We are enablers of long term success
We believe there is always a better way to make people and organisations amazing and as people and culture specialists that’s what we strive to do.
Our values
Our values shape the way we work, collaborate, and frame client expectations of our engagement approach. Get a glimpse into the principles fueling our culture, innovation and commitment to positive, sustainable change.
We invest generously, patiently.
People change takes time. We generously invest our time, knowledge, and network into you and your team.
Our Business is Personal.
We respect the deep knowledge you have of your business and your people. We bring our expertise to enable your continued success. Where we intersect is the point of greatest value creation.
No Rock Unturned.
We are curious and diligent. We thoroughly investigate your needs and aspirations and use science-based research to craft personalized solutions.
Courage to Stray From The Path.
We have an appetite for new ideas. We thoughtfully and responsibly venture off the beaten path and challenge the status quo.
Death to Dependency.
Creating a dependency would be a failure on our part. We design and deliver repeatable solutions – repeatable by you and your teams.
We invest in our clients capability to ensure success beyond our involvement.
Our team of people specialists
Delivering complex change is like piecing together a high stakes puzzle. It takes a diverse team of professionals, each with their own skill sets, to create effective solutions for business and people challenges. We balance this with multipoint solutions through our specialist team. Whilst we all operate independent businesses we come together cohesively to deliver solutions based on client needs.
James Rutherford
Founder and principal of Rutherford HR
With over 25 years of industry experience, James established Rutherford HR to bring strategic HR expertise to a range of organisations and industries.
As an experienced Human Resources and organisational development professional, he has built a reputation for commercial acumen, innovative solutions, executive influence, and subject matter expertise.
With a commitment to sustained success, he has centered Rutherford HR around connecting people initiatives to measurable business outcomes.
Key areas of expertise: leadership development and manager effectiveness, organisational and culture change, talent management, performance and developmental frameworks.
Hugh Hawthorne
Founder of PeopleNav
Hugh is the founder of PeopleNav – an innovative organization specializing in people, talent and culture intelligence.
He brings to the table 15 years of experience in employee engagement, leadership consulting and people analytics.
By unlocking actionable insights from employee feedback and data, he helps organizations and their leaders intuitively make sense of their people and culture to identify organizational risks and opportunities.
Key areas of expertise: employee experience and culture assessment, leadership assessment and development, manager effectiveness and development, people analytics and intelligence strategy.
Ashlea Roach
Founder and managing director of PeopleCo
Ashlea is passionate about people. And with over fifteen years of experience across a range of people functions, innovation has been key when it comes to driving performance and engagement.
Every business and every individual is different – and Ashlea loves the challenge of working with leaders especially in small and start up organisations to help them maximize the potential of their greatest resource: their people.
Key areas of expertise: strategic people and culture, leadership development, organizational development, performance management and improvement, executive coaching, and change management.
Hannah Mills
Co-founder and Managing Partner at The Workplace Employment Lawyers
Hannah understands the commercial and legal pressures that employers face – and she lives for helping her clients navigate them.
Hannah helps clients proactively manage their employee relationships and provides strategic solutions for workplace issues that take into account their cultural and operational complexities. Hannah advises a wide range of clients, across all industries, in relation to all aspects of the employment relationship from recruitment through to termination and the enforcement of post termination restraints.
Key areas of expertise: Employment law, employment contracts, legal advice, HR policies, HR consulting, performance management, dispute resolution, workplace compliance reviews and restructuring/transformational change.
Our Key Partners
Forging powerful partnerships is a key part of who we are and underpins our values and approach. However successful we are individually, we are always better when we combine the skills, expertise and perspectives of trusted partners. We are privileged to have business partnerships with the following organisations to deliver increased impact to our shared clients.
Excelerate consulting
We partner with Excelerate consulting to deliver innovative development programs for the Financial Services sector.
Learn more about Excelerate Consulting
Winning formula
We partner with Winning Formula on the implementation of AI-driven productivity solutions. Any such initiative requires clear focus on processes, technology and people.
Winning Formula bring process design and technology expertise and RHR the people related change expertise to successfully deliver transformational outcomes.
Konektis
We partner with Konektis on the delivery of integrated business advice.
Making strategic changes in one area of the business can have unintended consequences that make it harder for a business to thrive.
RHR works with Konektis to offer a seamless, comprehensive solutions to mid-sized businesses to help them reach their potential.
A partnership case study
In 2022, our client – a major Australian Bank - was exploring ways to refresh an annually delivered global development program for their junior talent.
Given an existing relationship with the client and its leaders and our expertise in the field, Rutherford HR was approached to provide options to re-energize the program , which had been running in a consistent format for several years. We proposed several approaches, including one that leveraged Rutherford HR’s relationship with Excelerate Consulting. This approach would transform how the program was delivered and would pilot a new way for the client to deliver core learning outcomes and build critical capabilities in their junior team members. The proposal was embraced by the client.
Following the approval, we project managed the activity and co-delivered key parts of the program with Excelerate. In addition, we coordinated activities with another training organisation – responsible for delivering additional parts of the program - and with senior leaders in the business in order to create an integrated and seamless development event.
The program was successfully delivered and achieved great results. The client received the most positive feedback on the program that they had in many years, with Excelerate’s simulation experience being a highlight and supporting the development of new capabilities, insights and relationships. It was clear from the energy and connection in the room that the idea, the content, and the delivery all directly hit the mark and resonated with the participants.
Client feedback detailed their satisfaction and view that we had gone beyond the brief to ensure a high-quality outcome. In addition, they engaged Rutherford HR and Excelerate Consulting to further update the program – based on changes to the organisation’s strategy and business model – and deliver it for the following year. Both RutherfordHR and Excelerate have now worked with other parts of the institution based on their expertise.
Client stories
Let's talk growth
Ready to accelerate your journey to sustainable success? Our people consultants are here to empower you with the tools to help you reach your potential. Get in touch today and let’s start shaping your future.