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AAB Group / Case Study
Gryffe Valley Pubs is a family business and the owners are proud to run two beautifully renovated local bar restaurants – “Carriages” in Kilmacolm and the “Fox & Hounds” in Houston.
Both venues aim to deliver a high-quality drinking and dining experience for customers in a friendly and attractive environment. The venues are both local icons, metaphorically and literally at the heart of the villages they serve.
The owners had already worked with the AAB People team to prepare employment documentation such as an Employee Handbook and Contracts of Employment.
In 2021, they were looking for support to review Health & Safety and Fire Safety obligations. The Area Manager, Dale Shepherd, wanted expert help with completing the following for both venues:
Initial audits and inspections were completed on both sites, and follow up work then took place off-site for both Carriages and Fox and Hounds. This enabled the AAB People Health & Safety team to develop a new health & safety policy and procedures to achieve a consistent approach across the two premises; review and refresh staff training with a particular focus on management responsibilities and ensure that the premises met the required standards for health & safety and fire safety.
Area Manager Dale Shepherd said,
“I couldn’t be happier with the results of our health & safety review. Having worked with the AAB People’s HR team before, we knew they were excellent to deal with. We were delighted when our experience with the H&S team was just as positive. The advice we got, while undoubtedly compliant, was sensible and practical. Most importantly, we felt they were there to help us and not scare us.”
Crabtree & Crabtree is a bespoke holiday letting agency with a curated portfolio of exclusive holiday homes across the North of England and South of Scotland. Founded by Emma Crabtree in 2004, it has grown to become an 11-strong team with properties across four unspoilt regions. Until recently, most of the team worked in the Kelso office in the Scottish Borders.
In 2019, during a period of controlled growth, the business sought a human resources partner that could lead in all aspects of people management and effectively become an extension of the team. The focus was on a strategic relationship and personal touch service that would provide longer term recommendations as well as assistance with employment contracts, policies, and appraisals. AAB People was recommended by a colleague at Scottish Enterprise.
“We sought HR guidance in a phase of controlled expansion, building the team from 7 up to now 11 with a view to continued growth,” explains Emma Crabtree. People here are passionate about our brand. It’s a friendly, family-feel team that knows each other well. We recognised a need to formalise how we work as we grow, which we hadn’t particularly done before, but without losing our sense of camaraderie and warmth. We sought a listening ear, a partner who could recommend responses to formal and informal issues quickly and sensitively.”
The arrival of the pandemic in March 2020 presented a series of new HR (as well as business) challenges. As well as managing growth and formalising procedures, another significant HR challenge emerged. Sudden remote working and uncertainty around how and to what extent the holiday lettings industry would return to business presented immediate people management priorities.
“We sought HR guidance in a phase of controlled expansion, building the team from 7 up to now 11 with a view to continued growth”
Five months before the pandemic took hold, AAB People began building its role as a close partner that would respond in a bespoke way to all emerging HR needs.
The team installed a framework for recruitment, employee relations, and professional development and introduced tools, systems, and processes to manage everyday HR needs. They helped with the process and procedures around a maternity leave and a promotion to manager position and the development needs around that. The team also refined all documentation to suit the style and feel of a small growing business, moving away from a cover-all approach.
As the pandemic struck, Crabtree & Crabtree found themselves having to reorganise thousands of bookings, as well as process deferrals and cancellations and adjust to new legislation and ever-changing guidance (and sometimes lack thereof!). The team became busier than ever. All new recruits were interviewed and hired online, with AAB People guiding the team carefully and sensitively, helping the interviewers to listen well in an unusual setting and observe the candidates as well as ask leading questions.
One of those essential recruits was an operations manager, a new post that became increasingly urgent with so many changing external factors affecting liaison with customers, both holidaymakers and holiday property owners.
“It was vital for us to get this right, and AAB People helped us to form a strong double act: they knew how to help us find ideal candidates, ask the right questions, and remain calm in the face of hospitality industry chaos! Recruitment is about the right people, it’s not just about growth. AAB People are a valuable, professional helping hand in identifying who we need and where to find them.”
As pandemic restrictions eased, the business became even busier, boarding new property owners in all four regions of England and Scotland. As a result, the property management team continues to expand.
In a time of great change and uncertainty for the hospitality industry, Crabtree & Crabtree describe AAB People as a professional, reassuring HR partner “who knows exactly what we need, when we need it and how to achieve it.” They see the team as being “under the skin of the business and its changing needs”.
The business now has a more bespoke and personal, less generic set of documents and contracts relating to people and workplace management, including a valued new employee handbook.
“We also now have a strong and reassuring knowledge of how best to manage the more intangible parts of HR, keeping the ‘feel’ informal, whilst creating a more structured framework for how we behave as we grow the business. It’s good to have guidance on how to bring out the best in our team’s enthusiasm and capabilities without over-formalising how we do it.”
In 2021, Crabtree & Crabtree has a clear plan of what needs to happen to manage and grow its ever-busy team, with everything to do with people management clearly signposted.
“In AAB People we’ve found a team who understand us, are similar in size to us and are growing like us. They help us manage our people and any emerging situations, large or small. With the new HR plan, we feel as if we know what’s coming next and always have a reassuring sense of calm in the face of sudden changes. Our contacts are delightful, efficient and best of all, they understand us and reflect our own warm culture.” Emma Crabtree, Director, Crabtree & Crabtree
“In AAB People we’ve found a team who understand us, are similar in size to us and are growing like us. They help us manage our people and any emerging situations, large or small. With the new HR plan, we feel as if we know what’s coming next and always have a reassuring sense of calm in the face of sudden changes. Our contacts are delightful, efficient and best of all, they understand us and reflect our own warm culture.”
Emma Crabtree, Director, Crabtree & Crabtree
Established in 1948, Douglas Laing is an independent, family-owned Scotch Whisky business. A leading distiller, blender and bottler based in Glasgow, the 60-strong company has a premium, award-winning collection of brands that are enjoyed worldwide.
With over 75 years industry expertise and experience, this family-run business is now in its third generation of ‘Laings’ at the helm. The founder, Fred Douglas Laing, was a true entrepreneur and innovator who still remains at the heart of its mission. Today, the company is headed up by Fred’s son, Fred Junior and his grand-daughter Cara.
Having supported Douglas Laing for four years, AAB People recently increased its level of support in mid-2023. Douglas Laing’s incoming executive business partner, Claire Bruce, found that HR was an increasing part of her role in a fast-growing business. She asked AAB to review and elevate the company’s entire HR provision.
Consultant Jane Connell worked with Claire to review and upgrade all policies, contracts, systems and to help advance their HR processes. Together, they worked to create a different way of working and bring more structure around HR to reflect the changing business needs.
Jane has been a consistent behind-the-scenes source of practical materials, support and guidance ever since, freeing up Claire to manage day-to-day employee-facing operations with a trusted sounding board at hand.
A key feature of AAB People’s support for Douglas Laing has been to help manage employee relations across the different locations and diverse working environments. As well as bringing a deeper understanding of employment law, this support has also helped to produce supporting documents for emerging situations. Jane and team have also advised on how to balance the needs of employee and employer to achieve the best outcomes for the business.
Executive business partner Claire Bruce has valued the part-of-the-team working relationship and the knowledge that AAB People can always steer the business in the right direction.
“It’s a very positive experience, working with AAB People. Jane and James have practically become part of our extended team. It doesn’t feel like an external consultancy and never feels disjointed. They’ve adapted to my style of working and that really helps.”
They took us back to basics. We now have a framework and more structure for everything to do with HR, and it’s invaluable to be guided on employment law and to have templates for every type of situation, whether it’s about returning to work, managing sickness absence, paternity leave, employing new and expectant mothers, hybrid working or new car allowance rules. They help us sense check how we manage our people. They also advise us on wider issues and trends that help us attract and retain talent. We can now deliver our 2024 people strategy with more solid foundations.
“Having AAB there gives me support in what can be sometimes feel like a lonely role because we don’t have an internal HR team. We all like as humans to bounce things off people, especially when they are sensitive issues. Their daily support makes me feel more confident and provides the knowledge that we’re doing the right thing. Nothing is too big or small. Their constant support is key for me to be able to do my job, and actually, I couldn’t do it without them!
AAB offer such a variety of experience. It’s all there under one umbrella. I can go to them for everything. We found the benchmarking info on salaries in like-for-like businesses useful. I didn’t realise that they also cover health and safety or whistleblowing policies, for example. I love that we can draw on the experience and expertise of their wider team to build the right kind of policies to suit our culture. Getting that right is a massive thing for me.
We’re fortunate that at 60 employees we can still have conversations with everyone, unlike in a big corporation. But in a business with such a fast-paced growth and a lot of change, it’s great to have AAB’s support to make sure we’re putting our next foot forward and looking after our growing team as best we can. Having more structure means we have more control.
The people management needs in manufacturing are quite different. AAB help us think about how we can bring a training and development framework to our manufacturing and bottling teams that also suits functions like accounting and marketing. When we’re looking at policies and procedures, we need to reflect the different needs of those different environments and working hours. Although we are one company, we have to be flexible enough to meet all their diverse requirements and still bring consistency.”
Based in Scotland’s central belt, Strachan and Kemp Commercial Services Ltd provide a complete contractor solution to commercial property clients. They deliver a diverse range of services to support every aspect of property-related services, including full Hard and Soft Service provision, ranging from the smallest of routine repairs, time-critical emergency works and Planned Preventative Maintenance through to refurbishment and dilapidation works.
Formed in 2014, the now 60-strong firm has enjoyed rapid growth in the demand for its services and plans to expand its geographical base beyond Scotland.
AAB People began advising Strachan and Kemp as part of a North Lanarkshire grant-funded project. In September 2022, our team were taken on directly by the firm to provide a retained consultancy and practical support for their managers on a range of HR issues. The permanent employee headcount has grown to seven, with 50+ remote and casual staff providing the bulk of the commercial services.
Strachan and Kemp sought ongoing guidance and in-person visits by AAB People to assist with contracts, compliance and a diverse and sometimes challenging range of employee relations issues.
Our role has spanned many aspects of HR, from practical documentation and daily HR admin needs to advising on a range of sometimes complex employee relations issues. We introduced a bespoke employee handbook to all staff outlining all the entitlements and policies available and serving as an educational guide for managers on company processes.
We support the directors, service manager and cleaning managers with processes they may not have dealt with previously, provide a guide for how to handle them, draw up any relevant documentation and attend meetings with management on request.
A significant part of our work has been helping with internal communications around employee relations, sometimes involving sensitive issues and complex individual situations. We contribute to meetings with staff and management where required and have regular calls to discuss a wide range of people management needs.
We also advise on contractual issues, including those related to TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment rights). TUPE is the law that protects employees and their benefits when their employment changes hands.
Strachan and Kemp also asked us to review their Health & Safety systems and policies as part of their business growth requirements. Our dedicated Health & Safety team assigned a consultant to become an integral part of the client team and act as a retained, ongoing first port of call.
A full review, a new bespoke action plan and upgrading of policies and procedures followed in Autumn 2023, including a review and simplification of documentation. The review included several risk assessments, including fire risk, and a series of training sessions for the field team on dynamic risk assessment in core business areas such as roofing, cleaning, security, drainage and waste management.
All Health & Safety materials were revised to create maximum efficiency and user-friendliness and tailored carefully to fit the specific needs of Strachan and Kemp as a diverse and growing business. AAB People are retained as regular advisors for all day-to-day enquiries as they arise and treated very much as part of the in-house team.
Business development director Megan Smernicki values the sound knowledge, experience and reassuring level of support that the team bring to the business:
“AAB People’s depth of experience is fantastic and the value of working with them is second-to-none – both with HR and Health & Safety. Ours is a complex and diverse business and they’re a great support in helping us get our policies and procedures to where they need to be.”
“They’re a next level, integral part of our team – there’s no divide. It’s like having an internal HR manager. The team are always on hand to guide us and suggest practical solutions. They do so much more than just advise – they take control of projects, create templates for action and help us do the work that needs doing.”
“We wouldn’t be where we are without them. They guide us on difficult situations and always come with solutions thanks to their vast range of experience across the wider team. In complex situations, we find it very helpful that they can advise as a collective.”
Celtic Renewables, a rapidly expanding cleantech company headquartered in Edinburgh, is at the forefront of sustainable innovation. The company’s technology converts low-value by-products, residues and wastes into high-value green chemicals and other commercial and environmentally valuable commodities. Following the construction of their state-of-the-art commercial processing plant in Grangemouth, the company is focused on expanding into new markets on a global basis. As they embarked on a journey of strategic growth, they recognised the need to strengthen their HR function and conduct a substantial recruitment drive. Celtic Renewables turned to AAB People, a trusted HR outsourcing partner, for their expertise in facilitating this transformation, highlighting the invaluable role played by the HR team.
Celtic Renewables was at a pivotal stage in its growth, and it needed to strengthen its HR capability and scale its workforce significantly. This task came with a host of challenges, including the need for structured HR processes, competitive compensation schemes, and the recruitment of 15 critical roles. Jim Purves, Head of Corporate Operations at Celtic Renewables, recognised the need for an external strategic partner to fill a critical gap in internal resources and expertise and help navigate these challenges.
The team joined forces with Celtic Renewables to lead this transformative journey. Their multifaceted role included:
1. Creating Rewards and Recognition Schemes: the team collaborated with Celtic Renewables to establish reward and recognition programmes that would motivate and retain top talent while aligning with the company’s sustainability goals.
2. Salary Benchmarking: To remain competitive in the job market, they conducted a comprehensive salary benchmarking analysis, ensuring that Celtic Renewables’ compensation packages were attractive to potential hires and competitive to retain existing talent.
3. Performance and Development Process: they supported the implementation of a robust performance and development process, encouraging employee growth, career progression and company-wide effort towards achieving Celtic Renewables’ strategic goals. In doing so, they collaborated closely with the CEO and senior managers to facilitate the setting of clear, measurable, and achievable goals and SMART objectives aligned with the company’s strategic objectives.
4. Contracts and Documentation: Streamlining HR processes, they ensured that employment contracts and documentation met legal requirements and aligned with Celtic Renewables’ values.
5. Recruitment: The most important aspect of this contract was recruitment. They played a critical role in sourcing, interviewing, and hiring 15 professionals, including a Head of People, lab technicians, and engineers.
6. Onsite presence: they worked onsite with Celtic Renewables, building strong relationships with line managers and employees, working closely with the team to overcome challenges as they arose.
‘’Our partnership with AAB People, has been transformative. As we embarked on a journey of strategic growth, their expertise and dedication were instrumental in establishing robust HR processes and recruiting a motivated team of professionals. The commitment to aligning our HR initiatives with our company’s sustainability mission was impressive. With their support, we’re now in a strong position to grow sustainably and make a lasting impact in the cleantech industry.” Jim Purves, Head of Corporate Operations, Celtic Renewables
‘’Our partnership with AAB People, has been transformative. As we embarked on a journey of strategic growth, their expertise and dedication were instrumental in establishing robust HR processes and recruiting a motivated team of professionals. The commitment to aligning our HR initiatives with our company’s sustainability mission was impressive. With their support, we’re now in a strong position to grow sustainably and make a lasting impact in the cleantech industry.”
Jim Purves, Head of Corporate Operations, Celtic Renewables
Celtic Renewables’ collaboration with AAB, exemplifies how strategic HR outsourcing can empower a company’s growth. This partnership not only addressed immediate HR needs but also set the foundation for long-term success, ensuring that Celtic Renewables remains at the forefront of sustainable innovation for years to come.
CAS is an employee-owned technology company specialising in case management systems for complaints handling, employee relations, information requests (FOI, GDPR/SAR, EIR), and other regulated casework. Their Workpro case management software is used by public and private sector organisations throughout the UK and overseas. The company moved to employee ownership in January 2014, which coincided with significant investment in their products and processes.
The employee-owned structure at CAS drives a strong culture that focuses on client needs, exceptional service, and constant improvement. They identified a business need for a strategic HR partner to support their long-term growth and deliver bespoke training and development to their management team. They required a partner with a strong understanding of innovation-led technology businesses, who understood their culture and ambitions, and who was flexible and responsive to their evolving needs.
“CAS and the Workpro Team have been working with AAB People since 2017, providing us with HR advice, policy development and training, and confidence that we have these areas covered.”
Having been introduced to CAS through their Chairman and having worked with them previously, providing operational HR support on an ad hoc basis, AAB People were engaged as a trusted advisor to support their strategic goals. We conducted an initial scoping session with the senior leadership team in order to gain an in-depth understanding of business priorities. Together with an audit of the existing people framework, we were able to identify the key HR priority areas. These were: an update and refresh of policies and contracts to ensure compliance and culture fit; a tailored training and development programme for line managers; induction and onboarding tools and processes to support recruitment; and development of a performance management and assessment process.
The outcome was a tailored strategic HR plan, with a proposed delivery timeline, to support and enable organisational growth from a people management and development perspective.
A regular ‘bank’ of HR support was agreed, providing CAS with a full hands-on HR service and access to expert guidance to support and coach their manager group.
Employee ownership at CAS has fostered a collaborative, responsive, and supportive culture, which now benefits from an aligned HR strategy to achieve business goals and enhance business performance. They have well-defined and compliant HR practices, system, and supporting frameworks in place, which are tailored to a work environment that fosters intrapreneurship and innovation.
A bespoke management training programme has expanded leadership capabilities and strengthened CAS’s core values, policies, and processes, driving progress and efficiency. Delivered through a series of interactive workshops, this training has enabled line managers to effectively develop and support their teams.
CAS has the reassurance of having a trusted HR partner who understands its culture and strategic goals. A partner who is embedded in their organisation, supports their growth, and adds value across the business. Their leadership team has access to trusted advice and guidance as and when they need it to support all aspects of people management and development.
“AAB People’s holistic approach ensures that the guidance and support they deliver is tailored to our needs and is backed both by a solid understanding of our culture, our aims and ambitions, as well as their wider experience of working with other technology SMEs.” Chris Ellis, Chief Technical Officer, CAS
“AAB People’s holistic approach ensures that the guidance and support they deliver is tailored to our needs and is backed both by a solid understanding of our culture, our aims and ambitions, as well as their wider experience of working with other technology SMEs.”
Chris Ellis, Chief Technical Officer, CAS
This 17-strong start-up team of renewable energy specialists has recently opened satellite offices in Aberdeen and Orkney in addition to the main Edinburgh base in order to meet growing interest in the decarbonisation of North Sea assets. Their flagship project is the development and installation in Orkney of a prototype wave energy machine to provide green energy with zero carbon power to the North Sea.
In scaling up the team and in approaching new investors to accelerate the commercialisation of its wave energy technology, Mocean Energy wished in 2020 to develop robust HR systems, policies and procedures to support ambitious growth plans. They turned to AAB People for advice and support with employee relations, recruitment, and onboarding.
The original goal was to ensure that all compliance needs were being met. But support for employee relations and recruitment followed quickly as it became clear that this would be a proactive, human partnership where AAB People would help to drive the HR strategy and suggest continuous improvements and a fresh perspective.
“AAB People are embedded in our company and have given us confidence in our ability to grow. We now have strong systems and the right culture in place to do that. We didn’t know what we were missing until we met them!”
The partnership began with a whole-team values exercise to determine the foundations of a strong, unified company culture. Trust, Expertise, Awesomeness, and Morals were chosen by Mocean Energy as the basis for all day-to-day teamwork and problem-solving and for longer-term decisions about company direction.
AAB People’s own early experience as a start-up was an important influence. Helping a fledgling company develop confidence in its structure and internal systems and feel less vulnerable is key to successful growth. The depth of understanding from a similar-sized team with a similar growth history was a significant factor for Mocean Energy in choosing to work long-term with AAB People.
As well as getting to know the whole team and introducing a range of HR policies and an HR system, AAB People led and advised on the recruitment of five new hires during 2021. Job design for and consultation with engineers, technical project managers, and support staff was followed by interview help and the creation of thorough onboarding and induction processes, thus relieving the management of time-consuming admin.
Employee relations, including helping the management team to support employees with any work-related concerns, is a key element of the partnership. AAB People remains on hand as another avenue for employees to discuss and address any emerging issues. The team also acts as a valued sounding board for emerging conversations about people strategy and development.
MB and founder Cameron McNatt is clear about the value of having a well-aligned HR advisory team.
“AAB People are embedded in our company and have given us confidence in our ability to grow. We now have strong systems and the right culture in place to do that. We didn’t know what we were missing until we met them! Left to our own devices, we probably wouldn’t have written down those values. Now, we refer to the values in all our decision-making and hiring conversations, and to reflect on and preserve our culture as we grow.”
“As a result of having AAB People on board, our employees and our managers feel better supported and we feel like a fully developed company with good systems and foundations, rather than a vulnerable start-up. We feel like we have access to the whole team if we need it and our main contact Scott feels very much like part of our team, never like an outside consultant.”
Experts in early-stage equity investment and empowering entrepreneurs, this 7-strong team was built from scratch by their Managing Partner. Founded in 2017, the firm was created to bring a much-needed specialism and expertise to the notoriously hard-to-crack investment landscape. The London and Glasgow-based firm helps companies access early-stage equity investment, working with clients on everything from financial models and pitch decks to investment strategy and executing deals. The team has supported over 155 businesses on their journey to raise capital alongside running their own angel syndicate to invest in other businesses.
Bringing more formality and process to a growing business was the principal challenge. After years as a consultant and alongside a co-founder, the managing partner’s team began to grow in line with business demand in 2019 before doubling in size in 2021. In working with AAB People, they sought guidance, direction, and structure in several areas of HR: growth planning, employee relations, performance management, learning and development, and leadership training.
“AAB People give us exactly what we need as small business, and it’s measurable. The speed of onboarding people and ensuring their smooth training and integration is worlds apart from what we had before. Retention is good too. I realise that people like process and structure – not everyone is an entrepreneur comfortable with instability! They want a career path, not a business and I’m learning about developing other people’s careers. That’s what I want to build on, and I simply couldn’t have got this far without the team.”
In the first four months alone, significant changes were suggested and implemented by AAB People. A full recruitment, onboarding, and probation process was introduced, accompanied by an annual and mid-year performance review process. Learning and development plans were created for all staff, and bi-weekly 1-to-1s and monthly company-wide meetings became regular practice. An employee handbook was also completed and distributed.
AAB People also guided the firm through a culture and values process, designed to ensure that the whole team is ‘on the same page’ and so that every colleague – existing and new – understands where the business is heading and what the business stands for. This learning can then be applied to performance management and evaluation, staff meeting, and personal 1-to-1s for professional development.
A key theme running through the introduction of all the new processes and ways of working has been the shift to a more structured, less casual management style. They sought clarity on how to manage employee relations more formally as staff numbers began to increase. Coaching and mentoring for the managing partner was a pivotal part of this.
The firm reports much greater confidence in growing and fostering an enthusiastic team and developing the softer skills alongside managing robust new HR structures and processes.
“The business runs in a completely different way now. It’s so much more structured, and I couldn’t ask for anything more. I didn’t always know what I needed and didn’t realise how much of my headspace was taken up by worrying about HR and whether I was doing what was required. Working with AAB People has made a huge impact and actually has changed my life! In 10 years of running businesses, I’d never managed any formal HR before.
The recruitment and people management processes needed in a bigger team are very different from running a two or three-person SME. It was a very long time for us to start implementing proper processes. I knew I wanted to grow the team in a structured way, but I worried that I was doing everything wrong. I’ve realised from working with the team at AAB People that I had some good content in place, but it could be vastly improved, and there was a way to take a significant workload off my plate. It’s great to have someone else to organise things and give me headspace to free myself up and develop the business.”
“As an entrepreneur who’s mostly worked for myself, I was very unfamiliar with the necessities of HR planning and supportive people management. Obviously when you grow a team of people from scratch, you need to pay attention not only to the functional side, but to the motivation, performance and professional development side too.”
This 16-strong team of smart security experts has grown quickly since its launch in 2019. Best known for its DIY smart home burglar alarm battery-powered system, the Edinburgh-based consumer security hardware and software start-up has big plans to grow over the coming years as it develops and manufactures more new smart home security products.
The team sought ongoing HR expertise to help them navigate a growing team and all that comes with needing to introduce people management processes, policies, and procedures. With 11 staff members and growing in Summer 2021, they hired AAB People for guidance, advice, and practical support.
Keen to engage experts who would do more than assist with transactional HR tasks, they were looking for structure, rigour, and deeper insight into all things HR. The company has been supported by Scott and his colleagues not just in everyday HR operations but in more advanced, strategic, often complex, and sensitive areas. With a management team who are largely tech specialists, the firm had no internal HR expertise on board and had previously relied on an impersonal call centre support system. They sought a more human, ongoing partnership and a proactive approach that would reach far beyond helping meet ‘legal minimums. ’
“We now understand far more about HR. Often in larger firms, people see HR advisors and departments as ‘blockers’ to getting things done. Our experience is quite the opposite. Working with AAB People has helped us learn more about nurturing, motivating and managing employees. We’ve even come to enjoy forming a structure for organisational development! And the monthly Pulse surveys – so simple yet so effective – are one of the best tools we’ve gained. We wonder now why we never did something like that before!” CEO of the Smart Security Firm
“We now understand far more about HR. Often in larger firms, people see HR advisors and departments as ‘blockers’ to getting things done. Our experience is quite the opposite. Working with AAB People has helped us learn more about nurturing, motivating and managing employees. We’ve even come to enjoy forming a structure for organisational development! And the monthly Pulse surveys – so simple yet so effective – are one of the best tools we’ve gained. We wonder now why we never did something like that before!”
CEO of the Smart Security Firm
AAB People has focused on bringing ideas and suggestions, reducing stress, and helping the firm make people-related decisions that rely on a deep knowledge of employee needs, workplace relations, and professional development. One of the most powerful new tools introduced by AAB People has been the concise monthly one-minute Pulse Surveys, which help the board to ‘take the temperature’ of the team around job and workplace satisfaction and work-life balance. Other solutions introduced by AAB People include:
AAB People has brought far more awareness to the board of “when people problems are there”. Beforehand, there was less management information and general HR acumen to be able to make pivotal decisions. Robust processes are now in place to identify people-related issues and to know how to approach them. The team reports more confidence and more visible infrastructure – for the company and its investors – to enable the business to scale up.
The CEO is clear about the impact AAB People has had on operational life:
“We’ve been pleasantly surprised at how positive the impact has been. Working with an HR consultancy in this way is a great model for a business of our size with a limited budget for hiring HR specialists in-house. A challenge for start-ups like ours is to introduce some structure but not so much that it constrains innovation and growth. Together, we enjoy a consultative approach to designing new HR processes and tools and a healthy exchange of ideas where we can challenge each other.”
“It’s really invaluable knowing we’ve got someone in Scott who understands what we need and has the in-depth knowledge to ‘catch us’ in areas we’re uncertain in, and in challenging and sensitive times that require deeper knowledge than we have of a complex legal system.”
“Thanks to AAB People, we have a reliable, pragmatic, insightful, professional HR capability. Before this partnership, we were rather under-structured in terms of people management. We value the knowledge, rigour and vital flexibility that they bring.” “As a result of having AAB People on board, we have peace of mind that all things HR are guided by advisors who know the industry, can advise frankly on risks and implications, and help us motivate, inspire and look after the employment needs and challenges of our growing team.” COO The Smart Security firm
“Thanks to AAB People, we have a reliable, pragmatic, insightful, professional HR capability. Before this partnership, we were rather under-structured in terms of people management. We value the knowledge, rigour and vital flexibility that they bring.”
“As a result of having AAB People on board, we have peace of mind that all things HR are guided by advisors who know the industry, can advise frankly on risks and implications, and help us motivate, inspire and look after the employment needs and challenges of our growing team.”
COO The Smart Security firm
Founded in 2010 by CEO Ben Panter, Edinburgh-based Blackford Analysis (“Blackford”) provides an independent platform for the effective selection, deployment, management, and use of best-in-class medical imaging applications and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The team grew to 25 staff in its first 10 years to 2020. Since then, it has more than tripled in size to over 80 employees.
In its early years, Blackford hired AAB People’s services to develop and introduce an HR policies and procedures handbook and help with ad hoc queries as required. As its needs increased, it turned to AAB People in July 2020 for more regular, continuing, multi-level HR support. The management team sought an ongoing partner who could help them retain and nurture the rapidly increasing team and enable the company to grow smoothly by providing tactical, everyday HR help and longer-term strategic people management support.
“Having AAB People supporting us in such a wide range of everyday HR needs, as well as helping us plan for the future, gives us the essential space we need to step back and reflect on how we want to grow and how we can best retain and develop all our talented people and recruit the best talent into the company.” Amy Mohr, HR Manager, Blackford Analysis
“Having AAB People supporting us in such a wide range of everyday HR needs, as well as helping us plan for the future, gives us the essential space we need to step back and reflect on how we want to grow and how we can best retain and develop all our talented people and recruit the best talent into the company.”
Amy Mohr, HR Manager, Blackford Analysis
An urgent priority was to help Blackford manage how its team worked during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. We provided advice on how to run operations with a mostly remote workforce, progressing gradually to a structure that combines remote, hybrid and on-site working. AAB People then helped to transform Blackford’s recruitment and onboarding processes during its remarkable rapid growth phase. This involved building job descriptions, engaging agencies, hiring and training new staff, and creating professional development plans. A robust structure is now in place for all aspects of onboarding, both for employees and their line managers. A new HR system has been introduced to manage sickness, holidays, parental leave, and other core staff needs. AAB People also advised on any employee relations case management that arose and undertook a salary benchmarking exercise to support the management team in its salary reviews.
As a result of Blackford’s growth, AAB People’s recruitment support extended to helping Blackford find and recruit its own dedicated HR Manager in 2022. AAB People have remained an integral part of the team, working with the HR Manager, as the firm continues to grow and to require solid people management and development processes to support its fast increasing headcount. Weekly check-ins explore the changing levels of input required and emerging HR-related topics for collaboration. The AAB People team are known to the majority of Blackford employees and remains a touchpoint for all staff on all HR issues when required, proving particularly useful when the HR Manager is absent or on leave.
AAB People also designed and delivered for Blackford a company-wide exercise (involving focus groups with every member of staff) to capture the core values that guide all company activity, decisions, and internal culture. Every employee was asked, “What is Blackford to you?” and as a result of the project, the company now seeks to embed its core values of being adaptable, robust, and collaborative in all that it does.
A new feature has been the introduction of the People Forum. AAB People helped to involve employees from across the Blackford business in regular discussions around a variety of topics, including employee engagement, processes, and social activities. A key outcome was the creation of an employee engagement survey and subsequent recommendations on review of the survey results.
In summary, AAB People provides comprehensive help and support in managing the full employee lifecycle at Blackford, from recruitment through to succession planning. The two companies work closely to review and implement HR best practices and initiatives that work best for Blackford as a company and its employees.
HR Manager Amy Mohr, who joined Blackford in 2022, particularly welcomes the mentoring provided by AAB People as much as the creation and delivery of HR and employment policies, processes, and procedures. As the day-to-day handling of HR processes is increasingly handled by Blackford in–house, AAB People’s coaching, strategic guidance, and future planning support has now taken a front seat.
“AAB People clearly care about our people and how we nurture them. We feel that they are part of us. They want to make a difference. They add value constantly, not only with recruitment, on-boarding, and professional development, but also by acting as a proactive, bigger-picture adviser on company culture. The company-wide values and purpose project was fantastic.”
“Our relationship has evolved as the company has matured. I see huge benefit in the role that AAB People plays as our trusted adviser, sounding board, our coach and our mentor on all HR, people management and professional development topics.”
“They keep us on our toes, they keep us in touch with what’s working well in other firms, and most of all, they bring a consistency that is vital to our ability to look after our people well. The team provided great guidance and role development advice in particular to our Office Manager, who has less experience in HR and is now exploring a career in this field.” “In our weekly sessions it’s valuable to be able to discuss the best timing for new initiatives and how best to ensure that HR priorities are balanced, for example, how best to manage a new recruitment drive if our line managers are already busy training new hires or managing existing employees and busy workloads.” Amy Mohr, HR Manager, Blackford Analysis
“They keep us on our toes, they keep us in touch with what’s working well in other firms, and most of all, they bring a consistency that is vital to our ability to look after our people well. The team provided great guidance and role development advice in particular to our Office Manager, who has less experience in HR and is now exploring a career in this field.”
“In our weekly sessions it’s valuable to be able to discuss the best timing for new initiatives and how best to ensure that HR priorities are balanced, for example, how best to manage a new recruitment drive if our line managers are already busy training new hires or managing existing employees and busy workloads.”