‘Mum drilled in to me that I can do anything’

Things could have turned out very differently for Gemma Tumelty, who packed in a high-flying political career to take on the family business.

And the managing director of the HR Dept says she has never looked back, as she puts her activist roots to use fighting to get the voices of small companies heard, while continuing to grow a global franchise.

It had never been on the cards that Gemma would join the business, started in Bristol in 2002 by her mum, Sue, offering human resources support services to enterprises in the city, but she says her mum has always been a huge inspiration.

“My path was going in a completely different direction,” Gemma tells Bristol24/7.

“I was very involved in activism and student politics – I worked as president of the NUS, then for the Trades Union Congress, doing international development and communications. I was asked to work in the then-leader of the opposition, Ed Miliband’s office.”

Gemma began to feel unhappy living in London and stood to be a parliamentary candidate for the Bristol West constituency, prompted in part by a wish to move back to her hometown, as well as a desire to give back to the city.

Gemma narrowly missed out to current Bristol West MP Thangam Debbonaire

Alas, she narrowly lost out to Thangam Debbonaire – the current MP who stormed to victory in June 2017 with a huge majority.

“I only lost by about 15 votes so if it was not for that, I could have been in a very different position and I’m very thankful to those voters,” says Gemma.

Sue is profoundly deaf and Gemma’s return coincided with her mum’s decision to have Cochlear implants to help provide a sense of sound, as well as the resignation of the MD of HR Dept at the time.

“Mum asked me to come back and stand in temporarily as development director,” recalls Gemma.

“Once I started looking at everything, I realised there was so much opportunity and it was just really exciting. It was really nice to be in a small, nimble business instead of big, bureaucratic institutions. The skills I had really applied to the work I was doing.”

Two years later, she took on the role of MD and says the biggest challenge was a change in mindset from non-profit-making organisations to a profit-driven private business.

“Money is not everything and it’s not the whole reason why we do this, but business does need to be profitable,” says Gemma.

“I think I was really lucky when I came in because it was a point when we had decided to invest in growing the business.”

Her mum recognised there was a gap in the market when she first launched the business, but never dreamt it would turn into a global franchise.

Sue’s ethics are firmly ingrained in the company, even down to the logo, which reflect the Suffragette colours.

Gemma Tumelty, managing director of the HR Dept, with her mum and company founder Sue

Reflecting on her childhood, Gemma says: “Mum has drilled in from the get go the importance of work and work ethic and behaving properly and having a commitment. She has drilled in to me that I can do anything.

“She is so inspiring in that she is a feminist and she would always talk to me about the wider world of politics. That sparked my interest in politics, although unfortunately, some of the experiences I did have in politics made me feel a bit disillusioned that I could not change anything quickly.

“Starting up a new business in the economy feels great – it feels like we can have a real impact.”

On the advice she would give to business leaders of the future, Gemma says: “Understanding why you do what you are doing is key to finding out what you want to do.

“I really love what I do. We support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and they are so underappreciated in terms of their value to the economy.

“The other thing I would say is the organisational values – all the messages you put out should scream what your values are, because increasingly, people are choosing to work with companies based on their values.

“We look after well over 6,000 small business customers and 500 in the Bristol area. I’m really keen to raise our voice in employment issues facing small businesses. We are really trying to make sure that SMEs are heard and talk more broadly about the issues they face.”

Read more: Celebration of trailblazing women at Ashton Gate