"Lean on the experts around you, they are experts for a reason."
Jenna Paulin Tweet
Jenna Paulin provides practical, easy-to-understand advice and support for a broad range of end-to-end Human Resources. She considers both strategic and operational matters when providing advice.
In being able to best assist Jenna seeks to understand the nature of the business and what pain points currently exist. Through analysis and understanding of the business and the industry that it operates in, Jenna is able to provide tailored advice to assist with the people management component. People are a major component in business and successfully managing them requires a certain level of skill and empathy all of which Jenna has.
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Table of Contents
Thank you for joining us, please introduce yourself to our readers.
Jenna Paulin: I’m Jenna and I’m the Founder and Managing Director of Now Actually Human Resources. I’m also a Mother, a Partner, a friend to many and a Mentor to my wonderful team of six. I am truly passionate about what I do and I want to change the perceptions around HR in the workplace.
I’ve had a colorful career and am very fortunate to be where I am today. I have overcome illness, learnt quickly and consulted with a team of experts when needed. I’ve cried, I’ve laughed and learnt so much not only about business but myself too.
After working in a number of Corporate Human Resources (HR) roles, an opportunity presented itself to become a Franchisee in an Outsourced HR Company. I took this opportunity, then realized that I need a little bit freedom, so I bit the bullet during the first COVID19 Lockdown and launched my own bespoke Outsourced HR Company – Now Actually Human Resources. Over the last two years, I’ve been able to grow my team to six highly successful team members. A number that I’m hoping to grow by the end of the year.
To get us started, Can you tell our readers what does your company solve differently in the crowded marketplace? Give an example or share a story.
Jenna Paulin: Employment Law in Australia is one of the most difficult Employment Laws in the World. It can be complicated and depending on the business and industry involve several different legislative instruments might be applicable.
With that in mind, Now Actually aims to simplify this for Companies. We want to make it easy, simplistic and not complicated. We’re not in the business of creating paperwork for the sake of having paperwork.
We want to protect Company owners whilst making sure they are compliant with the legislative requirements. But we also want to make sure its manageable moving forward and that they can rest assured knowing that the people component of business is protected.
Part of this involves really understanding the businesses we are working with. We like to think we become an extension of their team. That means we offer a bespoke service with maximum engagement. It’s tailored, it’s specific and it’s what they need. It’s not a call center and dedicated members of our team work with the same clients. We are with them to celebrate their success but support them through hardship. Our processes and systems can be scaled up and scaled down. We treat all Companies with the same about of respect whether they have five employees or five hundred employees. People are fickle and managing emotions can be hard. By being that Outsourced support we can provide advice without bias and deal with the matter at hand rather then emotion.
For example, often Companies will come to us to assist in Performance Managing Employees. This one particular Company had a head count of 8, everyone had worked for the Company for 7 plus years, collectively they were quite close. The Owner became aware that one of the Employee performance had gradually started to decline and it needed to be addressed before it began impacting the other Employees. The Owner did not know how to have this conversation with this Employee. We were able to coach and guide the Employer as too how the proper process was to go about this conversation as well as providing the supporting documentation. In the end we facilitated this conversation on behalf of the Company. It meant that the conversation was built on facts and reality rather then emotion. It also meant that the Employee and Employer were able to continue to work together after our intervention as their relationship was preserved as we were the managing party in this relationship. This is important component of maintaining team culture. The Employee recongised his mistakes and was able to successful complete a Performance Improvement Plan and continue his employment within the Company.
While your company is growing, what are some of the challenges you face? Hiring? Tech development? Raising capital? Branding? Tell us more about the journey.
Jenna Paulin: Where do we start !
One of the things we have recongised in our line of business is that business owners are kept up at night by two things – cash flow and people.
To be honest that’s no different here.
Having a regular cash flow obviously underpins our success and ability to grow. Being able to cover expense but also investing in resources is a constant juggle. Not getting this right can cause some serious stress.
Likewise, having experienced significant growth in a short period of time, bringing together a remote team can be challenging. Having different personalities within different roles trying to navigate the same playbook can be tricky. Different mindsets and thought processes coming together with the same common goal can cause disruption if not managed correctly. It’s important that we practice what we preach and a lot of what we do with our clients, we do internally too. Leading with empathy and providing transparency has assisted in due course.
We have also had a major shift in roles internally from a hybrid workforce ( start up life anyone ?) to more defined structure as we grew. This meant a lot of new policies and procedures were introduced quite quickly, some with kinks and others more smoothy. But apart of continue growth means that we have to break down systems and rebuild them to get to where we are today.
I am proud of what we’ve come from and where we are heading. It’s from a position of strength and hard work.
Obviously it would be helpful if more people knew our name – but we are working on that!
Everyone has a different story, what influenced your decision to be an entrepreneur, what would you have done differently?
Jenna Paulin: I’ve always been one of those people that cannot settle. I’m always looking for the next challenge, or opportunity whether it be through business development or my personal life.
That forward thinking, that continual growth mindset is what gets me up each day. Having worked for myself for a number of years now, I know that I cannot go back into the traditional workplace. The structures, the policies, the hours it simply would not work for me anymore. It’s fueled my desire to truly create the lifestyle I want. It’s being one of the driving factors behind creating this business. We are flexible, we are agile and we are remote. It allows people to have that work/life balance that many traditional workplace struggle to provide. Whether it be a coffee with a friend or a hit of lunchtime tennis, we can structure our days around the things that are most important to us. If children are receiving awards at school then there is no hassle for my team to attend. Giving them flexibility gives me the results I need.
I’ve also suffered some pretty bad illnesses throughout my career, so by having a business that enables me to effective manage those conditions and still be able to work is simply a no brainer. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I guess if I was to do it all again, I’d do it sooner! I’d also perhaps try not a please everyone, I’d have a stronger CEO mindset that had the best interest of the Company at heart rather then the people involved ( see I told you we practice what we preach and learn from!)
Now for the main focus of this interview: what qualities or characteristics do women entrepreneurs have that make them great leaders? Please share some examples.
Jenna Paulin: There are so many ways I could answer this question. What defines a great leader isn’t what they say they do, but what they actually do. For me, a great leader is resilient and shows strength. Which can be hard, because as a female the default can sometimes be soft and empathetic. So depending on the situation, females can be called out for being too strong and not empathic enough or they can be called out for being too empathic and not strong enough. So it truly is tricky to get the balance right. I’m not saying I’m not those things, at different points in time I am and that’s understandable. I need to be a good mixture of both and adaptable to my surrounds. This is one of my great strength adaptability.
Unfortunately in the professional sector, a lot of Company owners or leadership is dominated by males. Whilst there is a shift in the guard there is a certain stigma that existing with females being present. In saying that by being confident in the advice I’m delivering and knowledgeable in the areas that I’m passionate about I believe that strengths my position in the room. Having the ability to think quickly and be responsive also enables my success.
We often present to groups of Accountants who are predominately men. There has been situations whereby I’ve been the only female in a room full of sixty men. I’ve been the expert on the topic and have to overcome the fear of intimidation and own the room to not only demand the respect I deserve but to prove that I know my stuff. Whilst this does not worry me, I can understand how the gender imbalance by effect other female leaders performance. Together we are stronger and if I can inspire others to do the same, then to me that is true leadership.
What are some of the biggest challenges you still see women face while conducting business, compared to their male counterparts? What would you like to see change, and how would you make it happen?
Jenna Paulin: There are multiple lens that are challenging for women in business. Whether its determining or establishing merit based on competencies or skill set. Whether it be a token gesture of having a female be involved. The nature of the relationship can be questioned and the authenticity disputed if the status quo isn’t maintained. Often women are outnumbered by their male counterparts and paid a significantly less salary in comparison. There is then the question of a Women’s worth if she decides to take a career break and have children also comes into play. There is always that pressure to have it all and balance each component of our existence. Are we a career women or are we a mother ? Why cant we have both ?
Having just given birth, my partner was able to take parental leave from his role so that I could continuing managing my business. I’d like this opportunity for others to know and understand that it doesn’t need to be the female who takes time out. It can be a shared responsibility. Whilst on that topic of improvement, I believe that pay equality is also a necessary step forward in addressing the stigma around females in leadership. Respective of gender, people deserve the same chance. As such when providing advice we do not take gender into consideration. Looking at cultural fit, the ability to do the role and previous experience will always win over gender. We work with a variety of different leaders and we do not generate bias based on their gender. We want to work with people who want to work with this. I think maintaining and carrying forward this attitude will assist in driving change.
With all of your experience as a business leader, what is the most important thing you can tell fellow entrepreneurs that you’d like to share with aspiring women entrepreneurs?
Jenna Paulin: Lean on the experts around you, they are experts for a reason. Being able to stay in your lane is a hard task but that is why you need to lean on others to support you.
Trying to do it all simply wont work. You are not expected to carry the mental load of everything. I’ve learnt that by being empathy and transparent about where I am at, what I am doing garners the best results not only from my team but from myself. Having external support keeps me accountable and provide a fresh set of eye who want to see me succeed. There is also the concept of understanding that just because you’ve done something one way for so long doesn’t mean there are improvements elsewhere. Encourage collaboration, as collaboration is king ( well a queen!)
There will be times that it will be all too hard, but that’s ok and you’re allowed to feel like that. Just know that you’re making a difference in some ones life and just keep going. You’ve already survived what you thought was the hardest day in business.
What do you plan on tackling during 2022? Share your goals and battles you expect to face.
Jenna Paulin: In our business COVID-19 challenged us to be up to date with legislation changes and process changes. As an industry there is so much that we’ve had to be across in such a small amount of time. We’re hoping to have seen the last of that, but the unpredictability that COVID has brought does pose to be a battle. We also don’t know the full implication of some of the decision making we have made in relation to termination, mandatory vaccination policies as there simply is the case law to reply upon. As this becomes more apparent we made need to revisit some of our prior work. But again this time is out of our control.
This year I hope to develop a more strategic CEO mindset and lead with the best interest of the Company. I also want to work towards achieving the business plans that we have set out to achieve, whilst balancing newborn life. For me it’s perfect the perfect work/life balance I’ve set up to achieve.
How do you keep learning? Podcast? Books? Audiobooks? Videos? Share some of your greatest sources of inspiration? Share an impactful story.
Jenna Paulin: In our business a lot of the learning is done on the job. It comes informally through understanding our client business structure, their people problems and the challenges they face. As a business that is adaptable I need to ensure my practice, advice and strategic thinking is not static. So whilst I might work with several hospitality businesses, each will have their own ways of doing thing and different operating process, I need to go in with an open mind to ensure that I not generalizing what one has done everyone will do. Whilst this is beneficial it also means that because I am working across several different hospitality business I can establish a best case scenario and implement that into the others.
We also regularly conduct internal training within our business, we have a dedicated advisors who focuses on strategy and compliance. This is based on industry newsletters, publications and webinars. Then there is legislative changes which involve reading a whole lot of technical jargon to simply down for our clients. We often host sessions as well, so to be that knowledge source we have to gain that knowledge in the first instance.
Some of the podcasts we listening too are not HR related but more focused on people. Richard Fielder’s Conversations provides a real inspiration as it’s just normal people sharing their stories about what is important to them and what they have achieved in life. I also enjoy Failing Fabulously with Shelley Horton and Alison Rice’s Offline. Both these podcast focus on trying to balance the mental load and stress the importance of being your true authentic self without putting the pressure on to be everything at every point in time.
I also involved in a mentoring group whereby we share and learn from each other.
I’m sure our readers will be very thankful for the insights you have shared. Where can our readers follow up with you?
Jenna Paulin: The best way to find me is to email Now Actually Human Resources – contact@nowactually.com.au or alternatively sign up for our mailing list at https://nowactually.com.au/contact-us/
Jerome Knyszewski, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Jenna Paulin for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Jenna Paulin or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
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