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Brisbane · Thu 23 & Fri 24 July 2026 · 18 seats only

Why hand thousands a year to an HR firm that barely knows your name?

Nobody knows your team like you do. Get the skills to handle HR yourself in two days — plus six months of backup for when it actually counts.

Apply For A Seat → See What's Covered
Takes 2 minutes · No payment until your seat is confirmed · 9am–4pm daily, Brisbane CBD
Sound Familiar?

You're paying to feel less in control of your own team

The default when something goes wrong is to reach for an expensive outsider. But you end up paying a premium for advice on people you already understand better than they ever will.

!

$400 an hour to read your own award

You hand over a fortune for answers you suspect you could find yourself — if someone had just shown you how.

!

A retainer quietly draining thousands a year

Paying every month for "just in case" advice, from a firm that barely remembers your business between calls.

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Held hostage by a contract you don't understand

You inherited templates off the internet and can't tell if they protect you or expose you — so you stay dependent on someone who can.

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Decisions made by someone who's never met your team

Nobody knows your team like you do — yet the rules keep you second-guessing every move.

Weigh It Up

Your other options aren't great

When an HR problem lands, most businesses figure it out alone or pay a fortune. Here's how that stacks up against the workshop.

Going It Alone / Big HR Firm

The expensive default

  • Google answers you can't trust, or $400+/hr for a lawyer
  • Generic templates off the internet that may not hold up
  • One-off advice, then you're on your own again
  • Learn the hard way — after the costly mistake
  • A retainer that quietly costs thousands a year
Better Way
The Workshop + 6 Months

Built to make you capable

  • Plain-English answers from someone who's done it at scale
  • Take-home templates built to protect you
  • Six months of ongoing support after the room
  • Get ahead of the risk before it bites
  • One fee, capped at 18 seats for real attention
Why It Actually Works

Three things, not one

Most HR training just hands you information, then leaves you on your own. This works because it makes you genuinely capable: the knowledge to act, the backup when you want it, and real answers on your business.

01 · The Knowledge

Two days that build real capability

Contracts, awards, performance, terminations, culture and the numbers — taught plainly, with templates you take home and use straight away.

02 · The Backup

6 months of an advisor on call

ER and HR advice calls three times a week each, plus open Q&A sessions, so when a real situation lands you're never guessing alone.

03 · The Answers

Specific, current, tailored to you

Not generic articles that don't fit your business — real answers on your actual contracts, staff and situations, when you need them.

The Part That Makes The Difference

You stay in control — with backup for when it counts

You make the calls — you know your people best. But for six months after the workshop, an advisor is one message away whenever you want a second opinion. Backup, not a takeover.

6 Months of Access

ER advice calls, 3x a week

The hard stuff — terminations, redundancies, pay and classifications, disputes. Get a real answer on the exact situation in front of you.

6 Months of Access

HR advice calls, 3x a week

The everyday people side — culture, performance, recruitment, onboarding, policies. Practical help to keep your team moving forward.

Ongoing

Open Q&A calls

Bring any question and keep moving forward — no question too small, no being left to figure it out alone.

The Two Days, Mapped Out

What we cover

Day one gets your foundations and compliance bulletproof. Day two is about building a workplace people want to stay in. Templates and trackers go home with you.

Day 1 · Get the Foundations Right
01

Contracts that hold up

Modern award vs. award-free, the clauses that protect you, and the ones quietly working against you.

02

Awards, rates & classifications

Read an award without losing a day, get classifications right, avoid the underpayment trap.

03

Hiring & onboarding done right

Offers, probation, record-keeping and the paperwork that keeps you covered from day one.

04

Managing performance & conduct

Warnings, documentation, and difficult conversations done properly — so you can act with confidence.

05

Ending employment safely

Termination, redundancy and deeds of release — what makes a dismissal "fair," and the numbers that matter.

06

2026 changes that affect you

Payday Super, the right to disconnect, portable long service leave and award movements — in plain terms.

Day 2 · Build a Workplace That Performs
07

Building a culture people stay for

What actually drives culture — values that mean something, the leadership habits that set the tone, and how to shift a culture that's drifted.

08

Performance that actually works

Goal-setting, useful feedback, and review rhythms that lift performance instead of ticking a box — for a team of 5 or 50.

09

Reward & recognition done right

What good looks like beyond pay: structuring reward, recognition that motivates, and keeping your best people.

10

HR metrics that predict, not just report

The handful of people stats worth tracking — turnover, cost-per-hire, time-to-fill, engagement — and how to read them.

11

Workforce planning & growth

Use your numbers to plan ahead: when to hire, what it'll cost, and how to build a team that scales with the business.

12

Your questions, your business

Open clinic. Bring the real situation you're stuck on and work it through in the room.

Who's Running It

Led by someone who's done it at scale

Matt has spent his career untangling employment relations for businesses that can't afford to get it wrong — including as Head of HR across 400+ franchisees and 900+ stores at Domino's Australia & New Zealand. He built People Department on a simple belief: you shouldn't have to hand your people decisions to a stranger.

He runs these days the way he wishes someone had taught him: direct, practical, and built to make you self-sufficient — not dependent.

More About Matt →
Matt Baldwin, Founder of People Department
400+franchisees supported
900+stores covered
15+years in HR
What People Say

Businesses that stopped guessing

★★★★★

"When you're caught in the weeds of building and running a business, it can be easy to let the little things slide. But those little things, especially when it comes to people management, can become towering forces that need to be taken seriously. Matt's experience, knowledge and heart for people was our super power when taking on these people challenges! Keen to work with Matt again soon."

ZS
Zachary Staines
Google Review
★★★★★

"Highly recommend. Matthew's help in structuring our business and getting the foundations right from a leadership & HR perspective has been powerful. We saw great results immediately — both in the culture of our team and in results, having consecutive record months after we finished the program within our sales team. I wish I'd engaged his services sooner!"

HG
Harry Gale
Google Review
Your Seat

Everything you get

Two-day workshop plus six-month support — more than a course, a system you keep using.

Thu 23 & Fri 24 July · Brisbane CBD · 18 seats

Apply For A Seat →

Come to day one risk-free — sit through the morning, and if it's not worth your time, tell us at lunch and we'll refund you in full.

What Happens Next

It's an application, not a checkout

Seats are capped at 18 so the room stays useful and the support after stays real. No payment until your seat's confirmed.

01

Apply in two minutes

A few quick questions about your business and what you're wrestling with. No long forms — just enough for us to understand you.

02

Book your chat on the spot

The moment you apply, you'll see a calendar to lock in a quick call — so we can confirm it's the right fit for you.

03

We confirm together

A short, no-pressure conversation. If it's a fit on both sides, we'll confirm your seat and send everything you need.

Before You Apply

Questions, answered

After the workshop you get six months of access to advice calls running three times a week each: ER calls for the hard stuff (terminations, redundancies, pay and classifications) and HR calls for the everyday people side (culture, performance, recruitment, policies), plus regular open Q&A calls. It's all included in your seat.

Most owners are already losing far more than two days a year to HR they're handling on the fly — the hours spent Googling, the stress, the one dispute that swallows a fortnight. Two focused days now buys that time back.

We go through the investment on a quick call once you apply. Here's the honest frame: for most businesses, the whole thing — two days plus six months of ER and HR support — costs less than a single month on retainer with many HR consulting firms. If day one isn't worth it, you get a full refund at lunch.

You can — and generic answers that don't fit your business are exactly how expensive mistakes happen. This gives you real understanding plus an advisor who knows your business, so you're not piecing together half-answers at the worst possible moment.

Yes. The fundamentals — contracts, awards, pay, performance, terminations, culture — apply whether you run a café, a franchise, a trades business or an office. Seats are capped at 18 and we ask about your business up front, so the day is tailored to the people in the room.

Exactly who it's built for. It's written for owners, operations managers and franchisees who carry people responsibilities without an HR background. No jargon, no assumed knowledge.

No — and it's not meant to. It gives you the practical literacy to manage day-to-day people matters well, plus an advisor to talk things through, and the judgement to know when something needs formal legal advice.

Sit through the morning of day one. If it's not for you, tell us at lunch and we'll refund you in full. Cancel 7+ days out for a full refund, or send a colleague in your place anytime.

One bad HR decision
costs more than this ever will.

An unfair dismissal claim, an underpayment back-pay bill, a contract that doesn't hold — any one dwarfs the price of a seat. And you'll have an expert on call for six months after.

Apply For A Seat →

18 seats · Thu 23 & Fri 24 July · Brisbane CBD