INDUSTRY
Hospitality
WORKFORCE
Multi-venue hospitality group with front and back of house employees
Services
Key Outcomes
- Improved workforce planning and recruitment confidence
- Increased compliance confidence through tailor-made HR documentation
- Stronger onboarding and employee management processes
- Greater leadership capability in managing people matters
- Consistency in HR across multiple venues
- Ongoing fractional HR support without building an internal HR team
The Challenge: Building workforce stability in a challenging labour market
Like many hospitality businesses, Carolina Group was experiencing ongoing workforce pressures driven by labour shortages and a highly competitive recruitment market.
Operating multiple venues added further complexity, with employees regularly moving between locations to meet operational demands. At the same time, leaders were managing increasing compliance obligations and people matters without dedicated internal HR expertise.
Key challenges included:
- Difficulty attracting and retaining employees
- Workforce shortages impacting venue operations
- Employees working across multiple locations to fill gaps
- Reduced operational flexibility
- Increasing pressure on leaders to manage staffing and compliance requirements
The business needed a practical HR partner who could help address immediate workforce challenges while strengthening longer term people and culture practices.
Our Approach: Fractional HR support that grew with the business
We worked closely with the leadership team to strengthen HR capability while providing practical, day-to-day support across workforce planning, compliance and employee management.
- Built internal leadership capability: Supported the introduction of a General Manager who could lead the operational HR function, backed by ongoing external HR expertise from Now Actually.
- Strengthened attraction and retention: We reviewed remuneration,employee benefits and the employee value proposition to improve attraction and retention in a highly competitive hospitality market.
- Developed capability across the workforce: We prioritised learning and development opportunities to ensure career pathways were clear and to improve long term employee engagement.
- Improved HR foundations: Alongside strategic workforce initiatives, we provided ongoing support across the business’s onboarding processes,employment contract and Award audits, employee relations advice,leadership coaching, workplace compliance, HR documentation and consistency across venues.
Instead of introducing unnecessary complexity, our approach was designed to strengthen the people practices already in place while providing practical HR support that evolved alongside the business.
The outcome: Stronger workforce foundations and greater operational stability
The fractional HR partnership gave Carolina Group greater confidence managing its workforce while creating stronger HR foundations to support continued growth.
Improved workforce planning
The business gained greater confidence recruiting, planning and maintaining staffing levels across multiple venues.
Increased compliance confidence
Employment contracts, Award compliance and HR processes were reviewed, reducing workplace risk and strengthening employer confidence.
Stronger leadership quality
Leaders were better equipped to manage employee matters, supported by Now Actually’s practical HR advice and ongoing coaching.
More consistent people practices
Onboarding, employee management and HR processes became more structured and consistent across all venues.
Reduced operational disruption
By strengthening workforce planning and HR capability, the business reduced the operational impact of labour shortages and maintained a stronger focus on delivering a positive customer experience.
It was very reassuring for us to have someone as knowledgeable and experienced as Now Actually to guide through a recent HR process.
It was reassuring for us to know that everything was being done correctly but also humanely.
Alan Saunders, Director Principal
Impact Australia
Who is this relevant for?
- operate across multiple locations or sites
- are experiencing rapid workforce growth
- are struggling to recruit and retain employees
- need practical HR support without employing an internal HR team
- want stronger compliance and people processes
- need leadership support managing employee matters
Frequently asked questions about HR for the hospitality industry
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