I engaged Sarah Harris, of Freestyle HR Consulting Limited, services in a previous company where I was co-owner and Director.  This company provided payroll and Accounting services for the IT contracting market and had been in operation in excess of 5 years when we took on Sarah’s services.  At the time we were undergoing a period of huge growth for such a young company and our staff were experiencing a lot of uncertainty and a lack of clarity because of this.  We realized that we needed the skills of an experienced HR professional.

Sarah set up our HR function from scratch in consultation with both senior managers and employees to find a business centric approach to HR.  She set up comprehensive HR processes and policies that are necessary for a young and growing company such as a recruitment process, induction and appraisals as well as ensuring that these were effectively communicated across teams by holding fully participative HR workshops for all of our staff.  Sarah coached our managers in managing performance issues before they reached a formal stage but it is where we have had disciplinaries and grievances that Sarah was most effective in protecting the business through her meticulous approach and understanding of employment law.  Sarah also implemented several staff benefits and introduced a market based pay structure which all helped increase staff morale. 

Sarah engages very much as an HR business partner using feedback to improve HR systems and she is not afraid to challenge where she sees an HR impact.  I find Sarah to be completely trustworthy and confidential, and would recommend her to any company who regard HR as adding value to their business. I have now moved on to set up an Accountancy practice where we have just started to use Freestyle HR’s services. 

Along with others I set up a small Group of Companies of which the largest (based in Coventry) was engaged in the sale and support of Customer Relationship Management Systems to organisations across the United Kingdom.  The other two companies in the Group (based in Bristol) provided a Resourcing and Recruitment service to companies involved in providing Customer Relationship Management Systems.

Sarah Harris of Freestyle HR Consulting Limited joined us when we were busy forming the companies and establishing the businesses. Sarah’s remit was for setting up our Operations which initially involved documenting of internal procedures and the formalisation of a recruitment and induction process along with a full HR support system for highly skilled Professional Home Workers.

Sarah also helped us locate new premises, finalising the lease agreements, and then organising matters such that the new offices would be operational from day one to support the Professional Services teams. Sarah then recruited a multi-location administrative support team and managed the Administration and Operations teams in Coventry and Bristol.

The comprehensive detail of Sarah’s involvement is too much to mention here. Anyone who has set up a Company / Division across multiple locations knows what needs to be done, Sarah achieved that … multiplied by 3 for the 3 trading companies.

Sarah was a lynch-pin team member and was heavily involved in the Business planning and budgeting and a presence at the Monthly Management Board meetings.  Working alongside the Company Directors Sarah’s services were very much valued and she could be trusted and relied upon to execute and deliver.  

I will have no hesitation in contacting Sarah Harris at Freestyle HR if I need HR services in the future.

Departmental operational managers always have a vision in their mind of what a good HR manager should be. Sarah Harris of Freestyle HR Consulting Limited fitted that role really well. She helped the company develop a robust framework of HR policies and then supported managers and employees in a consistent implementation. In real life a manager faces regular HR challenges, especially in the grey areas which don't neatly fit to a written policy. Sarah was always able to offer advice and facts relating to the latest legislation and court rulings so that that appropriate course of action could be taken. For employees she was also there to empathise and talk through subjects that were on their minds, ensure they were being treated fairly but at the same time re-enforcing company policy. In all her work Sarah was confidential and struck the right balance between being proactive in providing advice and responsive to requests for support.

As Chairman of an OFSTED approved childcare facility I was required to investigate a proposal to bring operations to a close in order for the local school to fulfil its obligation to provide full wrap-around care for the children of our village.  Being a close knit community it was imperative that the volunteer committee members handled the redundancy consultation process in a very sensitive manner.  The committee had no prior HR experience so the service offered by Freestyle HR enabled us to follow the process, not only to be legally compliant, but in a dignified and respectful manner.  A very personalised and proactive approach was adopted by Freestyle HR thus reducing the inevitable pressure on both staff and committee alike.  On this basis I have no hesitation in recommending Freestyle HR as an organisation able to give an impeccable level of service to organisations with any issues of an HR nature.