Book a call

Nicola Anderson, founder of The Organisational Edge

Straight answers since 1989.

I design teams and recruit the people to run them, for growing UK businesses. Based in Nottinghamshire, working across the UK and internationally.

Nicola Anderson

Proof first

Nicola Anderson's track record.

  • 37 years in business. 25 in senior leadership, including SLT and board roles.
  • 25 years in construction and the built environment, both client side and supplier side.
  • Teams of 150+ led across sales, operations and project delivery.
  • £50m+ operational portfolios managed.
  • 200+ people hired.
  • Implementing business automation and CRM since the 1990s.

Qualifications: Chartered Management Institute Level 5 in Leadership and Management. Change Management, Nottingham Business School.

Nicola's career includes
  • Aberystwyth University

Behind the numbers

Four stories from Nicola's career.

48th to 1st in ten months.

Headhunted by Portakabin in 2013, I took over a hire centre ranked 48th of 52. Ten months later it was 1st in the UK, with £4m+ in orders and the annual target hit in six months.

I was the client.

For a decade I sat on the paying side: running facilities, finance and operations for a university, a college and a national distributor, commissioning and holding to account the contractors, trades and suppliers I now advise.

Automating before it had a name.

I started in administration at Powys County Council in 1989, moved onto an automation project, helped a newspaper launch its first CRM and ran sales data at The Telegraph. AI is the same discipline with better tools.

Back in, turned round, out.

In 2024 I went back to Portakabin as Regional Manager for the North: around 150 people, five depots, £27.5m turnover. I spent 18 months on the people challenges, turned the team round, then left to build this.

How does Nicola work?

Precise. Rapid. In and out.

Keep it simple. Get it done. Deliver results. That's how I've worked for 37 years.

  • Precise. We find the exact problem: the role, the gap, the decision with no owner. Not a 60-page report.
  • Rapid. One day to find it, then we move. Roles get filled fast because the role is right before we advertise.
  • In and out. We fix it, hand it over and leave. Your business shouldn't depend on us either.
Nicola Anderson in a white blazer

Who will work with you?

Nicola leads. Specialists deliver.

Every engagement is led by Nicola Anderson. Specialist associates handle team development, operations and AI, under her direction, so the work keeps moving and nothing depends on one person.

Nicola Anderson

Nicola Anderson

Founder

Leads every engagement. Designs the structure, sets the hiring plan and sits in the senior interviews.

Jonathan

Jonathan

Sales and Team Development Specialist

Nearly 20 years helping businesses win more work. An exceptional sales trainer who builds confident, consistent sales teams through practical coaching, training and process. Has worked alongside Nicola for 15 years.

Pippa

Pippa

Operational Excellence Specialist

20+ years in strategy and operations. Works as COO across founder-led businesses and puts the processes, systems and operating rhythm in place, so the new structure holds day to day. Former MD of 4Networking.

Dean

Dean

AI and Automation Specialist

30+ years making technology do the work people shouldn't have to. Turns your Team of the Future™ into systems that run: AI agents, automated reporting and workflows that connect your CRM and finance tools.

As heard on

Podcasts and talks with Nicola Anderson.

Nicola talks about hiring, organisational structure, stepping back from the business, sales leadership and using AI properly in teams.

  • The Grown Up Business Podcast
  • Sparks for Growth
  • Coffee with Curtis
  • The Exceptional Sales Leader
  • Just Hamzaaa
  • Find Your Voice
  • The Next 100 Days
  • Summit 26 (talk)
Listen to the episodes

Four promises we keep by saying no

What we won't do.

  • Send you CVs by the dozen.
  • Tell you what you want to hear.
  • Fill a seat just to fill a seat.
  • Stay a day longer than we're needed.

From people Nicola has worked with

Smart, grounded, reliable.

Smart, grounded, with an awesome business brain and endlessly reliable.
Kirsty HulseFounder, Roar Training

Significant change. Efficiencies and savings.

She brought together the team in a manner that allowed her to facilitate significant change which resulted in efficiencies and savings.
Hamish BakerFounder and CEO, MinRisk. Managed Nicola directly

Every month you wait costs money.
Let's fix it.

A free 30-minute call with Nicola. No pitch. You'll know whether you need to hire, and what it should cost.

Book a call