Sussex Exclusive catches up with Amy Blick exhilHRate founder on frustration, red flags and hijinks.
What is your backstory before founding exhilHRate?
I worked my way up through in-house HR roles, from the administrative transactional roles to strategic leadership director level. I cut my teeth in high-growth, fast-paced environments – start-ups, creative agencies, and family-run businesses, where HR had to be efficient and commercially savvy.
I saw first-hand how businesses thrived (or crumbled) based on how they treated their people. I knew I wanted to create something that delivered more than policies and processes. With exhilHRate I wanted to build a consultancy that energised businesses through people strategy. That’s how my business was born: HR with heart and hustle, making complete commercial sense.
What are businesses looking for when they engage you?
I would say clarity and momentum. Whether they’re scaling fast, stuck in messy people issues, or struggling to build a leadership team that delivers, they want someone who can come in, get to grips quickly and drive scalable change. I bring structure, energy and strategic thinking that makes my clients more money. Clients often say, ‘We just need someone to tell us what good looks like.’ And that is where I step in.
What are the biggest wins you deliver for a business?
A few themes always come up:
• Confidence in their people decisions: finding the right people, developing, and progressing, or consistently managing performance.
• Time back! One of my main peeves is working reactively and in a state of chaos. I usually start a project steering the client to work more strategically and proactively – no more hours lost firefighting.
• Stronger culture with accountability that is aligned through frameworks, training, and leadership support. It is crucial that my work helps embed behaviours that stick and delivers tangible profit and talent management.
• Making it all make money. HR isn’t just about keeping people happy; it’s about creating an engine room that drives profit.
In recent months you’ve been a keynote speaker at high-profile events. What made you venture into public speaking?
Honestly, it started with frustration. Too many HR panels felt fluffy or disconnected from real business challenges and from the goal: making a business profitable. I wanted to show that HR done right is a game-changer and that it can be bold, unfiltered, and profitable. Speaking lets me share stories, spark conversations and challenge outdated thinking. I also love to see people nodding, laughing, or scribbling notes!
When performing an HR deep dive on a new client, what do you usually find that warrants your immediate attention?
Oh, where do I start? The most common red flags:
Poorly defined roles with people unclear on their expectations or development opportunities.
Leadership bottlenecks: founders or directors still doing too much!
Inconsistencies in performance or pay decisions usually stemming from not being transparent with pay, plans and skills. Few founder-led businesses externally benchmark their salaries on an annual basis.
Fear of feedback (many of us are guilty of this). Specifically people managers dodging honest conversations because they’re uncomfortable, untrained or lack the confidence in the right responses.
These are the pressure points I try and tackle first because they leak time, talent, and money. At worst they’re detrimental to the culture, which is hard to fix.
How does running your own business compare to being employed?
It’s a wild ride but I wouldn’t change it! The freedom is a perk that is difficult to articulate, and I love it. I get to choose who I work with and the work I am best at doing.
The downside? It’s all on you. No IT team to fix your printer, no finance team chasing invoices, no Friday book club unless you start it yourself! But the ownership, the impact, and the joy of building something that reflects your values? Worth every 3am brainwave!
What does the future hold for Amy Blick and exhilHRate?
More growth, more hijinks, and more unapologetically brilliant HR. I have just launched a podcast called HR, Hustle and Hijinks, all about building a business that is genuine and authentic. Also just launched are my Lunch and Learns that are 30 minute virtual sessions to unlock AI tools in your working day, and how I use AI to drive efficiencies in my own business.
I’ve also got sessions I run bi-monthly for business owners to deep-dive into their business strategy with people development. And I’m partnering with more purpose-led businesses who want to get serious about culture and growth. The mission stays the same: to help businesses unlock performance through their people and to have fun in the process!
Amy will be one of the speakers at the Brilliant and Bold Conference. You can find out more about Amy at: https://exhilhrate.co.uk/
You can find out more about Brilliant and Bold, and the people and charities behind it:
Architectural Plants: Bold, Brilliant & Socially Responsible
Moonstones: A Sussex Charity for Victims of Domestic Violence
