Services - Pinnacle People Solutions

Whole of Organisation HR Solutions

We understand that city-based solutions and providers do not automatically understand the unique challenges faced by regionally located business. As specialists in regional business we understand the unique challenges faced when operating in lower population areas, attracting quality candidates to your region and the greater impact on reputation and productivity when you get your recruitment decisions wrong.

As a boutique human resources solutions business we provide high touch personal interaction throughout each step of your assignments. We take a vested interest in your long-term sustainability, and work closely with your organisation to transfer the knowledge and skills you need to effectively operate the people side of your business.

We offer ethical and independent advice that is based on developing a comprehensive understanding of your business and partner with you to achieve your goals.

Specialist Recruitment

Our recruitment process showcases your business as an employer of choice and is designed to attract the best possible candidates to your position.

We will develop a position description outlining the key selection criteria, skills, qualifications and competencies required from your ideal employee.This will also become the base from which you can reward, develop and appraise staff, and should it become necessary, performance manage them.

We identify and communicate the messages your business wishes to give about itself and the role being recruited, throughout the recruitment process.

We are responsible for candidate management during the search process, including relationship building strategies. We provide high touch support for the successful candidate, including managing the transition and induction into their new role, and we provide high touch support to your business to ensure a successful and smooth transition.

We provide high quality services and offer all our clients a recruitment guarantee.

In the unlikely event that a newly recruited staff member leaves your employment within six months of their commencement, we will undertake another recruitment process for the same position and level of candidate as the original placement.

Our services for this purpose will be provided at no extra cost to you, subject to the following conditions:

The candidate’s departure is for cause or is the result of his/her inability to perform the responsibilities of the position as defined in the position description
The candidate’s departure is the result of a misrepresentation of credentials

If however, the focus of the role has changed, there is an unanticipated relocation or the responsibilities or authority of the position have changed significantly to those represented at the time of hiring, our guarantee does not apply.

RISK ASSESSMENT AND MITIGATION STRATEGIES

Employing and managing staff is one of the biggest challenges faced by small business. They are your biggest asset and your greatest risk.

We undertake a comprehensive review of your HR environment. We will:

Review your current workplace employment contracts, policy and procedures, retention and development over the last five years (or as required);
Determine your current level of risk; and
Make recommendations to mitigate that risk.

The use of comprehensive employment contracts, position descriptions, a policies and procedures manual, and incorporating simple and straightforward best practice guidelines and codes provided by the Fair Work Ombudsman can significantly mitigate your risk.

These can also provide evidence of compliance if claims are subsequently made against your business.

WORKFORCE PLANNING

Workforce planning is the process of ensuring your business has the right people, with the right skills, in the right jobs, at the right time, over the life of your business.

Developing a workforce plan involves looking at where you’ve previously sourced employees and where you might source them in the future; determining the skills and competencies you currently have in your business, what you will need in the future, and determining gaps that may need to be filled through recruitment and/or development, and determining the opportunities and constraints within which your business operates.

We will develop your workforce plan, in close consultation with you and your staff, creating a simple but comprehensive staff appraisal process, including development, recognition and reward, and performance management elements.

You will need to regularly review and update your plan – as the assumptions and your business needs will change over time.

SUCCESSION PLANNING

Effective, proactive succession planning leaves your organisation well prepared for expansion; the loss of a key employee; filling a new, much needed job; employee promotions; and organisational redesign for opportunities. Your succession plan will ensure that you have the right employees ready to fill these roles.

Through your succession planning process, you recruit superior employees, develop their knowledge, skills, and abilities, and prepare them for advancement or promotion.

For small businesses, whether you decide to sell up, retire or have to leave due to health reasons, a succession, or exit plan outlines who will take over your business when you leave. A good succession plan enables a smooth transition with less likelihood of disruption to operations, while a good exit plan can maximise the value of your business.

We will work with you to ensure your succession plan is attainable – setting a realistic timetable with measurable milestones.

HR AND WHS AUDITS

An HR and WHS audit of your operations examines the existence and currency of employment contracts, labour hire agreements, independent contractor arrangements, position descriptions, policies and procedures, record keeping and HR and WHS processes, with particular reference to industry standards.

This process also involves consultation with relevant staff to obtain feedback. Pinnacle People Solutions recommends that your HR framework is then updated in the light of the audit findings to ensure compliance.

Pinnacle People Solutions is also able to perform a payroll audit to ensure that payroll details for all or specific staff members are compliant with relevant awards and legislation.

An audit is usually conducted in three phases: a human resource management audit and workplace relations risk assessment; an update or establishment of a HR framework for your organisation; and the provision of ongoing HR advice and services.

A human resource management audit and workplace relations risk assessment of your organisation’s operations is conducted. This audit identifies your current risk exposure level (including any liabilities) in terms of human resource management (contracts (including independent contractors), policies, procedures, record keeping, position descriptions and HR processes in particular) and workplace health and safety, and making recommendations for redress;
Update or establish the HR framework for your organisation. This incorporates agreed recommendations from the HRM audit and workplace relations risk assessment and will involve ensuring accurate and up to date staffing records, including compliant employment contracts and up to date position descriptions and establishing and updating as necessary relevant HR policies and procedures, including workplace health and safety (WHS);
Provision of ongoing HR advice and services to your organisation, including advice and assistance in respect of all staffing matters (including on-boarding of new staff, staff exits and associated record keeping). Support options can include specialist support and assistance with performance and conduct discussions and processes, HR strategy, workforce planning, and compliance requirements, training and development and regular review and updates as necessary to the HR Framework to reflect legislative, case law, benchmarking and industry developments.

FRAMEWORK BUILDS

Informed by the HRM and WHS audit, and incorporation of agreed recommendations and in close consultation with you and relevant staff, we will update, and where necessary develop, compliant staff employment contracts, independent contractor agreements, position descriptions, and necessary HR and WHS policy and procedures in a staff handbook.

This process will include review of the existing structures, roles and position descriptions and provision of recommendations for adjustments as required to ensure there is adequate redundancy for critical business processes.

Use of contemporary, compliant employment contracts, position descriptions, a current and approved staff handbook and incorporating simple and straightforward best practice guidelines and codes can also significantly mitigate risk.

These can also provide evidence of compliance if claims are subsequently made against your business.

INDUSTRIAL AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

Industrial relations support can include services such as a step by step plan, coaching through difficult conversations, draft correspondence, and recommendations to identify and mitigate future risk to your business.

We can assist across the full range of workplace relations matters, including: dealing with employee misconduct; handling redundancy within the law, and with humanity; unfair dismissal; bullying; and performance management.

Bronwyn Pearson, Principal Consultant, Pinnacle People Solutions has extensive experience before the Fair Work Commission and Fair Work Ombudsman as well as WorkCover NSW and Federal and State Anti-Discrimination bodies.

We understand that time is of the essence when you are dealing with an industrial relations matter.

There is no charge for you to discuss your support needs with us.

EXECUTIVE COACHING

Smiling mature businesswoman in glasses looking at colleague at team meeting, happy attentive female team leader listening to new project idea, coach mentor teacher excited by interesting discussion

Coaching is an effective tool for executive and senior staff development, particularly in assisting staff to better understand their personal styles, and the way and why they respond to things as they do, and the issues that arise from these different styles.

Coaching contributes demonstrably to developing the talent pool internally and improving morale and retention rates.

In addition, leadership becomes more effective, those in leadership roles become better at achieving team cohesion and also become agents of culture change and effective resolvers of conflict.

The effectiveness of performance management and remediation can also improve dramatically.

Our coaching is highly individualised, customised, and fit for purpose.

As independent consultants external to your organisation, Pinnacle People Solutions can provide insights and objective perspectives alongside years of experience.

Communication skills and exercises, focused on developing skills to have effective communication within the team, having those difficult conversations, and

Gaining an understanding of each team members communication style: personality profiles, creating an understanding of the individual team members personality style and how they interact with other team members;

Assertiveness training: building skills to perform with self-confidence, keeping control of emotions and saying “no” in an appropriate way, without feeling guilty;

Self-esteem development: developing a level of self-awareness and building capabilities;

Conflict resolution; working through the question, what is conflict and how can it be resolved?

Team building characteristics: learning about how teams are built – forming, storming, norming and performing.

Concluding with a team building exercise where each participant is provided with a suite of supporting documents and tools to take away to support their ongoing development.

TEAM BUILDING PROGRAMS

Research has demonstrated that organisations who take quick action in respect of staff behaviours and actions that are not consistent with the culture and objectives of their business are much less likely to have ongoing industrial issues, and to have higher staff morale and reduced absenteeism and turnover.

Our Team Development Program includes communication skills and exercises, focused on developing skills to ensure effective communication within the team, having those difficult conversations, and gaining an understanding of each team members communication style.

The program covers personality profiles, assertiveness training, self-esteem development, conflict resolution, and team building characteristics, learning about how teams are built – forming, storming, norming and performing.

Concluding with a team building exercise where each participant is provided with a suite of supporting documents and tools to take away to support their ongoing development.

Communication skills and exercises, focused on developing skills to have effective communication within the team, having those difficult conversations, and

Assertiveness training – Building skills to perform with self-confidence, keeping control of emotions and saying ’no’ in an appropriate way, without feeling guilty;

Self-esteem development, developing a level of self-awareness and building capabilities;

Conflict resolution; working through the question, what is Conflict and how can it be resolved;

Team building characteristics, learning about how teams are built – Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing.

Concluding with a Team Building exercise where each participant is provided with a suite of supporting documents and tools to take away to support their ongoing development.

Business people employees group discussing work plan with coach mentor at corporate office meeting, multicultural workers sales team talking at company workshop training, top view overhead from above

HR TRAINING AND EDUCATION

Pinnacle People Solutions can tailor and deliver training and education programs for staff at all levels within your organisation.

To date, we have assisted our clients with a range of training projects from general leadership development, to training in specific areas such as recruitment, and in HR organisational processes and WHS procedures.

We are also able to provide training on CV writing, application preparation and interview techniques to contract or permanent staff transitioning out of your organisation.

Depending on your requirements, the training could comprise a full day, two half-days, or a series of workshops.

Two of our most popular programs are: Best Practice Recruitment; and Selection and Leadership Development program.

Best Practice Recruitment and Selection

In our Best Practice Recruitment and Selection program, training covers what to think about when planning for a new or replacement role (i.e., ;What do I actually need and how does it fit with my team/goals/skills and attributes?’) and best practice recruitment strategies, including advertising, networking, selection, onboarding, induction and probation.

All training is accompanied by a guide, in hard or soft copy and online, that includes module content as well as appropriate resources such as templates, checklists, policies, procedures and guidelines.

Leadership Development Program

Our Leadership Development Program aims to develop skills and capabilities across leadership and people management. In delivering this program, Pinnacle People Solutions will include the following:

Communication skills and exercises

Developing skills to have effective communication within the team, having difficult conversations, and gaining an understanding of each team member’s communication style and navigating bullying and harassment behaviours. We will also include cross cultural communication elements as well as working across generations.

Personality profiles

Creating an understanding of individual team members’ personality styles and how they interact with other team members.

Assertiveness training

Building skills to perform with self-confidence, keeping control of emotions and saying ’no’ in an appropriate way without feeling guilty.

Conflict resolution

What is conflict and how can it be resolved?

Team-building characteristics

Learning about the process of team development and how teams can achieve optimal function.

Managing performance, workplace change and termination

Understanding the key elements of effective performance and conduct management, including establishing expectations and goals; managing probation; performance and development processes; and retaining and rewarding high performers.

Included as part of the Leadership Development Program, each participant is also provided with a suite of supporting documents and tools to take away to support their ongoing development.