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New Business Development

Sharon Smits

With over a decade of experience as part of the HR Partner team at SYLO | Beyond HR, I bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to our clients. My career spans international Office Management at KBR, an Oil and Gas Construction Company, where I worked in the UK, Norway, Belgium, Egypt, and Nigeria, providing invaluable insights when working with global teams. I have also contributed to the Metropolitan Police Civil Service in a support role.

I hold a post-graduate degree in HR Management and am CIPD Level 7 qualified. During a career break to raise my two children, I met Sarah and began supporting her and our clients at SYLO | Beyond HR. The diverse range of clients I work with across various sectors keeps my role exciting and dynamic, and I believe my extensive experience is a significant asset in addressing our clients’ challenges.

My main role is New Business Development and Sales, using my expertise as an HR Consultant and HR Software Breathe guru, to support SYLO’s wider business growth. I enjoy networking and am the host of Thame Business Buzz, where I connect with like-minded professionals and foster valuable relationships.

Outside of my HR Role, I also volunteer for a number of charities, which adds a breadth of understanding to the challenges our Charity clients face.

Q. What is the most dangerous thing you have ever done?

A. Whilst pregnant I sat on the edge of Pulpit Rock in Stavanger, Norway. I’m glad I don’t suffer from vertigo.

Q. Who or what makes you laugh?

A. My husband and children, every day!!

What our clients are saying

  • “

    As always, SYLO delivered a thoughtful and insightful session and I enjoyed hearing their thoughts on valuing difference in the workplace. It has helped me to be able to think about how I can encourage the people I work with to consider how effective their inclusive policies and practices are.

    ”

    Karen Tate – Employee Relations Lead MPDN

  • “

    The wonderful support from SYLO Beyond HR has enabled us to ensure our foundations are in place to support growth, whilst also maintaining and driving the culture that is important for us to have in place.  They have truly worked in partnership with us and provide consistent support to help us drive priorities forward.

    It’s great to have an HR partner that feels part of our team, is available for whenever something comes up and that continues to work with us as our organisation grows.

    ”

    Carolyn Hicks, Co-founder/CFO COO – Brill Power

  • “

    We have been using Breathe over the last term to track our staff holidays. This is a great system as it highlights different cohorts of staff and when is free for others to book on the calendar. This has supported our ratio requirements and helped us to track holiday entitlements.

    We like the system so much that we have extended it to using the staffing schedules to log staff attendance and hours needed to be processed for payroll. Sharon has been so helpful in helping us set up different employees work patterns and it has been really effective for our nursery needs.

     

    ”

    Phillipa Arnold – Operations Manager. Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries – Cambridge Franchise

  • “

    SYLO Beyond HR delivered a series of seven Manager Skills sessions for our managers between October 2024 and early 2025, delivered through a blend of face‑to‑face and online workshops.

    The programme covered essential topics for our managers, including Being a Role Model, Communication Skills (Parts 1 & 2), Empowering Others, Basics of HR, Techniques for Handling Difficult Situations, and Giving and Receiving Feedback.

    The training was practical, engaging, and tailored to our organisation, while also being delivered a in a human way. Our managers particularly valued the real‑world examples, the safe space created for discussion, and the actionable tools they could use immediately in their roles.

    The skills sessions have had a positive impact in how our managers communicate, set expectations, and handle challenging situations with greater confidence.

    SYLO’s facilitators were knowledgeable, supportive, and highly engaging throughout the programme. We would happily recommend SYLO Beyond HR to any organisation looking to strengthen their management capability.

     

    ”

    Petrova Caldecourt, Partner, For and on behalf of Lightfoot Solicitors

  • “

    Thanks to Jilli Broadhurst from SYLO | Beyond HR for visiting the Richardsons’ office last week for a CPD session with the team.

    She led the Richardsons team in a session that covered adapting their communications approach to have the best possible interactions with colleagues, peers and clients.

    The session also covered other key skills such as tactics for providing constructive feedback and effectively delegating.

    Here at Richardsons, we’re proud to be an experienced training firm – and an important part of that commitment is offering our team these kinds of opportunities to learn the skills they need to grow their careers and better support our clients.

    Thanks again to Jilli and SYLO HR!

    ”

    Jemima King, Partner, Richardsons

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