Stop Guessing. Start Knowing.
Strategic talent transformation that identifies what actually matters, then helps you execute it – without the six-figure Head of Talent salary or the dusty PowerPoint strategy.
Perfect for businesses where talent challenges are holding back growth, HR teams overwhelmed by competing priorities, or leadership teams who know something’s broken but aren’t sure what.
The Talent Strategy Trap Most SMEs Are Stuck In
You’re spending £35-80k annually on job boards and recruitment.
Your HR team is drowning in admin.
Employee turnover is costing you 150% of salary per leaver.
Yet you’re still unclear which talent initiatives will actually deliver ROI.
Traditional consultants give you a 60-page strategy document that sits in a drawer. Interim Heads of Talent cost £800-1,200 per day but disappear when the contract ends. Meanwhile, your team lacks the capacity to implement anything meaningful.
You’re stuck between expensive advice you can’t execute and tactical firefighting that never addresses root causes.
The reality: You need someone who can diagnose what’s actually broken, tell you which 2-3 things will make the biggest difference, then help you get them done.
Consult isn’t one-size-fits-all. Pick the component that solves your immediate problem.
Diagnostic
Identify ineffective and inefficient talent practices
We audit your current talent practices to identify where you’re wasting money and missing opportunities.
Comprehensive analysis of recruitment costs, time-to-hire, quality of hire, turnover patterns, and process efficiency. We examine your technology stack, agency relationships, job board spend, and internal capability.
What this means for you: Clear visibility of where money is being wasted. Specific recommendations for cost savings and reinvestment opportunities. A prioritised roadmap based on actual ROI potential, not generic best practices.
Employer Brand Consulting
Develop an authentic brand reflecting your company culture & values
Most employer brands are corporate nonsense that candidates see through immediately. We help you articulate what it’s genuinely like to work at your company.
We identify your authentic employee value proposition through employee interviews, competitor analysis, and market positioning. Then we translate that into compelling, believable messaging that actually resonates with the talent you need.
What this means for you: Attraction messaging that reflects reality, not aspiration. Content that differentiates you from competitors hiring the same people. An employer brand that supports both attraction AND retention by setting accurate expectations.
Technology Implementation
Optimise recruitment tech for efficient & effective hiring processes
You’re paying for recruitment technology that nobody uses properly, or you’re limping along with spreadsheets and email chaos.
We assess your current tech stack, identify gaps and overlaps, recommend appropriate solutions, and implement them properly. This includes ATS, sourcing tools, assessment platforms, onboarding systems, and integration between them.
What this means for you: Technology that actually makes hiring easier, not harder. Elimination of duplicate spending on overlapping tools. Proper implementation so your team actually uses what you’re paying for. Integration that creates a seamless candidate experience.
Assessment & Selection
Align assessment & selection processes and tools to increase quality of hire
Your interview process is inconsistent, biased, and failing to predict performance. You’re hiring people who look good on paper but struggle in role.
We design structured assessment processes aligned to role requirements and company culture. This includes competency frameworks, interview guides, assessment exercises, and scoring mechanisms that reduce bias and improve prediction.
What this means for you: Consistent evaluation across all candidates and interviewers. Reduced bias in hiring decisions. Better quality of hire leading to improved performance and retention. Defensible hiring processes that protect against discrimination claims.
£402k Saved
One client achieved £402k in recruitment cost savings in year one through diagnostic-led optimisation and 75% reduction in agency dependency.
150% of Salary
Average cost of employee turnover. Fixing retention through authentic employer branding and improved selection delivers immediate ROI.
2-3 Initiatives
Most businesses try to fix everything at once and achieve nothing. We help you identify which 2-3 talent initiatives will deliver 80% of the value.
Why Consult
Thinking AND Doing
We don’t just give you recommendations – we help you implement them. Strategy documents are worthless without execution capacity.
Fractional Senior Expertise
You get Head of Talent-level thinking without the £80-100k+ salary. We embed ourselves in your business for the duration you need us.
ROI-Focused Approach
Every recommendation comes with clear cost/benefit analysis. We prioritise initiatives based on measurable impact, not what’s fashionable in HR circles.
No Corporate Nonsense
We tell you what’s actually broken and what will actually fix it. No jargon, no 60-page reports gathering dust, no solutions looking for problems.
No Head of Talent? No Talent Strategy? Start Here
If you’re unclear which talent initiatives will deliver ROI, or you know something’s broken but can’t pinpoint what, you need Consult. We diagnose what’s actually costing you money, prioritise the 2-3 things that will make the biggest difference, then help you execute them.
Most SMEs your size are trapped in reactive firefighting – filling roles, managing crises, never addressing root causes. Consult gives you strategic clarity and execution support without the full-time Head of Talent cost.
Lets Book Time To Talk
Consult Is Perfect For
The CEO Who Knows Talent Is Holding Them Back
You’re losing great people, recruitment is expensive and slow, but you don’t have talent expertise in the leadership team.
You need diagnostic clarity on what’s actually broken and strategic direction on what to fix first.
Consult provides the senior talent thinking you’re missing without adding permanent headcount.
The HR Director With Competing Priorities
You’re managing 17 different priorities and unclear which talent initiatives will actually deliver ROI.
You need help separating signal from noise and focusing on what matters.
Consult gives you external expertise to pressure-test priorities and build business cases for investment.
The Finance Director Questioning Talent Spend
You see huge recruitment costs, high turnover, and unclear return on HR investments.
You need evidence-based analysis of where money is being wasted and where investment would pay off.
Consult provides the diagnostic rigour and ROI analysis you need to make informed decisions.
Consult Works Even Better With Campaign and CultureTrak
Consult identifies what needs fixing. But what if you could also execute recruitment efficiently and get always on people coaching helping your people leaders turn your team’s real sentiment into confident leadership decisions?
Execute recruitment efficiently with Campaign.
Always on people coaching with CultureTrak.
Our integrated approach means you’re not just developing strategy – you’re building sustainable competitive advantage through people.
Stop Hoping Talent Fixes Itself. Start Knowing What To Do
Whether you need to diagnose current talent challenges or transform your entire talent approach, Consult gives you strategic clarity and execution support at a fraction of a full-time Head of Talent cost.
Let’s talk about what you’re trying to achieve and whether Consult makes sense for you.
Common Question
Q: How is this different from traditional HR consulting?
Traditional consultants give you a strategy document and leave. You’re left with recommendations but no capacity to implement them. We do the thinking AND the doing – diagnosing what’s broken, prioritising what matters, then embedding ourselves in your business to help you execute it. You get senior-level strategic thinking combined with hands-on delivery, not a dusty PowerPoint deck.
We’re also brutally honest about ROI. If something won’t deliver measurable value, we’ll tell you. We focus on the 2-3 initiatives that will make 80% of the difference, not a comprehensive wish list your team could never deliver.
Q: What if we already have an HR Director or Head of Talent?
Perfect. We’re not replacing them – we’re giving them strategic support and delivery capacity they don’t currently have.
Most HR Directors are drowning in operational demands: employee relations, compliance, compensation reviews, L&D. They know talent strategy needs attention but lack the time or specialist expertise to tackle it properly. We take specific talent transformation projects off their plate, bringing deep recruitment and talent expertise they can leverage without adding permanent headcount.
We work alongside your existing team, not instead of them. Many of our clients have HR Directors who specifically requested external support for talent initiatives they couldn’t resource internally.
Q: How long does a typical Consult engagement last?
It depends what we’re solving. Diagnostics typically take 2-4 weeks to complete the analysis and deliver recommendations. Implementation projects (Employer Brand, Technology, Assessment & Selection) typically run 8-16 weeks depending on scope and complexity.
Many clients start with Diagnostics to identify priorities, then commission specific implementation projects based on what we uncover. You’re not locked into long contracts – we work on defined projects with clear deliverables and timelines.
Some clients need ongoing strategic support and keep us on a fractional retainer (typically 2-4 days per month). Others need intensive project support for 3-4 months then nothing for a year. We adapt to what you actually need, not what maximises our fees.
Q: What industries do you work with?
We work primarily with SMEs (100-1,500 employees) across multiple sectors including healthcare, hospitality, retail, construction, cybersecurity, IT services, and renewable energy.
The common thread isn’t industry – it’s business maturity and talent challenges. Our clients are typically growing businesses where talent is becoming a constraint on growth, or established businesses where talent costs are out of control and quality of hire is inconsistent.
Industry knowledge matters less than understanding SME talent challenges. We’re not sector specialists who only work in one industry – we’re talent specialists who understand what works at your scale and growth stage.
Q: Do we need to commit to multiple service areas?
Absolutely not. Many clients start with just Diagnostics to understand what’s actually broken and which initiatives would deliver best ROI. Based on those findings, you decide whether to commission implementation projects.
Some clients only ever use Diagnostics – they take our recommendations and implement internally. Others commission one specific service area (e.g., just Employer Brand Consulting). A few want comprehensive transformation and engage across all four areas.
You only pay for what you need, when you need it. No bundled packages forcing you to buy services you don’t require.
That said, certain combinations do work particularly well together:
- Diagnostics + Technology Implementation (you can’t fix tech without knowing what’s actually broken)
- Employer Brand + Assessment & Selection (authentic attraction messaging needs to align with what you’re actually selecting for)
- Diagnostics + ongoing fractional support (understand priorities, then ongoing strategic partnership to execute them)
But these are suggestions, not requirements. You’re in control of scope and investment.