Our partnership with Jenkins Marine
“Streetwise has been working with us for the past 18 months, to co-design and deliver a major programme of improvement, which has transformed our organisational structure, people management processes and culture. The complex package of work was delivered in accordance with our evolving plan and to budget. Not all of the changes have been easy, but Streetwise has been a highly professional and reassuring presence throughout, as a readily accessible source of personalised guidance and support.
It’s no surprise then that we have continued to retain their services, beyond the completion of the initial project. We can confidently say that Streetwise offers everything we need in an external HR business partner!”
Jeremy Jenkins, Jenkins Marine
ABOUT JENKINS MARINE
Jenkins Marine did not have any HR support and required an overhaul of their employee documentation and administration processes.
THE PROBLEM
To live up to that claim, the business employs a truly diverse range of skills, in roles such as consultants, technical advisors, trainers as well as the ubiquitous problem solvers. It is no small managerial feat for Enhanced HR & Talent Manager, Laura Elford.
Like many lone HR Managers in a small but growing business, Laura needed a commercially savvy mentor. One that that not only understood employment law but how it can support business growth rather than hinder it. One that she could go to for sage advice to supplement her CIPD Level 7 qualification. One that could give her real life examples of solutions to the leadership problems that arise in a small business with growth aspirations.
THE SOLUTION
We initially looked at planning a re-structure to enable the MD to free up his time to focus on growth, rather than line managing all staff. This involved adding in a line management structure and making the back-office role more robust in order to support the business.
To support these changes, we created an employee handbook and assisted with the introduction of a new HR system. Thanks to the system’s mobile app, every member of staff (even remote workers and crew on vessels) can now access both the company’s and their own documentation whenever they need.
This then led to a complete review and rewrite of their contracts of employment, as part of which we also introduced some new perks such as long service leave.
Previously, Jenkins Marine had no job profiles or defined roles within the business. In order to support the new company structure and define individual roles and responsibilities, we created a suite of job profiles and introduced these to the staff.
We also created a new, robust appraisal system which was rolled out to the new line managers, allowing them to properly appraise their staff. This meant a move away from the previous unstructured system, which was only used by employees to ask for a pay rise.
In order to support all this work, we held a monthly strategy meeting with the business consultant and the MD, to plan and agree on the processes and actions needed to complete the projects. Along the way, there have been the usual ad hoc queries, and we’ve offered support on employment law, marine-specific regulations, and HR issues. We’ve also recruited to replace two leavers, a Commercial Manager and an Operations Manager.
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Drop us a line in the contact form and we’ll be happy to discuss your business’s HR needs…
