Freeman Goddard and Associates | HR & People Development for GP Practices
HR & people development for primary care

Your practice has grown. Let's stop the people problems growing with it.

You didn't train for years to become a referee, a rota-fixer or an HR expert. We help GP practices and primary care teams build calmer, more capable front-line teams, so you can get back to the work you came into healthcare to do.

★★★★★ Verified by Practice IndexBacked by a 90-day results guarantee. Read our promise

A smiling receptionist at a GP practice front desk, with colleagues on the phones and patients in the waiting area

Does any of this sound familiar?

Most of the practice managers and partners we speak to aren't short of clinical skill or commitment. They're short of time, because the people side of the practice keeps landing on their desk.

The 8am rush breaks the same people every morning

Your reception team absorbs patient frustration all day, and it's starting to show in sickness, turnover and short tempers.

You've become the referee

Rota swaps, staff-room fallouts, who said what to whom. Conflict and politics eat hours you should be spending on the practice.

New roles, no clear way of working

The team has grown faster than anyone could define who does what. Role confusion and low accountability fill the gap.

Everything still comes back to you

Decisions, complaints and difficult conversations queue up for the practice manager or a partner, because no one else feels able to take them.

Managers who were never shown how

Your reception and admin leads were promoted because they were brilliant at the job, not because anyone taught them to manage people.

Busy every day, but not moving forward

Everyone is working flat out, yet the same problems come round again next month. Poor communication keeps the cycle turning.

What you really want is a practice that runs well without you holding it together.

We work inside-out: starting with how your people think and feel at work, then fixing the systems around them. No off-the-shelf HR policies, no dependency on us once we've gone.

  • Thinking time backSpace in your week to plan, not just firefight.
  • A front desk that holds steadyA reception team that stays calm and confident under pressure.
  • Managers who handle itLeads who resolve issues before they reach you.
  • Patients who feel looked afterA better experience from the very first phone call.
Our services

Three ways we help primary care teams

Change for Non-Change Managers

Leading a new phone system, a merger, a new appointment model or a PCN-wide change, without a change team behind you? We coach you through it, co-design the change with your staff and support the delivery, so the noise goes down rather than up.

  • One-to-one coaching for the person leading the change
  • Co-designed with the team who'll live with it
  • Hands-on delivery support
Talk to us about a change you're leading
10-week programme

The Essential Manager Programme

Built for reception and admin managers. Over ten weeks your managers build the confidence to lead, reduce conflict in the team and lift the patient experience at the front door of your practice.

  • Confidence and authority as a manager
  • Fewer conflicts, handled earlier
  • A better patient experience
Ask about the next cohort

Fractional HR for Healthcare

Expert HR and organisational development when you need it, without the cost of a full-time hire. Our vetted specialists understand how primary care actually works.

  • Vetted HR and OD specialists
  • Flexible, fractional support
  • Healthcare experience as standard
Find out what fractional HR could cover
How it works

From first conversation to a calmer practice in 90 days

  1. 1

    A free 30-minute conversation

    A private, honest conversation about what's really going on in your practice: the good, the frustrating and the things you feel you can't say out loud.

  2. 2

    A front-line diagnostic

    We look at how your team, systems and managers actually work day to day, and agree with you what to change first.

  3. 3

    90 days of measurable change

    You implement the recommendations with our support, and we measure performance, staff satisfaction and your thinking time along the way.

Our service promise

Results in 100 days, or your money back.

For suitable practices that meet our criteria, complete the diagnostic and implement the recommendations within 100 days we promise:

A rise in front-line team performance against measured outputs
an increase in front-line staff satisfaction compared to a measured baseline
growth in measurable thinking time for leaders compared to a measured baseline

If we don't deliver, we refund 100% of your fee and carry out a free front-line ways of working audit.

Built for the realities of primary care

GP practicesPractice managers, partners and reception teams.
PCNs and federationsShared teams, new roles and change across sites.
Dental groupsFront-of-house teams and practice leads.
Veterinary groupsCustomer-facing clinical teams under the same pressures.
What practices say

Trusted by GP partners and practice managers

Verified by Practice IndexCode of Practice approved · 5.0 from verified reviews
★★★★★
“They are professional, timely, responsive, reliable, great communicators and produce work to a very high standard.”
Asfia, GP Partner, Birmingham
Verified review, August 2026
★★★★★
“I would wholeheartedly recommend them to other practices for business development, trouble shooting…”
Keith, Business Manager, West Bromwich
Verified review, July 2026 · Total Triage implementation
★★★★★
“They have remained in regular contact to check on our progress, offer ongoing support…”
Lindsey, Practice Manager, Herefordshire
Verified review, July 2026

Read the full reviews on Practice Index

Matt Goddard, founder of Freeman Goddard and Associates
About us

Hi, I'm Matt Goddard.

For over 30 years I've helped organisations through change. Freeman Goddard and Associates brings that experience to the people who keep healthcare running: the managers, receptionists and admin teams who face patients every day.

My approach is human-first and practical, shaped by a military background where clear decisions and capable teams aren't optional. I'd rather build your team's capability than leave you dependent on a consultant.

  • ILM Level 7, Coaching and Mentoring
  • APMG Change Management Practitioner Trainer
  • AgilePM v3 Practitioner
  • Author of WORK: A New Formula

Let's talk about your practice.

A free, confidential 30-minute conversation. No hard sell, just a clearer view of what's getting in your way and what to do first.