Opinion

  Ashleigh Nelson highlights the importance of knowing and understanding the strict interpretation of 90-day trial periods. Ninety-day trial periods have been in place a number of years, but employers are still not quite getting them right. As trial periods take away an employee’s right to raise a personal grievance in relation to a dismissal, the Employment Court has interpreted the legislation narrowly, enforcing the requirements strictly.   A recent example is Hutchison v Canon New Zealand Ltd (Canon). Mr Hutchison was employed by Canon on an individual employment agreement, subject to a trial period. Canon dismissed him in reliance on that trial period. However, Hutchison claimed that the trial period was invalid and could not be relied on to

  When it comes to finding, building and nurturing relationships with customers and potential customers, Brian H Meredith reminds us to think of them as people. He aha te mea nui o te ao?  He tangata! He tangata! He tangata!  What is the most important thing in the world?  It is people! It is people! It is people!  Maori proverb   I have written often about the concept of ‘market orientation’ – businesses who realise and understand that by orienting who they are, what they do and how they behave towards the only place the money comes from: customers.    There has been extensive research undertaken in the past that has identified what constitutes market orientation and that those businesses

  The dangers of do-it-yourself Franchising can be a great way to grow your business – but, asks Simon Lord, how do you set up for success?   Recently, a research student contacted me to gather data on a thorny subject ­ – franchisor failure rates. It’s a thorny subject because, although franchise people often say that the failure rate for franchisees is commendably low compared to that of independent small businesses, the failure rate for franchisors is considerably higher. When I went back through a ten-year-old database I was struck by just how many of the names were no longer with us – or, at least, no longer franchising.   All of these companies started franchising with high hopes

  The essentials of great customer care    I have been writing this Customer Excellence column for eight years and I am grateful to Glenn Baker and the team at NZBusiness for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts on how to look after customers.    I would like to say customer care has greatly improved over this time, but I cannot.   My first column in June 2006 described an experience I had with a rental car company that erroneously cancelled my reservation because they could not be bothered calling to see why I had not collected my car. (They had the wrong date). Today my wife tells me that an account stuff-up we had with Smith &

How to handle a bully  Ashleigh Nelson reviews the new guidelines on workplace bullying recently released by WorkSafe NZ.   Along with all things to do with health and safety, workplace bullying seems to be a hot topic. WorkSafe NZ recently released guidelines on the topic to help both employers and employees respond to a bullying situation. Titled “Preventing and responding to workplace bullying”, the guidelines encourage and support people in taking early self-help action against workplace bullying before seeking assistance from WorkSafe NZ or the mediation service offered by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Keep in mind these are guidelines; the legal threshold for what constitutes bullying, indicated through case law, is still high. However, your employees

Epic export adviceThe 2014 Go Global conference is a unique opportunity to tap into a large pool of export knowledge. Catherine Beard has more.This year ExportNZ’s conference Go Global is joining forces with Epic NZ to bring a stellar line up of opportunities and people together in one massive hit at SkyCity on May 2nd.What we’re most excited about is the opportunity to pick the brains of 15 trade commissioners from around the world, and to hear from global stars such as Derek Handley – people who’ve launched from our tiny nation to make an impact on the world; and sometimes beyond the world, such is the height of their success.In Derek’s case his wealth and success has earned him