Blogs

Welcome to our Blogs.

We have a great team of experts at SYLO | Beyond HR. Our blogs tap into that expertise and so cover a wide range of subjects packed with insight and experience. We hope you enjoy them.

  • Loneliness – The Workplace Epidemic

    May 5, 2022

    Loneliness is an emotion that affects millions of people in the UK every year and is a key driver of poor mental health. Loneliness is often subjective and differs for every person, so it can be hard to identify. However, there are a few ways you can spot it and tackle it in the workplace.

  • Planning for Success

    April 7, 2022

    When we first start work, we’re finding our feet and may/may not have a clear idea of where we want to go in our working life.  Whether or not we have an end goal in mind, we should give ourselves every chance to be the person we want to be. 

  • Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries… A Great Success!

    April 1, 2022

    We are delighted to share the success we’ve had working with Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries. Our job was to help define the subject matter, build programmes based on the knowledge levels and needs of the franchisee directors and managers and then deliver them in an inclusive, motivational manner.

  • Managing Stress in the Workplace

    March 29, 2022

    Too much stress can affect our mood, our body, and our relationships – especially when it feels out of our control. But what causes stress for employees in the workplace?

  • Optimising Remote Interviews – What Can the Interviewer Do?

    March 18, 2022

    As the pandemic somehow fades into the background and the benefits of home and hybrid working are firmly understood, we need to consider how to successfully interview remotely too.

  • Innovative Recruitment and Retention

    January 5, 2022

    Recent trends are showing that employees are wanting more from their jobs and when these needs aren’t met there is more reason to go looking elsewhere. The task of finding a skilled candidate pool to shortlist applicants from is becoming increasingly hard, but where are all the skilled workers going?

  • Peer to Peer Networking with Databasix

    December 13, 2021

    We’ve all heard the sayings that two heads are better than one and that a problem shared is a problem halved – in the case of Peer to Peer networking, that certainly has been the case for us at SYLO Beyond HR, our partner Databasix and our Clients.  

  • Recruitment Market Overview

    December 7, 2021

    With job vacancies hitting an all-time high, Allen Associates have conducted a survey to learn what job seekers consider to be essential requirements of any new role. Find out what job seekers value most and hear more about the latest employment trends.

  • Apprenticeships – good for everyone?

    November 12, 2021

    Maggie joined us as an apprentice in Oct 2021 and we are so pleased we took the decision to appoint her. We asked Sharon Smits and Maggie to tell us about their experience and thoughts around apprenticeships.

What our clients think
  • Sarah allows our business to concentrate on the jobs we set out to do, and not have to worry about the HR input, with a highly professional service that she provides. 

    Stuart Barr, Director – Barr Group, Thame

  • The coaching sessions I had with Sally were hugely empowering, nurturing and constructive. Sally provided a wonderful and safe space in which I could reflect on where I am and where I want to be. She helped me work through and build practical strategies, laying down a personal plan for how to progress and reach my goals. I would recommend SYLO’s services to anyone looking for a tailored and forward-thinking approach to professional and executive coaching.

    Hannah McCracken, Client Services Director – Global Management Consultancy

  • The wonderful support from SYLO Beyond HR has enabled us to ensure our foundations are in place to support growth, whilst also maintaining and driving the culture that is important for us to have in place.  They have truly worked in partnership with us and provide consistent support to help us drive priorities forward.

    It’s great to have an HR partner that feels part of our team, is available for whenever something comes up and that continues to work with us as our organisation grows.

    Carolyn Hicks, Co-founder/CFO COO – Brill Power

  • We have been using Breathe over the last term to track our staff holidays. This is a great system as it highlights different cohorts of staff and when is free for others to book on the calendar. This has supported our ratio requirements and helped us to track holiday entitlements.

    We like the system so much that we have extended it to using the staffing schedules to log staff attendance and hours needed to be processed for payroll. Sharon has been so helpful in helping us set up different employees work patterns and it has been really effective for our nursery needs.

     

    Phillipa Arnold – Operations Manager. Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries – Cambridge Franchise

  • As always, SYLO delivered a thoughtful and insightful session and I enjoyed hearing their thoughts on valuing difference in the workplace. It has helped me to be able to think about how I can encourage the people I work with to consider how effective their inclusive policies and practices are.

    Karen Tate – Employee Relations Lead MPDN

  • ​I found working with Sally incredibly comfortable.  She helped me to define the real issues and then guided me through figuring out a solution. This resulted in a huge shift in the workload I was carrying to manageable levels, greater and welcomed empowerment for the talent in my team, and a manager (mine) who was fully up to speed on what was actually going on.

    Georgina Carey, Senior Manager – Transport For London

  • SYLO delivered on the brief by matching me with an excellent coach, Elizabeth, who I trust implicitly…the coaching ensures I am in the best position possible to execute my duties and add value to this fantastic business. 

    Rich Blunden, Group Managing Director – Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries, Berkhampstead

  • We met with SYLO to discuss creating an in-house Leadership Programme and felt confident in their ability to help us deliver our vision.  They designed and delivered various modules and one-to-one coaching for the Leadership.  

    The SYLO team pivoted from face-to-face to online training during the COVID-19 pandemic and our employees were able to continue to learn and develop. It has been a pleasure to work with the SYLO team this past 5 years and they continue to contribute to our business success.

    Claire Madle, Training Advisor – Jonas Software, Wallingford

  • SYLO | Beyond HR. are great to work with – they are challenging but supportive, highly skilled and adaptable. Together we have developed a sharp, focused appraisal process, to enable managers to be more consistent, staff to develop their professional capability, and the school to provide competencies-based evidence of staff performance. 

    Maxine Evans, Head Teacher – Rush Common Primary School, Oxfordshire

  • We found SYLO very approachable and professional – they took the time to understand the specific needs of our business and delivered a course which has provided real assistance and focus to time management across the various elements of our business.

    Mark Pelopida, Partner – Machins Solicitors LLP, Luton

  • We contacted SYLO back in 2013 as a growing company in need of some HR support. SYLO has proved invaluable in helping us find our way through the complexity of HR policy and procedure. 

    Since the initial contact, we have doubled in size and our partnership with SYLO has gone from strength to strength. They have been there every step of the way providing endless support from recruitment to employment contracts, to business development, and everything in between!

    Duncan Doig, Managing Director – Doig Furniture, Thame

  • We are looking forward to SYLO Beyond HR helping us sustainably grow our business in 2022. Our people are at the core of our services and with SYLO’s retained support, we will be able to nurture and grow our team with the right HR frameworks in place to succeed. Exciting times ahead! 

    Lexi Clarke, Agency Director – Action Rocket, London

  • Businesses must act and not just speak the words of inclusion but support the world to become more equitable. We needed support to guide these conversations within our agency and to get the whole team involved in creating change.  SYLO | Beyond HR gave guidance and clarity to create an agenda over 6 engaging workshops with experienced facilitators.  This year we look forward to working with SYLO on developing more training sessions and organisational process improvements. 

    Lexi Clarke, Agency Director – Action Rocket, London

  • We outsource our HR and have been supported by SYLO for over two years; they have handled everything in a timely and professional manner. Communication is clear and regular reviews mean we remain compliant with all regulation. The cloud-based HR system has proved particularly helpful. I would recommend SYLO without hesitation. 

    Gareth Wakefield, Chief Technical Officer – Xerion Healthcare, Bicester

  • We appointed SYLO for a one-off project. The confidential, professional manner in which they approached the project, gained the confidence of those taking part resulted in an informative report of great use to us in the futureso much so, we have asked SYLO to undertake another project for us. 

    Ann Midwinter – Thame

  • During COVID-19, we decided to rework and update all aspects of our HR & GDPR and health and safety policies. We engaged SYLO to help guide us through what can be a very daunting, and complicated set of processes. We have been very impressed with their speed and attention to detail.  

    Simon Percy, Managing Director – Little Shadow, London

  • Sarah and Sally from SYLO are loyal and enthusiastic supporters of Lord Williams’ School. They deliver sixth form workshops with an employment-related focus, provide work experience placements, and attend the school business breakfast meetings. Sally and Sarah adapt their experience to the classroom situation to engage and inform our young people in their preparation for the workplace. 

    I am delighted with and very grateful for the support SYLO has shown Lord Williams’s School and I look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with them in the coming years.

    Nicky Stallwood, Personal Development Curriculum Manager – Lord Williams’s School, Thame

  • We are coming up to our second anniversary of using Breathe HR and I can honestly say we would be lost without it now.  It’s improved our HR recording beyond measure with everything being secure in one place and no paper files!!  The massive time-saver is the annual leave functionality, which is automated and intuitive and makes the whole process painless. I have a bird’s eye view of it all. 

    Seana McLachlan, Office Manager – Doig Furniture

  • As the recently appointed voluntary Commercial Director of a small-town sports club I was faced with the daunting task of establishing employment contracts with my part-time bar and catering staff, and also putting in place an HR documentation system. With the support of SYLO this has been accomplished to my total satisfaction and at a cost that I consider very reasonable. The SYLO team that I have worked with have been very fast, efficient and extremely professional and I cannot recommend them more highly.

    David Leggett, Sports Club Commercial Director – Marlow

  • CEA have been working with SYLO for 3 years now. We’ve been very happy with their continued support. They are knowledgeable, professional and offer a wide range of useful services.

    Josh Axford, Head of Operations – The Centre for Effective Altruism