TALKING BUSINESS


HR SOLUTIONS RISES TO THE CHALLENGE DURING BUSIEST YEAR


While many firms struggled during 2020, award-winning HR Solutions had one of its busiest years and expanded its business with the launch of a new division and a major acquisition in Milton Keynes. As the HR and Health and Safety consultancy prepares to celebrate its 20th anniversary this summer, chief executive GREG GUILFORD reveals how it has been helping firms to navigate the challenges of Brexit and Covid-19 and its plans for further growth.


HR Solutions began helping businesses with their HR needs two decades ago. The firm was launched in 2001 by HR expert Carol Ann Guilford when HR outsourcing was a relatively new concept. The company initially worked with small firms in Northamptonshire but


over the past 20 years it has grown massively and its client list ranges from small care agencies to multinational technology firms. It now has more than 350 retained clients across the UK and helps several membership bodies and associations by providing HR and H&S support to their members. HR Solutions has also added additional services to its traditional HR services, such as health and safety, payroll, recruitment, HR administration and software. Carol retired last year and today the business is expertly run


by her son Greg Guilford who joined the business in 2008 after establishing himself as an experienced HR practitioner. Under his leadership the team expanded to include more CIPD qualified HR consultants, HR advisors and supporting administration staff as well as a payroll team and a business development and marketing team. The firm has just emerged from one of its busiest years


The division conducts risk assessments for clients on topics ranging from


Covid-19 to fire, health and safety as well as providing additional risk assessments based on clients’ requirements and offering an outsourced competent person service and a training academy. This year the firm wants to increase its certified online training and offer


accredited courses in health and safety and mental health as well as certificates in management and a range of soft skills. HR Solutions knows such training opportunities will be welcomed by the


‘WE’RE ACTIVELY LOOKING TO


ACQUIRE LIKE- MINDED HR


due to Covid-19 and the increased demand for HR and Health & Safety advice around furlough, redundancies and back to work guidance. Greg explained: “Last year was incredibly busy and due to our


CONSULTANCIES’


unlimited model with our retainer clients, all of our retained clients were fully supported through these challenging times. “We guided clients through the Government guidance, the furlough


scheme and the job retention scheme. We also supported firms undergoing organisational changes or making redundancies. We helped them handle these situations in a sensitive manner and ensured they were covered from a compliance standpoint. “In addition, our new Health, Safety and Environment division helped


clients to ensure their workplaces are Covid-19 secure.” The new Health, Safety and Environment division launched last summer and was one of several highlights for the firm in 2020.


business community after it conducted a comprehensive SME survey with Deloitte Propel at the end of last year to ascertain the challenges SMEs expected to face over the following 12 months. Greg said: “The key themes which emerged were the importance of staff wellbeing and mental health and we’re looking to increase our training and development offering in those areas. The survey also revealed people were nervous about the impact of Brexit and further Covid-19 spikes. “We’ve helped businesses with Brexit planning and have


been guiding them through the EU Settlement Scheme. We also created a free Covid-19 Knowledge Hub. “As a result of the pandemic, the jobs market has been inundated with potential employees who may not have been in a workplace for six months or more due to being furloughed or made redundant. It’s not unheard of for organisations


advertising for roles such as office administrators to receive 1,000 applications. So, we offer advice to help firms find the right candidate and then provide their new employee with additional support they might need if they’ve been out the workplace for a while. “We’ve also been helping firms to learn about the Kickstart Scheme


which has been helping young people into work. We’ve shown firms how they can benefit from it, how to register for it and have supported them through the scheme.” Another major highlight for the firm in 2020 was the acquisition of


Crispin Rhodes Limited, an HR consultancy in Milton Keynes. This is the second major acquisition for the firm in the city, following its successful acquisition of HR Services (UK) in 2017. The acquisitions have increased HR Solutions’ footprint in central


England and the firm is looking to make more acquisitions, particularly in the East Midlands region. “Our foothold in Milton Keynes has grown over the past few years and


we’re looking to grow here further,” said Greg. “We’re actively looking to acquire like-minded HR consultancies and,


with Crispin Rhodes being such a well-established HR consultancy, it made sense for us to make an approach. “We’re very excited about the working relationship we now have with


Angela Rhodes and the wider team at Crispin Rhodes. It’s business as usual for Crispin Rhodes’ clients as far as their day-to-day operation goes – it’s just now they’re part of something bigger. “We’ve come so far in the past 20 years and intend to keep moving forward with more great acquisitions like this one.”


Senior HSE consultant Dominic Greenwood, client services director Angela Rhodes and CEO Greg Guilford


16 inbusinessFEBRUARY/MARCH 2021


If you want to work with a firm that provides the highest standard of employment law and health and safety advice available, or if your business wants to find out about joining forces with HR Solutions, call 0844 324 5840.


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