Health Development Agency

What Health Development Agency does

Health Development Agency (HDA) is a Poole, UK-based professional services firm founded in 1979 by Patricia Dicks that delivers human capital consulting spanning outplacement, career transition, executive coaching, leadership development, talent management, M&A human capital integration, and wellbeing and resilience training. The firm serves 200+ client organizations including blue-chip multinationals, SMEs and public sector bodies — with named engagements across NHS, ACAS, JP Morgan, Fidelity, Honda, Porsche, Universal Music, Panasonic, Qantas, UNICEF, Henkel and others — and supports 10,000+ career transition candidates per year. Service delivery is organized into five core product lines (Career Development & Outplacement, Coaching & Mentoring, Leadership, Talent, Wellbeing & Resilience) with a fully populated sub-product taxonomy and tiered outplacement programmes ranging from Bronze (junior/administrative, 2-month engagement) to Flexible Access (Board/C-suite, 12-month unlimited support).

The firm's principal technology asset is the Virtual Career Coach platform, developed in partnership with Abintegro, which provides 24/7 online access to a CV builder, interview simulator, e-learning library, job search engine (covering 50+ countries), employer videos, podcasts and assessments. The platform extends HDA's reach into a self-serve/PLG channel and supports the firm's scalability, though its features are described as interactive and multi-media rather than AI-driven. International delivery is enabled through HDA's founding membership in the OI Global Partners alliance, which provides access to 1,000+ consultants across 225 offices in 28 countries, and through a partnership with AIMS International (executive search, 90+ offices, 50+ countries).

HDA's business model is professional services — bespoke, quote-based engagements priced per programme scope rather than per seat. The firm employs 101–250 staff including a 42-person Career Management Team and a 30-person Leadership & Talent Management team, led by Executive Chairman and founder Patricia Dicks and Managing Director Ling Tyler-Bennett (an occupational psychologist). Go-to-market is sales-led direct enterprise engagement with HR and organizational leadership, supported by relationship-based marketing (case studies, testimonials, annual Future of Work research studies, content marketing). Revenue is not publicly disclosed; ownership is privately held and founder/management-controlled with no evidence of external institutional investment.

Name

Health Development Agency

Legal name

Health Development Agency

Website

https://hda.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

UK-based professional services firm (founded 1979) delivering outplacement, career transition, executive coaching, leadership development, talent management, M&A human capital, and wellbeing and resilience consulting to 200+ blue-chip enterprises, SMEs, and public sector organizations, supported by the OI Global Partners alliance across 28 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Career Transition & Talent Management Consulting

NAICS

Vocational Rehabilitation Services (62431)

akta.pro primary industry

Healthcare Clinical & Allied Health Staffing (BPACADAJ)

Keywords

• Outplacement services
• Executive coaching
• Leadership development
• Talent management consulting
• Career transition support

Headquarters

HQ city

Poole

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Outplacement Services: Bespoke outplacement programmes provided at all levels, from Board/C-suite (Flexible Access) to Administrative roles (Bronze). Services include coach-led programmes, career transition support, and Virtual Career Coach platform access.
2. Career Development Services: Career reviews, career coaching, redeployment support, and career transition programmes for individuals at all career stages.
3. Executive Coaching & Mentoring: One-to-one executive coaching, executive mentoring, and board-level coaching services for senior leaders and executives.
4. Leadership & Talent Development: Leadership development programmes, talent management consulting, learning and development solutions, and performance management services.
5. Mergers & Acquisitions Support: Human capital due diligence, cultural integration, change management, and workforce transition services during M&A transactions.
6. Wellbeing & Resilience Training: Resilience training, train-the-trainer programmes, and wellbeing workshops for organizations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Health Development Agency is a professional services firm delivering people practices spanning career development and outplacement, executive coaching and mentoring, leadership development, talent management, wellbeing and resilience, and M&A human capital support. Services are sold to blue-chip companies, SMEs, and public sector organisations, supported by a proprietary Virtual Career Coach online platform and delivered globally through the OI Global Partners alliance.

Product overview

HDA is a professional services firm — not a software product — offering a portfolio of human capital and talent management consulting services. The core offering is Career Development & Outplacement, encompassing outplacement programmes (Flexible Access, Versatile Support Platinum/Gold/Silver/Bronze tiers), Career Skills Workshops, 1:1 Career Coaching, the Virtual Career Coach online platform, and International Career Management. The Executive Coaching & Mentoring service covers individual coaching, executive mentoring, and board-level coaching. Leadership services span Leading Change, Leading and Developing High Performance (LDHP), and Resilient Leaders. Talent services cover the full lifecycle: Attraction (employer branding), Selection/Identification (assessment centres, psychometrics), Managing Performance (onboarding, 100-day plans), Learning and Development, Engagement (9-Box Engagement Model), Retention, Promotion/Succession, and the Personal Success Programme. Wellbeing & Resilience comprises Resilience Training and Train-the-Trainer. Mergers & Acquisitions services address human capital due diligence, culture, leadership, and talent integration. People Tools provides psychometric and diagnostic assessment tools. Global reach is provided through the OI Global Partners alliance with 1,000+ consultants across 225 offices in 28 countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Career Development & Outplacement Comprehensive career transition and outplacement service covering career review, redeployment, survivor support, manager support, change facilitation, and 100-day onboarding, supporting over 10,000 UK and International candidates per year. Targeted at organisations undergoing restructuring, redundancy, or change.
• Outplacement Programmes (Flexible Access and Versatile Support tiers) Results-driven outplacement programmes at all levels from Board/C-suite (Flexible Access) to administrative roles (Bronze), including coach-led programmes, group career skills workshops, and redeployment services spanning 2–12 months.
• Career Skills Workshops Bespoke career and employability skills workshops covering managing change, interview preparation, CV skills, networking, presentation skills, LinkedIn, starting a business, financial planning, interim management, and retirement planning.
• 1:1 Career Coaching One-to-one career coaching delivered in-person, by telephone, or via Skype for senior executives, managers, high-potentials, and graduates, covering career review, goal setting, and action planning.
• Virtual Career Coach Online Platform Award-winning online career transition platform providing unlimited 24/7 access to CV Builder, Interview Simulator, e-Learning library, Employer Videos, Podcasts, Job Search Engine, and career assessments for candidates in transition.
• International Career Management Programme for executives relocating abroad or repatriating to the UK, offering pre-assignment preparation, integration coaching, assignment optimisation, and repatriation career planning, supported by local knowledge in over 100 overseas locations.
• Executive Coaching Executive coaching for leaders at all levels to develop elite performance, including self-awareness, strategic goal setting, overcoming obstacles, and transfer of learned coaching skills into self-coaching.
• Executive Mentoring Mentoring programme pairing senior executives with experienced business mentors to address leadership development, emotional intelligence, engagement strategies, career management, conflict resolution, and strategic planning.
• Board Executive Coaching Confidential coaching for CEOs, top executives, and board-level directors covering personal leadership, future strategic direction, organisational shape, and behaviour enhancement.
• Leading Change Programme Bespoke integrated programme facilitating lasting organisational change, engaging people, and embedding fresh working methods and behaviours at all levels, covering communication, creative thinking, performance, and self-awareness.
• Leading and Developing High Performance (LDHP) Research-based leadership programme taking leaders from transactional to transformational leadership, underpinned by the book 'Leading and Developing High Performance', covering mindset, skills, and a four-step leadership process.
• Resilient Leaders Programme Wellbeing and resilience programme for leaders covering self-awareness, emotional intelligence, wellbeing, resilience, and positive psychology to support leaders in managing stress and change.
• Attraction (Employer Branding & EVP) Employer branding and Employee Value Proposition (EVP) development to help organisations attract the right candidates, including organisational identity, gap identification, and aligned recruitment campaigns.
• Selection/Identification (Assessment Centres & Psychometrics) Talent and succession strategy consultancy with assessment centres including psychometrics, observation-based assessment, case studies, presentations, in-basket exercises, virtual business simulations, and 360-degree feedback.
• Managing Performance (Executive Onboarding) Executive onboarding and performance coaching helping new leaders accelerate success and reduce risk, with 100-Day Action Plans and team alignment within the first 100 days of a new role.
• Learning and Development Solutions High-impact training solutions covering performance and engagement programmes, talent development programmes, skills masterclasses, competency development, blended leadership development, and talent coaching for senior, high-potential, and graduate levels.
• Engagement (9-Box Engagement Model) Holistic engagement programme using the 9-Box Engagement Model covering engagement reviews and diagnostics, employee focus groups, employee surveys, and employee wellness and happiness assessments.
• Retention Services Fit-to-purpose career leverage services at all levels using career reviews, career centres, and resilience training, following an Explore-Enable-Implement model.
• Promotion/Succession (Development & Career Centres) Development and career centre solutions including bespoke development centres (psychometrics, observation, case studies, presentations, in-basket exercises, virtual business simulations, 360-degree feedback) and coach-led career centres.
• Personal Success Programme Research-based programme teaching one key attitude (Responsible Initiative) and seven core success skills for self-directing professionals, based on performance modelling of effective people.
• Wellbeing & Resilience Training Programmes improving organisational well-being through Resilience Training and Train-the-Trainer, using a unique 3-dimensional approach encompassing stimulus, response, and transactional variables.
• Resilience Training Personal resilience training for leaders, managers, and employees using a 3-dimensional approach to manage stressors, signs of strain, and transactional variables, improving decision-making, wellbeing, and career satisfaction.
• Train The Trainer (Resilience) Resilience train-the-trainer programme equipping HR and training personnel with skills, tools, and materials to develop internal resilience training capability, including programme translation for international rollout.
• Mergers & Acquisitions Human Capital Support Human capital expertise during M&A, internal change, restructuring, and downsizing, covering human capital due diligence, leadership alignment, culture integration, communication strategy, talent placement, and career management for transitioning staff.
• People Tools (Psychometric & Diagnostic Assessments) Assessment, psychometric, and diagnostic tools executed by accredited consultants, selected to match client needs without bias toward any specific tool.

Quantifiable outcome

• Supporting over 10,000 UK and International candidates per year with career transition
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• OI Global PartnersflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2014OI Partners Inc. and CareerNet International Ltd. (CNI) talent management firms formed a formal alliance to jointly operate as OI Global Partners. HDA is a founding member of the alliance. The partnership extends HDA's global reach to 1000 consultants and 225 offices in 28 countries. Services include career transition programmes, executive coaching, leadership consulting, M&A support, and talent management.
• CareerNet International (CNI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCareerNet International is a network of leading management consultancies throughout Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Australasia. HDA is a founding member of CNI, which provides world-class capability in change management, outplacement, redeployment, executive coaching, and career consultancy.
• AIMS InternationalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAIMS International is among the Top 10 Executive Search firms worldwide for the last 5 consecutive years, with over 90 offices in about 50 countries and more than 350 executive recruiting consultants.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Lee Hecht Harrison (LHH): LHH (part of the Adecco Group) is a global career transition, talent development, and outplacement provider that competes head-to-head with HDA for enterprise RFPs in the UK, Europe, and the US.
• Right Management: Right Management (a ManpowerGroup company) is one of the largest global outplacement and career transition firms, directly competing with HDA's core outplacement and career-coaching offering across enterprise accounts.
• Randstad RiseSmart: Randstad RiseSmart is a technology-enabled career transition and outplacement provider competing in the same enterprise segment as HDA, with an emphasis on coaching plus a SaaS-style delivery platform analogous to HDA's Virtual Career Coach.

Peers

• Intoo (formerly DBM):

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HDA_UK

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Health Development Agency