Meet the Team

Senior HR Practitioner
Speaker
Author
Trainer
Industries: Professional Services, banking and finance, corporate travel, recruitment consulting & IT
Expert in Employment Relations, recruitment, performance management, terminations and mediation.  Natasha has been quoted in articles for the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the Australian Financial Review and the Huffington Post and she has often been interviewed on the radio, including the ABC.  Standard Mental Health Australia First Aider.

Natasha is a sought after speaker and has a proven track record of educating and engaging audiences both small and large around the country.  To inquire after her availability and learn more, visit her webpage Here.

Early in my career, I worked in Banking & Finance and as a Recruiter before focusing on Human Resources. I now have over 22 years’ experience and I have worked and lived in Australia, the UK and India. I have delivered training in Australia, USA, Asia, UK & New Zealand. I have managed employees across all aspects of HR and earned myself the nickname of ‘The Angel of Death’ at one time by terminating 40 employees in 6 weeks.

I believe SMEs are the backbone of this country and work harder than anyone else – I am driven to help them grow their businesses through their employees, lose their ‘employee headaches’ and do what they love. This is why I wrote my book ‘From Hire to Fire & Everything in Between’ to help business owners who have limited time, money and employee relations knowledge – hire better, manage better and fire better.

Together, my team and I have over 190 years of hands-on experience – we are happy to have those difficult conversations you may not wish to have yourself, script them for your or sit with you and support you through the process. We know what you, as an employer, should and shouldn’t do when managing your employees.

I also want to make the world a better place and we do this through our lifetime partnership with the Global Giving Institute, B1G1: Business for Good. When you work with us, you too will be changing the world for the better.

Outside of work, I am a qualified yacht skipper, play squash at 6am a couple of mornings a week and I’m a mum to 3 fabulous kids; and I enjoy a glass of wine or two!

Compliance and Risk Management
Personal Banker
Industries: Banking and Finance, Investment and Securities.

I have 22 years banking and finance experience in the UK and Australia working for companies such as Coutts (UK) and Macquarie Bank across Private Banking, Compliance and Margin Lending. Since the end of 2011, I have been running Employee Matters focusing on Finance, Payroll, Compliance and editing Natasha’s blogs and articles. Yes, sometimes extensive red pen is required.

We have spent considerable time developing great tools to help small businesses maximise profitability through their people. We understand the challenges of running a small business as we are one ourselves. I believe that Natasha and I bring extensive corporate experience and compliance to small businesses to use for their competitive advantage.

Outside of work, I love reading, soccer and running around after (and trying to keep up with) our children

• Industries: Charity, Health Services, Newspapers, Utilities, Pharmaceuticals, Funds Management and Banking
• Key Strengths: Generalist HR, Business Operations

Alla has over 20 years generalist HR experience, and a passion for achieving outstanding business results through strong employee engagement. She has extensive experience, in both Listed and Private companies as well as Partnerships. Alla has worked in both large and small enterprises as a stand-alone practitioner and as a leader of teams, supporting workforces ranging from 70 – 2,000 employees.  She holds a Masters in Organisational Change  and a Grad Dip in Employee Relations and HR from the University of Melbourne.

• Industries: Accounting, Consulting, Legal, Digital, Technology, Financial Services, Software.
• Key strengths: Experience in employer branding, EVP, organisational development, HR strategy & planning, HR operations, change management, talent management, succession planning, Mergers & Acquisitions, employee relations, employee lifecycle & experience.

In her downtime,  Alla loves to spend time with her husband and two young boys, and enjoys participating in various equestrian sports, travelling and cooking.

Catherine has had over 20 years experience as a Human Resources professional. Catherine has held a number of Senior Human Resources generalist positions with small, medium and large organisations across a diverse range of industries. Catherine has a degree in Commerce and post graduate qualifications in Human Resources.  Standard Mental Health Australia First Aider.

• Industries: Insurance and Finance, Community Services, Health Care, Technology, and not-for-profit organisations
• Key Strengths: Extensive experience with a wide range of SMEs. She has demonstrated great ability in Change Management, Organisational Development and Employee Relations.

In her down time Catherine loves spending time with her two beautiful boys, her amazing friends, and travelling.

Catherine has over 10 years’ experience in generalist HR and recruitment globally.  Catherine has held senior HR positions in Australia and the UK where she was responsible for servicing client groups throughout Europe and the Middle East.  Predominantly her focus has been within the professional and financial service industries working for global companies including BDO, Russell Investments, Old Mutual Group and Macquarie Group. She has a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology & History) from the University of Sydney and a Graduate Diploma, Human Resource Management from the University of Technology, Sydney.  Standard Mental Health Australia First Aider.

• Industries: Professional Services, Banking and Financial Services, Funds Management, Aged Care, Hospitality
• Key Strengths: employee relations, organisational change, diversity & inclusion, learning & development, global mobility and recruitment

Kate has had 15 years global experience as a Human Resources professional, and has held positions in Australia, the Netherlands and Scotland. She has been an HR Generalist for client groups in Australia, and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regions. She has a degree in Organisational Learning from UTS.  Standard Mental Health Australia First Aider.

• Industries: Recruitment, Oil & Gas, Telecommunications, Software Engineering, Travel, and SMEs – IT, PR & Communications, Finance, Building & Construction, Real Estate, Sales
• Key strengths: Experience with a wide range of SMEs, Modern Award interpretation, recruitment, coaching, global mobility, employee relations and performance appraisal programs. She has also been involved in company-wide change programs and restructures.

Outside of work Kate loves to spend time with her young children, travel, go out for food and has a slight Netflix addiction!

Kelly Vale is a driven professional with skills in all facets of Human Resources where her background extends 18+ years. Kelly has worked locally & internationally with large multinational organisations encompassing diverse industries, as well as HR director roles in smaller businesses. Kelly’s years of experience working alongside strong leaders & exceptional teams has seen her achieve optimal results for clients.

• Industries – Real Estate and Property, Banking and Finance, Legal, Telecommunications, Professional Services, NFPs & Government.
• Key Strengths: HR Generalist, Workforce Planning & Structuring, Recruitment, Employee Relations, Leadership and People Management, Coaching and mentoring, robust problem solving and analytical skills with a strong eye for detail.

When not at work, Kelly is a busy mother of three young children and you will often find her in the great outdoors, with her family, embracing the true lifestyle coastal living offers.

Based in the Sutherland Shire, Morgan has over 15 years’ experience working with small, medium and large organisations to help them manage their most important resource – their people. She has experience in recruitment, people management, operational and strategic HR, with a specialty in performance improvement. Morgan is passionate about helping businesses to ensure their HR systems are in place and that they feel confident working with their employees to achieve their business goals.  Standard Mental Health Australia First Aider.

• Industries: Workers Compensation Insurance, Government Employment Services, Franchise Systems, Software and Management Consulting, Construction, Education – Childcare & RTO’s
• Key Strengths: HR Generalist, Leadership Programs, Management Coaching/Mentoring, Performance Improvement, Business Operations, Strategic Planning, Talent Management

Outside of work Morgan can be found chauffeuring her 3 young kids around and volunteering at school!

Melbourne based, Paul has over twenty-five years experience working in a range of HR generalist and leadership roles. He has worked primarily in the private sector having spent over twenty years with Accenture where he held HR leadership roles spanning both Australia and the Asia Pacific Region. In these roles Paul had responsibility for a broad range of HR functions including performance management, employee relations, learning & development, workforce planning and recruitment whilst leading teams of up to forty HR professionals. Paul has a Masters degree in Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations from Melbourne University.

• Industries: Technology & Management Consulting, Financial Services.
• Key Strengths: Generalist HR with specific skills in Performance Management, Workforce Planning/Talent Supply Chain, Organisational Development and Strategic Planning.

Outside of work Paul’s interests include freelance writing (he contributes to a couple of sports publications), travel, playing tennis and generally attempting to keep fit.

Shanell is a highly experienced HR professional with over 10 years HR experience.  She has held senior HR positions with responsibility throughout the APAC region and working within SME’s and large complex, multinational businesses. She has a passion for and focus on employee engagement, organisational development, leadership coaching, talent management, succession planning and EVP/ Employer Branding.

• Industries: Property, Building and Construction, Technology, Non-Profit, Aged Care, Hospitality, Legal, and Market Research.
• Key Strengths: Shanell listens, to understand what success looks like for your business and what challenges you are facing, in order to support, guide and advise you on how you can better motivate, engage and develop your team to achieve success.

Outside of work, she spends as much time as possible with her family.  Shanell enjoys learning. She has an interest in understanding people’s behaviour, and how environmental and cultural influences may impact this

Melbourne based, Tracey has significant experience working in Human Resources in a variety of generalist and leadership roles in the private sector. She has held HR roles in New Zealand, the UK and Australia. In her most recent role, she managed the HR function for an international retail business, overseeing the HR and Payroll functions for the ANZ region. Her responsibilities included a broad range of HR activities including; risk and & compliance, change management, recruitment and selection, strategic HR, talent management, employee relations and management of the employee lifecycle.

• Industries: Retail, Health & Wellness, Fashion, Pharmaceutical, Hospitality.
• Strengths: HR generalist, risk and compliance, change management, coaching and mentoring, leadership & people management, HR operations.

Tracey holds a Bachelor of Business (Management) and a Post Graduate Diploma in Business (Human Resource Management).

Esther is a specialist Recruitment Partner, skilled at supporting Leaders to find the best talent match for their businesses. With extensive recruitment experience in the UK, Australia and NZ, Esther has a strong reputation for building long and happy relationships with clients. Having also run her own successful recruitment business, Esther is commercially savvy, highly adaptable and understands the importance of a fast and effective hiring process.

• Industries: Sales, Marketing, Advertising, Publishing, Manufacturing, Distribution, Entertainment, Retail and many more.
• Key Strengths: Client Partnerships, Relationship Management, Talent Acquisition, Executive Search , Recruitment,.

Outside of work Esther is an active mum of 3 boys, keen walker (Coastrek, Bloody Long Walk), skier and nature lover with a passion for wholefood cooking, health and wellbeing.

After starting her career in investment banking, Caroline lived and worked for 10 years in North America and Africa working for the United Nations specialising in administration and logistics. After moving back to Sydney in 2002 and taking a break to raise three children, Caroline got her start in recruitment in 2011 and after a stint in Dubai is now New Zealand based.

• Industries: Banking and Finance, non-profit organisations
• Key strengths – Innovation, research, recruitment, social media management, global viewpoint, quality client relations

Caroline loves spending time with the family camping, reading and travelling. She is also a real night owl and coffee/chocolate addict.

Maaike has over 14 years experience as a Human Resources and Recruitment professional with positions held in the UK, the Netherlands and Australia. She has worked for Shell in their Corporate Functions and Upstream Business doing recruitment and providing generalist Human Resources support. Prior to Shell, Maaike worked in recruitment services in the following sectors – Call Centre and Accountancy/Finance.

• Industries: Oil and Gas, Finance, Call Centres
• Key Strengths : Building and maintaining good relationships across diverse cultures, Coaching, Recruitment, Global Mobility and management of global HR processes.

In her downtime Maaike enjoys spending time with her husband and 2 gorgeous girls, she enjoys days out at the beach and loves bush walking.

Charis has had over a decade of experience within recruitment and HR. She is passionate about partnering with businesses to see them succeed, particularly in the area of talent. She has also led an HR shared-services team through several business transformation initiatives, as well as supporting a large corporation with mergers and acquisitions. Charis is warm and personable, results driven,  HR Systems savvy, and above all keeps the customer at the heart of everything she does.

• Industries: Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, FMCG, Digital Industrial, Banking, Australian Defence Force
• Key Strengths: Sourcing, Talent Acquisition, Client Partnerships, Relationship Management, HR Systems, Data Management & Analysis

Outside of work Charis owns a health & beauty business with her husband Ken. They enjoy spending time with each other and with their 3 amazing young daughters. They love travelling, good food, good company, comedy, and are avid movie buffs.