I’m often asked what is the greatest concern that I have – ‘what keeps me awake at night?’ The only thing that concerns me is did I do everything I could to support, assist and grow the team around me. It is kind of an upside down world here at RedBalloon. I see my role as serving the team – who of course then serve our customers. It is not external things like interest rates, or retail trade figures that…
When my colleague Matt told me of Google’s ‘salary and bonus’ plan to reduce its brain drain, I responded: ‘It’s not April Fools day Matt – Ha Ha’ Astoundingly, Matt wasn’t kidding me. Instantly I wondered how Google, the ‘hero’ of employee engagement and employee branding, could be so short sighted. Google is famous for winning employee awards, not just in Australia but also around the globe. Only last week Google Australia was named the most sought after employer in…
At the launch event for the Dream Employers, as a participant of the panel – James Garriock, CEO Insync Surveys asked me to respond to the following questions… I share with you the essence of my answers. 1. Brand is the most appealing attribute for a Dream Employer. What builds a brand and do you think a strong brand equates to a great employer. Why? Brands are built in the hearts of our customers through the relationships they have with…
This morning participated in the ‘Dream Employers’ launch event – near the Opera House in Sydney. The comments from panelists – and the general observations from the panelists and the attendees was interesting. (much content for many blogs.) In August, InSync together with RedBalloon and Talent2 asked the public to comment on who is Australia and also New Zealand’s dream employer. There are quite a number of ‘Best Employer’ and ‘Employer of Choice’ surveys – which are voted by the…
How exciting… Megan the RedBalloon Employee Experience manager has been named in Human Capital Magazines ‘The who’s who of HR’. We are very proud of all that she does as she leads RedBalloon on our engagement journey. Tireless does spring to mind. And she definitely is like a terrier dog, as Jemma said ‘like she attaches herself to a bottom of a trouser leg and just doesn’t let go.’ It is a journey and I so look forward to discovering,…
One of my colleagues from our customer experience team has finished his ‘Gap’ year with us and is returning to the UK… he left by sharing this ‘rap’ with the team. What fabulous feedback on RedBalloon as a great place to work….
I was reading an article recently in HR Daily about dress codes for work. Kind of interesting that it is a topic of discussion in an HR publication. My first job when I graduated from university, as a naive young graduate (1984) was with IBM (in New York). On our first day as part of our induction each of the graduate intake was scrutinized to determine if we were suitably attired to be an IBMer. I was wearing a black…
Finding the perfect match in the employment dating game is a challenge for both parties. It is made so much easier when you really get to know a candidate – when they take time to woo the potential employer. At RedBalloon we often receive amazing applications. From a balloon in a box, a rubber hand in a box with a note ‘I’d give my right hand to work at RedBalloon’ (a bit macabre), mock up of a CV in html…
Each trimester at RedBalloon we galvanize the plan by announcing a theme. The theme is always based on what is the most critical thing for the business to achieve right now! Last trimester the whole company got behind a ‘Red Dawn’ theme. Everyone chipped in as we launched the new version of the website. Some wrote copy, others proofread, some tested or took photographs. It was the biggest project we have ever undertaken since our launch. It went smoothly –…
Imagine running a business based on fun - that's what I decided to try when I left a very serious corporate career in marketing to set up RedBalloon...
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NSW Opposition Leader announces ‘Economic Growth Plan’ at RedBalloon
The NSW Opposition Leader – Barry O’Farrell visited RedBalloon this morning to make an announcement on his ‘Economic Growth Plan’. They were very deliberate in chosing a fast growth business with a strong employee engagement record as a venue for the announcement. It was an interesting experience having eight or so party people and three politicians visit, however it was the 20 media people with all their equipment which took over RedBalloon. Barry chatted with the team, I got to…