Overview of the Role The People Advisor will support the people team in managing employee relations, policy implementation, and best practices to foster a positive and productive work environment. This role involves handling employee relations cases, including disciplinary, grievance, and absence management, providing guidance to managers on policies and procedures, ensuring compliance with company guidelines and legal requirements. Additionally, the People Advisor will assist with people data analysis and reporting, helping to track trends and provide actionable insights for improvement. Key Responsibilities and Duties Employee Relations: • Manage and investigate disciplinary cases, ensuring consistency with company policies and legal requirements. • Provide guidance to managers on how to conduct disciplinary hearings and resolve grievances effectively. • Track employee absences, identify patterns, and support managers in addressing frequent or long-term absenteeism. • Mediate conflicts between employees and between employees and management, ensuring respectful and fair resolutions. • Ensure accurate documentation of all employee relations cases and maintain compliance with employment laws and company policies. Policy Implementation & Support: • Assist the People and Performance Manager in the rollout of new people policies and initiatives. • Communicate policy updates and changes to employees and managers, ensuring clarity and understanding. • Develop communication materials, such as emails, presentations, or workshops, to inform staff of policy changes and initiatives. • Provide training and support to managers and employees to ensure proper understanding and adherence to new policies. • Gather feedback from managers and employees on the effectiveness of new policies, suggesting improvements where necessary. Manager Support & Coaching: • Offer day-to-day guidance to managers on people management issues, including performance management, conflict resolution, and employee behaviour. • Ensure managers are fully informed about People policies, procedures, and legal requirements, and support them in applying these in real-world situations. • Share best practices with managers for recruitment, performance management, and employee engagement. • Organise and deliver training or coaching sessions aimed at developing leadership skills and enhancing the understanding of People policies. • Offer specific case studies or examples to help managers effectively apply People policies and handle challenging people-related situations. People Data Analysis & Reporting: • Collect, analyse, and report on key people data, including turnover, absenteeism, and employee engagement metrics. • Identify trends in people data, such as spikes in turnover or patterns of absenteeism, and provide insights to senior leadership. • Prepare regular people reports, including visual aids (graphs, charts, etc.), to highlight key trends and actionable recommendations. • Use data insights to propose strategies to address issues like high turnover or absenteeism, and support leadership in decision-making. • Track the effectiveness of implemented strategies and recommend further improvements based on data analysis. Skills, Qualifications and Experience Skills: • Employee Relations: Strong understanding of employee relations, including handling disciplinary cases, grievances, and absence management. Ability to investigate, mediate, and resolve conflicts effectively. • Communication Skills: Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Ability to convey complex people information clearly and concisely to managers and employees at all levels. • Advisory and Coaching: Ability to advise and guide managers on people policies, procedures, and people management issues. Experience in coaching managers to improve their leadership skills. • People Policies and Procedures: In-depth knowledge of people policies, employment law, and best practices. Ability to apply policies consistently while providing advice to managers. • Data Analysis: Proficiency in collecting, analysing, and reporting people data, including turnover rates, absenteeism trends, and employee engagement scores. Ability to identify patterns and provide actionable insights. • Problem-Solving: Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to handle sensitive situations, offer solutions, and resolve issues effectively and fairly. • Organisational Skills: Strong organisational abilities with the capability to manage multiple people cases and priorities simultaneously, ensuring deadlines and compliance are met. • Confidentiality and Discretion: Ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality and handle sensitive employee-related matters with discretion. • Conflict Resolution: Skilled at facilitating conflict resolution between employees or between employees and management, ensuring a fair and unbiased approach. Education and Qualifications: • A bachelor’s degree in human resources, Business Administration, or a related field is desirable. • Relevant people professional certifications (e.g., CIPD Level 5 or equivalent) are highly desirable. Additional Information: • The role will require travel to other company locations. • Flexibility in working hours may be necessary to meet business needs. Key Values and Behaviours Key Values Integrity and Transparency: • Demonstrates honesty and fairness in all interactions with employees, managers, and stakeholders. • Maintains transparency, ensuring that people processes and decisions are open and understood by all parties involved. • Upholds confidentiality and adheres to ethical standards, ensuring sensitive information is handled with care. Respect and Inclusion: • Promotes an inclusive and respectful environment where all employees feel valued, heard, and supported. • Embraces diversity in the workplace and ensures that all employees are treated with dignity and respect. • Supports initiatives that contribute to building an equitable workplace for all employees. Accountability: • Takes responsibility for outcomes, ensuring people processes are followed with attention to detail and compliance with policies and legal requirements. • Holds self and others accountable for adhering to company values, people policies, and legal regulations. • Takes ownership of tasks and supports managers and employees in resolving people matters efficiently and fairly. Collaboration: • Works closely with employees, managers, and other people team members to deliver effective people solutions and support organisational goals. • Encourages teamwork, building strong relationships across departments to foster an inclusive, communicative, and collaborative work environment. • Actively listens to others' ideas, respects differing perspectives, and finds solutions through joint effort. Continuous Improvement: • Demonstrates a commitment to continuous learning and personal development, staying up to date on people best practices and legal developments. • Actively seeks opportunities to improve people processes, policies, and systems to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. • Uses feedback from employees and managers to make improvements and drive better results. Empathy and Support: • Actively listens to employees and managers, providing emotional support and understanding when addressing workplace issues, from grievances to conflict resolution. • Approaches each situation with a solutions-oriented mindset, prioritizing employee well-being and fair treatment. • Shows empathy in all interactions, ensuring that employees feel understood and valued, particularly during difficult times. Key Behaviours Proactive Problem Solving: • Anticipates potential issues in employee relations, grievance handling, or absence management and addresses them before they escalate. • Seeks out opportunities to improve processes, identifying inefficiencies and suggesting actionable solutions to address them. Effective Communication: • Communicates clearly and concisely with employees and managers, tailoring messages to different audiences to ensure understanding. • Listens actively and empathetically to concerns and offers well-considered advice and guidance. • Provides timely and clear updates to stakeholders regarding people-related matters. Decision-Making: • Makes well-informed, fair, and balanced decisions in line with company policies and legal requirements, particularly when managing disciplinary actions, grievances, or conflicts. • Considers the broader impact of decisions, weighing both immediate and long-term consequences for the business and its people. Adaptability: • Adjusts quickly and effectively to changing business needs, employee concerns, and people priorities. • Willing to modify approaches based on feedback or new information, always striving to be flexible and responsive. Confidentiality and Discretion: • Maintains a high level of confidentiality, especially when dealing with sensitive employee relations or personal data. • Demonstrates discretion when handling delicate matters, earning trust from both managers and employees. Collaboration and Teamwork: • Actively contributes to the success of the people team and the wider business by offering support, sharing knowledge, and helping others meet common goals. • Fosters a spirit of teamwork, sharing insights and best practices to improve overall departmental performance. Results-Oriented: • Focuses on achieving people objectives efficiently and within set timeframes while ensuring compliance with all relevant policies and regulations. • Continuously tracks progress toward achieving people goals and makes adjustments as necessary to meet organisational objectives. Customer-Centric Approach: • Provides excellent support to employees and managers, anticipating their needs and responding quickly to requests for advice or assistance. • Seeks to improve employee experience by ensuring that all people processes, from onboarding to grievance handling, are handled professionally and efficiently. Coaching and Empowering Others: • Supports managers and leaders by providing coaching on people policies, procedures, and best practices, enabling them to manage their teams effectively. • Encourages self-sufficiency in managers by helping them develop their skills and knowledge, so they can confidently address people-related issues without relying on constant guidance.