Your business revolves around your people, the amazing and varied work output that they produce for your organisation, their personalities, ideas and the way they come together as a team under your shared goals and vision. Many SMEs work with HR consultants to optimise their operations.

Human Resources aims to bring out the best in those people. To provide a secure & happy working environment with policies and procedures in place for when they are required. To ensure that there is opportunity for growth, development and challenge within their careers. In simple terms the focus of HR can be split three ways:

  • First, we ensure that a Company is compliant with UK employment law and has the necessary HR policies, procedures and practices in place to support this.
  • Second, we support leadership teams and managers with anything from formulating a people strategy to everyday management coaching and generalist HR advice.
  • Finally, we are a support for all staff. We are the person to turn to when difficulties both within and outside the workplace arise.

What does an HR consultant do for an SME?

HR consultancy is mainly aimed at the first and second parts of the role. Generally, external consultants are first involved with getting the basics in place from a compliance standpoint and as we get to know your organisation, we can then move on to management support and advice. Occasionally, the second and third areas of the role intermingle and interact, but experience dictates where a separation can be made, and measures can be put in place which keep situations fair and equitable for all.

Clients particularly value the ad hoc HR advice. The law can appear very black and white but in reality, HR practice is about dealing with many shades of grey. Most employment law revolves around the principle of what is reasonable, and clients generally rely on a consultant to give advice and guidance on this precise point. For example, if an employee is on long-term sick what are reasonable expectations regarding a return to work? What are reasonable adjustments to aid that return and support that employee in the workplace? If there has been an instance of misconduct what is a reasonable level of sanction following a hearing, what behaviour could be considered from previous incidents?

Within every HR policy there’s a line between informal action and formal action. When to move from one to another is often hard to navigate. How to get started with a procedure can be a source of anxiety. Managers frequently need guidance on what they can say and what reasonable expectations they can set.

Why is HR support so important?

There is often legislative changes which can be confusing for both employers and employees.

With a more hybrid way of working, staying connected is critical. In small organisations those things that everyone just knew because they were in the office now have to be clearly communicated that means policies and processes often get missed off and in other areas people find themselves disconnected from communications and become disenchanted.

We haven’t yet learnt to adapt our communication style to the new way of working and this means that performance management doesn’t happen effectively, return to work interviews fail as homeworking and sickness absence merge into one.

Some new managers may have never worked in an office environment or managed people issues – we don’t always think to train those that are managing our HR processes, and this leads to problems further down the line.

Finally, home working, whilst great for some doesn’t work for everyone and we find ourselves experiencing poor mental health – which ultimately affects our work.

At Farringford Legal, clients benefit enormously from having a legal team working alongside HR consultancy. In the world of employee relations, you will occasionally stumble into an area of high risk. Your organisation may have followed a procedure to the last letter but due to the individual involved or the circumstances an HR consultant will point towards seeking specialist employment law advice. At Farringford Legal the team can work together seamlessly to ease through troubled waters.

In a small organisation many of the difficult HR scenarios may not have been encountered before. Having the ability to rely on the advice of an experienced HR professional who has dealt which these scenarios many times over is highly advantageous. We can then work together to further release the potential of your fantastic team.