From Hangry Customers to Human Culture: Why I Built Gathr Studio

They say a rolling stone gathers no moss, but in HR, I’ve found its not about staying spotless. Its about knowing when to roll, when to pause and when to clear away the mossy build up of outdated rules.

So, I’m sharing my personal story of learning, falling and flying into the strange old world of people, operations and culture… and why I wouldn’t change a thing.

From Pasta to People Strategy

Having spent my career at the intersection of HR, operations and culture, I have learnt that thriving creative environments depend on more than simply great ideas, they need the right people, systems and support to bring those ideas to life.

If you’ve ever worked in hospitality (like me), you’ll know that there’s no greater challenge than a hangry (hungry and angry) customer… Dealing with hangry customers is a crash course in the art of mediation, negotiation, and influencing skills that stand as the bedrock of effective HR. I learnt early on that patience, empathy and swift problem solving were key to resolving a grumbling stomach and are foundational in my approach still today (although I now offer a lot less free bread baskets..)

The truth is, no workplace is free from pressure, when restructuring, deadlines and shifting priorities are part of the job. Over time, I’ve learnt to roll with it, accept what I cant control, and focus on creating stability and clarity for the people around me especially in the middle of the noise.

In my restaurant days, I used to say to my team “we’re just serving pasta..” when the pressure was on, but now, I have to remind people that ‘we’re only human’ - which means we’re all a little messy, have our own perspectives and we’re 100% not perfect.

The Realities HR Doesn’t Talk About

Naively and clumsily I wanted to get into HR because I enjoy spending time with people… (shudder)

Don’t get me wrong, I still find people fascinating, however this was the wrong reason to get into HR because, like our hangry customer, HR sees you at the polarised ends of the human experience which humbles you very quickly.

Reading this, you’ll have a perception of what HR is (rule makers, fun police - i’ve heard all the stereotypes), but did you know HR also deal with situations that aren’t on the job description:

• Death of colleagues

• Supporting employees with Drug and Alcohol addiction

• Domestic abuse

• Attempts to blackmail me while managing grievances

• Giving my own clothes and food to people in poverty

And I can assure you, there’s no training to deal with some of this. Its no wonder that policies are created by HR teams in an attempt to support people in dire situations but personally, I don’t think policies work, you need cultures that support the human not paperwork.

Another reality is navigating business leaders who design practices that focus only on the minority not the majority. You know, the one who micromanage processes because once someone missed something important so now the whole team aren’t trusted… For too long, a parental approach has become a normal leadership approach but it doesn’t encourage people to use their own judgement or own their own performance.

You’ll have a hard job convincing me that people turn up to work to intentionally do a bad job… you could say, that only applies to the minority.

Another bugbear I have is annual performance review processes but I’ll save that for another blog I think!

I do however get immense joy supporting businesses to re-evaluate their principles and supporting them to design people practices that are less about ‘stopping’ the wrong behaviours and more focused on setting people up for success.

Time flies

Over the last decade, I’ve led transformations that have reshaped organisations and employee experiences, implemented new job architectures, redesigned operating models and delivered complex M&A integrations. The work showed me how to translate business strategy into effective people strategies.

In that time, I’ve worked across the gaming, technology, utilities and hospitality industries which has helped me to design scalable HR that flex with growth, change and complexity. I’ve had exposure to varied operating models (e.g shift working in hospitality vs remote-first in tech teams) which has built my ability to pivot quickly. Each industry has its own set of challenges whether its employee burnout or industry turmoil, I’ve learnt to develop a toolkit of approaches that supports leaders, builds buy-in and drives sustainable change whether its been HR support for startups or beyond.

But the people I’ve met along the way have shaped me and how I do what I do.

I’ve learnt to work with diverse teams from production and marketing to QA and finance because understanding everyone’s perspective helps to build a strategy for fundamental change not just siloed support.

Why I Built Gathr Studio

The future of work is changing fast; remote models, new technologies, shifting employee expectations.

My career has prepared me to not only adapt, but to help business thrive through change. I believe my next milestone is about bringing together everything i’ve learned to support indie founders, whether in gaming, technology or beyond to build people strategies for small businesses where their people can do their best work and the business can grow sustainably without any need for red tape.

I hope to create a Gathr’d community of like minded founders, who want the best for their people and the business - but don’t need complicated solutions.

If you’re an indie founder navigating your own journey of learning, failing and flying, Gathr is here to support you. Lets build something human first, together.

Fancy a chat? Momentum and all that…