Who I help

Private companies. Family businesses. Large corporates. Public bodies.

How I help

Performance management. Leadership development. Recruitment. HR handbooks.

“I love supporting organisational success.”

Zac Ferrie is a HR consultant based in our Aberdeen office. He provides expert guidance on
HR policies and best practices to help businesses enhance employee performance and
maintain compliance. He builds strong client relationships, ensuring he is always reliable and
readily available. Zac has extensive experience supporting organisations in the Oil & Gas
industry working collaboratively alongside them to improve their organisational effectiveness.

To further develop his expertise, he is undertaking the Level 5 CIPD Associate Diploma in
People Management with AAB. This allows him to support clients across a variety of sectors,
working closely with senior management and in-house HR teams. His goal is to provide
tailored, high-quality support that makes a real impact on businesses and their people.

Building trust and making a meaningful impact

“I’m a firm believer that the best client relationships are built on communication, transparency
and trust. It’s so satisfying knowing that my support can make a difference to the organisations
I work alongside. For this, I believe it’s important to start with a proactive approach. I take the
time to really get to know the client, the organisation, their challenges and goals. In doing so
I’m able to provide support that is tailored by their circumstances and not just where they are
currently but also where they want to be.

At every stage of the journey with the client trust and communication are essential. For me to
be able to genuinely help them achieve their goals and overcome any people challenges they
might have, it’s important that we build strong relationships where they trust me to have the
necessary open and honest conversations. That’s how I’m able to show them that they can
rely on me to be a sounding board, offer honest feedback, deliver a high-quality service and
guide them on their journey. We have a shared goal and that is to create a more engaged
workplace.”

Providing honest guidance while prioritising client goals

“A challenge that we often come across is striking the right balance between what a client
might want to do and what the client needs to do. Employment law can be complex but
ultimately, we need to provide our clients with advice that mitigates any potential legality risks.
I will always be honest with clients, giving them all the necessary information and potential
outcomes so they can enter into decisions and make informed choices.

As the landscape of legal and regulatory requirements is ever-changing it can mean that
something might be true one day when we give the advice and a week or two later that same
information is out of date. This can make keeping up to date a little hard. However, I believe
we have a great system in place at AAB. As a team, we are proactive rather than reactive. We
keep not only ourselves but also our clients appraised of any potential changes before they
come into force, so our clients remain compliant. While it’s a challenge it’s also an opportunity
to help our clients get that much closer to their goals and create a workplace that their
employees love to work in.”

Balancing technology with personal connection

“For me, technology has always been a valuable tool helping me to engage with clients more
quickly and readily. Being able to meet virtually has helped us to increase efficiency and
enabled us to leverage tools for document collaboration and screen sharing. These
developments have created a seamless communication approach for us and our clients.

However, I believe that there’s really no substitute for getting to know people face-to-face. I
really enjoy meeting clients in their workplaces so I can get to know them and their businesses.
Working in HR means that sometimes you’re having difficult conversations or need to show
emotions more readily so it’s great that we operate on a flexible approach and have the
opportunity to sit in a room with someone when the time calls for it.”

Excitement for growth and innovation

“I’m passionate about expanding my HR expertise, particularly in employment law, and
applying it to support my clients. Currently, I’m pursuing a Level 5 CIPD Associate Diploma in
People Management to deepen my knowledge in performance management, development,
and leadership. This will enhance my understanding of strategic HR principles, enabling me
to help my clients achieve their goals.”

Clients are our passion

“At AAB one value that you can see strongly across the business is that everyone is passionate 
about clients. I see this not just in the people team but with anyone else in the company who 
I have spent time with, across the UK & Ireland. Every conversation is always about how can 
we improve our service to our clients, across every functions. It was very clear to me when I 
started that we have a client centric focus, and the client always comes first. This encourages 
me to be proactive in my role as a HR Consultant, always looking for ways to learn from the 
rest of the team while being committed to each and every one of my clients. This highlights 
the importance of having a positive relationship with our clients and really taking the time to 
know them, only then can we join them on the road to success."