Workplace Support
Workplace friction costs more than you think.
We find it. We measure it. We resolve it.
So your people can do their best work, and your organisation can stop solving the same problems twice.
Most organisations aren’t broken. But somewhere between how your people systems are designed and how they’re actually experienced, friction builds. Quietly. Consistently. Until a grievance lands, a good person leaves, or a manager burns out.
Book a Friction Finder Session £200
90 minutes · Written summary within 5 working days · No commitment to go further.
Download our Resources
- Watch our HR in Action: Building Confident Managers webinar series on our YouTube channel
- Employment Rights Act Roadmap (Correct as of 15th June 2026)
- Difficult Conversations Toolkit
- Beyond the Duvet Day (Sickness & Absences)
- Reasonable Adjustments
- Building Diverse and Inclusive Hiring Practices Metric Check
- WERK GROW Coaching Resource
Does any of this sound familiar?
- You’ve done the training, updated the policy -but the same issues keep coming back.
- Good people are leaving and you’re not entirely sure why.
- Managers are confident they’re doing the right thing. Your team’s experience says otherwise.
- Conflict or tension is being managed, but never quite resolved at the root.
What is WERK?
A people-systems framework built on evidence, not guesswork.
WERK is Citizens Advice LeicesterShire’s evidence-based workplace consultancy. We help organisations – especially SMEs, charities, care providers, housing associations, and schools -understand and resolve systemic workplace friction before it becomes conflict, complaint, or cost.
WERK stands for the four stages of every employee journey:
W
Welcome
How people enter and settle into your organisation
E
Empower
How people are managed and supported day to day
R
Refine
How your organisation learns and improves
K
Keep
How you retain and support your people long-term
We find friction at every stage of that journey, then help you fix it where it matters most.
From Friction to Flow – The 3-Stage Journey
Every engagement follows the same evidence-based pathway, at the pace that’s right for you.
Stage 1
Friction Finder Session
WERK orientation
A 90-minute facilitated conversation that surfaces where friction exists in your people systems -and where to focus first. You’ll leave with a written summary and 2–3 priority friction areas.
Price: £200 (deposit -fully credited if you proceed to Stage 2 within 3 months)
Stage 2
Workplace Friction Index
WERK diagnostic
Our structured diagnostic measures the gap between what your policies intend and what your people actually experience -across all four WERK pillars. You’ll receive a full Friction HeatMap and Maturity Position report.
Price: From £750 (priced by organisation size -your £200 deposit is credited in full)
Stage 3
WERK Flow Programme
From insight to practice
Leadership in Practice development programme, targeted training, mediation, and HR support -selected because your diagnostic identified them, not because they’re generically useful. Every module closes a specific gap.
Price: Modular -discussed following your Friction Index results
Why WERK?
The difference between a sticking plaster and a diagnosis.
Most interventions target the symptom -the grievance, the resignation, the difficult team. WERK goes to the level where friction is actually generated: the gap between policy intent and lived experience. That’s the only way to stop solving the same problem twice.
Evidence-based, not assumption-based
The WERK Methodology is grounded in five peer-reviewed research traditions -including Edmondson’s psychological safety research, Pfeffer & Sutton’s knowing-doing gap, and 25 years of organisational justice literature. You can read more about the research behind the WERK Methodology through our “Thought Leadership Document“
Built for organisations without big HR teams
Designed specifically for SMEs, VCSEs, care providers, housing associations and schools -the organisations that most need this level of insight but rarely have access to it.
Diagnosis before investment
We’ll never sell you training you don’t need. The Friction Finder Session exists precisely so that any investment you make is targeted, justified, and measurable.
Delivered by qualified professionals
Our practitioners are CMC-registered mediators, trained HR professionals, and management development specialists -all within Citizens Advice Leicestershire’s quality framework.
Did you know?
“Workplace friction costs approx. £1,000 per employee.” (ACAS, 2021)
“Only 53% of line managers feel they receive enough training and information to carry out their people management responsibilities well.” (CIPD, 2023)
“£42,500+ saved by preventing just 5 workplace conflicts.” (ACAS estimate)
Start with clarity, not a commitment.
The Friction Finder Session is designed as a low-risk first step. 90 minutes of structured conversation, a written summary, and 2–3 priority areas to act on -with or without us. £200.
Book a Friction Finder Session £200
Or email us directly · We respond within 2 working days.
Explore our Stage 3 support options:
Mediation & Training
From conflict resolution to management development -targeted because your diagnostic found the gap.
HR Support for Employers
Expert HR guidance without retainer commitments -available standalone or as part of your WERK Flow Programme.