to see if there was anything I needed to respond to. I’m pleased to say I resisted all manner of temptation. Melodramatic? Possibly. But the way I’ve rationalised this is that I acknowledge habits play an important role in our health. I’ve

recognised I’d developed a routine that was unnecessary, and I guess I’ve decided to break the routine and embrace a new one, helping me change my lifestyle and adopt healthier behaviours.

Importantly, the world around me hasn’t collapsed and Sportspeople continues to prosper. I’m still available to deal with issues that need my immediate attention “out of hours” but I’ve decided I don’t need to spend time searching

for things that simply can wait until I am at work and in a position to best respond and manage.

If you don’t believe you have an online habit, try going without checking your emails this weekend.


Page | 38


An Effective Resume: Where Facts Replace A Good Story

While it is true some 60% of jobs in the sport industry are filled without advertising, the challenge of preparing a resume will be faced by most of us at some stage during our career. While not intending to understate the value of a resume, it is vital to remember a resume won’t necessarily get you the job. An effective resume should aim to get you an interview.

Despite an abundance of information to the contrary, a resume should not be viewed as a complex document. A good resume provides concise details of your skills, qualifications and experiences, assisting a prospective employer in making a determination whether to meet you or not. The truth is, if you were to ask ten recruitment agencies for opinion on how best to prepare a resume, it’s likely you will receive ten different responses! There are however, a few common tips, which are useful, practical and common sense guides when preparing a resume.

Before sending your application, find out as much as you can about the employer. Check out their website, get your hands on a copy of their last Annual Report, ask for an information pack to be forwarded or talk to someone who knows the people and/or the organisation. A detailed Position Description should be available, stating among other things, the position role and responsibilities as well as the key selection criteria.

Once you have all this information at hand, make two decisions:

1. Whether you have the necessary skills, experiences and qualifications

being sought; and, 2. Whether the role, the organisation, the location, salary (if stated) and

tenure match your personal and professional objectives. If you believe you match the role and the position fulfils your needs, then you should proceed with your application. As a general rule, you should:

Provide a covering letter (1-2 pages max) stating why you want to work

in the position; Tailor the resume for the application – don’t just regurgitate the same

letter & resume for every job; Address the selection criteria; Keep your language simple; Keep your layout and design as simple as possible, using an easy-to-read

font and make good use of bullets points and headings; Keep it brief. As a guide 4-5 pages is ample for senior roles and 2-3 for

entry level roles; For the time being (and unless asked) leave out all details of past

salaries, bonuses and superannuation payments. You might inadvertently over/under price yourself;

Page | 39

An Effective Resume: Where Facts Replace A Good Story Cont.

Give employers what they want hear. When describing your achievements

use phrases and words that appear in the job advertisement; When listing your employment history be specific about organisations for

which you've worked. Give a brief description of the organisation, your role, responsibilities and specific achievements;

Don't use vague language such as "involved in" and "contributed to" as they don't make sense to an employer. List your achievements in measurable terms, be specific and don’t overstate what you have achieved;

Take your time in preparing the application and check the close date. You don’t have to be the first applicant – just the best;

Make sure you provide current contact numbers; If lodging electronically, include your covering letter and resume merged

as one file attachment – this means there’s only one attachment to open and save;

Indicate referees are available upon request. Your referees are valuable people and, like your resume, may need to change to suit specific applications.

While not necessarily excluding a candidate, errors in a resume or covering letter are avoidable. Some common errors include the following:

× Typing errors can be costly! Despite the availability and simplicity of spell

check programs, typing errors remain surprisingly common among job seekers. Your stated “attention to detail” may be a little hard to believe if your resume has a number of mistakes;

× Don’t provide minute details about things that happened more than 10 years ago. Be very brief with older, less pertinent information;

× Don’t make unsubstantiated claims. Be honest and don't exaggerate to sound more experienced. Sell yourself and be assertive, but avoid embellishment;

× Don’t overstate qualifications. Listing current studies as “Education” often implies the completion or conferring of the qualification. If you are presently undertaking studies, note this clearly as “in progress”;

× Avoid lengthy resumes, with lots of irrelevant attachments. There may be an opportunity later to present these documents face-to-face;

× Avoid submitting a covering letter that is clearly a mail merge document, with a top and tail paragraph insert. You need to construct a letter which shows you have thought about the role and assert your suitability;

× Prior to submitting an application and after receiving the information package, it is acceptable to ring the employer to discuss the role and your suitability. Ringing to confirm receipt of your application is also acceptable practice. Outside of this, keep your contact with the employer to a minimum.

Page | 40

An Effective Resume: Where Facts Replace A Good Story Cont.

In a market where the skilled candidate pool significantly outnumbers the available jobs, there presently exists healthy competition to secure employment in the Australian sport management industry. Presenting an easy to read & understand resume is part of the process of how the employer (or recruiter) views your candidature.


Page | 41

Sportspeople Library Article © 2006

The Top Ten Interview Questions In our previous installment, the importance of well-prepared resume was

discussed and a few helpful tips in preparing an effective resume were offered.

While not intending to understate its value, it is vital to remember a resume

won’t necessarily get you the job. An effective resume should aim to get you an

interview.

Now, let’s assume you have submitted your resume and been called for an

interview. Don’t get too excited – this might be a preliminary interview of

candidates, from which a short list will be developed. Although getting this far is

not bad! What’s next? Consolidate Prepare and Rehearse – or C.P.R. for short.

Given a candidate’s usual state of anxiety before an interview, this appears an

appropriate acronym.

Consolidate your documents – prepare a dossier of relevant documents, including your resume, letters of reference, collateral material or (non-confidential) reports you may developed in your current and previous jobs. Organise the dossier to provide quick reference to specific documents at the interview. Avoid the mistake of having a pile of loose documents, which you need to fumble through to locate an example.

Prepare for the interview by thoroughly researching the organisation. A good starting place is their website or Annual Report. Don’t make the mistake of appearing as though you know everything about the organisation. You need to demonstrate you have undertaken some independent research and have a general understanding of the organisation’s structure, aims & objectives. Develop a short list of questions and bring these along to the interview.

Rehearse for the interview, by practicing your responses to commonly asked questions and questions you might anticipate as being asked. Write the questions down and verbalise your responses. You should develop crisp, clear replies and make sure you keep to the point.

While every interview will be different, by virtue of the interview panel and the nature of the position on offer, there are a number of questions that are commonly used job interviews. Here’s our pick on the likely top ten job interview questions:

1. Tell us about your career to date, what you’ve done and what you are currently doing? You shouldn’t have too much trouble with this one, focusing on the relevant elements of your education & career. Avoid going too far back, although don’t overlook areas of leadership (e.g. school captain) or sporting achievements.

Page | 42

The Top Ten Interview Questions Cont.

2. What do you know about our organisation (the employer)? As mentioned earlier, do your homework before the interview. If you can’t demonstrate that you have undertaken some research, you might appear uninterested in the role. 3. What is your understanding of the position you have applied for? By the time you get to the interview, you should be familiar with the position description or have been briefed by an employment consultant. If there are aspects of the job you're unsure about, don’t be afraid to ask questions. 4. What will you bring to the organisation? One of the critical things in answering questions about strengths, or what you will bring to the role, is to demonstrate what you have brought to previous roles or achievements in your personal life. Responding by using examples is often easier than simply running off a list of qualities. 5. What are your career goals? Keep your answer positive, but avoid going into too much detail. Have your career goals determined before you go into the interview and make sure they are appropriate for the position you are applying. If the person interviewing you is the supervisor for the role, take care you don’t intimidate him/her by indicating you’d like his/her job!

6. Why did you leave your last job/Why are you looking to leave your current job? Avoid paying out on your last/current employer or colleagues. Instead, stress that it was/is your decision to leave and you did so/doing so, to move on.

7. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Definitely a tough question and more than likely to be asked at an interview, so be prepared. This question gives you a great opportunity to sell your strengths and show you are mindful of your shortcomings. You’re human after all aren’t you? It is best to indicate how you have also developed strategies to overcome any weaknesses (e.g. “I felt I needed to update my computer knowledge, so I enrolled in an IT course.”). 8. How do you keep updated with new developments in the industry? Membership of professional associations, reading reports in the newspaper of specialist publications and networking, are a few of the obvious responses. If you want to impress, back up your response with a comment on a recent industry development that might be considered relevant to the role. 9. How do you handle or resolve a difficult situation in a previous role? The interviewer is looking for an idea of how you might usually respond to either a conflict situation or simply how you act under pressure. Prepare some examples of a tough situation at work or even in your personal life, stating the problem, the solution and what you gained from the experience. Focus on positive outcomes that give an indication of your ability to listen and communicate with people.

Page | 43

The Top Ten Interview Questions Cont.

10. Do you have any questions? As mentioned earlier, it’s OK to have a few prepared questions written down. Refer to them, although avoid questions that may have been covered throughout the interview. Keep the list short, but use the opportunity to ask questions which you would like answered.

Too often candidates go into an interview thinking it’s a one sided process. Don’t forget an interview is as much about you making sure the employer & the job is right for you as it is about the employer assessing your suitability. Above all else, be true to yourself.


Page | 44


Winning Interview Techniques

In our previous article in this employment series, the top ten interview questions were outlined along with some useful strategies in preparing for a job interview. C.P.R. of a different nature was suggested – Consolidate your documents; Prepare for the interview by researching the organisation and Rehearse for the interview by practicing commonly asked questions.

The article concluded by suggesting candidates too often go into an interview thinking it’s a one sided process. Don’t forget an interview is about you making sure the employer and the job are right for you.”

Regardless of your background and experiences, interviews are never easy. You can make them less traumatic by following a few simple steps.

Remember, the three big things the interview panel will want to know

about you are: 1. What makes you the right candidate for the job? What qualities do

you have that make you different to the other candidates? 2. How are you going to perform in the role? Have you got what it

takes and what is your potential? 3. What have you done to date that relates closely to the position on

offer? What have been your achievements?

Check your written application & your CV to make sure you know what you’ve submitted. In the heat of the moment, you’d be surprised how many people forget their background or gloss over important and relevant work experiences.

If the role expects you to have experiences in particular areas where it’s possible to provide examples of your work (e.g. sales brochures; reports; marketing plans; budgeting) bring them along to the interview. Providing examples of your past work is more powerful than simply indicating you have the experience.

When you receive advice on the interview, make sure you have details on: 1. Date, time and venue; 2. Interview panel – how many on the panel & their names/positions; 3. Interview structure – are there any special tasks, written tests or presentations;

Before the day, follow the steps for C.P.R. – Consolidate, Prepare &

Research.

Candidates often ask Sportspeople whether they should use prompt notes at the interview. If you consider an interview as a sales & marketing opportunity, then using notes is perfectly acceptable. Identifying key achievements that closely relate to the position on offer is a good start. Having a set of questions you’d like to ask is also a good idea.

Page | 45

Winning Interview Techniques Cont.

At a recent interview for a Sales Manager position recruited by Sportspeople for a major sporting body, the successful candidate used notes throughout his interview.

Additionally, he gave each panellist a one page “Vision Paper” identifying why he was the right choice, his key & relevant skills, his passion for the role and his vision on strategies to develop sales revenue. This interview was the third and final stage of the appointment process, with very little separating two candidates up to this point. The strategy created a “point of difference” between the two candidates, assisting the panel in their choice.

On the day of the interview remember that nerves will be less of a problem if you are well prepared. Try to do what you would normally do in your schedule. Exercise is good. Read over your notes & check that you have everything you need.

If in doubt about the appropriate dress for the interview, opt to dress up rather than down. Remember there’s no second chance for a first impression. The panel will form a quick opinion on you by your dress, mannerism and the way you greet them – and all of this is in the first few seconds of your interview!

Greet the panellists individually by shaking their hands and if possible, referring to them by name. After taking your seat, gather your notes & other materials you need for the interview. Check you posture, take a few deep breaths and away you go. Here are a few additional tips for the interview:

Listen to the question and avoid talking-over or interrupting the panellist.

If you don’t understand the question, say so. Vary your eye contact so you address all panelists. Consider your answer before responding – that is, put your brain into

gear before your mouth into motion! Don’t rush your answers. Speak clearly, but in a calm and even tone. Avoid the “umms” and “arrghs” – they can become very monotonous

after a while. Manage your fidgeting. It’s a good idea to keep you hands loosely

clasped on the desk or your lap. Don’t waffle. Questions will be either “what have you done” or “what

would you do” scenarios. Avoid going into minute detail at the expense of the really important

stuff. Ask questions, but take care in how many. Thank the panel for their time & shake hands on departure.

If you are under consideration for a senior role, which may require financial management, it is entirely appropriate to ask for the recent Annual Report and Financial Statements.

Page | 46

Winning Interview Techniques Cont.

Given the not-for-profit nature of sporting organisations and their relatively small operating margins, it’s better to check their financial records before taking on a job.

The consultant or employer will usually indicate the time frame for a decision or whether another interview is anticipated. If you haven’t been advised of the timeframe, it is entirely appropriate to ask.

Given that the sport sector has an over-supply of candidates and a correspondingly under-supply of jobs, making it through to an interview is often an achievement in itself. So, even if you don’t get the job, don’t be too hard on yourself. Robert McMurtrie Managing Director- Sportspeople

Page | 47


The Order Of Candidates In Shortlist Interviews; Does It Have An Impact? I’m often asked whether there’s any particular science behind the order of candidates when conducting shortlist interviews. Having participated in close to 300 shortlist interviews I’m a firm believer other factors have a much greater bearing on the outcome. Firstly, an interview is just one of the selection tools generally available to the employer. Background investigation, reference checking and pre-employment testing (e.g. cognitive or behavioural tests) should also be part of a robust process. However, it is true the final interview is most often relied upon as the determining factor to appoint or not. The method of interview, whether structured (directive) or unstructured (nondirective), can have an enormous bearing on the outcome and is of much greater significance than the candidate order. An unstructured interview has no real format, is very conversational and the discussion can run in any direction. On the other hand, structured interviews are based on a series of pre-agreed questions designed to interrogate and explore the candidate’s background against the job requirements, allowing the interviewer to rate these responses across all candidates.

Not surprisingly, unstructured interviews have a moderate to low correlation with future job performance while other research suggests that structured interviews have validity about double that of unstructured interviews. Two other recent findings are also of interest: 1. A candidate deemed the most “likable” by a selection panel, more often than not, gets the job; and 2. Cognitive ability has a high correlation with future job performance.

Now, back to the order of interviews; there appears to be very little evidence supporting the notion that being interviewed, first, middle or last has a particular influence on the outcome. Of course, some factors do come into play including the panel’s “energy levels” after say four interviews on the same day compared to their level of alertness at the start of the day or being interviewed immediately after another candidate who did not perform well.

A simple rule of thumb is the combination of a robust recruitment process, based on factors of merit, incorporating a structured interview protocol and solid background investigation, reference checking and pre-employment testing, will identify the most capable and suitable candidate. These strategies are clearly more important than over-thinking the order of candidates. If you don’t believe me, make sure you bring jelly beans to hand out if you are interviewed late in the day. Robert McMurtrie Managing Director- Sportspeople

Page | 48


A good appointment needs a good shortlist

The issue of how many candidates should be shortlisted for final interview is

often raised early in our recruitment work. Many clients have a set idea that they want to meet say 4 or 5 candidates while others are open to simply

meeting the candidate group that best meets the job profile and selection criteria.

Surprisingly, one of the other very common requests we receive is to consider adding a candidate to the shortlist based on their “association” with the

employer. More often than not these candidates do not meet the job brief and under normal circumstances would not even be considered for the role. If this is

the case and based on factors of merit the candidate is not contestable; our policy is to advise the client not to pursue this path.

Sportspeople has a Candidate Management Policy that all our Recruitment Consultants follow. We value the emotional investment of each candidate as he

or she applies for a position, therefore we strive to treat each candidate with care and respect. Bringing a candidate to shortlist when they have no chance of

securing the role or the client has already decided not to employ them is, in our opinion, disrespectful. It is a more generous act to advise them they have been unsuccessful and provide meaningful feedback so they understand why they have not progressed.

Our recruitment model is to develop and present to the employer a candidate group we refer to as the Preliminary Group. This Preliminary Group is a larger

group which we have qualified, screened and, based on factors of merit, best fit the job profile and selection criteria. Usually a meeting is held with the employer’s Selection Committee/Panel and we work through the Preliminary

Group discussing each candidate in detail. The choice of the candidates for shortlist then rests with the employer.

This is an important characteristic of our recruitment model. The employer tasks Sportspeople to build the candidate group and the employer selects the

candidates for shortlist interview from those we present. The flow-on of course, is that the ultimate appointment is made by the employer from the candidates they interview at shortlist.

The foundations of a good appointment rely on the success of these early stages of the recruitment process.

If you undersell the job, don’t provide sufficient information and “sizzle” about the role, don’t screen candidates against the selection criteria or base your

decisions on other factors outside of merit, you will fail. The cost of a failed appointment is very high.

A simple rule of thumb is the combination of a robust recruitment process, based on factors of merit, incorporating a structured interview protocol and solid

background investigation, reference checking and pre-employment testing, will identify the most capable and suitable candidates.

Page | 49

A good appointment needs a good shortlist cont.

Sportspeople has been recruiting in the sport, fitness and aquatic sector for 17 years and is regarded as the market leader. We recruit more roles in this sector

than any other agency - we fill more Executive roles (CEO/GM/EO) - we recruit across a broader client base and we recruit more middle and lower entry jobs.

Our global executive search brand, Sportspeople International, has a truly

international network including executives both working in the sector and, importantly, candidates seeking work in the sector.

So, if you are thinking about advertising a role and have a commitment to find the best people for your organisation, Sportspeople is here to help. Sportspeople - Putting the BEST people in the BEST jobs since 1996.

Robert McMurtrie Managing Director

Page | 50


Applying for a job - too quick and too easy in 2013

Over the past few weeks Sportspeople has attended a number of industry events where, among other things, we've had the opportunity to speak to many people either working in or seeking work in the sport, fitness and aquatic sector.

One question we were asked relates to our Job Seeker database and the fact we do not provide an online CV bank or stored resume service for job seekers.

Sportspeople launched its online Job Seeker registration service in 2006 and we’ve been building our candidate network as far back as 1996 when we first

started recruiting. Our continuing priority is to ensure our registered Job Seekers are alerted to opportunities that match their circumstances, qualifications and experiences assisting them before they make the decision to apply for a job

advertised at the Sportspeople Jobs Market.

Visit most of the mega-Job Boards and you'll see fast applications, pre-filled

application forms and stored resumes as being the headline features of job seeker registration systems. Faster, simpler and all possible with a push of a

button on your smart phone.

At Sportspeople we absolutely embrace technology and have been at the leading

edge of all online developments since launching our Job Board in 1999 and our mobile Job Board in 2010. But we believe if you are serious about your career

you need to do more than send a pre-filled application and non-tailored resume at a push of a button.

For jobs directly recruited by Sportspeople and our global, executive search division, Sportspeople International, we sometimes advertise or are asked by the employer to advertise on these mega-Job Boards. We are fortunate we can

otherwise rely principally on our advertising at the Sportspeople Jobs Market where candidates can find comprehensive information regarding the position, the

employer and how to apply. As a minimum we require candidates to submit the Sportspeople Application Form, a cover letter and a resume specifically tailored for the role for which they are applying.

Sure, we receive applications from these mega-Job Board "sausage-factory job

seeker registration systems", but the quality is simply absent. Often "location" appears to be the only component of the job a job seeker actually fulfils! The truth is the alignment of the candidate with the basic skill and experience

requirements of the job is just not there and the gap is widening as these systems become more automated.

Online job boards do make the process of applying simpler and quicker, but they weren’t designed to remove the responsibility from the job seeker to think and

plan their next career step or, for example, apply for every job just because it happens to be in a specific location.

While Sportspeople will continue to invest in its online activities, growing our employer and job seeker networks and services, we will continue to encourage our job seekers to take the time to prepare their applications, thoughtfully

applying and demonstrating in a professional and articulate way why they should be considered for a job.

Robert McMurtrie

Managing Director

Page | 51


40 Applications a Month - Too Many?

The overhaul to the Federal Government’s work-for-the-dole program, which comes into effect July 2015, has met with strong opposition from economists, business owners and others within the wider community.

Rather than focussing on improving a person’s employability through programs

that train and up skill, the policy will force young job seekers to apply for 40 jobs a month in what is already regarded as a softening (national) labour-market.

An email arrived this morning as a simple graphic representation of the real impact of this mandatory quota suggesting.... 146,000 job vacancies for

740,000 unemployed Australians converts to 30 million applications submitted every month for 146,000 jobs.

I haven’t checked the maths, but I do know the mega-Job Boards make it easier than ever for people to apply for jobs for which they are unqualified. Under this

mandatory quota system, employers will simply receive even more applications from unskilled & unqualified candidates.

Of greater concern is the increased cycle of rejection job seekers face. For roles in the sport, fitness and aquatic sector at least the market remains reasonably

strong, characterised by significant movement between the middle to senior management levels. However, entry level opportunities are increasingly rare and young job seekers, those most impacted by these changes, already find it

difficult to break into this sector. Every unsuccessful application impacts on a job seeker’s confidence while it is acknowledged long-term rejection has more

serious implications on both physical and mental health.

For my part I can’t see the logic in creating a system that places an emphasis on

the number of applications rather than focussing on targeting jobs more aligned to skills, experiences & education. This is a backward step, the impact of which we won’t see until next year. If you are an employer or job seeker, brace

yourself.

Robert McMurtrie

Managing Director, Sportspeople

http://www.sportspeople.com.au/site/misc/sportspeople/downloads/Knowledgebase%20as%20at%207%20july%2014.pdf#page=50

http://www.sportspeople.com.au/site/misc/sportspeople/downloads/Knowledgebase%20as%20at%207%20july%2014.pdf#page=50

Page | 52


Is the number of applications a valid measure of success?

We are often asked by our clients during our recruitment briefing meetings what

are our expectations regarding the likely number of applications for a particular

role. The catalyst for this question is the misconception a high number of

applications is a measure of a successful recruitment strategy.

In our experience and mindful of the recruitment methodology we use, the

number of applications is never a reliable measure of success.

We touched on this topic a few years ago in our article “A good appointment

needs a good shortlist” where we discussed, among other things, the number

and order of the shortlist group.

Too many applications means there was likely to be a deficiency in specific

information about the dimensions of the role, the essential skills & experiences

or the remuneration on offer. That is to say, the vaguer the description, an

absence of detail around the essential skills & experiences required to be

considered for the role and salary noted as “attractive” without a specific guide,

the more likely it is candidates who are unsuitable for the role will consider

applying simply “because they can”. Equally, a low number of applications can

also be an outcome of an absence of detail as Job Seekers want to know as

much about the employer and the job before they apply.

The more detail you can provide to candidates, including a detailed Position

Overview, links to the employer website and important documents such as

Strategic Plans, Annual Reports and Organisational Structure; specific criteria

regarding “Essential” and “Desirable” skills; remuneration range; recruitment

timelines and contacts for more information, the more likely the candidates

applying will be more specifically aligned to the role.

When Sportspeople is recruiting for Tier 1 organisations, those high –profile,

highly-commercialised organisations with a large supporter base, there has been

occasions where the number of applications is boosted somewhat by people who

are unqualified for the role but simply throw their hat in the ring because they

are a fan. V8 Supercars, AFL, NRL, Cricket and Golf are some examples that

come to mind where the numbers have swelled above our initial expectations.

Generally though, as Sportspeople provides as much information as possible to

potential candidates and supports this public drive through its targeted

recruitment and Talent Network, we have smaller, more closely aligned

candidate groups than others.

http://www.sportspeople.com.au/site/misc/sportspeople/downloads/The%20Sportspeople%20Knowledgebase.pdf

http://www.sportspeople.com.au/site/misc/sportspeople/downloads/The%20Sportspeople%20Knowledgebase.pdf

Page | 53

Is the number of applications a valid measure of success cont.?

As a rule of thumb if you are undertaking a recruitment process in-house,

remember to provide as much detail to Job Seekers as possible as this will

ensure the focus is the quality of the applications rather than the number.

In a recent CEO search process managed by Sportspeople and after presenting a

Preliminary Candidate Group of 10 candidates, our client pretty much summed it

all up by saying ... “this is a fantastic group and I’m confident we now have

enough depth of choice to appoint one of these as our Chief Executive Officer. At

the end of the day though we are only after only one person, but it’s great to

have a choice.”


Page | 54


Moving from Talk to Action – How Your Business Culture Can Engage

and Retain Great Employees

Culture within a sport organisation is not purely a set of boundaries that provide a picture of what is acceptable behavior for employees and what defines ideal behavior. It exists as those underlying channels by which organisational values

are built from strategy, evolved out of debate and conflict, measured against failure and success and embraced with emotional meaning by all.

No different to a successful sporting club or team, this invisible force of ‘culture’

can engage a workforce to achieve great things and drive momentum towards accomplishing end goals.

As a specialist sector recruitment company, many successful sport leaders tell us one of the significant fundamentals in achieving better business performance is

retaining great people. Retaining and successfully continuing to engage people seems to be consistent with those same organisations that spend significant time on creating ‘positive culture’. The same organisations working incessantly

on strategies to engage and retain their workforce also comprise of employees who tell us they ‘love where they work and what they do’.

So take a moment to ask yourself these questions: Where is your organisation culture now, and where do you want it to be? Do you

invest enough time and money in ways to help employees engage better and understand your organisation values? How often do you encourage employees to

share their ideas and use their extraordinary talent to make a difference? Here are our thoughts on moving talk to action when it comes to business

culture.

1. Acknowledge and create clarity - People working within sport come from varied backgrounds. Don’t assume everyone brings or has the same values. Ensure clear and defined organisational values are known and

championed across your organisation

2. Create a multifaceted approach - Finding and retaining champions of positive culture in the right places throughout ‘all levels’ of your organisation will ensure people hear, see and watch those who

wholeheartedly embrace your values, set the example and grow the thinking of others. Reward them well for doing so.

3. Communicate the old fashioned way - Have meaningful dialogue with

your workforce to demonstrate you actually care about the culture and

understand their wants and needs. Communicate ‘in person’ regularly, speak plainly, practice listening, learn and interact together. This may be

a simple activity at the end of meetings or a sharing of new ideas.

Page | 55

Moving from Talk to Action – How Your Business Culture Can Engage and Retain Great

Employees cont.

4. Build awareness of how peoples work affects results - give those

who work for you a sense of ownership over business imperatives and key issues. Change your organisational thinking to a new approach - cultivate wisdom to grow people’s capabilities. Use strategies which bring

acknowledgement and recognition for effort and work performance as a source of difference.

5. Be strategic and proactive in approach - Culture strategies need to be strategic to shape and manage change. Implementing grander marketing, smarter technology and providing more dollars may improve staff spirits,

but strategically having the right leaders with the right structure is by far the more critical.

6. Plan, prepare and recruit well - What highly engaged ambassadors will be needed to take the business forward in the future? Before recruiting,

gain common agreement from others in your workplace on what is expected from a role and which attributes, attitudes and skills are most important. Appointing using the ‘who you know in sport’ approach will not

necessarily yield the best result and may even have a negative impact on existing workplace culture.

Building culture requires a common sense approach to understanding your workforce and how they connect with clever design of structures, systems and

conditions to capitalise on the potential of both individuals and a workforce team as a whole.

In essence, putting the talk into action when it comes to business culture is not

much different to a optimising the spirit of a group of talented athletes to

become a highly successful sports team!

Ros Holding Associate Recruitment Consultant

Page | 56

Sportspeople Library Article ©2014 Succession planning in sport - a reality for some and a myth for most

The AFL’s announcement Gillon McLachlan has been appointed as Andrew

Demetriou’s replacement is a great example of succession planning in action. Only those within the AFL’s inner sanctum will know how wide and how long the

search for the AFL CEO was and who else was even considered for one of Australia’s top sport jobs; however from the time of the “public announcement” of Demetriou’s departure, McLachlan was widely tipped as the likely successor.

Of course, for an organisation as large and sophisticated as the AFL, having a

succession plan is essential to maintain the confidence of the stakeholders and provides the incoming CEO with a solid platform from which to move the sport business forward.

Given the relatively flat organisational structure of most sporting organisations, including State/Territory and National, succession planning is often not an option. For the majority of these organisations the opportunities for internal career advancement are scarce or simply not available.

The recent Sport, Fitness & Recreation Environmental Scan 2014, produced by Service Skills Australia notes among other things the findings of the joint project between Service Skills Australia and the ASC, which aimed to promote best

practice workforce development strategies at a select number of NSOs. An absence of defined career pathways within the sector was raised by the survey

respondents, “exacerbated by the typically flat organisational structure of sporting bodies that provide minimal opportunity for intra-organisational career advancement”.

Interestingly though, 84% of all respondents in the 2013 Sportspeople

Workplace Survey indicated they are either satisfied or very satisfied with their current job (down from 85.1% in 2009) and 90% intend to stay in the industry long-term, up from 88.1% (2009) and 85.9% (2008).

The opportunity for career advancement or succession planning may not always exist within your current employment, but that doesn’t mean what you are doing goes unnoticed or is without long term reward or benefit. Sport is a very small

industry sector with common challenges and functional responsibilities across the various sporting codes and sport businesses. If opportunities for

advancement don’t exist with your employer think about negotiating added duties to provide new experiences to your skill set.

And always remember the people with whom you have worked will certainly be consulted when you do seek a new role or career step. So, doing what you do and doing it well will always be critical for career advancement.


Page | 57


The Importance of Honest References Reference checking a candidate’s experiences and credentials is regarded as a fundamental part of any job process. However the success of these checks depends entirely on the propensity of the referee to be honest in their assessment of the candidate and trust the recruiter or employer in keeping their responses confidential.

If you have ever been involved in an employment process where the appointed candidate doesn’t work out, it’s likely you’ll go back to the reference comments to check whether there were any signals from previous jobs. One of the more frustrating elements in circumstances where a candidate doesn’t live up to expectations is finding the referee comments simply don’t match the reality. The employment process is both costly and time consuming, so there’s little room to get it wrong. It’s a fair expectation that a referee provides honest and frank comments about a candidate as the employer will use this information as one of the foundations of an employment offer. Here are some simple practices to keep in mind if you are asked to be a Referee:

If you are not comfortable being a referee, tactfully decline the

opportunity. If you accept an invitation to be a referee, set some guidelines. This might

include requesting you are kept informed of job applications, how long you are prepared to act as a referee and whether the reference is personal or professional.

If the candidate reaches a stage where reference checks have been confirmed, ensure you understand the nature of role they have applied for. Ask them to call you to provide a brief on the job so you can provide an informed opinion as to their suitability, given the job tasks and requirements.

Provide an honest assessment of the candidate’s suitability. Ask questions about the role and the employer’s expectations.

Don’t be afraid to offer comments about the areas in which the candidate may benefit from additional training and/or development. A good recruitment process will identify these areas anyway and the employer is likely to be willing to take the candidate on regardless if the issues are only minor.

Most importantly, remember your comments as a Referee will be one of the primary factors used to select a candidate, and in the reverse situation you’d expect nothing but an honest, open response. Robert McMurtrie Managing Director- Sportspeople

Page | 58

Sportspeople Library Article ©2015 Media fails the public interest test in naming names

I'm always intrigued by the amount of speculation surrounding high level appointments in sport. While I understand the nature of water cooler discussions and the fact casual gossip in the workplace is commonplace; publicly naming

candidates has the potential to harm or even ruin careers. And the sad thing is, based on my experiences at least, when a candidate group is leaked or

announced through "a reliable source", they are usually wrong.

The appointment of the Athletics Australia Head Coach (March, 2015) is a good

example of this speculation in action. In this instance the names of the entire shortlist group has been published as part of the lead story on the AOC "blocking the appointment" of a particular candidate under consideration. I won’t validate

the story by repeating the names, however it is safe to say the author(s) had scant regard for the career of any of the people they named, regardless of the

authenticity of the story.

I recall, when Sportspeople was recruiting the Chief Executive Officer, Canterbury Bulldogs in 2013 a number of news stories broke naming the

candidates under consideration and others announcing the appointment was "a done deal" and a "Rugby League identity was most likely to get the job". Not

surprisingly, these were wrong on all counts.

In this particular instance the news hacks acted in an unprofessional manner contacting a list of candidates they had developed as the "most likely suspects"

and then offered each the choice to "confirm you are a candidate or we’ll publish your name anyway". So a list was eventually published containing mostly names

of candidates that had denied they were under consideration or simply weren't under consideration.

The thought of appointing a woman into the role was so novel that when

Raelene Castle emerged as the successful candidate for the Bulldogs CEO they simply hadn't seen this coming. And besides, why let the facts stand in the way

of a good story right?

There’s plenty more examples of reckless candidate speculation I can recall over these past 20 years; and in each case I have to question whether the journalist

(or the Editor) has applied the public interest test before deciding to cover a story.

The candidates applying for the vast majority of roles in sport are not "public figures" by any stretch of the imagination. So, does the public have a right to know who has applied for a particular role? Does anyone, other than those

directly impacted by the appointment really care anyway?

What concerns me most though is the possible career implications for any

person publicly named as a candidate, whether correct or not. This is the collateral damage of misinformation and what I regard as sloppy, unprofessional journalism.

Every candidate has the basic right to expect their job application is confidential and remains so throughout the entire recruitment process. What recourse does a

person have when they are incorrectly named as a candidate?

Page | 59

Media fails the public interest test in naming names cont.

How does an employee answer a "please explain" demand from their employer after they've been named as a candidate for another job? How might this

"naming" impact on the career of the employee?

There are real life implications in play here and everyone in the selection "chain" has to understand how important it is to protect the confidentiality of each and every

candidate.

So, if you are ever asked by a journalist whether you are an applicant for a role, simply tell them you heard they had recently applied for a role with competitor and

thought their boss would like to know.

Robert McMurtrie

Managing Director - Sportspeople

Page | 60


Keeping Candidate Confidentiality During the Recruitment Process

I was on a flight a few days ago that was, fortunately, half empty. As I

indulgently stretched out on the row I had all to myself, I thought, "this will be a quiet, peaceful flight". That was until the gentlemen in the row in front of me

decided to "talk shop" the entire flight. A few minutes into their fairly loud conversation I realised they were from an organisation within our industry and were discussing what was in store for them in 2013. The conversation then

turned to the recruitment process for a position I remembered recently being advertised at the Sportspeople Jobs Market. They were discussing candidates

and, recognising some of the applicant names, I was pleased for them having reached interview stage. Then it hit me... I could have been ANYBODY.

I could have been a friend or family member of the candidate they were making fun of which, upon learning this could result in the

candidate withdrawing from the process; I could have been from a competitor or similar organisation who

could then approach or poach the candidates mentioned for my own business (as well as now being savvy to the other "insider" information discussed);

I could have been an employee (or worse still, the employer) of a company where one of the candidates currently works, either

putting their current employment at risk or providing the opportunity to make a counter-offer to stop the candidate from leaving.

So, when you are involved in any recruitment process please remember candidates have provided their application to you in the strictest confidence.

Make it policy to keep the names and details of all candidates confidential and in particular, out of the public domain.

Angelique Lele Operations Manager - Sportspeople Pty Ltd

Page | 61


Psychometric Assessments - Value Add or Obstacle?

Whether small or large, all organisations want to hire the best person for any

position – from entry level right through to senior executive. The selection

methods utilised vary to some degree between the position level and how big

the organisation is but generally consist of some sort of screening process, such

as a telephone interview followed by one or two rounds of face to face interviews

and reference checks. However, where leading organisations differentiate

themselves from their competition in the race for top talent is through the use of

psychometric assessment. Psychometric assessments are designed to provide

further objective insight into the candidate and, when utilised effectively, can

make a significant impact to the performance of a business or organisation. The

reasons for this are actually simpler than you might think, given that there is a

great deal of uncertainty and almost a level of ‘mysticism’ around psychometric

assessments.

Firstly, psychometric assessments are scientifically validated to predict a specific

job outcome. This means that in the hands of a trained user there is a relative

amount of certainty that the assessment will measure what it claims. Secondly,

certain attributes, such as cognitive ability, cannot be measured or assessed to

the same degree through an interview. Importantly, recent research has shown

that cognitive ability, for example, is one of the single best predictors of job

performance – please see this research summary from Sportspeople's partner

Onetest for more information. Different positions require different types of

assessments to be utilised, which is something Sportspeople can discuss with

you. Lastly, psychometric assessments are 100% objective – this means that

they are completely standardised and fair, removing any bias, unintentional or

otherwise, from the selection process. With most psychometric assessments,

including Onetest’s range, now largely completed online and in a much shorter

time (generally no longer than 30 minutes), the candidate experience is not

impeded, ensuring the recruiting organisation's brand integrity is not impacted.

However, outside of the big end of town, psychometric testing is often

overlooked by smaller companies. This is because of the high perceived cost and

the mistaken belief that professional psychologist support is always required to

interpret results. Unfortunately, this means that many smaller companies tend

to rely exclusively on selection methods that do not provide the best recruitment

outcomes. In recognition of this, Sportspeople's partner Onetest has released a

simple self-service online psychometric platform called Onetest Express that

makes it easier for smaller organisations to harness the power of psychometric

testing and improve selection outcomes.


click here for further information on the range of psychometric assessments available through Sportspeople.

http://www.onetest.com.au/home/research/2009-09-23/Schmidt-and-Hunter-Research-Summary

http://www.onetest.com.au/

http://www.sportspeople.com.au/?ID=19072

Page | 62


If Men Are From Mars And Women Are From Venus, Get Set For Gen Y To Rule The Universe

With the first batch of GenY fast approaching their 30th birthday, we are finally starting to see the influence of this generation on the workplace. The most famous GenY of all, Mark Zuckerberg, has already made a significant and lasting

impression on the way people connect and share information.

GenY have lived through the age of globalization, cable TV, environmentalism and the internet. In lectures to undergraduates I am often amused by their bewildered expressions if asked to contemplate a world without the internet. For

those of us over 30 that world was not that long ago. And of course, for those Baby Boomers among us, it is easy to remember the pre-computer days.

Here are three recent stories about GenY as examples why, as employers, we have to start to understand how they think:

The first was told to me by a colleague who attended the

2010 Our Sporting Future Conference. The presenter, a recruitment specialist, was recalling a recent interview of a

GenY candidate conducted by an Interview Panel. At the conclusion of the interview the candidate congratulated the panel for the way they ran the session adding, “I thought

you did really well today.” Sportspeople recently offered a role to a GenY candidate,

providing better salary, more attractive hours, training and work conditions. He declined the opportunity as he could not "waste" an additional year or two proving himself to a

new employer before being looked at for a promotion. After attending the Australian F1 Grand Prix, a staff

member texted his employer to advise that, “I’m feeling fatigued this morning. I think I should rest today and come back tomorrow refreshed.”

Confident or arrogant? Too impatient to climb the career ladder or simply knows

what he wants? Lazy or simply cares about work quality?

Most of the social research about engaging GenY focuses on keeping communication styles credible but, more importantly, being direct. It suggests keeping it "raw" and "real". GenY has had access to open and advanced

technology, and they relate well to spontaneity but more so than others, dislike being bored. They have to be interested in what they are doing and what we are

telling them. I recall reading an article in the Sydney Morning Herald late last year that,

among other things, suggested that when GenY are deciding to accept a job salary ranks sixth in order of importance after training, management style, work

flexibility, staff activities, and non-financial rewards.

Page | 63

If Men Are From Mars And Women Are From Venus, Get Set For Gen Y To Rule The

Universe Cont.

For GenY a job merely provides the income to do what they want to do.

Interestingly, GenY actually appear to be putting into action the adage, “work to live, not live to work”.

This raises a number of issues for employers, particularly for those Baby Boomers and to a lesser extent, GenX who may still hold on to a belief that a job should be a career. For GenY it is likely they will seek out more job

opportunities, shifting from one employer to the next and not be overly concerned about trying out new vocations rather than waiting to climb a career

ladder. When we look at a CV of a GenY candidate our ideas on "job stability" will be

challenged. But this ought not eliminate them from being considered for the job. As a parent I have a GenY son and a GenX daughter. I’m pleased to say that

most of the time I can absolutely understand and respect their position on issues that may be very different to mine. As a parent, employer and recruiter I know we must engage with this emerging generation and work hard at understanding

their social attitudes, communication style and characteristics.


Page | 64


Is One University Better Than Another?

Sportspeople was recently contacted by a job seeker interested in undertaking a University course in sports management. Specifically he was asking whether the University at which he completes the Degree will have any bearing on his job prospects. He went on to ask whether employers look at the Degree conferred and whether they might rank one University over another. He indicated he was intending to study a Bachelor of Commerce (Sport Management) at Deakin University, and was also considering the Sport Management Degree at La Trobe University, but he'd heard the degree at Deakin is more highly regarded.

Sportspeople has been recruiting in Australia now for close to 14 years and we have filled hundreds of roles from entry level to Chief Executive and the Sportspeople Jobs Market has carried over 10,000 job advertisements in the past 3 years. I'd have to say that I have never considered one degree better than any other and I am not aware of any circumstance where a client (employer) has indicated they would prefer one candidate over another due to the degree originator (e.g. Deakin over La Trobe).

Of course, having a degree is important in the sport sector, so you'll be at a distinct disadvantage if you are looking for work without a tertiary education. Not impossible, but certainly more difficult. The 2008 Sportspeople Workplace Survey showed that the majority of respondents have completed a tertiary education course, with 62% of respondents holding a Bachelors degree or higher in 2008 (down from 63.5% in 2003).

I'd be interested to know whether anyone has ever experienced a situation where the institution at which they studied was raised during the job process as a positive or negative and whether it was a consideration in the final outcome?


http://forum.sportspeople.com.au/index.php?topic=436.msg725#msg725

Page | 65

Sportspeople Library Article ©2009 Are Double Degrees Better In This Economic Climate?

With an oversupply of candidates and a relatively small supply of jobs, the sport, fitness and aquatic sector is a tough nut to crack.

One of the best tracking sources for graduate destinations and salary trends is found at the Graduate Careers Council of Australia website - Grads Online see www.gradsonline.edu.au/gradsonline.

Current data shows that the starting salary for new Australian resident bachelor degree graduates (all categories) aged less than 25 years and in their first full time employment in Australia is $40,800 (down from $43,000 last year). The Graduate Careers Council of Australia places sport, fitness and aquatics graduates into the "Humanities" category in its Graduate Destinations Survey and shows:

71.3% are working - not necessarily in their chosen field 28.7% are searching for a job 37% are studying.

I have always held the opinion that having a few ‘strings to your bow’ is a good thing when entering the job market. The sport sector is very diverse and employs both generalists and specialists. There are roles in finance, marketing, membership and HR for example, where no background in sport is necessarily required. Roles such as coaching, high performance and sport development would, on the other hand, require very specific sport experience and qualifications.

Within the context of the overall labour market, employment opportunities in sport are reasonably small. So, having qualifications that are applicable to other industry sectors as well as sport would make good sense.


http://www.gradsonline.edu.au/gradsonline

http://www.gradsonline.edu.au/gradsonline

Page | 66


Graduates need hard office skills to prepare them for their first job

Last week I attended, as a representative of the sport sector, the UTS Business

School review of its specialist Management programs, including the

undergraduate and post-graduate programs. Enhancing employment potential

was identified as a key driver in the design and content of all courses, ensuring

UTS can continue to develop graduates who can meet the current and future

needs of industry.

As I presently sit on a number of similar External Advisory Committees/Panel for

tertiary institutions where sport management is offered either at an

undergraduate and/or post graduate level, it is always interesting to debate with

academics the balance of “academic foundations” versus “practical, employment

skills”.

Feedback from employers operating in the sport, fitness and aquatic sectors

continually reinforce the need to better prepare graduates for the real challenges

they’ll face in their early career.

The operating context of sport, fitness and aquatics is complex. The vast

majority of these employers operate as small businesses, with a flat organisation

structure and small management teams, often out of necessity due to budget

constraints. It is typical in these small organisations for the employed staff to

provide services across all the functional areas of the business, rather than being

highly specialised. As an organisation becomes larger and possibly more

commercialised, specialist staff become more common as does the clearer,

functional departments within.

For some employers the engagement of a graduate is often an economic

consideration, as they know the entry-level market is highly competitive and

graduates come at a cheaper salary than say a more senior or experienced

person. Most employers accept they have a responsibility to train and up-skill

graduates and that is often the trade off for an entry-level salary.

Mindful the majority of graduates are often placed into generalist roles, those

with broad experiences and “hard” office skills are appealing to employers. Skills

such as MYOB, QuickBooks or other proprietary accounts software, Outlook,

Excel, dB management or CRM systems experiences and so on, present

employers with compelling reasons to interview in what is usually a homogenous

group in terms of age, experiences and qualifications.

Page | 67

Graduates need hard office skills to prepare them for their first job cont.

These “hard” office skills are not usually part of an undergraduate program and

for most students they are self-taught or gained through a supplementary TAFE

course at the student’s expense. Having courses that build these skills integrated

within an undergraduate program would, in my opinion at least, certainly

enhance the employment prospects of graduates.

Robert McMurtrie



Page | 68

Work/Life Balance

The unexpected resignation of Victorian Premier Steve Bracks received a fair bit of press over the last week. It is a timely reminder of the pressures of high office and the impact not only on the individual, but in particular the family unit.

I recall writing an article on finding balance in your career way back in 1999. At the time I had just read Daniel's Petre's Father Time (Macmillan, 1998) and the theme which struck home in the context of our sector.

“Take a successful senior male executive with all the trappings - status, power, money and control. He becomes a father and suddenly an aspect of his life becomes chaotic. He gets home at arsenic hour when the baby is crying, the toddler has a dirty nappy and the preschooler is falling asleep at her dinner.

"This is a place where his status and power mean nothing. He feels incompetent and retreats to his work, finding excuses to stay later and later. On weekends he finds it easier to work than to do stuff with his kids."

The result, says Petre, is that generations of children are growing up fatherless. The live to work ethic versus the work to live philosophy also comes under scrutiny. A balanced life is one which uses time at work efficiently while also providing dedicated time for family and personal pursuits. While Petre focused specifically on the relationship between father and son, the prevailing corporate culture demands an executive's total commitment, and the argument is equally applicable to men and women.

People working in our sector, women and men, are faced with a set of unusual circumstances. They are expected to work their usual week, attend evening and weekend meetings and show up at the games or events as often as possible. Recognition of the extent to which salaried staff give up their leisure and family time, equal to that of their honorary colleagues, needs to be more widely acknowledged.

When Sportspeople reviews candidates for management positions, and in particular when we're seeking the candidate's view on the hours required to fulfill a job, the "work as required" philosophy is more often than not the mantra we hear. There appears to be an unwritten rule in our sector that it's OK to work whenever you're needed and it's acceptable to be needed in the evenings, on the weekends, before work or whenever required.

A current Sportspeople Survey asks “What would you prefer? Extra pay or an extra week’s holiday?” It might come as no surprise 100% of respondents have chosen an extra week’s holiday.

Page | 69

Work/Life Balance Cont.

Sure, a commitment to the organisation is important and an integral part of working with any organisation, but there has to be some balance to this commitment. The strength of an organisation can be judged on its capacity to work as a collective rather than having a dependency on one person for its success. It's no coincidence some of the best managers we see also exhibit strong time management and delegation skills.

Invest time in your organisation to develop a work culture which not only respects and values the family, it prioritises family issues appropriately against work goals.


Page | 70


Finding Balance in Your Career

For those of you who can actually find the time to sit back and read the newspapers, not just the Sports and Employment Section, you might have read Daniel's Petre's Father Time (Macmillan - 1998). Petre's theme is simple and one which rings true in the sport context.

"Take a successful senior male executive with all the trappings - status, power, money and control. He becomes a father and suddenly an aspect of his life becomes chaotic. He gets home at arsenic hour when the baby is crying, the toddler has a dirty nappy and the preschooler is falling asleep at her dinner.

"This is a place where his status and power mean nothing. He feels incompetent and retreats to his work, finding excuses to stay later and later. On weekends he finds it easier to work than to do stuff with his kids."

The result, says Petre, is that generations of children are growing up fatherless. The live to work ethic versus the work to live philosophy also comes under scrutiny. A balanced life is one, which uses time at work efficiently while also providing dedicated time for family and personal pursuits.

While Petre focuses specifically on the relationship between father and son, the prevailing corporate culture demands an executive's total commitment, and the argument is equally applicable to men and women.

Sport administrators are faced with a set of unusual circumstances. They are expected to work their usual week, attend evening and weekend meetings and show up at the game(s) or events as often as possible. Recognition of the extent to which salaried sport administrators give up their leisure and family time, equal to that of their honorary colleagues, needs to be more widely acknowledged.

When Sportspeople reviews candidates for sport management positions, and in particular when we're seeking the candidate's view on the hours required to fulfill a job, the "work as required" philosophy is more often than not the mantra in sport. There appears to be an unwritten rule in sport that it's OK to work whenever you're needed and it's acceptable to be needed in the evenings, on the weekends, before work or whenever required.

This work obsession is clearly wrong. Sport administrators get roped into committing their lives to the success of the organisation. More often than not they are moulding themselves on the performance of previous or current managers or simply on how they think they should act. Sure, a commitment to the organisation is important and an integral part of working with any organisation, but there has to be some balance to the commitment. Evaluating your productivity in your workplace is a good starting point. Maximise Productivity in the time you have available in the office, setting clear objectives at least weekly. Avoid carrying over priorities from week to week.

Page | 71

Finding Balance In Your Career Cont.

Focus on the big issues - too often sport administrators get bogged down on the menial tasks at the expense of the big issues. Work smarter, not longer.

Establish some rules in the workplace about out of hour’s commitments. The nature of our industry means there will be an impact on your family and personal time, but keep it in balance. Have the courage to question the need for you to attend all those meetings and events. The strength of an organisation can be evaluated on its capacity to work as a collective rather than having a dependency on one unit for its success. It's no coincidence the best managers also exhibit strong time management and delegation skills.

When you have a family or personal commitment, diarise it, just as you would any other important business meeting. Resist the pressure to change it. While attending your children's big events (Athletics and Swimming carnivals etc.) is a good start, try to have a presence at other times where the focus is not just on performance or results.

Find some time for the most important person in your life - you! There's nothing wrong with taking some time off to do things for you. Maybe come into the office later once in a while, find some time to exercise and make it part of your weekly activity. Being more relaxed can lead to improvements in both productivity and creativity in the workplace.

Invest time in your organisation to develop a work culture which not only respects and values the family, it prioritises family issues appropriately against work goals. These aren't easy things to do, particularly within the context of Australian Sport with its macho idealistic groundings. You'll need to challenge your peers and examine what is really important in your life. You'll find detractors more often than supporters, arguing managers need to be strong, focused, committed and leaders by example - qualities which I would argue are more likely to be evident in managers who lead a balanced life rather than those single dimensional managers.

Above all else, start the talk. You'll be surprised how many people will understand exactly what you're saying and how pleased they are you've finally said it. Robert McMurtrie Managing Director- Sportspeople

Page | 72


Does Parenthood Disadvantage your Career?

One of the great privileges of doing what we do at Sportspeople is getting to

know our candidates before we refer them for a role. Given the importance of

“work” and “career” in the lives of these candidates, the screening and interview

process allows them to openly share their experiences, talk about their personal

circumstances, their strengths, weaknesses and aspirations.

One of the really common questions we’re asked relates to the likely impact a

“parenting break” will have on a career. The pragmatist in me always offers

assurance that family should always “trump” career. The reality is, regrettably,

often different.

According to the Human Rights Commission in 2011 to 2012, 21% of complaints

under the Sex Discrimination Act received by the Commission related to

pregnancy discrimination and family responsibilities. Women are reporting

discrimination while they are pregnant, on maternity leave and when they return

to work, with lost opportunities for promotion, training and continuing their

careers. (Source: Australian Human Rights Commission; “Supporting Working

Parents: Pregnancy and Return to Work National Review Issues Paper 2013”).

It’s the “lost opportunities for promotion, training and continuing their careers”

which resonates with me and reflects a common theme when we discuss career

goals with female candidates.

Australian labour force participation data also shows a significant decline for

women between the ages of 25-34 compared to men. But participation rates

alone don’t mean much if most of the women working are working mostly in low-

paid jobs with little prospect of advancement.

Career development theory suggests the “establishment” years are the mid 20’s

through to mid 40’s where a person secures a niche in their field and advances

within it; while “maintenance”, typically 40’s through to early 60’s, preserves the

gains. Biology, of course, plays its hand as these “establishment” years also

happen to be the peak childbearing years for women. It’s a double whammy

where a woman puts family over career.

Results from the 2013 Sportspeople Workplace Survey to be released next week

show that 76% of those employed part time are female and 40% of females

aged between 25 and 34 work part time. For those working full time, 61.8% of

females aged 25 to 34 earn a base salary of under $60,000 pa, compared to

49.7% for all other respondents.

Page | 73

Does parenthood disadvantage your career cont.

While I thought I’d been acutely aware of this debate for most of the 30 years I’ve worked in sport, the epiphany moment was the recent personal experience

of my daughter, who is expecting her first child in July. One of those “dream-job” opportunities came her way, an acknowledgment of the dedication she’s

applied to her work and the skills and experiences she’s built throughout her career. Being 6 months pregnant and with maternity leave not far away, means

the job will go to another person. Here at Sportspeople we employ a number of highly skilled, qualified and

experienced people. For some we have adjusted the work flow to accommodate their parenting responsibilities, including hours that suit their needs, breaks

when they need it and generally doing anything we can to make sure they stay with us. Fortunately, where the employer does need to be reminded, the provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 ensure flexible work arrangements to assist

employees to achieve balance between work and their personal lives.

The real issue here is that work is often measured by hours not output, and taking leave to focus on family responsibilities is not acknowledged as having a high value to the employer. So much talent is being lost, tossed and

underutilised.

That pragmatist in me (some may say optimist) believes simple adjustments to our thinking can bring about change.


Page | 74

Sportspeople Library Article ©2006 Happiness At Work A recent worldwide survey by recruitment firm Robert Half Finance and Accounting shows that, rather than money, a good relationship with co-workers and bosses is the most important motivating factor in the office for middle managers.

Four out of ten people who took part in the research rated good interpersonal relationships as their gateway to work happiness. It ranked above the kind of work they were doing, flexible hours and salary. At 63%, Australians came in second just behind the Dutch as the workers who most highly valued their work mates. Only those in the Czech Republic rated money as more important than colleagues.

Over the last decade there’s been a lot written about the job satisfaction matrix, while finding a happy balance between work and play has emerged as a significant social issue facing our contemporary society. Despite my early scepticism, “The Art of Happiness at Work” by the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler (Amazon link - http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Happiness-at-Work/dp/1594480540)

takes a surprisingly refreshing look at the subject of work satisfaction. However, the Dalai Lama’s spiritual approach is well balanced by Cutler’s examples of recent social and occupational research.

While most of us would believe interest in this issue is restricted to the present work generation, psychologists and social scientists have been exploring the relationship between work satisfaction and life satisfaction since the 1950’s accumulating a mass of data linking happiness at work and overall happiness in life. In short, the literature does support the view that satisfaction with one’s work tends to make one happier overall, and those who are happy with their life tend to be happier at work.

In a 1997 study by Dr Amy Wrzesniewski, an organisational psychologist, she proposed workers could be generally divided into three distinct categories:

The first group simply views work as a job. For this group the focus is on the financial reward that work brings, while the nature of the work undertaken may hold little interest, pleasure or fulfilment. Given their prime concern is the wage, if there is a decrease in pay or if a higher paying role comes along, they are open to dropping the job and moving on. The second group views work as a career, with the primary focus on advancement. These people are motivated by prestige, social status and the power that comes with titles and higher designations at work rather than the financial motivation. While there is likely to be a much greater personal investment in the job, if the promotions stop they start to become dissatisfied. This dissatisfaction can see their interest in the job reduce and they may even seek new work.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Happiness-at-Work/dp/1594480540

Page | 75

Happiness At Work Cont.

The third group are individuals who do the work for the sake of the work itself and those who view work as a calling. In this group there is less separation

between their job and the other aspects of their life. If they could, people in this group would if they could afford to, continue to do the work even if they didn’t get paid. Their work is seen as meaningful, having a higher degree of purpose,

making a contribution to society or the world.

Naturally, those who view their work as a calling tend to have significantly higher work Satisfaction, as well as overall life satisfaction compared with those who view work as a job or career.

The scientists propose, “Satisfaction with life and with work may be more dependent on how an employee sees his or her work than on income or occupational prestige.”

Wrzesniewski’s view is interesting in the context of sport management. In general terms sport management professionals do not enjoy high salaries and let’s face it, the hours worked and the level of recognition is less than other industry sectors. So, why is it that jobs in sport are so keenly contested with a regular supply of high quality candidates prepared to step into the industry?

Think about your own circumstances and ask yourself whether you could have or can earn more money working outside sport? The real questions are, given the opportunity would you want to and if you do, why haven’t you?


Page | 76


Satisfaction in the Workplace Translated

In the last week news emerged of Virgin Boss, Richard Branson’s plan to

eliminate restrictions on the amount of holidays his employees in the US & UK can take each year. Under this arrangement, employees will be allowed to take

time off without prior warning so long as their work is kept up to date. The logic behind this initiative is to increase morale, creativity and productivity within his workplace.

In France, new labour laws were enforced making it illegal for workers in certain

sectors to respond to emails or phone calls after 6pm. A little further north in Sweden a trial was run this year reducing work hours to just 30 a week. Now

don’t get me wrong, these initiatives are attractive, but it raises the question is this really what it takes to make employees happy (and productive)?

Having recently returned from a European holiday it became clear work life balance ideals differ around the globe. In Italy for example, you will find most

businesses are closed between 1pm and 3pm. During this time the Italians usually go home and spend time with their loved ones before returning back to work. In Italy, work fits around social and family life, not vice versa.

According to the 2013 Sportspeople Workplace Survey, in Australia and New

Zealand, 51.4% of [full-time] employees work more than 40 hours per week, with 16.9% working in excess of 50 hours weekly. Those who work in the sport sector particularly are often expected to work their usual week plus attend

evening and weekend meetings and show up at the games or events as often as possible. The interesting thing is, from our experience interviewing thousands of

sport administrators, they are genuinely motivated by the pure enjoyment of the job. This is further reinforced by data from the Sportspeople Workplace Survey which showed 67.3% of respondents were either satisfied or very satisfied with

their hours of work.

On a personal level, my father worked at his own business 7 days a week, 12 hours a day for the last 50 years...still with no impending retirement plans. Did this make him unhappy? Not at all! Sure there were ups and downs, moments

where he wanted to give it all up, but work is his passion while his dedication serves as a great achievement and it has made my family appreciate the value

of hard work.

Everyone’s needs are different and no matter where in the world you are, it is

important your job is both financially and personally fulfilling. However don’t lose sight of what it is that makes you happy. If it is work, don’t feel ashamed to

admit it, just as much as you shouldn’t feel guilty for wanting more ‘me time.’

Alessia Calvi

Customer Service, Marketing and Online Coordinator, Sportspeople

Page | 77


How happy is your staff, really?

We've all heard the term "happy wife, happy life"... but what about the people you spend most of your day with? Having happy and engaged employees has a

seriously positive impact on your bottom line. Higher productivity and profitability is generated through better customer service, more innovation, lower absenteeism and reduced staff turnover. Plus it makes your time in the

office much more enjoyable!

Sportspeople has been conducting HR surveys for over a decade for employers

of all scopes and sizes. The benefit of having a third party to conduct these surveys is the freedom for participants to be completely honest as their answers

will be pooled in the final report.

Sportspeople has recently extended our partnership with Australia's leading

provider of online skills tests and psychometric assessments to allow more customisable surveys and reports for our clients and the industry, as well as

providing normative data so you can see how your people measure up against a general comparison across a range of industries.

The Staff Satisfaction - Engagement survey enables organisations to diagnose current levels of engagement, identify the factors that drive engagement and obtain an insight into their employees' attitudes and opinions towards their work

and work environment.

Employee engagement surveys allow you to identify the key factors that can be

leveraged to:

Enhance employee engagement

Lead to better performance

Reduce employee turnover

Reduce absenteeism

The factors that form the Staff Satisfaction - Engagement survey are identified

through a detailed review of research on employee engagement, focusing on key factors with proven empirical links that relate directly to employee engagement. Once you have a clear snapshot of the factors influencing your staff

engagement, small but powerful changes can be implemented to increase job satisfaction and productivity. Surveys can also be completed on an annual basis,

providing comparative data to check on your progress. If you want staff more dedicated to their jobs, have lower absenteeism and are less likely to leave, then consider a staff satisfaction survey.

The Staff Satisfaction Survey is one of a number of HR services Sportspeople can provide, including comprehensive 360 degree performance appraisals, exit

surveys and pre-employment assessments. For more information click here or e-mail [email protected].

Robert McMurtrie



mailto:[email protected]

Page | 78


Life Begins Just Outside Your Comfort Zone

I have to confess I haven’t taken much notice of the roadside advertising

billboards in past road trips to Queensland; but this year on our New Year sojourn they seemed to capture my attention more so than ever before. Not the photo-shopped fast-food advertisements or the frequent “Road crashes affect

more than just you. Don’t rush.” reminders by Dr. Brian Owler. Neurosurgeon. Westmead Hospital.; but the often profound and sometimes humorous messages

scattered along the 1,000 kilometre trip. One sign perched on a road edge front yard somewhere between Uralla and

Walcha, particularly resonated with me. “Life begins outside your comfort zone.” It was a simple handwritten sign, not referencing a hamburger, soft-drink, beer,

bungy-jumping, shaving cream or anything else really. Just the plain words in isolation.

When you reflect on your major life events, the things that have really shaped you, I think its true these tend to be either joyous experiences or moments of

abject disaster. Sure, there are plenty of experiences which provide the balance or foundations to your life, such as family, friends, relationships, work, food and shelter and so on; but the big events, when they’re good or bad, certainly are

central to who you are.

Of course for most people work is fundamental to how they live. The satisfaction we derive from our job, the time we spend at work, the relationships we build

and the money we earn underpin much in our everyday life. That’s why, when a job seeker tells me they are unhappy in their job, my advice

is they already have the power to do something about it. They can either suck it up and simply get on with what they are doing; they can try to bring about a

change to the circumstances making them unhappy or as a means of last resort, they can seek out another job. Importantly, my advice is not to spend time and energy in complaining about a life circumstance without first trying to do

something about it.

2014 marks the 18th year of Sportspeople’s recruitment business and the 15th for our online activities, including the Sportspeople Jobs Market. Over this time we have assisted tens of thousands of job seekers gain employment and along

the way helped as many employers secure the very best candidates. Our motto pretty much sums this up. BEST jobs. BEST People. Since 1996.

In 2013 we assisted more Job Seekers and Employers than ever before, recording our biggest year in all business metrics. The number of jobs we

directly recruited, the number of jobs advertised at the Sportspeople Jobs Market, the traffic to the Sportspeople Jobs Market and the reach of our total

audience all grew substantially in 2013.

Page | 79

Life Begins Just Outside Your Comfort Zone cont.

With most of the economic data pointing to improved conditions up from the depths of the GFC, including positive hiring intentions from employers, 2014 is certainly shaping up to be a good year for Job Seekers considering their career

options and for Employers wanting to test the market.

If you’re a Job Seeker with a New Year resolution to change jobs in 2014, don’t just think about it, do something! It might be hard at first, but remember; like

that sign said ... life begins outside your comfort zone.

Robert McMurtrie


Page | 80


No Place For Discrimination In Recruitment For me at least, Thursday 24 June, 2010 will be one of those "where were you when..." moments.

While I did get up and watch the Socceroos' valiant effort as they attempted to claw back a spot in the World Cup knock out round, it was Julia Gillard's appointment as Prime Minister of Australia that marked the day as truly significant.

Along with my wife, I watched the (extended) 6pm news coverage and Ms Gillard's swearing in by the Governor-General Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC, all the time thinking how this moment had to be a change point for Australia. If we can have a woman as Prime Minister, others as State Premier, and a growing number as Chief Executive of Australia's top companies, can there be any better time than now to push for gender equity in leadership positions in Australian sport?

With recent data showing women hold only 13% of Executive Officer positions in the top 40 funded National Sporting Organisations in Australia while the number of women on national sporting organisations boards averages just one woman to seven men, the reasons for this push are clearly evident.

Sportspeople maintains a significant "knowledge bank" not only on our vital statistics, but also on other organisations operating in the sport, fitness and aquatic sector. For example we record appointments by gender for those jobs recruited directly by Sportspeople as well as the other specialist sports recruitment agency operating in Australia.

Using the same period of time, the other agency filled 110 roles while Sportspeople filled 312 roles, bringing the total number of jobs to 422. Looking at the gender of the successful, appointed candidate of the 312 roles recruited by Sportspeople 47.8% were filled by women and 52.2% by men. For the 110 roles filled by the other agency, 46.4% were filled by women and 53.6% by men. Collectively over the 422 roles, 47.1% were filled by women and 52.9% by men.

If we accept that around half the sport sector labour force are women it would be plausible to think there would be a more even spread of women and men at all levels of management, including Chief Executive Officer. As this is clearly not the case, we need to ask why. Is it because women don't apply for Chief Executive Officer roles or are women subject to active discrimination in the job application process?

Page | 81

No Place For Discrimination In Recruitment Cont.

We also know from our research, such as the Sportspeople Workplace Survey, that women are more likely to have both an undergraduate and post-graduate qualification and work the same hours as men, yet they generally earn less than men doing the equivalent job. The remuneration gap is more evident in senior roles and less pronounced in entry to middle management roles below $60,000 per annum.

The principal of merit underpins the Sportspeople candidate management system. This means the candidates selected by Sportspeople for consideration by our client are the most capable of doing the job from those applying.

If you are an employer going through a recruitment cycle, now or in the future, your aim is to find the absolute best candidate. You wouldn't select one candidate over the other based on the colour of their eyes, or the colour of their skin, so why does gender even come into the discussion?

Selection based on gender is fundamentally wrong, counter-productive, plain stupid and well; let's face it, just so last century.


Page | 82


Health & Fitness Sector Facing A Skill Shortage Talk to any employer operating in the health & fitness sector in Australia and

they’ll tell you it is increasingly difficult to find good staff. Until recently this skill

shortage has been largely manageable, with most employers modifying their

recruitment timelines or their expectations to fill jobs. According to health & fitness employment specialist Sportspeople, the true impact of this skill shortage is about to be felt across the nation by health & fitness employers. A number of market factors impact on the sector and while each is important in its own right, it is their combined effect which will shift the way employers and job seekers manage for the future.

Increased consumer interest in health management and weight loss, Government investment in the promotion of healthy lifestyles, greater interest in fitness and health management from the ageing population and more spending on leisure and lifestyle pursuits, are all positive indicators for the health & fitness sector.

Macquarie Leisure Trust Group’s acquisition of the Good Life Health Club Chain earlier this year and Fitness First’s plans to open another 30 centres by the end of 2008, are good examples of expansion in services fuelled by the growth in demand.

While the health & fitness industry has successfully created a consumer demand for services and is responding through new or enhanced facilities, to keep pace with this growth there is an urgent need to develop strategies which ensure a reliable supply of trained professionals.

Recent economic figures show that the number of vacancies in the health & fitness sector is at an all-time high. The Australian Government’s Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) ‘August, 2007 Vacancy Report’ shows that from the 20 “occupational groups” Health, Fitness, Hair & Beauty was the 9th highest overall, with 4,173 vacancies.

Supporting this trend, the number of fitness jobs listed at the Sportspeople Jobs Market has doubled over the past year alone and now represents a substantial portion of total jobs advertised. Like the DEWR data, job vacancies in the health & fitness sector remain stronger in NSW, VIC and QLD, followed by the other States & Territories. The number of visitors at the Sportspeople Jobs Market has grown 37% over the corresponding period and shows no sign of slowing.

Australia’s unemployment rate, falling this year to its lowest level since 1974, has been one factor of broad economic significance over the past 12 months which will not have escaped the attention of employers in the health & fitness sector.

Page | 83

Health & Fitness Sector Facing A Skill Shortage Cont.

While people may still be looking for work and interestingly now choose to use the internet over a newspaper to search for a job, the reason to change jobs has to be more compelling than ever before.

Meanwhile, the predominantly casual nature of jobs in the Australian health & fitness sector has created an itinerant workforce, with a relatively low number of permanent roles and a relatively narrow career path for those seeking full-time work.

Tertiary students, and in particular those studying Exercise Sciences or Human Movement, are a good example of how work in the health & fitness sector suits as a lifestyle choice in these early years, but the focus shifts to “real employment” and “career roles” outside the sector upon graduation.

The relatively low number of career opportunities in the health & fitness sector will be a concern to employers, training organisations, Fitness Australia and job seekers alike. The sector is happy to embrace and encourage development and expansion of health & fitness facilities, pushed along by unprecedented consumer demand; however across Australia it is already evident that the pool of available and skilled candidates does not meet the current needs, let alone the needs of the future.

From our recruitment experience and from employer feedback, when looking for staff in the health & fitness sector the following is recommended:

Clearly state salary and package details in your job advertisement. Where

possible avoid using vague references such as “attractive package” or “package negotiable”.

Candidates need to know what you are paying and whether it is market rate.

Pay market rate. Do some research to see what others are paying and make sure you are competitive. If there are 40 Fitness Instructor jobs on a Job Board, you certainly don’t want to be the one with the lowest salary.

Provide some background on your business/organisation in the job advertisement, including such things as work culture, hours of work, career prospects, staff benefits, staff training etc.

Clearly articulate what you are seeking in an employee, what the job entails and what opportunities exist with your business/organisation.

Invite potential staff to your facility to meet other staff and to “get a feel” for the work environment.

Be patient with the process. Consider running your recruitment cycle over 3 weeks rather than 2 weeks to allow more opportunity for networking.

If you receive an expression of interest from a suitable candidate, don’t procrastinate.

Get in touch as quickly as possible to show the candidate you are interested.

Page | 84

Health & Fitness Sector Facing A Skill Shortage Cont.

Don’t delay your interviews. Good candidates are only on the market for a

short time, so if you find a good candidate make a decision and make an offer asap.

Cross-train staff to build a more versatile resource and to provide more cover during staff shortages.

When advertising for Membership/Sales staff, avoid excessively low base and high commission packages. Staff need to pay bills just like everyone else, so they need a reasonable base wage to live.

Consider Industry Traineeships for school leavers, providing on the job training and work opportunity.

Consider taking on candidates with less experience and up skill through on the job Training.


Page | 85


Skill and Labour Shortages And The Impact On Attraction & Retention Strategies In The Health And Fitness Sector Introduction: Talk to any employer operating in the health and fitness sector in Australia and

they will tell you it is increasingly difficult to find good staff. Until recently this

skill shortage has been largely manageable, with most employers modifying their

recruitment timelines or their expectations to fill jobs. Increased consumer interest in health management and weight loss,

Government investment in the promotion of healthy lifestyles, greater interest in

fitness and health management from the ageing population and more spending

on leisure and lifestyle pursuits, are all positive indicators for the health and

fitness sector.

While the health and fitness sector has successfully created a consumer demand for services and is responding through new or enhanced facilities, to keep pace with this growth there is an urgent need to develop strategies which ensure a reliable supply of trained professionals and strategies to attract and retain staff.

The predominantly casual nature of jobs in the Australian health and fitness sector has created an itinerant workforce, with a relatively low number of permanent roles and a narrow career path for those seeking or engaged in full-time work.

Tertiary students, and in particular those studying Exercise Sciences or Human Movement, are a good example of how work in the health and fitness sector suits as a lifestyle choice in these early years, but the focus shifts to “real employment” and “career roles” outside the sector upon graduation.

The low number of career opportunities in the health and fitness sector should be of concern to employers, training organisations, Fitness Australia and job seekers alike.

The sector is happy to embrace and encourage development and expansion of health and fitness facilities, pushed along by unprecedented consumer demand; however across Australia it is already evident that the pool of available and skilled candidates does not meet the current needs, let alone the needs of the future.

This presentation provides a snap shot of the health and fitness sector specifically and identifies key strategies for employers, training organisations, industry bodies and Government to address the skill and labour shortage. The presentation also identifies key strategies for employees to attract and retain staff.

Page | 86

Skill and Labour Shortages And The Impact On Attraction & Retention Strategies In The Health and Fitness Sector Cont.

Expansion of the sector – new players and obesity fuelling participation: And there appears to be plenty of money to be made riding the crest of the health and fitness boom. Macquarie Leisure Trust Group’s acquisition of the Good Life Health Club Chain in 2007 and Fitness First’s plans to open another 30 centres by the end of 2008 are good examples of expansion in services fuelled by the growth in demand.

According to figures published last year, Fitness First generated a record net profit in 2006 of $38.1 million - up 60 per cent on the 2005 result of $24.9 million. Revenue rose $64 million or 40 per cent to $233.2 million (Adelaide Advertiser, 2007).Reports in late 2007 indicated Sir Richard Branson was planning a £1 billion ($A2.3 billion) float of his Virgin Active gym chain on the London stock market. Virgin Active owns 167 clubs around the world and according to this report; Virgin Active is planning to commence operating in Australia in the near future (The Australian, 2007). Increased consumer interest in health management and weight loss, Government investment in the promotion of healthy lifestyles, greater interest in fitness and health management from the ageing population and more spending on leisure and lifestyle pursuits, are all positive indicators for the health and fitness sector. Existing training framework and professional standards:

Achieving a supply of qualified workers implies there is an established training framework which underpins the vocation as a whole. A minimum standard, via award of a qualification or certification, can be established and where necessary, enforced either through legislation (unlikely in this case) or voluntarily by employers.

Fitness Australia is the peak industry body for the health and fitness industry in Australia. It’s stated role is to support, promote and represent the industry locally, regionally and nationally. Fitness Australia sets the standards by which the industry is self-regulated in accordance with a Codes of Practice and Conduct. Registered fitness professionals are those that have successfully attained the recognised qualifications, have registered with Fitness Australia and are generally employed or contracted by fitness professionals by fitness businesses or are self-employed within the fitness industry.

The Fitness Australia registration scheme is based on the National Fitness Industry Training Package, a set of nationally endorsed standards and qualifications for recognising and assessing the skills of people in the fitness industry.

Page | 87

Skill And Labour Shortages And The Impact On Attraction & Retention Strategies In The Health And Fitness Sector Cont.

The qualifications are aligned with the Federal Government Australian Qualifications Framework and the Training Package is endorsed by the National

Training Quality Council. Fitness Australia actively contributes to the development and review of these standards.

There are many health and fitness training providers in Australia, offering courses from certificate to post-graduate level. Attaining a qualification, at least, does not appear to be a problem for a person wishing to gain employment in the health and fitness sector. Employment Trends:

Australia’s unemployment rate was 4.1 per cent in January, 2008, a low not seen in the past 33 years. The number of people employed in Australia rose by 20,100 in the past year, with the bulk coming from a spike in part-time jobs. There was an increase of 6,300 in full-time positions, after a slight drop in the participation rate (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008).

Recent economic figures show that the number of vacancies in the health and fitness sector is at an all-time high. The Australian Government’s Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) ‘August, 2007 Vacancy Report’ shows that from the 20 “occupational groups” Health, Fitness, Hair & Beauty was the 9th highest overall, with 4,173 vacancies.

Supporting this trend, the number of fitness jobs listed at the Sportspeople Jobs Market has doubled over the past year alone and now represents a substantial portion of total jobs advertised. Like the DEWR data, job vacancies in the health and fitness sector remain stronger in NSW, VIC and QLD, followed by the other States and Territories.

The number of visitors at the Sportspeople Jobs Market has grown 37% over the corresponding period and shows no sign of slowing.

The nature of employment participation in the health and fitness sector is also worthy to note. Anecdotal evidence, including data from previous Sportspeople Workplace Surveys and the Sportspeople Jobs Index, supports the notion the majority of employees within the Australian health and fitness sector are engaged either on a casual or part-time basis. Permanent, full-time roles are usually the exception in this sector particularly in the key roles such as Personal Trainer, Exercise Specialists and other floor staff. Personal Trainers are often contractors, required to carry their own Public Liability insurance. By nature and often necessity, many staff typically build hours and wages across a number of employers to equivalent full-time earnings.

Page | 88

Skill And Labour Shortages And The Impact On Attraction & Retention Strategies In The

Health And Fitness Sector Cont.

The relatively low number of permanent roles available, the flat line structure of management and the prevalence of owner/operators create a narrow career path for those seeking full-time work or indeed, to further progress their career.

Tertiary students, and in particular those studying Exercise Sciences or Human Movement, are a good example of how casual or part-time work in the health and fitness sector suits as a lifestyle choice in these early years, but the focus shifts to “real employment” and “career roles” outside the sector upon graduation. Limited earning capacity and limited career path are often cited by graduates as reasons to pursue work outside the health and fitness sector.

The Graduate Careers Council of Australia data shows that the starting salary for new Australian resident bachelor degree graduates (all categories) aged less than 25 years and in their first full time employment in Australia was $43,000 in 2006 (up from $40,800 in 2005). The Graduate Careers Council of Australia places sport, fitness, aquatics, coaching, venues, events, leisure and lifestyle graduates into the "Humanities" category in its Graduate Destinations Survey and shows:

The median salary is $37,100 per annum. Earn an average hourly rate of $18.85. Work on average 40 hours a week. 75.1% are working - not necessarily in their chosen field. 24.9% are searching for a job. 30.2% are studying.

There is growing pressure on employers not only to match but exceed this amount if they want to secure the services of degree qualified staff for permanent roles.

A record number of jobs in the health and fitness sector, within the broader context of near-full employment, are simply outpacing the supply of skilled and work ready candidates. In this market, sometimes referred to an employees’ market, the individual’s bargaining power is strong and the “pay me more or I will leave” mentality prevails. There is a low risk factor from the employee’s perspective because there are so many other employment opportunities available, often at higher rates of pay. Staff attrition rates tend to be relatively high (>20%pa) despite many varied attempts by employers to reduce them. Nothing appears to be abating this growth. Social trends and their relevance to the health and fitness sector:

I want to take a quick look at broader social trends now. The Health and Fitness sector does not operate in isolation from broader social factors impacting on the economy.

Page | 89


The data which I am using has been sourced from Australian Social Trends 2007 (ABS), compiled from ABS statistics and statistics from other official sources, as it presents information on contemporary social issues and areas of public policy concern from which we can draw reasonable assumptions as to the impact on the health and fitness sector. Recent trends in labour force participation:

Australia's labour force participation for persons aged 15–64 years has shown a small net increase in the last 15 years, from 74% in 1990 to 76% in 2005, with the main driver being the increasing participation of women.

In 1990 for example, 62% of Australian women aged 15–64 years were in the labour force, increasing to 68% by 2005. However, for Australian men aged 15– 64 years, the labour force participation rate decreased over this period from 85% to 83%.

A rise in the participation rate among the 55–64 years age group of eight percentage points (48% to 56%) from 2000 to 2005 exceeded the rise in the OECD average. Flexible work arrangements, allowing people the ability to make choices about extending their working life, are seemingly becoming more important. Relevance to the health and fitness sector?

Women between the ages of 15-64 may represent an important and

growing source of candidates. Providing flexible work arrangements for men and women between the

ages of 55-64 may increase the available candidate pool. Recent trends in part-time employment:

The prevalence of part time employment is a feature of the health and fitness sector.

Part-time employment is a significant feature of Australian women's involvement in the workforce. Both men and women may choose part-time work for many reasons, including seeking work-life balance, spending more time caring for family, study, and ease into retirement or trying out a new career through flexible employment.

Using OECD common definitions for part-time employment, in 1985, 20% of employed men and women aged 15–64 years worked part-time and in 2005, over a quarter (27%) of employed Australians were working part-time.

Importantly though, increasing the hours worked by those employed part-time may be seen as a potential source of additional labour supply.

Page | 90


According to the ABS Underemployed Workers Survey (2005), 67% of men and 49% of women in Australia who were employed part-time, reported that they would prefer to work full-time (35 hours or more each week). This of course assumes those working part-time are not employed in a number of jobs and working equivalent full-time hours (as is often the case in the health and fitness sector). Relevance to the health and fitness sector?

67% of men and 49% of women in Australia, who were employed part-

time, reported that they would prefer to work full-time. Overweight and obesity trends:

In 2004–05, more than half (54%) of all adults, or 7.4 million people aged 18 years and over were either overweight or obese, an increase from 45% (5.4 million adults) in 1995. Using age standardised data, the rate of overweight adults has increased from 33% in 1995 to 36% in 2004– 05, while the rate of obesity in adults has increased from 13% to 18% over the same period.

Each of the National Health Surveys conducted since 1995 has reported a higher rate of overweight and obesity for males than for females.

While equal proportions (53%) of people in low income and high income households were overweight or obese in 2004–05, those in low income households were more likely to be obese. Around one-fifth (21%) of adults in low income households were obese compared with 15% of adults in high income households.

Relevance to the health and fitness sector?

Being overweight poses a major risk to long term health and increases the

risk of chronic illnesses. Lower income households are more likely to be obese than high income

households and this cohort may, by extension, have less capacity to access health and fitness services. Subsidised services may be required.

The health and fitness industry has an important role in offering programs and activities that assist in reducing obesity.

Participation rates in sports and physical recreation:

In 2005–06, 10.5 million Australians aged 15 years and over (66%) took part in sports and physical recreation. These included 29% of the population (or 4.7 million) who regularly participated more than twice a week and 36% (or 5.8 million) who participated up to twice a week. The remainder, approximately 5.5 million people (34%), reported that they did not participate in any such activity in the 12 months before interview.

Page | 91


The ten most popular activities accounted for 76% of participation in 2005–06. Of particular interest is the fact that only two (netball and soccer) of these ten activities are what I would refer to as “organised” sport, the remaining eight being what I would refer to as recreational or interest activities with participation likely to be outside the structure of a National Sporting Organisation or affiliated entity.

Walking was the most commonly reported physical recreation activity among Australians. One quarter of the population aged 15 years and over (almost 4 million people) participated in the 12 months prior to interview, with the female rate (33%) being almost double the male rate (17%). Walkers also accounted for over half of those who participated in sports and physical recreation more than twice a week (15% of the population).

Aerobics/fitness was the second most popular activity, with 13% of the population aged 15 years and over participating. This activity was more popular with women (16%) than men (9%).

Swimming, the third most popular activity, had a participation rate of 9% with more women (10%) than men (8%) involved.

Over 1million people (6% of the population) participated in cycling, and a further 875,000 (6%) played golf. Unlike the top three activities, these tended to be male dominated, with cycling being reported by 9% of males and 4% of females, while golf was played by 9% of males compared with 2% of females.

Males also had higher rates of participation in running, soccer, and cricket, while women were more active in netball, yoga and dancing.

This data refutes the great myth that Australian’s are sport crazy. It is more likely those that do take part in some form of physical activity, do so simply to keep fit as opposed to participating in structured sport. Relevance to the health and fitness sector?

The majority of Australians aged 15 years and over participate in physical

recreation activity as opposed to structured, organised sport through a sport organisation.

Significant opportunity exists for the health and fitness industry to broaden its reach into walking, swimming, running and bushwalking outside the traditional activities of aerobics/fitness.

Clearly, the health and fitness sector should have the Government’s attention and should be of higher priority than sport.

Page | 92


Graph 1. Participation level of most popular activities 2005-2006 So, how can the sector best respond to build the candidate pool? What are the proven methods to attract staff and above all else, how can employers retain quality staff? Strategies to grow the supply of health and fitness specialists:

In the interests of at least showing I have attempted to keep my presentation within the confines of the word count set by Service Skills, I will address these strategies generally in summary form.

Firstly, let’s take a quick look at some broad, longer term strategies designed to increase the supply of candidates and employment prospects for the health and fitness sector:

Introduction of Pathways Programs for health and fitness. These

vocational training programs for students in years 11/12 provide hands on learning and a head start to a career upon leaving school. These programs already exist in most States and Territories however offer other trades/vocations outside health and fitness.

Develop closer relationships with Vocational/Career Counsellors, with an initial focus on ensuring Year 10 (equivalent) students are provided information on employment prospects and training in the health and fitness sector.

Page | 93


Develop closer relationships with the Department of Education, Science

and Training including links and/or advertisements in The Job Guide, http://jobguide.dest.gov.au/ available online and in print version

distributed to all Year 10 school students throughout Australia. The Job Guide provides an in-depth look at occupations with related education and training pathways. It is designed to assist students select occupation and

any further education or training decisions.

Increased Government investment in traineeships. The Rudd Government

announced in January, 2008 that rising inflation made additional investment in skills an urgent priority and that funds for an additional

20,000 trainee positions would be available to the States by April, 2008. Fitness Australia and the industry as a whole, should embrace trainees as

a way to increase the long term candidate pool. Australian Apprenticeships Centres provide a free service to employers to help them with the sign-up and administration of an Australian Apprenticeship.

Increased levels of Government expenditure for health and fitness promotion to be a national imperative. The total financial cost of obesity in

Australia in 2005 has been estimated as $3.767 billion. The net cost of lost wellbeing (the dollar value of the burden of the disease, netting out

financial costs borne by individuals) was valued at a further $17.2 billion, bring the total cost of obesity in 2005 to $21billion. (Access Economics, 2006). If this is not already on the Government’s agenda it should be!

This expenditure should be channeled at least in part, through the health and

fitness sector and led by Fitness Australia or a specific agency.

Given the economic and social impact of the obesity endemic, the federal Government should be lobbied to establish an Australian Fitness

Commission, responsible for coordinating and managing all related programs and funding (including appropriate Health budgets). Importantly though, the Australian Sports Commission should not be delegated this

responsibility. The ASC’s stated vision is... “To continue to be recognised as the world leader in developing high performance and community sport”

therefore is clearly not an appropriate organisation to manage national health and fitness priorities. Health and fitness has been lost for too long within the funding pool allocated to sport and community sport.

Introduction of school based health and fitness programs, separate to and distinct from school based sport. Opportunity exists for service delivery by

trained professionals either as a school based resource or supplied via the community network of health and fitness centres. The health and fitness

sector cannot afford to lose another opportunity such as the Active After-school Communities, where $90 million was allocated over four years towards a physical activity program run in conjunction with local

community Sporting organisations and channeled through the Australian Sports Commission.

Page | 94

Skill And Labour Shortages And The Impact On Attraction & Retention Strategies In The

Health And Fitness Sector Cont.

Extension to the Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417) to allow adequately

trained and skilled international visitors to work with the one employer for up to 12 months (presently 6 months). Strategies to attract and retain

staff in the health and fitness sector I would now like to share with you some of the strategies to attract and retain staff in the health and fitness sector. These strategies have been developed as a result of Sportspeople’s

lead role as an industry recruiter and as a result of discussions with employers.

Clearly state salary and package details in your job advertisement. Where possible avoid using vague references such as “attractive package” or

“package negotiable”. Candidates need to know what you are paying and whether it is market rate. Our experiences at the Sportspeople Jobs Market show that for those jobs with a salary of $50,000 or above, the

number of views was 30% more when salary was stated. For those jobs with a salary below $50,000, the number of views was 12% more when

salary was stated.

Pay market rate at least, and where possible pay above market rate. Do

some research to see what others are paying and make sure you are competitive. If there are 40 Fitness Instructor jobs on a Job Board, you certainly don’t want to be the one with the lowest salary.

Provide some background on your business/organisation in the job advertisement, including such things as work culture, hours of work,

career prospects, staff benefits, staff training etc. You are selling your business to prospective employees, so don’t hold back.

Clearly articulate what you are seeking in an employee, what the job entails and what career opportunities exist with your

business/organisation.

Invite potential staff to your facility to meet other staff and to “get a feel”

for the work Environment.

Be patient with the process. Consider running your recruitment cycle over

3 weeks rather than 2 weeks to allow more opportunity for networking.

If you receive an expression of interest from a suitable candidate, don’t procrastinate. Get in touch as quickly as possible to show the candidate you are interested.

Don’t delay your interviews. Good candidates are only on the market for a short time, so if you find a good candidate make a decision and make an offer as soon as possible.

Cross-train staff to build a more versatile resource and to provide more

cover during staff shortages.

Page | 95


When advertising for Membership/Sales staff, avoid excessively low base and high commission packages. Staff need to pay bills just like everyone else, so they need a reasonable base wage to live. On Target Earnings (OTE) offering large commissions can often sound too good to be true and can be a turn off for candidates.

Consider the merit of Industry Traineeships for school leavers, providing on the job training and work opportunity. Grants of up to $4,500 are available to employers.

Consider taking on candidates with less experience and up skill through on-the-job training.

Consider using “Staff Stay Surveys”. Most employers use exit interviews to find out why people leave their jobs or use post-exit interviews to that strategy to get a less “emotionally” charged answer to the question of “why people leave”.

The problem with both these survey tools is they come too late. Staff Retention or Stay Surveys are designed to measure the staff happiness and identify any issues which are across the staff as a whole or impacting on an individual.

The health and fitness sector by nature requires many employees to work

shift hours. For fulltime staff, this can prove to be an onerous requirement. Employers might consider using casual staff to take early and late shifts and time to time reward full-time staff with “regular” hours to help them re-charge.

When advertising a role, consider using an online medium either as a substitute or as a Supplement to newsprint. Job seekers now choose to use the internet over a newspaper to search for a job; so ensure you are getting your job vacancy to the market.


Page | 96


Fitness Sector Weak In Business Skills

Sportspeople recently attended the Health & Fitness Expo as a guest of Fitness

Australia in their Business Advisory Centre, providing advice to business owners

and people working or seeking work in the fitness sector. The three day event

also provided the opportunity for us to catch up, put a face to a name and to

thank a many of our clients who were in attendance.

Apart from the expected questions relating to salaries and job opportunities, we

were surprised by the number of enquiries seeking advice on what we would

consider basic business fundamentals.

Scattered throughout the Expo there were a number of reputable and high

profile Providers no doubt catering for what is unprecedented demand for

training courses. However, while the output of trained fitness professionals is

likely to be at an all-time high, it would appear there is a need for better

education and training for people already in business or those contemplating a

fitness business.

This suggestion is particularly timely, given ASIC’s latest annual data (to June

30, 2011) showing that businesses with less than 5 full-time equivalent

employees accounted for more than 50% of those businesses placed in

administration in the 2010/11 financial year. Over this time 4,963 business were

wound up with the biggest nominated causes being poor strategic management,

inadequate cash flow, trading losses, poor financial control and poor economic

conditions. If you are a business owner you can control all of these factors with

the exception of general economic conditions.

If you are thinking about setting up a fitness business, even if only as a Personal

Trainer, there will be a number of critical elements outside of exercise

prescription and client management that you will need to consider. If the course

you have just completed did not provide you with these fundamental business

skills, make sure you look elsewhere and give your business a health check

before you get started.


Page | 97


What Downturn in the Job Market?

One of the benefits of being in business for over 16 years is that you gain a solid

appreciation of the cyclic nature of employment in the sport, fitness and aquatic

sector.

Jobs in the aquatic sector tend to build over the August-October period as

centre’s re-open after the winter hiatus, while fitness jobs tend to peak in the

first quarter of year, possibly in response to customer demand from yet-to-be-

broken New Year resolutions.

On the other hand, sport sector jobs are reasonably consistent throughout the

year with some downturn evident over the Christmas-New Year break but overall

the sector does not experience significant peaks and troughs or major shifts in

demand and supply. The Olympic cycle traditionally has an impact on sport

sector jobs, particularly as there is a resource/staff build leading into a Games

and then movement post-Games.

The GFC in late 2008 certainly had an effect on this cycle, with many sport

management professionals adopting a more conservative approach to their job

search. The twelve month period post-Games is usually quite active at the

senior, executive level however this simply was not the case in 2009. With the

doom and gloom merchants still out there it remains to be seen what

opportunities will arise in 2012/13.

For our part though, Sportspeople has not seen any slowdown in activity. In fact

the first half of 2012 has been a record year for Sportspeople with all our metrics

at new highs. More jobs at the Sportspeople Jobs Market than ever before. More

recruitment assignments and jobs filled than previous years. More employers

than ever utilizing our services. More Job Seekers than ever accessing our Job

Board and joining our online community.

Over the past weeks Sportspeople has been busy doing what we do best –

bringing employers and job seekers together.

New Zealand has been an active recruitment market for Sportspeople with a

number of roles filled or in the final stages of recruitment including:

• Account Manager – ANZ Championships • General Manager, Performance & Strategic Investment – High Performance Sport New Zealand

• General Manager, Capacity & Expertise – High Performance Sport New Zealand • Account Executive – IMG Sports Technology

• Performance Consultant - High Performance Sport New Zealand • High Performance Athlete Development Advisor - High Performance Sport New Zealand

• High Performance Director – Swimming New Zealand

Page | 98

What Downturn in the Job Market Cont.

• Performance Consultant - High Performance Sport New Zealand

• High Performance Athlete Development Advisor - High Performance Sport New Zealand • High Performance Director – Swimming New Zealand

In Australia our Recruitment Consultants have also been busy, working on a

number of roles including: • Sports Development Officer – Wheelchair Sports NSW

• Finance & Operations Manager, Gymnastics Victoria • Manager, Sport Programs – Macquarie University Sport

• National Manager, Corporate Services – Triathlon Australia • National Manager, Participation & Membership – Triathlon Australia

• Health & Fitness Coordinator – North Sydney Olympic Pool • Chief Executive Officer – Netball Victoria • Chief Executive Officer – NSW Women’s’ Bowls

Sportspeople is also presently working on a remuneration benchmarking project

for the National Elite Sports Council (NESC), benchmarking 27 common roles

across the AIS/SIS/SAS network and another 12 roles against comparable

international posts. This project is a follow up to our benchmarking report for

NESC in 2010 and 2008. In May we also completed a number of other

benchmarking projects, including Chief Executive Officer roles and a few in the

leisure services area.

Keep watching the Sportspeople Jobs Market, join our online community and

remember, whether you are looking for new staff or looking for that next career step, Sportspeople is here to help you.


Page | 99

Sportspeople Knowledgebase ©2013

Labour demand data signals growing opportunity for Part Timers

Recent ABS data released showed that 71,500 new jobs were added in Australia

in February with 53,700 of these part-time, a drop in the unemployment rate to

5.4% and the participation rate (the percentage of the population in work or

looking for work) rising to 65%. For the sport, fitness and aquatic sector this is

all good news and another sign labour is increasing in demand and the economy

overall, is warming up. While there’s too much data to comment here, we like

the fact there is a labour force underutilisation, meaning there’s a big chunk of

the work force that is not working as many hours as they’d like. Employers

might want to consider this in their staff strategy moving forward, and consider

offering more part-time employment opportunities as a way to build capacity

without the full-time costs.


Page | 100


Sportspeople Online Presence Continues To Grow

Sportspeople has been in the online Job Board since 1999 and is widely considered one of the foundation Job Boards in Australia and worldwide. Over

this time the growth in traffic, job seeker registrations, candidate referrals and employer advertisements has continued an upward trend, far exceeding even

our most optimistic growth expectations when we launched the website 13 years ago.

For the period January 1, 2012 to 1 November, 2012 our metrics for www.sportspeople.com.au include 3,648,949 pageviews, 381,135 absolute

unique visitors accounting for 1,096,384 visits. New visitors represented 32.76% of our traffic and our geographic spread is now truly global, with all regions strongly represented (source: Google Analytics).

Our mobile site, launched over 2 years ago, continues to enjoy steady growth

with over 20,000 absolute users in 2012 (to 1 November, 2012) and 82.58% of visitors returning via a handheld device (source: Google Analytics).

Not one ever to rest on our laurels, Sportspeople is continually evaluating our

services and reach, actively responding to our user feedback. Our current projects include a revamp of the website investing in a new “back-end” operating system to make the Sportspeople Jobs Market even quicker for Job Seekers and Employers.

If you have any feedback on how Sportspeople can improve your Job Search or assist with your Candidate Search, we’d like to hear from you. Please send your comments to [email protected] and we will consider them in our development roll-out.

In the meantime, we look forward to continuing to do what we do best – bringing Job Seekers and Employers together.


mailto:[email protected]

Page | 101


Say say two thousand zero zero party over, oops, out of time....

It was about this time of the year when, in 1999, the Sportspeople domain name

was first registered and the Sportspeople Jobs Market went live for the very first time. 14 years ago newspapers were the primary source of Positions Vacant with the Saturday editions of the majors carrying 4,000-5,000 advertisements. Even

SEEK, now an internationally acclaimed job board, hadn't really made any significant inroads given it had only launched in 1997/98. Typically, if you were

interested in applying for a job you would need to gather up all your documents, cover letter and CV and post them to the employer. Even Post Offices were relevant in 1999!

No doubt for Gen Y job seekers, a life without job boards and the internet is a

particularly foreign concept; but it is a great example to demonstrate how much has changed in the way we now look for jobs and staff in what is, after all, a relatively short time span.

The catalyst for the Sportspeople job board – the Sportspeople Jobs Market as it

is known today – was very simple. We had launched our recruitment business in 1997, the first of its kind in Australia, and we needed a better way to advertise our jobs to the market. Newspapers, still dominant at the time, were expensive,

limited your advertising penetration to a particular readership in a particular geographic region on a particular day and, of course, were very restrictive in

what you could tell the job seeker about the role. As you paid at a per column centimetre rate, print advertisements were often brief.

Somewhat to our surprise, initially at least, job seekers started to visit and register with Sportspeople, providing us a new avenue to communicate about

roles we were directly recruiting. Meanwhile other job seekers simply wanted to be part of the Sportspeople network, the catalyst for the Sportspeople Job Seeker Registration. Employers also started to ask whether they could list their

positions vacant at the Sportspeople Jobs Market and again to our surprise, when they did they achieved a great outcome, cheaper and quicker than print

advertising and a candidate group best matching their needs. As they say, the rest is history.

Over the past 14 years we have invested heavily in our online services including

four major site (new look) upgrades, improved “back-end” systems as well as constant improvements in the site dynamics. Sportspeople has a dedicated team

responsible for all things online, ably led by Angelique Lele, Sportspeople Operations Manager and supported by Alessia Calvi, Sportspeople’s Customer Service, Marketing and Online Coordinator, Eugene O’Brien, Tangerine Earth

(technical) and Janet Johnson, Tesselated Technologies (design).

Page | 102

Say say two thousand zero zero party over, oops, out of time cont....

Given the importance of these services, not just to Sportspeople itself but

specifically the broader sport, fitness and aquatic sector I’d like to express my sincere thanks for the things this group has done and what’s in development right now.

At last count the Sportspeople website had 457,145 absolute unique visitors

(period Feb 2012 - Feb 2013 – source Google Analytics). When we send out a

broadcast to our registered network at last count it was 12,121 (Feb 2013) and

that’s before we reach another 6,424 contacts via our social media channels

including LinkedIn, facebook and Twitter. Our growth has never slowed since

1999 and in the last 12 months alone we reached our highest ever number of

jobs advertised, while 32.26% of visitors were "new" and there was an increase

of 191% in the use of mobile/hand held devises to visit our site.

We never imagined our job board activities would reach across Australia let

alone across the world. Job seekers from hundreds of countries now visit the

Sportspeople Jobs Market (source – Google Analytics). The globalisation of the

labour market has meant the roles we advertise via Sportspeople International,

our global executive search division, now attract candidates from all parts of the

world. Our clients benefit from this reach as they can now cast a wider net if

they want to consider “world’s best" candidates including, of course, those

outside Australia or New Zealand.

Two of our recent Sportspeople International recruitment assignments best

demonstrate this reach:

1. Western Australia Institute of Sport, Performance Team Director (Jan

2013) - 97 candidates from 21 countries applied for the role.

2. High Performance Sport New Zealand, High Performance Athlete

Development Consultant (Feb 2013) - 77 candidates from 14 countries

applied for the role.

Such is the strength of Sportspeople International’s reach we are now extending

our services into the UK/European, Asian and North American markets offering

our targeted, global search for key, executive appointments to sporting

businesses wanting "world’s best" candidates.

Over the past 14 years we have seen many start-ups come and go, most full of

marketing puffery with dubious claims of audience reach, visits and candidate

dB. Many, even to this day, use the Sportspeople Jobs Market to harvest

advertisements and pitch introductory, free jobs to our customers. I have never

changed my belief in that golden rule … if it seems too good to be true, it

probably is.

Page | 103

Say say two thousand zero zero party over, oops, out of time cont.

There are many lessons I have learned in the 17 years of managing

Sportspeople Recruitment and the (concurrent) 14 years of growing the

Sportspeople Jobs Market.

However, if I had to pick one of most important foundations of the Sportspeople

business I’d have to say it has been our dedicated commitment to building and

providing reliable, economical and meaningful services that bring Job Seekers

and Employers together every day. This is what drives all of us working for and

within Sportspeople.

We are of course extremely grateful to each and every Job Seeker and Employer

for supporting us over these past 14 years. With a new look website currently

under development, and an ever-increasing network of Job Seekers and

Employers visiting and using our website services the future is certainly exciting

and promising. Regardless of what format this future might be, you can be

assured Sportspeople will be at the leading edge.


Page | 104


Sportspeople puts into action its global search credentials

In late June 2014 Sportspeople was commissioned to manage the global search

for 32 Technical Experts to deliver a Project with a focus on a new, national sport

specific Athlete Development Pathways Model. These Sport Models will be gifted

to the National Sporting Federations in 2015 as part of our client’s ongoing

contribution to the development of sport within its country. Our client, a National

Olympic Committee based in the Middle East, selected Sportspeople for a

number of reasons, including our international reach, established Talent Network

and our recruitment methodology including our Candidate Management Systems.

In August our client then commissioned Sportspeople to manage a further 3

appointments, to include Athletics (Track + Field) and Chess.

While it is easy for any recruitment agency operating in the sport sector to imply

a global search capability, the true test is always going to be evident in the

results achieved. Here’s a snap shot of what we achieved for our client:

Number of views of position at www.sportspeople.com.au – 8,374

Country spread of candidates - 38 nations to include Argentina; Australia;

Austria; Barbados; Belgium; Brazil; Bulgaria; Canada; China; Croatia;

Denmark; England; France; Germany; Hong Kong; India; Iran; Ireland;

Italy; Morocco; Netherlands; New Zealand; Philippines; Portugal; Qatar;

Russia; Scotland; Singapore; South Africa; Spain; Switzerland; Thailand;

UAE; Uganda; Ukraine; USA; Wales; Zimbabwe.

Total Number of applications received: 922

35 successful appointments have now been made, clustered across a geographic

spread of:

North America – 38%

Europe & UK – 31%

Australia & New Zealand – 31%

The announcement of these appointments and the identity of our client will be

made later this year once all the Technical Experts have signed their Contracts of

Engagement.

In our client’s words the depth of the candidate field was exemplary and the

appointed Technical Experts reads like a Who’s Who of the international High

Performance Sport & Athlete Development community.

Sportspeople recognises we live and work in a highly connected world with the

ability to alert our Talent Network to opportunities quickly and efficiently,

regardless of where they might live.

http://www.sportspeople.com.au/

Page | 105

Sportspeople puts into action its global search credentials cont.

That's why we believe our Talent Network is second to none, reaching across the

key global markets and including those working within, and other executives

seeking employment in, the sport sector. Sportspeople is also the owner of the

internationally acclaimed Sportspeople Jobs Market, the world’s longest-

serving sport employment Job Board (founded in 1999). Sportspeople

Recruitment clients benefit from this national and international presence and

reach (100+ countries).

If you have a need for a global search Sportspeople would be happy to discuss

how we can assist your recruitment effort. Importantly, rather than just talking

about it Sportspeople can show you we have been delivering results since 1996.


Page | 106


October, 20 years on....

For me at least, the October Long Weekend always seems to evoke long-past but

fond memories. Throughout the late 60’s and early 70’s when I was growing up on the NSW Central Coast, the end of September and start of October celebrated

Rugby League Grand Finals, Bathurst Motor Races, imminent Higher School Certificate exams, pools re-opening, the summer swimming carnival season, beaches beckoning, cricket starting, cicadas drumming and strangely, Christmas

decorations appearing at Grace Bros.

One of the most significant memories however is this time 20 years ago when I started to formalise the end to my career as a sports administrator and taking the leap to self-employment. Having worked 16+ years across community sport,

as a CEO of a NSO and running major, international sport events, it’s fair to say by the end of 1994 it was time to acknowledge (and then do something about)

the sacrifices made at a personal level as a professional sport administrator.

While my parents and their parents before them were all self-employed, among

my siblings I’m the only one to step in this direction. There’s no right or wrong of course and I’m proud of my two brothers & sister and the life-long, positive

contribution they’ve made to hundreds, if not thousands of children through their work as educators. But, having walked in shoes of a PAYG salary earner and being self-employed I can say it is a very different journey. Not better, just

different.

It is particularly fulfilling that 20 years later Sportspeople is not only still in business but operating more successfully than ever before. Last month was not only our best trading month for a September but importantly our best ever

trading month on record. And that result was achieved across both of our core business divisions, recruitment and Job Board. In fact five of the past nine

months in 2014 have been record highs for Sportspeople pushing us steadily towards our best trading year.

Unequivocally we can say Sportspeople is the longest serving & leading global executive search firm dedicated to the business of sport.

Headquartered out of Sydney and with regional partners in New York, Shanghai and Paris our team are recognised as the benchmark industry

experts for senior level recruitment. Our online platform, established in 1999, is the world's longest serving sport employment website reaching a global audience over 100+ countries, had over 2,700,000

authenticated users over the last 12 months and more than 50,000 jobs listed over the past decade alone. Sportspeople is also 100% Australian

owned & operated.

I’m also pleased to welcome my son Lachlan McMurtrie into the Sportspeople

business, initially part-time while finishing his Commerce Degree and full-time in 2015 upon graduation. While I didn’t follow my parents into their business, it is

gratifying to have another generation both interested and willing to explore the opportunities of the future.


Page | 107

October, 20 years on Cont.

Right now we are putting the finishing touches to our new-look website as well as managing our busy and varied recruitment schedule, servicing, assisting and

guiding our Talent Network, Job Seekers and Employers. What we do we do well, in a simple and friendly way and above all else, we genuinely care about the way we do it and the outcomes for employers and Job Seekers.

The last 20 years have certainly been enjoyable and I’d like to thank anyone and everyone I’ve come into contact with over this time for allowing me the

indulgence of never regretting my decision to embark on this career. It is the Sportspeople Community that has sustained what we do and how we do it and it

is the Sportspeople Community that will shape what we do for the next 20 years.

Best People. Best Jobs. Since 1996.


Page | 108

Sportspeople Tips

Don't go into a job interview pretending to be somebody that you think an employer might like to hire. Remember to be yourself. You are your biggest asset.

Compared to say a decade ago, it is pretty easy these days to pull a CV

and a cover letter together and apply for a job. Spending time thinking about whether the job is the right opportunity for you and whether you are what the employer is looking for are two of the important

considerations in a job application process, best done before you hit the "Send" button.

When recruiting at any level the aim is to attract qualified, experienced

and highly skilled candidates. As remuneration is one of a number of key

elements for most job seekers it makes good sense to provide an indicative range when advertising the role. Candidates self-screen and

therefore are more likely to view advertisements and express an interest in jobs where the salary is stated

when you search for a job online, even when the salary isn’t shown, you can usually refine your search using the salary field. Most Job Boards request the employer to list salary, even if it doesn’t display. So, use the

Salary Range field to narrow your search next time you are looking.

Do not include a photo in your job application. Not only does it increase the file download size, it creates an opportunity for the employer to judge you (as would a handshake in an interview) as the first impression before

they have read your application. Save your photo for your LinkedIn profile.

95% of Australian workers believe salary figures should not be inclusive of

superannuation. In addition to this, 100% of those who voted on our poll

a few weeks back asking whether salary figures should include Superannuation or be stated as Base + Superannuation. In an attempt to

meet the needs of job seekers, Employers should keep this in mind when advertising a job and avoid using references such as “attractive package” or “package negotiable” which only creates ambiguity.

In the sport management area many are faced with unusual

circumstances. They work their usual week, attend evening and weekend meetings and show up at the game(s) or events as often as possible.

Recognition of the extent to which salaried sport management professionals give up their leisure and family time, equal to that of their

honorary colleagues, needs to be more widely acknowledged. So, spend some time with your mum this Sunday and put your work as second priority.

Page | 109

Sportspeople Tips Cont.

According to a poll I had seen earlier this year, Australians look forward to

taking a holiday over a pay rise or promotion. In a number of recruitment assignments undertaken by Sportspeople, we’ve been asked by the

successful candidate and/or the employer, to structure an extra weeks leave into the package rather than increase the overall package value. This is certainly worth considering in your negotiations when offered a

new job.

When registering as a Job Seeker, (or if you already are a Job Seeker) on the Sportspeople Jobs Market, refine the criteria of your job search so that it is specific to the type of job you’re looking for but not so specific that

you miss out on opportunities.

Industry research by Sportspeople has shown that up to 60% of jobs in the sport sector are filled either through networking or internal promotion or referral. Build your contact network and creating a positive professional

reputation are basic elements not only for securing work, but also for developing your career.

Referees are really important in the overall background checking for a job

seeker. If you are referee it is vital that you provide honest, frank and genuine comments on a job seeker. If you don’t and the job seeker turns out to be a dud, this reflects poorly on you as the referee.

According to research, graduate applications made by final year students

have reached an all time high this year with an average of 6.9 applications per student. In such a competitive arena, it makes sense to have qualifications that are applicable to other industry sectors as well as sport.

The sport sector is highly diverse and employs both generalists and specialists across many occupational categories. Don't limit your

opportunities by being too highly specialised.

There's a fair bit of negative commentary about the European economy

and the flow on effect for Australia. However, we are enjoying a low unemployment rate (5.1%), low interest rates and a strong economy

overall. Don’t let these negative sentiments impact on your job search or how you feel about your current job.

June seems to be closing with a bang in the Sports industry with Kristina Keneally’s appointment as Chief Executive Officer at Basketball Australia

and Sportspeople’s recent involvement in the recruitment of the CEO position for Golf NSW. When applying for a CEO role, make sure you demonstrate ways in which you will be a strong and effective leader who

acts as the driving force behind the success of an organization’s future, in addition to creating trust, facilitating strategy, encouraging change,

building teams and much more.

Page | 110


Satisfaction with life and with work may be more dependent on how an

employee sees their job rather than on income or status. Those in the

sport management sector would know that salaries, hours worked and the level of recognition is less than other industry sectors yet there is still a

healthy supply of high quality candidates. Think about your own circumstances and, rather than asking yourself whether you can earn more money working outside sport, the real questions are, given the

opportunity would you want to and if you do, why haven’t you?

We're often asked by Job Seekers when is the best time to request salary information if it's not listed in the job advert. Our advice is to ask as soon as possible. That way you'll know whether it is worthwhile in applying &

you'll be saving both yourself and the employer time and anguish. A call or email should suffice and as a minimum they should be able to provide a

salary range.

Enjoying what you do is vital in each and every job. However, just

because you have a passion for a particular sport doesn’t always mean that you’ll get the job or even an interview. Make sure you read the

position description thoroughly and check that you match the selection criteria before you apply.

With the Opening Ceremony for London 2012 only hours away it’s timely to offer our best wishes to all our athletes. As Sportspeople recruits across

the Tasman, it is appropriate to extend our best wishes to the Australian & New Zealand Olympic and Paralympic teams. And, while the Games are all about the athletes, its important to acknowledge the enormous

contribution made by the people behind these teams and sport organisations who work tirelessly each & every day to create the

opportunities for our athletes to compete on the world stage; your efforts are also worth a medal.

One of the most attractive attributes of an Athlete is perseverance. When

they lose, they pick themselves up and carry on. It’s human nature to

think we are invincible. Keep in mind when you apply for a job you automatically enter a rejection cycle, as the bulk of candidates will

ultimately be unsuccessful. Knowing that rejection is often the outcome of an application is part of applying for a role. If you’re unsuccessful it doesn’t mean you’re a bad candidate, it’s just a missed opportunity. Pick yourself

up & try again.

When advertising a role, think of yourself as a brand selling a product. What makes you different from other fitness centers’, swim schools or sporting organisations? A well constructed, information rich job

advertisement will not only increase your chances in attracting candidates that match your requirements but gives you the opportunity to sell and

position your brand within the marketplace, encouraging the job seeker to want to find out more about working for you.

Page | 111


Last week we were asked for advice on how to apply for a role when you're new to the industry & don't have much experience.

Here's a tip: If you’re looking for that elusive entry job into the industry, try to build your resume with voluntary roles within the industry &

network to build contacts. Also, look at building transferrable skills (such as finance, events, PR, communications, sponsorship, and membership) in other industries where more jobs are available, and then you can move

into this industry later.

We often get a lot of enquiries from international candidates, prompting this week’s tip of the week. Employers are usually only able to sponsor international candidates after proving that there are NO local candidates

able to fulfill the requirements of the role. So unless you are applying for a highly specialised or senior role, you will more than likely require a VISA

to live and work in Australia. It is always easier to secure a role when you reside in Australia so take the risk and move here as soon as possible. You will also need to ensure your qualifications are accepted here as you may

be required to do a bridging course.

In an extremely competitive job market, neglecting your cover letter is a big mistake. Make sure you take the time to personalize your cover letter for each position, ensuring you address the specific position you are

applying for and how you meet the selection criteria. Make it as easy as possible for the employer to see why you are the right candidate for the

position. An extra 5-10 minutes preparing your application can mean the difference between securing an interview or not.

Have you heard the old adage that the first 60 seconds of an interview are the most important? Your handshake might say more about you than you realise. Ensure it is confident and firm, make eye contact and only shake

3-4 times. Practice with a friend or professional who can give you honest feedback & try to avoid the ‘wet-fish’ (sweaty and weak) and ‘bone-

crusher’ handshakes at all costs.

Hiring an intern provides low-cost, enthusiastic staff to assist with short-

term projects or seasonal needs. It also allows you to identify potential new employees at low-risk. So if you’re struggling to keep on top of your administration or could use an extra set of hands, an intern or trainee

could be the solution. Sportspeople has close to 1000 registered Job Seekers looking for internship opportunities, and remember, advertising

for intern positions at the Sportspeople Jobs Market is FREE. Here are some intern positions currently available

Page | 112


A question often asked during an interview is “What has been your

greatest failure?” When responding, try to turn this negative into a

positive. Remember, mistakes are proof that you are trying so show that

you can take responsibility for your actions by explaining your intentions,

emphasize what you learned and how you have improved to avoid it from

happening again.

Sometimes recruitment processes take longer than anticipated for a

number of reasons (selection panel availability, getting in contact with referees etc…). In these instances it is important to keep in touch with

candidates to let them know they are still under consideration, to keep them from losing interest and looking elsewhere. Remember: Telling the candidate there is no news, is news to the candidate.

Here's a tip for those who want to get promoted! Show your initiative by

asking your superior how you can take on more responsibility outside of your current role so that you can build your experiences.

Try not to seek sympathy and be professional - Employers do not hire

people because they feel sorry for you. A proper job hunting introduction

does not entail telling the contact how bad your situation is and how much you need a job. Come on, let’s show some self-respect, look them in the

eye, and act like professional to professional.

When you are applying for a role, don’t seek sympathy or act desperate.

Employers simply do not hire people because they feel sorry for you. Avoid telling them how bad your situation is or how much you need a job

and act like one professional to another.

Do you have an interview coming up? Follow a C.P.R. strategy –

Consolidate your documents; Prepare for the interview by researching the organisation and Rehearse for the interview by practicing commonly asked

questions.

There’s a saying, "We make a living by what we do, but we make a life by

what we give". We all read the research that volunteers are happier people, but 34% of volunteers have also said their volunteer roles has

also given them skills useful for future paid employment. So, if you’re thinking of ways to make yourself more employable in the sport, fitness or aquatic sector, why not consider a volunteer role?

Remember that old saying.... if you’re not in it, you can’t win it! Don’t

hesitate applying if the only concern you have is that you may be unsuccessful. If you believe you are the best at what you do, regardless of whether you are male or female, we encourage you to apply for roles you

believe fit your career goals.

Page | 113


Returning to the workforce after a break can be daunting. Tip: Review or

update your skills - what skills were gained during your 'time out'? or consider a short course; Research your industry - what new changes or

trends have occurred; Explain your career break - whether for family, study or travel note it on your resume.

It’s more than likely you will receive an unexpected interview call as part of the recruitment process. In the event of this, here are some tips to

keep you prepared at all times;

It might be stating the obvious, but don’t do the interview in

the workplace. It’s just not politically correct! The interviewer will most likely ask questions related to your

submitted resume so have it somewhere handy. On the top of your desk for example, or tape it to the wall near the phone so it's at your fingertips when you need to answer

questions. Have a short list of your strengths, weaknesses &

accomplishments available. Having this list helps articulate something useful rather than babbling and regretting it later.

Take your time and speak slowly - it's ok to take a moment to collect your thoughts.

As the end of the year approaches, it is not uncommon to notice a dip in productivity from your staff. Here are some tips to keep your employees motivated and focused; Have an in-depth chat with employees about their

performance and your expectations, provide feedback on their work, ensure employees are on track for completing their plans and review their goals by ensuring they are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and

time-bound. Most of all enjoy the silly season with your employees.

If you’ve been offered a new job but the total package (including the base

salary and superannuation) is expressed as one amount, here’s a quick

formula to separate the components:

X/109*100 (where X is the package).

For example, a $50,000 package that includes 9% superannuation would

be calculated as 50,000/109 multiplied by 100 = $45,871.56

Sportspeople’s tip on swearing and dropping the “F-bomb” at an

interview;

Tip #1: Don’t.

Tip #2: If ever in doubt, always refer to tip #1.

Page | 114

For more information you can visit the Sportspeople Career Center


Documents

The Sportspeople KnowledgeBase...The Sportspeople KnowledgeBase , aquatics SPORTSPEOPLE – Best People. Best Jobs. Since 1996. Australia and New Zealand’s leading