Kate Coburn is tackling HR with a fresh perspective. She believes so many people challenges can be solved through better training and support for leaders within an organisation. Her programs and strategies help business leaders find the right people for their teams, ensure they are performing to a high standard, remove the overwhelm of managing people and create a culture in their businesses that retains employees.
Tell us a little bit about your business Thrive People & Culture.
Thrive People & Culture is a HR consulting agency providing people centred solutions and coaching that helps businesses grow. We work with our clients to ensure they’re hiring smart, offer leadership advice and develop strategies that create and build positive business culture. Through coaching, workshops and HR projects, we work with business owners to build their leadership and HR capability so that they can focus on doing the things within their businesses that they love most. HR and people management can be overwhelming, stressful and confusing at times. Watching leaders implement techniques and strategies that remove overwhelm and help their businesses grow is so incredibly motivating.
How did the idea for Thrive People & Culture come about?
I’d been working as a HR Manager for over six years and saw a huge opportunity to help more workplaces develop their leadership skills and improve the culture of their businesses. I was constantly coming into contact with individuals who had been promoted to management roles because they were great at their previous role or had suddenly become a leader because they were a business owner however they were struggling with overwhelm and the new responsibilities that come with leading a team and lacked direction and training. Most often, a business’s biggest expense is their staff and payroll, but few businesses place value and importance on developing their team’s skillset and investing in their learning and development. We focus on training leaders so that they not only have the ability to perform their best, but so that they have the confidence to do so, and in turn they stay around for longer.
What is unique about Thrive People & Culture?
Working together is intensive and a hands-on process, it’s not a set and forget process, we continually work together to embed the learning and ensure that it’s working for your business and how you naturally like to lead and manage your team. My aim is to give leaders tools to build on their leadership and HR skills and work alongside them to grow their confidence so that they can implement these again and again as their business grows.
What has been the most rewarding aspect of starting Thrive People & Culture?
Hearing feedback about much we’ve helped to remove HR overwhelm and build their team is the most rewarding part.
What would you say is your personal definition of success?
Success to me is freedom and impact – having the freedom to work with clients that really align with my business values, freedom to work how and when I choose to and to have a real impact with the clients that I work with.
What’s the best piece of business advice that you have ever received?
A mentor once told me, say “yes” and work it out later – this has been such valuable advice and has helped me to take chances and say yes to challenging opportunities which I may have wanted to shy away from.
What do you think is the most significant barrier to female business owners?
Although it’s 2023, there are still lots of barriers that women in business face, but one of the biggest challenges I see (and experience myself!) is mindset. Comparing ourselves to others, not backing our capability, lacking confidence, overthinking, being a perfectionist, and imposter syndrome. I’m sure women (whether in business or not) often struggle with this each day. So often we don’t have confidence to take the leap with starting a business and worry about what others will think.
What’s on the horizon for Thrive People & Culture in 2023?
It’s been great to be back at work after maternity leave! This year I am refining our leadership program that is delivered both face to face and through online workshops. I’m also launching the Building Your Dream Team course, which is training and coaching business owners to develop their recruitment skills so that they can continue to build their teams and businesses.
Location: TAMWORTH | NSW
Website: thriveculture.com.au
Instagram: thrivepeopleandculture
Facebook: Thrive People and Culture