People Puzzles

As we embrace that ‘new term’ feeling with the end of the summer holiday period, it’s a perfect time for business leaders to reflect on how we onboard and support new talent. Bringing fresh faces into your company can feel like the first day of school—full of excitement and a few nerves. To make this transition smoother and set your new hires up for success, here are three key points to consider: ✏ People first: A warm welcome and a clear onboarding plan help new employees settle in quickly, so they can start contributing sooner. ✏ Spotting potential: Look beyond past experiences. Identify those with the right attitude and a willingness to learn—they’re the ones who will grow with your business. ✏ Supportive probation: Regular check-ins and mentoring during the probationary period can make all the difference in turning new hires into key players. Make the most of this ‘new term’ mindset by ensuring your onboarding and probation processes are top-notch. A little extra effort now can lead to long-term success for your team! #NewBeginnings #OnboardingSuccess #SMEs

So far in our series about people who have worked with People Puzzles for over 5 years, we have been celebrating our fractional People Directors. This week we get to say a huge thank you to Central Team Member and Digital Marketing Executive @Lauren Mott who works tirelessly to spread the word about what we do. Lauren's laugh lights up the office and she has the best 'freeze face' of our whole team when Teams is playing up 😁 #smegrowth #marketing #team

Does this post August Bank Holiday week remind you of that new term feeling? ✏ As business leaders, this time of year often brings a fresh start, much like restocking your pencil case—especially with the current changes in government. ✏ It's the perfect moment to embrace this 'new term' mindset and reflect on how we can optimize the process of finding and onboarding new talent. Our latest People Puzzles newsletter dives into strategies to make the most of this opportunity and provides tips to think about building your dream team today! #Leadership #TalentAcquisition #FreshStart

This week's HR superstar in our series thanking our incredible team members is fractional People Director Helen Witt. When Helen starting delighted People Puzzles clients over 6 years ago, she was looking for a role that enabled her to look after her young son and gave her: ✔ an intellectual challenge ✔ flexibility ✔ board-level roles ✔ financial stability ✔ a network of like-minded colleagues Thank you for being one of the team, Helen. We are really grateful for everything that you do!

Having a brilliant strategy is all very well, but without an actionable plan alongside it, it's unlikely to get you very far. So how do you turn strategy and vision into action and results? Read Sarah (Ironside) Hamilton 's helpful article in the latest (excellent) edition of Suffolk Director Magazine.

When your business is already flourishing, why would you need a strategic HR Director on board? Can't you just do it all yourself? Echion Technologies is a pioneering spin-out from the University of Cambridge Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge and was already doing brilliant things to develop world-leading, sustainable battery technology. From its early days it had grown rapidly to a team of around 50. But COO Sarah Stevenson realised the business needed to take control of its approach to people planning to sustain its rapid growth and innovation and achieve its longer term business objectives. Enter People Puzzles, bringing in People Director Clare Burles FCIPD to help Echion accelerate to the next level of growth. Today, Echion is firmly in control of its people agenda. There is growing confidence around leadership capability throughout the business, and there is clear alignment around the goals and strategy of the business. #strategicHR #businessgrowth #scaleup #SME #fractionalHR # https://lnkd.in/esM56Cv5

We could shout from the rooftops about what we do. We could tell you all about our services, our impact with client businesses, our amazing team. We could tell you how a fractional People Director can transform your business, accelerate your achievements and improve your bottom line. 💡 But we thought we'd let some of our clients tell you themselves. How they've gained the headspace and bandwidth to focus on the bigger picture, thanks to having a trusted advisor at their side to guide and challenge. How they've got out of the weeds and achieved their goals faster. How they've achieved retention and engagement levels they'd never seen before, and grown successfully. Hearing feedback like this is so uplifting for the whole team and it really, really means a lot. We love what we do - and it makes us very proud that you love it too. #strategicHR #fractionalHR #peopleplanning #businessgrowth #leadership #engagement #retention #goals #SME

Next up in our series celebrating our long-term team members is People Director Andy Craig. Andy particularly loves helping companies develop 👁 vision 💙 values 🗺 strategy Working part-time means that Andy can enjoy his other passions ⛷ sport 🎭 theatre 🐟 Cornwall Thank you, Andy. We love having you on board! #smegrowth #worklifebalance #strategicHR

🗯 We are moving faster, we are getting more things done, but it is requiring less time from me. 🗯 This was the verdict from Paul Faulkner, CEO of Total Enterprise Solutions (TES). He had ambitious plans for TES to expand into the USA and wanted to find the time to work ON the business not IN the business. When People Director Rachel Humphreys came on board, she filled the gap in their strategic planning that enabled the board to fulfil their mission: 🌟Accelerated growth 🌟Unprecedented employee engagement 🌟Successful US expansion 🌟Pressure off the CEO     Follow the link to watch the 3-minute video testimonial that describes how Rachel supported their team to accelerate their growth and take the pressure off the CEO. https://lnkd.in/efRk7ivH #strategicHR #talent #smegrowth #organisationaldesign

Great insights in the latest article from Ally Maughan, reflecting on the article “Last orders for post-work drinks as Gen Z shuns alcohol” in The Times, from Eleanor Hayward is looking at the recommendations drawn up by Work Foundation, a think tank at Lancaster University. Whatever the generation, there will always be opportunities for relationship building and socialising outside of the core "work" elements of our roles. It's so important to consider what people actually want to spend their time on however, rather than making assumptions, or accidentally creating situations which are either inaccessible or unenjoyable for others. It's also important to keep an eye on where accessibility bias could creep in where career progression is concerned - practices which may have been commonplace for one generation could be viewed less favourably by others. Gen-Z may be getting headlines for shunning alcohol, but there are plenty of other areas businesses can focus on to demonstrate that they are really listening, and making changes to what could be outdated or exclusionary practices. How do you think think generational preference affects work socialising and activities? And do careers still get made on the golf course? We'd love to hear your experiences 👇