We've been working with this SME in Sussex for a number of years now, that whilst mega successful has now grown beyond the small family business it once was.

Now with 20+ employees, it needed a more structured approach to performance and development without being corporate or bureaucratic.

Here’s what we delivered ….

I'm not your typical HR consultant who shows up with a clipboard and a rulebook. Instead, I'm more like your strategic partner who rolls up their sleeves and dives in to find real, practical solutions. As one client put it: "Emily was brilliant not just as a service but a solutions provider".

I've been working with a recruitment business owner recently who was at breaking point. He'd been paying for a generic HR helpline (you know the type - insurance-backed, call centre approach, tick-box solutions). But they just weren't getting it.

The challenge? An underperforming consultant with ongoing sickness issues. Months of frustration, zero progress, and a helpline that didn't understand the unique dynamics of recruitment businesses.

In today's video, I'm going to share how successful businesses are flipping the script on performance management. We'll explore how focusing on coaching and development first can transform your business culture, boost your billers' confidence, and actually make those tougher conversations more constructive when they're needed.

Are you leaving performance to chance in your business? Are you just hoping to get the results you want without clarity?

I see this all the time - usually resulting in a stressed, frustrated business owner, taking it all on themselves.

There is another way.

Here's a radical thought for recruitment & small business owners - what if performance conversations actually energised your team?

Somewhere along the way, the very mention of "performance" became associated with blame, fear and that dreaded march to HR. It's no wonder we all tense up at the phrase "we need to talk about your performance."

What if we changed this narrative in our businesses?

What happens when your team don’t really know what is expected of them?

• They don’t know how to perform at the levels you want?

• Someone leaves and nicks your data?

• Or goes off sick for three months and you can’t get hold of them?

There is always a better way …

You know exactly what I'm talking about - that employee who consistently underperforms, the one you've been meaning to address for weeks, months, maybe even years. Yet, here you are, once again picking up their slack, feeling the weight of unresolved issues on your shoulders.

One of the things I see all the time that totally hinders performance in recruitment businesses is a lack of clarity around expectations.

This is often coming from a really good place. Business owners not wanting to recreate the restrictive KPI, fear driven cultures of recruitment past. Not wanting to bog down the business in rules, policies and complex contracts. I totally get it.

However, an all or nothing approach is really damaging your business and your culture.