How can we help you?

The members of the Company of HR Professionals offer pro bono support on an individual basis to suitable organisations that would benefit from their experience and expertise.

All requests for pro bono support are considered by the Company's Pro Bono Committee (PBC) who will ensure that the request falls within our remit and that the organisation meets the Company’s criteria.

Areas of support

Our main focus is on helping with strategic HR issues, developing skills and competences in HR and improving employability for young people or those who are disadvantaged in the workplace. This can take many forms from specific developmental plans to helping senior members of an organisation work through particular concerns and issues.

We offer support to eligible organisations in four main areas:

  • Discussion with an HR Professional: an opportunity to have a sounding board to talk through your people agenda. We offer you a confidential one-hour discussion with an experienced HR professional to help you identify ways forward in dealing with your people challenges, whether it is a specific issue or how to prioritise dealing with a number of issues and when/how to source external support
  • HR Health Check: a high-level review to identify strengths and risks with the way you approach HR within the charity. If you are concerned that your HR policies may not be optimal, an HR professional will interview key people within the organisation and review key policies. They will offer observations and thoughts on areas that might need attention or opportunities for improving the approach to HR within the organisation
  • HR Workshops: online interactive workshops to help charities understand how they might deal with the practical challenge of HR today. HR Professionals share experiences from across sectors, offering insights and understanding to groups of people in a wide range of HR issues. Examples of recent workshops include ‘Recruitment and Selection’, ‘Creating a Feedback Culture’ and ‘Performance Management’
  • Employability Support: experienced individuals can help to deliver the service offered by charities working with individuals seeking employment. We provide insights informed by our involvement in designing recruitment processes and recruiting staff. We know what employers are likely to be looking for and how candidates can prepare themselves. Note - our members act as individuals and do not offer a route to employment in the organisations they work for

Areas where we do not offer support:

  • we do not offer any support in Employment Law, Tax or Pension.
  • our members do not undertake work which is advisory/operational in nature, our role is not to compete with the commercial market for operational HR services and consulting.

Our Volunteers

Our volunteers are members of the Company of HR Professionals and most have held substantive positions in HR or other people related professions such as Recruitment or Executive Coaching and are often employed. Therefore most volunteers can offer only a few hours a month to support a charity. We deliver most of our services virtually, to save travel, and we have limited our offer to the principal areas listed to enable us to be able to deliver the services effectively. If you need a consultant to re-write your staff handbook or undertake a disciplinary investigation, for example, these are best purchased from the market place.

Eligible organisations

The Company does not have strict qualifying criteria but the overall objective is to support smaller charities and similar not-for-profit organisations. The principal guidance is that recipients should:

  • Be a charity, a not-for-profit organisation or have similar goals and objectives to a charity (e.g., social enterprises).
  • Not otherwise be able to afford the type of support that they are requesting.
  • Not be funded (e.g., public bodies) directly or indirectly to provide the support requested.

Requesting pro bono support

If you feel that your organisation would benefit from our pro bono support please contact the Pro Bono Committee at pro-bono@hrprofessionals.org.uk. We will make a preliminary assessment of the request covering the help that is being sought and eligibility of the requesting organisation.

If both parties wish to proceed, the steps will be to:

  • Confirm the scope of the support requested. This is a key step to ensure that all parties fully understand and agree the parameters for the work and to allow the PBC to identify a suitable volunteer(s).
  • Introduce the volunteer(s) and the organisation to ensure both are happy to proceed and to allow the organisation the opportunity to confirm that the volunteer(s) has the skills and experience to meet their needs.
  • Enter into a formal Agreement between the volunteer(s) and the organisation to confirm the support offered. This Agreement ensures clarity on the work to be done and also recognises that as part of its pro bono nature neither the volunteer nor the Company is liable for any loss or damage suffered as a result of this arrangement or the provision of any services.
  • The work proceeds.

At the end of the assignment the PBC will seek feedback from the organisation on the work undertaken.

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