Your Community

When you join The HR Dept, you’re not just starting your own business; you’re joining a community 250 like-minded professionals including 70+ HR Directors

Despite our offices being scattered across the UK (from Cornwall to The Highlands of Scotland), we regularly bring our network together to learn, share, have fun and make a difference!

Annual Conference

Every Spring, we come together for The HR Dept’s Annual Conference – a fantastic two days of knowledge sharing and collaboration between our offices from all over the country.

Typically, our conference involves:

• An inspirational talk from a Keynote speaker.
• Insightful workshops delivered by our Central Office Team and external partners on topics such as marketing, sales, mindset and exit planning.
• Licensee-led sessions sharing ideas and best-practice on how to accelerate your business.
• Employment law update from our trusted partners.
• An exhibition with our network of Value-Added Partners.
• Awards dinner, raffle, and entertainment.
• Lots of food and networking opportunities!

“The annual conference is without doubt a highlight of the whole experience. The learning is immense and every year I come away with a host of new ideas on how to make the best of our business model, grow my business and give even better service to our clients. The learning from external experts, such as our lawyers, is also wonderful. And as independent small business owners in our own right, the opportunity to network and socialise with other people who have the same role is so valuable, and great fun!”  – Ian Pilbeam, Licensee since 2014

Regional Meetings

Every Autumn, our Senior Leadership Team tour the UK and host around six regional licensee meetings. These sessions are a great way to bring local licensees together, share internal updates and gather feedback on the last year.

These gatherings also provide a platform for us to gather insight into the common themes that our HR business owners are noticing across the SME community to assist with content inspiration, potential new packages, and partnership opportunities.

HR Dept in the Community

We also come together through our charity campaign – HR Dept in the Community.

Through a series of inspiring activities from walking challenges, cake sales, charity quiz nights, virtual bingo to a courageous sky dive and abseiling challenge, it is wonderful to see our offices rally behind numerous local charities in the UK raising much needed funds and awareness (with a splash of competitive fun!)

HR Voice of the SME

SMEs make up the backbone of the UK economy but are often under-represented in employment legislation discussions. As a national organisation, The HR Dept works with over 6000 SME businesses and campaigns for the HR Voice of the SME – promoting the collective views of SME employers in the UK.

Through Jill Bottomley, Licensee of The HR Dept Trafford & Warrington, we have influenced key national policies on behalf of SMEs, including flexible furlough during the pandemic and, more recently, holiday pay legislation. Jill is also invited to represent SMEs at national CIPD policy roundtables.

As HR professionals, we can assure you there’s no better feeling than being able to influence the future of work and ensure everyone’s voice is heard.

To read more about our previous campaigns, follow this link: Voice of the SME – The HR Dept

Come and help us make a difference!