Creative problem solving.
Weapons-gradeTechnology.
Smart HR.
When your people are your only hope of sustainable competitive advantage...
HR has to not just fix problems, but take the relationship between the business and its people to a whole new place. We help in 2 ways.
1. Creativity:
We use our network of 300 smart successful people, from all walks of life, to apply fresh creative thinking to your problems. We bring no preconceptions, and are unconstrained by convention.
The consultancy consists of a core team, an advisory board, and a network of 300 smart people from all walks of life, all currently working at a senior level in their organisations.
We work with business leaders and HR Directors who recognise the crucial importance of their human assets. Our mission is to help their organisations thrive
We provide genuine solutions through creative consultancy. We understand that effectiveness is about doing as well as thinking. We will help you apply that thinking to your organisation, in a practical, hands on manner.
2. Technology:
We use fresh creative technology to help businesses move to competency-based talent management.
CaSS (Competency & Skills System) was developed for the US Dept. of Defence. It uses advanced technology and AI to gather data about the skills, knowledge and abilities of all of your people, and analyse that against competency frameworks for each of your roles. We can get you on the road to becoming a competency based organisation.
Our 'deliverables' include:
Consultancy
Ideas
Coaching and mentoring
Research
Policy
Creativity, design, copywriting
Programme implementation
Competency frameworks
Personal profiling
CaSS - Competency & Skills System
CaSS is a system designed for the US military, and available for the first time in the UK, exclusively via the HAC.
Using cutting edge technology, AI, NLP and machine learning, we can build competency frameworks for a role, a department or an entire enterprise.
The technology can then ingest information from formal and informal sources, to compile verifiable assertions about the skills, knowledge and abilities of your people.
CaSS can then analyse both sets of data. This enables organisations to become more agile, more competitive, and enables leaders to make more informed decisions about their human assets.
CaSS is currently being used to transform the USAF into a competency-based training organisation. It is also being used by the US Navy to create a 'digital thread' linking product data, training requirements, and performance.
For private clients, we can help you to maximise your 'Return on Talent':
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enable the organisation to be truly agile
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dramatically improve your knowledge management
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attract and retain the right people
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recruit faster and more efficiently
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build effective teams
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identify training needs and 'right size' your training budget
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manage and maintain competency frameworks
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get more value out of your existing HR and LMS software
CaSS is not a 'product', it is an open source platform upon which we build bespoke solutions to your needs, using the World's leading experts in competency frameworks and skills management. CaSS will work with your existing systems, protecting your investment.
Case Studies
USAF: transforming the air force into a competency based training organisation
US NAVY: creating a 'digital thread' connecting product data, training and performance
US Dept. of Agriculture: revolutionising knowledge management
Georgia Virtual: automatic single view of an individual's skills, from multiple sources
Credential Engine: making sense of America's credentials
Problems we Solve
We deal with ‘modern’ questions such as;
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why can’t our managers and millennials communicate with each other?
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how do we become a competency based organisation?
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how do we create competency frameworks?
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how can we improve knowledge management?
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how can we compile data about the skills, knowledge and abilities of our people?
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what capabilities do our people have - really?
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how do we build more effective teams - fast?
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do we have the talent we need to pivot to meet a new threat?
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how do we make innovation everyone’s job?
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how do we become an ‘agile’ organisation?
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how could we use technology to engage with all of our employees, whatever their demographic?
And we deal with ‘traditional’ issues like;
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how do we attract the best talent?
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how do we imbue and inspire them with our culture?
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(do we even have a ‘culture’?)
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how do we keep them?
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how do we motivate them?
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how do we help enable them to make the most effective contribution?
If any or all of these ring a bell, you should be talking to us.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge"
Albert Einstein
How we work:
The demise of conventional wisdom
The world, society and technology are directing a fire-hose of new challenges at businesses.
We believe the answers to these new problems are about inventing the future, not looking to past precedents.
So we use new, unconventional techniques.
We believe in original, bespoke thinking, because every organisation is different - and nobody ever achieved a breakthrough by conforming to conventions.
So we put creativity and fresh thinking at the heart of how we work.
We believe the only way to get new answers is by asking better questions, throwing out the rule book, and challenging conventional wisdom.
So we major on diversity - using smart, successful people from many different industries and sectors, to tackle your issues. Fresh perspectives, No ‘baggage’.
We believe that although new technologies (from social media, to robotics, to AI) are being painted as the ‘problem’, they will turn out to be part of the solution.
So we scour the World seeking technology - like the amazing CaSS system - so our clients can achieve class-leading talent management.
Shaun Varga
Founder
Shaun has a background in advertising, marketing, PR and consulting. He has founded three businesses including a pioneering digital agency and a growth consultancy. He leads each project from inception to completion.
Anna Jenkins
Advisory Board
Anna is an HR Director in the Civil Service. She has worked with a variety of senior leadership teams in public sector and government organisations, and is an expert in designing and delivering sustainable people solutions.
Jason Yates
Advisory Board
Jason is a Creative Director, and an expert in millennial culture. He has worked with some of the world's most ambitious youth and Gen Z oriented brands, and with celebrities such as Khloe Kardashian.
Kevin May
Advisory Board
Kevin is founder of our research partner Sticks, based in Seattle and Oxford. Kevin has a background in advertising and strategy, and has worked with major blue chip clients on both sides of the Atlantic.
Julian Duxfield
Advisory Board
Julian is HR Director at the University of Oxford and a fellow at Somerville College. Prior to his current role he has worked as HR Director in a number of organisations across the public and private sectors.
Ross Laurie
Advisory Board
Ross is a truly a 'serial entrepreneur', with a passion for digital. He is currently working on projects based around FinTech, blockchain and AI.