THE MD
On behalf of Trojan Recruitment Group, our very best wishes for the New Year! The past 18 months have been an exciting period of growth and change in our business and it seems timely to recap for you who we now are, what we do and how we do it!
Our core businesses, Trojan Workforce and Corus People Solutions, both specialise in the manufacturing & industrial; transport, warehousing & logistics; metal, electrical & engineering; and building & construction sectors.
Corus People Solutions has a white-collar focus and strengths in recruiting management positions between the $50k and $150k remuneration band in sales & marketing, operations, technical & engineering, human resources, general management and finance & administration. We service clients nationally from offices in Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. Our services include permanent and temporary recruitment, outplacement services, HR consulting and psychometric assessments.
Trojan Workforce is a significant Australian blue-collar provider of labour solutions for unskilled, semi-skilled and trade positions. Our offices in Sydney, Western Sydney, Newcastle, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth provide services including labour hire, agency contracting, OH&S consulting and HR/IR consulting.
Whatever your need, rest assured that we will meet it by living our values of: people really matter, integrity, client sovereignty, ownership and agility.
Please talk to your Consultant or Account Manager if you have any new or unmet needs – we look forward to working with you in 2008.
Michael Cherry
Managing Director
MANAGEMENT SNAPSHOT
PHILLIP DE RONCHI
Trojan Workforce and Corus Branch Manager – Perth
Phillip De Ronchi’s boundless energy and enthusiasm were evident in spades from the day he joined Trojan Recruitment Group in August last year. With a business development and management background, Phillip is itching to capitalise on Western Australia’s resources boom.
Your best career advice?
Never stop studying and learning, especially when you are young. Grab onto everything that adds to your skills set. I’m currently studying for a Graduate Diploma in Mining Engineering.
A career highlight?
In South Africa I worked in the gas industry, and we negotiated a 20-year contract for a $26 million hydrogen generation plant. We pinched the client from under our competition’s noses – they had become complacent.
What do you enjoy about your job?
People do business with people they like – so treat your staff, clients, and candidates well. For this you need 100 per cent honesty, total professionalism and to deliver on your promises. I enjoy doing business and doing business well, seeing successful results and mentoring my staff, watching them grow and develop as professionals.
Most challenging placement?
Being asked by a client at a Christmas party to mobilise 60 electricians for a 14-day BHP shutdown. It was short notice, but we got there!
Who has inspired you most?
In South Africa, the minister at our church was a pharmacist and psychologist by training. I was encouraged and inspired by his down-to-earth character and hands-on approach to work and life.
Need blue- or white-collar recruitment in Western Australia? Contact Phillip on pderonchi@trojanrecruitmentgroup.com.au or 08 9271 6888.
BIG CHANGES AFOOT IN WORKPLACE RELATIONS
Australia’s workplace relations system will change significantly with the election of the Rudd Government.
The following summary of the changes is drawn from Australian Industry Group information at www.aigroup.asn.au
One of Labor’s first priorities is to draft and pass a Transition Bill to effect abolition of Australian Workplace Agreements.
The Bill will also include 10 National Employment Standards – to commence on 1 January 2010 – to deal with issues including work hours, annual and parental leave, information in the workplace, and notice of termination and redundancy.
After the Transition Bill is passed, the Government intends to draft legislation to:
- Retain the system but replace four key institutions with a new Fair Work Australia to rationalise and simplify the award system.
- Abolish the small business exemption under the unfair dismissal laws. A new Fair Dismissal Code will help small business owners understand their rights and obligations.
- Enshrine compulsory collective bargaining rights in the Workplace Relations Act.
- Make available protected industrial action during a bargaining period if approved by employees in a secret ballot.
- Give Fair Work Australia the power to end industrial action and arbitrate an outcome if industrial action is significantly harming the parties or the economy.
CLIENT SHOWCASE
ELBOWROOM
With a name that makes you sit up and notice, Elbowroom (Aust) Pty Ltd is a leader in the Australian storage solutions field.
An accredited distributor of Colby Storage Systems equipment, the company designs and provides on-site storage solutions for warehouses and businesses. Elbowroom works with customers’ ‘empty shell’ warehouses to plan and construct warehousing and storage facilities for optimum operation.
Director Mark Althaus says finding a reliable source of labour is Elbowroom’s main human resources challenge.
“We have trained individuals who lead our on-site teams,” he explains. “Our teams function with a specific number of staff per team, so the team fails if the numbers aren’t right. Our only permanent employees are team leaders so the biggest challenge is to ensure the right number of staff turn up and are retained for the duration of our projects.”
Mark says the fluctuating business cycle means Elbowroom’s demand for labour hire varies throughout the year, with the company usually retaining some ‘fill-in’ staff. Elbowroom’s customers are located throughout the east coast and around Australia, so Trojan Workforce’s national reach means it has been easy for the company to partner with Trojan branches in Perth, Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane and Toowoomba.
“Requiring a flexible workforce means you need a flexible HR department, who could be busy one day and not the next,” Mark says. “With Trojan, we don’t need to worry about this administration and HR burden.”
Mark says Trojan is responsive even when staff are required urgently with only hours notice. “Trojan Workforce has been the most reliable recruiter we have worked with. Their selection process means we have the right guys turning up to our sites. We conduct online inductions, and Trojan always make sure staff are inducted – even if it means getting them into their own office to do it. Some recruiters haven’t been as helpful.”
VICTORIAN STAFF GIVE BLOOD
Trojan and Corus staff in Victoria know what it takes to be good corporate citizens. So shortly before Christmas, when demand for blood rises, they donated blood at the Melbourne blood bank for the health of their fellow Victorians.
WORKPLACE DEATHS RISE
Workplace fatalities have risen 16 per cent in the last four years, suggesting workplaces may not be taking safety seriously, despite the prospect of heavy fines.
Transport and manufacturing were responsible for much of the increase, data from the Australian Safety and Compensation Council shows. Of the 162 fatalities in 2006-07, 146 were men and nearly one quarter of workers killed were over 55 years.
The construction, agriculture, transport, manufacturing and mining industries accounted for seven out of every ten work-related fatalities, with mining the riskiest industry to work in.