Our Client Stories, Case Studies, and Feedback
Case studies and what some of our customers say about us
Client Feedback: Dave Piggin - Managing Director, CoDwellers.com Ltd
(Software Solutions for Property Managers, Block Management and Managing Agents)
"Gesa has been an amazing resource for us as a smaller growing organisation. She has been both a professional qualified resource, and a helpful shoulder to cry on.
For over a decade she has helped us with dramas and the day to day policies, and procedures. She has been our insurance policy for the those potential nightmares and potholes of the HR world.
I would highly recommend her as someone that can work at board level, and one to one level. A calm and steadying hand when you need the help."
Client Feedback: Rupert Squires - Director, InformationEXP
(SharePoint Document Management Consultancy | Intranets | Knowledge & Policy Hubs)
"I’ve worked with Gesa, since we decided to bring on our first employee.
HR legislation is a minefield, so having an expert on speed dial means that we can focus on running the business rather than falling foul of the law.
She was instrumental in setting up our company handbook and employee contracts, and continues to support us with new aspects such as maternity leave as well as health and safety compliance.
Her expertise is a real asset, and I’ve already persuaded one organisation that they need her, and they took my advice!
Happy to recommend her to any SMB needing reliable HR guidance."
Client Feedback: Warren Lowe - COO / Infrastructure & Risk Manager, Krescendo Ltd (Global business process and data management solutions built, developed and delivered as a service)
"In the past 5-6 years Krescendo have been through several organisational changes, pursuing different company strategies for new business, hiring, and restructuring events.
Gesa has helped us with a number of HR related projects, including redesigning employee review processes and updating policies, procedures, and contracts in line with changes to regulations and legislation.
On demand HR is the perfect fit for Krescendo, and Gesa has been the perfect fit for us. Thanks!
For many years we used the same contact for recruitment. They served us well for a long time, but we felt like their processes started to lack innovation, and as such it was taking much longer to find the right candidate. We then started working with a much larger recruitment agency, who definitely had access to more resources but this came at a higher cost. The higher cost being agency fees, and the time required to filter through the higher volume of CVs that came our way. The emergence of AI agents results in even higher volumes of applicants, so it's then necessary to use AI agents to receive, filter, and process the applications. Using AI in this way doesn't align with Krescendo's values.
Along came Gesa from HR Influence.
We were introduced to Gesa via a recommendation from one of our advisory contacts. The recommendation was originally for HR consultancy, but we were told Gesa also provided recruitment services. After a brief introduction via email, Gesa was immediately asking all the right questions. After a few tweaks we had a job description ready to attract the right candidates.
Gesa’s service is much more personal, which really worked for us, and aligns well with Krescendo's ethos and values. Instead of the usual production line like process, Gesa goes out of her way to really understand the business needs. She does a great job of screening and interviewing candidates to ensure they’re a good fit. The descriptive profile summaries after screening and interviewing were a nice touch, and really helped us with our interview selection process.
It was important that the candidates we selected had the right skills to get through the interview process. The end to end experience with Gesa and HR Influence was great, as were the candidates that were put forward.
Gesa has helped us recruit some really strong graduate full stack developers so far, each with their own qualities and characteristics, which was very important to us and our company culture."
"Gesa, You've been so good to me this year, helpful and patient as always. I've been able to lean on you since I started in my new role and I've learnt so much from you.
You're always on hand to answer all of my HR questions, including helping us draft our employment contracts, helping us draft and proof-read our drafts. You're always clued up on the latest employment law - letting me know what steps we need to take to stay compliant and don't get me started on our Office Risk assessments and Fire Safety... the list is endless ...honestly - you are my first call!...Wealth of knowledge
It's been great working with you and I hope it continues ...what would I do without you?!"
Client Feedback: Lemara John-Paul - People & Operations Coordinator, CoDwellers.com Ltd (SAAS Portal Provider)
"To simply say that Gesa excels in staff recruitment would be a gross understatement. I have had the pleasure of knowing Gesa for several years and have worked closely with her over the past 18 months on behalf of a client, Worldwide Generation.
Gesa's approach is both in-depth and meticulous, as she strives to understand not only the roles we were recruiting for, but also the organisational structure and culture that her candidates would be entering. As a result, the calibre of all candidates she presented was consistently high, leading to an ultimately successful outcome.
Therefore, I can wholeheartedly and confidently recommend Gesa if you are seeking to find high quality
candidates that are the right fit for your organization"
Client Feedback: David Parry - Founder / MD | Advisor to CEOs & Investors | Scaling Mid-Cap B2B SMEs, WorldWideGeneration | SmartBRG
CoDwellers.com Ltd (Dwellant) - A Case Study
How HR Influence helped this SAAS business build a positive people culture and expand through effective HR strategy, efficient management and improved people performance aligned to the Company's aims: Link
Blackfoot UK Limited - A Case Study
How HR Influence saved this growing consultancy 75% in recruitment fees in 18 months: Link
Client Feedback: Susan Glenholme - Managing Partner, Debenhams Ottaway LLP (Law firm)
“My firm has worked with Gesa for a few years and more recently I have worked closely with her in my role as Managing Partner. Gesa is always very calm, supportive and reassuring. She is able to grasp the issues quickly and provide support in providing a solution that works for all concerned. Gesa has also helped our firm in mentoring and nurturing senior members of staff as well as assisting in our appraisal process and providing support and guidance with people issues and restructuring. Gesa has always been reliable, discreet and extremely professional as well as friendly and approachable. I would not hesitate in recommending Gesa to anyone looking for a practical, supportive and effective HR service”
Client Feedback: Edward Marcus - Managing Director, Marcus & Marcus (Care Service for autistic & neurodivergent individuals & complex needs)
"This reference pertains to HR Influence Ltd and in particular Gesa Grabis who dealt with our employment matter in June to August 2021. We procured the services of Gesa to deal with a rather complicated and most difficult redundancy situation. We specifically wanted someone independent from Marcus & Marcus to hear the redundancy appeal." [There were connected grievances] "The whole appeal process took almost two months, and I can safely say that Gesa did a most thorough and professional account of the case. I would not hesitate to use or recommend the services of Gesa or for that matter HR Influence going forward, should the need arise again."
Client Feedback: Warren Lowe, Infrastructure & Resilience Manager, Krescendo Ltd (Software Company delivering custom business applications)
“In the past 12-18 months Krescendo have been through a number of organisational changes, a shift in company strategy for new business, and have been hiring. For many years we used the same contact for recruitment. They served us well for a long time, but we felt like their processes started to lack innovation, and as such it was taking much longer to find the right candidate. We then started working with a much larger recruitment agency, who definitely had access to more resources but this came at a higher cost. The higher cost being agency fees, and the time required to filter through the higher volume of CVs that came our way.
Along came Gesa from HR Influence. We were introduced to Gesa via a recommendation from one of our advisory contacts. The recommendation was originally for HR consultancy, but we were told Gesa also provided recruitment services.
After a brief introduction via email, Gesa was immediately asking all the right questions. After a few tweaks we had a job description ready to attract the right candidates. Gesa’s service is much more personal, which really worked for us. Instead of the usual production line like process, Gesa goes out of her way to really understand the business needs. She does a great job of screening and interviewing candidates to ensure they’re a good fit. The descriptive profile summaries after screening and interviewing were a nice touch, and really helped us with our interview selection process. It was important that the candidates we selected had the right skills to get through the interview process. The end to end experience with Gesa and HR Influence was great, as were the candidates that were put forward.
Gesa has helped us recruit 3 strong graduate full stack developers so far, each with their own qualities and characteristics, which was very important to us and company culture. We will soon be kicking off an HR review project with Gesa, which was the original reason for reaching out in the first place. Thanks Gesa!”
Client Feedback: Kim Pearson - Finance Director, Green Caterpillar Consulting / Dwellant Ltd (SAAS Portal provider)
"HR Influence has been a significant partner to Dwellant for more than 3 years. It has played a critical role in the company’s evolution and growth. Gesa has skilfully sourced and on-boarded high calibre candidates, when it is not always easy for a small business to attract such talent. She has reduced recruitment costs by thousands of pounds and increased employee retention through a culture where employees are valued, supported and developed. The return on our investment in HR influence can be very clearly seen.
Beyond excellence in recruitment, Gesa has brought an experienced voice to our boardroom, kept a careful eye on employment related compliance issues, ensured our contracts and policies are legally sound and introduced new initiatives such as staff reviews and cost-effective benefits.
In all dealings Gesa has been mindful of our business objectives and culture and always offers advice that is both tailored and sensitive to that.
I highly recommend Gesa and HR Influence."
Client Feedback: David Smith - HR Manager, Quai Administration Services
(Portal provider to the Finance Industry)
“Gesa and HR Influence offered guidance on how Quai can achieve HR compliance and improve our employee support. Gesa used the HR Influence diagnostic tool to assess our HR strategy, risk management, employee contracts, HR policies, processes and systems regarding our hiring, performance management, employee engagement, learning, reward, benefits and company culture. She took time to understand our business and translated our answers into a comprehensive and structured report offering guidance and pragmatic solutions in all areas of HR. Gesa is commercial, easy to deal with and quickly understood our company and industry. I can recommend HR Influence and their diagnostic tool to help any small to medium-sized business achieve HR compliance, reduce people issues & risk and retain employees in line with their budget.”
Client Feedback: Evan Phillips, Formerly CEO of Amsphere
(Knowledge Management Consultancy and Independent Software Testing provider)
“I have been working with Gesa of HR Influence since I joined the business as CEO at the end of 2016. Over the last six months she has been a trusted advisor providing confidential advice and guidance whenever needed. Gesa gains a quick understanding of the business challenges and partners efficiently with the management team to provide all-round HR Consultancy support for all our HR needs. Gesa maintains a balanced approach, ensuring staff are protected, whilst working with the business to provide solutions for complex HR and people challenges. She shows positive influence and energy, and builds strong relationships with the management team and staff, due to her personable and approachable manner. It has been a pleasure working with her and I could not recommend her highly enough, if anyone is looking for HR Consultancy support she would be a fantastic choice.”
Supplier Feedback: Rupert Honywood, Founder & CEO of Business Growth Bureau - Strategic partner and supplier of business growth services (supplier to Amsphere)
“I have had the great pleasure of working with Gesa for 12 months now in our respective companies and I am particularly impressed by her professionalism, her desire to help her clients and to make a massive difference. She has an in-depth knowledge of HR and is able to assist companies both large and small, not only in making sure that they follow best practice, but making sure their documentation and processes are legally compliant plus she has years of experience in dealing with legal challenges or issues. Highly recommended.”
Client Feedback: Charles McLachlan, Managing Director, Amsphere Consulting Ltd (Software Disputes and IT Consulting Firm)
"I have huge respect for Gesa for the contribution she has made at Amsphere and the work we have done together. Gesa offers strategic insight into the power of HR to bring value to a growing company but she is also immensely practical in implementing fit for purpose systems and processes as the business evolves."
