10 reasons I'm not the right HR Consultant for you
If you’re wondering whether to take the plunge, pick up the phone and hire me as your HR consultant, then this might just be the blog you need to read right now.
Because the main thing you want to know is “Are we the right fit?”
You’re looking for someone you can trust with your precious business, and it needs to be someone you can work well with. Someone who gets you, and who will provide HR and people management support that fits with the way you run your organisation.
I understand that completely. And as a business owner myself, I know it's just as important that I also feel I can work well with you.
I know I am not the right HR consultant for some businesses or business owners, and if that is the case, I think it's best if you know that sooner, rather than later. So in this blog I am going to tell you the reasons you shouldn’t hire me, and I hope these reasons will help you to decide if we are likely to be the right fit to work together.
I’ve been running my HR Consultancy from my base in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, since January 2015, and during that time I have learned a lot about the types of employers and businesses that I can make the most difference for.
Let’s have a look at the reasons you shouldn’t hire me.
1. You’re an employee
I can only work with employers.
If you are an employee who is going through a disciplinary situation at work, or you are lodging a grievance or facing redundancy, you might feel you would benefit from help preparing your case and/or navigating your way through the process.
Unfortunately, I can’t offer this service. Giving advice to employees on situations that might result in a financial claim is a regulated activity.
If you are an employee seeking HR advice, I recommend you contact your Trade Union (if you are a member) or ACAS, who can offer free initial advice.
If you would still like paid advice from an HR consultant, look for one who is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Claims Management Company, and ask them to provide proof of their registration before you give them any money. Those who are registered will be happy to provide this evidence to you.
That way you can be sure the HR consultant is fully competent and authorised to charge you to manage any potential claim that might arise from your current situation.
2. You just want HR to "tick a few boxes".
I work best with business owners who want to be good employers, do right by their employees, and are looking for an HR framework that helps them get the best from their people.
If you that's you, but you know - or suspect - that your HR documentation or practices are out of date (or non-existent) and that bothers you, keeps you awake at night or causes problems for your business, then I can definitely help you with that.
And if you know you're a bit too soft sometimes, and your team are taking advantage, my Accidental Manager coaching programme can help you with that too.
But if you're just looking for someone to provide documents that cover your back and make it look like you're complying with the law, while operationally you know you definitely aren't complying, then that isn't me.
Honestly - I understand that employment law is complicated, sometimes appears contradictory, and often seems to make doing business more difficult and/or expensive. (Please, blame the government, not me!)
But I’ve been a member of the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) for nearly 30 years, and as a Chartered Member I have a professional responsibility to uphold the law of the land.
I believe operating legally is the right thing to do. It gives every business a level playing field, and everyone understands how things will work and what is not acceptable. It also means employees receive all the legal rights - such as paid holidays, pensions and minimum wage - that they are entitled to.
3. You're not interested in treating people well - employees should be grateful for a job
I’ve worked in companies with this type of culture before, and I didn’t enjoy it. This way of working doesn’t work for me.
You see, I know that people who don’t feel they are treated well at work will simply do the basics to avoid being sacked. Nothing more.
And as soon as a job paying a few more pennies per hour comes along, they will be off to that.
HR in that kind of environment is usually one disciplinary after another, for people who are constantly late, constantly absent, or constantly breaking the rules because they just don’t care. And then recruiting replacements so the whole cycle can continue ad infinitum.
The money wasted on disciplinaries and recruitment could fund a decent pay rise for the whole team, and some management training so they could find better ways to manage people.
If this is your environment, and you are happy with it being like that, then I am not the right HR consultant for you.
I want to make your business better, for you and for your employees. Great HR can make you more efficient, more profitable, and a great place to work.
I work best with managers who want to be good bosses and treat people well, because they genuinely think that is the right way to be. Sometimes that tips over into being too nice, and I can help you to set boundaries so that everyone feels working life is fair.
Sometimes managers don’t understand their HR policies or how they can make a difference. And that’s OK too – I love helping you see different options you might not have thought of for handling a situation, or showing you how powerful good people management and HR can be, and how it can transform the way your business feels, and performs.
I strongly believe that the better you treat people, and the clearer you are about boundaries, the harder your team will work for you.
There are, of course, exceptions to every rule. Anyone can make a recruitment mistake and if you do, I will be there to help you deal with that quickly, legally and professionally. And then we will look together at what went wrong so that you aren’t repeating recruitment mistakes in the future. Saving you time, money and lots of headaches!
4. You’re looking for a “Yes” person
If you already know how you are going to deal with an HR issue, and you are not prepared to listen to any advice or consider any alternative approaches, then I am not going to be the right HR consultant for you.
I don’t like taking your money without giving back value, offering alternative approaches that might achieve your goals more quickly or cost-effectively, or helping you minimise the risks of future legal action.
So, if you have an idea how you might need to deal with an issue, but you want to know if it’s legal, if there’s a better way, or even just another way so you can compare the risks and benefits, then let’s have a conversation.
And if you have no idea at all what to do, but you are sick of laying awake worrying about a situation in your workplace, then I can help you sleep more soundly.
I want you to make the best decisions for your business, and I think the way to do that is for you to know what the available options are, the risks and benefits of each option, and why you have selected the one you finally went for. That’s how I work best, and how I can add most value to your business.
5. You want someone to make all your HR decisions, and do all your people contact for you
Lots of HR consultants say they will take over your HR, or deal with all your people issues for you, and I can see why that marketing message might be attractive to a business owner. But I think that’s the wrong way to approach HR.
Your employees are yours. You are their manager and employer, you have responsibilities to them, and you’ll be there long after your HR consultant has moved on.
If you don’t have the courage to stand in front of your team and deliver difficult messages, you are quickly going to lose your credibility as a manager.
I’ll work with you to manage your HR issues. I’ll help you work out what to say and how to say it. I’ll even write you a script. And if you want me to, I’ll do most of the talking in a meeting for you. BUT you have to be there. You have to show up, face your employees, and own your decisions.
Because they are YOUR employees. You recruited them, you pay them, their contract is with you. And the best way to build a successful team is to lead it from the front.
6. You want a 24/7 HR support service
There are HR companies who say they offer this if you really need this kind of service. They tend to have call-centres where the people answering the phones read their advice from a script. It means you’ll probably speak to a different person each time, and for on-going cases you may spend a lot of the call bringing each person up to speed with what has happened so far.
Expect them to charge additional (and sometimes hefty) fees if you need an HR consultant on site, and long tie-ins with a tiny window to cancel your retainer before it automatically renews for several more years.
When you work with me, you get me. You’ll get consistent advice because you always deal with the same person. The advice will only change if the facts change (or you tell me some facts that you didn't tell me previously!) And you won’t have to fill in the backstory each time because I’ll know what has happened so far.
In truth, there is very little in the HR world that is an immediate emergency. Most things can wait a few hours, or over the weekend. But if you do run a 24/7 business and want an HR support service that you can contact in the evenings, overnight, or at weekends, then I am not the right HR consultant for you.
My working hours are 9-5pm, Monday to Friday. I don’t answer emails out of hours unless I’ve been out of the office all day, or we have pre-agreed that I will in a particular situation. And I don’t expect you to either – unless that works for you. I think all business owners make better decisions when they take regular breaks from work.
7. You want a retainer with Employment Tribunal Insurance
I don’t offer Employment Tribunal Insurance with my retainers. I can’t offer it at a competitive rate, as I don’t have - or want - a huge number of clients. And to be honest, I don’t like the way it works. Insurers only back the cases they think they will win in tribunal.
And you have to manage the case exactly how the insurer wants you to manage it - usually very slowly. And in meticulous detail.
That’s not good for you, your business, the rest of your team, or your employee, all of whom may have to face many months or even years of uncertainty, anxiety and stress before a final decision is made.
I take a more commercially-minded, pragmatic approach to HR issues. I think you should consider more than just whether you will win a tribunal. Such as the knock-on effect on the rest of your business and your customers of continuing to employ someone who isn’t right for a role. Or the business opportunities lost while you are preparing for an employment tribunal. Employment tribunal insurance doesn’t take these into account.
That doesn't mean I'm a huge risk taker, by the way! In over 30 years as an HR professional, I have never been to an employment tribunal. But I have dismissed many, many people.
Which I think goes to show that you don’t need employment tribunal insurance to stay out of an employment tribunal.
8. You want your employees to leave their personal lives at the door
I used to think like this when I was young, free and single. Then I had children who got ill, and later there were older family members needed extra support and care. I learned that it’s simply not possible or realistic to expect people to come to work and not think about what is going on in the rest of their lives until the end of the working day.
And now, as I work with clients across many different sectors, I see that employers who make an effort to understand what people’s lives are like outside of work tend to make better, more informed business decisions. As a result, it is easier for those employers to make successful changes within their business with the support of their workforce.
Whereas if you have no idea that Sally in Finance has to drop two children off at different places at 7:30am, then race across town to get her mum out of bed, washed and breakfasted before she can come to work, your great plan to get everyone to start work 30 minutes earlier is likely to fall at the first hurdle.
9. You want a cheap service
You can get HR retainers for £60 per month if you look around. They are usually offered by people with limited HR experience, and they focus on template documents and largely administrative tasks such as filling in personal details on contracts (that were written by other HR specialists) updating employee records on an HR database and making sure employees have signed all their relevant paperwork and had their inductions.
My retainers are more expensive than that because they offer a lot more than your average HR retainer. My prices start at £275 per month for my HR Basics retainer, from £550 a month for my Consolidate and Grow retainer, and from £1500 per month for a Virtual HR Director package. You can find out more details about each package here.
All my retainers have these things in common.
They are entirely bespoke to each client – I work with every client to understand exactly what your business needs, how you like to operate, and what services are most important to you.
No two policies, or contracts of employment, are the same. You get HR documentation designed for your business, your challenges, and your ways of working.
I personally help you to deal with tricky people issues, with an approach that is (you’ve guessed it) bespoke to your situation and your appetite for risk.
There are no long tie-ins. My retainers are initially for 12 months, and after that your retainer continues until either of us give 60 days notice to cancel.
To provide a bespoke service, it means I need to:
Understand your business culture, values and your unique challenges
Understand how you like to work, how you want to treat your people, and how to communicate effectively with you so that we can build a partnership together to tackle your people issues.
Research your industry to understand typical HR practices, challenges and opportunities to help you pitch your employee offer effectively to achieve your goals.
Write your HR documentation in your “voice” so it fits with the way you speak and write to your employees.
Have an extensive understanding of current employment law and recent tribunal decisions so that I can come up with a range of options for dealing with specific situations, allowing you to choose the one that feels most appropriate to you.
When you work with me you are getting someone with over 30 years’ experience at Senior HR Manager/Business Partner level. I spent my career working in blue-chip organisations in the private and public sectors, including 10 years’ experience as an independent HR consultant. I’m also a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
You get what you pay for. If you need an administrator, I can do that, but I'll be the most expensive administrator you've ever employed! So I am not the right HR consultant for you.
But if you need someone with extensive experience of advising business owners and senior decision-makers on strategic and operational HR issues, across a wide range of industries, I might be just the person you need.
And if you want someone who will help you look at your team and your HR approach in a completely different way, to achieve completely different results, then let’s have a chat and see how I can help you.
10. You want free samples
I don’t work for free. That includes advice, policies or meetings with your employees. Free work doesn’t pay my bills!
I will have a free initial 30-minute chat with you about your HR requirements. Of course that’s important to make sure we’ll work together well, and that I am the right person to help you. But any advice or work agreed at that session is chargeable.
If you want to understand more of how I think about HR issues, and my approach to typical workplace problems, then you will find lots of examples – free of charge - on my blog.
Or for a small investment of £12.99 you can read my book, which sets out my unique approach to managing teams in the workplace.
Liking what you’ve read so far?
If you’ve got this far, and you’re thinking that I sound like just your kind of HR consultant, that’s great news!
As you can see, I’m a bit fussy who I work with but that is because I know that for the right clients, I can help reduce the HR drama in your life, and help you create the kind of workplace that the right people love to stay in.
It’s better for everyone if we are the right fit.
The first step is for you to get in touch for a free initial 30-minute discussion to tell me what you are looking for and ask me any questions you have. And then if it feels right to both of us, we can take it from there.
Or if you’d rather just put an appointment in my diary, you'll find a link to my calendar on my contact page.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Tagged as: Better HR, HR Retainer
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