As part of our commitment to supporting candidates to develop fulfilling careers, we’ve invited some HR Leaders to let us in on the secrets of their success.
This week we had a great conversation with Helen Tindle, HR Director at Iceland. We asked Helen a few questions about her career in HR. Helen’s working life career began at Iceland having just returned from a year living and working in France.
Like many HR professionals, Helen’s journey did not start in the HR field. Instead she entered Iceland as a Graduate Trainee Helen was always interested in business. Having completed her degree in Business Studies with French Helen quickly moved into a role as a Buyer taking on more and more categories before moving across to Marketing. Helen spent a short stint away from Iceland but soon returned when Malcolm Walker took back control of the business in 2005 and brought his top team back with him, making it a place she wanted to work again
Helen always made it clear she was ambitious and had more to give and when the opportunity arose, she achieved promotion after promotion. Like many HR professionals she didn’t carve a career out in HR but instead found a business she was passionate about and went about making a difference.
We were keen to speak with Helen about her career and what she feels it takes to be a strong HR leader in 2019.
What do you think is the key to being successful in an HR Leadership role?
“You have to have high energy and high resilience. A strong leader is always looking to improve the service for the people you are supporting”. Helen references their commitment to continuous improvement and how her Senior Management team see their role as making themselves less and less needed over time: . “It’s not HR’s job to broker a pay rise or resolve a basic grievance. It’s our responsibility to support managers to have effective conversations”.
“You need to have determination to truly transform yourself. Processes and procedures are part of the day to day, but your own development is key”.
We asked Helen what advice she would offer someone looking to develop a career in HR Leadership.
“Always put your hand up and keep your eyes and ears open. Sometimes that’s what gets you noticed. Always offer to help, really commit and you will succeed”.
Helen has been HR Director at Iceland for 6 years.
If you would like to have a confidential conversation about your career or would like to understand how Human can support you in growing your team, please get in touch today.