Almost ready to dive in?

How does it work? What’s your Consulting process?

It all begins with a conversation … as for what happens next well, I don’t go for one-size-fits-all* so we’ll decide together and agree next steps on a basis that matches your needs, timeline etc. That said, for a Consulting assignment, it often it looks like this:

• Initial chat (no charge of course) to find out what your challenges are, what you think you need help with, to see how the chemistry is between us and to figure out whether and how I can help.

• From there, a longer Discovery meeting, either face-to-face or video conference, to better understand your needs and scope out the project. This could just be with you or may very well include other key players from your organisation.

• Once we have a good idea of the scope, we can build a plan, schedule for further meetings, expected outcomes and a timeline.

• As we progress towards the implementation phase I will help you to identify the skills required to carry through the plan, and if you don’t currently have the right resource available, I can help you to either recruit the skills you need, or in some cases, join you on an interim basis if that’s the best solution.

*Don’t misunderstand me, I’m all for systems, processes, models, roadmaps, analysis and data…at the right time in the right places these will be central to the solutions we develop together.

What about your Coaching process?

Again - first off, a chat over a (virtual) coffee- you can tell me about you, your experiences, challenges, strengths, weaknesses and aspirations. From there we can agree a coaching plan. Do you just need a couple of hours asap to talk through and resolve a specific issue, or a more structured, longer term coaching package to support you over the next weeks and months…we’ll figure it out together & build a plan.

What kinds of Coaching do you do?

I’m not an expert in everything, but one area I love, and where I know from experience that I can really help people develop, is in Team Management and Leadership. My passion for this comes from my lived experience & well documented fact that the one single factor most impacting employee engagement, happiness, well being, productivity and attrition is their manager & the leaders of the organisation.

I believe in the power of great managers & leaders and I am passionate about helping people to become one. I am lucky enough to have had opportunities experience it myself and to have driven these transformations for my teams.

If you would like to talk about how to increase engagement, encourage innovation, drive focus, improve performance, reduce attrition & build a great culture within your team or organisation, please please book a call with me - I would truly love to help.

If you need something different - reach out to me anyway - I may know someone who can help.

How much does it cost?

There is some indicative pricing for simple projects here but I am happy to work out a model that works depending on the requirements, duration, project scope, your resources, stage of your business’ development & funding etc. I also offer a subscription based model that allows you to sign up for x hours per week, month or year if you need more ongoing support.

Don’t worry - we’ll figure something out.

Have you been doing this long?

Yes and no.

I’ve been working in HR/People related roles for almost 25 years.

Over the first 5-10 years of my career, as you’d expect, I focussed on the delivery of my core role which was in Recruiting and Talent Acquisition, where I became an expert in the field across all modes of hiring (permanent, contractor & temporary); at all levels (Grad/entry level right through to C-suite); and; globally (UK initially, then EMEA, APAC and later N. America) .

Soon I started to manage teams - initially taking a “command and control” approach, pretty quickly learning that being a Coach & Mentor worked better for all concerned :-) …then finally moving into People Team/HR leadership roles, still focussed on TA but more and more, as I was trusted with more seniority, scope and scale I had opportunities to be part of building, consulting & leading on wider People Strategy & projects.

All though my career (which was mostly spent in Recruitment Process Outsourcing) I was part Consultant to my clients, part Recruitment Lead for the organisation and part Manager/Leader for my team. I carried that approach through as I flipped to work in-house for companies like Google and Agoda. Always looking to understand “why” and ask, and answer, the question “how can I help”.

I’ve built teams from scratch, transformed existing (failing) teams and managed downsizing too (ask me about that - once of my proudest leadership moments came during a downsizing exercise).

I have been managed by the best & worst, been the best and worst manager, asked for (& sometimes received without asking) honest feedback and always tried to act upon it to grow to be a little better every day.

I have managed inexperienced managers and (they told have me) helped them to transform into confident coaches; and gently mentored, influenced or led great (and initially not so great) experienced managers to become even better.

I survived the GFC & I’ve also built my own startup so I understand what that feels like! Pass the whisky.

All of these experiences (some more comfortable than others) gave me opportunities to learn be the very best I could be for my team, my organisation and myself. People Consulting Guru is all about my passion to share this, to empower growth in individuals so that they can fulfil their goals and, in turn, those of their team or organisation.

So to answer the FAQ, yes & no:
Yes - I’ve been doing it for many years.
No - This is a brand new company (founded in mid 2020) and a new journey for me going it alone, but I have a map, compass and the necessary survival skills - I gathered those over the last 25 years - will you be my next destination?

Do you have a different question?

Ask it here - I’ll be sure to answer you & if it’s a good one I’ll add it to the FAQ!