Award for ‘top adviser’

An Enfield entrepreneur has won national recognition for her work providing advice and support to other business owners.

Human resources expert and Clay Hill resident Lisa Seagroatt, founder of HR Fit for Purpose, was crowned one of the UK’s top ten advisers for the support she provides to small businesses and entrepreneurs to help them create “healthy workplace cultures”.

Lisa, 50, was picked from hundreds of business advisers from across the UK to be named one of the winners at the Enterprise Nation Top 50 Advisers competition. She was nominated for the behind-the-scenes guidance given to local entrepreneurs, helping them navigate the challenges and opportunities faced over the last year – including help during the pandemic as businesses adapted to a new economic reality.

Lisa founded HR Fit for Purpose in 2017 following her personal experience of stress and bullying in the workplace, which resulted in a mental health breakdown. She said: “I wanted to use a negative experience and turn it into something positive for businesses who need help with issues around culture.

“My advice helps business leaders ensure that their HR is fit for purpose from the minute they start to hire.

“Robust HR and recruitment processes helps businesses to find the right people with the right skills.

Looking after your people creates a healthy workplace culture, keeping sickness absence and turnover low, and productivity and profitability high.”

The pandemic has brought its own unique set of challenges for small businesses, especially for those without a dedicated in-house HR team.

Lisa added: “I’ve supported a range of clients with navigating their way through the furlough scheme and encouraged them to keep in touch with their workforce to help retain a team approach, once they were able to bring them back to work.

“Communication is the key to keeping your people in the loop and helps them to feel valued, even from a distance when remote working.

“There’s never been a more important time in business to think about workplace culture as this can make or break the people who work for you, particularly right now when we are all exceptionally challenged by the restrictions Covid-19 has created, affecting every one of us and so many areas of our lives.

“If my expertise and advice can help give small businesses a better chance of survival and contribute to the wider economic recovery – especially during these particularly challenging times – then it’s time well spent.”

Awards organiser Enterprise Nation is one of the UK’s leading small business networks. Founder Emma Jones said: “Business advisers are the unsung heroes behind Britain’s booming small business culture and their insight and experience are needed now more than ever.

“The awards were designed to show how important their work is in action and the entries have uncovered incredible advice efforts that have helped firms pivot to keep trading.”

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