This unique social enterprise serves to strengthen and elevate people management for small to medium sized not-for-profit and values-led employers by using the profits from fee-earning work to provide high quality and practical free advice, toolkits and training which is tailored specifically for our sector. Its founder, Jan Golding Chartered FCIPD, looks back on the journey and reflects on changes and learning over this time.
The start of Roots HR and growth
A good friend told me about 14 years ago that you should never start a business unless you know how you’re going to exit it. It was a bit too late for me by then; Roots HR was already up and running, born out of my passion for delivering sound people management services for small to medium not for profits (NFP). Trading as a Community Interest Company, Roots HR offered retainers and consultancy services and 1-hour free of HR advice available to any small to medium NFP employer. I was learning about office leases, VAT registration, marketing, corporation tax and asset locks; I was thriving on repeat business, referrals and the sheer thrill of feeling this entity taking on its own life form, in response to customer demand.
The demand for our services led to robust and steady growth every year. As with any new business, there was a lot of dedication, long days and very hard work but there were many rewards. Roots HR have been nominated for so many awards, I lost count long ago. We gained the Social Enterprise Mark and are very proud to have held it continuously since 2010. By far the best reward has been to see the Roots HR team members flourish. We’ve worked hard to offer career development to the greatest extent possible in our small organisation and I am delighted that everyone in our employed team has progressed to new roles or expanded duties in the time they have been with us.
Evolution of HR practices and the impact of societal changes
When I think back over the last decade and a half, it is astonishing to realise how much hasn’t changed for Roots HR in that time. Fundamentally, employers, leaders and line managers still need robust and timely advice to manage their workforces and teams. More than ever, they need support and guidance from HR professionals who can support them to attract really great candidates into their organisations and retain, develop, support, reward and engage them to not merely be productive but to deliver continuous competitive advantage. And there is still, and will always be, a need for the soft skills and the technical knowledge which can successfully upscale, reorganise, restructure or downsize an organisation, or merge it with another. The Roots HR team has always kept pace on a daily basis with the ever-changing landscape of employment law, made only slightly more complicated in 2020 by Brexit.
Beyond employment law, HR practice has developed over the years, due in part to technological advancements. I recall successfully recruiting our first trainee HR Consultant from an advert in the local newspaper! The relatively low cost of online advertising and the race in the recruitment process to secure the best candidates before they accept an offer elsewhere makes that approach unimaginable now. HR software, databases and applicant tracking systems can systemise timekeeping, record keeping, absence management and candidate communications and have become affordable and relevant for even the smallest businesses.
But without doubt, changes in societal expectations deriving from the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020 and from demographic factors have had the biggest impact on working life and therefore on employment and the HR practices on which our clients seek support. Flexible working, home working, relaxed dress codes, fair pay and inclusion are just some of the hot topics of this decade and our role is to support Roots HR’s values-led client group to deliver the best possible practice with minimal resources.
Adaptation in service delivery
Service delivery methods have moved on in this time. Our COMPLY retainer for people management and employment law advice has become an unlimited use subscription service; clients can book their consultant timeslot through an online calendar and the advice will usually be given by email or Teams rather than over the phone. Most of our GROW training and development services are now offered online and through webinars. We attend and conduct almost all of our PERFORM project work remotely, holding client meetings including recruitment interviews, investigations, formal meetings and redundancy consultations by Teams. All of this enables us to maximise efficiency of time and minimise client costs, without compromising on quality. But one characteristic of our services is unswervingly held firm; our services always have been, and will continue to be, delivered by fully qualified consultants and tailored to our clients’ sectors and organisations.
Memorable moments and team dynamics
Some of my fondest memories are of the Roots HR team together celebrating birthdays, taking silly pics on Christmas jumper day and dancing with joy when we won new clients! When office based, we brought our dogs to work, drank a lot of coffee, ate a lot of biscuits and shared a lot of laughter and a few tears too. Despite this, our permanent move to whole-organisation home working in 2020 was smooth and very successful. The team aspires to be a role model for employment practice and although now dispersed all over the UK, works closely together online, meeting up at least quarterly for team meetings and social time in-person.
The Roots HR Academy
The launch of our Roots HR Academy this year felt like we had finally come of age. Through the Academy and funded by our profits, we have delivered, all entirely free, 8,500 free HR toolkits, 8 webinars and two iterations of what has become a regular 8-week modular online management training programme for line managers. In financial year 22-23 this amounted to social impact with a value of £1,391,256. We’re so proud of this but we have so much more yet to give. This year we created a free virtual training programme to enable Trustees and Non-Executive Directors of NFPs to understand their responsibilities with regard to people management. Our next programme will be aimed at upskilling and building knowledge in CEOs, MDs and anyone in the most senior executive role in an SME NFP in respect of ensuring sound HR practice in their organisation.
Looking to the future
So 15 years on, I am no closer to knowing how I will exit Roots HR than I was the day I started. I am energised by what Roots HR has achieved so far and I am excited to be part of its future. I am confident in our team and ambitious for our impact. I look forward to planning for our new strategic cycle, starting in fy 25/26. I feel incredibly fortunate to have the wisdom, experience and support of my co-Directors who guide us to make the best possible decisions for the company. I sincerely thank our CEO, Alison Smith, and her talented team for their consistent hard work and dedication to our customers; they are exemplary professionals, warm and knowledgeable. And I am grateful to all of our stakeholders, many of you having been with us since year 1. As we welcome new clients, supporters, advocates and suppliers as we grow, we’ll treasure the people who have travelled with us along the way. Here’s to the future!
Now semi-retired, Jan Golding chairs the Board of Directors at Roots HR and works as an Associate HR Consultant specialising in workplace investigations, contentious case work and dispute resolution. Jan is a member of the Mental Health at Work Leadership Council, a co-opted member of the School for Social Entrepreneurs’ People Committee and an Ambassador for the Social Enterprise Mark.
