Zoe and I first met around six years ago, when Exile was a much smaller but growing company. As we scaled, processes that had previously worked for us began to feel unstructured, and a few HR challenges started to crop up. We brought Zoe in to provide strategic support, but also to be very hands-on.
Initially, a lot of the focus was on setting up our HR framework and creating strong foundations. Quite quickly, the way Zoe supported us evolved, and after mentoring our office manager to take on more of the day-to-day responsibilities, she was able to step into a more strategic role and even joined senior leadership meetings.
From day one, Zoe put a lot of effort into understanding our culture and getting to know the team. I think she spoke to almost every employee, and at one point, I’m pretty sure she knew everyone’s name. She’d sit in on full strategy days just to observe and understand how we worked.
This was hugely valuable when it came to navigating the pandemic, and when everything changed overnight, Zoe helped us pivot quickly. She played a vital part in keeping us compliant, supporting the team, adjusting to remote work, and thinking through the best ways to ensure our people felt looked after.
After the pandemic, we had to face some tough moments, including a few redundancies. Zoe helped us manage the risks, follow the right processes, and handle everything legally and compassionately – from what to communicate, to what to offer, to even writing scripts for difficult conversations. It’s never easy for a company that genuinely cares about its people, so having someone experienced and steady to guide us through was crucial.
It’s easy to second-guess whether you’ve said the wrong thing or handled something poorly, but Zoe gave us a huge amount of reassurance in these moments. She was also very human in her approach and great at reminding us that it’s okay to show emotion during tough conversations.
Our work with Zoe also had a big impact on my own professional development. She helped me build confidence and trust my instincts. She’s very approachable and easy to talk to, and I felt I could bring anything to her. Her advice was never generic or textbook, and she was very good at adjusting her approach depending on the situation or the people involved. Over time, I grew more confident in my decisions and felt better equipped to handle recurring challenges independently.
Something hugely valuable that Zoe helped us introduce was employee surveys focused on culture and engagement. This gave us clear insight into how people were feeling and helped us improve where it mattered. Zoe also advised and supported us to introduce structured interview and onboarding processes, which meant that if someone was struggling during probation, we could step in early and support them before it escalated.
A lot of how Zoe worked was very proactive – not only helping us tackle a problem in the moment, but also flagging potential issues that could arise down the line and encouraging us to think about the long-term impact of our decisions.
As our working relationship evolved, Zoe played a key role in helping us build internal HR capability, and as time went on, her value as a sounding board continued to grow. When you're inside the business, it’s easy to get caught up in the emotion or internal dynamics of a situation. Zoe brought much-needed clarity and perspective.
I’ve already recommended Zoe and Manor Resources to another company and would do so again. I think they’re especially valuable in two situations: first, if you’re a small company needing to build HR structures and don’t want to figure it all out through trial and error; and second, if you’re in crisis and need someone calm, competent and compliant to guide you through it.
In reality, if you're in the second situation, you probably need to go back and address the first. Zoe is great at both. You can find templates and advice online, but what makes the difference is working with someone who’s committed to truly understanding your business goals. With Zoe, that’s guaranteed.
Constantina Christophide is the Chief Operating Officer at Exile. Exile provides commodities, project, export, trade and development finance professionals with news, research insights and data intelligence.