eInstitute’s Georgia Paulsen says small businesses can benefit from Workforce Evolve’s free HR support

When you’re running a small business, you’re CEO, warehouse manager, customer service rep and everything in between. So having access to free expert HR advice can be a huge help.

When Georgia Paulsen took over eInstitute, a Queensland-based registered training organisation, she needed specialist HR support to help her navigate the transition from employee to employer.

“I took over the business from my former boss and during the transition we scaled down to just the two of us. Once I got my feet under the desk I needed to build the team back up again,” says Georgia.

“As the owner, I’m still so involved in the business day-to-day. I’m emailing students, I’m sending out invoices and I’m trying to recruit for roles.

“It’s hard to stay on top of it all, especially when you don’t have a dedicated HR person to talk to. So when I heard about Workforce Evolve – and that it’s free – I signed up.”

Georgia said Workforce Evolve helped her better plan for her workforce needs: what tasks needed doing, who was going to do them and what roles she needed to recruit for.

“Isabella, our coach, was great with any questions – even quick ones where I kind of knew the answer but needed confirmation. It helped me move forward,” Georgia said.

Finding the right fit for the business

When it came time for recruiting, Georgia’s psychology background as well as the need to build a flexible, ‘all hands-on deck’ style team meant she paid close attention to team dynamics.

She says Isabella’s support and with the help of Workforce Evolve’s checklists and templates, she was able to build recruitment and onboarding programs to suit her business.

“It came down more to the right people rather than the right experience… anyone that was willing to learn and develop new skills,” says Georgia.

“The first person I hired was our business development manager… I said to Mandy, you’re just going to have to come on board and be open to helping me with things that you may not be used to doing in other roles.”

As part of the process, Georgia reviewed all eInstitute’s policies, procedures and position descriptions to make sure they were up to date and fit the company’s new direction.

“The templates and guidelines provided by Workforce Evolve have been really helpful, even just as a starting point to get my head around what I might need to be looking at.

“What I liked about the workshops was that they weren’t just theoretical. I spent the time working on things I needed for my business.

“And that’s where I found huge value in the program…those tangible outcomes and ideas I could use in my business right away,” Georgia said.

The power of small, simple steps

The true cost of replacing an employee is estimated to be about 1.5 times their annual salary when considering the time taken for the recruitment process and the cost of onboarding and training new staff, along with lost productivity when other employees need to cover roles which may take weeks or even months to replace.

“The risk of turnover is huge for small business. You know, you lose one or two people and trying to find the right person again is so hard and it takes a toll on the work that you’re doing,” Georgia said.

“So it’s really important to focus on your staff, keep them happy and motivated – and being able to grow and develop in their role is a big part of that.”

“Whether you’re an owner or you work in small business, Workforce Evolve is an invaluable tool. Even if you’ve been operating for many years and have all your procedures in place, things change – maybe there’s new requirements you need to consider or maybe there’s a better way to do something,” says Georgia.

“Workforce Evolve can help you identify these opportunities.”

For Georgia, the program’s flexibility made all the difference. Businesses can complete online training that’s available online 24/7 at a time that’s convenient for them while others can join weekly workshops if they prefer a more interactive experience.

“If I had more time, I would have done a lot more with Workforce Evolve.

“But the time that I spend on it was super helpful. If other businesses out there are worried about the time commitment of a program like this, I’d recommend signing up and doing as much as you can. Small, simple steps can achieve a lot,” Georgia said.

So if you’re a small business owner juggling many roles, Workforce Evolve might just be the teammate you need.