For Michaela Johns, director at Southampton-based HWB, an independent practice founded in 1985, retention and hiring starts with an honest conversation about what trainees and more experienced team members actually value.

Many of our clients are entrepreneurial, owner-managed businesses who invest a great deal of time and energy in building their teams. It’s natural for them to expect a similar commitment from us on looking after our own people.

Like other go-ahead regional firms, while we do not have the depth of HR resource of a national practice we aim to find competitive advantage on recruitment and retention elsewhere.