HR is not a support function. It is a business function.
That distinction changes everything. It changes how HR professionals speak to leaders, how they approach difficult conversations, how they build credibility and how they advocate for people. It also changes the standard they should hold themselves to.
After 33 years in HR across Australia, Malaysia, the Netherlands and China, Tony Ting has developed a clear view of what makes HR effective. It is not about being the policy police. It is not about being everyone’s best friend. And it is certainly not about remaining neutral when something important needs to be said.
For Tony, strong HR comes down to commercial acumen, professional courage, perpetual curiosity and a genuine understanding that work has a profound effect on people’s lives.
From Architecture to HR: Looking After the People Behind the Work
Tony’s career did not begin in HR. It began in architecture, at a time when drafting meant long rulers, pencils, paper and hours leaning over a drawing table. Architecture involved designing buildings and articulating ideas, but it also exposed a fundamental issue: the people producing the best work were not always being looked after.
When people are physically uncomfortable, exhausted or treated like machines, their minds cannot focus on creating their best work. That insight led Tony away from building design and towards people.
The principle has stayed consistent throughout his career. Most people spend a significant portion of their waking lives at work. Whether they feel valued, safe, challenged, visible and supported has a direct impact on the quality of their lives.
HR done well can change the trajectory of a person’s career. It can help retain talented people who may otherwise leave because they feel unnoticed. It can create a culture where people want to contribute. Most importantly, it can make someone feel seen.
A free breakfast at a recruitment workshop may have helped start Tony’s move into HR, but the deeper reason was always clear: he wanted to be in the room where decisions affecting people could be improved.
Global Experience Builds Better HR Judgement
Working internationally gave Tony a perspective that cannot be gained through theory alone. His overseas roles began in the oil and gas industry with Shell, taking him from Australia to Malaysia and then the Netherlands, with further experience across Asia.
Every location reshaped his understanding of people, leadership and workplace culture.
- Malaysia reinforced the importance of relationships, respect and the foundations of trust.
- The Netherlands demonstrated that directness and structure are not the opposite of empathy.
- China and the broader Far East revealed the scale, speed and cultural nuance that can quickly challenge a conventional Western HR playbook.
- Australia brought those lessons together in a diverse and constantly evolving workplace environment.
One of the biggest lessons was that getting comfortable often requires becoming uncomfortable first. Tony was born and raised in Australia, yet when he arrived in Malaysia, local colleagues experienced his communication style as comparatively brash. He had to learn that being respectful in one context may be interpreted very differently in another.
That is why overseas experience remains such valuable career development. It teaches people to listen before assuming, adapt before imposing and recognise that a familiar approach may not work everywhere.
For HR professionals, the most useful career moments are often the ones that feel beyond their depth. A new country, an unfamiliar crisis, a different industry or a challenging leader can all become the source of deeper professional judgement.
Commercial Acumen in HR Is the Essential Starting Point
The primary keyphrase here is simple: commercial acumen in HR.
Without it, HR risks becoming administration with good intentions. With it, HR can become a credible and strategic business partner.
Business literacy means understanding how the organisation operates, what it is trying to achieve and what keeps its leaders awake at night. In a commercial organisation, that includes understanding the profit and loss statement, the drivers of revenue, cost pressures and operational priorities. In a not for profit, it may mean understanding member growth, funding, service delivery or mission impact.
HR professionals need to speak the language of the business, not just the language of HR.
When an HR leader understands the commercial context, they are better equipped to explain why workforce planning matters, why salary budgets have consequences, why retention is a business issue and why culture cannot be separated from performance.
This does not mean HR should become less human. It means HR can make a stronger case for people because it understands the whole organisation.
For a related discussion on aligning people development with commercial outcomes, explore HR and AI strategy for business value.
Being Respected Matters More Than Being Liked
One of the harder truths in HR is that being liked and being respected are not the same thing.
People and Culture professionals cannot always be everyone’s best friend. Their role sometimes requires delivering feedback that is uncomfortable, challenging a poor decision or explaining a reality that someone does not want to hear.
That does not require harshness. It requires clarity, evidence and care.
Tony’s experience managing redundancies during the oil crisis of the late 1990s illustrates this. At just 27 years old, he was responsible for speaking with employees who had worked at the company longer than he had been alive. There was no way to make the situation pleasant, but there was a way to approach it properly.
The process involved being factual about the business circumstances, explaining what would happen, setting out the support available and following up after employees had time to absorb the news. A person receiving difficult news may not process it fully in the moment. Returning to the conversation after 48 hours can provide the space to discuss practical concerns, family pressures and next steps.
Each person will react differently. There is no perfect script. But honesty, preparation and humanity matter.
Australian employers and HR teams managing workplace change can also refer to the Fair Work Ombudsman’s redundancy guidance for official information about redundancy obligations and processes.
HR Cannot Hide Behind Neutrality
The belief that HR must always be neutral is one Tony strongly rejects.
Neutrality can sound professional, but when something is genuinely unfair or harmful, silence is not neutral. It can become complicity.
HR is not merely there to referee. It is there to advocate for fairness, people and the long term health of the organisation. Sometimes that means taking a position that is uncomfortable. Sometimes it means challenging the business itself.
This is where HR earns its place as a strategic voice. Every time an HR professional stays silent simply to protect their seat, avoid conflict or keep someone comfortable, the value of the function is weakened.
Having a voice does not mean being combative. It means being willing to say what others will not, while still being informed, constructive and focused on outcomes.
HR Engage conversations on workplace culture and HR leadership offer further perspectives on the practical challenges facing People and Culture leaders.
AI at Work Requires More Than Enthusiasm
Artificial intelligence is one of the biggest workplace challenges facing HR, but the conversation needs more substance than simply declaring someone the company AI expert because they are young, tech savvy or familiar with ChatGPT.
AI is not just a tool for drafting emails. It is part of a wider shift in processes, systems, decision-making and job design. Used poorly, it can produce generic communication, weaken human judgement and create unnecessary anxiety. Used thoughtfully, it may support efficiency and help teams focus on more meaningful work.
The key question for HR is not whether every new AI platform should be embraced. The more important question is: what does this mean for people?
Leaders cannot automate their way out of a culture problem. People still experience the culture. People still notice whether decisions are fair. People still need context, communication and a human conversation when change affects their work.
HR’s responsibility is to help leaders manage expectations honestly. Some employees may fear that AI will immediately remove their role. Others may overestimate their expertise. Both groups need grounded guidance, development and an understanding of where human judgement remains essential.
Stay Curious, Make Mistakes and Keep Learning
There is pressure on HR professionals to be perfect. In reality, mistakes will happen throughout a career. The goal is not perfection. The goal is to learn, avoid repeating the same errors and become better equipped for the next unfamiliar challenge.
Curiosity is central to that process. Go to conferences. Read widely. Travel where possible. Work in industries that stretch existing assumptions. Speak with people outside HR, including people in areas such as data, sales, real estate, insolvency or technology.
Those conversations reduce the risk of an echo chamber. They help HR professionals see what is happening beyond their immediate discipline and recognise which issues genuinely matter to the broader business community.
Curiosity also makes networking more interesting. A conversation might begin with organisational change and shift to psychology, coding, food or the economy. The point is not to become an expert in every topic. The point is to remain open enough to learn.
The Human Feeling Is What Remains
Jonathan Mamaril, host of the HR Engage Podcast and Director of Employment Law at South Geldard Lawyers, brings a practical legal and workplace perspective to these conversations. His discussion with Tony highlights an enduring truth for HR leaders: policies, processes and systems matter, but people remember how a workplace interaction made them feel.
Tony’s advice for HR professionals is direct. Understand the business. Be willing to have the difficult conversation. Stay curious. Get uncomfortable. Do not confuse silence with professionalism.
At the end of every performance conversation, workplace investigation, redundancy process, coaching discussion or change announcement, the question remains the same: how did the person feel when they walked out of the room?
That is where HR has its greatest responsibility, and its greatest opportunity.
