Market View

Adaptive HR in a Dynamic World: Navigating Diversity, Jurisdiction, and the Modern Workforce

Interview with

Neil Henderson

Director of People

Westminster School

About Neil Henderson

Neil Henderson is the Director of People at Westminster School in London, a role he assumed in June 2024 to modernise the people management practices across both Westminster School (senior school) and Westminster Under School (prep school). With extensive experience in educational HR, including previous positions as Director of HR and Organisational Development at the University of West London and Secretary at Universities Human Resources (UHR), Neil brings valuable expertise to this historic institution. As a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (FCIPD), he is leading both schools through significant organisational changes, including the transition to a fully co-educational model and comprehensive HR systems modernisation.

How has the evolving nature of work impacted your HR strategies, technology and processes at Westminster School?

I joined Westminster School last June as the newly created Director of People during a significant transformation period. My role spans both Westminster School (senior school) and Westminster Under School (prep school), with responsibility for modernising people practices across both institutions. The schools are evolving from a predominantly boys' model with girls only in the sixth form to becoming fully co-educational, with the Under School taking the first step by enrolling girls from the 2026/27 school year. This large change was one prompt for the need to modernise our people management practices across both schools.

Previously, HR was quite administrative, focused mainly on employee lifecycle management. My role involves modernising our approach while managing a diverse workforce across our two schools. This diversity spans teaching staff, administrative support, technical personnel, grounds staff, estates and our commercial department —all operating historically under different terms and conditions.

We are streamlining our approach while recognising that complete harmonisation isn't possible due to inherent job differences. What's crucial is fostering fairness and equity across all staff groups. The post-COVID discussions about hybrid working present challenges in our educational environment, where on-site presence is essential, especially in a boarding school. My approach focuses on what needs to be done to accomplish the job effectively.

Regarding technology, our in-house systems lacked flexibility to handle our complex array of working patterns, pension schemes, and pay scales. We're now implementing the Midland HR iTrent system, starting with payroll fundamentals before expanding to other HR features. One significant cultural shift involves moving from paper payslips to digital ones this March. As I often say, we're "modernising processes while still respecting the traditions of a school that's 500 years old."

How does Westminster School address the challenges posed by a diverse workforce?

We're fostering a sense of commonality—helping all personnel across both schools understand they're contributing to the same objectives. We're implementing practical changes, such as holding joint social functions rather than separate ones for different staff groups, and standardising staff development days, appraisal processes, and probation procedures.

While roles, benefits and expectations can't be identical across all staff groups, we aim to ensure the employee experience feels positive and enabling. We're encouraging greater understanding between departments—teaching staff may not fully comprehend HR functions, just as HR might not understand the challenges of teaching chemistry.

This approach mirrors my university experience—for HR to be a true business partner, we must understand the business, speak its language, and recognise what works in specific contexts. When asking staff to comply with processes, they naturally want to know, "How does this benefit me?" So we always consider the value for everyone, not just for HR management.

We are now developing working practices in order to be more proactive rather than merely administrative and reactive, enabling more meaningful conversations about change.

Can you share a recent challenge where an adaptive HR approach has been crucial to delivering a successful outcome?

As mentioned earlier we have been striving to develop a sense of community and inclusivity across our diverse work groups, this approach is underpinning our drive to review our rewards packages and align our benefits where appropriate. An example was where teaching staff received private medical insurance while administrative staff didn't. This inconsistency has now been resolved, with all staff receiving this benefit, exemplifying our efforts to increase transparency and equity across different staff groups.

Progressive and modern people focused initiatives require our HR systems to accommodate multiple benefits, pension schemes, pay scales and real time data being available. This adaptability was a key requirement when selecting our new HR system provider, which was chosen precisely because of its flexibility with educational organisations.

What do you predict for the future of HR management, given the rapid changes in the work environment?

We're transitioning from being called the HR Department to "People and Payroll and Pensions." In my experience, HR can sometimes be perceived negatively as a blocker or the department approached only for problems. I'm working to move towards a people-centric management approach, particularly important in the post-COVID environment, where employee-employer relationships seem increasingly strained.

To counter this, we need to position ourselves as positive, proactive partners who add genuine value, rather than simply imposing organisational mandates. This cultural transformation is gradual—some staff are enthusiastic about the changes, while others remain sceptical.

We have just concluded a second staff survey, the results of which are being analysed to gauge changes over the past two years and assist our focus on future developments. An equally telling survey will be conducted after implementing all these changes. Technology plays a crucial role in this evolution. and as such we need a trusted system where staff can access their data in real time.

We're also developing a total reward statement to help staff understand their complete benefits package, including the financial value of their pension and sick pay schemes. This enables staff to better comprehend their "employee value proposition"—what they receive from their employment at Westminster.

About Westminster School

Westminster School, founded in the 12th century and formally established by Queen Elizabeth I in 1560, stands as one of Britain's leading independent educational institutions, comprising Westminster School (senior school) and Westminster Under School (prep school). Located within the historic precincts of Westminster Abbey in London, the schools educate more than 1,000 pupils aged 7-18, offering both day and boarding options. While maintaining its renowned academic excellence that consistently places it among the UK's top schools, Westminster is currently transitioning from being a boys’ school with girls in the sixth form only, to becoming fully co-educational, with the Under School taking the first step by enrolling girls from September 2026.