Talent Gap for a Tech Start-Up
The Client A growing technology start-up developing specialist software for the professional services sector. While the business possessed a strong product and clear objectives, it lacked a dedicated internal human resources or recruitment function. The immediate requirement was to source and secure skilled software engineers to support product development.
The Challenge Recruiting experienced engineering talent within the technology sector is highly competitive. As a start-up, the business lacked the brand recognition and extensive benefits packages offered by larger corporations. Initial attempts to advertise roles directly yielded few suitable applicants, and the process for assessing technical candidates was inconsistent and time-consuming, consequently the product roadmap was delayed, impacting delivery timelines and client commitments. The founders were also spending significant time on recruitment, distracting them from core business operations.
The Solution - Saltwater HR was engaged to design and implement a structured recruitment strategy. The process began by analysing the business from a candidate perspective to identify and highlight the unique advantages of working within a smaller, agile environment, such as flexibility, project ownership, and rapid decision-making.
We developed structured interview and assessment frameworks to ensure technical capability and cultural alignment were evaluated consistently. Saltwater HR managed the end-to-end recruitment process, refining how the roles were positioned in the market to attract high-calibre professionals.
The Results Two senior engineers were appointed within ten weeks. Both individuals were passive candidates who were not actively seeking roles through traditional job boards. Additionally, the founders were equipped with a repeatable, structured recruitment framework and a clearer strategy for positioning their business in a competitive talent market.
High Turnover in a Client-Facing Small Business
The Client A professional services business with a strong local client base and a good reputation, but a pattern of staff turnover that was starting to undermine both.
The Challenge Employee departures were occurring at a rate that created ongoing disruption, resulting in a loss of knowledge and requiring client relationships to be frequently reassigned. Clients had begun to comment on the lack of continuity, posing a risk to the firm's reputation.
The business owner suspected that compensation was the primary cause but lacked definitive data, as exit interviews were inconsistent. Whilst the initial reaction was to accelerate recruitment, the underlying requirement was to identify the root causes of the turnover.
The Solution - Saltwater HR conducted a comprehensive review of the employee experience, analysing existing data and speaking with current staff. The findings indicated that the issue was broader than salary, employees reported a lack of structured career progression, underdeveloped onboarding, and insufficient management support.
We collaborated with the business to implement practical improvements focused on HR fundamentals. This included establishing a structured onboarding framework, a straightforward development process, consistent one-to-one meetings, and regular updates to improve communication and recognition across the team.
The Results Staff turnover decreased markedly in the twelve months following the intervention, reducing from multiple departures per year to a single, planned resignation. Client feedback regarding continuity improved, and the business owner noted an immediate positive shift in team engagement. Furthermore, the financial investment in stabilising the team was substantially lower than the recurring costs associated with recruitment and onboarding.
Salary Benchmarking for a Web Design Agency
The Client A web design agency that had grown steadily over a number of years and was in the middle of a significant shift in direction. The business was moving away from front-end development toward a full-stack model, which meant the shape of the team, and the roles within it, was changing too.
The Challenge Pay had never been managed in a structured way. Salaries had been set at the point of hire and adjusted over time when people asked, sometimes justified by performance, sometimes not. Some employees had been with the business for many years and their pay reflected years of ad hoc increases. Others were newer, hired at different market rates. The result was a pay structure that had grown organically rather than intentionally, with no clear logic sitting underneath it.
As the business evolved and the role profiles changed, the owners wanted to move toward a model where pay progression was tied to performance rather than negotiation. But before that could happen, they needed an honest picture of where their salaries actually sat relative to the market. Without that foundation, any performance management process would be built on uncertain ground.
The Solution Saltwater HR conducted a full benchmarking exercise across every role in the business. Each position was assessed against multiple data sources and platforms to build a reliable, cross-referenced view of current market rates, accounting for role level, specialism and geography.
The findings were pulled into a comprehensive report that gave the business a clear picture of where each role sat: those that were broadly in line with the market, those that were below it, and the degree to which that mattered given the business's ability to compete for and retain that type of talent.
The report didn't just present data. It included practical suggestions for how to address the roles where pay was particularly low relative to industry rates, how to think about phasing any increases realistically, and how the benchmarking framework could be connected to the performance management process they were planning to introduce, so that future pay decisions had a clear, defensible rationale behind them.
The Result The business came away with a clear and honest understanding of their pay position for the first time. They had a structured framework to work from, a prioritised view of where action was needed, and a logical foundation on which to build their performance and reward approach. Pay conversations with employees could now be grounded in data rather than managed reactively.
The benchmarking exercise also surfaced some useful observations about how roles would need to be defined as the business continued its transition, giving the owner additional context as the team evolved.
Finding the Right HR System for a Retail Business
The Client A small retail business with irregular working hours, shift patterns and a mix of worker status types. The HR systems they had trialled weren't designed for the complexity of how their workforce was structured.
The Challenge Standard HR systems are built with standard working patterns in mind. This business didn't have those. Hours varied, worker status varied, and the system they were using couldn't keep up. Holiday calculations were unreliable, pay wasn't always accurate, and the team were spending time correcting errors that a better system should have prevented. Payroll was also running separately, which meant double-handling data and increasing the risk of mistakes.
The Solution Saltwater HR took the time to understand the business before looking at any solutions. We researched the market specifically with their workforce in mind, shortlisted options that could handle their complexity, and recommended the system that best matched how they operated. We then managed the full implementation, including connecting HR and payroll so that hours, pay and holiday were captured accurately in one place with no manual duplication. We always make sure we research and recommend the best system for you, not the easiest one to sell (or the one that makes us a referral fee!)
The Result The business moved to a system that handled their workforce properly from day one. Payroll accuracy improved immediately, holiday calculations were finally reliable, and the administrative time spent correcting errors was eliminated.
Urgent Absence Management Support
The Client A small local healthcare business with a team of fewer than 20 employees.
The Challenge A member of staff had accumulated a significant level of absence and the business owner needed guidance on how to manage the situation correctly. Absence management requires a careful balance of legal process, consistency and sensitivity, and without in-house HR support the owner was uncertain about the right course of action and the options available to her.
The Solution The client completed our contact form at 6am asking for urgent support and by 9am a call was underway. We worked through the situation in full, outlined the relevant options clearly, and prepared the documentation needed to move forward. By lunchtime the owner had a letter ready to issue to the employee and a clear written summary of the different routes available to her depending on how the situation developed.
The Result The business had a clear process in place and the documentation needed to manage the situation properly by the end of the morning. The owner was able to move forward with confidence that the approach was legally sound and handled consistently.
Fast Track Contracts and Restrictive Covenant Advice
The Client A new business that needed two employment contracts produced urgently for their first members of staff, along with advice on restrictive covenants.
The Challenge The need came up quickly, as these things often do, and to make things trickier it landed while Nicky was on holiday. The business needed the contracts fast and also had specific questions about restrictive covenants in the context of one of the hires they were making. Getting this wrong could have left the business exposed, so the advice needed to be thorough as well as timely.
The Solution Saltwater HR turned the contracts around within 24 hours and provided full, clear advice on restrictive covenants, what they can and can't do, how to make them enforceable, and what the business needed to consider given the specific hire they were making. Nothing was rushed in terms of quality, even if the turnaround was fast.
The Result The business had everything they needed to proceed with the hire confidently and correctly. The contracts were ready, the advice was clear, and there was no delay to their recruitment timeline.
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