The HR booth is a HR consultant company driven by a team with experience in various HR roles – including HR managers, HR advisors, HR consultants, and specialist roles – across a number of challenging industries.
We wanted to give you the opportunity to get to know the HR consult team, learning their experience in HR, their daily responsibilities, and also their interests outside of work.
How long have you worked for The HR Booth?
Alistair Booth – Managing Director ‘I’ve been running The HR Booth since 2012. Initially, I decided to set up the hr consultant company to have a better work/life balance. My little boy, Harry, was starting school the following year, and I wanted more flexibility around my working hours.
Furthermore, I also wanted to do something slightly different by helping small businesses with HR problems and challenges.’
John Mullen – HR Consultant:
‘I joined The HR Booth 3 years ago, having worked in Human Resources for over 30 years. ’
Claire Brook – HR Consultant:
‘I joined The HR Booth team in March 2021 and just recently celebrated my one year anniversary. My first year has gone really well. I have enjoyed getting to know more of our clients and working with a great team, it has been especially nice over the past while to have face to face meetings with clients and the team.”
Jenna MacBeth – HR Consultant
”I joined the team in May 2021 with 10 years’ experience within HR. I completed my MSc in Human Resources Management at Edinburgh Napier University and gaining my CIPD Level 7 Qualification, education that I have now successfully been able to put into practice.”
Shannon Mason – Marketing Executive
”I have worked with The HR Booth since July 2017. I started working 1-2 days a week as a Marketing Assistant. This progressed to working full time in August 2021 as a Marketing Executive.”
What is your job role at the HR booth, and what does a typical day look like?
Alistair:
‘As well as being a Managing Director of The HR Booth, I am also an HR Consultant.
In addition, as a managing director, I am responsible for sales, marketing, business development, managing the team, and exploring new opportunities.
Working as an HR consultant company, I can spend most of my time on site with our clients. This can vary from retail clients, care businesses, manufacturing, IT and technology. I work with the management teams to help them drive the business forward, making sure they have the correct HR structure in place.
Other tasks for an HR perspective is focused on HR enquiries that come in. This can be managing absence, performance, conduct, redundancy, and restructuring.’
John Mullen:
‘I act as the first point of contact for all HR quires that come in to the business. I support a variety of clients that have a variety of needs. We deal with everything from redundancy, to disciplinary, grievance and absence management.
I also help to deliver a wide range of workshops. They can look at company values and various other HR related issues that may require our intervention.’
Claire:
”I support and conduct disciplinary, grievance, performance management and dismissal hearings. I also support absence management processes, and liaise with management on union related issues.
A typical day is varied, we start off with our huddle in the morning, it is great to see all the team first thing and get incite on what they are working on that particular day and what went well for them before, this really kicks off my day. You then have your “to do” list – chuck that out the window! And then down to the clients and what they need, I can be working away on a project or task and then a client can throw me a curve ball (which I love!) and next thing I am fully involved in issue that they have going on.”
Jenna:
Over my first year with The HR Booth I have had the pleasure of assisting our clients on a number of areas within their businesses. I’ve helped with long term absence issues where we have successfully supported the employee back to work or been able to bring the employment to an end. I have also advised on a number of Maternity cases, reviewed employee documentation, and been able to help employers in filling some crucial business roles.
Have you had similar job roles in the past?
Alistair:
‘I have spent most of my career in HR. I started at the Rosyth dockyard in 1993, where I spent five years as an HR administrator. After this, I spent seven years at Telewest, working in various HR roles. I also worked with MGT before I started The HR Booth.
We have just recently moved to the Rosyth Business Park, which is right outside the gates of the dockyard. 24 years later, and I am almost back to where I started.’
John Mullen:
‘I first started working in Human Resources when I joined the Royal Air Force in 1986. In addition, I spent 24 years in a variety of roles and locations in both the United Kingdom and Overseas. On leaving the Royal Air Force in 2010, I then moved to BAE Systems, where I spent almost 4 years providing HR Support to the Typhoon Aircraft Service. I then moved to an Occupational Health Company, Duradiamond Healthcare in 2014.
After this, I also had the opportunity in 2015 to become involved the Queensferry Crossing. I consider this to be the most iconic Engineering Project I will see in my lifetime.I spent 2 years on this project working in a unique and exciting HR role. On completion of the Queensferry Crossing, I moved to Poundworld, in 2017, where I spent 8 months. Furthermore, unfortunately the business succumbed to the turbulent times which are affecting the high street and retail in particular.’
What do you enjoy the most about The HR Booth?
Alistair:
‘I enjoy the varied work, there are never two days that are the same. We face people problems and challenges in all the businesses we work with.
We have a great opportunity to get to know our clients very well, allowing us to add value to their business. I’ve learned a lot about a business by running The HR Booth for over five years, and I enjoy sharing what I have learned with my clients.’
John Mullen:
‘I welcomed the opportunity to join The HR Booth. I feel it has given me the chance to become involved with a variety of clients and businesses. It more importantly allows me make a positive impact. The role as a HR Consultant UK has certainly lived up to my expectations so far.’
Claire:
”The variety, but also the clients, it’s a different type of role, many of my contacts have been so appreciative of the work we do, which is really nice from a HR side because we are the big bad wolf. I really like getting to know all the other clients and the business they work in.”
What are your interests outside of work?
Alistair:
Outside of work, my time is spent with my wife Lorraine, and our two boys, Harry who is eight, and Danny who is six months old.
Harry is at an age where he is enjoying sports. Most of my time is spent taking him to swimming, football and Karate.
We also enjoy going to watch Football games, as well as many other family activities.
John:
‘I like to follow a lot of sports, especially football. My time is also taken up by my two children as a ‘Dad Taxi’ and take them to various social events they have.’
Shannon:
”In my spare time I ‘like’ to go to the gym, going for long walks, and watching live music, comedy shows, and musical theatre.”
Contact us if you would like to discuss any of our services, or to learn more about our HR consultant company.
