We work closely with the media that HR professionals love to read and follow. Over the years, we’ve learned a lot about what the UK’s top HR publications are looking for and how best to work with them.
The world of work has had a major change in direction over the past few years. Therefore, the focus on making work ‘work’ and the ongoing challenges employers face with ‘The Great Resignation’, makes the HR media a critical source of news and information. Here’s everything you need to know about the UK’s HR media and some of the leading HR journalists.
HR Director
HR Director has been a leading resource for senior HR leaders for over 20 years. The feature-led flagship publication is highly regarded for its unbiased ‘ahead of the curve’ editorial content and works with HR leaders to compile its editorial calendar. HR Director also hosts various HR-focused events each year to allow HR executives to exchange views and experiences, provide input into important legislative consultation processes and gain essential information from industry experts.
HR Director prides itself on the fact that it doesn’t accept paid or sponsored content and is one of the only HR trade press to continue to produce a print version.
To work with HR Director, forward features are released each year in September, outlining topics of focus. Key sections to get client coverage are the renowned HR Director interviews – 12 interviews are conducted each year. Most recently, one of our most inspirational business leaders, Kirstin Furber, HR Director at C4, got her very own cover feature!
HR Director also covers news and ‘movers and shakers’ and features an article submission portal to pitch opinion and legislative feature ideas.
Editor, Jason Spiller, has been leading the team for over 12 years.
People Management
People Management is the UK’s leading HR media publication and is produced on behalf of the CIPD. The print edition is published ten times a year to an audience of 142,000, and the People Management newsletter, covering news, opinion and legal articles, is read by almost 200,000 people.
Industry expert Eleanor Whitehouse heads up the editorial team.
One to watch is junior writer Caitlin Powell who has recently covered topics including how firms treat people experiencing homelessness – she’s also has a broadcast bent and is a news reader for Radio Cardiff and freelances for Times Radio.
Worklife
Another relatively new spin-off publication from global media brand Digiday, WorkLife is a modern media brand that covers how workplaces and workforces are transforming. Launched in 2021, it helps readers navigate the continuously evolving working climate and maintain a better work-life balance. It charts the most critical changes occurring across areas such as leadership, technology, culture, DE&I, talent and workspaces, with clear and insightful reporting.
Uber-talented Jessica Davies, who was previously a Digiday editor, oversees the editorial team. She has also held news editor positions at The Drum and New Media Age.
Unleash
Known for its legendary global events, which attract some of the biggest names in HR as speakers, Unleash focuses on the latest HR news, research and market trends across Europe and the US. The digital media platform was built to inspire, connect and empower HR leaders across the world.
Three top journalists to get to know at the platform are Dan Richardson, Allie Nawrat and Jon Kennard.
Personnel Today
Launched in the 80s (much like me), Personnel Today is one of the longest-running HR trade publications aimed at HR practitioners at every level. It offers interesting insight into today’s hot topics in the workplace, including employee relations, equality and diversity, learning and training, pay and benefits, wellbeing, and recruitment and retention. Personnel Today prides itself on being one of the top free-to-access HR resource sites.
HR and wellbeing editor Ashleigh Webber is a key contact.
Top freelance HR contacts
Over the years, we’ve built strong relationships with some of the top journalistic talent in the business. If you’re looking for national and top-tier coverage, these are our top HR journalists that you do need to know.
Peter Crush is an award-winning HR journalist. Once the editor of HR magazine, he now writes for daily newspapers including The Guardian and the Evening Standard, as well as HR and business journals. He is often commissioned to write for Raconteur’s HR-focused Times supplements and, more recently, can be found writing regularly for TLNT.com and Management Today.
Jo regularly writes about HR issues for national and business press and is a past winner of the Willis Towers Watson HR Journalist Of The Year award. She regularly contributes to Personnel Today and People Management, and writes features on hard-hitting topics such as being an activist organisation, shared parental leave and equality, blockchain and inclusion in a hybrid world of work.
Cath Everett has been a journalist and editor for nearly 30 years. She specialises in workplace, leadership and organisational culture issues but also writes about technology’s impact on business and society. She regularly writes for Raconteur, and her work has been featured in The Guardian and International Business Times.
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