The Company
SmoothWall Limited was founded in October 2001 to produce commercially supported products based on the SmoothWall concept which, having started from a basic idea, has now developed into the world’s favourite network firewall.
SmoothWall products include:
- Firewalls
- Web content filters
- Email security
- VPN
- Bandwidth management applications.
SmoothWall provides support for its products via a Southampton-based technical team and a global network of approximately 300 resellers.
SmoothWall is a company that accepts its corporate social responsibilities and tries to operate with honesty and transparency in everything it does.
The Issue
SmoothWall had no dedicated in-house HR function and as such, when an employee related problem reared its ugly head they were unsure as to whom they could turn. Invariably, this led to many hours research on the internet, trying to make sense of the raft of, but often contradictory, HR information. SmoothWall Managing Director, George Lumley, was then introduced to Claire Morley-Jones, the founder of hr180°. Claire had an extensive background in HR and was the owner of an HR consultancy whose services included a highly successful HR advice line! hr180° soon became the answer to SmoothWall’s HR issues.
The Solution
SmoothWall became one of hr180°’s retained clients initially on their ‘Gold’ package. This gave SmoothWall an e-mail and telephone hr support service from 8am-8pm, Monday to Friday. If SmoothWall had an HR related issue they knew that an experienced HR consultant would be able to deal with their query – promptly and professionally. The package also included updating employment documentation which recently involved an extensive review of their Staff Handbook.
SmoothWall recognised that the service hr180° provided was invaluable to the continuing development of their own HR procedures and, as such, they recently upgraded the service to the ‘Platinum’ package. The ‘Platinum’ package includes extra benefits including emergency on-site call-outs, training and investigation handling. With the need to keep up-to-date with all HR issues and in particular, relevant legal procedures, SmoothWall believe this is money well spent.
The Feedback
"SmoothWall has truly benefitted from the services of The HR Team. We've had one or two staff challenges over the years and everyone at The HR Team has been pro-active, quick and professional, dealing with the various matters with the minimum of involvement from us. They have often gone far beyond the service we expected from them."
George Lungley, Commercial Director, SmoothWall