Ruth George Email & Phone Number

I've been an independent HR Consultant for over ten years. I provide tailored HR consultancy services to clients in both the private and public sectors. Clients use my services on a fixed fee, pay-as-you-go or retained basis. I often work with clients that have either no HR or a standalone HR role within their organisation which means they need additional, specialist HR support from time to time. I also enjoy working with in-house HR teams - I love mentoring other HR professionals and I like helping out with tricky employee issues that perhaps need a fresh pair of eyes.Some examples of areas where I typically provide support:- Thorny sickness absence issues, disciplinaries and grievances- Restructurings and redundancy programmes where businesses need to reduce headcount to survive- Ensuring correct redundancy consultation and processes are followed to minimise tribunal risks- Helping with your organisational design and structure enabling you to thriveMy skill is to help swiftly identify problems and opportunities; to translate these into solutions that make a difference; and to balance legal and commercial considerations. I pride myself on adapting to any sector and any company whether small, medium or large.

As the HR lead for head office my responsibilities included:- Leading the HR & payroll functions including a team of 20 personnel- Project managing the move to a single payroll frequency and addressing union implications- Developing warehouse union strategy including bonus and salary review processes- Launching “Top Talent” programme to support succession planning- Instigating the group's first HR development framework- Participating in the business team contributing to the group’s cultural change programme- Managing HR Business Continuity Plan for the head office site- Coordinating employee survey feedback and related action plans- Introducing new performance management grades- Developing head office “People Plan” to support group business strategy

As part of the senior management team my key achievements included:- Leading the firm’s HR and training function including managing a 15-strong HR team- Leading the design, communication and implementation of the group’s first HR strategy- Reducing HR department staff costs by 20% through restructuring and adoption of business partnering model- Advising the board on the HR aspects of a major firm refinancing, including admittance of the group’s final salary pension schemes to the Pension Protection Fund and addressing TUPE concerns- Project managing the group’s Financial Services Authority application obtaining approval on time and on budget- Managing roll-out of group learning management system to 1,500 staff, critical in securing FSA approval- Gaining board approval and directing needs analysis, formulation and design of first group-wide Sales Training Programme, resulting in improved group profitability

My achievements included:- Leading HR strategy and implementation across EMEA- Project managing EMEA HQ office relocation consolidating four sites into one, including extensive redundancy programme and reduction of cost base- Acquisition and integration of business unit in Ireland, including closure of final salary pension scheme and conciliation with union through Labour Court- Heading up post-merger integration team to revise UK terms and conditions, staff handbook and contracts of employment- Recipient of Special Discretionary Bonus paid to top management for outstanding contribution during organisational change- Delivering “Leading the Way” cultural values training to European management to facilitate new ways of working following change in ownership- Directing European HR teamworking event using MBTI and Belbin methodologies to improve understanding and facilitate delivery of HR strategy- Introducing new European performance management system to support corporate values and “High Performance Organisation”- Communication and coaching of global compensation plan to EMEA managers, including broadbanding and new bonus, sales incentive and equity programmes- Successfully implementing French 35-hour week in line with collective agreement, including contract revision and staff consultation and communication- Acting as HR lead in cross-functional SWAT team identifying business opportunities in focus market of Scandinavia

In addition to generalist HR duties, key deliverables were:- As Secretary of the European Works Council, playing a key role in communicating the merger with Siemens Computers- Project managing delivery of first pan-European reward strategy including role assessment and introduction of job banding and remuneration packages- Enabling European expansion plans and sales growth through the recruitment of managers for Spanish, Italian and Portuguese offices- Improving staff performance and retention through the introduction of a graduate competency and performance framework- Revitalising sandwich year training programmes to improve post-graduate placements resulting in reduced recruitment and training costs

Key achievements in this role included:- Working as part of the team to successfully launch Next’s first French store by recruiting and training store staff- Reducing costs and improving profitability through implementation of a redundancy programme in line with collective agreement and French employment legislation- Delivering HR training to store managers to address UK employee relations issues- Providing employee relations guidance to retail management including delivery of disciplinary, grievance and redundancy advice

Chartered Mcipd

Ba (Hons), Modern Languages