Welcome

I help businesses to


change, transform

or

transition

from where they are now, to where they want to be.

I work across organisations and sectors in the UK, Europe, North America and the Middle East. I cover people, commercial and business operations. My work can be short term, tackling a particular issue or initiative or longer term responding to a complex requirement or task.

Services

Consultancy Services

Offering strategic and practical advice, guidance and knowhow in a variety of fields across organisational and management practices

Interim Assignments

Short to medium term assignments covering Board and Executive roles in organisations where a need has emerged

Bidding, Tendering and Evaluation

Working with Government ‘Invitations to Tender’, for long term contracts setting out how to transform businesses and the people agenda over 8-20 year timeframes. Lead evaluation of Business Performance and Government Contracts.

We can offer help and assistance in a variety of ways:

  • a full, hands on service,
  • advice where it is needed
  • a toolbox full of techniques

Capabilities

  • Board Support and Director Development

  • Bidding,
    Evaluation, Drafting

    Documentation

  • Board and Executive Interim Support

  • Organisation
    Development
    and Design

  • Creation of
    Vision, Strategy and Plans. Risk and Mitigation

  • Recruitment
    and Resourcing
    strategy

  • Executive Remuneration and Compensation Schemes

  • Trade Unions, Employee Relations and Dispute Management

  • Pay, Conditions of Employment and Pensions Management

  • Talent Strategy and Succession Development

  • Performance and Engagement Strategy

  • Mergers, Acquisitions and Disposals including TUPE

  • Redundancy, Termination and Settlements

Approach

There are times when companies know exactly what to do and when to do it and times when they don’t. Sometimes they have the expertise in house and sometimes they need that bit of extra help for the team or the organisation.

As a hands-on strategist, I’m happy to roll my sleeves up to help. I believe it is critical to have a well thought through plan and some practical solutions but crucially, there is a need to move on and implement the plan as soon as possible.

Friendly and approachable, I employ a high work ethic, good communication skills, and work in collaboration. Ultimately, getting things done in the right way, is what it’s all about for me.

About

I have extensive experience as a Senior Board member operating across various sectors including FTSE 250 companies.

  • West Midlands Trains Ltd – HR Director
  • Northern Rail Limited – HR and Change Director
  • IDM Limited – Managing Director
  • Arla Foods plc – Group HR Director
  • Express Dairies plc – Group HR Director
  • Caradon Catnic Limited – HR Director
  • Caradon Stelrad Limited – Head of HR Europe

I hold a Master’s Degree in Human Resources Management as well as a Financial Times Advanced Professional Diploma in Non-Executive Directorship.

My early career was in engineering, progressing through management into human resources.

I value: Knowing what works, delivering and taking pride in doing a great job.

Adrian Thompson Consulting was established in 2016 to work with an international client who was seeking to develop a long-term HR strategy to the year 2040. This included challenging and ambitious plans to establish a greenfield multi-billion-dollar transport system resourced and skilled accordingly.

The aim? To gradually replace a predominantly western expat workforce with nationals and to move towards a more diverse organisation.

From this inaugural assignment, several other HR projects, services and assignments have been undertaken across the UK, North America, Europe and the Middle East with an emphasis on providing knowhow, the latest expertise and most importantly practical tools, insights and innovation to help clients to be creative and successful.

Latest projects

  • People, Staffing and Organisation Work Stream Lead for significant rail bids across the UK
  • Responding for clients to tenders for major contracts in Dubai, Qatar and Saudi Arabia
  • Collaboration review, report and recommendations for major Scottish organisation
  • Technical expertise and advice to a client in combating an entrenched UK industrial relations dispute
  • Developing a leading UK Talent and Succession Strategy for a large UK business with multi-site locations
  • Development of a long-term industrial relations strategy to change the dynamics within the sector for a £2b UK organisation
  • Sponsorship and implementation of a number of on-line technical platforms covering PDR and PDP, Sickness Absence Management, Recognition, Bonus and Profit Share
  • A re-structuring of management layers and re-grading covering 350 leaders including consultation with trade unions
  • Strategic advice and guidance to enable the modernisation of a nationalised industry in the UK
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What they say

“Adrian was my HR director for the first 2 years of the West Midlands Trains franchise, we needed to deliver significant improvements to people, processes and upgrade our assets as part of our franchise commitments. During that time, he guided us through a complex industrial relations environment which could have resulted in de-railing the company at a crucial time. Critically, he led the re-structuring of the business and was ‘Runner Up’ in the Institute of Organisation Development’s annual awards for the organisational design and execution of this project”.

Jan Chaudhry-van der Velde,
Managing Director, London Northwestern Railway/West Midlands Rail

“I worked with Adrian for 3 years in a volatile and challenging employee relations environment and what shone through was his ability to make measured and objective business decisions at critical moments. Adrian’s creative, business focused attention to detail taught me the importance of assessing all options before taking action and how to position the business in order to make the right move at the right time. Having Adrian as a mentor allowed me to challenge my own way of working and this has without doubt helped me to secure my first HR Director role”.

Jane English,
Human Resources Director, Merseyrail Electrics Limited

“Whilst working in a senior HR role, Adrian was my HR Director in a complex and challenging organisation which was going through huge change. His strong grasp of the business coupled with the ability to build strong relationships at all levels meant the HR function was integral to the business and very firmly seated at the 'top table”.

Craig Wright,
HR Director, Seven Seas Ltd

“I found Adrian to be an inspirational leader. He had many strengths but his greatest was his ability to adapt his leadership and managerial styles to ensure he motivated and obtained the best performance from a number of people with differing approaches and needs”.

Graham Clark,
Group HR Director, JCT600 Ltd

Contact

++ 44 (0) 7500 447 398