“If you're using paper or spreadsheets, drop them and use Breathe. For a small monthly cost you have a one stop shop to securely store employee data, and you'll save hours of time".
Gary Senff, HR Director, The Writer
About The Writer:
The Writer is a London-based creative language consultancy that helps businesses use words more powerfully. Whether it’s shaping tone of voice, running training or naming something new, their team brings creativity and clarity to every job.
With over 30 people onboard, they work with clients around the world to help teams write with confidence and connect better through language.
The Challenge: Messy manual processes
With a team of over 30 people, HR Director Garry was still juggling spreadsheets, paper files and an HR admin system that didn’t quite cut it. The mix of manual processes was stressful, messy and left gaps that took up far too much of his time.
He knew things had to change. Garry wanted a simpler way to manage HR—one that brought everything together, saved time, and helped maintain secure employee data management. So, he went on the hunt for HR software for creative teams.
The Solution: A tool that made sense
Garry started exploring his options online—and that’s when he came across Breathe. The 14-day free trial caught his eye and gave him the confidence to try it out, risk-free.
From the moment he got started, Breathe just made sense. It was easy to use, straightforward to set up, and gave Garry full control over where everything lived—no more missing bits of paper or hunting through folders. The clear layout meant he got to grips with it quickly.
A few features stood out straight away: the holiday calendar, sickness tracking, employee directory and recruitment module all made a big difference to his day-to-day. They helped him onboard new employees easily and manage staff data securely.
The Results:
After trying out Breathe, Garry quickly saw how much smoother HR admin could be. Things were simpler, quicker and less stressful—so signing up for a monthly plan felt like a no-brainer.
Since then, Breathe has become a core part of how The Writer manages its people. Everything’s stored safely in one place—from holidays and absences to objectives, salaries and one-to-ones—making it easy to find what’s needed, when it’s needed.
It’s also helped managers step up. They’re now recording sickness, logging one-to-ones and approving holiday without needing a nudge from HR.
For Garry, it’s freed up time to focus on bigger-picture work, like supporting managers and building a stronger people strategy.
And the wider team has noticed the difference too. Booking time off is a breeze, one-to-ones are easier to track, and the sickness feature helps managers spot and handle issues early—without relying on HR to raise the flag.
The Writer found a better way to manage HR - now it's your turn.
Get more time back, stay in control and make life easier for your team with Breathe. Start your free 14-day trial today—no hassle, just simple HR that works.
