Decision-making tips to improve your work performance

 Tea or coffee? Toast or cereal? Bring an umbrella or chance it? According to American psychiatrist Lisa MacLean, the typical person makes about 35,000 decisions a day. No wonder when your partner asks what’s for dinner, it can feel like the last straw.

Know your values

At the heart of good decision-making is a level of self-knowledge: making the right decision for you. Any decision can have a bad outcome, but you will most regret the choices that go against your personal values.

Kimberly Singh FCPA, CFO and chief wellness officer at growth and leadership training company Populis, says the first step is to write down your personal values and beliefs. “If it’s difficult, think back on past decisions you have made and how you felt after you made those decisions and lived with the results,” she advises.

Examples of personal values include dependability, generosity, integrity, family open‑mindedness and sustainability. If you find yourself coming back to money or belongings as a driver of your decisions, look deeper: the underlying personal value might really be something like security or self-reliance.

Once you have a list of your values, rank them in order of importance. When you have a decision to make, consider how the choices align with this list of what’s most important to you.

The star model

Once you have identified your values and the traits that could influence your decisions, Alison points to the STAR model to guide your decision-making process.

Stories and scenarios: what is the situation, and what are your options? You should have at least three options: a best outcome, a worst outcome, and something in-between.

Time mastery: do you need to decide now? If not, how much time do you have? Use it to get more information.

Adaptation and assumptions: use additional information and discussion to test your hypotheses and consider alternatives.

Revision and resilience: know when to stick with a plan and when to reconsider, especially if new information becomes available.

Singh has one last piece of advice: do not waste your energy on decisions that will clearly take you in a different direction from your true north. “Distractions can often be disguised as opportunities. For us to not be distracted, we need to truly understand our personal path and how we intend to get there.”

Top tips for decision making

2. Get multiple views.

Ask for people’s opinions, but do not limit yourself to just asking friends or family. People who sometimes disagree with you may offer a perspective that is worth considering.

3. Use a decision tree.

Plot out the possible outcomes of different choices and see how they compare. Making lists of the pros and cons can also help you to determine the best choice.

4. Make big decisions in the morning.

Try to make big decisions when you feel well rested and energised.

7. Decide, then move on.

Once you make a decision and act on it, resist the urge to second-guess it. You made the best decision you could, based on the information you had.

Resilience in decision making

Health: Try for at least a small amount of semi-regular exercise, and eat well.

Purpose: Know that what you do makes a difference, at work and at home.

Feedback: Reflect on, share and discuss your successes and your failures.

Joy: Do things you enjoy: spend time with friends, dance, laugh and recharge.

“Think of these four pillars of resilience as the legs of a table,” says Alison.

“You might be able to neglect one pillar for a while, but it makes your table wobbly. Neglect two of these pillars for too long, and your table will become really unstable.

“You’ll be more prone to making the errors that can lead to bad decisions.”

Definition:

the final/last straw

idiom (also the straw that breaks the camel's back)

 

C1

the last in a series of unpleasant events that finally makes you feel that you cannot continue to accept a bad situation:

Losing my job was bad enough, but being evicted was the final straw.

She's always been rude to me, but it was the last straw when she started insulting my mother.

Ref: CPA

Taking a people-centric approach (and why it works)

 To Julian Hutabarat CPA, Beany Australia general manager, accountants do more than crunch numbers. They build partnerships with small business clients, nurture those relationships and help clients to achieve goals greater than simple tax compliance.

It starts at understanding who a business owner is and what they want to achieve, he says. Being able to communicate in everyday language – not “accountant speak” – increasingly involves offering a whole business service that helps clients to realise their personal and professional goals.

“Good advice comes from solid compliance, so that business owners have confidence their government obligations are being taken care of and their financial information is accurate,” says Hutabarat. “But the value is in using that information to present opportunities, as well as highlight risks, for moving forward.”

Beany uses technology designed to provide high-quality business and accounting services and advice to small business owners at a fixed monthly cost, so they can focus on goals and growth.

The company has developed software to collect all the necessary information accountants need to undertake engagement, onboarding, compliance, forecasts, budgets and more for SMEs.

Once online onboarding is complete, Beany appoints a personal accountant – who has access to all the requisite information to start work immediately – to the client. Clients then have access to unlimited support and advice.

Hutabarat believes this allows business owners to reach out with concerns without fear of bill shock, allowing accountants to address issues and seize opportunities as they arise.

One piece of advice

“Always challenge the status quo, not for the sake of change, but with the desire to improve. Come with your vision in mind and a solution on how you want to achieve it in both your professional and personal capacities.”

Ref: CPA

Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG)

 A legislative safety net scheme of last resort with assistance available for eligible employees.

FEG is operating as usual and has arrangements in place to ensure services remain available to claimants and potential claimants.

By law, strict timeframes apply to FEG claims. Claimants are encouraged to submit their claims electronically wherever possible. This will ensure we are able to contact you quickly to discuss any further information we need for your claim to be effective, and assist with efficiency of processing.

What can I claim?

You may be able to claim:

• your unpaid wages—up to 13 weeks
• your unpaid annual leave and long service leave
• payment in lieu of notice—up to five weeks
• redundancy pay—up to four weeks per full year of service.

Note: unpaid Superannuation Guarantee Contributions cannot be claimed. You should pursue these through the Australian Taxation Office.

Find more information on what you can claim in the What assistance can FEG provide fact sheet.

Definition:

payment in lieu of notice - 

Instead of giving you the required period of notice, your employer can pay you an amount equal to your wages for the period of notice you are entitled to, and ask you to leave straight away. This is called a payment in lieu of notice.

Notice of termination & redundancy pay - Fair Work Ombudsman

Redundancy occurs when an employer either decides they no longer need an employee's job to be done by anyone, or the employer becomes insolvent or bankrupt, and terminates their employment.

Am I an eligible employee?

You may be eligible for FEG assistance if you:

• have lodged an effective claim within 12 months (of either the date you lost your job or the date of the liquidation or bankruptcy of your former employer)
• have lost your job due to the insolvency of your employer or were terminated after, or within six months before, the appointment of a liquidator or bankruptcy trustee for your employer
• are owed at least one of the entitlements mentioned above
• were an Australian citizen or the holder of a permanent visa or special category visa that allows you to stay and work in Australia at the time your employment ended.

Textile, clothing and footwear (TCF) contract outworkers may be eligible - see TCF contract outworkers scheme fact sheet for more information.

You won't be eligible if, for example, you:

• were a contractor
• were a director of the company within 12 months before liquidation
• were a relative (as defined by the Corporations Act 2001) of an employee director of the company within 12 months before liquidation
• do not meet all of the conditions of eligibility set out in the Fair Entitlements Guarantee Act 2012.

How do I make a claim?

Applying online is the quickest way to receive your entitlements:

• Lodge a claim for assistance online at FEG Online Services.
• Make sure you read the full FEG fact sheets (including the Protecting your information fact sheet) before submitting your claim.
• You will need to provide specified evidence of your citizenship status for your claim to be effective.
• Remember that you only have 12 months to lodge your effective claim.

Get more information on eligibility, how to apply and lodging a claim for assistance.

What if I can't make a claim online?

You can print and complete the FEG Claim Form and email or post it to us. Or you can call the FEG Hotline 1300 135 040 and we will post the claim form to you.

How is tax withheld from FEG payments?

If you are eligible for FEG assistance, the payment must be taxed in accordance with the notice of variation under section 15-15 of Schedule 1 to the Tax Administration Act 1953. The How is tax withheld under FEG fact sheet includes more information.

Want to know more?

Have a look at our service charter, frequently asked questions and fact sheets or contact us.

If you wish to nominate a person to act as the primary contact on your behalf please read the Role of an agent fact sheet.

Department of Employment and Workplace Relations link