Hire HR Talent
Hiring your first HR person? Don't write the job description yet.
CalmHire is HR recruitment for UK founders who want to get this hire right the first time. We start with what your business actually needs — and only then do we find the person to deliver it.
Who CalmHire is built for.
This is right for you if:
- You run a UK business between roughly £1M and £10M revenue, with 15–80 employees.
- You've never had a strategic HR person before — or what you have isn't working.
- You're tired of patching people-issues yourself but you're not sure what kind of help you actually need.
- You've been burned by recruiters before, or you've heard enough stories to be cautious.
- You'd rather be told the truth than sold to.
This isn't right for you if:
- You're hiring at HR Director / Head of People level for an established function. (Try Frazer Jones, Oakleaf, or Annapurna.)
- You want a fractional HR Director, not a permanent hire. (We can refer you to specialists.)
- You want volume contract or temp staffing.
- You've already got the role nailed and just want CVs sent over fast. We won't be your cheapest or quickest option.
We say no to about as many enquiries as we say yes to. That's the point.
How CalmHire works.
The HR Brief Diagnostic (free)
A structured 45-minute conversation about your business, your trajectory, and what's actually getting in the way. By the end, you'll have a written job description that names the role you genuinely need — which sometimes turns out to be different from the role you came in describing. Free of charge. Valued at £950.
Targeted search
With the job description signed off, we go to market. Not a 200-CV trawl — a focused search built around it, drawing on ten years of HR network and direct sector outreach. You'll see three to five strong candidates, not thirty average ones.
Placement, with a 60-day guarantee
Once you've made an offer and the candidate has started, we stay close for the first 60 days. If for any reason it doesn't work — fit, performance, anything — we replace them at no additional fee. No conditions buried in the small print.
Getting HR hiring wrong is expensive.
For HR roles specifically, the cost compounds. A poor HR hire doesn't just affect one team — it affects your entire people function, your culture, your compliance, and every manager who relies on HR to support them.
What it costs.
The HR Brief Diagnostic is free. If you decide to engage CalmHire for the search, our fee is 15% of the placed candidate's first-year salary.
For a typical first HR hire at £45,000, that's £6,750. For a more senior placement at £75,000, it's £11,250. Half is invoiced when you sign the engagement letter; the balance when the candidate accepts an offer.
No retainers (yet). No hidden costs. No “additional charges for premium candidates.” If the role doesn't fit, we tell you before you spend anything.
What founders usually ask us.
I've already written the job description. Do I still need the Diagnostic?
Yes — and often the Diagnostic changes the JD significantly. Most founders write the job they think they need, not the role the business actually needs. We've had clients come in wanting an HR Manager and leave realising they needed a part-time HRBP plus an outsourced compliance provider. Or vice versa. The hour we spend on the Diagnostic almost always saves weeks of mis-aimed search.
How long does the search take?
Typically four to eight weeks from signed-off job description to placed candidate. Faster than that usually means you've compromised on fit. Slower than that usually means the job description was wrong and we should re-diagnose.
What if you can't find the right person?
It happens — rarely, but it happens. If we can't deliver a candidate who matches the role within a reasonable timeframe, we either re-open the Diagnostic to test whether the job description was right, or we step away and refund the deposit. We won't send you bad candidates to justify our fee.
What happens if the placed candidate doesn't work out?
For 60 days after they start, if it doesn't work — for any reason, including the candidate leaving — we replace them at no additional fee. This is the point at which most bad hires reveal themselves, and we'd rather underwrite the risk than walk away.
Why should I trust you over a bigger agency?
Two reasons. First, I spent ten years inside HR — most recruiters at bigger firms have never done the job they're recruiting for. Second, you'll be working directly with me, not a junior consultant trying to hit quota. Bigger isn't better when the question is whether someone genuinely understands the role.
What if I'm not sure I'm ready?
Book the Diagnostic. It's free, and if the answer is “you're not ready to hire yet, here's what to do first,” that's the answer we'll give you. We'd rather have an honest conversation now than a bad placement six months later.
The Diagnostic is the easiest decision on the page.
No fee. No commitment to engage. Forty-five minutes that will leave you with a clearer plan than most founders have after six months of trying to figure it out alone.
Book Your Free Strategy Session →