Welcome to the podcast. My name is Sarah Hamilton-Gill. So today I'm absolutely delighted to be joined by Melanie Granfield and Melanie joins us from the beautiful island of Jersey. So welcome, Melanie. Thank you very, very much for having me, Sarah. I'm actually thrilled to be on with you. It's really exciting to have you on the podcast because there are very few people that I've ever come across that are as passionate as you are. about policies and staff handbooks and employee handbooks.
And your company is called High Tide HR Consultancy. And I absolutely love the branding. As I'm a C person and the turquoise person, it's really spot on in terms of ticking all my boxes. So tell us a little bit about how you got into HR consulting. So I had been with the same employer for about 20 years and I recognised that I needed a change. That employer was a local government here in Jersey. So it was a varied...
career. I started off in industrial relations, pain negotiations, union, then moved into health education. And finally, I worked on policy. I was responsible for policy for a workforce of 8,000. But I recognised I needed a change. But during that time in the education department, all of the people who I was supporting, a cluster of 12 schools, you know, they were working term time, head teachers, etc. And so I requested term time. And so I knew that if I was to leave that workforce,
I probably wouldn't secure that with a new employer. So I started exploring working for myself and I decided to go for it. And I left my employer of 20 years in April. 2022 and I took a breath. a well-needed breath, and I launched high tide HR consultancy in September 2022. So I'm two years old this month.
amazing tell us a little bit about the passions and the products that you do because you know you are in the essence my go-to person if anybody wants an employee handbook so what made you choose that as one of your key products or services for your business? So I do know that I have a bit of a peculiar passion for HR policies and nobody really gets very excited about them. But I think it started almost right at the beginning. You know, I've been in HR for 25 years.
My first job in HR was working for an offshore bank here in Jersey, and Jersey is a little bit different to the UK. Our employment law... wasn't introduced here until 2003. And that's around the time that I was working for this offshore bank. And they asked me to review all of their policies to make sure they were employment law compliant because Jersey was obviously... coming to a big pivotal point at that time.
And then that continued into my next role. I worked in London then for a dot-com company. And I know that sounds odd to say dot-com company, but they were just starting to boom there. It was a niche industry. And they asked me to do a handbook for them. So that's really where it started. And I don't know, obviously, the way my brain is wired. I love getting into the detail of the research and just making sure that the policy flows, that it's written logically, it's easy to understand.
And actually, as time has gone on, you know, 25 years in HR. I really think that policies are underestimated. I don't think organizations always see the value of exceptional policies. And when you've worked in HR for that length of time... you do see individuals harmed by, I use that word, harmed by policies that have been poorly written and then maybe administered or carried out. by a line manager who's not been given the required skills or training.
And I think that's where the passion comes from. That's my reason why. If I can create policies that create a bit of a balance that, you know, when an employee reaches for it, they're not fearful, they feel safe and supported. But the employer also has the protection they need from a policy in terms of compliance with employment law, etc. then I'm a happy bunny. So that's really my vision. I kind of feel that...
When people do reach for a policy, it's usually because something significant is about to happen. It could be a milestone in their life. like a bereavement or a health issue or caring for a loved one, starting a family. Or it could be that an issue needs to be dealt with, disciplinary, a grievance. So if you've got a policy that makes your employee or the individual feel safe,
then I think that's a good starting point. And it's interesting you say that in terms of life events normally make people turn to policies and staff handbooks. And certainly my experience of being in HR for... quite a few decades now is that typically they only come out of the cupboard when there's a problem unless like yourself you've got something that's much more proactive much more kind of exceptional
in terms of that. There are going to be lots of listeners here that are HR consultants and maybe in-house HR as well. What would be a couple of top tips in terms of people creating exceptional staff handbooks? So I suppose my approach is firstly, I try to reduce the legal language. Even with 25 years in HR, I still sometimes have to read paragraphs or sentences twice.
stand my gold sort of standard is you know if I have to read something twice then it needs to be simplified so certainly language tone I always draft my documents with the you so we're talking you know so rather than you know if you look at some of the handbooks it's the employer the employee so it's always it's always you or we or us
just to try and make the tone feel more friendly, just simpler and easy to understand. Because like you say, when someone usually reaches for the policies, just like you said before, It's because something significant is going to happen and you need to be able to understand and feel. comfortable with the document you're reading. It shouldn't make you feel fearful. I've just been working with a local charity here in Jersey actually to help them build a fertility-friendly workplace toolkit.
That has been such a joy to do. And that's the sort of the policy and work that really gets me excited because I know it's going to make a difference to people's lives. If you know that your employer already has something in place, then you know that they've thought about it. You know that they've considered the challenges people might experience. And you know that probably there's going to be a safe space to talk to your line manager about it. And that's probably the other side of my business.
write the policies and the handbooks, I always back it up with line manager workshops to make sure they've got the necessary... skills and experience and then obviously briefing sessions to staff to help implement and embed the policy so people they're familiar with them before they need to reach for them and from my understanding because obviously you came on the boot camp is that um you've been very successful in this particularly So you've had some really fantastic...
projects to do and the work has always been there for you obviously you have to go out and get it but um yeah sure very well oh thank you that's really kind of you to say thank you um i mean yeah i mean i think with anybody starting new business, particularly me when I've been a civil server for 20 years. So, you know, not really any profile where I lived. You know, I have had to work hard at that. A lot of use of LinkedIn and some great tips. advice from you on the bootcamp in respect of that.
But no, I have, I mean, Jersey is a small community, so I suppose word of mouth, perhaps it is easier. I don't know. But yeah, there's been some word of mouth and obviously contacts I had. prior to setting up on my own so yeah it's it's it's been good you know it's been okay yeah it's good and in terms of your first year I mean I think the first year as a consultant is always the kind of the hardest while you're setting things up
after the first year was done and dusted. Do you think things have changed in your second year onwards? I'm certainly much more confident than I was. Um, I feel calmer if I'm honest with myself in 2023, I did have a knot in my stomach for a lot of the time. And that was almost like a goal for 2024. Get rid of the knot in your stomach. sucking too much energy and i i have i haven't had that knot in my stomach for many many many many months so
I've definitely gained more confidence. And the other thing I would say was that I'm more confident about, particularly about the value I can add and knowing my value around pricing. So that, and that, I think that is something, you know, when we.
We were on the boot camp and we were talking to colleagues on the boot camp. That was always... a discussion that many had concerns about you know pricing so i feel much more comfortable about that that's really good so yeah so and again it is a it's a conversation that we have all the time with with consultants all different stages of their kind of business career, creating pricing based on value, not on time.
So it's great to hear that you've recognized that. And obviously, hopefully you're increasing your prices as you go along. I'm sure you are. I think you mentioned it earlier that you would be. Yeah, I mean, you've got to constantly be reflecting, haven't you? Thinking about what packages you can offer, what products you can offer, what are your clients wanting and how can you, you know, your offering.
And what do you think, because you mentioned this knot in the stomach in 2023, what do you think was causing that? I know that one of the elements was finding good partners. So essentially, when you work for yourself, you're on your own, aren't you? But it's really important to have that network around you. And I've found a great employment lawyer to work with. I have got great contacts with some of the individuals who I met on the boot camp. We're in a WhatsApp group. We support one another.
We interact with your Facebook pages as well, which are great support and help. I think it's just knowing that actually you're not on your own. You know, you have got this network of people around you. And I feel quite humbled, really, when I think about the people I've met in the last two years, you know, people who were strangers less than two years ago who really now have...
become great support sounding boards and almost cheerleaders and other small business owners here in Jersey incredible you know I can email people or meet them for coffee and um you know it's vice versa as well you know i i support them hopefully that well hopefully they would say that
But we're definitely sounding board for one another. So I think it's just having that in place now around me and knowing that if I do want to chat something through with somebody, there are people out there. Yeah, absolutely. For the listeners that are listening to this podcast, we also have networking events. and other webinars as well that we do on a regular basis. So we really know that the community is really important to HR consulting and we don't want anybody.
to feel that they're on their own at any point during this journey so absolutely and I can hand on heart say that there's nobody that I've reached out to who has not responded in a positive way or who hasn't been supportive. That's so important to hear. What would you say to other people that are thinking about starting their own consulting businesses?
I would say definitely go for it. I would say definitely do your boot camp. I would say be brave and reach out to other small business owners. That was something I did completely out of my comfort zone. But I could see that there were people here in Jersey that were. had similar interests, were saying similar things on LinkedIn. And I messaged them and said, do you want to meet for coffee? That's one of the best things I did. I have made some amazing.
support network call um friends almost i would say now you know through doing that i would say probably if you can if it's possible i would have a buffer of money just to see you through those initial months Don't be frightened to network. Believe in yourself. And if you get the knot in the stomach, get rid of it. You know, work out why it's there and you can get rid of it.
What do you think was the biggest thing? I mean, obviously, you mentioned that you obviously got more partners to work with. Was there anything else you did to get rid of that knot? No, I think it was just having confidence in the products that I was producing. I started to get, you know, introduce my client feedback form and I was getting really good feedback. I could see people were pleased with what I was doing and happy with the products I was delivering.
So, you know, all those sort of things all together just helped to ease the knot. And I haven't seen that knot, I would say, since about February. Amazing. And long may it continue not being part of you. Yeah, but I mean, there's no denying you do have to dig deep for courage, but...
You know, when you think about those five pillars in your boot camp, the confidence, the clarity, credibility, collaboration and courage, you know, that definitely helps as well. And as time goes by, you know, that all increases. Because actually I didn't find, I'd already set up before I came across you. So I think I launched in the September and then I found you in the May, I think. I think I did the May bootcamp, May 23.
So, yeah, definitely so much of the content on the boot camp helped to give me that confidence. And so going forward, is there anything that you can share with our listeners, anything exciting happening on your horizon? I have another little tiny niche, actually, that I do, something called Safer Recruitment. So it's a little bit different. So safe recruitment is the extra steps that you would put in place if you are recruiting people to work with children, young people or vulnerable adults.
And so I just secured a great piece of work to deliver safe recruitment trainings to a large organization. So I'm thrilled to be doing that because that's another thing I'm... Super passionate about it. Safe Recruitment came about. as a result of the review that was done by Sir Michael Bichard after the Sowa murders. And he put in lots of recommendations around safe recruitment.
It's about 20 years old now. So that's something I do as well. And I'm looking forward to getting stuck into that contract. I'm going to be rolling that out to a large number of staff. I've already had another charity actually contact me. They've seen the work I've done with that toolkit that I was talking about around fertility. And they want me to work with them to do something similar. Obviously, a different charity offering different supports.
really exciting because I love doing that because I know that makes a difference to people's lives at work you know from from what we've talked about you know both on the podcast and off the podcast you're very values driven you give a lot of your heart, soul and your passion back to your client. Thank you. And if any of our listeners ever want to reach out to you, your details will be in the show notes below so they can contact you directly on LinkedIn.
And, you know, I just really appreciate you coming on the podcast and sharing some of your story with our listeners. Thank you. Oh, you're welcome. more than happy to chat to anybody who wants to know a little bit more. Perfect. And that's all for this episode of Leap Into HR Consulting. It would be really great if you could share this with your friends and your peer group that might be interested. Find out more about anything that we've talked about by visiting our website.
website, leapintoconsulting.com. And until next time, onwards and up.