Agile HR Newsletter December 2025

15 years in business as an HR Consultancy (Reflections)

2025 has been a significant milestone for Agile HR Consulting as it is our 15th year of providing expertise, support and advice to a vast array of industry sectors all joined under the ‘SME umbrella.’  Interesting that one of the key challenges for 2025 business is becoming more Agile. I’m ever grateful for my husband Matt, crafting our Agile HR name!

The employment landscape has changed significantly over 15 years, in many respects for the better with much more understanding of employee wellbeing and the need for balance. There is huge recognition of the power that SME businesses to bring to the UK economy. To be precise, there were 4.5 million SMEs in 2010 contrasted to 5.7 million in 2025. To share some stats, 99.2% of these classify as small business (0-49 employees) with medium business (50-249 employees) is 0.67%.

The most recognised leadership skill in 2010 was Creativity, by 2025 this has become Adaptability and Emotional Intelligence (EQ.)

HR Challenges in 2010 were focused on the economy recovering from the 2008 recession, companies struggled with attracting and retaining talent, with 51% of respondents in a 2010 poll ranking recruitment as a major challenge. Other challenges involved developing global talent and integrating different cultural workforces. 

People & Culture challenges in 2025 are now around navigating and understanding the true impact of AI, managing the complexities of hybrid and remote work, fostering employee retention and engagement, addressing economic uncertainties, and transforming HR to become a more strategic and agile function. Other significant challenges involve upskilling your teams, developing leaders, creating equitable and inclusive cultures, and ensuring legal compliance as the workplace evolves.

Myself and my team continue to be extremely committed to our wonderful and diverse group of clients, many of whom we have worked with for many years. We are as genuinely invested in your business as you are.

Wishing everyone a Happy Christmas/ well deserved break and a successful 2026.

Thank you

Jenny (much as I love AI – this was personally written by me 😊)