Donna
Wrigglesworth

WHO I HELP

SMEs. Start-ups. High growth, investor-backed businesses.

HOW I HELP

Providing commercial, pragmatic, and effective HR advice and practical support. Acting as clients’ HR department and providing support on a variety of different things. Identifying ways to improve clients’ HR functions.

SECTORS/SUPPORT

All sectors, with a particular focus on Technical, Life Sciences, and Technology.

“WE OFFER A LOT MORE TO OUR CLIENTS THAN REACTIVE HR SUPPORT.”

Donna Wrigglesworth is HR & Employment Law Senior Manager. Donna works with various clients to provide them with HR support on a strategic and operational level which is tailored to her clients. She assists with both proactive and reactive support and continually reviews her clients’ requirements to ensure they are getting the support they need. She carries out a variety of different client work and acts as her client’s HR department, being a point of contact for the client, the management team and their employees.

Donna has extensive experience of both the creation and delivery of the development in HR strategy, driving the people agenda and ensuring effective resourcing strategies are in place within SME and corporate organisations. She has significant experience of developing people and teams at all levels within an organisation, through both talent management and succession planning processes. Donna has been responsible for the planning and implementation of several high-level restructures within both SME and corporate environments. She has also taken the lead in the coordination and implementation of TUPE transfers for large corporate businesses as well as the third sector.

Donna has expertise in advising, coaching, and supporting leadership teams in all areas in HR, ranging from the design and implementation of change programmes, to providing advice and guidance on complex employee relations activities to Employment Law.

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS

“For me, the ideal relationship with a client is pragmatic, fun, engaging and rewarding. It is when they know they can rely on you, as they would an in-house HR Manager and they consider you to be part of their team, rather than an external resource. I like to spend time with my clients on-site, when possible, which I find helps build these relationships. Some of my clients work primarily remotely, so we have been able to keep in touch via video calls and through being part of various internal Teams channels and we have regular catch-ups to ensure I am able to support them as needed. For many of my clients, I am also visible to employees, and they also have my contact details, as they would if the HR team was in-house.”

DEVELOPING TALENT

“Clients know that they can trust me with a wide range of everyday HR needs as well as helping them to plan for the future. I provide them with the essential space they need to step back and reflect on how they want to grow and how they can best retain, recruit and develop talented people. My clients expect that I will provide them with professional advice to ensure compliance with employment legislation, whilst going beyond this to adopt a best practice approach, which focuses on employee engagement. It is important that they know that they can rely on me, and that the advice given is in their best interest, as well as that of their employees.”

GROWTH JOURNEYS

“Seeing clients grow from start-ups to larger businesses has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have had in my role. To see how I have supported them through their entire growth journey and every stage. Working with different clients is what I enjoy and a part of my role that I love. When you are working on a consultancy basis with different clients and have competing priorities, it is really important to be organised, to ensure that all clients are getting the level of support needed.”

GOING BEYOND LEGISLATION REQUIREMENTS

“It is important to understand that certain legislation requirements need to be adhered to and I will always ensure my clients are in line with this. However, with my clients, I want to go beyond this, and it is important to consider what approaches we can take that are innovative and exciting and truly engage employees and improve the HR function. HR can often be seen as bureaucratic and sticking to a process, but it is much more than that and I reflect that in my approach with my clients.”

CHANGING APPROACHES ACCORDINGLY

“I like to take both a virtual and hands-on approach and I tend to reflect on the set-up my client has. For many of my clients, a face-to-face presence is important to create visibility for all employees and I genuinely enjoy going out and visiting my clients where possible. For others, they are often communicating virtually, or may have global teams where meeting face to face would not be possible, so I ensure to adopt my approach accordingly.”

ORGANISATION

“Working with different clients is what I enjoy and a part of my role that I love. When you are working on a consultancy basis with different clients and have competing priorities, it is really important to be organised, to ensure that all clients are getting the level of support needed.”

TAKING ON NEW CHALLENGES

“I really enjoy working with AAB People and I am looking forward to continuing to work and progress with AAB People and AAB, taking on new challenges and clients. As we continue to take on new clients and grow as a team, it is a really exciting opportunity for us to get involved in different sectors and grow our client base. Being part of AAB had increased the offering to our clients and allows us to improve the services offered.”

DEVELOPING RELATIONSHIPS

“I believe my strengths are in working with clients and developing strong relationships with them, through understanding their business and what they require from HR support. I have always worked in consultancy with different clients, so I understand how to adapt my approach to fit my clients’ needs. At AAB People we offer a lot more to our clients than reactive HR support and work with our clients to proactively support their people function, which is something I really enjoy.”

FEEDBACK

“I am proud to say that I received the following quotes in my feedback from a client:

‘Our relationship has evolved as the company has matured. I see a huge benefit in the role that Donna plays as our trusted adviser, sounding board, our coach and our mentor on all HR, people management and professional development topics.’

‘Donna clearly cares about our people and how we nurture them. We feel that AAB People are part of us. They want to make a difference. They add value constantly, not only with recruitment, onboarding and professional development but also by acting as a proactive, bigger-picture adviser on company culture. The company-wide values and purpose project was fantastic.'”

ENGAGEMENT & SUPPORT

“I think HR is sometimes seen in a negative light. Often if HR are present, there is a belief that employees should be worried about their jobs. I really dislike this perception of HR and it’s not the case, HR should be about developing, and engaging employees and we are there as a support to both employees and management. There are a lot of positive things about HR that don’t always come across, although I think this is beginning to change.”