April 28, 2024 • 15 mins
Something a little different this episode!
There could be many reasons you engage an external consultant for your business - think of an Accountant, a Lawyer, Business Coach, Web Developer, SEO expert or even a HR Consultant like us at Aster HR.
There is a definate business strategy behind paying someone external to your business, as opposed to hiring an employee with this specialist skill.
In this episode we take you through some of the decisions you need to make in order to choose the right fit for you.
You can find the show notes for this episode here
Would you like to submit a question to the show? Let us know on our website or via LinkedIn.
Brought to you by Aster HR, the Work Wonders Podcast is hosted by Angela Gauci & Susan Rochester and is recorded at Launch Pad at Western Sydney University.
All information or advice included in this podcast is general, has been developed as a starting point for your business, and should be tailored to your specific requirements. It should not be considered legal advice. We have made every attempt to ensure the accuracy and currency of this information at the time of recording. However, references to things like employment laws are subject to change. For specific advice relating to your business, please get in touch with us.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome to the Work Wonders podcast brought to you
by Asta HR, where we simplifythe human side of business.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
I'm Angela and I'm Susan, let's dive into today's
episode and find out what you'vebeen wondering about.
In today's episode, we're goingto talk about how to work with
an advisor, taking you through,how to find the right person,
how to brief them, what shouldbe in your contract, how you
(00:33):
engage with that person and keepthem accountable.
So let's dive in.
This is the Work Wonderspodcast.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Hi Angela, Hi Susan, how are you going Great.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
I think this would probably be one of the first
episodes that we could say isslightly self-serving.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Well, I think it's an important one.
You might all be wondering whyare they going to talk about
consultants now and notemployees?
But I mean, it's something thatsmall business owner, or any
business owner, will do is bringadvisors into their business,
whether it be an accountant or alawyer or someone like
ourselves in terms of HR, for aspecific need?
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Yeah, and it's another way of getting the work
done without bringing onemployees.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
That's right.
Yeah, that's right, but thereis a knack to it, isn't?
Speaker 2 (01:23):
there, yeah, and in some ways it is similar to
finding the right employee andfinding the right advisor.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Really, this episode came about because we started
talking about how people mightwork with us.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Exactly.
And then the more we talkedabout the whole process, the
more we realised that of coursethat applies across the board.
Whatever sort of advisor, oreven a business coach or mentor,
however you might engage withthose people.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Well, let's start with finding an advisor.
How would we recommend you findthe right person?
Speaker 2 (02:00):
This is actually similar to how we find employees
these days, Looking for anadvisor.
You wouldn't go out andadvertise that you were looking
for somebody, but you wouldcertainly put the word around
your networks, ask them who theyknow you want to make sure that
the person that you're bringinginto your business is also an
(02:21):
expert in their area.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
For example, if you want, specifically an employment
lawyer, you might go lookingfor just that.
You might be very specificabout who you're looking for, if
that's applicable.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Yeah, exactly.
But another similarity then tofinding an employee is knowing
what you're looking for, isn't?
Speaker 1 (02:37):
it yeah, true.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
I'm sure we've both had conversations at networking
events where we've said what wedo and someone will say oh, so
do you do this?
You had the example the otherday of somebody who thought that
you could just go and find theman employee.
Oh yes, magically materialisethe person they wanted.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
You have that sort of person in your phone book,
don't you?
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (03:04):
So you don't have to charge me any money.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
I wish I could say yes to that Exactly.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
So it's really having an understanding of what the
advisor can do for you, as wellas what you want from them.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Yeah, absolutely.
I'm just imagining, as you'retalking, whether we would go
down the path of interviewingand you could interview
potentially your consultant.
It might not look anything likehiring an employee, but it's
still relevant to have that talkwith them and further
understand if the fit's there aswell.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
There has to be the fit, doesn't there?
Yeah, and I'm thinking thatparticularly applies with
business coaches, yes, butequally applies with your
accountant, your solicitor.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Yeah, there's certainly compliance issues.
Like you think about anaccountant or a lawyer, you know
a lot of people would go tothem because it's necessity.
You need someone with that sortof skill to be able to assist
you with those level sorts ofthings.
And, yes, that absolutely playsa part.
But it is important to juststop and think you know, is this
the right person for me?
Can I get along with them?
(04:07):
Am I, you know, loving whatthey're doing for me or what
they could do for me?
Speaker 2 (04:12):
And it's not just about you know whether you get
on it's.
Do they understand my industry?
Do they know what I do in mybusiness?
Yeah, can they get their headacross the different facets of
their business?
I mean, we often find that,don't we?
Once we engage with a client,we suddenly discover there's all
(04:33):
these other aspects of thebusiness that we didn't know
about before.
But we're good at learning onour feet.
Most advisors business advisorswould be.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
So that's the stage where you're starting to learn
more about each other and youmight be giving them a bit of
information or a bit morecontext of what you're looking
for, what the scenario is.
I think that's a reallyimportant part of the stage,
isn't it?
Of the process?
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Yeah, and I think also part of that is you know,
obviously you can get whateverhelp you want if you're willing
to pay for it.
So part of that is also beingclear in your own head about
what you can afford.
So you're not going to go toone of the big four if you only
have a couple of hundred bucksto spend.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Yes, yeah, that's right.
There are different sort ofpeople out there.
So you know, we've talked aboutbusiness coaches or advisors.
There's definitely people outthere who might be a one man
band that's all that they do.
Or there are larger people thatmight have people across the
country that go out.
So, yeah, it's definitely worthknowing your own budget as well
(05:33):
and choose the right fit foryou for that purpose, as well
and there's such a wide range.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
I'm just thinking particularly with business
coaches.
You know we from time to timelook at what people are charging
and I would say that inAustralia at the moment you
could get business coachingsession For anything from well
free through Business Connectand places like that.
Through to $1,000 or more,depending on who you pick.
(06:00):
So don't be afraid to ask thosequestions when you're hiring
someone.
Don't go down the road of whatI call mutual mystification,
where you're not letting themknow and they're not letting you
know yeah.
And everyone's a little bit.
Oh, I think this might be agood fit.
Oh, I don't know, you know, I'mnot really sure.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
It's much better to get all that out in the open to
start off with and move on ifit's not the right person,
instead of wasting your time andtheirs, as it turns out.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
And another similarity to recruiting an
employee.
You know, when you're in thatinterview stage of an employee
and you just have to start touse your gut and understand if
there's a good fit there, it'sreally hard to measure all that
emotional stuff, but it's sortof the same with this.
If you're trying to find theconnection between you and an
external advisor or consultant,you still need to have that sort
(06:53):
of gut feeling, don't you?
Is this a good match?
Can I work with them?
Can I accept their advice?
You know, will they listen tome?
All of that I know.
With our clients we've hadfeedback, which we love.
That is that you know we listento them, we give them time, we
help them feel calm andunderstood, and all that is
really really important to usand, as I'm sure it is, for our
(07:14):
clients as well.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Yeah, exactly, whereas there might be other
clients who just want to get thejob done yeah, exactly.
Here's what I need.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Sort of handing it over.
Yeah, that's right.
Hand it back when you'refinished.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
But I will say, when I had my own business, that when
I ignored my gut, that's whenit all went pear-shaped you know
, that's like when you said,don't just what did you say?
Speaker 1 (07:37):
mystification.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Yeah, mutual mystification.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
I like that.
Yeah, don't just kind of getfooled into thinking, oh, they
were kind of nice, maybe it'llbe okay.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
And remember that because someone was a good fit
for someone you know, it doesn'tnecessarily mean they're going
to be a good fit for you.
You know you could have peoplewho rave about this marketing
expert who did all this stufffor me, but when you speak to
them, it could be like you'respeaking a different language.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Yeah, that's so true.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
One more point about briefing before we move on is
making sure that you give youradvisor all the relevant
information.
Yes, that's so important, isn'tit?
Because if you're sharing theright information.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Yes, that's so important, isn't it?
Because if you're sharing theright information with them, it
gives a really good picture ofwhat you need, and they can
often meet you where you're at.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Yeah, exactly.
Are you feeling overwhelmed byall the things that you need to
do to manage people in yourbusiness?
We've got changes tolegislation, different
generations in the workplace,managing the expectations of the
people that your business.
We've got changes tolegislation, different
generations in the workplace,managing the expectations of the
people that you employ.
Why not hand all that over tothe experts and get on with what
you do best?
(08:46):
The experienced team at AstroHR can quickly give you the
advice that you need and get youheaded in the right direction
With our HR support and coachingfor you.
With managing people, it allbecomes so much simpler.
Schedule your free call todayat astrohrcomau.
Now let's get back to theepisode.
(09:07):
So you've identified the rightadvisor.
You've briefed them about whatyou want, because, before you
even identified them, you werevery clear about what it was
that you needed.
Now it's time to get stuck in.
So, angela, what do you thinkare the important points in
(09:29):
engaging?
Speaker 1 (09:30):
an advisor.
Okay, now we're actually doingthe doing yeah we're starting to
get things done.
I think it's similar again toan employee relationship, where
you want to start to think aboutthe outcomes that you're
getting and, ultimately, holdingsomeone accountable.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
So the easiest way to do that is going to be to
document what the expectationsare.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Yes, absolutely.
I know that's important for uswith our clients.
We go through the process ofsaying, okay, you want A, b and
C done.
This is our plan and this iswhen it will happen and this is
what we will achieve for you asthe overall outcome and I'm sure
there's other advisors outthere like us that do similar
you want to know that so thatyou know ultimately, what you're
(10:11):
paying for, I guess.
Well, definitely that'simportant.
Yeah, but I guess it's a bit ofan awkward thing to keep
someone accountable when they'renot your employee and you're
paying them and all that.
But it's important, yes.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
And the thing that I would point out here is as soon
as you notice the things goingoff the rails, that's the time
to speak up and do somethingabout it.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
It's your money.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
Yep, absolutely.
And just because they'reexternal to your business
doesn't mean that they're anyless important to what's going
on and, overall, to how yourbusiness is succeeding.
Yeah, I agree with you, youneed to be proactive.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Yeah, I think we say that quite a lot, don't we?
On this podcast.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Preventative rather than remedial.
Reactive, Remedial yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
What's the old thing about?
It's better to have a fence atthe top of the cliff than an
ambulance at the bottom.
Yes, please do Okay, so we'veengaged our advisor, coach,
whoever.
We've been working with themfor a while, but things are
starting to slip.
We've got to have that toughconversation.
(11:21):
What's the best approach?
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Well, again, it's being proactive, isn't it?
Because it's your business.
You don't want to be paying forsomething that's not giving you
the outcomes you're asking for,or, goodness, goodness, even
worse taking things in adifferent direction or missing
things.
So I think it's just aboutstarting the conversation with
them, and it's going to be anawkward one, but you need to
have a chat with them and justtake them back to what you were
(11:45):
asking for or what thoseoutcomes were Go back to that
document.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
Yeah, actually, we've had experience of this.
Yeah, unfortunately, and we'reboth sort of screwing our noses
up going, yeah, well, that's,you know, it's not fun, no, but
we just want you to know that ithappens to anyone.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
Yeah, we did use an external consultant for a
particular thing and we, justlike we were advising you here
to do, we tried to set out theobjectives, we talked very
deeply about what we werelooking for and the sort of
expected outcomes weren'thappening.
So the way we dealt with it wasto have that conversation with
(12:27):
the person and just reassess.
You know, is that yourunderstanding?
This was our understanding.
You know, can we just talkabout what's not working here?
We gave it another shot andtried to readjust things and
just make sure thatcommunication was really clear.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
And that it wasn't something that we'd been doing
that had sent things off therails.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
And then the test of time.
Unfortunately, things didn'timprove.
In fact, they got a little bitworse, and so we made the
decision to say, look, thank youso much, but unfortunately I
don't think this is the rightfit for us.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Your services are no longer required.
Yeah, all the best to you.
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
No hard feelings, but it's just about.
Look, this is my decision forAsta HR and you know it's never
easy.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
So I guess, in summary, you know it's never
easy.
So I guess, in summary, youknow, before you even go out
looking to bring someone likethat in to help you, you need to
think about am I capable ofhandling something like this if
it doesn't quite?
Speaker 1 (13:22):
work and knowing exactly what you're bringing
them into your business for.
You know we talked about at thebeginning a lawyer or an
accountant.
I mean, that's pretty easy toput one-on-one together and
figure out why you'd need them.
But you know, do you need abusiness coach, and what are
they there for?
Do you need a marketing person?
Is it social media?
Is it website?
Is it HR?
Like us, you know being veryclear about what's the purpose
(13:45):
behind that and I think it'sworth mentioning in terms of the
way that you work with us.
We'd love to go through thatprocess with you.
So we'll first get to know youover a very friendly phone call
or a video chat and understandyour business and listen to your
concerns and what you'relooking for and take you through
those steps that we'reexpecting you to do with anyone.
(14:07):
We obviously respect thatourselves as well, and we'll
take you through that process tounderstand the outcomes that
you're looking for and work withyou to design what you need.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Yeah, so we hope that's been helpful and gives
you a bit more confident aboutgetting that external help that
you might need to drive yourbusiness forward.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
Yeah, because, especially as small business
owners, we can't do it all.
Sometimes we like to think wecan, you know, but it's
absolutely okay and you deserveto have that expert advice
external to your business comingin.
Exactly you deserve it.
Thanks for listening to theWork Wonders podcast brought to
(14:51):
you by Asta HR.
Hit the subscribe button now tonever miss an episode, and if
you'd like to continue theconversation with us, you can
find us over at asterhrcomau.
See you in the next episode.
Welcome to the Work Wonders podcast brought to you
by Asta HR, where we simplifythe human side of business.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
I'm Angela and I'm Susan, let's dive into today's
episode and find out what you'vebeen wondering about.
In today's episode, we're goingto talk about how to work with
an advisor, taking you through,how to find the right person,
how to brief them, what shouldbe in your contract, how you
(00:33):
engage with that person and keepthem accountable.
So let's dive in.
This is the Work Wonderspodcast.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Hi Angela, Hi Susan, how are you going Great.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
I think this would probably be one of the first
episodes that we could say isslightly self-serving.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Well, I think it's an important one.
You might all be wondering whyare they going to talk about
consultants now and notemployees?
But I mean, it's something thatsmall business owner, or any
business owner, will do is bringadvisors into their business,
whether it be an accountant or alawyer or someone like
ourselves in terms of HR, for aspecific need?
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Yeah, and it's another way of getting the work
done without bringing onemployees.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
That's right.
Yeah, that's right, but thereis a knack to it, isn't?
Speaker 2 (01:23):
there, yeah, and in some ways it is similar to
finding the right employee andfinding the right advisor.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Really, this episode came about because we started
talking about how people mightwork with us.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Exactly.
And then the more we talkedabout the whole process, the
more we realised that of coursethat applies across the board.
Whatever sort of advisor, oreven a business coach or mentor,
however you might engage withthose people.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Well, let's start with finding an advisor.
How would we recommend you findthe right person?
Speaker 2 (02:00):
This is actually similar to how we find employees
these days, Looking for anadvisor.
You wouldn't go out andadvertise that you were looking
for somebody, but you wouldcertainly put the word around
your networks, ask them who theyknow you want to make sure that
the person that you're bringinginto your business is also an
(02:21):
expert in their area.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
For example, if you want, specifically an employment
lawyer, you might go lookingfor just that.
You might be very specificabout who you're looking for, if
that's applicable.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Yeah, exactly.
But another similarity then tofinding an employee is knowing
what you're looking for, isn't?
Speaker 1 (02:37):
it yeah, true.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
I'm sure we've both had conversations at networking
events where we've said what wedo and someone will say oh, so
do you do this?
You had the example the otherday of somebody who thought that
you could just go and find theman employee.
Oh yes, magically materialisethe person they wanted.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
You have that sort of person in your phone book,
don't you?
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (03:04):
So you don't have to charge me any money.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
I wish I could say yes to that Exactly.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
So it's really having an understanding of what the
advisor can do for you, as wellas what you want from them.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Yeah, absolutely.
I'm just imagining, as you'retalking, whether we would go
down the path of interviewingand you could interview
potentially your consultant.
It might not look anything likehiring an employee, but it's
still relevant to have that talkwith them and further
understand if the fit's there aswell.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
There has to be the fit, doesn't there?
Yeah, and I'm thinking thatparticularly applies with
business coaches, yes, butequally applies with your
accountant, your solicitor.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Yeah, there's certainly compliance issues.
Like you think about anaccountant or a lawyer, you know
a lot of people would go tothem because it's necessity.
You need someone with that sortof skill to be able to assist
you with those level sorts ofthings.
And, yes, that absolutely playsa part.
But it is important to juststop and think you know, is this
the right person for me?
Can I get along with them?
(04:07):
Am I, you know, loving whatthey're doing for me or what
they could do for me?
Speaker 2 (04:12):
And it's not just about you know whether you get
on it's.
Do they understand my industry?
Do they know what I do in mybusiness?
Yeah, can they get their headacross the different facets of
their business?
I mean, we often find that,don't we?
Once we engage with a client,we suddenly discover there's all
(04:33):
these other aspects of thebusiness that we didn't know
about before.
But we're good at learning onour feet.
Most advisors business advisorswould be.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
So that's the stage where you're starting to learn
more about each other and youmight be giving them a bit of
information or a bit morecontext of what you're looking
for, what the scenario is.
I think that's a reallyimportant part of the stage,
isn't it?
Of the process?
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Yeah, and I think also part of that is you know,
obviously you can get whateverhelp you want if you're willing
to pay for it.
So part of that is also beingclear in your own head about
what you can afford.
So you're not going to go toone of the big four if you only
have a couple of hundred bucksto spend.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Yes, yeah, that's right.
There are different sort ofpeople out there.
So you know, we've talked aboutbusiness coaches or advisors.
There's definitely people outthere who might be a one man
band that's all that they do.
Or there are larger people thatmight have people across the
country that go out.
So, yeah, it's definitely worthknowing your own budget as well
(05:33):
and choose the right fit foryou for that purpose, as well
and there's such a wide range.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
I'm just thinking particularly with business
coaches.
You know we from time to timelook at what people are charging
and I would say that inAustralia at the moment you
could get business coachingsession For anything from well
free through Business Connectand places like that.
Through to $1,000 or more,depending on who you pick.
(06:00):
So don't be afraid to ask thosequestions when you're hiring
someone.
Don't go down the road of whatI call mutual mystification,
where you're not letting themknow and they're not letting you
know yeah.
And everyone's a little bit.
Oh, I think this might be agood fit.
Oh, I don't know, you know, I'mnot really sure.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
It's much better to get all that out in the open to
start off with and move on ifit's not the right person,
instead of wasting your time andtheirs, as it turns out.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
And another similarity to recruiting an
employee.
You know, when you're in thatinterview stage of an employee
and you just have to start touse your gut and understand if
there's a good fit there, it'sreally hard to measure all that
emotional stuff, but it's sortof the same with this.
If you're trying to find theconnection between you and an
external advisor or consultant,you still need to have that sort
(06:53):
of gut feeling, don't you?
Is this a good match?
Can I work with them?
Can I accept their advice?
You know, will they listen tome?
All of that I know.
With our clients we've hadfeedback, which we love.
That is that you know we listento them, we give them time, we
help them feel calm andunderstood, and all that is
really really important to usand, as I'm sure it is, for our
(07:14):
clients as well.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Yeah, exactly, whereas there might be other
clients who just want to get thejob done yeah, exactly.
Here's what I need.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Sort of handing it over.
Yeah, that's right.
Hand it back when you'refinished.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
But I will say, when I had my own business, that when
I ignored my gut, that's whenit all went pear-shaped you know
, that's like when you said,don't just what did you say?
Speaker 1 (07:37):
mystification.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Yeah, mutual mystification.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
I like that.
Yeah, don't just kind of getfooled into thinking, oh, they
were kind of nice, maybe it'llbe okay.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
And remember that because someone was a good fit
for someone you know, it doesn'tnecessarily mean they're going
to be a good fit for you.
You know you could have peoplewho rave about this marketing
expert who did all this stufffor me, but when you speak to
them, it could be like you'respeaking a different language.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Yeah, that's so true.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
One more point about briefing before we move on is
making sure that you give youradvisor all the relevant
information.
Yes, that's so important, isn'tit?
Because if you're sharing theright information.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Yes, that's so important, isn't it?
Because if you're sharing theright information with them, it
gives a really good picture ofwhat you need, and they can
often meet you where you're at.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Yeah, exactly.
Are you feeling overwhelmed byall the things that you need to
do to manage people in yourbusiness?
We've got changes tolegislation, different
generations in the workplace,managing the expectations of the
people that your business.
We've got changes tolegislation, different
generations in the workplace,managing the expectations of the
people that you employ.
Why not hand all that over tothe experts and get on with what
you do best?
(08:46):
The experienced team at AstroHR can quickly give you the
advice that you need and get youheaded in the right direction
With our HR support and coachingfor you.
With managing people, it allbecomes so much simpler.
Schedule your free call todayat astrohrcomau.
Now let's get back to theepisode.
(09:07):
So you've identified the rightadvisor.
You've briefed them about whatyou want, because, before you
even identified them, you werevery clear about what it was
that you needed.
Now it's time to get stuck in.
So, angela, what do you thinkare the important points in
(09:29):
engaging?
Speaker 1 (09:30):
an advisor.
Okay, now we're actually doingthe doing yeah we're starting to
get things done.
I think it's similar again toan employee relationship, where
you want to start to think aboutthe outcomes that you're
getting and, ultimately, holdingsomeone accountable.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
So the easiest way to do that is going to be to
document what the expectationsare.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Yes, absolutely.
I know that's important for uswith our clients.
We go through the process ofsaying, okay, you want A, b and
C done.
This is our plan and this iswhen it will happen and this is
what we will achieve for you asthe overall outcome and I'm sure
there's other advisors outthere like us that do similar
you want to know that so thatyou know ultimately, what you're
(10:11):
paying for, I guess.
Well, definitely that'simportant.
Yeah, but I guess it's a bit ofan awkward thing to keep
someone accountable when they'renot your employee and you're
paying them and all that.
But it's important, yes.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
And the thing that I would point out here is as soon
as you notice the things goingoff the rails, that's the time
to speak up and do somethingabout it.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
It's your money.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
Yep, absolutely.
And just because they'reexternal to your business
doesn't mean that they're anyless important to what's going
on and, overall, to how yourbusiness is succeeding.
Yeah, I agree with you, youneed to be proactive.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Yeah, I think we say that quite a lot, don't we?
On this podcast.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Preventative rather than remedial.
Reactive, Remedial yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
What's the old thing about?
It's better to have a fence atthe top of the cliff than an
ambulance at the bottom.
Yes, please do Okay, so we'veengaged our advisor, coach,
whoever.
We've been working with themfor a while, but things are
starting to slip.
We've got to have that toughconversation.
(11:21):
What's the best approach?
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Well, again, it's being proactive, isn't it?
Because it's your business.
You don't want to be paying forsomething that's not giving you
the outcomes you're asking for,or, goodness, goodness, even
worse taking things in adifferent direction or missing
things.
So I think it's just aboutstarting the conversation with
them, and it's going to be anawkward one, but you need to
have a chat with them and justtake them back to what you were
(11:45):
asking for or what thoseoutcomes were Go back to that
document.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
Yeah, actually, we've had experience of this.
Yeah, unfortunately, and we'reboth sort of screwing our noses
up going, yeah, well, that's,you know, it's not fun, no, but
we just want you to know that ithappens to anyone.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
Yeah, we did use an external consultant for a
particular thing and we, justlike we were advising you here
to do, we tried to set out theobjectives, we talked very
deeply about what we werelooking for and the sort of
expected outcomes weren'thappening.
So the way we dealt with it wasto have that conversation with
(12:27):
the person and just reassess.
You know, is that yourunderstanding?
This was our understanding.
You know, can we just talkabout what's not working here?
We gave it another shot andtried to readjust things and
just make sure thatcommunication was really clear.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
And that it wasn't something that we'd been doing
that had sent things off therails.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
And then the test of time.
Unfortunately, things didn'timprove.
In fact, they got a little bitworse, and so we made the
decision to say, look, thank youso much, but unfortunately I
don't think this is the rightfit for us.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Your services are no longer required.
Yeah, all the best to you.
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
No hard feelings, but it's just about.
Look, this is my decision forAsta HR and you know it's never
easy.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
So I guess, in summary, you know it's never
easy.
So I guess, in summary, youknow, before you even go out
looking to bring someone likethat in to help you, you need to
think about am I capable ofhandling something like this if
it doesn't quite?
Speaker 1 (13:22):
work and knowing exactly what you're bringing
them into your business for.
You know we talked about at thebeginning a lawyer or an
accountant.
I mean, that's pretty easy toput one-on-one together and
figure out why you'd need them.
But you know, do you need abusiness coach, and what are
they there for?
Do you need a marketing person?
Is it social media?
Is it website?
Is it HR?
Like us, you know being veryclear about what's the purpose
(13:45):
behind that and I think it'sworth mentioning in terms of the
way that you work with us.
We'd love to go through thatprocess with you.
So we'll first get to know youover a very friendly phone call
or a video chat and understandyour business and listen to your
concerns and what you'relooking for and take you through
those steps that we'reexpecting you to do with anyone.
(14:07):
We obviously respect thatourselves as well, and we'll
take you through that process tounderstand the outcomes that
you're looking for and work withyou to design what you need.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Yeah, so we hope that's been helpful and gives
you a bit more confident aboutgetting that external help that
you might need to drive yourbusiness forward.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
Yeah, because, especially as small business
owners, we can't do it all.
Sometimes we like to think wecan, you know, but it's
absolutely okay and you deserveto have that expert advice
external to your business comingin.
Exactly you deserve it.
Thanks for listening to theWork Wonders podcast brought to
(14:51):
you by Asta HR.
Hit the subscribe button now tonever miss an episode, and if
you'd like to continue theconversation with us, you can
find us over at asterhrcomau.
See you in the next episode.
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