As professionals who help clients change and develop on a daily basis, it’s no surprise that the HR experts at CE People have embraced, over the first year of the business, an evolution that goes way beyond what they expected.
Constant learning and finding new and better ways of doing things is at the heart of any business – particularly in those vital early years.
When Claire Butcher and Emma Thompson left in-house HR roles to set up their own consultancy last June, they had a clear idea of how it would work. Over the course of the first year, it became clear that the original plan needed to be revised, and that what clients wanted was support that is practical, personal and commercially minded. They needed HR that could help them navigate the grey areas, and from someone who understood their business pressures, and that offered more than tick-box, policy-led HR.
Claire said: “We’re HR professionals and it’s our passion and we were excited to be starting in business, but we see now that we had so much to learn. We spend our lives helping businesses to change, to think about their strategy and embrace new ideas – and now we really do know first-hand how important it is to be open minded and adaptable.
“Through listening to clients, and realising what they are really looking for, we’ve revised our approach. Fixed packages and retainers don’t work for everyone, because no two businesses are the same and no two businesses have the same structure or management styles. Seeing how important it is to provide bespoke services has led us down what has been quite a different path.”
From the beginning, CE People, pronounced SeePeople, because the ethos of the founders is to see clearly how clients and their businesses work, was focused on helping clients build a compliant and workable HR structure. Using the expertise and guidance from experience working together in a large company and helping to guide it through growth and change, gave Claire and Emma excellent first-hand knowledge of how HR processes work.
Over the past 12 months, the company’s services have naturally evolved into not just retainer packages, but also one-off projects and always being at the end of the phone when clients need advice.
Starting a new business is never easy – even for HR experts – and CE People has benefited almost as much from its clients over the first year as the clients have gained from the company’s specialist HR advice.
“Starting a business that is based on your years of knowledge and experience is exciting,” said Emma. “But as new business owners you also have to learn all about things like marketing, sales, accountancy and networking. We’ve put the hard work in, through networking and building relationships with other businesses, and it’s been a massive learning curve.
“Claire and I have one another to bounce ideas off; we work closely together and that helps. This first year has made us realise how much the buck stops with a business owner, and when you’re doing all that on your own, it’s tough. It’s made us realise how important it is for a business owner to have HR support that is not only there to guide and advise, but to allow them to offload their issues and worries, have a bit of a rant if they need to, because it helps them, and that’s how we get to know and understand our client.
“Better that they say all those things to us, then we help them see a way through the challenges and help them find the right way to deal with them. And we’re always here to listen and not judge.”
Claire added: “What is clear is that although it is always possible to give straight answers in HR, that’s not always what clients need. They need to know how the rules and regulations will work in their business. We’ve got clients with four employees and clients with 80 or more, and the rules are the same. You’re still dealing with people, leaders, management styles, but how you apply the rules can be adapted to different ways of working.”
Harnessing what is the basis for much of the advice given to clients, CE People has found its own way to deliver the best service it can. HR services are built on relationships and trust, and getting to know clients and their industries has been one of the most fascinating aspects of the first year.
Emma said: “One thing I said at the beginning of this process was that I never want to stop learning. The most interesting thing for me has been seeing how different industries work, each one has a different culture and way of working and management style, and that’s a challenge for us to learn and understand how we can give our clients what they need.”
Claire added: “I started out with a hunger to make this business work and, if anything, I have an even greater hunger now to go out and help more and more people than when we started. We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve done, and it has been so rewarding, hearing people tell us that we have really made a difference. It has been mind-blowing watching this business take shape.”
Find out more about CE People on 01604 805634, email enquiries@ce-people.co.uk or visit their website here.
