Testimonials
Dr Meredith Belbin, Belbin Associates
Members of the company have taken seriously our own research work in Human Resources as indicated by the way in which the company has availed itself of the training and accreditation that we have been able to provide. Happily I was invited this year to combine with the Urquhart Partnership in delivering a one-day workshop for an American high tech IT company. In all matters the Urquhart Partnership worked to very high standards, a view borne out by the assessments given by the clients. The range of clients extending beyond Scotland provides testimony to the value now being created by this dynamic business.
David Doig, Chief Executive, OPITO
The Urquhart Partnership has worked extensively with OPITO over the last 8 years. As OPITO has grown and changed as an organisation we have relied heavily on the skills and expertise of the UP people to help us manage our change. Never once have we been let down and I'm convinced that without the innovative thinking and dynamic approach of the UP we would not be in the strong market position we are in today. An example of the UP innovative thinking was the creation of our "Going the extra mile" recognition and reward scheme in 2002. Not a run of the mill bonus scheme it links positive behaviours to business performance and provides opportunity for personal growth and intrinsic satisfaction. This scheme has become a cornerstone of our people development and business success. The people at UP also have real talent for managing difficult and sensitive staff issues in a manner which protects personal self esteem and achieves the required outcomes. Many organisations claim to be customer focused yet fall short when tested against expectations. UP has a proven track record of exceeding my expectations through the delivery of high quality product and service excellence.
Linda Moncur, HR Adviser, Human Resources, TOTAL E&P UK Limited
Providing support to TOTAL E&P UK, The Urquhart Partnership has, over the last few years, become an integral part of not only the HR department within TOTAL, but also within the wider organisation.
Highly respected by everyone at TOTAL, The Urquhart Partnership provides support on a wide spectrum of HR activities. The personal commitment from everyone in the company ensures that the client's needs are uppermost in their minds.
What makes them unique is their personal knowledge and understanding of our culture; their genuine interest in our people; the professionalism of everyone in the company; their commitment to providing the best client service they can and of course, their ability to have fun.
Nick Baxter, Chief Executive, Cornerstone Community Care
Working with UP has been both an enjoyable and valuable experience for Cornerstone. The enthusiasm of the UP team is infectious, and this coupled with their professionalism makes them a pleasure to do business with. UP have helped us in a number ways including benchmarking reports, job evaluations and recruitment for our most senior staff.
In particular, the assessment centres they have designed for us when recruiting for four of our most senior posts have been invaluable and they have come up with innovative ways to test prospective candidates’ performance in real life situations. The time and effort taken by their organisation made the exercise well worthwhile and we are confident that we did get the right people with the help of UP.
In addition, UP always keep us in mind by inviting us to their excellent networking events which have provided an excellent opportunity to make new friends for Cornerstone and recently they scored some great brownie points with us when a large company cancelled a course on them at the last minute and UP secured the place for our recruitment manager, which otherwise we could not have afforded.
John Crum, Managing Director, Apache North Sea Ltd
I have been very impressed with The Urquhart Partnership’s ability to quickly understand and help us message our critical cultural and business needs to a very diverse employee group
Alison Smith, Managing Director, ActivPayroll
As an organisation we have reached a size where we need to have sound HR processes, procedures and practices in place, without employing a full-time HR Manager. Our managers and team-leaders have neither the time nor experience to maintain this on their own, but by having Trish visit our offices on a monthly basis, we have added untold value to our organisation, as it enables our managers to focus on core business issues whilst providing them with valuable knowledge and experience of HR matters. Trish has built up a good working relationship with the Directors, managers and employees and is regarded as “part of the activpayroll team”. In particular, the support and coaching Trish provides to our managers and team leaders is regarded internally as an integral part of their personal management development. Having worked closely with The Urquhart Partnership very successfully for over a year on this project, we would like to take this opportunity of thanking you for your support and guidance and we look forward to continuing and developing our working relationship in the future.
Karen Catto, Group HR Manager, Stewart Milne Group
A good service was provided, we felt valued as a client and would use The Urquhart Partnership's services again. Both the expertise provided in developing the advertisement along with use of Belbin were helpful in this process.
Neil Hall, Director, Wireline Engineering Services
We decided on the hourly charged recruitment option incorporating Belbin. This allowed us to use Urquhart Partnership to interview, report and short list the applicants as normal, but we could monitor our costs continuously without worrying about the final salary implications. We profiled the job positions with Belbin before the interviews started. The Belbin self perception profiles from each interviewee were then referenced against the job profiles. This helped greatly to choose the individuals to build a harmonised team. Potential team conflicts and shortfalls could then be planned into induction training. Still early days yet but very pleased with the results, would definitely use this method again. I would have no hesitation in recommending the method to others. With the shortage of experienced individuals for some disciplines, an employer requires to use all selection tools to ensure success.
Georgina Gordon, Group Training Co-ordinator, John Wood Group plc
The group were led in a business game which was designed to develop negotiation skills, communication skills and general client interaction and group work. The feedback was excellent which included some of the following comments; focussed the mind. Entertaining and good team fun, Simple game with thought provoking results, Highlighted the need to ensure ebveryone is agreed formally or contractually rather than assuming, Brilliant! Interesting. The session helped to break up the day and got everyone involved. We would definitely look to run something similar in the future.
Lizanne Shepherd, Managing Director, Ark Occupational Health
Ark has grown quickly since we set up in 1999 and earlier this year I became aware that my own role within the company was changing. I wanted advice on how to go forward into a managerial position so decided to take part in the Scottish Enterprise programme which offered management training and support. The support I received has helped give me and my team the confidence to continue to grow the business. The committment of Su and Campbell in providing quality mentoring time exceeded my expectations.