A HUMAN resources consultant with 26 years’ experience has written a book to help other people follow the same career.

Leap Into HR Consulting: How To Move Successfully from Corporate to HR Consulting garnered enough advance orders to top its category on the Amazon charts.

Alongside the book, author Sarah Hamilton-Gill is running courses for professionals who want to set up their own HR practice. She has coached more than 50 people since March and says she has seen them establish niche businesses across the UK.

Ms Hamilton-Gill runs GlobusHR Consultancy and won this year’s HR Consultancy of the Year title from Business and Industry Today. She says 90 per cent of her clients come from LinkedIn or word of mouth.

The author, from Lymington, said: “With Covid-19, Brexit and new working patterns, HR professionals are encountering increased uncertainty and demands in the workplace. The upside of this is that many have realised they want to go it alone and that they no longer need to leave their future in the hands of others. Many HR professionals are leaving the corporate world to gain flexibility, freedom and more control.”

The majority of her clients have been furloughed, at risk of redundancy or needed flexibility to juggle commitments at home, including home schooling.

“Without guidance, the transition into HR consulting is rarely straightforward, which is why I have written the book,” she said.

“It is designed to guide people as they set up, launch and run a successful consultancy business. The aim is to leave them well placed to maintain income and grow their business.”

The courses are done in 90-minute coaching sessions and virtual bootcamps. The ideal candidate should have five years’ or more experience in corporate HR, she said.

The book focuses on identifying what is important, staying true to values and beliefs, winning ideal clients, marketing, collaborations and smart working.

Ms Hamilton-Gill said: “For many, the pandemic has led to home working. What might have been viewed as a trial has become the norm, or something which employees can shift to as required, depending on the nature of what they do for a living. This necessitates different HR procedures and contracts, whatever the sector or size of an organisation. The demand for HR services has never been higher.”

The author’s next six-week virtual HR bootcamp will begin in January.