From HR Admin to People Data Translator

If you had told me twenty years ago that I would build a business focused on HR reporting and analytics, people analytics and Excel dashboards, I would have smiled politely and thought you were joking.

I did not grow up in the countryside, but horses were always part of the dream. At sixteen, I seriously considered working with them. The reality was clear: poor pay, long hours in the cold, and no minimum wage protection at the time. I made a different choice.

I had always wanted a degree. My A level results were far from ideal — two Ns and two Us. I was fortunate that my UCAS paperwork included an unconditional offer to study Business and Personnel as a Higher National Diploma. I accepted the place and later upgraded to a full degree in Business Administration.

From forms to meaningful work

My first HR job was in administration. I was part of a fast paced team handling thousands of forms each month, covering starters, leavers, absences and workplace adjustments. It gave me a solid foundation in how HR really works.

A few years later, I was invited to contribute a couple of sentences to a team report. It felt like a small opportunity, but it stuck with me. As I progressed, I began producing full reports myself. Looking back, they were dry and disconnected from what the business actually needed. There was no story, no strategic link and no impact.

In 2002, I returned to university with support from my employer. I completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Personnel Management in 2004, the same year I finalised my divorce. HR reporting at the time was still full of meaningless metrics. I became more interested in making reports that connected with business leaders and helped them make better decisions.

What I learned from the saddle

In 2015, I bought my first horse — a thoroughbred mare who taught me more about leadership, patience and partnership than any workplace. She was put to sleep in 2021, but she still influences how I work.

Owning her was a serious financial commitment. Livery cost £400 per month. Feed and insurance were around £90. Shoeing was £110, sometimes with vet sedation on top. Then came hay, bedding, tack maintenance and equipment. It cost more to keep her than to feed myself, but it was worth every penny.

Now, I ride at a local school. I pay £70 each month for one private lesson. It keeps me grounded and gives me something to aim for. One of my goals is to loan another horse through the British Thoroughbred Retraining Centre.

Where I am now

In 2019, I lost my corporate HR job. That was the beginning of my consultancy. I started by offering generalist HR support, but it never felt quite right. In 2021, I trained as an ISO 30414 auditor, the international standard for human capital reporting, and by 2023, I had focused my services around HR data, reporting and strategic insight.

Today I work with:

• HR professionals who are tired of writing reports that nobody reads
• Office managers who have been handed HR responsibilities without training
• Business leaders who want to understand what their people data is really telling them

I do not write code or build dashboards from scratch. Instead, I work with whatever systems a business already has. Whether it is Excel, HRIS exports or legacy board reports, I help clients improve what they are using, make it easier to access and ensure it actually supports decision making.

My focus is on showing impact, not just numbers. I help clients show what staff turnover is costing them, rather than just reporting the percentage. I help them explain what engagement data means in context. And I support them to link their HR insights directly to business goals.

A wider network and a bigger picture

Alongside my consulting work, I also partner with HR related businesses. I work with HR software providers, and I deliver bootcamps on behalf of learning platforms. I have also gained a second Postgraduate Diploma in People Analytics, which has helped shape the way I approach HR data today.

In addition, I am an equine assisted leadership coach, an NLP practitioner, and certified to deliver both Psytech tools and Harrison Assessments behavioural analytics, which I use to support data led recruitment and leadership development.

Why it matters

Since 2022, I have also been a full time carer for my mum. I was previously caring for my dad until he passed away in 2024. I now provide around 30 hours of care each week alongside running my business.

That experience has shaped everything I do. I value honesty, flexibility and making things work in the real world. I know what it feels like to be stretched too thin, to be overlooked or to be overwhelmed by well meaning but useless data.

I help HR professionals and people who have ended up doing HR turn messy information into reports that are clear, relevant and actually get read.

If that sounds like the kind of help you need, I would love to hear from you.