| The Ways We Work |
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We work directly with the owners, CEOs, MDs, directors and management teams of small to medium sized businesses in a variety of ways when they have recognised a need for change. Our approach is always pragmatic – we deliver practical, useful business help and advice that really works when you need it to. We are different because we use a mixture of approaches to help your business in the most effective way possible so that you get just the right level support to be really effective without being intrusive. Every situation is unique and requires a different approach. We work with your team by challenging the assumptions about your business in a supportive way. Then add our experience and expertise through various methods which might include:
This help can be relatively short term with just a few hours of ‘visiting expertise’ to deal with a particular issue or can run into a longer assignment in a challenging turnaround situation when we might be asked to act as members of the board. Whatever roles we are working in, delivery happens in the most convenient and cost-effective way for you:
HARD HAT™ as a Business MentorA Hard Hat Business Mentor is a trusted, experienced and discrete source of sage advice; a colleague who understands your business and can relate to you and your challenges; one who has almost certainly lived through and dealt with similar situations before. ‘When the affair between my Finance Director who was my business confidante and our HR Director went sour, she threatened to sue for constructive dismissal on the grounds that the company had permitted sexual harassment. I just didn’t know where to turn…’ HARD HAT™ as an Executive CoachA Hard Hat™ Executive Coach offers proactive help to resolve your issues. We can teach you everything you need to know about the game and its tactics. You get to hit the ball yourself, whilst we work on your swing together! ‘The business is consuming me… I’ve been working for more than 80 hours a week now for longer than I can remember; didn’t get a holiday last year and I haven’t seen my son play football this season… I know that’s bad but every time I step back from it, something goes wrong.’ HARD HAT™ as a Business ConsultantIf you’ve ever had a situation when things are not working as they should but no one knows why, an experienced Hard Hat advisor gets to the root of an issue quickly. You’ll get a one page report fast, supported by whatever other data is necessary. You’ll get expert analysis to support your decision making. We’ll take you through HOW you fix the problem by whatever routes are appropriate to your situation. ‘This used to be a profitable construction and building maintenance business, so we decided to grow it by installing a new IT system, growing the management team and employing a marketing person. Ever since that started we have been losing money heavily. At first we thought it was the cost of change but losses are ongoing and the accounts don’t illustrate where the problem is…’ HARD HAT™ as a Business AdvisorWhen everyone has opinions about how to improve things, yet some of these are conflicting and no one has the experience to establish the right pathway. - we’ll work with the team to take them through HOW to fix the problem and support them during the journey. ‘Firstly we didn’t really have any strategy; we just did what seemed obvious at the time. But then we noticed that sales were flat-lining and competitors were gaining ground on us. The team differed on the way forward – the sales guys wanted to go for the low hanging fruit, R&D were working on something that wouldn’t be ready for 3 years and customer service couldn’t cope with the existing work load. What we needed was someone experienced that could take a view from the outside and help show us the way forward…’ HARD HAT™ as a TrainerMuch of Hard Hat’s advice is based on challenging assumptions and perhaps changing the way you do things to make your business more efficient and effective - and therefore more profitable. Some of our suggestions are at the cutting edge of new business techniques, proven to be successful in other industries. So if you and your team are going to improve performance you’ll need to be shown how; sometimes one-to-one, sometimes in groups - always inspirational and motivational, with a lasting impact on your business. ‘I can see how powerfully the value added approach to selling will improve profits and take the pressure off of production. Targeting our most profitable customers with our most profitable products and services just has to improve the bottom line. But how do I get the sales team to change what they have been doing all these years?...’ HARD HAT™ as an Interim ExecutiveWe know what it’s like to be working 80 hours a week, faced with a basket case of issues and then have a key member of your team disappear. If only there was more time! That’s when you need someone with the right experience to come in for a few days and just get on with things! And that’s what we do - help on demand. ‘I new something had to change, I was spending all my time keeping things under control and then our operations director became ill, What I needed was someone to come in and work with us through the problem. HARD HAT provided an Interim Director and his experience really helped take the pressure off…'
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