I'm talking about hide and seek in the park. The corner milk bar, hopscotch, billy carts, cricket in front of the garbage bin, skipping, handstands, footy on the best lawn in the street. British bulldog 1-2-3, go home stay home, slip'n'slide, the trampoline with water on it, hula hoops, pogo sticks, stepping in enormous puddles, mud pies and building dams in the gutter and the smell of the sun and fresh cut grass.

Big bubbles no troubles' with Hubba Bubba bubble gum. A choc-top Mr Whippy cone on a warm summer night after you've chased him round the block. When 20 cents worth of mixed lollies was a meal and smoking fags was really cool.

Watching Saturday morning cartoons...short commercials, The Thunderbirds (if you got up reeeeeally early), the Smurfs, AstroBoy, He-Man, Captain Caveman, Archie, Jem (truly outrageous!!) and heeeey heeeeey heeeeeeey it's faaaaaaat Albert.

Or staying up late and sneaking a look at the (A.O) programs on the second telly.

When around the corner seemed far away, and going into town seemed like going somewhere. A million mozzie bites, wasp and bee stings.

Sticky fingers, cops and robbers, cowboys and indians, riding bikes and catching tadpoles. Marco polo in the neighbours' pool ("fish outta water?!""NOOOO"), drawing all over the road with chalk. Climbing trees and building cubbies out of every sheet your mum had in the cupboard. Walking to school, no matter what the weather.

Running ‘til you were out of breath. Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt. Jumping on the bed. Pillow fights. Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for the giggles.

Being tired from playing... Remember that? The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team. Water balloons were the ultimate weapons.

Cricket cards in the spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle... eating raw jelly, making homemade lemonade and sucking on a Funny Face or red Freeza.

Remember when... There were only two types of sneakers - girls and boys. Dunlop Volleys with the green 'n' gold or blue and the only time you wore them at school was for "sports day." You knew everyone in your street – and so did your parents! It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends. You didn't sleep a wink on Christmas Eve.

When nobody owned a pure-bred dog. When 50c was decent pocket money. When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for 10c. When nearly everyone's mum was at home when the kids got there from school. It was magic when dad would "remove" his thumb. When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at the local Chinese restaurant with your parents.

When any parent could discipline any kid, or feed her or use him to carry groceries and nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it.

When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited a misbehaving student at home.

Basically, we were in fear for our lives, but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! Some of us are still afraid of them!!!

Didn't that feel good? Just to go back and say, yeah, I remember that!

Remember when... Going “eeny-meeny-miney-mo” or scissors, paper, rock made decisions. "Race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest. Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "Monopoly". The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was a boy/girl germ, and the worst thing in your day was having to sit next to one. Having a weapon in school meant being caught with a slingshot.

Nobody was prettier than your Mum. Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better. Taking drugs meant orange-flavoured chewable vitamins C.

Ice cream was considered a basic food group. Going to the beach and catching a wave was a dream come true. Abilities were discovered because of a "double-dare". Older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest protectors.

If you can remember most of these, then you have LIVED!!! Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from their "grown up" life...

I DOUBLE-DARE YA!!!

Marcus Timmons and “The Colonel”
enjoying a beer on the Precruitment balcony

Precruitment Sponsors
the Cairns Taipans

Precruitment is proud of its sponsorship of Cairns only national sporting team, the Cairns Taipans.

Besides the fact that basketball is a great game and the NBL offers exciting fast moving family entertainment, we believe that the Taipans are great for Cairns and worthy of ours and your support. A Precruitment banner is located centrally on the basketball court at the Convention Centre. We also have a Precruitment corporate box, which we use to entertain clients and business partners and also two lucky Temps.

Yes, two lucky Temps! If you are interested in having your name in a draw for an invitation to join us in our corporate box for a Taipans home game, send an email to Penny Arnold at penny@precruitment.com.au

It is well documented that human resources are a valuable asset within most organisations and industries. So how do you build on that investment and leverage the most from your human capital?
If you had a spare $10,000 and you wanted it to make a maximum return on investment, would you leave it sitting in a bank, accumulating fees at a rate higher than the current interest value? Probably not.

The point is, as manager of your own funds, you are motivated to gain the highest possible return on your hard earned investment. It stands to reason then, that as manager of your company’s most important asset, human capital, you would be equally motivated to leverage the highest return on that investment too.

To start the ball rolling, you need to recruit the most suitable assets or employees. Staff placement is a costly exercise and is often quoted as costing a company around $11,000 per recruit minimum depending on the role and availability of suitable candidates. This includes the cost of recruitment, and initial training. In some industries, turnover is a real issue and therefore an increasingly costly exercise. The loss of any employee impacts the bottom line in both the short and the longer-term as knowledge, experience, and relationships walk out the door.

It can be tempting at times of low economic growth and an increase in employment, for employers to believe that there is less cost involved in losing employees because of the availability of replacements. But this attitude does not account for the many benefits of having a stable team such as the impact on business relationships, team morale, the disruption involved in training and inducting a new staff member and so on.

There is, therefore, no margin for error when it comes to recruiting the right people from the beginning. This will take some research, but first among considerations is knowing exactly what function you want your employees to perform. Without a full understanding of your employees’ job role, it is impossible to recruit the right person for the position or alternatively brief an agency to do so.

By the same token, once an employee has been appointed to a role, it is important that they themselves have a clear understanding of what is expected of them. Sounds obvious, but this is a common downfall. Without clear communication of company objectives by management, employees cannot possibly be expected to perform their jobs correctly. It is imperative that managers can demonstrate first-hand the company requirements and job expectations.

Once this has been made clear, staff members need the right resources to ensure that they perform their jobs at the optimum level. Consideration by management should therefore be made to what resources help staff perform their job most effectively, and also, what may hinder their performance. It’s no good having the latest database application installed if it is not going to enhance the efficiency of your staff. Think also of office design and fit out. Limited fresh air and artificial lighting leads to drowsy staff, while poorly fitted workstations may result in occupational health and safety issues culminating in staff absenteeism.

So too, staff training and development is vital. There is no room for skimping and saving here. While training can be costly, such costs need to be measured against the benefits and savings that it creates. These include more skilful staff, higher productivity and service delivery, improved staff morale and not least among benefits, lower turnover.

Once you have all these factors working nicely and staff are performing well and bringing in a company return, don’t forget to give credit where credit is due. Employees need to be recognised for their contributions and for a job well done. This is basic human nature. It is well documented that performance recognition helps to improve an employee’s input. Spare a thought to the fact that remuneration related to skill levels attained may be more productive than annual reviews. So too, opportunities for job promotion offer staff a clear and defined career path that they can strive towards. Without a career ladder to climb, staff will undoubtedly move to greener pastures, leaving you behind.

While a rare few hit the jackpot when it comes to human capital, for most companies it is the investment they make in their people that essentially helps to stem the flow of attrition and make for a much more productive and happier work environment. As any informed financial advisor will tell you, careful planning and an ongoing attention to development will lower your risk of investment loss—don’t make the mistake of thinking that the same does not hold for your human capital investments.

Postal:
P O Box 6565
CAIRNS QLD 4870

Precruitment (Townsville) Pty Ltd

Office Location:
Level 2,
Suncorp Plaza 61-73
Sturt Street
TOWNSVILLE QLD 4810

Phone: +61 7 4721 5600
Fax: +61 7 4721 5610
Email:
tsv@precruitment.com.au

Postal:
P O Box 950
TOWNSVILLE QLD 4810

Precruitment (Capricorn) Pty Ltd

Office Location:
Level 4,
Country Plaza
100 Goondoon Street
GLADSTONE QLD 4680

Phone: +61 7 4972 0350
Fax: +61 7 4972 0840
Email:
capricorn@precruitment.com.au

Postal:
P O Box 5060
GLADSTONE QLD 4680