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AAB People / Sectors / Family Business / Page 4
Marine Products is one of the UK’s leading producers of luxury Scottish salmon. The company works with retailers, salmon farmers and third party customers to process their fish, while also supplying products under their own brand The Sùlaire Fish Co. The company was recently listed in The Sunday Times Fast Track 100, hailed as one of the fastest growing companies in the UK, and in the London Stock Exchange’s list of 1,000 Companies to Inspire Britain 2020.
The company has been a client of ours for some time, and were introduced to the AAB People HR team two years ago. People have always been at the heart of Marine’s ethos with 150 staff employed at the Glasgow site, but the company did not have a dedicated HR function.
The Managing Director felt they didn’t need a full time resource, but identified a need for the following HR support:
Working both on and off site for Marine Products, our HR support has allowed the company to meet a range of HR challenges during a significant period of change.
Managing Director, Mary Bisset said
“I was never quite sold on the merits of HR until I started working with AAB People. They converted my view around the value of the HR function – and have worked directly with me on a number of key HR projects which have fundamentally changed how we approach people management and which have positively impacted our business and critically our bottom line. ”
“The team at AAB People have expert HR knowledge, and a particularly pragmatic approach. They are all very personable which makes building a strong relationship easy. I would have no hesitation in recommending AAB People, and think their expertise would be beneficial to any business.”
Proud to support a diverse range of clients
Gryffe Valley Pubs is a family business and the owners are proud to run two beautifully renovated local bar restaurants – “Carriages” in Kilmacolm and the “Fox & Hounds” in Houston.
Both venues aim to deliver a high-quality drinking and dining experience for customers in a friendly and attractive environment. The venues are both local icons; metaphorically and literally at the heart of the villages they serve.
The owners had already worked with the AAB People team to prepare employment documentation such as an Employee Handbook and Contracts of Employment.
In 2021, they were looking for support to review Health & Safety and Fire Safety obligations. The Area Manager, Dale Shepherd, wanted expert help with completing the following for both venues:
Full audit of health & safety standards and practices Fire risk assessment Review and refresh of health & safety policy Ongoing competent person support
Initial audits and inspections were completed on both sites and follow up work then took place off site for both Carriages and Fox and Hounds. This enabled the AAB People Health & Safety team to develop a new health & safety policy and procedures to achieve a consistent approach across the two premises; review and refresh staff training with a particular focus on management responsibilities and ensure that the premises met the required standards for health & safety and fire safety.
Area Manager, Dale Shepherd said,
“I couldn’t be happier with the results of our health & safety review. Having worked with the AAB People’s HR team before, we knew they were excellent to deal with. We were delighted when our experience with the H&S team was just as positive. The advice we got, while undoubtedly compliant, was sensible and practical. Most importantly, we felt they were there to help us and not scare us.”
”The importance of health and wellbeing of our staff and customers is paramount and working with Lee Craig and her team provides significant peace of mind that we are doing the right thing. Based on our experience, I would recommend AAB People to any business looking for professional, sensible advice from people who are genuinely good to deal with!”
SMEs.
Health & Safety Policies & Procedures. Risk Assessments. Audit & Inspections. Contractor Accreditations. Training.
Across all sectors.
Lee Craig is the Service Lead for the Health & Safety team and manages the health and safety consultancy service working alongside her colleagues in the HR team.
Lee is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and has a NEBOSH National General Certificate, NEBOSH Fire Safety and Risk Certificate, and Post Graduate Certificate in Safety and Risk Management.
In her role, Lee enjoys getting to know clients and finding out about their business so that she can use her wide knowledge and experience to demystify health and safety, and give them practical and sensible support that works for their business.
“We aim to be part of the client’s team and build a relationship of trust and mutual respect. Clients trust us to give them practical, sensible advice and we trust them to keep us informed of things that are happening in the business, especially where there is a health and safety-related impact.
Navigating health and safety can be tricky, so I always strive to provide a friendly approachable service delivered in plain English that is relatable, practical, and reasonable and works for their business.
I also genuinely really enjoy learning about our clients’ businesses, every day is a learning day and the challenge of working out how to make health and safety compliance fit into their business model, culture, etc. is very rewarding.”
“Our role is to do the best job possible for our clients, they are the top priority, and we want to work in a solid partnership with them. Their successes become our successes and when things sometimes go wrong, we are there to help get things back on track. Put simply we care, and everything we do is in their best interests.
There is no greater satisfaction than knowing I have truly made a difference with my advice and support. One of the greatest compliments a client has paid me was telling me how much they appreciate me for making it so much easier than they thought it was going to be and that I had lifted a giant weight from their shoulders.”
“There’s a common misconception that health and safety is just about saying “No, you can’t do that” or delivered by grey men with clipboards who frown at everyone. But this is far from what health and safety truly is about. Health and safety is an enabler. It enables businesses and people to do amazing things, create, build, innovate, grow, challenge, explore and so much more! But at its heart, it’s about people, just like you and I, and keeping them safe, healthy and happy.”
“One of the greatest challenges in my profession is the ignorance of health and safety responsibilities – you’d be surprised at the number of businesses that fail to understand the depth or width of health and safety law in the UK. So as a professional, it is my primary responsibility to help business owners understand and navigate these challenges. Every journey with a client is one of education to help to demystify health and safety and support them to understand what they need to do and how.”
“I am very proud that our Health & Safety consultancy is totally bespoke to each client, not delivered by formula like a lot of the larger providers in the marketplace. The business continues to grow and I continue to learn so much. I am excited to continue that journey of growth, without compromising the quality and professionalism of what we do. AAB provides a platform for the growth of the business but also creates a fantastic career and professional development opportunity for our team.”
Fios Genomics provides bioinformatic data analysis services to pharma companies and academia for drug discovery, development and applied research. (Bioinformatics is the science of collecting and analysing complex biological data such as genetic codes.)
Founded in 2008 and based in Edinburgh, Fios is listed among the top bioinformatics providers, with a large client base in all life science areas. In the last six years alone, its 10-strong team has grown to 46, working with top pharma companies around the world.
Fios has a specialised team of bioinformaticians, statisticians and biologists based mainly in Edinburgh, AAB People has supported the company for over six years in all things HR, excluding recruitment. In the absence of internal HR expertise, Fios sought a long-term partner who could manage, develop and advise on all aspects of workplace life, employment practice and employee relations. The ongoing brief is wide-ranging general HR expertise, guidance and practical tools, from compliance and procedures to performance management, professional development and employee engagement.
A priority since 2022 has been to provide team training across ever-evolving areas relating to people management, such as company-wide diversity and inclusion awareness, to reflect and respect the changing nature of the workplace. Also vital in the post-pandemic landscape of hybrid and remote working has been the provision of training relating to a re-distributed workforce. Pre-2020, almost all Fios staff were based in Edinburgh. Now, most work remotely or within a hybrid arrangement, presenting fresh challenges for leadership, communication and performance management.
Consultant Donna ran training workshops for all 46 Fios employees, including management team training. They included performance management and appraisals guidance for new and established managers, where sessions were created for managers to learn how to manage processes relating to performance management and employee feedback.
Also vital was awareness training in several continually evolving areas: diversity and inclusion, the importance of emotional intelligence in a highly technical, analytical, often ‘black and white thinking’ environment, giving sensitive feedback and having difficult conversations, building resilience and the challenges and practicalities of working from home and here-to-stay hybrid working.
AAB People also provided employee relations guidance, featuring end-to-end process education on all aspects, from mediation, casework, performance management issues to annual leave, maternity leave, absence management, occupational health referrals and disciplinary procedures. In addition, a benefits review and set of recommendations was conducted for Fios in 2022.
Turning to company culture, AAB People ran a Values workshop for Fios in 2020. The outcomes have since underpinned all workplace behaviour, outlook and recruitment, as well as approaches to everyday challenges and problem-solving. An adapted version of AAB’s own ‘Ways of Working Charter’ was introduced, covering mindful, respectful communication with colleagues, people development, time management and overall company culture guidance.
An employee engagement forum was established, in which six representatives of different departments meet voluntarily every six weeks to discuss workplace incentivisation schemes, any emerging team issues and ideas for all-important team social activities, many of which happily include AAB People!
Ensuring robust policies, procedures and compliance is another key part of the brief, including a Right to Work audit to ensure that correct documentation is supplied for every employee in every circumstance.
Ongoing support and a ‘listening ear’ is central to the AAB People-Fios Genomics relationship. CEO Sarah Lynagh has weekly calls with Donna to discuss emerging HR issues and challenges. These might include retention challenges, performance management or specific cases relating to individuals. As testament to her trusted role as senior advisor and HR Lead, Donna is regularly invited to internal leadership meetings where people strategies and decisions play a significant part. She is also first port of call for any employees with HR questions or concerns.
CEO Sarah Lynagh particularly values the advisory role that AAB People play over and above the practical support and guidance of everyday HR issues:
“We have the ideal arrangement, where AAB People are part of our team but act as a slightly independent, neutral source of knowledge and expert guidance. They also ‘keep us right’ in negotiating the teething problems associated with business growth.“
“As CEO of a growing business, you can sometimes get lost in the weeds and the trees. It’s great to have a sounding board in Donna, who can help us decide what to sometimes let go and what to pursue. It’s also beneficial for our business to have access to her wider team and all their client experiences. It takes away the typical pain points of running a company.”
“Before we found AAB People, we had academic processes in place and legal support, but we lacked the ‘softer touch’ expertise needed to nurture a growing team. We needed to take stock and professionalise our HR!”
“We’ve had several new managers facing new scenarios – people whose roles are very technical and who’ve benefited from AAB People’s management training, having never run teams before or been responsible for the development and wellbeing of other colleagues. The training around diversity and inclusion and emotional intelligence really opened our eyes.”
“The emerging issues around post-Covid hybrid-working have been particularly challenging to navigate. It was like a grenade being thrown into our working practice, leading to several new flavours of contract and with them, new types of policy and new people management issues!”
“The world has changed; the levels of flexibility that new recruits, especially younger ones, are demanding, is brand new territory. It’s a fine balance between encouraging office-based working to suit the needs of the job Vs. alienating the discerning talent you’ve worked hard to find. The ‘Monday-to-Friday in the office’ culture is simply no longer an option for some recruits.”
“The values workshop that Donna ran for us was terrific and very worthwhile. We apply the outcomes to our daily practice and stick to those values in our comms, our marketing and in recruitment interviews.”
Glasgow-based managed cybersecurity and IT consultancy incovo provides vital support services to companies large and small. Founded over 20 years ago in 2002, its 9-strong core specialist team, led by dynamic entrepreneur Chris Thomas, helps Scottish and global firms of all shapes and sizes manage their tech needs.
In 2022, incovo acquired IT services provider, RGB Solutions. The move cemented incovo’s position as one of the leading cybersecurity and IT consultancies in Scotland, boosting the group’s turnover to over £1.5m and bolstering incovo’s presence across Scotland’s Central Belt.
The acquisition increased incovo’s need for a solid HR infrastructure with strengthened systems and processes for recruitment, onboarding, compliance, performance management and everyday team management. Before AAB People came on board, there were no formal systems in place at Incovo.
Since September 2022, AAB People have become an integral part of incovo’s team. Working closely with CEO Chris Thomas and COO James Myles, AAB reviewed every aspect of people management activity and introduced a range of features to manage current and future HR planning needs.
Formal job descriptions were created for all incovo positions ahead of a recruitment drive for two more positions in Spring 2023. But before the current recruitment process could begin, employment policies and procedures, compliance procedures, an employee handbook, onboarding procedures and a long-term HR management system were all introduced by AAB People. A maternity cover process was formed and shared too– a first-time need for incovo!
It was important to incovo not only to be recruitment-ready, but to feel more equipped to serve the employment and development needs of all the current team members and ensure that they feel listened to, supported and nurtured. An HR Mailbox was introduced to enable individuals to come to AAB People with any HR issues, challenges or information requests. AAB People work hard to understand each team member’s aspirations, offer support on any emerging issues and give all team members a voice.
The result is a strong sense of reassurance across the business, coupled with on-tap best practice advice and a reliable solid infrastructure to handle ‘all things HR’.
CEO Chris Thomas is clear about the value of having more formalised ongoing HR support in place, and always-there guidance on a ‘right’ way of doing things:
HR-wise there’s so much to think about in a growing business. Once you have the kind of help that AAB People have given us at incovo, you realise – and you’ll be surprised by – what you were missing before! If a company is serious about growth, then having an HR company like this is a must-have. I don’t think we realised just how much support we needed, especially now that we have more people since the acquisition.
“Our relationship with AAB People flows well and the team is easy to work with. They’re good at understanding the needs of our people, they get on and get things done, and they have a great human approach – it’s not a corporate feel, and that suits us. We have weekly catch-ups and there’s always plenty to cover, which proves just how much there is to be aware of and that there’s a right way to do things!”
“It’s comforting to have AAB People there to manage all things HR for us as we grow. It’s a great investment and actually it’s one we can’t afford not to make. The entire team is looked after and that’s important to me. People can stay in companies for a long time, and we only have one life, so we should look after those people. It’s good to give individuals that added touch and extra degree of empathy by listening to and responding to their needs.”
“The recruitment help is huge for us. It’s really hard to find good people in the current climate and AAB People helps us perfect the job descriptions, work with the agencies, place the adverts and review the CVs.”
“We’ve also now got a system in place now for proper performance reviews. AAB People have done the big work in designing the questions and providing the documentation. Now we’ll conduct reviews for every team member. We just couldn’t have done it before. And performance management isn’t just about pay and job descriptions; it’s about setting targets with everyone and reviewing them properly. It’s that level of performance management that gives us the real opportunity to grow the business. It’s not just about sales. It’s great performance that creates sales!”
“The legal support is important too – the contracts, the handbook, the processes for recruitment and dismissal, the ‘correct’ way of doing things. We had everyone’s holidays on an Excel spreadsheet before; now we have a proper system in place with a tool called Breathe HR.”
“All of this is essential for the owner of the business, not just the team. A lot of people believe that HR is just about keeping people happy at work. It’s about so much more than that. Working with AAB People, we’ve got to see the whole picture. It also helps us relate better to the challenges facing our own hyper-growth clients.”
Exizent are an innovative, Glasgow-based technology firm, with a strong purpose – to improve the bereavement experience for everyone involved. Their platform aims to transform the way the legal and financial services industry deals with bereavement and make the process far less stressful for family members experiencing loss. Collaboration, trust, empathy and fairness are at the heart of their mission and business.
The Founders had recently launched the company, both having previous experience of building successful businesses. They had plans to scale rapidly and knew the value of early investment in strong HR practice. They had secured funding to support their ambitious growth plans and needed to build a strong team and culture and implement HR framework and infrastructure.
In selecting a HR partner, reputation was important, cultural fit had to be right, expertise and credibility a given.
“We chose AAB People as we felt they had the best operational, practical and cultural fit. They weren’t corporate which wouldn’t have been right for us, but really understand the tech market and challenges.”
AAB People conducted a full review of Exizent’s existing HR setup and processes, held scoping 1:1’s with the Founders and conducted a needs analysis, planning and prioritisation session aligned to their business and growth plans. This allowed us to gain a real understanding of the company’s ambitions, culture, people plans and future HR support needs.
We then identified the key short and medium term strategic and operational HR requirements which would enable the business to achieve its aims linked to rapid expansions and rollout, as well as being able to support the company values and culture. Key requirements included contracts and documentation, onboarding processes, compliance, a HR management system, an employee handbook and the ongoing development of strong organisational culture.
The outcome was a tailored and prioritised HR plan with indicative timeline to support the business to scale rapidly over a 24-month period.
Our approach was designed to provide an effective and fit for purpose HR strategy, putting in place solid foundations to allow Exizent to grow and scale sustainably from a people management perspective.
A regular ‘bank’ of HR support time was agreed, allowing Exizent a full hands-on HR service and access to expert HR support when needed to help them develop, implement and maintain their people strategy. This would also ensure that ongoing guidance and manager support was available to their team from a very early stage in their organisational development.
Exizent now have in place robust, fit for purpose, effective and compliant HR and people management systems and documentation, optimising their organisational effectiveness by aligning strategy, people, resources and processes. Team development sessions led by AAB People support effective business relationships, collaborative working practices across the organisation, and a strong and positive culture.
The company operate best practice, are confident in being fully compliant and know that any issues which arise will be resolved quickly, saving them valuable time and hassle.
Exizent continues to grow rapidly, confident in the knowledge that they have a trusted and flexible HR partner embedded in their business. A partner who understands their values and culture, supports their growth journey and strategic aims, and, most importantly, adds value to their business.
“We engaged AAB People for their recognised expertise with growing technology-led businesses. They are a trusted extension of our management team and we value their depth of knowledge and professionalism. AAB People are very well aligned with our business, share our values and are a great cultural fit. Their flexible support is responsive, cost-effective and saves us valuable time. I would highly recommend AAB People for their cutting-edge, hands-on and people-centric approach – perfect for scaling businesses.” Aleks Tomczyk, Founder & COO
Experts in early-stage equity investment and empowering entrepreneurs, this 7-strong team was built from scratch by their Managing Partner. Founded in 2017, the firm was created to bring a much-needed specialism and expertise to the notoriously hard-to-crack investment landscape. The London and Glasgow-based firm helps companies access early-stage equity investment working with clients on everything from financial models and pitch decks to investment strategy and executing deals. The team has supported over 155 businesses on their journey to raise capital alongside running their own angel syndicate to invest in other businesses.
Bringing more formality and process to a growing business was the principal challenge. After years as a consultant and alongside a co-founder the managing partner’s team began to grow in line with business demand in 2019, before doubling in size in 2021. In working with AAB People they sought guidance, direction and structure in several areas of HR: growth planning, employee relations, performance management, learning and development and leadership training.
“AAB People give us exactly what we need as small business, and it’s measurable. The speed of onboarding people and ensuring their smooth training and integration is worlds apart from what we had before. Retention is good too. I realise that people like process and structure – not everyone is an entrepreneur comfortable with instability! They want a career path, not a business and I’m learning about developing other people’s careers. That’s what I want to build on, and I simply couldn’t have got this far without the team.”
In the first four months alone, significant changes were suggested and implemented by AAB People. A full recruitment, onboarding and probation process was introduced, accompanied by an annual and mid-year performance review process. Learning and development plans were created for all staff, and bi-weekly 1-to-1s and monthly company-wide meetings became regular practice. An employee handbook was also completed and distributed.
AAB People also guided the firm through a culture and values process, designed to ensure that the whole team is ‘on the same page’ and so that every colleague – existing and new – understands where the business is heading and what the business stands for. This learning can then be applied to performance management and evaluation, staff meetings and personal 1-to-1s for professional development.
A key theme running through the introduction of all the new processes and ways of working has been the shift to a more structured, less casual management style. They sought clarity on how to manage employee relations more formally as staff numbers began to increase. Coaching and mentoring for the managing partner was a pivotal part of this.
The firm reports much greater confidence in growing and fostering an enthusiastic team and developing the softer skills alongside managing robust new HR structures and processes.
“The business runs in a completely different way now. It’s so much more structured and I couldn’t ask for anything more. I didn’t always know what I needed and didn’t realise how much of my headspace was taken up by worrying about HR and whether I was doing what was required. Working with AAB People has made a huge impact and actually has changed my life! In 10 years of running businesses, I’d never managed any formal HR before.
The recruitment and people management processes needed in a bigger team are very different to running a two or three-person SME. It was very much time for us to start implementing proper processes. I knew I wanted to grow the team in a structured way but I worried that I was doing everything wrong. I’ve realised from working with the team at AAB People that I had some good content in place, but it could be vastly improved, and that there was a way to take a significant workload off my plate. It’s great to have someone else to organise things and give me headspace to free myself up and develop the business.”
“As an entrepreneur who’s mostly worked for myself, I was very unfamiliar with the necessities of HR planning and supportive people management. Obviously when you grow a team of people from scratch, you need to pay attention not only to the functional side, but to the motivation, performance and professional development side too.”
Crabtree & Crabtree is a bespoke holiday letting agency, with a curated portfolio of exclusive holiday homes across the North of England and South of Scotland. Founded by Emma Crabtree in 2004, it has grown to become an 11- strong team with properties across four unspoilt regions. Until recently, most of the team worked in the Kelso office in the Scottish Borders.
In 2019, during a period of controlled growth, the business sought a human resources partner that could lead on all aspects of people management and effectively become an extension of the team. The focus was on a strategic relationship and personal touch service that would provide longer term recommendations as well as assistance with employment contracts, policies and appraisals. AAB People was recommended by a colleague at Scottish Enterprise.
“We sought HR guidance in a phase of controlled expansion, building the team from 7 up to now 11 with a view to continued growth” explains Emma Crabtree. People here are passionate about our brand. It’s a friendly, family feel team who know each other well. We recognised a need to formalise how we work as we grow, which we hadn’t particularly done before, but without losing our sense of camaraderie and warmth. We sought a listening ear, a partner who could recommend responses to formal and informal issues quickly and sensitively.”
The arrival of the pandemic in March 2020 presented a series of new HR (as well as business) challenges. As well as managing growth and formalising procedures, another significant HR challenge emerged. Sudden remote working, and uncertainty around how and to what extent the holiday lettings industry would return to business, presented immediate people management priorities.
“We sought HR guidance in a phase of controlled expansion, building the team from 7 up to now 11 with a view to continued growth”
Five months before the pandemic took hold, AAB People began building its role as a close partner who would respond in a bespoke way to all emerging HR needs.
The team installed a framework for recruitment, employee relations and professional development and introduced tools, systems and processes to manage everyday HR needs. They helped with the process and procedures around a maternity leave and a promotion to manager position and the development needs around that. The team also refined all documentation to suit the style and feel of a small growing business, moving away from a cover all approach.
As the pandemic struck, Crabtree & Crabtree found themselves having to reorganise thousands of bookings, as well as processing deferrals and cancellations and adjusting to new legislation and ever changing guidance (and sometimes lack of!). The team became busier than ever. All new recruits were interviewed and hired online, with AAB People guiding the team carefully and sensitively, helping the interviewers to listen well in an unusual setting and observe the candidates as well as ask leading questions.
One of those essential recruits was an operations manager, a new post that became increasingly urgent with so many changing external factors affecting liaison with customers both holidaymakers and holiday property owners.
“It was vital for us to get this right, and AAB People helped us to form a strong double act: they knew how to help us find ideal candidates, ask the right questions and remain calm in the face of hospitality industry chaos! Recruitment is about the right people, it’s not just about growth. AAB People are a valuable, professional helping hand in identifying who we need and where to find them.”
As pandemic restrictions eased, the business became even busier, on boarding new property owners in all four regions of England and Scotland. As a result, the property management team continues to expand.
In a time of great change and uncertainty for the hospitality industry, Crabtree & Crabtree describes AAB People as a professional, reassuring HR partner “who knows exactly what we need, when we need it and how to achieve it.” They see the team as being “under the skin of the business and its changing needs”.
The business now has a more bespoke and personal, less generic set of documents and contracts relating to people and workplace management, including a valued new employee handbook.
“We also now have a strong and reassuring knowledge of how best to manage the more intangible parts of HR, keeping the ‘feel’ informal, whilst creating a more structured framework for how we behave as we grow the business. It’s good to have guidance on how to bring out the best in our team’s enthusiasm and capabilities without over -formalising how we do it.”
In 2021, Crabtree & Crabtree has a clear plan of what needs to happen to manage and grow its ever -busy team, with everything to do with people management clearly signposted.
“In AAB People we’ve found a team who understand us, are similar in size to us and are growing like us. They help us manage our people and any emerging situations, large or small. With the new HR plan, we feel as if we know what’s coming next and always have a reassuring sense of calm in the face of sudden changes. Our contacts are delightful, efficient and best of all, they understand us and reflect our own warm culture.” Emma Crabtree, Director, Crabtree & Crabtree
“In AAB People we’ve found a team who understand us, are similar in size to us and are growing like us. They help us manage our people and any emerging situations, large or small. With the new HR plan, we feel as if we know what’s coming next and always have a reassuring sense of calm in the face of sudden changes. Our contacts are delightful, efficient and best of all, they understand us and reflect our own warm culture.”
Emma Crabtree, Director, Crabtree & Crabtree
CAS is an employee-owned technology company specialising in case management systems for complaints handling, employee relations, information requests (FOI, GDPR/SAR, EIR) and other regulated casework. Their Workpro case management software is used by public and private sector organisations throughout the UK and overseas. The company moved to employee ownership in January 2014, which coincided with significant investment in their products and processes.
The employee-owned structure at CAS drives a strong culture that focuses on client needs, exceptional service and constant improvement. They identified a business need for a strategic HR partner to support their long-term growth and deliver bespoke training and development to their management team. They required a partner with a strong understanding of innovation-led technology businesses, who understood their culture and ambitions, and who were flexible and responsive to their evolving needs.
“CAS and the Workpro Team have been working with AAB People since 2017, providing us with HR advice, policy development and training, and confidence that we have these areas covered.”
Having been introduced to CAS through their Chairman and worked with them previously providing operational HR support on an ad hoc basis, AAB People were engaged as a trusted advisor to support their strategic goals. We conducted an initial scoping session with the senior leadership team in order to gain an in depth understanding of business priorities. Together with an audit of the existing people framework, we were able to identify the key HR priority areas. These were: an update and refresh of policies and contracts to ensure compliance and culture fit; a tailored training and development programme for line managers; induction and onboarding tools and processes to support recruitment; and development of a performance management and assessment process.
The outcome was a tailored strategic HR plan, with a proposed delivery timeline, to support and enable organisational growth from a people management and development perspective.
A regular ‘bank’ of HR support was agreed, providing CAS with a full hands-on HR service and access to expert guidance to support and coach their manager group.
Employee ownership at CAS has fostered a collaborative, responsive and supportive culture which now benefits from an aligned HR strategy to achieve business goals and enhance business performance. They have well-defined and compliant HR practices, systems and supporting frameworks in place which are tailored to a work environment that fosters intrapreneurship and innovation.
A bespoke management training programme has expanded leadership capabilities and strengthened CAS’ core values, policies and processes, driving progress and efficiency. Delivered through a series of interactive workshops, this training has enabled line managers to effectively develop and support their teams.
CAS have the reassurance of having a trusted HR partner who understands their culture and strategic goals. A partner who is embedded in their organisation, supports their growth and adds value across the business. Their leadership team have access to trusted advice and guidance as and when they need it to support with all aspects of people management and development.
“AAB People’s holistic approach ensures that the guidance and support they deliver is tailored to our needs and is backed both by a solid understanding of our culture, our aims and ambitions, as well as their wider experience of working with other technology SMEs.” Chris Ellis, Chief Technical Officer, CAS
“AAB People’s holistic approach ensures that the guidance and support they deliver is tailored to our needs and is backed both by a solid understanding of our culture, our aims and ambitions, as well as their wider experience of working with other technology SMEs.”
Chris Ellis, Chief Technical Officer, CAS
