Merit Solutions Blog
Using STAR Effectively in your Job Application
Learn how to use the STAR method correctly and confidently in job applications, selection criteria and job interviews to prove you have the experience and skills for the job.
Overcoming Unconscious Bias in Recruitment and Selection
Australia is proud to identify as a vibrant, contemporary, and multicultural society, claiming its people have stemmed from more than 270 different ancestries. So, with this diversity of cultures, surely the workforce should also represent an inclusive and...
Ways to be Mindful in the Workplace
With limited time and never-ending to do lists, it can be hard to take time throughout the work day to practice mindfulness..
Developing Mindfulness Through Action Learning
Action learning contributes to self-awareness because it involves working on problems in real time with a supportive group…
Can We Afford Age Discrimination?
How can we challenge ageism to create an inclusive new world within our workplaces? Research shows we are living longer and..
Shaping Team Culture Through Mindfulness
Mindfulness underpins active listening, positive feedback, corrective feedback and congruence – it is an essential skill for shaping team culture…
Why Feedback On Performance Is So Critical For A Performance Culture
Creating a performance culture is still as important as ever and giving feedback on performance has a critical role to play to achieve this culture.
Why Choose a Scribe with a Professional HR Background?
A scribe’s role in government recruitment or selection is to support the busy panel members through the selection process…
Learning On-the-Job: The 70:20:10 Learning Model
The 70:20:10 Learning Model was developed in the 1980s. The model highlights the dominant role of learning on-the-job relative to other forms of learning.
Learning On-The-Job: Turning Team Meetings into a Learning and Development Opportunity
Managers, supervisors and team leaders need to think about how to facilitate staff learning through ordinary day-to-day workplace activities.
Job Interview: How to Feel Confident and Relaxed
Would you like to go into your next job interview feeling confident and relaxed? The secret is to prepare well. There are lots of tips and techniques..
Get Creative – Using Digital Media when Applying for a Job
Modern technology in the form of digital media provides great opportunities to innovatively revamp your resume and interview process when applying for a job.
Action Research for Organisational Innovation
Action research can generate organisational innovation through the collaborative pursuit of improvement, gathering data in the process of taking action..
Action Learning: Developing Questioning Insight
In the video embedded in this post, Reg Revans, the Founder of Action Learning, explains the origins of action learning and focuses strongly on the need for questioning insight. He was 83 years of age at the time of this interview and had been using action learning in...
Knowledge Sharing: Where to start?
Knowledge sharing needs to be initiated by the manager as part of business-as-usual rather than waiting until there is an executive edict or sophisticated knowledge management system in place. The manager is close to the action and is the one who is...
Sustaining a Learning and Development Culture in Times of Resource Constraint
In a recent breakfast forum, we continued our discussion of learning and development in times of limited budgets. One of the key challenges raised in the discussion was the issue of sustainability - sustaining a learning and development culture in times of resource...
The Hidden ROI of Action Learning: 7 Personal Outcomes
In times of monetary constraint, it is critical to ensure that your organisation achieves a real return on investment (ROI) from training and development activities. Much has been written about the visible ROI of action learning in terms of improved productivity,...
Five Fundamental Questions for Knowledge Sharing
Something happened when I was managing that struck me about the importance of knowledge sharing, knowledge management and knowledge transfer and the value of local wisdom developed through organisational history. I’ll share the story with you. We were working in a...
Manager Support During Downsizing
Merit Solutions introduced a Manager Support Forum in September 2012 for managers in the Queensland Public Service (QPS) who were experiencing change and associated staff losses through downsizing of the QPS. We were conscious of the need to support...
Christmas, Nature and Downsizing: Happiness through Connections
At Christmas, we tend to take time out to renew our connections with our family and friends, with nature and with what transcends our day-to-day existence. However, people who have suffered job loss through downsizing may have an abiding sense of disconnection – a...
Maintaining Staff Morale During Downsizing
Staff morale can plummet during downsizing and other significant, enforced organisational changes. Managers have the very difficult task of dealing with their own concerns as well as trying to support their staff through the change, while maintaining an acceptable...
Career Transition – Where do I start?
Often, we get past our twenty-something decade or beyond and find our pathway has led to work options that no longer fit..
The Importance of Participative Work Design when Restructuring an Organisation
Change and uncertainty resulting from organisational restructuring can be frightening and highly stressful. However, it can also be an opportunity for both the organisation and the individual if a participative work design approach is adopted…
Recruiting Leaders – The Importance of Strategy and Execution
A popular question used to assess senior leaders involves asking applicants to reflect upon why excellent strategy/policy ideas often fail in execution…