Author: Natasha Johnson

Beyond the clock: Thinking of flexible working as a partnership

As we settle into 2026, I’m hearing the same question from a lot of small business owners: What do we actually mean by flexible working?

The dialogue around flexible work often sounds like an ultimatum. But perhaps we should instead make it an exploration.

Instead of dictating that flexible work must be adopted, we might ask: Could flexible work be a better way to build a stronger, more accountable partnership between employers and employees?

It’s time for the conversation to mature, focusing on how outcomes – not working hours – will unlock greater value and mutual respect.

Is it time to drop the word ‘flexible’ altogether?

Effort versus results

In 2026, this is about different measures and behaviours.

And this can make things harder. Because we’re often used to deciding how to structure our day based on start and finish times – not effort versus results. But entrepreneurs have never worked rigid hours.

So businesses that can assess effort versus results will be the winners. Employees who can see the difference they make, and get recognised for that, are better motivated.

A few years ago, I moved from full-time to part-time work. Life necessitated it.

I produced better work part-time because I discovered I didn’t have the luxury of allowing my time to bleed into other areas.

So not only was I busier than ever, I was also sharper than ever. This was a skill I mastered not because I was new to managing my time well, but because I got clearer about what I needed to do in that time.

A colleague even commented, ‘For someone who’s part-time, you’re around a lot!’

I wasn’t around a lot. But I was present and committed when I was needed, and I had to make the working arrangements work, so I focused on what mattered and got rid of the rest.

This experience taught me a lot. And when I see people working in co-working spaces, quite often relaxed, discussions meandering, I know they could be more productive.

It’s clear to me that they could achieve more in fewer hours. So what needs to change about flexible working to make it truly flexible – and productive?

A world where ‘flexible’ is obsolete

As with any form of change, we need to decide what kind of world we want to create.

As we said earlier, if work is truly flexible, we probably shouldn’t even need the word ‘flexible’.

In my world, it should be a given that it’s about doing the work that needs to be done in a way that works for everyone involved. This includes customers, suppliers, employees and colleagues.

And I hear ‘flexible’ confused with ‘convenient’. More obsessed with where people sit or the hours they choose, than about how they are spending their time and what outcomes they achieve. And this is where the real issue lies.

The ongoing debate about office vs home vs hybrid suggests we’ve overcomplicated something fairly simple.

Raising our game

My vision is to aim for trust, shared goals and clarity – on both sides.

That means shifting the conversation away from how work is monitored and towards what good work looks like. And all sides of the equation need to consider raising their game.

For employers, this can mean building flexibility into the business model, measuring success by outcomes, and using it as a genuine way to attract and retain people.

For employees, it asks for a different level of ownership – strong self-management, clear communication and real accountability for deadlines and quality.

And for managers, it often means letting go of managing by sight and learning how to lead by outcomes instead. That’s a skill in itself.

Empowerment not control

If we seek employees with initiative, innovation and drive, empowering them with flexibility and a focus on outcomes could be the most effective path.

Creating a flexible and accountable culture isn’t about policies alone. It comes from challenging assumptions, having honest conversations and being prepared to evolve.

If we confuse ‘management’ with ‘control’, we risk stifling trust. If we confuse ‘autonomy’ with ‘power’ we risk stifling growth.

A clear vision relies on properly agreeing what good looks like, i.e. the outcomes. It’s also about having honest conversations when an expectation hasn’t been met.

If you’re not sure what the right answers look like yet, that’s usually where the real work starts.

Ready to explore what might work better for your team and your business? Please get in touch. I’d be very happy to talk.

Please email tash@organicposolutions.co.uk to arrange a chat.

Open post
Decisions

Mastering Uncertainty: Building Resilience in Disruptive Times

Uncertainty. Upheaval. Disruption. The world as we know it is in a constant state of flux, and it shows no signs of slowing down. How do you react when faced with unexpected change? Do you feel a sense of foggy confusion or clear-headed focus? Are you comfortable going with the flow, or do you resent the disruption to your carefully laid plans?

As an HR specialist dedicated to helping people navigate these turbulent times, I’ve seen firsthand the behaviours that lead to success—and those that don’t. This post is for leaders who need to build resilience, create support structures and guide their teams and organisations through uncertain times.

Here are five practices that will help you thrive, not just survive, in an era of constant evolution.

1. Focus on Consistent Habits, Not Just the Finish Line

We are often conditioned to focus on the endpoint: passing the exam, securing the promotion, hitting a target. OFten for ourselves. While goals are essential, the path to achieving them is never a straight line and collaboration takes courage. As the saying goes, “No plan survives contact with the enemy.”

I was reminded of this in my running days, mine started later in life and one day while trying to run up a hill, I was frustrated and out of breath. My immediate thought was, “Just get up the hill!” I was so focused on the end point that my technique fell apart. My running coach offered some sage advice: “Don’t look at the top. Look just ahead of you, maintain your posture, and take small, steady steps. Your mind will quit long before your legs will.”

She was right. By shifting my focus from the destination to the immediate technique, my breathing, my posture, my steps, my heart rate settled, and I conquered the hill with less effort. It wasn’t even a big hill! A return to this as a metaphor for business and life. When I feel frustrated by a lack of progress, I know to concentrate on the small, consistent habits that will move me forward. Find an anchor for you. Notice your typical responses and allo your team to this for themselves too. Your determination, guided by solid technique, will get you there. Do it collectively and you’ve got collaborative behaviour to build on right there.

2. Prioritise, and Then Prioritise Again

In times of change, prioritisation is a dynamic and continuous skill. It requires blending a long-term vision with daily pragmatism. So easy to say in a sentence or two!

While it’s wise to consider “what if” scenarios, avoid falling into the trap of over-analysis. Instead, regularly assess the likelihood and potential impact of events on your plans. Focus your energy on the actions that will make the biggest difference right now. Then prioritise again. And again.

In uncertain times, the “next right move” may not be in your plan. It often emerges as the situation evolves. Not moving forward means you might not discover it. By frequently revisiting your priorities, you create the flexibility to adapt as new information and resources become available, ensuring you maintain momentum and direction without wasting time.

3. Embrace Your Emotions as valuable Data

When our world is uncertain, our emotional response is natural and immediate. We don’t judge our nervous system for telling us that a surface is hot or cold, yet when I’m coaching I often find people judge their emotions as “good” or “bad”?

Feelings are data. They are your psychological feedback system. Ignoring them is like ignoring a warning light on your car’s dashboard. Whether you or someone you manage, feels overwhelmed, frustrated, or anxious, take a moment to acknowledge it. Also with happy, contented, excited! Accepting these feelings doesn’t mean dwelling on them, but understanding the information they provide about your needs is essential for determining next steps that will be successful for you.

When you feel overwhelmed, step away. Go for a walk, listen to music, or talk to someone you trust. Processing your emotions supports movement towards a more productive state of mind quicker than avoiding them. Encourage your team to do the same. When people feel safe to express their emotional responses, you build trust, resilience, and unlock more creative, solution-focused outcomes. I have something on the wall in front of me to remind you of this, because it’s when I’m avoiding an emotion that I’m least likely to remember this advice!

4. Develop the Capacity to Live Through Uncertainty

The human brain craves certainty. So the neuroscience makes sense when it shows that when we resolve something quickly, we get a hit of dopamine. It’s a feel-good hormone that can become addictive. The desire for a quick fix can lead us to make hasty decisions in “urgent mode,” but this can rob us of the deeper satisfaction that comes from navigating something complex or longer term. Brene Brown’s research has proven that as humans, we are wired for struggle. So as leader, it’s essential to help people face and overcome their struggle. Patience then, is the order of the day for our teams on this one.

The key to countering this is preparation and practice. Elite athletes don’t show up to a championship flustered; they arrive focused, having rehearsed their craft relentlessly. They have built the habits and mental fortitude to perform under pressure and handle the unpredictable. For me, Jonny Wilkinson’s 2003 Rugby World Cup-winning drop goal is a perfect reminder of how practice pays off under pressure. What’s yours?

Invest in preparing for high-stakes moments. Practice the small, fundamental scharios so they become second nature when you need them most. Develop abilities to hold your nerve during periods of waiting and uncertainty and you’ll be ready to act decisively and effectively at the right time.

5. Replace Your ‘Agenda’ with Genuine Empathy

Change feels chaotic because it involves different people with different perspectives, all trying to make sense of an evolving situation. What could possible go wrong?! This often leads to a clash of agendas. Managers ask, “Why are they being so difficult?” while employees wonder, “Why are they being so insensitive?” for example.

The root of this friction is often a failure to see the situation from the other person’s viewpoint. The moment we label someone as “right” or “wrong,” we are judging them against our own frame of reference. This is human, but it’s not helpful.

To find common ground, you must temporarily set aside your own agenda and listen with a genuine desire to understand. Seek to learn what the other person thinks and why they think it. Once you truly understand their perspective, you can share your own in a way that builds bridges, not walls. This approach transforms potential conflict into collaboration, making it far more likely that you will find a way forward that feels like a shared success, not a reluctant compromise. It won’t always result in agreement, but it will give you the best chance of it.

In Summary

Navigating uncertain times is demanding. It uses personal energies and all reserves, to constantly switch between future-focused strategy and present-day adaptation. Clarity, planning, emotional intelligence, and strong communication are not just beneficial; they are essential.

Cultivating just a couple of the above points mean leaders can build resilience to steer their teams through challenging transitions with confidence and integrity.

If you would like to explore how we can help your leadership team or organisation navigate a period of significant change, we would love to hear from you. Get in touch today.

Open post

Uncovering the Hidden Narrative Driving Your Team Culture

In every team, there’s an invisible force at play, one that dictates how people interact, what they value, and how they perform. This force is your team’s narrative, the collection of stories that shape and define the collective culture.

Culture isn’t accidental. The narratives we create and share, consciously or unconsciously, shape organisational culture. These stories form the lens through which your team perceives everything, from minor interactions to major business decisions.

But what does this mean for you as a leader? How can you better understand the narratives shaping your team’s culture, and how can you take control of them?

In this article, we’ll explore the underlying forces shaping team culture, why paying attention to these stories is essential, and the concrete steps you can take to actively shape your team’s culture for greater success.

The Narrative Lens: Why Your Team’s Stories Matter

The stories we tell ourselves and each other are more than just anecdotes; they are the foundation of your organisation’s culture. These narratives shape how your team behaves, makes decisions, and interacts with one another. Culture, in this sense, isn’t a static concept. It evolves based on the ongoing stories your team tells about itself.

For example, consider the difference between a team that talks about their achievements as a result of “hard work and collaboration” versus one that attributes success to “luck” or “external factors.” The former group is more likely to foster a culture of ownership, collaboration, and accountability. Conversely, the latter might develop a passive or complacent culture where efforts disconnect from outcomes.

At its core, I have witnessed many nuances that have supported and undone a team’s success because the narrative, as a lens determines how something is interpreted. Strong leaders that I have worked with understand how it influences how we interpret events and make decisions, affecting everything from assigning blame to celebrating success. They know that if they want to drive culture intentionally, they must understand the role narrative plays in how their team members receive messages. How they might think, react, and collaborate or not. But anticipation can form part of the problem when a leader over thinks reactions. The leaders I have witnessed at their most successful are the ones who can discuss their intentions, assess the validity of the responses and discuss these in a way that creates safety in the conversation without committing certainty where it doesn’t exist.

What You’re Not Hearing: The Hidden Subtext of Team Culture

As a leader, it’s easy to become distracted by surface-level conversations. But the real insights into your team’s culture lie beneath the surface, in the subtext. Subtle stories weave through language in every meeting, email, and casual conversation. These stories reveal far more about your culture than you might realise.

Think about decisions in your organisation. Are they based on the values you’ve publicly committed to, or do actions speak louder than words? How often do your people express frustrations, either directly or indirectly? The language used in these moments can reveal powerful insights about your team’s priorities.

Notice the discourse in meetings. Do employees speak about a commitment to teamwork but then disengage or withhold information when a project gets tough? This inconsistency between words and actions can be a telltale sign of an underlying narrative at odds with the team’s stated values. I remember working with a team who told me they were committed entirely to changing how they worked together. To become braver in challenge of each other. However, I found them returning repeatedly to an unhelpful dialogue when they couldn’t reach agreement. I found myself pointing out that they seemed to find safety in the futility of an idea and discussing that instead. I remember putting my involvement in the entire project at risk when I called this out – I hadn’t been working with them long – they learned to love the challenge! I have repeated this candour with other projects and clients because I know that authenticity and commitment to change are narratives that have to be present if I am to deliver on my results to those clients.

When observing your team’s behaviour, consider what happens after the meeting ends. What do people say in the hallway or over lunch? How do they reflect on the meeting, and what are they reinforcing or undermining?

Identifying Patterns: How to Uncover Dominant Narratives

Patterns shape culture, and these patterns lie in recurring themes or metaphors. In your team, are certain types of stories dominating the conversation? Are there metaphors that come up frequently in discussions about success or failure?

A powerful example of this is how organisations frame their successes and challenges. For instance, consider the language around challenges: Is it framed as an opportunity to innovate or a roadblock? Likewise, when talking about success, is it seen as a collective achievement, or is it attributed to the efforts of a single individual?

Observing these recurring themes over time allows you to identify the dominant narratives that drive behaviour. These aren’t always positive; they may even limit the team’s potential. For example, if failure has negative connotations, it may lead to a fear-based culture where people are afraid to take risks. On the other hand, a team that celebrates the lessons learned from failure fosters an environment of growth and innovation.

Heroes and Villains: Who Shapes Your Team’s Stories?

Every narrative has characters. In the stories you tell about your team, who are the heroes? The villains? The unsung heroes?

In every organisation, some individuals or groups are the exemplars of success, they are the “heroes” of your story. But just as important are the “villains” in your team’s narrative.

These characters reveal the qualities that are celebrated or condemned in your organisation. Are the heroes consistently delivering results, or are they individuals who demonstrate loyalty or perseverance? What behaviours are heroic? What actions are considered failures? How you depict these characters influences how your team approaches challenges and solutions.

Empowering vs. Limiting Narratives: Shaping the Future of Your Team Culture

As you analyse your team’s culture through its stories, you’ll notice a crucial distinction between empowering and limiting narratives. Empowering narratives inspire your team to aim higher, take risks, and embrace collaboration. Limiting narratives, however, create fear, anxiety, or complacency.

The power of a narrative lies in its ability to either empower or limit the team’s actions and mindset. As a leader, you must decide which narratives you want to cultivate and in doing so, determine if your own narrative is helpful or unhelpful to your team’s execution.

Shaping Your Team’s Narrative: What You Can Do Today

So, what can you do to shape your team’s narrative in a positive direction?

1. Use a data driven approach to provide insights into the team behaviour such as the Meta Team approach – their Team Performance Profiler

2. Observe without judgment: Pay close attention to your team’s conversations’ language, metaphors, and recurring themes. Don’t rush to fix things immediately; let the patterns emerge organically.

3. Focus on the values: Identify the core values necessary to your organisation. What is showing up as well as what is evident based on the values you have. Do these values come through in the stories your team shares? If not, is it time to introduce new stories reinforcing these values or choose values that better represent your organisation.

4. Challenge limiting narratives: If you notice limiting stories, don’t shy away from confronting them. Acknowledge their existence, understand their origins, and discuss ways to rewrite them. This is data that tells you what’s happening and can inform how you re-write it authentically rather than re-badging it.

5. Tell stories that matter: Share stories that reflect the outcomes you want to encourage in your team. Don’t manipulate the narrative; instead, focus on real examples of success and articulate the behaviours that contributed

6. Engage everyone: Culture is a collective creation. Involve your team in shaping the narrative through open discussions, feedback sessions, or storytelling exercises. Cultivate ownership and help embed the culture across all levels of the organisation

Meta Team partners with businesses and leaders to uncover and shape the stories that drive their team culture. If you’re ready to elevate your team culture, let’s explore how we can help you achieve your goals.

As an accredited Meta Team Strategic Partner, Tash specialises in facilitating impactful conversations for leaders and teams across organisations of all sizes. Through a blend of experiential and facilitative techniques, she helps teams uncover the right questions to ask as they define their next phase and mission. Get in touch for an initial conversation or learn more about our team coaching courses, which offer data-driven insights into the behaviours that accelerate team performance.

Open post
Specialist HR Support

Specialist HR Support – How Do You Know When Your Business Needs it? 5 Signs to Look For.

The development of HR in a business often follows a similar pattern. Initially, it starts out as the part-time responsibility of a nominated team member – perhaps with specialist HR support via a telephone advice line to call on for guidance. As the business grows and takes on more staff, the role becomes full-time and is given to someone with basic HR experience.

But there will come a time when this solution is no longer able to cope with the scale and depth of the organisation’s HR needs, and external specialist HR support is needed. While very large organisations can afford to invest in creating a dedicated internal HR resource staffed by experienced professionals, this isn’t an option open to most owners of small and mid-size businesses.

So how do you know when your business is approaching the point when it needs to have access to external, specialist HR support?

It’s different for every business: there are no set rules around headcount, turnover or any other metric. Although it isn’t possible to predict when the time will come with any degree of accuracy, it’s sensible to look out for early indicators so you can be proactive and prepare.

Working with a wide range of clients has given us an insight into some of the more common signals that indicate a business may be nearing the point when external support is needed.

Here are five to look out for:

1. When a single issue seems to dominate & never gets resolved

Many clients we work with employ between 11-50 people. I’ve noticed that when the headcount reaches around 20 or so, a persistent HR issue can often emerge. It might be about virtually anything, but most often, it will relate to a particular individual, and it just won’t go away. Because no one is quite sure how to address it and decisions aren’t made about it, it becomes disproportionate to its size and a distraction to business as usual.

2. When your internal HR resource doesn’t have the solutions you need

As already mentioned, it’s common for HR to be just part of one person’s role in a smaller organisation – perhaps supported by an advice line for guidance on basic rules and procedures. The individual may have minimal HR experience – possibly even none – and expectations of responsibilities will likely be limited to admin.

This kind of arrangement can work perfectly well, but at some point, an issue will almost certainly arise to test the boundaries of current capabilities, and this is a critical moment on the HR journey.

We often find ourselves called in to assist a highly competent individual who’s done a solid job of handling HR up to this point but finds themselves unsure of how to advise the business owner on a complex issue. And why should they? They don’t have the training, experience or knowledge to be able to provide a bespoke solution.

Without the right advice, a business owner who might otherwise be great at engaging and building relationships with employees, can easily find themselves out of their depth, leading to a bad situation becoming worse.

3. When your advice line provides rules & processes – but not the answer

While your HR needs remain relatively simple, subscription-based advice lines can be a cost-effective way to supplement your internal HR resource. However, most of these solutions tend to provide rather generic advice. They are generally great at reiterating rules and regulations and detailing the correct procedures to follow in set scenarios. But their value can be limited in more complex situations which call for a more nuanced approach and where an in-depth understanding of the business dynamics and the personalities involved is needed.

“Our HR requirements have changed as our business and workforce have grown exponentially. While our HR subscription service was still useful for queries relating to junior staff and apprentices, we recognised that we needed help implementing the advice provided. In addition, the service was not robust enough to support our needs in relation to senior staff.” Pete Mills, MD, Pantera. Read full case study.

4. When the consequences of not following due process catch up with you

In a small organisation, it’s easy for HR processes not to be applied quite as strictly as they should be. Lack of time, lack of knowledge, nervousness and a desire not to ‘upset the applecart’ might all be reasons for letting some seemingly minor issues go unchecked.

You might tell yourself that something isn’t important – and on its own, it might not be, but if you don’t follow processes, it’s probably going to catch you up sooner rather than later. Cut an employee some slack because they always meet their target, and when they really step over the line, you’ll find communicating your message much more difficult than it needs to be. Because you’ve not had the right conversations along the way, the employee might not even realise they were getting close to a red line. If you don’t follow the correct process from the outset, relationships can deteriorate, impacting your business – and you won’t get to the point where either the employee complies or you’re within your rights to take formal action.

5. When your business experiences significant growth or change

A period of growth or change in a business can often put pressure on an internal HR resource – especially when it hasn’t been explicitly planned with a specialist HR support focus.

You’ll have a business plan setting out key goals and milestones, but opportunities might present themselves – an acquisition for example, that may lead to an unanticipated growth spurt, or a new contract or client win might require you to add to your skillset by taking on new talent. Both scenarios have the potential to upset the dynamics of a business if they’re not managed with care.

“Our long-term objective is to manage our HR function in-house, but in the meanwhile, we needed an HR professional to advise and support us – and to train our internal resource. Working with Organic P&O Solutions gives us the reassurance that we’re doing things the correct way”. Anthony Young, Director, Bridewell Consulting. case study.

Where Are You on Your HR Journey? Is it Time for Specialist HR Support?

Do you recognise any of the indicators outlined above? If you do, it’s time to have a conversation about supporting your HR resource with external, specialist HR support, expert help and advice. Wherever you are on your HR journey, whatever level of internal resource you already have in place, and whatever kind of HR issues you might have to address, we’d love to assist you in your next phase.

At Organic P&O Solutions, our service can be as flexible as you need, adapting to your changing needs as your business grows. Get in touch with us today for an initial chat.

Open post

Working Parents: 6 Things You Can Do to Help You Get Through Lockdown

Balancing work with parenting responsibilities is tough at the best of times. But with homeworking, home-schooling and changing school schedules thrown into the mix during lockdowns, life has become even more stressful for working parents with children of school or pre-school age.

According to the Modern Family Index, there were 13 million working parents in the UK in 2019. For the same year, the Office for National Statistics reported that 75.1% (three in four) of mothers and 92.6% of fathers with dependent children were in work in the UK. All these numbers have been increasing steadily over the last 20 years or so.

It’s quite likely you’ll have working parents in your team, and you may even be one yourself.

Although we’re all in this together, each of us will be experiencing lockdown from our own unique perspective. As a working Mum myself and with working parents in my team, I can empathise with others in similar situations. I wanted to use this space to share a few of my own experiences and some coping strategies to help working parents – employers and employees alike – deal with these challenging times:

1. Keep talking!
The old adage has it that sharing concerns and worries with others halves the problem, and here at Organic P&O Solutions, we concur wholeheartedly with this simple piece of advice. Many of the challenges we’re asked to help with could have been resolved earlier if people had just had a conversation and reached out for help.

Employers and employees need to engage in open and honest dialogue, so there’s a clear understanding of the support everyone needs to do their job effectively. The answers may not always be easy or immediately apparent, but in our experience, solutions usually emerge from dialogue.

And it shouldn’t just be employees that open up about the challenges they may be facing. There can be a lot of pressure on an employer to present themselves as superheroes to their team. It’s an unrealistic image, and a better approach would be to demonstrate that they are in fact human – by, for example, admitting they’re finding home-schooling tough or that their energy levels have dipped. There’s no need to go into details, but by doing this, they will be helping encourage employees to share their own issues as well as taking the pressure off them to try to be perfect employees.

2. Find ways to connect with people you need & who need you
Lockdowns and social-distancing have reminded us just how much we depend on each other for support, and it’s important we find new ways to stay connected, offer help – and accept it when it’s offered to us. Every one of us is impacted by the pandemic, and by working together, rather than in isolation, there are plenty of ways we can support one another.

Think about where you need help, and about the support those in your work or social network might need. Are there places where these needs cross over? Perhaps there are ways you can mutually support each other professionally, personally or emotionally.

From a personal perspective, although I’m good at working on my own, I do need to interact with my team. I miss the breakfast meetings we used to schedule. While face-to-face conversations over coffee and croissants are not possible, I make sure we do the next best thing and make full use of video calling – not only to discuss business but also to socialise virtually and catch up for a chat.

Outside of work, I love to run, but with home-schooling as well as working I’ve had to reschedule things. I’ve taken to running with a friend once a week when my son stays with his Dad, and I also go on a regular monthly walk with another friend. It’s a temporary routine that allows me to meet my home and work commitments, get exercise and have some invaluable social interaction.

3. Be realistic & go with the flow
For anyone working and having to look after children, these are stressful times. Being a full-time carer, teacher, Mum or Dad, and doing a job from somewhere that’s probably part-home, part-nursery, part-school and part-office; and maybe with a working partner sharing the same space, is likely to stretch anyone’s nerves, patience and energy reserves to their limits.

It’s a situation that requires putting on and taking off different hats throughout the day. As far as is possible, try to engage the right mindset for the task at hand. This is easier said than done, but where you can, try to compartmentalise your time, dedicating set periods to tasks rather than attempting to multi-task too much.

Crucially though, don’t stretch your personal limits. The combination of high stress levels and depleted energy means you need to be realistic in your expectations of yourself and own what you can realistically achieve.

Over the summer, I realised I couldn’t sustain my early morning FastTrack Fit Camp sessions on the same days that needed me to still have energy to run around with my son or go out with him for a bike ride. Something had to give, or I’d burn-out, so Fit Camp sessions had to take a break for a little while.

I do also think that trying to make some space for yourself each day is essential. Being a lark, I start work early in the morning – usually between 6 am – 7.30 am. It means I can be with my son for breakfast and allows me to have some quiet time – for me, an essential ingredient for happiness and productivity. I get to look at the moon, enjoy a good cup of coffee and plan my day before the phone begins to ring or I’m needed on the home front!

4. Recognise that positivity & negativity both have roles to play
Our nature will mean we tend to either lean slightly towards pessimism or optimism. The scale and duration of the current situation call for balance. There’s no point in taking the approach that everything is coming up roses – but at the same time, being a complete Eeyore will get you nowhere either. Positivity and negativity can both be forces for good: the first supports resilience, momentum and forward direction, while the second can be a realism check to help identify potential obstacles and blind spots.

In short, both have their place, so embrace them and try to retain a sense of balance.

5. Allow time to transition between roles
Following on from the above point, a working parent will probably need to transition through a dizzying array of roles each day, morphing from breadwinner to teacher, confidante to cook, parent to partner, team leader to cheerleader – and more besides.

In any given hour I might have a coaching session with a client, check on my son’s schooling, clean the bathroom, work on a future product idea, give guidance to a team member about a project they’re leading and take a call for HR advice.

It’s emotionally and physically exhausting, and I know that if I don’t take at least some time out between each task, I won’t take any learnings from what I’m doing.

It’s only by learning that we can improve and make things better for ourselves, but it’s impossible to learn anything while in survival mode. Allow some time to feel comfortable regularly to allow the learning to emerge, so you can prioritise what’s useful.

6. Know your early warning signs & share them with others
If you’re struggling, it’s all too easy to just carry on and ignore the signals indicating that something is likely to give. Left unchecked work and family relationships might suffer, and mental or physical illness could become a real possibility.

It’s important to recognise as early as possible when things might be reaching a critical point, and often, others will see this in you before you see it in yourself.

Stress affects people in different ways. An out of character short temper, limited attention span, forgetfulness and excessive tiredness can all indicate that help might be needed. Most of us know how we react to stress, and we need to share our ‘tells’ with colleagues so they can look out for warning signs.

Can We Help You & Your Team Get Through Lockdown?
Hopefully, lockdowns and home-schooling will soon be consigned to history. In the meanwhile, if you or anyone in your team is struggling with the challenges of working through the current situation, Organic P&O Solutions can offer advice and support.

Get in touch with us today.

Case Study: Archway Business Solutions

CASE STUDY: Archway Business Solutions

Recruitment Support

"Tash very much took the pain out of the interview process..."

ABOUT ARCHWAY BUSINESS SOLUTIONS

Archway Business Solutions install photocopiers and printers directly to clients and offer an ongoing support service to ensure they work efficiently. They are a service based company and focus on offering the best after sales care to clients within a very competitive market place. The company purchased a new building 10 months ago which started the ball rolling for business expansion and highlighted the need for support to recruit the right people to enable that growth.

“Our long-term objective is to manage our HR function in-house, but in the meanwhile, we needed an HR professional to advise and support us – and to train our internal resource.”

THE PROJECT - a customer’s perspective

“We have grown organically as a company and I have run the business by myself over the last 8 years, I recognised with the business expansion I needed to recruit someone to work closely with me.”

“I was fine to recruit engineers but really need some HR support to help me find the right admin person to work alongside me. I tried to find the right candidate on my own, but I was presented with some challenges, so decided to ask Tash to come and help me.”

“Tash came and walked me through the interview process. Initially helping me create the questions; leading the questioning with me during the interview and then helping me to review the candidates at the end of the process. After the interview process we discussed all applicants and came to a joint decision as to who the best person was for the job. ”

“Tash very much took the pain out of the recruitment process. She was prepared to write the letters advising people they had been unsuccessful as well as the offer letter to the successful candidate. ”

Tash also helped us with the contract, sitting down and explaining it to both myself and the successful candidate, making it simple and easy to understand. It was a seamless process.

“I will definitely be working with her in the future and would recommend her to anyone with any HR worries at all.”

A great result

“Tash also helped us with the contract... explaining it to both myself and the successful candidate”

Open post
People Plans

6 Questions to Ask Yourself for your 2021 People Plans

What plans do you have for your business in the New Year? Is your HR strategy in complete alignment with your organisational objectives?

Along with your plans for other core business areas like marketing, sales and finance, your people plan plays a critical role in ensuring your company achieves its goals. But it’s not set in stone: it’s dynamic and must be regularly revised and adjusted to keep pace with changing circumstances.

It’s good practice to review your people plan quarterly, and this is something we do with all our retained clients.

Reviewing your HR needs is an exercise in reverse engineering, requiring you to work backwards from your goals to consider their impact on your people – then check you have the infrastructure, skills, and competencies in place to make them a reality.

In our experience, businesses tend to focus on the resources and roles they need to have in their people plan, giving rather less thought to how those resources and roles need supporting to be effective.

A good people plan will look ahead to consider capability and training needs and try to anticipate potential change – for people as well as the business. If for example, you know an employee is going to be taking maternity leave in a few months, your plan needs to factor this in, identifying how continuity will be maintained, and when any conversations need to take place.

So, how does your people plan measure up against the ambitions you have for your business? Here are six questions to ask yourself:

1. DO YOUR EMPLOYEES HAVE THE RIGHT MANAGEMENT SKILLS?

Does your plan take account of all the skills your people need, highlight where there may be skill shortages, and identify how these will be addressed?

Too often, people are put into line management roles and expected to succeed because they’ve demonstrated they are technically competent. But this doesn’t mean they have the management skills their role calls for. Regardless of where an employee may be in the management line, do they have what it takes to engage, motivate and inspire loyalty in those people who report into them?

Do your people have the skills they need to deal with change? Businesses that invest in training managers and equipping them with the skills they need to manage, motivate and support people and teams are best placed to deal with change.

Inevitably, there will be times when you have no option but to be flexible, react and adapt, but this said, it’s vital to make sure you have a solid infrastructure in place for training people so that when change hits, those people impacted know what to do. Ideally, you will have anticipated and rehearsed potential scenarios, so plans have been experienced and tested.

2. ARE YOUR EMPLOYEES FULLY ENGAGED WITH YOUR BUSINESS?

To make the most of the skills, talent, knowledge and experience in your employees, you need to ensure that each of them is fully engaged with your business.

Ideally, at all levels in your organisation, you should be striving to foster an environment that encourages employees to invest fully in their role, so that for example, they’re prepared to dedicate discretionary time to consider ways systems and processes might be improved.

Building engagement requires looking at the ways you are connecting with your team – and the ways they are connecting with each other. But it isn’t only about communication, it’s also about emotional intelligence, and you’ll need to make sure you’re doing everything you can to nurture this skill within your people. For example, you might have equipped a line manager with all the technical skills required to undertake an appraisal, but do they have the emotional intelligence to have a heartfelt conversation with their colleague? A conversation that will be deep enough for them to fully understand the whole person at work – while keeping within boundaries?

3. DOES YOUR PLAN TAKE ACCOUNT OF YOUR EMPLOYEE’S FUTURE NEEDS?

As much as it possibly can, your plan needs to anticipate the future needs of your employees.

Using all the information available to you, you need to consider each individual within your organisation. What support do you need to put in place to help them be the best they can be? Are there any personal circumstances or life events you need to factor into your plan?

Assessing future needs to ensure your organisation gets the best return on investment in its people – and that employees get the best from the organisation – may involve having difficult conversations. But it’s crucial employees feel they can be open and honest, and confident you’ll listen to their needs as the business develops and grows.

4. ARE YOU LOOKING AFTER THE WELLBEING OF YOUR PEOPLE?

Is employee wellbeing embedded into your organisational culture?

In recent years, there’s been a growing focus on wellbeing in business. Often though, when it’s talked about, it’s in the context of employers going ‘above and beyond’. But it needs to become the norm. The pandemic threw the topic into sharp relief, and unsurprisingly, those employers who already proactively embraced the concept are those that have fared best.

Your employees are your most valuable resource, and taking care of them requires an approach that’s very different to the way you maintain and look after any of your other assets. Your business needs to invest in helping employees to stretch and develop themselves on a personal level, and to take care of their mental and physical health,

5. ARE YOU USING THE RIGHT CRITERIA TO JUDGE PERFORMANCE?

Are you rewarding the right people in your organisation?

Setting targets is key to achieving business objectives, but if you operate one-dimensional incentive schemes that only trigger a reward when a ‘magic’ number is hit – you may not be leveraging the full potential of your people. This kind of culture can lead to extreme swings in performance, and the focus on targets can distract attention from other vital areas and suppress creative thinking.

An ideal solution will identify and reward people who – though they may not always reach every target they’re set, nevertheless contribute to steady, constant and sustainable growth or improvement.

The concept that momentum is as important as achievement is best explained by business guru Simon Sinek in this video How Do You Measure Success?.

6. ARE YOUR HR POLICIES UP TO THE JOB?

Do you have clear HR policies to help guide you through any eventuality?

Taking the time to set down policies and keep them up to date is essential: by having them in place, everyone in your organisation will know where they stand, and they’ll provide a point of reference if clarity is required.

It’s easy to see creating HR policies as more burdensome admin, but not having them when they’re needed can prove disruptive and costly. It’s worth noting that those businesses with unambiguous homeworking policies found it easy to implement new ways of working during the lockdown.

If you don’t have HR policies across all your core people areas, you’re leaving rules and boundaries open to interpretation. Of course, when you come to apply rules, you can use discretion, but not having any to apply will leave you exposed.

Remember, you don’t have to invest your own time in creating HR policies – you can always engage an expert like Organic P&O Solutions to do it for you!

Let Organic P&O Solutions Review Your People Plan!

Tell us about your goals, about the opportunities and challenges your business is facing, and we’ll review your people plan to make sure you’ve got everything covered. Contact us today for an initial chat!

Case Study: Bridewell Consulting

CLIENT FOCUS: Bridewell Consulting

HR Support - High Growth SME

We wanted someone experienced in working with bigger organisations. Someone who would bring a larger enterprise approach.

ABOUT BRIDEWELL CONSULTING

Bridewell Consulting, one of the UK’s leading independent Cyber Security and Data Privacy companies, employs over sixty highly skilled consultants across the UK. Their core areas, which encompass a full suite of wider services that can be tailored for clients, are Cyber Security, Penetration Testing, Data Privacy and Managed Services. Bridewell supports the protection of clients’ systems and data by evolving and strengthening their security and privacy posture over time.

“Our long-term objective is to manage our HR function in-house, but in the meanwhile, we needed an HR professional to advise and support us – and to train our internal resource.”

The challenge

“Our vision is for Bridewell to become a global leading cyber security company where people enjoy and want to work. We’re hiring the best talent from across our industry to build an elite team of specialists. Since we started, we’ve experienced significant growth, with our headcount doubling each year.”

“We engaged Tash to assist us in developing an organisation and culture where people would aspire to work, to ensure we have the right management structure in place for future growth and to help us build a fit-for-purpose team. She also has responsibility for supporting and training our internal HR assistant – with a view to us eventually taking control of HR ourselves.”

Working with Organic P&O Solutions

“Early on, we used Tash as a safety net, to provide us with HR advice as and when we needed it. But as Bridewell has grown, she’s become an extension of our internal team, delivering crucial strategic support.”

“Tash has reviewed our HR processes and documentation – including our staff handbook and employment contracts to ensure they’re fully compliant. She meets regularly with our internal HR assistant, setting her tasks and overseeing her work to help us increase and develop our in-house HR knowledge.”

“With Organic P&O Solutions supporting us, I can be confident that our HR tasks are being driven forward, and that we have the right structure in place for our planned growth.”

Going the extra mile

“Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, Tash has been there to support us. In service areas where clients have been most heavily impacted by the pandemic, she’s helped us to make adjustments to our structure with as little impact to our staff as possible .”

A great result

“Working with Organic P&O Solutions gives us the reassurance that we’re doing things the correct way. I know Tash is always on call if I need advice, and when I have ideas I want to discuss, I value her experience and the external perspective she brings.”

Case Study: Chartered Institute of Building

CLIENT FOCUS: The Chartered Institute of Building

An HR Leadership Role Coaching Success Story

Tash's coaching has been critical in helping me to make a positive impact on the business

ABOUT THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF BUILDING

The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) is the world’s largest and most influential professional body for construction management and leadership. Members work worldwide in the development, conservation and improvement of the built environment.

The CIOB accredits university degrees, educational courses and training, and its professional and vocational qualifications are a mark of the highest levels of competence and professionalism.

“When I was promoted to a new strategic role with a team reporting into me, I recognised I was going to need support and development in certain key areas.”

The challenge

“Having worked in administrative roles within the CIOBs HR department for several years, I gained my MA in Human Resources Management and
was promoted to the position of HR Manager. After discussing with my line manager how to make my transition as seamless as possible, we engaged
Natasha from Organic P&O Solutions.”

“Tash has been working with me for over a year now. Initially, our face to face coaching sessions focused on the functional aspects of my new role, addressing a wide range of issues including aspects of team management and workload prioritisation. More recently though, I’ve been working with Tash on developing my leadership, influence and resilience skills.”

Working with Organic P&O Solutions

“Tash has been a massive help to me in making the transition. She’s helped me to shift the way I work by getting me to challenge the way I think, working with me to analyse situations, consider why I respond in certain ways – and assisting me in altering my instinctive behaviour where necessary.”

“Tash’s HR experience has been particularly useful for me in my role. If I’m struggling with a particular HR issue, I know I can call on her for advice.”

Going the extra mile

“Tash has really helped me to challenge the way I think: she picks up on things that are symptomatic of what I need to change: things that without her prompting I wouldn’t even be aware of.”

A great result

“As a result of the work I’m doing with Tash, I’m confident in my role and the decisions I’m making. I think this confidence feeds through to the rest of the organisation in terms of the way I work with my colleagues and how I interact with my team at all levels.”

Case Study: Inca Accounting

Client Focus: Inca Accounting

A HR Support success story

Tash's expert advice helps us to balance our legal responsibilities with our business objectives

ABOUT INCA ACCOUNTING

Inca Accounting specialises in working with the owners of micro to small start-ups, helping them build and grow successful, sustainable businesses. By surrounding owners with all the support and information they need, Inca has achieved a new business survival rate that exceeds the national average by more than 300%.

“Before appointing Organic P&O Solutions, we were having to dedicate considerable internal time and resources to dealing with HR-related matters.”

The challenge

“Overseeing HR has been part of my role at Inca from the outset. As our workforce grew in line with our expanding client base however, I found the increasing amount of time I was spending on HR matters was impacting on my other important responsibilities.”

“With ambitious plans for further growth, we knew we needed to find an HR advisor used to working with big organisations – one that could respond to our demanding requirements and deliver a high level of service to free up more of my time.”

Working with Organic P&O Solutions

“Working with Organic P&O Solutions has transformed our HR resource at Inca. Tash brings a new level of professionalism to this crucial area,
thinking strategically and helping us to anticipate issues before they even arise.”

“We have developed a strong working relationship, and Tash has become an important member of our team. it’s reassuring to know that she is there to give us prompt, professional advice when we need it, and to provide ongoing support to our in-house HR administrator.”

“Tash has also helped us to finalise our HR Employee Handbook, capturing all our HR policies in one place. The Handbook had been a work in progress for several years but remained unfinished due to lack of time. Thanks to Tash, it’s now fit for purpose and underpins all our HR activity.”

Going the extra mile

“Tash is proactive and full of great ideas. She helps ensure we comply with the latest legislation; doing so while always keeping the best interests of our business front of mind.”

A great result

“Knowing that Organic P&O Solutions have got our back on everything HR-related leaves me free to focus on servicing our clients. I know I can have complete confidence that Tash will take care of all our requirements – and that she will do a great job!”

Posts navigation

1 2 3 4
Scroll to top