“How can we prepare our managers to handle HR issues more effectively?”

What They Needed

Havant Borough Council and East Hampshire District Council (HBEHC) were preparing for a major operational shift as several internal services were being transitioned to a third-party provider.

One of the most significant changes involved the outsourcing of the existing HR function, meaning line managers would now be required to manage routine HR issues independently.

This created a need to:

• Enable managers to confidently handle low-level HR issues without referring to HR support
• Ensure managers understood HR policy and procedure to effectively assess and respond to employee-related concerns
• Increase capability in areas such as attendance management, performance conversations and employee conduct
• Support the transition toward a self-service HR model without impacting employee relations or operational delivery

The development need was compounded by a tight transition timeline and the requirement for consistency of understanding across multiple council locations.

In short: How do we upskill managers to confidently manage HR issues themselves when the existing support function is removed?

What We Did

We designed a holistic development programme using a seven-stage approach, working closely with HBEHC to ensure the training aligned with internal policies, risk areas and timelines linked to the HR service migration.

Due to the time-sensitive launch of the new HR system, the full programme design, development and delivery were completed within five months, requiring a structured yet flexible solution.
Key elements included:

• Four core one-day training modules covering performance management, constructive feedback, absence management, disciplinary and grievance, change handling, conflict resolution, recruitment and onboarding
• Participation of over 75 line managers across both council locations
• Bespoke online booking platform, allowing managers to self-manage attendance and enabling real-time reporting on engagement and programme metrics
• Supplementary self-directed learning via the Skillshub platform, providing access to hundreds of bite-sized video resources to support long-term behavioural application
• 12-month action plan, enabling managers to embed the learning beyond the workshops and align their responses to HR issues with consistent standards

The solution focused on rapid capability development, policy-aligned decision making, and transition readiness, equipping managers to handle HR issues confidently without escalation.