Helping ambitious SMEs grow by making their HR & people more effective

Helping ambitious SMEs grow by making their HR and people more effective

Helping SMEs scale their teams (and businesses) rapidly and sustainably by introducing robust HR infrastructure, building their employer branding and engaging their employees

High employee engagement

I’ll ensure you get the best out of your employees through effective and meaningful engagement - because happy, engaged employees perform far better in their roles, which is always good for business.

Recognised employer of choice

Recruitment is so much more than sticking a free job ad online and waiting for responses. I’ll help build your employer brand and employee proposition to make you a go-to employer of choice.

Compliant, scalable systems

I’ll implement appropriate processes and policies - along with robust, compliant and scalable systems - so you can attract, hire, and get the best out of your employees throughout their journey and beyond.

Services

  • Growth

  • Strategy

  • Recruitment

  • Engagement

  • Induction

  • Rewards & benefits

  • Performance management

  • HR software solutions

  • Contracts & handbooks

  • Employment law advice

  • Redundancy

  • Absence

How I work with clients

My goal is to do what works best for you - that can be from working in-house as part of your core team to providing external guidance, and all options in between

Ad hoc

When you aren’t sure how much input you require (or have a one-off need), and would prefer support on a pay-as-you-go basis

Retainer

When you prefer ongoing support and the reassurance of knowing that you can just pick up the phone when you need me

Project-based

When you have a specific project in mind, we can agree the scope, deliverables and the time required in advance

Milly Harding HR portrait EF cropped

About Milly Harding

I’ve been helping ambitious, high-growth SMEs meet their legal and moral responsibilities while scaling (and getting the best out of) their teams - and businesses - for almost a decade (yikes!). 

I’ve learnt some things in that time:

  • While compliant systems are essential, HR is more than box ticking: employee engagement is vital to long-term business success. 
  • Genuine relationships, communication and trust is the key to building a successful team - but this doesn’t happen overnight and needs continuous commitment
  • Rules, policies and processes should only be there if there’s a reason for them 

Now let’s just make something clear - I’m not a traditionalist, stuffy HR professional. I’m not solely compliance-driven and would always rather use a carrot than a stick. I bring my full, quirky self to work every day, and find that being real - being me - is the best way of building meaningful relationships with the teams I work with. 

Boring box-ticky stuff 

  • CIPD qualified
  • ILM qualified
  • Named as one of Devon’s 35 under 35 to watch out for (2018) 

Testimonials

Paul Kilbride

Chairman and CEO, Troy (UK) Ltd

Milly has an uncanny ability to spot great talent that’s right for the business. She also finds ways to motivate and engage employees and is constantly thinking about how she can add more value to the company

Mark Roberts

CEO, Lightfoot

Milly facilitated the growth of our headcount from 30 to over 80 employees in 12 months. At the same time she reduced recruitment costs by over 85%. She reinforced our policies and procedures to strengthen our ways of working at a key point in our growth journey, and was a key member of our senior leadership team. She demonstrates passion for everything people related and made a fantastic ambassador for our organisation.

Jeremy Ellison

Finance Director, Lightfoot

Milly is a highly skilled HR professional who I would strongly recommend. She applied these skills across a range of issues at Lightfoot and was always extremely organised and on top of her brief. She has a great attitude and it was a pleasure to work with her.

Dan Regan

Director, Electric Motive Power

Milly is highly talented and prides herself on attention to detail, efficiency and supporting the growth and well-being of those around her. A pleasure to work with, what always stood out most about Milly is that she genuinely cares. Her natural talents and approach to HR shine through in the results she achieves.

Tom Clarke

Founder, East Devon Tree Surgeons

Milly has been an enormous help to me as a small business owner. She has managed to ensure we are compliant with all the necessary policies and procedures, and has done this using plain English! She has made sure that we understand what we need to do in the future and also put in place all the templates too. We will continue to use her as our consultant as we grow and develop as a company.