Stop firefighting people problems.
Build a team that works better.
Better conversations, clearer expectations and a culture that does not rely on you constantly stepping in to sort everything out.
I help small businesses and charities deal with the people stuff that has become too big, too messy or too risky to keep winging.
My main way of doing that is through the Human Relationships Partnership: ongoing HR and people support for organisations who want a proper partner, not a call centre and a folder full of policies they still don’t know how to use.
For UK small businesses and charities, typically with around 20–60 employees. Remote support UK-wide, with in-person support across Worcestershire, Shropshire and surrounding areas.
I see you.
You didn’t start your business to become a walking HR department or full-time referee.
But somehow you’re spending more time untangling people problems than doing the work you actually love.
You’re tired, confused, and pretty sure “holiday entitlement” shouldn’t involve this much maths.
You’ve got contracts… somewhere in the form of a PDF from 2011 that may have been written by a lawyer… or a very confused wizard.
A manager keeps saying they are “dealing with it”, but nothing seems to be happening.
You know something needs addressing, but you are not entirely sure what you can say, what you should document, or whether asking Google at 11pm counts as an HR strategy.
You’re spinning plates, winging it and quietly hoping no one notices.
Put down that lukewarm coffee - this is where I come in.
Hi. I’m Lucy.
I work with small businesses and charities who care deeply about their people, but are completely fed up with the amount of headspace people problems are taking up.
Because in a better universe, school would have taught us:
How to manage someone who is brilliant one day and impossible the next.
What to say when somebody’s behaviour is affecting the whole team.
How to stop letting problems rumble on until they become formal, expensive and horrible.
Why having a policy is useful, but not the same as knowing what to do.
But no. We got “Bunsen burner safety” and “the Battle of Hastings” instead.
So now, I am the HR person who helps you handle the actual human bit.
No call centres.
No judgement.
No hiding behind policies.
Usually biscuits.
The Human Relationships Partnership
Ongoing HR support for businesses and charities who want the people side of work to feel less messy, less risky and a lot more manageable.
The Human Relationships Partnership is for organisations who have outgrown winging it, but do not want cold, corporate HR dropped into their business.
It is not just about making sure you have the right documents.
It is about helping you:
deal with issues before they become disasters;
give managers more confidence;
set clearer expectations;
protect the good people you want to keep;
stop quietly tolerating behaviour that is making work harder than it needs to be;
build a team that does not depend on you constantly rescuing it.
People problems usually come down to three things.
Conversations
The conversation nobody wants to have.
The issue that keeps being avoided.
The feedback that should have been given three months ago.
Clarity
The expectation nobody actually set.
The role that has quietly changed.
The boundary everyone assumed somebody else had explained.
Culture
The behaviour that keeps being tolerated.
The habits that tell people what really matters.
The slow drip-drip-drip that makes good people wonder whether they want to stay.
This is the Human Relationships Framework:
Better conversations.
Clearer expectations.
Stronger culture.
Because most people problems are not solved by adding another PDF to a shared drive.
It starts with a 90-day People Reset.
The first three months are about properly understanding what is happening in your organisation and dealing with the things that have been pushed down the list for too long.
Together, we:
Reveal
Find out what is really going on underneath the obvious HR issue.
Reframe
Work out what needs to happen - legally, practically and humanly.
Resolve
Deal with the things that need dealing with, with clarity, care and enough backbone to actually make a difference.
Reinforce
Put simple habits, rhythms and expectations in place so the same problems do not immediately pop back up wearing a different hat.
After that, the ongoing partnership keeps the people side of your organisation moving, rather than waiting for the next fire before doing anything about it.
This will probably suit you if…
You run a small business or charity with a growing team.
You care about culture, but things are starting to feel a bit frayed around the edges.
You have managers who need more confidence dealing with people.
You are tired of every small issue landing back on your desk.
You want HR advice that understands the legal bits and the human bits.
You know some things have been left too long and you are ready to sort them properly.
This is probably not for you if…
You want a bargain helpline to email once a year when someone resigns.
You only want templates and do not really want to change anything.
You are looking for someone to make every difficult decision disappear while nobody in the business takes responsibility.
A partnership works when we both turn up and do the work. Even the boring bits.
That is how things get better.
Not quite ready for the full Partnership?
One urgent people problem keeping you up at night?
HR Unblocked is a focused session to help you work out what to do next… without making it worse.
Need a defined piece of work?
Policies, handbooks, workshops, DiSC, team culture work and other projects can be scoped separately.
Wondering how much firefighting you are doing?
Take the People Firefighting Scorecard and find out!
Ready to stop carrying all the people stuff in your own head?
Let’s have a conversation about what is going on, what you have already tried and whether the Human Relationships Partnership would actually help.
No terrifying sales pitch.
No obligation.
No pretending everything is fine while Sandra and Dave continue making every Monday unbearable.
