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HR Services For Your Business

Workplace
Investigations

We will independently review a situation to establish the facts of the case to help you make fair and informed decisions
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Exploratory
Conversations

Let us help you to effectively and proactively manage your team and deal with workplace issues before they become a more serious problem
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Workplace
Mediation

Helping colleagues to have truly meaningful conversations to better understand each other and work towards repairing difficult relationships
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Conflict Resolution
Coaching

Supporting colleagues to gain conflict confidence by better understanding how their reactions and responses can empower them to make behavioural choices more likely to de-escalate and resolve difficult situations.
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See how we work with clients

How We Work with Our Clients

We work alongside;

  • Managers / Business Owners who are responsible for HR within their role
  • In-house HR Managers and HR teams
  • Other independent HR Consultants as a trusted Associate
  • Employment Solicitors providing their clients with independent HR skills and experience

We recognise that your HR requirements and capacity can vary significantly at any one time. Acting as your HR Detective we will provide you with the extra pair of hands you need to resolve difficult working relationships or workplace conflict; explore employee views, respond to formal grievances or investigate behavior, performance or capability concerns, including supporting with independent appeal processes.  

All of our services are delivered remotely, with on-site or in-person meetings accommodated where requested and appropriate to the circumstances.

Where relevant we can also support with other services via our trusted HR network for additional expertise such as management training, leadership development, occupational health or legal advice.

Due to the reactive nature of our HR service, we recognise that you may only need our help for a specific workplace investigation or case work project. However, we love building on-going consultancy relationships, becoming your first point of contact when outsourced or associate HR consultancy is beneficial in providing independent, transparent support to resolve problems and of course helping with time and resource management.

When working collaboratively as an Associate for fellow HR consultants or employment solicitors we are happy to work under your branding should this be your preferred approach. We always work in partnership, never competition.

Additional Services & Pricing

First contact is free of charge and without obligation. Contact the HR Detective for an exploratory chat.

Previously known as Concilium HR Ltd

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Workplace Investigations

When you become aware of a potential problem, concern or complaint sometimes it is easy to take things at face value, make assumptions or be keen to rush to resolve the issue, without always fully understanding both the ‘what and the why’ of a situation or appreciating the facts and ensuring all the relevant information is available. For some businesses it can also be difficult identifying an available and/or suitably experienced or skilled colleague who is neutral and who isn’t potentially needed later in the process. 

There are also costs associated with disruption to management time and negative impact to productivity and timescales whilst juggling multiple priorities. Hidden cost implications may also arise from poorly managed investigations leading to ill-informed management decisions, Appeal processes and Solicitor interventions or employment tribunal claims.

We have extensive experience of conducting a broad range of workplace investigations ranging from reasonably straightforward misconduct cases and employee concerns to sensitive or complex situations including allegations of bullying and harassment, discrimination, multiple counts of potential Gross Misconduct or multi-layered scenarios that involve several complicating factors.  We have also assisted managers to explore and understand how situations such as disengaged teams or difficult working relationships have developed as well as carrying out employee feedback interviews to explore views on workplace culture, benefits or potential business change. Investigations can result in very positive outcomes!

Our investigation process includes face to face or virtual meetings with relevant individuals, note taking, producing statements, reviewing and gathering information or evidence, and carrying out additional research as needed. A detailed report is provided and, where relevant cases proceed formally, our attendance at disciplinary, grievance or capability meetings should this be required.

We can also support with resolution interventions such as facilitated or exploratory conversations, workplace mediation and conflict coaching.

We provide you with a time sensitive resource, additional capacity, act completely independently and help you to establish the facts of the case

Exploratory Conversations

Working relationships can be complicated but they don’t need to be.  Experience over the years has taught us that many managers and business owners are excellent in their technical areas but may not always have the confidence or skill to effectively manage people, especially when required conversations are perceived as ‘difficult’ in nature.

People are central to the running of any organisation and integral to this is effective communication. Every so often things may not go quite as planned; teams may appear dysfunctional, motivation is low, frustration is high, and things just don’t feel right. Something needs to change but unless managers fully understand not only what is happening but perhaps more importantly why, successfully achieving change can be challenging.   We can support you to have those trickier conversations, explore reasons, obtain meaningful feedback, and help you gain a different perspective or understanding of why something has or hasn’t happened. We advocate trying to proactively resolve people problems informally through appropriate exploratory conversation and feedback wherever possible.

Workplace Mediation

Mediation is a voluntary, proactive conflict resolution option which provides employees with an alternative approach to taking out a formal Grievance.

It differs from an internal facilitated conversation, perhaps led by a manager or HR colleague in several ways.  

Formal workplace mediation is facilitated by an accredited workplace mediator who is normally external to the organisation and therefore fully independent with no prior knowledge of the situation.  It is completely confidential in nature, classed as a Without Prejudice process, and, unless explicitly agreed between parties, feedback is not shared with anyone outside of the mediation meeting.

It provides individuals with dedicated space and time to have a truly meaningful conversation that is unlikely to be possible within the normal workplace. 

Its goal is to enable colleagues to properly explore a difficult situation in terms of personal impact and feelings with the focus being on why something has or hasn’t happened and why this is important for them. It is forward thinking, aimed to improve working relationships via enhanced perspective taking and gaining a better, mutual understanding of each other’s needs.  It empowers individuals to resolve conflict by finding their own solutions (rather than having outcomes or suggestions imposed on them) and allows them to agree how they can best move forward with a mutual sense of ‘win-win’.  Participants are left feeling confident and accountable to make informed choices that feel right for them.

Conflict Resolution Coaching

Conflict coaching helps individuals gain increased self-awareness of their natural reactions and responses when their opinions, perspectives, values, ideas or needs etc are not in harmony with others and helps them to identify whether their subsequent behavioural choices are more or less likely to help resolve the situation.

Teams and individuals can benefit from conflict coaching to help them understand each other better, agree different ways of working together and how they can play to each other’s strengths.  

It can also be particularly beneficial in helping individuals prepare for joint mediation meetings, providing them with ‘conflict confidence’ to constructively express themselves and be more open to different perspectives.