Peace of mind, powered by the EMA.
How the EMA’s HR Managed Service helped Flo & Frankie thrive.
At a glance
- Limited HR resources: As a family-run business, the leadership team was stretched thin managing recruitment, onboarding, compliance, and evolving people needs.
- Compliance & consistency: Keeping up with changing employment legislation and ensuring consistent team experiences became overwhelming without a dedicated HR professional.
Benefits
- Stronger HR systems
- Cultural continuity
- Peace of mind
- Leadership focus
“I sleep better at night knowing the EMA has got our back and that we’re doing things the right way.”
– Chrissy Conyngham, Flo and Frankie Founder
Challenge
Founded in 2013 by Chrissy Conyngham, Flo & Frankie has become a beloved retail destination across New Zealand, offering an eclectic mix of fashion, homewares and gifts.
From humble beginnings in a Newmarket pop-up store furnished with upcycled pieces, Flo & Frankie has steadily expanded, ultimately scaling to over 20 stores and 250 staff nationwide.
But with that growth came the need to bolster its documentation and HR processes. A family-run business at heart, Flo & Frankie relied on a hands-on leadership team that was stretched thin managing recruitment, onboarding, compliance, and evolving people needs. Scaling from a small team working out of a spare bedroom to a distributed workforce across both islands magnified the complexity.
“As we scaled to over 250 staff, it became challenging to support all our wonderful team,” says Chrissy.
“We realised we needed an HR professional, but we weren’t in a position to hire a full-time senior HR person.”
At the same time, staying on top of rapidly changing employment legislation, building strong systems for performance and capability development, and ensuring consistent, supportive experiences for every team member were becoming overwhelming. Flo & Frankie needed a cost-effective, expert HR solution that would support their people and their growing brand.
Solution
That’s where the EMA’s HR Managed Service came in. Designed to give businesses end-to-end HR expertise without the expense of hiring full-time staff, the service embedded an experienced HR professional directly into Flo & Frankie’s team for a few days each week.
With the backing of its wider resources, including policy modules, training courses, and compliance frameworks, the EMA worked hands-on to review and strengthen Flo & Frankie’s HR foundation.
This included refining the recruitment process as well as onboarding, induction, coaching and performance review systems.
“The EMA HR Managed Service has encouraged Flo & Frankie to have honest, robust and productive HR discussions across the leadership team,” says General Manager Jonathan Beaglehole.
All this was delivered under a simple subscription model, giving Flo & Frankie the confidence of professional HR support with predictable costs.
Result
With the EMA’s HR Managed Service, Flo & Frankie now has stronger systems to engage and develop its people, protect compliance, and sustain its special culture across every location.
It’s has allowed Chrissy and her leadership team to focus on creating memorable retail experiences, while trusting that their growing team is supported by best-practice HR.
EMA - Helping businesses make the right call
Every day in business we’re asked to make decisions, big and small. These calls are even more challenging in shifting economic and legislative conditions.
At the EMA we’re here to be the sounding board and trusted mentor that businesses need to help move from complexity to clarity. From navigating compliance issues to staying on top of employment relations to helping your leaders learn and grow, we’re here to deliver greater support, certainty and growth to our Members.