Case studies

Jill Bottomley runs the local office in Trafford and Warrington. She began working in HR having graduated with a degree in management studies (specialised in personnel and employment law). She became a graduate trainee and did a postgraduate diploma in Personnel and worked her way up in corporate life across the breadth of HR specialisms. Before starting her own business with The HR Dept, much of her career was spent in employee relations and business partner type roles.

“Having worked in and enjoyed corporate life for over 15 years, I took a sabbatical for 12 months just before my eldest son was about to start school.

“During my sabbatical I saw an advert for The HR Dept and whilst I’d had no intention of setting up my own business, the “Do you want to be your own boss working with like minded people….” strap line struck a chord with me. The idea of working locally with little travelling (no very early morning weekly shuttle flights to London) was a strong appeal – little did I know about those future early starts for networking events though!”

“I have been able to build my business at my pace to achieve a better work/life balance”.  For the first 12 months I worked from home, then moved to a small office and within the last few years have moved into bigger offices, with a meeting room, our own training/board room and shared training/conference facilities.  

When my children were younger, I was able to work around school activities, going to assemblies and sports days with occasional working from home in the evenings.

Our client base has grown steadily over time, with most clients renewing year on year. I employ a number of professional staff and outsource non-core activities of my business. We have clients across different sectors, providing a full range of HR services and we frequently run HR/Management training events, using the facilities where we are based, in the stunning period building of Denzell House.

The support from the Central Office in Bristol has been and remains invaluable, especially in the early days without staff and to cover client issues that arise when on holiday. Knowing that I am able to ‘switch off’ and spend quality time with my family on holiday, with my clients continuing to receive a seamless service cannot be underestimated; especially as I do take a number of holidays! If I had set myself up in a business without this support, this would not be possible.”