14 things I’ve learnt in the last 14 years running Peopleconnexion

2007 sounds like it was such a long time ago, and yet the years seem to have flown by. Peopleconnexion began in 2007 when we set out with a mobile phone, a contact list and a vision - to inspire greatness for our candidates and clients. We started life as an engineering recruitment agency in Brisbane, Australia. But our world is now much bigger. We’ve met a lot of people and accomplished many things during that time. As I reflect on the last 14 years during our anniversary, we can’t help but think of all the important lessons we’ve learned.

1.   “Build something you believe in -- because that’s the first step to building a great business.” - Seth Goldman and Barry Nalebuff. Since I was a teenager and I helped my mum find her dream career, I’ve always been driven by the goal of enriching people’s lives and futures through their careers. What’s made my business so successful is that we have built a company that enriches lives every day and I surround myself with people who share that same drive as me. When we are pursuing the things we love doing, and staying true to our WHY, we have continued to strengthen our reputation and add value to our clients, candidates and community.

2.   If you want to increase your rate of growth, increasing your rate of learning is critical. One of our core values at Peopleconnexion is growth and for me that means having a llifelong learning mentality. I’ve prioritised structured training for all staff in the company and I am the first to hand out books and podcast recommendations! I’ve learnt that to grow myself and my people we need to constantly be learning.

3.   You’re not supposed to have everything figured out. You can spend forever on your vision board, but you’ll never really know what problems you solve or how you solve them until you find some real customers and start solving their problems!

4.    “Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill. The last several years have put into perspective for everyone how quickly things can change personally and professionally. Last year it reached a point where parts of our business couldn’t continue due to the pandemic – did we stop? No, the fear of the unknown didn’t stop us instead, we pivoted amid rapid change and we opened ourselves up to new opportunities like taking parts of our business online.

5.   The power of giving back. Giving back is powerful and personally rewarding. In recent years, I’ve made a real effort to establish connections with organisations and this is where Buk bilong Pikinini (BbP), comes in. As a team every morning we packed and packed thousands of books to send to PNG and to the children BbP supports. I felt the office environment shift and it created a real positive energy and it spurred us on to our next project - sponsoring BbP to build a library for children at the Tubusereia central coast to use.

6.   Ask for help when you need it; give help when you can. As a business owner, I strongly advocate in the value of having mentor and mentoring others. Throughout the years having a mentor has helped me to see my business from another perspective, whilst I’ve helped my mentees define their leadership style and business culture.

7.   Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” – Will Rodgers. A hard but invaluable lesson learned during the course of the business is an old but good saying: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Peopleconnexion isn’t your average agency; we have pioneered business diversification into new markets (The Pacific) and new services (HR services) and those decisions have been our key to success.

8.   It’s always about people. A core belief to our company is that people come first. People are the reason Peopleconnexion exists. Clients and candidates alike are our core business and this company exists to serve people. These beliefs are a major influence on our language and company culture. Whether we’re trying to fill a role, place skilled talent, or help a team member through a bad day, the end goal is always about making a positive impact on someone’s life. While we knew this from the start, each day over the last 14 years has made us believe in people more and more.

9.   Make time for your family. I’ve been in the workforce for almost 25 years, got married, had children, and I’ve read more books and articles on the attainment of work-life balance than I care to admit. Believe me, it is hard to do, but balance is oh so important to reduce stress and help prevent burnout in the workplace.

10.  “When you are led by values, it doesn't cost your business, it helps your business.” - Jerry Greenfield. Like I’ve said, we offer a different kind of recruitment experience then you’ll find elsewhere: one that’s human, personal and professional. It’s all down to the values and the way we operate. We have made it our mission to build a company of people who share the values of Excellence, Passion, Growth, Integrity and One Team.

11. “There’s no shortage of remarkable ideas, what’s missing is the will to execute them.” – Seth Godin. My team would happily tell you, I’m never short of ideas! However, over the years, I’ve learnt to keep a balance of both ideas and execution. How do I get the balance? Before I share a new idea, I stop and ask myself do I want my team to action this right if not, hold off sharing it and put it into a holding tank in your brain or on a piece of paper.

12. Company culture matters immensely. It can be tricky to maintain a strong culture with 3 geographically distant offers. I’ve supported the company culture by ensuring the leadership team I hire, are examples of the core values of the organization.

13. Dream enormously big. I live and breathe goal setting. Goal setting is an important practice - particularly in the workplace. Research has found that setting strong goals boosts performance by motivating people to increase their effort, inducing stronger focus and helping them prioritize. Every year I make the effort to sit down with my company and set goals and reflect on successes.

14. Celebrate your successes – which is what I’ll be doing with my team this afternoon!