ARTICLES HR Audit as a Growth Lever 18 June, 2026 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance, Business Update, Career Planning, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership, Workforce HR audits are commonly associated with compliance—ensuring that policies, contracts and processes meet legal requirements. While this is important, it represents only part of their potential value. When approached [...]

ARTICLES Continuous Performance vs Annual Reviews 17 June, 2026 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance, Business Update, Career Planning, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership, Workforce, Workforce Planning The traditional annual performance review has long been a standard practice in many businesses. However, in fast-paced and evolving workplaces, relying solely on periodic reviews is becoming increasingly [...]

ARTICLES Feedback as a Skill: Improving Conversations That Drive Performance 16 June, 2026 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance, Business Update, Career Planning, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Workforce Feedback is a fundamental part of performance management, yet it is often one of the least effectively executed leadership skills. In many workplaces, feedback is either avoided, [...]

ARTICLES Leadership Accountability and Its Impact on Culture 15 June, 2026 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance, Business Update, Career Planning, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership, Workforce Leadership accountability is one of the most significant factors influencing organisational culture. While culture is often described in terms of values, behaviours and environment, it is ultimately shaped [...]

ARTICLES Talent Retention in a Changing Workforce 14 June, 2026 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance, Business Update, Career Planning, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership, Workforce Talent retention has become increasingly complex as employee expectations continue to evolve. While remuneration remains important, it is rarely the sole factor influencing whether individuals stay with a business.  [...]

ARTICLES Psychological Safety as a Performance Driver 13 June, 2026 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance, Business Update, Career Planning, Change management, Culture, Onboarding, Workforce Psychological safety is often discussed in the context of wellbeing or workplace culture, but its impact extends directly to performance. Teams that feel safe to speak up, ask questions and challenge [...]

ARTICLES Designing Future-Ready Workplaces 12 June, 2026 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance, Business Update, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership, Networking, Workforce Workplaces have changed significantly over recent years, and employee expectations have shifted alongside them. Flexibility, autonomy and meaningful work are no longer considered optional benefits—they are increasingly expected as part of the employee [...]

ARTICLES HR as a Strategic Function: Moving Beyond Administration 11 June, 2026 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance, Business Update, Career Planning, Change management, Culture, Leadership, Life Experiences, Workforce In many businesses, HR is still viewed primarily as an administrative function—responsible for contracts, policies, compliance and employee relations. While these areas remain important, they represent only [...]

ARTICLES The HR Audit as a Strategic Business Tool—Not Just a Compliance Exercise 10 June, 2026 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance, Business Update, Career Planning, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership, Life Experiences, Workforce HR audits are often approached as compliance exercises—something to complete periodically to ensure policies, contracts and processes meet legal requirements. While [...]

ARTICLES Rethinking Performance Management for a New Generation of Workers 9 June, 2026 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance, Business Update, Career Planning, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership, Networking Performance management has traditionally centred on annual reviews, formal ratings and retrospective discussions. While these processes once served a purpose, they are increasingly misaligned with how [...]

ARTICLES Ethics and Integrity: The Foundations of Sustainable Business Growth 8 June, 2026 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance, Business Update, Career Planning, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership, Workforce Ethics and integrity are often positioned as compliance obligations—important, but largely procedural. In practice, they are far more than that. They are fundamental to how businesses [...]

ARTICLES Building Resilient Teams in an Era of Constant Change 7 June, 2026 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance, Business Update, Career Planning, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership, Workforce Resilience has become a frequently used term in workplaces, often associated with toughness or the ability to “push through”. In reality, resilient teams are not those [...]

ARTICLES The Power of Coaching: Developing Intentional Leaders for Lasting Impact 6 June, 2026 Filed Under: Business Update, Career Planning, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership, Workforce Coaching is increasingly recognised as one of the most effective ways to develop leadership capability, yet many businesses still underutilise it. Traditional leadership development often focuses on knowledge [...]

ARTICLES How Diversity and Inclusion Drive Business Performance (Not Just Compliance) 5 June, 2026 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance, Business Update, HR essentials, Leadership, Workforce, Workforce Planning Diversity and inclusion are still too often framed as compliance issues—as obligations to manage, report on or address when required. But organisations that approach them only through a [...]

ARTICLES The Hybrid Workforce: What the New Working From Home Laws Actually Mean 4 June, 2026 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance, Business Update, Career Planning, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership, Workforce I recently appeared on Ticker News to talk about one of the most significant shifts in Australian employment law in years — the [...]

ARTICLES The Path to CPC: A World of Hotel Management, Hospitality and HR 4 June, 2026 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership, Life Experiences, Onboarding, Workforce When people hear the term positive psychology, they sometimes assume it is about forced optimism or ignoring difficult issues. In reality, positive psychology is far more [...]

ARTICLES The Path to CPC: A World of Hotel Management, Hospitality and HR 3 June, 2026 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance, Change management, External HR Support, HR essentials, Leadership, Workforce Many leadership models still rely on outdated assumptions: that leaders should direct, control, monitor closely and have most of the answers. But modern workplaces are [...]

ARTICLES Why Employee Wellbeing Will Be the Next Competitive Advantage 2 June, 2026 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance, Business Update, Culture, HR essentials, Workforce For years, employee wellbeing was often treated as a “nice to have”—something associated with morning teas, wellness apps or occasional reminders to take breaks. That approach is no longer enough. In [...]

ARTICLES The Future of HR: How SMEs Can Lead the Way in Workplace Innovation 1 June, 2026 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership, Workforce For many small and medium-sized businesses, HR is still viewed as a support function—something focused on contracts, policies, onboarding and problem-solving when issues arise. But the future of [...]

ARTICLES The Path to CPC: A World of Hotel Management, Hospitality and HR 4 May, 2026 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance, Business Update, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership What the Kyle and Jackie O situation highlights When we talk about toxic workplaces, we often picture obvious villains: aggressive managers, bullies, or people who openly [...]

ARTICLES The Path to CPC: A World of Hotel Management, Hospitality and HR 31 March, 2026 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance, Business Update, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership Learn what the Kyle & Jackie O means for employers, including workplace culture, psychological safety, contract clauses, employee support, and how to reduce workplace risk.  The [...]

ARTICLES The Path to CPC: A World of Hotel Management, Hospitality and HR 9 March, 2026 Filed Under: Business Update, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership Mandating Two Days A Week From Home: What Employers need to know about the upcoming legislation  The world is evolving fast, and flexible work arrangements are at the centre [...]

ARTICLES Psychological Safety Laws: What Every Australian Small Business Needs to Know 2 February, 2026 Filed Under: Business Update, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership From December 1, 2025, Victoria joins the rest of Australia in enforcing psychological safety laws, putting workplace wellbeing front and centre for every business   But even before this milestone, [...]

ARTICLES Beyond the Resume: Hiring with Curiosity, Not Just Criteria 7 August, 2025 Filed Under: Business Update, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership The real story isn't in the CV - it's in what you ask   Want better hires? Start asking better questions. Learn how to hire for potential, not polish - and move [...]

ARTICLES The Invisible Load: Understanding the Mental Health of Underrepresented Employees 11 July, 2025 Filed Under: Business Update, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership Why workpalce mental health must include lived experience, not just policies.  Mental health support isn't a one-size-fits-all. Here's how to recognise and reduce the invisible load many employees carry every day.  [...]

ARTICLES How to Talk About Mental Health at Work - Without Making it Awkward 13 June, 2025 Filed Under: Business Update, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership Mental health belongs at work.   Here's how you can speak up, listen well and build a more supportive workplace.   Struggling to start the mental health conversation [...]

ARTICLES Zoom Fatigue at Work: How Video Calls are Draining Mental Health 12 May, 2025 Filed Under: Business Update, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership Zoom Fatigue: how Video Calls are draining Mental Health   The camera's always on - but should we be?   Zoom fatigue is real, and it is hurting mental health. [...]

ARTICLES Coaching for All: Discover how Everyone can Benefit 14 March, 2025 Filed Under: Business Update, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership Coaching for All: Discover how Everyone can Benefit Discover how coaching boosts self-awareness, resilience, and leadership, enhancing both personal and professional growth.    Have you heard of Phil Jackson, Patrick Mouratoglou, Lauren Zander [...]

ARTICLES Beyond the Breaking Point: Strategies for Beating Burnout 8 November, 2024 Filed Under: Business Update, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership Beyond the Breaking Point: Strategies for Beating Burnout Find you way back from burnout - embrace balance and fulfilment It’s 3 am, and you’re wide awake, staring at the ceiling. Your mind is [...]

ARTICLES Unmasking the Imposter: How Coaching Can Transform Your Self-Perception 30 September, 2024 Filed Under: Business Update, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership Unmasking the Imposter: How Coaching Can Transform Your Self-Perception Discover how professional coaching can take you from 'imposter' to 'empowered'. Sarah stood at the podium, her heart racing as she scanned the [...]

ARTICLES How The Intentional Coach can help turn Challenges into Learnings and Crisis into Opportunity 6 August, 2024 Filed Under: Business Update, Change management, Culture, HR essentials From Pain to Gain: How The Intentional (TM) Coach Can Help Turn your challenges into learnings and crisis into opportunity.  In the heart of the wilderness, where mountains [...]

ARTICLES Pioneering Health in Business: How Entrepreneurs Drive Workplace Well-being 1 July, 2024 Filed Under: Business Update, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership Shaping Healthy Workplaces - Entrpreneurs Drive Workplace Well-being Learn from top entrepreneurs how to integrate well-being into your business strategy, enhancing employee satisfaction and performance.  The conversation around workplace well-being is strongly [...]

ARTICLES Reversing the Trend - How Better People Management Can Boost Productivity 8 May, 2024 Filed Under: Business Update, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership Productivity strategies for businesses Explore how strategic strategic people management and technology can boost productivity and ensure sustainable growth for businesses. If you heard that Australia had a record surge [...]

ARTICLES Accepting Compliments: Empowering Through Gratitude 4 April, 2024 Filed Under: Business Update, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership Gratitude as a strength: the magic of accepting compliments Discover how embracing praise can make a positive impact on your mental health. Learn to accept compliments and boost your self-esteem.  Let's play a quick game You’re [...]

ARTICLES Understanding Psychosocial Hazards: What Australian Businesses Need to Know 23 October, 2023 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance, Business Update, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership Beyond Physical Safety: Addressing Psychosocial Risks for a Thriving Workplace The conversation around workplace safety has gone beyond tangible, physical risks to include mental and emotional health and well-being. [...]

ARTICLES Mental Health: Shaping Australian Culture 7 August, 2023 Filed Under: Business Update, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership Navigating Challenges, Implementing Strategies and Envisioning the Future  In Australia, mental health is no longer an issue confined to the shadows – particularly within the corporate world. A recent study by Beyond Blue revealed some alarming statistics about [...]

ARTICLES Empowering Survivors: The Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave in Australia 6 July, 2023 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance, Business Update, HR essentials, Leadership This article offers a comprehensive overview of the scheme, its impact on small businesses, and the importance of fostering a supportive work environment with access to Australia domestic violence support [...]

ARTICLES Culture in the workplace: What you need to do to promote a positive culture internally including expectations 27 June, 2022 Filed Under: Culture, Leadership There’s no question that over time employees’ desires and demands when it comes to work have evolved and will continue to evolve as the future of work changes. This has [...]

ARTICLES How to Increase Employee Engagement in your Workplace 1 June, 2022 Filed Under: Culture, HR essentials, Leadership A consistent, motivating, and rewarding remuneration and incentives program is key to improving employee engagement and retention. For many people, money is not always the key motivator. Other incentives that go hand in hand with remuneration can [...]

ARTICLES Strategies for Effective Team Communication: Why is it important? 19 May, 2022 Filed Under: Change management, HR essentials, Leadership Staff retention is one of greatest challenges we face in business today. Ineffective communication is a primary cause of employee turnover. Developing clear lines of communication throughout a business will improve employee engagement, leading to [...]

ARTICLES Building Resilience: How HR Psychology can support Wellbeing in the Workplace 1 April, 2022 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance Resilience helps us cope when times are tough. The world events of the last two years have been incredibly difficult; they have taken a significant toll on our safety, security, and overall wellbeing. As such, [...]

ARTICLES Structured Onboarding and Induction: A Catalyst for Employee Satisfaction, Engagement, and Retention 11 March, 2022 Filed Under: Onboarding Recruitment can be an arduous, time-consuming, and costly process. And, when you finally find the ‘right’ person for your organisation, you want them to enjoy their workplace so they choose to stay with you for the [...]

ARTICLES 8 common mistakes businesses make with recruitment 25 January, 2022 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance, HR essentials We hope that most of the time we get our recruitment right but at times we don’t, and we can’t get it right all the time. Sometimes people leave as a result of something that could have [...]

ARTICLES Human Resources: Reflecting on 2021 and trends for 2022 22 December, 2021 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance, Business Update, HR essentials 2021 certainly for business owners, managers and people leaders has been tough to navigate with ongoing restrictions and lockdowns, vaccine mandates, keeping staff engaged and morale high, adapting to remote work models and [...]

ARTICLES 9 steps to a successful recruitment process 29 November, 2021 Filed Under: HR essentials The pandemic has changed Australia’s job market with many businesses finding it difficult to attract staff as well as keep existing ones across all industries. Skill shortages from lack of migration to remote work is allowing for more opportunities being [...]

ARTICLES How leaders and business owners in construction can support the mental health of workers 20 October, 2021 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance, Leadership Supporting the mental health and wellbeing of every worker is essential. There are many things that can affect mental health, including work as it plays a significant role in our everyday [...]

ARTICLES How to modify your recruitment process virtually 18 August, 2021 Filed Under: HR essentials Recruiting virtually was something many businesses were exploring even before the pandemic hit last year. With the increase in remote work, businesses are now having to adapt their recruitment strategies and processes to suit virtually. Virtual recruiting is conducting a [...]

ARTICLES Being a volunteer mentor with Gettin’ Ready 4 Life Inc. 29 June, 2021 Filed Under: Leadership A good education is so important in life and something that should be supported in the youth of today. One of my goals for 2021 was to find a way I could support a young person by offering [...]

ARTICLES Media: Interview for The Better Business for Good Company on effectively managing redundancies 24 May, 2021 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance, Workforce Planning Recently, Catie had the privilege of being invited to appear on an episode of Small Business Matters with The Better Business for Good (BB4G) TV. Co-founder Brenda Thomson and Catie discuss [...]

ARTICLES How to manage teams and culture in a hybrid work model 5 May, 2021 Filed Under: Culture, Leadership The pandemic certainly accelerated the change for businesses to adopt more flexible work arrangements. This giant world-wide experiment has led employers to see, if managed correctly, their employees can be just as productive working remotely as [...]

ARTICLES Case Study: Managing an unfair dismissal as a result of COVID-19 slowdown 8 April, 2021 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance Businesses are always having to adapt to changes from the economic and social environment, technological advancements and their customer’s needs. Many of these changes can be planned for and implemented when the business is [...]

ARTICLES Business update: Beginning my learning journey in Positive Psychology and Wellbeing 24 February, 2021 Filed Under: Leadership People are the backbone to any business and I have made it my life’s mission to empower organisations to create a positive workplace culture and an environment for their people to thrive. In the world of Human [...]

ARTICLES Case Study: Why no Employment Agreement cost a small business thousands 4 January, 2021 Filed Under: Advisory and compliance Here’s why a small business had to pay a redundancy based on full time hours and not part time hours which resulted in a difference of tens of thousands of dollars. The impacts of the [...]

ARTICLES Tips for returning your staff back to the workplace 30 November, 2020 Filed Under: Leadership, Media Appearances 2020 has been a year like no other with the seriousness of the pandemic causing major shutdowns of businesses, employees being stood down, schools being closed and people unable to see loved ones for months. One of [...]

ARTICLES Media: Interview for Blackbelt Leader on Ticker TV on Growing Leaders 23 November, 2020 Filed Under: Leadership, Media Appearances Catie had the privilege to be invited to appear on ticker TV’s Black Belt Leader hosted by highly regarded expert in people leadership, Karen Gately from Corporate Dojo. Black Belt Leader shares advice and stories to help leaders with [...]

ARTICLES Media: Interview for The Better Business for Good Company on Reboarding 27 October, 2020 Filed Under: Onboarding Catie joined host Brenda Thomson on The Better Business for Good Company TV show (BB4G TV) to discuss the importance steps to consider in a return to work transition plan: Key decision areas of health & safety, type of work, [...]

ARTICLES Three reasons every business needs a successful onboarding process 1 September, 2020 Filed Under: Onboarding If you have ever had to hire new staff you know how much time and money it can take to find the right person for the job. This is only part of the process. Once you have found that [...]

ARTICLES Media: Interview for the Dynamic Leader podcast on empowerment and accountability 26 August, 2020 Filed Under: Leadership, Media Appearances Catie Paterson was a special guest on Shelley Flett’s ‘The Dynamic Leader’ podcast episode #31. Shelley Flett is a well-respected leadership trainer and coach, working with leaders to build high performing and efficient teams. Passionate [...]

ARTICLES Media: Interview for The Better for Business for Good Company on Company Culture 20 August, 2020 Filed Under: Leadership Catie Paterson joined fellow small business owners, Peter Engelhardt, Zac Zawalski and Dr Linda Wilson, on the Better Business for Good TV show (BB4G TV) to discuss ‘all things culture': What exactly is company culture [...]

ARTICLES Media: Interview for The Better for Business for Good Company - Employee Onboarding 28 July, 2020 Filed Under: Leadership, Media Appearances What a great experience to be involved in another episode of The Better Business for Good Company TV show! Catie Paterson joined host, Brenda Thomson, and fellow small business owners, Kerry Anne Nelson from Operation Verve and Damien [...]

ARTICLES Media: Interview for Blackbelt Leadership on Ticker TV around self awareness 8 July, 2020 Filed Under: Leadership, Media Appearances   In June, Catie had the privilege to be invited to appear on ticker TV’s Black Belt Leader hosted by highly regarded expert in people leadership, Karen Gately from Corporate Dojo. Black Belt Leader shares advice and stories to [...]

ARTICLES Media: Interview for The Better for Business for Good Company on Restructuring 1 July, 2020 Filed Under: Leadership, Media Appearances What a great experience to be involved in the first episode of The Better Business for Good Company TV show! Catie Paterson joined host, Brenda Thomson and fellow panellists, Raie Lyth and Greg Clarkson, talking all things on what businesses [...]

ARTICLES Three tips for boosting productivity and reconnecting your team no matter the environment 17 June, 2020 Filed Under: Leadership As restrictions start to ease and many businesses begin thinking about how their staff may return to the office, for some people working from home may not end when the COVID-19 pandemic does. Following recent [...]

ARTICLES Essential leadership skills for the office environment 4 June, 2020 Filed Under: Leadership Leadership is an essential skill that is critical in many aspects in life, from a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or founder of a company, a project leader on a building site, an office manager, president of your local football club or [...]

ARTICLES Five tips for leading and managing virtual teams 21 May, 2020 Filed Under: Leadership Is it possible for employees to be just as efficient at home as they can be in an office?   As Australians continue to face unprecedented challenges due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it’s important that leaders implement effective communication, teamwork and collaboration [...]

ARTICLES Importance of workforce planning for your business 23 April, 2020 Filed Under: Leadership We are currently seeing a rapid change to the Australian workforce and economy with ongoing environmental and social impacts seeing businesses having to change and adapt more quickly than ever before, technology advancements replacing human labour, increasing customer expectations, legislative and regulatory [...]

ARTICLES Managing people through change 26 March, 2020 Filed Under: Career Planning, Change management, Culture, HR essentials, Leadership, Workforce Organisational change continues to be difficult for many businesses as we adapt to sudden shifts in our industry, new business models that may be required and even external factors including pandemics such as COVID-19. What is Change [...]

ARTICLES Media: Interview for Blackbelt Leadership on Ticker TV 21 November, 2019 Filed Under: Leadership, Media Appearances I was recently invited onto Ticker TVs new show Blackbelt Leadership with Karen Gately, where I discussed the steps leaders can take to reengage a checked-out team. I had such a wonderful time chatting to Karen and am [...]

ARTICLES The Importance of Career Planning & Succession Management Within the Workplace: Part 1 11 November, 2019 Filed Under: Leadership Driven by an increase in global competition and dramatic changes to workforce demographics, Succession Planning is more than just a plan. Coming of age over the past decade, a successful 'succession' goes hand in hand [...]

ARTICLES When is the right time to bring in external HR support? 10 October, 2019 Filed Under: External HR Support, Leadership If you’re running a growing small business and are finding yourself spending an increasing amount of time and energy on your staff instead of spending that time on your business then this is the [...]

ARTICLES 5 Ways to Empower Your Team in the Digital Workplace 12 September, 2019 Filed Under: Culture, Workforce Just as the title suggests, Human Resources should be a very “human” prospect although in this industry we often find ourselves navigating an increasingly digitised workplace and world. Technology can be implemented to benefit many areas of [...]

ARTICLES Understanding Diversity in the Workforce: Part 2 12 August, 2019 Filed Under: Culture, Workforce As workforce demographics shift and different generations find themselves working together, diversity has increasingly become a business necessity instead of a badge that companies use to show their commitment to embracing change. In Part 1 of this topic I touched [...]

ARTICLES Understanding Diversity in the Workforce: Part 1 19 July, 2019 Filed Under: Workforce For the first time in Australia’s workforce there are up to 5 generations working alongside each other, with nearly a 50 year age gap between the oldest and youngest employees. This breadth of age, combined with huge societal changes, presents complexities [...]

ARTICLES Relationship Building & the Value of Networking 14 June, 2019 Filed Under: Networking Humans were created to connect with one another. To form genuine, inclusive relationships that bring complex value to our lives through the conversations and experiences they inhabit - networks and communities of likeminded individuals built on the exchange of information, support, [...]

ARTICLES The Path to CPC: A World of Hotel Management, Hospitality and HR 9 May, 2019 Filed Under: Life Experiences While there are some things you can teach, not everything comes as naturally as a second skin. Some of us are born leaders and loud communicators; others are deep thinkers and quiet achievers. In many [...]

ARTICLES The Importance of Career Planning & Succession Management Within the Workplace: Part 2 21 March, 2019 Filed Under: Career Planning, Change management, Succession Management In Part 1 of this topic I introduced the concept of succession management and the importance of career planning when it comes to retaining your employees and creating a culture [...]