CASE STUDY
_______

THE CLIENT

An interior design studio based in London with 60 employees and around £5 million annual turnover approached Gingko People for HR support. Operating in a very competitive market of high-end, luxury interior design, the company was keen to remain ambitious and continue their growth trajectory. 

As a project-based business, the client faced challenges: creating a positive culture, retaining talent, and reducing staff turnover. Maintaining motivation and engagement in a project-based environment is difficult, but vital in order for the client to maintain its competitive advantage in a competitive marketplace.

WHAT THEY NEEDED

This project began with a simple brief: the HR Manager had resigned, and had become ill during their notice period. The client needed Gingko People to step in to manage and maintain the HR function as they continued the recruitment process for a replacement HR Manager.

However, within a few weeks of providing this support, it became clear that there were underlying issues damaging the business: there was no consistency with managing staff performance, little cohesion at senior management level about the vision of the business, and a lack of trust at all levels.

Combined, these issues were negatively impacting the organisational culture and creating a toxic working environment, preventing the company and its individuals from fulfilling their potential.

WHAT WE DID

Initially, we focussed solely on the priorities the business owner had laid out for us: providing HR management support for the HR department while the search for a replacement manager continued. 

However, once we uncovered the underlying issues, it became clear that successful management of the HR department would not be possible in these circumstances. At the first opportunity, we communicated this back to the client. 

Once we had management buy-in for a larger initiative, we collectively decided to put the HR hire on hold to allow us to deal with the existing issues before bringing a new person onto the team. 

By working transparently with the client, we built a deep level of trust with each member of the Senior Management team so that we could create an environment of mutual respect. The biggest challenge was ensuring the partnership between Gingko People and the individuals of the senior management team was open and collaborative; an environment of trust was necessary in order for us to challenge the status quo and encourage openness to change - otherwise our initiatives would be met with defensiveness and would not be effective.

OUR SUCCESSES

By ensuring that every individual felt personally engaged and involved in the change project, we were able to implement effective processes to ensure the brand retained its marketplace advantage and met its business goals.

Through open dialogue and demonstrating commitment to transparency, we made continual adjustments to our approach to suit the individual needs of the management and staff involved, ensuring that the solution was the right fit for the business. On occasion, this meant making changes to existing HR policies and procedures so that they better supported the needs of everyone involved.

Change processes take time, but our transparent approach meant that each individual felt ownership of their involvement and felt empowered to do their part. Over time, employees became more open to engaging in honest conversations with line managers, as well as becoming accountable for their own conduct in a business environment.

ACHIEVEMENTS

• Gingko People reviewed and implemented a new end-to-end recruitment process. Over the course of 12 months:

  • 22 employees were placed with the business.

  • 11 of those were direct candidates

  • Recruitment costs were reduced by approximately £40,000

• Supported the management team with annual performance development appraisals and communicated the importance of these for retaining and motivating employees.

• Devised, implemented and utilised the offboarding process to leave a lasting positive impression through exit interviews. Ensured these interviews contributed to ongoing improvement processes by uncovering wider underlying cultural issues.

THE CLIENT’S PERSPECTIVE

The client benefitted not only from a reduction in hiring costs, but in a number of less tangible ways. The client reflected on the process and identified the following achievements as a result of our interventions:

• Improvement of a feeling of harmony and cooperation between the team and management, by facilitating one-to-ones and group meetings.

• Launched a new training and development project that aims to retain staff by providing clarity on their potential career paths in the organisation.

• Staff retention increased significantly, as a result of maintaining a transparent and fair culture. Managers feel more empowered to create and maintain strong relationships with their teams, encouraging constructive feedback and focusing on supportiveness across all management functions.

• Managers and employees feel supported and listened to - encouraging their positive opinion of the company and increasing loyalty and productivity.

NEXT CASE STUDY >