Redway HR - Outsourced HR Services | Training and Development | Leadership Training | HR Leadership Solutions | Hertfordshire

CASE STUDY

Transformative Outsourced HR for St Paul’s Cathedral

St Paul’s Cathedral is a vibrant church, an instantly recognisable London landmark and an iconic tourist attraction. The Cathedral welcomes…

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The team are professional, knowledgeable, flexible and supportive, (and) have provided a seamless extension to the HR team.

Mel Barker, Head of HR
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St Paul’s Cathedral is a vibrant church, an instantly recognisable London landmark and an iconic tourist attraction. The Cathedral welcomes over 1 million people a year to worship, attend events or just to marvel at the architectural splendour.   

Project 1: Redundancies  

St Paul’s Cathedral first approached Redway HR in April 2020, when the lockdown rules were severely impacting the running of the Cathedral and reluctantly the decision had been made to consult on redundancies. The Cathedral’s senior team wanted to ensure that the Staff Consultation Committee, representing the staff in collective consultation, were supported throughout the process and had independent outsourced HR experts they could ask for advice. 40 roles, or almost 25% of roles, were proposed as redundant, a significant number. 

Project 2: Recruitment 

When the world began to open up post lock-down and the Cathedral could once more welcome worshippers and visitors, there was a new set of challenges and opportunities. Responding to these needed new skillsets and so at the end of 2021, a period of intensive recruitment began. The recruitment activity picked up to a level that was higher than the internal HR team were resourced to handle. In December 2021 the Cathedral approached Redway to manage the end-to-end recruitment process, working directly with line managers.  

Project 3: Development 

In March 2022, following the prolonged period of change, St Paul’s asked Redway for outsourced HR support on a retained basis for specific teams and individuals, to help them work even more effectively together and get the best from each other.  

Solution

Project 1: Redundancies

  • Redway provided full training for the Staff Consultation Committee on the technical expectations of their roles and the soft skills required to deliver is successfully.
  • Redway HR continued to provide outsourced HR support and advise the team throughout the 45-day consultation period.

Project 2: Recruitment

  • Drafted job adverts, advertised, shortlisted, interviewed, offered and conducted pre-employment checks in line with Church of England Safer Recruitment requirements.
  • Successfully sourced and recruited 37 people into 24 roles This included two HR team members, equipping the Cathedral to manage their own recruitment in 2023.

Project 3: Development

  • Team building and team coaching sessions including psychometric testing to increase self-awareness, where appropriate.
  • Policy work and supporting the visitor facing team to ensure a warm welcome for all worshippers and visitors.
  • Leadership / management training to small groups on a range of subjects including employment law, managing performance, transactional analysis, influencing skills and more.
  • Appraisal training to over 100 employees and leaders across the Cathedral.
  • A team succession planning project.

Results

Project 1: Redundancies

  • Staff Consultation Committee were equipped to deliver their roles effectively.
  • The number of roles made redundant reduced, and most of those who did leave did so voluntarily.

Project 2: Recruitment

  • Line managers felt supported and equipped to make recruitment decisions.
  • 37 quality hires made in a very tight labour market.
  • Average cost per hire of £1,179.
  • Over 95% of hires directly sourced rather than from an agency, saving thousands.
  • The HR team were able to focus on more urgent and important parts of their role.

Project 3: Development

  • Tools in place and embedded supporting performance and development.
  • Managers upskilled and supported in their roles.
  • Increased self-awareness and progress towards goals.
  • Measured improvement in confidence in managing a team.
  • Measured increase in clarity around roles and responsibilities.

Our clients said: 

Mel Barker, Head of HR: “I have very much valued and enjoyed working in partnership with the team from Redway HR.  The team are professional, knowledgeable, flexible and supportive, who have provided a seamless extension to the HR team by understanding and integrating with both the Cathedral and our staff. I would certainly recommend”. 

Jo Day, Director of Corporate Services: “The Redway team have really taken the time to understand our organisation, and this has been the basis for a very successful partnership. I highly recommend Liz and the team and look forward to continuing our work with them”. 

Paula Gooder, Canon Chancellor: “Really helpful session both in exploring the issues and in identifying key actions to try. Hugely recommended!” 

Sandra Lynes Timbrell, Director of Visitor Engagement: “I very much value St Paul’s Partnership with Redway. Liz and her team have enabled us to launch projects and training programmes we wouldn’t otherwise have had the resources to deliver. I look forward to developing our relationship”. 

Redway HR - Outsourced HR Services | Training and Development | Leadership Training | Hertfordshire

Just a note to say thank you for the support Jenny and Bronwyn have given me in the last 2 weeks. The circumstances have been very “difficult” and “sensitive” in parts and I can say with hand on heart that without your team’s support, things could have had a drastically different outcome.

They have shown nothing other than complete professionalism and have steered me in the right direction where the situation has proved testing and I was out of my depth. Please pass on my thanks to both Jenny and Bronwyn. They are a credit to you.

James Long

Director, Resolute Dog Security