MBC Insights

18/09/2026

Had a great day with Be Seen Merch in Adelaide discussing what motivates each of us at work and then what drives us a team. Lovely friendly people who have a big heart for their customers and a drive to be the best in the merch industry.

14/09/2026

The Fair Work Commission just showed why "casual" is about the roster, not the contract

His contract said 'no guaranteed hours. His roster said otherwise for six straight semesters — and the Fair Work Commission agreed with the roster.

A TAFE painting teacher started on a handful of casual hours back in 2022. By 2025 he was teaching fixed Monday and Wednesday timetables across three campuses — classes that couldn't be cancelled mid-semester without disrupting students, running six consecutive semesters straight. When he formally notified TAFE that he no longer met the legal definition of a casual employee, TAFE rejected it.

The Fair Work Commission didn't.

It looked past the contract clause stating "no guarantee regarding the days or hours" and ruled on the "real substance, practical reality and true nature" of the work instead — predictable, recurring, in ongoing demand. Contract wording lost to lived pattern.

https://www.hcamag.com/au/specialisation/employment-law/casual-label-did-not-fit-tafe-painting-teacher-fair-work-finds/589515

07/09/2026

New research says your resume matters less than how you shake hands. Every hiring manager should be uncomfortable about that.

A meta-analysis of 145 studies just found that in interviews, communication cues, tone, body language and facial expression predict hiring outcomes more strongly than a candidate's actual qualifications, with physical appearance also outweighing resume content.

Those snap, first-minute impressions still correlated with judgements made a full month later. If your interview process doesn't include structured questions, multiple raters and pre-agreed scoring criteria, you're not hiring on merit you're hiring on vibes.

Source: HRD Australia – Your looks matter more than your resume, workplace study finds

30/08/2026

Your staff census tells you how people are feeling.
But does it tell you why?

Whether your results show high satisfaction, low engagement or a mixture of both, this is an ideal time to use Motivational Maps with your team.

If satisfaction is low, Motivational Maps can help uncover:
• which motivational needs are not being met
• why people are experiencing the workplace differently
• what may be contributing to frustration or disengagement
• where leaders can take practical action

If satisfaction is high, mapping is just as valuable. It helps you understand what is working, protect the conditions that support motivation and identify needs that may be hidden within the overall results.

Because a positive team score can still mask individuals who are quietly disengaging.

A census gives you the snapshot. Motivational Maps help explain what is driving the results and what to do next.

If you have recently completed a staff census or engagement survey, this may be the right time to look beneath the scores and start more meaningful conversations with your people.

Contact me to discuss how Motivational Maps could help your team turn survey results into practical action.

28/08/2026

The labour market just sent HR a warning shot

"Unemployment just ticked up to 4.5%. Retention by default isn't retention."

Australia's unemployment rate rose to 4.5% in July, with participation easing to 66.9% (ABS). In a softer market, more people stay put, but staying because leaving feels risky isn't the same as staying because you're motivated, and the two look identical on a headcount report.

That's the trap: retention metrics hold steady, while the thing that actually predicts performance such as what's driving each person, and whether it's being met goes untracked. A motivational map won't change the market, but it will tell you which of your "stable" people are quietly disengaging and why, while there's still time to act.

If you haven't mapped your team's motivators recently, a softening market is exactly the moment to and it's cheaper to find out now than after the market turns.

Source: Labour Force, Australia, July 2026 — Australian Bureau of Statistics

24/08/2026

"Job hugging" is the productivity crisis hiding in plain sight.

Your 'stable' headcount might be the problem. Welcome to job hugging.

A growing number of Australian employees are staying put but not out of loyalty, but because a tight, uncertain market makes moving on feel too risky.

HR leader Karlie Cremin calls it "job hugging," and warns it's masking a real productivity crisis: "There's no discretionary effort, there's no thinking innovatively, or even long-term."

Low turnover can look like a win on a dashboard, but if your people are stressed, disengaged, and just holding on, the cost shows up in innovation and output long before it shows up in resignation numbers. Worth asking: is your low attrition actually a good sign right now, or a warning?

A metric leaders often celebrate (low turnover) could be a potential red flag.

Source: "Job hugging" is masking a productivity crisis — HRD Australia

14/08/2026

What if the employee isn’t the problem?
And what if the manager isn’t either?

One of the ideas I explore in When Motivation Fails is this:
“The manager isn't the problem. The mismatch between the role and what drives the person is"

We have probably all seen it.

A capable employee starts to lose energy. They contribute less, seem frustrated, withdraw, or just don’t appear to be the same person at work anymore.

It is easy to label them as disengaged or unmotivated.
But sometimes the real issue is that the work no longer connects with what drives them.

Someone who needs purpose may struggle when their work feels meaningless.
Someone who values freedom may become frustrated by too much control.
Someone motivated by achievement may switch off when there is nothing left to aim for.
Someone who values security may find constant change exhausting.

That is why motivation is rarely as simple as saying, “They just don’t care anymore.”

When Motivation Fails explores what may be happening underneath the behaviour, using workplace case studies, practical strategies and reflection points for leaders.

If you manage people, work in HR, lead a team, or have ever wondered why a previously good employee suddenly changed, this book will give you a different way to look at motivation.

When Motivation Fails is available now on Amazon - https://lnkd.in/gKHZa5SP

Before we decide someone has a motivation problem, perhaps we should ask:

Are they unmotivated, or are we simply not speaking to what motivates them?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

11/08/2026

We often assume burnout means someone has simply been working too hard.

But that’s not always the whole story.

Sometimes people become exhausted because the work they are doing no longer connects with what motivates them.

They might still be performing. They might still be turning up. They might even look fine from the outside. But underneath, something has shifted.

Maybe the work no longer feels meaningful.
Maybe they have lost autonomy.
Maybe they don’t feel valued.
Maybe there is no opportunity to grow.
Or perhaps constant uncertainty has worn them down.

In When Motivation Fails, I explore why understanding what drives people can help us look beyond the obvious signs of disengagement and burnout.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Have you ever seen someone labelled “burnt out” when there was actually something deeper happening with their motivation?

05/08/2026

Most motivation advice starts with the wrong assumption: that people are motivated by the same things.

They are not.

While writing When Motivation Fails, five ideas kept coming through strongly:

1. Motivation is not a personality trait.
It is a set of needs. When the wrong needs are being met, even capable and committed people can begin to disengage.

2. The employee is not always the problem.
Sometimes the real issue is a mismatch between the role, the workplace and what genuinely drives the person.

3. A reward only works if it means something to the individual.
Recognition, money, flexibility, responsibility and development do not motivate everyone in the same way.

4. Burnout is not always about workload.
It can also come from spending too much time doing work that feels disconnected from a person’s values, strengths or sense of purpose.

5. Motivation cannot be fixed with a one-size-fits-all initiative.
Real change starts with understanding the individual, what matters to them and what may be getting in the way.

The question is not simply, “Why is this person unmotivated?”

A better question is, “What does this person need in order to feel energised, valued and connected to their work?”

When Motivation Fails is available now on Amazon. Link https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0HBPGY38P/

03/08/2026

The next accreditation starts in one week. It's not too late to join in. Let us know on [email protected] if you would like further information.

Australia’s workplace engagement is sitting at just 21%.

That means many people are showing up to work, but not necessarily feeling connected, energised or motivated by what they do.

One practical way to shift this is to better understand what actually motivates your people.

Motivational Maps gives leaders, coaches, HR professionals and consultants a clear tool to identify the motivational drivers that sit beneath performance, engagement and behaviour.

When you understand motivation, you can have better conversations, build stronger teams and support people in a way that actually makes sense to them.

Next Motivational Maps Practitioner Training Intake: August 2026
Delivered online over three sessions.

This training is ideal for people who work with individuals, teams or organisations and want a practical, evidence-informed tool to add to their toolkit.

For further information, email:[email protected]