Testimonials
what it’s like working with Gillian & Optimal People
Effective innovator. A leader with a delightfully low ego. She listens and deals with facts and emotions. She balances the strategic with the detail and is a strong relationship builder
Imogen Joss
Chair Elect Grant Thornton, RemCo Chair & NED
Gillian not only operates as a world-class Human Resources Director but also as a truly commercial executive leader at every level of an organization. From day one, Gillian developed a culture of progressive change, professionalism, and pace.
Gillian's approach isn't one of dictate, but collaboration and development. A leader by example, Gillian inspires the people around her to create a better environment, develop their people, and focus on what the best option is in any situation.
James Lavell
Chief Executive Officer
I have worked with Gillian and her team at Optimal People both on consulting and coaching projects. They are a rare combination of experienced, pragmatic professionals who can help with various people-related projects. They take the time to help work out the root cause of issues and then create high-quality people solutions. They really care and can work in many different organisations. They are also fun and refreshing to work with too which helps! I would highly recommend them.
David C Hill
Experienced Advisor & Board Level Executive
Gillian has been an invaluable resource to me, particularly when I took on a new, global, complex managerial role. She quickly grasped my professional challenges and goals and helped me work through my thoughts and thought process by giving me structure and challenging my own preconceptions.
Gillian very much focused on what mattered to me with a no-nonsense approach, which I appreciate. She helped me focus on what was really important and reduce the noise and stress, and helped me build self-confidence, not by telling me the best way forward but by helping me realise my own potential and capabilities. I looked forward to every session and still do, and I hope to be able to continue working with Gillian in the future.
Mariana Valle
Head of Editorial Development, Euromoney
I have worked on and off with Gillian for over five years across a number of HR activities, from M&A execution and integration of large-scale employee culture programmes to complex and detailed people-related challenges.
Gillian’s key strengths across all these different circumstances is her ability to get to the key issues quickly; her pragmatic, straight forward and commercial approach to finding solutions; and her ability to retain a sense of humour in even the most challenging environments.
I would not hesitate to recommend Gillian to any organisation that needs support across all HR-related issues.
Andrew Himsley
Chief Executive Officer, DeHavilland
Clients
past & present
The Optimal People Framework
We developed The Optimal People Framework in response to the many organisations that grapple with effectively aligning their people activities to their company purpose and overall business planning.
Gillian Fox
Founder & CEO
I set up Optimal People in 2019 to leverage my experience and focus on people- performance.
With 30 years of experience in senior global HR and talent roles, my career has spanned many sectors, and I have worked with companies such as Allen & Overy, RBS, Friends Life Plc, Reckitt Benckiser and latterly, Euromoney PLC where I was Group HR Director.
Having worked at the C-suite level for many years across diverse sectors and cultures, with organisations at very different stages commercially, I have a wealth of experience around culture change, C-suite and leadership development, HR transformation and diversity & inclusion.
In addition to company-wide and team initiatives, I also provide 1-2-1 executive coaching to C-suite and senior managers.
“I think I have a people problem”
That’s a common phrase I hear from CEOs and even some HR leaders.
These individuals know they have ‘people challenges’ within their organisation yet are often unable to identify or articulate the root of the issue. Consequently, they don’t know the most appropriate approach needed to remedy the situation.
Optimal People was formed and developed to address these people-focused business challenges.
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Firstly, to help identify the people issues within organisations. If you don’t know what the problem truly is, how can you know what the right solution is to resolve it?
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Secondly, to offer a suite of solutions to address the most identified people challenges. The optimal solution may be at a strategic level, where there is a need to address a company-wide issue. Conversely, the action plan may be more targeted towards specific teams or individuals who need tailored support.
The Optimal People approach typically involves an initial diagnostic focusing on issue identification. Once complete, a strategic and tactical plan is jointly developed with the client to address the identified challenges and drive people performance.
OPTIMAL PEOPLE IS
A PEOPLE PERFORMANCE BUSINESS
Optimal People | Optimal Solutions | Optimal Success
Optimal People is a people performance business that drives commercial success by making culture tangible.
EXECUTIVE COACHING
We pride ourselves on providing pragmatic, practical and professional coaching for c-suite and senior leaders.
Coaching is a personalised leadership development tool that helps empower leaders through support and tailored guidance.
It can provide headspace, tools & techniques to help leaders realise their potential, optimising their impact and way of operating.
PEOPLE CONSULTING
Optimal People offers consulting on various aspects of the people agenda; these activities are all rooted in culture.
Ensuring you have the right people doing the right jobs at the right time is a constant challenge for leaders.
This requires clarity of your business purpose, commercial agenda, and alignment for your people offering.
Piecing the parts of the complex people puzzle together to optimise business performance is challenging, and this is where Optimal People can support you and your business.
TALENT & LEADERSHIP
DEVELOPMENT
It is challenging for organisations to ensure clear alignment between how their leaders “show up” and what the company needs to deliver their purpose and strategy.
Ensuring businesses are clear about how they need their leaders to behave and the “why” – the commercial alignment – supporting and enabling leaders to develop in this space is critical to any culture creation or development.
Optimal People partner with businesses to help them optimise their leaders’ potential through various offerings, tools & techniques.
How we can help your business
Optimal People offers a range of interconnected tools & techniques
People Strategy Framework
Our People strategy process helps CHROs and leaders articulate and shape a commercial People Strategy.
There are several component parts of the Optimal People framework; these are interconnected to deliver the optimal people element of the overall commercial strategy
360º Feedback Assessment
We offer industry standard reports through to the development of bespoke programmes to align to your company values and behaviours.
360º assessments can be a great starting point to identify developmental opportunities across teams/functions/orgainsations upon which you can build your future people strategy and tactics.
Values & Behaviours
Optimal People can help create and embed tangible values and behaviours that are real and truly mean something, not just “words on a wall”.
Using our Optimal People framework and approach, we offer support from leader discussions to company-wide diagnostics to understand the current position and provide direction to develop future values and behaviours.
Organisational Effectiveness Diagnostic
Using our Optimal People Framework we help companies identify the key people challenges and where to focus to get optimal performance.
The Optimal People framework and process supports organisations to build to deliver their purpose and people strategy.
Culture
We help clients shape and embed a culture where everyone can be the best version of themselves and thus offer optimal performance.
Optimal People can show you where the organisation is today from a culture perspective, guiding you through a design process to establish your desired future-state culture and supporting you in delivering a tailored cultural change programme.
Diversity & Inclusion plan
We support companies develop a clear, deliverable DE&I strategy.
We support organisational leaders with the opportunity to create specific and strategic goals unique to their workforce.
C-Suite & Leadership Development
A leader’s role is to look beyond the cultural constraints of a business and create a new, better culture for everyone.
Optimal People can execute internationally recognised personality assessments to guide decision-making on future leadership development needs.
Executive Coaching
Optimal People provide executive coaching to C-suite and senior managers to help them develop themselves and navigate the ever-changing workplace. Additionally, we provide group coaching and team development workshops.
Optimal People has a pragmatic approach to coaching and has a positive belief that people can change their behaviour if they have the insight, the motivation, the patience and the courage.
High Performing Teams
The power of an aligned, accountable, open, humble and yet ambitious team cannot be overstated.
Optimal People can deliver a structured approach, with appropriate challenge and support, to help guide any organisation towards the ultimate goal of creating sustainable competitive advantage through their teams.