PossAbilities continues with BoxHR partnership with Chadwick Lawrence

Growing social care enterprise PossAbilities CIC has continued its relationship with Chadwick Lawrence who provide employment law and HR support to the organisation under the BoxHR banner.

PossAbilities was formed in 2014 to provide social care services formally delivered by Rochdale Borough Council. Since that time, the organisation has grown significantly and now operates across the north in areas from Calderdale to Halton.

The enterprise provides various services to people with learning disabilities, young people leaving care and people with dementia. These services include day centres (where the team met Fudge, the pony), supported living and respite care. They remain firmly person centred in everything they deliver in accordance with their values.

Chief Executive Rachel Law, explained: “Chadwick Lawrence have been there from the very start for us. In the beginning, we didn’t have a dedicated HR team and much of the support was delivered directly on a hands-on basis to myself and my Operations Director. As we have grown, we now have a comprehensive HR function in place, so the team have adapted to provide consultative help to us on a regular basis.

One example of their assistance was in negotiations with a trade union over recognition. This was new territory to us but, through their support, we feel we have found an effective way of developing maintaining a relationship with the union.”

“We find our advisers Daniel and Nils to be very responsive and extremely pragmatic when it comes to problem-solving. I will often give them the scenario and the answer I want, and their job is to get me there on a commercial basis!”

“We have also used the wider team on regulatory matters, and Barry Purkiss has been instrumental on the Property side in helping us with the development of residential units for a number of our service users”.

Daniel Krigers, Head of Employment at Chadwick Lawrence, said: “We really value the relationship we have with PossAbilities and it has been a pleasure to see the organisation expand and diversify over the past few years – not just in terms of the contracts they have won but the inventive, creative and just wacky initiatives that Rachel and the team come up with. Every time I come out to see them, they have new animals at Cherwell Farm!”

“It is a challenge to provide advice to organisations in areas such as social care, especially as those decisions can affect the viability of tenders or impact on large groups of staff. But it’s one we embrace here; we are here to problem solve, to find solutions and to keep our clients happy – that is the key to successful, long-term relationships”.