Straight-talking HR for Guildford small businesses.

HR support for Guildford SMEs.

Beagle HR works with small and medium businesses across Guildford and the surrounding area, from the town centre and the Research Park out to Godalming, Shalford and the Surrey Hills villages. As the county town and home to the University of Surrey, Guildford has a distinctive economy: a strong technology and games-development cluster, science and research, financial and professional services, and a busy retail and hospitality scene.

Tech, gaming and knowledge-based employers compete hard for talent and often grow in fast bursts, which puts real pressure on the people side. Getting offers, contracts, equity and IP terms, probation and performance right early on saves a lot of pain later.

We give Guildford employers the HR support a bigger company would have in-house, without the cost: compliant contracts, a proper handbook, sensible policies, and practical advice when something tricky lands. All in plain English, all on a fixed fee, all from people who know the local market.

Retained HR support

Day-to-day HR for your team. Disciplinaries, sickness, contracts, the lot. Email and phone access to me. Priced on your team size.

HR compliance audit

One-off review of your contracts, handbook, policies and processes. Written report. Priority fix list. Priced on a call.

HR Compliance Programme

Six-month fixed-fee programme to put your HR foundations in place from scratch. Priced on your team size.

Common HR challenges for Guildford employers.

Guildford’s tech, gaming and research employers grow in bursts and compete fiercely for skilled people, so recruitment, retention and getting contracts right early are constant pressures.

Recruiting and keeping good people. Competition for staff in this part of Surrey is real, and the cost of living does not help. We help with clear offers, sensible probation, and the contract and benefit basics that make people stay.

The first difficult conversation. The first disciplinary, grievance, capability or sickness case is where small employers are most exposed. Handle it badly and it can become a tribunal claim. We guide you through it step by step, or run it for you.

Getting compliant and staying there. Contracts that pre-date the Employment Rights Act 2025, a handbook nobody has touched in years, missing right-to-work checks. We put the foundations right, then keep them current as the law changes.

Why a local Surrey HR consultant.

Most of the day-to-day work happens by phone, email and video, which keeps things quick and keeps your costs down. But being local to Surrey means we turn up in person when it actually matters: an on-site audit, a sensitive meeting, a disciplinary or grievance hearing where a real person in the room makes the difference. You deal with Dan and the Beagle HR team directly, not a call centre and not a different adviser every time. Because we only take on a limited number of businesses at once, you get an HR partner who genuinely knows your business.

Working with us is straightforward. It starts with a free 15-minute review, where we listen, tell you honestly what your business needs and what it does not, and agree a fixed fee before you commit to anything. There is no hourly clock running, no lock-in on the ongoing retainer, and nobody passing you around. You get plain English, a clear plan, and someone who picks up the phone.