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Louise Lithgow-Dicker of Go HR Ltd Receives Pinnacle of Success Award in SME HR Consultancy 2026

More than 35 years of HR experience, commercially focused advice and a commitment to helping SME owners manage their people with confidence have earned Louise Lithgow-Dicker recognition in this year’s awards.

Louise Lithgow-Dicker of Go HR Ltd has been named the recipient of the Pinnacle of Success Award in SME HR Consultancy 2026, recognising her longstanding commitment to supporting owner-managed businesses with practical, straightforward HR advice and helping SME owners manage their people effectively while remaining compliant with UK employment law.

Louise brings more than 35 years of HR experience to the business, much of it gained at senior level within organisations including Vodafone, AstraZeneca and the NEC. That corporate background gave her an understanding of how strong people practices can contribute directly to commercial performance, experience she now brings to smaller businesses as a Fellow of the CIPD.

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Her journey into the profession, however, began unexpectedly. Louise originally wanted to work in payroll because of her interest in numbers, but when she attended an interview she was told the payroll positions had already been filled and was instead offered a role in personnel.

“I said yes and my journey began.”

After building more than three decades of experience in HR, Louise went on to establish Go HR following her fifth redundancy. Her grandfather, who ran his own business and simply got on with the job without unnecessary drama, had always been an important source of inspiration. Louise could see that SME owners were often being poorly served by traditional HR models, either left to manage difficult employment matters alone or given tick-box compliance and corporate-style advice that did not reflect the reality of running a growing small business.

Believing she could offer something more useful, Louise backed herself and created Go HR to provide SME owners with director-level HR support that also makes commercial sense. The company celebrated its 12th anniversary in July, adding to Louise’s more than 30 years in the profession.

Her own approach to leadership has developed alongside the business. Louise describes herself as high-energy, direct and warm and has learned the importance of being herself unapologetically. Looking back, she recognises that corporate life was not always the right fit for her personality, and she now encourages a culture where personality and authenticity are not separated from professionalism.

That philosophy also shapes how Go HR works with clients. 

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Louise sees HR as a commercial lever rather than simply a compliance function, providing evidence-led advice that is firm on the substance but calm in its delivery. She has also learned to take more chances and says that, if she could advise her younger self, she would tell her to worry less about what others think and pursue growth sooner.

Today, Go HR operates as a full outsourced HR partner for SME owners across construction, professional services, healthcare, hospitality, property and retail. Its services are structured around the Go HR People Growth Framework, which follows four stages. Protect covers compliance, contracts, policies and risk management, while Stabilise focuses on manager capability, performance structures and consistent standards. Strengthen develops leadership, accountability and a stronger feedback culture, before Scale addresses workforce planning, succession and culture building.

New partnerships begin with a 90-Day People Growth Roadmap, designed to identify priorities and establish the foundations businesses need to manage their people more effectively. Alongside this, Go HR provides support with restructures and redundancies, tribunals, sponsor licences, apprenticeships and the Breathe HR platform.

The consultancy also operates Go Training, its dedicated training arm, delivering one-day courses for managers across areas including performance, attendance, harassment and compliance, recruitment and leadership. Programmes include From Doer to Leader and Getting the Best from Your People.

Louise is supported by a close-knit team including lead consultant Nicola, HR Junior Alice and HR Administrator Jani, who joined the company in March. Development within the team is highly practical, with staff learning alongside Louise through real client cases to understand the commercial side of HR as well as its technical requirements. Jani is also developing her HR knowledge through an apprenticeship, while the wider team applies the same principles that underpin the training Go HR delivers to managers and business leaders.

Measurable results remain one of the key ingredients behind the organisation’s continued success. During a restructure for Bewley Homes, Go HR supported the redundancy of 23 roles with zero appeals and zero tribunals, an outcome the company’s COO described as “transformational”. Long-term relationships are equally important, with Go HR having built Trower Davies’ HR function from the ground up over a relationship spanning more than ten years.

Plain speaking is another defining part of the consultancy’s approach. Louise and her team support business owners in addressing employees who should no longer remain within an organisation, ensuring those situations are handled legally and appropriately, while also helping businesses develop and retain the people who can contribute to future growth.

This approach is reflected in Go HR’s core values of Honest, Driven and Authentic. Honesty means telling business owners what they need to hear, supported by evidence, rather than simply providing the answer they might prefer. It also extends to the long-term relationships the company builds, with some clients remaining with Go HR for a decade or more.

Being driven means ensuring that HR advice has a clear purpose in either protecting or growing a business, with no unnecessary drama or jargon. This practical mindset reflects the influence of Louise’s grandfather and his straightforward approach to business. Authenticity, meanwhile, means recognising that HR does not have to be grey. Personality and humour have their place, alongside genuine care for the people involved in every case.

For Louise and the Go HR team, there is rarely such a thing as a typical day. Client calls can sit alongside difficult disciplinary matters, restructures, contracts, letters and training sessions, while Louise also maintains an active presence within the wider business community. She attends her Uno networking group in Stratford, Talk Business events and the Big Breakfast and is increasingly stepping onto the stage as a speaker. Her autumn schedule includes Ideas Fest, the Festival of Entrepreneurs and Expert Empires.

Working within SME HR also means responding to businesses that often seek support only after a problem has already developed. As a result, Go HR frequently begins by firefighting before helping clients move towards a more proactive model. By putting the correct foundations in place through the Protect stage of the People Growth Framework, the aim is to reduce recurring issues and give owners greater control over their people management.

Balancing growth with service delivery is another challenge for a small team, making effective systems increasingly important as the consultancy develops. Louise has also experienced personal lessons during the past year, acknowledging that her tendency to trust people easily has sometimes left her disappointed. Rather than becoming cynical, she is focused on learning from those experiences and moving forward.

Consistency is particularly important in HR because poor decisions can have significant consequences for smaller businesses. A single mistake can cost an SME tens of thousands of pounds, affect its reputation or result in the loss of valuable employees. Clients also trust Go HR with highly sensitive situations and, in many cases, matters closely connected to their livelihoods. For Louise, delivering an excellent service only some of the time is therefore not enough. Every client should receive the same director-level standard.

What continues to motivate her most is seeing the effect that good HR can have on the individual business owner.

“Seeing a business owner go from sleepless nights about a people problem to feeling back in control, and then watching their business grow because their team is finally working.”

She also values being able to deliver that work in her own way, combining expertise with energy, humour and a strong sense of personality.

Winning the Pinnacle of Success Award in SME HR Consultancy 2026 is recognition Louise and the team do not take lightly. The accolade sits alongside HR Consultancy of the Year 2025/26 and SME HR Director of the Year, further recognising the work being carried out across the business.

For Louise, the award belongs to the whole Go HR team and demonstrates that its values are more than words on a website. For existing clients and prospective partners, it provides additional reassurance that they are working with a firm independently recognised for its approach and standards.

Personally, Louise sees the recognition as further fuel for a year she has called “Blast Off”, with the latest award forming another part of Go HR’s next stage of growth. With more than 35 years of experience behind her, a developing team and a clear framework for helping SMEs protect, strengthen and scale their organisations, Louise continues to focus on making HR practical, commercially relevant and genuinely valuable to the businesses it serves.

Contact

Phone: 0330 551 0535

Email: info@gohr.co.uk

Website: gohr.co.uk