How HR Dept South Warwickshire saves clients on average 5 hours a week 

"I see it as a no-brainer to work with Breathe - they value partnership and are invested in being the best HR software provider, which I wholeheartedly agree they are."

Meet Vickie Shears – the go-to person at HR Dept South Warwickshire, supporting clients across Warwickshire and the Midlands with the help of her expert HR team.  

When she joined HR Dept in 2021, one of the UKs largest franchise of HR professionals, Vickie quickly recognised that they needed a change.

While their old HR system had served them well over the years, it was no longer keeping pace with the evolving needs of HR Dept’s clients.

So, she went on a hunt for something better – for her team and their clients. 

After exploring and comparing a number of HR software options, she ultimately chose Breathe.

The software was just right with its blend of functionality, affordability, and ease of use.

This is how Vickie brought a breath of fresh air (pun intended) to their own HR processes and helped empower their clients with a modern HR solution.

When Vickie learnt of the Breathe Partner Programme, she signed up straight way. 

Building real connections through a partnership - not just selling software  

Vickie found that Breathe stood out for its personalised approach, a stark contrast to other platforms.

“I was really impressed with how the team reached out to me so quickly, and offered me a personalised demo,” she recalls.

From the beginning, the collaboration, made it so easy for Vickie to get her clients up and running on the platform – all with the support of the Breathe Partner team.  

Internally, Breathe also transformed the HR Dept South Warwickshire's processes.

Vickie shared how easy it was for managers and employees to start using it, especially for HR admin tasks like streamlining holiday requests and making documents accessible. 

“I love the fact that my team can just drop me a holiday request and I get an alert, it’s so easy,” she says.

Breathe allows HR admin to set rules to automate the maximum amount of people off within a department taking holiday simultaneously, significantly reducing HR admin time. 

"I've never worked with a third party or value-added service provider, where that relationship is as close and reliable as it is with Breathe." 

Breathe: The solution for growing HR consultants and their client relationships 

“For the HR Dept South Warwickshire, Breathe is more than just software; it's a vital connection to our clients. We host over 100 clients in our Partner Hub. 

It’s great to see how our HR Team can quickly answer queries about holiday calculations or working patterns in their businesses by simply logging in and seeing their employee's setup,” Vickie explains.

“We can also just log into the system, have a look at what they've done and then give them real advice over the phone.”

Breathe HR software also makes it easier for HR consultants to give proactive support. If a client has been quiet, the team can check on them, whether it’s their sickness records or holiday usage (and more).

“It’s easy to call them and say, I've noticed this. Do you need any support? Did you know that was happening?” Vickie says.

This proactive approach helps clients stay on top of any HR problems, helping to provide solutions quickly.  

Powering client and service growth with HR software

The HR Dept South Warwickshire uses Breathe HR software for both its ad hoc and retained service clients, supporting everything from their employee onboarding to performance reviews.

“For some clients we manage the complete lifecycle of their employees and provide a comprehensive administration service,” says Vickie.

They use Breathe’s software enhancements and updates as a way to keep clients engaged, offering webinars and 121s on new features. 

Breathe has helped Vickie and the team reach 100 clients and become Partner of the Year 2025 at the annual Breathe Summit – and she’s got more in her sights.

To grow faster, Vickie offers Breathe to prospects and existing clients at any point in their HR journey.

"We see the value of Breathe as it helps us to keep client relationships strong.” 

Because HR Dept South Warwickshire also use Breathe for their own HR internally, this really helps them understand the product better and deliver high-quality advice to their clients.

A constantly evolving software that offers real value

Vickie chose Breathe for its high-quality system without the high cost.

She's impressed by its constant updates and enhancements,

“I went on holiday, I came back, and I could see that Breathe had new dashboard features, which was exciting to see.

For this level of constant innovation, clients are always so surprised when I tell them what the monthly fee is – they can’t believe the value for money.” 

Breathe's responsiveness to partner feedback is really important to Vickie too. “For me, it's a no-brainer to work with a provider that really values that partnership relationship,” Vickie says. 

She enjoys sharing new features with clients, regularly attending Partner roadmaps and training, and believes Breathe is ideal for SMEs.  

And she knows exactly what SMEs need, given she ran one herself: Vickie spent a stint owning and managing a busy sandwich shop in the centre of Leamington Spa in her pre-HR Dept days.

“If I could go back to... when I managed a business, I'd choose Breathe.”

Time-saving and cost-effective HR for SMEs

Breathe's flexibility and affordability make it ideal for SMEs.

Vickie highlights that many HR systems are overloaded with complex functionality some customers don’t use or need but Breathe offers tailored add-ons.

“As a small business owner, you don't always need everything, it’s better to have tailored options,” she explains.  

She connects with clients by sharing her own experience, emphasising the time wasted on spreadsheets and paperwork.

“When clients tell me they spend on average at least 5 hours a week going through spreadsheets as their HR process, I simply say: 

'If I could give you five hours back and tell you it's only going to cost you a small sum a month, would you want those five hours back?'”.  

Vickie proactively educates and supports clients on Breathe's comprehensive features, beyond just the simple tasks like holiday tracking.

She reassures office managers that Breathe frees up their time, to focus on what really matters.  

“Clients will often say to me ‘I thought Breathe was a luxury, but I’ve realised it’s a necessity’ - that’s the feedback I really like to hear.”

How HR Dept South Warwickshire leverage data and insights for their clients

Breathe transforms absence management. Tools like sickness alerts and Bradford Factor scores reveal underlying issues that SMEs can then tackle.

Concerned about their rising sickness costs, an HR Dept South Warwickshire client used Breathe to analyse their data over 12 months.

“They were looking at how much they were spending on sickness and absence... and realising they really needed to do something about it,” Vickie explains.

These data-driven insights allowed the HR Dept South Warwickshire to provide targeted training for line managers.

This included how to have difficult conversations and how to do return to work meetings, leading to reduced sickness and budget savings.

“They've seen a real change in absences from work...and their sickness absence cost has reduced dramatically,” Vickie shared. 

The Breathe Partner Programme - a winning partnership for driving business and client success

For Vickie and the team, joining the Breathe Partner Programme was a pivotal moment.

“It's probably one of the best decisions we've made as a business.” 

The programme has fundamentally strengthened their client relationships by providing a simple system that promotes collaboration.

Breathe's Partner Programme empowers UK HR consultants working with SMEs, providing tools and resources to grow their business.

This allows consultants to holistically manage their clients' accounts whilst providing tools and resources to grow their business. 

Vickie also emphasises the strong alignment of values between the whole of the HR Dept network and Breathe, especially their shared commitment to a customer-first focus and continuous improvement.

This sort of alignment is the secret sauce for any successful partnership. 

When networking with HR consultants, Vickie passionately advocates for Breathe. She stresses how important it is for HR consultants to make the most of the Breathe Partner Programme.

Her dedication to the Programme was recognised in the 2025 Partner Summit awards where she won Partner of the Year. 

“I'd strongly encourage others to look at the more collaborative supportive route with Breathe.

To understand how the system works and how that can really add value to business and client relationships – as well as offering big commercial benefits.”  

Vickie also highlights the exceptional onboarding support offered by the Partner programme, including dedicated account management and business growth opportunities. 

“From the onboarding support that you get, to the annual Partner Summit, the recognition of Partner achievements through to brand exposure opportunities.

These are all things that highlight the value of the programme. These elements combined create a thriving partnership that empowers HR consultants to grow their businesses and enhance their client relationships.”