Between us we have over 140 years of HR experience, 57 of them gained at myHRdept. We have experience in sectors as diverse as FMCG, retail, education, catering, charity, security, IT & Fintech, pharmaceuticals, coal mining, space, travel, automotive and facilities management. We’ve worked with small private businesses, unionised organisations, LLPs, not for profits, charities, membership organisations, co-operatives and global companies – where we’ve supported their employee relations & employment law needs.
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Tell me how you ended up in your current role with myHRdept.
I had been working as a BHR & ER Advisor for a pharmaceutical Company with various sites across the UK. As my client areas were based in Oxfordshire, more often than not, this meant long journeys to and from work for several years. I came across the myHR role whilst on maternity leave and decided to apply for it and it all started from there!
What was it like joining a new company under Pandemic lockdown conditions?
A little odd at first as I had not met most of the team in person and I have never been inducted virtually before. However, the team was great and all very welcoming. I have still only met the majority of the team virtually, but I already feel like I am part of the furniture. We have calls via teams daily which has really helped and I know if I have any questions, the team is only a call or email away.
How does this role or Company differ from your previous roles?
All my previous roles have been part of an in-house HR department whereas this role incorporates advising external clients. The Company differs as I am used to working for large organisations whereas myHRdept is a smaller, friendly organisation, so it feels more like a family.
What three words would you use to describe your role?
Customer-focused, fast-pace, rewarding
What have your biggest professional challenges been?
One of the challenges of HR is not getting too emotionally involved and this is particularly hard in certain situations especially when you know the employee. However, whilst you must remain professional it is always best to approach these situations with a certain degree of empathy and treat employees as human beings.
What would you say is your biggest achievement to date – personal or professional?
Personally, definitely my daughter, Layla. Although she can be a handful (no idea where she gets that from!), she definitely puts a smile on my face. Professionally the attainment of my Level 7 CIPD qualification has been one of my biggest achievements to date.
Describe a situation where you needed to persuade someone to see things your way. What steps did you take? What were the results?
I had a case where the employee had been off on long term sick. Rather than facilitate a return to work the manager wanted to dismiss them. I explained to the manager that as the employee had a disability and medical professionals believed they would be able to return to work on a phased return basis this would be the best option. The manager finally came round to the idea and the employee returned on a phased return basis.
Tell me about the toughest decision you had to make in your career
Although it has never been my ambition to be a stay at home Mum the toughest decision for me was returning to work after maternity leave and having to leave Layla at nursery from a young age. If I said I didn’t have Mum guilt I would be lying but I am so glad I made the decision I have, as having a career is important to me and working in HR is something I love.
What are the three things most important to you in your work life?
Team environment, stimulating job role, work-life balance (where appropriate!)
If you weren’t working in HR, what would you be doing?
Since leaving university I have always worked in HR, however if I wasn’t working in HR I would quite like to be a lawyer as I have always found criminal law and court cases fascinating.
Tell me how you ended up in your current role with myHRdept.
I was contacted by myHRdept with a copy of an exciting job opening for an ER Advisor. The role entailed working within a variety of business sectors, with some really experienced people. As I was (and still am) keen to learn, I thought this sounded like a fantastic opportunity. I picked-up the phone and had my first interview. Unusually my 3rd interview was with some of the team, which gave a great insight into the team dynamics and workplace culture. I felt it was an organisation that I really wanted to be part of.
What was it like joining a new company under Pandemic lock down conditions?
Very unusual! I expected my colleagues to feel like strangers for at least the first year but I was surprised how quickly I have built relationships with the team. We have daily video calls which certainly helps. I think it has worked well as communication channels and expectations have been clear from day one.
How does this role or Company differ from your previous roles?
The content and work are very similar but here I am working within a large HR team which I prefer. My last role was a stand-alone HR Manager in a large business and I really did miss not having someone to bounce ideas off. I worked more directly with the employees in my last role and here I am client facing.
What three words would you use to describe your role?
Stimulating, developmental and rewarding.
What have your biggest professional challenges been?
Probably the same as many HR professionals but it is definitely COVID. We were all hit with furlough, redundancies, uncertainty and more! It required fast-paced adapting, learning and hard work, whilst ensuring that employees were coping through the challenging times too.
What would you say is your biggest achievement to date – personal or professional?
Graduating from university, completing my level 5 CIPD and buying/renovating my first house last year.
Describe a situation where you needed to persuade someone to see things your way. What steps did you take? What were the results?
I worked on a case where an employee had some serious but spent convictions on their DBS certificate. The employee worked mostly on a site that did not require them to have the check but occasionally on a site that did. Their manager was keen to dismiss the employee however I suggested the better option if it was possible, was to restrict access to carry out a risk assessment and restrict access to the occasional site. The employee was able to keep their job and we fulfilled our duty of safeguarding at the same time.
Tell me about the toughest decision you’ve had to make in your career?
It is hard to pin-point this to one decision. The role of HR lends itself to challenging decisions, such as selection criteria when making people redundant but for me the most challenging has been performance managing colleagues who you work with closely day-to-day. It is important that they understand the seriousness of it but at the same time you need to ensure your working relationship remains intact to fulfil your role successfully moving forwards.
What are the three things most important to you in your work life?
Opportunities, learning and a strong team culture.
If you weren’t working in HR for myHRdept what would you be doing?
If I had to move away from HR, I would probably work within business development or become a business consultant to help grow start-ups.
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