HR Independents - HRi

Name: HR Independents - HRi
Address: London, GB
Telephone: +442076614030

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HR Independents - HRi

A key focus for HRi is also to set and drive standards, raising the profile of the external HR and People profession.

HRi is a membership organisation, putting the best independent, qualified and innovative HR and People professionals in the UK in contact with organisations that need their expertise. We’ve developed our HRi standards which all of our accredited Platinum members have been assessed against, providing them with the opportunity to feature in the HRi Directory.

27/08/2026

Some things a manager says stay with you long after you've stopped working together.

For Louise Camby, it was:

"Don't come to me with problems, come to me with solutions."

It didn't mean having the right answer. It meant thinking the problem through first, considering what might work and bringing ideas to the conversation.

Years later, that one lesson still shapes how Louise approaches challenges in her own work.

And perhaps that's where a leader's legacy is often found.

Not only in the big decisions they made or the results they achieved, but in the things their people carry forward. A way of thinking. A different approach. A lesson that becomes part of how someone else works.

What's something a former manager or colleague taught you that you still carry with you today?

26/08/2026

Who has made a difference to your independent journey?

Maybe they're the person who made time for a conversation when you needed a second opinion, or the one who shared their experience instead of keeping it to themselves. Maybe they encouraged you when you were questioning yourself, celebrated your successes, or simply understood what running an independent practice can feel like.

Often, those moments aren't particularly grand. But they can make a real difference.

The Inspirational Indie Award is an opportunity to recognise an independent HR professional who has made that kind of impact on you or a fellow indie.

And unlike the other HRi Awards categories, this one isn't about putting yourself forward. It's about recognising someone else.

So, who comes to mind? If there's an indie whose support, generosity, example or contribution deserves to be recognised, nominate them.

Nominate your Inspirational Indie for the HRi Awards 2026: https://hrindiesconference.co.uk/hri-awards/

25/08/2026

A full diary can feel like success.

And sometimes it absolutely is.

But as an independent practice grows, being busy doesn't always tell you whether the business behind the work is working as well as it could.

The client you've worked with for years whose needs have gradually expanded. The service that's popular but takes far more time to deliver than you realised. The weeks filled with client work that leave no room to think about your own practice, and the work you keep saying yes to because you've always said yes to it.

None of these necessarily look like problems. In fact, from the outside they can look a lot like success.

But building a sustainable independent practice sometimes means looking beyond how much work you have to how well that work is working for you.

That might mean reviewing a client relationship, tightening the scope of a service, or protecting some capacity. Or deciding that something which once worked for your practice doesn't work for it anymore.

Growth doesn't always mean adding more.

Sometimes it means being more deliberate about what you already have.

What's something you've changed in your practice that made it work better, without necessarily making it bigger?

20/08/2026

What will people remember about the way you made them feel?

We often think about legacy as something we leave behind at the end of a career or life. But by then, we've already been creating it for years.

It's being shaped in the everyday moments: how we treat people, whether they feel heard and valued, the knowledge we share. And in the opportunities we give others to grow.

How much of a leader's impact lives on in the people they've managed, and what happens to years of knowledge and experience when someone leaves an organisation? Would we make different choices today if we thought more consciously about how they'll be remembered tomorrow?

In this episode of HR Voices, Mary Asante is joined by speaker and legacy advocate Louise Camby to talk about exactly that. Louise shares the personal story behind preserving the legacy of her grandfather, composer, arranger and conductor Johnny Douglas, and how that experience led her to think differently about the legacy we're all creating through our own lives and work.

Your legacy isn't created in one defining moment. It's built in the way you show up today.

What do you hope people will remember about working with you? If you're comfortable sharing, we'd love to hear it.

Link to full episode in comments

19/08/2026

When you're busy running your practice and supporting clients, it's easy to move from one piece of work to the next without stopping to look back.

An award entry gives you a reason to do that.

The challenges you've navigated. The decisions you've made. The relationships you've built and the ideas you've put into practice. And the difference your work has made along the way.

Of course, being shortlisted or winning an HRi Award is something to celebrate. But there's value in the process too.

Sometimes it's only when you put your story down on paper that you realise just how much you've achieved.

The HRi Awards are dedicated to celebrating independent HR professionals and recognising the contribution you make to clients, colleagues and the profession.

So whether this is your first year as an indie or you've been building your practice for years, take a moment to look back.

So whether this is your first year as an indie or you've been building your practice for years, take a moment to look back.

What are you proud of? It's probably more than you realised. And it could be the story worth putting forward this year.

Enter the HRi Awards 2026 and share your story https://hrindiesconference.co.uk/hri-awards/

18/08/2026

You're used to being the person others come to for advice.

But sometimes you're the one who needs to talk something through.

A difficult client relationship. A decision about your practice. An opportunity you're not sure is right for you. A boundary that needs resetting.

There isn't always a right answer.

Sometimes the most useful conversation starts with someone saying:

"I've been there."

Not because their experience tells you what to do, but because they've seen the situation from a similar place.

What worked for them. What didn't. What they'd do differently now. Or simply the question they ask that helps you see your own situation differently.

That's part of the value of having fellow indies around you in the HRi community.

Shared experience doesn't make the decision for you. It gives you another perspective from which to make it.

What's something a fellow indie once shared with you that's stayed with you? Let us know in the comments.

13/08/2026

One question. A different way of thinking about leadership, communication and workplace relationships.

12/08/2026

You already have a story to tell.

You don't need to write the perfect award entry. You simply need to share it.

Maybe it's the leap you took into independent practice. Perhaps it's the challenge you helped a client overcome. The fresh idea that changed how you deliver your work. The practice you've built with purpose. Or the difference you've made to the people around you.

The strongest entries don't begin with perfectly written answers. They begin with a real story.

What happened? What did you do? Why did it matter? That's often all it takes to get started.

The HRi Awards are dedicated to celebrating independent HR professionals and recognising the many different ways they make a difference.

Your story doesn't need to look like anyone else's. It simply needs to be yours.

If you've been thinking about entering but weren't sure where to start, why not start here?

Explore the categories and begin your HRi Awards 2026 entry: https://hrindiesconference.co.uk/hri-awards/

11/08/2026

The questions change as your practice grows.

At the beginning of independent practice, the questions often sound like this:

Can I do this?
Will anyone trust me?
How do I find my first client?

As your practice grows, the questions begin to change.

Which opportunities are right for my practice?
How do I create more value without taking on more work?
What's the next chapter for my practice?

You might not notice it at first, but sometimes progress isn't obvious until you realise which doubts have quietly disappeared.

Looking back, what's one question you no longer ask yourself, and what has replaced it?

06/08/2026

What's it like to be on the receiving end of you?

It's one of those questions that can stop you in your tracks.

We all have moments where we're under pressure, rushing from one thing to the next or reacting without really thinking. The challenge is we rarely see the impact our own behaviour has on the people around us.

One of the conversations in this week's HR Voices podcast explores exactly that: how our everyday behaviours create a ripple effect across teams, relationships and workplace culture.

One reminder really stood out:

"You don't need to react at the speed in which you receive."

Sometimes the best thing we can do is pause and choose how we respond.

What's one behaviour you've become more aware of in yourself over time? Let us know in the comments.

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