With over a century of baking heritage, Hobbs House Bakery Ltd has expanded its reach across the UK, serving national and local businesses alike. To keep their HR practices as strong as their reputation, Hobbs House partnered with HR People Support for expertise in recruitment, performance management, and compliance. This partnership provides the bakery with the HR peace of mind needed to focus on growth, people, and tradition.
Established for over a hundred years, Hobbs House Bakery Ltd remains a family run business producing an exciting range of award-winning bread and bakery products. They employ over 150 people and their products are enjoyed throughout the UK in nationally renowned retail and hospitality chains like the Co-op and the National Trust, along with regional businesses, village stores, and farm shops. Additionally, the company runs four high street outlets including coffee shop services, a successful cookery school, and a busy online retailing operation.
HR People Support (HRPS) were recommended by a retiring HR consultant, and from the start of the partnership, the relationship and trust has gone from strength to strength. Says Jenny Greenaway, Head of People at Hobbs House Ltd:
“The origins of the company as a family run business are still evident today, and its why people love working for us. But with a large and expanding workforce and an increasing range of products and services, we need to ensure our HR policies and procedures are compliant, modern, and highly effective. HRPS provide us with expert help across all HR and people affecting initiatives.”
Although staff turnover is relatively low, Hobbs House wanted to ensure their recruitment methods, results, and onboarding processes were industry leading, and they undertook a review with HRPS. It was reassuring that that no major gaps were evident, and action was taken to improve candidate sifting and interviewing methodologies, along with a formalised employee probation period, all based on industry best practice.
Managing instances of unsatisfactory behaviour and poor performance are thankfully few and far between, but when they occur, they must be dealt with promptly and professionally. HRPS helped Hobbs improve their performance, sickness, and disciplinary management practices – with clear expectations, timelines, and ‘trigger points’ for next steps. The formalised process has been well received by management and staff alike, and everything is now clearly documented in an easy-to-understand format.
The closure of a shop for strategic and commercial reasons needed to be handled carefully and sympathetically. HRPS helped Hobbs House manage the situation compliantly through to a satisfactory outcome. Options were discussed with the people involved, and mutually acceptable solutions were agreed, that included redeployment in the business, and redundancy settlement agreements.
Hobbs House’s staff handbook was in need of refresh. It had been extended over the years and was overly complex and no longer fit for purpose. With all the changes in legislation and employment practices, the task seemed too onerous and complicated to tackle in-house. HRPS undertook the project and introduced a modern, concise document covering all aspects of employment with the company, whilst maintaining the original core values and tone of voice. The new handbook is in digital format, and can be printed as required.
The company needed to update its legacy time, attendance, and payroll system to accommodate increased staff numbers and scale of the business. The payroll element required an adjustment to calendar payments, which was staff affecting and needed positioning and communicating to the workforce. HRPS helped prepare the communication plan with clear timelines, messaging, and updates – supporting the company throughout the process and successful implementation. Concludes Jenny Greenaway:
“HRPS really understand us as a business, and I trust them totally. They consider every angle and really think things through, providing calm insightful guidance. I love working with them. Feeling totally supported in every aspect of HR is a massive reassurance to our entire company, and our growing business partnership is something I look forward to.”