Member Article

Louise Kennedy Celebrates an Award Hat Trick

Leading North East Consultancy Oculus HR, founded by Louise Kennedy, has been a finalist in three prestigious awards within a week.

Louise Kennedy FCIPD scooped Entrepreneur of the Year at the Sunderland Echo Business Excellence Awards 2023.

Louise and her team were also finalists in two national awards. These comprised:

Small HR Consultancy at the prestigious Personnel Today Awards, where Oculus HR was listed in the top 5 UK consultancies

Entrepreneur of the Year category at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards - both held in Grosvenor House in London earlier this week.

Owner and director Louise Kennedy said, “I am incredibly proud to be recognised by my peers and the business industry. Oculus HR has had an excellent year assisting our clients, onboarding new ones and finding fresh and innovative ways to support and develop each one uniquely.

“Recently we achieved 32% growth year on year, connected with many inspiring businesses at events and enjoyed wonderful client feedback. We have also developed more free resources and tools to help all businesses; including a free HR Health Check quiz, podcast episodes and blogs on our website.

“These awards are the icing on our 10th birthday cake, and I am extremely grateful to my dedicated team members – these recognitions are a testimony to their hard work and excellence. The support from people throughout the North East has been overwhelming – it’s just been fantastic”.

Louise and Oculus HR was also awarded Business of the Year at the inaugural Wear Businesswomen of the Year Awards in October.

The business, established in 2013, was started by Louise Kennedy after identifying a gap in the North East market for a consultancy that offered flexible, innovative HR solutions. It has now been expanded nationally.

Louise, a qualified CIPD professional of over 23 years, set up Oculus HR to provide flexible HR solutions to businesses of all sizes after leaving her role at a long-standing manufacturer.

Recognising that HR was integral to all businesses but was increasingly needed on an outsourced basis, Louise built the Oculus HR model around client needs.

The team, which has grown to five people, includes HR specialists and operations support. Oculus HR has built a client list which includes the Foundation of Light, Queensway Orthodontics, Tyne Coast College, Midas Cladding and Glendale Transport, some of which have been with the company since its inception.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ava Hartington .