Going for Growth: HR supremo Caroline Reidy from The HR Suite on her scaling journey and the art of asking the right questions.
Award-winning business development scheme for women entrepreneurs Going for Growth is accepting applications for the 16th year of the programme.
The programme, which is supported by Enterprise Ireland and KPMG, helps ambitious female entrepreneurs to achieve their growth ambitions – helping to build stronger companies, create new jobs and increase revenues.
“It was a real opportunity for me to give something back. I was in a position to do so, and I am honoured to do it. Each year I love the diversity of businesses and helping others on a similar path to me. Even though our business may be different, the challenges, business concepts and opportunities are all similar!”
The 15th cycle of Going for Growth reported significant results for its 69 participants. Combined turnover increased from €80.6m at the start of the cycle to almost €92.3m by the end, almost a 15% increase in just six months.
The deadline for applications for the 16th cycle of Going for Growth is Friday 17 November 2023.
Up to 60 places will be available and applications are sought from female entrepreneurs across all sectors who are strongly focused on growth. There is no charge for those selected and the six-month initiative will begin in January 2024. To learn more, click here
The HR Suite
Caroline Reidy is the owner and managing director of the HR Suite and is a HR and Employment Law Expert.
With a Master’s in human resources from the University of Limerick, Caroline is also CIPD accredited, as well as being a trained mediator. She has served as Commissioner for the Low Pay Commission and is also an adjudicator on the Work Place Relations Commission.
Having worked in HR in the Kerry Group and as Operations and HR Director in the Garvey Group, Caroline saw a new market opportunity for a business partner approach to HR and in 2009, she established the HR Suite.
“I could see there was a real need for this type of approach, where we, as account managers, could really get to know our clients and help them on their HR journey, as their businesses evolved and grew,” says Caroline.
Now one of the biggest Irish HR companies with offices in Dublin, Kerry and Cork, The HR Suite offers specialist tailored and effective solutions in human resources, employment law, training and e-learning to clients throughout Ireland.
Caroline has a strong focus on continuing to evolve and grow the HR Suite. The company now boasts over 800 clients nationwide, from large global companies to SMEs as well as smaller companies that have no HR function. The business has also evolved into three distinct areas: Employment Law; HR Best Practice; and Training and e-learning.
In the early years of running the HR Suite as a female entrepreneur, Caroline knew of no other female entrepreneurs based in Kerry and so jumped at the chance to join the 5th cycle of Going for Growth with Colette Twomey as her Lead Entrepreneur. “Colette was amazing. She really encouraged me to set ambitious targets and was there to support me, along with my fellow female entrepreneurs, to reach them”.
Largely due to her positive experience and the invaluable network that the Going for Growth community provides, Caroline became a Lead Entrepreneur at the outset of the ACORNS programme nine years ago.
“It was a real opportunity for me to give something back. I was in a position to do so, and I am honoured to do it. Each year I love the diversity of businesses and helping others on a similar path to me. Even though our business may be different, the challenges, business concepts and opportunities are all similar!” says Caroline.
Caroline is also a talented author, having written “The Art of Asking the Right Question” a tool kit for people managers to ensure they maximise the talent of their people. She has also presented “The Art of Asking the Right Question” as a really popular TEDx talk.
The focus of the TEDx talk is different to the book, as it focuses on the personal power of questions, particularly from a personal development perspective. She has also written a children’s book “Celebrating You” which is about diversity, emotional intelligence, and inclusion.
In terms of the future for The HR Suite, a new tech solution is being launched, which will provide a smart and easy way to store all HR related documentation for companies and assist them with HR management and compliance. It has been tailored by HR experts to ensure its easy to use. In addition, a newly opened office in Cork, and the hiring of a new Chief Operating Officer, all point to another exciting growth phase for The HR Suite on its journey to continue to be a leading HR provider in Ireland.
The deadline for applications for the 16th cycle of Going for Growth is Friday 17 November 2023. To learn more, click here
