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Online Course: Identify & Develop Your Unique Culture

Now more than ever the importance of organisational culture cannot be overstated. A powerful, authentic culture can serve as a catalyst for transformative results, setting your organisation apart from the rest.  Recognising this, we are pleased to introduce our 12-month course designed to guide you through the process of capturing and harnessing your unique organisational culture. Why We Created This Course At Human, we understand that every organisation is unique, with its own set of values, beliefs, and traditions. We believe that a well-defined and consciously cultivated culture is the cornerstone of success. With this in mind, we have created a comprehensive course that provides access to a range of tools and techniques aimed at capturing the essence of your organisational culture. Course Highlights Maintain and Develop Your Unique Culture: Learn how to identify and preserve the elements that make your culture distinctive. Our course will guide you through strategies to nurture and evolve your culture in alignment with your organisational goals. Invest in Your People and Their Development: Discover how investing in the development of your team members can contribute to a flourishing culture. Our modules focus not only on organisational culture but also on individual growth, fostering a symbiotic relationship between personal and professional development. Self-Paced Learning: Our 12-month course is designed to maximise input while minimising disruption. Enjoy the flexibility of self-paced learning, allowing you to tailor the experience to the unique needs and schedules of your team. Build a Powerful, Authentic Culture: Uncover the secrets to humanising your culture and creating a unique competitive advantage. Our course provides practical insights and actionable steps to build a culture that resonates authentically with your team and stakeholders. You will also have access to our team during weekly webinars designed to keep you moving towards your goals and support you and your team to answer any questions. “Anyone Can Copy Your Strategy, But No One Can Copy Your Culture.” This powerful statement underscores the uniqueness and irreplicability of organisational culture. Our course empowers you to leverage this truth, turning your culture into a formidable asset that sets you apart from the competition. Get Started Today Start your journey of cultural transformation with our 12-month course. To get started, contact our team at hello@recruithuman.co.uk or click here to learn more.  Testimonials Here’s what some of our clients had to say about working with us: You Tube Testimonial You Tube Testimonial  In a world where competition is fierce and imitation is common, your organisational culture remains unique. Invest in the development of your culture with our comprehensive course, and witness the transformative results that a powerful, authentic culture can bring to your organisation.

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Who-Not-How: Unleashing Growth Through People: 6 essential questions to ask yourself before creating a job description

Your Next Step in Hiring: Profile Builder for Scaling Teams Hiring the best people is important for any business. Hiring the right people at the right time is paramount. Crafting an effective job description is just one step of many to identify, attract and engage the right people for your growing team.   Get it wrong and it directly impacts the success, efficiency and culture of your organisation. Get it right and… we all know the rest of that story.  Before you start writing the next job description for a new team member, there are six important questions to consider. One question that plays over in every leader’s head at one time or another is: “Who do I need to hire next?” It’s a pivotal decision that can significantly impact an organisation’s growth and success. Hiring the right person for a specific role can be challenging, but it doesn’t have to be a guessing game.    By asking a series of in-depth questions, we guide you through a thought-provoking process to understand what tasks should be delegated, automated, created, or considered for consolidation within your organisation.   Let’s take a closer look at some of the questions you should be asking yourself as the business leader to guide you toward making informed hiring decisions:   What Do You Spend Time Doing That Only You Can Do?   The first question delves into the core of your responsibilities. It helps you identify tasks and functions that require your unique expertise and decision-making abilities. By recognising these key activities, you’ll ensure they remain under your direct supervision while freeing up your time for more strategic thinking.   What Do You Spend Time Doing That Could Be Automated?   Automation is the key to efficiency. Human’s Profile Builder will prompt you to identify repetitive and time-consuming tasks that can be automated. This not only saves time but also reduces the risk of human error, ensuring consistency and quality in your operations.   What Can Be Delegated Tomorrow?   Delegation is a crucial skill for effective leadership. The tool will help you pinpoint tasks that can be passed on to others within your organisation. It considers whether you have team members with the necessary skills and resources to handle these responsibilities, paving the way for your team’s growth and development.   Do You Have the Skills and Resources Within the Business to Delegate?   This question serves as a reality check. It encourages you to assess your team’s capabilities and whether they have the skills and resources required to take on the delegated tasks. By understanding your team’s potential, you can confidently entrust them with more responsibilities.   Are There Tasks That Could Be Consolidated for Greater Efficiency?   This question focuses on the possibility of streamlining processes within your organisation. Would that 8 step process achieve the same outcome if it were only 5 steps? This question encourages you to examine if there are tasks or responsibilities that could be merged, leading to a more efficient use of resources and a clearer path for potential role creation.   What Are the Long-Term Goals of This New Role?   Looking beyond the immediate needs of your business, this question asks you to envision the future. It prompts you to consider the strategic goals of the new role you’re planning to create, ensuring it aligns with your organisation’s growth and development.   The End Result: A Clear Profile for Your Next Hire   After a thoughtful journey through these and other questions, Profile Builder provides you with a clear and well-defined profile of the role your business needs to hire next. It takes into account your unique expertise, automation possibilities, delegation opportunities, potential for consolidation, and long-term strategic objectives.   Ready to Take the Next Step?   If you want to speak with our Talent Acquisition team, book a consultation call and they will work closely with you to identify the right candidate, craft a compelling job description, and assist you throughout the hiring process.   As a business leader, your time is precious. You are the driving force behind your organisation’s success, and it’s crucial to allocate your energy and expertise where it matters most. Human helps streamline your decision-making and helps you identify the critical roles your business needs.   Take the guesswork out of your next hire. Book a consultation today and take the next step in shaping your organisation’s future.  

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Unlocking Organisational Excellence: The Power of a Values-Based Decision Tree

What is a Values Based Decision Tree and why your organisation needs one In a highly competitive landscape your organisation needs a competitive advantage: to attract and retain talent, to engage existing team members, to help develop your people and above all to move at the speed required to meet the pace of change. To stay ahead of the competition, some organisations are placing a greater emphasis on aligning their decisions with their core values. A values-based decision tree is a powerful tool that helps organisations achieve all of the goals above – and more. “When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier” Roy E Disney What is a Values Based Decision Tree? A values-based decision tree is a framework designed to help guide individuals and teams in making decisions that reflect and uphold your organisation’s core values. It serves as a practical tool to integrate ethical and cultural considerations into the fabric of daily decision-making, from strategic choices to everyday operations. The Components of a Values-Based Decision Tree: Defining Core Values: The first step in creating a values-based decision tree is to articulate and define your organisation’s core values. These values form the bedrock of your company’s culture and mission, and provide a shared foundation for decision-making. Decision Branches: The decision tree comprises various branches, each representing a different facet of the decision-making process. These branches should align with your organisation’s values and may include considerations such as ethical, environmental, financial, and social factors. Decision Criteria: For each branch, specific decision criteria are established. These criteria help evaluate whether a particular decision aligns with the organisation’s values. These criteria should be practical and actionable, enabling teams to make informed choices.Does this align with our value of x? Let’s do it! Does this action demonstrate y? Great, let’s go! Will this help us be more z? What are we waiting for? Scenarios and Examples: To illustrate how the decision tree operates in real-world situations, organisations should provide concrete scenarios and examples. These practical instances make the tool more accessible and applicable for teams. It could help to recreate the decision tree by copying the criteria but using examples relevant to each team. The Importance of Implementing a Values-Based Decision Tree: Empowering Teams: A values-based decision tree empowers teams by granting them the autonomy to make decisions within the parameters of the organisation’s values. It also reinforces accountability, as teams are responsible for ensuring their decisions align with these values. Fostering Inclusivity and Ownership: Involving teams in the development and refinement of the decision tree fosters a sense of ownership and inclusivity. Teams become active contributors to shaping the organisation’s culture, and their input ensures the tree remains relevant and effective. Encouraging Continuous Learning and Improvement: A values-based decision tree promotes a culture of continuous learning and improvement. Teams can assess past decisions for alignment with values and identify areas for enhancement. This iterative process contributes to organisational growth and maturity. How It Helps: Cultivating a Values-Centric Culture: The values-based decision tree serves as a cornerstone for embedding and nurturing an organisation’s culture. It underscores the significance of values in decision-making, which, over time, becomes an integral part of the organisation’s identity. Ensuring Cultural Consistency: Consistent use of the decision tree across teams promotes cultural uniformity within the organisation. This consistency enhances the organisation’s reputation, trustworthiness, and appeal to employees, customers, and stakeholders. Adapting with Resilience: A values-based decision tree allows organisations to adapt to changing circumstances while remaining steadfast in their commitment to core values. It provides a flexible yet robust framework that empowers teams to navigate complex challenges without compromising ethical and cultural principles. Values and ethics play an increasingly pivotal role in business success and longevity. A values-based decision tree is a crucial tool for organisations who want to embed or develop a strong organisational culture. It empowers teams to make decisions aligned with the organisation’s values, fosters autonomy and accountability, and plays a central role in embedding and nurturing a values-centric organisational culture. By embracing this tool, organisations can build a stronger, more resilient workforce, driving long-term success and contributing positively to society. Ready to transform your organisation’s decision-making and culture? Book a consultation to get started on your journey.

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Is your organisational culture effective or affective?

Does your organisational culture help your team to succeed or cause them headaches? In today’s competitive landscape, most organisations are looking for ways to gain a competitive edge. While many focus on things like product innovation or market expansion, one area that can be overlooked is the company’s culture and operations. The culture and operations of a company can be major blockages that prevent it from achieving its full potential. Whether it’s a challenging, even toxic work environment, outdated processes, or inefficient operations, these factors can lead to a host of problems, including talent attrition, an inability to hire, operational drag, and flight risk. This article takes a closer look at how these issues can arise and what companies can do to address them. Find out your cultural effectiveness score before you get started here.  Talent Attrition One of the most significant problems that can arise from a poor company culture is talent attrition. When employees don’t feel valued or respected, they are more likely to look for opportunities elsewhere. McKinsey coined the term ‘war on talent’ way back in 1997 and it’s still raging. Poor organisational culture can lead to high attrition rates, which can be costly for a company in terms of lost productivity, training costs, and recruitment expenses – not to mention reputational damage. A strong EVP and good reputation is like gold dust when hiring in 2023. To avoid this problem, companies should focus on creating a positive work culture where employees feel valued and supported – whether they are physically in the office or not. This can involve things like providing opportunities for professional development and growth, opportunities to engage as a team away from a work setting, fostering a culture of open communication and collaboration, being transparent and investing in systems and tools that will make your team more efficient and effective.  Inability to Hire Another common problem that can arise from a poor company culture is an inability to hire. When word gets out that a company has a toxic work environment or high turnover rates, it can be challenging to attract qualified candidates – even outside of a skills shortage. This can be particularly problematic in competitive industries where top talent is in high demand. Improving their employer brand can help alleviate this issue. Steps to take could involve highlighting positive reviews from current and former employees, showcasing and demonstrating the company’s values and mission, and being transparent about the company’s culture and work environment. Operational Drag Poor company operations can also be a significant blockage to success. When processes are outdated or inefficient, it can lead to operational drag, which can slow down productivity and increase costs – not to mention team frustrations.  To address this issue, companies need to focus on streamlining their operations and processes. This can involve things like investing in new technology and tools to automate repetitive tasks, simplifying workflows, and eliminating unnecessary steps in the process. You could try following your own processes to understand how clunky they could be. At Human we stand in our own queue periodically to experience what our clients experience to get a sense of how we can improve or adapt. Flight Risk Finally, a poor company culture can often lead to flight risk. When employees feel unhappy or unsupported, they are more likely to leave the company, which can create instability and disrupt operations. This can be particularly problematic in industries where specialised knowledge and expertise are critical to success.  To address this issue, companies need to focus on creating a culture of retention. This can involve things like offering competitive salaries and benefits, providing opportunities for professional development and growth, and fostering a positive work environment where employees feel valued and supported. A powerful organisational culture can alleviate many issues. Understanding your organisational cultural effectiveness score can also help you identify where the blockages are and how big they might be across your Culture, Operations and People. The Human Cultural Effectiveness scorecard helps you quickly understand your overall score and your score for each business area. It goes further by offering you tips on how you can improve based on which area scores lowest. By focusing on creating a positive work environment, streamlining operations, and investing in employee development and retention, you can overcome your  blockages and achieve long-term success. Find out your Cultural Effectiveness Score by clicking here.

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Can I help you to feel more confident about your CV?

Nicole Healey, Talent Acquisition Consultant at Human – People & Search shares her insights into improving the quality and effectiveness of your CV. A CV (or Resume for my US connections), either way it’s often your only opportunity to make that first impression. It’s commonly known that some hiring managers or selection panels will take as little as 6-8 seconds to scan a CV before deciding on your eligibility for the role in question. As a Talent Acquisition consultant I’ve seen my fair share of CV’s and when speaking with potential candidates I often hear “I have a CV but it’s not up to date” or “can I send you a copy of my CV? but just to warn you, it’s not the best”, there can be varying reasons for this but I find the most common to be: Lack of confidence We spend our time making a significant impact in our organisation – looking outwards BUT how often do we take a step back and reflect on the impact we have actually made? Where do we begin? It’s the fear of rejection, the ‘putting yourself out there’, if your CV isn’t where it could be, the outcome could have probably been different…. So here are a few suggestions I often share with the candidates I work with: Focus on your achievements don’t just list your responsibilities. Take a step back and reflect on the significant measurable achievements you have made to your current or previous employer and quantify it in numbers, fractions, pounds and percentages! What problems were you hired to solve? What did you do? How did you do it? What were the results = £10,000/57% etc = achievement number 1 for your new and improved CV! Showcase the benefits you bring Those achievements you’ve made, they translate to the benefits you brought to your employer and in turn, we can safely assume they are the benefits you can offer to your future employer too. Keep it concise and clean stick to two pages if you can, make it scannable! Bullet points are a great way to highlight key points and break up long paragraphs. Use a clear and easy on the eye font. Graphics, images or ‘fancy’ designs are personal preferences but ask yourself if they could be distracting from the information you actually want to get across. And please, please, please don’t add a photo! If I can help anybody feel more confident about their CV and in applying for their next opportunity, please feel free to drop me a message and good luck! Nicole

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“People may show sympathy, but what we need is empathy and emotional intelligence. Whatever you do, you must not forget that you are working with people.” – Minako Honda-Athenor, HR Consultant – Senior Partner of Navis International explains the importance of empathetically balancing priorities between the organisation and its people.

Today we have the pleasure of interviewing an experienced HR Leader who has faced and overcome various challenges in the field. With many years of experience, Minako shares her insights on some of the difficulties that HR professionals face and how they manage to overcome them. Amy: Thank you for joining us today. Can you tell us a little about yourself and your experience in HR? Minako: Thank you for having me. I have been in the HR industry for almost 20 years and have worked with various organisations across industries. My experience has exposed me to different challenges in HR, which have made me better equipped to handle different situations. Amy: How did you get into HR originally? Minako: I started my career as a teacher in Japan and later in the UK. I enjoyed working with very difficult students, and persistently helping them and teaching the subject until they fully understood the topics. The teaching experience was very rewarding and transferable to HR skills. When I look back, facing difficult students was more difficult than facing challenging employees at work, because there was no settlement option with those students. After being in the UK for a while I realised I wanted to try something different because as a teacher, you talk about the outside world but I had never worked outside of education. For my second job, I had the opportunity to gain exposure to employment law including work permits and taxation. At that time, my boss sent me to take a course about UK employment laws. It was beyond my understanding because it was for employment solicitors, so I was very quiet all day during the seminar. But it was still a good experience and it got me interested in this field. Fortunately, when I got my next job, part of that package was the opportunity to take my postgraduate CIPD course. And that was how I got into HR. Once in HR I moved around some very different industries – from insurance to airlines. And that was quite a big change because insurance was very much based on recruitment and rewards. But when I joined Japan Airlines, the main thing was employee relations – teamwork and building relationships. The nature of HR completely changed. I had an amazing couple of years in JAL. However, I wanted to do a different kind of job and moved to Mitsubishi. It had a different company structure from where I previously worked. I enjoyed working with HR peers in Europe to work on global projects. Looking at my career up to that point, I worked with different people but mainly Japanese stakeholders. I felt I really needed to work outside a Japanese organisation to see different leadership styles and company cultures. With that, I decided to move to a non-Japanese company. My first non-Japanese organisation was Meggitt in Hampshire. The biggest challenge for me was observing the culture in the organisationhow the people behaved and talked to each other. Japanese companies tend to work together, which was the more collectivism approach. On the other hand, British companies have people who express a variety of opinions, more individualism based. I was thinking about how I would be accepted in a non-Japanese environment. Fortunately, I felt accepted very well, actually and even received a massive bunch of flowers from union members when I finished the assignment with Meggitt. I had developed a great relationship with them. It was an excellent memory. Amy: What challenges are you currently facing as an HR Leader? Minako: I think one of the biggest challenges HR Leaders can face is managing company politics. How you can do what is right for the people and the organisation despite the politics. For example, you strive to reach a certain level in the organisation. And when you get into that better position, you run the risk of getting too comfortable, losing yourself and being too concerned about your ego, as driven by politics. In my case, I try to listen to what the people are talking about. I talk to employees in general because I want to be a real authentic HR Director or CPO, so talking with just the senior leaders is not the solution. I always try to find the best way to approach a person when I find something that needs to be fixed. You can do the talk by encouraging someone to change his or her viewpoint, without directly criticising how the person works. Amy: That’s an interesting approach. Can you elaborate more on how you deal with politics in the workplace? Minako: I strive to always be honest with myself and be fair to people from all parts of the organisation. I really want to create an engaged, happy working environment with the goal for each employee to grow more, while developing leadership and executives. To overcome politics, I create an environment where people feel comfortable expressing themselves. I encourage open communication and feedback, so that everyone can share their thoughts and concerns without fear of being judged or punished. This way, I can identify issues and address them promptly. Amy: What advice would you give to aspiring HR professionals? Minako: Being in HR means always finding that mutual point between the people’s side and the rules and procedures. You shouldn’t just focus on one or the other. That balance is very important. People may show sympathy, but what we need are empathy and emotional intelligence. Especially in cases of redundancy in an organisation, that is not really the last stage of the situation. We might see each other again at one point so I try not to create a negative environment during the process. The people I met 15 years ago sometimes still contact me to ask for my help which I am happy to do. Or when I post an achievement on LinkedIn, someone who I made redundant years ago would like my post or say a nice comment and I feel

“People may show sympathy, but what we need is empathy and emotional intelligence. Whatever you do, you must not forget that you are working with people.” – Minako Honda-Athenor, HR Consultant – Senior Partner of Navis International explains the importance of empathetically balancing priorities between the organisation and its people. Read More »

Skills Fluidity: Human HR Hackathon – March 2023

Last week we hosted the first Human HR Hackathon of 2023 and had a great conversation. We were joined by a guest speaker Dr Jared Skey and a panel of HR and People Leaders including: Donald MacRae, HR Director EMEA at Starbucks Fiona Williams, HR Director at Buro Happold George Stone, Director of HR at Shields Sharon Frost, Global HR Director at Oxford Pharmagenesis Steve Farmer, MD at SPIE Build & Connect

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“…failure is okay. Be confident to try something. Moving forward is better than standing still.” George Stone, Director of HR at Shields, highlights the importance of looking at capabilities and potential vs experience in sourcing great talent.

As part of our commitment to support candidates in developing fulfilling careers, we’ve invited HR Leaders from a wide variety of organisations to share their insights on building a career, the challenges they face and what advice they would share with those hoping to follow in their footsteps. This week, we had a great conversation with George Stone, Director of HR at telecoms solutions provider, Shields. George, despite only being in his teens then, found his passion for HR while working in hospitality. Can you tell us how you got into HR? I always had an ambition to be a teacher when I was younger. In hindsight, it was probably because of three things: I wanted the opportunity to stand up and talk and to have an impact; you manage people to get the best out of them in the classroom; and lastly, just having the genuine passion to help people develop and improve themselves. So while in secondary school when I was about 16 years old, I got a part-time job at Topgolf, a sports entertainment venue. That opportunity catapulted me into employment. It was a transitional stage for me, and I realised that education wasn’t really where I wanted to be at that time in my life. And although I wanted to be a teacher, it was never really the style of learning that worked for me. I transitioned to working full-time at Topgolf. In my first year I became a leader of a team of around 17 people, and I started initiatives that made a difference to people. I realised that people management is similar to teaching; I was a coach and a teacher just to different people. I had a very operational career for the next six years at Topgolf. I was dealing with everything from finance to sales, marketing and day-to-day operations. Ultimately, I believe that you have to get the people right for the business to go well. Topgolf had massive success whilst I was there and grew quite quickly. When I joined we had around 35 people that worked in the venue, and when I left six years later, we had 250. And those numbers were replicated across the three venues at the same time. Suddenly, the volume of things I was doing people-wise increased. This was probably a massive advantage for me. Someone could work in HR for five years and maybe do a hundred interviews. And there I was doing a hundred interviews per week, not to mention the challenging chats, and all those development conversations. After working for Topgolf, I wanted something different. I found this opportunity with the pub and hotel company Youngs & Co Brewery in London. I was brought in to help because some of their larger acquisitions had larger workforces. However, the role wasn’t for me. It was a bit too operational than what I wanted. After about a year, I started to figure out that I’m better at dealing with people strategically. I managed to land an opportunity with Shields. They’e been around for 40 years, have a hundred and twenty staff, and operate internationally. They had just opened entities in France and Spain at the time. But they were small teams of three or four people and did not have an HR team. Senior leaders at Shields have an average of 10 to 20 years tenure, and I was coming in probably 20 years junior to everybody else. I had to transition the business and start the people process almost from scratch. It included managing employment contracts to our recruitment strategy, learning and development, curriculums for e-learning, engagement policies, data and analytics and diversity. Fortunately, I was able to apply the high-volume knowledge that I had learned and am enjoying the journey. What challenges are you currently facing? I think that a big topic for employers at the minute is how they are identifying talent – where they are looking and what they are looking for. It goes back to our point about work experience. Working the same year 10 times is not the same as having 10 years experience. Reading between the lines is a lost art when it comes to identifying key talent and that has to change.  At the present, we are in a market where candidates can interview with five companies they are interested in and they get to pick the best ones that suit them. Now their decision is impacted by what the company stands for and how it treats its people. You don’t want to miss great talent just because their CV isn’t great or because they don’t come from the right industry. You need to find people who are passionate about what they are doing and show great growth and transferable skills, which reflects more that they’re going to succeed. When you think about all of the greatest achievers, the great CEOs and business leaders that have done amazing things over the last 50 years, would you have snapped them up when you were 20 years old and they didn’t have anything yet? What were they like back then? Or what did their principles look like? Instead of looking for someone to fit into a certain role, look for passionate people to join the organisation. You, as the business, should let them do the jobs you tasked them with. And if that keeps failing for you, it’s clearly an identification issue. You’re picking the wrong people. What advice would you give to those planning to pursue an HR career? I was very lucky when I was younger, at about 17 or 18 years old, I had a great mentor. Hopefully, everybody can find their mentor at least once in their career because these people are not always easy to come by.  Also, making mistakes is not a problem. The problem is when you continue to make the same mistake over and over and do nothing to adjust or change. But if it’s the initial mistake, I

“…failure is okay. Be confident to try something. Moving forward is better than standing still.” George Stone, Director of HR at Shields, highlights the importance of looking at capabilities and potential vs experience in sourcing great talent. Read More »

“As long as you feel comfortable and confident in your ability, then nothing should hold you back. Just go for it.” – Fay Ball, UK Head of HR at Stadler Rail Service, talks about making your mark even in difficult situations.

As part of our commitment to support candidates in developing fulfilling careers, we’ve invited HR Leaders from a wide variety of organisations to share their insights on building a career, the challenges they face and what advice they would share with those hoping to follow in their footsteps. This week, we had a great conversation with Fay Ball, Stadler Rail’s Head of HR for the U.K. Fay found her passion for HR while working for industries she never envisioned to be a part of. After starting her career in the legal profession, Fay moved into the HR field working as part of the prison service before joining Stadler Rail. Now CIPD Level 7 qualified Fay. Can you tell us about your journey into HR. What lead you to a career in HR? I’ve got quite a varied background. I went to college and started doing English and Law, but I dropped out after the first year and started an apprenticeship doing business administration in a law firm. After that, I worked within the education sector working as an administrator for an apprenticeship provider. It was after that, that I began my HR career. My first HR role was working for G4S within the prison service. That was quite an interesting industry. When I got in there and realised what it was all about, the main thing for me was to help people. People would come in with a problem or issue preventing them from going to work or dealing with something personal. I felt I could help and make a difference in their lives, and that was what I enjoyed. I felt previous admin jobs I had, had been a bit mundane, doing the same thing every day. And HR is the complete opposite. You are doing something different every day. At the time, my manager was completing their CIPD Level 5. I could see what she was doing and how that was benefiting her. I then thought that Level 3 would be a good way for me to get a deeper knowledge of what HR is, and not just the day-to-day tasks. I worked for G4S for around two years, and I was getting to the point where I wanted to do my Level 5. At this time, I knew my job inside out, and I was ready to progress in my career. But I was in such a small team. I sent my CV out, and someone contacted me to interview for Stadler. While they are a worldwide business, they were almost like a startup within the UK at that time. They had no policies or processes yet and just started to look for HR software as they were transferring about 150 staff members. That was attractive to me. I became Stadler Rail’s HR assistant in September 2017. There were about five or six of us in the office. By the 1st week of October, there were 180 staff they had just transferred over. That situation was a monumental change and a steep learning curve for us. I’ve been with Stadler ever since. The company has grown massively in the UK. There are now around 500 people in the team. I have grown and developed a lot in my career with them. That’s the best way to describe it. What challenges are you currently facing as an HR Leader? Working within the rail industry, one of the challenges can be industrial action. With the crisis and the rising cost of living, there are more demands around pay and conditions and things like that. Though I am working on the engineering side of the rail industry, these strikes can still impact us. The pandemic brought about quite a lot of loneliness, anxiety, and other issues for some people working from home and social distancing while worrying about loved ones and the pandemic.On a positive note, I think that’s helped people be more open when they are struggling. And that is a good thing because if we’re aware we can intervene, help and support. But it becomes a challenge to deal with when you’ve got a lot of those issues as a business. Lastly, one of the big challenges we are trying to overcome is getting more women into the industry. We work in a male-dominated environment, traditionally engineers working in the railway were men. When I joined Stadler, two women worked there. Now, I think we’re up to around 40 out of 500. We’ve also recently had three of our staff nominated for awards within the Women in Rail Awards. That’s something we are pushing for – to raise the women’s voice in the industry. What advice would you give to those planning to pursue an HR career? If you find something you enjoy, you need to push forward with it. There will be times you might feel a little bit out of depth or unsure. Just keep going and give your all, and you will get where you need to be. Also, do not be afraid to try something new. In my case, I did not know what HR was. I jumped from a safe environment of administration that I knew inside out into something where I could build a career. It was a bit scary, but that risk paid off in the long run.  And here’s a piece of advice from a woman who has worked in engineering or even the prison service that people think is a man’s job. As long as you feel comfortable and confident in your ability, then nothing should hold you back. Just go for it. Fay joined Stadler Rail in September 2017 as an HR Assistant. Through the years, Fay moved up the ranks in the company to being the country’s HR Manager and HR Business Partner. In 2020, she became the UK Head of HR. If you are interested in having a confidential conversation about your career or would like support in growing your team, please get in touch

“As long as you feel comfortable and confident in your ability, then nothing should hold you back. Just go for it.” – Fay Ball, UK Head of HR at Stadler Rail Service, talks about making your mark even in difficult situations. Read More »

“If the work you’re doing is meaningful, and you can do it with empathy and genuine care, that will go a long way.” – Interview with Nerida Rooney

“If the work you’re doing is meaningful, and you can do it with empathy and genuine care, that will go a long way.” – Nerida Rooney, Head of Employer Brand and Strategic Resourcing at Kier Group As part of our commitment to support candidates in developing fulfilling careers, we’ve invited HR leaders from a wide variety of organisations to share their insights on building a career, the challenges they face and what advice they would share with those hoping to follow in their footsteps. This week, we had a great conversation with Nerida Rooney, head of employer brand and strategic resourcing at Kier Group, where she highlighted the value of empathy and authenticity in talent acquisition and HR. A born and raised Australian, Nerida has carried her passion for diversity and inclusion throughout her 19-year career in HR, both down under and in the UK. Her experience is impressive and spans a range of industries, including education, charity and FMCG before her current role within the construction industry.  With her goal to inspire the next generation to fulfil their potential, Nerida joined the Resourcing Leaders 100 (RL 100), Europe’s leading peer network for strategic resourcing leaders.   Can you tell us about your first HR role? Absolutely, so as someone of indigenous heritage in Australia, I was able to secure an indigenous traineeship in the HR department at the University of Newcastle in New South Wales once I’d left secondary school. Like many entry roles, my main responsibilities were administrative to start with.  From the outset, what I loved to do was speaking to candidates, and on many occasions being able to offer them a job.   Being a part of such a personal moment in someone’s life really highlighted to me what I wanted from my career. I wanted to interact with people from all walks of life and make that positive impact through job opportunities. This first role came with so many learning opportunities. The biggest coming from a mistake I made early on. I lived every recruiter’s worst nightmare and offered the job to the wrong candidate! None of us realised this until their first day, and while I felt terrible at the time, they actually turned out to be the best person for the job. Thankfully I’ve never made that mistake since, but it taught me the importance of attention to detail and taking the time to really get to know a candidate. It’s a story I often bring up when my team comes to me with their mistakes; we are human and I work hard to build a culture of openness and transparency.  What came next in your HR career? So, I found myself ready for a new challenge, and I’d decided to move to the UK, but whilst I waited for my visa to process, I had a short stint in agency work. I loved the people but didn’t like the sales-focussed approach to recruitment an agency brings. It’s important to me to ensure the candidate is getting what they need and that the company’s values match, which is so critically important.. I’ve been in the UK for 14 years now and my career has developed and evolved and at Kier, I am leading a brilliant team and I absolutely love watching them grow in their careers.  What challenges are you currently facing in your career? A big one for me is the ‘war on talent’. We know – according to the latest forecast trends – we’ll need about 225,000 additional people to join the construction industry before 2027 which is an immense task! It isn’t feasible to get those numbers through emerging talent alone, especially as roles like quantity surveying and engineering are not one’s students typically think of. We must find ways to get people to pursue a career in the industry which can be a challenge when competing with more traditional roles like medicine, law or teaching which they have a familiarity with.  At Kier we have implemented programmes to support various groups in gaining meaningful employment and help with the skills shortage e.g Making Ground (prison engagement and employment programme), Refuaid (employment support for those displaced due to the conflict) and Armed Forces (employment for those who have served in the military) in addition to our work with 10,000 Black Interns and STEM Returners.  We have also recently updated our Family Friendly policies increasing the offering for both maternity and paternity and support for those through the menopause and baby loss during any gestation period so the support is there when our employees need it. From my perspective of attracting and recruiting talent, I have seen first-hand how much candidates value these policies and our approach, but also the difference they have made to people.  Finding new people isn’t the only challenge though. It’s important we focus on keeping hold of the people we’ve got too. There always needs to be a focus on career development and succession planning which helps us provide long-term employment, benefiting employees and helping the business grow too.  But these are all tied together with the challenge of managing different mindsets of different generations. People are working longer, and new generations are entering the workforce so how do you target such a wide range of people in an authentic way? What advice would you give to those planning to pursue an HR career? There are a few key things I focus on when it comes to advice. One, leave a legacy. If the work you are doing is meaningful, and you can do it with empathy and genuine care about the people you support, that will go a long way.  Two, inspire the next generation. Personally, I want young girls to know there’s absolutely a place for them here in construction. There’s that stereotype of a manual and muddy workforce but that’s not the case; there’s plenty of roles that will have you nowhere near a hard hat! But if that sort of role is of

“If the work you’re doing is meaningful, and you can do it with empathy and genuine care, that will go a long way.” – Interview with Nerida Rooney Read More »

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