“Andrew at The Spark Company is a great partner for a business to work with. He combines a practical, no nonsense approach with good technical knowledge and quickly builds a rapport with existing teams to hit the ground running."
Jacinta Magee
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“From the very first meeting I had with Andrew he felt like part of our team and not an external consultant. He went on to lead on our management training using the Insights Discovery Personal Profile and is an amazing facilitator, allowing for everyone to participate and get the most out of each session. He creates a fun and safe environment to allow effective collaboration and thought sharing. I would always recommend Andrew’s services."
Angela Shott
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New and experienced managers
New and experienced managers
New Managers
Do your leaders need to improve their self-confidence and effectiveness? Fed-up of off-the-shelf training that doesn’t have any impact in the real world? If you are looking for a programme that enables leaders to understand their personal strengths, preferences, blind spots and possible weaknesses, we can help. We support leaders to translate learning into positive changes to productivity and performance in the real-world Give us a call for a friendly chat about how we can help your leaders flourish.
A great partner for any business
Chief Financial OfficerClient
Ascenti
Challenge
Design and deliver a structured leadership programme for line and middle managers
A safe space for leaders to flourish
Head of OperationsSolution
LEAP: The Leadership Development Programme for Ascenti Managers
Impact
Greater confidence and effectiveness from leaders at all levels
Managers told us they were more confident, had greater self-awareness and a better understanding of others.
89% would recommend The Spark Company to others
90% would recommend Insights Discovery to others
Newly appointed managers gave an average 91% satisfaction rating
Looking for a bespoke Leadership or Management Development Programme?
Category: Leadership and Teamwork
Ascenti | Interim HR Leadership for a leading provider of physio and mental health
Happy Clients
“Andrew is brilliant at engaging with people at all levels and across the whole business. If you need someone that can really bring people together and make things happen quickly, he’s a great person for that.”
Stephanie Dobrikova
Chief Executive Officer
Client
Ascenti
- Ascenti is the UK's leading provider of physiotherapy and mental health services.
- The Ascenti team provides excellent patient care at over 400 clinics across UK, supported by office-based and regional teams.
- Patients are treated by a national network of 500 directly employed Ascenti clinicians delivering upwards of 600,000 treatment sessions every year.
Challenge
Step in as Interim Head of HR and lead strategic projects
- Ascenti's previous Head of HR had moved on leaving a gap in the HR Team.
- HR leadership was needed to navigate the people impact of both a global pandemic and Brexit
- Ascenti’s leadership team needed an Interim Head of HR to support them during this challenging time.
Happy Clients
“Andrew hit the ground running and unlike many other HR consultants who can often create more work for the team, he lightened our workload.
We are undoubtedly better off as a business having worked together and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend The Spark Company to others.”
Sophie Harper
Chief People and Communications Officer
Solution
Remote HR leadership through uncertain times
- We led the in-house HR Team remotely when none of us could meet face-to-face.
- We supported the Executive Team to review and simplify organisation structures.
- We ensured legal compliance of visas for all overseas staff – an important consideration as the Brexit transition period ended and new immigration rules emerged.
Impact
Key talent was retained so patient-facing services could return to ‘normal’ without disruption
- Majority of roles protected and colleagues furloughed, particularly clinical practitioners who were essential for patient care.
- HR roles restructured and redefined, giving Ascenti a scalable structure to support future growth.
- Upgraded HR and Payroll technology to enable self-service and minimise wasted time
Looking for an interim HR Director that can hit the ground running?
Do you need short-term cover for a HR Director or People Director role? Tried recruiting and still can't find a Head of HR or Head of People? If you are looking for a HR Consultancy to take the pressure off you and temporarily manage your HR function, then you need to speak to us.
We're ready to step in, give you interim strategic HR support, and get stuff done…until you make a permanent hire.