This is the story of how an empowered leader changed the direction of the business whilst his predecessor was still navigating from the back seat. Carl was the Managing Director in a food production business. The previous MD was the Chairman and still very much involved in day-to-day operations. The workforce of 750 people was […]

Employee engagement is a hot topic in HR learning and development so you’ll find lots of great tools and resources that will help you identify how engaged your workforce are and what to do if they are not.  But what about you, the business owner? Are you ‘engaged’? I acknowledge the struggle of hard-working leaders […]

You’re in the battlefield with a member of staff. You don’t how it escalated so quickly or what to do next to avoid making matters worse. They call in sick and you breathe a sigh of relief that you don’t have to face them at work for a while. But the issue doesn’t go away. […]

Being an employer is a huge responsibility. You are expected to know what you’re doing, even though your employees are unique and don’t come with their own manuals on how to manage them effectively. If you keep ‘winging’ people management, you’ll get away with that strategy some of the time, but when it fails you, […]

This is the story of the past 7 years of my working life. The time feels right to share it and draw a line in the sand. It’s a 5-10 minute read so feel free to scroll on, but if you are interested, grab a brew and your favourite treat and read on my friends. […]

You may already have a HR business partner or employment lawyer on speed dial, but are there gaps in their knowledge, advice and experience that mean you need the next level of support? Do you have an unmanageable employee relations issue that looks like it is going to blow? Are your internal resources too bogged […]

I ended a relationship with one of my clients today. It felt awful. I didn’t want to do it, but it was the right thing to do; we were not the right fit for each other. Have you ever had that feeling that someone is not right for your business, but you carry on the […]

You’ve got an issue with someone in your business that you really do want to deal with, in fact, you have wanted to do something about it for years but have avoided doing so. How much have you paid that employee since the issue arose? How many sleepless nights have you endured? How many days […]

“Great advice, thanks”. “But we’re not going to follow it” is what they should have added. ONE WEEK LATER “We’ve had a letter from a solicitor asking for £50k for that employee we sacked.” After 20 years of being an employment lawyer, I’ve seen my fair share of workplace disputes and can usually spot the […]

Receiving a grievance out of the blue, or a call from ACAS, an appeal or a solicitor’s letter may be viewed cynically, particularly when it’s received in response to a challenge to an employee’s performance or behaviour. But before you get ready for battle with your staff, take a moment to reflect on why your […]