The career development network for women in HR.
Your space to connect, develop and grow sustainably.
Read all about The HR Club membership to which doors will open again in January 2023! Sign up below to be the first to know about it, or register for the available courses to give a flavour of The HR Club's way of doing things.
No more being last on the list - access the support you actually need as a woman in HR.
Yep, you really do.
There is such a gap between what's expected of us and the support we actually get, I think it's time for a change. I believe The HR Club will, in time, support women in HR from starting out to getting out through both the membership and our courses, and I think it has the potential to be something really big, really exciting and amazingly transformational for our profession.
I started out with just a concept, and invited Founding Members to join me back in May 2022. I am blown away by what we've created, and at each stage it's been in response to what will help the members the most. This is something that will continue for as long as there are people, hopefully just like you, who are willing to come along for the ride.
If you're looking for a space where you can be yourself, without any of the formality that is so prevalent elsewhere, I can guarantee that you've found it. Hope to see you on the inside!
Emma x
Working in HR is hard. Like, really hard. But it's also really cool when you think about it. We're at the forefront of making our workplaces the kind of places that people can really thrive. We have the opportunity to make a real difference, the difference we feel compelled in our hearts to make. When we're at our absolute best, the potential impact of what we do is epic! But, and this is a big but, there's some stuff that gets in our way (and you know it).
Everyone's got a view about what we do. Literally everyone. Anyone can 'do HR' right? Urgh. We've got all the views of what we 'should' do and 'must be' coming at us from everywhere, but very little support to show us how.
We're expected to be all things to all people. On the one hand we're not 'strategic' enough, on the other we're asked to sort out the leaking toilet. Our workload is varied and broad, and it can be hard to make a real impact in any area.
No one teaches us how to do the job. Sure, there's a plethora of courses telling us the legalities of this and that, but what about how we're supposed to cope with the emotional impact of telling people they're losing their job? Or how to shake off the trauma of someone coming to tell us they have terminal cancer?
We come last on the list when it comes to our development. Oh hey Sales team, here's another £20k for yet another initiative to smash it out the park! Soz 'HR' there's nothing left in the pot because, can't really work out the ROI can we.
As we progress through the ranks we're expected to indulge in more of the 'office politics', but let's face it, that feels a bit icky to us and we can start to feel a bit stuck or compromised.
We feel that we have to do it alone, especially if we're stand alone. If we're lucky enough to work in a team where we can be vulnerable then awesome, at least the opportunity is there to share. But for many of us, what we're dealing with stays with us and over time this can begin to weigh us down.
We are so excited to have been shortlisted in the Investors in People Awards 2022!
The Investors in People Awards celebrate the very best organisations and individuals from around the world across various organisational, people, wellbeing and leadership categories. Each year hundreds of organisations from the UK and abroad battle it out to take home one of the sought after trophies to show their award-winning commitment to #MakeWorkBetter.
To be shortlisted in this category is an absolute honour and testament to the enthusiasm and commitment of all our Founding Members. I won't lie - I was gutted that we didn't win...but I also recognise that being shortlisted is, in and of itself, also a cause for celebration. So that's what we shall do! Yay us!
You are warmly invited to come be part of something big. Something that'll not only transform what it means to be 'HR', but also has the potential to change the world of work. All because each one of us that's developed, supported, connected and powerfully making our biggest impact in the world, the more the world is going to change.
Hang on to your hats, this is going to be quite the ride.
I like your style. Be the first to know when we open the doors for new members by signing up to our email community!
And get regular doses of inspiration, insights, tools and tips to support your sustainable unstoppability as a woman in HR! You'll get an email every two weeks with details of news about our organisation or otherwise that we feel may be of interest, together with details of any promotions or offers relating to our goods / services that we feel are appropriate for you. You can, of course, unsubscribe at any time.
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This entire membership was borne from the notion that the HR profession has the potential to change the world of work, but is woefully unsupported to do it. We're really proud of our offering because we know how helpful this kind of support would've been to us as we navigated our own careers as women in HR. We also know that the collaboration of women is pretty epic, and believe that more of us should experience just how magic it can be.
No more going it alone or one-upwomanship that some HR networks are rife with. Here you'll find genuine, human to human connection with people who get it, and who want you to succeed as much as they want to themselves.
In fact, this is one of our guiding principles - be willing to contribute to other people's success, and to accept other people contributing to yours.
Whether you join a Connection Pod (we call them 'People Sparks'), attend the regular online networking opportunities such as our Book Club, come to one of our in person get togethers or simply make use of the network online, the choice is yours!
You'll have access to a catalogue of online, bitesize training covering topics ranging from increasing your impact and presence to emotional hygiene.
You can work through the content in your own time both on a desktop and app, and make use of the Foundation Pathway that gives you all the basics you really need as a woman in HR.
There are monthly masterclass sessions run by experts in their field on topics ranging from Finance for HR through to allyship, and one of the things in the pipeline to create is access to mentoring opportunities (subject to membership level).
There is a wellness stream running through everything that we offer, because to be there for anyone else we have to first be there for ourselves. This is another principle of The HR Club - everything starts with you.
As well as the training designed to help you have maximum impact without burning out, you'll be able to access monthly 'hotseat' coaching, co-working days to get focused accountability for smashing through your to-do list and 'Start Your Month Right' sessions to set you up for success every single month.
In time, we'll be looking to introduce group and one to one coaching opportunities too.
Absolutely. I have a 5 year old daughter and I won't be compromising on her bedtimes, not regularly anyway. It may be that some events are in the evening, some are in the day, but we have aimed to find something that works for most if not all of us. I also intend for all the learning sessions to be recorded and accessible on demand.
Honestly, it largely depends what you want from a membership. I'll be upfront in saying I don't intend for this to be a 'technical' membership where we have lots of templates / advice for different aspects of the employee life cycle. That being said, I can see how there would be scope for a technical stream of some kind at some point, perhaps (I'll be guided at all times by what is useful for the members). The ethos of this membership will be 'HR' (that's you!) first. So, how does a woman in HR best deal with the challenges that the profession throws at her. For me, this looks like sessions on communicating with impact, influence, focusing on what we can control, boundaries, energy management etc., all wrapped up with a wellbeing focus. The wellbeing focus might be regular mindfulness classes, or virtual pilates classes as examples, and I see guest experts in the wellbeing space coming in to share their wisdom without the 'HR needs to...' tinge that we're used to. Add the cherry on the cake that is the community aspect, and away we go!
I have a view that the leadership paradigm that we're operating in is due for a change. This is my perception based on my lived experiences. I think the leadership paradigm will shift when there are more women in leadership positions operating in their most powerful way. I want to see more women reach the highest positions within the profession, without having to compromise themselves or what's important to them, pushing an agenda which is more inclusive and transformational so that my daughter never feels she has to change in order to succeed in a system that wasn't created for her to. My skill set and passion are both aligned with supporting the unique challenges that women face at work, which is why the membership is for women only. I'd respectfully and wholeheartedly recommend anyone who thinks this is a load of rubbish to read Michelle P King's book 'The Fix - Overcome the Invisible Barriers That Are Holding Women Back at Work' to provide an alternative perspective.
It's funny, because I ask myself that all the time! Honestly, I'm just a woman who's worked in HR her whole career, hoping to give back to the profession that I believe has the potential to change the world of work. I've experienced the highs and lows of working in HR and along the way I've built up some techniques, knowledge and mindset hacks to separate my identity from my role. I've been bullied without anyone to talk to because, well who do you talk to when you're HR? I've seen discrimination first hand. I've experienced the emotional toll of not agreeing with a decision and having to do it anyway. I get it. I've also walked my path out of it - not HR per se, but out of the emotional attachment to things that are outside of my control. I think this is accessible to everyone, and I want to share my learnings so that we can all do an amazing job AND have a fulfilling life outside of it. Really, I'm just someone who's got fed up with being set up to fail and decided to do something about it. If you're interested in my background though, along with my nearly 20 year career in HR (OMG), I'm a Brain and Behaviour Change Practitioner, I have a certificate in Applied Neuroscience and I'm a One of many ® Certified Women's Coach.
There is plenty available within The HR Club to get you the outcomes you're seeking - no more feeling like you're on your own, less feeling like there aren't enough hours in the day, more confidence to have your biggest impact. It's all here. But unless you actually access it, i.e. come on in and take part, well you know nothing's going to change, right? We recommend setting an intention each month for what you'd most like to focus on, and booking in appointments with yourself to do just that. Small changes add up to big changes over time.
If you join in May 2023 the monthly investment is likely to be around £28. There will also be the option to join up for a whole year and get two months free. PLUS (I must be bonkers!) this price will never increase. So join in May 2023 and the price is fixed for as long as you stick around.
Be the first to know when we open the doors for new members!
And get regular doses of inspiration, insights, tools and tips to support your sustainable unstoppability as a woman in HR! You'll get an email every two weeks with details of news about our organisation or otherwise that we feel may be of interest, together with details of any promotions or offers relating to our goods / services that we feel are appropriate for you. You can, of course, unsubscribe at any time.
I have read and agree to the terms & conditions.