When you run a small business and a people problem lands on your desk, or you're about to hire for the first time, there are really three ways to get HR help. You can do it yourself with Google and AI, you can sign up with one of the big outsourced HR companies, or you can work with a local HR consultant.
I'm an HR consultant for start-up founders and small businesses, and in person I cover St Albans, Harpenden, Luton, Berkhamsted and Hemel Hempstead, so I'm firmly in that third camp... but each option suits a different kind of business, and it's worth knowing which one fits yours before you actually need it.
In this post, we'll look at
the three ways small businesses get HR support: doing it yourself with Google and AI, a big outsourced HR company, or a local HR consultant
how they compare on the four things that matter most
how to work out which one is right for you
1. Advice that fits your business
I use AI too, but it's rubbish in, rubbish out. I've seen it drop things into a document that aren't UK policy at all, like the special status veterans have in America. You need someone who knows UK employment law to look over it and see what's been missed or doesn't sound right.
The big outsourced HR companies know the law, but they can't give advice that goes outside the very strict ACAS and HR rulebook.
A local HR consultant gets to know your business and gives you specific advice, without sitting inside it day to day. That little bit of distance means I can stay impartial when it comes to making the tough decisions.
2. Plain talking about what could really happen
I've always worked in small businesses, and people change from company to company. You think someone's going to zig and then they zag.
I won't give advice outside UK employment law, but I will tell you what could realistically happen. Put someone on a PIP (a performance improvement plan) and there are really three outcomes. They improve and go on to work well in the business, nothing changes and it's the start of a formal disciplinary process, or they decide they don't want to engage and resign. An outsourced HR company won't give you that kind of plain talking.
3. How quickly you get help
Most people leave it too late. They wait and wait and hope a situation will get better, either by ignoring it or by dealing with it informally again and again, and by the time they come to me it needs to be dealt with formally and escalated properly. Difficult conversations aren't pleasant 😬 but they're far better than a formal disciplinary, or having to sack someone, because things went on too long with no proper intervention.
That's why getting help early is the whole point. When you work with me it's mainly by email, and urgent emails or calls get a same-day response.
4. Cost and value
Doing it yourself looks free, and for a small, simple question it can be. It stops looking free the moment a situation escalates.
With me there are a few ways in, depending on what you need:
A free 30-minute discovery call, if you're not sure yet what you need.
A Power Hour, for a one-off issue you're hoping won't escalate, or if you're not ready to commit to regular support yet.
The HR Hub, for ongoing support. You get an hour a month with me, me on email for short ad hoc questions, and access to the Hub's database of template letters and guidance notes, which are properly UK legal and checked by a professional.
Employer Essentials, for first-time employers. Your employee handbook, offer letter and employment contract, plus starter documents like a holiday request form, a sickness reporting form and a probation review template.
If there's a people issue on your mind right now, book your free 30-minute discovery call here.
Final thoughts: which is right for you?
Doing it yourself can work for small, simple questions, as long as someone who knows UK employment law checks anything that really matters.
A big outsourced HR company suits a business that wants a rulebook answer.
A local HR consultant suits founders who want someone who knows their business and will tell them straight what could happen.
Annette, a CEO and founder, said one discovery call put her mind at rest about several things on her worry list. She said that as a founder it's hard to find the headspace to keep up with national changes and team changes, and that one chat saved her heaps of time. Sarah said that after a 30-minute discovery call she could already tell I'd be an asset to her business, that I clearly understand the challenges of start-ups and got stuck in straight away, and she went on to become an HR Hub member.
I've been running HR Katie for over five years now and have 18 five-star Google reviews.
If you're a founder in St Albans, Harpenden or anywhere across Hertfordshire and something's been sitting on your mind, book your free 30-minute discovery call and we'll talk it through. And if you've got a question about any of this, please feel free to get in touch, I'd love to hear what's going on in your business!
