HR consultants: How to find the right fit for your business

When your business is growing or changing and you're wearing multiple hats, the People side of things can quickly become overwhelming. As a business leader, you know HR matters but if it's not your specialty, there’s often a sense things could go wrong or opportunities are being missed.

And fair enough, because getting the People side right not only provides compliance protection, it unlocks growth and ensures that you bring out the best in your biggest investment – your people.

At this stage, it’s important to consider your options for getting the advice and support you need, ranging from an employment lawyer, to HR consultants or HR advisory services that provide on-demand advice when you need it, through to hands-on outsourced teams that take daily HR off your plate.

There’s no one-size-fits-all model, so this guide walks you through a practical, step-by-step approach to finding the HR support that fits your business stage and needs.

First up, what do HR consultants do?

HR consultants are external professionals who provide expertise in managing the People side of your business, and sometimes hands-on support as well. Human resource consultants typically work on a project basis or as fractional support, bringing specialised knowledge and the proven experience and resources to implement the HR framework you need effectively.

HR consultants’ work varies widely. To highlight just a few areas, it ranges from ensuring compliance with Australian workplace laws and establishing HR foundations through to workforce planning, remuneration reviews, designing performance systems that drive results and implementing organisational change projects.

Of course, HR consultants also handle individual matters – the tricky stuff from performance management to misconduct and interpersonal conflict. Some consultants focus on specific areas such as recruitment or workplace investigations, while others provide comprehensive support across all aspects of the employee experience.

What makes a good HR consultant different from hiring someone in-house is usually their breadth and depth of experience. They've typically worked across industries and business stages, with experience in solving your particular needs so they know what works and what doesn't. That pattern recognition can save you from expensive mistakes.

What to do before you look for an HR consulting service

Before you look for HR consultants, you need clarity on exactly what you need help with. That might sound obvious, but many business leaders jump straight to finding someone without mapping out the problems they're trying to solve.

Three common trigger points

Most businesses look for HR support when they’re experiencing one of these situations:

1. Growth pressure: Your team is expanding and the informal ways you used to manage people aren't working anymore. You're spending too much time on HR tasks when you should be focused on customers and strategy. You need someone who can build scalable foundations without overcomplicating things.

2. Efficiency opportunity: You have HR basics in place, but you're not seeing the return you should. Maybe staff turnover is high, you're struggling to hire the right people or your team doesn't seem as engaged as they should be. This is about optimising and getting better outcomes from your people.

3. Crisis mode: You could be facing a Fair Work claim or workplace investigation, or you've discovered a significant compliance gap. This is reactive but sometimes unavoidable. The immediate priority here is finding someone who can contain the damage and prevent it from happening again.

How to define what you need

Take 10 minutes to write down:

• What's keeping you up at night about the People side of your business?
• What HR tasks are you currently doing that you shouldn't be?
• What would success look like six months from now?
• When you think of what you could use an HR consultant for, what comes to mind?
• What's your realistic budget for external support?

Now when you're talking to potential HR consultants, you can better identify where your gaps are and how they can help you.

How to choose the right HR support for your business

As you know, choosing an HR consultant isn't like buying software where you can compare features on a website. It's more like finding a business partner: the fit matters as much as the credentials. Here's a practical way to approach the decision.

Step 1: Map your business stage to the type of HR support you need

• If you're an early-stage business (under 15 employees), you probably need compliance basics and scalable HR foundations (not 20-page People strategies or enterprise-level HRIS systems). An HR consulting firm with proven experience working with similar stage and size businesses, and can set you up with foundations to run with and be available to scale as you grow, will likely be your best fit.
  
  
• If you're a scale-up or growing SMB (15-100 employees), you likely need someone to design and implement HR systems that grow with you (without judgement for what you don't have in place yet!). Look for HR consultants who talk about practical implementation, not just strategy. This is where an HR consulting firm with a team-based model works well because you get multiple specialists with different skills. They should also be talking to you about when the tipping point will be to establish a sustainable, in-house resourcing model.
  
  
• If you're an established business (100+ employees), firstly, congratulations on scaling that big without internal HR! There’s likely a balance of ongoing BAU needs as well as strategic projects as you navigate the scale-up and maturity phase. A hybrid model of in-house and outsource expertise could be your super power here. This combined approach can embed within your business and take HR strategy and the day-to-day off your hands. Look for HR consultants who can help shape what that key role looks like, and then explore how they can provide surge capacity when you need it. It’s a commercially savvy way to resource your HR department, without it becoming an expensive cost centre. You want HR consultants who can integrate with your existing function and bring depth in specific areas like organisational design, strategic delivery or change management.

Step 2: Understand the different models

Generally speaking, solo HR consultants can be great for specific tasks, such as conducting pay audits or running workplace investigations. The main risk is availability – if they're busy or on leave, you're stuck.

HR consulting firms or advisory services typically provide team-based support, either through project work scoped with you or via monthly retainers. The main value here is reliability and breadth as you're not dependent on one person's availability or expertise, and you have the ability to scale support up and down as your needs change.

Phone-based HR support can seem the most affordable option (often under $1,000/month), but it’s also the most limited. You get access to document templates and basic advice, but not hands-on help with implementation or deep understanding of your business context.

Step 3: Evaluate cultural fit and working style

During initial conversations with HR consultants, pay attention to:

• Do they ask good questions about your business (and listen to your answers) or do they jump straight to selling their services?
• Do they speak in plain language or hide behind HR jargon?
• Do they seem genuinely interested in understanding your challenges or are they pushing a one-size-fits-all solution?
• Do their values align with how you want to run your business?

One useful test is to describe a current People challenge you're facing and see how they respond. Ideally, they’ll ask clarifying questions and share how they'd approach it in practical terms, rather than telling you what to do without understanding context or giving generic advice that could apply to any business.

Step 4: Check their experience with businesses like yours

Like any outsourced support, you want to work with HR consultants who have experience with businesses at your stage and ideally, in your industry (or a similar one). They don't need to have worked in your exact niche but they should understand the dynamics of your type of business.

For example if you're a professional services firm, you want someone who understands the challenges of managing knowledge workers and client delivery teams. If you're in retail or hospitality, you need someone who knows how to handle casual workforces and shift work complexities.

What to ask every potential HR consultant

Here are some questions that will help separate genuine expertise from sales talk.

On compliance and risk management:

"How would you approach auditing our current HR practices for compliance? What would that process look like?"

This tests whether they have a structured methodology. Good consultants will outline a clear process for reviewing contracts, award coverage, payroll and record-keeping. They'll also explain what you'd get at the end (typically a prioritised action plan, not just a list of everything wrong).

"What's your experience with Fair Work legislation and Awards relevant to our industry, and how do you stay current with changes?"

Australian workplace law changes frequently. You want someone who can demonstrate they're actively keeping up with changes, whether that's through professional memberships, regular training or industry networks.

On practical delivery:

"If we engaged you, who would we be working with day-to-day?"

This is critical for HR consulting firms. Sometimes you'll meet senior people in the sales process who won't be the ones doing the work. That isn’t necessarily bad but you should know who your actual point of contact will be and have confidence in them.

"What does 'embedded' or 'hands-on' support mean in reality?"

Many consultants claim to be hands-on but the definition of this can vary a lot. Some will attend your office once a month. Others will be available on Slack or Teams daily and join your leadership meetings. Get specific about what the working relationship will look like so you can understand whether it’s right for you.

On value and outcomes:

"How do you measure success in client engagements? What outcomes have you delivered for similar businesses?"

This reveals whether they think in terms of deliverables (we'll write you policies) or outcomes (we'll reduce your compliance risk and your time spent on HR admin by X%). The best consultants think commercially about the value they create, not just the activities they complete.

"Can you share an example where you've helped a business achieve [specific outcome you care about i.e. lower turnover, smoother growth]?"

Listen for specifics. Vague answers suggest limited relevant experience.

🚩 Red flags to watch for

Some warning signs that an HR consultant might not be the right fit:

• They guarantee specific outcomes that depend on factors outside their control 
• They're dismissive of what you've already done, rather than building on it
• They can't give you clear examples of work with businesses at your stage
• They push you toward expensive systems or processes you're not ready for
• They're not transparent about pricing or keep adding "extras" to the quote
• They don't ask many questions about your business before proposing solutions
• They talk mostly about their credentials rather than how they've helped clients

Pricing versus value

There’s no one answer to the question "what do HR consultants cost?" as it depends on what you need and the level of service you're after, but here’s a general guide to orient you.

Understanding HR consulting pricing models

Hourly rates for experienced human resource consultants in Australia typically range from $150-$300 per hour, with $150-$220 being the sweet spot for most SME-focused consultants. Senior specialists or those in capital cities might charge more.

Hourly billing can work for one-off projects or sporadic advice, but it can get expensive quickly if you need ongoing support. It can also create a mismatched incentive – the longer things take, the more you pay.

Monthly retainers are increasingly common for ongoing relationships. You might pay $5,000-$15,000 per month for fractional HR support that includes a set number of hours and defined deliverables. This gives you predictable costs and usually better value if you need regular help.

Project-based fees work well for defined pieces of work like a compliance audit, implementing a new HRIS or managing a restructure. 

Calculating your return on investment

The ROI of good HR support is often found in what doesn't happen – the Fair Work claim you avoid, the key person who doesn't quit or the bad hire you don't make.

But there are also tangible benefits that drive return. Some of the common results that we see for our clients at We Are Charlotte include: 

• Reduced regrettable turnover by engaging early with your most valuable talent and knowing what motivates them
• Uplift in employee engagement and retention indicator scores
• Enhanced ROI on the investments you make in HR systems and tools, by ensuring they're optimised for use and relevant

To put this in context: if you have 30 employees with an average salary of $90,000 and annual turnover of 16% (the national average), you're losing 4.8 employees per year. If the cost of replacing each one is estimated at $45,000 (50% of their salary) that's $216,000 in hidden turnover costs annually.

If good HR support helps you reduce that turnover to 10% of your workforce overall, you're saving $81,000 per year. Suddenly, paying $5,000/month for expert guidance on this as well as other areas of HR looks like a very good investment.

Comparing costs: Internal hire vs. HR consultant

For many growing businesses, the decision about HR support includes weighing up in-house versus external HR support. It’s a valid comparison, with many considerations. From a cost point of view alone, the numbers are often in favour of external support until your business reaches a particular size. The following helps illustrate this.

A full-time HR manager in Australia typically costs:

• Base salary: $90,000-$140,000
• Superannuation: 12%
• Payroll tax: Range from 4-6+% depending on state (if over threshold)
• Recruitment costs: $8,000-$15,000
• Onboarding time: 3-6 months
• Total first-year cost: $110,000-$180,000

For that same budget, HR consulting support might give you:

• Senior-level strategic guidance (15+ years experience)
• Access to multiple specialists and hands-on support (IR, systems, culture)
• No recruitment risk or onboarding time
• Flexibility to scale up or down as needs change 
• Immediate access to established systems and processes
• No on-going costs

From a purely financial point of view, the breakeven point is typically around 100-150 employees. Below that, most businesses get better value from external support. Above it, you will likely need internal capacity, often with external support for surge capacity and specialised projects.

Compliance 101: what HR consulting firms should help you avoid

One of the most valuable things HR consultants bring is their knowledge of Australian workplace law. This isn't necessarily exciting work, but the cost of getting it wrong can be high.

Australian Workplace Law basics

Every Australian business with employees must comply with legislation such as:

• The Fair Work Act 2009
• Applicable Modern Awards (there are 120+)
• National Employment Standards (NES)
• Workplace Health and Safety laws
• Anti-discrimination legislation
• Privacy laws

From certainty around what specific parts of legislation apply to your business to employment contract compliance (and much, much more), HR consultants add immediate value here. Here's what they should help you establish or review:

Employment contracts and documentation

• Written employment contracts that reference the correct Modern Award and capture state-based variations in legislation
• Job descriptions accurately reflecting roles and responsibilities
• New starter packs containing all necessary legal documents
• Compliant record-keeping 

Pay and leave

• Applicable pay rates
• Accurate calculation of leave entitlements
• Proper overtime and penalty rates
• Superannuation paid on time 

Policies and procedures

• Workplace Health and Safety procedures
• Anti-bullying and harassment policy
• Psychosocial hazards (new but important legislation)
• Performance management process
• Termination procedures that comply with Fair Work requirements

What’s at stake

Compliance breaches can cause serious consequences. And when you’re responsible for HR but you’re not an HR professional, it’s difficult to keep up with your obligations.

One of the more recent Australian workplace law changes with high-stakes consequences is criminalisation of wage theft, which means intentional underpayment can result in criminal prosecution, with penalties up to $7.8 million for companies and 10 years imprisonment for individuals. The difference between "honest mistake" and "intentional" often comes down to whether you can demonstrate reasonable steps toward compliance, which is where documented HR processes and expert advice can be important.

Right to disconnect laws allow employees to refuse contact outside working hours unless the refusal is unreasonable. For many business owners used to an "always-on" culture, this requires a significant mindset shift and clear communication frameworks.

Payday superannuation (effective from July 2026) will require super to be paid with each wage payment. This has major cash flow implications and requires payroll system updates.

Human resource consultants don’t just tell you these things exist. They help implement practical responses that protect you legally while being realistic about how your business operates.

Making the decision

With all this in mind, choosing between HR consultants should feel simpler (we hope!). Here are some additional reminders and tips.

Trust your instincts

Ultimately you're looking for someone you trust and can work with easily. Ask yourself:

• Can I imagine calling this person when I have a difficult situation and will I be confident in their advice?
• Do they make me feel capable rather than inadequate?
• Do they speak my language or am I constantly translating?
• Do I believe they genuinely care about my business succeeding?

Start small, test first

If you're unsure, start with a smaller defined project rather than a large one or a retainer. This might be:

• A compliance health check
• A workforce structure question
• Support with a challenging employee situation

This gives you a chance to see how they work and communicate, and whether their advice is practical for your business. 

Scoring system

If you find scoring systems useful, here’s a simple guide that might help. Rate each potential HR consultant or service 1-5 on each criterion, multiply by the weight and total the scores.

This won't make the decision for you, but it makes your thinking visible and helps you understand what's driving your preference.

• Fair Work and industrial relations expertise (25% weight)
• Experience with your type of business (20% weight)
• Communication style and cultural fit (20% weight)
• Practical, hands-on approach (15% weight)
• Transparent pricing and clear ROI (10% weight)
• Availability and responsiveness (10% weight)

What’s next? 

If you're sitting with that nagging feeling the People side of your business needs help, you’re probably right. Getting expert support doesn't have to mean huge budgets or complexity – it means finding someone who can meet you where you are and help you get where you need to go.

At We Are Charlotte, we’ve worked with more than 70 Australian businesses, supporting leaders to get the People side of things right and unlock the growth that enables. If you’d like to talk to our team about what that might look like for you, please get in touch. We’re always happy to listen and point you in the right direction.