When Berkshire IT provider Nouveau Solutions met with Gap HR they decided that its own in-house human resources were sufficient…until a crisis loomed! Facilities Manager Adele Scott takes up the story.
“We first encountered Carolyne and Gap HR after a friend of a director suggested we talk to her. She came in and talked to us about what she offers and the different pack
ages. It sounded great; however we were in no rush to jump on board as we had no real issues. I did most of it and while I’ve no real experience in HR I handled the contracts so we just didn’t need help… but things change!”
“About six months after that we had an internal grievance – relating to social media postings. A few months after that we had a disgruntled employee who went on long term sick leave and brought up issues she had with managers; basically we decided this is out of our league – get Carolyne in.”
“Obviously we didn’t have a package with her at the time so we paid as we went along and by the end of it knew this is what we need and had spent more than we would on a package. We learned the hard way, but it was a good way to learn as we ended up convinced of the value of the service.”
“It was great. It was totally out of our comfort zone and Carolyne came in and she didn’t just offer advice, she carried out an internal investigation as well. It made the process so easy and we were totally confident; it took the sting out of the whole situation when we were panicking. She told us not to panic, Gap HR could deal with it and she just took over and solved the problem.”
“Of course we signed up for a package after that and opted for HR in a Box which gave us unlimited telephone support and because they manage all the letters and manage all the templates for letters it saves us time and we know what we can and cannot say.”
“There have been issues and there have been a few times – maybe even more than a few times – when we have needed to get expert and accurate information, which is what Gap HR gives. They’ve produced all the documents we need and told us how to follow the correct procedures. Employment legislation is always changing and we are IT experts, not HR experts so we need to pass it over to someone who knows what they are talking about.”
“The good thing is if we want them to attend the office to talk things through then they will always do that, which is so reassuring. Or if we need them to get involved in a disciplinary or how we approach meetings with staff involved in disciplinary investigations.”
“For the company before Gap HR we had to muddle through and hope for the best. Now we don’t have to muddle through and hope for the best. Now we are wrapped in an HR security blanket.”
“I would definitely recommend Gap HR. Don’t muddle through HR it is a minefield and you should get the experts in. They are always going to part of our business; we are growing over the years and as you grow the problems grow and people become more aware of their rights, so you have to do everything in the right order. Everything changes and not getting HR right is a costly mistake to make.”
Adele Scott
Facilities Manager