Rebecca
Bull

Rebecca Bull, is the founder and director of award-winning Nottinghamshire based business My HR Hub. Since graduating from Nottingham Business School, she has retained strong ties with NTU both personally and professionally.

She looks back warmly at her time studying here whilst pregnant with her daughter, who is now on her own journey as an NTU student, and shares how she found her passion for working with people.

Tell us about your career journey so far

After graduating, I worked across a number of global companies and household names such as Games Workshop, Convergys, and Speedo International before starting my own business.

I launched My HR Hub in 2016 and it is now an award-winning HR consultancy for start-up, small and fast-growing businesses. My HR Hub has been growing steadily over the years, over 80% of new clients are through word-of-mouth referrals from happy clients and we have won several awards since 2016.

In 2019 I launched my second business, My HR Club. Initially it was formed to support ‘stand-alone’ HR professionals working in SME’s who needed a supportive, like-minded community. It has since evolved into a fully-fledged HR offering for small businesses on a low budget that need HR support or guidance, remotely.

When did your passion for working with people begin?

I lived in Switzerland for 9 years, in my late teens. I just love adventure and travelling, as well as languages. I returned home to Nottingham and enrolled at NTU to study German. Upon finishing, I applied for a role as German-speaking PA to the MD of Games Workshop Germany.

They recognised that I was particularly good at working with people and within a short space of time, Games Workshop agreed to fund a Postgraduate course in HR and Business Management at NTU; the rest they say, is history.

What does a typical day look like for you?

Any one in HR will tell you that it is like ‘a box of chocolates!’ I thrive on variety and problem solving, I would say my role is split between running the business and supporting the growing team as well as supporting clients on a range of HR challenges from recruitment, team building, redundancies, policy, employee relations, HR strategy, to name a few.

I also work on business development and planning ahead, considering new HR innovation, product and services development, new supplier partnerships and strategic partnerships. We are a small business but are agile and can move and adapt to the challenges we face.

Our business model is based on recommendations and referrals from existing clients and partners, so it is key to nurture these relationships, which I have been committed to since forming the company, customer service is everything.

Is there something you wish you had been told before starting your career?

I underestimated the hard work it would take to establish my own business. However, I was not scared by this, I was happy to take on the challenge.

To anyone thinking of starting their career I would say do something you are passionate about, work harder, then work harder again!

Finally, be kind, this business currency overrides any ego and expectation that you deserve to succeed.

What other challenges have you overcome in your career?

HR is sometimes a thankless role, especially 20 years ago. It has now become a recognised and critical support function, many thanks to Covid. In the early days, it was hard to get a seat at the board room, but I held many roles where I did do this, being the only female in the senior management team.

Tell us about your memories of NTU- what did you learn, both inside and outside of lectures? 

I learnt that the business landscape is critical to understand in order to practice good HR. My Lecturer at the time said that we need to see ourselves as ‘self-employed’ regardless of who we work for. That it is so much about personal brand and reputation, this has carried me through many job changes.

What makes you smile when you look back?

In my final year, I had my first child and was on maternity leave. Matilda was only 3 weeks old when my Lecturer asked me if I was sitting the Employment Law exam. I said no as I had just had a baby! He told me that it was only 3 hours long and that I could fit this in in between breast feeding! I actually did take the exam (goodness knows how!) and achieved my best result! I am not sure how, as I did not have time to revise, but I was quite relaxed!

My daughter is now an employee of my business and also studying at Nottingham Trent University on a Degree Apprenticeship.

I feel very proud to belong to this community and especially proud to be a graduate of NTU. I still reflect and still feel I am learning from those early days and cannot feel happier to have come from such a great learning environment.

What are your plans for the future?

Our plan for the future is to continue to grow our client base with our talented team! We have plans to work more strategically with our existing partners for the benefit of our clients, and also expand My HR Club’s offering and membership base, whilst still maintaining our client-focused approach to everything we do.

Connect with Rebecca on LinkedIn: Rebecca Bull | LinkedIn