ESL Europe based in Reading, Berkshire creates thick-film paste for electronic circuits and has been working with Gap HR since September 2011…
“We were aware that we needed to improve the quality of our approach to HR and one of our accountants recommended Gap HR and said Carolyne Wahlen was excellent,” explained David Cullum, Financial Director of ESL.
“We have 26 staff in the UK and never had a professional HR person. The employee handbook and staff contracts were drawn up by our lawyers and initially Carolyne focused on our appraisals and we always followed her professional recommendations.
“We were on the top ‘HR Navigator’ package, which included comprehensive support. We redid all the contracts and the employee handbook together with the appraisals. We also carried out an employee survey at the start of 2012, which we have just repeated and while there is still work to do, we have definitely seen an improvement.
“HR Navigator also included monthly training sessions for us, managers and supervisors on employment law and issues. So good was this that when we reached the end of the 12 month contract we were able to move to a reduced level, but still have Carolyne available whenever we need HR support.
“We would not have renewed Gap HR’s contract if we were not 100 per cent satisfied with the service and moving forward we are going to focus on the more challenging areas of the employee survey and strive to improve still further.
“I would recommend Gap HR to any business that does not have professional human resources on board; they should be looking for somebody like Carolyne; she has the expertise and more than that the professionalism and motivational approach that can help your business improve its HR.”
ESL Europe Managing Director Karen Jones-Williams added “Gap HR has been really good for us. Carolyne knows our staff well and they are very comfortable with her; she is exactly what we would want an HR person to be: direct, honest and straight-talking… we never had any real problems, but we did have a great big carpet to sweep potential issues under and Carolyne has helped change that and the staff appraisals have been incredibly useful; she has sat in and spoken up to encourage our staff and motivate them.
“She has helped people take responsibility and be more open about working with us and some who were reticent are now coming forward and realising they can solve some of the issues that concern them.
“I too would absolutely recommend Carolyne. We have 26 people here in the UK and a couple abroad and are too small for an HR department, but need the support of someone to show us the way. Gap HR gives us peace of mind and we know we only have to ask Carolyne and she is there to show us how to proceed.”