Quietly behind your success
Experienced experts who love the messiness of implementation, working beside CEOs, boards and government leaders to operationalise strategies, frameworks and policies
Why we exist
By design, we enable incredibly smart, kind people to do their best work.
From Bec:
I've spent 28 years leading complex, people-centred organisations across the public, private and for-purpose sectors. In that time, I've worked alongside many smart, kind and caring people who were brilliant at what they did. Over time, I noticed that while many of these people were thriving, many more were sitting at the margins unable to be their brilliant selves.
Inclusive employment doesn't have one solution or one size that fits all. So, I started Thomas Woods to build a model that is part of the solution. Specifically, our model is designed to create meaningful entry-level employment opportunities for smart, kind and caring people that are being overlooked in typical employment systems.
We are for purpose.
When we make a profit, we put it back to work. We invest in training humans, not large language models (LLMs). We're committed to creating stable, early career opportunities for those with hidden talents. Over time, we will grow our for-purpose plans and ensure our work continues to tackle inequality.
Every person brings strengths to work.
Our people are respected, valued and free to work in a way that works for them. We have designed a unique work model. It's why our clients get our best thinking.
WHY OUR WAY OF WORKING MATTERS TO YOU
Good decisions rest on evidence.
We invest in a team of research associates so you don't have to. Every recommendation we make comes with the evidence behind it.
The spotlight belongs to you.
Leaders carry pressures others rarely see. Our role is to help you carry them well, without adding our name to the story. We work quietly behind your company, your workforce and your success.
HOW WE WORK
The people you meet are the people who do the work.
From the first conversation to the final handover, your work stays in experienced hands.
Our research associates choose to stay behind the scenes and love the security of knowing their work is supported, checked and quality assured at every stage.
The responsibility for excellence stays with the experienced principals you have engaged for your project.
Our approach
01.
Understand your needs
We listen first and get to the real question quickly.
02.
Review the evidence
Our research associates do the digging, so you see clear options, not opinions.
03.
Choose the way forward
It's your organisation and your decision.
04.
Implement it well
We do the work alongside you and bring slower, more creative thinking where the problem needs it.
05.
Hand it over
You get thorough documentation, so the work keeps working after we leave.
What you can expect from us:
Bold and fearless
We'll tell you what we see, kindly and clearly.
Independent
We have no products to sell and no pre-determined position to push.
Flexible
You can engage us for 2 days or several years.
Confidential by default
We don't publish case studies, display client logos and discuss clients outside the room.
WHAT WE OFFER
Engage us for the piece of work you need done.
Senior expertise across operating models, implementation, workforce and business management. You don't need to commit to a long project. Engagements start at two days and can run for years.
Operating models and governance
Structures and governance that fit where you're heading
Workforce
The people, capability and conditions your strategy depends on
Implementation
Turning policy and plans into practice, then leaving them working
Tender and grant submissions
Qualification research to support pre-bid decisions through to completion of all submission documentation
LEADERS WE WORK WITH
CEOs, boards and leaders of small and large organisations working through growth, change or a hard decision
Not sure where your problem fits?
That's normal. Most of our work starts with a conversation, not a scope. Tell us what's going on and we'll help you work out what you actually need.
Who we are
Thomas Woods may be new.
We're not.
We're established experts with long track records of delivery in complex, people-centred organisations across the public, for-purpose and private sectors.
Together, we give leaders what's often hardest to find: senior people with the time to focus fully on a single opportunity or challenge in front of them.
Rebecca (Bec) Woods FCPHR MAICD
Principal and Managing Director
Usually with her head in a book, Bec brings curiosity, experience and clear thinking to the boardroom and C-suite. With a long, proven and impressive track record of delivering significant outcomes on time and on budget, Bec brings clarity, discipline and quiet confidence to complex challenges.
Nuranti Mandrini
Principal
Nuranti quietly makes sense of complexity through service design, connecting research, customer needs, business realities and systems thinking to shape better services. She has a particular strength in turning complex information into clear, tangible and strategic ways forward. Her experience spans major digital transformation programs across Australian Government.
David Deery PhD
Principal
Working at the intersection of science, technology and commercialisation, from leading national R&D programs at CSIRO to heading product development and operations at a pre-seed deep-tech startup, Dave combines a scientific discipline with a creative, inclusive mindset to tackle any implementation challenge.
Our ever-expanding team of research associates include talents like:
Shanice
Never without a book (or three) in her handbag, Shanice loves working amongst social enterprises and researching philanthropic impact. Her passions include watching films, listening to music and learning French.
Becca
Graduated RMIT with a Bachelor of Criminology and Psychology and loves digging deep into evidence to find information no one else has surfaced. Becca sums up her passion in one word: crafting.
Maddy
Achieved the Deans Award for Academic Excellence for her current studies Bachelor of Science in Psychology.
We got it.
Thank you for contacting us.
We’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
CONTACT US
Let's talk about the work you need done.
Your first conversation is with Bec. Tell us what's going on, in as much or as little detail as you like. Everything you share stays confidential.
The CEO's and business leaders I work with are tackling similar challenges:
'I need a pipeline of talent for my growth strategy to work'
'This next phase of growth is tricky for my existing workforce'
'I am exploring diversification but want my existing people to be at the core of that strategy'
My work creates practical actions that respond to these challenges.
I am an added extra to your executive team. For one day, many days or many years, I can work with you to achieve the right workforce for your organisation.
I am flexible about methodology as the way we work together needs to fit with your organisation and operating rhythm. That being said, I sit firmly in the evidence-based practice camp. I dig into the employee experience and workforce frameworks to discover unique solutions and easy-to-implement practices to support your work and organisational growth.
I believe.