With James Chessum, Founder
Red 5 People are a 6-person recruitment agency to the employability sector, with a majority of clients being charities. They are a remote based company with a satellite hub in London, but recruit nationally throughout the UK. The company is growing, with plans to scale in line with the demands of the employability sector.
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They picked Charlie because they had no reliable HR processes in place and needed to build them from scratch.
They not only needed an employee handbook and reliable HR processes, but HR software that would help with time off management and 1 to 1s.
“We would have never been able to do all of this without Charlie, and it’s been an absolute game changer for us.”
After having to deal with some challenging HR questions and situations, it came to James’ (the founder) attention that they didn’t have any processes they could rely on.
As the sole person responsible for HR, this was quite anxiety-inducing and he knew he needed to find a solution sooner rather than later to put his mind at ease.
That’s when he started researching HR software that would also provide the HR expertise he so badly needed.
When James discovered Charlie, he was keen on our HR software as well as the CIPD-qualified advisors we offered.
Through Charlie Grow, which works in direct continuity with the software, James realised this was the expertise he’d been looking for, removing the hassle of finding and paying for a freelance HR professional or an employment lawyer.
With Charlie’s HR advisors, Red5 People swiftly put together their HR processes and created a comprehensive handbook.
This handbook is now conveniently stored within Charlie’s software app, providing easy access for all team members at any time. No more dusty papers at the back of a cupboard—the employee handbook is now a staple for Red5 People.
I didn’t even know how important employee handbooks could be before I had to deal with an HR-related issue. The Charlie HR advisors really helped me put the right processes in place, relieving my stress and anxiety with clears steps.
James Chessum, Founder @ Red5 people
Before signing up for our software, Red5 People had a pretty basic performance review system. While most team members had one-on-one meetings, they didn’t happen very regularly, making it hard to set goals and have a clear view of everyone’s progress. This didn’t make for a very fair process when it came to promotions and progression.
This was particularly tough for James, who managed it all on his own, but he knew how critical regular reviews were if he wanted to increase engagement and retention.
When James discovered Charlie, he was thrilled to see that performance management could easily be managed through our software in just a few clicks—no need for a complicated setup. This meant that:
“Having performance reviews within the software is brilliant. It’s great to be able to come back to past check-ins, but it also takes away the fear of irregular 1 to 1’s as it’s just becomes part of our routine.”
James Chessum, Founder @ Red5 people
Before getting Charlie, HR tasks often felt chaotic for James, who handled HR on his own (with help from someone for accounting and finances).
Time off was managed through spreadsheets and calendars, requiring James to manually check allowances each time a request was made.
This caused him significant anxiety, as it was very difficult to predict staff shortages and overlapping time off. Whether it was this or having documents spread across different places, it became challenging to keep proper employee records.
With Charlie, Red5 People finally had some breathing room to establish clear processes. While trialling Charlie and then BreatheHR, James realised how straightforward and user-friendly our platform was in comparison to our competitors.
He also preferred the immediate access to HR support through our own in-house team.
Here's what Red5 People got with Charlie:
“Before Charlie, we were like sitting ducks with HR. I now feel so much more in control of what happens at the company, and it’s all automated.”
James Chessum, Founder @ Red5 people
“Life is pretty scary without Charlie. It’s so simple and reassuring, and it had a massive impact on our business on top of being budget-friendly. The HR advisors we work with just make us feel like they’re part of the team, always in our corner for support. We finally feel like a proper company with Charlie by our side.”
James Chessum, Founder @ Red5 people
