About
ASPIRE HR SOLUTIONS LIMITED
Company number: 08942416
We are a small personal HR and OD consultancy, established in 2014.
About Aspire HR
We specialise in the provision of HR and OD expertise to businesses of all sizes including start ups, SMEs as well as large organisations in both the public and private sectors.
About the Managing Director
Aspire HR Solutions was founded by Catherine Youds to provide flexible, affordable and bespoke HR support and solutions. It is based on developing and maintaining successful close working relationships with the organisations it supports, and recognises this as key. We are a small number of highly experienced HR and OD professionals.
Catherine is a graduate of the University of West England, where she studied Business and Finance, and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of People and Development (MCIPD). She has gained over 20 years’ experience in all aspects of human resources in a variety of industry sectors, including the Private and Public sectors as well as SMEs. She wanted to use her enthusiasm and expertise for people management to support organisations who may not have their own internal HR function, or who require a specific project or piece of work.
As a commercially aware HR professional, Catherine has never considered her role to be just HR and she has a wealth of general management experience, having been trained as a Graduate Management Trainee by Marks and Spencer, where she spent 8 years in a number of stores around the UK in HR Management roles, and 4 years at the M&S Call Centre. After joining the NHS in 2002, she has worked in a number of senior roles across all sectors of the NHS; several Acute hospitals, the Strategic Health Authority, Mental Health and Community Services. She has also supported many smaller companies in aspects such as developing a HR Strategy, implementing bonus schemes, TUPE and business restructuring.
Catherine has a wealth of experience at working with Board members as the Director of People and Development where she developed and managed a specialist HR Business Partner and Employee Relations team, as well as a large multi-disciplinary shared services function. She is experienced in working in complex unionised environments and has developed effective partnerships with all Trades Unions.
Aspire HR Solutions
What we offer
Aspire offers affordable, flexible and pragmatic solutions to all your people issues – whether you need operational HR guidance and support or a more strategic approach to supporting and growing your business. We offer a bespoke solution specific to your needs, not an off the shelf package or set of tools.
Whether you are looking for help with a specific one off issue, or a longer term HR partner, Aspire can provide reliable, professional and personal HR solution.
With over 20 years’ experience and expertise of working with businesses to help them achieve their vision and goals, and manage the risks associated with managing people and the mine field of employment law. This can be especially difficult in smaller organisations who don’t employ a full complement, or any HR professionals – Aspire offers a refreshing approach to your HR solutions – with a real can do positive attitude.
Our core services:
Employee Relations
Managing your relationship with your staff can be one of the most challenging aspects about running a business. This can be even more complex if unions are involved. Handling your employees properly is not only good for business, but can also avoid costly and time consuming Employment Tribunals if things go wrong.
Aspire can support and advise you on how to best manage your employees to maintain a good relationship, as well as helping you to resolve any issues should they arise. If you are just starting to work with Unions, then we can help you to work with Union Officers and Representatives to establish a formal arrangement for negotiation and consultation.
Absence Management / Employee Well being
From time to time, your staff may have unexpected and unplanned absence from work. If this becomes regular or excessive, we can help you to manage this properly, taking into account important legislation to make sure that you don’t fall foul of disability discrimination, and to support you to get people back to work as quickly as possible.
Aspire can also help you to put in place well being strategies that support your employees, so that they can support your organisation.
Investigations/ Disciplinary / Grievances
A well-managed investigation into a grievance, conduct or capability matter or poor performance is essential to ensuring that matters are resolved as thoroughly and efficiently as possible. Maintaining the relationships of all parties is key and Aspire can work with you to support the whole process.
Recruitment
Whether you are looking to recruit one individual into your organisation, or large scale campaign, Aspire can manage this for you. We can offer support either from beginning to end, or around any stage of the process such as assessment centres or specialist interviews.
Getting this process right is absolutely essential to make sure you get the right candidate for your business. The pre-employment checks such as references, and the interview process itself are key to ensuring a successful candidate is appointed, as well as making the right impression for potential applicants.
Executive Coaching
If you have recently been promoted or started a new role, then coaching is a great way to think through an issue in a safe environment.
Business Restructure / downsizing / growth / TUPE / redundancy
Whether your organisation is growing, or if you need to downsize to maximise efficiency, Aspire can advise and support and advise you along the way with these complex aspects of managing people.
Employee Engagement
Whether you are looking to develop a strategy to engage with your workforce, or you want to carry out a series of focus groups to engage and involve your staff in an initiative, we can facilitate those for you. Often having an independent lead for these groups can encourage staff to open up about sharing their views, in a confidential environment.
HR Strategy Development
Aspire would work alongside you and your senior managers to understand the context of your business, and develop strategies that support the direction of travel that you want it to go in, by developing a HR / workforce strategy that sets the vision and approach to how you develop your organisation – through your people.
Performance Management (Appraisal / Reward / incentive schemes)
Managing your people well is key to organisational success. Whether you are just looking to introduce appraisal, enhance your existing process, or look more holistically at how you manage performance in your organisation, we can develop schemes that fit your organisation and where it’s at in terms of stage of development.
Line Management Training
Well trained and informed line managers are essential to your business. The relationship between your staff and their immediate manager is one of the most important aspects of running your organisation. Often, managers have become managers as a natural career progression and they do not have the necessary skills or experiences. Aspire can develop bespoke training to meet the individual requirements of your management team to support them in managing their people, as well as having access to a pool of expertise that can also support with coaching, mentoring and team building.
Our Offer
Aspire can offer you a flexible approach including:
• Retained HR strategic support, working with you on a regular basis to manage the complexities of your business – our approach to this is flexible and can be tailored around your specific needs.
• Ad hoc commissioned support to manage specific issues or projects such as developing your HR Strategy or policy, staff engagement and focus groups, people skills training for your line managers or short term interim support.
Contact us
We would love to hear from you and would be happy to offer an informal discussion about your HR requirements.
RETAINED HR CONSULTANCY SERVICES
OUR CORE SERVICES
Aspire HR Solutions recognises that many clients find the benefits of a retained service more suited to their business requirements. By spreading the cost of your HR support over a fixed monthly fee, you can take advantage of HR support as and when you require it. This allows you to call, email or skype on any HR related matter - allowing you access to an expert HR Advice-Only package.
We operate at all levels from basic HR advice, support and administration, to providing a complete professional HR service including employment law advice, restructuring, recruitment and investigations, should you need them (see our website for full details www.aspirehr.co.uk).
We can work with you to establish what you need from your HR support, and how many hours per month you require for the retained advice service.
With our retained service, we help you to identify the number of hours’ support that you require each month and this will then be translated into a fixed monthly cost for your HR consultancy services.
The benefits of this approach mean that you can accurately budget for your HR support services.
You can opt for either a single advanced payment, or a recurring monthly payment, based on an estimated level of demand for HR support.
Our levels of service:
Initial compliance audit
An initial Health Check audit of all current employment documentation (contracts, terms and conditions, policies) is required at the start of the arrangement, to assess the level of compliance and a report of findings is prepared for consideration. The one-off cost for this audit is £500.
Our basic HR support package includes the following benefits:
• Dedicated, qualified, professional and Chartered HR contacts
• An agreed number of hours of advice line support, guidance and employment law via email and telephone
• HR administration, guidance on drafting letters, general communications up to the agreed number of hours included in the Agreement
• Employment Law updates to keep you informed and aware of upcoming changes in legislation
• Consultants covered by Professional Indemnity Insurance
• Preferential rates offered to retained clients for additional hours and specialist pieces of work
Cost for Retained HR Consultancy services:
• The basic package will provide all the retained services outlined above, based on activity of an agreed number of hours per month dependant upon the number of staff and level of service required
• Should additional hours be required in month for general HR advice, this will be agreed in advance with the Client before being worked by the Consultant
Costs for specialist HR projects:
• Occasionally, Clients request a specialist one off project or specific piece of work to be undertaken. The cost for specialist projects will generally be agreed with the Client prior to commencement, as this can help with budget planning
• The rate for special consultancy projects is offered to Retained Clients at a reduced daily rate of £650 or £700 per day for non-retained clients. This is based on a 7 hour day.
All fees are + VAT.
Should you wish to discuss these or any other options or arrangements that may suit your business, please do not hesitate to contact: Catherine Youds, Managing Director via the website www.aspirehr.co.uk
Show more
