AHRI recently interviewed me for an article on my own journey — from a corporate HR career to founding and scaling an independent consultancy. It’s a question I’m asked constantly by HR professionals who sense there’s another way to use their expertise, and it’s the exact topic I’ll be unpacking in an AHRI webinar on 24 June 2026.
I spent 15 years in corporate HR — HR Director roles in multinationals including BHP, Westpac and Fonterra, plus time as a Non-Executive Director — before starting Harrisons in 2009. Building it from a solo practice into a thriving consultancy taught me something I wish more of the profession heard earlier: going independent isn’t a step down from a corporate career. Done well, it’s a step up in impact, income and control over your life. Here’s how I think about it.
Why are more HR professionals moving from corporate to consulting?
Because the work has changed, and so have we. HR expertise has never been more in demand — organisations are navigating AI, psychosocial safety, restructuring and capability shortages all at once, and many simply don’t have that depth in-house. At the same time, more of us want to work on our own terms: with flexibility, autonomy and the ability to choose the clients and problems we care about.
For a long time, leaving corporate to consult was treated as a fallback — something you did between roles. That framing is outdated. Independent HR consulting is now a genuine, strategic career path, and some of the most capable people in our profession are choosing it deliberately. The barrier was never the expertise. It was knowing how to turn that expertise into a business.
What does it actually take to start and scale an HR consultancy?
More than being a brilliant HR practitioner. The biggest shift is the one in your head — from employee to business owner. Technical skill gets you clients; it doesn’t build a business that grows beyond you.
The practitioners who succeed get deliberate about a handful of things: defining a clear niche and positioning themselves as the go-to expert; packaging and pricing services for genuine profitability rather than charging by the hour out of habit; marketing and selling in a way that feels authentic, not “salesy”; building the systems that let the business run without you in every detail; and using technology and AI to work smarter rather than longer.
This is the framework I built my own business on and now teach — the IGNITE framework — and it’s the backbone of my book. Starting is one challenge. Scaling — building something sustainable and profitable that fits the life you actually want — is the part most guidance skips.
Where can you learn how to do this yourself?
Two places, and both are designed to be practical rather than theoretical.
First, join me at the AHRI webinar on 24 June 2026, where I’ll walk through the real journey from corporate to consultancy — what works, what I’d do differently, and the steps that matter most early on. Register through AHRI here.
Second, my book, Start & Scale Your HR Business, is a step-by-step guide to launching, growing and sustaining a thriving HR consultancy — covering mindset, niche, pricing, marketing, systems and financials. It’s endorsed by HR thinkers including Dave Ulrich and Lucy Adams of Disruptive HR, and written for exactly the person I once was: a skilled HR professional ready to back themselves.
If you’ve ever wondered whether you could build something of your own, you almost certainly can. The expertise is already yours. What you need is the roadmap — and I’d love to help you find it.
Frequently asked questions
Is HR consulting a viable career path?
Yes. Demand for HR expertise is high and growing as organisations manage AI, psychosocial safety, restructuring and capability shortages without enough in-house depth. Independent consulting has shifted from a fallback between roles to a deliberate, strategic career choice for experienced HR professionals.
How do you start your own HR consulting business?
Start by shifting your mindset from employee to business owner, then get deliberate about your niche, your pricing, how you market and sell, and the systems that let the business run without you. My book, Start & Scale Your HR Business, sets out this path step by step through the IGNITE framework.
What is the IGNITE framework?
IGNITE is the framework I developed for building and scaling an HR consultancy. It covers the mindset shift from employee to entrepreneur and the practical stages of creating a thriving, profitable consulting business — from positioning and pricing through to systems and growth.
When is Claire Harrison’s AHRI webinar on starting an HR consultancy?
The webinar is on 24 June 2026, hosted by AHRI. I cover the move from corporate HR to building and scaling an independent consultancy — what works, what I’d do differently, and the early steps that matter most. You can register through AHRI.
Where can I buy Start & Scale Your HR Business?
The book is available at claireharrison.co, where you can also find a free start-up checklist and details of the Start & Scale accelerator program.
Claire Harrison is the Founder and Managing Director of Harrisons, a Fellow of AHRI, and the author of Start & Scale Your HR Business and creator of the IGNITE framework. She helps HR professionals turn their expertise into successful, sustainable consulting businesses. Order the book or register for the AHRI webinar on 24 June 2026.
Claire Harrison is the Founder and Managing Director of Harrisons, a flourishing HR consulting business that sprouted in 2009 from Claire’s passionate belief that inspiring leaders and superstar employees are the key success factor to any business. With over 20 years’ experience, Claire has worked as a HR Director of multi-national organisations, as a Non-Executive Board Director, and a small business owner. Claire’s corporate career includes working with companies such as BHP, Westpac, Fonterra and Mayne Nickless.
