A trusted strategic partner for HR leaders navigating their “Big Firsts”.
Like young swifts taking to the air in one decisive launch, HR leaders are often expected to step up and lead independently from day one. This is especially true in growing SMEs and scale-ups, where responsibility expands faster than capability can grow and high- stakes decisions come early.
Even in larger organisations, newly appointed HR leaders can find themselves leading major initiatives without the senior support or sounding board they expected.
“New HR leaders are expected to perform strategically from day one, often without the support structure that allows them to succeed.”
CIPD, Early Experiences of HR Leaders Study, 2023
HR Mentoring Plus bridges that gap.
This is much more than traditional mentoring. It is a practical strategic partnership that strengthens your capability to deliver your “Big Firsts” – the high-impact, high-stakes challenges at the top of your business leader’s agenda.
We bring senior HR Director experience into real situations, working alongside you to co-create solutions. You learn in the moment, developing the judgement, capability, and influence to lead successfully at a strategic level.
This is mentoring with substance: strategic, hands-on, and focused on delivery.
As your business grows, your capability grows with it:
• Strengthen your wings
• Build the skills that sustain you
• Fly solo, but never unsupported
The challenges HR Leaders often face in their “Big Firsts” and how we support them
How we help:
We work with you to co-create a people strategy that is grounded in the business plan. We help you shape priorities, influence leaders, and demonstrate impact quickly.
How we help:
We help you build credibility, influence, and presence at the top table. You develop your strategic thinking, commercial acumen, and use of people data to lead conversations that clearly show how people outcomes drive commercial success.
How we help:
We guide you step by step through proven organisational design approaches. Together, we shape the future structure, gain senior alignment, and plan effective implementation. You build capability and confidence in real time.
How we help:
We help define the culture you want to create, preserve and scale. Together, we develop values and behaviours and embed them into core people practices so culture becomes lived, not just written. You build confidence and capability to influence leaders and guide teams through cultural change.
How we help:
We co-create a talent strategy that strengthens capability and retention, supported by scalable recruitment, development, and succession planning
How we help:
We reset expectations of HR and line managers. Together, we define clear responsibilities and equip managers with tools, coaching and training to handle people matters confidently. At the same time, we build HR capability enabling a shift from firefighting to strategic focus.
How we help:
We guide you through planning and delivering people change, including communications, leadership alignment, and legal considerations. You gain the confidence to lead change that protects performance, wellbeing, and culture. Where required we build your capability in M&A, redundancy and TUPE managing these with you.
How we help:
We help you identify where pressure is building and where clarity, capability, or capacity need to grow. Together we design practical ways of working that protect wellbeing while maintaining healthy performance.
How we help:
We help you clarify HR priorities, define roles and structures, establish scalable processes, and shape how HR partners with the business. You build a function that earns trust and drives progress, not just compliance.
How we help:
We provide calm, experienced counsel to help you navigate situations with sound commercial judgement, legal compliance, and care for the people involved.
Outcome
HR Mentoring Plus develops the capability, confidence, and commercial awareness that turns an HR Leader into a trusted Strategic partner.
HR leaders who receive structured development report 32% higher confidence in strategic decision-making and 28% stronger business influence within their first year.(CIPD People Profession Survey, 2023)
How We Work With You Through HR Mentoring Plus
“Working with Jane as a HR mentor and coach has been pivotal to my professional growth and development. Her ability to combine her significant HR expertise and strategic insight with practical guidance has helped me grow my capability and confidence as a HR professional and leader.
With the support of Jane’s mentoring and coaching I have created my first people strategy, tackled complex organisational restructures and developed my leadership skills. Jane asks the right questions, challenges my assumptions, and encourages reflection, which has enabled me to develop more confidence in operating at a strategic level within the business.
Her mentorship has had a lasting impact on both my career and the overall effectiveness of our HR function, and I am truly grateful for her guidance and support.”
Clare Furness, Senior Business Partner