Since the back end of last year, we have been bombarded by the failings of the banking sector. Northern Rock was probably the first bank to face the wrath of the public when it transpired that it was in debt.

But behind the scenes two working mums, Maureen Lindberg and Monique Ewart, were at the helm of Northern Rock’s HR department - when the nationalised lender cut 2,000 jobs, including their own.

Maureen and Monique had clocked up almost four decades of service at the Newcastle-based bank between them when they took redundancy, and with such unique experience knew they had something to offer other smaller businesses. So, in true inspirational fashion, they set up HR business Professional People Management (PPM).

They both held senior management roles at Northern Rock, dealing with all staff issues as the lender went on a dramatic growth curve and then, more recently, as it was taken into public ownership, and downsized.

Maureen and Monique now use their rare expertise to guide large businesses through the unenviable task of restructuring and redundancy, and provide consultancy services to smaller businesses who cannot afford a dedicated in-house HR department.

“Obviously, being at Northern Rock for so long we picked up some fairly unique experience that we think can benefit other businesses,” says Maureen.
“We helped take the business from a small, local building society all the way up to a major, national PLC with 6,500 staff.

“We have all the experience that comes along with that, including recruiting lots of people, making sure they were the right ones, and then making sure they were trained, appraised and rewarded appropriately, and then having to retract and let 2,000 of those people go.

“What we want to do with PPM is to help businesses with all aspects of their HR – from job evaluation and redundancy to restructuring, performance management and absence management.”

The duo are both members of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (MCIPD) and both hold a post grad diploma in Human Resource Management. Maureen also holds a post graduate diploma in employment law.

“In HR, lots of people know the law or the way to manage people but they don’t know both,” says Monique.  “We know the law but, as people managers, we believe in applying that positively for the benefit of the individual and the company and dealing with people in a fair and transparent way.”

Both mums have extensive experience of dealing with trade union and employee representatives at the highest level.

The pair also have significant experience in all areas of training and development, including vocational training. They have designed and delivered a corporate management development programme to support the company’s overall growth strategy.

Having worked together for 16 years, Maureen and Monique saw the opportunity to start a business together when they realised that their skills were in great demand from under-pressure business owners. “Many people harbour the idea they might work for themselves one day, and we were no different,” said Monique.

“We knew it was a case of now or never - we wanted the opportunity to manage our own destiny, as working mothers have a great work-life balance, and as professionals be able to apply our skills to the wider business community of the North East.

“So far, it has been a fantastic journey and we are very excited about taking PPM forward as a quality HR brand in the region.”