Five young adults working on laptops at a table in a modern office, with colorful sparks and light streaks effect.

Build a business where people want to work.

High-performing teams rarely happen by accident.

We work with bootstrapped to Series B founders to put the right people foundations in place, strengthen managers and leaders capability, and support the people decisions that shape growth.

Before issues become expensive, disruptive, and hard to unpick (we can help if they do).

Not a lawyer. Not reactive HR. A practical partner who helps you make the right calls early.

Our Services

  • Putting the basics in place, to build from a solid base

    Getting the people fundamentals right early makes growth easier, reduces risk, and helps create a more stable working environment for everyone.

    We help businesses put the essential building blocks in place — from contracts, handbooks and policies to role clarity, onboarding, people processes, and good practice that supports the business as it grows.

    This is about creating clear expectations, fair and consistent ways of working, and a stronger foundation for managers and teams.

    This might include:

    • employment contracts and handbooks

    • core HR policies and people processes

    • onboarding and probation processes

    • role clarity and responsibilities

    • performance expectations and review approaches

    • practical advice on compliance and reducing risk

  • Hire the right people at the right time. Set them up to succeed

    Building a team is about more than filling roles. It’s about making good hiring decisions, defining what success looks like, and creating the conditions for people to contribute well.

    We support founders and leaders to think through team structure, role design, recruitment, and onboarding so that new hires are the right fit for the business and can get up to speed effectively.

    This helps avoid costly hiring mistakes, confusion around responsibilities, and underperformance caused by unclear expectations.

    This might include:

    • support with role design and job descriptions

    • advice on recruitment and selection

    • interview planning and hiring processes

    • onboarding design and early-stage support

    • clarifying responsibilities and team structure

    • helping new managers or teams settle in well

  • Create the structure for good performance and address issues early when things go off track

    Good performance management is not just about dealing with problems. At its best, it helps people understand what is expected, play to their strengths, get useful feedback, and stay aligned with the needs of the business.

    We help businesses put practical performance structures in place that support clarity, accountability, development, and stronger conversations between managers and team members. That might mean reviewing how expectations are set, improving feedback and check-in rhythms, or building a process that feels useful rather than overly corporate.

    We also support founders and managers when performance concerns arise. Whether someone is struggling to meet expectations, accountability has slipped, or a more formal process is needed, we help leaders address issues early, fairly, and with confidence.

    The aim is to create a stronger performance culture overall — one where people know what good looks like, managers are equipped to lead well, and issues are handled before they become bigger problems.

    This might include:

    • designing or improving performance management processes

    • setting clearer expectations and measures of success

    • manager guidance on feedback and performance conversations

    • regular check-in, review, and appraisal structures

    • aligning individual performance with business goals

    • support with underperformance and accountability issues

    • handling difficult performance conversations

    • practical guidance on documentation, next steps, and risk reduction

  • Developing capability, building succession, and giving your best people a reason to stay

    Strong businesses need people who can grow with them.

    We help businesses develop managers, strengthen leadership capability, and support individuals to perform and progress well. This might involve coaching, manager development, feedback skills, career development, or thinking about succession and future capability.

    Done well, development helps retain good people, improve confidence and performance, and build a healthier culture of learning and accountability.

    This might include:

    • leadership and management development

    • coaching for managers and individuals

    • support with feedback and performance conversations

    • development planning and career growth

    • thinking about succession and future capability

    • helping leaders build confidence and effectiveness

  • Build the habits that make culture real, not just a value on a wall

    Culture is shaped by what people experience every day — how they are managed, how decisions are made, how teams communicate, and what behaviours are encouraged or tolerated.

    We work with businesses to create healthier, clearer ways of working that support engagement, collaboration, trust, and performance.

    This might involve reviewing communication, management practices, team habits, expectations, or employee experience, and helping leaders create a workplace where people can do their best work.

    This might include:

    • clarifying values and behaviours

    • improving communication and team effectiveness

    • supporting hybrid or flexible working approaches

    • strengthening employee engagement

    • building healthier management habits

    • creating clearer expectations and accountability

  • Exits and hard calls — done with clarity, care, and no nasty surprises

    At times, businesses need to make difficult people decisions — whether that’s managing a resignation, redundancy, dismissal, or another sensitive employee matter.

    These situations can feel high stakes, especially for smaller businesses without in-house People support. We help leaders navigate them carefully, fairly, and with the right balance of compassion, business sense, and legal awareness.

    Handled well, difficult decisions reduce risk, preserve trust, and avoid unnecessary fallout for the wider team.

    This might include:

    • advice on resignations and exit processes

    • redundancy planning and support

    • dismissals and performance-related exits

    • settlement discussions

    • support with documentation and communication

    • managing sensitive situations with care and clarity

  • "Her advice was thoughtful, practical and grounded in real-world experience"

    ‘Karen was great to work with. She’s responsive, clear, doesn’t overcomplicate things, made sure we handled everything the right way. Her advice was thoughtful, practical and grounded in real-world experience which is exactly what you want when you’re running a company and need to make people-related decisions with confidence. I’d absolutely recommend working with her.

    — Co-Founder / CEO Medical Logistics

  • "Her ability to bring calm and real-world judgement"

    I had the great privilege of partnering with Karen in a very dynamic environment. Having worked along side her I’ve seen firsthand how her ability to bring calm and real-world judgement to moments that matter most to leaders. This is exactly the practical, founder-savvy people support that early and growth-stage companies need.

    — Tripp Mahan - Former Exec VP, Global Experiences & Business (Beautycon)

  • "She provided thoughtful HR insights and guided us on the right and practical things to do as we were building our foundations."

    Karen really helped our startup with our HR needs in the early stages of our company. She provided thoughtful HR insights and guided us on the right and practical things to do as we were building our foundations. As a growing startup, we needed someone who could balance compliance with pragmatism, Karen did exactly that. She helped us put the right policies and processes in place without over complicating things. She understood how to tailor HR support to the stage of the company. She also advised on structure while still allowing us to move quickly and stay focussed on growth. ."

    —Chief of Staff - AI Startup

  • "A steady, supportive presence that makes challenging situations feel far more manageable. "

    Karen has been an invaluable partner to our team. She’s consistently responsive and exceptionally clear in her guidance -- especially when navigating complex or sensitive HR topics in a small company environment. I also had the pleasure of participating in a management development training she led that was practical, empowering, and immediately applicable. Through both the training and her ongoing HR support, Karen’s coaching has helped me grow in confidence as a manager and has strengthened our company overall. Beyond her expertise, she brings a steady, supportive presence that makes challenging situations feel far more manageable. She’s truly a joy to work with!

    I mean every word ^^

    - Lola, COO Stardust

  • "More than an HR consultant, Karen was a true partner to me as a founder and CEO. I trust her completely."

    Karen was instrumental in helping us turn Stardust from a scrappy living-room startup into a real, professional company. When we began working together, we were a team of two; with her guidance and support, we grew thoughtfully and sustainably to a team of twelve, hiring leadership, navigating a company restructure, and building the foundations for long-term success.

    She helped us create our first employee handbook, establish a clear, values-driven professional culture, and brought structure, clarity, and calm to moments that could easily have felt overwhelming. Karen has an incredible ability to balance sound, pragmatic HR advice with genuine care for the people involved. She was always responsive, clear, and thoughtful, and would hop on the phone at any time to talk through complex or sensitive situations including navigating long-term illnesses and deeply personal matters with empathy and discretion.

    More than an HR consultant, Karen was a true partner to me as a founder and CEO. I trust her completely, and her support gave me confidence during some of the most pivotal moments in our company’s journey. We cannot recommend her highly enough to any growing business looking for a steady, human, and deeply competent people leader.

  • “I appreciate you more than you know'“

    - CEO Online Content

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Ready to strengthen the people side of your business?

At the heart of Promovere People is a belief that businesses do better when people have clarity, good leadership, and healthier ways of working.