Case Studies

In the latest instalment of our HR Leader Interviews, we had the privilege of speaking with Rhiannon Barr, Head of People at Hire Space, the UK’s leading venue booking platform. Rhiannon has played a pivotal role in shaping Hire Space’s vibrant culture and advancing its HR strategies, contributing significantly to employee engagement and organisational success. Can you describe your journey into HR? I think like many people, I fell into my career accidentally. I began my working life through an electrical engineering apprenticeship, because like a good proportion of 17 year olds, I didn’t have a clear idea of what I wanted to do! I completed about six months of this before realising it wasn’t for me. While figuring out my next move, I worked in various roles and eventually landed a business administration apprenticeship as an Office Administrator working under the HR team of an apprenticeship provider. As I got more involved in the world of HR, I discovered my passion and began actively pursuing this as a career, working my way up from there.  Although the apprenticeship was in business administration, my day-to-day tasks quickly became more HR-focused. What’s your favourite thing about working in HR? Perhaps unsurprisingly, the aspect of HR that excites me even today, nearly a decade later, is the people – shocker, I know! Having the ability to make a difference to individuals’ working lives (which as we all know, is a significant part of our overall lives for most) is a real privilege. I have a deep fascination with the unique and intricate nature of individual personalities, thoughts and feelings; I love that no two people’s experiences are ever the same, even when going through an identical scenario. Navigating these differences when forming relationships, implementing changes or managing teams is a complex and engaging challenge that I thrive on. Using these skills to be able to understand and relate to as many people as possible, whilst finding the best way to navigate any scenario to get the best outcome for as many people as possible keeps me passionate about my work. It’s the people-centric nature of HR, with all its complexities and opportunities for positive impact, that truly resonates with me. The process of effective communication and people management is something I find deeply intriguing. The idea of tailoring communication strategies to different individuals and contexts, and managing these dynamics effectively, is both challenging and rewarding. This blend of strategic thinking and empathy is what I love most about HR. How did you navigate your career to where you are now? In the early stages of my career, I focused more on gaining experience and chose my moves based on the type of roles I wanted to be in rather than the companies I worked for. I moved from the apprenticeship provider to an academy trust, and then onto a weight management company, each time seeking opportunities for progression and growth. These experiences were invaluable in building my skills and understanding of the HR field, and I was lucky enough to work with some fantastic HR role models along the way too! Over recent years, I’ve become more deliberate about choosing organisations with a culture that aligns with my personal values. This shift in focus has made a significant difference in my professional satisfaction and growth – my role as Head of People at Hire Space is the best role I’ve had yet! The decision to join was such an easy one. At my final interview I met with the leadership team, after spending time with the Co Founders; it was clear to me at that point that this was a team of leaders whose values and ethos on what a great employer looks like aligned perfectly with my own – I couldn’t wait to get started! Working in an environment that values and supports its employees and also does the same for me as ‘the people person’ has been a game-changer for me, it continually reinforces my commitment to making a positive impact in the HR field. How do you approach building and enhancing the People Function? When I joined Hire Space almost two years ago, there was no specific people function. The company had been working with a part-time consultant who had set up basic policies, but my role was to establish and build a comprehensive people function from scratch. This meant centralising and standardising processes, ensuring compliance, and most importantly, nurturing the company culture. An example of a positive change I made early-on, was formalising and enhancing benefits that were previously offered informally, by increasing and contractually including the right to company-paid sick days, with the aim of ensuring consistency and transparency.  A significant part of my role was to work with our leaders to maintain and nurture the positive culture already in place. My focus was on enhancing communication and ensuring that employees felt heard and valued. One of the key strategies I introduced was a monthly engagement survey, which covered all aspects of our team’s working life: from recognition, to wellbeing, professional development and more. This feedback was taken and used to feed into the strategies and approaches, aiming to improve the employee experience. One of the really cool products of the engagement survey in response to a lower than usual recognition score was to develop and implement a ‘recognition bot’ on slack, which allows the team to post anonymous messages of recognition and praise into a dedicated celebration channel from anywhere in Slack, at any time. I make sure to prompt the team every Friday to look back on the week and post a few messages for people that have really stood out to them, it always fills me with happiness to see all of the wonderful things the team are being recognised for! I also introduced regular benefits reviews and created various channels for employees to share their feedback. Encouraging employee testimonials and reviews, particularly after milestones like passing probation, has been instrumental in maintaining