As the 2019 SEEK Recruitment Consultant of the Year and the Enterprise Sales Manager for the Australian digital recruitment platform Expert360, Cameron Norton has a number of insights for business owners and those seeking work in these difficult times.️
Cameron understands how to scale a business and what it is like working in a mature start up that is now transitioning into an exciting and well backed venture. With broad experience in both public and private sectors, Cameron brings a unique approach to connecting career opportunities, organisations and individuals.
Additionally, Cameron was seeking a job himself during the Global Financial Crisis and empathises with the pain of finding a job in difficult times.
In this episode Cameron discusses how Expert360 can help business survive and grow in measured and affordable ways. As a bonus he provides insight into how those currently without work can return to the workforce.
Transcript
Murray Smith: Cameron Norton, welcome to Gripping Business Tales.
Cameron Norton: Hi Murray. Good to be on today.
Murray Smith: Thanks for coming on. Look, in all our interviews and podcasts, we always start with two questions that we like to use here. They are: can you give me one personal success and one professional success you’ve had recently?
Cameron Norton: Okay. So, a personal success for my wife and me would be purchasing a new property late last year. We bought our second property. We’re a fairly young couple—we’re both 33 years old—so getting a property that will serve us long-term was a real achievement. It’s taken a lot of hard work to get to the point where we could do it from a strong financial base.
Being in isolation thanks to COVID-19, it’s actually been a real blessing to have a backyard to walk around in. I’ve still been getting almost 10,000 steps a day just from being on calls and pacing the backyard, so I’m very thankful we secured that property when we did.
A professional success for me was, again in late 2019, being awarded the 2019 Consultant of the Year. That was the culmination of many years of hard work, late nights, and effort. It was one of those highlight reel moments people get to see externally, but those closer to me know how much went into getting to that point—not just to be a finalist, but to actually win it.
Murray Smith: Yeah, it’s funny, isn’t it? Everyone’s the overnight success that took 10 years to get there.
Cameron Norton: Yeah—an overnight success because I worked overnight many times!
Murray Smith: Exactly. Now, part of the reason I brought you onto Gripping Business Tales is that a lot of our listeners are either running on EOS—the Entrepreneurial Operating System—or considering it. One issue that often comes up, especially in the current isolation context, is understanding how businesses can look at hiring differently—thinking about roles in an untraditional way. So could you explain a bit about your role now, who you work for, and what that looks like?
Cameron Norton: Yeah, sure. I might start with a bit of backstory if that’s okay.
I grew up in country Victoria, completed a Bachelor of Business with a focus on HR and marketing, and did my university studies up in the country before coming down to Melbourne to do my Honours year, specialising in organisational learning.
This was maybe six to twelve months before the GFC hit. So coming out as a graduate during that period was pretty tough. I had to leverage a small network to find a role up in Queensland. After returning to Victoria with some experience on my résumé, I worked in a few roles before joining the Victorian Public Service graduate program—a 12-month rotation across three large state government departments.
I finished up working with the Department of Health and Human Services—back then, it was still called the Department of Human Services—in generalist HR roles including HR services, organisational development, change management, and workplace culture. I was really fortunate to get a broad view of how large workforces function.
After five years in the public sector, I made a deliberate decision to move into the private sector—initially looking for a role in organisational development, which had been my interest. I ended up joining a consulting firm in the executive recruitment team instead. That’s where my recruitment journey really started.
After a couple of years, that role was made redundant. But a former director from that firm had moved to another business—Davidson—and brought me across. At the time, Davidson’s Melbourne business was still small, but we scaled quickly. By the time I left in late 2019, we were recognised as one of the market leaders in our sector.
So that was five years in the public sector and six years in the private sector, in both traditional recruitment and consulting firms.
Now, I’m with Expert360—a technology-based company, essentially a startup. It’s an Australian business. I moved across because I could see where the world was heading: technology, agility, and access to talent over ownership of it.
Expert360 provides a platform for businesses undergoing change or launching new projects, helping them fulfil talent needs. We offer on-demand talent. Our process allows us to match professionals with business needs faster than traditional models.
Murray Smith: Yeah, so it’s interesting—you talk about flexibility in getting things done. Traditionally, businesses think “I need to hire someone,” and the first thing that comes to mind is a full-time role. What’s your view on that?
Cameron Norton: It’s a very traditional mindset. We’ve been conditioned to think that way—taught that full-time work is the ideal. And it still is for many people, but there’s another way to look at it.
The best way I’ve explained it to friends and family is this: think about your home. You don’t pay a plumber to be on call every day just in case the hot water fails. When it fails, you call them, they fix it, and they’re gone. You pay for the service when you need it.
It’s the same concept with building a team or hiring professionals. For example, let’s say you need a website with online purchasing capability. Instead of learning to do it yourself—costing you time, money, and lost opportunity—you bring in an expert to deliver it efficiently.
Murray Smith: That’s a really interesting concept. What we’re really talking about is a portfolio model for these professionals—people who might be available on your platform to help businesses as needed. Like businesses that say, “We don’t have a full-time marketing person and we’re not big enough to justify one.” Expert360 allows them to “turn the tap on and off” as needed.
So if I called you up and said, “I need a marketing person,” what would happen from there?
Cameron Norton: From a talent engagement perspective, clients can log onto our platform at expert360.com and register as someone seeking talent. There are preloaded templates to help you define what you need—and if you don’t know, that’s okay. That’s where I and others on our team add value.
Once the brief is defined, it’s submitted to our technology platform. Our algorithm matches it to experts in our community—much faster than manually searching through contacts.
We offer two models: a self-service model where you manage the process entirely, including interviews, contracts, and payments; and a supported model where we step in to help, especially if the request is niche.
Our aim is to make it easy for clients to engage talent, and for professionals to focus on what they do best, without getting bogged down in admin.
Murray Smith: And in terms of industries, what areas do your experts cover?
Cameron Norton: It’s quite broad. We started with strategic consulting—business strategy, transformation, and digital. We’ve since expanded into project management, marketing and sales, accounting, finance, technology, HR, and customer strategy. If we don’t already have someone in a niche area, we’ll find them.
Murray Smith: That sounds comprehensive. You mentioned earlier that Expert360 is a startup. Tell us about your experience there, and what you enjoy about working in a more entrepreneurial environment.
Cameron Norton: I was brought into Expert360 because of my experience scaling Davidson from a small operation to a market leader. The startup world is different—it’s about refining your offer based on market needs, and scaling from there.
Expert360 is seven years old now. Like any startup, it’s taken time to find its place. In 2020, the focus was strong growth, but COVID has put that on pause. Still, we’re well-positioned to help clients quickly scale up once the recovery begins.
Murray Smith: You mentioned you’ve experienced redundancy and the GFC. That’s something many Australians can relate to now. What advice would you give to people who’ve lost work or are feeling uncertain?
Cameron Norton: My advice is simple—and you know I like to keep things simple, Murray. One principle I follow is: E + R = O. Event + Response = Outcome.
You can’t change the event—COVID-19, a redundancy, reduced hours—that’s outside your control. But your response is within your control, and it’s what determines the outcome.
That mindset has helped me through a lot. Yes, you still go through the emotions. But if you can refocus and act, you regain a sense of agency. Mindset is everything.
Another quote I heard recently is: There are three types of people—those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened. Choose which one you want to be. I always try to be the first.
Murray Smith: That’s fantastic advice, Cameron. I’m sure many listeners would want to connect—whether they’re a business needing help, or a contractor wanting to join the platform. How can they get in touch?
Cameron Norton: The best way is to connect with me on LinkedIn—I post content there regularly that I hope adds value. My mobile is 0400 913 843, and you can also email me via my LinkedIn profile.
Now’s a great time to be thinking strategically about what talent you’ll need once things pick up again—better to plan ahead than scramble later. And for individuals who’ve been stood down or made redundant, please feel free to reach out. I always try to help where I can.
Murray Smith: Thanks, Cameron. Cameron’s contact details and a link to Expert360 will be in the episode notes. Cameron Norton, thanks again for joining Gripping Business Tales.
Cameron Norton: Thanks for having me, Murray. I look forward to catching up for a coffee once we’re on the other side of this.
Murray Smith: It’ll be good.