About Kathryn Brown

Kathryn Brown is an experienced HR Manager with 25 years’ experience gained predominantly in stand-alone roles within a mixture of small localised businesses and large multi-site organisations. Kathryn Brown is used to taking the lead on HR projects, ensuring that all HR policies and procedures are legally compliant and being the first point of contact for managers and employees in the full range of HR issues including disciplinary and grievance matters, absence management and performance management.

Kathryn Brown
Your HR Manager
Your partner, sounding board, technical adviser and safety net to help you and your existing HR infrastructure stay current and compliant and achieve positive business results

I have set HR departments up from nothing, have built up a wealth of expertise in company restructures and intensive recruitment programmes and I have closed businesses down. During those experiences I have seen things done well and have seen things done badly!

I’ve worked in large and small businesses but my preference is for small businesses and I formed Kea HR Solutions in 2006 so I could specifically use my experience and expertise in Human Resources to help owners of SMEs across South Yorkshire and the surrounding counties manage their people. I understand all aspects of human resources and am able to apply that knowledge to provide a solution for your business that firstly meets the legal requirements but also fits your needs, goals, and business style.

My professional and personal approach means I will work closely with you to come up with the ideal HR solution for your company’s specific needs. I will slot into your business seamlessly, a natural people person, your staff will connect with me. I believe in giving my customers honest and straightforward advice, free from confusing legal jargon. I will clearly explain all your options with their risks and benefits so you can make an educated and informed decision that is right for your business.

I understand that all businesses are unique so I don’t believe in offering my customers a one-size-fits-all solution to HR. All my services will be tailored to fit your company and its individual challenges and budget. Whether you want me to provide your company with long-term HR management or you simply want one-off advice with a situation that is happening in your business today, I am here to help you.

Why You Should Choose My HR Support Services

Having a full or part-time HR Manager on your management team can be expensive, and if you are a smaller business the person you appoint would be working at administrator level for 80% of their time. Meaning you are paying for something you don’t really need and they will quickly become fed up and resign, leaving you wondering what went wrong!

But the skills and knowledge that a HR Manager would bring to your business are invaluable. So how do you introduce HR management techniques into your business without employing a HR Manager?

You outsource those higher level projects that crop up occasionally such as discipline, performance and absence matters and appoint a HR Administrator to do all those day to day HR tasks such as payroll, monitoring absence and processing employee paperwork such as offer letters, contractual change notifications and confirming resignations.

If you chose to work with me I will provide all the benefits of employing a HR Manager at an affordable price and a fraction of the cost of employing one, even on a part time basis.

Dedicated Support for Your Business There’s no call centre here! You will always talk to me ensuring a consistent, smooth and efficient process and you won’t waste your precious time explaining the background to a situation every time you call for advice relating to the same issue that is happening in your business. I will get to know you, your business and your employees, this knowledge will help me deliver an effective solution to you every time you contact me and that regular contact between us will help me to pick up on issues at an early stage, making them easier and quicker to resolve!

Flexible Support for Your Business I firmly believe that one size doesn’t fit all. You can work with me as you need me, to complete a specific project or you may want to outsource your HR responsibilities to me. Whether you want remote HR advice or need an on-site presence on a regular basis or for a one off meeting I am here to help you. This is your HR Department and you choose how it works, whatever you choose I will provide a cost effective solution to your HR requirements.

Simple Step by Step Advice I like breaking down processes into simple easy to follow steps and my easy to follow flow charts, meeting scripts, check-lists and template letters will ensure everything is done efficiently and compliantly in a professional, friendly and knowledgeable way.

Legal Compliance What you aren’t doing or don’t know about will be time consuming for you and expensive for your business. I stay up-to-date on changing employment legislation so you don’t have to, I will be proactive and either tell you what you need to do or will do it for you. You can rely on me to take the guesswork out of any employment issues or questions that you have.

Reduced Level Of Risk I will ensure all your HR policies are legally compliant, easy to understand and present a consistent message. This will reduce the number of problems that arise – saving your time and will ensure that when a problem does crop up it is dealt with efficiently and effectively – reducing the risk to your business.

Peace of Mind You can relax in the knowledge that whenever you have a HR question or a difficult situation arises you have a HR Professional to turn to who will respond quickly with simple straightforward advice.

Who I Work With

I typically work with businesses in South Yorkshire and the surrounding counties, which employ between 1 and 100 staff and don’t employ a qualified HR professional.

I have a proven track record of working with businesses across a wide variety of sectors. My satisfied customers include:

How I Charge

I believe that developing a positive working relationship starts with an open and transparent pricing policy. I give some indication of prices on this website but the needs of every business are different and in order to provide a workable solution for your business I would need to meet you first to gain an understanding of where you are now with your HR processes and where you want to be. I guarantee that there will be no suprises when it comes to fees.

Annual Contracts

If you have a lot of HR issues on your agenda you may decide you want me to work with you on a rolling contract basis. Contracts are very affordable and present a considerable saving on my standard hourly rate. HR support would be provided by a combination of remote advice, via telephone and email, and onsite support.

Specific HR Projects

If you ask me to work with you on a specific project I will provide an estimate of the time it will take me to complete the project, I will quote a minimum and maximum time so you will then have a range of costs which you can expect to pay for the project, when I do that you will never pay more than the maximum I have quoted even if the work takes a little longer than anticipated. I will request a deposit at the start of the project with the balance payable on successful completion.

Pay As You Go

Perfect if HR issues crop up relatively infrequently.

I will agree to work for you on my standard hourly or daily rate. I do offer a reduced hourly rate to clients who have an annual contract with me, they also take priority when they need advice.

How can Kea HR help you achieve your HR goals?

The answer will be different for each of you reading this. Why? Because every business is different: the industry you are in, your headcount, the maturity of your business, your culture and management style will have an impact on the type of HR support that will be effective in your business.

The main difference between you will be how much time and patience you have to deal with things yourself! You may want the work done for you so you can concentrate on other areas of your business, or you may be looking for guidance and support so you can do it yourself.

The products and services described on this site are meant as a guide. If you are not sure what level of support will be right for your business please get in touch and we can have a chat about where you are now and where you want to be.

This could include:

Once we’ve done that, I will be able to identify your short-, medium- and long-term HR requirements and provide you with a no obligation, affordable solution.

FREE INITIAL HR ASSESSMENT