Sonya is a very talented HR professional, with a great understanding and approach to managing all aspects of organisational development / design changes.
Craig Allen
Chief Financial Officer, Ausenco Limited (ASX 200 company)
Sonya Melbourne and her team at Astor Levin were engaged at a critical time for APA Group. We were well advanced on an aggressive acquisition program that ultimately meant staff numbers increased from 40 to in the order of 1100 in less than a year. This required an organisational redesign that required input and acceptance at Board level. Any organisational redesign is fraught with potential difficulties however the project design, delivery, communication processes and outcomes of the project were of very high quality.
In respect of transitioning over 1000 new staff into APA Group, Sonya and her team undertook the development, project management and delivery of all HR (people and communication) aspects of a number of workforce transitions. The program of work was extensive (in terms of both business processes and geographical diversity as APA Group operates across Australia), and required timely and accurate results delivery. Astor Levin delivered excellent results on time, on quality and under budget in four separate acquisition transactions.
APA Group has achieved our five year business plan targets in less than three years. I have no hesitation in saying that Astor Levin has made a significant contribution to that achievement through their exceptional support, advice and delivery of outcomes in the people and internal communications aspect of our business.
I was very satisfied with the results achieved by Sonya personally, in dealing with all levels of the company from the Board down.
Mick McCormack
Managing Director, APA Group (ASX 200 Company)
I have engaged the services of Astor Levin several times and I am thrilled with the quality of service provided by Astor Levin. Every team member I have dealt with has demonstrated the same excellent, professional attitude and strong customer focus. I have been particularly impressed by the commitment of Astor Levin´s team to deliver results, on time, all the time and their flexibility with my often hectic work schedule.
I would have no hesitation in engaging Astor Levin again and recommend them as an exceptional HR and management consulting firm to other organisations.
Donna Williams
Vice President - Quality & Human Resources, Australian Aerospace Limited
We have been very satisifed with the work Astor Levin have done for us. They are a smart (and very pleasant) team. We will certainly engage Astor Levin for future projects.
Susan Putters
Group Organisational Development Manager, Campbell Brothers Limited
In a company wide project coordinated by an executive integration committee, Astor Levin was responsible for the business critical Human Resources work stream. Importantly, the newly acquired businesses which were so dependent on their human capital, continued without disruption through the acquisitions and during a time of great change there was no material loss of staff. The whole of the Astor Levin team bear great credit for their part in this success.
The Astor Levin services covered the full spectrum of HR related issues including: organisation design, employee relations and communications, employment contract management, payroll, superannuation, industrial relations, policy review and development, salary system design, roll-out of presentations and offers to new staff, and general situation management.
I undertook my task critically reliant on the service delivery of Astor Levin.
The service was delivered with professionalism and good cheer by the flexible and broadly experienced team. Astor Levin quietly dealt with the complex logistics of nationwide business expansion and the human issues of an organisation experiencing the growing pains of rapid change. As a consultant, it acted as part of the wider integration team and never sought to sell more than was needed. When it came time for Astor Levin to hand over, this was done with thoughtful efficiency.
For myself, working with Sonya and her team, I quickly became confident that if asked for something to be done, the Astor Levin team would communicate any material issues; there would be no ugly surprise; and they would always deliver on what they said. In one word “reliability”.
Chris Fitz-Nead
Chief Executive Officer, Gas Market Company
Sonya helped our manufacturing management team implement structural change to accommodate our new company direction. During that uncomfortable period Sonya displayed her personal and professional qualities, significant experience and sensitivity for the situation and played a key role in the successful shaping of the re structured and re directed manufacturing group that exists today.
Barry Wright
Formerly Manufacturing Manager, BAE Systems (Blue chip, multinational)
Sonya has great skill in being able to assess situations quickly and judge the most important issues to tackle. We worked on a very difficult sale completion project together and Sonya provided insights and advice at the right times to ensure we achieved the outcomes we needed.
Mark Coughlin
Partner, PriceWaterhouseCoopers
Formerly General Manager - Networks, Origin Energy Asset Management
Maureen did our training last week and I have to say, it was one the best performance management training session that I have attended. Maureen was fantastic - she kept the energy levels high, knew what she was talking about, made the session easy to understand, relevance and practicality were tops and had so much patience! Even the role plays were good (and I hate them!).
Kerryanne Mallitt
Manager, Transmission Operations (QLD)
APA Group engaged Astor Levin to guide our national organisational redesign and subsequently, to lead the People and Communication aspect of four separate workforce transitions resulting from large scale acquisition transactions. They provided exceptional service and meaningful support to us through a period of significant organisational growth and change.
Demonstrating sound project management skills, Astor Levin didn’t just talk about theory. They guided and produced exceptional results on time, every time, of the highest quality and under budget. I am impressed with the skill, seniority and breadth of experience of the team across all aspects of the human resource discipline, and the support they provided leaders and staff across the organisation to enable the achievement of exceptional outcomes.
Commercially astute, they took the time to understand our business and ensured that the workforce transition outcomes were delivered in a way that aligned with our overall business strategy and direction. They are a highly capable team with a warm, ´down to earth´ approach.
They have exceeded my expectations.
Robyn Smith
General Manager HR OHSE, APA Group (ASX 200 Company)
In building the various programs required from the ground up, Sonya combined her experience with sound management in a very methodical, consultative and insightful manner. I was particularly impressed with her ability to manage and explain the issues and the intended outcomes of HR programs with all levels of personnel within the organisation.
