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Toby Hough speaks to us about developing a career in HR Leadership

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“To be the best HR Leader you can, you have to be able to build a multi-skilled team that sets you up for achieving your goals and recognises the value of both newcomers with wider business experience and those with hardened HR experience as well.” – Toby Hough, Director of People and Culture at hiber 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 Toby Hough at hiber, who began his career with internships in Marketing and Communications at Saudi Hollandi Capital and as a Sovereign Wealth Fund Analyst at Robeco before moving to Deloitte to work as a Consulting Analyst; taking on subsequent roles as Management Consultant and later Senior Management Consultant within the company. In 2013, Toby joined the team at Medallia as a Senior Analyst for Professional Services, later ascending the ranks to Manager for Professional Services, followed by a 17-month tenure as Senior Manager before he became the company’s Head of People and Culture for Europe. In May 2018, Toby transitioned to his current role at hiber. Can you tell us how you got into HR and why? The shift into HR happened while I was working at a customer experience software company called Medallia, following a three-and-a-half-year term in Consulting at Deloitte. From day one, I was incredibly struck by Medallia’s approach to People and Culture and HR. At that point in my career, I had never come across an organisation that placed so much value on having a well-defined values-based culture.  Medallia had top-quality People and Culture team members wired in across the business to be strategic and pastoral partners, and they were always seeking out views and opinions on how the business was evolving. The leader of the People and Culture function was as visible a strategic leader as anybody else, and that was one of the reasons why I held that team in great esteem. The company carried out very in-depth cultural onboarding with everybody who joined. As the business grew, the onboarding programme leader decided it was worth having facilitators for cultural onboarding in all the different regions we covered. Having been struck by how good my onboarding was a few years before, I applied to be a facilitator for Europe alongside my main role. That experience was a real turning point for me; I absolutely loved it, and was buzzing to do more. At that time, I was running a team of five or six Project Managers and dealing with a lot of pastoral and career development components in my main role; and I also spent a year helping to get an office set up in Paris, working with the team there to establish the culture from grassroots. As a result, alongside the facilitator role, I had HR experience without working in HR. Eventually, the outgoing Head of People and Culture for Europe asked me to consider applying for her role. I was hesitant at first, but with some guidance a mentor in the Learning and Development team, I undertook some self-reflection into the kind of work I enjoyed most and what energized me. All the signs pointed to the HR suite, so I took the plunge. The role was a total baptism of fire, but I was being challenged in ways a lot of outsiders to HR never realise you’re challenged, and I loved that. I loved how difficult the problems were across employee relations, design, and the technical aspect, as well as how directly linked they were to strategy. I knew at that point that HR was the place for me. Because I loved my People and Culture role at Medallia so much, my transition into hiber almost took me by surprise. I was approached by a friend who told me they knew a founder-CEO who was keen to create a top-class culture and HR setup in his startup, having learned the importance of this in an earlier venture. They asked if I would meet with him. I met Kilian, the CEO of hiber, a few times over the course of the next few months, and we started sketching up plans for implementation. In January 2018, Kilian secured investment funding to create a management position in the People and Culture space. He offered me the opportunity to join the founding management team of his start-up, and I recognized how rare such an opportunity was. I knew we had a chance to trailblaze—to influence other organisations to bring People and Culture in at the start rather than when a workforce hits 50+, and that was hugely exciting. I felt hiber had great potential to grow and adopt a different approach to building an organisation, so I agreed. Can you tell me about the key themes and challenges that you’re seeing across the HR sector? Where hiber are forming as a business, my experience with them has been very different to coming into an established HR role, and has presented some unique challenges. In our early days as a start-up with no brand, recruitment was a real challenge, especially given the fact that I had been fairly hands-off in terms of recruitment at Medallia. Nevertheless, I knew hiber needed me to roll up my sleeves and learn what it was like to recruit, so I did. Initially, I was ashamed of spending money to secure agency support with the process, but Kilian was very passionate about getting talented people on board who could not only do their jobs well then, but continue to do so as the business expanded. Ultimately, I had to tackle my misconceptions and invest in building good strategic relationships with agencies. I see a reluctance to do so across HR that I think boils down to a stigma around agency spend and not seeing it as investment, but our CEO understands

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RPA in HR: Robotic Process Automation Myths vs Reality

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Technology has always been an important factor in improving performance and reducing costs, and has also made it easier for businesses to deliver value and meet KPIs. But the true potential and impact of some of the software tools and innovations available now is somehow still debatable today. Like with any new tool that claims to make our work and lives easier, there’s often a lot of skepticism surrounding RPA in HR and the impact of technology on HR departments these days. As humans, we are hardwired to avoid what we don’t fully understand and stick to our comfort zone, especially when there’s a readjustment to make. But the human resources industry is constantly evolving, becoming more and more of a key driver for businesses. As a result, HR professionals need to embrace the future of recruitment and be willing to adopt the latest tools and technologies if they want to stay ahead of the game. But what exactly is Robotic Process Automation or RPA? RPA refers to the use of software “robots” that mimic tasks usually performed by humans. Such robots are especially helpful in situations that involve lots of manual activities and operational procedures with rule-based processes that could be streamlined and automated. What’s more, the power of RPA stems from its ability to automate work with increased accuracy, in a fraction of the time that would take a human and with lower productivity costs. However this is not a one-size-fits-all solution. To clarify some of the common misconceptions around robotic process automation in HR and offer you a better overview of what deploying an RPA solution within your own organization or HR department might involve, we thought we should address the following 5 myths: Myth #1: RPA in HR doesn’t work One of the highest impact areas where RPA can be successfully applied is without a doubt Human Resources. As HR departments are undergoing a continuous transformation thanks to the infusion of digital tools and technologies available in today’s workplace, repetitive processes make most of the daily workload of a HR professional. Through HR automation however, you can free employees from standard tedious tasks, while allowing them to focus on complex tasks that involve more creativity and strategizing. For example, if you’ve received 50 applications and decided to interview only 5 of those applicants RPA can be used to email all of the other 45 individuals, letting them know that they have not been selected for the interviewing phase. And that can be done with just 1 click in 2 seconds, whereas in the past you’d need to email all 45 people separately – or not at all due to time constraints, causing lasting damage to your employer brand. Myth #2: RPA in HR is difficult to implement Having processes that are clearly mapped out before automation would certainly involve less brainstorming sessions and back and forth between IT teams and your department. So the automation process should begin only after the right processes have been identified. In other words, you might first want to check with your IT department to see what the deployment of such a technology would mean for your team and department in terms of implementation and maintenance. Because when IT and HR departments work together, it also allows you as a HR leader to facilitate much quicker results and get an understanding of which processes can be automated according to their input. Myth #3: Automation will replace humans in the workforce and will lead to job losses There is a real fear that technology innovations in general, and robots in particular, will take away many jobs from people, HR jobs included. However such a forecast entails that machines can function without human input, which is far from reality at this point in time. Instead of eating away jobs, what will most likely happen is that more nuanced jobs will emerge in the changing world of work. And while some casualties will certainly be unavoidable, the purpose of RPA isn’t to replace human jobs, but to redefine the approach toward certain job functions in order to prioritize those that drive growth over those who don’t and free up time for employees. As we see it, RPA will take over tasks that HR professionals dread doing anyway while being able to create their own jobs in the future according to their true capabilities and goals. This will also free up HR leaders’ time to focus on more interpersonal skills which reap far greater rewards than transactional paper based tasks. Myth #4: RPA is only about cost reduction With today’s challenge of attracting top talent and more importantly retaining it, HR teams strive to focus on more valuable activities like increasing the quality of the hiring process and boosting employee engagement rather than losing their heads in mundane processes and tasks. So while the benefit of RPA may be primarily cost-reduction, the extent to which RPA can help your organisation and HR department go way beyond cost savings. By successfully implementing such tools you can: Eliminate risks of human errors Ensure regulatory compliance Build consistency in operations Ensure accuracy and productivity of the team Improve employee engagement by removing mundane tasks Transform the operating paradigm from labor-intensive to technology-centric Myth #5: All HR processes can be automated RPA is suitable for a wide range of HR department functions and operations. A good way of identifying those processes is by looking for a well-defined set of rule-based instructions because that’s where RPA’s input is most visible – around repetitive logical tasks. The HR industry has always been known for its high number of manual tasks, which include creating reports, sending emails, sourcing candidates, etc. In fact, according to a report by Ernst & Young, about 93% of the time spent by HR employees is on repetitive tasks! And the same report reveals that 65% of HR rules-based processes have the potential to be automated. In other words, RPA in HR is a great fit for

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A Success Story of Leadership in the IT Industry

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“For me, it’s always been about the people. And you can deliver an enormous amount more when you understand the people, what motivates people, what makes them feel good.” — Julie Bishop, CEO at IT Naturally, speaks to us about developing a career in 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 Julie Bishop from IT Naturally, who began her career as a business analyst for the Metropolitan Police, and went on to her first leadership role as Head of IT at British Airlines, before founding her own company with a partner.   Would you say you were always destined for leadership, or was it more of an organic process?   I did some leadership training at British Telecom and went to some workshops. We were put into teams of eight people, and I was the youngest in the team, and also the only woman. After the various activities, we were asked to offer feedback.   I was the last to give feedback, and to a person in my team, they had said that they’d wanted me take a lot more leadership than I had. They’d seen me as leader, which was a bit of a surprise. I was in my twenties and most of the guys were somewhere in their late thirties, and some in their forties or fifties. It was quite the shock for me to hear these people say: “No, we wanted you to lead.”   I had a friend who was looking for business analysts at BA, so I went over to British Airways, and then my roles just got bigger and bigger.    I’ve had a very unplanned career. At British Airways they were reducing the number of employees. Not the cabin crew or pilots, but the rest of the organisation. But every time British Airways downsized, I got a bigger job with even greater responsibility.    Eventually, one of my colleagues who left to become the CIO of Eithad Airways said “Why don’t you come work for me in Abu Dhabi?”My role at British Airways had come to an end and  it was a great opportunity so I took it. While I was there I became the CIO’s deputy and so whenever the CIO was away, I was running the shop. When the CIO left, who was very much my sponsor, I knew it was time for me to go as well, and Cathay Pacific Airways made me an offer, it was very unexpected and I’d never been to Hong Kong but seemed a great opportunity so I took it.  I was there on a two year contract.   Eventually, after that ended, I worked at Thomas Cook for a while, until it went into liquidation, and then set up IT Naturally with my partner.    So what’s the plan now with IT Naturally, what clients are you looking for?   We have 30 employees so far, and we’re gradually getting new clients. I was in Mexico a couple of weeks ago, getting in touch with an airline out there, and actually I’ve been in touch with them today, so we’ll hopefully  do some work for them.    We look after IT infrastructure. We look after data centers, and networks, and security and all of the sort of foundational elements for IT. We  don’t work specifically with the applications. We’re just making sure that everything works underneath that, and that it’s safe, and secure, and we reduce costs for our customers.   What I’ve done a few times, as has  my partner, is go into organisations where they’re spending an enormous amount on their infrastructure. And once you go in, you find you can turn off some of it. Many things are no longer used and they can be switched off.  We can go in and understand it then sort it out, we can put it on far newer infrastructure, far more secure. We have a 24×7 help desk in the UK, and we’re supporting 24×7 companies. We run their IT Infrastructure and we transform it for them.   And you can usually cut a large part of the  cost of your infrastructure if you do it right. It’s scary how much money people throw away on their infrastructure and how insecure it actually is, and how not compliant with the legislation. Nearly every company that hasn’t invested can save a lot of money if they do it right. So, that’s all we’re looking for. We’re looking for companies that probably have more than a thousand employees; that sort of scale, so that we can go in, simplify their infrastructure, turn what they don’t need off, and then transform what they need, often putting it  in the cloud and run the infrastructure for them.   How do you find leadership to be different now that you have your own company?   It isn’t as different as I thought it would be. I’ve always deeply cared about what I do and I’ve always really been a downwards leader.  I would always spend a lot more time managing my team and managing the output than I would managing upwards. Of course you have to do some managing upwards. It’s key as a leader to manage upwards. But for me, it’s always been about the people. And you can deliver an enormous amount more when you understand the people, what motivates people, what makes them feel good.   For example in Hong Kong I introduced a person of the month, which would not work in all environments. We put a post on the wall where their photo would be and they’d get a certificate, presented to them in the theatre, all their family knew about it, they were rightly so proud. The key thing for me as a leader is understanding what motivates people, and then work with those

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A Successful HR Career Path: From Intern To Executive

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Pursuing an HR career path can be more difficult with the current state of affairs, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible! Yes, climbing the HR career ladder and capitalizing on this trend might seem difficult to do in the context of the already overwhelming day-to-day responsibilities, and it’s completely understandable if you haven’t been giving your career the attention it deserves. But there are definitely ways for you to move forward. From staying on top of HR trends and industry developments, constantly investing in your knowledge base, as well as surrounding yourself with like-minded people, navigating the ever-competitive HR landscape can be a challenge. Which is why in this article we are going to address some of the most important steps for crafting the HR career of your dreams. Whether you’re just getting started on your HR career path or are looking for a new challenge in your professional life, we’ve compiled a few tips to help you achieve your goals and steer your career in the right direction. 1. Stay focused and proactive If you are good with people, have an eye for details, and a keen understanding of the bigger picture, then a career in HR might be for you. But there’s a long way from wanting a successful HR career path to actually achieving it. First things first: a proactive attitude can help you differentiate yourself. As an HR professional, there are many situations that require creative solutions, so the more innovation you bring in your organization through your role and the more motivated you are to focus on solutions instead of problems the faster you will get noticed. So by coming up with new ideas and applying a “can do” attitude instead of waiting to be assigned new responsibilities, it will be just a matter of time until your company and superiors recognize your efforts. However, this doesn’t mean you should work longer hours. Working smarter instead of harder should always be your mantra. The main idea is to get out of your comfort zone and be open to learning new things every day that are beyond your to-do list, instead of sitting back and waiting for your job description to unfold. 2. Be like a sponge and try to absorb everything related to HR There are a variety of HR career paths you could embrace as a professional to take your career to the next level. So before deciding what your next move should be, or choosing between different areas of HR like hiring, payroll, employee benefits, or employee development programs, it’s important to understand how each aspect of HR contributes to your organization and how you identify with the job functions required to perform. HR generalist roles are a great way to test the waters, immerse yourself into a variety of specific functions, and gain important insights into HR’s most common challenges. Whichever path you eventually decide to specialize in, having a broad experience will serve you well in the long run and help you get a comprehensive overview as a future HR manager. 3. Stay exposed to quality information Thanks to the internet, we now have instant access to tons of information readily available about the changing world of work. These resources can help you with everything from answering basic HR questions to finding a network of professionals that can help. Making friends is free and the best way to do this is by putting yourself out there and attending industry events or proactively reaching out to people online. Join online networks (e.g. create a great LinkedIn profile) and interact with people if you appreciate their work. This way, before you know it, you’ll have a whole network to leverage when the need arises. Constantly challenge yourself by asking good questions and developing a thirst for knowledge. From your managers to new people you meet at events, there are countless things to learn from everyone just by swapping stories and ideas. Of course there will also be some filtering to do (i.e. don’t take relationship advice from someone that’s single), but the main focus should be on having the right mindset to acquire a vast knowledge around your HR topic of interest. 4. To succeed on your HR career path, get certified While many HR professionals choose to focus on their skills, having an up to date, polished resume is just as important if you want to advance on your human resources career. In other words, it’s important that your skill level and experience is also supported by confirmation of those skills by either certifications, or even better, company awards for achieving outstanding results. On the certification side: this might mean going for an MBA in an HR-related field, or getting an industry-recognized certification, like a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) or Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) certification. 5. Take a break from HR once in a while It can be easy to get caught up in the HR bubble. Whether you tend to only surround yourself with HR peers or just get into a work-home routine, it’s important to come up for air once in a while. It may seem counterintuitive to recommend that you not focus solely on HR, but that you actually strive to acquire knowledge outside this area to broaden your perspective and expand your skills. This will also give you a better understanding of business in general and your own human resources career path, in particular. 6. Aim high but don’t be afraid to start slow As you are starting to build your career in HR, a common pitfall would be to aim only for the jobs and companies that have a certain resonance. However in reality, titles vary from one organization to another, depending on their size and structure. They don’t necessarily comply with industry standards. This means you shouldn’t assess a job opportunity by its name but by the learning potential and growth opportunities it offers. Also try to keep in mind that building

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Climbing the ladder: Getting to the top of an HR department

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“My advice would be to focus on a particular area or theme such as Recruitment, L&D or maybe Comp and Bens if you’re considering a career in HR, then branch out into a more generalist role once you have gained the experience required, that approach worked well for me.” — Dylan Wickenden, HR Director at EMCOR UK, 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 Dylan Wickenden from EMCOR UK, who began his career as a trainee recruitment consultant, before moving up the career ladder into the role he has now which is HR Director for a leading Facilities Management company employing over 4200 employees across the UK.   Can you tell us how you got into HR and why?   Totally by accident really! When I finished university, my first job was actually as a landscape gardener, but unfortunately that didn’t pay the bills, as I was looking to rent a property with my girlfriend at the time (who is now my wife) and I didn’t earn enough to be able to afford to do that.   So we moved to London and stayed with my girlfriends parents whilst we both looked for employment and the first job that I went for was a trainee recruitment consultant at Hays, referred to as a resourcer at the time, and that was within the telecoms market.   So I suppose that was my first people related role in recruitment, where I grasped the finding of candidates fairly easily. I was young and ambitious, and I was badgering their recruitment consultants at the time to make me a recruitment consultant. I was promoted to Recruitment Consultant and then went into the Inhouse Recruitment Industry as a Recruitment Manager in an RPO style arrangement and that was my real first exposure to HR as I was involved in very low level casework. Further career moves saw me focus more on resourcing, L&D and then strategic HR. Essentially I moved more into HR and less recruitment as I became a HR Generalist and as my career developed I went from HRBP to Senior HRBP, Head of HR and now HR Director. That route gave me a great grounding in all areas of people related activity from casework to commercial, strategic HR decision making   Bizarrely, the first HR Director that I had real contact with when my career was taking off, Im now meeting for a coffee in a few weeks time as he tries to sell me some consultancy work, so maybe that’s where my career will end up! Right now in my current company, I am responsible for all of the strategic people related decisions, although obviously that’s in conjunction with the rest of the executive leadership team, but ultimately the EMCOR UK people strategy sits with me.   Can you tell me about the challenges that you’re seeing across the HR sector?   Some of the challenges are probably ones that many organizations face around resourcing; getting the right people and keeping holding of them. In the last few years this has been a real focus of mine and team as we have looked to reduce our turnover, diversify careers and find new channels to recruitment from. Three years ago, our turnover was roughly around the 20 to 23% mark. We’re now at a fraction over 15% having made significant changes through a whole host of activities to make that happen. For example, all of our managers that have the ability to hire, now go through an EMCOR UK accredited interview skills training program. If they don’t go through that, they can’t interview. Well, certainly not on their own anyway. This has been a Programme of activity that concludes this May and has already seen significant improvement to first year leaver rates and the decisions made at interview stage.   Another key theme is wellbeing, and that has been a journey in itself which began with the presentation to the board around a flexible benefits platform that evolved into a Wellbeing Platform that includes flexible benefits. We used that to build a wellbeing program of activity that now forms a key part of the HR Strategy. The Wellbeing platform allows us to focus on such areas as mental health and physical health, financial wellbeing as well as provide great discounts for shopping, gym, cinema etc. Inside two years of launching this we have now 75% of our workforce signed up. We also produce a significant amount of MI now around our staff and their wellbeing, and we use that to make some really calculated or targeted decisions on activity we undertake to support their wellbeing at both work and home. Recently my Head of HR created a Sleep campaign designed at helping our employees relax, rest, repair and it was a work of art and was well received by our employee base. Its this type of activity that really makes a difference and supports our aim of a more engaged, supported and committed employee base Another area of concern is how to reach out to those employees either less engaged or perhaps may work remotely. How do you provide meaningful communication and updates to those employees who may not have the company technology to remain in touch. We’ve got around 2000 employees, who work on sites or in locations where they don’t have access to email or a phone. So how do we communicate with those individuals? What do we do? That’s been and continues to be a real challenge for us.   Another theme around engagement that we have been working on for some time now is our approach to D&I.  We have a really great diversity and inclusion program internally called Creating Balance which has helped us launch a number of positive initiatives

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Yinka Opaneye speaks to us about developing a career in HR Leadership

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“Wherever you might be in your career, continuing to improve your skills is key. Budgeting, process improvement, and analysis are always very useful skills to have.” – Yinka Opaneye, Group HR Director at GameAnalytics, 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 Yinka Opaneye at GameAnalytics, who began his career as an HR Administrator at Mattel Inc. before moving to the Jubilee Hall Trust to work as an administrator and subsequently an HR Manager with responsibilities towards employee surveys, training & development, and payment & reward structures. In 2011, Yinka took on a role as Team Leader for HR Shared Services at Transport for London, later working as Recruitment Lead with legal, compliance, and immigration responsibilities at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. Remaining in the public health sector, Yinka joined the team at Barnet Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust as Head of Employee Relations with a number of associated training and compliance responsibilities in 2013. In 2015, he moved on to act as Global HR & Payroll Manager at Lamex Foods Europe, with responsibilities towards employee relations, recruitment, and learning and development. Alongside this, Yinka took on a role as Chief HR Officer at OKA-HR Limited, which he carried into 2018 as he became HR Director  at GameAnalytics. Yinka ascended within GameAnalytics to assume his current directorial responsibilities in January 2019. Can you tell us how you got into HR and why? My first entrance into HR came while studying my degree in Managerial and Administrative Studies. I saw there was a role available in China working with Mattel. They are a well-respected brand, and China is an exciting, very dynamic market I wanted to be a part of. That was a brilliant experience. After I finished my degree, I went on to work at Jubilee Hall. I first joined the team there in an administrative position, but after about six months, the Finance and HR Manager told me she was stepping back from her duties and she felt I’d be a good fit to take on the HR role, which I did. Jubilee Hall was a really great company to work for with a wealth of new and interesting opportunities to develop my HR career. I got to make a lot of mistakes and get outside my comfort zone, and everyone was very accepting of that and willing to support me. After four fantastic years there, I decided I wanted to work in a more specialist area in a much larger organisation to see how things were done from an ideal standpoint in terms of policies and practices having a lot of input from charities, specialized groups, and employment representatives. I was able to find that in the public sector, so I moved to Transport for London. That environment really encouraged internal movement, and there was the opportunity to move across and diagonally as well as up, which I really enjoyed. I don’t think people recognise how many roles exist within that organisation, but perhaps that’s because there’s so much internal recruitment that a lot of them aren’t advertised. Once you’re in, it’s a great place to stay because of the benefits and general atmosphere. It’s fantastic. Staying in the public sector, I then moved to the NHS to work at Guy’s and Barnet Enfield and Haringey, where I got to specialise in Recruitment and Employee Relations respectively, and both organisations were great for the sheer volume of work I was doing and how consistent it was. I recruited nurses and consultants, and it was fascinating to see the different approaches you have to take to attract people to different roles—it gave me a huge insight into the importance of tailoring your message. The experience I got in the NHS really deepened my HR knowledge, and I’d say that Recruitment and Employee Relations are my areas of expertise because of it. From there, I moved to Lamex Foods, where I got my first taste of having an international remit in offices worldwide. Developing HR plans that would encompass everybody and be globally compliant was a big challenge, especially as I was expected to renegotiate everybody’s contracts within my first couple of weeks there. It was a lot to do alone, but it was a great role to be thrown in at the deep end doing. During my time at Lamex, I also set up OKA-HR, because I decided I wanted to continue to work in the private sector, and I was beginning to become more and more interested in technology start-ups, especially within fintech. It was a way to offer companies in the sector freelance HR consultancy to help them set up their initial HR functions as they scaled up. I moved to GameAnalytics in 2018, and the set up here is very diverse, with a wide range of opportunities. Although I’m contracted with GameAnalytics, I’m involved with the HR of several companies within the Mobvista group, and each one has a slightly different culture and requires slightly different HR strategic plans. Many of them are at different stages when it comes to the sophistication of the HR processes, so the work is very wide-ranging with lots of different challenges. Some are incredibly new to HR—as GameAnalytics was when I started—while others only need light input from me. Can you tell me about the key themes and challenges that you’re seeing across the HR sector? I think we’re seeing HR in the workplace becoming more diverse. Minority groups are becoming more visible, and that’s diversifying our workforces for the better. We’re having more representation of groups like the trans community, more generations, and more atypical workers like the digital workforce. It’s more international, more globalised, and we need to create systems that can deal with that but also have

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Cost Negative HR professionals ready to help you today

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As the impact of coronavirus is felt throughout the business community we recognise that companies will need to change and adapt. At times like these, the value of a Senior HR professional able to restructure your cost base and streamline the operating model cannot be underestimated. We are currently representing several immediately available, highly experienced Senior HR professionals who are open to fixed-term contracts. All have demonstrated previous success in creating sustainable cost efficiencies for their employers. Including: A talented Head of HR with Level 7 Advanced Diploma in Human Resource Management and Chartered membership of the CIPD. Career achievements include: Developed the people strategy to achieve a return to profit 3 years ahead of target. Contributed ÂŁ500k payroll savings in 2018/2019. Developed a transformational Health & Wellbeing programme that successfully reduced long and short term absence by 10% and reduced voluntary turnover by 50% (from 18% to 9% over a 12 month period). HR Director with over 20 years of experience in strategic leadership. They’ve delivered some outstanding results for their previous employer, including: delivering ÂŁ300k in annual savings by restructuring the HR department and led significant people change initiatives worked with Chairman to refresh the Leadership Team. They hold over 20 years of experience in strategic leadership; most recently reporting directly to the CEO with 8 Direct Reports and a wider team of 45 employees. A previous board member described them as, ‘brave, cool and always calm 
 is extremely values-driven – their decision making was always very sound‘. Generalist HR Consultant with a demonstrated history of working in the management consulting industry. They have delivered savings of ÂŁ520k from employee costs of ÂŁ3.41m and Coordinated the HR function within the European region, covering approximately 2,000 people in 13 countries They hold over 15 years experience in HR and management consulting and they’re skilled in HR Policies, Compensation & Benefits, Labour Relations, Performance Management and Employee Relations. If you would like to know how these individuals will add value to your business, please get in touch today.

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Are video interviews the answer to COVID-19?

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COVID-19 has taken the world by surprise. Many countries have closed their borders and either advised people to stay indoors or have enforced a strict regime of not leaving their homes. During this time of crisis, however, it is essential that we continue to work, but only if you can assure your own safety, as well as the safety of those around you! If you’re feeling well, and the role you’re recruiting for is business-critical, it is necessary that you keep the process moving. Great candidates do not stand still for long – even in a crisis! There are several ways that you can achieve this. The safest way to move forward is through the use of technology. Given the ease of access to video conferencing, it’s easy to arrange virtual interviews from the comfort of your own home. The benefits of video interviews Zoom, Skype, Hangouts, and GoToMeeting all allow video interviewing for little to no cost. Many tools even allow you to record the interview to be shared later. Be mindful of your responsibilities under GDPR, and ensure you have the participants’ consent prior to sharing or storing. Video interviewing provides a great opportunity to handle the hiring process, without placing the undue risk on your employees, the interviewees, or yourself. It’s a win-win situation for the involved parties. There are many additional benefits to conducting a video interview. For example, they’re more convenient, as there’s no need to go anywhere, and as such the time at which the interview takes place can be more flexible. This makes them more cost-efficient for everyone involved, since paying for a taxi, a bus ticket, or your own petrol also goes out the window. As an added bonus, you don’t have to schedule a meeting in an interviewing room either, thus removing the need to plan for its availability. If you’re worried that the interpersonal side of the rapport is going to be lacking because you won’t be meeting the candidate face to face, put yourself at ease. Consider that even if you were to have a “traditional” hiring process, you’d still be interacting with the candidate via email or phone prior to the meeting. With the same thought process, just apply your already established link to the video interview. You’ll see that besides shaking hands, which you really shouldn’t be doing at the moment, not much is different! Additionally, just like you’d be analyzing the interviewee’s soft skills in a face to face meeting, this is just as true for an online one-on-one — you can observe their verbal and non-verbal habits. In fact, because there are fewer distractions, you’ll be able to focus more on the nuances of the candidates’ behaviour. And just to top it all off, here are some extra benefits: Reduce time to hire A more standardised candidate experience Help position your organisation as forward-thinking Let us give a helping hand There are plenty of tools out there to conduct video interviews, but it doesn’t mean they befit your business. Skype can be great to keep in touch with friends and family, but since recruiters and HR professionals require access to more specialized features, you should consider a multi-dimensional video conferencing choice. The options include software which will grant you access to both pre-recorded, as well as live video interviewing possibilities. A pre-recorded solution is going to be a real time-saver for both parties, allowing individuals and hiring managers the opportunity to create or review videos on their own schedule. On the other hand, live video interviewing software, aside from doing exactly what its name implies, gives you access to automation, complex algorithms, and fully bespoke features. If all of that sounds appealing, you’ll be happy to know that for a limited period, we will be offering access to our own method of remote recruitment to any employers wishing to continue their recruitment process during the COVID-19 outbreak. HumanDNA is an innovative, multi-level assessment and recruitment platform that allows you to create interactive profiles of individuals, and also presents 5 layers of evidence of the candidate’s suitability for the role. Whether you require a pre-recorded video interview, a live approach, or even a value-based interview, we’re confident our platform has what you require. Its features include: Video introduction recorded by the candidate CV & Executive Profile Competency-based written Q&A McQuaig behavioural profile Key facts about the individual Get in touch to discuss how we can keep your business moving forward through this period.

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Brexit And HR Management: Effects And Implications

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Starting January 31st, 2020, the United Kingdom has formally withdrawn its membership from the European Union. How will Brexit and HR interfere in the upcoming months and years? Of course, following such a decision a transitional period will be required that will span until the end of 2020, during which workforce and immigration arrangements should be processed and resolved. In these times of uncertainty businesses have no other choice but to take appropriate steps to plan for the future and best support their employees in this context. In an effort to address this trending topic we thought we should focus on the effects and implications of Brexit on HR and on employees, and how HR leaders can best support the workforce through these changes. From identifying those employees affected by immigration and status changes to making preparations as transparent as possible, we foresee quite a few priorities for HR leaders. 1. Create a transparent and positive business culture This could include developing a proactive strategy which reaffirms company values related to openness and inclusiveness and provides a direct line of communication for employees to share concerns. But it could also mean finding innovative ways to provide constant reassurance to employees that their jobs are safe. Even more, helping them deal with other concerns on a personal level related to Brexit and HR that might be impacting their work and productivity levels is also recommended. A good place to start here is by communicating freely with your employees, as in the absence of dialogue, rumours can take over and interfere with important aspects leading to a lowered morale and disengagement. Instead, by letting your employees know during group discussions or 1-1 chats that the organization is committed 100% to keep them and their jobs safe, as well as by showing legal support — anything from consultancy down to paperwork will create a strong sense of union and family for them that can also act in your favour. 2. Address the elephant in the room – financials The transition period is hard for business owners and HR leaders, but also for employees as they don’t know what to expect financially. So try to assess how this change will affect bonuses, incentives, targets, and other benefits for your employees. Making sure your employees are satisfied and motivated is key to ensure a smooth transition period for both your organization through this transition period. 3. Try to have a longer-term perspective on Brexit and HR With the current war on talent already being a major issue, Brexit will only amplify the fight for quality people. Considering there will be a significant impact on the candidates market, new strategies might be required for attracting and retaining quality employees within your organization. Since the UK may no longer be an attractive destination for people from the EU, it is certainly possible that the quality of hires will take a serious hit. With some segments of the UK’s economy strictly dependent on the input of EU citizens, businesses might have no other choice but to prepare for the worst from a talent perspective. Another good idea for HR leaders is to stay up to date about any changes and developments in the migration rules imposed after Brexit. A possible scenario is that current EU workers in the UK will be covered by worldwide UK immigration rules and the UK’s existing Points Based System – which is a system meant for attracting skilled migrants with good English skills. Visas and work permits may also come into play following increased administration requirements, in which case hiring people outside the UK would become more difficult. Without a doubt, the UK’s exit from the EU will also have an impact on a global level for multinational organizations. Without the free movement of labour from the EU to the UK, big corporations may feel that the talent pool available in the UK does not fuel their needs anymore and therefore decide to go elsewhere. In other words, HR directors may need to consider a workforce audit within the UK to assess whether or not a post-Brexit UK labour market would be capable of satisfying their organization’s growing needs. 4. Assess the impact on employee legislation Keeping up with legal matters can be a source of continuous stress when it comes to the heavy aspects of managing an organization’s employees. And unfortunately, it’s possible that this will be one of the immediate effects of Brexit. The EU introduced rigorous protection regulations of trade union rights and basic humane employment practices, which of course will continue to be enforced by the UK’s separate membership of the European Convention of Human Rights. Similarly, legislation that did not have EU input will remain in place, covering legislation such as pensions auto-enrolment and shared parental leave. While a dramatic change is unlikely in areas where laws have already been adopted, acts and regulations that are receiving criticism might become more relaxed or removed eventually. In light of all this, HR departments should perhaps stay in the know and develop suitable scenarios for all these possible directions. As most HR departments are already busy with mediating the communication between top management and employees and the unexpected effects of Brexit are unfolding, most HR leaders will surely feel overwhelmed. So perhaps HR leaders should focus more on the human element this year, removing stress as much as possible from the workplace, and focus on creating a culture of integration, collaboration and productivity.

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HR Goals: Putting People at the Heart at the Business

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“The central goal of HR at Portakabin is making sure that people are at the heart of the business, as they’re the heartbeat of our company. Doing the right thing with and for our people is at the heart of it for me.” – Amanda Stainton, HR Director at Portakabin, 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 Amanda Stainton at Portakabin, who began her career as a graduate trainee at British Gas before moving to the National & Provincial Building Society to offer HR planning and support services. After acquiring a broad range of experience there, Amanda took on the role of Senior HR Manager at Yorkshire Water. In 2001, Amanda branched out into consultancy, acting as Senior Consultant for The Performance Management Group, which she followed up with the role of Managing Consultant at CDA . In 2007, she moved to Morrison plc to fulfil the role of Group HR Director, ahead of assuming her current role with Portakabin in April 2008. Can you tell us how you got into HR and why? I had a very non-traditional start as far as careers in HR go. After graduating university with a BSc in Maths, Operational Research & Economics, I started working in Operational Research as a graduate trainee with British Gas. That moved more into data, planning, and analysis, and with those skills I moved into financial services and started working in manpower planning at National and Provincial. I implemented a new HR system there, then took my analytical brain into Reward, followed by Employee Relations. National & Provincial was very much a growing organisation, and we did a huge amount of process reengineering around customer engagement that was quite ahead of its time. I later took those skills and that experience into Yorkshire Water and headed up Reward and Employee Relations there. It was a very different type of organisation—very unionised and quite change-averse at that point in time—but it gave me a real breadth of coverage across HR. After that, I moved into consultancy for about seven years, working with a range of blue-chip organisations. Those roles involved using my analytical skills to diagnose problems, looking at cultural change, performance processes, competency frameworks, reward systems and so on. They were a good fit for me, but I later decided I wanted to get back into corporate life as I missed seeing things through to the end rather than making isolated changes when needed. I came to Portakabin in April 2008, and I’m still being presented with new challenges every day; even now. That’s what’s so amazing about HR; no two days are ever the same because people are intrinsically so unpredictable. There’s never been a dull moment in the almost 12 years I’ve been here. Can you tell me about the key themes and challenges that you’re seeing across the HR sector? I think our biggest challenge as a sector is that our work isn’t binary. There’s loads and loads of grey in what we do, so we’re constantly dealing with things that we weren’t necessarily anticipating dealing with. Things are constantly moving when you’re driving change through an organisation, and you can have as many plans as you like, but people are people and will respond to things in different ways. We’re seeing huge growth within Portakabin and the provision of buildings and space as an industry, but that presents a unique challenge for us in HR. Unlike in consultancy—where you’re being brought in to fix something—we’re trying to drive change in a business that’s performing so well, and a lot of the time people can be blinkered by our results and assume that change within People and Culture isn’t needed. Portakabin is driven by the relentless pursuit of excellence, so we’re very demanding of our people and focused on creating a high-performance culture in line with that. The only reason we are as successful and profitable as we are is because we set high expectations and have clear objectives and targets for all our employees, but also ensure we have good rewards to balance that. My biggest challenge at Portakabin is about trying to be disruptive without being destructive, and ensuring that we keep our HR systems moving and adapting in order to support the significant growth—particularly in Europe—that the business is looking to achieve. We want the employee experience to feel the same whether you join Portakabin UK or Portakabin France, for example, and the same is true of our customer experience, so it’s about streamlining our processes and keeping our values and culture consistent across all our businesses to allow that. Within those processes, we need to take into account not only cultural differences between countries, but also between our manufacturing sites, construction sites, visitor centres, and office-based operations so that all our employees are engaged with their needs met. That can be difficult, but our current feedback shows we’re doing it well. We’ve got a very powerful brand, and everyone thinks they know Portakabin and what we do, but there’s a lot more to what we stand for than most people—particularly candidates—really understand, so another of our challenges is articulating our employee value proposition so people know what we stand for. We’re a bit of an unknown quantity as an employer in terms of our size and reach, and that’s very powerful, but can also pose challenges when it comes to recruitment. There’s always more we can do in terms of putting our core messages out there and ensuring our managers are really selling the benefits and realities of working for Portakabin to attract talent. As a whole, we have rebranded and are moving on from being a traditional business, and that’s true in terms of our people processes as well. We’ve modernised; introducing flexible working,

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