By: Caroline Nugent
26 Aug 2026 5 min read
As I moved from permanent employment to interim consultancy and back into employment at Grant Thornton, people asked why I would leave a career spent leading people services and transformation from within organisations to join a consultancy.
For me, the answer was simple. I wanted to help shape public sector people practice at scale, combining decades of practitioner experience with the opportunity to support organisations facing some of the most complex workforce challenges in a generation.
Having spent more than 20 years at senior level working in and alongside local government, I knew first-hand the realities facing public services. Tight finances and rising demand, met with relentless pressure to deliver more with less, are familiar territory. What has been reinforced since joining Grant Thornton is how widely those challenges are shared across public services and the wider private sector, and how many are longstanding issues that have still not been resolved.
That was one of my strongest takeaways from the 2026 HR Leaders Barometer. Although organisations differ in size, geography and political or stakeholder context, many are wrestling with remarkably similar issues: workforce capacity, leadership capability, skills shortages, productivity, financial sustainability and the need to create workplaces that remain attractive to current and future employees.
While 64% of private sector and 74% of public sector organisations now have a strategic workforce plan, the Barometer found far fewer report it as fully embedded in practice: strategy is outpacing execution.
The Barometer reinforced something I have long believed. There is huge value in sharing experiences, learning from one another and recognising that many of the challenges faced are systemic rather than unique. I have long advocated, and led opportunities to share information. Sometimes simply knowing others are grappling with the same issues can be reassuring. More importantly, it creates opportunities to learn from approaches that are working elsewhere.
Equal pay is one area where this collective learning is particularly important. For much of my career, it was often viewed primarily as an HR issue. In reality, it is a strategic organisational issue with significant financial, legal, operational and reputational consequences. It influences workforce trust, organisational culture and, most importantly, the lives of individuals.
The Barometer found that more than three-quarters of private sector organisations, and two-thirds of public sector organisations, are managing live equal pay issues right now, yet fewer than a third feel confident in their compliance.
My experience of leading major equal pay work has shown that these situations rarely arise from deliberate decisions to disadvantage people. More often, risk builds gradually over many years. As organisations reduce resources, restructure services and respond to changing priorities, people systems and controls can weaken. Processes that once provided assurance become inconsistent, governance arrangements drift and local practices emerge. Before long, risks have accumulated below the surface.
Equal pay issues are rarely visible until they become significant, by which point the financial and organisational consequences may be substantial. That is why strong people practices should never be dismissed as a cost or an administrative burden. Effective job evaluation and levelling, robust governance, workforce planning, clear pay structures and strong management capability create value. They protect organisations from risk, improve fairness, strengthen trust and support better decisions.
HR must also have the confidence and authority to challenge. Cultures in which professional advice is ignored, or people are simply told to ‘get on with it’, allow inequality and risk to grow. The equal pay learning resources we have developed at Grant Thornton emphasise the importance of looking beneath the surface. Warning signs often arise through routine decisions, local practices or historic arrangements that have never been fully reviewed. Developing the capability to identify and address them early is one of the most sustainable investments an organisation can make.
A clear strategy for responding to an equal pay audit or diagnostic is fundamental. As pay transparency regulations sharpen the focus, organisations should examine hidden risks. Our use of data to consider potential risk was one reason I joined the team. Forewarned is forearmed.
Another area where nationally I see untapped potential is apprenticeships. I began my own career as an apprentice and have seen the opportunities they can create for individuals and organisations. Yet apprenticeships are still too often viewed narrowly, either as an entry route for young people or simply as a funding mechanism. Their value is much broader. They can support leadership development, professional qualifications, workforce planning and succession, building tomorrow’s skills while developing the talent organisations already have.
I am pleased to see Grant Thornton’s Local Government Apprenticeship Programme, which uses apprenticeships strategically to strengthen capability, develop future leaders and help services adapt under pressure. The recently launched Grant Thornton graduate programme is also exciting: it gives people the experience they need so they are ready for the world of work when they graduate. Too often young people especially are unaware of how to work, not how to do the work!
Perhaps the biggest reason I joined Grant Thornton, however, is our approach to partnership. The best consultancy support should not create dependency; it should leave organisations stronger than it found them. Our role goes beyond diagnosing problems. It means working alongside clients, transferring knowledge, building capability and making sure improvements are sustained after an engagement ends. This builds on my time as an interim consultant, but now with the strength of being part of a team.
As I reflect on my first few weeks heading up the team, I remain convinced that bringing practitioner experience into consultancy is the right move. Public services face enormous challenges, but also extraordinary opportunities. By combining best practice and deep industry expertise with practical delivery experience, we help organisations build the ways of working they need, without losing sight of the people they exist to serve.
That is why I joined Grant Thornton. Six weeks in, I’m more convinced than ever that public services need practitioners who help build lasting capability: people who stay close enough to the work to make sure it sticks.
If you’d like to talk about the workforce challenges your organisation is facing, speak to Caroline or your usual Grant Thornton contact.
Equal pay is now a critical business risk. Learn how organisations can manage compliance, reduce exposure and build fair, transparent pay frameworks.
