Joanna Brown, MCIPD

Reporting to the CEO from hire date until the 1st of April when the Director of Legal & HR was appointed. Senapt is the parent software engineering company with circa 90 employees. Tomato Energy employees has circa 185. 1 HR Advisor report in.

Key achievements:

• Designed and implemented induction programme, along side the Sales Training Lead and Department heads.
• Introduced the Perk Box benefits platform and EAP provision.
• Leading the implementation of the new HRIS system (ADP) to optimise data access and reporting capabilities.
• Leading and managing the successful application for a Sponsorship Licence and subsequent allocations of certificates of sponsorship.
• Design and roll out of the 'HR Essentials' framework to upskill line managers and provide fit for purpose tool-kits.
• Successful approval and implementation of our enhanced parental leave pay policy.
• Designed and rolled out the 'People Hub' on SharePoint with an emphasis on user friendly infographics and FAQs.
• Administered payroll monthly updates ensuring timely and accurate payments.

• Liaising with department managers to identify staffing needs.
• Wrote and rolled out HR policies and procedures, ensuring best practice and employment law parameters are met.
• Management of complex ER cases, reducing risk to the business.
• Benefits administration
• Managed restructure and redundancy processes, minimising risks.
• Fostered a diverse and inclusive work culture by promoting equal opportunities.
• Introduced and rolled out the employee opinion survey, using the data to shape employee engagement plan (monthly 'All Hands meeting' mentorship programmes, Software Developer events, monthly well-being and update written communications)
• Introduced exit interviews, gaining useful insights to improve employee retention rates.
• Horizon watching to ensure policies and procedures reflect employment law changes (most recent being Preventing Sexual Harassment in the workplace).

Pabulum is a leading provider of contract catering services, dedicated to enhancing the dining experience within the state education sector.

• HR operations - TUPE, Complex and high volume of ER cases, providing continual guidance and coaching to managers on HR related matters - translating policy and employment law matters in to practical option to suit the scenario and desired outcome
• Culture and Engagement - Reward and recognition initiatives linked to Company values and introduction of Reward Gateway employee benefits platform. Conducting employee satisfaction survey and analysing results, monthly wellbeing and engagement communications, leading the Workforce Partnership, implementing feedback mechanisms to continually improve workplace culture
• Strategy - designing and delivering the People Plan with a focus on initiatives to enhance employee experience, wellbeing, recognition schemes, flexible working and increasing satisfaction and retention
• Learning and Development - Designed Leadership Development programme, designing and delivering training workshops that equip people with the skills to succeed in their roles and promote an inclusive culture that operates within legal boundaries, managing the apprenticeship programme with a focus on social mobility, introduced an internal mentoring programme
• Diversity, equality and inclusion - Gender Pay Gap reporting, bias mitigation training and monitoring, promoting inclusive leadership, mitigating discrimination activity and complaints
• Merger - Due diligence for our Company recently being bought by CH&CO, collaborating with CH&CO on culture and change management initiatives
• Leadership - Active member of the SLT, managing and developing a People team of 6
• Reduced Company turnover from 25.38% Feb 23 to 16.97% Feb 24 and Chef turnover from 33.7% Feb 23 to 11.29% Feb 24.
• Reduced absence rates from 5.58% Fen 23 to 3.19% Feb 24 with a cost saving of circa £315 per day in agency fees

Reason for leaving - the merger with CH&CO would have made my role redundant, eventually. Additionally, CH&CO has recently been bought by Compass Group and the uncertainty this has caused, along with the fact that contract catering is very TUPE and ER heavy has led me to decide to look for another role.

Close Brothers is a leading UK merchant banking group providing lending, deposit taking, wealth management services and securities trading.

A FTSE250 company, we employ over 3,700 people, principally in the UK, and are listed on the London Stock Exchange.

• HR BP lead on project to implement changes to the Performance and Development review process ensuring it is in line with FCA risk and conduct regulations as well move to People Fluent system
• Designing and implementing career path framework for the Technology business unit (circa 600)
• Review of recruitment platform and process - bank wide
• Introduce the Technology apprenticeship programme (in take of 10 apprentices in 2022)
• Employee Opinion Survey data analysis to then work with the extended Tech Leadership Team to design and deliver various People Initiatives addressing key themes from the survey results
• Covered the HRBP role fore Technology division for 6 months
• Small and large scale restructures within the Technology function

Vorwerk is a German Direct Selling Company with a large global footprint. During the Covid pandemic the sales model was forced to change, bringing massive growth to the business. Head Office staff consisted of circa 80 people, supporting a national sales force of over 3,500 Advisors.

Talent Management and succession planning

• Drive and provide direction on talent management and development
• Deliver training for the talent identification based on our 5 talent indicators for 3 levels (early career, senior management and Directors)
• Key position identification and development of local succession bench
• Facilitate Global Learning days using Design Thinking to address relevant global business challenges with other territories (Poland, France and USA)
• Ensure all Global and Divisional HR Systems (Performance & Talent Management) are carried out properly within the UK and according to the deadlines given by Corporate and Divisional HR
• Provide direction on training, talent management and development projects
• Lead in the talent review process in collaboration
• Co-develop, with Divisional HR and country management, recommendations for individual development programs

Organisational Design & Development

• Define Vorwerk UK’s HR strategy and 3 year plan in line with Vorwerk International’s 2025 global strategy
• Support GM UK to set and achieve Company and Individual objectives through the continuous monitoring of set KPIs, adjusting as needed in order to achieve business objectives
• Lead the Company restructure according to the Global ‘New Horizons’ initiative
• Facilitate Design Thinking Workshops to enable innovation in a very fast paced and continually changing business
• Advising on departmental changes to promote efficiency as well as meet business needs
• Leading implementation of local leadership monitoring initiative in alignment with global leadership principles

Recruitment & Retention

• Lead all recruitment activity both internal and external
• Member of global HR project team to improve the induction process for employees as well as the self-employed sales force
• Provide Company induction for all new employees
• Introduced various reward and recognition activities

Learning & Development

• Coaching and developing Line Managers
• Designed and implemented the 2 year Leadership Development programme
• Delivering training on change management, PDR process, employment law for managers, interviewing techniques and talent identification
• Training needs analysis based on business and individual needs, reporting gaps in competencies and booking relevant training courses or mentoring programmes to meet these - ensuring alignment and synergies for training programmes

HR Operations

• Keeping up to date on the latest developments and innovations in the global HR Directors community
• Introduced the PeopleHR database
• Continually update the handbook and contracts of employment to reflect employment law changes
• Support in defining and controlling the HR department’s annual budget to optimise investment in people and achieve Vorwerk UK’s strategy, ensuring GM is up to date by tracking and reporting on budget
• Project Lead for assessing our contractual/working relationship with our self-employed Direct Sales force and taking appropriate measure to ensure IR35 compliance
• Ensure compliance of all HR procedures - absence management, performance improvement, disciplinaries and grievances, starters and leavers (voluntary and involuntary)
• Managing complex ER issues
• Managed the People issues arising from the global pandemic and implementing safety measures across all sites

Compensation & Benefits

• Reviewing and optimising the compensation and benefits schemes and making necessary changes to maximise the employee value proposition
• Enhanced various benefits including parental leave, holiday entitlement and paid sick leave allowance as well as introduce flexi-time and hybrid working se
• Introduced the Vivup employee benefits platform which provides salary sacrifice benefits, EAP as well high street discounts and affordable loans
• Ensure internal and external equity of compensation and benefits through benchmarking studies, etc.
• Project Lead for the Korn Ferry job evaluation and salary benchmarking project, advising on necessary changes to be made for both equal pay and to give us competitive advantage as an employer in a difficult job market with record levels of candidate shortages across regions, industries and functions
• Managed payroll and relationship with external payroll providers

Turnover reduced from 34% in Jan 20 to 21% in Jan 22

Reason for leaving - The new President of HR restructured the global HR team, making changes that would vastly reduce my remit to more of a transactional role going forward.

A client of mine whilst working at EmployLaw, Vivup employed me to enhance the HR function to enable scalability, improve the Company Culture and reduce retention. Vivup is a leading provider of Health and Wellbeing solutions for both public and private sector businesses.

• Extended 6 month FTC) Vivup Health & Wellbeing
• Lead the successful completion of the ISO 27001 qualification
• Partnering with all stakeholders to ensure alignment across the Company (multi-site)
• Coaching and supporting middle management
• Managing all stages of the employee life-cycle
• Establishing the future skills and knowledge base needed to support the plans for business growth and ensuring that these critical competencies are embedded in to the workforce
• Identifying any training needs within the scope of people development and setting performance improvement plans to resolve any performance issues
• Manage a varied caseload of employee relation cases
• Introduces solutions to increase retention
• Designed and implemented the HR dashboard with the Business Analyst
• Planning and leading the Company's wellbeing strategy, with the aim of showcasing this to clients

Part of Downs Solicitors Group, EmployLaw provided outsourced legal and HR services to small to medium businesses. Due to a high demand for HR Consultancy, I was hired to join the team of employment law solicitors as their HR Consultant.

• Providing clients with a wide range of HR services
• Designed and delivered Leadership and Management training for Middle Management to Director level with an emphasis on employment law and behavioural science

Acted as part-time Strategic Business Partner for 2 Companies under the Global Being Group company registration (a sister Company of previous employer Earth Environmental services);

PayTabs On-line payment gateway start-up company (Forbes Middle-east best start-up winner 2016). Working with the ‘C-Suite’ to transform the HR function with the support of 2 subordinates; updating and improving all processes and procedures whilst reducing costs.

Earth Energi Environmental energy start-up company within Earth Environmental Services group. On-going role as sole HR Consultant with the main objective and provide a robust HR framework and streamlined ‘people’ policies, adding value to the business and promoting competitive advantage.

• Talent Management, reward & recognition
• Performance Management
• Pay and grading system design with supporting technical and behavioural competency frameworks, performance evaluations ratings being reflected in promotion and salary review decisions
• Developed succession planning framework
• Recruitment and on-boarding
• Policies and procedures
• Employer branding initiatives
• Introduction of OKR (Objectives and Key Results) goal setting; connecting company, team and personal objectives to measurable results
• Analysis of employee engagement survey data
• Introduction of an HR dashboard
• Monthly reporting and presentations to the C suite and shareholders
• Managing wide range of complex ER cases
• Coaching Line Management and ER training delivery; importance of clear communication, engagement and motivation, conflict resolution, managing change
• Change Management
• Developed succession planning framework and system. Key role succession plan rate currently at 166%
• Introduced assessment centres and interview assessment recording, maximised in-house direct recruitment, reducing cost per hire by 96% and reducing time to hire by 53%. Acceptance rate reached 82%
• Voluntary resignations reduced to 2.47% in 2016. Average monthly absenteeism rate reduced to 9.1%

I was brought onboard to this start-up of 18 members of staff to establish and manage the HR function. Providing environmentally sound solutions to the oil industry in Saudi-Arabia and Kuwait, the Company was sold in 2014 having grown to an employment base of over 285 employees.

• Key achievement - Designed and implemented the F.E.A.S.T development programme - Earth Environmental
• Services with the following results; Direct and positive impact on Company revenue as well as staff engagement. Addressed some of the individual and company organisational development needs by providing a mapped training and career path, alongside equipping the business with a staff force that could better meet multiple and simultaneous project demands. A transparent pay and grading structure for operational field staff created on the basis of the FEAST criteria. Time to mobilise for projects substantially decreased. Field staff workforce utilisation (client billable hours) substantially increased
• Designed and implemented succession planning programme in line with company strategy; Key role succession rate at 145.5% at year end 2014
• Managing absence and occupational health cases. Absenteeism rate average of 10% at year end 2014

• Chestertons, NCVO, Atkins ME, Interservfm