Since then, she has built effective relationships with key stakeholders and employees, raising the profile of the HR department.
Owens is an HR professional who is prepared to lift her head above the parapet. Following the company's annual employee opinion survey, she led a project to increase the score for the statement, 'I am satisfied with the recognition I receive for doing a good job', by implementing an online global recognition scheme.
Initially, the project was met with some obstruction, because individual sites were not convinced a global, 'one size fits all' approach would meet their needs. Owens used this feedback to shape the strategy. The solution caters for 19 different countries; the online platform was translated into 11 languages.
Her brainchild, STAR, which launched in April 2011, is an online recognition system that gives access to all employees around the globe via either a work or personal email.
STAR nominations are linked to company values and the success of this initiative led to a 2% increase in employee opinion scores, from 74% in 2010 to 76% in 2011.
Owens is working on the next stage. This includes a place on the site where employees can say 'Thank you', as well as recognise work over and above an employee's day job.
One other global project she delivered was a film competition, to get employees engaged with the vision and demonstrate how they create memorable experiences for customers. Some 106 films were received.
On an operational level within corporate, one of Owens' key achievements has been working with the Merlin Contact Centre, which consists of permanent and seasonal staff. Recruitment within the centre experiences peaks and troughs, so when she first took ownership of the Contact Centre recruitment, there was a heavy reliance on temporary staff recruited via agencies.
Owens worked with recruitment managers at Chessington World of Adventures Resort and Thorpe Park to understand how they manage their mass seasonal recruitment. Using this model, she adapted the recruitment process to fit the Merlin Contact Centre and by driving the recruitment, advertising online and via job boards, she reduced the cost per hire by 40% in 2011.
She has also introduced assessment centres for the Contact Centre recruitment, which allow the company to measure a candidate's suitability far more efficiently.
She designed an 'HR Toolkit', accessible to all employees. By giving ownership to the teams, the HR team has fewer interruptions and employees are more self-sufficient.
Three years after joining, Owens was promoted in January 2011 to the role of HR manager with direct responsibility for the HR advisor and the HR administrator. She is an exceptional team member with a strategic agenda, who goes over and above to get the job done. She is a credit to the HR profession.
