Margaret Adewale
| A human resources expert has launched The HR Dept Gloucester, offering expert outsourced advice and support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the area. After more than two decades in HR and recruitment, Margaret Adewale is looking to bring her expertise for the benefit of smaller companies, in an area ranging from Stonehouse to Gloucester and out of town as far as Hartpury and Newent. Most recently, Margaret spent more than three years with the plastics division of packaging firm DS Smith, which rebranded to become Corplex in March 2020. Now, with many businesses facing a cocktail of challenges as a result of Covid-19 combined with Brexit, she is hoping to support her clients into a more positive phase of their lifecycle. “My skills and experience are applicable to any sector,” she said, “but I’m particularly keen to work with smaller manufacturers who face a number of challenges with their people strategies in the current climate. “In the manufacturing sector in particular, business owners are faced with an aging workforce, high staff attrition, a struggle to attract younger employees and then challenges on how to retain their staff in what is often an environment that requires skills unique to specific manufacturing niches. “With a likely skills shortage due to Brexit and the challenges posed by the pandemic, good people strategies have never been more vital to ensure business survival and future success. “So I’m looking forward to providing my services and playing my part in helping businesses through these tricky waters.” It is not the first time that Margaret, a rugby fan and mum of one, has headed up a business, having previously ran a legal recruitment practice. However she accepts that the move from in-house, corporate HR to providing outsourced advice and practical support will pose a variety of new challenges. “Striking out on your own is bound to have its difficulties,” she said, “but I’ve been itching to get going for a while now, so I’m ready to put the work in. “I’ve learned a lot during the past few years and all that big corporate experience is applicable to SMEs too, albeit on a smaller scale. “Now it’s a matter of getting to know my local small business community and I’m already discovering a whole new world out there, of companies with their unique pressures and challenges. So it’s an exciting time.” The HR Dept Gloucester is part of an international company with a network of 75 franchisees providing services in 112 territories in the UK, Ireland and Australia. Licensees provide high-level experience but at an affordable rate for growing businesses, who need the expertise on hand but have neither the need nor the budget for an in-house HR team. The company also provides an option for HR practitioners looking for better work-life balance and a new challenge after working in corporate life. Sue Tumelty, founder and executive director of The HR Dept, said: “It’s great to see someone of Margaret’s calibre and experience offering HR services to SMEs in Gloucester and the surrounding area. We wish her all the best operating the licence and are sure she will make it a great success.” HR DEPT (GLOUCESTER)HR Dept
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