Robert Williams

Robert is a senior Organisational Change and HR professional, specialising in: Shaping and implementing complex business change (international/global, cross-functional project/programme management) Transforming HR (strategy, outsourcing, interim/programme management) Organisational restructuring and development (organisation design, culture and behaviour change, performance improvement) Robert has gained a wealth of experience in interim, project management and consulting roles. He has delivered over 30 assignments to global and international blue-chip companies across different industry sectors including oil and gas, financial services, utilities, mining and metals, retailing and central government. Commercially focused, he combines deep people and change management expertise with proven delivery capability to deliver real business impact and value.

Career details and achievements

• Interim assignments with global/international PLCs including Shell and ABN Amro bank
• Associate Partner, Accenture
• Senior HR Manager, Bull Information Systems Ltd

Skill detail, track record and services provided

Robert’s approach is to collaborate with management teams, identifying ways to complement and enhance current capability without taking over. He has a natural curiosity and interest in how different organisations operate which enables him to quickly ‘get up to speed’ with new companies and their challenges. He establishes himself as a trusted adviser, orchestrating the work of teams whilst providing external challenge and rigour. He brings appropriate pragmatism to deliver results.

Robert’s work is underpinned by 5 key principles (“beliefs”) that shape and influence his approach:

Organisations are constantly changing as they seek to survive, innovate and grow.

Talent is the ‘engine’ for growth and competitive advantage.

People are the source of talent; engaged and inspired people deliver extraordinary results.

Successful management of change requires an understanding of how an organisation operates (its context) as the basis from which to build and execute a change programme.

It is the role and remit of HR professionals to nurture talent and orchestrate change.

Robert has worked with an impressive number of blue-chip companies completing a wide range of assignments in the UK and internationally. His exposure to industry sectors enables him to draw on a wide range of experiences that enhances his contribution to his assignments.  His recent outsourcing and off-shoring experience includes roles with Shell, BP and ABN Amro. Robert has also gained significant transformational change experience including implementing complex infrastructural change for a retail bank, re-engineering a global supply chain for a mining and metals company, introducing mobile technology, new processes and ways of working into the field engineering workforce of a water utility.  He has supported the implementation of new operating models including shared services for IT, sales and services operations within a number of different organisations.

Robert’s HR strategy and operational experience has been developed in roles including interim operations HR director for a discount food retailer and interim HR director for a pan-European internet start-up.  He has recently supported a client with the design of a new global HR operating model for a specialist engineering PLC.  He has developed HR strategies for utilities and led organisation restructuring initiatives for various companies.  Robert gained his operational HR experience as an HR business partner for Bull Information Systems in his earlier career.