But Hannah Thomson (pictured), UK HR director at Avis Rent-a-Car, looks terrified when, upon my arrival at her office, I explain that, for the photography shoot, I need her good self, a car (preferably up-market) and the workplace in the background, all somehow miraculously incorporated into one picture.
Daunting as both my request - and indeed any photography shoot - might be for someone not in the modelling profession, I couldn't help but feel an additional twinge of sympathy for Thomson. Halfway through our shoot as she - looking mortified - balances herself on the door of a BMW at the whim of our photographer, there are a number of Avis staff visible at some of the windows of the office, gazing out with interest. Not only that, but an enthusiastic throng of members from her HR team emerges from the building with cameras, taking pictures for what they claim is "internal use".
I was glad the photo-shoot was a light-hearted affair though, because the first question I was planning to ask Thomson concerned a much more serious and complicated issue: an acquisition.
As HR magazine went to press, things were changing rapidly at Avis. The company in the UK and Europe was run completely independently - a separate business - from Avis in the US (they parted ways in 1986). But on 3 October, Avis Budget Group (in the US) completed a $1 billion (£627 million) acquisition of Avis Europe.
The move combines Avis and Budget (which the UK/Europe business incorporated in 2009) worldwide and creates what the company believes is the largest publicly traded rental car business in the world.
Reports to this effect had been circulating in the global press in the weeks prior to my visit to Avis and I was keen to find out how this could affect the UK workforce. Thomson seems prepared for this line of questioning. "I can't really comment on the acquisition," she says. "But it is exciting because it would make us a truly global brand - the US company would bring scale with it. It means we can assume the company is in a strong position."
So ends that part of the conversation, then. Thomson is giving nothing away about how staff could be affected in the UK or whether jobs would be lost or created: just that, for now at least, it's business as usual for the Bracknell-based car hire firm. And - like a member of its fleet of vehicles - business at Avis appears to be running smoothly.
"This is not a growing market - but we are growing," Thomson emphasises. "We are keeping a watch on innovation around mobility and growth in emerging markets. We are acutely aware we need to have disciplines in place - but we are still entrepreneurial."
In 2010, Avis Europe reported an underlying operating profit of €68.5 million (£58.7 million), up from €68.1 million (£58.4 million) in 2009.
And in 2011, Avis increased its local rental branches across the UK by 50%, with the opening of 37 locations for leisure customers. It has seen rapid growth across the UK in urban locations. It plans to open a further 100 leisure branches throughout the course of this year. This is in addition to its existing 38 airport locations.
Some 21 of the new Avis branches have been launched in partnership with Regus, a provider of workplace solutions, enabling both small to medium business and leisure customers to book and hire Avis cars directly from their local Regus office.
A further 16 locations have opened in partnership with local hotels, giving nearby residents and guests access to car hire so they can explore the surrounding area.
The partnerships Avis forms are important in deciding where the company wants to brand and market itself - as well as Regus and mid-range hotels, Avis is also the exclusive car rental partner for British Airways and Flybe.
"We score very highly in brand awareness and as an employer our brand is vital, since we want to recruit from other sectors, such as retail," says Thomson.
But in a UK market saturated with competitors - some cheaper than Avis - ex-John Lewis stalwart Thomson recognises the challenges she and her staff are facing. "Avis is a premium brand - but we are highly competitive and highly price-sensitive. The cost of car hire is going up, but we have to remain competitive and maintain a good fleet.
"Customers want convenience and we pride ourselves on service - customer service is something we thrive on. Our competitors can do more, but I don't believe their staff have the commitment and attitude that ours do."
The company has adopted the slogan 'we try harder' and this has filtered down to staff in the form of a company value. "This has become part of our company culture," beams Thomson. "We live and breathe it and we are channelling all our efforts into the best possible returns from our people's time.
"We are not self-congratulatory, but we have a huge responsibility to make sure we are focused and accountable. We design our roles to achieve the biggest contribution from our people to ensure business success by - and through - them. It is not intellectual or convoluted. It is just about clearly defined roles: what we want to see - and what we don't."
The company and HR department of 12 has worked over the past years to embed this 'we try harder' culture into its recruitment, workplace design and performance management initiatives. And, our interviewee is keen to point out, while there is always a danger, she is determined for it not to be seen as "fluffy".
"This is robust for managers," she adds. "We are keen to find out from them what they contribute to the business."
And, as Thomson succinctly puts it, the organisation, while growing, has been careful to make sure it is "just the right size".
She continues: "Working in HR here is about being commercial. There is also an opportunity to pinpoint productivity, look at how things are done and have an involvement in some of the 'harder' things.
"Restructuring brings with it difficult decisions - otherwise it will become nothing more than a cost-cutting exercise - but we have to move the business forward to be in a position that is 'of the moment'.
"It has been painful for some. We have cut out some roles, realigned others, where staff do not perhaps know what is expected of them. We give staff every opportunity to make their mark.
"We are not squeezing our resources, but are measuring productivity by the efficiency and effectiveness of staff in relation to the hours they work - or their visibility. When you are under the spotlight, that is when you produce the best work," she pauses. "Because you have got to."
Thomson has a close working relationship with UK managing director, Kevin Bradshaw.
She explains: "I set the people agenda, but senior management works as a team. I operate in a questioning way and am interested in all aspects of the business, including our fleet. How could I fulfil my role, provide advice and champion the people agenda if I didn't know what's going on in the business?
"I attend the weekly trading meeting. I don't always contribute, but I'm learning and I filter the information to my team."
And while Thomson has been a fundamental part of the company's apparent turnaround agenda - which is showing its effect in growing profit margins - and, like a growing number of HR directors, is enjoying, and challenged by, her increasingly strategic remit, she does not forget the operational roots modern-day HR has grown from.
"While we are dealing with business, we can't lose track of being operational," she says. "We are on a journey of changes and expectation and these are being managed through the line. I have field teams in place because there are areas that need support. We need to be 'fixers' in HR and part of our role is to react. But we can't take over.
"We don't want to overcomplicate processes - that's one of the worst things HR can do. I'm not running the UN and, for me, it's not about adding new skills and achievements to my CV. I want to look at the company and decide 'where we want to be really good'. It is not about a flight of fancy, though."
Thomson describes her role as "commercial and pragmatic" and the initiatives she has implemented since her arrival at Avis some three and a half years ago have not gone unnoticed.
She adds: "My team is intact, my spend is still there - but my to-do list is longer than ever. I am involved in decisions and facilitating them. I have a forward-thinking MD and he will always challenge me."
Back to our photo shoot, unscathed - and relatively unfazed after her ordeal - Thompson laughs, telling me "that's the worst part over".
But after the meeting, I can't help but feel she might face bigger challenges on any given day at work. And, now that the decision has finally been taken to go ahead with the takeover by the US company, yet more restructuring looks set to be on the cards. Surely our commercial pragmatist is ready for that…
