Strength to strength for HR veteran Deborah Weatherell as The HR Dept makes its mark on the Solent

Six years ago, Deborah Weatherell launched The HR Dept with a wealth of industry experience behind her and a vision to provide a bespoke, outsourced service to local SMEs.

What started off in Southampton soon spread to Fareham with the opening of a new office eight months later – now, Deborah is cementing her presence in the Solent as the company grows to Portsmouth.

Having successfully weathered the pandemic, with average annual growth of 30 per cent since incorporation, the newly titled HR Dept Solent is set for even greater things as it looks to increase its turnover by 60 per cent over the coming year.

The company currently serves more than 20 businesses, particularly in the legal, care homes, and defence engineering sectors. It looks after a similar number on an ad hoc basis.

Deborah said: “As the legal landscape changes, as employees’ demands develop and our culture continues to shift, HR is becoming more widely regarded as a necessity – an investment worth making to give businesses a competitive edge.”

“An increasingly transactional nature of employment is forcing businesses to change how they find and – crucially – keep their best people.

“Even small organisations can take steps to become great employers. It will result in higher retention, lower recruitment costs and less loss of expertise from the business.

“So I’m excited to bring our offering to smaller businesses around Portsmouth, as well continuing to serve Southampton and Fareham.”

Joining Deborah in the expansion are a couple of key recruits – Annabel Robbins is her new HR business partner, while Emmy Janaway is now covering administrative support.

“The key differentiator of our business is the bespoke element, working hands-on with our clients”

The team is based out of offices in Whiteley and Totton for two days a week, working remotely for the remainder with clients across the Solent.

Deborah added: “Hybrid working took some getting used to during the Covid period, but we’re all used to it now and we have got really good at it, not only for client meetings but also as a tool for business development.

“Even though we’re able to get around our new territory fairly easily, having internet conference calls as a tool makes life a lot easier for us and our for clients.

“However I’ve always felt that face-to-face time with the team was really important, so we can collaborate, have some fun and establish relationships.

“And it won’t change the fact that the key differentiator of our business is the bespoke element of what we do, working hands-on with our clients, as a business partner. And as a small firm ourselves, we understand their pain points and can help them find solutions.

“Alongside my two permanent employees I have a part-time freelance consultant available when required, so we have extra bandwidth if necessary.”

While HR is the company’s bread and butter, Deborah is keen to diversify if it means getting a competitive edge: “We have our own recruitment process which enables us to undercut the majority of agencies.

“Recruitment and HR work hand-in-hand together so it’s a key service and one which I think will continue to generate plenty of new business for us.”