Vicky
Madigan

Who I help

SMEs. Large International Corporates.

How I help

Supporting clients by providing a high-quality outsourced HR service.

“I want my clients to think of my services & support as an extension of their team.”

Vicky Madigan is a HR Consultant based in our Aberdeen office. She supports a diverse portfolio of clients with HR advice. Vicky has a wealth of experience in internal HR support and uses this knowledge to support clients to optimise their everyday HR processes.

Specifically, it’s her experience in building and implementing an HR department that enables her to set her clients up for success. She’s able to use her own experience to perform gap analysis, establish policies and procedures and ensure day-to-day employee relations are run smoothly and are unproblematic.

Outsourced HR that doesn’t feel outsourced

“I want my clients to think of my services and support as an extension of their team. That all starts with the ability to have open and honest dialogue. I can only help them and support them when I know the full story and have all the relevant information. That can be difficult because, for a lot of people, HR is ‘the enemy’ and they don’t want to tell you things because they see you as a snitch. The trust is the opposite. I’m there to provide support and guide them. So, I make it my mission to have good communication with clients and to have honest and transparent conversations so they’re able to build that trust in me.”

Delivering results that maintain relationships

“Working in HR, there’s no shortage of things that can go wrong and often we’ll have complex employee relations situations that crop up. It’s so important to me that these are handled as quickly and efficiently as possible. One of the most satisfying aspects of my role is when we come to the end of one of these situations and the result is beneficial to the company but also retains the relationship between the employer & employee. Having a hand in that is so satisfying.

Circle of knowledge sharing

“At AAB People we have such a depth of knowledge and experience working across the UK and Ireland. This means that across our team there’s usually someone that has experience in a situation I might be dealing with.

This is amazing because it means we can share knowledge. It doesn’t matter that we’re not always physically in the same office- we’re able to send out a quick team message or jump on a call and there are people at the end of that who are ready to help and bounce ideas off. Having that support is invaluable and I know that I would do the same if someone needed help from me. This helps us to deliver a high-quality service to our clients.”

Best scenario outcomes

“One of the greatest challenges I face is not getting emotionally attached to situations. By their nature, there are lots of occurrences that you feel empathy for. However, it’s so important that I take the view of the business and not the emotional side of things. That can be easier said than done sometimes but my aim is always to reach the best outcome for everyone involved, not taking sides, and just aiming for the best-case scenario”.

Not forgetting the Human in HR

“With HR- there’s a fine balance that exists between face-to-face and virtual. Transactional things work perfectly through teams. It means you’re not taking up time in the client’s day and means things that can be dealt with quickly and effectively as they can be. Technology has removed barriers for us and gives us an ease of communication that we didn’t have before.

There are, however, some HR employee relations things that face-to-face works better for. Virtual cannot replace the need to have people in a room so you can show empathy and give them someone to talk to. A great example would be a return to work after a long-term absence. I love that I’m able to physically be in the room when it’s required. Our clients appreciate that we’re able to give them a balance of both.”