When your business needs to change, we help you get it right
Change is inevitable. Whether you’re restructuring to respond to market conditions, rolling out new systems, migrating data, or pursuing accreditation to meet your values or access new markets, these projects have real consequences if they go wrong.
Research consistently shows that 60-70% of organisational change initiatives fail to achieve their goals. In New Zealand, the stakes are even higher: a poorly handled restructure can result in personal grievances, damaged morale, and costs that dwarf whatever savings you hoped to achieve.
We help businesses plan and execute change properly. From business process reviews to restructuring, from safety system rollouts to accreditation projects, we bring the expertise and structure that complex change requires.
They needed to restructure, but they’d never done one before
When revenue dropped 30% in six months, Sarah knew her manufacturing business couldn’t sustain its current structure. She had 45 staff across production, admin, and sales. To survive, she needed to reduce headcount by around 15%. But she’d never been through a restructure before, and she knew the legal requirements were strict.
“I’d heard horror stories,” Sarah told us. “Businesses that tried to restructure, did it wrong, and ended up paying out more in grievances than they would have saved. I couldn’t afford that.”
In New Zealand, a restructure isn’t a decision you announce. It’s a proposal you consult on. Employees have the right to receive full information, ask questions, provide feedback, and have that feedback genuinely considered before any final decisions are made. Skip steps or predetermine outcomes, and you’re exposed.
We worked with Sarah through the entire process. Documented the genuine commercial rationale. Developed a consultation proposal that gave affected employees the information they needed. Designed a fair selection process. Ran the consultation meetings. Considered and responded to feedback. Managed the redeployment process for roles that were substantially similar. Supported the redundancy conversations with dignity and care.
The restructure achieved what it needed to achieve. No grievances. Staff who stayed understood why it had to happen. And Sarah had a business that could survive.
“I couldn’t have done this without expert help,” she said. “The process was harder than I expected, but we did it properly. That matters.”
Most change initiatives fail. Yours doesn’t have to
The statistics are sobering. McKinsey research shows that 70% of organisational change programmes fail to achieve their goals. The reasons are predictable: poor communication, employee resistance, unclear objectives, and leadership that underestimates the complexity involved.
In New Zealand, failed restructures carry additional risk. Unlike some countries, our employment law requires genuine consultation with affected employees. You can’t announce a restructure as a done deal. You must present it as a proposal, provide supporting information, allow time for feedback, and genuinely consider that feedback before making decisions. Get this wrong and you face personal grievance claims, and the Employment Relations Authority finds in favour of employees in around 65% of cases.
Beyond restructures, other change projects fail for similar reasons: systems rolled out without proper training, data migrations that lose critical information, process changes that look good on paper but don’t survive contact with reality.
The difference between success and failure usually comes down to planning, communication, and execution. We help with all three.
Business process review
Finding the problems before you fix them
Before you can improve something, you need to understand how it actually works today, not how it’s supposed to work or how you think it works.
A business process review maps your current processes, identifies inefficiencies and pain points, and develops recommendations for improvement. It’s the foundation for any meaningful change.
What we do:
· Map current processes through observation and interviews
· Identify bottlenecks, duplication, and waste
· Benchmark against best practice
· Develop improvement recommendations
· Create implementation roadmaps
· Support change execution
When you need this:
· Before implementing new systems
· When processes have grown organically and become unwieldy
· When you suspect inefficiency but can’t pinpoint where
· As part of preparing for growth or scaling
Change Management Services
Structured safety system implementation that drives adoption — not shelfware.
Structured change programmes that reduce resistance and improve outcomes.
End-to-end support for Accredited Employer Work Visa compliance.
Tailored HR and people projects scoped to your specific needs.
Secure, validated data migrations that protect accuracy and continuity.
Some projects don’t fit neatly into standard consulting categories. These are typically one-off initiatives with defined outcomes, such as achieving a specific accreditation or developing a particular capability. We offer fixed-price packages for several common projects.
Structured pathway to disability inclusion and recognised accreditation.
Legally defensible restructures with genuine consultation and clear rationale.
Structured support to achieve and maintain Living Wage accreditation.
Practical training that strengthens leadership and people capability.
How we work on improvement projects
Understand the real situation
We start by understanding what’s actually happening, not what should be happening or what you think is happening. That means asking questions, reviewing documents, observing processes, and talking to the people who do the work.
Plan before acting
Complex change requires planning. We develop clear project plans with defined outcomes, milestones, and responsibilities. You know what’s happening, when, and what it will cost.
Communicate constantly
Poor communication kills change initiatives. We help you communicate early, often, and honestly with everyone affected. That includes listening, not just broadcasting.
Execute with care
Change affects people’s lives: their jobs, their routines, their sense of security. We execute change with the care and respect that deserves, even when the changes are difficult.
Learn and adjust
Not everything goes to plan. We monitor progress, identify issues early, and adjust as needed. The goal is successful outcomes, not rigid adherence to the original plan.
Pricing
Business improvement and change management services are charged at $230 + GST per hour.
This reflects the complexity and stakes involved in these projects. Change done poorly creates problems that cost far more to fix than doing it right in the first place.
Specialised project-based services are priced as follows:
Service Pricing
Living Wage accreditation Fixed price package (contact us for quote)
Employer Accreditation (Immigration NZ) Fixed price package (contact us for quote)
Accessibility Tick accreditation Fixed price package (contact us for quote)
Training and development Based on programme complexity and duration
Other projects Scoped and quoted individually
For fixed-price packages, we’ll assess your situation and provide a clear quote before any work begins.
Your Questions, Answered
-
There’s no single “best” payroll system. It depends on your size, industry, complexity, and what other systems you need to integrate with. We’ve worked with most of the major NZ payroll providers and can help you choose based on your specific needs. We don’t receive commissions from vendors, so our advice is independent
-
Sometimes. A good restructure process includes genuine consideration of alternatives proposed by employees. We’ve seen restructures where employee feedback led to different solutions that achieved the business objectives without redundancies, or with fewer redundancies than originally proposed. But if redundancies are genuinely necessary, trying to avoid them isn’t realistic.
-
You can choose to pay the Living Wage without formal accreditation. Accreditation is a public commitment: you go through an assessment process, pay an annual fee, and can use the Living Wage Employer logo. It demonstrates your commitment to customers, employees, and the public. Accreditation also requires paying the Living Wage to regular contractors (like cleaners), not just directly employed staff.
-
You need Employer Accreditation to hire workers on an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV), which is the main work visa category. Some other visa holders (such as those on working holiday visas, post-study work visas, or partnership-based visas) have open work rights and don’t require you to be accredited. But if you want to sponsor someone for an AEWV, you need accreditation first.
-
Immigration NZ charges fees for accreditation applications and job checks. The accreditation application fee varies by type (standard, high-volume, or triangular). There are also fees for each job check. Our fixed-price package covers our support in preparing and submitting your application, not the Immigration NZ fees themselves, which are payable directly to them.
-
The Accessibility Tick is a membership programme that helps you improve accessibility and disability inclusion across nine competency areas, including leadership commitment, recruitment, physical environment, and communications. You complete an initial assessment, develop an action plan, implement improvements, and can be awarded the Tick when you’ve demonstrated genuine commitment and progress.
-
Yes. We can run training sessions for teams of any size, either at your premises or at a venue. Group training is often more cost-effective than individual coaching and creates shared understanding across your team.Yes. We can run training sessions for teams of any size, either at your premises or at a venue. Group training is often more cost-effective than individual coaching and creates shared understanding across your team.
-
Talk to us. We regularly take on projects that don’t fit neat categories. If it involves people, employment, HR, or organisational change, we can probably help or point you to someone who can.