Hiring the best people is important for any business. Hiring the right people at the right time is paramount. Crafting an effective job description is just one step of many to identify, attract and engage the right people for your growing team.  

Get it wrong and it directly impacts the success, efficiency and culture of your organisation. Get it right and… we all know the rest of that story. 

Before you start writing the next job description for a new team member, there are six important questions to consider.

One question that plays over in every leader’s head at one time or another is: “Who do I need to hire next?” It’s a pivotal decision that can significantly impact an organisation’s growth and success. Hiring the right person for a specific role can be challenging, but it doesn’t have to be a guessing game. 

By asking a series of in-depth questions, we guide you through a thought-provoking process to understand what tasks should be delegated, automated, created, or considered for consolidation within your organisation.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the questions you should be asking yourself as the business leader to guide you toward making informed hiring decisions:

1. What Do You Spend Time Doing That Only You Can Do?

The first question delves into the core of your responsibilities. It helps you identify tasks and functions that require your unique expertise and decision-making abilities. By recognising these key activities, you’ll ensure they remain under your direct supervision while freeing up your time for more strategic thinking.

2. What Do You Spend Time Doing That Could Be Automated?

Automation is the key to efficiency. Human’s Profile Builder will prompt you to identify repetitive and time-consuming tasks that can be automated. This not only saves time but also reduces the risk of human error, ensuring consistency and quality in your operations.

3. What Can Be Delegated Tomorrow?

Delegation is a crucial skill for effective leadership. The tool will help you pinpoint tasks that can be passed on to others within your organisation. It considers whether you have team members with the necessary skills and resources to handle these responsibilities, paving the way for your team’s growth and development.

4. Do You Have the Skills and Resources Within the Business to Delegate?

This question serves as a reality check. It encourages you to assess your team’s capabilities and whether they have the skills and resources required to take on the delegated tasks. By understanding your team’s potential, you can confidently entrust them with more responsibilities.

5. Are There Tasks That Could Be Consolidated for Greater Efficiency?

This question focuses on the possibility of streamlining processes within your organisation. Would that 8 step process achieve the same outcome if it were only 5 steps? This question encourages you to examine if there are tasks or responsibilities that could be merged, leading to a more efficient use of resources and a clearer path for potential role creation.

6. What Are the Long-Term Goals of This New Role?

Looking beyond the immediate needs of your business, this question asks you to envision the future. It prompts you to consider the strategic goals of the new role you’re planning to create, ensuring it aligns with your organisation’s growth and development.

The End Result: A Clear Profile for Your Next Hire

After a thoughtful journey through these and other questions, Profile Builder provides you with a clear and well-defined profile of the role your business needs to hire next. It takes into account your unique expertise, automation possibilities, delegation opportunities, potential for consolidation, and long-term strategic objectives.

Ready to Take the Next Step?

If you want to speak with our Talent Acquisition team, book a consultation call and they will work closely with you to identify the right candidate, craft a compelling job description, and assist you throughout the hiring process.

As a business leader, your time is precious. You are the driving force behind your organisation’s success, and it’s crucial to allocate your energy and expertise where it matters most. Human helps streamline your decision-making and helps you identify the critical roles your business needs.

Take the guesswork out of your next hire. Book a consultation today and take the next step in shaping your organisation’s future.

The post Who-Not-How: Unleashing Growth Through People: 6 essential questions to ask yourself before creating a job description appeared first on Human.

The post Unlocking Organisational Excellence: The Power of a Values-Based Decision Tree appeared first on Human.

This week, we had a great conversation with Clare Farmer, a passionate, commercial and creative, Global CPO who has built a career helping to build and develop global teams within construction, manufacturing and professional services.

How did you get into HR?

In truth, I stumbled into a career in HR due to my inquisitive nature. However, I was fortunate to have a great mentor early on who provided invaluable advice and inspired me to pursue HR further.

I’ve often considered specialising in a particular area within HR, but as a generalist, I found it challenging to break into a specific specialisation. Interestingly, it seems easier the other way around, which I still find odd.

If given the opportunity, I would love to focus on engagement, talent management, communications, or learning and development.

What challenges are you currently facing, whether professionally or personally?

Currently, I am facing some challenges in my career. The job market is quite strange at the moment, I’m looking for a company culture that values its people and their well-being. I’m currently supporting a great CEO and their team on an interim basis but will be continuing my search for a permanent position as that comes to a close.

On a personal note, I am enjoying having more time to read and work with my coach. I am constantly working on further developing my learning and honing my leadership skills.

What advice would you give to those planning to pursue an HR career?

For those planning to pursue an HR career, my advice would be to seek advice from well-regarded HR professionals across different sectors to gain true insight into the field. HR is not for the faint-hearted, especially as you advance to higher HR roles.

It’s crucial to align with key stakeholders in the business to truly understand and connect with their needs and goals.

Honing your skills to proactively illustrate how engagement and effective people management can improve productivity and reduce costs will be essential.

Developing and continuously refining personal resilience is also crucial because HR can be demanding and challenging.

Accepting that HR is multi-faceted is vital – you’ll need to understand the day-to-day operational aspects of HR while also creating and executing meaningful people strategies that align with the overall business goals.

Furthermore, it’s essential to recognize that you cannot please everyone all the time, which can be tough.

Being authentic, grounded, and appreciative of the employee experience is vital to me. I believe in staying connected with all employees, from new joiners to front-facing colleagues, all the way up to board-level colleagues. Understanding the issues they face and providing support to achieve necessary changes is a key part of the HR role.

In smaller businesses, HR can sometimes be seen as an overhead. Therefore, it’s crucial to focus on connectedness, adding real value, and fostering the employee voice to promote diversity of thought and organisational resilience.

Clare began her HR career with pwc before developing her career from HR Officer to HRBP and most recently Global CPO supporting 700 employees across Asia, the US and UK. 

If you are interested in having a confidential conversation about your career or would like support in growing your team, please get in touch today.

The post “Being authentic, grounded, and appreciative of the employee experience is vital” Clare Farmer, Global CPO shares her insights on developing a career in HR. appeared first on Human.

In today’s competitive landscape, most organisations are looking for ways to gain a competitive edge. While many focus on things like product innovation or market expansion, one area that can be overlooked is the company’s culture and operations.

The culture and operations of a company can be major blockages that prevent it from achieving its full potential. Whether it’s a challenging, even toxic work environment, outdated processes, or inefficient operations, these factors can lead to a host of problems, including talent attrition, an inability to hire, operational drag, and flight risk.

This article takes a closer look at how these issues can arise and what companies can do to address them.

Find out your cultural effectiveness score before you get started here. 

Talent Attrition

One of the most significant problems that can arise from a poor company culture is talent attrition. When employees don’t feel valued or respected, they are more likely to look for opportunities elsewhere. McKinsey coined the term ‘war on talent’ way back in 1997 and it’s still raging. Poor organisational culture can lead to high attrition rates, which can be costly for a company in terms of lost productivity, training costs, and recruitment expenses – not to mention reputational damage. A strong EVP and good reputation is like gold dust when hiring in 2023.

To avoid this problem, companies should focus on creating a positive work culture where employees feel valued and supported – whether they are physically in the office or not. This can involve things like providing opportunities for professional development and growth, opportunities to engage as a team away from a work setting, fostering a culture of open communication and collaboration, being transparent and investing in systems and tools that will make your team more efficient and effective. 

Inability to Hire

Another common problem that can arise from a poor company culture is an inability to hire. When word gets out that a company has a toxic work environment or high turnover rates, it can be challenging to attract qualified candidates – even outside of a skills shortage. This can be particularly problematic in competitive industries where top talent is in high demand.

Improving their employer brand can help alleviate this issue. Steps to take could involve highlighting positive reviews from current and former employees, showcasing and demonstrating the company’s values and mission, and being transparent about the company’s culture and work environment.

Operational Drag

Poor company operations can also be a significant blockage to success. When processes are outdated or inefficient, it can lead to operational drag, which can slow down productivity and increase costs – not to mention team frustrations. 

To address this issue, companies need to focus on streamlining their operations and processes. This can involve things like investing in new technology and tools to automate repetitive tasks, simplifying workflows, and eliminating unnecessary steps in the process. You could try following your own processes to understand how clunky they could be. At Human we stand in our own queue periodically to experience what our clients experience to get a sense of how we can improve or adapt.

Flight Risk

Finally, a poor company culture can often lead to flight risk. When employees feel unhappy or unsupported, they are more likely to leave the company, which can create instability and disrupt operations. This can be particularly problematic in industries where specialised knowledge and expertise are critical to success. 

To address this issue, companies need to focus on creating a culture of retention. This can involve things like offering competitive salaries and benefits, providing opportunities for professional development and growth, and fostering a positive work environment where employees feel valued and supported.

A powerful organisational culture can alleviate many issues. Understanding your organisational cultural effectiveness score can also help you identify where the blockages are and how big they might be across your Culture, Operations and People.

The Human Cultural Effectiveness scorecard helps you quickly understand your overall score and your score for each business area. It goes further by offering you tips on how you can improve based on which area scores lowest.

By focusing on creating a positive work environment, streamlining operations, and investing in employee development and retention, you can overcome your  blockages and achieve long-term success.

Find out your Cultural Effectiveness Score by clicking here.

The post Is your organisational culture effective or affective? appeared first on Human.

Nicole Healey, Talent Acquisition Consultant at Human – People & Search shares her insights into improving the quality and effectiveness of your CV.

The post Can I help you to feel more confident about your CV? appeared first on Human.

Amy: Thank you for joining us today. Can you tell us a little about yourself and your experience in HR?

Minako: Thank you for having me. I have been in the HR industry for almost 20 years and have worked with various organisations across industries. My experience has exposed me to different challenges in HR, which have made me better equipped to handle different situations.

Amy: How did you get into HR originally?

Minako: I started my career as a teacher in Japan and later in the UK. I enjoyed working with very difficult students, and persistently helping them and teaching the subject until they fully understood the topics. The teaching experience was very rewarding and transferable to HR skills. When I look back, facing difficult students was more difficult than facing challenging employees at work, because there was no settlement option with those students. After being in the UK for a while I realised I wanted to try something different because as a teacher, you talk about the outside world but I had never worked outside of education.

For my second job, I had the opportunity to gain exposure to employment law including work permits and taxation. At that time, my boss sent me to take a course about UK employment laws. It was beyond my understanding because it was for employment solicitors, so I was very quiet all day during the seminar. But it was still a good experience and it got me interested in this field.
Fortunately, when I got my next job, part of that package was the opportunity to take my postgraduate CIPD course. And that was how I got into HR.

Once in HR I moved around some very different industries – from insurance to airlines. And that was quite a big change because insurance was very much based on recruitment and rewards. But when I joined Japan Airlines, the main thing was employee relations – teamwork and building relationships. The nature of HR completely changed.

I had an amazing couple of years in JAL. However, I wanted to do a different kind of job and moved to Mitsubishi. It had a different company structure from where I previously worked. I enjoyed working with HR peers in Europe to work on global projects.

Looking at my career up to that point, I worked with different people but mainly Japanese stakeholders. I felt I really needed to work outside a Japanese organisation to see different leadership styles and company cultures. With that, I decided to move to a non-Japanese company.

My first non-Japanese organisation was Meggitt in Hampshire. The biggest challenge for me was observing the culture in the organisationhow the people behaved and talked to each other. Japanese companies tend to work together, which was the more collectivism approach. On the other hand, British companies have people who express a variety of opinions, more individualism based. I was thinking about how I would be accepted in a non-Japanese environment. Fortunately, I felt accepted very well, actually and even received a massive bunch of flowers from union members when I finished the assignment with Meggitt. I had developed a great relationship with them. It was an excellent memory.

Amy: What challenges are you currently facing as an HR Leader?

Minako: I think one of the biggest challenges HR Leaders can face is managing company politics. How you can do what is right for the people and the organisation despite the politics. For example, you strive to reach a certain level in the organisation. And when you get into that better position, you run the risk of getting too comfortable, losing yourself and being too concerned about your ego, as driven by politics.

In my case, I try to listen to what the people are talking about. I talk to employees in general because I want to be a real authentic HR Director or CPO, so talking with just the senior leaders is not the solution. I always try to find the best way to approach a person when I find something that needs to be fixed. You can do the talk by encouraging someone to change his or her viewpoint, without directly criticising how the person works.

Amy: That’s an interesting approach. Can you elaborate more on how you deal with politics in the workplace?

Minako: I strive to always be honest with myself and be fair to people from all parts of the organisation. I really want to create an engaged, happy working environment with the goal for each employee to grow more, while developing leadership and executives.

To overcome politics, I create an environment where people feel comfortable expressing themselves. I encourage open communication and feedback, so that everyone can share their thoughts and concerns without fear of being judged or punished. This way, I can identify issues and address them promptly.

Amy: What advice would you give to aspiring HR professionals?

Minako: Being in HR means always finding that mutual point between the people’s side and the rules and procedures. You shouldn’t just focus on one or the other. That balance is very important.

People may show sympathy, but what we need are empathy and emotional intelligence. Especially in cases of redundancy in an organisation, that is not really the last stage of the situation. We might see each other again at one point so I try not to create a negative environment during the process. The people I met 15 years ago sometimes still contact me to ask for my help which I am happy to do. Or when I post an achievement on LinkedIn, someone who I made redundant years ago would like my post or say a nice comment and I feel comfortable about it.

Whatever you do, you must not forget that you are working with people. You have to be honest and you need to treat everybody with respect. And most importantly, you have to be constantly learning.

Minako joined Navis Consulting in February 2022. She is also a Member of the Virtual Advisory Board, which aims to connect senior professionals with CEOs of various industries to promote knowledge sharing and networking.

If you are interested in having a confidential conversation about your career or would like support in growing your team, please get in touch today.

The post “People may show sympathy, but what we need is empathy and emotional intelligence. Whatever you do, you must not forget that you are working with people.” – Minako Honda-Athenor, HR Consultant – Senior Partner of Navis International explains the importance of empathetically balancing priorities between the organisation and its people. appeared first on Human.

We were joined by a guest speaker Dr Jared Skey and a panel of HR and People Leaders including:

Donald MacRae, HR Director EMEA at Starbucks

Fiona Williams, HR Director at Buro Happold

George Stone, Director of HR at Shields

Sharon Frost, Global HR Director at Oxford Pharmagenesis

Steve Farmer, MD at SPIE Build & Connect

The post Skills Fluidity: Human HR Hackathon – March 2023 appeared first on Human.

This week, we had a great conversation with George Stone, Director of HR at telecoms solutions provider, Shields. George, despite only being in his teens then, found his passion for HR while working in hospitality.

Can you tell us how you got into HR?
I always had an ambition to be a teacher when I was younger. In hindsight, it was probably because of three things: I wanted the opportunity to stand up and talk and to have an impact; you manage people to get the best out of them in the classroom; and lastly, just having the genuine passion to help people develop and improve themselves.

So while in secondary school when I was about 16 years old, I got a part-time job at Topgolf, a sports entertainment venue. That opportunity catapulted me into employment. It was a transitional stage for me, and I realised that education wasn’t really where I wanted to be at that time in my life. And although I wanted to be a teacher, it was never really the style of learning that worked for me.

I transitioned to working full-time at Topgolf. In my first year I became a leader of a team of around 17 people, and I started initiatives that made a difference to people. I realised that people management is similar to teaching; I was a coach and a teacher just to different people. I had a very operational career for the next six years at Topgolf. I was dealing with everything from finance to sales, marketing and day-to-day operations. Ultimately, I believe that you have to get the people right for the business to go well.

Topgolf had massive success whilst I was there and grew quite quickly. When I joined we had around 35 people that worked in the venue, and when I left six years later, we had 250. And those numbers were replicated across the three venues at the same time. Suddenly, the volume of things I was doing people-wise increased. This was probably a massive advantage for me. Someone could work in HR for five years and maybe do a hundred interviews. And there I was doing a hundred interviews per week, not to mention the challenging chats, and all those development conversations.
After working for Topgolf, I wanted something different. I found this opportunity with the pub and hotel company Youngs & Co Brewery in London. I was brought in to help because some of their larger acquisitions had larger workforces. However, the role wasn’t for me. It was a bit too operational than what I wanted. After about a year, I started to figure out that I’m better at dealing with people strategically.

I managed to land an opportunity with Shields. They’e been around for 40 years, have a hundred and twenty staff, and operate internationally. They had just opened entities in France and Spain at the time. But they were small teams of three or four people and did not have an HR team. Senior leaders at Shields have an average of 10 to 20 years tenure, and I was coming in probably 20 years junior to everybody else. I had to transition the business and start the people process almost from scratch. It included managing employment contracts to our recruitment strategy, learning and development, curriculums for e-learning, engagement policies, data and analytics and diversity. Fortunately, I was able to apply the high-volume knowledge that I had learned and am enjoying the journey.

What challenges are you currently facing?
I think that a big topic for employers at the minute is how they are identifying talent – where they are looking and what they are looking for.

It goes back to our point about work experience. Working the same year 10 times is not the same as having 10 years experience. Reading between the lines is a lost art when it comes to identifying key talent and that has to change.  At the present, we are in a market where candidates can interview with five companies they are interested in and they get to pick the best ones that suit them. Now their decision is impacted by what the company stands for and how it treats its people. You don’t want to miss great talent just because their CV isn’t great or because they don’t come from the right industry. You need to find people who are passionate about what they are doing and show great growth and transferable skills, which reflects more that they’re going to succeed.

When you think about all of the greatest achievers, the great CEOs and business leaders that have done amazing things over the last 50 years, would you have snapped them up when you were 20 years old and they didn’t have anything yet? What were they like back then? Or what did their principles look like?

Instead of looking for someone to fit into a certain role, look for passionate people to join the organisation. You, as the business, should let them do the jobs you tasked them with. And if that keeps failing for you, it’s clearly an identification issue. You’re picking the wrong people.

What advice would you give to those planning to pursue an HR career?
I was very lucky when I was younger, at about 17 or 18 years old, I had a great mentor. Hopefully, everybody can find their mentor at least once in their career because these people are not always easy to come by.  Also, making mistakes is not a problem. The problem is when you continue to make the same mistake over and over and do nothing to adjust or change. But if it’s the initial mistake, I would never blame anybody for the first mistake. The passion and the leap of faith that it takes are far more impressive than the results in most cases.

I’ve had responsibilities that I had never had previously but I had the courage to just go in and do it. Honestly, I didn’t get it right the first time. But that allowed me to shape how I could do that in the future. It’s not easy. If it was easy, everybody would do it. And it is twofold because it fits into the fact that failure is okay. Be confident to try something. Moving forward is better than standing still.

George has gained his skills and expertise throughout his 11-year career, from
entertainment to hospitality and now, to telecommunications. George joined Shields in 2020 as its Global Head of HR, and became the firm’s Director of HR after a year, in April 2021.

If you are interested in having a confidential conversation about your career or
would like support in growing your team, please get in touch today.

The post “…failure is okay. Be confident to try something. Moving forward is better than standing still.” George Stone, Director of HR at Shields, highlights the importance of looking at capabilities and potential vs experience in sourcing great talent. appeared first on Human.

This week, we had a great conversation with Fay Ball, Stadler Rail’s Head of HR for the U.K. Fay found her passion for HR while working for industries she never envisioned to be a part of.

After starting her career in the legal profession, Fay moved into the HR field working as part of the prison service before joining Stadler Rail. Now CIPD Level 7 qualified Fay.

Can you tell us about your journey into HR. What lead you to a career in HR?
I’ve got quite a varied background. I went to college and started doing English and Law, but I dropped out after the first year and started an apprenticeship doing business administration in a law firm. After that, I worked within the education sector working as an administrator for an apprenticeship provider.

It was after that, that I began my HR career. My first HR role was working for G4S within the prison service. That was quite an interesting industry. When I got in there and realised what it was all about, the main thing for me was to help people. People would come in with a problem or issue preventing them from going to work or dealing with something personal. I felt I could help and make a difference in their lives, and that was what I enjoyed.

I felt previous admin jobs I had, had been a bit mundane, doing the same thing every day. And HR is the complete opposite. You are doing something different every day. At the time, my manager was completing their CIPD Level 5. I could see what she was doing and how that was benefiting her. I then thought that Level 3 would be a good way for me to get a deeper knowledge of what HR is, and not just the day-to-day tasks. I worked for G4S for around two years, and I was getting to the point where I wanted to do my Level 5. At this time, I knew my job inside out, and I was ready to progress in my career. But I was in such a small team. I sent my CV out, and someone contacted me to interview for Stadler.

While they are a worldwide business, they were almost like a startup within the UK at that time. They had no policies or processes yet and just started to look for HR software as they were transferring about 150 staff members. That was attractive to me.
I became Stadler Rail’s HR assistant in September 2017. There were about five or six of us in the office. By the 1st week of October, there were 180 staff they had just transferred over. That situation was a monumental change and a steep learning curve for us. I’ve been with Stadler ever since. The company has grown massively in the UK. There are now around 500 people in the team. I have grown and developed a lot in my career with them. That’s the best way to describe it.

What challenges are you currently facing as an HR Leader?

Working within the rail industry, one of the challenges can be industrial action. With the crisis and the rising cost of living, there are more demands around pay and conditions and things like that. Though I am working on the engineering side of the rail industry, these strikes can still impact us.

The pandemic brought about quite a lot of loneliness, anxiety, and other issues for some people working from home and social distancing while worrying about loved ones and the pandemic.On a positive note, I think that’s helped people be more open when they are struggling. And that is a good thing because if we’re aware we can intervene, help and support. But it becomes a challenge to deal with when you’ve got a lot of those issues as a business. Lastly, one of the big challenges we are trying to overcome is getting more women into the industry. We work in a male-dominated environment, traditionally engineers working in the railway were men. When I joined Stadler, two women worked there. Now, I think we’re up to around 40 out of 500. We’ve also recently had three of our staff nominated for awards within the Women in Rail Awards. That’s something we are pushing for – to raise the women’s voice in the industry.

What advice would you give to those planning to pursue an HR career?
If you find something you enjoy, you need to push forward with it. There will be times you might feel a little bit out of depth or unsure. Just keep going and give your all, and you will get where you need to be.

Also, do not be afraid to try something new. In my case, I did not know what HR was. I jumped from a safe environment of administration that I knew inside out into something where I could build a career. It was a bit scary, but that risk paid off in the long run.  And here’s a piece of advice from a woman who has worked in engineering or even the prison service that people think is a man’s job. As long as you feel comfortable and confident in your ability, then nothing should hold you back. Just go for it.

Fay joined Stadler Rail in September 2017 as an HR Assistant. Through the years, Fay
moved up the ranks in the company to being the country’s HR Manager and HR Business
Partner. In 2020, she became the UK Head of HR.

If you are interested in having a confidential conversation about your career or would like
support in growing your team, please get in touch today.

The post “As long as you feel comfortable and confident in your ability, then nothing should hold you back. Just go for it.” – Fay Ball, UK Head of HR at Stadler Rail Service, talks about making your mark even in difficult situations. appeared first on Human.

As part of our commitment to support candidates in developing fulfilling careers, we’ve invited HR leaders from a wide variety of organisations to share their insights on building a career, the challenges they face and what advice they would share with those hoping to follow in their footsteps.

This week, we had a great conversation with Nerida Rooney, head of employer brand and strategic resourcing at Kier Group, where she highlighted the value of empathy and authenticity in talent acquisition and HR.

A born and raised Australian, Nerida has carried her passion for diversity and inclusion throughout her 19-year career in HR, both down under and in the UK. Her experience is impressive and spans a range of industries, including education, charity and FMCG before her current role within the construction industry. 

With her goal to inspire the next generation to fulfil their potential, Nerida joined the Resourcing Leaders 100 (RL 100), Europe’s leading peer network for strategic resourcing leaders.  

Can you tell us about your first HR role?

Absolutely, so as someone of indigenous heritage in Australia, I was able to secure an indigenous traineeship in the HR department at the University of Newcastle in New South Wales once I’d left secondary school.

Like many entry roles, my main responsibilities were administrative to start with. 

From the outset, what I loved to do was speaking to candidates, and on many occasions being able to offer them a job.  

Being a part of such a personal moment in someone’s life really highlighted to me what I wanted from my career. I wanted to interact with people from all walks of life and make that positive impact through job opportunities.

This first role came with so many learning opportunities. The biggest coming from a mistake I made early on. I lived every recruiter’s worst nightmare and offered the job to the wrong candidate! None of us realised this until their first day, and while I felt terrible at the time, they actually turned out to be the best person for the job.

Thankfully I’ve never made that mistake since, but it taught me the importance of attention to detail and taking the time to really get to know a candidate. It’s a story I often bring up when my team comes to me with their mistakes; we are human and I work hard to build a culture of openness and transparency. 

What came next in your HR career?

So, I found myself ready for a new challenge, and I’d decided to move to the UK, but whilst I waited for my visa to process, I had a short stint in agency work.

I loved the people but didn’t like the sales-focussed approach to recruitment an agency brings. It’s important to me to ensure the candidate is getting what they need and that the company’s values match, which is so critically important..

I’ve been in the UK for 14 years now and my career has developed and evolved and at Kier, I am leading a brilliant team and I absolutely love watching them grow in their careers. 

What challenges are you currently facing in your career?

A big one for me is the ‘war on talent’. We know – according to the latest forecast trends – we’ll need about 225,000 additional people to join the construction industry before 2027 which is an immense task!

It isn’t feasible to get those numbers through emerging talent alone, especially as roles like quantity surveying and engineering are not one’s students typically think of. We must find ways to get people to pursue a career in the industry which can be a challenge when competing with more traditional roles like medicine, law or teaching which they have a familiarity with. 

At Kier we have implemented programmes to support various groups in gaining meaningful employment and help with the skills shortage e.g Making Ground (prison engagement and employment programme), Refuaid (employment support for those displaced due to the conflict) and Armed Forces (employment for those who have served in the military) in addition to our work with 10,000 Black Interns and STEM Returners. 

We have also recently updated our Family Friendly policies increasing the offering for both maternity and paternity and support for those through the menopause and baby loss during any gestation period so the support is there when our employees need it. From my perspective of attracting and recruiting talent, I have seen first-hand how much candidates value these policies and our approach, but also the difference they have made to people. 

Finding new people isn’t the only challenge though. It’s important we focus on keeping hold of the people we’ve got too. There always needs to be a focus on career development and succession planning which helps us provide long-term employment, benefiting employees and helping the business grow too. 

But these are all tied together with the challenge of managing different mindsets of different generations. People are working longer, and new generations are entering the workforce so how do you target such a wide range of people in an authentic way?

What advice would you give to those planning to pursue an HR career?

There are a few key things I focus on when it comes to advice.

One, leave a legacy. If the work you are doing is meaningful, and you can do it with empathy and genuine care about the people you support, that will go a long way. 

Two, inspire the next generation. Personally, I want young girls to know there’s absolutely a place for them here in construction. There’s that stereotype of a manual and muddy workforce but that’s not the case; there’s plenty of roles that will have you nowhere near a hard hat! But if that sort of role is of interest to them, how are we ensuring they are welcomed with open arms?

Three, ask questions. If you’re just starting your career there are no silly questions because we are all learning! The questions that really make me think even now are often from those who are new to the industry and bring new ways of looking at something.

Four, take advantage of every development opportunity. Find mentors, one in the industry and one out. In my case, I have a fabulous mentor that I work with and he’s helped me have a more global viewpoint. Pushing yourself out of your comfort zone is the only way you will grow and through being bold and putting your best foot forward, you will inspire the next person to do the same.

If you are interested in having a confidential conversation about your career or would like support in growing your team, please get in touch today.

The post “If the work you’re doing is meaningful, and you can do it with empathy and genuine care, that will go a long way.” – Interview with Nerida Rooney appeared first on Human.