As the captain of Enterprise Nation – a vibrant community of small businesses and business advisers – Emma Jones CBE talks to the Oven-Ready HR podcast about her personal voyage exploring strange new startups and seeking out new life in the UK economy.
Emma Jones is the epitome of “If you want something done ask a busy person”. Since embarking on her voyage with Enterprise Nation in 2006, Emma Jones has never looked back. Her infectious enthusiasm and zeal for helping people with good ideas and growing them into great businesses has seen her play a highly significant role at the very heart of initiatives created by successive governments to create an environment where setting up your own business is a genuine and realistic alternative to getting a job.
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Seeking out new life in the UK economy of course involves HR and Emma Jones explains the key role HR can play in this mission:
- Employing people is a big deal for entrepreneurs and it keeps many awake at night, so HR can really help and support in this critical task;
- Businesses created by millennials and Generation Z are incredibly socially motivated which really chimes with HR’s focus on ‘engagement’;
- Startups and small businesses increasingly recognise the importance of good HR practice at the outset;
- HR education or support for startups and small businesses is scarce, therefore an opportunity for the profession to add value;
- HR is likely to be one of the ‘flourishing’ sectors of the next decade.
