Are required to work in a hands-on way to make things happen in your business. All are practitioners
with long experience of running their own small businesses and in delivering business improvement
programmes to small firms like yours.
Selection of Partners and Associates more...
We encourage applications from experienced consultants whom we first screen through phone
interviews to select those with the knowledge, skills and attitude we need. The rigorous selection
process then involves the use of assessment centres at which applicants are required to demonstrate
small business consultancy skills by working on a real case, to show us what they can already do and
how well they can work with others. The next step involves psychometric profiling, followed by a final
interview – all of which is designed to ensure that Associates meet our challenging requirements – and
can meet our clients’ needs.
Each Associate undergoes 10 days of compulsory Hawick Group training covering:
- Project Planning
- Use of technology
- Business research
- Training & Development planning
- Data Analysis
- Performance management installation
- Business Planning
- Human resource management
- Marketing
- Consultancy and coaching
- Operations & Quality
- Investors in People
- Finance
- ISO 9000
Hawick’s Principals carry out a face to face performance review with each Associate every 6 months.
This includes a detailed review of every project they are working on, the record of deadline
achievement, standard of work submitted and independent feedback from you, the client. This
process identifies areas for improvement which go into the Implementer’s Personal Development Plan
which has to be acted upon before the next review in order to ensure continuous performance improvement.
In addition to passing through Hawick Group’s assessment and development processes, most
Associates are certified members of the Institute of Business Consultancy and many are members of
the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development as well. These professional bodies demand high
entry standards and insist on continuing professional development (CPD). Associates compare notes
and share discoveries about what has worked particularly well, so that everyone else can benefit and
grow.
Project Management more...
We operate a rigorous project management system that ensures your programme stays on target
and that the work quality maintains the high standards that we agree with you at the outset. All work
carried out by your Associate has to be copied to the office where every Project and every Associate
is reviewed each month by two Partners who take action in all cases of time overrun and apparently
incomplete work. We will phone you at regular intervals to check your satisfaction with the work
from the viewpoints of timeline achievement, quality, relevance and useful impact on your business.
That provides you with an opportunity to tell us frankly how the project is progressing and the calibre
of your relationship with your Associate. If you wish, we will change your Associate and do so with no
embarrassment. If necessary, we will (and do) terminate the contracts of any Associate who fails to
rectify the delivery of unsatisfactory work to a client, replacing them at our own cost (thankfully this
is a very rare occurrence).
We currently have Associates based in every county throughout the southern half of the UK and are
adding more in the Midlands and North in order to fully cover the whole of England by 2012. Ask us
for CVs of one, two or three Associates close to you.