About Tim Withnall
I fix broken HR functions. That's the short version. The longer version is twenty-five years inside complex organisations, often stepping in when the people function needs rebuilding and staying until it works properly again.
"I won’t do this job without them. He could make sense out of chaos."
I’ve led the people workstream on a £500m acquisition. Reduced frontline attrition from 40% to 12% across large contact centres. Stabilised People Operations teams that had years of accumulated audit gaps. Delivered a 28-point engagement increase in year one of a function reset. Closed sites, opened sites, navigated TUPE transfers and led restructures that held up commercially, legally and with the people affected. Insurance, telecoms, BPO, property, manufacturing. The titles changed. The problems didn’t.
I kept seeing the same gap. Organisations where the people function had been outgrown by the business. TUPE transfers handed to someone who’d never run one. Restructures designed by people learning the process in real time. Investigations where the stakes were high and the experience wasn’t. Nobody had ever stepped back and asked whether the whole thing still made sense.
There are plenty of HR consultants. Most of them will help you with policy updates, compliance reviews, maybe an away day on leadership. That’s not what I do. I fix the operation. The structure. The capability. The things that are actually causing the friction.
The diagnostic tools I built for this work are now a separate product, used by other HR consultants and senior teams. opfw.uk if it’s relevant.
No PowerPoint theatre. No six-week discovery phase. You get me, not a team.
In their own words.
"There are very few people about whom I would say ‘I won’t do this job without them’, but that was true of my time working with Tim. His ability to galvanise a team to deliver at pace with a positive attitude was amazing. He could make sense out of chaos."
"He always delivers, seeks out ways to improve HR delivery to the business and is never afraid of disruption if that ends in a better result. He was instrumental in fixing a £5m outsourced recruitment service. He identified what needed fixing and got on with it, bringing stakeholders with him as the service improved."
"I’ve worked with Tim. His candour, straightforward approach and good humour mark him out hands down. As adept at defining people strategy as dealing with all sorts of ambiguous, specific cases and everything in between. If you need a dose of pragmatism and action, and let’s face it, most organisations tend to, then I’d highly recommend."
Why "One Point Four West"?
The longitude of the River Wear. A reminder of where the thinking is grounded. The work travels anywhere, but the centre of gravity stays here in the North East.
How I work
Most client work is remote with focused in-person sessions when they matter. I work directly with leadership teams, usually on an interim or project basis. You get me, not a team.
I live in the North East with my wife Kim and our daughter Phoebe. They keep me grounded. Mostly by not being remotely impressed by anything I do at work.
Work with me
If you need someone who has done the work, not just advised on it, let's talk.