Angela OConnor
Job title
Director of HR, CPS
Quote to remember
The person Id most admire would combine the marketing skills of Madonna and the cheeky tenacity of Terry Venables
Key responsibilities
Leading a national team in delivering people-management services to the Crown Prosecution Service as well as driving cultural change with the board. I also head 10 national service centres delivering transactional HR, finance and IT services.
Previous jobs (both HR and non-HR)
I spent 20 years in local government at Haringey, Hackney and Enfield councils in senior HR roles; before that, branch manager at Reed Employment and counter clerk at the DHSS.
Why did you choose to work for the CPS?
I was headhunted, but who could resist the combination of big cultural change in such a visible, public-sector organisation?
What attracted you to a career in HR?
The complexity of what makes people tick, and the link between how people feel and improved performance.
What key skills do you need to be successful in your current role?
An understanding of the business and ability to get things done now. Also the ability to speak the language of EastEnders as well as the Latin that gets flung about whenever lawyers gather.
What do you enjoy most in your current role?
Helping managers increase business performance, getting rid of bureaucratic processes, and seeing justice in action.
What do you enjoy least about your job?
Endless emails; excessive bureaucracy; people who whinge; and the time it takes to change the culture in organisations.
What has been your greatest achievement so far?
Watching one particular HR team I managed travel from a group of dispirited mice with no self-belief and the lowest customer ratings, to national award winners within 18 months.
What is the most important contribution that HR can make to the business?
Persuading the whole organisation that the difference between success and failure is how employees perform and how much of that is driven by how they feel.
If you werent working for the CPS which company would you most like to work for?
I love the psychology of complex public-sector organisations so it would be a central government department such as the police or prison services.
Which business person outside the CPS do you admire most?
Anyone who could combine the marketing skills of Madonna, the cheeky tenacity of Terry Venables and the grit, determination and compassion of many public sector staff.