Here at Oculus HR we are delighted to have received recent accreditation as a Living Wage Employer.  Our Living Wage commitment will see everyone working at Oculus HR receive a minimum hourly wage of £12 in the UK, higher than the government minimum for over 21s, which currently stands at £11.44 per hour.

Oculus HR is based in the North East, a region with 15.9% of all jobs paying less than the real Living Wage – around 170,000 jobs.

The real Living Wage is the only rate calculated according to the costs of living. It provides a voluntary benchmark for employers that wish to ensure their staff earn a wage they can live on, not just the government minimum. Since 2011 the Living Wage movement has delivered a pay rise to over 460,000 people and put £3 billion extra into the pockets of low paid workers.

As award-winning industry leaders, we stand out from the crowd with our approach to Real HR. We are a team of specialists and operations support, providing innovative and flexible HR solutions to SMEs regionally and nationally through our dedicated and holistic approach.

Our team works across sectors from Manufacturing, IT, Construction, Schools, charities, NHS to name but a few, covering all aspects of employment, including employment contracts, policies and procedures, performance reviews, disciplinary and grievance meetings. We’ve built an extensive client list along the way which includes the Foundation of Light, SAFC, Tyne Coast College, Midas Cladding, Oasis Floral and Glendale Transport.

Louise Kennedy, Founder of Oculus HR said:

“Our growing and experienced team are the backbone of Oculus HR and our continuous expansion and unrivalled reputation in the industry and amongst our client base would not have been possible without their dedication and support, this is why becoming a Living Wage accredited employer is very important to me as a business owner.”

Katherine Chapman, Director, Living Wage Foundation said:

“We’re delighted that Oculus HR has joined the movement of over 14,000 responsible employers across the UK who voluntarily commit to go further than the government minimum to make sure all their staff earn enough to live on.

“They join thousands of small businesses, as well as household names such as Burberry, Barclays, Everton Football Club and many more. These businesses recognise that paying the real Living Wage is the mark of a responsible employer and they, like Oculus HR, believe that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay.”

As award-winning industry leaders, we stand out from the crowd with our approach to Real HR.

HR isn’t just about processes and policies, it’s about people, and this means it’s vital for businesses to understand the bigger picture and the direct impact they have on people and the business overall.

Our range of HR services are designed to support, guide and educate, ensuring your business thrives through effective people management. Whether you need occasional advice, comprehensive ongoing support or opportunities to enhance your team’s skills, our trusted team at Oculus HR are on hand.

In our commitment to supporting businesses in the ever-evolving HR landscape we’ve recently launched an array of new services including the HR Mentoring Service, the Rising Stars Development Programme and Emotional Intelligence Assessment and Development, alongside our free and quick HR Health Check Quiz to name but a few.

The Rising Stars Development Programme

This programme is an exciting course for ambitious individuals who want to progress their careers and is designed to support those with leadership potential, providing them with key tools to develop and nurture their skills, with a series of benefits to both employees and the business including:

* Increased employee engagement
* Retention of key skills and people within the business
* Improved understanding of emotional intelligence in the workplace
* Stronger methods of communication
* Employee confidence in leading teams and themselves

Emotional Intelligence Assessment and Development

We’ve seen a huge demand for training around emotional intelligence and we are working on some very exciting global projects around this. Emotional intelligence is all about harnessing emotional awareness of professionals to better understand employee demands, concerns, make decisions and to develop interpersonal relationships.

The training is tailored and targeted to support employers to unlock a positive workplace culture. The five main elements of emotional intelligence are:

• Self-awareness
• Self-regulation
• Motivation
• Empathy
• Social skills

The subject of emotional intelligence is also covered in our keynote speech service which delivers actionable insight to audiences. The keynote is perfect for business owners, executives, HR Professionals, and any parties interested in driving organisational success.

Find out more here: www.thelouisekennedy.com

HR Mentoring Service

HR Mentoring supports your business by upskilling and holding the hand of your HR professional. Our experienced Mentors help and support existing junior and middle-level HR employees, or managers with HR responsibility in business.

The aim of the service is to mentor, upskill and provide sounding boards to employees who may lack the knowledge and or confidence to handle an increasingly challenging workload in a rapidly changing business landscape.

HR Health Check Quiz

Looking to assess the efficiency of your HR operations and uncover areas for improvement? Businesses are getting some great outputs from our free quick and easy HR Health Check Quiz which consists of just 25 questions and takes just two minutes to complete.

The instant customised results (which are processed through an algorithm to produce the final score) will provide key actions and steps that businesses can implement to ensure they’re legally compliant, supporting employees and protecting the business.

Be sure to check it out: https://oculushr-health-check-event.scoreapp.com

Oculus HR are a team of specialists and operations support, providing innovative and flexible HR solutions to SMEs regionally and nationally through our dedicated and holistic approach. Covering all aspects of employment, including employment contracts, policies and procedures, performance reviews, disciplinary and grievance meetings, and building an extensive client list along the way which includes the Foundation of Light, SAFC, Tyne Coast College, Midas Cladding, Oasis Floral and Glendale Transport. The agency works across sectors from Manufacturing, IT, Construction, Schools, charities, NHS to name but a few.

To find out more about the services and support packages available for businesses contact: louise@oculus-hr.co.uk

As award-winning industry leaders, here at Oculus HR our mission is to put the ‘Real’ into HR, and our popular podcast is proving to be a key platform to discuss hot topics and trending talking points within the world of HR.

We can’t believe we are at episode 12 of 2024 already! From discussing Emotional Intelligence, Neurodiversity in the Workplace to the Power of Coaching in HR, our industry guests have been on hand to take a deep dive into some very powerful topics.

Episode 1 launched the new season and Founder and MD Louise Kennedy was joined by the rest of the Oculus HR team as we delved into the subject of team culture. We touched on offering benefits to staff and how to avoid grievances within your company, recruiting, and how this all links back to the culture of the company.

Tom Chapman from The Lions Barber Collective joined us for Episode 2, an absolute trailblazer in the industry, and the self-acclaimed busiest barber in the world, Tom has made it his mission to propel the stigma of mental health among men into the mainstream, and founded The Lions Barber Collective, to educate and raise awareness about mental health and suicide prevention.

Episode 3 saw Real World HR meet Alison Dunn to discuss the cost-of-living crisis. We discussed the services that are available to people and how companies can work with their employees and prospective employees to help ease the repercussions of the challenges we face in today’s societal issues.

Episode 4 talked Emotional Intelligence with Dulcie Swanson. Dulcie shares how scientific research can help us to understand how to build better relationships, lead with authenticity and adapt for growth. With a deep dive into the science behind emotional intelligence and how it links to productivity at work.

Sarah Hamilton-Gill shared advice on setting up your own HR consultancy in Episode 5, her career journey so far and what has helped along the way, and the benefits that having mentors and coaches can bring.

In Episode 6 we find out more about the Ten Space survey platform which provides a data-driven approach for HR professionals to easily design, gather and analyse high-quality feedback. Victoria Bond explained how employee surveys can be beneficial in the workplace, when is best to implement them and how to tailor surveys to ensure you get honest, real results.

Clinical psychologist and co-founder of Talk Works, Dr Jennifer Cottam shared how companies and leaders can accommodate for their workforce if they present as neurodiverse in Episode 7. Jennifer also covered how these changes will bring about positive change for the whole workforce, and how we can ramp up our productivity through good sleep.

In Episode 8 Dr Max Draper discusses Testosterone Replacement Therapy and the difficulties in being diagnosed and why we need to raise awareness on the topic. We cover what to do if you think you have low testosterone, as well as what you need to be aware of when going ahead with testosterone replacement therapy.

Real World HR chats Adding Value Through Innovative HR with Claire Dodds in Episode 9. We explore how to add more value to your business through building and maintaining a great company culture, why it’s important to look at your people strategy and succession planning, as well as best practises on how to recruit and look after your talent within the business.

Kimberley Cattin chats creating a family culture in Episode 10, delving into Kimberley’s entrepreneurial journey and the evolution of her business as needs and demands have changed. We discuss culture and talk about the things that Kimberley thinks are most important to ensure a brilliant team dynamic within her businesses, she also discusses the lessons she’s learnt and shares tips on how to hire well.

Fay Wallis discusses The Power of Coaching in HR in Episode 11, with a look back at Fay’s professional career from working in HR to becoming a coach. We also discuss the benefits that having a coach can bring, as well as deciphering the difference between coaches and mentors. Fay shares some brilliant tips on how to set goals and how this can hugely benefit not only your professional life, but your personal life too.

On Episode 12 the podcast, we chat about Emma Chandler’s journey into leadership coaching and what she teaches on her PIVOT leadership programme. We also delve into the neuroscience of leadership and explore strategies for empowering leaders to maximise their team’s potential.

Listen now via your favourite platform Spotify, Apple, Amazon Podcasts and Google Podcasts.

Based in Sunderland Oculus HR are a team of specialists and operations support, providing innovative and flexible HR solutions to SMEs regionally and nationally through their dedicated and holistic approach. Covering all aspects of employment, including employment contracts, policies and procedures, performance reviews, disciplinary and grievance meetings, and building an extensive client list along the way.

As award-winning industry leaders, here at Oculus HR our refreshing approach to HR ensures that employers have Real HR at the right time. Through our significant sector expertise, we offer a host of bespoke packages to companies to support, develop and strategically align their HR capabilities.

A senior overview

One service that is growing in popularity in recent years is the Fractional HR Director (HRD) and companies across sectors are seeing the direct benefits of investing in this strategic support to drive the business forward. Fractional HRD is a service offered here at Oculus HR for companies who are considering their people strategy to support their business. A company may have a HR team in place or use an outsourced HR service, and our senior HR Consultants step in to provide the strategy for growing businesses or those that have grown but now would like to ensure people stability in the business.

Fractional HRD involves hiring a HR professional to work on a part-time basis. As noted, the scope of this service support is generally more strategic, embedding and integrating a higher-level strategy into the company culture and strategic planning processes, we see this service as adding value to the business. The investment in Fractional HRD can be a very cost-effective move for companies, whilst still allowing them to benefit from a high level of HR expertise.

On the other hand, Transactional HR involves hiring an external HR service/agency to handle all or some of your transactional day to day. The scope can be broad or specific, for example, an transactional HR may take over tasks such as policy and procedure reviews and offers a more transactional and process-driven relationship.

Louise Kennedy, Founder of Oculus HR said:

“Our growing and experienced team complement HR functions perfectly, be that through Transactional HR or Fractional HRD. Our services are always bespoke to each company and we work closely with the business from the onset to understand their business needs and company culture.

Fractional HRD in particular brings in such a broader HR perspective to companies, with great examples over the years as to how our experience team have suggested and implemented key areas for improvement.”

Based in Sunderland Oculus HR are a team of specialists and operations support, providing innovative and flexible HR solutions to SMEs regionally and nationally through their dedicated and holistic approach. Covering all aspects of employment, including employment contracts, policies and procedures, performance reviews, disciplinary and grievance meetings, and building an extensive client list along the way which includes the Foundation of Light, SAFC, Tyne Coast College, Midas Cladding, Oasis Floral and Glendale Transport. The agency works across sectors from Manufacturing, IT, Construction, Schools, charities, NHS to name but a few.

To find out more about the support packages available for businesses contact the team at Oculus HR: louise@oculus-hr.co.uk

Our Real World HR podcast is on a mission to trailblaze the HR arena with thought-provoking topics which shine the spotlight on key talking points and trends which impact businesses and their employees.

Hosted by our founder and MD, Louise Kennedy, Dr. Max Draper joined our most recent podcast episode with a focus on men’s health, in particular Testosterone Replacement Therapy.

Dr. Max is the lead clinician at Alphagenix. Alphagenix are passionate about improving the quality of life for men nationwide through education, investigation, diagnosis and the treatment of low testosterone levels.

The medical term for testosterone deficiency is Hypogonadism and simply means having a low testosterone level. It happens when the testes do not function normally, and this can be due to a problem in the testes, where testosterone is made, or a problem in the pituitary gland underneath the brain, which controls the function of the testes.

Low testosterone can happen in men of any age, however, there is a progressive decline in testosterone levels as men get older.

It has been noted that testosterone replacement therapy has been used to fight off some of the symptoms of low testosterone which can include exhaustion, weight gain, anxiety, low libido, poor concentration and depression in men.

On the podcast Dr. Max, a qualified doctor who is passionate about Men’s Health, explained how he discovered he had low levels of testosterone and points out the symptoms to look out for. He discusses the difficulties in being diagnosed and why we need to raise awareness on the topic. Louise and Dr. Max also covered what to do if you think you have low testosterone, as well as what you need to be aware of when going ahead with testosterone replacement therapy.

Prior to joining Alphagenix, Dr. Max worked as a GP in the NHS for 8 years. Following his own struggles with Low Testosterone, he went on a mission to educate himself on testosterone deficiency, helping other males like himself get diagnosis, education and treatment.

Louise Kennedy commented:

“I was delighted to be joined in the studio by Dr. Max to take a deep dive into men’s health, in particular the impact that testosterone deficiency has on male employees. Anxiety and poor concentration are noted as symptoms and these are key areas which impact productivity in the workplace, and employer awareness is vital.

It was a really insightful discussion, and the core ethos of the podcast series is to shine the spotlight on key themes and to raise awareness with employers of the impact these can have in the workplace if the systems and support mechanisms aren’t in place for employees.”

Men’s health and the discussion around it can remain a taboo, however, the statistics around men’s health make uncomfortable reading. According to estimates, half of all premature male deaths are preventable, with suicide still the leading cause of death in men under 35.

Communication is key when it comes to men’s health, ‘talking’ needs to be encouraged and not just about the issues, the stigma around discussing men’s health issues needs to be removed. Many companies already offer a range of healthcare support benefits which men and women can access, however the communication and access to these needs to be clear, i.e. Are men aware of how to take the first steps towards discovering just how to access these support services such as health screening, and is there the option to make personalised men’s health and wellbeing support part of your employee benefits package?

The statistics on men’s health can’t be denied, but as an employer, steps can be taken to approach the health and wellbeing journey, both in terms of the mental and physical impact for men in the workplace. Taking this proactive approach can potentially help to improve, performance, retention and talent acquisition.

Based in Sunderland Oculus HR are a team of specialists and operations support, providing innovative and flexible HR solutions to SMEs regionally and nationally through their dedicated and holistic approach. Covering all aspects of employment, including employment contracts, policies and procedures, performance reviews, disciplinary and grievance meetings, and building an extensive client list along the way which includes the Foundation of Light, Queensway Orthodontics, Tyne Coast College, Midas Cladding and Glendale Transport.

To find out more about the support packages available for businesses contact the team at Oculus HR: louise@oculus-hr.co.uk