HR Consultant · Surrey

HR consultant in Surrey for small businesses without in-house HR

We are based in Caterham and work with owner-managed businesses across Surrey that have employees and nobody whose job is HR. One named consultant who gets to know your business and will tell you when you don't need us.

Book a free 20-minute call See services and prices

Rated 5.0 from 30 Google reviews

Elena Suhova, founder of What If HR, smiling on a high street in a trench coat

Where most people are

When HR starts landing on the owner's desk

Have you got eight or ten people, contracts written a few years ago and one situation you have been putting off? That is where most of our Surrey clients start.

Common sense runs a small team well, right up to the day a resignation or an awkward conversation shows how much of it lives in your head. That is normal, and it is fixable.

What we do

HR support for Surrey businesses, sized to where you are

Pick the situation that sounds like yours. Every price is agreed before any work starts.

How it works

How working with us works

1
A free 20-minute call
You tell us what made HR feel urgent. We tell you where we would start, or that you don't need us yet.
2
A price before anything starts
Set pieces of work have fixed fees. Whatever the work, the fee is agreed with you first.
3
We do the work
We write the documents and stay with it until it is running. Most of it happens by phone, email and video. If you are nearby and would rather meet in person, that can be arranged.

Local proof

A Surrey day care business, eight months on

A day care business in Surrey with around 35 to 40 people had tried two HR providers before us. They had live cases with no plan for how they would end, contracts that did not match how people worked and an HR inbox nobody was answering.

Eight months on, the inbox is answered, new contracts and a handbook match the real arrangements, probation has letters again and managers have somewhere to go before a problem escalates.

Read the full story

5.0From 30 Google reviews

She responded quickly, explained our options in plain English and helped us resolve the issue informally, without turning it into an expensive or overly complicated HR process.

Client, workplace conflict · Google review · Read it on Google

What If HR is our go-to HR partner. We don't have an in-house team, so having Elena on hand for payroll, employment contracts and tricky compliance matters like statutory sick or holiday pay has been invaluable.

Director, accountancy practice · Google review · Read it on Google

Who this is for

Who we work with in Surrey

Owner-managed businesses of roughly 1 to 50 people, with employees and nobody whose job is HR. Our clients include:

A day care business
A care home
A recruitment agency
A cafe and small tech businesses

What they have in common: people are most of the cost and most of the risk, and nobody has time to be the HR department.

A sunlit path between hedgerows in the Surrey countryside

Caterham, SurreyBased in Caterham, on the North Downs. Across Surrey, we come to your office whenever the work needs someone in the room.

Where we work

Where we work in Surrey

We are based in Caterham and work with businesses in Caterham, Reigate, Redhill, Banstead and Croydon, and across South London and the wider South East. We also work remotely with businesses across the UK. For businesses in the capital, see HR support in London.

HR support in London

Based in: Caterham, SurreyOne address. Meetings by appointment.
In person: Caterham
Reigate
Redhill
Banstead
Croydon
South London
South East
Meetings, investigations and hearings in your office whenever the work needs someone in the room.
Remote: Anywhere in the UKBy phone, email and video, Monday to Friday, 9 to 5.

Find What If HR on Google

Straight answers

Common questions

Can't see your question?

Ask us directly. We reply the same working day.

Book a free 20-minute call

or email hello@whatifhr.co.uk

How much does an HR consultant in Surrey cost?

Set pieces of work have fixed fees: £395 + VAT for the HR Health Check, £595 + VAT for First Hire Ready. Employee Relations Support is £125 an hour + VAT, or from £650 a day for a formal case, estimated first. Ongoing support starts from £150 a month + VAT. Every price is agreed before any work starts.

Do you come to our office?

Yes, whenever the work needs someone in the room, such as a hearing, an investigation meeting or a difficult conversation. Day-to-day questions are quicker by phone, email and video, which keeps fees down.

Do we need an HR consultant yet?

Maybe not. Plenty of small teams run well on common sense for a long time. On the free call we will tell you whether you need us now or not yet.

Do you only work with Surrey businesses?

No. We are based in Caterham and work with businesses in Caterham, Reigate, Redhill, Banstead and Croydon, across South London, London and the South East, and remotely across the UK.

Are you a law firm?

No, we are an HR consultancy. We write the documents and run the process, and we do not give legal representation. If something needs a solicitor, such as a tribunal claim, we say so early and introduce you to one.

Who will we work with, and what qualifications do they have?

You get one named consultant who gets to know your business. What If HR was founded by Elena Suhova, who leads the client work and holds an MSc in Human Resource Management from Birkbeck, University of London, and is a CIPD Associate. Our associate consultants are experienced, qualified HR professionals. What If HR is ICO registered and a member of the Federation of Small Businesses.

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