In this week’s blog we hear from Emily Fryer, one of our amazing consultants at LACE. Prior to joining the team in September 2021 Emily worked ‘in-house’ at both UCL and Cath Kidson.
In this blog Emily explains what motivated her move into consulting, the considerations she had and how she found the change. We are hiring for a number of roles, check out our latest openings here.
How did you decide HR consulting was for you?
Even before I put my foot through the door, my development was being supported by LACE. It was late 2021 and I wasn’t 100% sure of what to do for my next career move. Members of the executive team at LACE reached out and spoke very openly about the world of consulting.
The team explained the differences compared to working in HR in-house and provided me with honest, unbiased advice; helping me decide which next steps would be right for me. This support and open communication with the leadership team continues when you join and everyone at LACE can reach out to them irrespective of their level in the business – a true reflection of LACE’s flat structure.
How have you found the move from in-house HR to consulting?
It was a real journey and there have been contrasts and similarities in ways I hadn’t predicted. Firstly, in consulting your day to day working life greatly depends on the nature of the project you are working on. I started on a long project, and so it was therefore important for me to build and sustain close working relationships, similar to an in-house role. However, the type of work is different.
In consulting you have a clear end goal you are working towards, and a pre-decided set of deliverables to achieve. I have enjoyed this change and find it motivating to have a course of action to focus on. As a result, short and changeable projects provide a wide variety of work and a much faster environment, it’s challenging but great experience and you learn a lot!
We help clients with a variety of HR and Payroll transformation projects which can range from advising on HR strategy to technology implementation or employee experience optimisation. At any given time the LACE team are conducting multiple projects for a wide range of organisations. As a result our team gets exposure not only to a range of specialisms but also I’ve been able to learn about how different businesses operate. There are pros and cons; in-house there is more consistancy and stability, whereas consulting offers more variety and flexibility.
LACE is growing but still around 50 people, how was the downsize in organisations?
Moving to a smaller, boutique consultancy was another change for me. It’s a truly different experience having that ability to get to actually know everyone in the business. It’s so lovely to be able to build those relationships, whilst having fun along the way!
Everyone at LACE is welcoming and friendly. It’s an environment where I feel like I can fully be myself, even when I hadn’t been here that long I got to know people really well. To revisit my point from earlier, having that flat structure is a game changer. It can be easy to get lost in a big corporate and you are less likely to get recognition from higher up because naturally, there are so many more people in between you and them.
I’ve enjoyed being able to get that exposure and learn from others from various specialisms at LACE because you genuinely know who does what. An informal nature does of course come with its challenges, there tend to be fewer formalities around training and progression, but as a growing company, LACE has already taken big steps around this and will continue to do so as we grow.
Does HR consulting mean you need to act ‘like a consultant’?
On a more personal level, I thought that moving to a more client-facing environment would mean I would need to put on more of a front at work. However, if anything this role has further embedded that it’s okay to be yourself at work and this actually helps to build important relationships through authenticity. At the end of the day, you’re delivering that work for them and as long as you get the work done to your best capability, there is no reason that you need to be afraid to be you!
My takeaway message for anyone considering the move to consulting is, to give it a go! It’s a really good experience. Yes, it’s a big change, but if you find a consultancy where the people and culture align with you, it will make a massive difference to the whole experience and provides a really good challenge to sink your teeth into.
Interested in moving into HR consulting? Or maybe you already have a few years experience? We are growing quickly at LACE and always on the lookout for fresh talent. Check out our latest vacancies here, and if you don’t see the right fit for now but want to be considered for future opportunities fill in your details below.
