When business owners are asked how they motivate their staff, the typical answer is expressed in dollars and cents.
And let's not kid ourselves--how much employees get paid is important to them.
But it's not the only motivational tool in your arsenal.
Businesses that look outside the square to motivate their staff enhance their opportunities to increase sales. For sales people, the commission-based pay structure is how they are typically paid.
Although there is no sense that this is changing, I urge people to think about other incentives.
We recently did work with a company where staff had the option of taking a cash bonus or a Red Balloon Day voucher. Interestingly, staff were more appreciative of the latter.
A Red Balloon Day is where employees receive a voucher to do anything they want, from skin diving to dinner in a restaurant.
One company sent two salesmen to a raceway to do laps in a V8.
The Daily Telegraph (Sydney), December 8.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Aussies urged to take leave, and consume
The federal Government will this week move to unlock Australian employees' $31bn in unused annual leave, in an attempt to provide a boost to the economy that would be three times bigger than the payments that start flowing today from the economic stimulus package.
Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson said Tourism Australia would convene a round-table meeting with peak employer groups during the week to launch a campaign to "encourage people to organise their lives at work and at home to actually have a break, and to have a break here in Australia".
The "No Leave, No Life'' campaign would promote the concept that workers who took holidays come back to work "with greater energy and satisfaction in their lives and therefore, are better workers''.
Employers would benefit if staff took leave as it accrued, because it cost them progressively more to pay out in later years as wages and salaries rose.
Mr Ferguson has told recipients of the federal Government's economic stimulus payments they had a "responsibility'' to use the money to take a domestic holiday.
Australians should shun overseas destinations and inject some of the $10 billion of handouts into the local tourism industry, he said.
The Australian, December 8.
Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson said Tourism Australia would convene a round-table meeting with peak employer groups during the week to launch a campaign to "encourage people to organise their lives at work and at home to actually have a break, and to have a break here in Australia".
The "No Leave, No Life'' campaign would promote the concept that workers who took holidays come back to work "with greater energy and satisfaction in their lives and therefore, are better workers''.
Employers would benefit if staff took leave as it accrued, because it cost them progressively more to pay out in later years as wages and salaries rose.
Mr Ferguson has told recipients of the federal Government's economic stimulus payments they had a "responsibility'' to use the money to take a domestic holiday.
Australians should shun overseas destinations and inject some of the $10 billion of handouts into the local tourism industry, he said.
The Australian, December 8.
Brisbane Bites Back
Table Talk - Simon Thomsen
http://www.smh.com.au/
I'm sorry Sydney, but I've been seeing other restaurants.
In Brisbane. She understands me. Or at least the fact that dining out shouldn't cost more than your mortgage repayment, along with the fact that increasingly, we're all in a casual mood
I've spend more than a month up north during the second half of 2008, dining out as the editor of the Brisbanetimes.com.au Good Food Guide, an online guide to the state's best restaurants, cafes and bars.
The 2009 edition was launched a few weeks back in a very Brisbane setting - an alfresco veranda at the State Library. It's a smart riverside location - between the Queensland Art Gallery and the new GOMA (Gallery of Modern Art) - in a city that's starting to revel in its talents while enjoying the charms of the subtropical climate.
Urbane in the CBD, where chef Kim Machin creates witty and whimsical contemporary dishes, was named Restaurant of the Year. This fine diner scored two hats for its troubles.
There was a little bit of hand-wringing that the city doesn't boast a three-hat restaurant, but I've found that most egos in the Sunshine state are kept sufficiently in check to cope. I reckon Queenslanders are too laidback to worry about whether the dining's fancy enough to compete with the top end of Melbourne and Sydney dining. They'd rather go out and have a good time.
But the strange thing is, Brisbane's full of expats from Sydney and Melbourne. Even Matt Moran's heading to town after Christmas to open a riverside restaurant.
Noosa is Queensland's San Sebastian, with a two-hat restaurant, River House, plus Muse, Berardo's and one of the country's best Japanese, Wasabi, all awarded one hat. Not bad for a region that's home to about 35,000 people. And if you think the food's good, just wait until you see the beach.
Brisvegas itself - even the locals are in on that joke, so it's not the backhander some assume - has come a long way since the bad ol' days of the moonlight state. Only a decade ago, I remember going to breakfast in Fortitude Valley where the Californian Cafe offered the 'trucker's breakfast' - a dozen fried eggs with a mixed grill. Now the city's party central boasts a fabulous French patisserie, great cafes serving locally roasted Merlo coffee, one of Australia's finest drinking dens, The Bowery, and the consistently excellent Isis Brasserie, which is about to get a major nip and tuck after 11 years in the biz.
Strangely, for a city with its own Chinatown, the Cantonese food was mostly disappointing and the yum cha I used to enjoy a decade ago seems to have lost its sheen. Anyone got any suggestions on places we've missed?
My favourite moment? Pearl Cafe, just a lofted six from the Gabba. It won our best new restaurant award. It's fun, relaxed and groovy. That's it pictured above. Now who's up for a fish finger sandwich? That sleepy old country town’s turning into a pretty decent swan.
There are around 150 Queensland restaurants listed in the BrisbaneTimes.com.au Good Food Guide. If you think we've missed a goodie, let us know!
http://www.smh.com.au/
I'm sorry Sydney, but I've been seeing other restaurants.
In Brisbane. She understands me. Or at least the fact that dining out shouldn't cost more than your mortgage repayment, along with the fact that increasingly, we're all in a casual mood
I've spend more than a month up north during the second half of 2008, dining out as the editor of the Brisbanetimes.com.au Good Food Guide, an online guide to the state's best restaurants, cafes and bars.
The 2009 edition was launched a few weeks back in a very Brisbane setting - an alfresco veranda at the State Library. It's a smart riverside location - between the Queensland Art Gallery and the new GOMA (Gallery of Modern Art) - in a city that's starting to revel in its talents while enjoying the charms of the subtropical climate.
Urbane in the CBD, where chef Kim Machin creates witty and whimsical contemporary dishes, was named Restaurant of the Year. This fine diner scored two hats for its troubles.
There was a little bit of hand-wringing that the city doesn't boast a three-hat restaurant, but I've found that most egos in the Sunshine state are kept sufficiently in check to cope. I reckon Queenslanders are too laidback to worry about whether the dining's fancy enough to compete with the top end of Melbourne and Sydney dining. They'd rather go out and have a good time.
But the strange thing is, Brisbane's full of expats from Sydney and Melbourne. Even Matt Moran's heading to town after Christmas to open a riverside restaurant.
Noosa is Queensland's San Sebastian, with a two-hat restaurant, River House, plus Muse, Berardo's and one of the country's best Japanese, Wasabi, all awarded one hat. Not bad for a region that's home to about 35,000 people. And if you think the food's good, just wait until you see the beach.
Brisvegas itself - even the locals are in on that joke, so it's not the backhander some assume - has come a long way since the bad ol' days of the moonlight state. Only a decade ago, I remember going to breakfast in Fortitude Valley where the Californian Cafe offered the 'trucker's breakfast' - a dozen fried eggs with a mixed grill. Now the city's party central boasts a fabulous French patisserie, great cafes serving locally roasted Merlo coffee, one of Australia's finest drinking dens, The Bowery, and the consistently excellent Isis Brasserie, which is about to get a major nip and tuck after 11 years in the biz.
Strangely, for a city with its own Chinatown, the Cantonese food was mostly disappointing and the yum cha I used to enjoy a decade ago seems to have lost its sheen. Anyone got any suggestions on places we've missed?
My favourite moment? Pearl Cafe, just a lofted six from the Gabba. It won our best new restaurant award. It's fun, relaxed and groovy. That's it pictured above. Now who's up for a fish finger sandwich? That sleepy old country town’s turning into a pretty decent swan.
There are around 150 Queensland restaurants listed in the BrisbaneTimes.com.au Good Food Guide. If you think we've missed a goodie, let us know!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Restaurant and cafe turnover falls in October
http://www.hospitalitymagazine.com.au
Turnover of Australia's cafe, restaurant and takeaway foodservices fell slightly in October, according to the latest monthly estimates from the Australian Bureau of Statistic.
The monthly Retail Trend Estimates which are being closely watched by industries showed that there had been an overall lift in retail turnover across a variety of industries of 0.2 per cent.
The cafe, restaurant and takeaway food industry fell by 0.6 per cent compared to the previous month, according to the report. Other industries to record a fall included clothing and soft good (-0.2 per cent), and household good retailing (-0.7 per cent).
The food retailing sector had growth of 0.6 per cent.
The October result follows the September ABS report which showed cafes, restaurants and takeaway food grew revenue by 0.2 per cent.
Turnover of Australia's cafe, restaurant and takeaway foodservices fell slightly in October, according to the latest monthly estimates from the Australian Bureau of Statistic.
The monthly Retail Trend Estimates which are being closely watched by industries showed that there had been an overall lift in retail turnover across a variety of industries of 0.2 per cent.
The cafe, restaurant and takeaway food industry fell by 0.6 per cent compared to the previous month, according to the report. Other industries to record a fall included clothing and soft good (-0.2 per cent), and household good retailing (-0.7 per cent).
The food retailing sector had growth of 0.6 per cent.
The October result follows the September ABS report which showed cafes, restaurants and takeaway food grew revenue by 0.2 per cent.
Consumers demand one organic symbol
www.hospitalitymagazine.com.au
More than 70 per cent of organic food buyers say they would prefer to have one, new certification symbol used by all organisations, compared with only 14 per cent who prefer to continue with different certification symbols.
The research conducted by Newspoll found that changing to one, new certification symbol is generally viewed as easier, clearer and less confusing. Having one symbol is also viewed as being easier to recognise and remember, and as having a clearer and stronger meaning.
Some also saw it as providing confirmation of uniformity in certification procedures by certification organisations.
The Newspoll was commissioned by the Organic Federation of Australia, the peak body for the organic sector and was conducted nationally among main grocery buyers.
Regular organic food buyers were asked to rate the current system of having eight different certification symbols on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 is “very confusing and hard to identify organic foods” and 10 is “very clear and simple to identify organic foods”.
Their average rating was only 3.1 out of 10. "The research showed very poor awareness of most of the certification symbols and that the words “Certified Organic” were important in guiding consumer awareness about genuine organic products, said Andre Leu, chair of the Organic Federation.
"The experience from around the world shows that having one symbol to identify organic products generates a huge increase in sales.
The survey was conducted among 966 main grocery buyers nationally aged 18 years and over.
More than 70 per cent of organic food buyers say they would prefer to have one, new certification symbol used by all organisations, compared with only 14 per cent who prefer to continue with different certification symbols.
The research conducted by Newspoll found that changing to one, new certification symbol is generally viewed as easier, clearer and less confusing. Having one symbol is also viewed as being easier to recognise and remember, and as having a clearer and stronger meaning.
Some also saw it as providing confirmation of uniformity in certification procedures by certification organisations.
The Newspoll was commissioned by the Organic Federation of Australia, the peak body for the organic sector and was conducted nationally among main grocery buyers.
Regular organic food buyers were asked to rate the current system of having eight different certification symbols on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 is “very confusing and hard to identify organic foods” and 10 is “very clear and simple to identify organic foods”.
Their average rating was only 3.1 out of 10. "The research showed very poor awareness of most of the certification symbols and that the words “Certified Organic” were important in guiding consumer awareness about genuine organic products, said Andre Leu, chair of the Organic Federation.
"The experience from around the world shows that having one symbol to identify organic products generates a huge increase in sales.
The survey was conducted among 966 main grocery buyers nationally aged 18 years and over.
Beach classic gets a kick-start
www.smh.com.au
Far from swanning about, Brad Seymour is focused on an exciting new venture, writes Keeli Cambourne.
BRAD SEYMOUR is a team player. He played for the Sydney Swans as one of its star defenders.
In his latest role as a radio and television commentator, he's also a member of a well-oiled machine.
He is applying that same all-hands-on-deck philosophy to running the Hyams Beach Cafe , nestled above the pristine white sands of Jervis Bay.
Seymour, who took on the cafe after seeing it advertised on the internet, has undertaken a transformation of the once-sleepy general store and takeaway.
"I'd been talking to [my wife] Mel about doing something like this. I had been retired for five years. I had always harboured an ambition to have a cafe, I don't why," he says.
"We used to live in Tamarama and when my son, Jonah, was born we used to spend every day in some sort of cafe. And when we found this I liked the idea of putting my handprint on it."
Before being discovered by Sydney escapees, Hyams Beach was a sleepy coastal village, albeit on one of the most pristine stretches of coastline on Australia's eastern seaboard. The general store catered for the handful of locals who needed everyday essentials in between shopping trips to Vincentia or Nowra.
Hamburgers were about as adventurous as the menu went and for years that is all the holidaymakers really wanted, too.
But the demographics of Hyams have changed in the past decade and with it the tastes of the new locals who now call the village home, let alone the thousands of Sydneysiders who flock there from September to May.
"I'm not sure what the cafe was really like before we took it over but we saw it and liked it and thought it needed to be tidied up here and there to start with."
That tidying up has been more than a lick of paint and a few new signs. The couple added an outside deck and the cafe now stocks Simon Johnson and Maggie Beer gourmet foods as well as bread and milk.
But the most dramatic change was to the menu, which was totally reinvented.
"I had no experience in running a cafe or a restaurant but my attitude has always been roll up your sleeves, put your head down and have a crack at it.
"We had a lot of changes in staff and we started to put the pieces together to form the big picture."
One of those changes was hiring young local chef Doug Innes-Will, who impressed Seymour with his confidence and entrepreneurship. Innes-Will approached Seymour with his vision for the cafe and restaurant.
Part of Seymour's vision, which is shared by Innes-Will, is to showcase the local produce, creating dishes with ingredients such as mushrooms from Mittagong, meats from Bowral and fruit and vegetables from Nowra.
Now the menu boasts dishes such as citrus-cured salmon salad and braised duck curry. And the hamburgers haven't been forgotten - they've just been given a bit of a makeover.
"Essentially I think the South Coast is still untouched in that way," Seymour says.
He is not the unseen partner. Every weekend before the summer onslaught and then every day throughout December and January, he's behind the coffee machine, waiting tables and being host.
"I did do a barista course but you learn more on the job . . . when you make as much coffee as I do over the summer you learn what is good and bad," he says.
"I think a lot of football followers that come through the front door want to talk footy with me and that's great. I think that is a positive thing because it gives my customers and me an interaction and a way to communicate."
And listening to the locals has been integral to being accepted in the village, says Seymour.
"In the end, what I think is wrong or right doesn't matter," he says. "I am open to hearing what the locals want. The store and cafe is the heart and soul of the village."
The Hyams Beach Cafe is open for breakfast and lunch daily and for dinner some nights from January to March.
Far from swanning about, Brad Seymour is focused on an exciting new venture, writes Keeli Cambourne.
BRAD SEYMOUR is a team player. He played for the Sydney Swans as one of its star defenders.
In his latest role as a radio and television commentator, he's also a member of a well-oiled machine.
He is applying that same all-hands-on-deck philosophy to running the Hyams Beach Cafe , nestled above the pristine white sands of Jervis Bay.
Seymour, who took on the cafe after seeing it advertised on the internet, has undertaken a transformation of the once-sleepy general store and takeaway.
"I'd been talking to [my wife] Mel about doing something like this. I had been retired for five years. I had always harboured an ambition to have a cafe, I don't why," he says.
"We used to live in Tamarama and when my son, Jonah, was born we used to spend every day in some sort of cafe. And when we found this I liked the idea of putting my handprint on it."
Before being discovered by Sydney escapees, Hyams Beach was a sleepy coastal village, albeit on one of the most pristine stretches of coastline on Australia's eastern seaboard. The general store catered for the handful of locals who needed everyday essentials in between shopping trips to Vincentia or Nowra.
Hamburgers were about as adventurous as the menu went and for years that is all the holidaymakers really wanted, too.
But the demographics of Hyams have changed in the past decade and with it the tastes of the new locals who now call the village home, let alone the thousands of Sydneysiders who flock there from September to May.
"I'm not sure what the cafe was really like before we took it over but we saw it and liked it and thought it needed to be tidied up here and there to start with."
That tidying up has been more than a lick of paint and a few new signs. The couple added an outside deck and the cafe now stocks Simon Johnson and Maggie Beer gourmet foods as well as bread and milk.
But the most dramatic change was to the menu, which was totally reinvented.
"I had no experience in running a cafe or a restaurant but my attitude has always been roll up your sleeves, put your head down and have a crack at it.
"We had a lot of changes in staff and we started to put the pieces together to form the big picture."
One of those changes was hiring young local chef Doug Innes-Will, who impressed Seymour with his confidence and entrepreneurship. Innes-Will approached Seymour with his vision for the cafe and restaurant.
Part of Seymour's vision, which is shared by Innes-Will, is to showcase the local produce, creating dishes with ingredients such as mushrooms from Mittagong, meats from Bowral and fruit and vegetables from Nowra.
Now the menu boasts dishes such as citrus-cured salmon salad and braised duck curry. And the hamburgers haven't been forgotten - they've just been given a bit of a makeover.
"Essentially I think the South Coast is still untouched in that way," Seymour says.
He is not the unseen partner. Every weekend before the summer onslaught and then every day throughout December and January, he's behind the coffee machine, waiting tables and being host.
"I did do a barista course but you learn more on the job . . . when you make as much coffee as I do over the summer you learn what is good and bad," he says.
"I think a lot of football followers that come through the front door want to talk footy with me and that's great. I think that is a positive thing because it gives my customers and me an interaction and a way to communicate."
And listening to the locals has been integral to being accepted in the village, says Seymour.
"In the end, what I think is wrong or right doesn't matter," he says. "I am open to hearing what the locals want. The store and cafe is the heart and soul of the village."
The Hyams Beach Cafe is open for breakfast and lunch daily and for dinner some nights from January to March.
Finest chefs unite in support of vulnerable children
www.hospitalitymagazine.com.au
As part of its 2008 Christmas Appeal, Anglicare Victoria hosted its fifth annual Dinner with the Angels on November 25 at the Savoy Ballroom, Grand Hyatt Melbourne where top chefs from 15 of the city’s finest restaurants united in support of Victoria’s most vulnerable children.
A live auction of items helped raise $165,000 for Anglicare Victoria’s continuing work with the State’s most vulnerable children, young people and families. Anglicare’s Christmas Appeal aims to raise $1million in funds to continue its vital services and 10,000 gifts to distribute to children in need.
Restaurants Bottega; Circa, the Prince; Comme; European; L’Oustal, Maha Bar & Grill; Pearl; Pure South; Red Emperor; Seagrass; Taxi Dining Room; The Montague; The Press Club; Tutto Bene; and Verge all generously donated their time and produce to prepare a lavish three-course meal for 300 guests.
As part of its 2008 Christmas Appeal, Anglicare Victoria hosted its fifth annual Dinner with the Angels on November 25 at the Savoy Ballroom, Grand Hyatt Melbourne where top chefs from 15 of the city’s finest restaurants united in support of Victoria’s most vulnerable children.
A live auction of items helped raise $165,000 for Anglicare Victoria’s continuing work with the State’s most vulnerable children, young people and families. Anglicare’s Christmas Appeal aims to raise $1million in funds to continue its vital services and 10,000 gifts to distribute to children in need.
Restaurants Bottega; Circa, the Prince; Comme; European; L’Oustal, Maha Bar & Grill; Pearl; Pure South; Red Emperor; Seagrass; Taxi Dining Room; The Montague; The Press Club; Tutto Bene; and Verge all generously donated their time and produce to prepare a lavish three-course meal for 300 guests.
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