Meet Helen Hudson: A Leading HR Expert with Over 25 Years of Experience

Overview of Helen Hudson: Career, Expertise, Achievements, and Services 

I’m Helen Hudson, a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD with over 25 years of experience working in HR across a range of well-known businesses. 

I began my HR career at The John Lewis Partnership and quickly moved into HR management roles with Kingfisher and Woolworths, working for Entertainment UK. After gaining extensive experience in HR operations, I specialised in Management Development. I later relocated back to Yorkshire and joined Centrica Storage plc, where I set up and led their Learning and Development function. 

After a couple of years in the offshore gas industry, I transitioned into the food manufacturing sector, spending nearly 12 years at McCain Foods Ltd. I held leadership roles there, initially setting up a Learning and Development department and later leading HR for the GB business as Head of HR. I also led the people, change, and learning aspects of a £150m supply chain transformation project. 

In 2020, I founded Dynamic People Solutions to bring my expertise to small and medium-sized businesses, helping them manage their HR needs. I’m known for being pragmatic and business-focused, offering straightforward advice that helps businesses grow while also making them better places to work. 

At Dynamic People Solutions, we focus on ensuring that your people strategy supports your business goals. Whether you need help with legal compliance, tackling complex employee issues like disciplinaries or grievances, or creating processes to help your business grow, we provide tailored, practical HR solutions. 

What are the most common challenges businesses come to you with? 

The challenges vary, but the most common ones include: 

• Workforce planning to align with a 1, 3 or 5-year business plans 

• Developing strategies for recruitment, retention, employee engagement, skills development, and rewards 

• Supporting managers with issues such as sickness absence, disciplinaries, grievances, performance management, and disputes 

• Designing and delivering management workshops, often using psychometrics to support leadership development 

• Assessing performance, evaluating potential, and creating career paths and succession plans 

• Updating or creating people policies 

• Ensuring legal compliance, such as right-to-work checks and employment contracts 

• Improving onboarding processes 

• Creating and embedding HR and people processes into growing businesses 

How do your workshops help solve these problems? 

Our workshops are designed to give business owners and managers the skills and confidence to deal with people issues effectively. You’ll leave with practical tools that you can start using immediately. Often, managers tackle employee problems without the right skills, leading to bigger issues, or they avoid addressing them out of fear of doing the wrong thing. Both approaches can harm your business and employees. 

We run workshops on topics that are frequently challenging for businesses, such as recruiting the right people, managing performance (both good and bad), and handling sickness and absence. We’re also offering a session on upcoming changes to employment law so that businesses can stay compliant and adjust their practices accordingly. 

How can your workshops benefit small and medium-sized businesses in terms of efficiency and cost savings? 

Engaged employees are more productive, take fewer sick days, and are more willing to go the extra mile—all of which help boost your profits. Keeping good employees is far more cost-effective than hiring and training new ones. It’s estimated that replacing an employee can cost 50-75% of their salary, once you factor in recruitment, onboarding, and training costs. 

Not managing sickness or poor performance can also be expensive. By addressing issues early, you can prevent them from escalating into bigger problems. This not only saves time and money but also reduces the risk of legal claims, such as unfair dismissal or discrimination, by ensuring everything is handled properly and within the law. 

What do you enjoy about working with businesses in East Yorkshire? 

I love working with local businesses in East Yorkshire because it allows us to build strong relationships and really get to know the companies we support. We become a trusted part of their team, offering personalised advice that suits their specific needs. There’s a real sense of community here, and it’s rewarding to contribute to the growth of the local economy. 

The range of businesses in East Yorkshire is incredibly diverse, and it’s great to see so many sectors thriving. Plus, the business owners here are down-to-earth and direct, which makes for honest, productive conversations—a refreshing change from working in larger corporate environments. 

Helen will be leading the following workshops for Hull and East Riding of Yorkshire businesses, and you can book your place now for FREE: 

Recruit to your business with confidence 

Date: 17 October 2024, 9.30am – 12.30pm 

Location: Brough Business Centre, Baffin Way, Brough, HU15 1YU 

Book now: https://erycevents.evolutive.co.uk/event/details/980081/Recruit-to-your-business-with-confidence

HR Potential Changes to Law 

Date: 7 November 2024, 10.00am – 12.00pm 

Location: Beverley Enterprise Centre, Beck View Road, Beverley, HU17 0JT 

Book now: https://erycevents.evolutive.co.uk/event/details/980176/HR-Potential-Changes-to-Law

Employing your First Person 

Date: 3 December 2024, 2.00pm – 4.30pm 

Location: RaisE Business Centre, Tom Pudding Way, Goole, DN14 6BS 

Book now: https://erycevents.evolutive.co.uk/event/details/980412/Employing-your-First-Person