Lorena Gaxiola is an internationally acclaimed design expert with 25 years of interior design and property development experience. Moving her design firm’s headquarters to Sydney, Gaxiola turned to Employsure for local HR support.
Mexican-born Gaxiola studied fine art and interior design at Design Institute of San Diego, California. Post-graduation, she took her talents to Los Angeles and made a splash by designing interiors for several Fortune 500 companies.
Gaxiola moved the business’s headquarters to Sydney in 2016, where the company continues to deliver end-to-end interior design services to clients in the hospitality, residential and private sectors.
Supporting a creative workforce
Gaxiola’s design firm is thriving in Sydney, but relocating has brought its fair share of obstacles. Operating in the Australian market has posed new challenges to the company’s HR processes. Gaxiola claims:
“It’s not that it’s better or worse in Australia, it’s just different. When it came to hiring staff and having the right documentation, we had to start from scratch and adapt to a new way of doing business”.
Another of the business’s biggest hurdles has been managing a creative workforce that wants flexibility and will often switch employers for a fresh challenge. Gaxiola notes:
“Modern creatives are after flexibility – they often want to work remotely at times that suit them, and love the inspiration of new projects. As a creative, I can relate to this mindset. I wanted to adapt to their needs and offer everyone flexibility. Plus, I was keen to hire a mix of staff – full-time, part-time, contractors, consultants, and casual employees. From a HR perspective, this made everything seriously complicated.”
Realising that this open staffing model added layers of complexity to the company’s HR, Gaxiola turned to Employsure for specialist support.
Employment relations, redesigned
Taking on all the HR responsibilities herself, Gaxiola admits to feeling “Lost, alone, and not sure of my rights and obligations as an employer”.
Gaxiola’s company wasn’t big enough to justify hiring dedicated HR staff, but her HR needs were undeniable and growing by the day.
Searching on Google for HR help, Gaxiola discovered Employsure – an Aussie employment relations specialist with ‘inside-out’ knowledge of Aussie employment laws.
She contacted the 24/7 Advice Line on a Saturday night, making what turned out to be the first call of many:
“Somebody at Employsure always picks up the phone right away. They ask questions to find out exactly what problems I’m facing and then coach me through the situation. It’s reassuring to know that what I’m doing is fair and follows the laws.”
An Employsure rep spoke to Gaxiola about the business’s needs and asked where she wanted the company to be. Together, they drew up a plan to completely redesign the company’s employment relations policies, procedures, and documentation.
Flexible HR for flexible work
For Gaxiola, the biggest benefit of Employsure’s services has been the ability to offer employees flexible work options without infringing employment law:
“I can call Employsure and get advice about an employee who’s moving out of state. The advisor helps me figure out how to retain the employee and how to set them up as a remote worker”.
When the design firm scouts new talent, Gaxiola can reach out to Employsure for advice on a competitive salary offer. Employsure also helps her draw up offer letters and employment contracts aligned with modern awards. When she logs in later, all the documents are uploaded to her account.
Additionally, young creatives who join the company often move through various stages; from studying to graduation and then full-time design work. Employsure ensures all employees are given the right entitlements based on their changing status, keeping the business compliant with The Fair Work Act.
Ultimately, Employsure facilitates the flexible HR Gaxiola needs to manage flexible workers, delivering creative solutions that support a team of people who live and breathe creativity.
Gaxiola says “The service is exactly what I needed. I’m able to attract and keep the best talent and enjoy peace of mind knowing that I’m growing the business securely.”
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Employsure simplifies employment relations laws, allowing you to focus on what you do best – running a successful business.
If you want peace of mind just like Gaxiola, call our FREE 24/7 Advice Line now on 1300 651 415 to get all your questions answered.