HR teams have been on the decline for years.

Not because HR isn’t needed. But because in-house HR doesn’t work the way businesses think it does. And the ones who pretend to be external but operate exactly like an in-house team aren’t any better.

The reality is, businesses don’t need HR in the way they think they do. They need something different. Here’s why:

1. Most in-house HR people aren’t actually solving problems

A lot of in-house HR teams get stuck in the admin and compliance hamster wheel. Policies, payroll queries, grievances, and endless ‘initiatives’ that never really change anything. They aren’t moving the business forward. They aren’t solving the real problems that hold companies back.

And let’s be honest, many HR consultants do the same. They step in as an outsourced version of an in-house function, drowning in day to day admin, making no real impact.

What businesses actually need is strategic, commercially focused problem solving from someone who understands business, risk and people. Someone who isn’t just keeping the wheels turning but actively making sure they’re going in the right direction.

2. The best HR professionals don’t want to be stuck in one business

Good HR people don’t stay in-house forever. They know they can make a bigger impact elsewhere. The best ones move into consulting, fractional roles, or high level strategy work because they know that’s where they can make real change.

The problem?

A lot of HR consultants just recreate the same problems they left behind by offering HR support that’s just an outsourced version of the same broken model.

Businesses don’t need ‘HR support.’ They need a partner who understands how to navigate complexity, drive culture change and fix people problems in a way that actually makes sense for the business.

3. Most HR teams are blockers, not enablers

HR should never be the department of ‘no.’ But too many in-house HR teams (and frankly, a lot of bad consultants) make everything harder, not easier. They get caught up in rules and red tape, making life miserable for everyone.

The best HR professionals?

They make things happen. They understand risk but don’t let it paralyse them. They solve problems without hiding behind policies. They help businesses grow, rather than holding them back with bureaucratic nonsense.

4. Businesses don’t need more policies, they need action

HR shouldn’t be about churning out generic policies and running pointless workshops that change nothing. It should be about identifying risks, creating strategies and implementing changes that actually move the needle.

That’s why a business doesn’t need ‘HR support.’ It needs HR that actually works.

And that’s what I do. I solve people problems, help businesses avoid expensive mistakes, and create the kind of cultures that attract and keep great people.

If you want someone to just ‘handle HR’ and tick compliance boxes, that’s not me. If you want someone who can spot the root cause of your people issues, fix them and build something better, we should talk.

Because the businesses that get this right? They win!