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Jen Reynolds

Jen Reynolds on driving prosperity in business through people

By Jen Reynolds

CEO - ProspHR Solutions

Named from an ethos of achieving business prosperity through people, ProspHR Solutions was founded in 2023 by Jen Reynolds.

Jen brings to her HR consultancy over 18 years of corporate HR experience in the motor industry which began with the BMW Group graduate scheme from where she was recruited as Group Employee Development Manager at BMW UK. She then spent 12 years at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars as Global Head of Talent & Training and later Global Head of HR, before returning to BMW Group UK & Ireland as Deputy HR Director.

Driven by a desire to start her own company, and the realisation that HR is fundamental to business growth and success, Jen is now helping businesses to leverage their people power.

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What’s the ethos behind ProspHR Solutions?

It’s to support businesses who don't have the HR resource or expertise that they need in-house – helping those companies to leverage their most precious resource which is their people.

We can help with everything within the people remit, from employee contractual queries to complex HR tasks and transformational projects.

My firm belief is that if you attract the right candidates and utilise the people within your business in the right way, your business will hugely benefit from that productivity, energy, motivation, and engagement.

HR is a fundamental component of the success of any business, especially those that are going through a growth phase.

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You’re passionate about helping businesses to leverage their people power, how do you do that in practice?

A lot of my clients want me to come in and lift the lid on their people topics, processes, and policies.

I have candid conversations with team members and give them the opportunity to have their say in a confidential and non-judgmental environment. I then present those findings along with a set of recommendations and priority actions to the business owners.

I call it an HR health check or discovery process. Out of those enlightening investigations, I’m able to help them shape a people plan to optimise the structure of their business and their people capabilities.

I get so much pleasure in helping people to see things differently and recognise that it’s not always a big mountain to climb, it’s about incremental changes – sometimes something small can actually have a huge impact.

I really enjoy running my own company, having that flexibility and being in charge of my own destiny gives me a lot of motivation and empowerment.

Is there some commonality in the challenges that your clients are facing?

You can’t underestimate the role that getting your people strategy right plays.

Most of the time, people are your most expensive and valuable fixed assets, so you need to invest in them, and try to retain them.

Companies don’t always equate good people management with good financial sense, but actually, the two go completely hand in hand.

"Companies don’t always equate good people management with good financial sense, but actually the two go completely hand in hand."

Jen Reynolds - CEO, ProspHR Solutions

What’s particularly topical within HR at the moment?

There’s increasingly more competition for talent in the marketplace, and it can make life very difficult as an employer because you may feel it necessary to offer more than the next company to attract and retain your people, which can sometimes be a knee-jerk reaction; a sticking plaster to a wider issue.

There’s also the challenge that people became quite restless during the pandemic, and they experienced a different way of working, which in many cases they’re reluctant to give up completely.

So, the challenge that we have in HR is supporting businesses to reward at the right level to help people maintain the same lifestyle, without over-rewarding to the point where they’re paying too much as a company for the resources they’ve got. We also need to help businesses define their future way of working and ensure the flexibility created during the pandemic is not lost, but harnessed in a way that increases not only the engagement, but most importantly, the productivity of employees.

It’s a fine balance, and reward not only means pay, but also the other benefits a company offers, including wellbeing support, the company culture, and the values of the business. All these ingredients need to go into the melting pot in the right proportions and combination to ensure you’re attracting high calibre talent and nurturing that talent to produce a good ROI and ensure you are skills-fit as a business, not just for today, but for the strategic horizon.

DE&I (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) also continues to be particularly topical. Employers have such a challenge on their hands with all the new legislation that keeps coming through. There’s more complexity to navigate now than ever before. That’s why it’s imperative that businesses have good HR advice and support because, without it, you’re playing a risky game that could really trip you up in an expensive way.

What are your own personal motivators?

Seeing those positive changes and companies evolve for the better and become more successful as a result.

I love people and everything that’s different about people. A lot of my role is asking questions, but it’s asking the right questions so that they’re often reaching conclusions themselves.

 

Jen portrait

"HR is a fundamental component to the success of any business, especially those that are going through a growth phase."

Jen Reynolds - CEO, ProspHR Solutions

Where is your favourite place to visit when you need to get some perspective?

I love North Devon; I will try to go there two to three times a year. I enjoy going to the beaches there – I find a particular sense of calm at the beach because you realise how minuscule you are, there’s a real wholesomeness about it. I feel like I’m away from the chaos of the real world when I’m in Devon, it’s wild and beautiful and I find it very cathartic as a place.

How do you enjoy spending your time outside of work?

I tinker with the piano – playing, writing, and singing. I love gardening, being outside, being at the beach, and feeling close to nature.

My children and my husband are a big part of my life, they are my reason to be.