How did you get started in HR?
My career began with diverse commercial and strategy roles. I am fortunate to work for a company that supports career ‘squiggles’ and allowed me to take on a secondment as a business partner. This showed me how my commercial skills could add significant value in HR, prompting me to make the move permanent. I’m enjoying how my experiences inform my HR role and appreciating the incredible variety of HR work.
Read more: The future looks squiggly
What worries you about today’s HR landscape?
HR professionals juggle a growing array of responsibilities, from integrating technology and managing hybrid work to fostering organisational culture and promoting diversity and inclusion. My fear is this complexity risks diluting our identity and leaving stakeholders uncertain about our core mission.
What will become more important for HR over the next five years?
The rapid advancement of AI will revolutionise HR and business operations. It is crucial to balance this with a clear understanding of where ‘human’ skills add unique value, particularly as we guide staff through these changes.
What subjects will HR leaders still be tackling when you retire?
Future HR leaders, like their predecessors, will grapple with the challenge of motivating, engaging, and meeting the needs of the Gen Alpha (and possibly Gen Beta) workforce. Though the incoming workforce may have vastly different experiences and expectations, everyone should feel cared for as an individual and be enabled to thrive.
What skill will HR leaders need most in future?
Agility: future HR leaders need to adapt at pace, and effectively, in a world where change is the only constant.
How are you driving change in HR?
Drawing from my experience outside the HR function, I continually challenge myself to think differently and adopt a customer-first mindset. By viewing the business and employees through this lens, I avoid the trap of doing things the way they have always been done. This allows me to continually adapt to the changing business environment while anticipating to the needs of the future.
This article was published in the November/December 2024 edition of HR magazine.
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