XL Joinery

Client: XL Joinery

Industry: Manufacturing

Project: Developing the HR function of a £40m turnover manufacturing business

————————————————————————————————————

The client

XL Joinery is a rapidly growing business. Turning over £40million, XL supplies market-leading internal and external wooden door across the country, making its name one of the most prestigious in the in the UK builders’ merchant and retail sectors.

Supplying almost half a million doors each year from its HQ in West Yorkshire, ambitious plans are afoot for further growth that’ll take turnover to £100million.

The problem

Like most growing businesses, XL’s expansion led to certain HR-related issues:

• A finance manager had normally taken responsibility for HR. This put XL at risk, leaving the company exposed to a host of potential HR and employment law problems.
• Team expansion led to the recruitment of new managers. A mix of long-serving employees and new recruits led to differing points of view
• New recruits brought new ideas and ways of working to drive the business forward, while longer-serving employees could be opposed to change, potentially stifling the development of growth plans and progress.

XL needed to know how to deal with these recurring HR and employment law problems, while upskilling managers to effectively manage their teams in line with the business’s ambitious growth plans.

The solution

Good HR practice starts with strong foundations, so we started by:

• Conducting a HR audit. We reviewed all XL’s HR and employment law documentation, ensuring it was legally compliant and fit for the business
• Redrafting new documentation. This ensured everything was up to date and gave XL a strong foundation to work from.

Then, we worked with the senior team to:

• Develop an understanding of XL’s HR needs and what types of issues the company faced
• Help them clearly understand HR processes, and the reasons behind each one
• Set the foundation for HR processes and standards in line with the size and growth of the business.

Finally, we:

• Delivered bespoke training for all of XL’s managers, both existing and new
• Developed the managers’ understanding of HR processes
• Upskilled the managers to be able to confidently handle HR issues within their teams.
• Continue to work closely with XL’s in-house HR Manager to provide support and guidance