Case Studies

Real problems. Real fixes.

Over 20 years in HR, I've been involved in a number of projects and initatives, below are just some of the examples which are anonymised, but the problems are ones I still see all the time.

If you're an SME leader without the budget for a full-time HR hire, or an HR professional trying to get this kind of work done on your own, this is the kind of thing I do.

Culture & Engagement

Making Mental Health Support Visible and Accessible

The situation
There was no real support in place for employees struggling with their mental health, and no way for people to know who to turn to or how to reach them.

What I did
I supported the training of Mental Health First Aiders and helped them promote themselves properly so employees actually knew who they were and felt comfortable approaching them. I ran campaigns around World Mental Health Day to keep the subject visible, and introduced courses for managers on spotting the signs of stress in their teams.

The result
Employees had visible, accessible people to turn to rather than support that existed on paper only. The manager training was especially popular, giving people tools they didn't have before to notice when someone on their team was struggling — before it became a bigger problem.

Giving a Diversity Group Real Purpose

The situation
A workplace diversity group existed on paper but had no clear purpose, no budget, and nothing actually happening. It was at risk of becoming a box-ticking exercise.

What I did
I took over leading the group and gave it a proper job to do — running events that let people share and celebrate their own backgrounds and cultures, rather than a generic calendar of dates handed down from head office.

The result
The group went from doing nothing to running events people genuinely wanted to attend and talk about. It became something staff pointed to as proof the business meant what it said.

Turning a Tired Employee Survey Back Into Something People Trusted

The situation
The business had been running an employee survey for years, but completion rates were falling, and even when people did respond, very little feedback or action planning followed. It had started to feel like a box-ticking exercise nobody believed would lead anywhere.

What I did
I ran sessions with employees and managers to help them understand what the different sections of the survey actually meant, then held roundtable discussions where employees could give honest feedback directly. I worked with managers to build proper action plans from that feedback and hold them accountable for visibly following through.

The result
Completion rates went back up, because people could see their answers were actually leading somewhere. The survey stopped being something people filled in out of obligation and started being something they trusted would result in change.

Hiring & Onboarding

Turning an Unused Training Budget Into a Genuine Pipeline

The situation
A business had a pot of government training money sitting untouched, while managers kept saying they couldn't find or afford entry-level staff.

What I did
I built the case for a proper apprenticeship programme, covering both technical and non-technical roles, then worked with training providers to design routes in that matched what the business actually needed, not a generic off-the-shelf scheme.

The result
Over half the available funding went to work, building a real pipeline of new talent instead of sitting unused. Managers got a reliable way to fill hard-to-recruit roles, and the business stopped losing money it had already been given.

Brand Recognition That Actually Helped With Hiring

The situation
The business wanted to be recognised as a great place to work but had never put together a proper application, and wasn't sure it was worth the effort.

What I did
I led the application, pulling together real evidence and honest staff feedback about what it was actually like to work there, rather than a polished marketing version.

The result
The business made it into the top 10, giving it a genuine edge with candidates and something solid to point to when people asked why they should join.

Turning Induction Into Something People Actually Engaged With

The situation
New starters were getting their induction through live webinars, which ate up everyone's time and still left people without a proper way to look things up afterwards. It also meant the time that could've gone into actually meeting the team was spent sitting through a screen instead.

What I did
I pulled together everything a new starter actually needed to know and rebuilt it as a digital resource — checklists they could work through at their own pace, and clear pointers to the right information, instead of someone talking them through it live.

The result
The webinars weren't needed any more, which freed up that time to properly introduce new starters to their team instead. Induction became something people could dip in and out of rather than sit through, and the time saved went towards the part that actually mattered — getting to know the people they'd be working with.

Reward & Retention

Rebuilding a Recognition Scheme People Could Actually Reach

The situation
The business had a long service award scheme, but the milestones were set so far out that employees were rarely reaching them. Recognition existed on paper but rarely happened in practice, and there was nothing in place to celebrate the smaller, everyday wins.

What I did
I reviewed and reset the long service milestones so they were actually achievable, then expanded the scheme to include on-the-spot awards for day-to-day good work and monthly awards that fed into a yearly appreciation event.

The result
Recognition became something that happened regularly rather than almost never, giving employees more reasons to go above and beyond and a clearer link between their everyday effort and the organisation's values.

Fixing a Pay Structure Nobody Trusted

The situation
Pay and benefits decisions were being made inconsistently from team to team, with no clear rules. People were leaving over fairness as much as over money.

What I did
I worked directly with the person responsible for benefits to design a clear, consistent approach to pay, then helped managers put it into practice properly rather than leaving it as a document nobody read.

The result
A pay structure people could understand and trust, and fewer people leaving over fairness concerns.

Making an Employee Benefits Scheme People Actually Used

The situation
The business had a points-based benefits scheme that barely anyone engaged with. Points could only be redeemed against a limited range of expensive items, which put most of what was on offer out of reach for most employees.

What I did
I reviewed the existing scheme and replaced it with something far more accessible — letting employees spend their rewards on everyday things like shopping or experiences, rather than saving up for big-ticket items most people would never realistically reach.

The result
A benefits scheme people actually used, because the rewards on offer matched real life rather than sitting out of reach. What had been a scheme in name only became something employees genuinely valued.

Systems & Proccess Improvements

Making Safety Training Accessible To Frontline Employees

The situation
Important safety and security training wasn't reaching a large frontline workforce spread across many countries, because it was only written in one language and assumed everyone sat at a desk.

What I did
I designed and launched a new way of delivering training built around how the workforce actually worked — available in multiple languages, accessible to people without regular computer access, and focused on the training that mattered most first.

The result
More people completed their training, and important safety and security information reached staff who'd previously been more or less overlooked.

Getting Training Requests and Records Onto One System

The situation
Training requests and records were held in spreadsheets, inboxes, and people's heads. Leaders had no way of knowing who'd been trained, who hadn't, and where the gaps were.

What I did
I led the rollout of a single system for tracking and delivering training, working with IT and local teams to win over people who assumed a new system would just mean more work.

The result
For the first time, the business had one accurate picture of who was trained and who wasn't. Reports that used to take days of chasing people down became a five-minute job.

Making an E-Learning Platform Easier to Actually Use

The situation
An e-learning platform was in place, but usage was low because employees didn't have a clear sense of what was on it or how the courses related to each other.

What I did
I worked with the e-learning supplier to group the various modules together in a way that made sense to employees, so people could see at a glance what information and courses were actually available to them.

The result
Usage of the platform increased steadily as people understood what they could get out of it, turning a system that was underused into one people actually turned to.

Training & Development

Building a Mentoring Programme to Tackle High Turnover

The situation
The business had a high level of staff turnover and wanted to make better use of its more experienced, successful employees — giving them a way to pass on their knowledge to new starters rather than that experience walking out the door.

What I did
I created a coaching and mentoring programme where employees could apply to be a mentor based on their strengths, or apply to be a mentee. I built guidelines for both sides, along with a proper selection and pairing process, then ran a pilot to test it before rolling it out further.

The result
The pilot landed well, with both mentors and mentees feeling genuinely engaged in the programme — giving the business a solid foundation to expand it with confidence.

Building Management Training Where None Really Existed

The situation
There was little to no process for deciding who went on management training or why, and nothing in place for either new managers finding their feet or more experienced ones looking to develop further.

What I did
I created and delivered training based on what managers actually wanted and needed — covering day-to-day HR processes as well as the softer skills of managing people, rather than a generic leadership course.

The result
Managers became noticeably more confident in spotting issues early and dealing with them properly, rather than letting problems sit or escalate.

Building Career Routes That Didn't Just Lead to Management

The situation
The only way to progress in the business was to move into management, which meant people who didn't want to manage others — or weren't suited to it — had nowhere to go. Good people were left stuck, or leaving to find growth elsewhere.

What I did
I worked with people across the business to understand the different paths a career could actually take, then built these out into proper routes that let people move sideways and grow their skills, not just upwards into a management role.

The result
People had real options for progression that matched what they actually wanted, rather than being funnelled into management by default. It gave the business a way to keep good people who would otherwise have moved on, and opened up growth for those who wanted to develop without taking on managing a team.

Blackstar Alchemy