Why Recruitment Agencies Don’t Really Understand Your Business (And Never Will)
When it comes to filling vacancies in your organisation, many business leaders lean on external recruitment agencies for support – if they don’t have an internal department, that is. There are, of course, benefits to this approach, including having someone else conduct the time-draining task of sifting through an abundance of CVs, being able to tap into an existing book of candidates (although […]
What is Real-Time HR? The Move From Firefighting to Foresight
For many years, HR has typically operated in what could be described as an ‘ambulance model’. Something goes wrong, pressure builds, emotions rise, and HR is brought in to help resolve the issue. As a profession, HR has become well-prepared for this kind of response. Perhaps a little too good… Workplaces now move faster than ever. Change is often constant, workloads are heavier, and employee expectations are high. When […]
Top 10 HR Trends Shaping Growing Businesses
As organisations grow, people challenges can become more complex. When it comes to scaling, the most successful businesses anticipate and plan for change, not just react to it after the fact. Understanding the HR trends of today and into 2026 will give you a head start in building stronger teams while protecting performance levels as […]
Key Reforms in the Employment Rights Act 2025
After months of anticipation and debate, the Employment Rights Bill has now cleared its final parliamentary hurdle. Following long-awaited sign-off from the House of Lords, the Bill received Royal Assent this week, becoming the Employment Rights Act 2025 and formally confirming one of the most significant updates to UK employment law in a generation. In […]
Your 2026 UK HR Calendar: Key Dates for People Teams
A well-planned, thorough HR calendar is one of the most effective tools an HR team can have. Knowing what’s coming in the year ahead – and why it matters – can help you strengthen compliance, along with being more proactive and people-focused when it comes to organisational plans and projects. From statutory UK Bank Holidays […]
Autumn Budget 2025: What Business Leaders Need to Know
Autumn Budget 2025: What Business Leaders Need to Know The 2025 Autumn Budget has introduced a range of measures that will impact payroll, employee benefits, and overall workforce-cost planning. These changes include adjustments to tax thresholds, changes in minimum wage, as well as updates to benefit schemes and incentives that are likely to affect employee […]
The cost of not managing wellbeing over the holidays
As we head into the winter period, holiday requests can surge, sickness levels rise, and for many SMEs, commercial pressure peaks. Many of you may experience colleague burnout, clashes and conflicts over time off, and unplanned absences that hit productivity just when you need things running smoothly. Your employees might be juggling personal commitments, financial […]
Next Year’s workforce is built now: what great SME leaders are doing to prepare for 2026
Next Year’s workforce is built now: what great SME leaders are doing to prepare for 2026 For many SMEs, it’s tempting to push hard through to Christmas and deal with strategy, structure, and staffing later. But that’s risky. The most effective leaders are using this time to quietly build the foundations for next year – […]
Finish Strong: The Leadership Habits That Set You (and Your Team) Up for a Brilliant Q4
August often gives the illusion of quiet—half the team on holiday, meetings thinning out, and inboxes slowing down. But small business owners know: this is the moment to lead with intent. Q4 isn’t far away. The final stretch of the year is where pressure builds—commercial targets, people challenges, competing priorities. If you wait until October […]
Inclusion Isn’t a Policy, It’s a Crucial Mindset
You’ve updated your handbook. You’ve got an Equal Opportunities Policy. Tick, tick. But your team? Someone quietly shares they’re masking their neurodivergence. Another avoids asking for flexible hours, again. And you can sense some conversations are starting to move underground into group chats and private DMs. Welcome to inclusion in 2025 where AI tools, social […]