Amplify HR

Amplify HR Practical HR for forward-thinking Founders, CEOs, and Leaders. We make it easy to find and retain the right people and nurture your team

24/08/2026

One of the biggest lessons from my conversation with Nathan Baws wasn’t actually about marketing. It was about customer service.

Nathan shared a story about being removed from a flight after helping an elderly passenger with her luggage. It sparked a really interesting conversation about policies, people and what great customer service actually looks like.

Customer service is rarely just about training your front line team. It’s usually a reflection of what’s happening behind the scenes.

If you’re trying to improve the experience your customers have, it might be worth asking a different question.

What is your workplace culture telling your customers?

You can also listen to the full Find Grow Keep episode wherever you get your podcasts.

17/08/2026

Here’s a quick question for you.
If one person in your business took two weeks off tomorrow, what would actually stop?

Not slow down.
Stop.

One of the things I notice in growing businesses is that sometimes the process isn’t really a process at all. It’s a person.

The person who knows how recruitment works.
The person who remembers the onboarding steps.
The person who keeps compliance on track.
The person everyone goes to when they need an answer.

And that’s fine for a while.

But eventually it becomes a risk because the business becomes dependent on one person’s memory, knowledge or availability.

Good processes aren’t about creating bureaucracy or making your business feel corporate.

They’re about making sure the important things don’t rely on one person remembering everything.

So here’s my question:
What would stop in your business if one key person took two weeks off?

I’d love to hear your answer in the comments.

10/08/2026

Cyber Security Isn’t Just an IT Problem

Most business owners think cyber security is something their IT provider takes care of. But as Fraser Jack explains in this clip, technology is only part of the picture. Most cyber incidents involve human behaviour. It’s often someone who’s busy, distracted or under pressure who unknowingly opens the door to an attack.

That’s why creating a workplace where people understand the risks, feel confident to ask questions and have the right training is just as important as having good technology.
This conversation was one of my favourites because it reminds us that good leadership and good workplace culture don’t just improve engagement. They also help protect the business.

Have you ever had a phishing email that looked surprisingly convincing?

03/08/2026

Ever noticed that as your business grows, you somehow end up busier than ever?

You hire more people because you need support, but suddenly you’re answering more questions, making more decisions and spending more time sorting out people issues than you did when the team was half the size.

The problem is often not the people. The problem is that the way the business managed people when there were five team members no longer works when there are twenty, thirty or fifty.

When businesses are small, informal ways of working can be incredibly effective. Everyone knows what is happening. Decisions are made quickly. People learn by being close to the founder.

As the business grows, those same habits can create confusion. People are not always clear on who owns what. Managers handle situations differently. New starters get different onboarding experiences. And more decisions start finding their way back to the founder.

So here’s a question for you:
What are you still managing as though you’re a team of five, even though you’re now a team of twenty, thirty or fifty?

The answer often tells you exactly where your next people foundation needs to be.

businessowner hrforsmallbusiness

27/07/2026

Most business owners think toxic workplace culture is obvious.

They imagine bullying, conflict, terrible managers or people arguing across the office. But in reality, toxic culture is often much quieter than that.

It shows up as:
Poor communication
Managers avoiding difficult conversations Teams working in silos
Employees disengaging
Good people quietly leaving

And high-performance culture is not about working harder or pushing people harder. The highest-performing teams are usually the ones with clear expectations, consistent leadership, trust and accountability.

The question is: if you asked your team what your culture feels like, what would they say?

From the latest episode of the Find Grow Keep Podcast.

27/07/2026

Most business owners think toxic workplace culture is obvious.

They imagine bullying, conflict, terrible managers or people arguing across the office. But in reality, toxic culture is often much quieter than that.

It shows up as:
➡️ Poor communication
➡️ Managers avoiding difficult conversations Teams working in silos
➡️ Employees disengaging
➡️ Good people quietly leaving

And high-performance culture is not about working harder or pushing people harder. The highest-performing teams are usually the ones with clear expectations, consistent leadership, trust and accountability.

The question is: if you asked your team what your culture feels like, what would they say?

From the latest episode of the Find Grow Keep Podcast.

20/07/2026

Sales are great, but sales without profit can quietly send your business backwards. In this short from Ep166 of the Find Grow Keep podcast, Karen discusses with Farid Zaki at ATP Accounting that when your team is discounting to win work, it is worth checking whether they understand the margin behind the sale. Because a 15 percent discount on a product with a 10 percent margin does not create a win. It creates a loss.

This is why business performance is not just about revenue. It is about cash flow, profit, systems and helping your team understand the impact of the decisions they are making every day.

A quick reminder for business owners: busy does not always mean profitable.

What numbers do your team need to understand so they can make better decisions?

workplaceculture

13/07/2026

Accountability is not the same as pressure

If your team performance is slipping, it can be easy to say, “we need more accountability.”

But accountability only works when people know what is expected, managers follow through, and the workload is realistic enough for people to succeed.

That is very different to simply telling people to do better.
Before you push harder, it might be worth asking whether the foundations are actually in place.

06/07/2026

Before you blame the person, look at the pattern.

When team performance drops, it’s easy to assume someone is not engaged, motivated or taking enough responsibility.

But in a growing business, poor performance is often telling you something bigger.

It might be unclear roles.
It might be shifting priorities.
It might be workload pressure.
It might be a leadership bottleneck.
It might be that the business has outgrown the way it used to operate.

Before you blame the person, pause and look at the pattern.

What do you usually notice first when team performance starts to slip?

29/06/2026

One of the biggest hiring mistakes small business owners make is focusing too much on experience and not enough on fit.

In this Find Grow Keep Short, Carolina Montanez from Plane 2 Sea shares a brilliant reminder for growing businesses. Skills can be taught, but attitude, care, and the way someone works with your team can make all the difference.

When you are a small business, every hire has a real impact. That is why it is not just about whether someone can do the job. It is also about whether they are the right fit for your business, your team, and the way you want to work.

What do you look for most when hiring someone into your team?

Address

Sydney, NSW

Telephone

+61288971316

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Amplify HR posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Amplify HR:

Shortcuts

Share

Category