Knox Bhavan

Knox Bhavan is a RIBA chartered architecture practice, established in 1995 by Simon Knox and Sasha Bhavan.  Boasting an extensive and varied portfolio of built work, Knox Bhavan’s projects have attracted many awards – including numerous RIBA, Civic Trust, and other industry honours.

As a relatively small practice, they are able to nurture close personal working relationships with every client, and note the importance of collaboration in their joint efforts with fellow designers.

Emily Glazier has been the Studio Manager at Knox Bhavan since March 2016. With a varied role, Emily ensures the smooth running of the Studio; acts as a client liaison; manages financial and HR operations, and works on PR and other special projects.

“We are a small practice, ten people at the moment,” says Emily. “We are based in Peckham, South-East London, where we have a lovely studio.”

While a business often stems from specialism or passion, countless processes and responsibilities contribute to its success, as Emily highlights:

“We didn’t have a Studio Manager before I joined. The Senior Partners were doing a lot of the business management themselves. When I came along, I took on a lot of different jobs including HR, health & safety, PR, marketing, and so on.”

Fortunately, to ease the day-to-day complexities of HR management, Knox Bhavan has access to the Croner advice line through their RIBA membership.

“Unfortunately, you can’t be an expert in everything, so having Croner to turn to for advice on HR and health & safety has been really helpful,” says Emily.

“Areas such as health & safety can be really daunting, especially when you know so little about it. Plus, wearing so many different hats means you have to decide where to put your focus. Croner means I can focus on other areas while knowing HR and health & safety are expertly covered.”

Through their membership, RIBA members like Knox Bhavan have instant access to specialist HR advice from a Croner industry expert. Members are able to utilise the dedicated advice line to sound out complicated employment issues, or simply for a second opinion.

“We have used Croner’s advice line for a few different matters,” tells Emily. “For example, we previously had an employment query around a probationary period. It seemed like quite a grey area to us, and we were not sure how to handle it. We wanted to ensure that what we were doing was legally compliant and fair, so we decided to call Croner.

“We got a simple, easy answer. That seems to be the case with the advice calls with Croner: the answers we receive are clear, which is exactly what we want. It is incredibly helpful when it comes to covering ourselves and protecting the business.

“I find, particularly with HR, there tend to be a lot of personal feelings involved. Croner helps us navigate those, take the route that needs to be taken, and so far we’ve had nothing but good outcomes.”