It was a pleasure to have the Karen’s present at The Bookkeeper Event.
The session was a great mix of legislative requirements and first hand war stories that truly got our 300 delegates engaged and understanding the important of having the right HR support and the perils of what happens if you get it wrong!
Kellie Powell, Director, Australian Bookkeepers Network
We have outsourced our payroll to Karen Howe since 2012. We are commercial plumbing company and our workers are employed under a union EBA which is quite complex. We employ between 12 – 20 employees depending on workload.
We were not of the size that we needed a full time HR person but at the same time needed to ensure that the EBA was followed correctly and our employees paid as required. Apart from doing our weekly payroll, Karen is always only a phone call away when there is any type of other HR query or request, including terminations, policies and procedures, audits etc.
We have found her extremely knowledgeable in her field, flexible, approachable and reliable. After many years of trying to “Work it out ourselves” we have found this arrangement to be one of the best decisions we have made, and are very confident in recommending her to anyone.
Directors, Dennis and Ann-Maree Hastie
I wish I had found Karen’s company earlier in my time as MD of M+K Lawyers Karen delivered expert advice and most importantly solved problems. She totally understands the workings of a Legal Practice
Les Hancock, Managing Director, M&K Lawyers
I recently engaged Karen and her team to help me simplify my business. You see, business is supposed to be fun and you are supposed to feel good doing what you love. Well I had reached a point where it didn’t feel like that most of the time and so I decided to change it so it would.
With Karen’s help and skill, we detangled all of the roles, jobs, tasks and processes in my company, placed them into an easy to read flow chart with a few boxes here and there and made things simple again.
Now, I feel hope, I feel optimistic, I feel organised and I’m not even done with the changes!
So much more is yet to be implemented but I know that I am on the right path all thanks to Karen and HR People.
Thanks girls for being so professional, honest and supportive all of the way through this unfolding adventure, you’re the best!!
Kym Power, Vision Guru, Rejuvenators Health Massage
The service provided by the HR People has been both highly professional and extremely efficient. Being time poor due to our extensive business commitments, both the Karen’s were able to find solutions for our growing business.
They entered the scene at a time where our business needed to be streamlined, from the small goals such as setting up procedures and protocols to introducing initiatives like a newsletter which we still produce on a fortnightly basis.
The HR People are very proactive and hands on, and this shows in their dealings with their clients. Always one to be available either by phone or email, there was never a problem too large or too small for them to help us through.
Hanh Luu, Director, Good Price Pharmacy Warehouse
I am a health professional and not an HR person. Doing employee contracts, reviews and OH&S was like how some people treat their health: “I know I should do it, but I have got other things I want to do”. Then at BNI Freeway I had a dance card with Karen.
I had always thought I could not afford an HR person but Karen and her team worked to a budget I can afford and things are finally getting done. Karen has lifted an enormous paperwork bundle off my shoulders and given me the freedom to do what I enjoy – helping people with the health problems.
Karen is great to work with and very thorough. I would highly recommend her to any business with staff.
Rosalba D’Agostino, Director, Alba Therapies
Power On Australia is growing at a rapid pace, perhaps too fast for myself and my wife – Kylie whom also works in the business, to handle from a HR perspective. We knew we needed more support staff to assist us in our endeavors and had tried to find the ‘perfect’ employee, but found ourselves employing perhaps the wrong people or due to lack of time perhaps not nurturing the staff we did find, correctly, finding they would leave prematurely … Very frustrating for the time poor
We heard about Karen and her team at The HR People on the grape vine and felt relieved to hear that there was someone out there that could help us from a more personable perspective, to attract and retain the right staff to take the business to the next level. Well … The HR People have done that and much more, including re-writing our employment contracts, employee handbook, position descriptions, quality assurance documentation, etc. They have also been involved in all of our new employee recruitment processes, at a fraction of the price to an employment agency and with an overall far more personal approach. They know you and know how to find the right person for the position to be filled – we only have success stories from this to report.
Aside from all of the above, Karen and her team have really good listening skills and have been fantastic sounding boards anytime we have had a potential staffing issue arise – they listened, nipped the problem in the bud and handled each situation in the utmost professional manner. HR Problem solved and we are now getting on with growing the business.
Overall, with The HR People now on our team as our HR Department (Yes they are even on our Morning Tea Register), Kylie and I can now breath easy and go home knowing that we have someone looking after all of our HR needs from top to toe. THANKS The HR People !!
Boyd Lockett, Managing Director, Power On Australia
As a result of a relocation from NSW to new facilities in Hendra, QLD, our business went through a significant amount of change. This relocation meant that the old NEN ISO900 quality system under which we operate was superseded and required updating. As part of ensuring we continue to provide high quality product and service to our customers we wanted to continue to operate under the NEN ISO 9000 quality system, so complete overhaul was necessary.
Overhauling an entire quality system for a business is a huge task and requires significant expertise. Drovers ID chose the HR People to carry out this task for us and we very are glad we did. We had tight timelines set for Karen and David and they met these with efficiency and professionalism. The quality system which was devised by HR People was comprehensive enough to be very effective, but also simple enough to be practical.
The final result was that we had an ISO9000 audit shortly after the implementation of the new Quality System and Drovers ID, Hendra was re-accredited with no problems at all.
David Keevers, General Manager, Drovers ID Pty Ltd