As a B-Corp there are many things that are important to us – including meeting social and environmental performance standards and charitable giving. However, unlike many B Corps, at Oxford HR we don’t produce anything, we offer services. How we live our values as a B-Corp has a lot to do with how we do what we do.
Oxford HR is a leadership consultancy, offering a whole gambit of organisational services to the for-purpose sector and other B Corps, including executive search and recruitment, leadership impact assessments, organisational consulting, board advisory, executive coaching and EDI training. We’ve been around since 1995 and since then we have worked with clients to develop and expand their teams, improve board effectiveness and support on a range of leadership functions. So, how do we do this the B Corp way?
Firstly, our consultants, organisational psychologists, coaches and advisors have worked extensively across the social and environmental sector, in international organisations, INGOs, charities, government agencies and B Corps, so understand organisations who are purpose led and impact is in our veins. We operate in a truly collegiate culture (without internal competition) where our goal is to reach the outcome that our clients want and not just to deliver a service and then disappear.
As a company, we specialise in promoting leadership, leadership that at its core is inclusive, fair and balanced. From our executive search practice through to onboarding, we ensure we are flexible and adaptable in our outlook and in our work with clients. This is evident in many practical ways including – reaching out to people from underrepresented groups and communities to ensure equity into the hiring and onboarding process, coaching individuals through hiring processes, challenging the emphasis on experience and qualifications, over skills, values and knowledge, promoting clear language in outreach materials and ensuring our application processes are accessible and accommodate reasonable adjustments.
Above all, empathy needs to run through all of our work. After all, this is a corner stone of leadership. We take a coaching approach to executive search, ensuring interviews don’t feel like an ambush, but a two-way process and that feedback is offered at every stage.
As one candidate said to us:
‘I found the experience with Oxford HR first class. I genuinely think your level of care towards candidates is exceptional. What set you apart was the open and clear communication, including timelines and feedback. That infused a great deal of trust not only towards your agency, but also the hiring company.’
Putting yourself forward as a candidate can be emotionally taxing. As consultants, we recognise this and strive to ensure that every interaction is handled thoughtfully with integrity and that a process with us is a positive journey for all involved.
When we supported fellow B Corp Wasafiri to appoint their Managing Director, Kate Simpson (Chair), said:
‘This experience has been like working out the difference between cooking my own dinner at home and going out to a lovely restaurant – it’s all still food but the quality and experience is totally different!’
We are continuously learning – read our recent research reports here:
If you’re a B Corp looking for help, read more here about how we could support you.
Zoe Greenwood
Zoe is Deputy Executive Director at Oxford HR, overseeing all of the organisation’s sector areas, with a particular focus on Climate, Nature and Sustainability. She brings deep expertise in inclusive recruitment and co-leadership, alongside a strong interest in advocacy, justice and feminist organisations.
Zoe has led CEO, Board and Director-level searches for a wide range of organisations, including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Global Canopy, Ethical Tea Partnership, Positive Money, Manufacture 2030, Womankind and Climate Emergency Collaboration Group. Before joining Oxford HR, Zoe spent 16 years working across environmental NGOs in communications, field management, partnerships and leadership development. She has led cross-sector partnerships involving local organisations, global NGOs and businesses to embed sustainability principles, and has worked in some of the world’s most biodiverse regions alongside climate scientists to design and deliver nature-based behaviour change programmes for corporate leaders, teachers and young people.
In 2018, Zoe co-founded Climate Change Coaches, an organisation focused on accelerating the green transition through coaching. She is a trained coach and facilitator, and is also actively involved in the B Corp movement. In her space time she supports community development and youth engagement in Oxford.
