Talent Matters

Team Warren takes on China challenge

The pioneering 'Women for Women' charity has inspired Team Warren to take part in 'Cycle China', a 450km charity bike ride through the Beijing countryside.

Joëlle Warren, Judith Nicol, Deb Cooper, Vicky Lawton and Estelle Smith aim to raise a team total of £15,000 for the charity, which funds vital research into the causes of miscarriage and complications during pregnancy.

Explains Joëlle: "Everyone had great fun doing Cycle Cuba and raising a huge amount for such a worthwhile cause that we were determined to do another cycle challenge."

You can support the team at http://www.justgiving.com/WarrenPartners Read more...

Mutual co-operation pays off for CFS and Britannia

Appointing a 40-strong business leadership team in just two months during the merger of the Britannia Building Society with Co-operative Financial Services (CFS) was a landmark assignment for Warren Partners.

The merger created an organisation with £70 billion of assets, nine million customers and 12,000 plus employees.

"We'd worked with both parties for several years, a tremendous advantage in understanding their businesses, appreciating their values and knowing their senior people," explains director Deborah Cooper.

The project team established several fundamental principles: ensuring the best people were in the right roles, maintaining a values led approach and delivering a transparent process. This had to be achieved on time and within budget, while business continued as usual in both organisations.

"Planning and time management were crucial," says Deborah. "Trust was also a key factor - as a trusted adviser to both parties we quickly built a three way partnership."

Warren Partners advised on the selection criteria and assessment methodology, shaped the decision-making mechanisms and assisted with the interviewing.

CFS Organisational Development Director Karen Moir is very positive about the outcome: "Sue, Joëlle and Deborah pulled out all the stops to make things happen, enabling us to honour the commitment we made to everyone that the process would be timely and transparent." Read more...

Circle rings the changes for UK healthcare

Circle, Europe's largest healthcare partnership, is an exciting success story. Head of Partner Support, Byron Woodmansee, outlines the company's innovative approach to people and recruitment.

The philosophy behind Circle is simple: to build a great company dedicated to its patients. It was set up by business executives and clinicians who saw that giving people on the healthcare frontline more power meant a better service for patients.

All its direct employees, from consultants and nurses to porters and catering staff, are partners with shares in the business.

Circle runs private clinics in Stratford and Windsor, plus NHS treatment centres in Bradford, Burton on Trent and Nottingham. The jewel in its crown is the new CircleBath hospital, the first designed by leading architects Foster + Partners and a blueprint for 25 future Circle hospitals.

"Our attitude to people goes beyond a traditional HR approach. It's all about reminding people that they are the owners of their business, and encouraging them to act accordingly." Read more...