Award for problem-solvers
Prestigious accolade for Toowoomba’s Focus HR
‘‘ I WAS LOOKING AT GOING BACK TO WORK AND JUST COULDN’T QUITE GET THE RIGHT LEVEL OF FLEXIBILITY I NEEDED WITH A YOUNG FAMILY.
NAOMI WILSON
WHEN Toowoomba woman Naomi Wilson started Focus HR more than six years ago, she was planning on doing about 20-hours of work a week.
But the demand for her services exceeded expectations and within six months she was working full-time.
Ms Wilson has now been awarded the prestigious Champion Business Services Award at the Australian Small Business Champion Awards.
“I had been on maternity leave with my second child (when I started the business),” Ms Wilson said.
“I was looking at going back to work and just couldn’t quite get the right level of flexibility I needed with a young family.
“So I decided I would either go and get a part-time desk job, that was nice and safe and stress free, or I could try starting up myself.
“I’m not really one for taking the easy path, so I just decided I would get started and give myself six months.”
Six months quickly turned into six-and-a-half years and the South Toowoomba-based Focus HR continues to grow. Starting with three main clients within its first few months it has grown to between 150 and 200 today, with seven fulltime staff and consultants.
Ms Wilson said she was in disbelief when her business name was announced at the Australian Small Business Champion Awards last month, beating out 18 other businesses in the category from across the country.
The criteria for the awards covered marketing, customer service, approach, innovation with products and services, quality control, human resources and finances.
Ms Wilson explained Focus HR’s four key areas was human resources, work health and safety, leadership and development and strategy and implementation.
“In terms of our over-arching vision though - it is making the exceptional, attainable,” she said.
“It doesn’t matter how big your company is, how successful you are, how many staff you have - there is no reason why every single business can’t have exceptional practices when it comes to their people, their strategy and they way they do business.
“That’s what we are all about, is helping them at whatever level they need to be able to do that.”
Ms Wilson has been working in HR since 2001 and said she enjoyed the variety of her work.
“I love working with so many different businesses, so many different industries,” she said.
“My personality style lends itself really well to problem solving and that is what people come to us with. They have a problem and we get the chance to help them to solve it.”
Ms Wilson said achieving her biggest accolade to date would not be possible with her team.
“I have worked with exceptional people here. That’s people who are here now and it’s also the people who have been here in the past,” she said.
“It also wouldn’t be possible without our clients.”
The Australian Small Business Champion Awards started in 1999 and have become the most respected and comprehensive program recognising outstanding businesses throughout the nation. Find Focus HR at 277 Hume St.