Patricia Wheatley Burt is driven, persuasive and results-orientated. Her mission: to create corporate cultural change and find new ways to get the most from managers and staff. Words by Richard Young.
The HR industry needs more people like Patricia Wheatley Burt. By reputation, HR is a bit fluffy - perhaps even intellectually lightweight. But within seconds of meeting her, it becomes clear that she is driven by results. "It's about delivering tangible change in profitability," she says.
And with a growing recognition that it is people who drive profits, Wheatley Burt is often called into that most results-focused environment of all: the deal. When August Equity backed Imagine Publishing's acquisition of a portfolio of magazine titles from Highbury House Entertainment, she handled the pre- and post-deal HR due diligence. "You have so many issues in a deal like that - possible redundancies, transfer of undertakings (TUPE), union relations and cultural questions. But we got the whole project completed within ten weeks," she recalls.
There are many strings to Wheatley Burt's bow. Her assignments include driving peak performance from management teams, sorting out misaligned HR functions, handling problems around organisational structures, ensuring compliant processes - even coping with cultural issues.
It is quite likely that she'll be dealing with all of these at any given time. Wheatley Burt says she's "easily bored" and thinks nothing of working with a client in Canada one day, taking the red-eye to Heathrow the next, then a train to the East Midlands for another client session, before finally dining at The Ritz. "I have a huge reserve of energy," she says.
Listening to Wheatley Burt describe her family is like hearing a corporate chair discuss how their various subsidiaries are doing. "We've all built up interests in each other's businesses and we jointly project manage our business and property portfolios," she says. "We all play to each other's strengths. As a family, we have real clarity of vision - and a lot of fun."
Even her retired husband plays a role - he is her travel and social organiser. Indeed, managing her time is an important job right now, for Wheatley Burt is helping to catalogue the work of her grandfather, novelist Dennis Wheatley. His prodigious output (70-plus books) is further evidence of the family work ethic.
She uses her energy and direct approach to create space for management to make key decisions. "The biggest killer of HR projects is lack of time," she says.
"My effective project management skills mean I can deliver a clear plan, with targets and time-scales. That adds focus to the decision making and allows us to address key issues at the right stage."
Finding time to get decisions right is important. But the real focus of HR change ought to be improving the quality of relationships, claims Wheatley Burt - internally and externally. "The key relationship is usually the executive team," she says. "It's crucial that a dominant CEO trusts the management team, allowing them to focus on the next project."
Lower down, relationships define a company's ability to deliver long-term results. "If you have 100 per cent staff turnover, how are you going to develop customer relationships that lead to more business?" she asks.
Her work with August Equity (she's now on her fifth portfolio engagement - Lifeways), is testament to the effectiveness of such relationship management expertise.
But the foundation of much of Wheatley Burt's work is developing the right company culture. "It's defined by the people at the top," she says. "Sometimes you need to help senior executives develop a deeper understanding of how culture affects the bottom line."
One common problem is management focusing on the figures to the detriment of what actually drives the company - people. "One CEO I worked with fiercely resisted the idea of appraisals," she remembers. "He felt he knew his staff well and was more focused on profits. But profits are what good performance reviews will deliver."
The fact that she is a consultant is an advantage. "I've worked with one client for 14 years on many projects," she says. "But because I'm not full-time, I'm always able to bring a fresh view. I can look objectively at what's going to deliver results."
Apart for her consulting firm (Trafalgar - The People Business) and speaking engagements, Wheatley Burt has published several books, including The Role of the Managing Partner - a poisoned chalice?, based on an in-depth study into the motivations and performance of law firm leaders.
She loves working with lawyers, believing their intelligence speeds consensus for the need for change. "Failure to change - and then having to get rid of people when things go wrong - is very expensive," she says. "Making sure people deliver is about explaining the culture clearly and making sure everyone understands what the business is about."
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