Moir Recruitment News

How often does the interviewer ask the job applicant "tell me what your career aspirations are for the next 3-5 years? 

In asking the question what does the interviewer really want to hear?

And in answering the question does the applicant close off their mind to possible opportunities by being too prescriptive in their career planning? 

Pat will share some of his career choices and planning, to stimulate some thoughts and conversation that has seen him work in a number of finance and operational roles across a range of industries over the last 30 plus years.

For more details head to our Events Page

 

Thank you to everyone who attended our recent Moir Group Women in Business Event at the QVB Tearooms on Wednesday 2nd September. We have been overwhelmed by all the amazing feedback from everyone, and are delighted that you all enjoyed the afternoon. Looking forward to doing it all again in 2016….!

This is a selection of some of the feedback and also a few photos from the day.

“What a trio of amazing women, thank you for providing the exposure to them”

“I can't think how you could top that, it really was outstanding, in a sea of mediocre events”

“An excellent panel! Taking on board some of the learnings the panel shared is easy and practical; very insightful and inspiring”

“The perception of anyone who has never been to an event which focuses on women in business is about the glass ceiling and how to jungle having a family and a career will be mentioned. It was very refreshing that none of the speakers spoke about those issues, but rather focusing on stories which empower and motivate us to work harder. All the speakers were exceptionally inspirational “.

“The speakers planted some words of wisdom for me that I really need to start enacting upon. There stories resonated with me and it is up to me how I move forward”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The Challenges And Opportunities For the Australian and Global Economy” summarised by Heidi Davidson, Senior Consultant, Moir Group

• As mining investment continues to fall, growth has been rebalancing towards housing activity, and now, the services sector

• Although the rebalancing act has been slow - as it has been hindered by further falls in commodity prices, a high AUD and mistimed fiscal tightening

• Household demand is strong and jobs growth is picking up

Australian Economy

Since the end of the mining boom in 2012, the re-balancing act is underway but it is a slow process. If you break it down by the States, WA/QLD/SA are weaker and NSW/VIC are definitely picking up.

How Is This Happening?

Interest rates are low, and the Australian dollar has continued to fall from its peak in 2011 at $1.10 to now sitting at 70c and the knock on effect of this are as follows:

• Our exports therefore become more attractive

• Tourism is rising from overseas visitors and Chinese tourism has risen by 140% with only 4% of the Chinese population currently holding passports. Plus more Australians decide to travel locally instead of overseas

• Education has seen record highs for overseas enrollments into our Universities

• A strong property market with house prices still rising across the nation. Capital cities have seen increases of 27% in the past 3 years, with Sydney’s housing market is up by 42% and Melbourne's up by 32%.

31 Not Out! 

Are people truly your organisation’s most important asset as it says in your annual report?

Or are they simply “human resources” to be consumed on the path to maximising shareholder return.

As many organisations ditch their much-loathed performance review processes in favour of a more flexible model, do Australia’s leaders have the maturity to manage in ambiguity?

Is Diversity & Inclusion an optional extra or a business pre-requisite?

What is HR’s role in the modern organisation and is it being fulfilled?

HR and Finance – a match made in heaven or daggers drawn?

Steve Rowe will share his thoughts on these questions and more in his reflections on a long career in HR.

For more details head to our Events Page

"Leading In The New Normal" A Post Event Summary on Julie Birtles' Presentation by Stephen Moir, Director Moir Group 

 

It is hard to dispute that we are living through a time of rapid change, and that many of our existing systems and ways of working are suddenly very out of date.

When Julie Birtles, Founder of Beyond Excellence spoke at our event last month, she highlighted some of the great challenges facing our leaders during these uncertain times. 

As I reflect on her presentation, one of the messages that resonated most with me was around the need for organisations to embrace “catalysts”, those leaders who see the world differently, who see the whole system and are able to transform how we work and live in big ‘step change’ ways.   

Not everyone is a catalytic leader.  Perhaps you are more of an innovator, an achiever, a strategist or an alchemist.  Julie argues there is a role for all these types of leaders, but that in times of change catalytic leaders are vital to organisations, and that we need to embrace catalysts and to encourage rather than stifle them.  Identifying and nurturing these big picture leaders can be a particular challenge for larger organisations.

I believe Moir Group’s role as recruiters goes far beyond filling jobs.  Partnership is one of our core values and we can therefore make a big contribution in supporting both organisations and individuals to nurture those leaders who have the vision and ability to lead the type of large-scale transformation needed for future prosperity.

If you missed Julie’s presentation, you can view highlights or access her presentation from the day, and to find out about our upcoming events, please head to our Events page

Interview with Julie Birtles, Founder Beyond Excellence and Stephen Moir, Director Moir Group

Are you a leader of today?  Find out how to be a leader of today and about the challenges we are facing as leaders.

    

 

Please go to our events page to see our other upcoming events.

 

Professor Stephanie Fahey, Lead Partner for Education, Oceania, EY on 

"The Changing Global Education Landscape: Where will Australia be in 5 years time". 

"My presentation focuses on the drivers of change in the global tertiary sector (vocation education and higher education) and how these will impact on the future of Australia’s tertiary sector.  The specific profile of education in 2020 is unknown i.e which if any universities will close or amalgamate with other universities or TAFEs, which overseas universities will establish in Australia, and how a degree will be delivered and defined.  

What is certain is that it will look very different to what we see today. Australian education will be buffeted by the global drivers of change: increasing global mobility of both students and staff, the changing demand for skills, how education will be delivered, the structure of courses, and who will be the accreditation “gate keepers” – educational institutions or industry. Closer to home, the Australian education industry will be subjected to ongoing policy changes in education, immigration and industry which will guarantee the need for ongoing adjustment of the sector."

For more details head to our Events Page

Leading in the New Normal

Our world has changed and continues to do so at an unprecedented speed.  The New Normal is raw and uncertain, full of opportunities and very real challenges given 85% of people in leadership roles destroy or fail to create value.

While these are staggering statistics, many indicators highlight the need for a new generation of leaders who have the skill and confidence to navigate increasing complexity, unexpected system shocks and the large-scale change that is shaping our current and future prosperity.

So what of the 15% who see the world differently?  We call them Catalysts.

Catalysts transform how we think, work and live.  They’re hard to find – typically because they don’t know how unusual and extraordinary they are in catalysing change and creating value.  There will be Catalysts in the audience, along with those who have the potential to be one!

Julie will share her experience of searching for Catalysts, developing and connecting them and their shared commitment to tackle the big issues and opportunities that will determine the success of our companies, industries and Nation.

For more details head to our Events Page 

Moir Group " Emerging Leaders" Series with Vincent Lloyd, CFO of  Hoyts Group by Trisha Roberts, Business Manager, Moir Group  

This month Moir Group were delighted to introduce Vincent Lloyd in a Q&A style presentation as part of our "Emerging Leaders" series.  Vincent has kindly spoken at several of our previous events over the years, however this was an opportunity for the audience to be more involved in the discussion.

Vincent is the current CFO of Hoyts Group, and candidly shared his career from his KPMG days through to today.  He offered insights into a potential path for emerging CFOs, and shared his own experiences in an open manner.  After spending 3 years with KPMG in their assurance and consulting practices, he joined Hoyts as an Accountant and worked with 3 different CFOs in 4 years.  By utilising some very interesting approaches to career development, he was recognised for his contribution and offered the CFO role at just 29 years of age. 

Some of the highlights of the discussion outline Vincent’s approach to creating opportunities for leadership:

• Partner decision makers – give them the information they need to “make them look good”. They will want you to attend meetings with key stakeholders.
• Manage up – take each opportunity to provide information to senior management as a chance to demonstrate your knowledge of, and value to, the organisation.
• Work ethic – work hard, and be prepared to give up personal time to get the job done properly.
• Be proactive – stand out by challenging the status quo – reporting is a great way to do this.
• Be helpful – the key here is to have no ulterior motive.  It makes people want to work with you.
• Passion – always exude passion for the business, people will notice how much you care.
• Luck – there are sometimes “sliding doors” moments where opportunities are presented to you at the right time.

With Hoyts originally being owned by listed company , through to ownership by private equity business, and more recently having been sold to a Chinese group, Vincent shared his views on the differences working in these 3 environments from a CFO’s perspective.  He feels that private equity roles are great opportunities for CFOs to have greater involvement in the business from a strategic perspective, even more so than a listed environment. Vincent shared not only his personal career path, but his continued passion for Hoyts Group.

We thank him for his energy and time, as well as those who attended. For details on our upcoming Moir Group events, please visit our Event Page, and please like us on Facebook and Twitter or follow our company page on LinkedIn.

Last month, Moir Group had the pleasure of hosting Su-Lin Ong, Managing Director of RBC Capital Markets and Head of Economics & Fixed Income Strategy (Australia/NZ).  The topic was “The Financial Year Ahead, The Challenges And Opportunities For The Australian And The Global Economy.”

Su-Lin started by saying that she is typically “glass half empty”. Given this and what she went on to say my conclusion was that the global and Australian economies are doing okay. 

Global Economy

The global developed economies are much better than they have been for a number of years and Australia is muddling along.

The US economy is strong, with almost full employment. The Greek situation is not really that relevant to Europe and it will have a very minimal impact on Europe if they default. Europe in the main is doing a lot better, and China is a worry as the Chinese economy is slowing more than expected.

Australian Economy

In many ways the Australian economy is muddling along and hasn’t changed much for a number of years.

2 Factors are driving the Australian economy:

1) Decline in mining investment

2) Decline in commodity prices

Very weak non mining capex investment. Businesses are not investing or spending that much and there is a lack of business confidence, mainly due to the lack of leadership at a federal level. Federally nothing is really happening. Lower terms of trade equals lower national income.

Housing is the consistent bright spot in the Australian economy. Housing prices in NSW will continue to rise, just not at the same level as the last 12 months.  Su Lin was reasonably positive around property and cautious around consumer confidence.

Households are starting to dip into savings, this is because wages growth is only a little above 2%.

There is scope for the RBA to cut rates by the end of this year and into 2016 and there could be one more rate cut. They want to keep the currency low. Tourism and education are responding very well to lower rates.

RBC do not put a lot of weight on official labour rate data. Construction & professional services are strong in employment and Mining continues to shed jobs.

NSW:

NSW is a much more diversified state, in terms of industries. NSW is far outperforming the rest of Australia and VIC is doing okay as it is reasonably diverse. WA and QLD are struggling as they are very reliant on mining.

Looking forward - The Fiscal Headwinds

1) Government expenditure is running at 26%. This is high. At some stage it needs to be reigned in. It can’t persist. “Little urgency breeds complacency”

2) Adjustment in wages. Uncompetitive on the labour cost front.

3) Household debt still heading in the wrong direction

4) Can productivity be maintained, it has seen a definite improvement.

So given Su-Lin’s glass “half empty” comment, I think most of us ended the presentation feeling reasonably optimistic about the short term outlook at least.

Thank you to everyone who came along to this event. If you would like a copy of presentation from the day, please click on this link, and for details on our upcoming Moir Group events, please visit our Event Page.