SMALL and medium-sized businesses can gain access to a wealth of wisdom on HR issues due to a joint venture involving two Harrogate firms.

Launched by human resources professional Nancy Prest, of Doodle HR, and Andrew Walsh, of Walsh HR, the Training Management Academy aims to provide local businesses with affordable access to advice and tactics to deal with difficult employees.

The service is tailored as a module-based course, allowing delegates to attend the modules they choose, not tied to a whole training day, reducing the time out of the workplace.

The team have a combined total of 45 years of experience.

Mrs Prest said: “From talking with local businesses, we realised SMEs greatly help our local economy but struggle with difficult employees, and clients, causing disruption”.

“Allowing key people valuable time from the business can be difficult, so a way that allows them to cherry pick which modules they attend to get the most of their people skills, and time away, was very important to us.”

Doodle HR also provides a range of fixed-price and unique time bank support facilities, to cover all basic employee legislation requirements, and now teamed with Walsh HR offers a strategic HR and mediation service to any size of business.