Find Grow Keep

Contractors can be a great way to build a business, giving you access to specialist skills and the flexibility to manage changing workloads. But as your business grows, is that still the best approach? 

In this episode of Find Grow Keep, Karen Kirton is joined by Sandra Muller, owner of True North Content, to talk about her experience moving from a long-established subcontractor model towards employing people. 

Sandra shares what's driving the change, including the challenge of retaining talented contractors who want greater financial security, managing availability and building a business that's less dependent on her personally. 

Karen and Sandra also explore how to maintain flexibility when employing people, the opportunities for employees to contribute to business growth and innovation, and why people management doesn't disappear just because you work with contractors. 

They also touch on how AI is changing the content industry and what that means for the skills businesses will need in the future. 

It's a practical conversation for small business owners considering whether their current team structure will support the next stage of growth. 

In this episode: 

• The benefits and limitations of using contractors 
• Why Sandra is starting to employ people 
• Balancing flexibility with security and continuity 
• How your team structure can support or limit business growth 
• The changing role of AI in content businesses 
• Why managing people matters regardless of how they're engaged 

Connect with Sandra Muller 

True North Content: https://truenorthcontent.com.au/

About Amplify HR 

Amplify HR helps small and medium sized businesses find, grow and keep great people. 

Visit https://amplifyhr.com.au/ to learn more. 

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Could you take three or four weeks away from your business, completely switch off, and know that everything would continue running without you? 

I've just returned from three weeks overseas with my family, and it was an interesting opportunity to see how Amplify HR operated without my day-to-day involvement. 

I'm fortunate to have a very capable team, so I wasn't particularly worried about stepping away. And while everything ran smoothly, there were a few small things that came up which highlighted where the business was still dependent on me. 

In this episode of Find Grow Keep, I'm sharing what I learned from the experience and why I don't necessarily agree that a successful business needs to operate completely without its owner. 

In this episode, I explore: 

• Why there's a difference between choosing to retain certain responsibilities and being the only person who can manage them. 
• How infrequent tasks, undocumented processes and system access can create dependencies you don't even realise exist. 
• Why capable employees sometimes still rely on the business owner to make decisions. 
• What business owners can do to give their teams more confidence, authority and independence. 
• Why being able to mentally switch off matters, and what returning from leave can reveal about how your business operates. 

If you're a business owner who finds it difficult to step away, or you're wondering how to make your business less dependent on you as it grows, I hope this episode gives you a few things to think about. 

Take our free Workplace Culture Quiz: https://tinyurl.com/FindGrowKeepQuiz 

Visit https://www.amplifyhr.com.au for more practical advice on finding, growing and keeping great people. 

Make sure to subscribe to stay updated with new releases on Mondays!

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Download our free guide, “Getting Stuff Done Through Your People,” giving you the tools to build a culture where people take ownership, goals get achieved, and results follow.

https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/downloadable/getting-stuff-done-through-your-people/ 

Why do good candidates walk away from roles that look right on paper? 

In this episode of Find Grow Keep, I’m joined by Carrie Johnston, Founder and Director of The CommsConnector, to talk about what candidates are really noticing during the recruitment process — and why the reason they give for turning down a job isn’t always the whole story. 

Carrie has more than 20 years’ experience across agency and client side and works with both candidates and employers, so she gets to hear two quite different perspectives on the same recruitment experience. 

We talk about why salary often isn’t the main reason good candidates say no, what happens when hiring managers aren’t aligned on the role, and how communication, interview environments and seemingly small interactions can influence candidate experience. 

Carrie also shares some great real-life examples, including a senior candidate who changed their mind after one interaction in a final interview, and we explore whether AI in recruitment is making the process more efficient or simply more transactional. 

We cover: 

• Why candidates sometimes give employers a simplified reason for saying no  
• What candidates are learning about your workplace during the recruitment process  
• Why every interview and assessment stage should have a purpose  
• How the interview environment can affect candidate performance  
• Where AI is helping recruitment — and where the human connection is being lost  
• Why being honest about the challenges of a role can help the right candidate say yes  
• What employers can do before going to market to create a better recruitment process  

Because recruitment really is a two-way process. While you’re deciding whether someone is right for your business, they’re deciding whether your business is somewhere they want to work. 

Connect with Carrie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carrieannjohnston 

Make sure to subscribe to stay updated with new releases on Mondays!
 
Visit https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/ for more insights and resources.  

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Download our free guide, “Getting Stuff Done Through Your People,” giving you the tools to build a culture where people take ownership, goals get achieved, and results follow.

https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/downloadable/getting-stuff-done-through-your-people/ 

The contract is signed, your new employee has accepted the job and there’s a sense of relief that recruitment is finally finished. 

But they might not actually start for another four weeks. 

In this episode of Find Grow Keep, I’m looking at that often-overlooked period between accepting a job offer and day one, and why it’s an important part of the candidate experience. 

While you’re organising payroll information, super, laptops and system access, your new employee is still in their old workplace. They’re finishing things off, saying goodbye to colleagues and perhaps dealing with a counteroffer. They’re also starting to wonder what their new workplace is really going to be like. 

So what should happen during those few weeks? 

I talk about how to stay connected without smothering someone, why their new manager should be part of that communication, and what a simple preboarding process can do to reduce uncertainty before they arrive. 

We also look at the extra complications that come with hiring towards the end of the year. Is it actually better for someone to start just before Christmas, or would January give them a more useful introduction to the business? And if you have a Christmas shutdown, what do you need to think about when your new employee hasn’t accumulated much annual leave yet?

In this episode, you'll hear about: 

→ Why candidate experience doesn’t finish when someone accepts your job offer. 

→ What may be happening for your new employee while they’re serving out their notice period. 

→ How to keep a new hire engaged before day one without creating lots of unnecessary activity. 

→ Why a simple call from their new manager can be more useful than another automated email. 

→ The three things I think about in preboarding: administration, certainty and connection. 

→ Why recruitment, preboarding and onboarding may be separate processes to us, but the employee experiences them as one continuous journey into the business. 

→ Where preboarding can cross the line into asking somebody to complete work or mandatory training before they’ve actually started. 

→ How to decide whether a December or January start will give your new employee a better experience. 

→ What Australian employers should check around Christmas shutdowns, annual leave and public holidays when somebody has only recently joined. 

→ The small things you can organise before day one that help someone feel expected and make it easier for them to settle into their role. 

The aim isn’t to create an elaborate preboarding program. It’s really about recognising that there is a person on the other side of all that administration who has made quite a big decision to join your business. 

A little communication and thought during those few weeks can make the transition much easier. 

Make sure to subscribe to stay updated with new releases on Mondays!
 
Visit https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/for more insights and resources.  

Related episode articles: 

https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/the-importance-of-emotional-connection-in-onboarding/  

https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/standardise-onboarding-with-these-3-simple-tools/ 

https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/what-to-do-when-your-new-hire-isnt-working-out/

Send us Fan Mail

Download our free guide, “Getting Stuff Done Through Your People,” giving you the tools to build a culture where people take ownership, goals get achieved, and results follow.

https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/downloadable/getting-stuff-done-through-your-people/ 

What does good leadership look like when the traditional way of working doesn’t necessarily work for you? 

In this episode, Karen welcomes Jess Jasch back to talk about her experience as an autistic and ADHD leader. They explore what neurodivergent leadership can look like in practice, from understanding your own needs and communicating differently to masking, burnout and the assumptions we make when someone appears to be coping well. 

It’s also a broader conversation about leadership. Because whether someone is neurodivergent or not, people don’t all need the same environment, communication style or way of working to perform at their best.

In today’s episode, you will learn about: 

→ Why neurodivergent leaders can find traditional expectations around leadership, availability and the workplace more draining than they appear from the outside. 

→ Why supporting neurodivergent employees doesn’t have to start with a diagnosis, and the simple question leaders can ask instead: What do you need to succeed in your role? 

→ How small changes to communication — including giving context rather than simply messaging “Can we talk?” — can make it easier for people to process information and show up prepared. 

→ The difference between adapting the way someone works and lowering performance expectations, and why the optics of work don’t always tell us much about actual performance. 

→ How leaders can model their own needs and create greater safety for other people to ask for what helps them work well. 

→ Why describing neurodivergence as a “superpower” can overlook the very real challenges and accommodations that may sit alongside someone’s strengths. 

→ What masking can cost someone over time, including the active recovery that colleagues and managers may never see. 

→ Why someone performing well isn’t necessarily the same as someone coping well — and why the person who always seems capable may still need you to check in. 

Jess also shares some of what she learned through writing her book, Leaders Who Thrive: A Mindful Antidote to Disconnected Teams, and why completing it changed the way she thinks about taking on difficult projects. 

Connect with Jess and find out more about her book:
https://jessicajasch.com/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicajasch/ 

Make sure to subscribe to stay updated with new releases on Mondays!
 
Visit https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/for more insights and resources.  

Send us Fan Mail

Need to hire someone before Christmas? Sometimes the deadline is genuine. Someone has resigned, the team is stretched, or there is work that simply needs to be done before the end of the year. 

But sometimes Christmas becomes a deadline simply because it feels like everything needs to be finished before the break. 

In this episode, I look at how to tell the difference and how to move through your recruitment process quickly without turning it into a rushed hiring decision. 

I also look at what the Australian recruitment market is telling us at the moment, why a more structured process can actually help you hire faster, and the conversation I think every business should have before they start recruiting: what will we do if we don't find the right person?  

In this episode, you'll hear about: 

→ What “we need someone before Christmas” actually means — and why your real deadline may be different from the one in your head. 

→ Why recruitment can suddenly feel urgent in October and November, particularly when a team has been absorbing extra work for some time. 

→ What current Australian employment data tells us about the recruitment market and why the experience can be very different depending on the role you're trying to fill. 

→ The difference between a fast recruitment process and a rushed one, and where unnecessary delays often creep in. 

→ Why getting clear on what somebody needs to bring from day one — and what you can reasonably teach them — becomes even more important when you're under time pressure. 

→ How structured interviews can make the final decision easier rather than slowing recruitment down. 

→ Which parts of recruitment you can compress, and why reference checks and important assessments shouldn't disappear simply because Christmas is getting closer. 

→ Why having a Plan B before you start recruiting can stop you choosing the “least worst” candidate just to meet a deadline. 

→ How to work backwards from your Christmas hiring deadline so you know early whether the timeframe is actually realistic. 

If you're hiring before Christmas, the aim isn't simply to get someone into the role before the break. It's to move quickly where you can, keep the parts of the process that help you make a good decision, and still feel confident about that decision when you come back in January.  

Related episodes: 

How to Run a Simple Recruitment Process for Small Business – Episode 151
https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/podcast-episodes/s02e151-how-to-run-a-simple-recruitment-process-for-small-business-with-daniel-moussa/

Informal vs Structured Job Interviews: Why a Chat Over Coffee Doesn't Work – Episode 38
https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/podcast-episodes/s02e38-informal-vs-structured-job-interviews-why-a-chat-over-coffee-doesnt-work/

The 9 Hiring Mistakes That Cost You Time, Money and Team Morale – Episode 134
https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/podcast-episodes/s02e134-the-9-hiring-mistakes-that-cost-you-time-money-and-team-morale/

Visit https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/ for more insights and resources.

Send us Fan Mail

Download our free guide, “Getting Stuff Done Through Your People,” giving you the tools to build a culture where people take ownership, goals get achieved, and results follow.

https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/downloadable/getting-stuff-done-through-your-people/ 

What happens when your company values sound good on paper, but don’t actually influence how people behave? 

In this episode, Karen is joined by Hope Collins to explore why values like integrity, respect and excellence can be so open to interpretation, and what businesses can do to turn those values into clear, observable behaviours. 

Hope shares her approach to creating commitments that help people understand what’s expected of them and give managers a much stronger foundation for accountability conversations. Karen and Hope also discuss why leaders need to hold themselves to the same standards, how clearer expectations can contribute to a safer and more respectful workplace, and why structure can actually give employees more confidence and freedom at work. 

In this episode, you’ll hear about: 

• Why people can genuinely believe they’re living the company values while behaving in very different ways 

• How to translate broad values into clear behaviours people can understand and demonstrate 

• Why values like integrity can be difficult to use in performance and accountability conversations 

• How clearer expectations can make accountability easier for managers 

• Why leaders need to model the same behaviours they expect from their teams 

• The connection between clear expectations, respectful workplaces and psychosocial risks 

• Why more structure doesn’t necessarily mean micromanagement 

• A practical first step for making your company values more meaningful over the next month 

If you have company values but you’re not sure they’re influencing what happens day to day, this conversation will give you some practical ideas for closing the gap between what your organisation says it values and how people actually behave. 

#findgrowkeep #workplaceculture #companyvalues 

Make sure to subscribe to stay updated with new releases on Mondays!
 
Visit https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/ for more insights and resources.  

Connect with Hope: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hopercollins/  

Send us Fan Mail

Download our free guide, “Getting Stuff Done Through Your People,” giving you the tools to build a culture where people take ownership, goals get achieved, and results follow.

https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/downloadable/getting-stuff-done-through-your-people/ 

We spend a lot of time thinking about how to find the right person, but what happens once they accept the job? 

Those first 90 days can tell you a lot about whether someone is going to become a confident, engaged member of your team. But too often, probation becomes a date in the calendar rather than an ongoing process, with managers waiting until the end of three or six months to decide whether someone is working out. 

In this episode, Karen looks at how to manage probation in a way that gives a new employee every opportunity to succeed, while also giving the business the information it needs to make a thoughtful decision about their future.

In this episode, you’ll hear about: 

• Why onboarding and probation are connected, but have different purposes 

• What managers should be looking for at 30, 60 and 90 days 

• Why it’s important not to confuse confidence with competence when assessing a new employee 

• How to spot patterns in performance and behaviour without overreacting to an isolated incident 

• Why feedback should happen throughout probation rather than being saved for the formal review 

• The questions to ask before deciding someone simply isn’t the right fit 

• Why keeping a simple record of probation conversations can help managers make better decisions 

• What to consider if you’re thinking about extending a probation period 

• How HR support can help when you’re unsure about confirming or ending someone’s employment 

Good probation isn’t about ticking a box at the end of three months. It’s about creating the conditions where people can do their best work, managers feel confident leading them, and the business can make informed decisions based on conversations that have happened consistently along the way. 

Make sure to subscribe to stay updated with new releases on Mondays!
 
Visit https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/ for more insights and resources.  

#findgrowkeep #HRsupport #PeopleManagement

Send us Fan Mail

Download our free guide, “Getting Stuff Done Through Your People,” giving you the tools to build a culture where people take ownership, goals get achieved, and results follow.

https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/downloadable/getting-stuff-done-through-your-people/ 

Every September, R U OK? Day reminds us to ask an important question. But what happens after someone answers, "Actually, I'm not OK?" 

In this episode of Karen Kirton explores what really creates a mentally healthy workplace and why the answer isn't another wellbeing initiative. 

Drawing on her experience working with small and medium sized businesses, Karen discusses why leadership has one of the biggest influences on workplace wellbeing. She unpacks psychosocial hazards in plain English, explains why everyday management practices matter more than one annual awareness day and shares practical ways leaders can create workplaces where people feel supported, valued and safe to speak up. 

If you're a business owner or manager wondering how to support your people while also meeting your workplace responsibilities, this episode offers practical, down to earth advice you can apply straight away. 

In this episode you'll learn: 

• Why R U OK? Day should be the start of the conversation, not the end 

• What a mentally healthy workplace really looks like 

• How psychosocial hazards affect your team and why leaders need to understand them 

• Why good leadership is one of the most effective wellbeing strategies 

• The simple conversations that build trust, psychological safety and stronger workplace culture 

• How HR support can help managers navigate difficult situations with confidence 

Whether you're looking to strengthen your workplace culture, build more confident leaders or better support your team, this episode will leave you with practical ideas to take back into your business. 

Make sure to subscribe to stay updated with new releases every second Monday!
 
Visit amplifyhr.com.au for more insights and resources.  

Send us Fan Mail

Download our free guide, “Getting Stuff Done Through Your People,” giving you the tools to build a culture where people take ownership, goals get achieved, and results follow.

https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/downloadable/getting-stuff-done-through-your-people/ 

Most conversations about AI and automation focus on efficiency, saving time or reducing costs. But what if the biggest opportunity isn't about technology at all? 

In this episode Karen sits down with Peter Morrissey to explore the hidden cost of manual processes and why businesses should rethink how they approach automation. Rather than trying to automate everything overnight, Peter explains why the best place to start is by talking to your team, identifying repetitive tasks and creating small wins that give people back time to think. 

Together they discuss why automating a poor process simply creates a faster poor process, how leaders can introduce AI without creating fear, and why workplace culture plays such an important role in making automation successful. As Peter says, "Humans are for thinking." The goal isn't to replace people. It's to remove repetitive work so they can focus on solving problems, improving the business and creating more value. 

In this episode, you will learn: 

→ Why manual processes cost businesses far more than lost time. 

→ The hidden link between repetitive work, burnout and employee engagement. 

→ Why businesses should start small instead of trying to automate everything at once. 

→ The biggest mistake leaders make when introducing AI and automation. 

→ How involving employees creates better ideas and stronger buy in. 

→ Why automation should create more thinking time, not simply more work. 

→ The leadership behaviours that help technology improve culture rather than damage it. 

→ One simple exercise you can do with your team this month to identify opportunities for improvement. 

If you're exploring AI, reviewing business processes or simply looking for ways to create a better experience for your employees, this episode offers practical ideas you can start applying straight away. 

Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode of Find Grow Keep, released every Monday. 

Visit https://www.amplifyhr.com.au for more practical HR resources, articles and podcast episodes. 

Free Download: https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/downloadable/find-grow-keep/  

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