We started Underscore in 2016 with the purpose of helping business leaders build capability to deliver change.Why focus on business change? In our experience, too many change programmes are treated as ‘side of the desk’ initiatives that run late, overrun budget or don’t quite deliver the expected benefits.Which is where Underscore can help; by building an enduring capability to deliver projects and change inside your organisation. Working alongside your leadership team, we build change capability through a combination of:1. Consultancy - Programme leadership & direction, supported by proven tools & methodologies2. Training - Equipping leadership teams with the skills, knowledge and experience they need to deliver lasting change3. Resourcing - Direct access to the best specialist project resources and support building change focused leadership teamsIn January 2018 we expanded Underscore’s training offering into a standalone business helping organisations build capability in project management, leadership and technology:• Project Management – Project & Programme Management Accreditations, Techniques & Tools (Prince2, MSP, AgilePM, Primavera, Microsoft Project, Acumen etc.)• Leadership – Tailored leadership, management and personal effectiveness programmes to grow your leadership talent• Technology – Bespoke systems implementation training (ERP, CRM, HCM etc.) + MS Office & Productivity Tools (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Adobe, SharePoint etc.)We are delighted to be working with over 30 blue chip organisations covering Financial Services, Aviation, Healthcare, Defence, Engineering, Oil & Gas, Professional Services, Power Generation Rail and Local Government. Whether you need to implement a Shared Service Centre in a single country or secure investment for a global transformation, we can help and we’d love to hear from you.

Working with the HR Director, HR Leadership Team and CIO to gain approval for an HR Transformation programme that would change the way our client leads and manages people. The programme scope included changes to HR Strategy, Policy, Process, Organisation Structure, People Capability, Systems and Data Architecture. Outcomes:- Secured £9M investment in new technology and redesign of the HR operating model which included a 10% increase in the overall HR budget- Gained Security and IS approval for the first major step into Cloud technology for an organisation that, at the time, had no direct access to the internet from their main network- Successfully passed internal audit of programme initiation stage prior to handoverWork included:- Benchmarking the HR function against 60+ metrics covering efficiency, effectiveness and cost - Activity Analysis to understand how HR were spending their time- Voice of the Customer- Requirements gathering and definition of 700+ functional capability requirements - Systems & Data Architecture mapping and design- Design of a high level ‘to be’ operating model- Functional designs for each workstream- PQQ and ITT procurement process leading to selection of Workday & Saba for Core HCM, Talent, Absence, Compensation, Performance, Recruiting and Learning functionality - Programme initiation including documentation covering vision, blueprint design, programme plan, resource plan, change plan, risk & issue management, quality management and benefits realisation- Programme Governance including gate reviews with the CEO and sub set of the Board- Handing the programme over to the client's chosen programme delivery team and systems integration partner for implementation.

Initiated, designed and led a programme to review the market for new core HCM and Payroll technology based on requirements gathered from Australia, Canada, Netherlands, UK and USA. Ran a competitive purchasing process involving Oracle, SAP, Workday, Northgate Arinso, and ADP. Created business cases and project initiation material that secured Executive buy in and $multi-million investment from Australia, Canada, UK and USA leadership teams for a collaborative project to implement Workday HCM in all 4 countries and Workday Payroll in Canada and USA.Led the Plan, Architect and first stage of the Configure/Prototype phases of Workday implementation. Managed a planned handover of the Programme Director role to a permanent member of Thales staff and am currently providing programme controls and consulting support through the Prototype, Test and Deploy phases of the implementation.

Initially hired as the Director of Resourcing for the UK with accountability for Resource Planning, Professional Recruitment, Graduate Recruitment and Contingent Recruitment, I was later given additional accountability for Graduate Development and overseeing Australia’s Resourcing Transformation. In 2011 and 2012 I led a global HR Transformation project as Programme Director covering all 24 countries with HR presence outside France. Most recently I have been responsible for securing Executive sponsorship and funding for a Workday HCM and Payroll implementation in Australia, Canada, UK and USA with Programme Direction responsibilities for the initiation and design phases of the project.

Designed and gained Executive sponsorship for an Integrated Resourcing Strategy that joined together historically disconnected processes of business planning, internal mobility, development and external supply of permanent, fixed term, grad, intern, apprentice, contractors, temps, sub-contract & outsourced resources.Over the course of 4 years and 21 separate projects forming the ‘Future Resourcing Programme’, designed and built an Integrated Resourcing Model in the UK and initiated projects to implement the model in Australia, Canada & USA. All Processes, Policies, Systems and In-House Resourcing Teams were built from scratch using multi-functional project teams drawn from HR, Finance, Operations, IT and the Business. Running as many as 13 projects in parallel, I acted as overall Programme Director and Technical Design Authority. My role in any given project, ranged from Programme Director, Project Board member, Executive Steering Committee member to Project Sponsor.Measurable, value-based benefits of the Integrated Resourcing Model:• Attrition in the first 2 years of employment reduced from 25% in 2009 to 6% in 2014• Permanent : Contingent (contractors & temps) Ratio reduced from 13% in 2009 to 7% in 2014• Internal Mobility increased from 18% of total hires in 2008 to 58% in 2014• Time to Offer for regular headcount reduced from 94 days in 2009 to 32 days in 2014• Grad intake increased from 55 in 2008 to 130 in 2010-14 to meet demographic demand• Business Units with a common Business & Resource Planning process increased from 7% in 2008 to 100% in 2014• Permanent hires sourced directly from the market averaging 96-98% from 2010 to 2014Bottom line savings and business benefits:c.£1,900,000 cost saving from Graduate Resourcing & Development over 3 yearsc.£9,000,000 cost saving from Professional Recruitment over 5 yearsc.£19,900,000 cost saving from Contingent Supply Chain over 6 yearsc.£30,800,000 total cost savings over 6 years from 2009 to 2014

Led a transformation programme reporting directly into the Group Board. Starting as a feasibility study into creating one or more international shared services centres for transactional HR activity, it became a broader transformation programme that would include changes to HR Strategy and Operating Model.Worked with PwC Saratoga during the scoping phase of the project to benchmark the existing HR Function across 24 countries, conduct voice of the customer surveys, one to one Executive interviews, HR activity analysis, process mapping, and HRIS infrastructure review.The design phase of the project included the definition of a new target operating model, commercial model, processes (down to a swim lane level), functional specifications for new technology infrastructure, and detailed operational designs for new and Resourcing and Learning & Development Centres of Excellence.Outcomes:• Updated the HR Strategy to focus on delivering the organisational capability required to deliver the CEO’s transformation plan and an HR function operating in the upper quartile of effectiveness and efficiency benchmarks• Designed a new HR Operating Model based on a ‘4 box’ model of Strategic HR Business Partners, Centres of Excellence, Centralised HR Shared Services and Site Based HR Operations• The HR Operating Model would use a Hub and Spoke deployment approach with larger countries providing specialist services and support to smaller countries• This Target Operating Model is currently being rolled out• Created detailed business cases, commercial models and implementation plans for Global Resourcing and Learning & Development Centres of Excellence.

Responsible for creating and implementing a Predictive Recruitment Model that will ensure HDS makes hiring the right people, in the right place, at the right time a repeatable business process. Covering all permanent recruitment across 16 countries in EMEA & 11 in APAC. Responsibilities:• Delivering a new long term Resourcing Strategy for EMEA & APAC• Creating business case & securing funding for the Predictive Recruitment Model• Global responsibility for design & implementation of HDS Workforce Planning Methodology• Managing the transition of an RPO back in-house• Building a team of senior ‘search’ Recruiters Outcomes• Quality of hire improved from 50% ‘excellent & good hires’ to 71% (based on stacked rankings & % quota attainment in the sales function)• Agency usage reduced from 80% to 22% • Total cost of Recruitment reduced by 66%

Cheapflights is the UK’s leading price comparison site for flights and travel. Founded in 1996 the business is still privately owned and has funded its growth to date entirely from operating profit. Growing at 100-120% year on year Cheapflights was recently recognised by the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 as one of the 100 fastest growing technology companies in the UK. Created and delivered a proactive recruitment strategy that effectively hired top performing Development, QA and Usability talent from major blue chips. • Hands on responsibility for recruiting and managing a small team to meet the Resource Plan across all functional areas of the business: Development, Operations, IT, Sales, Marketing, Finance and HR • 63% saving on total recruitment budget• Halved the average elapsed time on growth hires to 6 weeks • 70% hires made through direct sourcing channels, 20% Employee Referral, 10% Agency