H&P Electrical

H&P Electrical are professional electricians providing a range of services to both commercial and domestic clients. Their services include rewiring, periodic testing, as well as testing and certification for landlords or sellers.

Jodie Blackburn, Office Manager, tells us more about the company:

“We’ve been running for roughly 8 years now. We cover a large area, mostly targeting the North West and North Wales, and we now employ seven people including myself.”

Although the company now employs seven people, it used to employ nine. Jodie fills us in on why the change happened and why it changed how they approach HR:

“The main drive to seek external HR services was when two of our employees left us to start a new business in the same field. Before, HR tended to get pushed to the bottom of the list unless something urgent cropped up. When the two ex-employees left us, they only gave us ten days notice, despite us asking for four weeks. The contracts we had weren’t very good and so they were able to leave.

“My background isn’t in HR. I previously worked in customer service and marketing. There was no formal system for managing holidays or employee documents in the business before BrightHR. As the business grew, the relationships between the directors and the staff was fairly casual. It wasn’t until the employees left that we felt the need for things to become more formal.

“Every element of the service Croner provides is good. The BrightHR system is very easy to use. The advice is helpful and you’re never left waiting for answers. When COVID-19 hit, we had an employee who had to self-isolate. Croner have provided us with advice on managing that situation.

“I’ve used the advice more than I thought I would to be honest. When we first signed up, we were somewhat sceptical. However, once we used the advice line, we quickly changed our mind. It was all particularly helpful during COVID-19 and the lockdown.

“Since signing up with Croner we’ve overhauled our employment contracts and our health & safety too. We already had some health & safety foundations in place before Croner came on board. However, we moved offices a week before lockdown began. Because of this we didn’t have sufficient chance to survey the new site and do everything we needed to do from a health & safety perspective. Croner have supported us in making this new office safe, and a process that might have taken a year or two has taken a couple of months instead.

“Overall, Croner have provided an amazing service. The systems have helped us manage holidays effectively and made HR processes so much easier to navigate. It’s taken a lot of stress off my shoulders.”