News

Virgin Blue has been named Australia’s most attractive employer at the inaugural 2011 Randstad Awards, edging out rival airline Qantas and mining heavyweight BHP Billiton.

Brad Smith’s story is a classic example of a passionate hobby unfolding into small business success. From quiet beginnings in the backyard shed with his Dad, his passion, drive and energy have helped him build a retail chain of braaap stores.

Have you ever wondered why some trends spread quickly and stick? Or thought about selling your car to start a digital revolution, and along the way build a billion dollar enterprise? Read on.

The founder of retail super success story Diva, Colette Hayman, speaks to Dynamic Business about her latest jewellery venture in the latest magazine. Get your copy in news agencies nationally now.

Kellie Hill’s story lies at the very heart of Australia’s mining boom. Her business Kellie Hill Consulting (KHC) is a legal consultancy specialising in native title and heritage approvals for mining projects. Their job is to find the middle ground between the traditional owners and her clients, the mining companies.

New research shows meetings have become unproductive sinkholes that interfere with organisational progress and sap the confidence of middle management. Read Dr Ken Hudson’s tips to improving the success of your meetings and increase morale.

Blogger Rick Mapperson shares some excellent advice on not letting owning a business take over your life and makes the point that money is nice but it isn’t everything. Learn from his top tips to achieve a balanced life.

Businesses recovering from floods in Queensland and Victoria need to beware of the risks of growing too fast, according to Michael Fingland, managing director of business turnaround specialist Vantage Performance.

Bendigo Bank and climate change partnership Carbon Down have joined forces to encourage Victorian businesses to reduce their energy use for the dual benefit of protecting against energy price rises and reducing their carbon footprint.

Business confidence is up if the latest survey results provided by global recruitment agency Hudson is anything to go by. The Hudson Report: Employment Expectations survey found that almost one-third of Australian businesses have indicated they are ready to take on more staff in the next quarter.

LivingSocial has picked up $400 million in funding as part of its push to win market share in Australia’s daily deals sector. CEO Colin Fabig announced the funding today, saying it highlighted the strength of the daily deals sector in Australia.

Men and women are from different worlds when it comes to job-hunting, new research has revealed. A survey of 7,000 Australians found male jobseekers look for money and career progression, while women look for a strong workplace culture, flexibility, convenience and development opportunities.

As mobile technology evolves, location-based mobile phone applications pose a growing threat to user privacy. While sharing your location on line might seem harmless, consider who you’re giving that information to – and what they could do with it.

The Federal Government has announced $3.3 million to help small business support groups assist disaster-affected small businesses get back on their feet.

Thinking of reasons to switch to the cloud? I bet risk of flood wasn’t top of your list. Brisbane’s Gilkatho Coffee used cloud computing to keep operating when their business was 2.6m underwater.

Social media users are a diversity asset to businesses, according to Nareen Young, CEO of Diversity Council Australia (DCA). She said that while there were risks in allowing social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter in the workplace, with sensible risk management policies this connectivity could be beneficial.

Australian registered training organisation Upskilled has launched a $250,000 initiative to provide individuals with career help. Upskilled developed the offer after noting survey results showing that more than half of working Australians are unhappy in their careers.

Figures recently released by National Credit Insurance (Brokers) showed that the number of bad debt claims in February 2011 is almost 80% higher than claims for the previous month. The spike has caused cash flow finance specialist Oxford Funding to warn businesses to keep an eye on their debtors.

Business owners using Google operating system Android on their smartphones need to beware that the open source apps may contain malware.

Website filtering, as part of a greater online security plan, is one step businesses can take to boost staff productivity, according to security software firm Veritech Corporation.