3 months in and still no contract…
Build a cultureas strong asyour brand.
A People Operations consultancy for founders whose personal brands fuel their business.
I sort the policies, systems and people strategy, so the only thing going viral is your content.
See how I can help
How many HR consultants do you know who are also creators?
I’m Desola, the founder of Read the Room and the Creator behind Your HR Bestie®. I’m CIPD-qualified, with a decade of experience working in HR across startups and scale-ups, in both operations and strategy.
My career has always been fuelled by one belief: that employee advocacy builds great businesses.
When I became a Creator, thousands of everyday people began trusting me with how they genuinely feel about work. That gave me access to insights most HR professionals never see: what the workforce really wants, how people respond when the workplace falls short, and the things they would never say to their manager.
My community is made up of the same people your business hires. What they tell me shapes what I build for you.
Read the Room brings my social listening and HR expertise together, where I design People strategies for founders and teams who live in the modern world, and who are, more often than not, chronically online.
When you work with me, my insights become yours.
- Community
- 50k+
- Years in HR
- 10+
- CIPD qualified
- Level 5
Social listening
Direct insights from a community that trusts me with how they truly feel about the world of work.
Creator-economy fluent
I know what it takes to build a personal brand, and how quickly one post from your audience (or team) can undo it.
Over a decade in HR
Startups, scale-ups, operations and strategy. I’ve written the contracts, policies and handbooks, and seen what happens when they’re implemented too late.
Trusted by teams at
“I handle all the HR.”
Founders say this all the time, usually when things seem to be going well.
Revenue is consistent. Hiring is steady. Growth is sustainable. And your team seems genuinely happy.
But you’re juggling everything from leadership strategy to content, and client calls, while also carrying the contracts, policies, onboarding and wellbeing of everyone who works for you. That’s a lot for one person to hold. And if something falls through the cracks, you’re likely the last one to notice.
Your team won’t always raise a problem with you directly. They’ll mention it to a friend, vent about it in a group chat, or worse, post about it online, before you get a chance to fix what’s broken.
What the room is really saying
Anonymous · 2h Anonymous · 5h love the founder’s content. working there is a different story
Anonymous · 1d no onboarding, just vibes 🙃
Illustrative examples
The things employees won’t tell you, they’ll tell the internet. And my DMs.
Founders are starting to realise that:
Proactive HR = Positive PR
Three ways I can help.
Every option is built for the same result: stronger leadership, a more engaged team, and less risk, from turnover to employment law. Each one fits a different need, from knowing you’re legally covered to having HR on hand every month. If you’re not sure which fits, we’ll work it out together on a discovery call.
The Compliance Kit
For when you need to know you're legally covered.
- Employment contract and agreement templates
- Employee handbook
- Core policies
- Optional: non-statutory policies
- Up to date with every Employment Rights Act change in force, within 14 days
From £2,995
Book a discovery callRecommended
Your HR Bestie® Essentials Kit.
Everything a growing founder-led team needs to set the right foundations, in one fixed project.
01
Policies, Processes & Compliance
Contracts, policies and handbooks that accurately reflect up-to-date employment law, written in plain language that your team will actually understand.
02
Employee Engagement Hub
Onboarding that gets new starters up to speed without depending on you. Then one home for everything else your team needs, from performance to absence, so people feel informed and connected. Built around how you already work.
03
Employer Brand MOT
An honest read on what attracts and retains talent: salary benchmarking, benefits audit, career and development pathways. Know where you stand before your team (or the internet) tells you.
From £4,995
The HR Partnership
For when you want HR on hand, defined according to what you need, when you need it.
- The Compliance or Essentials Kit, tailored to you
- Retained or fractional HR
- Ongoing support with manager coaching, performance management and employee relations
- People Operations, systems and tech stack
Monthly rate based on your brief
Book a discovery callHow it works
I start by reading the room: an honest assessment of how your culture really works. Then I build what’s missing.
- 01Discovery
- 02Assessment & proposed deliverables
- 03Onboarding
- 04Delivery
The founders I work best with.
You’ve built something people want to be part of, and you want it to stay that way.
- You’re scaling or sustaining a 6–7 figure business.
- Your personal brand is part of how the business grows.
- Your team has outgrown ‘I handle all the HR’.
- You believe doing right by people is good for business.
The room has spoken.
“Desola has an incredible talent for communication — always finding the right tone at the right time, with clarity and compassion. She helped me and my team navigate multiple challenges, and is simply brilliant at what she does.”
“With a growing team, specialist HR support was paramount. Desola created frameworks and robust documentation that we continue to rely on. She introduced 121 sessions that provided a safe space for the whole team, and was an invaluable sounding board for me.”
“Desola produced foundational documents — contracts, policies and handbooks — that suited our culture and creative environment. Her executive coaching in performance management helped me keep the team highly engaged and happy.”
Questions founders ask me.
Things are going well. Do I really need HR?
It’s the best time to start. Putting the right foundations in place while things are calm is faster, more affordable and far less stressful than doing it in the middle of a problem.
Which option is right for me?
If you mainly need to know you’re legally covered, the Compliance Kit. If your team is growing and you want onboarding, engagement and your employer brand in good shape too, the Essentials Kit. If you’d like HR on hand month to month, the HR Partnership. If you’re not sure, we’ll work it out together on a discovery call.
Why not hire someone in-house?
You can, once the role is justified. Until then, the HR Partnership gives you senior HR support for as much of the month as you need, and the Compliance Kit or Essentials Kit gets the foundations right without a full-time salary.
Is this a retainer?
The Compliance Kit and the Essentials Kit aren’t. Each is one fixed project at a fixed price. If you’d rather have ongoing support, the HR Partnership is a monthly arrangement, available from day one.
Why doesn’t the HR Partnership have a set price?
Because it’s shaped around what your team needs, from a few hours a month to being part of your team for set days each week. Once we’ve agreed the scope on a discovery call, you’ll have a clear monthly rate.
Do you only work with creators?
No. I work with founder-led businesses in any sector. What they have in common is a founder with a public profile and a team they genuinely care about.
What’s the Employee Engagement Hub?
Part of the Essentials Kit. It starts with onboarding, so every new starter gets the same great first weeks without you running them. It then becomes the home for performance, absence and everything your team needs to know, so people feel informed and connected without having to ask. It’s built around how you already work.
Which employment law do you work to?
UK employment law, kept up to date as it changes, including the Employment Rights Act 2025 changes being phased in through 2026 and 2027.