HTA Advisory has a broad spectrum of clients across many industries. Often, it’s only the business advisor who gets to hear about the exciting things our clients are doing. Our Client Conversation offers an opportunity for us to present our clients to our readership in a way that shares their passion for what they do.
This month we introduce you to
Hi Emily, thank you for taking the time to catch up with me today. From your name we can also assume that you are a HR provider so are you able to tell me how you came about starting your career in HR, and in turn this business?
I worked in corporate HR for 12 years in a variety of roles in some big companies such as The Royal Bank of Scotland, General Motors Holden, Wesfarmers and HOSTPLUS Superannuation. I got out of corporate HR because I didn’t fit in. I’m all about getting the outcomes that my clients wanted and in order to do that in corporate, I was continually having to break the rules and I was continuously getting in trouble. Towards the end of my career I ended up taking on many stand alone, greenfield site roles, where I was responsible for setting up an entire HR function from nothing. This included developing the strategy, building all the structures and frameworks and then building a team to service the business. I found that I preferred to set things up rather than complete the maintenance work so after 12 years, I thought to myself why don’t I start a business where I do this for small to medium businesses? And that’s really how my business started.
So what service do you provide to your clients?
What do we do? Essentially HR Gurus is an outsourced HR service for businesses who want to invest in HR but are not big enough to require a dedicated HR resource to sit within their business. We are about helping small businesses set up the right systems and frameworks they need to manage HR effectively in their business without all the red tape and without fuss.
We do this through a range of Virtual HR Manager packages which include assisting our clients to build internal capability through the delivery of key HR programs coupled with ongoing support and coaching.
Programs include:
1. Employee Engagement Surveys
2. HR Compliance Program including, contracts, policies and Induction via enableHR
3. Performance Development & Planning Program
4. Recruitment & Selection Program
5. Get Fit Culture Change Program
6. HR Skills Training to assist in building internal HR capability
7. Ongoing coaching and support via face to face and over the phone support
In terms of starting this new business, and also achieving its growth, what are some of the challenges you have faced to get to where you are today?
The biggest challenge like any business is taking the time to get your business model right, identifying who your ideal client is and then learning how to sell to them. Once you get this right everything else seems to fall into place.
Of course once you are generating leads, and converting, and then you ensure your products and services are profitable then it’s time to find the right people and invest in scaling the business.
Why do your clients work with you and what do you think is your point of difference with your competitors?
We’re not just another HR consulting company – and we aren’t corporate either, we are straight talking HR experts who bring commercial HR thinking and structure to small business. We know HR management often takes a back seat in the whole scheme of managing a business, but managing people and managing them well can often be the difference between making a profit and loss. And if you look at your balance sheet labour costs are generally pretty high on the list, so you want to make sure you are servicing this asset effectively and that’s what we are best at, we help businesses to create competitive advantage through people.
Thank you so much for your time Emily!
