This week’s In The Company Of… feature is with Jennifer Brennan, Director of Harlow Consulting.

By John Grainger, Harrogate Advertiser

Tuesday, 23rd August 2022, 3:14 pm

Q: In a nutshell, what does your company do and how did it start?

A: We offer all types of qualitative and quantitative research, evaluation and consultancy. We also work extensively in education and write qualifications, standards, and apprenticeship frameworks.

I’d worked for a long time with Clare Vokes, who is the fellow founder and co-director of Harlow Consulting. It started because we decided we wanted to set up on our own, and do things a bit differently.

Q: What's the most surprising thing about it?

A: The fast growth has surprised us. We weren’t expecting to grow as quickly as we did. Turnover trebled from year one to year two, and it’s well on the way to doubling from year two to year three.

I think the success is due to the fact that we’re really driven by our values, and quality is at the heart of that.

Q: What do you do in the business?

A: As one of the founding directors, I’m very much involved in both strategic and operational delivery. Clare and I are constantly looking at the future direction of the business, its short-term and long-term strategies.

Operationally, I manage a lot of projects and write tenders to win new work. I lead on all our evaluation work. I also focus on training and development in the business.

I mentor students from Leeds University and am one of the Market Research Society mentors, as I particularly enjoy developing people and supporting them.

Q: How did you end up here?

A: My early career was somewhat eclectic! I graduated in History and started my career auditing legal aid solicitors, then changed track completely and moved into education recruitment. This evolved into executive search and then to management due diligence.

I moved into a research role in 2005, realised it was what I loved and never really looked back from there. I got promoted several times and reached a point where Clare and I were ready to set up on our own.

Q: If you weren't doing this, what would you be doing?

A: I’d be a professional organiser. I’d organise people’s lives, their houses, anything! I’d be on the Netflix show The Home Edit basically!

Q: What motivates you?

A: I like knowing my clients are happy. If they turn round and say, that’s brilliant, that’s really made an impact - that motivates me - making a difference with the research we’re doing.

Also, being a good role model for my daughter, Alice who’s nearly nine, so she can see that if you focus on what you want, and work hard, you can achieve anything.

Q: What one thing do you wish you had known when you started out in business?

A: That you don’t have to say yes to everything. It’s fine to learn as you go, and it’s OK to make mistakes. That’s more than one!

Q: What excites you about business?

A: I like winning new work and building relationships with current and new clients. I enjoy it when there’s a new challenge - when I can learn something different.

So, winning our first projects really stands out as a highlight, and then when we doubled our turnover in year two.

Q: What is your pet hate in business?

A: Office politics.

Q: What advice would you give to people just starting their careers?

A: Learn everything you can. It’s good to change and evolve. Don’t just think about what you’re good at, think about how you want to feel every day; think about what you enjoy. You’re at work a long time; it needs to excite you.

Q: Who in business do you most admire, and why?

A: I always admire people who have a business based on strong values and who stick to those values. People who give back.

We try to do that too. We give a percentage of our turnover to the World Land Trust, and we make regular donations to the Trussell Trust, among other charities. We’re conscious that our success means we can give more back.

Q: What moments of your career so far stand out?

A: Setting up this business. It was a huge leap of faith. We didn’t seek any investment or any other support. We bought a laptop each, and built it from the ground up.

Q: What sets your company apart from the competition?

A: We’re very much focused on how we can make an impact through our research. Our tagline is, Changing Lives Through Research. We want to do that not just for our clients and their stakeholders, but for our employees as well.

We are committed to creating a positive working environment, so that the team feels supported. We care about their well-being, and we want them to grow and develop just as much as we want growth for the company.

One of the reasons we set up the business was because we wanted to make research accessible to different kinds of audiences, so they can use it and it makes a difference to them. We focus on building long-term sustainable relationships with our clients, rather than something that’s just transactional. We make sure we understand their needs, so we can shape the research around that – it’s a very bespoke approach.

We also keep an eye on different trends, innovation and technology and how we can evolve what we offer. We don’t want to stand still.

Q: What is the most difficult challenge your company has faced? And what challenges are you experiencing at the moment?

A: The biggest challenge was our rapid growth in the first year and managing that. The challenge at the moment is recruitment; we need to find more researchers and it’s a difficult market at the moment for anyone looking for new members of the team, regardless of sector.