Katie
Armstrong

WHO I HELP

Start-ups. SMEs. Large organisations. Business owners and directors. Charities.

HOW I HELP

Building line management capability. Planning and managing talent support an organisation. Improving HR functions. Employee relations management. Employment law compliance. Optimising HR processes. HR framework implementation. Pre-employment checks. Salary Benchmarking & Reports. Recruitment and onboarding. Investigations, Panel and Appeals in disciplinary and grievances. Restructure and redundancies.

SECTORS/SUPPORT

Family Business. Not for Profit. Construction & Property. Business Services. Food & Drink. Leisure, Retail & Hospitality. Technology. Public Sector.

“CLIENTS EXPECT HONESTY & A FRIENDLY FACE FROM ME.”

Katie Armstrong is an HR Consultant within AAB People – a role in which she takes ownership of projects and looks after all employee relations and employment matters such as disciplinaries, investigations, restructures and various matters in the employment life cycle.

Working with clients’ internal teams, Katie’s areas of responsibility cover a vast range of matters. She provides expert advice to clients on all employee relations matters, from small issues to large and complex cases regarding legal compliance.

BLENDING THE PERSONAL & PROFESSIONAL

“In my opinion, the ideal relationship with a client would be one that is professional, and where they know they can come to me at any time. It’s important for the relationship to remain honest, whether things are getting tough or when things are going well. I like clients to be very clear with me about what exactly it is they want, and I ensure that I’m very clear with them how we do it and how we do it right. Honesty and transparency are probably the most important things to me when it comes to an ideal client relationship.

I also want my relationships with clients to be friendly! I have really positive relationships with clients; we get on really well. Often, there’s a personal relationship that goes along with our professional relationship.”

SPEEDY COMMUNICATION

“Clients expect a friendly face from me, but they also expect me to be honest with them, and realistic about what is achievable. They also know I’ll always get back to them within a good time frame, particularly if it’s regarding a stressful situation. Ultimately, my role is to understand and acknowledge their situation and find the right solution for them.”

GETTING TO KNOW MY CLIENTS

“I really appreciate the varied nature of my work, as well as the relationships I build with clients. Each of my clients are different, with different needs. I enjoy getting to know my clients and working with them to find out what’s best for them. A lot of my clients are family-run businesses, where the impact on them when things don’t go to plan is considerable, so it’s very satisfying to be able to help fix their problems and take away that stress as much as I can.”

BEING PART OF A FRIENDLY & SUPPORTIVE TEAM

“In terms of working with colleagues, we’re very close! Everyone on the team is very friendly and supportive, so I know I can go to them about anything, and vice versa. We always pick up the phone to each other, and we always share our expertise which helps everyone to develop their professional knowledge.”

A BLEND OF COMMUNICATION METHODS

“I appreciate the virtual methods of communication for their speed and efficiency, and for allowing me some time to process whatever information is being shared. But the social side of client relationships is important too, which face-to-face meetings help with. So, I like a blend of different kinds of communication if possible, but it depends on how the client prefers to operate.”

STAYING CALM & HANDLING THINGS COMMERCIALLY

“One of the main challenges in my field of work is that it can be difficult to handle complex situations sometimes. For example, disciplinaries and grievances are very time-consuming, complex, and can be very emotionally draining situations for the people involved and the client. I know that these situations can be challenging and sometimes quite damaging for people on all sides of the issue.

So, in terms of how I respond, it’s about being as professional and commercial as possible. It’s not always possible to make everyone happy in these complex processes, but I aim to be calm, realistic, and communicate in the most thoughtful way possible. I will always try do the right thing and try to make sure that everybody sees the different sides and the benefits of the situation. It’s usually best to try and handle things commercially, and get the situation wrapped up quickly, to avoid it becoming prolonged and painful.”

OPPORTUNITY FOR GROWTH

“One of the great things about AAB People is that there’s opportunities – and a really clear pathway – for growth. Working at AAB People offers plenty of exposure to different aspects of the role, and a wide range of experience to help develop knowledge and expertise.”