You are here: / Helen Hartley

Why choose  Helen Hartley from Human Resources by Design (HRbD)?

Human Resources by Design (HRbD) was established by Helen Hartley, a seasoned HR and Organisation Development professional whose global career reflects both depth and breadth across industries. Helen’s professional journey has taken her into boardrooms and businesses across the United States, Germany, India, Asia Pacific, and New Zealand. Her portfolio includes luxury retail, FMCG, manufacturing, financial services, digital, energy, water, education, and not-for-profit sectors.

Helen’s corporate pedigree includes senior roles at Duty Free Stores owned by LVMH, Schwarzkopf, and Levi Strauss & Co., where she contributed to international leadership programs. Her reputation as a creative solution-finder and strategic partner has made her a trusted advisor to executives, CEOs, and emerging leaders alike.

Helen Hartley

Helen Hartley

What do we do?

HRbD helps organisations develop effective people skills that create alignment and increase performance through effective leadership. We design and deliver programs and processes that make strategy actionable, leadership impactful, and workplaces more human. Our services span:

  • Leadership & Management Development – Proven global programs, including Momentum and the new Momentum 2.0, a signature Train-the-Trainer initiative.
  • Women’s Development Programs – Equipping women leaders, worldwide from various cultural backgrounds, with the knowledge, tools, and confidence to thrive.
  • Coaching & Mentoring – Individual and group coaching for executives, senior leaders, and emerging talent.
  • Organisation Development & Change – Embedding cultural and behavioural change through tailored frameworks and toolkits.
  • Learning & Development – Custom programs designed for impact, from regulatory compliance to cutting-edge leadership tools.

What is the extent of Helen Hartley’s experience?

Extensive generalist human resources experience across all HR platforms. Has significant employment relations experience, believing that prevention is better than cure; coaches and mentors clients to understand due diligence and procedural fairness, and that good HR is good for business.

  • Helen and her team won a matter in the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission where two staff were dismissed from their employment for physically assaulting each other at their workplace in 2001. Helen recalls that she was so very proud of the staff members who appeared before Commissioner Bloomfield.
  • She rewrote the Industrial/Employee Relations Program for the Australian Institute of Management (AIMSA) to reflect the Fair Work Act 2009 and its implications for business.

Substantial experience in developing executive, senior, and middle management leaders whose purpose is to deliver high-performance outcomes while exercising considerable influence over business results.

While using ‘best-in-class’ developmental tools, designing development processes for executive, senior and aspiring leaders which include a mix of coaching, mentoring and structured learning experiences.

  • Myers Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI® or TYPE) Practitioner (Step I & II):
  • Emotional Intelligence – EQ-i2.0 ®, EQi-2.0 360®, including the Emotionally Intelligent Leader workshop®
  • Centre of Creative Leadership – Benchmarks®, SKILLSCOPE®, and FiroB®
  • Trained Coach for The Leadership Challenge (TLC)

We have designed and/or facilitated a multitude of programs tailored for individuals, teams and organisations; examples are:

  • Building Online learning: Manage a Learning Management System (LMS)
  • Developed a self-directed Change Masters Toolkit used throughout the Asia Pacific Region; she negotiated with US suppliers to allow cultural customisation and translation into five different languages.
  • Since 2022 -2025, conducted Leadership Development in tandem with 1:1 Coaching by developing the live classroom throughout Asia, the USA, India and Europe.
  • 2022-2025 Designed, developed, and delivered the Women’s Development program throughout the USA, Europe, Asia Pacific and India.

Finally, Helen brings to the table significant, some 40-plus years, of lived experience. Some things benefit with age and experience!

Contact Helen Here

I know we formally thanked you in the last session but I just wanted to add my personal thanks for your work with us (and me!). I found it very useful and compelling and I think it will help address many of the issues facing AIB staff now and into the future due to the relentless change and pressures of this (higher education-based) industry.

Associate Professor Steve Brown

I have worked with Helen Hartley over a number of years where she has been engaged as a consultant by my last two employers to produce and deliver a variety of training, workshops, and development programs in the areas of Leadership, Management, Communication and Customer Service.

Helen has extensive knowledge of Organisation Development, Management and Leadership theories and is an accredited practitioner in Myers Briggs psychological profiling and Benchmarks 360 ° feedback development process.  This knowledge combined with Helen’s senior management and international experience means that Helen is equally comfortable training or coaching senior executives, middle management, emerging leaders and academics. Helen’s warm and engaging communication style means that she is able to draw from her extensive business experience to provide real life examples to complement the learning for participants.

I value Helen’s advice and counsel and would highly recommend Helen of HR by Design to other business that would benefit from these skills.

I have worked closely with Helen Hartley for almost four years as she assisted me in developing and implementing a business plan to start a new psychology business.  During that time Helen provided me with accurate and timely advice about everything an inexperienced business owner needed to know.  Helen’s skill set is impressive. It ranges from marketing to industrial law, contracts, staffing and all Human Relations issues. She is an energetic and inspirational woman who leads by example.

Helen is generous with her time and treats all her clients as valued friends.  She is hardworking, knowledgeable and utterly professional in everything she does. She has particular strengths in  analyzing conflicts in the workplace and keeping people accountable and task orientated, rather than getting lost in the emotion. If you ever need support in terminating employment contracts, Helen will guide you in how to do that professionally with respect for each person involved. I wholeheartedly recommend Helen’s services to anyone needing a wise business mentor and coach.

Helen is an outstanding facilitator. She is both knowledgeable and engaging. She gets consistently high feedback from participants. Helen’s approach is both collaborative and creative. She is flexible and personable, always easy to work with.

PreviousNext