Human resources expert sets up The HR Dept Salisbury & Andover

A human resources expert from Wiltshire has launched a branch of nationwide franchise The HR Dept offering advice and support to small and medium sized businesses in her local area.

After a career which has taken her across the world, Sally Bennett has returned home from her travels to set up The HR Dept Salisbury and Andover.

Varied roles have included overseas postings in the US and Germany while working for a company headquartered in Amesbury, as well as positions covering the South of England from Essex to Cornwall.

Sally feels her knowledge of the business world at home and abroad, alongside her 25 years HR experience will allow her to provide practical and relevant support for the under-represented smaller business community.

“One thing I love about working in the SME community is that the engagement is about their individual challenges,” she said. “So I am looking forward to getting to know the different organisations, understanding what’s important to them and how they are trying to grow.

“From here we can work together in finding tailored solutions within the framework of legislation which will genuinely positively impact their business. It’s the synergy and value-add which particularly excites me about this next chapter.”

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With Sally’s experience with large corporates, SMEs and start-ups, she is now looking forward to fully immersing herself in the local small business community and the issues they commonly face.

“It’s a whole world of small businesses which many of us don’t even realise exists,” she said. “Everything you see, every service you receive – there’s someone producing it or providing it and there’s a business there which needs support.

“It’s clear that recruitment and retention are the biggest issues smaller businesses are facing. Particularly with the cost of living and issues with childcare costs, a key consideration for small business owners is how do we retain those people we have and how do we bring new skills and hire new people into the organisation?

“Getting the right balance between ensuring solutions are both effective yet affordable for the employer may not be something a small business owner will be able to manage on their own without some help.

“Working with SMEs to navigate through these socio-economic challenges and adapting policies to accommodate changes in the workforce is where I feel I will be able to lend most benefit to the community in Salisbury and Andover.”

Prior to launching her own business, Sally’s 25-year career has seen her working in HR roles across a variety of industries including retail, financial services, food and beverage, automotive and aviation. She is CIPD qualified, an accredited Insight Discovery trainer and an experienced coach.

Sally is enjoying the new challenge of running her own business, which is something she’s thought of doing for some time but hasn’t had the opportunity to do so until now.

“Having my own outsourced HR business in Salisbury and Andover very much allows me to give back to the community whilst doing it on my own terms which I feel is best for my future clients and business,” she said.

“Plus, it affords me greater flexibility, lends support to my caring responsibilities and generally puts the fun back into HR.

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“It has been a daunting journey but the team at The HR Dept have been incredibly supportive, so I am feeling pretty comfortable and genuinely really excited.”

The HR Dept is a franchisee network of 75 licensees providing outsourced services in 112 territories in the UK, Ireland and Australia.

Across the network, The licensees provide high-level experience but at an affordable rate for growing businesses, who need the expertise on hand but have neither the need nor the budget for an in-house HR team.

The company also provides a viable option for experienced HR practitioners looking for better work-life balance and a new challenge after working in corporate life.

Felicity Kenny, managing director of The HR Dept, said: “It’s great to see someone of Sally’s calibre and experience offering HR services to SMEs in Salisbury and Andover. We wish her all the best operating the licence and are sure she will make it a great success.”