You’ve heard it before. “People are our greatest asset”. It may be a cliché, but it’s absolutely true. However, in the course of a 30-year career, Fiona MacDonald has seen too many examples where people are viewed as a problem for HR to solve.
She started PeopleFirst HR to change that.
"As your People Partner, I’ll bring a positive focus to the way you manage your human resources. Offering more than advice, I’ll develop policy, improve your processes and champion your culture. And I’ll do it all by taking a proactive approach that minimises your people challenges and fuels your people’s growth.
With a varied career that stretches over 30 years, I’ve seen every side of HR practice. The good and the bad. That experience has given me a clear vision for what a People Partner can and should be: Both commercially and ethically focused. Adaptable in their approach, but unshakable in their values. And, above all, people focused."
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Accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF)
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Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD)
ABOUT
Putting People First
You’ve heard it before. “People are our greatest asset”. It may be a cliché, but it’s absolutely true. However, in the course of a 30-year career, Fiona MacDonald has seen too many examples where people are viewed as a problem for HR to solve.
She started PeopleFirst HR to change that.
"As your People Partner, I’ll bring a positive focus to the way you manage your human resources. Offering more than advice, I’ll develop policy, improve your processes and champion your culture. And I’ll do it all by taking a proactive approach that minimises your people challenges and fuels your people’s growth.
With a varied career that stretches over 30 years, I’ve seen every side of HR practice. The good and the bad. That experience has given me a clear vision for what a People Partner can and should be: Both commercially and ethically focused. Adaptable in their approach, but unshakable in their values. And, above all, people focused."
Accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF)
Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD)
ABOUT
Putting People First
You’ve heard it before. “People are our greatest asset”. It may be a cliché, but it’s absolutely true. However, in the course of a 30-year career, Fiona MacDonald has seen too many examples where people are viewed as a problem for HR to solve.
She started PeopleFirst HR to change that.
"As your People Partner, I’ll bring a positive focus to the way you manage your human resources. Offering more than advice, I’ll develop policy, improve your processes and champion your culture. And I’ll do it all by taking a proactive approach that minimises your people challenges and fuels your people’s growth.
With a varied career that stretches over 30 years, I’ve seen every side of HR practice. The good and the bad. That experience has given me a clear vision for what a People Partner can and should be: Both commercially and ethically focused. Adaptable in their approach, but unshakable in their values. And, above all, people focused."
-
Accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF)
-
Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD)
ABOUT
Putting People First
Look beyond standard HR advice and guidance, to People Partnering – a consultative approach that’s driven by commercial outcomes, shaped by evidence and led by values. Whether it’s off site or in person, working on a retained basis or tackling a specific project or case, PeopleFirst is ready to be your partner at every step of the employee lifecycle.
APPROACH
How we’ll work with you
Attraction & Recruitment
Helping you bring the best people into your organisation – from strengthening your employer brand with a compelling employer value proposition, to identifying the most effective attraction methods, creating persuasive job adverts, refining your selection processes and providing constructive candidate feedback.
Onboarding & Induction
Ensuring new talent joining your business hits the ground running, not only with the legal aspect of contractual documentation and processes, but also with the organisational side – with an onboarding programme developed and delivered with your culture and purpose in mind.
Development & Recognition
Making sure you retain, nurture and grow the talent in your organisation, by developing the benefits package, recognition framework and performance feedback processes, coupled with the structured training and coaching activities and coaching initiatives that will build skills and realise potential.
Regulation & Compliance
Ensuring that your employment policies not only align with the legislation but also promote best practice and minimise potential issues for the future. That includes the Employment Rights Act 2025, an ambitious package of reforms to upgrade our employment rights framework.
Exit & Succession
Minimising the disruption that can often come with change – both for your business and for the people involved. Achieving that means robust succession planning on one hand and comprehensive outplacement support on the other, all underpinned by an exit process that ensures organisational learning.
Case Management
Not every challenging situation can be avoided. But, with expert help, they can be navigated – from grievance, whistleblowing and disciplinary issues to absence management and redundancy. Whether it’s an issue to be investigated or a problem to be resolved, you can rely on a PeopleFirst solution.
SERVICES
Supporting the employee lifecycle
Whether offering operational HR support to people managers or acting as a strategic advisor to senior leaders, PeopleFirst HR can help by shaping workforce decisions and driving organisational effectiveness, through a range of activities: