This Week in Talent (15th December)

Hello!

I’m fresh (or … not so fresh) back from a massively fun and exhausting weekend at Meredith Music Festival. It was so much fun, but I was so exhausted when I got there that I ended up sleeping more than I was awake … which is the opposite of what I was hoping for. My boyfriend and I hired a van, and decked out the back with heaps of pillows and blankies and comfy stuff.

I’d had such a big week of work and activities before heading off to Meredith that by the time I got there I was so exhausted my body wouldn’t wake up! I couldn’t stop napping. I missed the fireworks and main act of the festival on the last night because I was tucked up cosy in our van. I was so devo, but also … had some of the best sleeps of my life.

We also had our P&C End of Year event last week too, which was a grand ol’ time. We play Bad Santa (or Stealing Santa) every year, and this year we decided to ask everyone to bring a sustainable gift. This could be something thrifted, re-gifted, handmade, or purchased (but sustainable).

I love an op shopping adventure, so I managed to find a cute little teapot at my local Savers with matching teacups. Then I went to the Big Design Market a few weeks back and bought some handmade loose-leaf tea to go with it. Cheap, cheerful, and sustainable 🙂 I ended up with a herb planting starter kit – so stoked!

I’ve been on a massive sustainable fashion learning spree recently too (thanks to this eye opening podcast) so this work gifting theme was right up my alley. Honestly give that poddie a listen if you’ve ever wondered about fast fashion, the ethics behind it (hint … there are none) and what happens to that dress that you wore once to a wedding then decided to donate but no one wanted it (hint … it doesn’t just disappear, it sticks around forever). It made me rethink my spending habits too, and the cheeky dopamine hits I get when I buy things.

I decided to do the same for my family presents, but with a difference … I organised a cute little Xmas photo shoot for myself, my boyfriend and our dog. The lovely Sophie from Sister Scout did the pics for us – she is such a legend! I’ll be popping them into some cute thrifted old frames (thank you Savers). Xmas presents sorted for all.

Sorry – not the most recruitmenty Editor’s Note, but we’re all sick of recruitment now right? Give me something else, ANYTHING else, to read or listen to that isn’t remotely related to work please and thank you.

That’s the last TWIT for the year – I’ll be back mid-January to finish out the month, then I’ll be handing the reigns to someone else again for February 2023 (WOOOOOOO)!

The Four Day Work Week: Luxury or Necessity?

Listen: this poddie is a live panel discussion with some experts from a range of industries at the World Economic Forum, hosted by Adam Grant (who doesn’t love Adam Grant?!) Some really interesting takes on the four-day week I hadn’t heard before, such as how you’re in a privledged position if your role can be four days (ie. it’s stable and permanent work).

How to Create a Learning Culture & Why It’s So Important

We’ve heard this many times before – if your people aren’t learning and growing, they’re LEAVIN’! A learning culture is a lot of times more attractive to potential candidates and current employees than salary.

Résumés perpetuate bias in the hiring process—these companies think skills assessments can be the solution

Y’all know that I love this idea. The amount of times we’ve all had to deal with resume judgement from hiring managers is insane, and how do we assess potential over previous experience? A great little read on how to hire differently.

Your Boss Is Debating Whether or Not You Can Watch the World Cup at Work

My answer to this is always “no”. Not because I don’t trust my employees to be productive, but because I bloody HATE soccer. It’s so incredibly boring, and I want people to come to their senses and realise that soccer is the worst.

Small businesses face another challenge, being ghosted by their own staff

An interesting read, with some ideas at the bottom of the article on how some small business owners are tackling this issue (and some ideas that bigger businesses can also take onboard).