“Watch out for complacency; you need to keep learning and developing to remain current and abreast of what’s happening within HR. There will be new opportunities presented to you during your career that appear at the most random of times; explore them, and if it feels right, take the plunge. That’s the real key to career progression. If there is even the slightest niggle in the back of your mind that says you want or need something more, listen to it…” –Kate Laidlow, Head of People & Culture at Contis, speaks to us about developing a career in HR Leadership.
As part of our commitment to supporting candidates to develop fulfilling careers, we’ve invited some HR Leaders to share the secrets of their success.
This week, we had a great conversation with Kate Laidlow at Contis, who started her HR career as National HR Advisor at Miss Selfridge before transitioning to the role of Regional HR Manager for the South of England at TOPSHOP TOPMAN, later ascending to the role of HR Manager for the London Oxford Circus branch. In March 2013, Kate took on the role of International HR Manager for the business, where she remained until joining the team at Coach as Head of HR for Retail in May 2015.
In September 2016, Kate became HR Director for Corporate & Retail at Coach ahead of moving to her current role in October 2018.
Can you tell us how you got into HR and why?
I fell into HR by accident, actually. I finished university not really knowing what my career would be after that, so I went into administration roles while trying to figure things out. I was working for the Arcadia Group when an HR Assistant role needed to be covered temporarily ahead of recruiting after a relocation, and my boss at the time asked if I would step into the role.
Initially, I was very hesitant about it, because at the time I thought that HR was just about dealing with other people’s problems. However, I realised after a while that I found the work really interesting and that was not the case. Every day was different; there were constantly new problems to solve creatively, and I liked that. I also really enjoyed seeing the difference I could make. I began to think that working in HR could be the career for me, but I wanted to do some more research to be sure, so I went to my local university and enrolled in a module on HR Management to explore what it would be like. Studying HR really piqued my interest; I could see how exciting it could be, so I decided to make a career out of it.
I was really lucky in that my first proper HR job was within the Arcadia Group working with the HR professionals who had taken me under their wing in the beginning. It was an incredible opportunity to develop—I had the most amazing manager and mentor who threw me in at the deep end, but also trusted me, had confidence in me, and could see more in me than I could see in myself.
In the Advisor position at Miss Selfridge, I began focusing heavily on Employee Relations across the country, so I learnt a great deal about case management, at high volume, and how to identify creative solutions to ER issues that were commercial, within the law, and appropriate for the situation. It was in this role that I completed my CIPD via distance learning; those 5am starts to study before work every day were tough, but they paid off when I qualified. I later took on a Regional HR Manager role at TOPSHOP TOPMAN within the Arcadia Group, looking after HR for stores across the South of England, working alongside a Regional Controller. After learning how to business partner a leader and influence key stakeholders, I gradually started to learn more about the business in general in order to be able to propose bespoke commercial HR solutions and understand strategic impact.
Further to that role, I had the opportunity to take on the position of HR Manager for the business’ Oxford Circus flagship store. That was the most incredible experience. At the time, the number of people in the store could reach a thousand at its peak, so the HR issues that came up were incredibly varied. We also had what was almost a mini department made up of HR, Learning and Development, and Recruitment, so I started to learn how to become a Line Manager and run an HR Department. That taught me to adjust my HR leadership and problem solving, as I quickly found that one solution didn’t necessarily fit all the different units of the business.
After a year in that role, I found that I needed more flexibility, as commuting 3 hours a day into central London wasn’t the best fit with my young family. Fortunately, the business was able to offer me the very flexible role of International HR Manager to support their international expansion across Europe. That role was an incredible learning curve for me, and a complete blank canvas. I was tasked with researching and advising the business on employment options across France, the Netherlands, and Germany, and by the time I left, we’d opened stores in all of those locations.
I knew absolutely nothing about HR outside the UK and Ireland coming into the role, so I went on courses, networked heavily with other people doing similar roles, joined round tables, and did lots of research to build my knowledge. With it, I was able to support senior stakeholders to make decisions at a board level about opening stores and employing in new locations. It was a really exciting role, and a great project to get involved in from an HR standpoint.
After a couple of years of doing that, I was ready to move onto my next leadership position, but the kind of role I wanted just wasn’t available within the Arcadia Group at that time. I was approached by Coach to take on the Head of HR role there around that time, which was perfect timing. My first role at Coach was still focused on the Retail sector, but in the luxury arena, so things operated slightly differently to how they had within Arcadia. Not only was that my first true Senior HR Leadership role, but it also gave me the opportunity to really expand on my international knowledge, because I oversaw the management of HR functions across eleven different European countries. I worked very closely with the Vice President of Customer Experience on adjusting the company culture as they opened up stores in new territories, so I learnt a lot about cultural differences and how wonderful it is when diverse teams come together.
I had the opportunity to add the Corporate Division to my responsibilities as HR Director for Retail when a colleague went on maternity leave. I’d worked with Retail for my entire career, so it was what I knew inside and out, but I wanted to experience different issues and requirements and see how I could apply myself at another level within the profession. Within the Retail Sector, Head Office HR and Retail HR can operate quite differently. I wanted to experience both, so I took the role. I am so pleased I did; It was a wonderful opportunity to work with more of the corporate functions, understand how the business operated behind the scenes and open doors to other career opportunities.
My hunger to learn more about HR outside of the retail space grew as I experienced the corporate world, and that’s when I decided to leave to join another industry that would give me a completely different perspective, which came in the form of my role with Contis. Moving to Financial Services was very different, but I found that the fast pace of Retail set me up for it really well.
In terms of my current role, I was Contis’ first HR Leadership hire, so my focus has been on building the function, putting scalable processes in place, and looking at the employee experience to make sure that people are well looked after and we have structures in place for growth as well as an agile company culture.
Can you tell me about the key themes and challenges that you’re seeing across the HR sector?
COVID has definitely posed a challenge, and it has heightened awareness of the importance of a number of People-based issues and generated an endorsement for them that perhaps wasn’t there before. Elements like remote working were already topical before COVID, but companies are now having to define what the future of work should be, so it’s been pushed to the fore. The key challenge is identifying how to maintain collaboration and productivity as we settle into our new ways of working, whatever they may be. At Contis, we are actively supporting research into this area to inform our decisions around the future of working and ensure that they will support our people to continue to work to the best of their ability. As an HR professional, it’s key to stay up to date on what’s happening within your industry, the competition, and from a progressive employment perspective – we need HR leaders to support their businesses and people to find the best balance. There is a large volume of good (and bad) practise shared on social media- focus on what works best for both your people and your organisation.
As we start to settle into new routines and working patterns, workplace wellness or employee wellbeing will continue to be a key priority of all businesses, but we need to embed it into how our organisations operate. For that to happen, the concept of ‘wellbeing’ has to be defined in a holistic way, not just a quick yoga session on a Friday. Whether it’s financial, mental, or physical in nature, we need to put specific practices in place so that we can identify how to improve wellbeing as a whole. I’m curious to see how many companies actively look to measure their activity against this as a metric for continued progress.
It can be a challenge for organisations spread across different territories to find the right balance between ensuring that all your people have the same kind of employee experience and being agile enough to adapt certain elements of the work environment to the cultures of each area. For me, it’s about having a rough framework in place for what it takes for each employee to have an incredible experience, and then diversifying that based on local law, norms, and how certain localities need to operate.
Another challenge I see a lot within the HR space is around embracing technology. We’ve got to use it to drive productivity and remain agile, but we also need to retain the balance between automation and the human element. Emotional intelligence is crucial for good HR practice. We’ve got to ensure we don’t rely on automation to boost efficiency at the price of common sense. Interpreting scenarios and adapting accordingly is key to ensuring that HR stays nimble and flexible in our approach to People matters, and that’s a human strength.
Most organisations are now actively investing in supporting employees to grow and develop within their specific roles, but it’s important to emphasize and enhance softer skills too. AI is beginning to handle more of our routine tasks through automation, and that means that there’s an increased need for employees to focus on things like building empathy, developing resilience, handling conflict, and having difficult conversations with colleagues and customers. If there’s too much of a rush to automate, we’re at risk of forgetting that there is a need to be able to cope with- and excel in human communication; something an algorithm could misinterpret.
What career advice would you offer to someone either working towards a career like yours, or someone just getting started in their HR career?
I would encourage you to diversify in the early stages of your career. Do as much as you can; don’t stick with one thing or specialise too early. At the beginning it’s tough to know what you will enjoy and be good at; people are interesting beings; no day will be the same in this field and so you will learn over time what your preference and strength is, as you build experience from handling different scenarios. With general skills you will also have a breadth of understanding needed to break into HR leadership, as you will better understand how to ensure your HR function operates at its best and adds the most value to your organisation. It’s also vital to learn how you can tweak your HR practice to be able to apply solutions that fit your organisation for each role you take.
Watch out for complacency; you need to keep learning and developing to remain current and abreast of what’s happening within HR. There will be new opportunities presented to you during your career that appear at the most random of times; explore them, and if it feels right, take the plunge. Even if you are super modest and think the role is too senior for you. That’s the real key to career progression. If there is even the slightest niggle in the back of your mind that says you want or need something more, listen to it.
On top of that, consider changing your industry. Not only does it make you more employable, but it helps you to apply yourself differently and generate new ideas, as you learn something new every time you go to a new employer. It’s important to stay fresh and current, and you can only do that if you can see beyond your own area.
I’d also say it’s important not to be afraid to try something new. If an opportunity arises, take it and don’t overthink things—there’s some merit in trusting your gut, following what feels right, and taking risks. If you don’t take risks, you’re not going to know whether you can make improvements.
Kate has been working as Head of People & Culture since October 2018, and is responsible for shaping and driving the People and Culture strategy at Contis internationally.