Inside Business First: Halo HR

What does Halo do?

“Here at Halo HR Ltd, we provide outsourced Human Resources services. Not all businesses are big enough to need or finance a full-time HR department, this is where we come in. We bring our expertise to your team – in essence, we become part of your team – to help you to enhance performance and efficiency, along with increasing staff loyalty and helping to reduce employee turnover.

“HR retainers typically include telephone and email support, legal letters and on-site consultations. We offer comprehensive support, covering every aspect of the HR lifecycle. Including quarterly reviews and access to a full range of HR-related services.

“Our consultancy services include project work such as restructuring, downsizing, redundancies, TUPE transfers, discipline management, grievance management and mediation.”

How did you hear about Business First and why did you decide to base your operation in our Burnley offices?

“Well, we were looking for new offices at the time anyway, and we hadn’t come across Business First before. Then, strangely maybe, we were visiting a new client one day, and they happened to be based at Business First’s Burnley offices.

“We were so impressed by the centre and the staff, that on our way out, we enquired if there were any offices available and booked a viewing.

“When we had our official tour, we really loved the building, the offices, the staff, the meeting and boardroom facilities that are available. The Centre Manager was great; really friendly, professional and helpful, and the price is unbeatable. We felt that Burnley Business First was perfect for a small and growing business!

“The rest, as the cliché says, is history. We moved in a few weeks later.”

So, when did you move in?

“We moved into our 250 sq ft office in February 2016, we’ve been here since. And we have no plans of moving out any time soon!”

What other benefits do you find that being based at Business First’s offices in Burnley provides to your company?

“Being here means that whether we’re in or not, whether our clients are visiting or phoning, we always present a professional image. People who visit us are greeted by a state-of-the-art, professional office environment and by fantastic staff on the reception in the foyer.

“And people who phone, if they don’t get directly through to us, are again, greeted by Business First’s reception staff who are friendly and professional and will take messages for us to make sure we don’t miss anything.

“Not only that, but we also have the option to use the boardroom facilities should we need them, and there is plenty of free parking – both for us and our visitors.

“On top of all that, we love the view from our office!”

Do you make use of the free facilities at Business First, Burnley?

“I wish we had time! We use the boardrooms on occasion, but we never have the chance to get in the gym.

“More importantly, for us, we’re always made aware of what’s going on within the centre, and we feel part of a larger team. That’s probably our favourite thing about being here at Business First, it’s more than just office space, we’re part of a larger community, not just within our centre, but throughout all of them.”

How has Business First helped you to grow and operate successfully?

“Any questions we have are dealt with quickly. I’m confident in the service that’s provided, so it leaves me free to get on with running the business in a professional environment.

“We’ve also been really pleased to find that being based here has helped us to secure new HR contracts within the centre. The networking opportunities that Business First organise between the tenants are excellent. It’s a really supportive environment that encourages us all to build relationships and share business.

“As a result, I’m more inclined to pass our business through the centre, too. We want other small business to succeed, and we (I feel I can speak for all the tenants when I say this) all feel that at Business First, we’re more than just an amount of rent at the end of the month. The guys here really want all their tenants to grow and succeed, and go out of their way to help to encourage that growth and success.”

Would you recommend Business First to other SMEs?

“In a word; yes. It’s an ideal base for SMEs and micro-businesses and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the facilities and services here to anyone who asked me.”

What’s next for Halo HR?

“We’re looking to grow our outsourced HR business by continuing to offer excellent customer service combined with practical and commercially focused advice. Rather than me telling you, I’d like to read you a recent testimonial we received from one of our clients. That way you can hear it from the horse’s mouth, so to speak:

“Halo HR has had an extremely positive impact on our organisation, the team supports all our HR needs with thoughtful and commercially based HR advice and without the input of Halo HR, the organisation simply would not be where it is today. I personally, have really enjoyed working with Sam & Rebecca since they joined us and look forward to seeing where we can take our people initiatives in the coming months and years.”