EBM Insights podcast series is a deep dive into current issues surrounding insurance and risk management in today’s ever-changing world.
Introduction:
In this podcast we talk with Tony Touma, General Manager for Liquid HR, a leading HR outsourcing and advisory firm that supports small to medium sized businesses across Australia.
A transcript of this podcast is below. The complete EBM Insights podcast series is available here.
Disclaimer
In this podcast, we have provided general advice only and not personal advice. In giving this advice, we have not considered your personal circumstances.
00:00:17 Speaker 1 – Julian Lane (National Manager – Injury Management, EBM Insurance & Risk)
Welcome, everyone. I’m Julian Lane, National Manager of Injury Management at EBM Insurance & Risk. In today’s episode, we’re diving into a topic that’s vital, particularly for small and medium businesses, the function of human resources.
Joining me today is Tony Touma from Liquid HR, a leading HR outsourcing and advisory firm that supports small and medium sized businesses across Australia.
We’re going to be exploring how HR isn’t just about compliance and recruitment, but also how it can truly act as an enabler for business growth. Tony, great to have you with us.
Thanks for joining me today.
00:00:51 Speaker 2 – Tony Touma (General Manager, Liquid HR)
Thanks for having me, Julian.
00:00:54 Speaker 1 – Julian Lane
So Tony, I’ve heard previously that HR’s a bit like Wi-Fi. It’s invisible when it works, but everyone notices when it doesn’t. Could you talk us through that analogy?
00:01:03 Speaker 2 – Tony Touma
Absolutely Julian, I really like that analogy because it perfectly captures the reality of HR when HR’s running smoothly. When people are engaged, leaders are supported and compliance is under control, it can almost go unnoticed. Everything else just flows. At the moment there’s a compliance issue, a poor hire, conflict of a team, everyone suddenly feels it, just like when Wi-Fi drops out.
At Liquid HR we aim to prevent the Wi-Fi from falling out. We work like a signal behind the scenes, ensuring businesses have the right frameworks, policies, and leadership capabilities so their people and culture systems work seamlessly.
We provide end to end HR support. Everything from recruitment, performance management and compliance, to leadership development and culture programmes so our clients can focus on what they do best and they each run and grow their business.
00:01:58 Speaker 1 – Julian Lane
I mentioned in the intro that Liquid HR believes business growth is ultimately driven by people. Can you take us through this a bit more? And what does that look like in practice for a small to medium business?
00:02:10 Speaker 2 – Tony Touma
Absolutely, Julian. For small to medium businesses, growth through people means being intentional about how you attract, develop, and retain talent.
In practical terms, that’s about creating a structure that has clear job frameworks, fair pay practices and performance reviews that actually mean something, and leaders who can engage their teams effectively.
At Liquid HR we work with businesses to align the people strategies with their commercial goals. For example, helping a fast growing company. They go from reactive hiring to strategic workforce planning or helping a family business introduce professional development frameworks that lift capability across the team.
When people understand the vision and see how they can contribute to productivity, innovation usually flows quite naturally. That’s where we see real growth happening.
00:03:00 Speaker 1 – Julian Lane
So, for those small businesses listening today, what are the specific advantages of working with Liquid HR and how do you help them turn that people first approach into real measurable growth or outcomes?
00:03:13 Speaker 2 – Tony Touma
I suppose the biggest advantage that we can bring to SME’s is to give them access to the same HR capability that big corporates have, but in a flexible and more affordable way.
We embed ourselves as a partner rather than an external consultant.
That means we work closely with leadership teams to set measurable goals, things like reducing turnover, improving engagement, tightening compliance, or building leadership capacity.
For example, one client of ours reduced their recruitment costs after we introduced the streamline onboarding and internal referral system.
Another improved retention by focusing on manager capability and regular feedback loops.
We always measure outcomes, whether it’s through data, surveys, or performance metrics.
So, HR is not just an admin function, it generally drives business.
00:04:02 Speaker 1 – Julian Lane
Fantastic. Shifting gears a bit now. Tony, you work across many sectors. Could you provide us some examples of how Liquid HR supported a business with challenges that might be unique to their industry?
00:04:15 Speaker 2 – Tony Touma
Absolutely. I mean, every sector has its own people and compliance challenges and that’s where a tailored HR approach really adds value. So, in the NDIS sector, as an example, we partner with a disability service provider that has grown rapidly, but was struggling with workforce compliance, clustering complexity and inconsistent leadership capability.
We helped them implement employment frameworks aligned to the SCHADS (Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services) Award, introduced a modern HR and rostering system, and trained frontline staff in performance and conduct management.
This not only reduced Fair Work risk, but also improved staff satisfaction, and service continuity for clients which is all very important in the NDIS space.
As another example, in professional services, we work with a financial advisory firm that expanded quickly but lacked consistent leadership practices and clear accountability.
Staff were working long hours with limited development opportunities, which were starting to affect morale and retention.
We introduced the structure performance framework created, defined role expectations, and rolled out leadership coaching for senior advisors.
Within months, the business saw stronger engagement, better team communication and improved client outcomes, all while reducing turnover.
And finally, in the hospitality sector, we work with a multi-site venue operator dealing with high staff turnover, inconsistent service standards and complex award requirements.
We introduced the Steam 1 onboarding process, modernised their payroll and rostering systems and rolled out leadership training for venue managers.
Within a few months, they saw significant improvement in staff engagement, customer experience and compliance confidence across all sites.
So, across all these industries, our focus remains the same. Creating an HR solution that is practical, compliant, and tailored to how each business operates day to day.
00:06:10 Speaker 1 – Julian Lane
Thanks, Tony. Another area I’d like to explore is the recent Federal Court decision that clarified payment rules for award covered employees. Could you walk us through the key aspects of the ruling and share your perspective on what it means for employers and HR teams in managing compliance and payroll practices?
00:06:28 Speaker 2 – Tony Touma
Yes, this decision was significant. Essentially, the court confirmed even where employers use annualised salary arrangements, they must still ensure employees are no worse off compared to their award entitlement including overtime penalties and loadings and so, for employers, this means a few things.
You need to regularly reconcile salaries against award requirements. Employment contracts should be clear. Outline how annualised salary ranges are calculated, and payroll and time keeping systems must be accurate and reliable.
We’re seeing a real shift towards accountability and transparency in payroll practices.
At Liquid HR, we’ve been working with a number of clients to undertake compliance audits, review contracts, implement systems that remove the risk entirely so they’re not caught off guard by underpayment claims or Fair Work audits.
00:07:20 Speaker 1 – Julian Lane
Thanks, Tony. Now before we wrap up, what are some of the key takeaways you’d recommend a small to medium sized business considers when it comes to their HR functions?
00:07:30 Speaker 2 – Tony Touma
Yes. So, for me, three things stand out. The first is most important. It’s be proactive, not reactive. Don’t wait for a problem to surface before investing in HR support.
The second is empower your leaders. Most people don’t leave companies they leave managers. Training and supporting your leaders is the best retention strategy there is.
And finally, keep HR connected to your business goals. Whether it’s growth, efficiency, or culture, your people strategies should move in lockstep with your commercial strategy.
At Liquid HR we’re passionate about helping businesses do just that, building workplaces where people can thrive and in turn the business grows.
00:08:10 Speaker 1 – Julian Lane
Thanks for that great information, Tony. I’d like to mention that Liquid HR are part of EBM’s Risk Solutions Network. This network has been established to help our clients gain access to an extensive network of resources and support to assist them to further identify, understand and manage their risks. If you’re interested in learning more about our RSN please visit our website at ebm.com.au or chat to your EBM Account Manager.
I’d like to thank Tony for sharing his HR expertise with us today and if you’d like more information on Liquid HR, please visit their website at liquidhr.com.au.
Thank you.
[end]
