WORK & RESULTS

The impact of the work.

Three examples of what was happening, what I found and what changed. Each is a separate piece of work.

01 / PERFORMANCE

Making performance easier to see before review time.

Performance shouldn’t be something people discover at review time.

What was happening

Performance conversations were too reactive. Feedback tended to happen in bursts and managers and employees weren’t always aligned on expectations.

What I found

The issue wasn’t simply the review process. There was a gap between the conversations the business wanted managers to have and what was actually happening between formal review points.

What changed

Monthly performance spot checks, clearer shared definitions of performance, calibration, forward-looking conversations and practical manager tools.

What happened

75%

Of performance ratings sat within the top performance tiers following calibration.

80%

Of team-member insights gathered through retrospectives fed into wider business strategy.

These figures describe the ratings and use of insights in that project. They don’t, by themselves, show that the approach caused better performance.

02 / ONBOARDING

Reducing onboarding admin so managers could spend time where it mattered.

The goal isn’t to finish onboarding. It’s to become effective.

What was happening

Each new hire triggered around 50 manual tasks and managers were spending significant time coordinating administration.

What I found

Too much manager time was going into administration rather than planning, context-setting and supporting the new hire.

What changed

Repeatable activity was automated, manager planning tools were connected to role and probation expectations and managers had clearer guidance.

What happened

50 → 33 tasks

17 fewer manual tasks for each new hire, a reduction of around 35%. Less coordination freed up manager time for planning, context-setting and supporting the new starter.

03 / MANAGER SUPPORT

Helping managers manage without creating more dependency.

Good People systems should create capability, not dependency.

What was happening

A growing business had developed a new layer of management. Managers were capable, but there was hesitation around decisions, inconsistent management practice and continued reliance on senior leadership.

What I found

Managers needed clearer expectations, practical support around real situations and enough structure to build confidence without becoming more dependent on the People team.

What changed

Tailored success plans, practical tools, structured partnering, progress visibility and clearer expectations around 1:1s and career conversations.

What happened

87.5%

Of managers consistently held career-development conversations and 1:1s.

3.4% → 2.1% Regrettable turnover during the period. This was an observed business outcome and should not be attributed solely to the manager programme.

MORE RESULTS

Other changes made.

PERFORMANCE CASES · SEPARATE PROJECT

Resolving issues sooner

Structured intervention and proactive manager coaching helped move performance cases towards resolution.

12 → 7 weeks

Average performance-case resolution time.

PEOPLE SYSTEMS

Cutting manual People admin

I redesigned People workflows and integrations to remove repeatable administration.

~50% less

Manual People administration.

PAYROLL PROCESSING

Giving time back each month

A payroll rollout made processing quicker and reduced employee follow-up.

2 days back

Per month; employee queries also halved.

Each result comes from a different project with its own starting point. These are examples of previous work, rather than a forecast for future projects.

FEEDBACK

From the people I’ve worked with.

“She’s really been thrown in at the deep end at times and just delivers everything to such a high standard with a smile.”
Performance project delivery, associate collaboration
“The candidate experience has been really smooth too, which matters a lot when you're competing for great people. We've made two strong hires recently and the process felt effortless on our side.”
Seed-stage founder · Recruitment support project
“Abigail has produced work of very high quality and already been a steady hand for me and the leadership team through these dynamic stages of our being acquired.”
Series B founder retained support
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