About
HR can seem overly complicated and sometimes a bit frightening to small business owners, at Grounded HR we strongly believe that HR can be straightforward. We believe you can get the best out of your people and be legally compliant, without the need for complicated systems and lots of policies.
At Grounded HR we also want to change the stereotype of HR people; we aren’t all power hungry, grim reaper types only showing up to meetings when someone is going to be ‘sacked’. HR professionals can be warm, creative and compassionate, whilst still supporting business owners with tough decisions.
Meet the Team
Caroline Chapman
Creator and Director
My name is Caroline and I am on a mission to change the face of HR. I founded Grounded HR to change the face of HR and to be able to provide compassionate and straightforward HR advice and support for small business owners. Essentially to put the ‘Human’ back into HR.
I believe how you treat people significantly impacts business performance, if you treat people with compassion, it builds trust. Trusted employees perform better, are more innovative and create a competitive advantage for your business. I also 100% believe if you need to have a tough conversation or even ‘sack’ someone, this can be done in a compassionate way, creating better outcomes for everyone.
Compassion is not about being soft, it’s about taking a breath and taking thoughtful action.
I am CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and development) qualified and for over 20 years have provided my expertise to organisations in a variety of sectors; from family run businesses, manufacturing companies, FTSE 100 companies and various charities.
I am a mum of three and we are neurodiverse family. When I am not working I love to spend time outdoors with my family, crafting and chilling out.
Julia Beeby
Lead HR Consultant
I’m Julia an HR Consultant with nearly 20 years experience. I’m passionate about helping people and adding genuine value. This could be assisting you in getting the best from your team, tackling difficult conversations and workplace issues, or making the technical HR jargon simple to understand and implement.
Alongside being CIPD qualified, I have experience of complex HR issues both from a Company perspective and an Employee prospective. I've also experienced Employment Tribunals from both viewpoints.
One of my key principles is giving back to others, I founded and run a not-for-profit community group for my village with the aim to enhance our village. I also have a New Baby and Mum-to-Be giftset business, BB's Baby Bundles. This is something I'm particularly proud of as I created this in celebration of our firstborn daughter, who passed away unexpectedly at 4 days old in 2014. Through this, I raise awareness of baby loss, often a difficult and avoided subject for many.
I love DIY and spending time with my daughter. I have undertaken some significant property developments, our pet cat is a veteran with our DIY chaos but our dog is on a significant learning curve.
Rhiannon Collinson
HR Consultant
I’m Rhiannon, a CIPD qualified HR Consultant & Policy Specialist for Grounded HR. I have experience in working across a range of areas in HR, including advising managers on complex issues, policy work, and Recruitment, in both the UK and Australia.
I’m energised by helping others, and at Grounded HR I have the opportunity to do this daily, by supporting you with a variety of HR needs, from providing advice and guidance to developing HR policies.
I love being outdoors whenever I can be; hiking, bike riding and camping with my family. I also enjoy learning about all things wellbeing, and I’m improving my meditation skills every day!
Charlotte Ledgard
HR Admin Specialist
I am Charlotte and I have been working in HR for over 20 years in a variety of different types of organisations. I am CIPD qualified with an MSc in Human Resource Management.
I love the day-to-day challenges and variety of HR using my experience to help companies and employees get the best from their working lives in whatever way I can. This can mean providing support and structure to a recruitment process – getting the right people in the right job at the right time - or ensuring that the backbone policies and procedures are in place to create the right culture and ethos for the organisation.
And ethos is the word that attracted me to Grounded HR at a time when compassion is vital to attract and retain quality candidates and employees – to work in a caring way and gain the trust and commitment of your staff, customers, and colleagues.
I love to spend time with my children when I am not at work and as a neuro diverse family we do spend a lot of time together working our way gently through the challenges of the teenage years. We also have a great time with our eccentric rescue dog and extremely bossy young cat.
Grace Dalley
Lead Consultant
I’m Grace and have been a chartered CIPD practitioner for 15 years. As lead HR Consultant I provide clients with support in all areas that will include advising on complicated disciplinary and grievance matters, developing organisational structures, or drafting employment contracts. I have previously led an HR team and provided advice to managers on complex employment issues.
I’m also passionate about corporate governance and my business GED & Co Ltd supports directors and company secretaries to meet their company’s legal and regulatory obligations.
I enjoy spending my free time with family and friends and attending amazing music festivals in the summer. I try to keep fit and aim to get into the gym at least once a week.
Hannah Swierstra
Virtual Executive Assistant
I’m Hannah I am Grounded HR’s Executive Assistant. I help with all of Grounded HR’s behind-the-scenes admin including project management and social media. I also do a spot of confidential minute taking. After many years working in administrative and management roles I made the decision to create my own business, Balance VA Services.
At Balance VA Services my aim is to provide great quality, effective administrative support, to overwhelmed business owners, so they can work on their business, not in it. Life is short, and I want to help create space for people to spend time on what's important, whatever that may be.
Balance is the keyword. I offer a range of services from traditional PA work through to project and online business management. You can find out more about me and the services I offer at: www.balance-va.co.uk
When I am not working, I love the outdoors, I don't care about getting muddy or wet, although I do like to stay warm. I enjoy the odd tipple and I adopted a dog, Kiki, in November 2020 and she is a gorgeous, distracting, 7-year-old terrier.