What actually changes when the way a business runs its people gets fixed?
The businesses below came to me at different stages, with different problems. Some knew exactly what was wrong. Others just knew something wasn’t working and couldn’t quite put their finger on it.
What they had in common?
They were growing, they cared about getting it right and they were ready to actually do something about it.
Temporary Chef Agency
The situation
100% employee turnover. Onboarding that overwhelmed people before they’d even found their feet. No management structure, no clear roles, no consistent direction. The business was growing but haemorrhaging the people it needed to deliver.
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We rebuilt onboarding from scratch, designing a tailored remote-first process that introduced people to the business gradually rather than all at once. We put a confident Office Manager in place with the support and structure to actually manage the team day-to-day, and clarified roles across the business so everyone knew where they stood.
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Zero leavers in the 18 months after we finished (down from 100% employee turnover)
£150,000+ saved in recruitment and replacement costs
A confident management layer handling day-to-day team operations
New starters settling in properly, contributing faster
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“Maritsa helped us successfully integrate our new Office Manager, improved our team structure, showed us how to successfully manage people remotely and refreshed the onboarding for our new employees. I would 100% recommend her!”
AI Consultancy
The situation
The MD was carrying every single people decision alone. No structure for interviews or onboarding. Outdated contracts and policies creating legal risk. Appraisals happening whenever someone’s anniversary fell, rather than on a consistent cycle. The business was scaling, but the people infrastructure wasn’t.
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We put proper processes, documents and templates in place across the business. New policies and contracts replaced the outdated ones, removing compliance risk. A structured quarterly review cycle replaced the ad-hoc appraisal system. An HR system was implemented to automate the admin and give the business a single place to manage its people. Employee benefits were introduced. Regular team meetings were established to improve communication and set expectations consistently.
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The MD freed up from handling every people matter personally
Legally compliant contracts and policies across the business
Consistent, repeatable processes that save time and reduce guess-work
A business that’s properly organised and ready to scale
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“Working with Maritsa has been fantastic; we’re more organised now allowing us to scale. It’s also freed up my time and the biggest benefit is the peace of mind knowing HR is taken care of!”
Online & Store Retailer
The situation
The founders had no clear picture of where the business was heading. They assumed they’d carry on doing more of what they’d always done, but that wasn’t a plan. They were holding everything themselves, stressed from the weight of responsibility and without the headspace to think strategically about what came next.
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We defined the growth direction (wholesale) and built a clear three-year plan for both the business and its people. We worked through what delegation needed to look like so the founders could step back from the day-to-day and actually lead. The result was a business with a direction, a plan and the operational structure to pursue it.
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A defined growth strategy the whole business is working toward
A three-year people and operations plan the founders are actively working through
Headspace freed up through proper delegation and planning
Founders focused on executing the growth plan rather than holding everything together
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“It’s made us really look at everything that we do. We now do things in a totally different way than we did before working with you.”
Home Fragrance & Beauty Business
The situation
The owner was spending too much energy worrying about what the team thought and felt, and not enough actually leading them. No confidence to manage, for fear of upsetting people. No long-term view of the business. And they couldn’t step away, even briefly, without anxiety about what was happening behind the scenes.
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We worked on the owner’s leadership mindset and approach, building the confidence to manage clearly and consistently. We introduced the right tools and frameworks so they had a structure to rely on, and looked at the longer-term direction of the business so decisions had a context to sit within.
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Confident, consistent leadership and communication across the team
Practical tools and knowledge the owner uses day-to-day
A long-term business goal to make decisions against
The ability to go on holiday without worrying about what’s happening back at the business
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“There’s no doubt, it’s been one of the most beneficial things we’ve done for our business and personally!”
SaaS Business
The situation
Recent employment law changes meant that their existing policies weren't up to date. Key elements were missing, leaving the business exposed - they wanted to fix that.
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I reviewed and refreshed their existing policies and created new ones, to take into account the latest legislation. I then ran training so that the management team understood exactly what had changed and how to apply it in practice.
New documents and proper understanding of what they mean day-to-day. -
Policies that are accurate, current and legally compliant
A team that understands what the policies mean and how to use them
Confidence that the business is properly protected
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"Maritsa is great to work with! Very professional and efficient, and gives us great confidence with knowing the policies we provide to our team are accurate and current."
Ready to see what’s actually holding your business back?
Every business in here started with the Diagnostic. It’s the fastest way to get a clear picture of where you are, what’s getting in the way, and what to do about it.