I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Michalle for a number of years now, and it has been amazing to watch her grow and flourish into an amazing business woman, a passionate member of the community who constantly ‘gives back’ by taking on active roles such as President of the Sunshine Coast Business Women’s Network and who also contributes to charities and local events. Michalle’s book ‘The People Investment’ is a must read for anyone who has employees in their business as it is a brilliant tool for assisting all business owners and managers in all areas of HR, which can often be a complicated area to navigate!

Welcome Michalle and firstly tell us a little bit about you……

My passion for this industry has seen me achieve many personal and professional accolades over the past 13 years including being recognized in 2008 as the Micro Small Business Woman of the year, ECHRG being finalists in 2016 in the Excellence in Business Awards and being named as a regional finalist in the 2017 Australian Leadership Excellence Awards.

Supporting every business challenge and accolade throughout my working career has been my amazing family – husband Wes, children Jordan, his fiancé Donna, Brady and Madison, and my granddaughter Charlotte.

What inspired you to write ‘The People Investment’?

I felt there was a disconnect for business owners in providing them with key information on how to manage and engage their staff in a way that could be practically applied.  I wanted it to be easy for them to be empowered to grow their businesses without the fear of “employing more staff”.  

The People Investment is designed to act as a Human Resource Guidebook where Managers and Owners can reflect if needed when a specific matter arises like a legislative compliance matter or a workplace issue and refer back to reference information that’s easy to read and gives hands on solutions that work. 

Do you think it is important to be active in the local business community?

I believe that to be a locally owned and operated business we have a duty to support and engage with the community in which we live and work.  I hold strong community values and believe that by supporting each other within the community we can create sustainable businesses to ensure that our children and their children have employment opportunities right here on the Sunshine Coast.

Where did your love for recruiting and people management come from?

I think I always had a love of people, I’m a very social person and curious by nature which is ideal in securing the right people in the right roles for the right reasons. 

In working in labour hire and recruitment before I started my own business I found that businesses that I was recruiting staff for were lacking the fundamental support of any sustainable human resource systems to support their ongoing workplace relationships, recruitment and engagement of staff.  
My love of people combined with my organisational ability and intuitive nature made an ideal Human Resource and Recruitment Consultant, so I up-skilled myself and undertook training and I’ve never looked back.

In your 20+ years experience in Human Resource Management, what is one tip that you would give to employers to improve relationships within their team?

There is a quote that says, “You have two ears and one mouth, so that we can listen twice as much as we speak”.   This is a key element to improving your workplace relationships with staff – listen and seek to understand what the issues or needs are – they might be opposite to what you personally think they are! 

Effective communication is a major key to successful people engagement as many workplace conflicts start or are exacerbated by poor communication, miscommunication and “assuming and forming their own opinion because there is no communication”.
I think you also need to invest in your team.  That means more than just paying them a wage, you need to support ongoing personal and professional development, provide supportive systems and equipment to help them achieve the goals of your business as well as being the culture champion – provide safe, enjoyable and equitable work environments – you will absolutely benefit from your investment. People + Passion = Profit.

Tell us about some of the roles that you have held and why you have undertaken them?

I haven’t had many jobs but my first job was as a checkout operator at Coles (pre-scanner shhhh…..). 
I come from a family of hard workers and we often held multiple roles at once so I have also worked as a Receptionist during the day and waitress at night for a few years.  I don’t think I was a very good waitress though as I kept getting in trouble for talking to people too much so I think that was a sign. 
In my professional life I have worked in Executive Administrative roles and it was only in 2000 that I moved into the HR field and started in Consulting, then moved to my own business in 2005 and studied HR, purchasing EastCoast HR Group in 2012. 

What is the key to employee engagement?

I believe that when employees are empowered they are engaged in whatever role they undertake.  Being able to work to their strengths is also a winner.

Tell us the best part about living on the Sunshine Coast?

The Sunshine Coast is a very supportive and inclusive business community.  I love being able to work and live in such a magical place.

Favourite movie?

I do love a bit of comedy but my favourite childhood movie would have to be the Sound of Music.

Guilty pleasure?

Too much red wine and a beautiful cheese plate.

What family activity do you enjoy?
We love heading up the beach in the 4WD and enjoying quality downtime.  Our favourite haven is Fraser Island but we also love Double Island and we are regulars at Rainbow Beach.